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. 

Social Media Management is a process of planning, creating, posting, and reviewing content for all social media platforms. Whether you use a social media management company, paid online tools, or manage it on your own, it is important to understand the process of managing social media accounts. Make the most out of your marketing by understanding the ins and outs of social marketing.

1. Planning
Planning can be done weekly, monthly, or even quarterly. Looking into things like upcoming holidays, planned sales and specials, or community events will give you a good place to start with your planning. You can also make sure you are offering different types of content during this stage. While there are a lot of things you can plan for, you will want to work in some open space for current content that comes up and for sharing relevant industry content in real-time.

2. Content Creation
Once you have a plan of action it is time to create your content. Content can come in many forms such as images, infographics, videos, and blogs. Some of it will be easy to create on your own and sometimes you might need to hire help to create more impactful content.

3. Writing Copy
Once you have all your content created, it is time to write copy to go along with your posts. When writing your copy, you want to make it relevant to the content, but also match the tone of your brand. This is also where you will want to include any links and utilize creative hashtags.

4. Scheduling
This step is straight forward but there are many ways you can get it done. There are plenty of free and paid tools out there that specialize in making the scheduling of social media content on cross platforms quick and easy. Scheduling out all your content gives you time to focus on the other aspects of your business day-to-day.

5. Interaction
This part is where you get to know your customers better and learn more about how they are interacting with your brand and content. Making sure your brand is active in the comments on your social media platform is important. It gives your brand personality and a sense of humanity that won’t come from just posting content.

6. Review
Once you have done all the previous steps and the content has all been shared, it is time to look at the data. Figure out what did well, what your customers enjoyed interacting with, and what you can do better next time. Social media is always evolving and making sure you know what is working and what isn’t, will help you stay relevant.

If you are looking for help with your social media management, email us at [email protected] or call us at 937-404-1050. We can’t wait to work with you!

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:

​It is no secret that we are avid #ShopLocal supporters.

So we thought, what better way to showcase our love for our fellow entrepreneurs than to share our absolute favorite hometown spots to shop steps away from our location #OnTheSquare and beyond!

Find unique holiday gifts or add some local flavor to your gift certificate game this Christmas season.

Here is our EXCLUSIVE "Ryan & Chris Approved" family favorites:

Have you rented a booth for the Champaign County Fair but don't now what to do when you get there? Or are you looking for a way to be represented without attending? The fair can be an awesome place to reach a large audience but when you're competing with other businesses it's important to standout! If you aren't sure where to start, we'd love to help you! Can't attend? No problem, we've got you covered! Let us advertise for you using one of our We Spend Local screens at the fair! Make sure your marketing strategy includes the fair! If the words "marketing strategy" has you stressed, let us handle the guess work & get you to where you want to be!

Do you feel like your marketing dollars are being wasted year after year and find it difficult to know if your marketing strategies are effective? Business owners are often overwhelmed by the ever expanding world of digital marketing and it can be frustrating to wonder whether or not your hard earned dollars are making an impact. Your website should be the most powerful marketing tool you possess, with the potential to take your business to the next level. Using localized SEO services, constant site reviews and campaigns designed to drive traffic to your website, you can be confident that your small business will be ready to compete with big business. Not all websites are created equal and we want to help yours succeed! If your website isn't working for you or the world of digital marketing drives you crazy, let us at Berry Digital Solutions manage your digital world while you focus on your business. We'd love to buy you a coffee and learn more about your business and how we can support you.

Mama always said, “Life is like a box of chocolates…you never know what you’re gonna get.”
 
Actually, that’s a pretty terrible life lesson from ol’ Forrest, Forrest Gump because a lot of boxes of chocolates have a key included, usually somewhere in the box, that guides you to exactly what you’re gonna get. (And if you can’t find the key, we live in a digital world now. Google it and you should have an answer in less than a second.)
​
So instead here are some words of wisdom from a woman that raised the man behind
Berry Digital Solutions, Ryan's mom, Becky:

“You can do anything in this world that you want to.”

“Do it while you are young, you have the rest of your life to be bored.”

“If you can dream it, you can do it.”

“Always reward yourself for accomplishing your goals.”
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Happy Mother's Day from Berry Digital Solutions!