12 tips for marketing a creative studio

In an increasingly competitive industry, creative studios will be looking to any avenue that could give them an edge. There are many reasons why a studio should focus on building a marketing strategy to promote its work and services, from increasing brand awareness to generating new business, keeping existing clients, and recruiting top talent. Here, we’ve put together our 12 top tips on effectively marketing a creative studio.

1. Be creative

Everything that you produce should represent who you are and what you do. Your own content should reflect the work that you’re capable of delivering to your own client. A strong, creative brand voice will distinguish you from other studios, highlighting your unique attributes and appealing to potential clients.

2. Be consistent

Your house tone and style should be consistent across all platforms and messaging. From website copy to blogs, social media, and email newsletters, ensure that all communications adhere to your studio’s tone of voice and brand guidelines. This creates a sense of professionalism and assures your clients that you will be able to deliver content and messaging that matches their own style.

3. Select the right platforms for your target audience

It’s important to understand how different platforms target different demographics and to leverage each platform effectively as part of your marketing strategy. Keeping to business-focussed information and posts on LinkedIn and more lighthearted content on Instagram will enable you to target the correct demographics through those platforms. Keep in mind your own brand personality and business – this should reflect in the channels that you choose to use.

4. Understand your target audience

Reflect on who you want to reach with your content: their interests, what media they consume, and where they consume it. Are they small businesses looking to solidify their brand voice and presence? Or established companies undergoing a rebrand? It’s important to have a clear understanding of your audience’s needs and how your studio can help solve them.

5. Share knowledge

This showcases what you know and what you are capable of rather than just an image of something you’ve made. From owned content like blogs and social media posts to thought leadership, sharing expertise builds trust in your brand and establishes your studio as a key player in your industry.

6. Build collaborations and partnerships

From technology manufacturers and vendors to clients and other studios, don’t neglect potential partnerships. Foster relationships and build new ones with partners – tapping into their own brand visibility and marketing reach. 

7. Don’t be afraid to comment on wider industry trends

Your target audience will be interested in the studio’s expertise and insights outside of the boundaries of the studio’s direct projects. Commenting on the wider industry and sharing the opinions of team members cements you as an industry leader and contributes to building your overall brand voice.

8. Go where the people are

It’s important to attend and be visible at events and webinars, as well as engage with other relevant posts, videos, and articles. Build connections with your audience and humanise your brand, and people will be more likely to engage with your services.

9. All roads lead to your website

A user-friendly website that showcases your studio’s portfolio, successes through case studies, and client testimonials is essential to the success of your marketing strategy. Once this is set up, take every opportunity to direct traffic to your website – be it through backlinks, social media posts, or search engine results. 

10. Understand what marketing is for

Marketing is there to support a sales process – everything produced for a marketing campaign should be usable by the sales team. Work with sales to set SMART goals and identify the key metrics you will use to measure the success of your strategy.

11. Broaden your network

Marketing often happens within a closed ecosystem of your own creation. Attend industry events and connect with like-minded people, not just other marketers. Submit applications for members of your studio to speak on panels and at events, getting in front of your target audience.

12. Have a dedicated person responsible for marketing

Too often, businesses choose not to invest in a dedicated marketing team, opting instead to pass the responsibility on to an existing staff member who doesn’t have the right experience or expertise. Having a dedicated person or team in charge of marketing will ensure a more focused and purposeful touch to your efforts.

Interested in learning more about marketing a creative studio? Get in touch here.