With Sagis’ phenomenal growth, they needed to revamp their online presence to accommodate an expanding portfolio and ensure a seamless user experience. This case study delves into how Sagis Diagnostics partnered with BUILDINGBLOCKS Marketing Solutions (BBMS) to overcome these obstacles and emerge with a stronger brand presence.

Our Client— Sagis Diagnostics:

Today, Sagis is a trusted name in pathology. The company is a physician-led pathology group that provides diagnostic expertise in a variety of fields, including dermatopathology, podiatric pathology, surgical & cytopathology, molecular pathology, and toxicology, to name a few. With a commitment to precision and excellence, it serves as a cornerstone in the medical community, providing vital diagnostic services to nationwide healthcare providers and patients alike.

Check Out Sagis’ New Diagnostic Experts Page!

Their Growth Problem:

As the Sagis team expanded, they became challenged with refreshing their messaging and consolidating their website and online presence to innovate, adapt, and best reflect and incorporate their extended offerings. This necessitated merging three separate websites and two new service lines into one cohesive platform. The existing websites included:

1. Sagis Dx
2. Sagis Podiatry
3. Sagis Toxicology

Sagis Former Website Homepage— BEFORE

In addition to merging the websites and brands, Sagis found it necessary for the consolidated site to have:

• Scalability as they continued to diversify
• A capacity to provide user access to any page on the site within two to three clicks
• An enhanced user-friendly admin interface, giving their team the ability to manage content on their own
• Exceptional UI/UX for the Resident Education portion of their website to add value and create more positive learning experiences for residents and medical students
• Improved patient and provider portals to ensure site visitors can easily and quickly access results, supplies, and needed resources and information online

The Solution:

BBMS didn’t just offer a one-size-fits-all solution. Instead, we developed a tailored strategy by taking a comprehensive approach to address Sagis’ multifaceted challenges. We created the following steps towards a custom solution.

1.    Voice of Customer Survey

BBMS gained valuable insights into Sagis’ target audience by conducting in-depth surveys. This tool facilitated the development of precise marketing personas and tailored messaging strategies, ensuring resonance with physicians, clinicians, and resident doctors alike.

2.    WordPress Integration with User-Friendly Admin Interface

Leveraging the power of WordPress coupled with a customizable website builder, BBMS crafted a sleek and intuitive admin interface. This solution empowered Sagis’ team to manage content effortlessly, streamlining operations and reducing dependency on external resources.

3.    Mega Menu Implementation

BBMS integrated a robust mega menu feature to enhance user navigation. This option enabled users to easily access specific service lines, fostering a seamless browsing experience. The mega menu also allows visitors to access any page on the site within two to three clicks.

4.    Resident Education Portal

Recognizing the significance of resident education and its importance to Sagis, BBMS enhanced and further advanced their sophisticated video library. The new portal offers resident doctors a comprehensive learning platform tailored to their needs and is equipped with advanced sorting, search categories, and viewing functionalities.

Sagis Website Homepage— AFTER

The Sagis Diagnostics Result:

They received a mega website with a seamless fusion of marketing innovation and functionality. Through strategic collaboration with BBMS, Sagis has successfully transformed its online presence, achieving remarkable outcomes. This consolidated website not only exuded professionalism but, more importantly, it strategically addressed the needs of physicians, clinicians, residents, and patients alike.

Furthermore, the intuitive admin interface empowered Sagis’ team, enabling efficient content management and fostering autonomy. Lastly, the dedicated Resident Education portal garnered accolades for its exceptional UI/UX, enriching the learning journey for residents.

Sagis’ partnership with BBMS exemplifies the power of innovation and collaboration in navigating the complexities of business growth and diversification. By embracing tailored marketing solutions and prioritizing user experience, Sagis continues to emerge as a trailblazer in the diagnostic healthcare industry and remains poised for continued success in an ever-evolving landscape of diagnosing potential life-threatening diseases.

Continuing to serve marketing solutions and partnering with Sagis Diagnostics has remained an honor for BBMS!

Check Out Sagis’ Molecular Services Department Page!

What website or marketing solutions can we provide for your business?

BUILDINGBLOCKS specializes in addressing the needs of growing businesses. Thus, we focus on scalability, diversifying services or products, and developing strategies to bolster sustainability and drive profitability. Our expertise lies in collaborating and partnering with businesses to ensure marketing success and substantial ROI, regardless of company size.

Whether you require a dedicated outsourced marketing department, additional support during peak campaign periods or experimental phases, or expert consultation, training, and tailored recommendations, we’re poised and committed to ensuring your ultimate success!

 Schedule your free consultation online, or by phone at 281-203-0529.

The post Anatomy of a Mega Website: A Sagis Case Study appeared first on BUILDINGBLOCKS.

Embarking on a new startup or completely revamping your business always has its fair share of challenges at the beginning. Yet, we’re equally excited about the possibilities of sweet success and grandeur. Thankfully, we have tremendous technical advancements and tools today that help us get that much closer to obtaining business goals. And when we use these top marketing automation tools properly, we can reach success much faster with streamlined processes and reduced costs!

Modern marketing automation utilizes software technologies and platforms that automate particular tasks instead of requiring someone to work them manually. In today’s competitive digital landscape, automation tools have rapidly revolutionized and optimized the way businesses can:

• Effectively and efficiently operate
• Increase their bottom line

Discover how these top 5 automation moves can help startups save resources, money, and time!

1. 1. Marketing Automation
   2. Workflow Software
   3. AI Program Automation
   4. Response/Reply Automation
   5. Lead Capture Automation
   6. YOUR BONUS MOVE

1. Make a Marketing Automation Move!

Since the 90s, we’ve watched marketing automation move to the forefront of state-of-the-art digital innovation and software platform development. In truth, it has drastically improved our lives and advanced business operations. It has turned complex marketing tasks into programmed automation that we can set without allowing us to forget! Now we can “Do More¹,” faster and more effectively.

Marketing automation has brought remarkable innovation to our most popular tools, like email marketing, lead generation, campaign tracking, and social media marketing. Overall, automation helps startups accomplish greater levels of effectiveness with a smaller staff.

2. Wielding Workflow Automation

Workflow automation is a fast and convenient way to implement and streamline repetitive manual tasks into automated technology and digital processes. Two of the best workflow automation software brands for managing business projects include Monday and Asana.

The main advantages of using this automation tool are saving time on manual tasks and having predefined action sequences for message notifications, data entry, work approvals, and document routing. Additionally, since humans are prone to error, workflow automation helps remove that risk through accurate and consistent task execution, ultimately saving time and money.

3.  Awesome AI Program Automation

Using AI automation tools in business marketing can further help startups enhance and streamline repetitive manual tasks! Compared to traditional automated tools, AI provides unprecedented personalization and task optimization elements in automation.

Many of the current AI-automated² tools available today can take proposal creation and quality lead generation to the next level! In fact, the top tools for startups and small businesses consist of popular software programs that AI automation has significantly improved. For example, next-level AI automation can include quiz marketing automation, Chatbox sales and other sales automation software, AI email marketing, and proposal automation.

At best, businesses can utilize AI marketing automation to meet relevant needs pertaining to various everyday tasks and even sales and marketing procedures.

4. Incorporate Response/Reply Automation for Your B2C Startup

Autoresponders, or automatic email replies, consist of pre-written messages businesses can set to respond to incoming emails automatically. In addition, the software programming makes it convenient to customize messaging or instructions and send responses immediately or at a scheduled time.

When new businesses receive multiple inquiries and support requests from clients or potential customers, this automated tool offers easy responses to common questions and ensures people receive timely assistance 24/7/365. And these kinds of benefits can substantially enhance overall customer loyalty and satisfaction.

5. Automation Methods that Help Capture Leads

Capturing leads with automation is a phenomenon that has been around for a while. However, startups can accomplish this on a grander scale with the latest and most advanced automated software programs available today (like AI and ChatGPT³). By incorporating specific tools and strategies to automate and streamline the lead generation process, startups can capture leads faster, more efficiently, and in greater numbers. For instance, leveraging automation to capture leads can come through the following methods:

• Using lead capture forms or lead magnets on a business site
• Having Chatbots to collect contacts, answer FAQs, etc.
• Integrating CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software

The BONUS MOVE— Connect with BUILDINGBLOCKS Today

We’re all about ensuring the success of your startup or new small business! Also, we’re committed to aiding in the ‘take off’ by implementing the proper plan strategies and marketing tools to help you reach your goals and obtain success. Incorporating some of the innovative automation tools discussed in this blog can significantly benefit your startup, regardless of service industry.

Bottom line, digital automation software is crucial for streamlining operations and daily processes, reducing human error, and ultimately saving time and money. So, if you’re interested in learning more about how to apply these tools to your startup or business revamp, don’t wait; connect with us online to set your meeting time.

