*Editors Note: We’ve recently updated this blog post for 2020. Read further about updated tech and best local marketing strategies by following the links below:
- Local Marketing 2020 Series: Search Engine Optimization and Local SEO
- Local Marketing 2020 Series: Social Media, Reviews and SEM
- Local Marketing 2020 Series: Email Marketing
- Local Marketing 2020 Series: Print Advertising
The digital revolution has drastically changed the landscape of commerce by exposing even the smallest businesses to a global audience. With relatively minimal effort and investment, virtually any company can sell products and services online to anyone, anywhere, anytime. However, world domination isn’t necessarily everyone’s primary agenda. As awesome as internet marketing may be, it’s often easy for local businesses to feel left out of the excitement. Today, we’ve put together a list of proven local marketing ideas & tactics for all the mom and pop, brick and mortar, main street proprietors out there.
Even if you’re only trying to capture the attention of your neighborhood, community, or city, there is still plenty of opportunity to grow online.
1. Customer Reviews
We are living in a feedback culture. From a consumer standpoint, this is a good thing. Poor service, unfulfilled promises, and sub-par products are brought to the public eye. Companies that take pride in their customer experience, and have the ratings to back it up, are rewarded with more clicks, more calls, more business (and more praise).
Whether someone is searching for a French restaurant or baby boutique, consumer decisions are being made online. A satisfied customer that walks out your door is a wasted opportunity. Encourage patrons to leave a review for your business on Google, Facebook, or Yelp. Don’t be pushy–but don’t be shy either. Instead, subtly suggest the notion while conveying your appreciation. This request can be delivered via point-of-sale signage, receipt verbiage, post-sale email, or by asking the good old-fashioned way.
Of course, not every person will follow through, but you will surely see an uptick in social proof over time. Remember, a happy customer is happy to help!
2. Search Engine Optimization
This isn’t the time nor place for a crash course in SEO. However, this post is the perfect forum to discuss the astounding potential of organic local traffic! The truth is, the small business world is a bit behind on the digital revolution. You still see a good portion of coffee shops and dry cleaners with non-responsive websites, no social media presence, and the list of offenses goes on. Use this to your advantage! You can make a big impact for your business online with relatively low effort and basic search engine optimization practices.
Start with a blog and maybe consider some keyword-rich landing pages as well. Make sure your site adapts to all devices, includes enticing META descriptions, has proper title & heading formats, and plenty of unique, valuable content.
3. Social Media
You may not think a carpet cleaning service needs a Facebook page. Who would follow it and why? Now is the time to cast aside your notions of social media and embrace its local power. First of all, search engines tend to (unofficially) appreciate businesses that are active on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Instagram. It never hurts to appease the Google Gods. Secondly, potential customers who are researching your products or services online are likely to stumble upon your social accounts. When they do, are they going to see one lonely post from two Labor Days ago? Or would you rather a vibrant, active feed of fresh content, testimonials, photos, videos, and more?
Once you do start to collect some local followers, social media is a great way to promote offers, specials, announcements, and events! These networks are also great customer service platforms, offering several alternative forms of interaction between you and the local community. Sites like Facebook will continue to change and evolve their algorithm but one truth will always remain: your social media efforts will not go to waste. Get started today. Your audience is waiting!
4. Events
Even in our screen-obsessed society, people still love going out and experiencing things. Granted, it’s usually just so they can post photos of themselves experiencing things, but that’s a conversation for another day. Getting locals through your door to purchase goods and services is ideal, but sometimes needs to be approached in a roundabout way. Consider hosting events, parties, clubs, ceremonies, or meetups at your place of business.
There is major marketing power in events from online promotion to on-site awareness. Amazingly, the nature of the event doesn’t necessarily need to align with your store. In fact, it will help expose your offerings to a whole new group of potential customers. Who says you can’t have a cat enthusiast meeting at a brewery?
