BLOG • Thinking Big

We click, we scroll, we scan, we scroll, and we click again. What stops the cycle? An image that captures your attention. 

Think back to childhood—good cowboys always wore white hats while the bad cowboys wore black hats. To understand the term “white hat SEO”, think in cowboy-terms: white hat SEO focuses on writing to a human audience that is organic and tangible, compared to “black hat SEO”, where tactics are sterile, computer-generated, and designed to “trick” the search engines behind the scenes. 

2015 was a great year for marketing campaigns.  Brands worked hard to cut through the clutter and grab their audience’s attention. From adorable animals that make us laugh to some truly hilarious campaigns that deal with not-so-funny issues, the Martin staff named their favorite ad/campaign picks from this year!  

I’m sure that you have heard the phrase “A picture is worth 1000 words.” It is true. One simple photo is capable of conveying a larger thought, idea, or message. That’s why it is so important to carefully consider each photo you use in brand messaging to determine what “story” is communicated in your photo.

Every image that is shared has one of five purposes:

These days, marketing your business must be more than print ads.  Getting your business in social media marketing allows you to connect with an entire demographic of clients who are spending hours of their free time engaged in social media interactions. If you aren’t on social media, you are missing out on marketing to numerous potential clients and business leads. However, you have to do more than just create accounts. You must be: 

Houzz has been a bit of a hidden gem when it comes to social media marketing for home builders. Houzz is a one-stop shop for anyone seeking ideas on home building and design; therefore, if your business has ANYTHING to do with houses or home projects, you NEED to be active on Houzz.

• Building your business presence online can be hard; there are so many places to be active it can be difficult to connect with all your potential clients everywhere online.

  As marketing and branding experts, we have a few tips on how to:

  • ·      better engage your audience
  • ·      target your clients
  • ·      increase engagement
  • ·      ask your clients for online reviews. 

Google+

Twitter, Facebook, SnapChat, Blogging, Linked In….the list goes on and on when it comes to social media platforms where you can market your business and connect with clients. 

At times, it can be overwhelming and  downright intimidating to keep up with all the social media marketing required for every business today. This begs the question, why do you need to be active on Google+, when you already have Facebook and Twitter?

These days, everything is on the internet, and every business is fighting to get their client’s attention. You have likely heard the term "SEO" used in relation to online marketing and may have wondered if it is something you really need to do of your business in order to attract clients. 

In a word, yes it is. 

Our beautiful hometown has made headlines across the nation for being one of the “Cities to Watch in 2015”. Washington, D.C based blog Urbanful used many of the Forbes “Best of” rankings from throughout 2014, as well as other factors such as schools, lifestyle,  and jobs  to choose which cities they felt were really going to flourish in 2015.