Mediaboss Marketing

From retail and healthcare to reading and investing, almost all of our needs can be handled online. Theres no doubt the world was already headed in that direction, but in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual offerings are now almost a foregone conclusion.

While some businesses have been able to succeed without much digital interfacing, most have learned that change is inevitable. To remain solvent, many businesses in the Duluth/Superior area have pivoted the way they do business to include a variety of virtual offerings combined with more traditional methods.

Books

Bob and Angel Dobrow own and operate Zenith Bookstore at 318 N. Central Ave. in Duluth. Zenith, which opened in 2017, sells a variety of new and gently-used books along with other items, including puzzles, greeting cards (most by local artists) and Zenith-brand merchandise.

The pandemic, combined with competition from global giant Amazon, pushed the Dobrows to expand their business. They now offer online shopping, curbside pickup and audiobooks.

The elephant in the room with regard to book-selling is Amazon, Bob Dobrow said. The rise of Amazon some 20 years ago led to the decimation of many independent bookstores. But indie bookstores have come back and have even thrived and prospered by offering services and a vision which Amazon does not. He described this purpose to include supporting local authors, offering exceptional customer service with in-person recommendations, building community with partnerships, hosting events and offering a safe, comforting and welcoming place.

We started our business during this comeback of indie bookstores, Dobrow said. In the first year or two, we had very little online business, and our website was mainly informational. We knew we had to move into e-commerce. About two years ago, we changed our point-of-sale software to a system that allowed us to integrate our website into a web store.

By the time COVID hit, Zenith had already laid the technical basis for a big push to online sales, but they still didnt have the customer base, said Dobrow, so online sales were small compared to in-store business. However, with COVID, and having to close the store for a few weeks and only allow curbside pickup, their online sales mushroomed.

Today, customers can browse the store in-person or online. Patrons can pick up items in-store, have their order shipped to them or use the curbside option.

Zenith also partners with Libro.fm, an audiobook company supporting indie bookstores. Libro offers almost everything Amazon-owned Audible does but with the strong support of indie bookstores and the buying local movement. When people sign up with Libro.fm, they choose a bookstore to support. If they choose Zenith, then Zenith receives a percentage of every sale.

Zenith has experienced much success with these initiatives.

We are extremely lucky to be in a city and community of enthusiastic readers and folks who have a strong, buy local ethic, Dobrow said. And of course, with COVID, more people are reading, too.

Fitness

During the pandemic, fitness centers were one of the first industries mandated to close. People turned to virtually-connected home gyms such as Peloton, Mirror or Tempo. Many local facilities realized that in order to survive, they had to go virtual.

During the pandemic, we had a mandatory closure from March 17th to June 1st, said Chris Stenberg, CEO of the Superior-Douglas County Family YMCA, at 9 N. 21st St. in Superior. We realized pretty quickly that we needed virtual offerings. It was already on our radar before the pandemic, but for a lot of us, we were forced to figure this out.

The Superior Y launched a YouTube channel featuring free workouts open to anyone. Their website now also offers live and pre-recorded workouts including yoga, kickboxing, boot camp, silver sneakers (for older adults) and more exclusively for members.

Julie and Mike Hendrickson are the owners of Destination Fitness. With locations at 4966 Rice Lake Road and 350 Harbor Drive in Duluth, the business has been operational since 2012 and offers personal training, adult fitness classes, youth training and corporate training.

We had zero online offerings before COVID, Julie Hendrickson said. We make personal connections with people that are hard to make online. Today things are much different.

Our entire adult fitness class schedule is now available virtually, plus those with a membership also have our classes available on-demand, she said. Since COVID, we do a fair share of personal training virtually, too.

Both the YMCA and Destination Fitness plan to continue their online offerings, post-pandemic.

It has kept us afloat and is something we will continue to offer from here on out, Hendrickson said. But she also stressed that having a connection with a personal gym, whether you attend virtually or in-person, is invaluable.

