Why SMEs need to switch to digital publishing

In MARKETING
5 December 2024
Share

In an increasingly digitalized world, it has become essential for companies to adapt to new technologies in order to remain competitive. Going digital is no longer just an option, but a necessity, and this is particularly true for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Increasingly, SMEs are turning to digital publishing to increase visibility, reduce costs and improve communication. This modern format enables companies to be more flexible, reach a wider audience and analyze the impact of their publications in real time.

In this article, we’ll explore why digital publishing is an essential tool for SMEs, the benefits it brings, and how a solution like Calaméo can help SMEs make a successful transition to digital.

The benefits of digital publishing for SMEs

Lower costs than printing

One of the major advantages of digital publishing for SMEs is the significant reduction in costs compared to physical printing. Creating printed brochures, catalogs or reports can quickly become expensive, with printing, distribution and storage costs. Digital publishing, on the other hand, eliminates these expenses, while offering the possibility of updating documents at lower cost.

READ MORE: Print vs digital in your content strategy

Global reach and easy sharing

Digital publishing also offers global reach. A digital publication can be shared instantly with an audience located anywhere in the world, through social networks, emailing or websites. This enables SMEs to reach potential customers and partners far beyond their local markets, and to do so quickly and efficiently. The flexibility of the format also means it can be adapted to different channels, optimizing engagement.

READ MORE: How to share your Calaméo publications

Data analysis

Unlike print publications, digital documents enable precise data analysis. With integrated analysis tools, SMEs can track their readers’ engagement: number of views, reading time, most consulted pages, click-through rates, and so on. This data is essential for adjusting communication and marketing strategies, and for better understanding the needs and behaviors of their audience.

READ MORE: Analytics made easy: Track your publications on Calaméo

Use cases for SMEs

Interactive brochures

Interactive brochures are an excellent way for SMEs to present their products and services in an engaging way. Unlike traditional brochures, digital versions can incorporate interactive elements such as videos, animations, or clickable links, offering an enriched user experience.

READ MORE: Boost your Calaméo publications with exclusive integrations

Online activity reports

Business reports are often necessary to inform stakeholders about the company’s performance. By opting for a digital version, SMEs can make these documents accessible anytime, anywhere, while integrating dynamic infographics, interactive graphics and other elements that make the content more attractive.

READ MORE: How to make your publications private

Product catalogs

Digital product catalogs enable SMEs to regularly update their offerings without having to reprint new copies. What’s more, these catalogs can include online ordering options or additional product information at the click of a button, facilitating customers’ shopping experience.

READ MORE: Shopify: boost your sales with your publications on Calaméo

How Calaméo can help SMEs go digital

Features tailored to the needs of SMEs

Calaméo offers a comprehensive, affordable solution for SMEs wishing to get started in digital publishing. The platform makes it easy to transform PDF documents into interactive publications, ready to be shared online. One of Calaméo’s strengths lies in its flexibility, enabling companies to customize their publications according to their needs, with features such as adding videos, links or call-to-action buttons.

Compare our offers now!

Intuitive interface and integration

Calaméo’s intuitive user interface is designed to enable SMEs to create and publish quickly, without the need for advanced technical skills. What’s more, publications can be integrated directly into corporate websites, ensuring seamless distribution and an enhanced visitor experience. SMEs can thus use Calaméo to simplify and energize their communications while maximizing their online reach.

READ MORE: How to embed a publication: the complete guide

Conclusion

Switching to digital publishing is an essential step for SMEs wishing to modernize their communications, broaden their audience and optimize their costs. With tools like Calaméo, SMEs can easily create attractive, interactive publications that meet their specific needs. Digital technology represents a real opportunity for small and medium-sized businesses to stand out in the marketplace and remain competitive in a constantly evolving environment. Don’t wait any longer to take the plunge into digital publishing with Calaméo.

Request your free 14-day Calaméo PLATINUM trial and test all our professional tools!