And for immediate assistance, call 281-203-0529. We’re ready to discuss your marketing needs, assist you in your growth, and watch you thrive!

^{Image References}

1. ^{“Do More” Online with automation concept. Image by Carl Heyerdahl. Thank You!}
2. ^{AI digital hardware concept image by Igor Omilaev. Thank You!}
3. ^{Open AI ChatGPT online image concept by Andrew Neel. Thank You!}

The post Today’s Best Automation Moves for StartUps appeared first on BUILDINGBLOCKS.

Since the pandemic, we’ve steadily seen significant changes in how people consume content to obtain information. And thankfully, digital content marketing has consistently risen to the occasion by providing several enduring and innovative trends that help keep us engaged.

Although content remains embedded in marketing and advertising, people’s interests constantly shift. So, marketers will continue chasing what’s new, viral, and trendy to ensure their audience remains actively engaged online. Fortunately, we’ve discovered that the few “Tried & True” gems discussed in this blog remain the best content marketing trends.

Considering the latest trends isn’t as important as how well businesses strategize, incorporate, tailor, and present them to their targeted audiences. Thus, implementing the right content marketing trends and strategies is only effective when companies use the right:

• Tactics
• Platforms most suitable to their…
• Industry and…
• Audience needs and preferences.

Jump to the Seven Content Marketing Trends

Marketers and business owners consistently want to grow and drive more quality website traffic. See the latest seven trends, including the likely few “Tried & True” that are here to stay!

1. 1. Fun & Conversational Content
   2. The Fusion of Short-form Videos & Content
   3. Social Media Marketing Content Reach
   4. The Fusion of AI & Content Marketing
   5. Adding ‘Brand Value Emphasis’
   6. Remembering SEO— Making Content ‘Searchable’
   7. Why Content Marketing Stats Matter
   8. BONUS: Connecting on a Relatable Human Level

^{Source: Content Marketing Institute Research— 2023}

#1— Like emails, content marketing should be captivating and conversational.

When was the last time you read something you published? Was the content engaging and relatable, or did it cause you to become easily distracted or lost in the words? In case you haven’t noticed, people have changed a lot since the pandemic, and so have their attention spans. Most online visitors are alert and adamant about researching information before making decisions.

That’s why content should not just be a bunch of words put into digital marketing for Google to crawl for SEO. Your content should be captivating enough to keep readers searching for more. Titles, headers, videos, and visual components matter more than ever. So, be ready to invest in fun and entertaining content for social media platforms, emails, and landing pages. For example, according to Marketing Charts, nearly half of people online are more likely to share funny content than something that is important.

On top of being funny, it’s also crucial that your content has meaning and tells stories that relate to the human condition. People¹ are still searching for truth, genuineness, and relatability, so ensure company values and missions are stated to build trustworthiness and help people connect to your brand.

#2— Know why and how short-form video content marketing is trending!

A short-form video is video content that is 60 seconds or less in length. Though some videos can last three minutes, creators must ensure they can captivate audiences for that duration of time to gain success. However, what’s most critical to know about short forms is that, since 2020, they’ve become the most popular content marketing trend out there!

Know the Why

• • Several sources state the key reasons why short-form video is a vital trend in digital marketing:
  • Over 95% of today’s consumers prefer short videos
  • They currently yield the highest ROI
  • TikTok now has over 1.5 billion users who watch short-form videos on its platform
  • They’re more likely to go viral
  • 3 out of 10 videos are likely to be watched over 80% of the way through
  • Nearly 35% of marketers are likely to invest in short-form videos in the future

Know the How

My Ma always says, “If you’re going to do something, do it right!” And I heartily agree, especially when helping clients succeed in digital marketing. So, for leveraging short-form videos, see the current best practices below.

• • Think of them as powerful snacks— the content is bite-sized, tasteful, and easily digested.
  • Hook viewers with fascinating visuals and/or powerful screen text that lure them into clicking for more.
  • Ensure the content (both visual and text) strongly connects to your audiences’ emotions and values.
  • Share fun and insightful content about products, services, or people that encourage and inspire engagement.
  • Elicit Action 1— give them a CTA to connect to products, services, people, or more information.
  • Elicit Action 2— create fantastic short-forms that will encourage viewers to share the videos with others.

@iamlaurencompton Whatever’s in my mailbox can wait till Christmas #texasheat #mail #nottoday ♬ Funny Song – Cavendish Music

#3— Influencer and social media marketing is still the key to reach and attract Gens Y and Z!

Social media and influencer marketing are still the top platforms for reaching Gens Y and Z audiences. And with over 9 out of 10 Gen Z’ers spending roughly four hours/day on social media apps, you know those platforms are powerful marketing spaces for offering products and services.

These days, the Z Generation is also the leading consumer utilizing social media for product and service searches, purchases, and shares. In addition, they prefer to leverage social media for entertainment, connecting, and learning about products and services via videos. Top platforms include:

1. Instagram
2. YouTube
3. TikTok

Even for other generations, social media remains effective for reaching and attracting them with content marketing. However, the preferred platforms and industry matches most effective for reaching a particular audience are what’s most important. For example, the top preferences for professional Baby Boomers and Gen X’ers are LinkedIn and Facebook.

#4— AI’s Impact on Content Marketing is Growing

The recent introduction and infusion of AI with digital marketing has allowed innovative marketers and businesses to engage with conversational technology for the first time. As a result, many have already begun experimenting with implementing AI into advanced systems of new content marketing strategies.

For example, ChatGPT had gained 100 million monthly subscribers within two months of its launch versus the nine months it took TikTok to reach that many active users. Yet, the key to utilizing AI is first to understand what it is and how it has evolved before implementing it with content marketing.

Implementation Tips

• • Begin experimenting with ChatGPT to learn its limitations before employing it for your business.
  • Use caution and supervision when implementing AI to generate marketing content.
  • Use them also when incorporating AI automation into chats, voice, and customer interactions.
  • Learn how AI performs and shows up on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).
  • Proof and check all your AI-generated copy, then refine it to fit your company brand before publishing anything.
  • Explore all the AI tools and applications available to learn which options will be most effective and relevant to your industry and marketing needs.

#5—  Ensure your company continues to emphasize brand values in your content.

As it stands, over 8 in 10 people today prefer a company’s brand values to match theirs. But if values were changed and suddenly misaligned with specific consumer values, many customers would quickly part ways with that company. So, businesses have continued to create content that expresses their brand value proposition to ensure consumer support and overall growth.

And since 2020, there’s been an influx of people placing importance on prioritizing human values like equity, sourcing, community service, and sustainability. And they also prefer to see it play out in marketing as well, especially through their experiences with a brand.

Today’s consumers want to do more than just save money; they want to participate in something bigger than themselves. And when businesses strategically share their values through relevant content marketing, people are more inclined to spend money to support and back a company they believe is making a difference.

#6—  Strategic SEO tactics are a must-have.

SEO definitely remains a “Tried & True” content marketing and strategy trend. And without it, there wouldn’t be an avenue linking online searches to website services and products. In other words, the fusion of SEO search engine technology with strategic keyword content is what attracts visitors, converts leads, and guides people to the website resources they need.

However, what’s especially changing with SEO is the steady enhanced fusion of content marketing with search behaviors through AI advancements. For example, we’ve learned the majority of today’s marketers and bloggers believe the changes in SEO will ultimately help upgrade people’s search experiences and improve website traffic.

Yet, the fact remains that marketers must continue providing highly unique, thoughtful, and meaningful content that’s most conducive to human readers. In doing so, companies learn to strategically rethink their writing and how content can best fuse with SEO, consumer search behaviors, and AI.

#7— Content marketing statistics still matter for strategic business growth.

According to a recent Business Wire statistical report, marketers project the content marketing industry to swell to nearly $585 billion by 2027. And that’s what we call astronomical growth, especially with AI as a leading change factor.

Believe it or not, people still enjoy reading, even long-form blogs. But the content MUST BE EXCEPTIONAL if marketers expect people to read more than 1500 words! Below are a few interesting statistical trends you need to know and consider while improving your content marketing efforts and growing your business.

1. Speaking of long-form blogs: people are 2x as likely to read them compared to your typical ones.
2. Nearly 80 percent of marketers utilize content marketing for high-quality lead generation.
3. As an effective content marketing tactic, SEO is preferred by 75 percent of marketers.
4. Compared to traditional marketing, digital content marketing yields a 62% savings in cost.
5. Digital content marketing also produces 3-times more leads!
6. An average 25% (one-fourth) of a company’s marketing budget is allocated to content marketing.
7. Roughly 3 out of 10 businesses will outsource their content creation to professional firms.
8. Businesses that blog regularly produce nearly 70% more leads/mo.

