One of the questions we always get is “Do you do SEO?” It’s usually asked as if it was a buzzword picked up casually in conversation, something that closer resembles a Holy Grail than a marketing discipline.
In short, the answer is yes, we do SEO.
Read MoreFor the past several years, I haven’t gone a single month without saying something along the lines of “Your customers aren’t buying from a business, they’re buying from you.”
This sentiment that I often share with clients, prospects, and colleagues is all too often lost in the modern-day world. For the vast majority of our clients, they fall in the small or medium-sized business bucket. These are individuals who are going out there each and every day, sharing their experiences, telling their story, and connecting with others on a more intimate level.
Read MoreEverything we do is done to establish a brand for our clientele, regardless of whether they have a brand new business or have been around for years. For those who have been in operation for some time, we’ve noticed over the past five months that their reach tends to generally be limited to tight-nit communities.
Read MoreThe past few years have been rough for Facebook from a PR standpoint. From Russians using its platform to interfere in the 2016 election, to the selling of user data, to the infamous one-day outage, and more, the mega-corporation has become an easy target for public distrust. All of these events have led to to the latest bit of news surrounding Facebook: Congress clamoring for a breakup.
Read MoreOften, we find that when we speak with a potential client, they’ll frequently say something along the lines of “I don’t need marketing. I need sales!” If we had a nickel for every time we heard that one.
But the truth is that there’s a reason why every successful Fortune 500 company has a distinct department for both (and sub-departments within those departments). So, today we’d like to talk about why it’s important to marry marketing and sales together.
Read MoreThis past week, two of our clients received negative reviews on their Google listings. The first is an on-again/off-again client whose website we designed, whereas with the second, we’re actively helping them generate a positive digital reputation.
Read MoreBelieve it or not, starting a small business is always a huge step forward. Despite the plethora of competition, in time, you’ll find that you have much more freedom, cash flow, and ownership than you ever would working for a much larger organization.
For me, one of the early lessons I learned is that I can’t do it all. For instance, you might be effective at running the day-to-day operations of your business, however, marketing might be a foreign concept.
But it doesn’t have to be daunting. As a matter of fact, there are four easy ways to launch your digital marketing strategy.
Read MoreAt the end of November, LinkedIn introduced a new privacy setting pertaining to user email addresses. Whereas businesses could previously download and export data on all of their connections (including their email address), LinkedIn now gives users a choice as to whether their email is downloadable.
Read MoreDuring this time every year, countless consumers begin the process of crossing off their Christmas shopping. For many, including several friends and family members, Black Friday becomes the unofficial kick-off ceremony for said shopping spree.
Last week’s Black Friday shopping extravaganza led to consumers achieving a record-breaking $6.22 billion in online sales. As a matter of fact, just in the lead-up to Black Friday, Thanksgiving Day has become “the fastest growing shopping day” of the year, seeing an impressive 28% year-over-year growth.
Read MoreWhen I was in college, one of the first marketing concepts I learned was about the power of a brand. “A brand is a promise,” my professor would say. “It’s a promise to your customers to uphold certain values that represent how you want to do business and be seen by the rest of the world.”
These values can range from creating the expectation of excellent customer service to following a code of ethics with each transaction. The important thing is that those values are consistent throughout a business’ life.
Read MoreWith Halloween just a mere eight days away, the holiday season is soon to follow. During this time, many retail businesses will be extremely busy as countless holiday shoppers stop buy to purchase gifts for their loved ones.
Some see this as the time to scale back on marketing because business is going so well that there’s no need to get the word out anymore. We’re here to tell you differently.
Read MoreThis past Saturday night, I attended Jack's Pumpkin Nights Pop-Up near Goose Island. For me, the experience left much to be desired.
But as I looked around, I realized that this event was never built for someone like me. It’s built for the Instagram Culture.
Read MoreMany business owners have at one point in time or another discussed building a website. While countless follow through on it, there are just as many who don’t.
Maybe, it comes down to budget. Perhaps, it’s more about indecisiveness with the site’s direction. In either case, perpetual inaction has a severe opportunity cost in credibility and even missed leads.
For those who don’t have an extensive budget (or time) to build a grand website, or aren’t sure how they want to portray their business, there are still three vital pages worth incorporating to provide your website with the bare bones treatment.
Read MoreWhen starting a business, it’s easy to fall into the trap of “I need to be 100% business-oriented all the time.” Many people see owning a business as they’re brainchild, so they want it to be just perfect.
News flash!
People don’t like that.
Read MoreIt was only a matter of time, but now, Google+ has officially been marked for execution.
Although it started out promisingly enough, Google+ never really amounted to more than a discounted Facebook clone. And it’s surprising, really.
A platform designed by one of the greatest companies in the world should’ve had continents full of user data, preferences, and other resources need to create the best social media platform to ever exist.
Read MoreWeb development and design techniques are constantly in flux. Within a single year, a multitude of new trends will pop up to phase out the “old” ones.
In the case of parallax, it’s been incorporated in web design since 2011. Yet, this design technique is still picking up steam with the mainstream public.
Read MoreFor those who have followed us on social media throughout the week, you’ll know that Maria [Rizzo] and I just returned from vacationing in Positano. However, you may not know that this is the first vacation we’ve attempted to take in a little over a year and a half.
Admittedly, I was pretty high-strung going into it. When I thought of all the emails I receive on a daily basis, the thought of it just seemed nauseating.
Read MoreOur marketing agency is based in Chicago, a town shared with extremely popular World Series champion, Anthony Rizzo. And articles on the champ dominated search results.
When we first formalized our company at the beginning of April, Rizzo Young Marketing’s SEO was virtually nonexistent. Being a new company, this makes perfect sense.
But with our combined backgrounds, Maria and I knew exactly where to start: Organic Content. We created social media profiles across every mainstream platform, created a secure, mobile-friendly website, and set up our Google My Business listing. But there was one major issue.
Read MoreWhen I first started out as a digital marketing consultant, I thought that social media is the easiest value-added service to bring to clients. An astounding number of small businesses aren’t on social media right now, while their competitors have been absolutely crushing it. Plus, there are numerous platforms and each platform has its own “rules for success”. The market seemed to be wide open.
Read MoreStanding out on social media isn't easy for a small business. Naturally, small businesses don't have the capital nor the brand awareness that a Fortune 500 company has. However, there are several steps that you can take to ensure that you're conveying a professional and credible tone across all of your social media channels.
Back in June, we shared five key tips for social media marketing. For those just starting to up their social media game, here are five more tips to get you going.
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