Proliferation

Feb 12
0

The Benefits of Hiring an Agency Over Doing It Yourself

By | advertising, content marketing, digital marketing, SEO, Social Media | No Comments

Marketing is an important aspect of any business, and when it comes to growth, there is no better way than by investing in marketing. Marketing can be intimidating, especially for smaller businesses, but if you don’t start, you can find your business suffering when it comes to drawing in more consumers, reaching sales goals, and overall making an impact in your respective industry. So, do you go in blindly trying to market your brand yourself, or do you turn to marketing companies to handle this aspect of your business?

While it may seem cheaper and simpler to handle marketing yourself, you’ll find that it can actually turn out to be the complete opposite− you don’t want to sacrifice any manpower on your team, and you also don’t want to exceed your budget in the hiring department, so here are some benefits to hiring a marketing agency over trying to do everything in-house.

Save Serious Cash

This should be one of the most beneficial factors to your company. You don’t want to spend unnecessary funds, and you definitely don’t want to exceed any budgets, so this is where marketing companies will come in handy. The costs that come with running an in-house marketing team can be pretty hefty, and if you’re on a restrictive budget, you might not be able to assemble an experienced group of professionals. The staff costs alone might be as expensive as outsourcing your marketing needs. Things such as content management software, marketing software, benefits package, and other marketing equipment costs can add up quickly on top of employing a marketing staff.

Professional Experience

Since marketing companies are experts in what they do, you’ll be getting quality work done. These agencies are comprised of talented teams who are experts in their respective fields, so you can rest assured that any task you throw at them, they’ll be able to handle with expertise. By hiring an agency, you’ll also avoid the hassle of trying to interview and pick out capable employees.

Avoid Overworking Your Existing Staff

If you decide to bypass hiring a marketing agency and are not able to hire a marketing team due to costs, you might end up overworking your current team by trying to train them in the marketing. Marketing companies can help ease the workload of your staff by allowing your team to focus on their day-to-day work.

Benefits of a Marketing Company’s Outside Perspective

Not only are these marketing companies going to help market your brand, but they can provide you with valuable insight on how you can improve your current efforts. Since they are experts when it comes to what consumers are looking for, they can help establish you brand even further, strengthening connections with your current consumer base while bringing in new customers as well. These marketing companies will evaluate your current strategies, techniques and brand voice overall and give you pointers on how the business can be improved.

Staying Up-to-Date

Perhaps one of the best things about hiring a marketing agency is that your branding and content will always be kept up to date. Since marketing agencies are always in the digital loop, you won’t have to worry about outdated tactics, lingo or presentations to the public.

There are multiple benefits that come with hiring marketing companies, and they generally outweigh the few benefits that come with marketing yourself. If you’re ready to take the next step in your marketing campaign, contact us here at Fusion 360.

Feb 10
0

Three Ways to Get Out of Digital Media Mediocrity

By | advertising, content marketing, digital marketing, marketing, SEO | No Comments

Companies need to be fearless in their pursuits of success if they want to draw in more clients and market themselves as a reliable company, but establishing yourself as such may not come so easily. If your company wants to be taken seriously, you have to be able to show what makes your company special — something that consumers can’t really find anywhere else. In order to show this to your potential consumers, your online marketing needs to be on point.

When it comes to online content, a lot of companies crack under the pressure of not staying relevant with their target audience and have to rely on the help of digital marketing companies. If these companies continue to try and handle the online marketing work themselves, they will fall into the deep, unforgiving path of mediocrity. From here, the question is, how do you avoid falling into this category? Here are three ways to get you out of digital media mediocrity and how you can become a successful company, capable of pulling in new customers left and right.

Know Your Consumers

This is probably the most important step in surviving digital media mediocrity. If you don’t know your consumers, how are you supposed to successfully find new customers? Experienced marketing companies can tell you that by not taking the time to research and find out who your consumers are, you will waste your time coming up with irrelevant marketing content and, worst of all, miss out on the business of potential consumers.