BONUS Trend— Consider an outsourced digital marketing partner to help drive more traffic and quality leads to your website.

Undoubtedly, the stakes are high in today’s content marketing industry, and average content just won’t do anymore. It’s now time to reset your standards and rise to the occasion by utilizing some of the trends we’ve discussed to help keep you competitive or get in the game!

As digital content continues to explode, BBMS is prepared to partner with you to develop strategies to help you create unique, relevant, and engaging content that generates leads and yields genuine results!

If you’re ready to tap into a strategic plan, drive more traffic to your website, and start benefiting from your digital marketing efforts, let’s discuss options! Connect online or call 281-203-0529 for more information on how to get started.

^References

1. ^{Engaging business content marketing concept by Bruce Mars. Thank You!}

The post Digital Content Marketing: Latest Trends & How to Benefit appeared first on BUILDINGBLOCKS.

Discover the Top 10 Ways to Skyrocket Your Email Marketing Campaigns

In all our years of partnering with businesses to assist in their digital marketing success, we’ve learned the #1 Rule for email marketing campaigns. ‘Stick to Best Practices!’ Like with SEO, website development, and lead generation campaigns, adhering to the current and most effective practices the industry puts in place will always be your best bet!

Take a Closer Look!

Jump to the 10 ways to skyrocket your email campaigns.

1. Start with a Welcome
2. On-Point Personalization
3. Seductive Subject Lines, Images, and Pretext
4. The Briefer, the Better
5. Always Call-to-Action
6. Mobile-Friendly Matters
7. Share This!
8. Easy Unsubscribe
9. Analytics is a Must
10. Keep It Clean- Your Email List
11. BONUS: Explore options w/BUILDINGBLOCKS

Check out these resources from BUILDINGBLOCKS!

Up Sales with Email Marketing Automation

Kick-@$$ Email Marketing Campaigns

1.  Establish immediate rapport with your subscribers by sending them an initial ‘Welcome’ email.

Once a subscriber has opted in to receive your emails, send a welcome email! E-Welcomes help make quick connections with your audience. They also inform them about what to expect from your company and how often.

E-Welcomes are a significant best practice because they typically have a 50% open rate, generating 4x more opens and 5x more clicks than regular e-campaigns! To leverage this percentage to your advantage, offer relevant, valuable, and well-branded information that connects to their emotions.

You can also:

• Share company stories— Identify common values
• Provide case studies— Pluck their heartstrings
• Offer one-time discounts or promotional items— People LOVE to feel special
• Ask for their email marketing needs and preferences— People LOVE to tell you what they want/need

Those ideas help accomplish two critical things, ensuring they open your emails:

1. Establishes an immediate connection
2. Peaks their interest to wanting more

2.  Make your email marketing campaigns personalized, segmented, and conversational!

Be they ‘salesy’ or ‘highly formal,’ those stiff, dry, and detached emails won’t do! Building an immediate connection with subscribers through personalization and segmentation will always generate a higher open and click-through rate. To accomplish this, the simplest method is to address recipients by their first name in the emails. Yet, there is much more to do to capture and engage today’s subscribers.

Sagis Diagnostics: Strategic email marketing campaign- March 2023.

Let’s talk about tailored personalization with audience segmentation.

Audience segmentation has over 14% higher open rates compared to non-segmented campaigns! And with today’s email marketing automation technology, you can incorporate powerful advanced features with your e-blasts that help further tailor messages to each recipient and focus your campaigns. So, it’s a MUST-HAVE to help ensure continued group appeal and present value to your subscribers. Below are a few trending examples.

Tailor-made Cookies!

When your emails integrate with various pages on your website, you can use website cookies and begin sending emails based on their browsing behaviors on your site.

Party Like It’s Your Birthday!

Collecting birth-dates from subscribers provides another great way to send personal emails and offer them something special.

Keep it Casual and Conversational!

More people today are turned off by cold, disconnected, and formal emails. Instead, they prefer straight talk and that you “get to the point” as quickly and as effectively as possible. So, it’s always best to convey comforting, relatable messages and speak the subscriber’s language. Lastly, use a natural conversational flow, like I’ve written here! People will engage more in content that’s easy to read and comes from a trusted friend or advisor.

3.  Are you using compelling subject lines, insightful preview texts, and images in all your email marketing campaigns?

If not, your emails could quickly become e-misses! I’ve discovered once I’ve crafted the right subject line or header with an awesome preview text, I’ve gotten the hardest part of writing the email accomplished! The header will always guide me on what I need to communicate in the email, but an intriguing one will always catch the reader’s eye!

The bottom line about subject lines:

Creating captivating subject lines is vital to the open rate of every email campaign. And the reason for this is that e-blasts without relevant subjects quickly get smothered amid other messages or have the potential to pop up in spam or junk mail. You don’t want that for your emails!

Consider these six essential tips:

• Keep subject lines at 9 words or less.
• Although emojis are super effective, don’t go overboard.
• Write and craft your email messages like a copywriter; ask yourself, ‘What would get YOU to read the email?’
• ALL CAPS, bolds, and exclamation overload (!!!!!) are unnecessary!
• Keep the subject line relevant! If your email is about your website, don’t make the subject line about a service.
• Images are a MUST-HAVE. They should support the intriguing subject line and help compel readers to open their mail.

Business email with subject line and preview text that turned into a marketing blog!

Let’s talk about email marketing preview texts.

Your preview text serves as a subtitle to the subject line, and it, too, needs to be on point. Pretexts are like 1-line summaries of the entire email, so make them grand. So, customize the preview line to ensure it further lures the reader into opening the email. Lastly, use this second line to help subscribers see how the subject applies to them. For instance:

1. Give a taste of what they can do in the email.
2. Share how the issue provides a solution to a problem.
3. Convey that the email is a continuation or a response to a previous subject.
4. Notify them of something innovative or exciting.
5. Share the end-result or final detail/outcome to compel them to read further.
6. Make sure the image also matches and intrigues, similar to the preview text.

4.  Keep your email marketing campaigns short, sweet, and ‘skimmable!’

I know; this blog is full of words I’ve been making up along the way, like— ‘e-welcome,’ ‘e-miss,’ and ‘skimmable!’ Yet, I pray you’re enjoying reading it as much as I’m enjoying writing it. According to a recent email study, over 121 business and retail emails are sent and received daily. And with all the pile-up messages people find in their inboxes, keeping your emails brief and on-point up their chances of being opened.

So, what’s a short email? According to Jason Hamilton, 200 words or less means you’ve reached the e-spot. But if you end up writing an essay-sized e-blast, it better be GREAT enough to keep them engaged. And don’t make a habit of doing that unless your subscribers are “into it.” I always say, ‘If it’s too long, blog it. And if you still want to email it, pull 175 of your most vital words from the blog to blast it.’ 

Along with the email being short and sweet, ask yourself, ‘Is it skimmable?’

Consider This: Would you enjoy reading through tons of paragraphs from 30 different emails every day? Most likely, your answer is “No.” So, it’s best to keep this in mind for your recipients.

People prefer emails with easy-to-read headers, well-spaced sections, bullets, numbers/steps, and CTA buttons. If they can quickly skim the content, you’ve made their lives much easier. In addition, you’ve also opened the opportunity for them to decide if your email is worth reading!

5.  Your email campaigns should always ‘Call People to Action’ with a CTA.

To me, an email without a call-to-action (CTA) is like—

• Serving someone a delicious meal without any eating utensils
• Meeting who you believe is the “love of your life” and not exchanging phone numbers
• Leading a thirsty horse to water with nothing for them to drink

When blasting an awesome business email, make sure subscribers have the opportunity to get more information, connect, make a purchase, or gain resources and solutions. CTAs help build your database and offer recipients, customers, and potential clients options to engage further.

In addition, always consider these three key tips:

1. Keep CTAs under five words and concise so subscribers know exactly what they need to do and where the link will take them.
2. Be sure to avoid utilizing misleading CTAs. That’s a massive turn-off for people, and they likely won’t trust anything else you send them.
3. Lastly, use big CTA buttons with a link that people can click on to access more information.

6.  Emails should be responsive and optimized for Smartphone usage.

People rely on their smartphones¹ more than ever, and why not? It’s super convenient as a powerful tool for accessing and sharing information, and for making transactions. And since more than 41% of opened emails come from people using their mobile devices, ensuring your emails are optimized and responsive for phones only makes sense.

The best way to ensure optimization is to subscribe to marketing platforms with responsive design templates promoting functionality and aesthetics across all devices.

7.  Allow subscribers to SHARE emails; people love that option!

Although people can easily forward an email to someone, the share option provides a far better opportunity for distributing your emails to a broader audience. And fortunately, there are a few email marketing platforms that allow share distribution option buttons.

