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Digital Marketing Is Always Changing

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Digital marketing is constantly changing. Whether it’s search engines like Google adjusting their algorithms or introducing AI into online search, there’s always something new entering the online marketing landscape. 

As a business owner, you’re wearing many hats. Maybe you have an internal marketing resource or a small marketing team; even then it’s tough to find and have the budget to pay for the expertise for the various specialty areas that comprise today’s digital marketing landscape. 

Outsourcing is definitely an option, but even if you do outsource all of your online promotions, you should still understand the current state of digital marketing, online search advertising, and social media. An informed business owner is in a much better position to make wise choices with their marketing and to work with the key marketing resources to refine campaigns for optimal lead generation. 

AI-Powered Search

AI-powered search is the latest change to search engine optimization (SEO). Due to the rise of AI, some businesses are seeing dramatic shifts in their search engine traffic. 

Platforms such as Microsoft Copilot cite sources, so when it returns answers to a user’s questions, it includes a link to the source document. If the source document is on your website, this link may send traffic your way. This turns AI platforms into secondary search engines and a potential traffic source. 

As AI-powered search evolves, one thing remains clear—companies must focus on the basics. This includes branding. No AI tool can adequately capture your brand. When customers search for you by name, your company should be at the top of the search engine results. Adding a well-written about page, search-engine-optimized frequently asked questions, biographies of the founders or leaders of your company, and similar content to your website can help you remain at the top of the search engines in this new age of AI-powered search. 

Social Media Changes

This past year has seen a whirlwind of changes in social media. Depending on the platform you frequent, you may have noticed these changes or merely heard about them in the news, like the threatened TikTok ban. 

Social media platforms should be thought of similarly to search engines. They rely upon algorithms to find and serve specific content such as videos, pages, or friend feeds. And that algorithm is constantly changing, too. Just as Google or Bing tweaks its algorithm regularly, so too does Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube (to name just a few). 

What works on one platform doesn’t necessarily work on another, and you must be willing to either invest the time to learn what works on your audience’s favorite platforms or work with a knowledgeable social media manager to ensure that your social media advertising is working to generate leads.

WordPress and Other Content Management Systems (Websites)

We use WordPress and similar content management systems to build websites. Like the previously mentioned digital marketing tools, these systems also change frequently. Whether it’s the overall aesthetics of a website or how it serves its content to the visitors, the parameters of what makes an effective website change over time, too. 

Digital Advertising

Lastly, the world of digital advertising is also evolving. Now, more people than ever search the web from their mobile devices. Ads must display quickly and clearly on mobile phones and tablets. Companies such as Google, Bing, and social media platforms that earn revenue by displaying ads are also constantly updating their policies, changing their algorithms, and looking for new ways to get consumers to respond to ads. They’re developing new products and tools all the time, too. 

Feeling Overwhelmed? Leave It To Us

If all of this sounds and feels overwhelming, we understand. That’s why companies like Dashboard have specialists on the team. Each of us specializes in a specific aspect of digital marketing, such as search engine optimization, Google ads, social media, content marketing, videos, and so on. This allows us to keep up to date on what’s new in our industry, share it with the team, and then make recommendations to our clients. 

Sites such as MarketingProfs, Social Media Today, The Tilt, and many others are also good places to learn more about the evolving marketing landscape. The best way to stay informed, however, is to stay close to your team at Dashboard Internet Marketing. Read our blog and newsletter, meet with us, and let’s dive into this brave new world together!

The Importance of Branded Content in the Age of AI Search

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Search engine optimization has changed significantly in the age of AI. Those ubiquitous results boxes generated by artificial intelligence at the top of the search results page can answer commons questions quickly and succinctly. How can you top machine learning that scours the web in seconds and delivers a packaged response?

You can do it through innovative branded search content. Branding is the future of content marketing, especially regarding local search engine optimization.

But what is branding, and what is branded content?

The Definition of Branding

Many small-business owners think ‘branding’ means having a logo and perhaps a few dedicated colors for their business. Branding is much more than a logo.