Place Your Ads Appropriately

Going right along with knowing your consumers, you need to know where they spend their time online; companies that blindly upload advertisements are going to have the least amount of success. If you want to generate results and come across as a competent company, you will need to do as the digital marketing companies do and place your ads appropriately. For example, if your company sells sports attire and equipment, you’re going to want to target other websites that relate to the sports world. You’ll also want to run your ads on videos that fit within the category of your brand’s specific product or services.

 

Declare a Specialty

Consumers are looking for companies that give them some special service or product at all times. If your company has a USP (unique selling point) — and it should — but you are not hitting on it in your online marketing, you will not stand out to anyone and will be obscured in mediocrity. To change this, you need to know what it is that makes your current consumers come to you for your business and not others. When experienced marketing companies start working with companies for the first time, the first thing they do is find out what makes those companies unique. From there, they will make sure that you put your best foot forward and show your consumers why they need your service/product.

These few tips will help any company stay afloat in the online world. If you cannot implement these tips, you may want to seek out help from digital marketing companies. If you’re in need of award-winning digital advertising services, look no further than Fusion 360, we live by these tips and our work shows that.

 

Dec 01
1

Pros and Cons of Pop Culture References

By | Brand marketing, content marketing, marketing, Millennials, public relations, Social Media | No Comments

Brands today have started to focus on ways that they can make their content more efficient. From blog posts to videos and social media posts, it’s important for companies to produce written work, videos, and graphics that will resonate with their audience; if you fail to make your content engaging, you’re not going to see results. When it comes to the type of content that reaches an audience more than any other piece, it really depends on the person, but all kinds of people today are watching more videos than ever.

Video production companies are going to be looking to capitalize on the opportunity they have to connect with audiences and start leading the world in digital marketing. However, how do video production companies do this? They have to find ways to incorporate current events and trends into their videos.

In recent years, video production companies, as well as marketing agencies, have begun to include pop culture references into their content to make it more appealing to audiences, but does this really work? When it comes to pop culture in the world of digital advertising, there are a few upsides and some downsides.

The Pros of Pop Culture References

Pop culture references in social media content are ideal because it produces some of the most eye-catching and tempting clickbait out there. Pop culture references make it hard for people to ignore pieces that include topics that are relevant to them. When a post is able to captivate the audience just on its title alone, the higher the chances of that company obtaining more traffic to their pages. From YouTube videos to blog posts, a crafty title with a pop culture reference and a keyword is sure to draw in an audience.

Another reason video production companies and marketing agencies choose to use pop culture references are because they provide easy explanations for complex issues. This is especially effective if you’re trying to reach and engage with a younger audience. If you use a current pop culture reference as a metaphor to a widely known tread, it will make that piece of content all the more easy to understand.

The Cons of Pop Culture References

Of course, using these references also has its downside. While pop culture references can, in fact, make a current world issue or trend simpler to understand, they can also distort reality and cause misinterpretation from certain groups. While a video production may have used the reference with no ill intent in mind, their audience can misinterpret the information, which can lead to dangerous outsiders stereotyping the company.

Another disadvantage that comes with using pop culture references in media is that they have a short shelf life. These references usually die out within a set amount of time, and you’ll soon have to look for the next reference to replace your current choice. This can get confusing for audiences and can even discredit your content as well. Pop culture is always changing, and it is near impossible to keep up with it 100 percent of the time. 

While using pop culture references may have its benefits, makes sure that you understand the consequences that may come with it so that you can avoid any media disaster.

Nov 25
0

Inside an Ad Agency: Time and Project Management

By | advertising, content marketing, digital marketing, marketing agencies, public relations | No Comments

You’ve often heard the phrase “time is money,” and that pretty much sums up what it’s like for advertising agencies. Time is something that you can’t get back and something that should be valued maybe than money, but what happens when you find that your time isn’t being spent as wisely as it could be?

Time management goes hand in hand with project management, and at advertising agencies, there is usually an efficient project management strategy in place. When companies hand their work over to the hands of a competent ad agency, they will find that they have more time to complete other important tasks and stay caught up with their workload, but that is all thanks to a system they have set in place.

Here’s how companies can mimic advertising agencies and set up effective time and project management strategies to help their productivity.