Through these platforms, subscribers can also click share buttons to distribute links and share on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

8.   Make it easy and convenient for people to unsubscribe; they’ll love that even more!

Just as easy as company followers can subscribe to your newsletter for insights and updates, it should also be easy for them to unsubscribe. The unfortunate reality of email marketing is that people may not always want to stay on your mailing list, and a varied percentage will eventually unsubscribe. However, you can take the opportunity to send a “Farewell Confirmation” note to thank them for the opportunity to market to them.

But the worst thing a business can do is make it difficult for people to unsubscribe by using ‘warning language’ to communicate that their opting out is a mistake. We’ve learned the best businesses will avoid the following tactics when recipients want to unsubscribe:

1. Not having an ‘Unsubscribe’ option button
2. Making the button hard to find
3. Requiring people to email the company in order to unsubscribe
4. Requesting feedback via survey questions before they opt-out

Overall, keeping the unsubscribe option in the footer of every email keeps you in compliance with the law and leaves a lasting positive impression on recipients who may eventually come back.

9.  Use analytics to guide your email marketing strategy.

Always consider using analytics to make data-driven choices about your email marketing strategy. When you regularly assess data across your email marketing campaigns, you can conveniently adjust your blasts to enhance reader engagement.

However, your most essential metrics are as follows:

• Open Rate- the percentage of people who actually open their emails
• Click-Through Rate (CTR)- the portion of subscribers that click on a CTA button or link in an email once they’ve opened it
• Unsubscribe Rate- the measurable percentage of people who opt out of an email list once they’ve opened it

Once you have these vital numbers, compare them to industry benchmarks to see how your campaigns have performed. Through analytics, you can quickly assess which campaigns have performed the best over time and begin tailoring emails into a more significant marketing focus. And with others, you can also start making proper adjustments to give room for improvement. And overall, the key to using analytics to drive strategy is ensuring that your campaigns continue showing gradual improvement via increased open and click-through rates.

10.  Lastly, purge and clean out your email listings regularly.

Clutter isn’t suitable for anyone, especially regarding your email database. And though an extensive email database can appear valuable, it’s not about the list’s quantity but the quality. What matters most with email subscribers is the percentage of opened emails, click-throughs, and conversions, as these metrics clearly determine the amount of driven traffic to a website. In addition, a list of engaged subscribers holds more weight on your delivery rate by reducing spam and unsubscribes.

At least three or four times a year, you should review your list of subscribers and check those who haven’t engaged with your content in a while. See if the emails have bounced, are no longer valid, or are worth re-engaging with new content. In any case, check which recipients on your list should be removed and keep your database clean for campaign success.

We want to help you build an email marketing strategy that converts leads and improves your bottom line!

As a business owner, you may have limited time for maintaining email marketing best practices. Yet, with a solid and innovative strategy from BUILDINGBLOCKS, you can rest assured that your campaigns will work and yield genuine results.

Get started today by scheduling a FREE 30-Minute Consultation, or call 281-203-0529.

Check out this resource from BUILDINGBLOCKS!

Does Email Marketing Still Work?

^References

1. ^{Optimized mobile email photo concept by Charles Deluvio— Thank You!}

The post Email Marketing: Plan, Build, and Blast Off! appeared first on BUILDINGBLOCKS.

Are you looking for better ways to connect with your business clients and customers? In today’s world, reaching your customer base and target audience via social media marketing isn’t an option; it’s a requirement. In other words, if you’re not connecting to current and potential clients online, business growth and sustainability opportunities are extremely limited.

Read this article to discover how to make better business connections with customers and clients through social media marketing.

However, let’s first recognize that every company conducting business online will connect with their current customers, clients, and target audiences differently. And there are some guidelines we must take advantage of when incorporating social media marketing strategies with them.

When executed correctly, social media provides the ideal scenario for building lasting B2C and B2B relationships and making meaningful connections.

We’re discussing the following:

1. 1. WHY social media marketing works!
   2. HOW to start a social community
   3. WHAT to post
   4. WHEN to post
   5. WHERE to find digital marketing support

Social Media Marketing Still Works… When You Work It Right

Gone are the days when businesses considered social media too impersonal for establishing nurturing relationships and conducting business with customers or clients online. Yet, using social platforms as an extension of your digital marketing campaign efforts has proven to be the best way to make meaningful connections with current and potential customers!

In truth, SMM remains an innovative strategy for the following achievements.

• Getting to know your customers’ preferences and needs better
• Connecting with them in their preferred social spaces
• Reaching them when they’re already online searching for products, services, information, and for entertainment

First, set up your online social communities properly.

And the most critical aspect of starting a social media community is choosing the platforms your customers and target audiences use most. It also helps to ensure your social platforms best complement your business industry.

Choose Your Platform

For example, utilizing Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter offers various ways to develop connections with social media users. And even if your business already has its own social platform page, you can step-it-up a notch by establishing an online community exclusively for your followers and clients/consumers. Some social media platforms, like Facebook, provide a free option for creating social groups on your company terms.

Begin Posting with Purpose

And once you’ve set things up, it’s imperative to begin posting regularly with industry news, product updates, and interactive activities. As you build your online culture, you provide an avenue for current and potential customers to become a part of a vital community that shares their values and ideals.

Monitor Comments and Follower Feedback with Care

Lastly, ensure you stay on top of online responses and posted comments from your followers. When there is a problem, connect immediately and offer viable solutions to reassure them that you care and hear them²!

In addition, their comments and responses provide vital insights into who your customers are, what they like and need, and what isn’t working for them. Overall, social media communities offer another level of quality assurance and meaningful rapport for your customers and targeted audience.

What should you post? Pictures and videos and demos— Oh my!

When it comes to business social media posts, it’s not just about HOW often you post, but also WHAT you post! In truth, what you post is more important. Why, may you ask? Because what you publish must always create reasons for current and potential customers to keep coming to your platforms and end at your responsive website.

Show rather than tell.

People prefer watching videos and demos about products and services rather than reading about them 8 to 1. So, instead of consistently creating text posts, shake things up by incorporating video³ content and demos that include creative details about the following.

• 1. Your Business
  2. The Culture
  3. Vital Industry News & Future Insights
  4. Product Uses & Features
  5. Excellent Customer Service & Testimonials

Make your posts about more than just business.

Another perk of employing SMM is the ability to be slightly informal online and more relational with your followers. Your posts don’t have to be all about business; instead, consider sharing personal stories about how your product or service made someone’s life better and more productive.

People love authenticity in posts. So, if your company has a remarkable culture and a well-knitted community of positive people⁴, be open to sharing business stories and outcome updates regularly. Followers enjoy viewing posts about the exciting things happening within the company and how the culture celebrates staff, leaders, and their customers/clients.

And in addition to company news, products, and services, consider promoting industry topics pertaining to key social media events happening nationally and internationally. Humorous, intelligent, insightful, and inspirational posts can merit significant boosts in your following!

When should you post? Well, it depends!

You can utilize a variety of factors to determine the best times to post. Hootsuite, for example, offers professional recommendations on what times are best to post on social media. Those suggestions are based on the following:

• Your industry type
• When your followers are most active online
• What times to post based on social topics/subjects

Speaking of topics and social subjects, you should always post about things your company supports, especially during real-time local events, national news, and social headlines. Posting about community trends and hot topics is a great way to support what you value most and display your business stance on the issues. But be careful in this, however, by keeping your content clean, insightful, and highly professional.

When your company rallies around critical issues or supports vital community organizations and causes, tell your followers about it! During those times, it’s okay to toot your own horn and rally their additional support towards the cause.

Whether you have a large corporation or a local business, there are plenty of entities to support that are bigger than you and help guide your followers to also rally behind something great! Collaborating with organizations and supporting something other than your business shows your audience that you CARE and helps create brand awareness.

Overall, these posts, including engaging pictures, content, and videos (when appropriate), should be launched in real-time or ASAP so people can engage in the moment.

Essential Social Media Marketing Tips to Consider

And on a fundamental note, consider the following three posting tips—

1. 1. Best Times- Posting in the afternoons or evenings on Wednesdays, Thursdays, or Fridays is ideal, as followers are more likely to begin winding down their days.
   2. Track & Measure- It would help if you also considered checking campaign performances and visitor behaviors by viewing monthly reports and analytics. This data provides additional insights into when your followers are online, which platforms they prefer, and when they visit your website.
   3. Post Conveniently– When you know they’re on, that’s the best time to post.

Where can you find true social media marketing success? Look no further than BUILDINGBLOCKS!

Let us assist your business with social media and other digital marketing campaigns. We aim to ensure you receive a tangible ROI and accurate results!

