January 2018 – ACS Reduc 2022

What’s New in Content Marketing?

January 30, 2018

You may have heard the expression, “Content is king.” (Or queen.) At ACS, we believe that’s absolutely true. Great websites, great marketing, and great results all begin with great content.

Content can help your business grow, when you use it the right way. Welcome to the world of “content marketing.” In this post, we’re going to tell you all about what content marketing is and what to expect from companies on the cutting-edge content marketing this year.

What is Content Marketing?

Your customers expect a lot from you. Sure, they expect exceptional service and great products. But they also expect you to show off your expertise. They need to know that you’re the absolute best company for their project. That you have the skills and experience to deliver what they need, on time and on budget.

Content marketing is one way to prove yourself to skeptical customers.

This type of marketing takes many forms. Emails, white papers, e-books, blogs, podcasts, social media posts, infographics — you name it. It’s all about giving your customers something valuable, usually in exchange for something from them. The content itself is valuable to the customer, and the customer’s contact information is what’s valuable to you.

Of course, it’s really about more than collecting email addresses. In the long run, content marketing helps you build trust with customers. It shows them that you know what you’re talking about. You’re a leader in your field, and customers should trust you to do great work for them.

2018 Content Marketing Trends

Content marketing isn’t a new idea. It’s been around for a while, and some brands are taking big swings to make their content stand out. In 2018, we expect to see more content across more channels, including branded podcasts and live videos. Here are just a few content marketing trends to look out for this year.

1. Voice Search

According to the Content Marketing Institute, we’re in the middle of a “verbal revolution” when it comes to digital marketing. What does this mean? And why should you care?

Basically, more people are relying on devices like Amazon’s Alexa and Google Home to search the internet. You can say something like, “find pizza near me.” And the ever-helpful Siri will give you her best guess.

This huge jump in voice search affects SEO, or search engine optimization. (SEO refers to strategies that help your website show up in on the first pages of Google results organically, rather than paying for ad space.)

Marketers will spend 2018 figuring out how to align their content with voice search results. For instance, people talk differently than they type. So, you may want to orient your content around a full question (voice search) rather than a single keyword (traditional search).

2. Branded Podcasts

Beyond audio assistants, some content marketers are getting into the world of podcasts. Unlike broadcast radio, podcasts pop up on smartphones and desktops. These audio stories and shows have a growing community of avid listeners.

One major player in this new space is Gimlet Creative, the advertising division of the podcast production company Gimlet Media. Now owned in part by WPP, Gimlet Creative helps brands like Microsoft, Gatorade and Spotify create long-form podcast content.

3. Live Videos

Engaging video content is more important than ever for marketers. According to marketing consultant Neil Patel, live video presents an especially important opportunity in 2018. Patel writes that although most marketers have tried video in general, only a small percent have ever dabbled in live video. With the growing popularity of Facebook Live, brands can try their hands at short-form, real-time videos to engage with their fans.

How do you get started?

Maybe you’re not ready to be the next branded podcast sensation, and that’s completely okay. You don’t have to have a huge budget to start content marketing. You just need a plan.

Step back and consider the best content marketing strategies for you. What do your customers want to know? What does success look like for you? How will you measure your ROI? ACS Creative can help you find answers and work with you to get your content marketing campaigns off the ground.

The Web Design Process

January 24, 2018

It’s fair to say a website can make or break a business. Whether you run a small town storefront or an ecommerce empire, your online presence is key to growth and success. It’s important to you because it’s important to your customers. Even the most seasoned entrepreneur might be familiar with the steps necessary to set up a business, build out a retail location, and manage the operation–yet still be completely in the dark about what goes into creating a website.

Today, we’re giving you a glimpse into our web design process here at ACS. We feel it’s valuable for business owners to understand not only the steps necessary to launch a successful website, but also to know the intensive effort and strategic attention we give to each of our client projects.

Discovery

To kick-off the web design process, we must first establish the site’s goals and objectives. Discovery is a collaborative dialogue between agency and client to solidify the finer details of the finished project. If you have an existing website, we assess the content and determine what goes and what stays–what’s working and what’s not. From there, we develop a working sitemap, which is, quite simply, a list of webpages and purposes for each.

Wireframing & Visual Design

The Discovery phase is an essential first step in the web design process, but, frankly, it’s a lot of text and diagrams. Here, you get to see your project come to life! Working from your approved sitemap, our User Experience (UX) specialists get to work on homepage wireframes.

Though wireframes lack color, depth, and texture, they act as a blueprint for various elements that will be used site-wide, such as navigation, header, footer, etc. At this stage, you’re likely to see “dummy” text (lorem ipsum) and placeholder images instead of your own content, as we fine-tune the final page layout.

Now the fun really begins! Once wireframes are approved, our designers will deliver fully-produced mockups of those pages. This is your opportunity to see colors, images, fonts, and styles as they will appear on the website.

Frontend Buildout & Development

Nearly all of our clients host their sites with us because the value is simply astounding. We are able to spread the enormous cost of secure cloud hosting among many sites. This affords us the ability to setup a private staging environment to build your project in. Your current website continues to serve visitors as it always has while we create something new, beautiful, and exciting behind the scenes.