Track Your Time

It’s important to know how long a project takes. Knowing how long a project takes will helps you measure how many tasks, you’ll be able to get to in a day. Time tracking apps and widgets are essential in successful advertising agencies because they help both the employees and employers gauge how much an individual can take on daily. This also helps divide the workload between their employees and ensure that each employee is taking on what they can handle.

Determine What your Most Important Tasks Are

You should always focus on priority tasks. If you see that something is overdue or is going to be asked for soon, you should definitely make that your priority. Go through your task list and see what you can put off for later and replace those tasks with things that are needed ASAP. Advertising agencies who fail to organize their workload find themselves in deep trouble when their clients are asking why a specific project hasn’t been completed.

Remember That You Don’t Get Paid for Checking Emails

Emails are an important form of communication, but they are not priority tasks. While emailing is used to talk about a task with clients and coworkers, you have to make sure not to get distracted by menial tasks when you check your emails. The best thing to do to save time and increase production is to check, respond and organize your emails first thing in the morning and then focus on important tasks for the rest of the day.

With the time you’ll gain by following these guidelines, you can get ahead of your work, breathe easy and even bring on new clients and increase that revenue stream. By solidifying your project management strategy and properly managing your time, your agency is sure to flourish in this competitive industry.

Nov 19
0

Marketing Campaigns 101

By | content marketing, digital marketing, marketing, marketing agencies, Mobile marketing | No Comments

Marketing campaigns aim at promoting products through various platforms. Advertising companies use online platforms and print ads in addition to radio and television spots as their primary tools for product promotion. Consistent advertising is a good way for you to reach your customers and to create a lasting impression in their minds.

A coordinated approach for marketing companies has several advantages.

Meetings with customers and prospects

After beginning your campaign, you gain the opportunity for a meeting with customers and clients. Customers can see what you’re offering by examining the features and qualities of your products. Then, they develop an interest in your products from an informed viewpoint and are more likely to make an appointment to discuss how your company can help theirs.

Brand development

With multiple promotional ads, you stand to gain a customer’s attention more than if you used a single form of advertising. This lets you stand out from the crowd of your competitors. Displaying your brand across the various media platforms results in its promotion and development.

Customer follow-up

Whether you’re dealing with established customers or searching for new ones, a solid, diverse marketing plan helps you to follow up with them. Once you have gained their attention, you’ll have the opportunity to explain your products or services in greater detail. Marketing campaigns reinforce your brand, communicate your message and create a knowledge base for new or established customers.

Increased sales

Marketing campaigns remind your previous customers that your products and services are still on the market. They also catch the attention of curious customers. This results in new and repeat sales and increases your clients’ brand loyalty.

New business opportunities

These widespread campaigns can create new business opportunities for marketing companies. They increase exposure within the industry and attract new partners, which leads to expansion of your business by creating new opportunities.

Marketing campaigns drive your business forward. Through proper alignment of your marketing campaign goals, you stand a better chance of achieving success in your business.

Nov 03
0

How to Hire a Marketing Agency

By | content marketing, digital marketing, marketing, marketing agencies, Mobile marketing | No Comments

Before even talking about the steps included in hiring a marketing agency, you should understand why you should hire a marketing agency. Marketing agencies are experts and dedicated to advertising for your company. They come up with campaigns, know the best places to spend your money, and know how to get the most traffic to your business. They are the best way to get the word of your business or company out there, and they also take away all the stress of trying to figure it out on your own.

Again, they are experts at what they do. They know how to do it, and they know how to do it well. Marketing agencies can help companies of any size grow and expand. Once you have decided that hiring a marketing agency is a good idea, you’ll want to follow a few steps. Following these steps will help you to get the best marketing company for you and your company.

Do Your Research

Researching marketing and advertising agencies is the first thing you should do after deciding to hire one. There is so much you can learn about a company just from some simple online research. One of the best ways to do research is to ask around. Ask companies you respect which marketing agencies they use or ask what advertising agencies companies that are thriving use.