So, connect with us online to schedule your meeting time, or call 281-203-0529 for immediate assistance.

References

1. ^{Featured Image- Social Media Business Collaboration. Image concept by Austin Distel. Thank You!}
2. ^{We Hear You. Business response concept by John Tyson. Thanks!}
3. ^{Facebook video capture concept by Sticker Mule. Thank you!}
4. ^{Inspiring business post concept by Ian Schneider. Thanks!}

The post Make Better Connections Via Social Media Marketing appeared first on BUILDINGBLOCKS.

Explore our choice digital marketing tips for today’s women-owned businesses that will generate leads AND increase your ROI!

Before entering a deep discussion about digital marketing for today’s women-owned businesses, let’s check out the following eye-opening statistics¹!

1. Nearly 70% of women-owned businesses are run by Gen-Xers!
2. Women own over 40% of all U.S. businesses— roughly 13 million.
3. Over 9 million U.S. workers are employed by female business owners!
4. About 850 new women-owned establishments open daily.
5. In addition, most women went into business for themselves for these popular reasons: 1. Financial Independence. 2. Increased Flexibility. And 3. Pursuing Passion.

Like any other company, women-owned, veteran-owned, and minority-owned businesses can all benefit from the proven digital marketing strategies that work best for their industry. And at BUILDINGBLOCKS, our focus is to help ensure success through innovative tools that are guaranteed to yield a substantial ROI, keep customers and clients happy, and add value to their lives.

Therefore, this article provides FIVE essential tips for marketing success for women-owned businesses.

• • Introduction- Making Digital Marketing Work
  • 1- Running Your Company with Confidence
  • 2- Meeting Needs Online
  • 3- Building Trust Online
  • 4- Promoting Easy Access Online
  • 5- Considering a Strategic Marketing Partnership

So, what makes digital marketing work for women-owned businesses in the 21^st century?

That question is easy! We’ve discovered that the five proven factors guaranteed to work for a woman-owned business are the same ones that apply to any company’s marketing strategy. And they are as follows:

Before reading further, check out “The One Thing…” video clip from Jason!

Tip #1— Incorporate digital marketing with confidence.

The top reason women can run their companies with complete confidence is that the trend of male dominance in business ownership has shifted. For example, in the United States alone, business ownership among men and women is nearly 50/50, with about 49% of women owning businesses compared to 51% of men.

However, the fact remains that some ladies still experience struggles in the areas of feeling confident in themselves and their business success. And the battles are especially evident when it comes to:

1. Industry Competition
2. Business Perception & Professionalism
3. Goal Achievement
4. Balancing Family-Life, and
5. Implementing the Right Marketing Strategies

Yet, if you, as a business owner, are consistently thinking of ways to adjust and work through these struggles, then you’re likely on track to building a successful and sustainable company. And although a Gender Pay Gap still exists in the workplace where ladies earn 83% of men’s salaries, women choosing to go into business for themselves helps bridge that gap.

Bottom Line— You can do this, especially with the backing of a strategic digital marketing partner who can help ensure overall success!

Tip #2— Meet customer needs online with a website that works.

After researching to understand your target audience, there’s only one top way to stay connected to them and meet their needs online. And that is to— ‘Have an engaging, responsive, and functional website!‘ The digital marketing tip of having a website that works provides a beautiful platform for your patrons to access products, services, and industry resource information.

Once you become familiar with your audience’s values, online search behaviors, and needs, you can develop a customer-centered site that keeps them connected.

A great site with exceptional customer service will always ensure that you’re:

• Offering viable solutions
• Meeting immediate needs
• Providing critical resource information
• Creating opportunities for growth
• Keeping customers happy

Tip #3— Build trust with resourceful digital marketing content and brand consistency.

Consistency with every marketing campaign helps build trust, customer confidence, and quality assurance. And when customers/clients know they can rely on your brand to deliver consistently, you also feel more confident about running your business and deepening relationships.

The best way to build trust and brand consistency is through posting fresh, relevant, and resourceful industry content online. Also, you’ll want to ensure your content marketing is incorporated through your website, email marketing, social media platforms, and within your messaging and customer service encounters. This process is key to great branding and awareness.

And step one involves developing a solid brand strategy. In fact, brand strategy starts with defining what your business offers, your ideal audience, brand messaging, values, uniqueness, and goals.

Tip #4— Promote easy access online through inbound marketing.

It’s vital to consistently guide potential leads and clients in what they need to do to access products and services. However, you must first attract them to your business with inbound digital marketing tools. Such tools can include— SEO, emails, social media, and digital ads. And once you’ve effectively attracted and guided them online, you can then ask for what you want.

Although some may, no woman-owned business should be challenged with asking for what they want customers and clients to do when they visit their website. And with an innovative inbound marketing strategy, you can guide customers in their buying journey and the quest to obtain what they need each time they hit your website. For instance, there is a solemn truth with this digital marketing tip— ‘You have not because you ask not.’ (James 4:2b) Therefore, if you don’t provide direct CTAs (calls-to-action) on your inbound marketing platforms, your targeted audience and leads won’t know how to follow through to access what you’re offering them, and they won’t convert.

So, make sure to provide guidance when visitors hit your website, and have CTAs to help enhance CRO. As a matter of fact, CTAs are so effective that even placing one call-to-action in an email campaign can up customer click-through rates by 371%!

Tip #5— Consider having a strategic marketing partnership with BUILDINGBLOCKS!

One of the most critical things entrepreneurs must do is invest their digital marketing dollars wisely, regardless of whether they’re a woman-owned, veteran-owned, and majority or minority-owned business. And true marketing success can only come from one thing. That is, the assistance of a professional marketing partner vested in helping you develop a solid ROI-based plan.

Over the years, we’ve learned the importance of making essential marketing investments to ensure growth and sustainability. And countless companies that have maintained marketing success have done so. How? They value the investment in reaching, serving, and preserving their customers and staff.

BUILDINGBLOCKS aims to position your company for growth and success through strategic and proven digital marketing services and consulting. So, if you’d like to learn more about how we can assist you with success, connect with us online, call us at 281-203-0529, OR get started with your FREE Marketing Assessment by clicking below!

^References

1. ^{IncFile: 47+ Women In Business Statistics. Retrieved— May 2, 2023.}

The post Top Digital Marketing Tips for Women-Owned Businesses appeared first on BUILDINGBLOCKS.

Dear Reader, if you view a company’s online presence as merely a digital brochure-type site, this article is not for you!

However, this blog is for “Non-Do-It-Yourselfers” who believe a business web design is a functional, interactive tool, used to help generate quality leads to the right resources, products, and services. So, keep reading if you could use a professional digital marketing partner who will—

1. Bring your site into the 21^st century with quality design aesthetics, functional navigation, and responsiveness
2. Provide exceptional web design UI and UX
3. Help you create attractive messaging and resourceful content that converts leads into happy customers

In truth, a professional website design comes with vital benefits critical to overall business marketing growth and customer satisfaction. And since it’s one of the top substantial investments for any business, hiring a professional marketing web developer and designer will enable you to experience those benefits and obtain a significant ROI.

Primary Benefits of Having a Quality Web Design

• Make a fantastic first impression
• Connect with happy customers
• Boost SEO & Move up in SERPs
• Build brand consistency
• Generate and convert leads
• Start with the Right Help
• Get Your FREE Website Analysis!

Let’s begin with Benefit #1— Professional web designs will help your business do MORE than make a lasting impression!

What perceptions do you think online visitors and potential customers have about your business when they first hit your website? Knowing the answer to this question is crucial to whether your site is an attractive and resourceful access tool for them or one that will cause them to click out within the first 3-4 seconds!

You’ve heard the phrase, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Well, that statement is dead today, especially regarding websites. First impressions are EVERYTHING when people visit a business site, as they’ll have immediate perceptions about a company based on its website look and layout! And since your ‘home page’ is the “book cover,” per se, milliseconds matter as you only get one chance to make a fantastic first impression.

In addition, you’ll need to ensure you know who is visiting your site and why. Knowing these things is critical to ensuring you meet their needs on Page 1 and throughout the site. Fortunately, all these elements are addressed and considered in quality web design.

And skilled developers/designers will create innovative engagements with online visitors through UI and UX encounters that help them—

1. Stay engaged longer
2. Have a pleasant experience with each visit
3. Quickly access exactly what they need from your website

Benefit #2— Responsive web designs connect you to more happy customers!

If you want your business to effectively attract and interact with more high-quality leads, potential business partners, skilled employees, and current happy customers, your site must be:

• Well-laid-out
• Trustworthy
• Resourceful

Surprisingly, your website’s design can provide visitors with keen insights into how you view them and how well you’ll treat them from the information and visuals on the site.

