Digital Knowledge Center

Are you considering outsourcing your digital marketing? If so, there’s an array of advantages that come with the decision. Whether it’s managing your social media platforms, creating content, or tracking growth, digital marketing is a time-consuming process that drags...

As companies continue to navigate these uncertain times, many are looking for ways to attract new customers or stay connected with their audiences. Here are five ways to market your business during Covid-19. 1.  Build trust by keeping your audience informed and...

Your Google My Business profile is one of the largest factors used to determine where your company ranks in search results. In fact, according to the Moz Local Search Ranking Factors Study, it even outpaces your website in how greatly it affects your visibility. And...

If your business is like most small businesses, you’re facing a unique challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Depending on your industry and location, you may be dealing with: The full closure of your business Limitations in your offerings/products Loss of sales...

Google Analytics can be intimidating. It boasts a wealth of data, numbers, charts and terminology. And the platform can be challenging to navigate and understand. In this blog, our digital team shares the basics of Google Analytics -- including must-know terminology –...

Did you know that 82% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses? Reviews also account for about 15% of the criteria Google uses to determine your business’s ranking, according to the 2018 Local Rankings Report. The sheer importance of reviews today is...

Most small business owners have heard a lot about the power of email marketing. Possibly even stats like: Customers spend 138% more when marketed to through email, as compared to those who do not receive email offers  86% of consumers prefer to see email marketing...

Your website is your business’s best friend. But without a website audit, it can become its worst enemy. Maintained properly, websites respond to the changes rolled out regularly by Google, Bing and other search engines. Staying current keeps your site in the results...

There’s no shortage of advice out there about how to measure success using social media metrics. Unfortunately, most of the advice you’ll find is, at best, misguided and, at worst, flat-out wrong for the current social media atmosphere. For one thing, it...

If you’re like most people, trying to understand the changes Google announces, particularly about secure websites, is like trying to comprehend a foreign language. Words like algorithm, AI and ranking signals are tossed around. Yet the nitty-gritty of what Google’s...

If you’re like most people, you know good design when you see it. There’s something about it that draws you in and inspires you to take the next step. But when it comes to creating your business’s website or marketing materials, you’re not always sure how to produce...

A new website requires a hefty investment from small businesses. So it’s important you make the most of your budget and know what to look for when you’re considering a new one. Because our digital team at Fresh has had their hand in 750 websites, we asked them what...

If you’re like most people, you know social media can play an important role in the success of a local business. After all, roughly 69% of U.S. adults are on Facebook alone, according to Pew Research Center. And that doesn’t include the number of adults active on...

Many digital marketing agencies use jargon that even an SEO expert can’t decipher. Even so, you trust their expertise. And if you’re like most clients, you know you need the services they provide. But you don’t have to stay in the dark about what those services...

Your customer isn’t paying attention to your marketing. At least, not at first. That’s partly because the average consumer is exposed to up to 10,000 brand messages a day. To focus in such a world, the mind must tune out extraneous noise. Unfortunately, that “noise”...

Seventy percent of U.S. households now use the internet when shopping locally for products and services. Do they find your business in their search results? If you have a well-designed and mobile-responsive website, you probably assume they do. But that’s not always...

“The future is private.” That’s what Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg declared during his keynote address at the company’s annual conference in 2019. It was a strong statement from the social network, which has been enmeshed in numerous privacy scandals over...

Digital marketing. Websites. SEO. Social media. The number of marketing tools at your disposal are seemingly endless and can be overwhelming rather than empowering. If you’re among the overwhelmed, you’re not alone. In fact, over the last 20 years, our clients have...

Your website serves as a virtual storefront. Often it provides the first point of contact with customers, who use your site to browse products and services, learn more about what makes your company unique and discover how to contact you. So it’s important for your...

A buyer decides they want the product you sell and turns to web to research companies and brands. What if you could get in front of that customer at that moment and offer information to convince them that your product is the perfect choice? Consistently well executed...

 Many people approach social media marketing expecting viral videos, hundreds of new leads and increased profitability. Unfortunately, they’re setting themselves up for disappointment. True, social media marketing can help you reach new customers and grow your bottom...

You’ve probably heard that your website needs search engine optimization, or SEO for short. Maybe it came up at a conference. Possibly your local chamber of commerce held a lunch and learn on the topic. Perhaps you’ve received unsolicited emails from agencies...

The term “brand” gets tossed around often by marketers. But it’s not just a fancy word in the agency vernacular. Your brand is the embodiment of your business and should be reflected in all marketing and advertising efforts through design, customer experience and...

Many people measure the success of marketing by focusing on the same key-performance indicators (KPIs), regardless of the advertisement or campaign. But that’s not the road to travel if you want to achieve long-term results. Instead, you need to go on a journey to...

