The pandemic has prompted businesses to put longstanding assumptions to the test. Quarantine has revealed that many operating principles were more like unquestioned habits. Companies are reconsidering everything—including where they get the marketing help they need.
Author: Mamie Patton
A Path to Rapid Revenue Recovery
In a previous article, we wrote about the McKinsey & Company roadmap as a tool to Rapid Revenue Recovery. Now we’re building on their advice to act quickly by providing five actions you can take now. We believe these are smart investments of your marketing resources that will pay off as we move into the new normal, whatever that may bring.
Planning now for a healthy recovery in the post-COVID era
The world changed and so did marketing. Where do we go from here? First, we were all just trying to keep our balance (along with our health) as the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic sank in. Businesses took defensive measures to limit losses in revenue, employees and customers. Work from home and adoption of […]
Key things to know about PPC keywords.
In order to get the word out about your business, you need to use certain organic keywords to attract the attention of Google and everybody else. But the keywords you use for Pay Per Click campaigns (e.g. Google Ads) could be different from the ones you use for organic search engine optimization (SEO). Below, we […]
California Consumer Privacy Act Begins in January
This January, the California Consumer Privacy Act will restrict how companies collect and use data. RLM has a solution to help you stay safely in compliance. CONSUMERS ARE INCREASINGLY CONCERNED AND DISTRUSTFUL ABOUT THE COLLECTION AND MANAGEMENT OF THEIR PERSONAL DATA ON THE INTERNET. After headlines about Target, Equifax, Capital One, Marriott, Yahoo, eBay, Heartland […]
4 Trends that are Affecting Business Planning and Investment in Websites: Trend #4: Competitive Spend is Increasing
Businesses are investing more to acquire page rank and ad position – because it works. In our previous articles in this series, we cited 3 important contributors to the need to budget for ongoing website maintenance and marketing: increased security requirements, expanding complexity in website structure, and rapidly evolving SEO. Each of those factors demand […]
4 Trends that are Affecting Business Planning and Investment in Websites: Trend #3 – SEO is Harder
The secret to SEO is that there is no secret. Doing it well means doing many things well—consistently. “I used to outrank all of my competitors,” a prospective client told us. “And now I’m barely on page one. I don’t know what happened.” He wanted a new website, and he wanted it to appear at […]
4 Trends that are Affecting Business Planning and Investment in Websites Trend #1: Security
Small businesses are realizing that hackers aren’t snobs about who they attack. They just want in. And they’ve learned that small to medium sized businesses are easier prey. Easier because of the dangerous delusion that no cybercriminal would try to hack, say, The Kupcake Korner when they could be hacking Pillsbury and its vast, flour-begotten fortune. […]
4 Trends that are Affecting Business Planning and Investment in Websites
Businesses are waking up to the costs of leaving their websites untended—and the returns they reap when they budget for regular SEO and content updates. The days when you could put a site in place, do some SEO so you’ll show up in a search, and then let it coast, are extinct. This is the […]
What is video hosting, and why should I use it?
Video is a necessary power tool for digital marketers. Inclusion of videos on business sites is huge and expected to grow. A good video can give users helpful information, how-to demonstrations, and other content that is proven to drive conversions. Video on a landing page can increase conversions by 80% or more. The average CVR […]
Happy Birthday Google!
Google turns 20. In two brief decades, it built the second most powerful brand in the world, behind Apple. It transformed a misspelled math term into a verb – just google to find the correct spelling. Thankfully, founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page dropped the original name, which was BackRub. “Hey, did you BackRub that […]
Watch Out for “The Guy”
“So, who’s managing the back end of your web site?” “Oh, we got a guy.” And thus strike the gongs of doom. More often than we’d like, clients come to us because they used “A guy.” It conjures images of a self-taught, one-man shop working out of his basement to make websites on the cheap. […]
How People Use Smartphones for Online Shopping
More and more consumers are using smartphones for online shopping. Are you adapting to suit their needs? With more than half of all internet traffic coming from a mobile device, it’s more important than ever to make sure your website is primed for mobile viewing and mobile online shopping. The research below can be used […]
Social Media Branding Strategy: How to Drive Results
Brands have a lot to learn about engaging on social media. Sprout Social recently surveyed over 1,000 Facebook, Twitter and Instagram users to learn what social media branding actions drive them away, and what entices them to become followers. The survey, called the Q3 2016 Sprout Social Index, reveals important information about brands and social […]
Smartphones in Bathrooms: The Naked, (Icky) Truth
69% of Americans admit to using their smartphones in bathrooms. “I can’t live without my phone!” Let’s face it, most of us are guilty of saying this. But maybe we’re taking it a bit too far. A recently conducted study revealed that majority of Americans are guilty of using their smartphones in bathrooms. Check out our […]
Mobile App Marketing: Is Your Business App-Savvy?