These days, people have more confidence in using nicely designed and highly functional/intuitive sites. Most importantly, they’ll frequent sites where they can quickly see and access the information they need without sensing their personal data could be compromised. A reliable, resourceful, and well-designed site helps your business build trust with its targeted audience.

And as a result, as they consistently experience pleasant encounters with each visit, they are happier and more willing to refer your company to others. And over time, you become a resource industry leader who consistently provides a responsive site that works.

Benefit #3— Would you like to boost SEO and move up in SERPs? A quality design with phenomenal content can make that happen!

The whole point of having a website for your company, great or small, is to get FOUND online. Your site is the venue by which people who want and need what you offer can find you. Yet, the only way people can find your business online is through a quality website design populated with content that matches your audience’s search behaviors. Although what you offer is essential, it’s not nearly as important as how you “position” your site’s content on that product or service.

Search engine bots and spiders constantly crawl sites to find relevant and optimized content that matches the millions of search queries occurring every minute. So, ensure your site has valuable and optimized content and that you’re consistently providing fresh content regularly. In turn, the more bots can match your pages to search queries, the quicker you move up on SERPs (search engine results pages).

However, when it comes to winning with SEO, this practice doesn’t happen overnight; the process of consistently incorporating SEO into strategic marketing plans takes time. And in the end, you’ll find the investments of time and treasure you put into your website well worth the return you receive from your SEO efforts!

Benefit #4— You can build brand consistency.

Professional website designs can certainly help strengthen your business brand identity and make it even stronger! And with a boost in brand identity, you also gain an edge over the competition. Yet, you must establish that brand, work on establishing and maintaining it consistently, and then watch it grow.

Even by making a few minor yet substantial brand updates to your highly-functional website, you’ll see a significant difference in how visitors respond to it and your brand. Again, consistency is the KEY!

It’s also worth mentioning that professional website designers will always have a bigger picture in mind while developing your site. For instance, they’ll help you incorporate content brand messaging on each page while ensuring the entire site has consistent visual brand guidelines. All these elements, like logo usage, fonts, messaging, and corporate brand colors, directly help you experience growth as you build your business brand to faithfully serve your customers.

Benefit #5— Lastly, quality web designs help generate and convert leads!

Generating lead attraction and conversion are just two ways we measure marketing success at BUILDINGBLOCKS. And once you’ve mastered the process of measuring how many leads you gain over time, you’ll see positive growth with each conversion! Yet, the criteria for experiencing an increase in lead conversion is to ensure your content, lead magnets, and calls-to-action are accessible and appealing enough to guide potential leads/buyers through the sales funnel.

The ability to attract the right kind of customer leads and drive traffic to your site is an art and the key to increasing your bottom line! However, having a professional web design is the first step AND the best start to getting people to your site and keeping them engaged long enough to convert! The longer you can get visitors to stay on your website and keep coming to it, the better.

Great web designs allow visitors to:

1. Explore products and services
2. Become familiar with your brand,
3. Access resource information through—
   • Intriguing calls-to-action
   • Lead magnets
   • Free promotional downloads

All these elements work in tandem to ensure you obtain a substantial ROI, real results, and significant growth.

Take the first step to having a functional, responsive, and optimized website.

Get your free website analysis! You cannot know where to take your business until you first know your starting point. And our web analysis helps you determine a baseline so you can set realistic goals. In fact, you may be surprised at what your website already has and how it’s currently working for you. Or, you may be shocked about what’s NOT working for you and the opportunities available for improvement.

Regardless of your website status, we’re here to help turn it into a lead-generating and functional tool that works. Even more, we want to see the results bring a substantial ROI. So, let’s get started! Call 281-203-0529 today, or get your analysis by clicking below.

The post What a Quality Web Design Does for Your Business appeared first on BUILDINGBLOCKS.

Yes, it’s true; extraordinary things can come in small packages. And this certainly applies to small businesses, where 33 Million establishments were operating in 2024, according to Forbes Advisor. And from that population of thriving companies, 8 Million ‘Mom & Pop Shops,’ or those starting out that way, made up nearly one-fourth of US small businesses. These facts leave us with two main questions: ‘Are Mom & Pop small businesses making a comeback?’ And ‘How can they best leverage digital marketing in the 21^st Century?’

Whether you consider your operation a Mom & Pop Shop, a Veteran-owned company, or a start-up, small businesses remain key contributors to our nation’s economy. In addition, they’re very much alive and thriving in this post-pandemic era. And with digital marketing, they will continue to grow!

This blog about marketing Mom & Pop small businesses features the following topics:

• • Today’s Small Biz
  • Taking Mom & Pop Online
  • Having an Online Presence
  • A Standout Brand
  • Having a Stake in the Community
  • Service Excellence is a Must
  • A Solid Online Connection
  • From One Mom & Pop to Another

What Makes a Small Biz a Small Biz?

Today’s small to mid-sized businesses, by definition, consist of company size, number of operating locations, and revenue attributes. And according to the SBA, one or more of the following criteria defines what we currently view as a small business.

1. Has less than 500 employees, or a range of 100 to 1500 for a mid-sized company
2. Operates as a micro-business (Up to 7 staffers)
3. Obtains annual revenues under $40 Million
4. Has one or multiple locations with contracting and virtual staff
5. Operates via sole-proprietorship, partnership, S Corp, or LLC

Take Your FREE Marketing Self-Assessment

Why ‘Taking Mom & Pop to Market’ is Important- Incorporating Digital Marketing in a Modern World.

A functioning business can only survive these days with consistent online marketing activity. Today, clients and consumers look to the internet more than ever, especially with their smartphones¹, to locate reliable resource information for their product and service needs. And although ‘word of mouth,’ or ‘referral marketing,’ still works for many local businesses, an online presence can provide another level of convenience and expand your reach by leaps and bounds. In other words, digital marketing with an SEO strategy can take your business places that word of mouth simply cannot!

However, businesses can win only if they play the digital marketing game. To us, a company that’s not online today is like a great person who chooses to broadcast from an AM radio station. And those who know them personally will be the only ones listening— for a while.

Your small business should consider the five MUST HAVES to experience true digital marketing success in the 21^st century! And they are as follows:

#1— HAVE AN ONLINE PRESENCE

Is your business invested in digital marketing to stay industry competitive? As I stated above, taking your Mom & Pop Shop online is imperative to ensuring people outside the community also know it exists.

Of course, some companies prefer not to grow, and that’s fine for them. Yet, if you want to grow, expand, and experience substantial ROIs like other successful companies, you must consistently generate and convert new leads into happy customers. And the only way to achieve these things is to establish a digital marketing presence. Being online allows you to connect with current and potential customers in multiple ways that best meet their needs on their buying journey. It also allows your business to become an industry leader and viable resource in the community.

#2— HAVE A STANDOUT BRAND

Do customers encounter what makes your shop stand out as unique from the rest? If so, you’re well on your way to continued success, especially if you’re using online marketing to enhance your brand management² campaigns!

However, if not, then it’s time for a brand establishment. If you’ve read any of our blogs, we recently posted a 3-part series on how to establish, operate, and grow a leading digital brand. In addition, the two chief pillars of having a standout brand are:

1. Knowing how to constantly make genuine connections with your customers/clients, and
2. Learning to build and maintain their trust

Those two elements are the key ingredients to help ensure customers consistently have positive encounters and experiences with your brand.

#3— HAVE A STAKE IN THE COMMUNITY

Do you participate in community activities and invest in opportunities to help people know your company exists? This must-have is essential to becoming a leading Mom & Pop or small business within your community. The more you market your business online, connect with the local community, and then participate in activities and causes that are important to the people³, the more stake you have.

And the more current and potential customers see your company serving the community, the more likely they are to frequent your business. Putting friendly faces and service excellence to business names is crucial to helping customers connect to your brand and their experiences with your product or service.

Fortunately, SEO and online marketing provide opportunities and creative ways to:

• Expand your reach.
• Generate leads.
• Engage more with the people in your community.
• Connect with them at a loyalty level!

#4— HAVE SERVICE EXCELLENCE

Is your customer service experience something people look forward to or fret about? Prayerfully, your answer is the former. The need for excellent customer service goes without saying but must be reiterated, especially as a company grows.

In truth, digital marketing can provide the best solution for winning with happy customers⁴. For example, asking for online customer reviews and product/service ratings is crucial to building credibility and developing a solid brand. The more people experience quality service and assurance, the more they will frequent a business, review it positively, AND recommend it to others.

And for bad reviews, companies can even redeem themselves and help salvage an unpleasant customer experience by immediately responding to their needs and offering solutions to help remedy the situation. Without online marketing, these kinds of connections are difficult to maintain.

Below are some recent stats about customer service reviews!

