Trends in Digital Marketing and Online Advertising

Is CTV Right for Your Business?

Sat, 22 Nov 2025 03:21:08 GMT

Exploring Connected TV advertising, its benefits, and how businesses can decide if it fits their marketing strategy.

In 2025, marketing is no longer just digital, social, or search — it’s also on your audience’s big screens. Connected TV (CTV) advertising is rapidly growing, and brands of all sizes are asking: Is CTV right for my business?

What is Connected TV?

CTV refers to any television content streamed over the internet rather than traditional cable or satellite. That includes apps like:

Roku
Hulu
Amazon Fire TV
YouTube TV
Smart TVs with built-in streaming

Unlike traditional TV, CTV is data-driven, targetable, and measurable, allowing marketers to reach viewers by demographics, interests, location, or even household behavior.

Why Businesses Are Considering CTV

1. Reach Audiences Where They Actually Watch

Over 80% of U.S. households stream TV weekly.
Younger audiences, cord-cutters, and families are leaving traditional cable.
If your audience watches content online, CTV ensures your brand is visible where it matters.

2. TV-Level Credibility at Lower Cost

Traditional TV advertising is expensive and often hard to measure.
CTV allows small and midsize businesses to create professional-quality ads and show them on TV without a multi-million-dollar spend.

3. Targeting + Analytics

Target by household, interests, geography, and retarget prior website visitors
Measure engagement and conversion in ways traditional TV never allowed.
Integrate CTV with social, search, and email campaigns to create an omnichannel approach.

4. Build Your Brand Beyond Clicks

Search and social are excellent for immediate results, but CTV is about awareness, credibility, and trust. It helps businesses:
Position themselves as leaders in their market
Build recognition among new audiences
Support long-term growth by reinforcing their brand story

Who Should Consider CTV?

CTV is ideal for businesses that want:

To reach streaming-first audiences
A high-quality brand presence on TV
Targeted, data-driven campaigns
Integration with existing digital marketing

It’s not only for national brands local businesses, ministries, nonprofits, and small brands can leverage CTV effectively when campaigns are well-planned and targeted.

Making CTV Work for You

CTV campaigns require strategy, creativity, and data. Successful campaigns combine

compelling video content tailored for streaming audiences, d ata-driven targeting to reach the right households, and c ross-channel integration so your message reinforces across paid, owned, and shared media

At THRIVE! Marketing, we make CTV accessible, affordable, and effective for businesses of all sizes. Let's talk about how CTV can help your business grow.

Understanding the PESO Model: The Framework Behind Effective Modern Marketing

Sun, 09 Nov 2025 05:07:00 GMT

A proven framework that unites Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned media to build stronger, more effective marketing campaigns

In today’s noisy digital world, every brand is fighting for attention. Between ads, influencers, and endless content, it’s easy for your message to get lost. That’s where the PESO Model comes in — a simple, strategic framework that helps businesses organize their marketing efforts for maximum impact.

PESO stands for Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned Media — the four key channels every marketing plan should leverage. When used together, these pillars create a powerful, integrated approach that builds visibility, credibility, and trust.

Paid Media

Paid media includes all the advertising you pay for — Google Ads, social media campaigns, sponsored posts , or influencer partnerships. The goal is quick visibility and lead generation, but when aligned with your other channels, it also amplifies your long-term brand story.

Earned Media

Earned media is the credibility you earn through others talking about you — media coverage , PR mentions, product reviews, or word-of-mouth buzz. It’s the most trusted form of marketing because it comes from third-party validation, not self-promotion.

Shared Media

Shared media thrives on social connection — content engagement across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn , or X. It’s where your audience becomes part of the story by sharing, commenting, and advocating for your brand. Shared media helps build community and organic reach.

Owned Media

Owned media is everything you control directly — your website, blog , email list, or podcast. It’s the foundation of your digital presence, where you drive traffic, build loyalty, and turn awareness into long-term customer relationships.

Why the PESO Model Matters

The power of the PESO Model is in integration. When all four channels work together, your message becomes consistent, your credibility grows, and your marketing dollars go further.

At THRIVE! Marketing , we use the PESO Model to help brands build sustainable growth — not just quick wins. It’s not about shouting louder; it’s about speaking smarter, across every platform your audience trusts.

Next Steps

In our upcoming posts, we’ll break down each part of the PESO Model — showing you how to plan, measure, and execute campaigns that bring real ROI.

5 Things Every Faith-Based Organization Must Do to Scale Its Mission

Fri, 07 Nov 2025 00:32:50 GMT

How ministries and nonprofits grow their reach, impact, and sustainability

Faith-based organizations and nonprofits exist to serve, inspire, and make a difference. But even the most impactful ministries often struggle to reach more people, raise funds, or grow programs—especially with limited time, staff, and marketing resources.

At Thrive Marketing , we help ministries and nonprofits overcome these challenges by building marketing strategies that align with their mission while producing real results. Here are 5 things every faith-based organization does to scale its impact:

1. Clarify Their Mission and Message

Your mission is your organization’s heart, but is it reaching the right people? We work with you to:

Define your core audience (donors, volunteers, community members)
Craft messaging that inspires and mobilizes supporters
Share your story in ways that connect emotionally and spiritually

A clear, compelling message ensures that your work doesn’t just exist—it resonates.

2. Build a Strong Digital Presence

From social media to email newsletters to content campaigns , we help you leverage the channels that make the biggest impact:

Build email lists that nurture engagement and giving
Create social campaigns that grow awareness and foster community
Develop content that educates, inspires, and mobilizes action

Every campaign is designed to amplify your mission, not just increase vanity metrics.

3. Track Metrics That Show Real Impact

Nonprofits need accountability and clarity. We track results that directly support your goals:

Donations and fundraising ROI
Volunteer sign-ups and engagement
Event attendance and participation
Audience growth and retention

By focusing on meaningful metrics, you can make informed decisions and demonstrate impact to stakeholders and supporters.

4. Tell Stories That Inspire Action

People give to missions they believe in. We help organizations tell stories that:

Highlight the lives changed by your work
Showcase the difference your ministry makes in the community
Invite supporters to be part of the journey

Storytelling combined with strategy turns awareness into engagement, and engagement into action.

5. Partner to Scale Without Stretching Staff

Many faith-based organizations are understaffed or stretched thin. Thrive Marketing provides fractional marketing support, campaign guidance, and consulting—so you can scale without burnout.

We act as an extension of your team, giving you the expertise and bandwidth to grow your reach while you stay focused on your mission.

Final Thoughts:

Scaling a faith-based organization doesn’t have to mean overworking your team or stretching your resources thin. By clarifying your mission, leveraging digital channels, tracking meaningful results, sharing compelling stories, and partnering wisely, your ministry can grow, reach more people, and deepen its impact.

How Smart Startups Turn Their Marketing Plan Into Investor-Ready Growth

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 23:18:23 GMT

From foundation to traction—strategies to attract customers, investors, and sustainable growth

Developing a startup idea is just the first step—the real challenge is turning your idea into a business that grows and attracts investment. Many founders focus on building a product first, then marketing later. The result? Slow traction, missed opportunities, and frustrated investors .

At THRIVE! Marketing , we’ve helped startups not just launch , but use marketing strategically to demonstrate growth, validate their business model, and capture investor attention . Here’s how:

1. Turn Your Audience Insights Into Targeted Campaigns

If you’ve defined your ideal customer, don’t stop there. Use those insights to create campaigns that solve specific pain points.

Segment your audience by behavior, location, or needs.
Personalize messaging to make it relevant.
Use early wins to refine messaging for larger-scale campaigns.

Investors notice startups that can clearly articulate who their customer is and how the product solves their problems.

2. Build Metrics That Matter for Investors

It’s not just about clicks and likes. When investors look at startups , they want to see measurable traction:

Conversion rates: Are visitors taking action?
Customer acquisition cost (CAC): Is your growth scalable?
Lifetime value (LTV): Will customers stick around and spend more over time?
Churn rate: Are you retaining your early adopters?

Track these consistently. Data-driven startups earn investor confidence.

3. Showcase Your Brand Story Strategically

A great story does more than sell—it attracts attention and builds credibility. When pitching investors, your marketing story should demonstrate:

Why your product exists
The market opportunity you’re addressing
The traction you’ve already achieved

Combine storytelling with metrics to show a compelling narrative of growth potential.

4. Leverage Digital Channels to Prove Traction

Focus on channels that generate measurable results:

Social media campaigns with targeted audiences
Email sequences that nurture leads into paying customers
Paid ads with clear ROI tracking

Even small wins can show investors you have a replicable, scalable marketing model .

5. Keep Iterating and Optimizing

Growth is never static. Regularly test campaigns, messaging, and channels. Learn fast, adjust strategies, and double down on what works.

Investors value founders who adapt quickly and optimize based on real data—not just intuition.

6. Partner Smartly to Accelerate Growth

You don’t have to do it all in-house. Marketing partners, fractional CMOs, or specialized agencies can help you scale efficiently.

By outsourcing expertise strategically, founders free up time to focus on product development and investor relationships—while still growing the business.

Final Thoughts:

A strong marketing foundation is just the beginning. The real momentum happens when you use it to generate measurable growth, prove traction, and attract investors. By focusing on targeted campaigns, metrics that matter, storytelling , and iterative growth, your startup can move from idea to a business that thrives—and attracts the funding needed to scale.

At THRIVE! Marketing , we guide startups through every step: from creating a foundation to driving growth that investors notice. Ready to turn your marketing plan into a growth engine? Let’s make it happen.

Best Practices for Startup Marketing

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 19:23:23 GMT

Best Practices for Business Startup Marketing: How to Gain Traction Early

Launching a startup is exciting—but also overwhelming. With limited time, tight budgets, and pressure to prove traction, a strong, solid marketing plan may get overlooked for sporadic marketing activities that lack results. Yet, the truth is clear: without smart marketing, even the best products and services struggle to find their audience.

At Thrive Marketing , we’ve seen too many startups delay or underinvest in marketing, only to scramble later. The good news? You don’t need a huge budget or a massive team. What you need is a focused strategy, consistent execution, and clear measurement.

Here are the best practices every startup should follow when building their marketing foundation:

1. Define Your Core Audience First

Don’t try to market to “everyone.” Successful startups start small and grow big. Identify:

Who your ideal customer is
Their biggest pain points
Where they spend time online

The more specific your audience definition, the easier it will be to create messaging that resonates.

2. Build a Brand Story That Connects

People don’t just buy products—they buy into a story. Share why you started, the problem you’re solving, and the vision you’re chasing. This creates emotional connection and sets you apart from competitors.

3. Focus on Digital Channels That Drive Early Wins

Instead of spreading yourself thin across every platform, double down on what works:

Social Media: Pick 1–2 platforms where your customers spend the most time.
Email Marketing: Build your list early; it’s your most valuable owned channel.
Paid Ads (with Testing): Even small ad budgets can validate messaging fast.

4. Track Metrics That Matter

Vanity metrics (likes, followers) look good but don’t pay the bills. For startups, focus on:

Cost per lead
Conversion rate
Customer acquisition cost
Lifetime value

A lean dashboard of 3–5 KPIs is better than chasing 20.

5. Iterate Constantly

Startups thrive on agility. Test campaigns, measure results, and pivot quickly. The goal is not perfection—it’s momentum, learning, and improving constantly.

6. Don’t Go It Alone

Many founders try to do all their marketing themselves, only to burn out. Outsourcing to trusted marketing partners or hiring fractional marketing support gives you expertise without full-time costs—so you can stay focused on growing your business.

Final Thoughts

Startup marketing doesn’t have to be overwhelming. By defining your audience, telling a compelling story, choosing the right channels, tracking meaningful metrics, and staying agile, you’ll set your company up for long-term growth.

At Thrive Marketing, our mission is simple: to help startups and small businesses build marketing systems that work. Whether you’re pre-launch, newly launched, or scaling, the right marketing foundation will help you attract customers and investors—and thrive in a competitive market.

Money Manager Model for Marketing

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Wed, 09 Apr 2025 07:01:38 GMT

Put Your Marketing Budget to Work: How THRIVE! Marketing Manages Your Money Like a Pro

When you invest money with a broker or financial advisor, you expect more than just safekeeping—you expect a return. You trust them to navigate the market, find the best opportunities, and grow your wealth. At THRIVE! Marketing , we see your marketing budget the same way. It’s not just an expense to be spent; it’s an investment to be managed. Our job? To deliver outsized returns to your bottom line by making every dollar work for you.

Here’s how we take the money-manager approach to digital marketing—and why it’s a game-changer for your business.

We’re Your Marketing Portfolio Managers

Think of us as the experts behind your marketing portfolio. Just as a money manager diversifies your investments across stocks, bonds, and real estate to maximize gains, we diversify your marketing spend across the right channels— SEO , PPC , social media, Amazon , email, and CTV . But we don’t stop at spreading the budget around. We analyze, optimize, and adjust in real time to ensure every campaign is pulling its weight. No wasted dollars, no missed opportunities—just smart allocation for maximum impact.

Finding the Best Deals in Advertising

In the financial world, a great broker snags undervalued assets before the market catches on. At L2, we hunt for the advertising equivalent: high-ROI opportunities that others overlook. Whether it’s negotiating better rates on ad platforms, tapping into emerging channels, or leveraging data to bid smarter, we stretch your budget further. Our team knows where the deals are—and how to make them work for you.

Reaching the Right People with the Right Offer

A money manager doesn’t throw cash at random stocks hoping for a win. They research the market and target investments with precision. We do the same with your audience. Using advanced analytics and a deep understanding of buyer behavior, we ensure your message hits the right people at the right time—with an offer they can’t resist. It’s not about blasting ads everywhere; it’s about strategic targeting that drives conversions and boosts your revenue.

Outsized Returns, Not Just Promises

The proof is in the numbers. A good broker doesn’t just hand you a statement of fees—they show you growth. At THRIVE! Marketing, we’re relentlessly committed to delivering measurable results. Higher website traffic, more leads, and a spike in sales, we tie our success to your bottom line. Our clients see returns that outpace the industry standard because we treat your marketing budget like an asset to grow, not a cost to burn through.

Why Trust THRIVE! with Your Marketing Dollars?

Expertise: Our team brings top-tier experience in campaign strategy, execution, and optimization. We’re the best at what we do.
Transparency: Like a detailed financial report, we provide clear, real-time insights into how your budget’s performing.
Results-Driven: Your success is our benchmark. We don’t rest until your investment pays off.

Let Your Money Work Smarter

Handing over your marketing budget might feel like a leap, but with THRIVE! Marketing, it’s a calculated move. We take the stress out of managing campaigns and turn your dollars into a revenue-generating machine. Stop wondering if your marketing is working—start watching it grow.

Ready to see outsized returns on your marketing investment? Put your money to work with THRIVE! Marketing. Contact us today, and let’s build your portfolio of success.

Marketing Help Near Me

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Sun, 30 Mar 2025 05:57:57 GMT

Marketing Help Near Me: Finding the Right Marketing Agency Partner

Running a successful business today requires more than just a great product or service—it demands effective marketing. Yet, many business owners struggle to keep up with the complexities of online advertising. From social media to search engines, the digital landscape is constantly evolving, making it difficult to manage ad campaigns while also focusing on daily operations. That’s why finding reliable marketing help is crucial for long-term success.

The Challenges of Digital Marketing

Keeping Up with Trends
Digital marketing platforms like Google Ads, Facebook, and Instagram are constantly changing their algorithms, ad formats, and targeting options. Managing your ads and constant A/B testing can help create the best ad campaign. Business owners who aren’t marketing experts can find it overwhelming to stay up to date with best practices and campaign optimization.
Reaching the Right Audience
Effective marketing isn’t just about running ads—it’s about reaching the right people. Without proper targeting, businesses risk wasting money on audiences that have no interest in their products or services.
Managing Budgets Efficiently
Every dollar counts in business. Without experience in ad bidding strategies, budget allocation, and performance tracking, companies can quickly overspend without seeing a return on investment.
Creating Engaging Content
Ads need to stand out in a crowded digital world. Strong visuals and compelling copy are essential to capture attention and drive conversions, but not every business has the resources to create high-quality content.
Tracking and Improving Performance
Running ads without analyzing the data is like flying blind. Without a solid understanding of metrics such as click-through rates, conversion rates, and customer acquisition costs, businesses can struggle to refine their marketing strategies.

How Marketing Support Can Make a Difference

Businesses that seek professional marketing help gain a competitive edge by leveraging expert knowledge and experience. A well-managed ad campaign can:

Increase brand visibility and attract more customers.
Improve targeting to ensure ads reach the right audience.
Optimize ad spend to get the best possible return on investment.
Provide clear insights into performance, helping businesses make data-driven decisions.

Finding the Right Marketing Partner

Whether you’re a small startup or an established business, outsourcing digital marketing can save time, reduce stress, and ultimately drive better results. Part

nering with a team that understands online advertising allows business owners to focus on what they do best—running their business.

If you’re looking for " marketing help near me ," consider working with experts who can take your campaigns from strategy to execution. With the right support, your business can grow, thrive, and reach new levels of success in today’s competitive market.

Unlock $10K in Free Advertising with Google Grants for Non-Profits

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 22:22:53 GMT

Amplify Your Mission: Unlock $10K/Month in Free Google Ads for Your Non-Profit

At THRIVE! Marketing , we’re passionate about helping non-profits make an impact. That’s why we’re excited to assist organizations in taking full advantage of the Google Grants for Non-Profits program. This incredible opportunity provides up to $10,000 per month in free Google Ads credit, allowing your mission to reach more people than ever before.

What Is the Google Grants Program?

Google Grants is designed to empower non-profits by funding ad campaigns that raise awareness, drive donations, and engage supporters online. With these grants, your organization can appear at the top of Google search results, connecting with those who need your services or believe in your cause.

How Can THRIVE! Marketing Help?

While the grant provides the budget, running an effective ad campaign requires expertise. That’s where we come in! Our team will:

Application Approval: We'll guide you through the application process to get approved for the grant.
Optimize Campaigns: Create high-performing ads and ensure they comply with Google’s grant policies.
Maximize ROI: Target the right keywords and audience to drive real results for your organization.
Monitor Performance: Continuously refine your campaigns to make the most of the $10,000 grant each month.

Who’s Eligible?

If your organization is a registered non-profit in good standing with the IRS and with a mission aligned with Google’s policies, you could qualify for this transformative program.

Let’s Get Started!

If your non-profit is ready to expand its reach and grow its impact, THRIVE! Marketing is here to help. Contact us today to learn more about how we can partner with your organization to unlock the power of Google Grants.

This is your chance to reach more people, change more lives, and fulfill your mission like never before. Let us help you take the first step!

The Power of Direct Selling

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Sun, 22 Sep 2024 02:51:16 GMT

Unlock Your Financial Freedom: Become a Direct Sales Agent

Direct selling has been a transformative business model for over a century, offering individuals around the world a unique opportunity to build their own businesses and achieve financial independence. From its humble beginnings to the global industry it is today, direct selling has evolved into a legitimate and respected business model, providing a viable path for entrepreneurship and self-employment.

A Brief History of Direct Selling

The modern direct selling industry can be traced back to the United States with the founding of Avon in 1886. This pioneering company revolutionized the sales process by reducing overhead costs and eliminating the need for traditional retail spaces. Avon empowered women, who made up the majority of its sales force, to earn an income on their own terms. What started as a door-to-door sales strategy for cosmetics has since expanded to include a wide array of products such as personal care items, household goods, and accessories.

As the industry grew, the introduction of multi-level marketing (MLM) compensation plans in the mid-20th century marked a new chapter in the evolution of direct selling. These plans allowed consumers to not only purchase products but also become business partners, enabling them to earn commissions based on their sales as well as the sales of those they recruited into the business. This model was adopted by many successful companies, including global giants like Avon, Mary Kay, Tupperware, and Amway.

The Rise and Challenges of Multi-Level Marketing

While MLM plans provided unprecedented opportunities for financial growth, they also led to challenges. Unfortunately, fraudulent schemes posing as legitimate MLM businesses began to proliferate. These scams, often in the form of Ponzi schemes or illegal money circulation schemes, tarnished the reputation of direct selling, making it difficult for consumers and regulators to distinguish between genuine business opportunities and fraudulent activities.

Regulatory Recognition and Industry Self-Regulation

To address these challenges, governments around the world have stepped in to differentiate legitimate direct selling businesses from fraudulent schemes. Many countries have introduced specific legislation or included direct selling within existing consumer laws to protect both consumers and entrepreneurs. For instance:

Regulatory Frameworks: Countries like the United States and India have implemented specific guidelines for direct selling, recognizing it as a legitimate business model while imposing strict regulations to prevent fraudulent activities.
Industry Self-Regulation: The direct selling industry has also taken significant steps to self-regulate. Organizations such as the Direct Selling Association (DSA) have established ethical guidelines and best practices for member companies, ensuring transparency, fairness, and consumer protection. These guidelines help maintain the credibility of the industry and safeguard the interests of all stakeholders.

The Benefits of Direct Selling Today

Direct selling continues to thrive as a flexible, inclusive, and rewarding business model. Here’s why it remains a popular choice for millions of entrepreneurs worldwide:

1. Entrepreneurial Independence

Direct selling empowers individuals to build their own businesses without the need for significant upfront investment. It offers a level playing field, allowing people from all walks of life to achieve financial independence.

2. Low Risk, High Reward

Unlike traditional businesses, direct selling involves low startup costs and minimal risk. It provides a supportive environment where individuals can grow their businesses at their own pace, supported by the training and resources provided by the parent company.

3. Flexible Work Environment

Whether you’re a stay-at-home parent, a student, or someone looking to supplement their income, direct selling offers the flexibility to work around your existing commitments. You decide when and how much you want to work.

4. Personal and Professional Growth

Beyond financial rewards, direct selling offers opportunities for personal development, including skills in sales, marketing, and leadership. Many direct sellers report increased confidence, improved communication skills, and a sense of community.

THRIVE! Marketing: Your Partner in Success

At THRIVE!, we’re proud to offer an innovative direct selling opportunity that capitalizes on the growing demand for digital marketing services. By joining our team, you can offer businesses the tools they need to succeed online, while building a business that fits your lifestyle and financial goals.

Our direct selling model empowers you to:

Market cutting-edge digital marketing services to a diverse range of clients.
Build your own sales team and earn commissions based on their success.
Enjoy the flexibility of working from anywhere, on your own schedule.

Join the Direct Selling Movement with INOV8

Direct selling has come a long way since its inception, evolving into a respected and regulated industry that provides genuine opportunities for entrepreneurship. With the backing of global regulatory frameworks and industry self-regulation, direct selling is now a legitimate path to financial independence and personal growth.

If you’re looking for a way to take control of your career, work on your own terms, and achieve your financial goals, THRIVE! Marketing offers the perfect opportunity. As a direct seller with us, you’ll have access to high-demand products, comprehensive training, and the support you need to build a successful business.