Successful research will help you so you end up hiring a marketing agency that you are going to want to work with. This research will save you from getting tied down on contracts you weren’t aware of and will help steer you away from companies that don’t live up to their promises. Careful research is the very best way to make sure you get what you want.

Case Studies

Marketing agencies can make all the promises in the world, but you can’t really believe them until you see the proof. As humans, we are all creatures of habit. You can assume that if a marketing agency doesn’t have great reviews, they aren’t likely to change just for you. Looking at their past work in case studies is a great way to compare their claims to their actual work. You can also check and see if the work they are doing and have completed in the past is what you are wanting.

You want to hire a marketing agency that does exactly what they claim they will. After sorting through all of your options, you should be able to shrink down your options to just a few. Make sure they not only measure up to what they say they will, but also that they measure up to your personal expectations.

Know What Services They Offer

Different marketing agencies offer a variety of different services, so you need to be sure the agency you decide to hire actually offers the specific service you want. Some services different marketing agencies offer include things like brand development, SEO, measurements and analytics, and some companies include things like website development and video production services. The more services the company offers the more they will be able to market your company over multiple platforms. Make sure though that you aren’t paying for services that you don’t actually want.

Like the Marketing Team

An important aspect of getting a successful marketing team is to make sure you get along with the marketers. If you and the marketing agency are disagreeing on everything, or simply just don’t get along you aren’t going to get much work done. Even if you do get work done, you aren’t going to get the quality of work that you want. It’ll also be a waste of money using your time to fight or not get along rather than coming up with good ideas. Making sure you get along with any marketing agency is crucial before signing any kind of contract, which leads us to the next step.

Read Before Signing

Marketing agencies are going to need you to sing some sort of agreement or contract, for a lot of reasons. They need to make sure you are willing to work with them for a set amount of time, they need permission to use your companies name and trademarks and a lot of other little things that they need legal permission for. These contracts shouldn’t scare you though, it is just simply a part of hiring a marketing agency. You should, however, be extra careful about reading all the terms and conditions of the contract to make sure you know what you are signing.

Reach Out

The final step when hiring a marketing agency is to reach out to them. Once you have narrowed the race down and found an advertising company you are interested in you can contact them. Shoot them an email and express your interest in their services. You can and should also include in this email any worries you have about working with them. This way you and the marketing agency can work out some problems you think you will face before you even start working with them. You can also discuss which types of marketing tactics will be the best for your specific content.

Overall, advertising agencies are here to help you and help promote your company. They want to work and get along with you. They want you and your company to be successful. Looking for these companies doesn’t need to be stressful or hard. Making sure you are doing your research, reading case studies, know what services are offered, get along with the marketing team, read before signing, and reach out you are going to find a marketing agency you can be successful with. Contact Fusion 360 Agency marketers today with any questions you have about marketing agencies!

Oct 31
0

Marketing to Each Generation

By | content marketing, digital marketing, marketing, Millenials, Mobile marketing | No Comments

It’s no secret that there’s not one way to market to every generation. There are many reasons behind this fact, but the biggest is that different generations grew up in different technological ages. Each generation has grown accustomed to the ways they buy products and receive information. Some members of older generations have adapted to the modern age of technology, but it’s good to know how to generally market to the individual generations so that you can cover your bases as a digital marketing agency.

Every generation has different things that influence them in making a purchase, whether it’s the marketing channel or the message. As a digital marketing agency, you have the responsibility to know how to market to each generation, especially if you have a specific target audience. Here are some fun facts about the different generations and their marketing styles:

Centennials (under the age of 21)
This generation is very media minded. Studies have shown that 80 percent of Centennials consider social media a strong influencer when making purchasing decisions. Centennials are focused on the quality and authenticity of your product, rather than pricing. Email advertising is less effective on this generation than others.

Millennials (ages 22 to 37)
Millennials are considered brand loyalists. They tend to find a brand they like, follow it on several media outlets, then they will remain loyal to this brand. Email advertising is important to this generation. They like personalized content and product recommendations over multiple channels. The most influential social media outlet for Millennials is Facebook.

