 As we reach the halfway point of 2024, it's crucial to take a step back and evaluate your marketing efforts over the past six months. A mid-year marketing strategy session is an invaluable opportunity to review your progress, identify areas for improvement, and refine your plans to ensure you’re set up for success in the latter half of the year. Wondering, what the importance of conducting a mid-year marketing strategy session is and how it can help your business achieve its goals? Let's find out.
Why a Mid-Year Marketing Strategy Session is Essential 1. Assessing Performance One of the primary goals of a marketing strategy session is to assess the performance of your current marketing initiatives. By reviewing key metrics and analytics, you can determine what worked well and what didn’t. This assessment allows you to: - Identify Successful Campaigns: Highlight the campaigns that drove the most traffic, engagement, and conversions, and understand why they were successful. - Spot Weaknesses: Recognize areas where your marketing efforts fell short and investigate the reasons behind these shortcomings. - Measure ROI: Evaluate the return on investment for different marketing channels and tactics to ensure you’re allocating your budget effectively. 2. Aligning with Business Goals As your business evolves, your marketing strategy must adapt to align with new objectives and priorities. A strategy session helps you: - Revisit Goals: Ensure your marketing goals are still relevant and aligned with your overall business objectives. - Adjust Tactics: Modify your marketing tactics to better support your current goals, whether that means shifting focus to a new target audience, introducing new products, or exploring new markets. - Set New Targets: Establish realistic and measurable targets for the remainder of the year to keep your team focused and motivated. 3. Staying Ahead of Trends The digital marketing landscape is constantly changing, with new trends and technologies emerging all the time. A mid-year strategy session allows you to: - Review Industry Trends: Stay updated on the latest marketing trends and best practices that could impact your strategy. - Embrace Innovation: Identify new tools, platforms, and techniques that can enhance your marketing efforts and give you a competitive edge. - Plan for Changes: Anticipate potential changes in consumer behavior or market conditions and adjust your strategy accordingly. 4. Enhancing Team Collaboration A strategy session is also an excellent opportunity to bring your team together and foster collaboration. It helps to: - Encourage Input: Involve team members from different departments to gain diverse perspectives and ideas. - Clarify Roles: Ensure everyone understands their roles and responsibilities within the marketing strategy. - Boost Morale: Celebrate the successes of the past six months and motivate your team for the challenges ahead. 5. Refining Your Marketing Plan Based on the insights gained from your strategy session, you can refine your marketing plan to ensure it’s robust and effective. This process includes: - Updating Content: Refreshing your content strategy to ensure it resonates with your target audience and reflects your brand’s voice. - Optimizing SEO: Reviewing and updating your SEO strategy to improve your website’s visibility and organic search rankings. - Improving User Experience: Ensuring your website and digital platforms provide a seamless and engaging user experience. - Enhancing Analytics: Implementing or updating analytics tools to better track and measure your marketing performance. As we hit the mid-point of the year, a comprehensive marketing strategy session is more important than ever. It allows you to assess your performance, align your efforts with your business goals, stay ahead of industry trends, foster team collaboration, and refine your marketing plan. By taking the time to review and adjust your strategy now, you can ensure that your marketing efforts are optimized for success in the remaining months of the year. At Berry Digital Solutions, we’re dedicated to helping businesses like yours navigate the complexities of digital marketing. Whether you need assistance with a mid-year strategy session or ongoing support throughout the year, our team of experts is here to help. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you achieve your marketing goals and drive your business forward.  In today's competitive business landscape, small businesses are constantly looking for innovative ways to gain a competitive edge. One powerful strategy that can offer immense value to small businesses is the act of brainstorming with an outside marketing agency like Berry Digital Solutions. So what are the benefits and advantages of collaborating with an external marketing agency and how it can positively impact your digital marketing efforts? Let's explore more below!