Ready to Start Your Journey?

Don’t wait to take control of your financial future. Join THRIVE! Marketing today and become part of a global movement that’s empowering individuals to achieve their dreams. Contact us to learn more about how you can start your journey as a direct seller and build the income and lifestyle you desire.

What Venture Capitalists Look for in a Startup Marketing Plan

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Fri, 20 Sep 2024 05:00:44 GMT

How to Craft a Marketing Strategy that Captures Investors' Attention and Sets Your Startup Up for Success

In the competitive world of startups, securing funding from venture capitalists can make or break your business. One of the key elements that VCs scrutinize is the marketing plan . It’s not just about having a great product or service; VCs want to see how you plan to get it in front of the right audience and grow your business. A solid marketing plan can instill confidence in investors that you know how to scale.

Here’s what venture capitalists are looking for in your startup’s marketing plan:

1. Clear Understanding of the Target Market

VCs want to see that you’ve done your homework. Who are your customers? What are their needs, behaviors, and pain points? Show that you have a deep understanding of your audience and explain why your product or service is the best solution for them. Back this up with data—market research, surveys, or focus groups can all add credibility.

2. Unique Value Proposition (UVP)

Your marketing plan should clearly communicate what sets your business apart. VCs are always on the lookout for startups that can differentiate themselves in the market. Whether it’s an innovative feature, pricing model, or brand positioning , make sure your UVP is front and center.

3. Customer Acquisition Strategy

How do you plan to acquire customers? VCs will want to know if your strategy is scalable and cost-effective. Outline the channels you’ll use—whether it's social media, content marketing, SEO, paid ads, or influencer partnerships—and how you’ll optimize those channels. Include a mix of short-term tactics and long-term strategies to demonstrate sustainability.

4. Metrics and KPIs

Data-driven decision-making is crucial for startups. Your marketing plan should define the key performance indicators (KPIs) you’ll use to measure success. This might include customer acquisition cost (CAC), customer lifetime value (CLV), conversion rates, and more. The more you can quantify your goals and results, the better.

5. Budget and Resource Allocation

VCs want to see a realistic marketing budget. Be clear about how much you’re planning to spend, where the money will go, and what return on investment (ROI) you expect. Highlight any tools or technology you plan to use to streamline marketing efforts, and don’t forget to mention the expertise of your marketing team.

6. Scalability

Investors are focused on growth. They want to know that your marketing efforts can scale as your business grows. Show how your marketing strategy can adapt to new markets, expand geographically, or handle a significant increase in demand. Demonstrating scalability reassures VCs that you’re ready for the next level.

7. Competitor Analysis

A thorough competitor analysis shows that you understand the landscape and know how to position yourself against rivals. Identify your top competitors, their strengths and weaknesses, and how your marketing approach will differentiate you in the market. This gives VCs confidence that you’ve thought through how to stand out.

8. Customer Retention Strategy

Acquiring customers is only half the battle. Venture capitalists want to see a plan for retaining customers and turning them into repeat buyers or brand advocates. Loyalty programs, excellent customer service, personalized marketing, and community-building initiatives are all elements VCs like to see in a long-term marketing plan.

9. Flexibility and Adaptability

Startups operate in fast-moving environments. Your marketing plan should demonstrate the ability to adapt to changes in the market, consumer behavior, or competition. Show that you’re prepared to pivot your strategy if needed and can quickly respond to new challenges and opportunities.

Final Thoughts

A well-thought-out marketing plan is one of the best ways to capture a venture capitalist’s attention. It shows that you not only have a great product or service but also a clear roadmap for growth. By understanding what VCs look for in a marketing plan, you can better position your startup for funding success.

At THRIVE!, we specialize in crafting marketing strategies that attract both customers and investors. If you’re looking to refine your marketing plan to impress VCs, get in touch with us today.

How to Craft a Marketing Plan That Captures Investors' Attention

Thu, 08 Aug 2024 20:04:28 GMT

Unlock the Funding You Need with a Strategic Marketing Plan That Speaks to Investors

As an entrepreneur or startup founder , you know that attracting investors is one of the most critical steps in bringing your vision to life. However, securing investment requires more than just a great idea—it demands a compelling marketing plan that convinces investors of your potential for success. Here’s why a solid marketing strategy is essential and how it can be your key to unlocking funding opportunities.

Why a Marketing Plan Matters to Investors

Investors are not just looking for innovative ideas; they want to see a clear path to profitability. A well-crafted marketing plan demonstrates your understanding of the market, your target audience , and your strategy to capture and grow your market share. It shows investors that you have a concrete plan to turn your idea into a thriving business.

Here’s what investors typically look for in a marketing plan:

Market Analysis : Investors want to know if there’s a demand for your product or service. Your marketing plan should include thorough research on market trends, customer needs, and competitive analysis. This shows that you’ve done your homework and understand the landscape you’re entering.
Target Audience : Identifying your target audience is crucial. Investors need to see that you know who your customers are, what they want, and how you’ll reach them. The more specific you are, the more confidence you instill in your potential backers.
Unique Value Proposition : Your marketing plan should clearly articulate what sets your product or service apart from the competition. Investors are drawn to businesses with a unique offering that solves a real problem or meets an unmet need.
Go-to-Market Strategy : A detailed go-to-market strategy outlines how you plan to launch your product, acquire customers, and scale. Investors want to see a realistic timeline, budget, and the channels you’ll use to reach your audience.
Revenue Model : How will your business make money? A clear and sustainable revenue model is vital for attracting investment. Your marketing plan should detail your pricing strategy, sales funnel, and projections for growth.
Branding and Messaging : Consistent and compelling branding is crucial in a crowded market. Your marketing plan should showcase your brand’s identity and how you’ll communicate your message to resonate with your target audience.

The Role of a Professional Marketing Partner

While some startups attempt to handle marketing in-house, the expertise of a professional marketing agency can be invaluable in crafting a plan that attracts investors. At L2 Digital Marketing, we specialize in helping startups and entrepreneurs develop comprehensive marketing strategies that not only appeal to investors but also position your brand for long-term success.

Here’s how we can help:

Expert Market Research: Our team conducts in-depth market analysis to ensure your plan is grounded in data and insights.
Targeted Audience Segmentation: We help you identify and understand your ideal customers, ensuring your marketing efforts are laser-focused.
Brand Development: We work with you to create a strong brand identity and messaging that resonates with both investors and customers.
Go-to-Market Strategy: Our strategic planning ensures you have a clear roadmap for launching, growing, and scaling your business.
Ongoing Support: We offer continuous guidance and optimization to keep your marketing efforts on track and adaptable to market changes.

Conclusion

A well-crafted marketing plan is not just a tool for attracting customers; it’s a powerful way to secure the investment you need to take your business to the next level. By partnering with a professional marketing agency like L2 Digital Marketing, you can ensure your plan is not only investor-ready but also sets you up for long-term success.

Ready to craft a marketing plan that captures investors' attention? Contact us today to learn how we can help you turn your vision into reality.

Boost Your Online Presence with Basic SEO

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 18:48:13 GMT

Building a website is not enough, you need to be found online

In the digital age, having a strong online presence is crucial for the success of your business. While a well-designed website is a great start, it’s not enough to ensure potential customers find you online. This is where Search Engine Optimization (SEO ) comes into play. By adding basic SEO to your monthly marketing mix, you can significantly improve your website’s visibility, drive more traffic, and increase conversions—all for just $199 per month.

What is SEO and Why Does It Matter?

SEO involves optimizing your website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). When potential customers search for products or services related to your business, you want your website to appear at the top of the search results. Studies show that 75% of users never scroll past the first page of search results, making it essential for your business to secure a top spot.

The Benefits of Basic SEO

1.Increased Visibility: With our basic SEO package, we’ll ensure your website is optimized for relevant keywords, improving your chances of appearing in top search results.

2. More Traffic: Higher rankings lead to increased website traffic. More visitors mean more opportunities to convert leads into customers.

3. Better User Experience: SEO isn’t just about search engines; it’s also about providing a better experience for your users. Our SEO strategies include optimizing site speed, improving mobile responsiveness, and enhancing overall usability.

4. Cost-Effective Marketing: For just $199 per month, you’ll receive ongoing SEO services that deliver long-term results, making it one of the most cost-effective marketing strategies available.

What’s Included in Our Basic SEO Package?

Keyword Research: We’ll identify the most relevant keywords for your business to target, ensuring you attract the right audience.

On-Page Optimization: Our team will optimize your website’s content, meta tags, headers, and images to improve search engine rankings.

Content Creation: Fresh, high-quality content is key to SEO success. We’ll help you create engaging blog posts and articles that attract visitors and keep them coming back.

Technical SEO: We’ll address any technical issues that might be hindering your site’s performance, such as broken links, slow load times, and mobile optimization.

Monthly Reporting: Stay informed with detailed monthly reports that track your website’s performance and SEO progress.

Why Choose Us?

At L2 Digital Marketing , we understand that SEO can be complex and time-consuming. That’s why we offer a straightforward, affordable solution to help your business thrive online. Our experienced team is dedicated to delivering results and providing exceptional customer service. With our basic SEO package, you can focus on running your business while we handle the intricacies of SEO.

Get Started Today

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to enhance your online presence and attract more customers. For just $199 per month, you can add basic SEO to your marketing mix and watch your business grow. Contact us today to learn more and get started!

Unlocking Financial Independence: The Power of MLM, Direct Sales, and L2 Digital Marketing

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Thu, 27 Jun 2024 20:59:49 GMT

How Multi-Level Marketing, Direct Sales, and Advanced Digital Strategies Drive Financial Success

In today's dynamic economy, multiple income streams have become a necessity rather than a luxury. Multi-level marketing (MLM) and direct sales have emerged as powerful vehicles for achieving financial independence. Coupled with the transformative capabilities of technology, particularly through innovative platforms like L2 Digital Marketing, individuals and businesses are finding unprecedented opportunities to thrive.

The Potential of MLM and Direct Sales

Multi-level marketing and direct sales offer unique advantages for those seeking to diversify their income:

1. Low Barrier to Entry: Unlike traditional business ventures that require significant upfront capital, MLM and direct sales typically have lower start-up costs. This accessibility enables more people to participate and benefit from the opportunities.

2. Flexibility: These models provide the flexibility to work part-time or full-time, making it easier to balance with other commitments. This adaptability is particularly appealing to those juggling multiple roles, such as parents or individuals already engaged in other professions.

3. Potential for Growth: With the right strategy and commitment, participants can build a substantial network of distributors and customers. This network effect can lead to exponential growth, significantly boosting income potential.

4. Skill Development: Engaging in MLM and direct sales enhances various skills such as communication, marketing, sales, and leadership. These skills are transferable and valuable in any professional context.

Achieving Financial Independence

The ultimate goal for many involved in MLM and direct sales is financial independence. This state is characterized by having sufficient income to cover living expenses without relying solely on traditional employment. Achieving financial independence through MLM and direct sales involves:

1. Consistent Effort: Success in these fields requires dedication and consistent effort. Building and maintaining a network demands regular engagement and nurturing of relationships.

2. Strategic Planning: A clear plan with defined goals is essential. Understanding the market, product, and customer needs, as well as setting realistic targets, are crucial for sustained success.

3. Leveraging Technology: Utilizing technology to streamline operations, manage customer relationships, and expand reach is critical. This is where platforms like L2 Digital Marketing come into play.

The Role of L2 Digital Marketing

L2 Digital Marketing (www.l2digitalmarketing.com) is at the forefront of empowering businesses to harness the power of digital tools. Here’s how L2 Digital Marketing can transform MLM and direct sales:

1. Enhanced Visibility: Through strategic digital marketing, businesses can increase their online presence. L2's expertise in SEO, social media marketing, and content creation ensures that products and services reach a broader audience.

2. Data-Driven Insights: L2 provides analytics and insights that help businesses understand their audience better. This data-driven approach allows for more targeted and effective marketing strategies.

3. Automation and Efficiency: L2 offers tools that automate various aspects of digital marketing, from email campaigns to social media postings. This automation saves time and ensures consistent engagement with customers and prospects.

4. Personalized Marketing: With advanced algorithms and AI, L2 enables businesses to personalize their marketing efforts. Personalized marketing fosters stronger connections with customers, enhancing loyalty and increasing sales.

Conclusion

MLM and direct sales offer a viable path to financial independence, especially when leveraged with the right technology. Platforms like L2 Digital Marketing are instrumental in amplifying the impact of these business models, providing the tools and strategies necessary for success in the digital age. As individuals and businesses continue to seek ways to secure their financial futures, the synergy between MLM, direct sales, and cutting-edge digital marketing will undoubtedly play a crucial role.

Leveraging AI in Digital Marketing

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 05:25:57 GMT

A New Era in Marketing with L2 Digital Marketing & AI

In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, staying ahead of the curve is essential for any business aiming to thrive. At L2 Digital Marketing, we recognize the transformative power of artificial intelligence (AI) in impacting how we engage with customers, optimize campaigns, and drive growth. This article delves into our capabilities with AI and explores how leading platforms like HubSpot harness this technology to deliver unparalleled results.

The AI Advantage in Digital Marketing

AI has emerged as a game-changer in digital marketing, offering tools and techniques that enhance efficiency, accuracy, and personalization. Here are key areas where AI makes a significant impact:

1. Data Analysis and Insights: AI excels at processing vast amounts of data swiftly and accurately. At L2 Digital Marketing, we utilize AI-powered analytics to gain deeper insights into customer behavior, preferences, and trends. This enables us to make data-driven decisions that enhance the effectiveness of our marketing strategies.

2. Personalization: One of the most significant advantages of AI is its ability to deliver personalized experiences. By analyzing customer data, AI can create highly tailored content and recommendations. This personalization fosters stronger customer relationships and increases conversion rates.

3. Automation : AI-powered automation tools streamline repetitive tasks such as email marketing, social media posting , and ad management. This not only saves time but also ensures that campaigns run seamlessly, allowing our team to focus on strategic planning and creative execution.

4. Predictive Analytics: AI can forecast future trends and outcomes based on historical data. Predictive analytics helps us anticipate customer needs, optimize budget allocation, and improve campaign performance, ensuring that our clients stay ahead of their competition.

5. Chatbots and Customer Support: AI-driven chatbots provide instant, 24/7 customer support, enhancing customer satisfaction and engagement. These intelligent bots can handle a wide range of queries, from basic information requests to complex troubleshooting, freeing up human resources for more intricate tasks.

AI-Powered Platforms: The HubSpot Example

HubSpot is a prime example of a platform that effectively integrates AI to boost digital marketing efforts. As a leader in inbound marketing, HubSpot offers a suite of AI-driven tools that complement our services at L2 Digital Marketing. As a Hubspot partner, we're also able to implement their CRM for your sales and marketing efforts.

- Content Strategy: HubSpot's AI analyzes top-performing content and suggests topics that are likely to resonate with your audience. This ensures that your content strategy is always aligned with current trends and audience interests.

- SEO Optimization : AI tools in HubSpot help optimize content for search engines by providing insights into keyword performance, search trends, and competitor analysis. This improves organic search rankings and drives more traffic to your website.

- Lead Scoring: HubSpot uses AI to score leads based on their likelihood to convert. This allows us to prioritize high-quality leads and tailor our marketing efforts to nurture them effectively.

- Email Marketing: With AI, HubSpot can personalize email content, predict the best times to send emails, and optimize subject lines for higher open rates. This leads to more engaging and successful email campaigns.

- CRM Integration: HubSpot's AI-powered CRM tools track and analyze customer interactions, providing valuable insights into customer journeys. This helps us tailor our marketing strategies to meet the specific needs of different customer segments.

L2 Digital Marketing: Your Partner in AI-Driven Success

At L2 Digital Marketing, we are committed to leveraging the full potential of AI to enhance your digital marketing efforts. Our team of experts continuously explores new AI technologies and integrates them into our services to provide cutting-edge solutions. Whether you are looking to improve customer engagement, drive more traffic, or increase conversions, our AI-driven approach ensures that you achieve your marketing goals efficiently and effectively.

In conclusion, the integration of AI in digital marketing is not just a trend but a necessity in today's competitive environment. Platforms like HubSpot, with their advanced AI capabilities, offer powerful tools that drive success. At L2 Digital Marketing, we harness these tools to deliver results that exceed expectations. Embrace the future with us and experience the transformative power of AI in digital marketing.

Crafting a Robust Marketing Plan for SBA Loan Success

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Thu, 20 Jun 2024 06:29:51 GMT

A strong marketing plan is an essential step in your SBA loan application

Securing a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan can be a pivotal step for any small business looking to expand its operations, improve cash flow, or invest in new opportunities. However, one of the critical components that can influence the success of your loan application is a well-structured marketing plan . This document not only demonstrates your understanding of your market and competitive landscape but also showcases how you plan to achieve your business goals. Here’s how you can craft an effective marketing plan with the help of L2 Digital Marketing services.

Understanding the Essentials of a Marketing Plan

A comprehensive marketing plan for an SBA loan application should include several key elements:

1. Market Research and Analysis

- Target Audience Identification: Who are your ideal customers? This involves demographic, psychographic, and behavioral analysis.

- Market Needs and Trends: What are the current trends in your industry? How do they affect your business?

- Competitive Analysis: Who are your main competitors, and what are their strengths and weaknesses?

2. Marketing Objectives

- Clear Goals: Define specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals.

- Alignment with Business Goals: Ensure your marketing objectives support your overall business objectives.

3. Marketing Strategies

- Product/Service Positioning: How will you position your product or service in the market?

- Unique Selling Proposition (USP): What makes your product or service unique?

4. Marketing Tactics and Channels

- Digital Marketing Channels: Utilize SEO, PPC, social media, content marketing, and email marketing.

- Traditional Marketing Channels: Depending on your audience, consider print, radio, and direct mail.

5. Budget and ROI

- Marketing Budget: Allocate funds appropriately across various marketing activities.

- ROI Analysis: Project the return on investment for your marketing efforts.

6. Implementation Plan

- Timeline: Develop a detailed timeline for executing your marketing activities.

- Responsibilities: Assign specific tasks to team members .

7. Monitoring and Evaluation

- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Define KPIs to measure the effectiveness of your marketing plan.

- Review Mechanisms: Set up regular review sessions to assess progress and make necessary adjustments.

How L2 Digital Marketing Can Help

L2 Digital Marketing specializes in creating and executing data-driven marketing strategies that can significantly enhance your SBA loan application. Here’s how they can assist you in each phase of your marketing plan:

1. Market Research and Analysis

- L2 provides comprehensive market research services, using advanced analytics tools to gather and interpret data about your target market and competitors.

2. Defining Marketing Objectives

- With expertise in various industries, L2 helps you set realistic and impactful marketing goals that align with your business vision and SBA loan requirements.

3. Crafting Marketing Strategies

- L2’s team of strategists work with you to develop a strong positioning and compelling USP that differentiates your brand in the marketplace.

4. Implementing Marketing Tactics

- SEO and PPC: L2 optimizes your online presence with targeted search engine optimization and pay-per-click advertising.

- Social Media Marketing : They manage your social media platforms to engage your audience and build brand loyalty.

- Content Marketing: L2 creates high-quality content that attracts, educates, and converts prospects.

- Email Marketing : They design effective email campaigns that nurture leads and drive sales.

5. Budgeting and ROI Management

- L2 helps you allocate your marketing budget wisely and tracks the performance of each campaign to ensure you’re getting the best return on your investment.

6. Implementation Support

- With project management expertise, L2 ensures your marketing plan is executed seamlessly and on schedule.

7. Monitoring and Evaluation

- L2 provides regular reports and insights, using KPIs to measure success and adjust strategies as needed.

A well-crafted marketing plan is indispensable for securing an SBA loan , as it showcases your business acumen and growth potential. Leveraging the expertise of L2 Digital Marketing can elevate your marketing plan, making it not just a requirement for your loan application, but a powerful tool for long-term business success. By integrating comprehensive market research, strategic planning, and precise execution, L2 helps you present a compelling case to lenders, paving the way for your business to thrive.

What You Need to Succeed in Sales

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Wed, 19 Jun 2024 07:06:57 GMT

Succeeding in sales requires a combination of skills, mindset, and strategies.

In today's dynamic job market, the future of work is being reshaped by the gig economy and the rise of flexible employment opportunities. As more individuals seek greater autonomy and varied income streams, direct sales positions in digital marketing are becoming increasingly attractive. L2 Digital Marketing stands out by offering a lucrative direct sales opportunity that combines the benefits of the gig economy with substantial growth potential. This article explores the essential components for succeeding in sales and highlights how partnering with L2 Digital Marketing can elevate your career to new heights.

Here are the key components:

1. Strong Communication Skills

Effective communication is crucial for understanding client needs and conveying your value proposition clearly.

2. Deep Product Knowledge

Understanding your product or service inside out allows you to address customer queries confidently and demonstrate its benefits.

3. Active Listening

Listening to your clients helps build trust and allows you to tailor your pitch to their specific needs and concerns.

4. Resilience and Persistence

Sales can be challenging, and rejection is common. Resilience helps you stay motivated and persistent in pursuing leads.

5. Empathy

Being able to empathize with clients’ problems and offering genuine solutions fosters better relationships and customer satisfaction.

6. Negotiation Skills

Effective negotiation can help you close deals that are beneficial for both you and your client.

7. Time Management

Managing your time efficiently ensures you can handle multiple clients and tasks without compromising on quality.

8. Goal-Oriented Mindset

Setting and pursuing clear goals keeps you focused and driven to achieve sales targets.

9. Adaptability

The ability to adapt to changing market conditions and client needs helps you stay relevant and effective.

10. Networking Abilities

Building and maintaining a strong professional network can provide valuable leads and referrals.

11. Technology Proficiency

Familiarity with CRM software and other sales tools enhances your efficiency and effectiveness in managing customer relationships and sales processes.

12. The Right Company

Working with a company that offers a robust commission structure, bonuses, and growth opportunities is essential. L2 Digital Marketing provides a comprehensive direct sales program, offering unlimited earning potential, industry-leading training, personalized support, and opportunities for team building. This supportive environment ensures you have the resources and incentives to succeed and advance in your sales career.

By developing these skills and attributes, and aligning yourself with the right company like L2 Digital Marketing , you can enhance your sales performance and achieve long-term success in your career.

By developing these skills and attributes, you can enhance your sales performance and achieve long-term success in sales.

Unlocking Success with A/B Testing in Social and PPC Advertising

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Fri, 07 Jun 2024 16:32:27 GMT

Keys to Optimizing Your Campaigns and Achieving Long-Term Growth

The Power of A/B Testing in Social and PPC Advertising Campaigns

In digital marketing , developing high performing ad campaigns takes work. A/B testing (split testing) is part of our process to refine and optimize your social and PPC advertising, ensuring you maximize the ROI on your advertising campaigns and drive sales. At L2 Digital Marketing, we emphasize the importance of a 6-12 month commitment to fully realize the benefits of A/B testing. Here’s why:

Why A/B Testing Works

1. Understanding your audience:

A/B testing compares two versions of an ad to see which performs better, allowing you to base your strategies on what's working best for your business.