Generation X (ages 38 to 52)
This generation is commonly known as the bargain hunting generation. They care less about brand names and are more frequently influenced by good prices or special deals. Like Millennials, Generation X is most heavily influenced by email advertisements. Social media also influences some purchases made by this generation, however, the convenience of shopping through online networks greatly influences whether or not these people make purchases on the internet.

Baby Boomers (ages 53 to 71)
This generation is much like Generation X, in that they also like to look for good deals and prices. However, they like to see good prices, but also a wide range of products. They like to be able to get their products from a few locations as possible. The Baby Boomers are rarely influenced by social media outlets, but Facebook and emails are the most influential if you still want to use digital media advertising. As far as digital marketing goes with this generation, it can be less effective than traditional marketing methods.

Now that we know that all the generations are extremely different when it comes to digital marketing, let’s talk about some ways you can capture all audiences. First, you should look at who your target audience is. If you are primarily trying to market to Millennials, you will want to put a large focus on creating brand loyalty and using their preferred channels. A good rule for any digital marketing agency is to make sure to change up what you’re doing regularly. Run deals and promotions to target generations of people where price is important, then advertise why your product is high quality to market to other generations.

Whatever you do, it’s always wise to be constantly trying new marketing methods to see what works best; but don’t forget about other methods that also work well. As a digital marketing agency, we cater to several different brands, so it’s important for us to get to know the brand, the target audience, and the product appeal in order to correctly market to the different generation.

Click here to learn more about our digital marketing agency to see what we can do for you!

Sources:
https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/09/28/generational-marketing-tactics
https://www.cms-connected.com/News-Archive/July-2017/How-Each-Generation-Responds-To-Marketing-Channels-and-Messaging

Oct 29
0

Identifying Your Target Audience

By | advertising, Brand marketing, content marketing, digital marketing, marketing, Millenials, Millennials | No Comments

One of the key principles of marketing is identifying your target audience. In any marketing or advertising 101 classes, students will begin to learn about target audiences because they play a critical role in the success of a business. Every content marketing company understands that in order to generate sales and an eventual profit, you must know the right audience for your product.

It is sometimes fascinating to see business owners start out thinking one thing about their product, and then learning that the biggest selling point or benefit of the product ties to an entirely different demographic than they originally thought. Typically, business owners won’t misdiagnose their own product, but they do frequently miss nailing how to create the bridge between their target audience and their product.

Considering that the entire purpose of what content marketing companies do revolves around connecting the product with the target audience, they understand how to identify that audience. These companies put in the necessary time to learn more about the audience by conducting extensive research BEFORE they start coming up with plans and ideas. There are a few common ways marketing companies come up with a detailed analysis of the target audience; some of the frequently used tactics include producing primary research with polls and surveys, scanning secondary research in related scholarly/professional research articles, and learning more about a specific demographic.

Producing primary research – One of the most well-known and effective ways to learn more about your target audience is to produce surveys and polls that your current consumers will fill out. This will give you insight into what kind of groups and peoples you are working with.

Scanning secondary research –  The results to this are similar to the primary research you conduct; you will be able to better recognize the individuals that fall under the demographic category of your target audience. To get these results though, you will have to go through trusted scholarly/professional research and articles that related to your product and consumer. These articles will likely give you statistics or findings that direct you more to the individuals you should target.

Learning more about a specific demographic – Embrace the recognized demographic—check online forums, go to events they might have interest in, listen to the music or podcasts they do, and watch the TV shows or movies they do. Going to this length of research will help you speak their same language which will give you the ability to relate with them on a whole new level. This is ultimately what starts building the bridge between companies and their potential consumers or clients.

When a company properly identifies their target audience, they will be able to market their ads and promotions directly to that specific demographic. If the marketing efforts miss the mark, then that company can expect a minimal increase in sales and profit, and face the possibility of losing money as a result. However, if the target audience is spot on and the marketing tactics are executed well, then the company will achieve what they desired to from the beginning; content marketing companies understand that everything hinges on making your product appeal to the target audience.

Focusing on the target audience for a content marketing company is second nature. If you have any concerns with misidentifying your target audience or have any other marketing concern, contact us at Fusion 360.

