OK, this has nothing to do with marketing communications. But if you have a chance, go and see Toy Story 3. It's an animated film with real heart. It's beautifully produced. And you definitely don't have to be a kid to love it. (though it helps if you go with one!)
I was having lunch recently with a good friend of mind who is a well known freelance writer in the Indianapolis creative community who has worked with many an Indianapolis ad agency or design firm. I've also spent about a third of my career as a freelancer. In that role, you get to experience many different corporate cultures...briefly. And you get a chance to note both the talent and, often, the dysfunction present in most agencies or design firms. I certainly did.
As a result, when it came time for me to hire creative talent as part of a brand marketing group or ad agency, I took into account not just the work in the portfolio but the personality of the interviewee. Would i want to be in stressful situations with this person? Could I trust them to come through with the work, on time? Would they be open to feedback? Would they be someone I would feel comfortable having in a serious client meeting? Craft skills can be improved. It's pretty hard to expect someone to change their outlook on life.
My friend and I agreed that this is the area where the most growth is needed in our industry. Luckily, I am a practitioner and also a teacher. Part of what I stress in the classroom is not only the ability to solve problems using the design process – but also to work effectively in a team in a positive, respectful way. I see many 'aha' moments as students come to realize the sorts of personal outlooks that hold them back from contributing to their fullest. They aren't about type, image, concept or layout. They're about their own lenses or perspectives on the world. So I aim to teach emotionally intelligent designers because that's who I'd like to help send out into our industry.
If you have experience in this area, stories to tell or are interested in this topic, I'd love to hear from you. (comments welcome!)
As a result, when it came time for me to hire creative talent as part of a brand marketing group or ad agency, I took into account not just the work in the portfolio but the personality of the interviewee. Would i want to be in stressful situations with this person? Could I trust them to come through with the work, on time? Would they be open to feedback? Would they be someone I would feel comfortable having in a serious client meeting? Craft skills can be improved. It's pretty hard to expect someone to change their outlook on life.
My friend and I agreed that this is the area where the most growth is needed in our industry. Luckily, I am a practitioner and also a teacher. Part of what I stress in the classroom is not only the ability to solve problems using the design process – but also to work effectively in a team in a positive, respectful way. I see many 'aha' moments as students come to realize the sorts of personal outlooks that hold them back from contributing to their fullest. They aren't about type, image, concept or layout. They're about their own lenses or perspectives on the world. So I aim to teach emotionally intelligent designers because that's who I'd like to help send out into our industry.
If you have experience in this area, stories to tell or are interested in this topic, I'd love to hear from you. (comments welcome!)
Element Three is excited to be partnering with Cirrus ABS for our second summer seminar, SEO: Creating and Converting Lead Opportunities.
When: June 30th at 9:00a or 1:30p
Who: Business owners, marketing professionals and executives
Topic: SEO: Creating and Converting Lead Opportunities
Where: Pyramid 3, Lower Level, Indianapolis, Indiana
We’ve all felt it. That tiny bit of doubt in the back of your mind. Am I up to date on the latest in online marketing? Is my brand well represented in the digital media realm? Are there opportunities that I’m missing? No worries. Here’s your chance to make sure your brand, and your marketing efforts, take advantage of the latest online tools and strategies available.
Please join us for the upcoming session SEO: Creating and Converting Lead Opportunities.
In this session you will learn how to leverage search engine optimization. Learn from the experts ways you can get your company more visible on the web and how to turn your website into a lead generation tool for you. With over 1 billion searches daily on Google alone, optimization is a must for businesses and organizations.
This is the second of a four-part series. Space is limited. Please sign-up early to assure your spot.
For registration and more information, click here. We hope to see you there!
As someone who writes and comes up with brand communication ideas for a living, I sometimes need to use insider language for a specific audience. My preference is to use conversational language that the audience will both understand. My intention is to build a relationship with them. As part of that effort, sometimes slang and jargon is helpful. To see some of the most common American English slang, go to this link.
I spent most of my career working as an art director in advertising agencies. I have to admit that very little of my current clients' budgets are going toward paid advertising these days. But the same way of thinking conceptually still holds value. I am constantly impressed by how many great brand communications are mainly visual, with very few words. Check out this link to see some excellent examples. Inspiring, aren't they?