Maybe your current website isn’t mobile responsive. Perhaps it’s stuck in the past, designed with outdated typefaces and images. Whatever the reason, you’re ready for a new site. There are dozens of factors to consider, like what your site map should look like or how...

The customers of today are not the customers of the past. Today’s customers live online. They’re one click away from shopping at all times. They do in-depth research on products and services before purchasing. They consume media and advertisements continuously. ...

A solid digital marketing strategy often focuses on what’s behind the scenes: Monthly SEO management, targeting options for online ads and the content creation process. But without solid design, digital marketing quickly becomes background noise. Customers tune it out...

According to a September 2018 study, 39 of 100 searches led to a click on an organic search result. In the same study, about 62 of 100 searches did not result in a click. And paid advertisements only accounted for 3.4 clicks of 100 searches.  This study brings into...

A great advertisement is like a catchy song. You can’t get it out of your head. It lingers for days, months and even years until the information about the product or service advertised is needed for a purchase decision. Here are 10 examples of ads we’ve seen recently...

Logos resonate deeply with customers. Sometimes more deeply than brands realize. Consider the flood of negative feedback that Gap and Seattle’s Best Coffee met when attempting rebranding, particularly on social media. Since a positive reception is key to success, here...

“Success is 20 percent skills and 80 percent strategy,” according to American entrepreneur Jim Rohn. In today’s culture of ever-evolving technologies, creating a strategy for digital marketing can be challenging. Here are a five do’s and don’ts to start planning for...

Landing pages pack a powerful punch in today’s digital marketing world. While websites are a must-have, landing pages can often make the difference between gaining leads or stagnating sales. In fact, companies with 10-15 landing pages experience a 55% increase in...

Only about 25% of millennials and baby boomers trust content from brands. That’s 1 out of every 4 customers! The battle for customers has moved from getting the message out to creating a message that customers will trust. Enter user-generated content, also known as...

Most of us like to take things down a notch during the dog days of summer. But when it comes to marketing, August is no time to slow the pace. Here are five ideas to heat things up during the waning weeks of the season. 1. Celebrate the holidays There’s more to...

In one minute, there are 174,000 people scrolling through Instagram; 993,000 people logging into Facebook; and 2.4 million Google searches. While estimates vary, it’s likely many consumers see hundreds, and possibly thousands, of ads per day. Now more than ever, a...

Today there is no separation between paid and unpaid content in social media. With the changes to platform algorithms and the overall decrease of organic reach, companies need to spend dollars to increase engagements, clicks to the website and brand awareness on...

A poorly designed website impacts your business more profoundly than you may imagine. While design affects the appearance of a site, it also helps search engines determine where to place your company within search results. Here are four practical ways website design...

Your website needs to connect and engage with your audience while providing the information they are seeking on your company’s services or products. That’s where a solid website content strategy comes in handy. While creating one can seem intimidating, often it’s as...

People talk when they’re angry. While frustrated customers are still most likely to share displeasure in-person, 47% of people are also likely to post about it on social media, and 42% would email a company or brand about a bad experience. Your business’s responses to...

Big changes are underway for Facebook pages in 2018. The ranking algorithm that Facebook uses to choose how content shows up in user’s feeds, or News Feed, will now focus on personal interactions. Page interactions and posts from businesses, brands and public figures...

The tenets of the marketing funnel remain unchanged. The avenues to navigate through it, however, evolve daily as SEO, social media and traditional media innovate. Run through how the marketing funnel operates, and your company will learn ways to unlock its power for...

Hindsight is 20/20. But to learn from the past, you must look back. You may think your marketing strategy is on point, but the only way to be sure is to examine the performance of what you've been doing. Reviewing your company's marketing on a quarterly, biannual or...

“Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.” John C. Maxwell’s words continue to ring true. New trends enter the industry each year, and every business has a chance to capitalize on them. Prepare your business for the new year by learning about these seven marketing...

In the workplace, practicing the miracle of gratitude year-round can transform the atmosphere and inspire employees. “The miracle of gratitude is that it shifts your perception to such an extent that it changes the world you see,” says Dr. Robert Holden. Want to...

Digital marketing has a language all its own. The more you know, the better your chances of success. To harness the power of digital marketing for your business, these five terms are mandatory knowledge. SEO Search engine optimization, or SEO, refers to what’s...

No perfect workplace exists. The road between a good work environment and frightening one, though, has many stops. To create a non-scary workplace, here are five things we’ve seen work that can work for your business, too. Communicate early and often. With every...

“Make it simple. Make it memorable.” We can’t help but agree with Leo Burnett, whose advertising prowess led to the creation of icons Tony the Tiger, the Jolly Green Giant and the Pillsbury Doughboy. But what does that look like for today’s business? Our team picked...