In marketing, branding refers to creating and managing a distinct identity for a company, product, or service. This includes developing a name, logo, design, voice, and overall image that distinguishes it from competitors and leaves a lasting impression on customers. Branding encompasses people’s emotional, visual, and cultural associations with a brand, aiming to build recognition, loyalty, and trust over time.

It’s not just about appearances—it’s about the story and values you convey to your audience.

Stories and Values Add Personalization and Build A Memorable Impression

Branding builds a memorable impression in your customers’ minds when initiated from a place of authenticity. The stories and values at the heart of the brand, even more so than the colors and logo, are what truly matters.

This is where good content marketing and local search work hand-in-hand to build memorable online brands that beat AI search to the punch.

Here are a few stats about the interaction between brands and search marketing that will make you think:

  • Brand Trust and Loyalty: Around 81% of consumers state that they need to trust a brand before purchasing from it, and 86% believe authenticity is crucial when deciding which brands to support.
  • Increased Visibility: Strong brand knowledge ensures your brand is more likely to appear in AI-driven search results and zero-click discovery scenarios.
  • Consumer Behavior: Over 60% of customers are willing to pay more for products from brands they are loyal to, and 36% of U.S. shoppers feel loyal to brands they frequently buy from.
  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Branding plays a critical role in SEO, as well-known brands are prioritized in search engine algorithms, making them more discoverable.

These statistics highlight how a strong brand can significantly influence consumer trust, loyalty, and online visibility.

Creating Content That Builds Online Brands

According to AI and search marketing expert Ann Smarty, the wave of the future will be fueld by online content that builds strong brands. She recommends that companies have a good strategy to create, promote, and maximize branded content.

Branded content at its most basic should include:

  • A robust About page that provides the company’s background, history, mission, vision, and other important stories that set it apart from local competitors
  • Other pages that support the brand story include but are not limited to: awards, news (press releases), bios, and activities essential to the company, such as charitable events
  • Frequently Asked Questions

These pages can be added easily to your website to build the brand story. Dashboard Interactive Marketing can find effective ways to create, share, and boost your brand to improve search visibility.

In addition to adding brand story pages to your company website, consider how your story can unfold across other platforms and channels. Social media, especially short form videos, are a great way to tell and retell your brand story. Press releases create a more ‘official’ online story since they are shared on multiple news platforms simultaneously. Guest articles add credibility to a brand as well as raise awareness for the brand among potential new customers.

Many small-business owners are concerned that AI-enabled search will take away valuable traffic. Building a strong online brand is one of many things you can do to ensure that customers who want and need your services can find you quickly!

Dashboard Interactive Marketing provides local search consulting and services, content marketing and writing, social media marketing, and more. Call us at 763-242-2454 and let’s discuss how to build a memorable online brand.

The ABP’s of Marketing: Always Be Prepared

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This week we’ve seen a flurry of business news related to marketing. TikTok remains in flux with no clear path forward in sight. The WordPress eruption continues to escalate with no resolution. What’s a business owner to do?

First, please be assured that the Dashboard Interactive Marketing team is keeping up to date on these issues (and others) that can impact your business’ marketing activities. We help you navigate the ever-changing sea of information related to SEO, social media, digital advertising, and more.

Next, we’ve put together three time-tested recommendations that all small business owners should do to protect the valuable marketing assets they have built over the years.

With these tips and our expert guidance, you should be in a good position to continue your promotional and lead generation activities this year.

Three Tips to Protect Your Marketing Assets

1. Back up social media assets.

Many small business owners leverage social media to share images and videos with their audiences. However, as we have seen from the recent back and forth regarding the availability of TikTok in the United States, keeping these valuable assets on any external platform (a website or place that you do not own) is dangerous. Any social media or third-party website host can shut down at a moment’s notice, whether due to business changes, regulation, or technical issues, taking all your assets with it in one big gulp. Be sure to back up and save valuable assets such as videos, reels, and images, on your own computers, secure external hard drives, or secure cloud files. In the event that one platform disappears, you can reuse the assets on another one without having to go through the time, trouble, and expense of recreating them.