Related Posts
MARKETING

Brand style guides: the key to your brand identity

In MARKETING
19 May 2022

Have you ever seen an advertisement and immediately known which company it belonged to, even if you didn’t glimpse the name? Chances are you recognized certain facets of that company: special fonts, taglines, logos, and color combinations that belong unmistakably to a brand. These elements, and more, make up a brand’s identity. All visual and editorial aspects of a brand’s identity are determined by the brand’s style guide.

On the Calaméo blog we have talked about logos, brand identity and brand image. Next up? Brand style guides, sometimes called graphic charters or brand guidelines. In this article we will discuss the ins and outs of this important document, so let’s dive in!

  1. What is a brand style guide?
  2. Who creates the style guide?
  3. Why and how should you use a style guide?
  4. What is included in a style guide?
  5. Applying your style guide to digital publications

What is a brand style guide?

First thing’s first: what is a brand style guide? A brand style guide is a document that governs all the visual (and sometimes editorial) elements of a company that make it recognizable and unique. It also explains when and how to use these elements. Simply put, a style guide is the key to all communications!

These guides ensure that there is no confusion when it comes to what the brand’s content should look and sound like. Using the guide as a reference, all company communications are consistent across channels and mediums. The style guide can be as detailed as you like; typically, larger companies have more comprehensive style guides because they are more likely to use a wider range of communication channels, and they appear in more places (television, print, online, etc.).

Who creates the style guide?

The creation of brand style guides is best left to professionals. However, it’s a collaborative process: graphic designers or design firms will work with you to create a style guide that suits your company and fits your brand identity. You must decide who you are, your values, and the image you’d like to portray to the world.

Why and how should you use a style guide?

A brand style guide is essential for your company’s brand identity. In order to maintain clear and cohesive communications across all channels, a style guide is the ultimate reference. Internal documents such as slide decks and employee newsletters, external communications such as advertisements or social media posts, plus everything in between: all of this content must look similar and adhere to your brand identity. To achieve this consistency, companies must have a brand style guide. Otherwise, logos may appear in the wrong colors and dimensions, there won’t be a uniform look to your communications, and your tone will be all over the place. Any communication that comes from the company, both internally and externally, should use the style guide as a reference.

What is included in a style guide?

Length and details may vary depending on the company, but a brand style guide is usually made up of the following visual and editorial elements:

Logo

Logos are a crucial part of a brand’s identity, its most visible identifier. Logos are images, texts, or shapes (or a combination of the three) in the company’s color palette that represent the company. A blue bird invokes Twitter, three stripes on a sneaker will certainly mean that they are Adidas, and a swoosh (both the shape and the word) is emblematic of Nike. 

A company’s logo cannot be used haphazardly. The brand style guide should explicitly outline the exact colors and dimensions of the logo. Even the background on which the logo appears is specified in the style guide.

Take Calaméo’s logo, for example. The spacing and colors are exact: the dimensions around the lettering are determined by the height of the green accent, and the colors are specific to our brand.

There are other elements to consider. Do you have a slogan or motto with words as part of your logo? If so, you must clearly state where the slogan goes, how big it can be, the color(s) to use, and when to employ this version of the logo. There are many rules you must define in your brand style guide, especially when it comes to your logo. 

Colors

Companies have specific brand colors, usually two to three, that they use in logos and branding. The style guide will include complementary colors as well. These colors all together are known as the company’s color palette. 

Great thought and care go into a company’s color palette. There are even psychological tricks behind choosing certain colors that the company wants associated with the brand or product. They may want to demonstrate trust, youth, sophistication, or other descriptors.

The brand style guide should outline all the ways to find these colors: a visual representation of the color, HEX and RGB formats, and other formats if necessary. Rather than just “blue” or “red”, companies choose very specific shades of these colors that go well together and set them apart from other brands. These exact shades need to be used every time.

Examples of Calaméo’s color palette using the HEX values

Typeface

Another important element of the brand style guide is typeface. Typeface is the kind of lettering used in communications, which includes fonts. Does your company use only lowercase letters? All capitals? You must include the size, spacing, and color of your typeface in your style guide so employees know exactly how the typeface should look.