Behind every outdated website exists someone with a firm explanation of why the site is fine “as is.” Often the excuses for not updating a site are based on a basic misunderstanding of a website’s purpose. We’re here to dismantle four common reasons for not updating a...

Staying in tune with customers can be your business’s greatest asset. All too often, though, knowledge of your product or service can crowd out knowledge of your customer. Learn how to bridge the gap with a few simple practices you can tackle in one afternoon. Peek at...

The road of agency-client partnerships is fraught with challenges. Since communication alone paves the way to shared happiness, here are a few questions to get the ball rolling in the right direction when talking with your current or prospective agency. 1. What is the...

Stock photography is the junk food of the image world. It offers short-term budget pleasure and bursts of energy, but a steady diet of it slowly erodes the appearance of your business. While the choice between professional photography and stock may not always be...

Knowledge is power. Yet the knowledge many businesses have about SEO resembles less of a concrete understanding and more of a vague connotation. If your website is drowning amid never-ending search engine updates, here are five must-know facts to preserve it. 1. Your...

By 2019, nearly a million minutes of video will be shared every second. Video isn’t going away; it’s growing exponentially. Here are three reasons it appeals to your customers, and why it’s indispensable to your social media strategy. 1. It captures attention. Video...

At your disposal lies an untapped resource—reviews on Google, Yelp, Facebook and your website. Yet harnessing the power of online customer feedback often falls to the bottom of a business’s to-do list. Here are three reasons to make it a top priority. 1. Perception is...

Your logo represents your business. It’s often the customer’s first point of contact. Unfortunately, eye-catching logos are in short supply these days, and eye-sore logos abound. Our Fresh art directors Sandra Anderson and Shelley Carpenter have seen more than their...

Proposals and pitches are peppered with them. Marketing blogs and business publications throw them out like confetti. Yet often these words are heard and not understood. Since knowledge is power, we wanted to share seven marketing terms commonly used, and what they...

Shoulder pads, acid-washed jeans and teased hair were the height of fashion in the 1980s. Thankfully, trends change in both fashion and web design. At the start of the Internet age, most websites boasted drop shadows, the Comic Sans font, hit counters, HTML frames and...

If marketing were like high school, great design would be the prom queen. Her visual appeal stops you in your tracks and demands your attention. Now imagine that prom queen is also smart, funny and purpose driven. She engages you in a conversation that makes you...

If you believe an angry customer’s bark is worse than their bite, you haven’t seen how negative online reviews can continue to bite you for years to come. Learning how to handle angry customers is a necessity in the age of burgeoning online reviews and social media...

Winning at business-to-business marketing doesn’t have to be a gamble. Although success can seem elusive in the world of B2B, it’s well within your company’s grasp. Focus on these three steps to play your cards right and gain a new client. The Right Information...

Hercules and Achilles don’t hold the monopoly on myths in this world. The myths surrounding the world of websites, however, hold particular weight. The sooner businesses realize the falsehoods in these five myths, the sooner they’ll receive a surge of strength...

No one ever won a marathon by sprinting the entire race. Developing a consistent pace helps runners finish the race and helps your marketing stay strong throughout the sales process. This look at the classic sales funnel will jog your memory so you can find a...

Media saturates our lives and permeates our day-to-day activities. Amid the endless barrage, a well-crafted image can captivate viewers. An amateur shot or a stock photo may earn a glance, but images that utilize these three qualities can help your picture earn those...

A wise person once said there are two types of people in the world: Those who read the directions first, and those that dive right in. In the business world, too often people set goals and skip past strategy to the action plan. Sometimes it works out. Other times it...

SEO. SEO-Friendly. SEO Best Practices. People toss those words out frequently, but what do they mean? Put simply, good SEO allows people to find you easier. Think of your website as a brick-and-mortar store. Chances are customers wouldn’t stumble upon your store in...

“Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Yet in the business world, your company will be judged by its cover—more specifically, its logo. A logo is often the first piece of information processed by the prospective customer. This begs the question: Are you confident in what...

Adaptability is a necessity as the evolution of digital marketing continues with vigor. Video ads. Mobile domination. New optimization resources. Here are a few ways to stay flexible within this constantly-changing atmosphere. Survey & Declutter Take stock of your...

If you don't know your customer, you don't know your strategy. It's just that simple. At Fresh Creative, we know that to help our clients, we must first learn the ins and outs of their organization. Here are a few ways to discover who your customer is and what they...

As 2016 nears, resolutions abound. We, too, have been penning some goals, including a continued focus on three principles that have led us to success in the past. Follow our lead by incorporating these principles into your plans for the New Year. Hit the Books No...