2. Develop your email list.

Depending on your business’ social media platforms, reaching new customers is tricky. Organic reach has declined in recent years:

  • Facebook: The average engagement rate of an organic Facebook post ranged from 2.58% down to just 1.52% in 2023. This decline continued into 2024, with organic reach becoming increasingly challenging due to the platform’s pay-to-play model.
  • Instagram: Organic reach on Instagram saw an 18% year-over-year decrease in 2024. This decline is attributed to changes in the algorithm and the increasing voluem of content being posted.

That doesn’t mean you should stop leveraging organic social media posts. What it means is that you should recognize that just using organic posts isn’t going to make as big of an impact as it once did. 

And, added to the declining reach is the constant risk of being deplatformed, meaning having your account shut down. Whether by accident or on purpose, this has happened to people and businesses over the years, and social media companies can and do limit exposure to your content or take accounts offline without warning. If that happens, your organic reach could evaporate instantly.

To avoid losing the momentum you have so carefully built up over the years, encourage your followers to join your email list. Offer an incentive for them to sig up, such as content they cannot get elsewhere, like a special video, a unique report, checklist, or another value item. This list then becomes your own proprietary list, which you can use to reach your followers at any time. (Of course, we want you to follow email marketing laws and best practices, too!) We can help you encourage social media followers to join your email list. Please speak with an expert at Dashboard if you’d like asssitance with this idea.

3. Have a backup plan.

It is heartbreaking to read posts today online from TikTok consultants or contractors who specialize in creating short TikTok videos and marketing plans. These people are genuinely afraid that in the space of a few days their entire business model could grind to a halt. Many small business owners who relied upon TikTok as a marketing channel are also upset at losing what they perceive as a valuable lead generation tool.

Every business owner should have a backup plan, not just for business continuity, but for marketing continuity, too. If one thing doesn’t work, we must be able to quickly shift to another. If short videos can no longer be displayed on TikTok because the app shuts down, we must look at other platforms and decide where, how, and why we want to leverage them. Consider your marketing channels and discuss with your internal staff and the Dashboard team what potential continuity plans should be in place for your marketing.

Plan Ahead, Do Your Best, and Keep Promoting Your Business

The world is uncertain, and that includes the marketing world, too. As a small business owner, you have a lot on your plate. While we cannot control the actions of others that impact our marketing – the social media platforms of this world, the website hosts, the digital advertising services, the algorithm changes – we can prepare for it. We can be smart about it and set up ways to speak directly with our customers that will not be impacted by third party platform changes. We can enact continuity plans. Together with the team at Dashboard to support you, let’s plan ahead, do our best, and keep promoting your business!

Don’t Be Afraid of White Space

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If you are new to working with a professional marketing agency, you may also be new to working with a professional web designer or graphic designer. Part of the process of working with a team that handles your marketing is the review cycle. The team receives your inputs and their assignments, then shares designs for your review. The creative team – the people who work on your website, flyers, social media graphics, videos, and so on – will provide you with their best designs based on evaluating your brand, target audience, and their experience.

Clients are sometimes shocked when they see “white space” in the design. “But can’t we have a pretty picture here?” “Can we fit more text in?” “Why is there a big space at the top of the page?” These are all common questions we hear during the review cycle.

Today, we’d like to dispel the myth of white space and talk about why it is an essential component of good design. If you’re new to the graphic design process, read on.

What Is White Space?

White space, properly called ‘negative space,’ is the area without text or images surrounding the words and images on the page.

An example you’re probably very familiar with is the margins on a document. Books would be very difficult to read if the text ran into the center binding or to the very edges of the page. Negative space, or blank space, is used to create margins around the text blocks inside a book to make it easier to read.

Important Uses of Negative or White Space in Marketing Designs

White space, or negative space, is considered one of the foundational elements of good design. It can be used for many purposes in a marketing document. Like the previously mentioned book example, a graphic designer may use negative space in a marketing document to:

  • Balance design elements
  • Draw attention to important text (such as the headline or sale information)
  • Enhance readability
  • Prioritize content
  • Create a visual hierarchy to enhance understanding

You probably agree with this list of priorities and recognize their importance.

However, often when business owners see new designs for the first time, they are surprised by the amount of white space designers leave around images and text. Their first instinct is to include as much information as possible into the design.