Fresh Perspectives and Diverse Expertise When you collaborate with an marketing agency, you gain access to fresh perspectives and diverse expertise. They may bring a different set of experiences, skills, and knowledge to the table, allowing for a broader range of ideas and insights. This diversity can inject new life into your brainstorming sessions, leading to more creative and innovative marketing strategies for your small business. Unbiased and Objective Feedback As a small business owner, it's easy to become emotionally invested in your ideas and strategies. This emotional attachment can sometimes cloud your judgment and prevent you from seeing potential flaws or alternative approaches. By involving an outside marketing agency in your brainstorming sessions, you can benefit from their unbiased and objective feedback. They can offer valuable insights, challenge assumptions, and provide constructive criticism that can help refine your ideas and enhance your marketing strategies. Industry Trends and Best Practices Digital marketing is a rapidly evolving field, and it can be challenging for small businesses to keep up with the latest trends and best practices. An outside agency who specializes in digital marketing can bring valuable industry knowledge and insights to your brainstorming sessions. They can help you stay abreast of emerging trends, identify opportunities, and implement cutting-edge strategies that align with your business goals. This collaboration ensures that your digital marketing efforts are up to date and relevant in today's dynamic online landscape. Expanded Network and Resources Collaborating with an outside agency expands your network and resources. They may have connections to industry experts, influencers, or complementary businesses that can support your marketing initiatives. This network can open doors to new partnerships, collaborations, and promotional opportunities, ultimately driving more traffic to your website and increasing your brand visibility. Enhanced Problem-Solving and Decision Making Brainstorming with an outside agency can significantly enhance problem-solving and decision-making processes for your small business. The collaborative environment encourages active discussion, diverse viewpoints, and the exploration of various alternatives. Through this collective effort, you can identify potential roadblocks, uncover innovative solutions, and make informed decisions that align with your business objectives. This approach increases the likelihood of implementing successful digital marketing strategies that generate tangible results. Brainstorming with a digital marketing agency like Berry Digital Solutions can offer tremendous value to your small business in terms of fresh perspectives, unbiased feedback, industry insights, expanded networks, and improved problem-solving. By leveraging the expertise and collaborative energy of an external marketing expert, you can enhance your digital marketing efforts and propel your small business to new heights of success. Embrace the power of collaboration and unlock the full potential of your marketing strategies with one of our FREE brainstorming sessions, click here to schedule today.  In today's digital age, having a website is no longer enough. With so many businesses competing for online visibility, it's important to find effective ways to drive traffic to your website. There are many ways to drive traffic to your website, so lets take a look at these options, and how to navigate the right solutions for your business.
Google Ads Google Ads is a pay-per-click (PPC) advertising platform that allows businesses to place ads on Google's search engine results pages (SERPs). With Google Ads, businesses can target specific keywords, demographics, and locations to reach their ideal audience. By using Google Ads, businesses can increase their online visibility and drive more traffic to their website. Social Media Ads Social Media Ads are another type of PPC advertising that can be used to drive traffic to your website. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn allow businesses to place ads that target specific demographics, interests, and behaviors. By using Social Media Ads, businesses can reach their target audience where they spend their time online, and drive more traffic to their website. This can be done through Boosted Posts or Paid Ads. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) SEO is the process of optimizing your website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). By improving your website's SEO, you can increase its visibility on search engines like Google, which can drive more traffic to your site. SEO involves a combination of on-page and off-page optimization tactics such as keyword research, content optimization, link building, and more. Content Marketing Content marketing involves creating and sharing valuable content that's designed to attract and retain your target audience. By providing valuable content, you can attract more visitors to your website and keep them coming back for more. Content marketing can include blog posts, videos, infographics, social media posts, and more. Email Marketing Email marketing involves sending promotional emails to your subscribers to promote your products or services. By building an email list and sending targeted emails, you can drive traffic to your website and increase conversions. Email marketing can be an effective way to keep your audience engaged and informed about your business. While these options can be effective for driving traffic to your website, it can be overwhelming for business owners to navigate the world of digital marketing alone. That's where the Berry Digital Solution's team comes in. We can help you navigate the various digital marketing options and tailor a strategy that's right for your business. Let's work together to identify your target audience, develop a marketing plan, execute your marketing plan, and track your results. Driving traffic to your website requires a multi-faceted approach. By combining Google Ads, Social Media Ads, SEO, content marketing, and email marketing, you can attract more visitors to your website and increase your online visibility. However, it's important to remember that digital marketing can be complex and overwhelming, especially for business owners who are already juggling multiple responsibilities. We can help you navigate the world of digital marketing and create a strategy that works for your business. Learn more and let us help you simplify the process.  Berry Digital Solutions' Ryan Berry continues to work closely with Google to help Congress better understand proposed legislation on small businesses across the country.
