Digital Strategy Blog

The rise of UX web design has many marketers considering how their website visitors "use" a website and has really shaped the function of websites in recent years. However, with more than 19% of the US population having a disability, considerations for those users' experience on our websites should also be top of mind. There's also a law in place to protect their rights for access and usability of websites.

We have experience with public entities, like universities and charter schools, on the forefront of this website ADA compliance transition. This article is based on what we’ve learned about ADA compliance through those countless web designs, and is intended to help other website owners consider steps needed to comply with ADA regulations and usability.

In 2015 our founder created a blog post about website must haves. In our content review process this year I'm looking over all the previous assets to determine current value and alignment with our content strategy and SMART goals.

So much has changed in digital marketing since 2015. SO I have to tell you, I was SHOCKED at what I found in this article that our fearless leader, founder, and tech guru posted in 2015!

The way in which we conduct business is changing on an almost daily basis. Business isn't closed by dropping off some bagels and business cards anymore. Keeping track of your clients in a spreadsheet is so archaic, the last time I did that, I fell off my dinosaur. But seriously, every single prospect, every lead, and every customer has a variety of needs.

Now if you work for a large-enterprise organization, you're most likely using a CRM and understand the value it brings to your business.

If you don't see the value, then there's a good chance you're using the wrong CRM.

If you work at a start-up, small, or mid size business, there's a possibility you aren't using a CRM, and that in itself may be the biggest hindrance for your company's growth.

When starting out on your inbound or SEO journey with an agency, there are a lot of things to consider, especially if it is your first time working with an agency.

Contrary to popular opinion, agencies are not full of magicians.

In order to get the most out of your SEO or inbound marketing agency, you need to be involved.

One thing that we tell our clients up front is that we're never going to be as much of an expert in their business as they are. They will always be the 1a expert. Our goal, instead, is to be the 1b expert. In order to get there, we need some help though. 

Let's take a look at how you fit into the client-agency relationship and how you can get the most out of your agency.

When you add fresh content to your website with blog posts, search engines really take notice. But do you know how to maximize that 'SEO juice"? Yes, I totally made up a term by expanding the slang term link juice to cover ALL aspects of search engine optimization, not just the flow between internal and external links. Let's dig in to all the aspects needed to maximize the SEO juice to that fresh website content added with blogging. 

Now that we've covered what public relations is and that is can help your business, let's dig a little deeper on HOW it helps and what that means for your bottom line. 

Just a quick overview for those of you who may have missed the last PR blog post:

Public Relations, sometimes called PR, is earned media that utilizes distribution of a press release to the media in hopes that a story or article or news segment is published and will increase brand awareness and build credibility in the buyers journey. This is sometimes called earned media. 

Social media is a great resource for all businesses because it allows them to not only get their messaging directly in front of their target market, but they're also able to engage with prospects and get immediate feedback. However, in today's social media landscape, a business page's organic posts are often overlooked or ignored due to the sheer amount of over saturation in a person's newsfeed. 

That being said, if you want to use social media posts as a catalyst for business growth, it's important to understand the differences between organic and boosted posts. 

Having a great website is essential if you want to be competitive in today's digital business landscape. For this reason, it's important that you audit your website periodically (ideally four times per year, depending on the size of your website) to make sure your website is operating as smoothly and effectively as possible. A website audit involves a full analysis of all the factors that affect user experience and search engine visibility. The goal of a website audit is to identify where you can improve your website's performance, so you can ultimately convert more of your visitors.

I know what you are thinking -- public relations, really? Isn't that an old school tactic that is only used for damage control these days? No, my friend, no it is not. 

Inbound marketing and public relations are birds of a feather (and yes they should flock together). Many business people put these in the same marketing category of initiatives they don't understand. However, when you look at the big picture, long-term effects that these two marketing initiatives can have on your business, you'll see how critical they are for business success.