1. Over 90% of people have made purchasing decisions based on online reviews
2. Yelp gets nearly 27,000 customer reviews every 60 seconds
3. Over 8 out of 10 people use Google to assess local businesses

#5— HAVE SOLID DIGITAL MARKETING CONNECTIONS

Are you utilizing social media and a responsive website to stay connected to current and potential customers? Our last must-have for marketing your small business in the 21^st century is to have and maintain solid connections with customers and clients. And the top two ways to accomplish great connections are through a website that works (your ultimate digital marketing tool) and social media marketing.

Your SEO website must consistently be interactive, responsive, and resourceful. In other words, it must be “alive and performing” optimally at all times. Whatever solutions your small business provides must be available and accessible to online visitors to keep them returning to your site. The fastest way to have a customer click out of your site is to have one that provides a poor mobile UX and UI. When people cannot connect to your business online, you lose them.

And social media platforms provide creative and informal ways to connect with your customers and maintain contact. For instance, people love to post great customer experiences with a product or service, especially a local Mom & Pop Shop. If your business vibe and solutions match the customer’s values and needs, you’ve already made an instant connection⁵. So, leverage social media platforms to:

• Maintain contact and easy online accessibility.
• Keep customers up-to-date on what’s happening.
• Generate leads and reach more customers.
• Create an online community of like-minded people.
• Invite customers to events and special activities— like new product lines or services.
• Offer special sales promotions and savings.

From one Mom & Pop and Veteran-owned business to another, we’re here to help you grow!

All you have to do is take the first step by clicking below to take your FREE Marketing Self-Assessment! However, you can also connect with us online to schedule your own consultation or call us at 281-203-0529.

^References

1. ^{Get found via online mobile search. Image by Henry Perks.}
2. ^{Brand management and recognition—Starbucks mug. Image by Harmen Jelle Van Mourik.}
3. ^{Business and Community Concept. Image by Robert Bye.}
4. ^{Ideal Customer Service. Image concept by Blake Wisz.}
5. ^{Customer connects GIF- Digital Marketing Online by That’s Journal. Tenor.}

The post Marketing Mom & Pop Businesses in the 21st Century appeared first on BUILDINGBLOCKS.

What is SEO? The People Want to Know!

Skip through to what interests you!

• • Let’s Define SEO
  • Discover Its Effectiveness
  • SEO Top Five Benefits

1. 1. 1. REACH More People
      2. IMPROVE Website Visibility & Usability
      3. INCREASE User Engagement
      4. ENHANCE Content Marketing
      5. OBTAIN Quantifiable Results

• • Making SEO Work for Your Company
  • Get Started with One Click!

Search engine optimization, commonly known as SEO, is an inbound marketing strategy a business can use to improve its website visibility through specific search queries. Its ultimate goal is to help increase the quantity AND quality of online traffic (generated leads) to your site.

And applying SEO strategies means consistently implementing best practices, shifting, and adjusting marketing content to enhance your brand’s online profile and awareness. In addition, SEO consists of various digital marketing tools, like keywords, backlinks, website speed, content blogs, page mechanics, and meta-descriptions— all intricately working together to drive people to your online business.

Find Out Now w/a FREE SEO Analysis!

However, please be advised that it’s not this quick fix, one-and-done type of thing you apply to a campaign as a marketing tactic. SEO is an ongoing digital marketing application you can incorporate to reach, connect, and continuously serve your customers with excellence while also becoming more visible to potential customers online!

Why is it so effective in digital marketing?

Successful search engine optimization for internet users coming to your website is just as vital as customer service excellence over the phone! In fact, the top keys to SEO effectiveness include learning to:

• Serve clients’ needs through online quality assurance
• Adhere to various search engine guidelines and best practices [Per Google, Yahoo, and Bing]
• Understand customer search intents and preferred content
• Provide the resourceful information and answers your searchers need

In truth, SEO works because it serves as both a customer research technique and an online sales channel for your business. And the key to its effectiveness is discovering how to incorporate the technical and strategic elements simultaneously to meet customer needs and present it in a way that’s appealing to search engines.

And remember, applying SEO takes a little trial and error to find the best strategies for your business industry. So, no ONE methodology works for every company, but there are common practices that have proven efficient when you apply and incorporate the right ones into an appropriate strategy campaign!

What are the immediate benefits of incorporating SEO into my online marketing plan?

If you want your business to have long-term brand awareness, grow its target audience reach, and obtain an ROI, then a digital marketing SEO strategy is just what you need. In this section, we’ve provided five prime benefits we believe are most prevalent when implementing SEO.

1.    Search Engine Optimization ultimately helps you reach more people online.

While the goal of many digital campaigns is to zero in on a targeted audience, SEO helps companies attract any online visitor searching and intending to find matched products and services. Even more, it will work at any given time, regardless of which stage a customer or client is on in their buying journey.

However, the solution to ensuring your business can expand its reach is to consistently utilize targeted and focused keywords that match your products and services. In addition, you’ll want to incorporate top keywords on your website and in all publications over time. Again, this doesn’t happen overnight; but with time, you’ll reach more prospects and potential leads¹ who may take strong interest in your company.

2.    SEO helps improve your website visibility and usability.

As long as you apply SEO best practices to each of your website pages, usability and visibility will increase over time. The solution involves consistently pushing out and publishing relevant and resourceful content on your website. And website content that is appropriately saturated with industry keywords helps bots regularly search your site and move you up in search rankings.

Overall, SEO makes business websites search-engine-friendly while also improving site visibility and the experiences of visiting website users. But, again, you must put in the work to consistently develop high-quality and insightful content that will attract visitors and bring your site to the forefront!

The Best Recipe for an Engine-Optimized Site!

1. 1. Add a teaspoon of high-quality backlinks on your high-volume pages.
   2. Stir in the PROPER WEB DEVELOPMENT TECHNIQUES that ensure your site is fast and responsive.
   3. Incorporate KEY SITE STRUCTURE & NAVIGATION during its development.
   4. Consistently add FRESH RELEVANT CONTENT to your site.
   5. And lastly, always remember to hold regular SEO SITE ANALYSES & AUDITS to check and ensure it remains optimized.
      

3.    It can also enhance user engagement rates.

Are enough people frequenting your website? Most business owners don’t know unless they have an outsourced digital marketing partner measuring this for them. However, a well-optimized website will typically bring in quality leads and steady visitor traffic. But to keep visitors engaged, company sites must have resourceful online content that matches a searcher’s intent.

And when they do, those sites usually have visitors who will spend more time browsing them. Yet, here comes the best part— Increased engagement rates on a business website can ultimately lead to more conversions and increased ROI. So, if you want to improve your user engagement rate, ensure you have a responsive, mobile-friendly website that is analyzed regularly, checked and cleared of any errors, and updated with proper SEO page mechanics as needed.

4.    It Works Hand-in-Hand with Content Marketing

Genuine industry content and SEO go together like macaroni and cheese! So, each time you develop and post valuable digital marketing content for online visitors, you help increase your rank on SERPs. And as I’ve said many times, ‘All content isn’t created equal.’ So, ensure it is high quality and optimized with the keywords for which you want to rank.

Bottom line— search engines and bots love crawling fresh, updated content. And the more they can find new and reliable information from your website, the more attention they bring to it. Fortunately, you can put out helpful content in many ways, like via content blogs, web pages, digital ads, emails, social media posts, and even through images and videos. And these content venues will ultimately help your site rank better.

5.    SEO can provide your online business with tangible and quantifiable results.

One of the many things we love most about SEO is that it eventually helps you track changes in your rankings, lead conversions, and site traffic volumes. For instance, the Google Analytics² platform offers a comprehensive suite of information, enabling you to access data on an extraordinarily granular level.

The following list consists of types of information you can find through SEO analytics results.

• • Gain a better understanding of how visitors find your business online.
  • Learn which keywords are working best
  • And see what your site is ranking for
  • Find out which pages are the most popular
  • Discover how visitors reacted to specific calls-to-action
  • And learn where there’s room for improvement.

Moreover, with SEO, you’ll always have the opportunity to—

• • Take deep dives into your site’s health.
  • Use the insights and analytical results to make necessary adjustments to your strategy.
  • Upgrade and change each digital campaign to measure improvements.

How can an SEO strategy work for my business?

First and foremost, you must develop your digital marketing strategy around SEO best practices! And this is where marketing professionals like BUILDINGBLOCKS come in! Over the years, we’ve learned to grasp the best ways for businesses to leverage SEO strategy for their industries. For instance, our motto is ‘Everything starts with an IMPACT plan from which you can build on.’ So, based on your business growth needs, goals, and investment type for a planned ROI, we can incorporate the best course of action for obtaining accurate results!