Congress has recently turned a strong focus towards technology-driven corporations Amazon, Google, Twitter, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook and others with a goal of breaking these large organizations into many smaller businesses. The concept of breaking up large corporations to create a more competitive market can make sense in some industries, but lawmakers are missing the huge negative impact a forced technology break up would have on small business owners. Most small businesses have come to rely on digital products and services to operate and promote their businesses. Many of these products and services, such as Gmail, Google Business Listings, Google Maps, and more, are available at no cost to small businesses. If corporations are forced to separate these products out, they would have to charge small business owners for the products and services in order to maintain them. In addition, many of these free services rely on each other to work properly. For example, Google Maps presents your business address by verifying it in a Google Business listing. A small business owner that maintains its Google Business listing doesn't have to worry about it's web presence across several platforms that utilize the Google Business listing. If those divisions of Google are forced to break apart, small business owners will be forced to carry the financial burden, as well as the burden of managing many different accounts, turning 1 task in several every time they need to make a change. Ryan will spend another week on Capital Hill at the end of this month speaking with leaders and staff in Congress to help explain these issues and offer better support on a true solution to the issues at hand. Data privacy laws are another topic Ryan is helping D.C. better understand. Lawmakers need to understand how daunting it could be for small business owners that will be forced to keep track of multiple data privacy laws passed by individual states, as opposed to one federal law that would be upheld across the country. Reach out to Ryan if you want to be part of the conversation.  In today's digital age, having a website for your business is essential. It acts as your digital storefront and is often the first point of contact between you and your potential customers. However, having a website is not enough. To stay ahead of the competition, you need to keep it updated on a regular basis. So why does it matter? Let us tell you more about the importance of updating your website and how it can benefit your business.
2. Boosts Search Engine Ranking Search engines love fresh and relevant content. Updating your website on regular basis with new content, such as blog posts, articles, or news updates, can help improve your search engine ranking. This means that your website will appear higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) for relevant keywords, making it easier for potential customers to find you. 3. Increases Website Traffic Updating your website with new content can also help drive more traffic to your website. By creating quality content that is useful and relevant to your target audience, you can attract more visitors to your website. This, in turn, can lead to more leads and conversions. 4. Builds Credibility and Trust When your website is updated regularly, it shows that your business is active and engaged with its audience. It also demonstrates that you are knowledgeable and up-to-date in your industry. This can help build credibility and trust with your visitors, which is important for converting them into customers. 5. Keeps Your Website Secure Regularly updating your website can also help keep it secure. Website security is essential, especially if you collect personal information from your visitors, such as names, email addresses, or payment information. Updating your website's software and plugins can help patch any vulnerabilities and keep your website safe from hackers and cyber attacks. Updating your website on a regular basis is essential for your business's success. It not only improves the user experience but also boosts your search engine ranking, increases website traffic, builds credibility and trust, and keeps your website secure. So, make sure to allocate time and resources to updating your website, and you'll see the benefits in no time! Berry Digital Solutions clients, make sure to use our Updates Desk for any of your website update needs. If you're still dealing with an average website company, reach out to us learn what makes us different. #NotYourAverageWebsiteCompany  So many local businesses spend time tackling their own marketing in an effort to try to save money, but you have likely learned the time and energy spent on marketing is not for the faint of heart. If you are ready to step aside and let a professional take the reins, your business may be ready to take that next step in its marketing journey and pass the torch to an agency. The next step is deciding if going with a local agency makes sense for your business. Here are some benefits of going with a local marketing agency and what we think you can gain from taking this next step.