But consider this: if you own a retail store, you don’t pack items into every square foot. You leave open space around the displays so that customers can see the items. While you fill the shelves with products, you may leave space above them for signage – with the negative space around the sign drawing attention to it so customers can see it. Even in your own home, you naturally leave ‘negative space’ around framed photos on the wall so that they stand out, and you center pictures on a wall so that nothing distracts from your favorite artwork. These are yet more examples of how white space or negative space is used in almost every aspect of design – and how you naturally gravitate towards it!

So don’t fear the white space, business owners. When designers send you documents that leave space around the message, recognize it as an integral part of the design process. It’s more important for your customers to see and remember the messages on the page than it is to include as much information as possible, and white space accomplishes this goal.

Dashboard Interactive Marketing

Dashboard Interactive Marketing has almost 20 years of digital marketing experience working with business owners just like you to achieve outstanding results. We provide website development and design services, search engine optimization, local search marketing, digital advertising and marketing, social media management, content marketing, and much more to small and mid-sized businesses. We welcome your call and are happy to discuss your marketing needs. Call us at 763-242-2454.

Beat the SEO Blues: Use Proven SEO Tactics to Keep Good Search Traffic Going!

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Organic search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the most important digital marketing tactics available to businesses. It doesn’t matter if you own a dental practice, a car repair shop, a small manufacturing business, or a roofing business; the better your organic search engine optimization, the higher your website will appear in search engine results, and the greater the likelihood you’ll get clicks and visits to your website – resulting in leads or sales.

But how do you keep wooing Google (and other search engines) when they keep changing the algorithm, that mysterious formula used to calculate precisely where your web pages appear in the search engine results?

No Tricks Can Outsmart the Search Engines

People who chase the latest SEO trick are like those who believe in get-rich-quick schemes. Instead of saving a little each week from their paycheck and saving it in a bank account where it can accrue interest, people who want to get rich quickly throw their money into some scheme or another and hope it pays big dividends. It rarely does. Instead, they lose everything.

Business owners who try to trick Google into ranking their sites higher in organic search results often find themselves losing traffic over time instead of gaining it. An example of an SEO “get-rich-quick scheme” is paid link building. There are many small business owners who have paid SEO firms thousands of dollars to “build their site’s link profile,” only to find their sites drop like a stone in the search engine results after the “link building authority” finished their work. Seeing the sudden rise in links into the site from low-quality sites, Google knew they were trying to game the system, and thus it hurt their rankings rather than helped them.

Focus On Long-Term, Proven SEO Tactics

Saving your money in a bank account may seem old-fashioned, but it’s both a safe and proven method of increasing wealth.

The same goes for SEO. There are proven tactics that we know work well over time to improve organic search engine results.

Proven SEO tactics include:

  1. Publishing high-quality content: Content is the backbone of all good organic SEO. Content published on your website should be well-written, engaging, and present a unique perspective. 
  2. Internal links: We read so much about trying to get links into our websites that we forget to ensure that all of the pages on our site are interlinked. Search engines use on-page links to find new content. Adding links from one page to another on your website is always safe.
  3. Encouraging natural links into your site: Search engines love it when third-party websites link to your site, especially third-party sites with high domain authority. However, such links should occur naturally; you should never pay other sites to link to yours. To get natural links to your website content, consider creating free, downloadable assets, like robust case studies, white papers, infographics, and other materials filled with informative content. These so-called “linkable assets” naturally attract other site owners who want their readers to share in them, too.
  4. Improve the user experience: Make sure that site visitors can find exactly what they need when they reach your website. Make lead forms and contact information straightforward and easy to see. Ensure that navigation elements like menus are easy to understand. Work with a professional web designer who understands good user experience to ensure that your site appeals to people as well as search engines. The more it appeals to people, the longer they stay on the site, which sends powerful signals to the search engines that the site is worth ranking higher in the results.
  5. Good website best practices: These include making sure you don’t have broken links on your site, missing images, or “page not found” errors. Site speed plays a vital role in organic search engine position, with Google and other search engines rewarding websites that load quickly (5 seconds or less). Work with your webmaster or digital marketing agency to improve the technical aspects of your site.

