SLK Blog

The official SLK I.T. Solutions Inc. blog

New Website Launched for First Choice Office Moving

First Choice Office Moving needed a website that would set them apart and showcase why they are the only place in GTA for your office moving and office furniture needs. First Choice's dedication to providing the best experience when moving your office or when fully furnishing your new or old office was the foundation to creating a simple and modern website. Providing all the informaiton in an easy to read platform that was responsive on any device allowed them to manage the site on the go. Click to find out how else we helped First Choice bring their idenity to a broader audience.


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First Choice Office Moving portfolio screen
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New Website and logo for First Class Fleet Services / First Class Spring & Suspension

 

Letting your customers know what you’re really about can go a long way. When First Class approached SLK to revamp their logo and create a custom website, we knew people had to get a glimpse of the hard work and professionalism that goes on behind the scenes. We were able to do this by incorporating high quality photography into the website and letting the pictures speak for themselves. Visit our portfolio to read more on how SLK helped First Class Fleet Services / First Class Spring and Suspension stand apart.

first class portfolio screen

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Social media: Identifying the platform that works best for you

Social-Media

For every busy social media marketer, there is an allure to scheduling the exact same social media messages across multiple platforms. It's easy and saves you a lot of time. But is it really the best way to reach your audience and increase your engagement?

Making slight changes/tweaks to your messages for each social network can help you engage your audience, and increase your reach and your engagement.

So how do you write social media content across multiple platforms? Here are tips to help:

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New Website for Hitherfield School

Elegance and a touch of nature is what made Hitherfield School’s website come to life. Freshened up the logo and a full mock-up allowed SLK the ability to transform their outdated site to a newly modernized and easy to use website that will stand apart from other private schools. Visit our portfolio to read more of how SLK helped Hitherfield School with the transition.


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hitherfield school desktop
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Picture Perfect: Tips for Any Photographer with Any Camera

As we know by now, images are far more effective at catching people’s attention than text. However, not any old image will get you noticed. With the rise of high quality cameras in smartphones, it seems that anyone can become a skilled photographer. But just because the technology has gotten more advanced, doesn’t mean the basic rules of good photography have changed. An image can be high resolution, colourful and in focus, but if you don’t follow these basic rules of design, your photo will fall flat.

Ensure Every Post has Value

Despite our first instinct to put the subject of our picture in the centre of our frame, a subject that is offset to one of these intersections is actually more visually appealing and more dynamic than a subject that’s photographed head-on. This is because the rule of thirds follows the natural eye movement that people experience when looking at an image for the first time. Here is an example of how we used this principle for Whole Home Solutions.

rule of thirds firstrule of thirds second

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Considering Lighting

Lighting can be the deciding factor between an outstanding photograph and a lackluster one. You always want your subject to have as much natural light as possible, as sunlight is usually always softer and more flattering than artificial light. If there isn’t enough natural light, you can get great results with properly placed light, but make sure that you don’t try to combine light sources in an attempt to brighten the image. Sunlight and artificial light are different hues and having them both in one image can cause a disruption in the white balance and negatively affect the colouring and atmosphere of the shot.

Also avoid flash whenever possible. We’ve all been on the receiving end of a shot that washes the colour out of our face, gives you red eye and looks the complete opposite of capturing a natural moment. These photos used for NuSkin+ Estetika is a great example of using light to create a soft and natural final product.

natural lighting

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Don’t Be Predictable

If your website is going to contain a lot of visuals (which it should to be eye catching for your viewers), you’ll want to keep the images new and exciting, so that viewers don’t get bored and to ensure every page will be uniquely eye-catching. Changing up the subject matter, angles, colours and depth of field are all great ways to get a diverse collection of images. Here are a few examples of how using close ups, different perspectives, and highlighting different colours can keep photographs that all have a common theme unique and stand out from one another.
With these tips in mind, get your camera out and start shooting! The best way to find out what works and what doesn’t is by practicing. And not to worry, if you’re too busy to have a photo shoot or are still lost behind a lens, that’s what we’re here for. Contact us today to see how SLK can help your business stand out with beautiful photography.

That’s a good place to start, but photography can be a tough maze to navigate. Find out how SLK can help boost your business with multimedia.
multimedia

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Getting Noticed on Social Media

Social media has saturated almost every aspect of communication, sharing and staying connected in today’s world. Having a presence of social media is non-negotiable for any successful business. But with more than 1 billion daily active users on Facebook alone, how can your business stand out?

1) Ensure Every Post has Value

While it seems that our newsfeeds are filled with pictures and videos of cute animals and funny comics, as a business it’s important to offer your clients something unique and important that they can only find with you. It doesn’t help to build your brand by sharing the most popular content just to keep up with the crowd.

good post
Example of Good Posts
bad post
Example of Bad Posts


Content you post and share should always support and reinforce your brand and remind your clients why they use your service or product to begin with. While funny content is a welcomed comedic break once in a while, it’s important to always offer your clients something that helps your business. Whether it’s a link back to your website, a call to action button that encourages them to contact you, engage with your page or website, or share your content for their friends to see, you should never lose sight of your business’s objective. Maintaining a strong brand will keep your brand at the forefront of peoples' minds.