Aside from hosting your own, look out for sponsorship opportunities with larger events in your city. Yes, this can be expensive, but there is often great value in aligning your business with a popular entity such as a race or festival. Sponsorships are an effective way to indirectly reach new people while instilling brand recognition (and repetition) in existing customers. The privilege to piggyback on their big-budget event marketing efforts will surely bring some business your way.
5. Email Marketing
In our humble opinion, email marketing is absolutely one of the most effective means of increasing revenue and facilitating growth for virtually all companies of any size in any industry. Yet, small businesses tend to fall short with this opportunity. We’ve all seen the television commercials of the landscaper or interior designer sending their promotional email and bracing for a flood of customer activity. That can (and should) be you!
To run a successful email marketing program, you must look at it in two parts: Collection and Execution. A beautifully-crafted HTML message that is only seen by you and your aunt might as well be a tree falling in the forest. Building your database of subscribers needs to be an ongoing priority. The larger the list, the bigger the result. Always encourage customers to sign up in-store and visitors to join online. Offer incentives for subscribing such as exclusive offers, special event invites, discounts, etc.
Don’t send emails too often or your open rate and unsubscribe rate will suffer. Try to keep your lists segmented by what product or service the individual purchased to ensure future emails are relevant to them. Utilize an email marketing platform such as MailChimp, Constant Contact, or MadMimi for storing your database, sending campaigns, and monitoring results. Be sure to watch your analytics to gain perspective on which emails performed best and what your customers are most interested in.
6. Paid Local Marketing
It almost seems like cheating to advise you to spend money on pay-per-click advertising in a local marketing blog post. The concept may not seem very creative or cost prohibitive–but if done correctly, it certainly can be.
Most of the major PPC platforms such as Google AdWords, Facebook Ads, and Bing Ads allow you to concentrate your campaign on hyper local regions. This means your marketing dollars won’t go to waste on curious clicks from other states (or countries). Additionally, the ability to display ads to individuals with highly specific interests and demographics further increases your chances of making every click count.
Since most search and social ad platforms price clicks and impressions on a bidding system, you will be less likely to compete with big businesses’ national campaigns, thus saving even more money. The best part–no budget is too small. Spend a few bucks a day to put yourself where your customers are looking!
7. In the News
For local businesses, becoming a household name in your community is an ideal scenario. This, of course, isn’t an easy task. It takes time and patience and a bit of luck. However, embracing the power of the press can help you stay relevant and on the minds of your customers. Reporters are always looking for a good fluff story, especially on slow news days. Make it a habit to let local papers, TV stations, blogs, and publications know about your promotions, events, milestones, anniversaries, and accomplishments. Throttle your expectations, of course, as your story won’t always get picked up–but when it does, it’s free publicity. Remember, the only thing better than telling people about your business is someone else telling people about your business!
8. Selective Print Advertising
Old habits die hard. Many established small businesses have placed ads in hometown newspapers, swap sheets, or pennysavers for years. They often continue to do so simply because they always have. However, in the current landscape of local marketing, it’s not the best use of your limited budget. First of all, it is extremely difficult to know how many people saw your ad, were interested in your business, or purchased from you because of the ad. Secondly, why pay for people to see your ad if they don’t care about it? With online advertising, you essentially only pay for potential customers.
Do yourself a favor and conduct an audit of where you’ve spent your marketing dollars in the past and ways you might better use those funds in 2018. Of course, there are always exceptions–print isn’t entirely dead after all. If you’re going to advertise on tv, radio, or in the paper, at least measure the results so you can track your return on investment.
9. Embrace Directories
Many business owners allow their preconceived notions about sites like Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Foursquare prevent them from taking advantage of what they have to offer. Whether it’s a few nasty reviews, unflattering photos, unsolicited feedback, or just a general lack of understanding, your reasons for complacity are not worth the negative impact. We get it, you’re frustrated. You never signed up for this. You magically appeared in their directory one day and now this app can make or break your business. It’s time to adjust your perspective.
These aggregate sites can also be your best friend–if you embrace their local marketing power. Play the game. Claim your listing, update your details, correct your categories, upload some images, double-check your hours and address. If they ask you to pay for a premium service, do it. Your customers are going to these 3rd-party services before (or in lieu of) your own website. Take advantage of what little control you are given and ensure the best representation of your business. Platforms such as Yext and Moz Local provide an efficient means to managing the growing number of directories people use to discover products and service in your city.