Proximity and Convenience This is one of the biggest benefits of going local. You never have to coordinate time zones to schedule a meeting, feel like you are being brushed off, or simply just can’t track down the person that is in charge of your account. Having someone local makes it easy to schedule face to face meetings, quick phone calls, or spend a full day brainstorming strategy together. Local Reviews When deciding to go local, you can lean on reviews from other local businesses that use the same marketing agency. If you are inspired by their success and they have good things to say, you will be at ease knowing you can trust them with your business as well. Word of mouth is a great way to find out if a marketing agency would be a good fit for you, which is not something you are going to find if you are looking at a long-distance agency. Community Connections Oftentimes the people working local also live local. This gives them great pride and insight into the community and what it is like to live and work there. Locals will already know of happenings in town at different businesses and can work to help elevate your message. Working with an agency in proximity can potentially help you coordinate collaboration projects with other local businesses. This will give you even more community connections, making your town a destination people want to be. Grow Together As your business grows, so will the marketing agency you have hired. As they help you grow by making your marketing stronger, you will begin to trust them and recommend them to others, which will help both of you grow. This will not only strengthen your business but the local community as well. When everyone works together good things are going to happen! By Chelsea Bray- Elle A. Design  1. Personalization
Every customer wants to feel like what you offer is just for them. Some companies make this part of their overall business model, but there are easier ways you can incorporate this into your marketing. There are many ways that brands already do this including:
2. Video Marketing It should come as no surprise that short format videos are more popular than ever. With platforms like TikTok, Instagram Stories, and Facebook Stories leading the way, these short form videos give your brand personality. Here are a few benefits behind creating video content:
3. Social Messaging Apps Having a chat service that anyone can access, and have direct contact with your business, is something everyone should consider. People trust a business they can contact quickly and receive accurate information from. Here are some reasons to consider adding this to your list of marketing resources this year:
4. Shoppable Posts Scrolling through Instagram and finding an ad that not only targets your interests, but is also easily shoppable, is the best of both worlds. Without having to leave the app, customers can buy your products. Here are some ways the newest trend of shoppable posts might help your business:
5. Virtual Events Since 2020, the world and the way we hold events has been forever changed. Now that people have experienced virtual events, more people are open to the idea of attending them. Here are some reasons why a virtual event might make more sense for your company than an in-person event:
Try including one or more of these tactics in your 2021 marketing efforts and see how your customers respond. Thinking outside of the box is a great way to be noticed in a space that is overwhelmed with content. What other creative ways are you going to market yourself this year? By Chelsea Bray: Elle A. Design  During 2020 we saw an increase in newly opened small businesses locally and nationally. Many people found themselves out of work and recent business closures created openings in the market. This pushed some people to follow their passion, become their own boss, and start their own business. Starting a business comes with many obstacles, but there are plenty of people to help connect all the dots.
One of our strengths at Berry Digital Solutions is helping new businesses understand and start their marketing efforts. Marketing is a huge part of business, no matter the industry. It goes far beyond just a logo, website, printed collateral, running ads, etc. Before a new business can even begin the processes of marketing, there are certain foundations that must be laid. Branding Before a brand can be recognizable to others, it needs to be developed by the business owners to reflect what they are trying to achieve. Branding not only includes everything from colors, logo, uniforms, website and all other visual collateral, but also is the way a business talk to customers, their management style, and even how they speak on social media. All of these pieces will help when trying to complete each of the next steps. Market Learning the intended market is the first step to successfully targeting it. What size the market is, what local competition there is, the range of prices in the market, and any other defining characteristics help create an entire picture of the market each business will be trying to capture. Learning this information will help define keywords in online advertising, learn the appropriate places to spend a marketing budget, and set attainable goals for business. Choosing Marketing Avenues Once the market is defined, it is time to figure out where they spend their time. Learning what social media platforms, websites, publications, and types of entertainment an audience uses is a good first step when building a successful marketing plan. Not all audiences are found on all platforms and marketing too broadly can waste precious time and resources. Settings Goals and Budgets When creating content, it is good to have an initial budget. Be prepared to spend more during the initial startup phase and then spending between three and five percent of annual turnover on marketing moving forward. As content begins to be created and shared it is good to find a way to track if the marketing efforts put in place are working. Goals that are set should be attainable, specific, and time-based. Once the goals are set make sure they are shared with anyone on the team that can help make them happen. We hope this brief list of marketing basics can help new businesses obtain their goals. We are here to help every new business learn more about marketing and how it can help them grow. Feel free to reach out for a consultation at: www.berrydigitalsolutions.com/contact-us.html By Chelsea Bray: Elle A. Design
"You have thousands of people at your fingertips. And business networking within your community or your brand is a way to reach so many more you may not have reached before."
Here are a few benefits of business networking on social media:
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