Work with a graphic designer to choose the best typeface for your company. Some brands even create their own fonts! Keep in mind that your typeface also reflects your tone– is it silly, serious, elevated? Your typeface must work well with the other elements of your style guide.

Images

Some brand style guidelines include rules about styles of images or photographs to use. These images must fit into the brand’s identity and remain consistent; you should not use a bright and airy photograph one day and then a dark and moody photograph the next. The rules could include using colors from the company’s color palette or desired emotions that the images should evoke (energetic, powerful, soothing). Images are available to download on sites like Getty Images, Shutterstock, or Unsplash, if your company does not have access to a photographer or photography studio to create your own images. However, make sure to check that you have the right to use the images.

Icons

Brand style guides may also include illustrations or icons. Consider the icons you see on a company’s website: a shopping cart to click on when you are ready to purchase or an envelope icon if you want to communicate with the company via email. These icons must be coherent across all platforms. Icons will, much like the rest of the elements of the style guide, reflect the brand identity. Whimsical, rigid, colorful, playful…your icons can express a lot about your brand!

A few of Calaméo’s icons

Tone

Your tone and voice give your brand a personality via the written word. Once you decide who you are, it should be easy to find your company’s tone The brand style guide may include different instructions depending on the channel– perhaps your social media tone will be slightly less formal than that of your advertisements, for example. The guide should include written examples so employees can see how to employ the tone in different situations. Think of the image you want to project, and stay consistent.

Applying your style guide to digital publications

So now that you know all about style guides, it’s time to apply this knowledge to your digital publications! Because digital publishing is a visual medium, consistent brand visuals make all the difference between an amateur-looking document and a professional-grade publication.

With Calaméo, you can personalize your viewer Theme, add your logo, and enrich your content yourself so that your digital publications match your brand identity. With our White Label feature for PLATINUM members, your publications appear in your name and image, without the Calaméo logo. Start your free trial today!

🔎 READ: What content can you publish with Calaméo?

MARKETING

How to increase your website traffic with Calaméo

In MARKETING
28 February 2017

What does digital publishing have to do with traffic to my site?

More than you might think. Digital publications go well beyond just text and images. In fact, they are a form of rich media, which if promoted successfully can widen your exposure on the internet and increase website traffic.

You can use Calaméo to help increase your website traffic by following our simple 5-step formula

1. Take advantage of our SEO

Search Engine Optimization encompasses all that serves to improve your natural visibility on search engines. As a result, this visibility helps to generate a constant source of new traffic to your website. Thankfully, our platform offers numerous perks that can help optimize your publications’ indexation on search engines, such as:

  • High PageRank. PageRank is an algorithm used to rank websites in their search engine results to determine the power and impact that a site has on the web.
  • 18 million unique visitors each month on average. Calaméo’s significant global online presence can boost your publications’ indexation.
  • Key words index. We index the entirety of the text present in your digital publications on search engines.

2. Connect your publications to your website

This is a no-brainer. Inserting external links in your publications that redirect to your website with our Editor is essential if you want to make the most out of our SEO and contributes a great deal to increase website traffic.

3. Optimize titles & descriptions

Since key words play an important role in SEO, it is important to include them in your document’s title and description. First, do some quick research on keywords that can help readers find your online publication. Then, try to be as specific as possible by selecting words exclusive to your field to help you stand out!

4. Think about the user experience

Don’t neglect focusing on the content in your publications—it gives your readers a reason to visit your website. Calaméo allows you to enrich your publications by adding customized Skins and interactive elements such as video and audio. In addition to raising engagement, these elements can encourage readers to visit your site.

5. Share on social media 

“Be everywhere your readers are.” If you haven’t already heard this saying then you’re not doing digital publishing right. Your ability to reach a larger audience on social media greatly enhances your chances of driving potential clients to your website. Calaméo allows you to share your publications easily in a click of a button!

After reading this post you should now be familiar with the different strategies you can use on your digital publications to increase your website traffic.

For more tips on how to increase website traffic, check out our guide to boosting the click-through rate in your publications.

Begin your digital publishing journey with Calaméo. Start publishing today.

SIGN UP NOW