Apps aren’t just for games and social media any more. Mobile app marketing unlocks a whole new world to drive brand engagement. Smartphone use should really be called “app-phone” use. In this infographic, we list the most popular apps people are using today. Keep in mind that there are endless opportunities to engage your customers […]
Two Faces for Facebook? How we Solved a Client’s Facebook Dilemma
When is it appropriate to show multiple brand personalities in social media? Learn more about Facebook branding strategy below. A client had an interesting Facebook branding strategy question. Their events management business, based at a beautiful, unique location, hosts all kinds of events, from weddings to corporate meetings. They wanted our advice on one of […]
Business Tip: Prepare for the Holidays in Summer
You’re probably familiar with the phrase “Christmas in July”, a phrase used loosely to describe summer indulgences. It holds an actual function for countries in the Southern hemisphere, whose seasons are reversed. And though we find ourselves on the top half of the planet, we are thinking about the holidays even in the 90+ degree […]
Are people still watching TV? Nielsen says yes
Experts have long predicted that TV and radio will lose a Darwinian battle to subscription on-demand services like Netflix. But Nielsen’s latest report shows TV’s still going strong. The recent Nielsen Q1 2016 Total Audience Report indicates the media evolution trend is continuing. However, broadcast—that’s TV and radio combined—is still the most powerful medium. For […]
Remixing the Marketing Mix: Moving Beyond the 4 Ps of Marketing
The classic marketing mix is referred to as the 4 Ps of Marketing: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. It originated in 1960, and over time marketers added additional P’s, like Packaging, People, and so on. I once worked for a corporation that used 10 P’s. (No, I can’t recite them). Whatever the number, the point was to […]
What’s On Your Whiteboard?
What’s On Your Whiteboard? Every desk at Red Letter Marketing has at least three screens on display: multiple computer monitors, smart phones, and tablets. But our favorite brainstorming and puzzle solving tool is the good old whiteboard. Our main conference room has a 14-foot whiteboard that inspires team members and clients alike to bigger thinking. […]
You’ve Been Hacked! Now what? Unpacking Business Cybersecurity
Here’s a business cybersecurity story that happens all too often. A financial services company provides a website portal for their clients to access their investment accounts. Clients visit frequently to review their accounts and browse the company’s rich library of helpful information. One afternoon, while the company president is at lunch with a client, he receives […]
Want to boost your SEO? Hire professional content writers
Professional content writers can rejoice. Though the all-knowing algorithm remains under lock and key, Google’s Search Quality Guidelines were released less than 6 months ago. A cursory reading of these guidelines shows that Google now gives primacy to content written by professional content writers. In short, the internet’s most powerful force now favor skillful, authoritative […]
Top 4 characteristics of great logo design
Modern consumers have more visual exposure to brands than ever before. This overexposure means it’s important to make sure your brand works on all platforms–and that means great logo design. Check out the 4 criteria below to ensure a fantastic logo design that has an effect on your audience. 1. Simplicity “Keep it simple, stupid.” […]
Is a Short-Sighted Marketing Strategy Limiting Your Business?
The most popular definition of marketing, according to a quick Google search, is “the action or business of promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising.” This definition, while practical, covers a common, but short-sighted perception of the role of marketing. By this description, companies make a product or service, and it’s the […]
The Nerf War Rages On
Strategy. Execution. Results. The RLM Nerf War is on. The battle horn blows. The thunderous clap of a hundred geldings tears through the morning air. The techies approach, weapons in hand, following their gallant leader, Lord Javier: Warden of the North and Defender of the Motherboard. It is time. The Nerf War is upon us. First, […]
Why you should invest in website maintenance
At Red Letter Marketing, we specialize in helping our clients get the right website for their needs. That might require building a new custom site, a templated site, or updating their existing site. But no matter what, we also know every site requires regular website maintenance, and we want you to understand why. Website functionalities […]
Volkswagen Emission Scandal: A Great Brand Gone Bad
The Volkswagen emission scandal is the latest example of a company that seriously damaged its brand credibility. Can Volkswagen ever recover its customers’ trust? Volkswagen managed to seriously damage over 50 years of brand credibility with their stupid “diesel dupe” software scandal. Share value has fallen over 30% since news of the debacle broke. Trust will […]
What is Branding, and How is it Different from Marketing?
What is Branding? Branding is the ongoing activity that creates experiences and strengthens the bonds between people and a company. In other words, it’s taking a brand and making something positive happen with it. It’s a verb. So the deeper question than “what is branding” is, what’s a brand? What’s this thing we’re going to […]
NC Businesses: Today’s Marketing is Complex
We wanted to learn what’s important to NC businesses when it comes to marketing. So we conducted an informal survey to discover common threads of thought. If you’ve ever felt like the tidal wave of new marketing technologies and media is overwhelming, you’re not alone. NC businesses report their top marketing challenges are generating leads, […]