Retail music consultants match just the right kind of music for a store's retail concept so that, for instance, when you're visiting a fast food restaurant, the music urges you to eat quickly instead of hanging around. When you visit a store that features slightly quirky, somewhat retro fashion, the music might be a similar mixture. Perhaps because retail business measures its success by the hourly intake at the cash register, anything that might help encourage purchase through any of the senses is fair game.
Whether your brand is a retail one or not, you may want to consider sound as part of your brand positioning strategy. Is your brand loud or soft? Will your brand communication include music, sound design, or atmosphere perceived aurally? Anyone who has gone to a movie theater and experienced the power of music and sound as part of the movie experience knows how much the mood is heightened with the addition of either silence, a whisper or a loud bang. Just the right music can either counter or underscore a mood or message.
As part of managing your brand, use all the senses. They can not only bring life to your brand communication, they can create a higher level of engagement for your customer.
Whether your brand is a retail one or not, you may want to consider sound as part of your brand positioning strategy. Is your brand loud or soft? Will your brand communication include music, sound design, or atmosphere perceived aurally? Anyone who has gone to a movie theater and experienced the power of music and sound as part of the movie experience knows how much the mood is heightened with the addition of either silence, a whisper or a loud bang. Just the right music can either counter or underscore a mood or message.
As part of managing your brand, use all the senses. They can not only bring life to your brand communication, they can create a higher level of engagement for your customer.
The web site, Urban Dictionary, defines "hype" as "a fad, a clever marketing strategy which a product is advertized as the thing everyone must have, to the point where people begin to feel they need to consume it." A "hype man" is "the person who helps gets the crowd hyped/amped/pumped before/during a show." And a "hype machine" is "a video game or movie that may or may not be good, but generates a very large amount of hype before it's release." As you look at your brand positioning strategy, be careful not to fall in love with your own 'story' too quickly. Often, at Element Three, we advise our clients to do thoughtful competitive research before we establish their brand's visual and messaging elements. This insure that we're not creating unworthy hype that the brand's product or service cannot match. Hype is its own enemy. It can create long term credibility issues for your brand...so that future brand communication falls into question. Let us develop a Message Matrix that keeps your team on message for each of your audience constituencies so that your brand has a long and healthy life.
In a new report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, according to an AP article by Martha Irvine, Irvine's article, titled, "Who develops social networking conscience? Youth, not elders", goes on to explain that those in the 18-29 age bracket tend to delete posted comments to their Facebook and other social networking sites while those in the 50-64 bracket tend not to make these deletions. The younger generation also tend to edit or delete out images from their Facebook sites that might compromise job searches or other important life events. Not so the older generation, the article (and the study) go on to say.
With the recent potential privacy and security issues that have arisen, it seems even more timely to advocate that we all take social networking advice from experts, no matter what their age. At Element Three, we currently have four interns, all under 25. So as we advise our clients on developing brand strategy for social networking, we will also be fortunate to have our own team of experts, based on their use of the medium alone. Marketing managers, talk to your twenty-something children. They know this territory!
With the recent potential privacy and security issues that have arisen, it seems even more timely to advocate that we all take social networking advice from experts, no matter what their age. At Element Three, we currently have four interns, all under 25. So as we advise our clients on developing brand strategy for social networking, we will also be fortunate to have our own team of experts, based on their use of the medium alone. Marketing managers, talk to your twenty-something children. They know this territory!
It's been six weeks now. The deep sea oil leak continues to sully the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Altogether, there are nine such deep sea oil wells operating in U.S. coastal waters, according to a recent NPR report. The other 8 have all had operations halted until the U.S. government can determine if correct safeguards are in place so that other accidents of this type don't happen again...or, more to the point, so that if they do, there will be plans and equipment in place to quickly fix them. What a mess!
When you challenge the edges of what you can do, there is a risk that something will go wrong. NASA is an example of an agency in which many safeguards are in place for exploring beyond the usual boundaries of human endeavor. Even when those safeguards don't work, NASA instantly puts together the best minds available to gerry rig other solutions. Operations are halted if there are signs of danger whenever possible.
