There is nothing better than attending an event and walking away with a load of golden nuggets that can make your business better. Chick-fil-a takes the prize of “Best Nuggets Ever,” but for best business nuggets I vote for Charlotte Regional Business Alliance and their “Reach Customers Online with Google” event.
In January I attended the “Reach Customers Online with Google” event hosted by CRBA. Google presented to about 70 different organizations on how to make the most of your relationship with Google.
The event got me thinking about the following questions - and if you’re a business owner, you should be thinking about them too:
How do customers find you?
When customers find you, do you completely confuse them with your over-complicated messaging, cobweb-infested website, or lack of clear call-to-actions?
Google taught us three things during the event that help us address these questions:
So here are three of the nuggets for you to fry on 🙂
Google My Business is a free local business listing that can help your business appear across Google Search and Maps.
Besides setting up your Google My Business listing with helpful information such as your location, contact information, and website link, you should also get the most out of your listing by asking people to leave reviews.
Whether you’re a service-based business or product-based business, you should ask customers to leave a review. To get started, set a goal of getting 5-10 reviews. You can expedite the process by drafting the review and letting customers edit.
The perfect Google review needs to be in the following order and 1-2 sentences each.
When a potential customer finds you on Google, where’s the first place they go? If you answered “My website!” then here’s a golden star for you! Prospective customers look at your website to see if you can help them address their pain points.
So your website is kind of a big deal! Here are three things to keep in mind when it comes to your website:
What is search engine optimization (SEO)? Imagine hundreds of tiny robot spiders controlled by Google crawling through your site. They’re on the hunt for information that tells them what your website is all about!
Then Google uses that information to serve-up your site to people searching.
If you’re not ranking on page 1 or 2 for key terms related to what you do, then your site needs some SEO love!
Start by choosing some strategic terms someone might search when they’re experiencing a problem your product or service can fix. Then use those terms to optimize key pages on your site.
And don’t forget about the back-end either! Pages titles, meta descriptions, and alt-tags are just as important as the words on the page!
The Grunt Test, a term coined by Donald Miller CEO of Storybrand, refers to the ease at which a potential customer can look at your website and quickly understand what it is you’re selling.
To test whether your website passes the Grunt Test, have someone look at the homepage of your website and see if he/she can answer these three questions with just a quick glance:
Your website’s load time is one instance where slow and steady doesn’t win the race.
The rule of thumb is that your website needs to load in under 5 seconds. Anything longer and you can say “Goodbye!” to your website visitors because they won’t stick around to see what happens once your site eventually loads.
During “Reach Customers Online with Google” there were load speeds of 9 seconds, 15 seconds, 18 seconds, and even some that never loaded!
If your site runs like molasses, then keep reading to learn how you can improve your website speed.
As you digest the nuggets above, here are a few french fries - oops sorry dieticians - a few carrots (i.e. useful tools) to munch on:
If all of this seems overwhelming, don’t worry. Not only did we attend the “Reach Customers Online with Google” event in Charlotte, but The Squad is also a certified Google Partner! You heard that right - Google Partner.
Our team can help you make the most out of your relationship with Google. What are you waiting for? Start a conversation today!
In 2019, companies of all sizes can now afford to produce high-quality video content to tell their stories. The rapid increase in accessibility to professional gear has made beautiful and meaningful stories not just the exports of expensive Hollywood productions. Nowadays companies are using video to tell impactful stories and help customers understand their business across a variety of channels, including videos on their website, social media, and even in digital ads.
While access has increased, it is still no small task to create engaging, informative, and well-produced video content. Here at The Squad, we’ve spent years honing a trusted process and we love helping companies tell their story through video.
Not sure how to get started? Here are some basics to get you off to the races.
First off, know who you’re trying to communicate with! Include demographics, professions, and felt needs. Any information that you can compile to identify your target audience will be the foundation of how you craft your plan.
Once you have narrowed your sights on a target audience, determine a desired result of the finished piece. A popular marketing rule is that most content can be broken into four basic intentions: to inform, inspire, educate, or entertain. When planning and writing your script, consider the most effective ways to achieve the desired result for your video.