First, we deploy a Content Management System (CMS) such as WordPress or Drupal, which allows clients to make easy edits and updates after launch. The CMS acts as the foundation on which the entire site is built.

Our developers then use the sitemaps, wireframes, and mockups previously established to make it all a reality in beautiful code. Custom features and functionality are built and tested rigorously. The end result is a fully-functional, responsive website. At this point, we’re ready to drop in or migrate your content, images, and media.

Website Launch

The big day is here–launch time. Admittedly, we often feel like we’re in the NASA control room during this final phase. It’s all hands on deck as we test page speed, browser compatibility, malware vulnerabilities, and various devices.

If your new site is replacing an existing one, our goal is to minimize downtime during the transition process. When dealing with domains and hosting changes (DNS), there are several considerations to plan for including email, server propagation, and 301 redirects. For this reason, we devise a launch plan in collaboration with all stakeholders.

On the predetermined day and time, our team transfers all files and assets from the staging environment to the production server, where it will live permanently. The domain is reassigned to our host, and your brand new website is live for the world to see! No matter how large or small your project, now is the appropriate time to celebrate (in case you weren’t sure).

Why Advertise on Facebook?

January 16, 2018

In the old days, advertising was for big companies with deep pockets. It meant buying pricey TV ads, billboards, or magazine spreads. You never really knew who the ads reached or how well they worked. Of course, we know those days are over.

Digital advertising opens up doors for companies of all sizes and budgets. It lets you have one-on-one conversations with customers. Rather than taking an old school “spray and pray” approach to advertising, consider trying Facebook ads.

Super Specific Targeting

Facebook knows a scary amount of information about all of its followers. The platform stores basic details like age and location, but it also catalogues hobbies and interests. This means advertisers can get as granular as they want. You could reach moms who live within 50 miles, like sports radio and drive used cars, if they are your ideal customers.

Maybe you don’t want to get that specific. Or maybe you have great followers on your Facebook page already. In either case, “Lookalike Audiences” offer a type of targeting you can really only get on Facebook.

Lookalike campaigns connect you with people who are similar to your followers, based on their interests, age, occupation and many more data points. These audiences are more likely to want your product or service, because their friends already do.

Flexible Spending & Detailed Reporting

If you’re hesitant to leap into Facebook ads, you’re not alone. It’s a powerful tool that reaches millions of people every second of every day. The good news is that you don’t need much time or money to dip your toes in the water, before you’re ready to dive in head-first.

Unlike other ad buys, there’s not a high barrier of entry. You could spend as little as $1 on a Facebook ad, just to see how it works. You’re not locked into any set dollar amount or timeline. There is a lot of flexibility, so you can adjust your spending any time.

Of course, you shouldn’t start seriously spending on Facebook without first having a solid strategy. Make sure you have a plan to follow up with new customers at every stage of the marketing funnel.

For instance, it’s of no use to collect someone’s email address via Facebook ads, if you’re not going to contact them later. You have to treat Facebook ads as a valuable part of your marketing and sales cycle, nurturing your leads along the way.

Luckily, Facebook gives you in-depth analytics to help you strengthen your strategies. Facebook ads are easy to test and track. You can run A/B tests to see which ad creative or audiences work best. Then, you can see detailed reporting on how Facebook ads are helping you engage customers.

You can also stay in front of your website visitors, thanks to the Facebook Pixel. This code allows you to show ads to Facebook users who have already visited your site. They have already shown an interest in your company, and now you can stay top-of-mind as they make their purchase decision.

It’s a Pay-to-Play Platform

Beyond Facebook’s targeting and testing capabilities, one major reason to pay for ads is that there’s not really another way to reach your Facebook followers. Posting unpaid, a.k.a. organic, content on Facebook does not get you very far.

Facebook knows its News Feed space is valuable. So valuable, in fact, that the social media giant wants you to pay to show up in front of your own followers. What was once a Wild West of organic engagement is now a pay-to-play medium (for the most part).

Every time you post, only a small percent of your followers will see your content. Some suggest that organic reach is as low as 2 percent. Facebook’s algorithm has downgraded content from companies so much that you have to spend a little to make any waves on the platform.

Facebook is also experimenting with a new “Explore Feed” for branded content. It keeps posts from friends and family in the primary News Feed but segments company posts into a secondary section. Once “Explore” becomes a standard feature, brands will have almost no organic reach on Facebook at all. All the more reason to set aside budget for ads, if you want to stay in front of your followers.

It’s a whole new world of possibilities, when it comes to digital advertising. Facebook ads offer a low-cost, flexible and highly targeted way to connect with your customers. If you want to learn more about Facebook ads, or other online advertising options, we’re always happy to help.

Fixing Stuck Sites

January 9, 2018

Over the years, several new clients have approached us at a time of digital desperation. Oftentimes, these individuals have started a website project with another agency or developer, but were ultimately disappointed by the direction things were going.

Whether the problems are aesthetic differences, creative incompatibility, or overall quality of work, it’s all too common for a company to find themselves with an unfinished website that isn’t going anywhere. Sound familiar?