Build a Robust Website From Start to Finish

There are no tricks to ensuring your site ranks well with Google. Like putting money in a bank account, investing in proven SEO tactics builds interest over time – Google goodwill, so to speak.

Always keep in mind that your website plays a vital role in your business’ success. Like good signage by the road to attract traffic, a beautiful, well-designed, fast website ensures that ‘road traffic’ from search engines reaches your site and converts into leads and sales.

But great websites don’t happen by accident. They require time, planning, and attention to detail.

Dashboard Interactive Marketing has built effective, lead-generating websites for small and mid-sized businesses for over a decade. With our experienced team of SEO experts, WordPress experts, graphic designers, content writers, and more, we build effective websites and help you continually maximize your online presence.

Call us at 763-242-2454 for more information about building a new website or updating an existing site so it ranks better in Google.

Unlocking Lead Generation: How to Host a Webinar That Converts

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how to host a high converting webinar

Webinars are a content marketing channel that many small and mid-sized businesses fail to consider. It often seems as if the “big guys” – the Gartners, Accentures, and Forresters of this world – are the ones hosting webinars. However, any company of any size can host a successful webinar.

If the idea of hosting a webinar for your customers appeals to you, we’ve provided you with several best practices and ideas, which are below. We can also provide support, guidance, and marketing assistance to promote your webinar.

Webinars Are an Effective Lead Generation Tactic

Webinar is a term that combines “web” with “seminar.” Essentially, it’s a virtual seminar. It can be by invitation-only or open to the public. Companies typically require pre-registration for webinars and use the registration information they obtain for future marketing.

Webinars can be valuable lead-generation activities. According to The Content Marketing Institute, 64% of companies hosted at least one webinar last year. And 77% of marketers believe that webinars are an effective or highly effective lead generation channel.

Technology Needed to Host a Successful Webinar

Most business owners already have the technology needed to run a successful webinar. At a minimum, you will need:

  • A stable internet connection
  • A video conferencing platform, such as Zoom, Google Meet, or the many others available
  • A landing page to promote your webinar
  • An email system to automatically email attendees with information on how to join the event
  • Presentation software, such as PowerPoint or Google Slides

Of course, you will need some added tools to promote your webinar, such as social media accounts, email marketing platforms, and possibly paid ads. But this is enough to get started.

Successful Webinars Begin With A Topic Closely Aligned With Customer Needs

Successful webinars take time to plan. Give yourself plenty of time to plan the topics, select and invite guest speakers, and promote the event. Look at your calendar now and select possible webinar dates at least 8 to 12 weeks in the future. Choose several dates and times in case the desired speakers are unavailable. Avoid scheduling a webinar close to major holidays or prime vacation time, such as the end of August. Businesspeople are less likely to attend online professional development events during such periods.

Once you’ve found a date, it’s time to consider the topic. This is where research pays off. Think about key questions your customers ask about your products, service, or industry. Search online to see what your competitors are talking about in this area, too. Talk to Dashboard about possible search engine optimization keyword phrases, which also correspond to what people search for online.

Determine your target audience. Who do you want to attract to your webinar? What do they want to learn?

From the confluence of audience pain points and customer needs, your unique area of expertise, and search engine data, you’ll be able to develop a great topic.

Craft a Compelling Headline

Since the headline is often the first (and only) item people glance at when looking at webinar information, spend considerable time crafting the best headline you can for your topic. Address the problem and promise a solution. Make it all about your customers and what they will learn from you!

Webinar Formats

Webinars do not have to be static presentations with PowerPoint on screen. They can take a wide variety of formats, including:

  • Presentation
  • Panel discussion
  • Guest speaker (customer or expert in the industry)
  • Success stories and case studies shared by customers
  • Demonstrations of how to do something
  • “Ask Me Anything” in which you answer customer questions
  • Conference or live event streaming

Don’t be afraid to mix things up and add variety to the format. There are no hard and fast rules about how to structure a webinar. In fact, the more engaging you can make it for the audience, the better! But be sure to let the audience know what to expect in your marketing materials and promotional materials. If you are running an “Ask Me Anything,” for example, you’ll want to gather audience questions in advance or come up with ‘seed questions’ yourself in case audience participation is minimal.