 

2) Make Engagement Easy

The more people engage with your social media pages, the better. The first step is to offer them value, and the next step is to get them to participate. The more people that like, comment and share your posts will result in more people seeing your business, and ultimately more people visiting your page and learning about what you do.

A great way to get engagement is to offer a promotion or host a giveaway. Get clients to comment saying why they love your business or how it’s been helpful to them, and choose a winner at the end of the week and give them 20% off (or whatever discount you choose) on their next invoice. Be creative! See what product or service is most popular among your clients and tailor your deals to that. If you make participation easy and worth their while, they’ll be happy to spread the word for you.
add value to posts

3) Keep it Short and Sweet

Now more than ever, people are bombarded with new information and content constantly. Unfortunately, this means that our attention span has become shorter and shorter. People want to see the benefit of a post right away and if it takes too long to find, they’ll move on.

That’s why it’s so important to be direct, and most importantly, brief. Draw your clients in with a catchy headline and then link to an in-depth article so they can learn more. They’re more likely to stay and read more if you catch their interest within the first two seconds of reading. Or better yet, post a picture or infographic. Images perform much better than text-based posts across the board, as they’re bright, catchy and don’t involve a lot of time investment from the viewer.
bore audience

That’s a good place to start, but social media can be a tough maze to navigate. Find out how SLK can help boost your business through social media.


online marketing
ONLINE MARKETING

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Amaze Your Audience with the Power of Colour

When creating a website, most people think of content first. They want their written content to be strong and informative so that their readers will be more inclined to use their product or service. However, a strong and effective website doesn’t start with content. It starts with design. If your content is clear and well written, but your design is sloppy and doesn’t catch the reader’s eye…sorry to say, but they’re moving on. Before you even get to branding, or graphics, or layout, start with the most basic design principle: colour. While text takes times to read, colour can convey a message or feeling instantaneously. So how do you pick the right ones? Well for starters, it’s not as easy as just picking your favourite ones and integrating them all in your site. Different colours express different things.

Here’s a brief look at common meanings of the most common colours:

 

red
blue

 

yellow
green

 

white
black

 

gray
brown

 

From here, you can pick the colours that represent who you are as an individual or as a business. After that, it’s all about using your selected colours effectively. And here are some tips how:

get to know your colour wheel
Get to Know the Colour Wheel 


This will help you create a strong brand image and won’t overwhelm the viewer. Try to have two neutral or subdued colours, and one or two bright colours for added emphasis and visual intrigue. By keeping a consistent theme throughout your entire website, your viewers are more likely to remember your brand, and colour is the easiest way to achieve that
stick to three or four colours for your website
Stick to Three or Four Colours Throughout Your Website


Certain colours naturally complement each other, such as blue and yellow. Others do not, such as red and orange. Not surprisingly, blue and yellow are an example of complementary colours. These are colours that are opposite to each other on the colour wheel. Get to know these pairs and use them to your advantage. The colour wheel is also divided into cool tones and warm tones. This is also something to consider when picking a theme for your website.
use natural colours
Use Natural Colours


Bright reds, greens, and blues might seem like a good idea to attract readers, but using these bold colours can actually have the opposite effect. They can cause eye fatigue and confusion to the viewer. Using a more natural palette of colours will make your website feel more approachable and professional. These are colours such as taupe, brown, grey and white. Using a natural shade of a brighter colour, however, is great for emphasis and drawing the reader’s eye to a certain part of your website.



Once you have your colour scheme in place, the more in depth design is next. Confused about where to start? No worries, we can help you there. Check out how we can help design, create and brand your website here https://www.slkitsolutions.com/it-solutions/web-design-and-web-development

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4 Tips For Getting Noticed On Social Media

Getting recognized on social media can be a challenge. There is so much competition for engagement that it’s hard to know where to start to get your business noticed. So here are a few tips on how to effectively write social media posts so that people will actually read them.

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Watch What You Do On Facebook

In this day and age, technology has come so far - so far, that through social media networks like Facebook, are connected to everyone at all times. Truly amazing - but it can also be something else.

Truly daunting.

Yes, Facebook can be convenient in the sense that you can connect with friends and family, organize events - and even see what your ex boyfriend, girlfriend, husband or wife are up to! On a serious note, most people are blind to how potentially damaging Facebook can be to your financial and personal life. After reading the following points, you might want have second thoughts as to what you do on Facebook.

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The Top 3 Ways of Marketing Your Website Online

So - you now have your website fully designed, developed and live on the web. Congratulations! But, there's still one lingering question - who's going to find it? Well, if you don't market your site properly online, let us tell you.

Nobody.

Simply putting your website online will not garner any traffic whatsoever, especially if your industry is competitive. Sure, maybe friends, family, colleagues, and prospects whom you've given your business card may go to your website… but we can't guarantee anyone else will. It is extremely important that you market your website properly, in order to maximize traffic and receive potential leads.

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