Perhaps the collaboration started out great but unraveled over time, or maybe you knew right away you had partnered with the wrong agency. We’ve heard so many horror stories. Sometimes, a client will hire a freelance designer and go months at a time without hearing about the website’s progress. Regardless of the issues, you now have a budget that’s nearly depleted and a website that isn’t ready to launch.

Before you spend another dime or (worse) settle on something you aren’t happy with, take a step back. If you move forward with a sub-par site, you will regret it in the long run.

The site is much more than pixels and code; it’s a marketing tool that can propel your company to the next level. Your website is the first place new customers look when they hear about you. That’s why it is important that your website reflects the best parts of your company. It should compel your customers to reach out to you. Putting in the extra effort to launch a beautiful, effective website will be worth it in the end.

We know that the thought of starting over is daunting at best. Finding an agency, managing the project, reviewing work, and providing feedback is a serious time commitment for any business. You might feel hopeless, given the resources you have sunk into the stuck website already. Don’t worry—your energy was not spent in vain. In all likelihood, you won’t have to start from scratch to build a new website.

Chances are, at the very least, you have a decent foundation, but need a company with a fresh perspective and serious design and development chops to bring it home. A new agency can build from the positives of your stuck site to achieve the desired outcome in timely fashion at minimal cost. If you recall, we recently wrote about how we did just that for Kyro Systems.

ACS Creative can evaluate your stuck website and help you develop a plan of attack. Your site may need minor tweaks, or it could have foundational issues and require more effort. Whatever we find, we promise to deliver the best options for your website. You’ll feel confident that the new, un-stuck site will last for years to come.

The important takeaway here is just because your website is stuck doesn’t mean you’re stuck with it! As the client, you have a vision. You have a brand to protect. You have the right to ensure your website is effective in generating new business.

The Most Ambitious Website We’ve Ever Built

January 2, 2018

At ACS, we don’t like to toot our own horn too much. We’ll an make exception though. In this case, we’re tooting/honking the horn of a luxury charter bus. Our longtime client Trailways recently launched their new website. And we must humbly say, the site is as fully loaded and impressive as the buses themselves.

Our team knew from the start that this would be our most ambitious website ever. We knew it meant telling the story of a beloved household brand. We knew it meant bringing over 65 independent companies under one digital roof. We knew it meant fielding customer requests from across the country. Knowing all of this, we still took the bus by the wheel, so to speak. We got to work.

Trailways has been an ACS client for over 10 years, and we were eager to help propel their brand to the next level with the new website. Luckily, Trailways headquarters could not be closer. They work just downstairs, so we collaborated closely with their team throughout the project. We’re excited to share some fun features of the new website, and hope it helps your travel plans too.

Start Your Trip Plan in Seconds

For over 80 years, Trailways has connected independent charter bus companies nationwide. Their charter bus network extends into Europe and Canada, and together their members serve thousands of groups each year. Trailways also sells individual bus tickets for a variety of U.S. cities. The new website supports charter groups and one-off tickets alike, thanks to our custom booking engine.

On the site’s homepage, our designers created a simple form where visitors can quickly request the information they need. Whether you want a single ticket or buses for 100 people, it takes less than a minute to start your trip research.

ACS developers also built a custom system for charter bus companies to track and manage incoming leads. This booking engine makes life much easier for every Trailways employee.

Each time someone wants to book a group trip, the system automatically routes the request to the right company based on the customer’s location. Before the new website, Trailways managed these customer inquiries manually. Now, it’s a smooth process with an easy-to-use online dashboard, branded emails and detailed customer analytics.

Connect with Companies Nationwide

Though Trailways is a single and storied brand, the network includes over 65 member companies. Each with its own buses, processes, regions and customers. The new website needed to represent each member, while keeping a cohesive look and feel.

Having these goals in mind, we designed individual profiles for the member companies. The profile pages showcase each company’s strengths, educating interested customers with friendly graphics.

With helpful bus icons, customers can scroll through the company’s fleet of motorcoaches. From full-size luxury coaches down to minibuses, you learn the full scope of travel options in seconds. Curious travelers can also read the company’s short bio, services and amenities — all helpful insights for trip planning.

Each profile has a consistent format, so customers never feel confused as they navigate the site. But charter companies can customize their profiles with images, text and icons. To edit the webpage, staff simply log in to their backend account. This portal also connects charter companies to the booking engine. So they can edit their company profile, connect with potential customers and track incoming leads — all in one convenient online portal.

Discover Destinations

Searching for transportation also means exploring different destinations. On the new Trailways website, you can learn about popular hubs throughout the country. Cities have custom Destinations webpages, beautifully designed to encourage travelers to visit.

You can learn all about the city’s sights, attractions, and restaurants. The pages also guide you to hotel discounts and local bus stations. Like the rest of the Trailways website, this section helps make trip planning easy and enjoyable.

Trailways started with over a dozen destinations on their new site, but we made sure they have room to grow. Our developers built an easy-to-use template, so Trailways staff can quickly add new cities, without needing to know how to code.

Thanks to our wonderful partners at Trailways, the new website is off to an amazing start. We can’t wait to continue our journey with the company.