Why am I writing about this? Because I feel sad that our country has found itself in this situation...an unfortunate convergence of profit, need (for energy) and innovation. Though most of our clients don't work in industries that have the ability to impact our environment in such a direct way, all of us impact it in our own small ways. If you have someone on your staff with the foresight to consider your company's environmental, economic, technological or cultural impact, perhaps the most innovative thing you can do is to put them on your next product development team. To keep you and your brand out of a deep, deep mess.
When you challenge the edges of what you can do, there is a risk that something will go wrong. NASA is an example of an agency in which many safeguards are in place for exploring beyond the usual boundaries of human endeavor. Even when those safeguards don't work, NASA instantly puts together the best minds available to gerry rig other solutions. Operations are halted if there are signs of danger whenever possible.
Why am I writing about this? Because I feel sad that our country has found itself in this situation...an unfortunate convergence of profit, need (for energy) and innovation. Though most of our clients don't work in industries that have the ability to impact our environment in such a direct way, all of us impact it in our own small ways. If you have someone on your staff with the foresight to consider your company's environmental, economic, technological or cultural impact, perhaps the most innovative thing you can do is to put them on your next product development team. To keep you and your brand out of a deep, deep mess.
You’re Invited!
Element Three is excited to be partnering with Cirrus ABS for our first summer seminar.
When: June 9th at 9:00a or 1:30p
Who: Business owners, marketing professionals and executives
Topic: Net Centered Marketing: Leveraging Your Website for Results
Where: Pyramid 3, Lower Level, Indianapolis, Indiana
We’ve all felt it. That tiny bit of doubt in the back of your mind. Am I up to date on the latest in online marketing? Is my brand well represented in the digital media realm? Are there opportunities that I’m missing? No worries. Here’s your chance to make sure your brand, and your marketing efforts, take advantage of the latest online tools and strategies available.
Please join us for the upcoming session Net Centered Marketing: Leveraging Your Website for Results led by experts in marketing, brand development and online marketing.
In this session you will learn how to leverage the investment you have made in your website and how to integrate your offline marketing efforts with your website. Attendees will walk away with specific action items for how they can enhance the effectiveness of their website and online brand presence.
This is the first of a four-part series. Attend one or attend all. We look forward to seeing you there. If you have additional questions about the series, please contact me directly tiffany(at)discoverelementthree(dot)com.
Space is limited. Please sign-up early to assure your spot.
For registration and more information, click here.
Element Three is excited to be partnering with Cirrus ABS for our first summer seminar.
When: June 9th at 9:00a or 1:30p
Who: Business owners, marketing professionals and executives
Topic: Net Centered Marketing: Leveraging Your Website for Results
Where: Pyramid 3, Lower Level, Indianapolis, Indiana
We’ve all felt it. That tiny bit of doubt in the back of your mind. Am I up to date on the latest in online marketing? Is my brand well represented in the digital media realm? Are there opportunities that I’m missing? No worries. Here’s your chance to make sure your brand, and your marketing efforts, take advantage of the latest online tools and strategies available.
Please join us for the upcoming session Net Centered Marketing: Leveraging Your Website for Results led by experts in marketing, brand development and online marketing.
In this session you will learn how to leverage the investment you have made in your website and how to integrate your offline marketing efforts with your website. Attendees will walk away with specific action items for how they can enhance the effectiveness of their website and online brand presence.
This is the first of a four-part series. Attend one or attend all. We look forward to seeing you there. If you have additional questions about the series, please contact me directly tiffany(at)discoverelementthree(dot)com.
Space is limited. Please sign-up early to assure your spot.
For registration and more information, click here.
I was doing some research for a client presentation tomorrow and ran across these two charts that demonstrates how dynamic the social media landscape really is.
In 2008 MySpace led the pack with receiving 41% of the visits in the United States to social networking sites. Facebook and YouTube were far behind with 8% and 7% respectively. Today, in 2010, the graph for social media traffic looks much, much different. Facebook is leading by commanding nearly 50% of the traffic with MySpace losing market share and YouTube continuing to maintain and grow their presence in the social networking space.
If you are looking for ways to enter into the social marketing realm, create a fan page on Facebook. While there are countless other tools you could engage with - Facebook has emerged as the clear leader.
Another meaningful graph - Facebook surpassed Google for Weekly Market Share of Visits in March of this year. No small accomplishment.
Before you enter into the social marketing arena, be certain you are clear about your brand message and how you intend to communicate your Unique Selling Points as benefits to your core audience(s). A strong brand positioning strategy and message matrix is an meaningful exercise for companies moving into the social space.