Planning the Webinar

The hard work comes in the early stages of webinar planning. You will determine if a guest speaker or customer should be part of the panel, extend the invitation, and plan your presentation.

Even if you have several speakers, a presentation on the screen is always a good idea. Make sure you aren’t giving them a “Death By PowerPoint” experience; use your slides as if they were graphics, licensing eye-catching images or using the images you took yourself and adding only bullet points to capture key takeaways.

Promoting the Webinar

A full promotional plan for a webinar should consider that people need both frequent and timely updates to remind them to register as well as attend the webinar. Common tactical channels used for this include email marketing, especially automation set up from your email marketing tool that sends links to the webinar and reminders on a pre-set scheduled up to the day or even hour of the webinar. Both paid and organic social media promotions are also a great way to promote your webinar and generate signups for the events.

A good landing page can help you convert visitors from paid and organic promotions into attendees. We can help you create an effective landing page that shares just the right information and converts casual visitors into leads and signups for the event.

Practice Makes Perfect

Even if you are quite comfortable presenting to an audience, the presenters should conduct several practice sessions using the technology they plan to use on the day of the webinar. You’d be amazed at how many glitches pop up during practice sessions that you cannot anticipate. These “dry runs” will help you ensure smooth handoffs of the presentation among the speakers, easy transitions to demos, and ensure that everyone helping with the webinar knows their role and how to use the chosen technology.

After the Webinar: Now What?

Be sure to record your webinar in the cloud, if possible. Alert attendees that you are recording it. After the webinar, you can make the recording available on a landing page on your website that acts as a constant lead magnet, capturing more leads through a gated landing page that requires visitors to provide their email addresses to access the content.

Webinar transcripts are also a great way to get more mileage from the recording. Inexpensive transcription software is available, but you may also want someone to clean up the recording, identify speakers, and remove the pesky “ums” and “ahs” that end up in every conversation. There are many freelancers and virtual assistants available who can do this work for you inexpensively. The final transcript can be offered as yet another piece of content for your webinar.

What about getting some extra mileage from the ideas shared during the webinar? Consider each idea shared as a fresh topic for a blog post or social media post. Challenge yourself to get at least 3-4 additional content pieces from your webinar information!

Next Step: Speak with the Experts

Dashboard Interactive Marketing can help you plan the content and marketing of your webinar. From developing lists of the most sought-after and searched keyword phrases to building effective landing pages that convert visitors into leads, we can be your partner on the many marketing aspects of running a webinar. Contact us at 763-242-2454 to speak with a digital marketing expert if you are interested in hosting a webinar as a lead generation activity.

What Every Small Business Owner Should Know About Working with a Marketing Agency

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Digital Marketing FAQ

Perhaps your business has made it past the five year mark and is now happily generating revenue. Customers are pleased with your products or services. Growth is steady and strong, but you’d like to grow it even more. You’re doing all you know how to do to promote your business. Is it time to hire a marketing agency?

Dashboard Interactive Marketing works with small and medium-sized businesses that are serious about growth. Our typical customers are companies that have grown beyond the startup stage and now need to generate new and recurring revenues. We put together comprehensive digital marketing strategies and plans to achieve positive ROI — leads and sales — and use measurable, repeatable tactics.

But if your company is on the cusp of growing, moving from a handful of employees to dozens, and you’re wondering what it is like to work with a marketing agency, we understand. Marketing may not come naturally to you. It may be like a foreign language. SEO? B2B? B2C? Alphabet soup, right?

We’ve put together the following frequency asked questions that business owners often have when working with a digital marketing agency. We trust that they will be helpful to you. If you have additional questions, feel free to call us. We are happy to help.

Marketing Agency FAQs: What Business Owners Often Ask About Working with Agencies

Question: What is the difference between hiring a marketing agency and a marketing consultant or freelancer?