2. Increased ROI:

By identifying the most effective elements of your ads, A/B testing boosts conversion rates and reduces acquisition costs, leading to higher returns over time.

3. Enhanced User Experience:

Testing helps you understand what resonates with your audience, allowing you to tailor content to their preferences and improve engagement.

Long-Term Impact of A/B Testing

1. Continuous Improvement:

Markets and consumer behaviors change. A/B testing helps you adapt by providing ongoing insights for refining your campaigns.

2. Identifying Trends:

Over several months, testing reveals valuable trends and patterns, aiding long-term strategic planning.

3. Iterative Testing:

Multiple iterations over several months progressively fine-tune your campaigns for optimal results.

4. Adaptation to Market Changes:

Continuous testing allows your campaigns to stay relevant amidst shifting market dynamics.

5. Building a Robust Strategy:

A long-term approach develops a comprehensive strategy that incorporates learnings from various phases of testing, leading to sustainable success.

Partner with L2 Digital Marketing

At L2 Digital Marketing, we specialize in leveraging A/B testing to drive exceptional results. By committing to an advertising partnership, you’ll benefit from our expertise in continuous improvement, trend identification, and strategic adaptation. Ready to achieve sustained success? Contact L2 Digital Marketing today and discover how A/B testing can transform your advertising campaigns.

Mastering Social Strategy for Business Success

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 16:29:20 GMT

A Comprehensive Guide to Crafting an Effective Social Media Strategy

In today's digital age, social media has become an indispensable tool for businesses aiming to enhance their online presence, engage with their audience, and ultimately drive sales. However, navigating the complex landscape of social media requires a well-crafted strategy. In this blog post, we'll explore essential elements of a successful social media strategy and how partnering with a professional agency like L2 Digital Marketing can take your efforts to the next level.

1. Define Your Goals

Before diving into social media, it’s crucial to define what you hope to achieve. Common goals include:

Increasing brand awareness
Driving website traffic
Generating leads and sales
Building community and customer loyalty
Providing customer service
Clearly defined goals will guide your strategy and help measure success.

2. Know Your Audience

Understanding your audience is key to creating content that resonates. Conduct research to determine:

Demographics (age, gender, location, etc.)
Interests and behaviors
Preferred social media platforms
This insight ensures your content reaches the right people in the right places.

3. Choose the Right Platforms

Not all social media platforms are created equal. Each has its unique user base and type of content that performs best. For instance:

Facebook : Ideal for reaching a broad audience with varied content (videos, articles, ads).

Instagram: Best for visual content and engaging younger demographics.

LinkedIn: Perfect for B2B marketing and professional networking.

Twitter : Great for real-time updates and engaging with current events.

Focus on the platforms where your target audience is most active.

4. Create Engaging Content

Content is the cornerstone of your social strategy. To capture and retain attention:

Use high-quality visuals (photos, videos , infographics)
Share valuable and relevant information
Incorporate storytelling to humanize your brand
Engage with interactive content (polls, quizzes, contests)
Consistency in posting and messaging reinforces brand identity and fosters engagement.

5. Utilize Paid Advertising

Organic reach can be limited on social media. To extend your reach and achieve specific goals, leverage paid advertising. Platforms offer robust targeting options to ensure your ads reach the most relevant audience segments. Experiment with different ad formats, such as:

Sponsored posts
Carousel ads
Video ads
Lead generation forms

6. Monitor and Adjust

Regularly analyze your social media performance to understand what’s working and what’s not. Use analytics tools provided by the platforms and third-party tools to track key metrics like engagement rates, click-through rates, and conversions. Be prepared to adjust your strategy based on these insights to continuously improve your results.

Why Partner with L2 Digital Marketing?

Crafting and executing a successful social media strategy can be overwhelming and time-consuming. This is where L2 Digital Marketing comes in. As a leading digital marketing agency, we specialize in creating tailored social media strategies that align with your business goals. Our team of experts will:

Conduct in-depth audience and market research
Develop and implement comprehensive social media plans
Create and curate engaging, high-quality content
Manage paid advertising campaigns to maximize ROI
Provide detailed performance reports and strategic adjustments
Take Action Today
Ready to elevate your social media presence and achieve your business goals? Partner with L2 Digital Marketing for expert guidance and exceptional results. Visit l2digitalmarketing.com to learn more and get started on your path to social media success.

In conclusion, a well-defined social media strategy is essential for any business looking to thrive in the digital landscape. By understanding your audience, choosing the right platforms, creating engaging content, utilizing paid advertising, and continuously monitoring performance, you can achieve significant results. And with the support of a professional agency like L2 Digital Marketing, your business can unlock the full potential of social media marketing.

Elevate Your Business with a Winning Strategy

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Tue, 04 Jun 2024 20:36:58 GMT

A Comprehensive and strategic marketing approach

In today’s competitive landscape, businesses need more than just good products and services to succeed. They need a comprehensive and strategic marketing approach that not only reaches their target audience but also resonates with them. At L2 Digital Marketing, we help our clients achieve their goals through a focus on four key pillars: a solid marketing plan, clear messaging, wise use of marketing dollars, and a strong return on investment (ROI) for ad spend.

1) A Solid Marketing Plan

A successful marketing campaign starts with a well-thought-out plan. Without a clear roadmap, businesses risk wasting resources and missing opportunities. At L2 Digital Marketing, we take the time to understand your business, industry, and target audience. We then develop a tailored marketing plan that aligns with your goals and leverages the most effective channels to reach your customers.

Our process includes:

Market Research : In-depth analysis of your market and competitors.
Target Audience Identification : Understanding who your customers are and what they need.
Strategic Planning : Crafting a step-by-step plan to achieve your marketing objectives.

With a solid marketing plan in place, you can confidently move forward, knowing you have a clear strategy to guide your efforts.

2) Clear Messaging

In the digital age, consumers are bombarded with information. To stand out, your messaging must be clear, concise, and compelling. At L2 Digital Marketing, we specialize in creating messages that cut through the noise and speak directly to your audience's needs and desires.

Our approach to clear messaging includes:

Brand Voice Development : Defining a unique voice that represents your brand authentically.
Value Proposition : Clearly articulating the benefits and value your business offers.
Consistent Communication : Ensuring all your marketing materials convey a cohesive and compelling message.

With clear messaging, your brand will not only attract attention but also build trust and loyalty among your audience.

3) Wise Use of Your Marketing Dollars

Marketing budgets can quickly spiral out of control if not managed wisely. At L2 Digital Marketing, we believe in making every dollar count. We help you allocate your marketing budget effectively to maximize impact and minimize waste.

Our strategies for wise use of marketing dollars include:

Data-Driven Decisions : Utilizing analytics to guide spending and measure effectiveness.
Channel Optimization : Focusing on the most effective channels for your specific audience.
Continuous Improvement : Regularly reviewing and adjusting campaigns to ensure optimal performance.

By spending your marketing dollars wisely, you can achieve better results without overspending.

4) ROI on Your Ad Spend

At the end of the day, the success of your marketing efforts comes down to one thing: return on investment. At L2 Digital Marketing , we are committed to delivering a strong ROI on your ad spend . We use sophisticated tracking and analytics to measure the performance of your campaigns and ensure that every dollar spent contributes to your bottom line.

Our focus on ROI includes:

Performance Tracking : Monitoring key metrics to assess campaign effectiveness.
Conversion Optimization : Tweaking campaigns to increase conversions and reduce costs.
Transparent Reporting : Providing clear and detailed reports on your marketing performance.

With a strong focus on ROI, you can be confident that your marketing investments are driving real, measurable results.

Partner with L2 Digital Marketing

By focusing on these four pillars—solid marketing plans, clear messaging, wise use of marketing dollars, and ROI on ad spend—L2 Digital Marketing helps businesses like yours achieve their marketing goals and grow. Whether you’re looking to increase brand awareness, generate leads, or boost sales, our experienced team is here to guide you every step of the way.

Contact us today to learn how we can help elevate your business with a strategic and results-driven approach to digital marketing.

The Future of Work: Why Direct Sales, Independent Contractors, and Gig Economy Workers Are Leading the Way

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Sun, 26 May 2024 23:53:46 GMT

Embrace Flexibility and Unlimited Potential with L2 Digital Marketing

I n an ever-evolving economy, traditional 9-to-5 jobs are being challenged by more flexible, independent ways of working. This shift is driven by the rise of the gig economy, which includes independent contractors and direct sales agents . As technology advances and the desire for autonomy grows, these roles are becoming not only viable but also highly desirable career paths.

The Rise of the Gig Economy

The gig economy refers to a labor market characterized by short-term contracts or freelance work as opposed to permanent jobs. This trend is gaining momentum for several reasons:

Flexibility: Gig workers have the freedom to choose their hours and projects, allowing them to balance work with personal commitments.

Diverse Opportunities: From ride-sharing drivers to freelance writers, the gig economy offers a wide range of opportunities for people with different skills.

Technology-Driven: Digital platforms make it easier than ever to find gig work, connect with clients, and manage payments.

Why Independent Contractors Are Thriving

Independent contractors enjoy several benefits that are driving more professionals to adopt this work model:

Autonomy: They are their own bosses, making decisions without the constraints of a traditional workplace hierarchy.

Income Potential: With the ability to take on multiple clients, independent contractors can often earn more than their salaried counterparts.

Skill Utilization: They can specialize in their areas of expertise, ensuring that they are always engaged in work that they are passionate about.

The Appeal of Direct Sales

Direct sales, a cornerstone of the gig economy, involves selling products directly to consumers without intermediary retailers. It’s a model that has been modernized with the advent of social media and digital marketing. Here’s why it’s becoming increasingly popular:

Low Entry Barriers: Direct sales often require minimal initial investment, making it accessible to a wide range of people.

Personal Connections: Direct sales agents build relationships with their customers, leading to loyal client bases and repeat business.

Scalability: Through downline commissions, where agents earn from the sales of those they recruit, direct sales offer exponential income growth potential.

The Future is Digital: Why Join L2 Digital Marketing

If you're considering stepping into the world of direct sales, there's no better time than now, and no better company than L2 Digital Marketing. As a direct sales agent with L2 Digital Marketing, you will experience:

Unlimited Income Potential: With our commission-based model, your earnings are directly tied to your efforts, with no cap on how much you can make.

Downline Commissions: Earn not just from your sales, but also from the sales of those you recruit, providing a sustainable and scalable income source.

Fulfilling Work: Engage in tech and media expertise, staying at the forefront of the digital revolution.

Supportive Community: Join a network of like-minded professionals who are passionate about what they do and committed to mutual success.

Call to Action

Are you ready to take control of your career, enjoy the freedom of flexible work, and maximize your income potential? Join L2 Digital Marketing today as a direct sales agent. Embrace the future of work with a company that values innovation, expertise, and limitless growth. Start your journey with us and unlock the door to a fulfilling, lucrative career in the dynamic world of tech and media. Your future is waiting—seize it now! Learn more here.

2024 Emerging Trends in Digital Media

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Wed, 15 May 2024 05:57:52 GMT

10 emerging marketing tools every marketer needs to know about

In today's digital age, marketing is constantly changing, with new trends and technologies shaping the way businesses connect with customers. Whether you're a seasoned marketer or just starting, it's essential to stay ahead of the curve and understand the latest trends driving digital marketing success. Let's dive into some of the hottest trends that every marketer and digital marketing sales person should know about:

Privacy and Cookies : You've probably noticed those cookie consent pop-ups on websites. They're part of a bigger trend focusing on user privacy and data protection. It's crucial for businesses to be transparent about how they handle your data and ensure compliance with privacy regulations.

Voice SEO: With the rise of voice assistants like Siri and Alexa, optimizing content for voice search has become a game-changer. Think of it as speaking to your device like you would to a friend, using natural language keywords to get the best results.

In-feed Shopping: Ever shopped directly from a social media post? That's in-feed shopping in action. It's all about making the buying process seamless and convenient right from your favorite platforms.

Push Notifications: Those little alerts on your phone can be powerful marketing tools when used right. They're a way for businesses to grab your attention and send personalized messages that drive action.

SMS Marketing: Text messages aren't just for chatting with friends. They're also a handy way for businesses to reach customers directly on their phones with special offers or updates.

Video Marketing: Videos are everywhere, and for a good reason—they're engaging and easy to consume. From product demos to behind-the-scenes peeks, video marketing is a must-have in your digital toolkit.

Email Marketing/Segmentation : Email isn't dead; it's just gotten smarter. Businesses now use segmentation to send targeted emails based on your interests and behavior, making their messages more relevant to you.

Interactive Content: Ever taken a quiz or participated in a poll online? That's interactive content at work, grabbing your attention and making the experience more fun and engaging.

Conversational Marketing: Chatbots and live chat support are changing the way businesses interact with customers. They're like having a helpful assistant available 24/7 to answer your questions and guide you through your purchase journey.

Influencer Marketing: You've probably seen influencers promoting products on social media . It's a modern-day word-of-mouth marketing strategy, where businesses partner with influential personalities to reach their target audience authentically.

So, why does all this matter? Understanding these trends not only helps businesses stay competitive but also ensures a better experience for you as a consumer. Next time you see a personalized ad or get a friendly message from your favorite brand, remember—it's all part of successful digital marketing campaigns .

Mobile App Development Near Me

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Sun, 05 May 2024 05:49:47 GMT

Unlocking Business Success with Mobile Apps: A Comprehensive Guide

In today's digital age, mobile apps have become indispensable tools for businesses looking to stay competitive and engage with their customers effectively. From enhancing customer experiences to boosting sales and streamlining operations, mobile apps offer a myriad of benefits that can propel your business to new heights. Let's delve into the key advantages of incorporating mobile apps into your business strategy.

1. Enhanced Customer Engagement

Mobile apps provide a direct channel of communication with your customers, allowing you to engage with them in real time. Features such as push notifications, personalized content, and in-app messaging enable you to deliver targeted marketing messages and updates, keeping your audience informed and engaged. This level of interaction fosters stronger relationships with customers, leading to increased loyalty and repeat business.

2. Improved Accessibility and Convenience

With mobile apps, your business is accessible to customers anytime, anywhere. Whether they're on the go or relaxing at home, users can access your products or services with a few taps on their smartphones or tablets. This convenience not only enhances the user experience but also increases the likelihood of conversions and sales as customers can make purchases or inquiries instantly.

3. Enhanced Brand Visibility and Recognition

Having a mobile app for your business can significantly boost your brand's visibility and recognition. Apps act as a constant reminder of your brand on users' devices, reinforcing brand awareness and familiarity. A well-designed app with engaging features and a user-friendly interface can leave a lasting impression on customers, making your brand more memorable and recognizable in a crowded market.

4. Personalized Customer Experience

Mobile apps allow you to gather valuable data and insights about your customers' preferences, behavior, and interactions. With this information, you can personalize the user experience by offering tailored content, recommendations, and promotions based on individual interests and buying patterns. Personalization not only enhances customer satisfaction but also increases the likelihood of conversions and repeat business.

5. Streamlined Business Operations

Internally, mobile apps can streamline various business operations and processes, leading to increased efficiency and productivity. Whether it's inventory management, order processing, or communication within teams, mobile apps can automate tasks, reduce manual errors, and facilitate seamless collaboration. This optimization of workflows translates into cost savings and improved overall performance.

6. Competitive Advantage

In a competitive business landscape, having a mobile app can give you a significant edge over competitors who rely solely on traditional channels. A well-executed app strategy demonstrates your commitment to innovation, customer-centricity, and adaptability to modern technologies. It allows you to stay ahead of market trends, attract tech-savvy customers, and differentiate your brand in the market.

7. Data-driven Insights and Analytics

Mobile apps provide valuable data and analytics that can inform strategic decision-making and marketing strategies. Through app analytics, you can track user engagement, conversion rates, customer feedback, and more, gaining actionable insights into your app's performance and areas for improvement. These data-driven insights empower you to make data-backed decisions that drive business growth and success.

Embrace the Power of Mobile Apps for Your Business

In conclusion, mobile apps offer a plethora of benefits that can transform your business and drive sustainable growth. From enhancing customer engagement and loyalty to streamlining operations and gaining a competitive advantage, the advantages of mobile apps are undeniable. Whether you're a small startup or an established enterprise, integrating a mobile app into your business strategy can pave the way for success in today's digital era.

Ready to harness the power of mobile apps for your business? Contact us today to learn how our mobile app development services can help you achieve your goals and unlock new opportunities.

Why partnering with a marketing agency works for small businesses

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 06:36:20 GMT

Partnering with an agency can provide increased ROI

Outsourcing your marketing efforts to a digital agency like L2 Digital Marketing in Pasadena, California can offer a plethora of advantages that make it a smart choice for businesses looking to optimize their marketing strategies. Here's a breakdown of how outsourcing can save you time, provide valuable insights, leverage expert teams, and bring best practices to your business at a fraction of the cost of hiring individual talents.

Time Savings : Managing marketing campaigns, creating content, analyzing data, and staying updated with the latest trends can be incredibly time-consuming. Outsourcing to a digital agency allows you to offload these tasks to professionals who specialize in these areas. This frees up your time and allows you to focus on core business activities such as product development, customer service, and strategic planning.

Valuable Insights : Digital marketing agencies have extensive experience working with various industries and businesses of different sizes. They bring valuable insights into market trends, consumer behavior, and effective strategies that can help your business grow. By leveraging their expertise, you gain access to data-driven insights that can inform your decision-making process and lead to more effective marketing campaigns.

Expert Teams : Digital agencies like L2 Digital Marketing typically have teams of experts with diverse skill sets, including content creators, SEO specialists, social media managers, PPC experts, and data analysts. Instead of hiring individual talents for each of these roles, you can tap into a comprehensive team that works collaboratively to achieve your marketing goals. This not only saves costs but also ensures that you have access to a full range of marketing capabilities.

Cost-Effectiveness : Hiring and maintaining a full in-house marketing team can be costly, especially for small and medium-sized businesses. Outsourcing to a digital agency allows you to access a team of experts at a fraction of the cost of hiring and training individual employees. Additionally, you can scale your marketing efforts up or down as needed without the overhead costs associated with hiring and firing employees.

Best Practices and Innovation : Digital agencies are constantly evolving to stay ahead of industry trends and adopt best practices. By working with a digital marketing agency like ours, you benefit from our knowledge of the latest tools, technologies, and strategies. This ensures that your marketing efforts are not only effective but also innovative, helping you stand out in a competitive landscape.

The fact is outsourcing your marketing work to a digital agency offers numerous benefits, including time savings, access to valuable insights, expert teams, cost-effectiveness, and the adoption of best practices. It's a strategic investment that can drive growth and success for your business while allowing you to focus on your core competencies.

The cure for the common cold call

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 21:38:05 GMT

Forget the cold calls and capture business online with search engine marketing campaigns

Nobody likes to make a cold call and more importantly, for the most part, people don’t like to receive cold calls. They are interruptive, imposing, and usually don’t connect. More and more it’s becoming harder to get in touch with people on the phone. If they don’t know where you’re calling from, most will not answer. Voicemails are common and rarely returned. What to do?

Designing effective search advertising may be exactly what you need. Online search-based advertising is what we call the cure for the common cold call. Not that you will never need to make a sales call again, but in addition to your outbound sales efforts, you need an inbound lead generator that can bring calls to your business.

Understand online demand

The first place to start in setting up a search engine marketing campaign is to understand how much demand there is online for your product or service. This can be discovered in a couple of ways including what is called keyword research. This helps you understand what words people are searching for online and how often.

Here’s a great resource to start.

Rather than approaching someone who may not need or want what you offer - interrupting them - effective search marketing campaigns reach your client at a point along the purchase path. Showing up with advertising and web content that solves your prospect’s problems positions you to grow the relationship with your client and win the business.

Your content on your company’s landing page should provide the solution to the problem they are seeking to solve. Make sure you have a strong call to action and make it easy to do business with you.

Think less friction whether your call to action is to buy now, set up an appointment, or make a call - make it clear and make it easy to do business with you and you’ll find yourself in a better position to win the business and grow your company.

💰Create campaigns that convert

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 22:21:28 GMT

5 tips to make your search advertising campaigns more effective

Effective search campaigns hinge on the quality of your website landing page . When a visitor arrives on your page, you need content that resonates with your audience and helps build trust so they'll do business with you over your competitors. Here are a few of the ways to make your business stand out from the crowd:

1) Site Speed: Your website should load within the first 2 seconds of a visitor typing in your URL or you're going to lose them. Test your site speed here: https://pagespeed.web.dev/

2) Mobile responsive: Over 60% of web traffic is on mobile devices. Capture this traffic with a mobile responsive website or they're going to bounce to a competitor.

3) Quality copy: What you say and how you say it makes a difference. Clear, concise, persuasive copy that is focused on solving your customer's problems is the most effective way to attract new clients. Don't talk all about how great your company is. Talk about how great your customer is and how you've helped others just like them.

4) Photography : A picture is worth 1,000 words + it's a whole lot quicker. In the Instagram era, you need quality photos that speak to your brand's quality.

5) Video : Show don't just tell with video - demonstrate your product, educate your clients, and provide helpful, quality content.

A quality landing page can make or break your campaign. Get started today for as little as $199 for a fast, mobile-friendly landing page and leave your competitors in the dust.

Is it possible to rank your website on page 1 of Google search?

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 05:29:09 GMT

Best practices for ranking on page one of Google

Ranking your website on page one of Google isn’t easy, but it is possible. As we discussed last week, less than 1% of people even look at page 2 of search results. Regardless of the value, most business owners don’t think page 1 is attainable so they give up before they even start. However, with the right SEO strategy along with paid search , your business can make it onto page 1.

Local Search

The most attainable way for businesses to reach page 1 of Google is through local search. Choose a specific, targeted geography and moderately competitive keywords. This will allow you to start developing strategy, content, and pages around the keyword while focusing on a specific market. Depending on your business and where you are, you may want to start with a smaller city. For example, in Los Angeles , you may want to first rank on page one for a city around LA, like Pasadena , before trying to capture Los Angeles. Build momentum with small wins and build from there. Begin developing content around this keyword to increase your organic search results. This is called SEO. As part of a basic SEO plan , you should add this keyword to your website multiple times so search engines begin to recognize and rank your website for these specific searches.

Paid Search

Combining SEO efforts with paid search is a powerful combination. Since SEO is a longer process (6-12 months), you want to augment your efforts with some paid ads. This will quicken the process and elevate your website’s visibility within search. With paid search, you’re paying only when someone clicks on your ad for specific keywords that relate to your business. With paid search you’re not creating demand, you’re simply capturing demand for your product or service and directing inquiries to your website. (This is why when you spend money on ads, you must ensure your website is high quality and converting.)