10. Cross Promotion
A tried and true method for expanding your reach is to share customers with another local business. Simply forge a relationship with a nearby company that doesn’t compete with yours but instead compliments it. For instance, a steakhouse teaming-up with a theater for a “Dinner and a Movie” promotion or a coffee shop offering a 10% discount to employees of a neighboring business. Get creative and find ways to raise all boats in your area by partnering with those trying to do the same!
As a small business, budget matters and time is your greatest commodity. You don’t have enough of either to spare, so why take chances? Use the proven tips included in this blog post to devise a sensible, yet effective, local marketing strategy for the rest of this year. Be sure to measure your results along the way as you watch your business grow in 2018!
Tips to Rebuilding a Website
It’s always rewarding to work with nonprofit clients. It’s especially gratifying when the nonprofit hits so close to home. We were lucky to partner with the local nonprofit Rebuilding Together Arlington/Fairfax/Falls Church (Rebuilding Together-AFF) to help them redesign and redevelop their website.
Rebuilding Together-AFF is a regional branch of a national nonprofit, and their mission is to make every home safe and healthy. Volunteers pitch in to repair homes, community centers and charitable organizations. Rebuilding Together-AFF also partners with government and nonprofit organizations to support local residents.
ACS designers, developers, strategists and writers worked together with Rebuilding Together-AFF on this project. Though the original website had only a few pages, the new site is a vibrant digital hub for volunteers, donors, partners and people in need.
Answering the Questions
When we start a website project, we always think of the client’s core audiences and how they will benefit from the site. What information do they need to find, and how can we help them find it quickly?
In mapping out the Rebuilding Together-AFF website, we answered the core questions people have about the nonprofit:
You can see this strategy reflected in the site’s navigation menu. It’s a simple navigation bar with helpful lime green buttons that direct visitors to apply for help, sign up to volunteer, or donate to the cause.
Showcasing the Stories
Just as a house needs a strong foundation, a website needs a captivating homepage. We designed the Rebuilding Together-AFF homepage to shine a spotlight on the nonprofit’s success stories.
At the top of the homepage, a rotating hero image displays the nonprofit’s mission statement: “Bringing volunteers and communities together to improve the lives and homes of low-income homeowners.”
Beneath that image, you’ll see three stories about renovation projects that Rebuilding Together-AFF organized. Each article shows how the nonprofit’s work makes a difference in the community, thanks to a network of volunteers, donors and partners.
The homepage also has animated icons, with rotating numbers. We included these images to showcase the great work Rebuilding Together-AFF does, which includes 66,500 volunteers, 2,075 nonprofits, 542,000 volunteer hours, and 250 partners.
Guiding the User Experience
As you navigate the website, you’ll see what we call “stutter-step” pages. This type of webpage gives an at-a-glance overview of a topic. We recommend including these pages because site visitors can quickly scan information before diving deeper into a website section.
For Rebuilding-Together AFF, we designed four stutter-step pages for different sections of the website. Each has beautiful, colorful images taken during different volunteer projects. The mobile-friendly design also makes the text on these pages easy to read on any desktop, phone or tablet device.
Nonprofit Website Support
We’re thankful to have worked with Rebuilding Together-AFF on their new website because it gives members of our community access to important resources. We can’t wait to work with them again! If you’re a nonprofit with questions about website design, please get in touch with us any time.
10 Local Marketing Ideas for 2020
*Editors Note: We’ve recently updated this blog post for 2020. Read further about updated tech and best local marketing strategies by following the links below:
The digital revolution has drastically changed the landscape of commerce by exposing even the smallest businesses to a global audience. With relatively minimal effort and investment, virtually any company can sell products and services online to anyone, anywhere, anytime. However, world domination isn’t necessarily everyone’s primary agenda. As awesome as internet marketing may be, it’s often easy for local businesses to feel left out of the excitement. Today, we’ve put together a list of proven local marketing ideas & tactics for all the mom and pop, brick and mortar, main street proprietors out there.