Planning is vital to a successful shoot-day. The more time you spend ironing out each detail of the shoot, the less time you’ll spend in the editing room, afterward. The mindset of ‘we’ll record a lot of footage and figure it out’ usually results in a headache of an edit and a disappointing final product.
Knowing the lay of the land is another important piece of the puzzle. If you have the ability to scout your location, take notes, and make adjustments before the shoot; this will make the shoot-day much less stressful. If you don’t have the ability to scout ahead of time, make sure you plan to arrive early on location to walk through the shots and address any last-minute adjustments.
Creating a detailed shot-list is vital before every shoot. Once you are on location, being able to check off specific scenes will add a level of confidence and organization to the process.
On more elaborate narratives, storyboarding specific scenes can be very helpful.
If you are filming ‘talking head’ interviews, it’s always best to at least have an outline and talking points outlined beforehand. Most inexperienced interviewees are nervous and the more structure you can provide, the better. Whoever is directing the interview should focus on making the subject feel as comfortable and relaxed as possible.
Writing a voiceover script can be more straightforward, but keep in mind that having the right talent to record the voiceover can make or break the tone of your project. An audience is much more forgiving of a casual or ‘imperfect’ execution of interviews but usually expects a very polished and professional voiceover experience.
One of the main hurdles to overcome when creating a video project is acquiring and operating the necessary gear. While the price of quality cameras and various accessories has rapidly decreased over recent years, it still depends on the overall budget and goals of your project whether you should consider renting or buying.
Some rental resources we use:
https://murphyscamera.com/rentals.html
Selecting the right music for your project is important for setting the emotional tone. Also, depending on where you purchase rights to your music, this is a consideration to be built into your total budget.
A resource we use:
2019 is going to be another big year for video content! We hope this list is helpful for planning a video project of your own. Of course, if this list left you with more questions than answers on how to produce your own marketing video, then let’s talk.
Our team of videographers, designers, editors, and creative strategists are dedicated to helping businesses in and around Louisville, KY and Charlotte, NC tell their story through video. You bring the story and we’ll bring the skills, gear, and process.
As a graphic designer, it’s impossible to walk into a storefront, visit a website or see a commercial without noticing the visual elements of the brand; however, you don’t need to be in the industry to experience a brand. All consumers subconsciously seek out brands that make us feel “cooler” or “smarter” or that represent some idealized version of ourselves.
An audience can easily become distracted by badly chosen imagery, a clunky logo, or a poorly worded sales-pitch, so having a brand that is well conceived and remains consistent is a must.
However, this is only the baseline for a memorable brand experience.
The consumer wants so much more than a clean logo and perfectly lit Instagram photos; they want to feel something.
While a glowing Apple logo and expensive espresso tend to draw me in like a moth to a flame, I know that every consumer is unique. When working with clients across a wide spectrum of businesses and target demographics, a creative professional must learn to lean into their sense of empathy to craft a meaningful brand experience.
Empathy
the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner
So, you have a company. You have a logo you’re proud of. You have a mobile responsive website and a social media following… now what?
To craft a true brand experience you must first know your own identity as a company, and then understand your ideal clientele.
What do you want your audience to feel when they interact with your brand?
ie
As a business consultant, I want my audience to sense: trust & professionalism
As a resdiential builder, I want my audience to sense: integrity & nostalgia
As a coffee shop owner, I want my audience to sense: community & craft.
Once you are comfortable with the tonal voice of your brand, you can confidently lean into your marketing efforts; knowing that every piece of your content is speaking the emotional language of your brand.
In a world of constant stimuli and information overload, making a genuine emotional connection with a consumer has never been more important.
At the Squad, we love helping our clients craft a brand experience. If you have a new concept, our creative team loves to build a brand from scratch by designing the look and feel. Our team of writers also helps you develop your ‘voice’ and tell your story in a consistent and unique tone.
Let’s tell your story, together.
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