Website

The quality of your website plays a big role in your ranking on Google . By quality, I mean technology used, speed, content, images, functionality, and structure of the website. This is why investing in a quality website upfront is worth the money. Gathering client testimonials, high-quality photography, videography , and more make a big difference and add to the customer experience. Google tracks how long a person stays on your website as an indicator or how engaging your site is and how relevant it is to a person’s search query. Again creating a quality website, can’t be emphasized enough. It may cost extra upfront but will be worth it down the road.

Implementing a SEO strategy that includes paid search and a quality landing page can help your business succeed online.

Google search - make it work for you

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 23:34:20 GMT

Grow your business with online search campaigns

Google search can be a great place for people to discover your business - but most companies are missing out. This is a common problem. You build a website, and it looks great, but no one finds it. You need a marketing program that gets your business listed on page 1 of Google search. (Only 0.63% of people look at page 2 of search results.)

There are two ways to do this:

1) First you can increase your organic search ranking which is called " search engine optimization " or SEO for short. SEO is the process of ongoing updates, upgrades, link building, and content development to your existing website. Google recognizes your site and increases your rank for relevant search results.

2) The second way to get found online is through a paid search campaign . With paid search, you pay Google to list your advertisement when people search for certain keywords. You only pay when someone clicks on your ad and lands on your website.

We've helped dozens of companies succeed with search marketing, and we'd love to help you too.

This month we're offering a special to grow your business online - just $249 per month for our paid search and SEO combo package. Get started today.

6 ways to grow your email list

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Mon, 22 Jan 2024 19:26:41 GMT

Growing your email list takes intentionality

Email marketing is one of the most effective marketing channels today. In fact, marketers list email marketing in their top 3 most effective marketing channels. Building your email marketing list can build your pipeline for new clients and educate prospective clients on your expertise and how you can help them. It can also warm your existing clients to expand their relationship with your company and email marketing can bring new products to market with a list of customers and fans that knows, likes, and trusts what your company stands for.

"79% of marketers list email marketing in their top 3 most effective marketing channels." HubSpot

Now that you're hopefully "sold" on the idea of using email marketing in your business, you need a plan to grow your list. To do it right, we recommend a couple of options to first build your list. In a follow up post, we'll talk about effective strategies for email content, but for now, let's focus on ways to grow your email marketing list.

Sign Up

1) First of all you need a place for people to sign up for your email list. When you ask people to give you their email, advertise your email list as something valuable to your customer - insider knowledge, industry analysis, exclusive interviews, behind the scenes, tips and tricks. This kind of information you plan to share will provide value and help your email subscribers to advance in their career or business or whatever the case may be. You can place this opt-in on your website homepage , contact page, and at the bottom of each blog post.

Ecommerce

2) For those selling directly on your e-commerce website , we suggest a coupon code for a % off or a dollar amount off their next order in exchange for signing up for your email list. With this option of a coupon code, you'll see your email list grow at a much faster rate than simply having a place for a sign up.

Download

3) Next, if you're not selling directly online or even if you are, but your sales cycle is longer, we suggest adding a download of sorts that you provide free of charge in exchange for the email address.

Webinars

4) Some clients offer webinar registration - providing something valuable that will help your prospective clients while obtaining email and registration information.

Video Series

5) Video series. Similar to a webinar, marketing a video series can help establish your credibility, add value to your viewers, and help convert new customers. Ask viewers to submit their email before getting access to this premium content.

Live Events

6) Live events. Email marketing is a great way to follow up with live event attendees. Make sure to ask for email opt-in during the event registration process.

Being intentional about growing your email list is an important part of an effective marketing campaign. Following these steps can get you started in the right direction. In a future post we'll cover content development, calls to action, and email automation.

9 ways to maximize your website's effectiveness

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Fri, 12 Jan 2024 08:03:17 GMT

Making the most of your investment in digital marketing

User-friendly: You want a clean, crisp, easy-to-navigate website. Measure your page speed and track Links should be clear and navigation simple. Images optimized for online. Make it easy on your customer and track how people engage with your site through analytics. Make absolutely sure your website operates well on mobile devices.

Resource : Google Page Speed Test

Clear messaging: Be clear with what you offer and how people can work with you. Your one-liner across the banner of your website should tell people exactly what you do in 10 words or less. What problem are you solving? Think customer first. People are searching for solutions to their problems. We recommend branding services to make your brand voice, imagery, logo, and tagline clear with professionally written copy.

Call to Action: Every website needs a strong call to action: What do you want website visitors to do? Call you? Join a webinar? Download? Sign up? Buy now? Make it clear and easy for your client to take the desired action. This could be a call to action button in the top right corner or a buy now button under your product. It could be a call button for mobile device users. Whatever the case, make it easy and make it obvious what you want your clients to do.

Content:

Connect high-quality content to a great landing page and opt-in to build your audience and sell your product or service.

Traffic: Finding and engaging your ideal audience

Search (bidding for keywords connected to your business)
Display Ads (graphic ads on other sites)
Social (determining what network connect with your target market)
Email (Owning your own audience)
Radio / Online & Traditional
TV / Online & Traditional
Networking
Direct mail
Magazine ads
Directories

SEO: Once you build your website you need a strategy to get people back to your website. That’s where SEO & paid ads comes in.

SEO or search engine optimization is the ongoing process of improving your website in search engine results. There are a number of ways to improve your search results. These are SEO tactics. Tactics can include blogging, alt-tags, meta descriptions, keyword density, keyword strategy, inbound and external linking, and page authority. SEO is very industry and website specific so determining the best strategy for your business is a custom solution that should be built out over a period of at least 12 months to see optimal results. SEO, done right, does work and can be a major factor in getting qualified traffic to your website.

Keyword research
Header and page tags
Image tags
Social channels and links
Inbound and outbound links
Google search console
Schema markup
Reviews
Blog / Authority

Email: Unlike all other forms of advertising where you are technically borrowing someone else's audience, with email marketing you are marketing to your audience. That's why it's so important to build your audience and invest in the email marketing process because once you do, you have a list that you can bring new offerings and products to and build a long-term relationship with.

Recommend regular emails with an automation series for new subscribers.

Analytics : Google Analytics is essential to understand what your website visitors and customers do when they visit your site. You need this information to optimize your website and improve your marketing campaigns. It will inform your campaign design, help you test different landing pages, and improve your website user experience.

Compliance : Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): If your website does not cater to this population, you could be missing out on business opportunities. In addition, website accessibility lawsuits are up, with over 4,000 lawsuits filed in 2022 alone!

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) : requires any business in California or that does business with California residents to disclose privacy information to residents on their website and/or mobile website or app . If your website uses cookies, you need to disclose it.

What the California Consumer Privacy Act means for your business website

Tue, 05 Dec 2023 01:46:34 GMT

The CCPA requires businesses to disclose when cookies are used on their website

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) requires any business in California or that does business with California residents to disclose privacy information to residents on their website and/or mobile website or app . If your website uses cookies, you need to disclose it. If you collect information about your website visitors, you need to disclose it. You need to let a website visitor know that a cookie on your website is tracking information about their visit to the site. Afterwards, someone who visited your sight might receive an advertisement for the website you visited. Or you might be offered a deal for something similar from another online advertiser with similar services or products.

What is a cookie?

What is a cookie? Google defines a cookie as "Cookies are small pieces of text sent to your browser by a website you visit. They help that website remember information about your visit, which can both make it easier to visit the site again and make the site more useful to you."

What do cookies do?

Session management: Cookies let a website identify a user and remember login information and personal preferences of a visitor like what type of news you prefer.
Personalized Experience: Personalized advertising is another important way cookies function to enhance your web experience. A website visitor may view specific items or parts of a site. Cookies use this data to build targeted ads based on your behavior online . They’re also used for language preferences as well.
Tracking: Shopping sites use cookies to track products a visitor previously looked at, they allow a site to offer similar products, and keep items in your checkout carts while you shop for other items on the website. Additionally, the cookie may remember how often you looked at a particular product and how long you stayed on the page - analytics.

The CCPA is a statutory law meaning failing to comply is a legitimate cause of action to file a civil lawsuit in California. According to the California attorney general, the law gives certain important rights to California based consumers including:

The right to know about the personal information a business collects about them and how it is used and shared;
The right to delete personal information collected from them (with some exceptions);
The right to opt-out of the sale or sharing of their personal information; and
The right to non-discrimination for exercising their CCPA rights.

California’s CCPA does not require businesses to gain opt- in consent for cookies, but it requires businesses to disclose that cookies are used, and data is collected by cookies and their purposes. If cookies are used for targeted advertising, it could be considered a “sale” under CCPA and it is advised to receive consent, not just give disclosure. To play it safe, many companies that do business in California ask website visitors to opt-in to your website's cookies rather than just disclose cookies on their websites.

How do you know if cookies are used on your website?

When using Google Chrome, open an Incognito window and type in your website's address.

Click the lock icon to the left of your browser URL box.
Click on cookies.
The active cookies on your website will display. For more information, click on the little triangles in front of it.

What other states have similar laws?

According to NSCL , "Five states—California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, and Virginia—have enacted comprehensive consumer data privacy laws. The laws have several provisions in common, such as the right to access and delete personal information and to opt-out of the sale of personal information, among others."

What you need to do:

1. Create a terms and conditions agreement (aka terms of service or terms of use) for your website or app to better protect your business.

2. Use our cookie consent tool to create a policy for your cookies, build a cookie consent banner, and deliver seamless cookie consent management while complying with global privacy laws in 25+ regions.

3. Create a privacy policy for your website, app, e-commerce store, SaaS, small business, or any other need. Comply with additional laws including GDPR, CCPA, PIPEDA, CalOPPA, and more!

4. Create a disclosure policy — from a medical or affiliate disclaimer to a basic blog disclaimer — our tool and legal policy generator has you covered.

Have more questions or need help? Reach out here.

Email marketing strategy for your business

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Fri, 24 Nov 2023 19:32:20 GMT

Strategies to grow your business through email marketing

Email marketing is essential for your marketing program.

If I were to rank marketing plan priorities for an effective digital marketing plan it would include first your website, then email, then social and search. Email is essential because your email addresses are yours, for as long as your list will allow you to send to them. Of course, they can opt-out at any time but as long as you send value added advertising and information, you can potentially keep an email contact for life which is a big deal and a big ROI and essential reason for building your email list.

Stop renting other platform's audiences and start owning your audience!

Unlike all other forms of advertising where you are technically borrowing someone else's audience, with email marketing you are marketing to your audience. That's why it's so important to build your audience and invest in the email marketing process because once you do, you have a list that you can bring new offerings and products to and build a long term win-win relationship with your subscribers.

Email marketing tactics to get started.

1) You need an email opt-in form on your website .

2) Consider adding a pop-up to your website with an offer to encourage your website visitors to opt-in.

3) Set up an account with Constant Contact to begin building your email list and creating email campaigns.

4) Design your first email offer & send.

5) Track your key metrics

a. Open rate

b. click through rate

c. sales

6) A/B testing

a. test different subject lines to affect open rate

b. test different offers

c. try different design options

7) Automation. Consider creating an automated email series that welcomes new subscribers to your list and warms leads towards sales.

8) Consistency is key. Create a schedule and monthly plan for your communications.

Samples of our email marketing work & results

Below are email marketing results from one of our clients for their one monthly email blast. This list is built 100% organically without the use of any paid ads. We implemented an opt-in offer for a $5 off coupon for every site visitor which is converting at 3.79% of site visitors opting in for the email list. In addition, we are running an SEO campaign to direct qualified traffic to the site. Our client is on our email essentials plan which includes:

1) One email blast per month to client's organic subscribers (approximately 3,400 emails) only and an automatic resend to non-openers). I would recommend at least 2-3 emails per month for better engagement.

2) An automation series of 5 emails sent to new subscribers.

3) Abandoned cart recovery email automation.

4) Key results stats.

a. 48% open rate vs. industry average of 20%

b. 3% conversion rate vs. industry average of 1-2%

c. 53 orders

Digital Marketing FAQ

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 18:33:36 GMT

The who, what, where, when, and how of digital marketing

Marketing Tool-Kit Packages

Fri, 03 Nov 2023 16:25:13 GMT

Don't let your competitors take all the business...

Win new business with L2 Digital's complete marketing solutions. Automate your lists, leads, and sales with our all-in-one digital marketing toolkit.

It's time to stop letting your competitors win all the business. Boost your marketing efforts to build a pipeline of leads and sales with our automated digital marketing automation system with the small business owner in mind. Our custom packages run social, search, and SEO to help build your business the right way. Getting started is easy. The results will pay for themselves.

Getting started is easy...

1) Select a marketing package

Four packages to get started

2) Measure your results

Our multi-channel approach means real leads, sales, and results for your business.

3) Optimize your campaign monthly

Work with our team to improve campaign performance month over month

The 4 P's of Marketing - Product

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Thu, 31 Aug 2023 05:45:40 GMT

What every business owner needs to know about creating a marketing plan that works

If you've been a business owner for more than a couple of months, you've likely heard the 4 P's of marketing! Though the concept may be familiar, it's important to apply the principles and periodically come back to them to refine and calibrate your marketing mix. Originally developed in the 1950s - the idea of the 4 P's is that every business needs to develop a marketing plan around - product, price, place, and promotion.

Over the next few posts, we're going to be going through these 4 P's and how you can apply the principles to get results in your business.

First, let's start with your PRODUCT .

What is your product? What are you offering and who is it for? What makes your product different? What are you selling? But don't just think in terms of the widget, think in terms of what your customer really wants. What does your customer actually need and how does your product or service help them get what they want?

For example, let's imagine you're selling a specialty nutrition product. Hopefully, you know your audience, who will buy, and why people need your product. What you may not be thinking of is the bigger picture. The why. Why are people buying this product? In the example of a nutrition product, what you are really selling is a better life, a longer life, a healthier future, and a family legacy. This comes down to positioning your product as the way your customers meet their needs and obtain the life they've always wanted. You are the guide to your customer and your product is the solution to meet their need.

If you're selling a service, think about bundling what you offer into a package that you can repeatedly sell and scale your business. Advertise the results people will get after they hire you - a beautiful lawn, a better home, a place for family and friends to connect.

By positioning your product as the guide to solve your customer's problems, you are serving your clients and adding real value that will result in more sales.

"You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want." Zig Ziglar

What can Connected TV (CTV) ads do for your business?

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 15:23:18 GMT

Targeted TV & Ad Production

Best-in-class advertising & production services - Los Angeles

Connected TV (CTV) advertising provides highly customized ad options for your business. By CTV we mean video advertising on an internet-connected television, mobile device, or tablet, empowering your business to reach the right audience with your offer. Thanks to streaming platforms (Hulu, Peacock , Comcast, HBO Max, etc.), you can now run TV commercials only in the households that you choose. No more waste or expensive minimums.

Connected TV advertising has several advantages over traditional TV ads:

- Highly Targeted : Target households based on location, interest, and socio-demo attributes.

- Reduce Wasted Ad Spend : Small businesses can reduce wasted ad dollars by targeting only the demographic of your ideal customers.

- Expanded Reach : Deliver on more than 600+ premium streaming apps & channels.

- Measurable : Easily measure web traffic, app installs, and ROI from your ads by tracking key actions on your website.

At L2 Digital Marketing , we are all about helping you develop the right message and reach the right people through highly targeted advertising solutions across CTV and OTT advertising.

What about the production of the commercial?

We have your business advertising production covered as well! Our talented team of creative writers and videographers will work with your business to develop on brand messaging that reaches the right people in a way that inspires action and gets results. We'd be honored and humbled for the opportunity to work with you. Contact us today for a free consultation and quote.

The power of your website email opt-in

Sun, 11 Jun 2023 02:25:56 GMT

Best practices for an email opt-in offer that works

What happens when a visitor gets to your website? They might poke around for a minute, read your homepage, maybe watch a high-quality video , check your about page, and they're gone. Possibly never to be heard from again. Opportunity lost.

Or is it?

Enter the email opt-in.

What is an email opt-in offer ? An email opt-in offers your website visitors a valuable piece of content in exchange for giving you their email address. The key here is to create a must have value-added PDF, webinar, book chapter, or other valuable content in exchange for your website visitor's email address.

You need to market the piece of content and make it highly polished, very professional, and must have, can't miss content.

Make it easy for your visitor to give you their email address and sign up. Don't make it a page of questions. The more information you ask for the harder less people who will give you the information. I suggest name and email, nothing else.

Next you want to set up an email automation system so as soon as they sign up, your email provider (i.e. Mailchimp, Constant Contact ) kicks off and sends them the piece of content immediately in their inbox.

Now that you've provided a quality piece of well designed highly useful content for your email opt-in , you need to follow up with some automated email messages to keep your brand top of mind and help your website visitor to complete the purchase, make the call, set up the appointment, etc. More on your email automated series content later. For now let's make the case for why your business should have an email opt-in offer.

What can an email opt-in do for your business?

Solve a problem: Clients are visiting your website to solve a problem. Add value to the client by giving them valuable information that is useful to them. Help them solve the problem of knowing where to go for your particular product or service.

Develop credibility: Build rapport and establish your area of expertise. Showcase why you are the company that knows this area best and why your company should get the business.

Share your expertise: Your website visitors need to know that you are an authority with experience and success in the field your business represents. Your email opt-in lets people know just that.

Email automation: Set it and forget it. Your automated series works for you while you're sleeping, away on vacation, or busy running your company.

E-commerce conversions: With an email opt-in and automated email series, you're building long term relationships that will yield results over time. On average it takes 7 touches for a sale, think of your email automation series as an extension of your sales and marketing efforts.

What your website visitors care about most

Thu, 01 Jun 2023 18:29:25 GMT

Most of your website visitors are trying to solve a problem, so make your messaging customer centric

Prospective customers aren't coming to your website to read about your incredible history, awards, and accolades. Those are great and sure, mention them on your website, but prospective customers mostly care about how you can help them solve their problem. If the awards and accolades help communicate that, fine. But the truth is, prospective clients are coming to your website to see and research if you can solve their problem. They are thinking about themselves, their company, their issue and how you might be able to help them. If they come to your website and just hear about how great you are and don't see how you can help them, you just lost a prospective new client. They have a need, an issue, a problem, and/or maybe even a crisis, and they need someone to solve it. They're asking, "Is this company the one that can help me?" That's why your messaging must be clear, compelling, short and to the point . You have about 15-20 seconds before they are bouncing off of your website and you need a quick soundbite that's going to get their attention and show them that you're the company that can help them solve their issue. It could be pet grooming, orthodontics, banking, clothing, but the reason your visitor is on your website is because they have a need and want to know if you can solve it.

That's why before you even build your new website, we recommend our 7 part branding process to help you clarify your messaging, establishing your company voice, and identity , and then launch your new website and marketing campaigns .

Our 7 part marketing framework to developing your messaging around your target audience includes:

Branding

Who are you as a company and how we can differentiate you in the marketplace.

Buyer Personas

Who are you trying to reach and what does your audience need/care about.

Market Analysis

Who are your competitors and how to position your offering

Messaging Strategy

What is your message and will it resonate?

Company voice and tone

How will your target customer best receive your message, how and where will you communicate it?

Visual Identity

What are your current colors, logo, and identity communicating and is it consistent across the board?

Brand/Rebrand Analysis

Do you need a rebrand, new logo, colors, tag line?

Does your website have these four elements?

Mon, 22 May 2023 04:52:00 GMT

4 essential elements for a high converting, high performing website design

Before doing business with you, clients are going to visit your website. They want to see how you can solve their problem if you've helped others and how you're different from your competitors before making the call or the sale. Most business owners don't have the time to build a website while running their business. Yes, there are do-it-yourself options that can be a temporary fix, but they don't allow for the customization and professional quality businesses need to set themselves apart. They're cookie-cutter sites and are ineffective for establishing rapport with prospective clients or bringing in new business.

For these reasons, businesses turn to L2 Digital Marketing - your go-to provider for the best website design, search engine optimization , and advertising solutions.

How do you know if you need a website refresh? Here are a few things we look for when assessing websites for clients:

User-friendly website: You want a clean, crisp, easy-to-navigate website. Don't make people guess how to find out more about you. Links should be clear and navigation simple. Make it easy on your customer and track how people engage with your site through analytics. Make absolutely sure your website operates well on mobile devices.

Clear messaging: Don't try and be cute, be clear with what you offer and how people can work with you. Your one-liner across the banner of your website should tell people exactly what you do in 20 words or less. You want to take time to develop the content and copy of your website. We recommend our branding services to make your brand voice, imagery, logo, and tagline clear and optimized for the best results in the marketplace.

How you help your client: Don't make your website all about you. Talk about how you can solve your client's problems. That's what they care about more than anything. They aren't as concerned with your company history, founder, the year you were born, etc. People want to know how you solve their problems. Period. Communicate this clearly and show how you've helped others.

Strong call to action: What do you want website visitors to do? Call you? Fill out a form? Buy now? Make it clear and easy for your client to take the desired action. This could be a call to action button in the top right corner or a buy now button under your product. It could be a call button for mobile device users. Whatever the case, make it easy and make it obvious what you want your clients to do.

We could go on and on, but we'll stop here for now. Ready to get started on your website refresh? Contact us today to get started for as low as $499.

Build, manage, and amplify your reviews on Google

Mon, 20 Mar 2023 06:14:55 GMT

Generating reviews online can and will help your business grow and improve your search rankings

Generating online reviews needs to be a part of your strategy to win online. You have customers who love your product or service, yet no one knows because they haven't shared their experience on an online review platform . Most people think that these just happen, but did you know most people won't give you a review unless you ask them to. Plus, customers are more likely to do business with you based on positive feedback from other clients of yours. It's social proof, that other people are buying from you and like you, so they should buy from you too.

But what's the best way to generate reviews, and once someone leaves a review, what do you do or say next? Great question and glad you asked. It's called reputation management and it's a service that digital marketing companies like L2 Digital Marketing in Los Angeles offer your business to develop your online business. Our reputation management solution helps you do a few things:

1) Build your reputation online with a steady stream of reviews

2) Rank higher in local search and "near me" searches

3) Attract more customers with positive feedback

4) Gather reviews on auto-pilot - we do the heavy lifting and gather reviews through text and email from your current customers.

So what are you waiting for? Get started generating reviews and watch your business grow.

Transitioning to Google Analytics 4 (GA4)

Sun, 19 Mar 2023 06:12:41 GMT

Is your e-commerce store or website ready for Google Analytics 4?

As you may have heard, Google is migrating to their new Google Analytics 4 (GA4) platform effective July 1, 2023. Upon this date, Standard Universal Analytics properties will stop working, while Universal Analytics 360 properties will sunset on July 1, 2024. Google's developed a step by step guide so you know what your site needs. If you're not using Analytics, we can help get you set up. We recommend doing so sooner than later. If you are using analytics and are all set, Google has provided a step by step guide so that you can migrate and customize at your own pace, or use the Setup Assistant for a more automated experience.