At Element Three we help clients in Indianapolis and throughout the Midwest manage their brands both online and offline. An integrated plan will reap the strongest return on marketing investment.
In 2008 MySpace led the pack with receiving 41% of the visits in the United States to social networking sites. Facebook and YouTube were far behind with 8% and 7% respectively. Today, in 2010, the graph for social media traffic looks much, much different. Facebook is leading by commanding nearly 50% of the traffic with MySpace losing market share and YouTube continuing to maintain and grow their presence in the social networking space.
If you are looking for ways to enter into the social marketing realm, create a fan page on Facebook. While there are countless other tools you could engage with - Facebook has emerged as the clear leader.
Another meaningful graph - Facebook surpassed Google for Weekly Market Share of Visits in March of this year. No small accomplishment.
Before you enter into the social marketing arena, be certain you are clear about your brand message and how you intend to communicate your Unique Selling Points as benefits to your core audience(s). A strong brand positioning strategy and message matrix is an meaningful exercise for companies moving into the social space.
At Element Three we help clients in Indianapolis and throughout the Midwest manage their brands both online and offline. An integrated plan will reap the strongest return on marketing investment.
I read an interesting article in Adweek today. Titled, The Search for Creative Leadership, it documented the challenge of searching for top creative talent with deep skill sets in both traditional and digital mediums. While the premise of the article caught my attention, it was the quote within that got me thinking. (Note: in a direction different than the article's intent.)
The article quoted Mike Hughes, President and co-CCO for Interpublic Groups, The Martin Agency as saying, "Clients aren't going to trust us if they think you're just one of those creatives who [just wants to win awards.] Creative people won't trust us if they think we're just taking orders from the clients. What we have to do is be transparent. That's not a natural trait for the best creative people."
At our Indianapolis marketing firm, strategic creative is part of the mix of services we offer along with brand development and marketing strategy. It has been our philosophy for some time to shy away from awards programs. Instead, we prefer to ask our clients the question, "What does success look like?" to define the measurable outcomes of an engagement. We believe if the focus is on results, the "award" is a satisfied client and a positive business outcome. We'll take that over a trophy on a shelf any day.
The article quoted Mike Hughes, President and co-CCO for Interpublic Groups, The Martin Agency as saying, "Clients aren't going to trust us if they think you're just one of those creatives who [just wants to win awards.] Creative people won't trust us if they think we're just taking orders from the clients. What we have to do is be transparent. That's not a natural trait for the best creative people."
At our Indianapolis marketing firm, strategic creative is part of the mix of services we offer along with brand development and marketing strategy. It has been our philosophy for some time to shy away from awards programs. Instead, we prefer to ask our clients the question, "What does success look like?" to define the measurable outcomes of an engagement. We believe if the focus is on results, the "award" is a satisfied client and a positive business outcome. We'll take that over a trophy on a shelf any day.
Yesterday, along with thousands of others in Indianapolis, I went to Conseco Fieldhouse to hear the Dalai Lama speak. His main message was one of tolerance, mutual respect and trust, especially in this age of multiple ideological (and real) battles. I was impressed with his humility and sense of humor. In fact, the Dalai Lama was voted the second most popular leader (second to Barack Obama) in a global internet survey by Harris Interactive this spring. The pope scored #7. What can we learn from this? It's true that interest in Buddhism and eastern philosophy is on the rise. However, I wonder if the humbleness with which the Dalai Lama carries himself has anything to do with it...especially when you consider the pope's response to recent child abuse scandals, in contrast.
Staying on the same level with your customers and meeting them where they are may be one of the most important messages to take from all of this. Recognizing our own humbleness and imperfection (as individuals and as brand entities) can only serve to boost our brand chemistry with others. And in each brand communication, if we seek to both understand and be understood, we will no doubt form strong and lasting bonds with those we serve and with those with whom we relate.
Staying on the same level with your customers and meeting them where they are may be one of the most important messages to take from all of this. Recognizing our own humbleness and imperfection (as individuals and as brand entities) can only serve to boost our brand chemistry with others. And in each brand communication, if we seek to both understand and be understood, we will no doubt form strong and lasting bonds with those we serve and with those with whom we relate.