Even if you’re only trying to capture the attention of your neighborhood, community, or city, there is still plenty of opportunity to grow online.
1. Customer Reviews
We are living in a feedback culture. From a consumer standpoint, this is a good thing. Poor service, unfulfilled promises, and sub-par products are brought to the public eye. Companies that take pride in their customer experience, and have the ratings to back it up, are rewarded with more clicks, more calls, more business (and more praise).
Whether someone is searching for a French restaurant or baby boutique, consumer decisions are being made online. A satisfied customer that walks out your door is a wasted opportunity. Encourage patrons to leave a review for your business on Google, Facebook, or Yelp. Don’t be pushy–but don’t be shy either. Instead, subtly suggest the notion while conveying your appreciation. This request can be delivered via point-of-sale signage, receipt verbiage, post-sale email, or by asking the good old-fashioned way.
Of course, not every person will follow through, but you will surely see an uptick in social proof over time. Remember, a happy customer is happy to help!
2. Search Engine Optimization
This isn’t the time nor place for a crash course in SEO. However, this post is the perfect forum to discuss the astounding potential of organic local traffic! The truth is, the small business world is a bit behind on the digital revolution. You still see a good portion of coffee shops and dry cleaners with non-responsive websites, no social media presence, and the list of offenses goes on. Use this to your advantage! You can make a big impact for your business online with relatively low effort and basic search engine optimization practices.
Start with a blog and maybe consider some keyword-rich landing pages as well. Make sure your site adapts to all devices, includes enticing META descriptions, has proper title & heading formats, and plenty of unique, valuable content.
3. Social Media
You may not think a carpet cleaning service needs a Facebook page. Who would follow it and why? Now is the time to cast aside your notions of social media and embrace its local power. First of all, search engines tend to (unofficially) appreciate businesses that are active on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Instagram. It never hurts to appease the Google Gods. Secondly, potential customers who are researching your products or services online are likely to stumble upon your social accounts. When they do, are they going to see one lonely post from two Labor Days ago? Or would you rather a vibrant, active feed of fresh content, testimonials, photos, videos, and more?
Once you do start to collect some local followers, social media is a great way to promote offers, specials, announcements, and events! These networks are also great customer service platforms, offering several alternative forms of interaction between you and the local community. Sites like Facebook will continue to change and evolve their algorithm but one truth will always remain: your social media efforts will not go to waste. Get started today. Your audience is waiting!
4. Events
Even in our screen-obsessed society, people still love going out and experiencing things. Granted, it’s usually just so they can post photos of themselves experiencing things, but that’s a conversation for another day. Getting locals through your door to purchase goods and services is ideal, but sometimes needs to be approached in a roundabout way. Consider hosting events, parties, clubs, ceremonies, or meetups at your place of business.
There is major marketing power in events from online promotion to on-site awareness. Amazingly, the nature of the event doesn’t necessarily need to align with your store. In fact, it will help expose your offerings to a whole new group of potential customers. Who says you can’t have a cat enthusiast meeting at a brewery?
Aside from hosting your own, look out for sponsorship opportunities with larger events in your city. Yes, this can be expensive, but there is often great value in aligning your business with a popular entity such as a race or festival. Sponsorships are an effective way to indirectly reach new people while instilling brand recognition (and repetition) in existing customers. The privilege to piggyback on their big-budget event marketing efforts will surely bring some business your way.
5. Email Marketing
In our humble opinion, email marketing is absolutely one of the most effective means of increasing revenue and facilitating growth for virtually all companies of any size in any industry. Yet, small businesses tend to fall short with this opportunity. We’ve all seen the television commercials of the landscaper or interior designer sending their promotional email and bracing for a flood of customer activity. That can (and should) be you!