Benefits of GA4 according to Google include:

Collects both website and app data to better understand the customer journey
Uses event-based data instead of session-based
Includes privacy controls such as cookie less measurement, and behavioral and conversion modeling
Predictive capabilities offer guidance without complex models
Direct integrations to media platforms help drive actions on your website or app

There are a couple of options to take advantage of this new offering:

Option 1: If you don't currently have analytics installed, get started by installing Google Analytics on your current site.

Option 2: If you have Universal Analytics set up, you need to upgrade your site.

Option 3: Work with a webmaster like L2 Digital Marketing in Los Angeles to install Google Analytics 4 to a website builder platform or CMS

Option 4: Do nothing and keep guessing what is working and isn't (not recommended). :)

Are you using analytics on your website and how is the data generated helping your business? Would love to hear from you?

How much is a bad website experience costing you?

Sun, 19 Mar 2023 05:54:17 GMT

Don't leave business on the table because of a poor website experience

Many business owners look at the cost of a high quality website and wonder if it's worth the investment. My response is, how much is a poor website costing you? Looking at the cost of developing a website isn't the place to start. Looking at what's at stake if you lose business to competitors is the right way to look at web design costs. A poor website experience means your potential clients are going to bounce off your site, lose engagement, lose interest, and ultimately lose business. So let me ask again, how much is a bad website experience costing you every month, every week, every day?

Suffice it to say, your decision to hold off on the new website because of other costs, may be costing you the cost of the website many times over.

Not sure if you really need a website, here are a few signs that it's time for an upgrade:

1) Low sales. If you're involved in e-commerce , sales is what it's all about.

2) Poor engagement. Utilize Google Analytics to determine how long a visitor is staying on your site, where they bounce, and if they're taking the desired action on your site. If your Analytics reports reveal less than stellar engagement, you need to make some changes.

3) Outdated content. Fresh content that speaks to your customer's pain point is necessary for a stellar user experience.

4) Low quality photography. Updated photography on your site goes a long way.

Is investing in SEO right for your local business?

Sat, 18 Mar 2023 07:17:49 GMT

Local SEO can help your business be discovered online

Where do people go to find businesses like yours? Well, 25 years ago there was a phonebook. Today, there's Google search. Most people begin with a Google search . Chances are if your business doesn't populate the first page of Google, your competitors are getting the business, not you.

So how much is poor search engine ranking costing your business?

$100s, $1,000s, $10,000s a month or even more? It's true, search engine optimization is more important than ever. Yet, many business owners are wary of investing in the process, because it can take months to see the ROI. We want results and we want them now or pull the plug right? Wrong. We advise our clients to invest in SEO as a long term strategy , while in the short term, couple your SEO campaign with paid search ads . These two work together like a 1-2 punch in boxing. It's a strategy that will land you new business, provided of course you have a quality landing page and website that is focused on conversion.

The truth is there are companies who sell SEO but don't deliver a quality product or experience. SEO is more than a blog, it's a strategy that encompasses your whole website and industry. Analyzing your industry, competitors, keyword difficulty ranking.

If you're on the fence about SEO, here are a few things to consider:

1) Hire a digital marketing firm that is local to you.

2) Ask for a monthly SEO report at the beginning and end of the month to know exactly what was accomplished.

3) Don't expect immediate results, give it a good 6-12 months to start seeing improvements.

4) In addition to running SEO on your website , look at ways to improve your ranking with reviews and recommendations from existing clients.

5) Develop partnerships with other businesses and ask for links back to your website.

6) Content is key.

Website developers in Los Angeles

Sat, 18 Mar 2023 02:07:53 GMT

Find the right website designers in Los Angeles, California near you

Developing your company's website is an exciting project. Whether you're a brand new business or have been established for generations, creating a new website is an important business decision and can communicate your brand and value to the world! Here are a few things to consider:

1) Messaging . Don't make your website all about you. Talk about the problems you solve for your clients. You're the guide, the customer is the hero, and you're inviting them into a story that solves their problem, helps them win and obtain what they need. Clarity is key.

2) Design . Communication is not all verbal and not all text, either. A well designed and developed website communicates organization and value to your website visitors and prospective customers. Aesthetic matters. Know who your audience is and communicate to them with words, images , video and colors that resonate.

3) Call to action. What do you want someone to do after visiting your website ? Make it clear and repeat it so the message gets across.

4) Lead funnel. If a visitor to your website doesn't make a purchase or convert on the first visit, give them an opportunity to opt-in to an email list so you can follow up with value-added messaging. Provide something of value in exchange for an email address. A download. A webinar. A video series.

5) Your website alone is not enough. You need a plan to get people to your website. We recommend paid ads, email marketing, and search engine optimization (SEO). Develop a marketing plan that is multi-faceted so your message reaches the right people consistently and repeatedly.

The high cost of not ranking on Google search

Mon, 27 Feb 2023 05:14:51 GMT

How much is poor search engine ranking costing your business?

The primary way most people discover your business is through online search.

Yes, social media is growing and is influential for certain types of products and brands. However, for most local service based businesses, online search on Google is the number one go to opportunity to grow your business online. Yet, most businesses are not investing in a robust SEO program that actually drives traffic to their business website . Most businesses are leaving it up to chance that someone will stumble upon their website and perhaps give them a call. At L2 Digital Marketing, we help you create a website and SEO combination that gets results so your business grows. With SEO there are proven strategies and tactics that work. Yet, most businesses aren't making the investment in SEO to grow their business. If you want the same results as you've always gotten keep doing what you've always done. If you're serious about growing your business online, let's talk.

Most business want a great looking website and they're right. A great website with excellent design and well written copy is essential. But how are people going to find your website, if you're not showing up in Google search results for your industry? You need to be on page one or you're not even in the game. Yes, you can cold-call. You can email. You can hand out business cards at networking events. Those are good and valid ways to drive exposure to your website. But at the point of purchase when someone is ready to buy and they go online and type for "insert your business in Los Angeles or near me" and you're no where to be found, chances are they will go with someone else.

You're losing business every day if you're not ranking on page one of Google search results for your local market.

Stop losing business, start an SEO campaign with L2 Digital Marketing and watch your keyword strategy produce results for your business. We make it easy and affordable. Plus, we're offering a website with SEO campaign for just $299 per month - one year contract required. Get started today.

Best Practices for Developing a Website that Converts

Tue, 24 Jan 2023 16:47:35 GMT

Most businesses build their website once and it sits stagnant for the next 5 years, underperforming and costing you money. At L2 Digital Marketing we help you build a website that converts so that you get more leads and your business grows. Isn’t that what you built it for in the first place?

Most businesses build their website once and it sits stagnant for the next 5 years, underperforming and costing you money. At L2 Digital Marketing we help you build a website that converts so that you get more leads and your business grows. Isn’t that what you built it for in the first place?

Your website can and should be your business’s best asset. But most businesses fail to execute on a website that actually works. Your website is the centerpiece of your marketing plan and the place you direct people to learn more about your business.

In order to make the most of your investment, we recommend a few must have elements in every successful website.

1) First, you want a clear call to action in the header of your website and in the hero image portion of your website. Be crystal clear about what you want visitors to do when they get to your website. The call to action should be represented by a button link directing the traffic to your product to purchase, contact form, lead form, or download. Make the button a different color so it stands out and gets the attention of the website visitor.

2) Second, make sure you have a clear message on the top fold of your website. Don’t try and be overly cute or clever at the expense of being clear. Make it plain what you do and what you offer. Don’t make the visitor think too much or you’ll lose them. Your business is the guide, serving your client and helping them on their journey.

3) Third, develop a value proposition. This should be a one-two line elevator pitch about how you solve customer problems. Why should people do business with you? Here’s an example from L2 Digital Marketing: “Most business owners are wasting money on marketing. L2 Digital Marketing helps you clarify your message and create campaigns that get the results you want so your business grows. Schedule a call today.” Utilize this on all your marketing materials and on your home page.

4) Fourth, let the visitor know you understand their pain and how you solve their problem. The visitor is not on your site to hear about how you’ve been in business for 60 years and know the history of how your grandfather started the company and then passed it to your uncle who didn’t have kids so you were the next in line to inherit the helm of your business. No one really cares about that except maybe your mother! Seriously though, you have a few seconds to capture your website visitor's attention, don’t waste it. Show and tell your potential client that you understand their problem and you can help them.

5) Now that you’ve shown your client you can solve their problem, you want to build your credibility by sharing stories of satisfied clients who have experienced the best of what you offer. If you’re a barber, share before and after pictures. A home builder can share pictures of his completed work and how the customer was happy and elated with the timely and professional work. This builds trust and establishes that you not only understand their problem but you’ve been successful in the past helping others just like them.

6) Lastly, you want to have an opt-in section of the website where you invite visitors to exchange their email address in exchange for something free - a PDF, a video series, a checklist - a digital product you create that is a lead magnate. You want to think this through and do it right though. For example if you’re in the roofing business, you could share your expertise and help guide your clients to do business with you with a PDF titled, 5 ways to know your roof needs to be replaced. Then outline the signs of roof wear and tear and guide your client to do business with you.

7) Video. Bring it all together with a high quality video on your home page not just talking about your company, but talking about how you solve your customer's problems. That will keep them coming back time and again.

Don’t let your website sit stagnant, underperforming and costing you money. Get started building a website that converts so that you get more leads and your business grows.

Click here to view our website packages.

Growing your business with video

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Tue, 06 Sep 2022 05:17:40 GMT

The growth of online video is exploding and for a good reason. It's hands down the best storytelling medium for businesses.

The growth of online video is exploding and for a good reason. There is no better storytelling platform than video to build your brand, connect with customers or clients, and convert visitors into customers.

Building a video strategy into your marketing plan is a must. Businesses need to tell their story and differentiate themselves in the marketplace and video is quickly becoming the medium of choice. But where do you start?

First, determine the type of video to produce. Depending on your business model and the type of products or services you bring to market you’ll want to choose one, some, or even all of the following formats for use in marketing to different audiences. Here are a few types of video

Storytelling Video.

Storytelling videos connect your brand or company with potential customers. Usually done by the company founder or spokesperson, these videos are heartfelt, relating the story of the company’s founding to an audience. By sharing the mission, vision, and values of the company.

Example: Dollar Shave Club & Bite

Explainer video

Explainer videos break down your company’s products or services into short digestible segments to quickly and succinctly show your product or service. Think of an elevator pitch in video format. Using text, b-roll, and photography overlayed with music, this is the simplest way to get started with video. These can be lower budget, and combine different media into a polished piece that help you explain what’s unique about your business and why customer’s should care. Make it simple, clear, and to the point.

Animated video

Animated videos are one of the most popular formats for business video. Often times combined with explainer videos, these are another way to quickly explain what your product or service does in a fast digestible and creative way. Often more entertaining than a talking head, and a way to make something as boring as banking, appear in vogue, animated videos are as entertaining and creative as they are helpful and attractive. Include a call to action, and connect your video to a special offer.

Product Feature Video

Focusing on one specific part of your business, product features highlight features and benefits of your product or service. Product features help with the positioning of your brand, company, or service in the marketplace by demonstrating what sets your product apart from competitors. Showcasing your product, giving 360 degrees views, cost and benefit analysis, give your company the edge with feature videos.

How to v ideo

How to videos are easy to make and are demonstrable in nature to show people how to use your product or solution. Different than explainer videos, how to videos are for do-it-yourself products or services. Think tools or products that need instruction or directions to use. Video is the simplest and more modern way to give instructions.

Determining the right video format is a big decision. Working with a marketing firm like ours can help guide you through the process and create the right script to reach the right people with the right message .

Once you determine the type of video that is going to speak best to the audience and represent your product or service, you need to develop a distribution strategy. That’s what we’ll talk about in our next post.

Social media marketing made simple

Tue, 23 Aug 2022 04:59:40 GMT

Small business social media strategy for organic and paid social media

As a business owner, social media is a medium you can't ignore. Yet, it can be really time-consuming and you may wonder, what is the ROI of my efforts? If you're like most businesses, you don't have a set schedule, you just post when you "feel inspired" and even then you're not sure what to post about, plus only a handful of people even see it. Is it even worth it?

Chances are the audience you are trying to reach is on one social platform or another, so being active on the right platform can provide your business ROI. At the same time, you can't spend all your time or attention on it either. That's why we suggest a well thought out and documented social strategy. Having a plan will relieve stress, be consistent with your brand, and engage your target audience. Here are a few keys we think about when designing a plan for our advertising clients:

1) Determine what platforms your ideal clients may be on.

B2B - LinkedIn

Teen - TikTok

25-40 - Instagram

40-55 - Facebook

2) Determine how much content you can and will create consistently . Will you do this in house, or hire an outside social media firm to do it for you?

3) Consistent communication with on brand messaging and engaging content is key. Don't just post to post, think it through and create high quality content. Good content once a week is better than daily but shallow posts.

4) Creating a regular schedule of content helps limit the amount of time you are spending on social strategy . Because your time is money, you need to stay disciplined and on task. Social media can be a time trap so beware.

5) Don't just promote your product or service, add value to your audience by identifying your clients pain points and solving their problems or appeal to their interests, desires, dreams, etc. As you solve their problems with value added content and information, you're building trust and developing your brand.

6) Determining your medium. Video continues to grow and has become the medium of choice as YouTube, TikTok and, Instagram Reels competes for the attention of the masses. Developing video and cutting and splicing the content across platforms is the future.

7) Paid strategy. To be effective on social, you need to pay to play. Develop a budget to promote posts and run paid ads to amplify your reach and build your business.

8) Organic social is about engagement and brand building, so set your expectations. Investing in organic social isn't necessarily going to drive conversions and sales, it's going to help people become aware of your company. Having an active social presence adds credibility and positioning of your company in the marketplace.

9) Utilize tools like Facebook shopping to increase sales channels for e-commerce products.

Hope this was helpful, as always reach out here if we can help you develop your strategy, utilize social posting tools, and execute on your businesses social strategy .

What type of advertising is right for my business?

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Tue, 16 Aug 2022 07:39:01 GMT

9 considerations for your marketing campaign design

Many business owners and marketing managers struggle with knowing the best way to invest in advertising. After all, every dollar for new or existing business matters. No one wants to see their hard-earned money squandered or wasted on advertising that is ineffective. That's why knowing the right places to reach your audience is so important. To maximize your dollars set aside for marketing (we recommend around10% of revenue), we recommend a couple of steps before you just start throwing ads up and hoping it sticks.

1) Know who you are.

You can't be everything to everyone and let's face it you're not the best at everything. You need to know your strengths as a company, product, or service and focus on doing what you do best. This is going to set you apart in the marketplace and build trust between you and your potential customers. Knowing who you are helps you build an authentic brand , true to your vision and values, and attracts clients with a similar values. By clearly articulating who you are and your unique value proposition , your business is going to grow and when you do advertise, your message will come across as clear and authentic.

2) Know who your customers are.

Once you know who you are, and what you do best, you'll better be able to know who you are trying to reach. We recommend creating buyer personas who represent your ideal customer . What age are they, what do they like, what do they do for a living, and how much income do they have? Defining some of these basic characteristics will help you in crafting content and copy that speaks to their needs and desires.

3) Messaging, messaging, messaging.

Before throwing up ads, lay out what message you want your customer to hear and remember. Keep in mind, that people are hearing hundreds of marketing messages across TV, radio, social, news, and more every day. You need to be thoughtful and intentional about crafting the right message that cuts through the clutter and resonates with your audience.

4) Determine the best places to reach your customers.

Now that you've defined who you are, who your customers are, and the message you want to get across that will distinguish you in the marketplace, it's time to determine through research and best practices, where your customer spend their time. Do they watch TV? If so, what programs? If you're a home and garden product or service, buying targeted TV ads on HGTV may make sense. However, if you're selling coffee to millennials, perhaps a social media platform may be the best way to reach this demographic.

5) Multiple touch points

Remember, it takes on average at least seven touches before the average person takes notice of who you are. Just because someone sees your ad once, doesn't necessarily mean they are immediately going to convert. Think of your marketing efforts in 4 phases: Awareness, consideration, intent, and decision. Awareness could include blogging and educating, maybe a seminar, perhaps a digital billboard, or targeted TV. Consideration may include white papers, consistent email, high-quality web content, and video creation. Intent could include a strong landing page with a call to action. The decision phase includes having a strong e-commerce site or retail location that makes it easy for a client to purchase.

6) Media Mix

Since you don't know what platform is going to bring the biggest return on investment for your marketing dollars , we recommend a media mix. This could include social, email, SEO, SEM, TV, and more because it takes multiple touches to convert a client. Additionally, with the four phases of marketing, we discussed, each channel of marketing can play a different role in getting your customer to the decision point of purchase. This is why the first five steps we've discussed in this post so far are important in getting us to this place because once you know you, your audience and your messaging, consistent multi-channel marketing will bring your clients to the place of conversion.

7) Long-term play

After 30 days of ads, don't shut everything down because you're not getting the results you want. Instead, test multiple variations of your ads, adjust the copy, adjust your images, and video, and test new options.

8) Optimize

Once you determine what ad variation is performing best, invest in it and focus on repeat exposure for your brand leading clients to make a decision that your brand, product, or service is superior to your competitors.

9) Repeat.

Thoughts? Would love to hear from you. As always drop us a note here and let us know what is and isn't working in your company's marketing efforts.

Running SEO on your website

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Thu, 19 May 2022 00:37:25 GMT

Determining the right SEO strategy for your business

SEO or search engine optimization helps companies like yours get found online. After investing in creating the perfect website for your business or brand , it's not going to do much good if no one can find you amongst the millions of other websites online. Actually there are over 1.6 billion websites, but only around 15% are active today , according to webtribunal.net. Needless to say, people aren't going to find you unless you run SEO on your website, period. There are a couple of options when it comes to designing the right campaign for your business.

The importance of SEO

93% of online experiences begin with a search engine

75% of people never scroll past the first page of search engines.

81% of people perform some type of online research before making a large purchase.

Purpose of SEO

SEO campaigns are designed to get your website ranked high in the Local Maps and Organic section of Google, Yahoo!, & Bing. The goal for every campaign is to identify high value keywords that result in new business for your company. Since most people start the process to purchase with a Google search, we work to get your website on the first page results so you increase your chances of winning the business.

The Process of SEO

Our SEO campaigns include ongoing optimization for keyword phrases through various search engine friendly on page and off page agile techniques. This may include meta descriptions in your website. The header tags, the image tags, and title tags to work a keyword dense strategy into your website so search engines recognize you as an authority in this area. Because these things take time, we always suggest running SEO campaigns for 12 months to see optimal results.

The Right SEO Techniques

Depending on the business focus, local competition, the quality of the existing site etc., we will pull from many possible tactics and put only those tactics that are deemed beneficial for the individual customer into play.

Techniques include improving your website performance, developing a blog, adding pages and content, citations from other websites and more.

Local or national SEO

Depending on your business you need to determine whether you want to rank on a national level for SEO or a local level. If you're business is dry cleaning focused on your home town, local will work fine. If you have stores around the country and want to rank across the nation for dry cleaning, a national campaign makes sense.

SEO Action

Running SEO is not an option, doing it right is incredibly important. We offer basic and advanced packages depending on your business needs.

Marketing Decisions

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Sat, 07 May 2022 05:52:47 GMT

6 reason why hiring a marketing company for your business or non-profit makes sense

Making the decision to outsource your marketing or enhance your existing efforts with an outside marketing company is an important one. You want to make sure you're making the right decision, that you're a good steward of your finances, and that you produce an ROI. Setting your company up for long-term success is paramount. As you consider your options and plan for growth, here are a few reasons why choosing L2 Digital Marketing is a wise choice to help your business succeed online:

Experience

As an experienced marketing agency with 15+ years in marketing and advertising, L2 Digital brings a breadth of experience to the table in designing effective, integrated marketing campaigns.

Team

Our team of specialists in the various disciplines of digital marketing including SEO , social media, pay-per-click, PR, and website development work with you to position your campaigns and set them up for success.

Scale

We've developed a proven, repeatable, and predictable process to grow your business with effective marketing. We've done it for hundreds of clients, so why not you?

Automation

Our campaigns automate the ad buying and bidding process to make the most of your ad dollars while eliminating the day-to-day management of the spend from your team to ours so you can focus on operating the business.

Tools

We provide tools and daily, weekly, or monthly marketing reporting and analysis to make managing your marketing campaigns easier than ever.

Transparent

Our support teams make understanding your campaign spend easily accessible so you can focus on growing your business. Weekly or monthly reporting and an evergreen reporting dashboard at your fingertips.

How to make your website a brand and business building asset

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Tue, 22 Feb 2022 21:47:37 GMT

3 considerations when launching a new website

Whether you’re just starting a new business or have been established for quite some time, building the right website to represent your business is an important decision every business owner needs to make. In today’s competitive marketplace, distinguishing your business from the rest of the crowd starts with your website.

Here are 3 things to consider as you embark on a website redesign or website launch.

Define success
What does online success look like? It could be eCommerce , appointments, contacts, blog readers, or email subscribers. Set a goal and clearly communicate your call to action (CTA) on your website.

Branding
Your website is one of the most visible expressions of who you are as a company. Taking the time to brand your company and website can pay returns for years to come. Branding includes communicating your mission, vision, & values, colors, typeface, and content to reach your target audience. Last but not least is your logo & photography , these important elements are an essential part of your company's identity and differentiation.

Attract & Direct Customers
Lastly, you need a plan to attract and direct people to your website. Building it and they will come may work for baseball movies, but it's not the right strategy for your website . Build it and promote it is. Starting with SEO and moving to social, keyword ads, display, and email marketing can help you connect with the right people looking for your products and services if it's done correctly.

We'd love to work with you to create a successful website and marketing strategy to grow your business. Set up an appointment on our schedule today.

Should you outsource your marketing department?

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Thu, 17 Feb 2022 01:23:47 GMT

Outsourcing your marketing frees up time and relieves stress from small business owners & entrepreneurs.

Outsourcing your marketing department can be a huge weight off of any small business person's shoulders. The more you focus on your craft - whether that's law, medicine, construction, HVAC, retail, or e-commerce the better product and service your customers will experience. Getting tied down performing marketing duties or managing a marketing team can be a lot of work and time spent.

Yes, you could hire a full-time or part-time employee but then you're limited by that employee's strengths and weaknesses. You're looking at spending at least $50k plus the cost of the tools, services, ads, and software you need to run your marketing department . At least $100,000 a year when it's all said and done.

Enter, L2 Digital Marketing as your outsourced marketing partner.

