Benefits of Mockups in Social Media and Marketing Campaigns

(Newswire.net — July 13, 2020) — Everyone has seen mockups, but they probably haven’t even realized it. And the reason they don’t realize it is that they appear incredibly natural within the context of a brand’s message. They are used by designers who are charged with promoting brand images. 

Exactly What is a Marketing Mockup?

A mockup is an image that is related to a brand in some way, around which other marketing messages or images are placed. Traditionally, they were “place holders,” while the full design was created and then filled in later with an originally crafted piece to fill the entire space.

Large companies that have their own in-house design staff have original pieces developed by that staff. Smaller businesses do not have this luxury.

But they do now have access to pre-designed mockups, as well as the ability to customize them to coordinate with their brands (e.g. colors, shadows, space for overlays). And the great thing about these pre-designed mockups is that they can give your brand a truly professional “look.”

Basic Elements of Pre-Made Mockups

Usually, the mockup comes as a “layered file” with one or more areas for the user to edit or to insert something. These areas are known as “Smart Object Layers.” Other layers include such things as shadows, color gradations, etc. Users can add text, their own screenshots, or even stock images if they choose.

The point is this: the mockup makes your total piece look like it was professionally done – as if you had your own designer.

Benefits of Using Mockups for Your Marketing

In addition to a more professional look, there are other benefits.

• They are easy to use, and most sites that offer them also offer tutorials if you need
• You can customize for your colors and style
• Images styling has already been done – you just add text or other stuff. You can also edit the background colors of the pre-styled photo/image.
• You can use them multiple times – on your site, in a blog post, on social media, and in your direct advertising.
• You can use your own image and just drop it in or use one of a huge number available through mockup websites.
• You can place videos and other media in your designated “space.”

Given all of the options you have, think about how you can use mockups in your marketing:

1. Showcase Your Products

Think about this. You may have an artistic eye for arranging your products. You then get out your smartphone and take a great, clear picture to post on your website or Facebook. What else will that picture have? You can add lots of flair through backgrounds, geometric figures, coloring, etc. Perhaps you want to give your product a 3D effect. All of these things are possible through mockup options. 

Take a look at the difference between a clothier who showcases products in a bland, traditional way, vs. the way in which ModCloth showcases its clothing:

source

source

Major retailers like Walmart can probably get away with the first photo. Small to mid-sized retailers cannot. Their photos must “pop,” and mockups can do just that for them.

2. Improve and Maintain Brand Consistency

Your brand is your “calling card.” It is promoted to consumers in a variety of ways – your written content, your appeal to customers who have the same values and beliefs, and, of course, your logo, colors, and visuals that are all consistent.

Everyone knows Coca-Cola – its red logo against a white background. There is no need for this huge enterprise to do much more.

But you are not Coca-Cola. You are a smaller business or enterprise that wants brand consistency and through colors and font and an appropriate backdrop for your brand. Dollar Shave Club originated as a razor subscription service that appealed to millennial men. Its brand colors are orange and brown. It chose “masculine,” rustic appeal with the right background.

3. Make Your Website Pop

Your website is perhaps the most critical piece of your marketing efforts. It has to engage visitors as soon as they land on your site. That initial landing page must be compelling with the right visuals and background elements that have aesthetic appeal but that also provide consistency with your brand message. 

You can be creative with your written copy, of course. And if you are not creative, you can use a variety of writing services, tools, or freelancers (e.g., Subjecto,  Freelancer, Grab My Essay) to create that copy. But what about the visuals? Research shows that they are far more important, grab attention quickly, and are processed and retained far better than words. In fact, the human brain processes images 60K faster than text.

You can now create your own amazing and professional visuals through mockups, placing images of your products, your team, and even your happy customers against great backgrounds that have already been created for you. You need only customize those backgrounds for your voice, brand, and style.

4. Inspire Your Audience as You Market Your Brand

Marketing is no longer about selling products. It is about developing relationships with your audiences, telling your story, and meeting their needs. Compelling visuals can do just that, and mockups can be your go-to source.

While these examples are not “mockups” per se, they show you how you can use marketing visuals to engage and appeal to the psychological and social needs of your audiences, providing inspiration.

Foundr Magazine launched as a digital magazine for young entrepreneurs. They need practical advice, but they also needed inspiration. Founder Nathan Chan capitalized on this by finding amazing photos for backgrounds on which he superimposed inspirational quotes:

Likewise, Headbands of Hope found that its appeal to the need to “do good” on the part of its audience was a huge selling point. The visuals are all self-made, but they demonstrate how a for-profit company can appeal to consumers’ need to feel that they are contributing to social good in some way. For every headband sold, one is donated to a child suffering from cancer. What could pull on heartstrings more than this image?

If you have inspirational messages for your audience, mockups are the perfect method for getting them across with the right backgrounds, colors, etc.

5. Social Media Feeds Must be Visual

Think about your own behavior on social media. Do you read walls of text or are you captured by the visuals that are posted first? And so much of social media is visual these days – Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, and yes, even Facebook. If you have presences on any of these social media platforms, then you must have captivating visuals that go along with any marketing messages you may have. 

When you have crafted great visuals through mockups, you can use these on social media to promote sales and special discounts on products or services. 

Ben Jamison, a marketing director for the writing service called Trust My Paper, puts it this way: “We craft lots of visuals on our website using mockups for backgrounds and other special effects. We consistently use them on our social media feeds as we promote our products and services. Coupled with short verbal messages about sales and promotions, we are able to drive potential customers to our site to show them how we can meet their writing needs.”

6. Personal Headshots

None of us wants to appear egotistic. So, we tend to shy away from stand-out headshots of ourselves as founders or CEOs of companies. But they are important. Consumers want to put a face on who they are doing business with. And that face can be surrounded with great backgrounds and colors that represent your brand.

Have a look at the headshot from the founder of Dollar Shave Club as an example. 

The brand is casual, the audience is millennial, and this headshot, with its other items, is perfect.

So Many Options

These are just six ways in which your brand can market itself through the use of mockups. You will find more as you begin to use them and explore the possibilities. The point is this: by using mockups you become competitive with the “big boys” for far less cost and just a little bit of creative thinking.

Author Bio: Erica Sunarjo is a freelance writer and blogger who focuses on marketing strategies. She is a frequent contributor to a number of blogs and other writing services, like Best Essay Education and TopEssayWriting. When she has free time, Erica is an avid activist in animal rescue organizations and a promoter of a cleaner planet for all.