Oct 29
0

Focusing on the Four Marketing Pillars

By | Brand marketing, content marketing, digital marketing, marketing, marketing agencies, Mobile marketing | No Comments

Content marketing companies are based on four main pillars that make marketing successful. These four pillars each contribute in their own way to the success of marketing in general. From making and maintaining relationships to working on improving your company’s name recognition, these pillars help marketing agencies make the best choices in these situations.

Relationships

Keeping existing customers and maintaining good relationships is pivotal for all content marketing companies. Though it may be easy to think that because you have already won them over you are good to go, this is not true; customers can leave just as quickly as they come. Also, happy customers are some of the best marketers possible. If they have had good experiences with your business, they will recommend you to their friends and family. Taking the time to make sure your clients and customers are satisfied is one of the most important things you can do when it comes to successful marketing. In today’s world, going digital and being readily available to help customers online is one of the best ways to ensure great customer satisfaction. 

New Customers

Though keeping current customers happy is important, gaining new customers is the whole purpose of marketing. Content marketing companies put a huge emphasis on this step. When you are working to find new customers, paying for things like ads is a great way to do this. Of course, word of mouth is still a great way to get new customers, but it is often the slowest way as well. Hiring content marketing companies are a great way to successfully find new customers.

Name Recognition

Another thing content marketing companies work hard to do is to create name recognition for the company or business. This includes creating a brand that is recognizable all around. Creating a brand is important for so many reasons and recognition is just one of them. Like with new customers, ads play a big role in name recognition. When people hear your name, you want them to think positively and have the desire to invest in your product or service.

Communication

The last pillar content marketing companies find important is the communication pillar. Communicating in all aspects of life is important, and marketing is no exception. After you know who your customers and clients are, you can find ways to communicate with them. You can learn what they like, what they don’t like, and what they expect from you as a company. You also want to be able to communicate with your customers so you can explain things or answer questions for them.

All these pillars work together so that they hold up marketing as a whole. Content marketing companies work with these four pillars in mind to create the most successful marketing techniques they can.  

Oct 26
0

The Benefits of Outsourcing Content

By | advertising, content marketing, marketing, marketing agencies | No Comments

Businesses are often faced with strenuous workloads and strict deadlines, which can make it hard to keep up with consumer demands. When it comes down to it, these struggling businesses are often faced with a tough decision: sacrifice quality or sacrifice quantity. Well, what if there was a way to keep both?

Content marketing agencies such as Fusion 360 exist to give your company room to breathe. Whether you need help with your campaign or you’re looking to get more content created for your website, we’re ready to take some of that weight off your shoulders. Here is how your business can benefit from outsourcing content.

Save Time

If you’re drowning in content work, there’s a good chance that some tasks are being put off, making you fall further and further behind and killing your company’s productivity. By outsourcing your content to reputable content marketing agencies, you’ll save yourself time; with extra time, you will be able to catch up on late work, restore productivity within your company, and really focus on your brand and customer relationship. If you really sit back and think about it, you’ll realize that this may be one of the best decisions your company can make. Freeing your employees from that crunch time they’ve been working on will help them get back into gear and focus on the most important parts of your company.

Strengthen Your Content Marketing Strategy

Another great benefit that will come from outsourcing your content is that you’ll be strengthening your content marketing strategy. Content marketing agencies specialize in content marketing, so you’ll be able to rest easy knowing that what your agency is producing will be of high-quality. While you may have had some talented writers amongst your team, content teams will know how to make your content as engaging and as efficient as possible. letting your employees worry about fulfilling their most important tasks.

You’ll Most Likely See Better Results

Content marketing agencies want nothing more than to help your business succeed, so don’t be surprised when you see your following grow, numbers start to rise, and your product or service start to become a big hit with consumers. Content marketing agencies are meant to help your business, which is why outsourcing your content is one of the best decisions your company will ever make.

Hiring a content marketing agency is the best way to free time, increase productivity and ensure that your content is as high quality as possible. If your company needs marketing assistance, contact us here at Fusion 360 Agency.