Answer: A marketing agency provides a team to work on your business’ marketing. This team includes a project manager or liaison who will be your point of contact with the company and numerous specialists to provide comprehensive support. Consultants usually help with only one aspect of marketing, such as creating the strategy or plan for your business. Freelancers often provide a single service, such as copywriting (a marketing writer who writes the text of ads, web pages, and other marketing materials), graphic design, search engine optimization, WordPress development, etc. Hiring freelancers can be tricky since you will act as the project manager and guide them to complete a marketing project. An agency takes the entire burden off of you, which is an advantage for a business owner with limited time.

Question: How do I know it’s time to hire an agency? Why can’t my nephew, cousin, or spouse handle our ads?

Answer: You’re welcome to work with your nephew, cousin, or spouse on your marketing. But you won’t get the same results as you could achieve when working with an agency. Unless your relative is already working in the digital marketing field, they may not be conversant in the latest techniques to obtain leads and sales. They may make mistakes that a seasoned marketer knows to avoid, resulting in missed opportunities and lost revenue. Working with an agency ensures faster time to ROI because the agency knows the right steps to take to achieve your goals.

Question: Why does the agency want to have a strategy session first? Why do they ask so many questions about my business?

Answer: Many marketing agencies work with a wide range of customers in a variety of industries (although some do specialize in specific types of marketing or industries, such as an SEO agency for medical offices, or a marketing agency that focuses only on e-commerce businesses). For agencies to help you obtain your lead and sales goals, they must know the background and history of your business, your target audience, your products and services, and the marketing steps you have taken to date to achieve your goal. They will also ask questions about your competitors. This information helps the team create the strategy to achieve your goals and select the right tactics, or marketing channels and methods, to reach the most potential customers.

Question: Do marketing agencies charge a retainer, like a lawyer? Or do you pay for the service, like a doctor’s office?

Answer: Each agency sets its own fee schedule, and there’s no industry standard. Most agencies will charge a ‘flat fee’ or a stated cost to write a marketing strategy and plan. Then there may be a monthly cost to run the marketing campaigns for you. Additional costs can include the fees charged by third party advertisers, such as the cost of running Google or Bing search ad campaigns, social media advertising campaigns, print campaigns, direct mail costs, or similar costs for the actual marketing tactic used to generate leads.

Question: How long will it take for me to see results from working with an agency?

Answer: That depends on the marketing activities that the agency has recommended for your business. Some tactics take more time to achieve measurable results than others. You should ask your agency for an estimate of when they expect to see a return. Dashboard Interactive is keenly focused on metrics, and we will provide you with detailed reports once your campaigns are active so that you can see precisely what has been done to achieve your goals, progress to date, and associated costs.

Dashboard Interactive Marketing

Dashboard Interactive Marketing has almost 20 years of digital marketing experience working with business owners just like you to achieve outstanding results. We provide website services, search engine optimization, local search marketing, digital advertising and marketing, social media management, content marketing, and much more to small and mid-sized businesses. We welcome your call and are happy to discuss your marketing needs. Call us at 763-242-2454.

Think Before You Share: Preserve Your Brand on Social Media

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Business man broadcasting negative messages via mobile device

Oh, it’s that person again. You know the one. The person on your social media feed who always spouts off about the political candidate you like or loathe. Or the person who must talk about [insert issue of the day here]. No matter where you turn or what you click on, there they are, the People Who Always Have Much to Say.

Turn off the computer. Put down your phone. Walk away. Do not engage.

Many business owners maintain both business and personal social media profiles. Their business profiles are filled with polished images and posts about their companies.

But turn to their personal profile and their feed takes a different tone. Suddenly, they’re firing off angry responses to attacks on their favored political candidate. They’re sharing articles about a controversial topic, passionately defending their position. Some even go so far as to launch personal attacks at people with whom they disagree.

It’s like seeing Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll runs the company, and Mr. Hyde comes out to play on his personal social media feed.

Is It Worth Damaging Your Reputation?

As a small- or medium-sized business owner, your reputation is often tightly linked to your business’ reputation.

In some cases, customers perceive you and the business as one and the same. Doctors, dentists, lawyers, veterinarians, counselors, religious leaders, artists, and writers often have brands so tightly entwined with their personal identity that the brand may be construed as one and the same with the individual even if the business is run as a separate legal entity.