Full service, creative, marketing service serving as your outsourced marketing department.
Proven tactics to get your business found and noticed online.
Detailed spend level reporting.
Backed by media behemoth Hearst Communications.
A team of dedicated website designers and SEO experts to help your business rank in local and national search.
We charge a % of your overall ad spend - saving you time so we can grow together.
$500 per month gets you the essentials needed to grow your business.

That's why we've designed our digital marketing toolkit with essential marketing tools and services to save business owners time, money, and expertise.

Marketing Built By Small Business Owners For Small Business Owners

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Mon, 07 Feb 2022 04:44:35 GMT

Our Marketing Toolkits Are Built For Small Businesses

Studies estimate that the average adult makes close to 35,000 decisions every single day. For small business owners, we think that number might be even higher! We do know for certain that the pressures small business people face are high and intense, every single day. So when it comes to your marketing, finding the right partner is one of those 35,000 decisions that you need not make lightly. That's why we've designed our small business marketing toolkit services with monthly monitoring, reporting, and full transparency so you can feel confident that this extremely important decision is the right one. As a full service marketing company and partner with Hearst Media Services, you can feel confident in choosing L2 Digital for your company's marketing services. Our combined experiences spans thousands of small businesses and a track record of success across multiple industries. Whether you're in law, construction, plumbing, finance, home services, real estate, medical, dental, retail, or any combination, we have solutions designed to grow your business's bottom line.

We've done it for thousands of other companies, so why not yours as well? You'll save time and money while trusting our team of certified digital marketing professionals with what we're best at so you can focus on doing what you do best.

What Other Companies Are Saying

But don't just take our word for it check out a couple of our company reviews:

Joanna said, "Kyle and his team at L2 Digital Marketing were phenomenal to work with! Kyle was extremely responsive and patient with my questions and requests, and the level of customer service was beyond exceptional. They designed a beautiful website for my practice that is user-friendly and aesthetically-pleasing while never straying from my vision for the project. The turnaround time was extraordinary as well, and the communication with me each step of the way was stellar. I am so happy to have been introduced to Kyle and his team. I highly recommend them!"

Bruce from I Love Events had this to say, "I highly recommend Kyle and his team for a superior website experience."

If you're a small business who wants to automate their marketing services , our small business marketing toolkit could be exactly what your company needs. Go ahead and trust our company - we have an excellent reputation and will work our hardest to produce business growth. Plus, you're backed by our guarantee:

Our Quality Digital Marketing Services Guarantee

As a company, we consistently strive to perform at the highest level within our industry. We will not offer a product or service that we ourselves would not be 100% happy with and stand behind. Our promise to you is to ensure that you are satisfied with the products that are being fulfilled and in turn building a long standing relationship together.

So whether your needing a new website design , or want to execute successful SEO , Social , SEM , Email , campaigns L2 Digital Marketing in Pasadena has got you covered.

Branding - Purpose, Mission, Vision, Values

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Mon, 20 Dec 2021 07:01:55 GMT

Branding 101: Creating your purpose, mission, vision, and values statement for your company

Branding is more than coming up with a cool name for your business, picking colors and finding the right font. Names, colors, and fonts are certainly important, but they are only part of a process of defining, refining and establishing your company brand. In a crowded marketplace with millions of ideas, companies, and brands vying for your customer’s attention, the importance of branding may be more essential now than ever! Investing in your company’s branding and doing it right can help set your company, product, or service apart from your competitors and establish you as a leader in your industry.

When starting the process of branding or re-branding your company or product, we recommend exploring and clearly defining the core of who you are as a company before you pick a name, create a logo, or choose colors or fonts. Some branding agencies may call it your brand heart, brand essence, brand core, or your company’s "why". Whatever term you prefer, the concepts are important because it essentially lays the foundation for future success, attracts the right employees and customers to do business with you, and guides your strategy and business communications both internally and externally. Do I have your attention yet? I hope so, let’s dive in.

Developing your brand core starts with defining your company’s purpose - why do you exist/what you are here for. Your brand’s purpose has the power to motivate employees, attract top talent, and grow your company from a startup to a success story. You need an overarching purpose that is bigger than you or any one person. People want to be a part of an organization or business making a difference and contributing to a better future for their employees and communities and even the world. Take for example these top brands and how they define their company purpose:

Chobani - “To make better food for more people”

Ikea - “to create a better everyday life for the many people”

Lego - “To inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow”

Forbes says it like this: "A good purpose statement needs to be aspirational but not vague. It needs to be precise but not limiting, allowing room for a company to grow."

Don't Panic says it like this, "A brand purpose is essentially a brand's reason for being beyond making money... To clarify this, a brand purpose is about product-led initiatives which strive to simultaneously achieve business and benefit society."

Vision
Once you've given thought to documenting your purpose statement, understanding and sharing a vision for the future - what you want to create together is the next step. This is the big hairy audacious goal you have for your company - the big picture grandiose problem you want to solve or future you want to create. Hubspot defines a vision statement as, “a brand looking toward the future and saying what it hopes to achieve through its mission statement. This is more conceptual, as it’s a glimpse into what the brand can become in the eyes of the consumer and the value it will bring in longevity.”

Here are some examples:

Nike - “Bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world. (*If you have a body, you are an athlete.)”

McDonald’s - “To be the best quick service restaurant experience. Being the best means providing outstanding quality, service, cleanliness and value, so that we make every customer in every restaurant smile.”
Amazon - “We strive to offer our customers the lowest possible prices, the best available selection and the utmost convenience.”

Mission
Your mission statement puts legs to your vision and shares how you will create the future and fulfill the vision you’ve developed. Hubspot says it like this, "Mission statements describe the current purpose a company serves. The company's function, target audience, and key offerings are elements that are often mentioned in a mission statement."

Here are some examples,

Patagonia : We’re in business to save our home planet.

American Express : Become essential to our customers by providing differentiated products and services to help them achieve their aspirations.

Warby Parker : To offer designer eye wear at a revolutionary price while leading the way for socially conscious businesses.

Values

Lastly, your values - these are the principles and beliefs that guide your behavior as a company. The truth is these are strong ideals to live up to, but delivering on your commitment builds brand equity, company value, attracts the right people, and guides your company into the future so that even if the founder is no longer running the company, you have the recipe and vision for a successful company for generations to come. Combining these elements into your brand strategy and doing it consistently creates brand trust and people do business with brands and companies they like and trust.

Here are a couple examples of company values-

Hyatt Hotels

We Care For People So They Can Be Their Best:

Caring For Our Communities:

We Embrace Everyone
BigCommerce

Customers first

Team on a mission

Think big

Make a difference every day

Column Five says it like this, “to build a strong brand, you have to deliver a positive and consistent emotional experience. The more you do this, the more people come to rely on you and, most importantly, trust you. That trust is why we all return to our favorite brands over and over.”

To recap step one in the branding or re-branding process:

Purpose: Why your company exists outside of making money - what overarching goals or problems are you trying to achieve?
Vision: What's your big hairy audacious goal for the future?
Mission: How will you accomplish the vision and purpose for your company?
Values: What principles will you follow to implement your mission, vision, and purpose?

Next we’ll look at your Brand Messaging - how you talk about your brand and the message you want to communicate.

This year - don't fail to plan your marketing efforts and spend

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 23:34:18 GMT

FREE: 2022 Marketing Plan Audit

Now is the time to develop your 2022 marketing plan. We can help.

No one plans to fail, but sometimes we fail to plan. This year, let's get it right!

We're helping small businesses and non-profits create and execute the right marketing plan to maximize their marketing dollars. We're offering a free marketing plan audit for your business.

If you have a plan, we'll carefully review it and make recommendations based on what we see working in your industry, and give you our honest feedback absolutely free! No strings attached.

If you don't have a plan, we'll come back with some recommendations and a budget to make the best use of your marketing dollars in 2022. After the audit, if you'd like additional help, we'll work with you to develop a strategic marketing plan and a budget that you can use to maximize your sales and growth this new year.

Ready to get started?

The ultimate guide to starting your own business in Los Angeles and beyond…

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 16:51:43 GMT

Follow these steps for a successful business launch

Starting your own business is something that needs a lot of thought, planning, and strategy. What's going to set you apart? What makes your business unique? Who are your target customers? What are their current pain points and what is the need in the marketplace? What's your competitive advantage?

These questions can help you get started in planning your business launch. As you think and plan for your new business, there are a few practical things you can do once you make the decision to start a new business. We’ll go through each of the steps briefly to give you a general overview of the steps needed to launch your business. As always, drop us a line here to talk in more detail about any or all of the following.

Creating a Business Plan

First, you need to create a business plan. The process of creating a business plan for your new company will help you determine the market for your business, service, product, value offering, the amount of money you will need, the role of each founder of your company, and how you will execute on your idea. Taking the time to put your thoughts and strategy on paper will help guide you. It's also a great way to share your idea with potential customers and potential investors. There are so many free resources to help you develop a business plan including organizations like business mentoring from SCORE which offers free business plan workshops, as well as coaching and mentoring. Additionally, the county and state you live in likely offers assistance in forming a business plan.

Your business plan should consist of the following:

Executive Summary.
Business Description.
Market Analysis.
Organization and Management Structure.
Sales Strategies.
Funding.
Financial Projections.

Brand Identity

Once you’ve taken the time to create a business plan, you want to determine your company or brand identity. This means understanding who you are and setting the culture, mission, vision, and values for hour new company. Even if you’re a one man shop, your mission, vision, and values will help you attract the right people to work for you and the right customers to your business. It may seem arbitrary at first, but this work on the front end will pay dividends down the road for you as you connect with customers.

In addition to the brand identity work you want to take time defining your voice and tone especially in this age of social media. Defining how you will speak to your customers can set your business or brand apart from your competition. For example, if you are an outdoor gear e-trailer, you may want to define your voice and tone as adventurous and exploring. You may want to create a social media strategy that explores our National Parks system and offers reviews and recommendations for where to explore and must see spaces. Your website content should be designed and written in this way with your customer’s age, demographics, and interests in mind. More on this later.

Moving on to developing your tag line, value proposition and messaging. This will become really important work as we dive further into your marketing plan.This work will help distinguish your brand from the thousands of other voices and ads competing for your customer’s attention in a noisy and busy marketplace.

Value Proposition & Tagline

Your tag line is a quick, catchy phrase that defines what your business is all about in a short, memorable way. Your value proposition defines what your business uniquely offers your clients and should provide compelling language for why your customer should consider doing business with you over your competitors. Typically, your value proposition should be front and center on your website and potentially the first thing customer sees on your website, after your logo and tagline. Give this some thought, and even hire a company like ours to help package your message in a way that connects with your audience in a memorable way.

Messaging

Messaging is really how you speak to your customers and what message you want them to remember. You need to be creative and strategic here because your message should be repeated through various channels and in different ways. Remember it can take up to 7 times for a customer to remember who you are and give your ad or message a thought. The average person is seeing thousands of ads and messages a day, so what’s going to make you stand out?

In terms of the branding work, the last step will is visual identity. Defining your company with a solid logo, typography, color, images, and photography is more important than ever. Investing in this work will set your company apart and distinguish you from your competitors in the marketplace. Hiring a branding company like L2 Digital on the front end will be an investment in your future success as you go to market.

Business Formation & Structure

Next, you need to decide on the legal structure for your business. Are you going to be a sole proprietor, an LLC, a C-corp, S-corp, partnership, or otherwise. There are a number of things you want to consider in making this decision and consulting with an accountant and/or an attorney is something I would recommend. There are certain tax advantages to structures and different costs associated with the formation of each of the types of business formations. There are considerations for whether you are personally liable in your business as with a sole-proprietorship or if you are forming a corporation or LLC which protects the business owners from personal liability as in the case of a lawsuit, judgment, etc. In a corporation you can have multiple owners of the company, can issue private shares of your company to multiple stockholders or investors. LLCs require less paperwork and are typically easier to form, but there are ongoing costs to maintain and fees depending on your state. A corporation has even more requirements, including a board and certain meeting requirements throughout the year.

Once you determine the right structure for the new business you want to file the correct paperwork and pay the correct fees.You may need to file for a business license in the county you will do business in. In certain jurisdictions including Los Angeles, you’re also required to issue the announcement publicly in general purpose newspapers.

Competitive Payment Processing Rates

Next, you need to think about how will you receive payments from your customers? If you will be accepting credit cards, you will also need a merchant account to accept credit card payments. Here you have plenty of options as well. Depending on the volume of sales you expect to receive via credit card, will impact your decision in this area. If you’re planning to do $1,000 or under per month in credit card sales, a simple solution like Square will work. Once you get the volume of credit card sales, I recommend setting up an account with our processor of choice, CardConnect by Fiserv (formerly First Data) . As an authorized partner with Fiserv, our company L2 Digital can offer you really aggressive rates, far surpassing companies like Square and saving you potentially hundreds of dollars per month. The other benefit to CardConnect is that you can take in-person payment for retail businesses through its direct integration with Clover hardware. You can also create invoices for services and virtual businesses, and last but certainly not least, CardConnect integrates to provide leading e-commerce solutions for direct payment on your website so you can scale and grow your business online.

Creating a Marketing Plan

Once you determine how you will take payments, and obtain the most competitive credit card processing rates possible, you need to invest the time, energy, and possibly money if you hire an outside consultant in creating a marketing plan to acquire the customers to create the revenue that grows your business. In our last digital marketing trends post , we talked about the essential elements that every marketing plan needs. I recommend reading that post thoroughly and then taking time to focus on building out your marketing plan. Allocating the right resources to the right channels and developing the right messaging to reach your target market has never been more important. It's easier than ever to run ads for your business on digital channels which means there is also more competition and more messaging than ever competing for the time and attention of your potential customers. That's why getting this right is so important.

When you think of creating a marketing plan think of the following P words:

Product
Price
Promotion
Place
People
Process, and
Physical evidence

Product - what's your offering.

Price - what are you going to charge.

Promotion - how will people hear about it.

Place - where will you offer your product or service.

People - who's on your team.

Process - how will you get your product into the hands of your customer? What's your internal process along with vendors needed to bring your product to your market.

Physical Evidence - what tangible benefit are people getting from your product or service?

Taking this further, you could break it down this way:

Market Research - What's the opportunity and need you are filling/pain point you are addressing?
Target Audience - Who needs what you offer?
Market Strategies - How will you break in and effectively compete with other companies in your space?
Goals & Success - Define what success is for you.
Media - Where will you place your marketing dollars?
Budget - how much are you going to allocate to marketing? We recommend 10-20% of sales/sales forecast for aggressive growth.
Tracking - how will you know if your plan is successful? You need to set up conversion tracking and metrics to best optimize the money you are spending.
Content Plan & Calendar. Every business needs a plan to create and distribute content. It's what establishes your credibility.

Again in summary, focus on understanding your customers by creating detailed buyer personas, a SWOT and competitive analysis, budget, and strategy. This work will keep you focused on the right outcomes and focus for your business as you begin to invest your money in the right channels and strategies. Determine the best ways to reach out to your target customers and develop a budget for each part of your media mix.

Website Design

Now that you've finished your branding work, developed a marketing plan , and budget it's time to focus on the first impression and most important visual expression of your company - your website. Your website needs to be well designed with high-quality photography, excellent written copy, and a strong and clear call to action. Your website must format with an excellent visual appeal on mobile devices including Apple and Android smartphones, tablets, and laptops. Next, quality content and help answer visitors’ FAQs. If you're an e-commerce company, invest in high-quality product photography and consider VR options to help bring your product to life. Investing the time and money into creating a well-designed, well-written, and great user interface website design will be an asset that can be used as the base to grow and scale your business. Your website is literally the first impression a potential client will have of your business, so taking the time upfront to create this is not something that should be done lightly. Take the time and invest in creating a quality website, it will pay your business back many times over. While we build many websites on Wordpress , we also use our own custom solution that delivers incredible speed, mobile friendly rendering, and easy editor for updates and SEO campaigns.

Funding

There are a few different ways to consider for funding your new business. This should have been outlined in your business plan, but worth mentioning as it can be a make it or break it decision.

1) Bootstrap it. Bootstrap funding means you are out on the streets, knocking on doors, and selling your product or service to fund your business. Set a goal and don't come in until you meet it.

2) SBA. The SBA (Small Business Administration) offers programs to help entrepreneurs get started in their new business. The rates are usually more competitive, banks are more apt to lend since the loan is in part backed by the.

3) Investors. Depending on the type of business you have, an investor may be interested in partnering with you for a share of the ownership and earnings in your company.

Execution

All this work however could be in vain, if you don’t execute on your strategy, brand, identity, by providing an excellent customer experience and delivering on your brand promise to your customers. Executing on your strategy will build customer loyalty, positive reviews and word of mouth, and bring you more customers and build your business.

Questions?

Let's talk more! Our company can help you with a number of these services and deliver you an excellent experience and launch of your new business.

Essential elements of every successful business marketing plan

Fri, 15 Oct 2021 16:46:43 GMT

What every business owner needs to know about creating a marketing plan that get results

Before spending one dollar on marketing, I highly encourage business owners and entrepreneurs invest their time and energy into creating a marketing plan for their business. The time and investment in creating a plan is going to cost you on the front end but it's going to produce ROI many times over on the back end. In other words, you won't regret the upfront time it takes to create the plan because it's a resource you and your team can come back to time and time again throughout the year to measure your results against.

Business Summary

Start with a business summary. Explain what business you're in and what your key objectives are. Sounds elementary, I know, but the fact is other people on your marketing team are going to be looking at this. Other new hires or project managers or admins are going to be coming into this project, so you want to clearly lay out your business summary in a way that anyone who reads it will quickly grasp the concept and the goals of the business.

Identity, Mission, Vision, Values Statements

As an organization, your mission statement is a unifying force for your employees, your customers, your vendors. Spend some time developing this and refining this because it's from your mission statement that will develop your marketing campaigns including your messaging, your visuals, your communication strategy. We also suggest working on your vision statement, value proposition because it's a key part of developing your messaging and marketing materials, your website, brochures, etc. We help new and existing companies work through this process as part of our company branding services .

SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis looks at your strengths weaknesses opportunities and threats to your organization. A SWOT provides an analysis of the overall marketplace and conditions for your competition and what you're up against. It also looks at where the opportunities lie and how your business can take advantage and position itself to be profitable and seize the opportunities in the market. From a strategic perspective, it also shows you where your weaknesses are what you need to be aware of and how you can fill in any gaps or missing pieces in your business strategy .

Business Initiatives

Next, you want to look at your initiatives and goals for your marketing we don't usually plan to fail but we fail to plan and that can lead any company to not maximize the investment in their marketing.

SEO - rank on page 1 of Google in your target marketing

SEM - acquire new customers through keyword targeting

Blog - establish your business as an authority in your industry

Downloads - develop key takeaways and downloads to increase subscriber base and top-of-the-funnel leads

Social - create high-quality content and do it consistently across multiple social media platforms and channels

Overarching initiatives: marketing initiatives, goals, metrics

What are your goals and what does success look like? Knowing this up front has an agency working with businesses is so important. It helps you and your advertising agency be on the same page of what's success looks like and what the expectations are for the campaign. Putting the correct metrics in place as well as tracking devices helps with alignment and holds your agency or marketing firm accountable to the goals and metrics that you agreed on.

Target Market

So many times I talk to businesses that don't have a target market. Instead they just want to help anyone and as such, they end up reaching no one because they're messaging isn't on point with anyone. Narrowing down your target audience, location, and demographics is critical. The next important step is developing your personas so you speak directly to your customer and the message resonates.

Buyer Persona(s)

Next, once you've identified your target market and who you're trying to reach next you want to develop buyer personas based on real research either from existing compliance or clients that you're trying to reach up your brand new business. Understanding your customer's age income level demographic psychographics social economics, pain points, goals, and aspirations all help to create the right message for the right person. It also helps content creators and writers and artists to create the right type of content with the right messaging and the right design styles the correct use of style that's going to speak to people that you want to reach.

Competitive Analysis

Different from the SWOT analysis, the competitive analysis looks specifically at your competitor's offering, comparing pricing, differentiation, and delivery. The idea is that out of this analysis will come the unique value proposition of your business and out of this will then inform the messaging and positioning statement to better connect and differentiate your company and offering.

Market Strategy

Product
What differentiates you and how does your product meet the needs and address the pain points for your buyer personas?

Price
Determining price is a strategic business decision. On top of your selling price, what type of promotions or discounts will you offer?

Promotion
How will you promote your product and what channels best reach your target audience and buyer personas?

People
Clearly defining what each member of your team is responsible for.

Budget
Developing your marketing budget is something we talked about in our last post. It is an important business decision and process every company needs to go through and review at least once a year.

It's a question I get all the time: "How much should I spend on marketing?"

While the answer differs depending on the business, no matter what industry you're in, you need to set aside funds each year to maintain your current business and/or grow your business. Most people want to grow their business, but for some maintaining their existing business is all they can handle without generating new overhead. Either way, if you're not investing in marketing, you're likely going to lose business year over year from standard customer churn rates. Your marketing efforts will replace customers you lose throughout the year and if you do it right and invest enough, bring you new customers to grow your business year over year.

Marketing Channels

Next is determining where you will spend the budget. Determining where to place your advertisement is really industry specific. There is no one-size-fits-all here. Gone are the days of placing a newspaper ad and expecting the town to come to you. Marketing has gotten a lot more scientific and audience-specific. People are pickier about what messages they are listening to and with almost 10,000 marketing messages every day for the average person, you need to cut through the clutter with a clear, concise, and specific message. Of course, identifying your target audience is key to reaching the right people with the right message at the right time. To determine where to place your messaging, you need to know who you are trying to reach, and where to find them. That's where hiring a Los Angeles marketing firm like ours can help. We have experience helping hundreds of businesses effectively allocate their funds for marketing and running high-quality, high-impact campaigns that bring results to businesses' bottom line.

Messaging

Out of this process should develop the messaging for your product or brand campaign. Because your customers may fall into different categories and personas, multiple ad variations should likely be running at the same time with A/B testing to see what message and ads resonate best with your targeted and intended audiences.

Design

Lastly, for this post, I do want to take a minute to mention the importance of high-quality design . Creating design elements and inspiration including fonts, colors, layouts, and images is critical to your success as a marketer. This is what helps your company to reach and inspire your potential customers to do business with you over your competitors. Design is a massive topic with multiple layers to it that we don't have time to cover today. Designing your ad campaigns is one thing, designing your customer experience including packaging, customer service, look, feel, smell, tone, voice, etc. is again part of our comprehensive branding packages that help uncover your unique attributes and communicate those effectively.

Hope this was helpful, as always feel free to drop us a line here .

Determining your marketing budget

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Fri, 01 Oct 2021 00:30:40 GMT

How to know how much to spend on marketing activities

Developing your marketing budget is an important business decision and process every company needs to go through and review at least once a year.

It's a question I get all the time: "How much should I spend on marketing?"

