It seems like you can’t visit a tech website without seeing a headline about virtual reality. During Samsung’s Galaxy S7 event at the Mobile World Congress last week, an auditorium full of tech journalists wore headsets while Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg snuck in to talk about what virtual reality means for communications. It looked like a scene from the year 2050, but nope, this is 2016, folks. Earlier this year, I vacationed in Australia and visited the National Gallery of Victoria. The museum currently has an…
Read MoreSo Facebook is now like that little girl in second grade. You know the one who told you she was mad at you and never told you why? Still bugs me to this day. Today, Facebook launched new Reactions to go with its Like button. In addition to “Like,” you can now “Love,” “Haha,” “Wow,” “Sad” or “Angry” an individual post. This applies both to posts from people and brands. And while the changes have resulted from months of Facebook research to deepen user engagement, we at…
Read MoreIf you work in marketing, public relations or social media, you know that the social media landscape is in a constant state of flux. With changes happening at what seems like a daily rate, staying on top of these trends can be a daunting task, and sifting through the clutter can be time consuming. To help you stay up to date, we’ve sifted through the news ourselves and compiled a list of recent changes, and rumors of possible changes to come that are worth paying…
Read MoreI’ve been thinking a lot about “marketing challenges” lately since I’ve started talking to folks who have taken us up on our latest offer. Specifically, what are the most common marketing challenges or issues we hear from prospects and clients? There are others, but I’ve boiled down the top five here with some suggestions on how to tackle them.
Read MoreIn this day and age, consumers have a powerful voice—especially online. This means that you can’t get away with bad service without expecting negative online reviews that can hurt your reputation. Unfortunately, even if you do the utmost to provide your customers with the best service or product possible, there’s a good chance you’ll get a bad review once in awhile. It’s how you react to those reviews that matters. Monitoring Your Online Reviews There are several user review websites that you should monitor. These…
Read MoreFrom the start, we’ve always believed heavily in partnerships—to the point that Jon and Josh made it part of the agency’s name. One of the great advantages of partnering with other firms is getting to tap into the expertise and experience of people outside our Shockoe Bottom walls. Recently I was discussing my favorite podcasts with Sharif Ewees from 28 Media, a fellow avid podcast listener, and when he offered to write up this guest post, we jumped at the chance. — Tony Scida by Sharif Ewees, 28 Media I like…
Read MoreThey looked at me and thought I was crazy… It was one of those moments in a staff meeting where everyone stops in their tracks. Our group was debating the topic of the latest offer we would feature on our blog and website. Over the course of the last year we offered reports, tips, and small e-books on various PR and marketing topics designed both to educate and to generate leads for our business. They generated a bunch of downloads and conversations but I wanted…
Read MoreIn today’s social landscape, reaching any audience type can be tough. Most platforms require that you spend ad dollars to reach people who are not already part of your network and recommend you set aside an additional budget to ensure reach to your existing community. Over the past few weeks, I’ve had several clients ask for best practices for increasing reach and each time my answer has been, have you considered an influencer campaign? What is an influencer? So let’s start at the basics. What…
Read MoreIf a marketing automation system has made its way onto your company’s marketing wish list, bear in mind that, like most things in life, there are some pros and cons to incorporating these systems into your workflow. Here are some things to consider before spending your money on a new system: The Pros Many of the potential positives are pretty obvious — you’ll have the opportunity to achieve better ROI and track your leads and conversion rates. This can make your overall marketing efforts much…
Read MoreWe’ve seen a lot of trend pieces recently heralding video as the top content marketing tactic for 2016. At Hodges, we’ve used video for both clients and ourselves with much success. (Have you seen our “mean tweets” video?) The proliferation of video online and the ease with which people can now consume high-quality videos, whether from their desktop or smartphone, makes video a tough channel to ignore when planning your marketing strategy. Just consider that at the moment, online video accounts for more than 50 percent of…
Read MoreCreating a marketing plan for next year can be difficult due to the fact that trends change so much from year to year. Once heralded strategies such as link building are now generally frowned upon. As 2015 comes to a close, what should you focus on in the year ahead? Here are four content marketing trends we expect to take off in 2016 that you should keep in mind when developing your online marketing strategies: Valuable content will become more effective: This might seem more…
Read MoreSo you’ve developed the industry’s best white paper, ran an impressive social advertising campaign and received thousands of new email contacts. Now what? An expansive contact list is great, but only if you know how to use it. Break it down. Segmenting your email list allows you to focus on certain groups based on specific traits or characteristics. Let’s say your target audience is IT managers. The IT manager at a small local company is going to have different challenges and priorities than an IT…
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