To run a successful email marketing program, you must look at it in two parts: Collection and Execution. A beautifully-crafted HTML message that is only seen by you and your aunt might as well be a tree falling in the forest. Building your database of subscribers needs to be an ongoing priority. The larger the list, the bigger the result. Always encourage customers to sign up in-store and visitors to join online. Offer incentives for subscribing such as exclusive offers, special event invites, discounts, etc.
Don’t send emails too often or your open rate and unsubscribe rate will suffer. Try to keep your lists segmented by what product or service the individual purchased to ensure future emails are relevant to them. Utilize an email marketing platform such as MailChimp, Constant Contact, or MadMimi for storing your database, sending campaigns, and monitoring results. Be sure to watch your analytics to gain perspective on which emails performed best and what your customers are most interested in.
6. Paid Local Marketing
It almost seems like cheating to advise you to spend money on pay-per-click advertising in a local marketing blog post. The concept may not seem very creative or cost prohibitive–but if done correctly, it certainly can be.
Most of the major PPC platforms such as Google AdWords, Facebook Ads, and Bing Ads allow you to concentrate your campaign on hyper local regions. This means your marketing dollars won’t go to waste on curious clicks from other states (or countries). Additionally, the ability to display ads to individuals with highly specific interests and demographics further increases your chances of making every click count.
Since most search and social ad platforms price clicks and impressions on a bidding system, you will be less likely to compete with big businesses’ national campaigns, thus saving even more money. The best part–no budget is too small. Spend a few bucks a day to put yourself where your customers are looking!
7. In the News
For local businesses, becoming a household name in your community is an ideal scenario. This, of course, isn’t an easy task. It takes time and patience and a bit of luck. However, embracing the power of the press can help you stay relevant and on the minds of your customers. Reporters are always looking for a good fluff story, especially on slow news days. Make it a habit to let local papers, TV stations, blogs, and publications know about your promotions, events, milestones, anniversaries, and accomplishments. Throttle your expectations, of course, as your story won’t always get picked up–but when it does, it’s free publicity. Remember, the only thing better than telling people about your business is someone else telling people about your business!
8. Selective Print Advertising
Old habits die hard. Many established small businesses have placed ads in hometown newspapers, swap sheets, or pennysavers for years. They often continue to do so simply because they always have. However, in the current landscape of local marketing, it’s not the best use of your limited budget. First of all, it is extremely difficult to know how many people saw your ad, were interested in your business, or purchased from you because of the ad. Secondly, why pay for people to see your ad if they don’t care about it? With online advertising, you essentially only pay for potential customers.
Do yourself a favor and conduct an audit of where you’ve spent your marketing dollars in the past and ways you might better use those funds in 2018. Of course, there are always exceptions–print isn’t entirely dead after all. If you’re going to advertise on tv, radio, or in the paper, at least measure the results so you can track your return on investment.
9. Embrace Directories
Many business owners allow their preconceived notions about sites like Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Foursquare prevent them from taking advantage of what they have to offer. Whether it’s a few nasty reviews, unflattering photos, unsolicited feedback, or just a general lack of understanding, your reasons for complacity are not worth the negative impact. We get it, you’re frustrated. You never signed up for this. You magically appeared in their directory one day and now this app can make or break your business. It’s time to adjust your perspective.
These aggregate sites can also be your best friend–if you embrace their local marketing power. Play the game. Claim your listing, update your details, correct your categories, upload some images, double-check your hours and address. If they ask you to pay for a premium service, do it. Your customers are going to these 3rd-party services before (or in lieu of) your own website. Take advantage of what little control you are given and ensure the best representation of your business. Platforms such as Yext and Moz Local provide an efficient means to managing the growing number of directories people use to discover products and service in your city.
10. Cross Promotion
A tried and true method for expanding your reach is to share customers with another local business. Simply forge a relationship with a nearby company that doesn’t compete with yours but instead compliments it. For instance, a steakhouse teaming-up with a theater for a “Dinner and a Movie” promotion or a coffee shop offering a 10% discount to employees of a neighboring business. Get creative and find ways to raise all boats in your area by partnering with those trying to do the same!