While the answer differs depending on the business, no matter what industry you're in, you need to set aside funds each year to maintain your current business and/or grow your business. Most people want to grow their business, but for some maintaining their existing business is all they can handle without generating new overhead. Either way, if you're not investing in marketing, you're likely going to lose business year over year from standard customer churn rates. Your marketing efforts will replace customers you lose throughout the year and if you do it right and invest enough, bring you new customers to grow your business year over year.

So how much should you spend?

Here at L2 Digital recommend at least 10% of your gross sales for business growth, 15% for an aggressive growth strategy. Just as important as how much to spend, is what you're spending the money on. Knowing how to best utilize the many marketing channels to produce the best results for your business is something that should be thoughtfully considered.

According to website, Vendux, "The U.S. Small Business Administration recommends spending 7 to 8 percent of your gross revenue for marketing and advertising if you're doing less than $5 million a year in sales and your net profit margin – after all expenses – is in the 10 percent to 12 percent range."

The Wall Street Journal looked at the differences between industries in their marketing budgets and found on average marketing makes up approximately 11% of a company's budget. "Marketing budgets now comprise 11 percent of total company budgets on average, up slightly from 10.4 percent... Consumer packaged goods companies allocate by far the largest percent of total company budget to marketing (nearly one quarter), followed by consumer services, tech software/biotech, communications/media, and mining/construction. Companies that spend the smallest portion of their budgets on marketing include transportation, manufacturing, and energy."

The Big Picture

Knowing how much to budget is important, but effectively using the funds to generate the best ROI for your company is even more important. That's where companies like L2 Digital play an important role as not only an expert advisor but strategists on communication, branding, visual identity and more. The right amount of money but the wrong message on the right channel will not lead to success. You need the right amount of money, the right message, utilizing the right channels to yield the results you want. I can't emphasize enough the importance of putting the time and investment in upfront to solidify your messaging, branding, target markets, customer pain points, and visuals together so you can be effective in your marketing efforts.

11 important considerations for building your website

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Mon, 27 Sep 2021 23:27:52 GMT

How to make your website a strategic brand building and business asset

In today’s competitive marketplace, distinguishing your business from the rest of the crowd starts with a well built, high quality website with well written copy that converts . The truth is anyone can throw up a website and say they’re open for business but just because the website is online, doesn’t mean it’s going to bring in new customers or communicate the value of your business in the marketplace. The fact is, your customers or prospective customers can likely find a competitor that can do the same thing you can do.

Our philosophy around creating a website is such that your website is a very central part of your brand and a distinguishing part of your business. Therefore, the right amount of time, effort, creativity needs to go into producing the right website for your business so that it produces the results you’re hoping for and brings in new business for your bottom line. Here are a few questions to consider as you embark on a website redesign or website launch.

What is the main goal or action you want people to take when they arrive on your website?

It could be eCommerce , appointments, contacts, blog readers, email subscribers, etc.

Branding?

Have you expressed your mission, vision, values, and used this to inspire your visual identity and messaging. Advertising agencies like L2 Digital can help you connect these areas to build a brand your customers love.

Brand Heart: This is an articulation of your brand’s core principles
Brand name.
Brand essence: This is your voice, tone, and personality.
Competitive Analysis/SWOT Analysis. Understanding what differentiates you in the marketplace.
Customer Personas/Market Analysis. Knowing you your customers are and who you are trying to reach.
Messaging: Know your tagline, value proposition, and messaging pillars to ensure your visual identity communicates the right story.
Marketing plan strategy.

What colors represent your company?

This should be consistent from your logo, to your social, to your website. A consistent look and feel builds trust and distinguishes your company.

Typeface - Your typeface selection can say a lot about who you are as a company. This should be consistent across the board.

Content - The quality of the content on your website is communicating either positively or negatively about your business. The tone of voice are you using for your content is so important and should be consistent. Spend the most time on your ABOUT page as it's one of the most viewed pages on any website.

Logo - should be a visual representation of your branding.

Photography - The importance of your visual identity can't be overemphasized.

What features do you want included?
Scheduling

Ecommerce

Credit Card Processing

What time frame do you need your website created in?

This is the actual design time on the website once you've solidified the content, brand, colors, logo, goals for the website and more.

How will you update the website?

Creating a website and letting it sit there and get stale is a waste of time. You need to keep the content fresh, update your pages, maintain an active blog, and update your products and services regularly so your business continues to grow.

What’s your marketing plan for your website?

Build it and they will come is not the right strategy for your website. Build it and promote it is. Starting with SEO and moving to social, keyword ads, and more will help you connect with the right people looking for your products and services.

Hopefully this list will help you think about the time and detail that needs to go into creating your website. L2 Digital Marketing handles the entire branding, visual, photography, content development and solutions for your company. If you've already completed some of these steps, we can simply design the layout of the site based on your specs and to your exact liking. Either way, we're here to serve. Contact us here to learn more.

Finding the right marketing agency partner for your business

Tue, 18 May 2021 16:26:02 GMT

Criteria for selecting the right marketing agency to help your business succeed online

Choosing the right marketing agency partner for your business is an extremely important decision. While the benefits should far outweigh the costs of hiring an agency, doing your due diligence on researching marketing agencies is key to a long-term growing relationship with a marketing partner.

When deciding whether to hire an agency, here are a few of the things to look for.

Ad spend vs. management fee

Review what part of your budget is being spent on ads versus what is going to the agency. You want a marketing agency that can grow with you. For running ads, a standard rate to charge is between 10%-30% depending on the budget.

Detailed reporting

Don’t leave it up to chance how your marketing campaigns are performing. Your agency should be providing you detailed marketing reporting on at least a monthly basis. Data from each month’s advertising performance should be used to improve the campaign.

Multi-channel marketing approach

Before spending your ad dollars, determine who your audience is and where they are spending their time online. Then invest in those marketing channels. Putting all your eggs in one basket isn’t just a cliche saying, it’s trite in running your marketing campaigns as well.

Past ad campaign success

When evaluating a marketing agency, look for past marketing campaign success and a process to help your campaigns succeed. Nothing predicts future success like past performance. Marketing is no different in this regard.

Business reviews and recommendations

Ask for a reference from an advertising agency you’re looking to hire and actually call them. Of course, checking review websites like Yelp or Google My Business is helpful too. Read through their reviews to help give you an idea of who you are going to be working with.

Marketing contract review

While you want a long-term relationship with your marketing partner, and I don’t recommend running your campaign for a month or two and then stopping, you'll be wasting your money if you do. I do recommend having an out of the contract after 6 months if things are moving in the right direction. Review the contract and make sure you have a marketing partner who believes in their work so much they don’t need to tie you down to a contract to keep you as a customer. Rather, after seeing the results, you’ll want to stay as a customer.

Thinking and researching the right marketing firm is so important to your business. Working with an advertising agency should be a long-term, mutually beneficial move for your business. Contracting out to a marketing partner should save you time, money, and allow you to scale and grow your business. Let’s talk about ways L2 Digital Marketing can serve your business.

Outsourcing Your Company's Marketing Efforts

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Mon, 10 May 2021 19:01:21 GMT

Working with an outside firm can add value to your existing marketing efforts while saving you time & money

Getting the biggest return on your investment for marketing dollars spent is a top priority for every company. It doesn’t matter if you’re an e-commerce company , lawyer’s office, doctor’s office or any other type of business. You want to make sure when your investing money in marketing, that your efforts are going to grow your sales and your bottom line. That’s where a full service marketing and advertising company like ours can help.

The truth is outsourcing your marketing department to a company like ours can save you time, energy, and a lot of money. Having worked with dozens of companies on their marketing strategy, plans, execution, here are 4 reasons why contracting out to a marketing company like ours to run your earned, paid, and affiliate marketing campaigns can pay off big in the end.

1. Contracting out to a marketing company will save you money. Hiring a full-time marketing person in Los Angeles is going to cost you upwards of $70,000 - $150,000 a year for salary, insurance, and more. Additionally, you need to pay for your campaigns, on top of the cost of retaining a full time employee. On average, companies spend around 5-10% of your overall revenue on marketing. Why not put more dollars into the actual media buy, rather than additional employees pockets? This is where our process and efficiencies help small businesses scale quickly and grow so that you can bring on more staff down the road.

2. Contracting out your marketing efforts can enhance, compliment and add value to existing strategies. Maybe your a company with a marketing person or two on staff already. The value proposition of outsourcing your marketing here is we will work with your staff to develop and execute on strategy. We'll bring to the table best practices across your industry around the country and we’ll also provide a full audit of what you’re currently doing and where we can improve your marketing strategy, acquisition of new customers, and cultivation of existing customers.

3. Contracting out your company’s marketing can add industry knowledge and best practices across a range of geographies. Even the most experienced marketers may not have the understanding of your industry. Because our team has run thousands of campaigns for thousands of business across almost every sector, we can leverage our experience and knowledge to scale your campaigns based on best practices learned through years of testing.

4. An outside perspective on marketing your business can sharpen the focus and increase the impact of your current efforts. As a firm that specializes in being your go to for outsourced marketing in Los Angeles & beyond, we come in to serve your existing efforts and make the results better.

If your company is wanting to grow your sales and achieve business results, give us a call today to talk about ways we can add value and enhance your existing marketing efforts.

5 reasons custom photography is key to your online success

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Sat, 24 Apr 2021 00:13:34 GMT

Why beautiful photography is key to your website's conversion rates and customer engagement

Investing in custom, professional photography for your business website is no longer an option, it's a must have. With the advancement of e-commerce solutions and growth of digital marketing , custom photography for your company's website is now an essential component for a successful online strategy. Here are a five reasons you need to make an investment in custom photography for your company:

1) Custom photography sets apart the hobbyists from the pros.

Great photography on your website make the difference between a mediocre and an excellent experience for your online audience, shoppers, and friends

2) Custom photography gives visitors and customers a close look of your products before the sale

In order to convert more visitors into paying customers, great photography can be the lever to convert visitors into paying customers.

3) Custom photography on your business's website makes business sense

You need to spend money to make money.

4) Professional photography provides the best customer experience

No one wants to be unpleasantly surprised when they receive your product after making a purchase on your e-commerce website. If a picture is worth 1,000 words, answer your customer's questions with excellent product photography

5) Product photography makes your website pop.

There are thousands of blah websites online, make yours pop with custom product photography

9 Website Design Essentials in Los Angeles

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 17:51:18 GMT

Finding the right website designer is key to your company's success.

Finding the right website designer for your business website is key to your success. Since the majority (about 85%) of people will research your business online first, before making that call or setting up that appointment, your website needs to be fast, well designed, with excellent copy writing, great photography, and a strong call to action, to name just a few of the essentials. You also want your website to optimize well for viewing on mobile devices. Who you choose to design your website is an important decision and not one you want to do lightly.

In order to help you make the right choice, here are nine things to look for when making the decision to hire outside help for your company's website design:

1) Previous website design work

Always look at previous design work. This seems like a given, but just because someone says they can put together a website on Wix or Squarespace, doesn't mean you should hire them. Do-it-yourself templates create a bland, undistinguishable website that says the same about your business. Research website designers near you, and make sure you like their previous work before hiring them to design your business website.

2) Proven website design process

The problem with some designers is they are creative, but because they don't follow a process, they are on again, off again. Your don't know what you're going to get, or when they are going to finish, or even if they are a full time designer. They may be moonlighting, and no condemnation there, but you want to make sure they have a process to get the job done on time and done well the first time. I can't tell you how many people complain because they are now on the 5th designer after the first 4 didn't finish, vanished, or didn't follow through in a timely manner. Make sure the company you hire to do your website has a process in place and a timeline set for completion.

3) Website design timeline

Having a timeline and a commitment in place for when the website design will be complete is key. Make sure you have a commitment from the designer to finish by a certain date and hold them to it. Now of course, I have seen many website design projects delayed by the business as well, so make sure you are on top of getting photos, assets, copy approved for your designer so there is no further delays.

4) Website editing and proofing process

Make sure you know upfront what type of proof and design changes are included in the website designer's quote. Some website designers will allow one round of edits, some will allow none, and others will work with you to make your website designed to your exact specs. Knowing this upfront is key to your satisfaction.

5) Ongoing website support

I recommend businesses get ongoing website support. Why spend money on a new website only to let it sit online and collect dust. You need ongoing support, additional pages, new content, blog posts, customer testimonials and more. A website today is not a static asset, it is an ever changing, growing part of your business.

6) E-commerce integration

Even if you're not selling today, make sure your website has e-commerce capability . Your website designer needs to be well versed in e-commerce solutions, including the payment gateway . Going with the right payment processor can save you loads of money in fees and help your business grow.

7) Previous website customer testimonials

Please review what past clients have said about a website designer. Need I say more?

8) Business marketing options

Creating a website is just step one, your website designer should offer additional marketing support and options.

9) SEO experts

What good is a website if no one can find you? You need expert SEO help to make your website discoverable.

Finding the right website designer really is a decision that you shouldn't make lightly. Doing your homework and finding the best website designer near you is so important to your business. As I said before, I'll say it again, your website is the first impression potential customers have of your business. Make it a good one!

Small business marketing plans for 2021

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Mon, 28 Dec 2020 20:36:06 GMT

Determining your marketing budget & advertising placement for 2021

As a small business owner, determining your budget for marketing is actually not the hard part. The challenge is where to best use your budget and maximize your ROI on the funds your investing in marketing. With so many platforms available, narrowing your focus to reach the right customers is key. We'll get to that in a minute. As for budget, as a digital marketing agency in Los Angeles , focused on helping small businesses, we recommend a budget of approximately 10% of your revenue to maintain your current market position. To really grow and scale your business, we recommend going up to 20% of your revenue towards marketing. As I mentioned earlier, determining the budget is quite simple. Sticking with best practices as a percentage of your overall revenue is a principle every business will do well to follow. Determining where to place your marketing funds is where the science and the art of marketing really come into play and where our digital marketing company can really help you allocate the funds and obtain the ROI you're looking for.

What about marketing return on investment (ROI)?

As a baseline, successful marketing campaigns should bring your company a 5:1 ROI on your investment. To illustrate: If your company's revenue is $250,000 per year. You should be spending at least $25,000 per year on marketing and that $25,000 in marketing should be bringing you $150,000 in revenue for your company. If you really are looking to grow and scale your business at 20% of your revenue or $50,000 in marketing, you should expecting to see $250,000 in new revenue in the new year. Now of course, you will need to plan for increase production, staff, etc. to accommodate the growth. That's what marketing is all about - helping your company grow new customers and expand your client base.

Quality

Any marketing plan we suggest for a business, the product or service quality you are offering needs to be of the best quality and highest value in the market. If it's not, all the marketing in the world isn't going to convince people otherwise. There is no better marketing than a satisfied customer and satisfied customer's can be a great place to start for your marketing.

Placement

Determining where to place your advertisement is really industry specific. There is no one size fits all here. Gone are the days of placing a newspaper ad and expecting the town to come to you. Marketing has gotten a lot more scientific and audience specific. People are more picky about what messages they are listening to and with almost 10,000 marketing messages every day for the average perso n , you need to cut through the clutter with a clear, concise, and specific message. Of course, identifying your target audience is key to reaching the right people with the right message at the right time. To determine where to place your messaging, you need to know who you are trying to reach, and where to find them. That's where hiring a Los Angeles marketing firm like ours can help. We have experience helping hundreds of businesses effectively allocate their funds for marketing and running high quality, high impact campaigns that bring results to businesses bottom line.

Messaging

Never underestimate the value of good, clear marketing messages. Anyone can create an ad on social media, but to get results, you need to create multi-channel, clear messaging that cuts through the noisy marketplace of ideas and competitors. On average it takes 8 touch advertising messages before someone recognizes your brand. This means, you need to invest in more than one marketing channel. We recommend at least 3 marketing channels for an effective campaign . What is the offer and why should your prospective customer choose you over your competitors? You need to communicate this to your prospective customers in a very short amount of time. No longer do people have to listen to your television or radio ad. In order to be relevant you need to be highly targeted and compelling in your messaging. You need to stand out from the crowd and quickly explain how you will solve customer problems. You need to identify your specific customer's problem and pain point and then tailor your message to your customer's needs. Creating a compelling offer and communicating the unique value of your firm over others is something that takes time and strategy. Once you've determined your unique brand message, creating the right offer can get movement on your campaign and customers willing to try out what you offer.

Best possible service & experience

Next, overwhelm your customer with the best possible service and experience to create raving fans, who tell their friends, leave great reviews, and spread your brand message.

Repeat & Grow.

If you want help crafting your marketing plan for 2021, let's talk. Schedule a free no-obligation appointment today to discuss your goals for the new year.

Business Advice: Know your own limits

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Wed, 16 Dec 2020 01:23:46 GMT

Succeeding in business means knowing your own limits and hiring the right talent

I was asked recently what advice I would give to a business owner new at digital marketing. My advice is to stick to what you do best and not try to do it all yourself. The fact is you're likely an expert in your field, so your role in marketing needs to be communicating through online and offline (I recommend a blog or vlog) channels in a way that helps people and speaks to your target customer, so they trust you enough to do business with you.

After that, I recommend leaving the rest of your digital marketing to an expert. I always say anyone can remodel a home but it's going to look and last a lot longer when you hire an experienced professional. Similarly, there are a lot of do-it-yourself tools out there to build a template website or help you run all your campaigns yourself, but I suggest hiring a professional team and by doing so, save money compared to what it would cost to bring on a new hire, and scale your business with a proven process that's worked for thousands of small businesses. I know business owners who have spent hundreds of hours trying to build a website and automate their marketing when they could have been focused on mastering their own business, helping their customers, and sharpening their own trade, yet they waste time and energy trying to learn everything there is to know in digital marketing. The industry is quickly growing and changing so hiring a digital marketing company will save you time, make you money, and provide you full transparency in the process.

Starting a business in Los Angeles

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Sat, 28 Nov 2020 22:52:58 GMT

For entrepreneurs only...

Starting a new business takes time, effort, skill, discipline, wisdom, and a lot of persistence. Being an entrepreneur is not for the faint of heart. It also takes a great product or service so you can effectively compete in a fast-changing marketplace.

Next, it takes a few legal steps to get started. You need to decide whether you’re going to form a sole-proprietorship, LLC, LLP, C-corp, S-corp, or any other type of legal structure needed to start a business. This is a big step and I recommend talking with an attorney about the right structure for your business.

After you work on the structure of your new business, as an entrepreneur you need to determine how people will actually find out about your business. How will you bring your product or service to market? This is a big step in the process and one that you need to seriously consider in your business plan. There are a lot of options and a lot of opportunities as an entrepreneur. You need to maximize the impact of your time and money so when it comes to marketing your new business you see a solid return on your investment. That’s where digital marketing metrics come into play and where our company specializes in helping startup companies in Los Angeles and beyond bring their product or service to market with leading digital marketing tools and services . L2 Digital Marketing specializes in working with startups and entrepreneurs to quickly launch and grow their online marketing and provide real-time reporting on each campaign. Plus, our team is Google certified and experts at optimizing your digital marketing campaigns on search engines, social media, email, video, and more.

Hiring a professional firm to run your marketing brings valuable expertise to your team and streamlines your go-to-market process. We’ve successfully run full scale marketing campaigns for multiple startup companies in Los Angeles and around the country and we can do it for you too.

When it comes to starting a business and bringing your products or service to market, think L2 Digital Marketing to ensure your business success and marketing expertise.

Los Angeles Based Website Design and Marketing Tools

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Thu, 20 Aug 2020 18:18:57 GMT

Grow your business in Pasadena, Los Angeles, & beyond with leading digital marketing tools & website design

When it comes to helping businesses succeed online in Pasadena , Los Angeles , and beyond, having the right marketing tool-kit (marketing mix) is key. That’s why I never suggest putting all your eggs in one basket but rather having a multi-channel digital marketing strategy that reaches the right audience at the right time with the right offer.

For starters, we want to optimize your current website or rebuild your website to give you a well designed, aesthetically pleasing, mobile-friendly, fast website that is responsive on all devices. A well designed website though is only half the battle. You also want to make sure your site includes the right photography, full-motion video , and content or website copy. This elements are key to communicating the right message to your website visitors.

Next you want to begin advertising your business on major search engines and target the right keywords so people can find your site when they search Google or Bing. Paying search engines to serve your ad first will help people discover your business and consider your offering.

Next you want to add elements like social media management and advertising , as well as email marketing. These tactics will help keep your message from and center in your prospects mind and grow your business.

Building your brand through promotional products and custom branded merchandise

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Sun, 02 Aug 2020 04:06:11 GMT

Stay top of mind & build your brand with custom branded merchandise

Finding ways to stand out in a busy, crowed, and noisy marketplace can be challenging. In today's competitive business environment, it's not easy to build customer loyalty and maintain brand awareness. With competitor information at your customer's fingertips, standing out is more important than ever. Since it it takes an average of 7 marketing touches to convert a prospect into a paying customer, you need a full marketing suite of products to maintain awareness in your customer's and prospect's minds..

As part of your company's marketing mix, promotional products can play a role in your company's small business marketing strategy .

By producing quality custom branded products with your logo and brand prominently displayed , that people use everyday, your company, school, or non-profit, can stay top of mind and build brand loyalty.

In terms of realizing a return on investment from promotional products, Sage World put together stats on the effective use of promotional products and the return they can create for your small business. Here are a few:

Eight in 10 consumers own between one and 10 promotional products.

Fifty-three percent of consumers use a promotional product at least once a week.

Six in 10 consumers keep promotional products for up to two years.

Only one in five people will trash an unwanted promotional product.

After receiving a promotional product, 85 percent of people did business with the advertiser.

With nearly six thousand impressions per product, bags generate more impressions than any other promotional product in the U.S.

Writing instruments and bags have the lowest cost per impression of any promotional product in the U.S. at 1/10 of a cent.

Consumers use promotional products for an average of 6.6 months.

The truth is, promotional products keep your company or service top of mind in your customer's or potential customer's minds. If you're looking for ways to grow your business and create a lasting impression on your customers and prospects, consider promotional products to promote your business as a way to create goodwill and opportunities for your business growth.

Small business and marketing in the midst of COVID-19

kyle@l2digitalmarketing.com (Kyle Patterson) — Sun, 03 May 2020 04:12:35 GMT

Keeping communication current and consistent with clients & prospects

COVID-19 has presented incredible challenges for businesses large and small. There's no easy answers on how to navigate this extremely difficult time. Hopefully your company was able to take advantage of the Payroll Protection Program and there is light beginning to glisten at the end of this tunnel. In the meantime there are a few digital marketing tools you can be utilizing to set yourself up for success both online and off-line, post-pandemic. Here are a couple of ways you can position your business for success.

2) Utilize social media channels to keep customers and prospects engaged. As many jobs have moved remote and online, communicated through social media can be a very effective option and way to keep people engaged and informed of what's happening in your business and what options people have to engage with you.