Recently, I was searching online for visual inspiration and I came across this amazing collection of advertising concepts. As an Indianapolis ad agency, we often have opportunities to work with our clients to develop brand identity and other brand communications. But nothing comes close to the hilarity of these sorts of purely visual images.
Pure inspiration! Enjoy.
Pure inspiration! Enjoy.
Wikipedia defines passive income as an income received on a regular basis, with little effort required to maintain it. It goes on to say that the Internal Revenue Service categorizes income into three types, active (earned) income, passive income, and portfolio income.
Passive income could include earnings from an owned business such as a website, product or service; rent from property; royalties; pensions or dividends and interest.
I'd like to add to the definition. A young friend of mine, recently laid off from his architectural design job due to the recession, has decided that passive income is the way of his future. In fact, in the six short months since he was laid off, he has created five different websites that provide him with passive income revenue streams. One allows him to represent and sell solar collectors to residential clients. Another lets him receive checks whenever someone orders a LEEDs certification manual that he wrote. And a third sends him money when would-be architects download another architectural certification manual series. In the last month, he has started to support himself through these combined efforts. I find his enthusiasm and creativity inspiring. And I wonder...how might other more 'traditional' businesses learn from this model...to sustain themselves during these difficult financial times? As an Indianapolis marketing firm, we have had to find smarter, newer ways to work. How about you?
Passive income could include earnings from an owned business such as a website, product or service; rent from property; royalties; pensions or dividends and interest.
I'd like to add to the definition. A young friend of mine, recently laid off from his architectural design job due to the recession, has decided that passive income is the way of his future. In fact, in the six short months since he was laid off, he has created five different websites that provide him with passive income revenue streams. One allows him to represent and sell solar collectors to residential clients. Another lets him receive checks whenever someone orders a LEEDs certification manual that he wrote. And a third sends him money when would-be architects download another architectural certification manual series. In the last month, he has started to support himself through these combined efforts. I find his enthusiasm and creativity inspiring. And I wonder...how might other more 'traditional' businesses learn from this model...to sustain themselves during these difficult financial times? As an Indianapolis marketing firm, we have had to find smarter, newer ways to work. How about you?
In business, we call it budget. In academia, we call it funding. And it is the key to being able to do what you want, need or dream. A recently graduated student of mine at Herron School of Art and Design has an idea to do a guide for potential students about our design program–from the student's point of view. He's an excellent designer, very witty and most importantly, passionate about the project. The only thing standing between him and doing what he wants is financial backing...so that he can pay the rent while he's working on the project. After a short search, it became obvious that there are an innumerable number of funding sources and grants available. He only has to decide which ones seem to be the best fit, write proposals and then wait to see which backers say yes.
Is there a budgetary issue standing in the way of your most important project or initiative? If it really is important to you and the success of your business, consider where the money is going instead. Are there creative solutions to getting the job done? Are there creative solutions to financing its completion? Sometimes the most creative part of brand communications is funding it, not necessarily its creation! As your brand consulting group, we can also help you to brainstorm and plan ways to enable your most important projects.
Is there a budgetary issue standing in the way of your most important project or initiative? If it really is important to you and the success of your business, consider where the money is going instead. Are there creative solutions to getting the job done? Are there creative solutions to financing its completion? Sometimes the most creative part of brand communications is funding it, not necessarily its creation! As your brand consulting group, we can also help you to brainstorm and plan ways to enable your most important projects.
It was a fun day today at Element Three. One of those days that makes me excited to be an Indianapolis Marketing Firm where we get to develop brands, marketing strategies and engaging creative for our clients.
We are blessed to have an incredibly talented group of interns that are joining us for the summer from Herron School of Art and Design. Alice Reiter, Ceverly Strand, Andrea Haydon and Joel Wittman are working with us on various creative marketing efforts both for Element Three and the clients we serve.
Below are some pictures of our interns in action. Element Three has been asked by a client to create a name for their new product line and they have also engaged our logo creation services to develop a full brand identity. Once it's developed, we'll be sure to post the name and logo for you to see.
Here we are in a brainstorming session centered around developing a name for the product. Armed with a brand brief, markers, post-it notes and lots of candy - we got to work.
Jamie Cousins and I hard at work!
Jamie, Andrea, Alice, Joel and Ceverly talking through various options for the client.