As a small business, budget matters and time is your greatest commodity. You don’t have enough of either to spare, so why take chances? Use the proven tips included in this blog post to devise a sensible, yet effective, local marketing strategy for the rest of this year. Be sure to measure your results along the way as you watch your business grow in 2018!
Cheap Web Design Will Cost You
Running a business is expensive. It seems like someone else has their hands in your pocket every time you take a step. Watching dollars fly out the door to your various service providers and vendors can be both painful and discouraging. It’s no wonder some entrepreneurs are enticed by ads offering $29 websites or websites in an hour. In a world where you get what you pay for, cheap web design will cost you…
Website Pricing Explained
Simply having a website is no longer enough to compete in this business landscape. Customer expectations are extremely high and their patience for anything sub-par is dwindling. Companies that put thought, research, time (and money) into their online presence are at a tremendous advantage over those who do not.
With that said, what really goes into making a website? A professional, thoughtful design takes many hours to execute. If you factor in custom development, styling, content migration, testing, revisions, and launch, it’s almost inconceivable for even the most basic project to consume less than 40 hours of labor. Keep that number in mind as you’re considering cheap web design quotes. If the time required is high and the price is low, something has to give–and it’s usually quality.
Freelance Falls Short
Many of our new clients approach us after choosing an individual to create their website. Often, it’s a family member or acquaintance. Perhaps it was Craigslist kismet that brought them together. No matter how it came to be, one truth is constant–the company took a convenient, inexpensive option and now has to spend more to undo the damage.
Are individual freelancers capable and talented? Absolutely. Is it likely that the best website designer for your business just happens to be your nephew? Probably not.
When a business trusts a freelancer to create and manage their online presence, they are at the mercy of that person’s skill set, schedule, and personality. There is a reason you never hear, “yes, we have a guy who does our website, and we’ve been happy with him for years.”
Fact is, freelancers aren’t on the line for your ongoing success. They move, change numbers, switch careers, lose interest, join priesthoods, etc. If reliability, accountability, and quality are important to your business, put your project in the hands of an agency–not a person.
Build Your Own Headache
We see television commercials promising websites you can build in minutes without any help. It’s not necessarily a false claim, but a cringeworthy notion regardless.
Let’s suppose you really could drag and drop some photos and words into a template and walk away with a new site in less than an hour. Does that sound like something a successful business would do?
There’s a reason big companies don’t utilize website-building platforms. Lack of customizability, flexibility, and creative control to name a few. Selecting from dozens of half-hearted, generic page templates can truly narrow your inspiration as well.
Not to mention, the code that these tools spit out tends to be a real mess (which search engines frown upon). These website builders, as affordable as they may appear, make their money from inflated hosting charges and membership plan upgrades, so be wary of hidden costs over time.
It may seem like there are at least a couple cheap web design options these days. Do yourself a favor and carefully consider the undeniable importance of your company’s online presence. Skip the mistake so many clients make before coming to us.
A website is no longer a neat supplemental feature, but instead a marketing engine that can make or break any business of any size in any industry! An effective website is an investment–not an expense. Leave this one to the pros…
What’s New in Content Marketing?
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
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?
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
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
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.
Digital Marketing Year in Review
We hope you all had a wonderful holiday surrounded by warmth, family, and festive spirit. With just a few days left in 2017, we thought it would be fitting to take a look back on the year in Digital Marketing. Things are changing fast in the online world. Design trends come and go; mobile traffic is on the rise; and ecommerce is flipping the retail landscape upside-down. Understanding how advertising and marketing evolve is the key to staying ahead of the curve looking forward.
Big, Bold Web Design
In 2017, website designers started thinking out of the box (literally). Logos, graphics, and layouts broke free of the symmetrical grid, embraced white space, and created complex visual experiences in protest of the safe, static compositions of primitive responsive design.
We learned a page is truly a canvas from edge to edge and a bit of controlled chaos can go a long way in leading visitors on an immersive, branded journey. Websites are getting braver and more adventurous with their design. Expect to see this trend push the boundaries even further in 2018.
