For any business online or off your logo becomes an important part of your corporate identity. There are several places on a website that beg to be branded with a logo, and there are even more opportunities around the web to promote your site and build logo recognition.
On Site
1. Header
The most important place to put a logo on a website is front and center. Having a logo for your header helps keep your icon in the eyes of the user at all times. And because tradition breeds convention, for navigation purposes it’s helpful to make your logo a home page link.
Users are often inclined to click on a logo or header to get back to the homepage, so it’s wise to use an image as opposed to making the logo a part of the background. If you use WordPress there are a huge variety of template options with customizable headers so that you can be creative with incorporating your logo.
2. Content
Online marketing strategists talk at length about the need for content on a website. The content they are referring to means more than products, and about us pages. It means education, information and articles that a website provides to add value and attract links.
The key to making the most of this content is the presence of an effective call-to-action that serves to draw visitors further into a site.
Even with a logo as your header, it is important to use your logo prominently on these content pages in order to keep the true business of your website as the star of your page.
For an in-depth look into ‘Call to Action’,could try this article from BoagWorld.com: 10 Techniques for an Effective ‘Call to Action’. And for some ‘Call to Action’ inspiration you could try this resource: 25 Examples of Convincing Call-to-Action Buttons.
3. Favicon
The favicon is a neat little icon shown next to your URL on your browser. This little guy is great for adding branding and professionalism to a web page. But it’s also particularly useful for people who use multiple browsing tabs to easily locate a website in a cluttered browser.
It’s remarkably easy to set up and can add a little extra distinction to your site.
Here is a useful Favicon generator you could use for designing your own mini icon, and here is the code you would use within your websites header:
<link REL="SHORTCUT ICON" HREF="http://yoursitedotcom.here/yourdir/favicon.ico">
Getting Social
4. Twitter
Sure Twitter is all the rage among the kids these days, tweeting their weekend plans, their OMG’s and FML’s. But it’s also surprisingly useful for businesses to make contacts, monitor conversations about their brand and market and to spread the word about new content, promotions or products.
Even if you want to avoid the constant stream of chatter that seems pervasive on Twitter, it’s still wise to claim your name and set up a profile. When you create a company profile, it’s important to incorporate your logo into a custom background and as a profile pic.
When it serves as the main image, every time you send out a tweet you are visually placing your logo in front of all of your followers.
5. FaceBook
Just like Twitter, even though FB is a full of inane status updates and Farmville, it’s also major marketing channel. Creating a fan or group page for a business gives you the opportunity to connect directly with customers and to offer exclusive offers and information to fans and friends.
Through the use of FBML (Face Book Mark-up Language) the options for customization are limitless. Again the page itself should use a logo wisely, but it is most important to place it as your profile pic, so that your brand becomes instantly recognizable in an in-box or a news feed.
Here is a great resource from Smashing Magazine that offers all you will ever need in getting started with Facebook pages: Designing A Facebook Fan Page: Showcases, Tutorials, Resources
6. Digg/Reddit
There’s no disputing the power of social sites when it comes to getting recognition and sending traffic and links. But you have to play the game right. There are a lot of rules (spoken and unspoken) when it comes to making the most of social networking sites.
Marketers and self-promoters are often unwelcome and ostracized. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for the strategic use of a logo on your profile. Perhaps it may not be the best for submitting content, but it is certainly valuable for commenting, voting and engaging in honest dialogue with potential customers.
7. YouTube
If you haven’t even considered using video on your site, then you are a few years behind. The fact is video is one of the fastest growing verticals on the web. While having videos embedded on your website is the best for links and traffic, it’s also smart to have a YouTube channel.
This will help your videos be found not only in standard searches but in YouTube Specific searches as well. There are a multitude ways to customize a YouTube channel, but again the use of a prominent logo here is extremely valuable.
Here is a great getting started guide for setting up your personal YouTube channel: Beginner’s Guide to Creating your own YouTube channel. Or, from Mashable, you could try HOW TO: Customize Your YouTube Channel.
Reaching Out
8. Email
Email marketing has become a huge asset for some websites and online businesses. Opt-in email lists that allow you to alert customers to new products, promotions or information can be a great way to bring people in.
Email marketing can actually be a huge part of your online efforts and as the lists get longer they can become a challenge to manage. But whether you choose to go it alone or enlist the services on an email marketing management service, this is another essential place to include your logo. Whether it’s an image inserted into your signature or a complex graphic that features the logo, including it here is another way to keep your brand in customer’s minds and in-boxes.
9. Guest Posts
If you haven’t thought about it, writing guest posts on other people’s blogs is a great way to promote your brand and introduce yourself to a new community of people. It’s a great chance to build relationships and credibility. It’s also another opportunity to get your logo in front of people who are unfamiliar with your brand.
If you would like to contribute an article on Speckyboy get in touch with us, we would love to hear from you.
10. Gravatars
This is a great one to use in conjunctions with guest posts. A Gravatar is essentially a program that assigns an image to a particular email address. This can also be helpful when you are leaving blog comments on other people’s blogs. Using a logo for a Gravatar helps promote your brand visually, putting your icon in front of new audiences every time you blog or comment anywhere off of your site.
Here is the resource for creating a personalized Gravatar.
These are only a few of the little ways what you can help push your brand image forward simply by using a logo image strategically on and off of your site, if you have any to add we would love to hear from you within the comments.