Tools of the trade! Alice giving us instruction.
We are blessed to have an incredibly talented group of interns that are joining us for the summer from Herron School of Art and Design. Alice Reiter, Ceverly Strand, Andrea Haydon and Joel Wittman are working with us on various creative marketing efforts both for Element Three and the clients we serve.
Below are some pictures of our interns in action. Element Three has been asked by a client to create a name for their new product line and they have also engaged our logo creation services to develop a full brand identity. Once it's developed, we'll be sure to post the name and logo for you to see.
Here we are in a brainstorming session centered around developing a name for the product. Armed with a brand brief, markers, post-it notes and lots of candy - we got to work.
Jamie Cousins and I hard at work!
Jamie, Andrea, Alice, Joel and Ceverly talking through various options for the client.
Tools of the trade! Alice giving us instruction.
At our Indianapolis marketing firm, Element Three, we have worked with several different clients that have the goal of building a strong brand presence in the marketplace but have the complication of having sales people all across the nation that need to be supported. How do you build a cohesive company brand while still allowing for the personalization of the individual sales reps?
The short answer? Brand both. Create ways for the corporate brand to be visually consistent and laser focus the marketing message; but, also allow for the sales rep picture, contact information and personal note to be included. Be sure to create clear hierarchy in the brand visuals. The company should be first, the sales rep second.
Here is an example of a recent postcard that went out for our client Connext Financial. This was designed to brand both the company (Connext) and the sales rep (Lisa).
Done consistently, customers will begin to associate your sales reps with your company and both will build a strong brand of trust.
Are there areas in your organization where you can more clearly involve the face your customers see every day? Remember, people do business with people, not with companies. The more you can give a face to your organization the more effective your marketing efforts will become and the greater return on marketing investment you will see.
The short answer? Brand both. Create ways for the corporate brand to be visually consistent and laser focus the marketing message; but, also allow for the sales rep picture, contact information and personal note to be included. Be sure to create clear hierarchy in the brand visuals. The company should be first, the sales rep second.
Here is an example of a recent postcard that went out for our client Connext Financial. This was designed to brand both the company (Connext) and the sales rep (Lisa).
Done consistently, customers will begin to associate your sales reps with your company and both will build a strong brand of trust.
Are there areas in your organization where you can more clearly involve the face your customers see every day? Remember, people do business with people, not with companies. The more you can give a face to your organization the more effective your marketing efforts will become and the greater return on marketing investment you will see.
I have a meeting with a prospect tomorrow, and I'm nervous about it.
Let me tell you why.
5. They don't have a business plan
Too many times we encounter this situation. Everything is in it's place, client's have money to spend, but they have not clearly articulated where they want to arrive.
Marketing is about taking you somewhere different than you are today. It's about creating a magnet that attracts the type of customers you are equipped to serve well. It's about creating growth at a pace the organization can support and sustain. It's about building a brand that attracts employees with similar values. Without a business plan, you are leaving the destination up to the marketing partner/ agency or team you are hiring. Think of the business plan as the map. Marketing's job is to help you determine the appropriate strategic marketing efforts to help get you there.
Without a clear destination, all of the brand strategy, marketing integration, strategic marketing planning or best brand strategy agency in the world will not get you to the desired result. The best thing you can do for our Indianapolis Ad Agency, Element Three or other partner you select is to give them your business plan. That way you know you'll arrive at a place you intended.
Let me tell you why.
- They have a successful business
- They have money to spend
- They know they need our help
- They have a new product to launch
5. They don't have a business plan
Too many times we encounter this situation. Everything is in it's place, client's have money to spend, but they have not clearly articulated where they want to arrive.
Marketing is about taking you somewhere different than you are today. It's about creating a magnet that attracts the type of customers you are equipped to serve well. It's about creating growth at a pace the organization can support and sustain. It's about building a brand that attracts employees with similar values. Without a business plan, you are leaving the destination up to the marketing partner/ agency or team you are hiring. Think of the business plan as the map. Marketing's job is to help you determine the appropriate strategic marketing efforts to help get you there.
Without a clear destination, all of the brand strategy, marketing integration, strategic marketing planning or best brand strategy agency in the world will not get you to the desired result. The best thing you can do for our Indianapolis Ad Agency, Element Three or other partner you select is to give them your business plan. That way you know you'll arrive at a place you intended.
