Articles Written By:

Amanda Colocho

Tips For Planning Your First Social Media Ad Campaign

If you’re new to social media ads, getting started can feel daunting, with way more questions than answers. Which platforms should I invest in? How much should I be spending? How can I learn how to navigate ever-changing ad platforms? There is a ton of decisions to be made.   Here are a few things you should consider before getting started. Setting Expectations When launching social media ads for the first time, you will be reaching out to a cold audience. It’s important to set…

Read More
Woman shopping at a brick and mortar store

How to use digital communications to increase brick-and-mortar foot traffic

Online shopping has become increasingly popular, even before the onset of the pandemic, and social media, email and website tools have evolved to make purchasing as easy as tapping a button on your smartphone. While this can be great for increasing sales, it may not support services, enhance experiences or increase brick-and-mortar foot traffic.   Whether your motivation is to keep tenants leasing commercial property spaces or you’re hoping to increase sales and in-person experiences for your business, here are four ways to increase foot…

Read More
Glass crystal ball with soft lighting in the background

2022 social media marketing trends on our radar

The pandemic caused a shift in consumer behaviors that has led to an increase in screen time. Online streaming services, e-commerce and social media consumption are all booming. As our online digital habits changed over the last two years, social media platforms have evolved and adapted at an even greater rate to meet consumer demands and increase user engagement. Today, there are more than 4.25 million social media users worldwide with the average person spending about 145 minutes per day on social media. From launching…

Read More
Blind person using computer with braille computer display and a computer keyboard.

Ten tips for creating accessible digital content

There’s a lot that goes into content creation: writing, sourcing visuals, assembling graphics and videos and so much more. And all while keeping in mind best practices to ensure your blog posts make it to the top of a Google search and your social media posts are seen in users’ feeds. But even with best practices and an ever-flowing stream of content in play, if your content lacks accessibility, you could be excluding key audiences. The fact is, at least one billion people, or 14%…

Read More
Hand holding smartphone on a news website

Three benefits of earned media

Over the last few years, we’ve seen some local media and newsrooms dwindle while social media platforms grow, but that doesn’t mean your media relations efforts should lose priority. While print media might be inching closer towards becoming our past, publications are adapting to meet audiences where they are: online. From downloadable, PDF versions of the daily paper to daily email newsletters curating breaking and trending news, the media landscape is continuously evolving. Publications also rely on social media platforms to get their content in…

Read More

Support #BLM with intention, action and commitment

As millions of people around the globe have united to support the Black Lives Matter (#BLM) movement, demand justice and fight for equality, against racism and much more, organizations, brands and businesses also have been weighing in to show support. Nike was one of the first with this message on Twitter encouraging all to take part in a positive change. Netflix elevated an important message to its following of more than eight million that stated, “To be silent is to be complicit. Black lives matter….

Read More

PR case study: A leap day for the books

What do superheroes, LeVar Burton, superb American Single Malt whisky, historic cemeteries, Ram Nation and Richmond’s mayor all have in common? They’re all part of an epic PR case study from Hodges’ leap day adventures. Leap day was a busy day for a few Hodgers, including myself, when I started the day celebrating history in the making with the Enrichmond Foundation at Evergreen Cemetery, followed by celebrity sightseeing at the Greater Richmond Convention Center, where I delivered whisky to the actor who taught millennials to…

Read More

The state of video marketing and a look into 2020

Over the last few years, the consumption of video has skyrocketed, and audiences continue to want more. In 2019, about a third of internet activity around the world was spent watching video, and YouTube is currently the second largest search engine behind Google. That’s because every day videos are used to solve problems, answer questions and provide information on just about every topic imaginable. They also have become a prime form of communication for marketers.   From how to’s, best practices and thought leadership to…

Read More

Four reasons to media train your employees

We all know the benefits of a well-placed story in the media. Part of the earned-owned-paid trilogy of public relations, earned media can be wildly successful at raising your awareness and enhancing your credibility. And by effectively merchandising media hits on digital platforms, you can amplify that success even more. Timely placements also can help boost SEO, complement your content marketing plan and serve as an important leg of your overall marketing program. It also gives employees (and your employer) a sense of pride in…

Read More

Content Fundamentals: Finesse These Elements on your Digital Platforms

Your marketing team is putting in a lot of creativity, strategy and effort into making sure your company’s content marketing plan is as effective as possible. But, are they following simple best practices that will ensure content from your company will stand out from the rest? Here are a few best practices to share with your marketing team, broken down by platform, that will help them keep content user and search engine friendly, reach target audiences and generate more leads. Whether your team is aiming…

Read More

A Marketer’s Secret Weapon: Trade Publications

Getting media coverage in trade publications, especially for B2B companies, is a great way to promote your product, service or business to a specific, targeted audience. These publications are professional resources with relevant information on trends, recent developments in the field, new products, techniques and other news that is specific to an industry. If your content marketing game is strong, you’re already sharing these insights on your company’s blog, newsletter, social media pages and other platforms used to communicate with audiences. But sharing and showcasing…

Read More

Three best practices to boost SEO

Search Engine Optimization or SEO is the key way to improve your website’s prominence in search engines. There are several rules, tools and plug-ins that can help boost SEO on the backend as well as experts and agencies who specialize in this area. But there also are a few best practices you can employ on your own that will help optimize your company’s website. Some of these also will help improve user experience and can support content marketing efforts. Here are three SEO best practices…

Read More

Sign up to receive our blog posts by email