3) Investing in you optimizing your website . As things have slowed down considerably, taking the time to invest in your web presence and search engine optimization is a key cost that could pay significant dividends post-pandemic. Identifying keywords and phrases for your industry is key as the business world is undergoing a significant shaking and change in landscape. Post-pandemic people are going to begin doing business and markets will recover. Taking the time to invest in your business website and online growth will pay off.

4) E-commerce/website development . Adding retail products to your website and developing avenues of sales online, digital products, video consulting, digital products and services and more viable now than ever before. Investing in pivoting your business model to include online growth and investment will go far in the days to come.

L2 Digital Marketing helps businesses succeed online with digital marketing tools and services. We're happy to offer a free video consultation and audit of your businesses online presence.

Enhancing the E-Commerce Customer Experience

Thu, 13 Oct 2016 12:45:21 GMT

Enhancing E-Commerce with Live Chat on your Website

Provide amazing customer service on your website

Imagine that you want to buy a pair of running shoes. You enter a shoe store’s website and you find a model you’d like to buy, but your size is out of stock. Obviously, you’d like to know when your size will be available. Wouldn’t be great if you could ask your question immediately, without making phone calls or writing emails?

Or what if you are exploring a private school or college and doing some research online. You have a few questions as your researching. As your looking for contact information, a representative of the company reaches out to you via chat on the school's website to help answer any questions you may have.

Or what if your a business or non-profit looking to connect in person with some of your online traffic that isn't buying or engaging further with your organization. Wouldn't it be great to connect live on your website without the need for your website visitor to pick up their phone or send you an email.

Or what if your trying to recruit top talent to your company and want the HR department to be able to pre-screen candidates on your site via chat.

Thankfully, it is possible with live chat software . All you need to do is to click on a chat icon and you can instantly chat with an agent! You get your help immediately, without phone costs and without waste of time!

LiveChat allows you to chat with customer service in a flash. You don’t need to install any software. All you need to have is a computer and internet connection! Easy, isn’t it? Imagine how pleased will be your clients!

Make your customers’ life easier and enhance your company's customer and sales experience by installing LiveChat on your site .

You can manage customer interaction from your mobile device or desktop. If you have multiple reps we can assure the chat is routed to the next available representative.

6 Elements of Successful Online Marketing Campaigns

Fri, 07 Oct 2016 12:42:08 GMT

6 Elements of Successful Online Marketing Campaigns

Utilizing Search Engine Marketing & Search Engine Optimization as a one-two punch for maximum online impact

Thousands of searches are being done online for your products or services.

Every single day.

Your business needs this traffic. You want these people to find your website. But how? How do you make sure your website is served above your competitors?

This is where investing in search engine optimization and search engine marketing are going to pay huge dividends and bring you new business. This type of work doesn't happen on its own. You need to be intentional about optimizing your website for the right keywords that are going to grow your business.

To successfully land this business on your website and convert an interested party into your customer, I recommend 6 elements to your next online campaign:

1) Research- understand the market for your product or service online and what type of traffic you can anticipate. Knowing this data will help you identify the opportunities and put together a strategy. We recommend a strategy with both SEO and SEM, like a 1-2 punch to get the most impact for every dollar you spend on digital marketing services.

2) Strategy- what results are you looking for? E-commerce sales through your website? Phone calls to your business? Email list growth? E-book/guide downloads and influence.

3) Planning- Decide what type of paid search engine marketing campaign will be best for your product or service. Search campaigns, display network campaigns or social. What's best? You'll know this based on the results you are looking for as well as the type of product or service you offer.

4) Execution- Step 4 is putting the research, strategy and planning into a fully optimized plan. Included in execution is setting up the necessary tracking codes on your website, conversion optimizing the campaign, automating email responses and setting up e-commerce solutions and shipping options.

5) Testing/tweaking/tracking- Based on your maximum cost per click and gross margin, you can test and tweak the campaign for best results. Test and improve your search marketing campaigns to produce results that increase your profit margin and grow your business.

6) Digital Marketing Reporting- I recommend a full report monthly to understand your traffic patterns, sales online, and where you may be losing customers in the process. Make necessary changes to your online marketing campaigns and repeat.

Paid Online Marketing Campaigns

Thu, 29 Sep 2016 12:39:11 GMT

Understanding Paid Online Marketing Campaigns

Comparing the effectiveness of Search Engine Marketing verses Social Media Marketing

If you've been following along with us, you have your website optimized and submitted to major search engines. You've made sure your business listing is set up in major online directories and are developing online reviews for your business . Now it’s time to consider making an investment in paid online advertising campaigns.

Our prior sessions would be categorized as mostly SEO or Search Engine Optimization strategies. These are tactics to get your business or non-profit found online. SEO strategies are highly effective tactics to increase the authority and rank of your website in major search engines including Google and Bing. If you're not already utilizing an SEO strategy, we need to talk. But, right now we are talking about using paid online strategies to connect with your target audience and drive new business through your website, phone calls, or visits to your store. SEO works is mostly a long term investment that will yield results over time. Paid marketing campaigns if done correctly can yield immediate results and turn a visitor to your site into a paying customer. In online language, this would be called a conversion.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) : The advantage of search engine marketing is that when set up properly, your campaigns can serve ads to leads and potential customers right at the moment of the search. So at the moment of demand, when a potential customer is taking action, researching, and searching for the solutions you offer, your ad can be served and through it your offer can be made. Now this of digital marketing is based on specific keywords. Finding the right keywords for your campaigns is key to finding your customers at just the right time. Our free online traffic estimator tool (available upon request) can help you get started with basic data on search volume per keyword, keyword ideas and breakdown by geography. Google has around 70% of the global market share for search. I would recommend using Google and Bing.

In addition to Keyword based Search Engine Marketing , Google also offers more advanced options including Display Advertising. Display advertising is placing your interactive or image ads on the Google Display Network- thousands of websites that partner with Google to serve ads to users. A number that totals around 2 million websites. Google also tracks user activity and interests online. Users can be targeted based on this data.

The last thing I want to mention which can be very effective is remarketing. Remarketing is serving ads to previous visitors to your website. As the user views other content online, your ads will be served to them on various websites. For example, a user visits your website and then visits nytimes.com. If you have an online digital remarketing campaign set up you can serve an ad to that same person.

Social Media Marketing (SMM): Social Media Marketing is using the the power and influence of social media website including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to reach the vast number of users on these websites and the incredible amount of data these networks, specifically Facebook has been able to gather about their users.

Facebook : Advertising on Facebook can allow you to very specifically target the exact user you are trying to reach. For example you can target users based on their interests including music, companies, public figures they follow, etc. You can also target your campaign based on company worked for, position held at a company, including President or Managing Director. You can also reach people based on activity including those who have made donations online and you can even target those who have made specific donations to religious causes for example.

Instagram : Instagram has surged in popularity and is quickly becoming the go to social media platform. All of our paid social media campaigns advertise on both Facebook and Instagram, unless you specify otherwise.

The best part of both types of paid campaigns we have discussed is all the advertising is trackable and measurable. You know what you are paying for, who you are reaching and what type of response you are getting. As you begin to advertise online and invest more of your marketing dollars in digital marketingb solutions from L2 Digital Marketing there are additional Digital Marketing 2.0 tools available including conversion tracking and more sophisticated ways to even more accurately measure your return on investment through inserting code into the back end of your site to track user activity on your site. All of our campaigns give you full transparency and reporting available 24x7 so you know the cost per action of each person seeing and responding to your advertisement.

Generating Online Business Reviews

Wed, 28 Sep 2016 12:31:01 GMT

Generating Online Reviews for Your Business

Online Reviews Play a Critical Role in the Sales Funnel

The next step toward succeeding online is generating quality, genuine and honest online business reviews from current customers on major websites. These sites include (but are not limited to) Google, Yelp and Facebook.

As potential customers begin their research process online towards purchase, online reviews play a key part in helping your company or organization be considered and getting noticed. Many companies have hundreds of satisfied and happy customers and may even get thank you notes and appreciation letters in the mail but have nothing online to show for it. That can and needs to change, as fast as possible.

Here are a few things you can do immediately to get this process started:

1) For starters, you need to make sure your company or organization has an account set up with each of the three sites I mentioned to start. Most companies by now have a Facebook account. Google recently changed how they are servicing small businesses and are now directing businesses and non-profits to set up a Google My Business account.

2) Ask for reviews. When your customers mention their satisfaction with your product and service, ask them to leave a review online. Most people are absolutely willing to help you out, so ask and tell them where to go or send a link to your page. Make it easy for them to find and they are likely to respond. Additionally you could include a link in your email signature and periodically remind people via social media to leave a review.

3) Set up a Yelp page. Yelp is a big when it comes to small businesses. You need a presence on here and I encourage you to actively engage with reviews and mentions of your business. Yelp is offers business owners a free account which includes:

• A two way conversation between your customers and the business owner online

• The ability to respond to a review with a private message or public comment.

• Photos and business information

• Upload photos, add a link to your website, and ensure that your hours are up to date so consumers searching for your business can easily find it.

Business analytics

• Track visitor engagement and customer leads from your Yelp Business Page.

There are also paid features and advertising options on Yelp that may be a benefit to you.

4) There are a number of other sites that you want to consider having a presence on. You want to make sure your listings and information is correct on your local chamber of commerce pages, Superpages and other online directories. Major search engines look to these data mines for updated information about your business. The more sites lining up as correct information the better and more likely your listing will appear. The more sites you build a presence on the greater links you will generate back to your site. The more links back to your site, the higher authority your site will have with search engines. So if you sell products on Amazon, obviously this is a no-brainer to encourage customers to give you a review. Same thing with music or books on iTunes.

5) Yahoo! Local Listings is another resource for locally owned and operated businesses. Through Yahoo! Local Listings your customers can rate you on a system of 1 star to 5 stars.

Getting Started with Email Marketing

Fri, 09 Sep 2016 12:19:15 GMT

Getting Started with Email Marketing

Email marketing - making the right offer, to the right people, at the right time

Email marketing is one of the most effective forms of marketing available online. There is nothing like reaching someone in their inbox with the right offer, at the right time. There are two ways we recommend doing email marketing.

1) Build your list through an offer on your website. You want to capture the email address of your website visitors. In order to this effectively, have a prompt on your website asking people to download your offer or .PDF or e-book if they enter their email address. This creates value to the web visitor and helps you build a relationship with that person albeit virtually for the time being. If someone is willing to share their email address with you, hold it in the highest regard, don’t abuse it. When using email marketing don’t just send one promotion after the next. Add value to your readers. Help them get what they want, and they will help you get what you want. Knowing your readers is the first step in providing value. Who is your audience and what do they need and want? Once you understand you audience you want to then answer the question how can I help them get what they need and want.

2) Borrow a list of opt-in subscribers and hyper target those most likely to buy from you. This is where exponential growth starts. Whereas the list building technique is necessary and should be implemented by any business, borrowing a list of eager clients who are already opted-in and proven to be ready to make a purchase, can result in immediate new business. It's part of our offerings at L2 Digital Marketing , and one your business needs to consider at least once a month.

Our team of experts will help you craft the right marketing message in your email, as we've done for dozens of clients, but here's a general rule of thumb for your email structure.

What solution are you providing?

What problem are you solving?

Present your message clearly, you only have on average a 20 second window of opportunity. 80% of emails never even get opened. Why? Your readers, prospects and customers are asking the question, “What’s in it for me?” In exchange for their time, what are they going to get out of reading your email? Make sure there is value.

Subject Line

Since most emails don’t even get opened, you need to take grab your reader’s attention with a compelling headline. In this article by Hubspot there are 18 different types of headlines that you can utilize to optimize your marketing campaigns. The long and short of it is this, people are paying you with their attention, don’t waste it. Providing valuable content establishes you as an authority in your market and builds trust.

Make an Offer

People have low attention spans and are being hit with hundreds of marketing messages a day. Don't waste their time, present the offer clearly and strategically. If you've gone through an agency like L2 Digital Marketing, we've already did the demographic research, including age, occupation, home value, marriage status, etc. to make sure we're reaching the right people at the right time with the right offer.

Content Marketing - a long term strategy

Content marketing is what works online. Providing highly valuable and actionable tips and tricks that help people and provide value is what is going to convert visitors into leads and leads into sales. Sending offer and offer to buy, buy, buy is going to turn off your potential customers and you’ll end up with many people unsubscribing. Content marketing on the other hand takes into consideration the needs of your audience before your own needs. Who is your audience and what do they need? How can you help them get what they need and gain their trust? Once you can answer those questions you can develop your content marketing strategy. Content marketing comes down to understanding your target customer and leading them on the path to conversion.

Providers

There are a number of different providers when it comes to email marketing.

RSS Feed From Your Blog

Once you pick your provider, connect your blog via RSS feed. Once setup you can automatically email your subscribers every time you update your blog. A huge time saver.

Building Your Business On Social Media

Wed, 07 Sep 2016 12:14:48 GMT

Building Your Business on Social Media

Social media strategy to grow your business online

Social media marketing needs to be a part of your marketing plan to grow your business. Social networks can be used to drive traffic back to your website, bring in leads, subscribers and visitors that you can educate, inform and convert into paying customers.

There is certainly no shortage of social networks to choose from and you want to be selective in which ones you choose, depending on your business goals and defined audience. Creating a customer persona or ideal client persona is a step we will cover in another post, but for now, let’s stick to the age and demographic you are reaching out to. Once you have those decided on, which of course you should know from when your business or organization began, then you can make the wisest choice in terms of gaining the greatest ROI from your efforts.

So let’s run through a couple of the most popular networks and who you can reach by utilizing social media.

Facebook : The world’s largest social network. While youth and teens have drifted away from this network, mothers, parents and baby boomers have flocked here. With over 1 billion people on the network, chances are your target audience is there, now you need to reach them.

Facebook has began aggressively monetizing their platform and resorted to a pay to play relationship with businesses and organizations. This was to be expected as the experience for users is totally free. Facebook is now charging businesses to get posts seen by even your followers. So the long and short of it is just because someone follows your company, doesn’t mean they will even see your posts without you paying for it or being creative and strategic in your posting on Facebook. This means you will need to create likable and shareable posts that your target audience is into, not necessarily only posts promoting your business. The standard rule is 80/20. 80% of your posts need to be engaging, fun and inspirational, 20% selling and offers. Of all the social networks Facebook has the best targeting options for you to reach your ideal prospect. Yes, you have to pay, but because Facebook has been able to gather so much data on its users, they now make that available to you as a marketer.

For example you can target people on Facebook by job title, employer, interests and more. This means really quality data that can be utilized to zone in on the exact audience you want to reach and create advertising that is not int-eruptive in nature, but rather helpful as you’re reaching your target audience.

Twitter : Twitter is the second largest social network and somewhere you want to consider being present. Twitter’s users are usually on a mobile device and the current active users is around 288 million. In contrast to Facebook, Twitter will share your post with all of your followers, if your users can find them. By this I mean that Twitter is extremely busy with millions of posts per day. So your followers may need to scan through their network to get to yours, but the good thing is Twitter pushes your posts out to everyone. Twitters users are generally more educated, upwardly mobile and consume most of their content on a mobile device. Get to the point though with Twitter, you only have 140 characters.

LinkedIn : The largest professional network in the world, LinkedIn has a niche in reaching professionals and potential business to business clients for your business or non-profit. You want your posts to be professional in nature and talking about value added advice and business wisdom for your followers. Use LinkedIn to share business advice from leading news sites, industry news and trends that are important to your followers.

Because of the time investment needed in these networks as well as the strategy and planning that goes into succeeding on these networks, you may want to consider hiring a firm like ours to manage and grow your brand's social media presence. For a fraction of the cost of a full time employee, we can help you succeed on social media.

Tools to Help Your Business Succeed Online

Tue, 06 Sep 2016 12:10:51 GMT

Tools to Help Your Business Succeed Online

Submitting your website to major internet search directories

Building on what we started discussing in our last post regarding submitting website to Google Webmasters, you want to focus your attention of three categories within Webmasters to maximize your time and effort within the tool and make sure your website performs to the best of its ability.

So once you head over to Webmasters and install it into your website, you can begin tracking a number of different reports relating to the performance of your website. Here are three to get started:

1) Search Appearance

When someone searches online for your site or a keyword you are trying to rank for, what information about your business shows up in search results?

You can control and adjust what information displays through this tool including title of each page of your site, URL or the link and the text with the link, sitelinks to other pages within your website.

This is important because as potential customers search online, what Google displays about your site and business can be the difference between a sale and a missed opportunity. What appears first about your site determines whether someone clicks on you or your competitor.

2) Search traffic

Understand your traffic and where it’s coming from and what type of device visitors view your site on.

Google Webmasters allows you to track clicks from Google search results, impressions, click through rate and position on the results that your site appeared.

This is important to know where your traffic is coming from so you can invest in what is paying off for your business in the long run. It's also important to know what device your site is being view on to make sure your site renders properly. We recommend responsive design because it is the lastest technology but also because it give your visitor the best experience, increasing the possiblity of a sale, donation and/or referral through social media or others avenues.

3) Google Index

How Google indexes your site is important because it determines how your site shows up in search results. There are a number of issues that can prevent Google from indexing your pages depending on how the site is built. Run this report and be sure to track how many pages within your site are indexed by Google to display in possible search results. The more pages that are indexed, the better opportunity your pages have to show in search and therefore to help your business get discovered by people looking for products or services like yours.

Other Tools

Bing Site Submission

Next you want to head over to Bing and submit your site to the search engine . You can also set up Bing webmaster tools and find resources including:

Key Links

• Submit your Site to Bing

• Bing Places for Business

Yahoo! Site Submission

The last free tool and site submission is to Yahoo!. As the third largest search engine in the world it doesn't compare to the likes of Google, yet it is still important to getting your business or non-profit noticed online. According to Wikipedia, here is how search engines stack up: As of February 2015 it is the third largest search engine in the US by the query volume at 12.8%, after its competitors Google at 64.5% and Bing at 19.8%. You can get started on Yahoo! here.

These free site submission tools will get your site noticed in search results online.

Google Webmasters

Fri, 02 Sep 2016 12:03:34 GMT

Google Webmasters

Now that you’ve got your website up and running you want to make sure it is being crawled by major search engines including Google, Yahoo, and Bing. So head over to Google Webmasters and sign up for a for a free account.

Once you sign into Google Webmasters Search Console you’ll be able to add a property- your website URL into Google.

Next you’ll be asked to verify your ownership of this website. The recommended way to do this is through your domain registrar account with either GoDaddy or Bluehost or one of the many other options in the drop down.

Once you verify you are the account owner you want to track the health of your website. Google Webmasters is a free tool that can significantly increase your visibility online and take your website from beginner basics to advanced pro. Notice in the picture below that depending on what you do or don't do in Google Webmasters will affect what shows up or doesn't show up in Google search. Your work on the front end will yield you search traffic increase in the long term, so it's worth a couple hours of your times to throughly utilize the tools Google has made available to you. And if you don't have the time or expertise to go through the tools, contact a firm like ours to be your outsourced web department, we'd be happy to help.

Website Design 101

Fri, 02 Sep 2016 11:59:03 GMT

Website Design 101

Work with a professional to execute your online marketing & website strategy

So, you have a vision of creating a website as a business building tool and asset. Now it's time to hire a professional web design firm . Trust us, we've seen the business that creates their own website on a do it yourself template and it looks like it. It performs poorly, doesn't attract enough traffic, and frankly it's costing you business and hosting fees every month, while it sits online and collects dust. Do yourself and the people who need what you offer a favor and hire someone to create a website that ranks of search engines , performs and drives new business.

Remember your website is likely the first impression people have of your organization. It is the window shoppers way of the 21st Century. So stay with the times and invest the time and energy into the site that your organization needs.

It’s helpful to have a number of sites in mind that you like in terms of design and content and share your ideas with a professional firm.

Set up a professional photography session.

Write the best copy of company founders and some information about your company that you’d like on your site.

A good place to start with even before designing the site is the content. Specifically the ABOUT page.

The ABOUT page on your site is possibly the most important page and will likely be your most viewed page as well other than your HOME page. Spend some time thinking about the story of your organization and how you got into the field you’re currently serving in. Think about your target customer and who you are trying to reach.

Don't make the ABOUT page only about you. Make it about your ideal customer . Tell the visitor what your organization can do for them. That's the language that most people who visit your site will speak. They are looking for help and therefore asking, what can you do to help me?

How can you help them?

Putting this content together will help you convert more visitors into leads and leads into sales for your business.

Your Business Website: Asset or Liability?

Wed, 31 Aug 2016 11:50:50 GMT

Your Business Website: Asset or Liability?

What is your website design saying about your company?

Spending some time thinking through your strategy and goals for your website will pay dividends for many years to come. The fact is your website is how 80%+ people research your business and industry before making a purchase decision. If done correctly, your website can be an asset for your business, not a liability. It can literally sell while you sleep. So how is yours working for you?

Here are a few questions to consider to get you started:

• What are 3-5 goals you have for your website? What does success look like?

• What function in the sales process do you see your website playing?

• What type of content and commitment are you willing to give to your site?

These are all questions you want to ask before you get started on planning and developing your website. Depending on your business and industry, some websites are strictly informational, others are fully functioning e-commerce websites. Others are lead generators for off-line phone calls or contacts. Others are list building sites that help you capture email addresses and contact information. What role will yours play? Defining what success looks like for you helps keep you and the website designer / project manager on the same page.

Next, you want to insist on designing your site based on responsive technology. Responsive design functions no matter the device it is being viewed on. You also want a site that meets your needs according to your work on strategy. If your goal is developing leads for your business, you need a way to capture email addresses and potentially a free download or some type of value added offer for every visitor.

If your goal is to sell online, make sure your site can integrate with shopping carts and can handle e-commerce and credit card transactions.

While we are talking about strategy I would be remiss to fail to mention the importance of sharing quality content on your website. Not only is content key in adding value to your website visitor, but it also helps search engines like Google recognize that you know what your talking about. Your main content pages and a blog connected to your site can help establish you as an authority and expert in your field. Information is so widely available today that keeping all your expertise and knowledge to yourself is no longer a good business strategy. Selling by teaching is a growing trend ii online business and something that can prove to help your business, not hurt it. As you show yourself an expert and authority in the topic you are selling you gain trust and establish rapport with your audience. As you do this your clients and audience will come back to you for more. If you can show that you solve their problem, they’ll come back for more.

So what is your business saying about your company and your capabilities? It's often the first place a prospective client will go to do their research about your company.

Secondly, how are search engines ranking your website ? Go ahead and search Google for a service you offer in the geography you're located. Does your business appear on page 1 of the results? If not, you're giving up business to your competitors and making it difficult for prospective clients to find you. Let's change that. By implementing a few of our proven website optimization and marketing tactics , we can begin generating quality, qualified leads for you to close and convert into long lasting clients and maybe even friends.

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