Other small-business owners may maintain a separate corporate identity. However, it is likely that people in your community and your customers know that you’re the owner and operator of XYZ heating and cooling, or IT consulting firm, or precision manufacturing. Your reputation is also linked to your business.

Everyone who is active on social media must understand how the public views their actions online. We are not viewed in isolation in today’s very public digital world but as the sum of our interactions. What we share, how we respond to comments, and the articles or posts we share all leave an impression behind.

No matter what your work or your business — whether you own a business or work for a company — your actions and interactions on social media reflect on you and the business. The two images are linked in people’s minds. A misstep on your personal profile can have negative repercussions for the business.

It Takes a Lifetime to Build a Good Reputation — And Seconds to Lose It

Will Rogers once said, “It takes a lifetime to build a good reputation, but you can lose it in seconds.”

A brand is more than a logo. Brands consist of both visual elements (logos, colors, font choices), verbal elements (your slogan or tagline, mission, vision), and customer interactions. Although some people think that it’s a slogan or logo that makes a memorable brand, it’s your business’ actions and interactions with customers over time that builds a valuable brand.

It has taken the lifetime of your business to develop the brand image you have today. That images continues to grow, evolve, and change as your business grows, evolves, and changes. However, brand value can be lost in a moment with a thoughtless post on social media. It may be a post on your company’s platform or on your own personal profile. It doesn’t matter. The public perceives the actions of people aligned with a company as if they are one and the same. What you do and say matters to your business and your brand name.

Social Media: A Very Public Platform

Although your personal profile on social media accounts may be set to “private” or “friends only,” this is no guarantee that something you post will remain hidden from your clients, customers, employees and colleagues. Someone you’re connected with may decide to take a screenshot of your post and share it. Photos you share can be downloaded by anyone who is connected with you to their computers and then uploaded and reshared. Items shared on social media, including photos and videos, are never 100% private. Think carefully before posting anything controversial in today’s “cancel culture.”

You’re Entitled to an Opinion — But Think Twice Before Sharing It

“I stand by what I said. I believe wholeheartedly in my position,” you might think. “Why not share it?”

No matter what position you take on an issue or comment you make about a celebrity or politician, you are guaranteed to alienate someone reading it. And that includes those hard-won clients and customers you’ve worked so hard over the years to win over to your business.

PC Magazine did a roundup article of the biggest social media blunders made by corporations and it’s worth reading as a cautionary tale. In the past week, however, several people have been fired from their jobs by making insensitive comments on social media about the assassination attempt on the former president’s life.

Sharing things that seem funny to you or to your friends may be just part of your personality, but when you share it on social media, you’re not just sharing it with your small circle of friends. You’re publishing it. Think of social media not as a temporary forum where messages can be written and erased but as if it were a printed newspaper, magazine, or book — once your message is published it could live on forever.

Preserve Brand Recognition

Do not underestimate the value of brand recognition. While “big names” such as Google, Apple, Nike, and McDonalds may come to mind when you hear the term brand value, every business’ brand has value. Every customer you serve, every product you’ve developed, every year you’ve been in business has helped you develop your brand and brand awareness. Is it worth throwing it all out the window just to let off a little steam and blast your opinions in the public square?

Tempers are running high right now with so many people feeling angry and frustrated with the world. But do not throw away all that you’ve worked so hard for just to let off steam online. Just as we did in the pre-internet world, we should speak our minds to family and friends, discuss issues, and dialogue with those we disagree.

Social media, however, is not the place for it. It may feel like we are taking action to support a person or cause we believe in, but in the long run, it does more harm to your reputation and to your company’s reputation than it does good. Few minds, if any, have ever been changed by an argument on social media, but many minds have been changed by conversations, dialogues, and friendships.

Focus on your business and leave the controversies on social media to others. The day’s events, the latest scandal or gossip will pass, but the damage from a thoughtless post lingers on. Avoid such missteps by refraining from controversy on social media platforms.

If you would like assistance with social media management or advertising, call Dashboard Interactive Marketing at 763-242-2454. We are a full-service digital marketing agency focused on small and mid-sized business success.

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