At our Indianapolis Ad Agency, Element Three, we help our clients increase revenue through three avenues (in any combination) Brand Development, Marketing Strategy and Creative Execution. In the interest of being transparent about how we're working to grow our business and making the marketing efforts on behalf of the agency be more effective, I thought it might be valuable to share with our readers a few tweaks we are going to be making to our blog to strengthen it's strategic value to the agency.
Side note: Writing posts consistently is an expensive waste of time if you are not working towards strategically leveraging it as an important part of your marketing efforts. If you are thinking of starting a blog (or have one without a strategy); identify your goals before beginning.
We write our blog for three primary reasons
As I was working with our blog partner, Compendium, to identify ways we might be able to improve the conversions of our visitors - we identified a very obvious thing -
To contact us for more information; you had to link off of our blog, go to the Element Three website, and find the contact us page. What!! Three steps before you could contact me? So, Change #1) add a big button that says contact us and links directly to a form & contact info.
Second thing, we currently only have white papers for people to read as a value-add to the blog posts. We also have a fantastic Assessment tool where people can learn where the low-hanging fruit opportunities are in their organization. People love the results of this Assessment when they take it, our biggest problem is getting people aware of it. Bingo! We're going to add a link to the Assessment from our blog with a brief description. That's Change #2.
Lastly, we have a place where we are asking you if you would like to sign-up for our newsletter. By signing up for our newsletter, we push the information to your in-box and you don't have to remember to come back and visit us (or set up an RSS feed). The sign-up process for our newsletter is equally clumsy to contacting us. Three clicks - and that's assuming you know where it is. We are going to work with our HTML email provider, Delivra, to help us insert the appropriate code so you can enter your email directly into the text box and hit submit. A double-opt-in message will then be generated to confirm your subscription. Change #3.
We were starting to feel pretty good about ourselves - we have been constantly blogging for over a year. But, upon further review - we realized there were some significant areas where the experience for the user could be enhanced considerably.
Where is there opportunity in your marketing activities to improve in areas where you are already putting effort? Don't abandon a tactic too early, ensure you are doing everything to give it the greatest chance for success. If you're not sure, call us! (soon there will be an easy contact us button to do so!)
Side note: Writing posts consistently is an expensive waste of time if you are not working towards strategically leveraging it as an important part of your marketing efforts. If you are thinking of starting a blog (or have one without a strategy); identify your goals before beginning.
We write our blog for three primary reasons
- Potential employees or interns can read our blog to see inside the convictions and ideology of the agency when evaluating if they want to work here
- The content feeds the Element Three newsletter, an integral part of staying in contact with clients, prospects and partners
- Gather leads - you read our blog, think we're really smart - you contact us for more information
As I was working with our blog partner, Compendium, to identify ways we might be able to improve the conversions of our visitors - we identified a very obvious thing -
To contact us for more information; you had to link off of our blog, go to the Element Three website, and find the contact us page. What!! Three steps before you could contact me? So, Change #1) add a big button that says contact us and links directly to a form & contact info.
Second thing, we currently only have white papers for people to read as a value-add to the blog posts. We also have a fantastic Assessment tool where people can learn where the low-hanging fruit opportunities are in their organization. People love the results of this Assessment when they take it, our biggest problem is getting people aware of it. Bingo! We're going to add a link to the Assessment from our blog with a brief description. That's Change #2.
Lastly, we have a place where we are asking you if you would like to sign-up for our newsletter. By signing up for our newsletter, we push the information to your in-box and you don't have to remember to come back and visit us (or set up an RSS feed). The sign-up process for our newsletter is equally clumsy to contacting us. Three clicks - and that's assuming you know where it is. We are going to work with our HTML email provider, Delivra, to help us insert the appropriate code so you can enter your email directly into the text box and hit submit. A double-opt-in message will then be generated to confirm your subscription. Change #3.
We were starting to feel pretty good about ourselves - we have been constantly blogging for over a year. But, upon further review - we realized there were some significant areas where the experience for the user could be enhanced considerably.
Where is there opportunity in your marketing activities to improve in areas where you are already putting effort? Don't abandon a tactic too early, ensure you are doing everything to give it the greatest chance for success. If you're not sure, call us! (soon there will be an easy contact us button to do so!)
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