Overall, there are two main ways search engine optimization helps your business.

I. SEO can ultimately give your company a competitive advantage!

Although heavily investing in SEO isn’t the be-all and end-all, the amount you invest should make sense and align with what’s best for your business industry and goals. Because what’s most important here is that if your competitors are investing in SEO, you should too! After all, you cannot win the game if you’re not playing!

However, before incorporating an SEO strategy, research your direct business contenders to learn their weaknesses and strengths. Knowing this is vital to incorporating an effective strategy and increasing traffic to your website. In addition, there are two other things you must also do:

1. Research your target audience’s needs. Consistently provide the search venues most conducive to their finding your business online. The more you provide relevant and matching search content, the easier for them to find you online. And, eventually, the higher you rank in search results.
2. Keep your website up-to-date by doing the following:
   • Loading fresh and resourceful content pages.
   • Maintaining website performance checks regularly to confirm loading speed and responsiveness remains accurate.
   • Providing positive user experiences to ensure visitors can easily access what they need!

II.  It also helps improve your rank position in local searches.

In applying the things above to gain a competitive edge, you not only help your company maintain that edge, but you also gradually move up the search results page. Page one is the ultimate goal and advantage, as it’s where businesses get over 90 percent of the search traffic!

And when it comes to local searches, most people today want access to products and services that are conveniently nearby. In truth, they prefer getting what they need asap rather than waiting for a delivery or utilizing services more than 20 miles away. So, part of your SEO strategy should include keywords and phrases like “coffee near me³” and “nearby,” or using local service zip codes.

Did you know that 28% of local smartphone searches result in conversions— meaning they end in a purchase? And since Google conducted this study in 2016, we’re sure the percentage has increased since then! Therefore, having a local SEO strategy is also vital to improving search rank position.

To begin, you’ll want to ensure you have a Google My Business account and start setting up reviews for customers/clients who are nearby and have encountered your business. Reviews and ratings are a vital part of establishing credibility and building trust!

Okay, I’m ready to get started!

Incorporating a marketing strategy with SEO provides crazy benefits in bringing more traffic to your website and providing long-term exponential growth. As long as you’re attracting quality leads and ensuring visitors can easily connect and access what they need online, you’ll soon experience success and yield a substantial ROI.

And here’s the best part, getting started with us is just one click away!

GET YOUR FREE SEO ANALYSIS!

 ^References

1. ^{Reaching more online customers and generating more leads with SEO. Photo concept by Anastasia Nelen.}
2. ^{Tangible SEO Results- Digital Marketing Google Analysis. Image by Myriam Jessier.}
3. ^{SEO local business search image concept by Patrick Tomasso.}

The post How to Make SEO Work for Your Online Business appeared first on BUILDINGBLOCKS.

It’s simple; your thriving business¹ will need additional marketing support at some point or another. And at that point, you could hire more employees that may require additional training OR utilize an experienced, outsourced digital marketing partner. With that in mind, we ask, which option would you choose when—

• Your company has reached maximum production capacity and needs to expand?
• A huge deal requiring more staff falls into your lap?
• Business growth has become stunted?

As an outsourced marketing partner, we’ve learned about the many benefits we bring to the table for our clients. And today, we’re sharing our top three benefits as you consider tangible ways to grow and expand your business.

Enjoy exploring these top 3 outsourced marketing benefits and more!

• #1 LOVE the SAVINGS!
• #2 GAIN Digital Marketing EXPERTISE!
• #3 OBTAIN Real RESULTS!
• GET STARTED!

Benefit #1— Your investment in hiring an outsourced marketing partner will yield SAVINGS in time, talent, and treasures!

That’s right! When was the last time you heard an investment could save you time, talent, and money? Well, working with an experienced outsourced digital marketing partner could certainly make that happen for your business—IF you hire the right one!

How do you save time, you ask?

As a business owner, you know how many months it could take to hire specific marketing staff and its costs (about $4000/hire). Your HR department has to post ads, and conduct interviews and background checks, etc., for each new hire. On top of that, you may need to provide your new staff with additional industry training and orientation based on the kind of marketing tools you need to conduct business. Not only do these processes cost time, but they also cost money. Yet, you save time through outsourced marketing as there is only one entity to add to your company, and training isn’t necessary. Moreover, an outsourced partner can help you hire talented staff to fill vacancies in other vital departments within your company!

But let’s look at the hard facts for a moment. It can take roughly 52 days to fill a vacant position, not to mention a few additional weeks of training. Also, if the marketing position is managerial or executive, you’re looking at a few months of training time. However, within that 52 days’ time, your outsourced marketing partner could’ve established an IMPACT marketing plan and begun the onboarding process to launch your campaigns!

In addition to saving time, you also save on talent position needs!

One outsourced marketing partner could serve in the place of multiple new hires, and that’s not rocket science. For example, your outsourced partner can provide the following:

1. 1. Content marketing services for SEO blogs and email marketing
   2. Lead generation services
   3. Digital ad costs
   4. Digital analytics reports
   5. And even help you develop/build a new company website.

And who doesn’t want to cut costs and save on their hard-earned revenue and treasures?

Contracting with an outsourced marketing partner will always help cut the costs of hiring new employees, paying insurance, and providing various employee benefits. And the expense of building an entire in-house marketing staff is also drastically cut, if not eliminated!

For instance, the cost of having a basic marketing team alone can start at a minimum of $150,000 annually, depending on service needs. And this amount doesn’t include hiring more staff. However, if you’re considering having an in-house team of highly-skilled and industry-competitive marketing professionals, you can expect to invest upwards of $550,000 or more annually. Contrarily, the cost of working with an expert outsourcing partner can range anywhere from $2000 to $25,000/month, depending on the type of marketing service needs your business has. So, what could your company do with that kind of savings benefit?

Benefit #2— Gain an entire team of outsourced digital marketing EXPERTS with a fresh perspective and advanced resources!

First, here’s another question— ‘If you’re spending most of your time marketing your business, how much time do you have to operate it, service customers, and develop new business?’ I imagine it wouldn’t be much. Yet, with an outsourced digital marketing partner², you can devote all your time to focusing on running the company.

Second, professional digital agencies, like BUILDINGBLOCKS, specialize in creative, strategic, and advanced technology product and service development. So, when you hire us, you gain a fully-trained team of experts equipped to oversee all your unique marketing needs successfully.

Third, you also gain insights and a fresh digital perspective on the latest marketing industry trends for your company. The best outsourced partners will substantially add value as a resourceful asset AND provide an outside service perspective in areas you may not be aware of or see from the inside.

And since your business must stay competitive, relevant, and marketable within your industry, partners will ensure you:

• Keep customers engaged and happy.
• Follow the latest digital marketing trends that will work best for your business.
• Stay up-to-date with the strategic best practices and planned solutions that you put in place.
• Maintain proper application processes for your software, marketing platforms, and various technical solutions.

Benefit #3— Get accurate RESULTS from your outsourced marketing partner!

Like most of us, we cannot see the trees from the forest when we’re in too deep. And, in truth, sometimes those ‘inside business blinders’ prevent us from seeing when our marketing efforts aren’t working well, or which solutions are best.

However, an outsourced partner can provide you with an unbiased and different perspective— backed by statistical data and campaign information. Most times, business owners and even their in-house marketing staff cannot provide results simply because they haven’t implemented KPIs and strategic measurements.

Yet, a marketing partner can provide creative direction and set up results parameters for:

1. Your campaigns that aren’t working, or
2. When you prefer to try something new and don’t know how

For instance, the only clear means of knowing if your marketing campaigns are working is to review analytic results³ and obtain reports that offer proof. And if your team isn’t trained to report metrics, you need an outsourced partner. With that, you can save time and money by utilizing the most suitable marketing tools and implementing the best campaigns. Data-driven insights will show substantial results on how well your tools are working, as well as how and when to adjust or change strategies.

You deserve the best outsourced marketing partner, so let’s get started!

Contracting with an outsourced digital marketing partner isn’t difficult, especially if you know what to look for in the most proficient partners. And with BUILDINGBLOCKS, we take the time to explore the best and most cost-effective marketing tools and strategies that could work for your business instead of recommending only what’s popular. Yet, a marketing valuation is where we like to start. So, take a moment to complete your FREE assessment, and we’ll be in touch.

For immediate assistance or to schedule a free consultation, connect with us online or call 281-203-0529 today!

^References

1. ^{Featured Image: Small business marketing meeting. Photo concept by- Memento Media.}
2. ^{Team of Marketing Experts- Image concept by Annie Spratt.}
3. ^{Marketing Analytics & Growth- photo concept by Path Digital.}

The post 3 Ways Companies Benefit from Outsourced Digital Marketing appeared first on BUILDINGBLOCKS.