Advertising for All
When ACS began over 30 years ago, radio commercials were a big portion of our creative work and an effective means of generating new business. It’s no secret the writing is on the wall for television, radio, and print advertising. The meteoric rise of subscription streaming and online content will make sure of that.
As major corporations shift their marketing dollars from fading channels to online platforms, the playing field is leveling. Self-serve advertising makes it possible for small businesses to reach their target audience in the same way as the giants in their industry. No longer is there a massive budget barrier creating opportunity for elite corporations while burying fledgling competitors. Every business, big and small, is now on the same page.
Smarter Social Media
The year in social media can be summed up in one word: interaction. A vast majority of businesses are now on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Instagram, which are primarily “broadcast” platforms by nature. However, a rising importance is being placed on individual conversations.
Many companies are using social media to field customer service requests, educate buyers, and up-sell products. You’ll be hearing a lot about chatbots in 2018, which yield the same benefits of human interaction with far more efficiency. Social networks will always be a place to get your message out to a mass audience, but this new emphasis on making actual connections will surely set businesses apart in the new year.
It’s been quite a ride this past year—for the industry as a whole, and us as well. ACS exceeded the expectations of hundreds of clients on projects ranging from letterhead design to website development. We’re excited to see what’s in store for digital marketing in 2018, and even more thrilled to lead the way.
From our team to yours, we wish you a very happy and prosperous new year!
7 Easy Ways to Build Your Email List
Sometimes checking your inbox can feel like flipping through the yellow pages. The perfume site you purchased your aunt’s birthday present from four years ago is trying to sell you their latest floral fragrance. A random stranger is claiming he can boost your Google ranking for just $299.95. Let’s not forget the dry ice steak company starting their Father’s Day campaign… in February. Meanwhile, it’s Monday morning at 8am and all you can think about is the insurmountable workload ahead of you this week. Whatever your personal relationship with email marketing, one truth remains in the universe—it works.
When visitors, followers, and customers opt to hear from your business, those email addresses are pure gold. This is a captive audience of people who have either proven they will spend money with your company or may do so in the future. However, as you know from your own sentiments on promotional mail, not everybody opens, clicks, or buys. For this reason, the power of email marketing is in the numbers. Growing your list is critical to success.
Here, we’ve compiled a handful of effective strategies in building an email list, which are applicable to nearly any industry or business type.
1. Subscription Form
Prominently place an email subscription form on each page of your website. A dedicated row above your footer is prime real estate. When executed properly, a pop-up modal can also be an effective capture tool.
2. The Giveaway
Offer users a free e-book, white paper, coupon, exclusive content, or similar incentive for subscribing. Be sure to note that the freebie is automatically sent via email to minimize invalid entries. The more valuable the giveaway, the more subscribers you’ll get.
3. On-Site Signups
Do you have a brick and mortar business? Give customers the opportunity to provide their email address whether they purchase something or not. Again, consider incentives you can offer!
4. Host an Event
Whether it is a local gathering or a global webinar, asking your target audience to register for an event is a worthwhile means of growing your email list quickly. If this proves effective for you, consider hosting recurring events annually, quarterly, or even weekly!
5. Educational Series
Create a drip campaign that sends a series of informative emails on a particular topic to each subscriber over a short period of time. This isn’t necessarily an opportunity to sell, but to provide real value. Your audience will look forward to checking their inbox every day, and you will enjoy watching your list grow exponentially.
6. Get Social
Most of the major email marketing platforms (Campaign Monitor, MailChimp, etc.) offer the ability to place a signup form on your Facebook page. This is a great way to get your social media followers to take a step forward with your business.
7. Guest WiFi
Whether you have a retail storefront, restaurant, or office space, guests will happily exchange their email addresses for free WiFi. Services such as Gazella and Zenreach make this automated strategy seamless and simple.
Hopefully these ideas have inspired you to establish and grow a massive list of potential customers eager to learn about your products and services. Be creative. Always be thinking of ways to capture new subscribers and provide value to those on your list. Building your email audience is an ongoing effort that will prove itself to be instrumental in your company’s growth.