Knowing clients personally cannot be replaced. We have an awesome little community here that people need. Firms like Peloton dont make a personal connection. If you dont show up for a class on Peloton, does the trainer reach out and ask how you are and where youve been? No. Does a Peloton trainer answer questions about diet and hold you accountable towards your goals? No. Personal trainers do that; we do that.

I think virtual classes are here to stay, Stenberg added. We want people back in our facilities and to have that social connection, but people are going to continue wanting these options.

Advertising

Pearson & von Elbe Advertising (PVA), at 1427 London Road in Duluth, is a full-service marketing agency specializing in creating, planning, executing and maintaining marketing campaigns using both traditional and digital marketing. Owner Briana Manning concedes that traditional forms of advertising, including print and radio ads, have been on the decline. However, she remains optimistic about these forms of marketing.

When referring to newspapers, magazines, newsletters subscriptions started declining before the pandemic, Manning said. But online readership has been steadily growing and providing mostly free access to news information in real-time. The newspaper industry has seen that coming, and many papers made the move to a digital format and continue to be a source for that information.

She noted that we still live in a tangible world and not everything is online.

Print can still be exciting. There is the use of colors, shapes and textures outside the constraints of the digital screen, like embossing and metallics, for example.

Manning also said that thank you notes, when written on a notecard with a company logo, are a modern form of marketing. Many business cards, too, include QR codes and company website information.

Product packaging, indoor and outdoor banners, direct mail, calendars all are versions of print and still widely used in marketing, she said.

Local radio also retains a significant place in the marketing mix, said Manning.

Many people look for a local source of entertainment. Morning shows still engage with their audiences through text lines, social media and contests. You can still listen to high school and college sports on our local radio stations. Like newspapers, radio is adjusting to a life in the digital world. They are streaming, have websites and use social media.

When it comes to the future of ads and digital marketing, Manning shared that Chatbots and video marketing have grown in popularity. She also noted the importance of search engine optimization (SEO).

If a business does one thing right now, it should be to learn how they rank with search engines. Businesses new to the online world or who havent had much luck with online connections yet should look at improving their SEO.

The bottom line, Manning said, is listening to her clients.

The choice between traditional and digital marketing comes down to which one best fits the needs of our clients. We do use both, but advertisers are starting to use more online advertising.

Giant Voices, located at 212 W. Superior St. in Duluth, is a strategic marketing agency offering leadership in business, sales and advertising with both traditional and digital marketing expertise. They have been in business for nine years.

President/co-owner Lisa Bodine shared that ultimately, the pandemic has been good for business.

We have a lot of clients now looking at how to stay relevant and how to connect sales and marketing more deliberately, she said.

For those of us in the world of marketing, we are big advocates of placing media where your target audience is, she added. Print and radio are still viable types of media. But its certainly not for everyone.

For instance, Print and radio are very difficult to quantify from a return-on-investment standpoint. Business owners are looking for concrete examples of ROI.

Bodine added that, in addition to digital content, she is seeing more requests for a variety of measurable marketing tools and tracking databases.

Evolution is key

Thanks to an increasingly digital society combined with a lengthy global pandemic flexibility and evolution remain key to keeping most industries solvent. This includes offering both virtual and traditional options.

Every dollar counts, Manning said. Spending money on the right marketing strategies can drive the success of a business.

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Virtual Pivot: The evolution of goods, services and ads - BusinessNorth.com

The Big Bamboo Agency, founded in 2019, has recruited its 11th employee amidst strong growth, particularly over the past 12 months.

Yorkshire-based, but with international reach, the full-service marketing agency has won clients across diverse sectors, including engineering, manufacturing, professional services, facilities management, retail and charity.

The past year has seen existing clients turn to Big Bamboo for a growing range of services.

At the same time, 15 new clients have come on board purely through word of mouth recommendation seeking help with everything from strategic planning to social media support.

Nicola Stamford, the agencys owner and founding director, said: Big Bamboo started with one client. Very quickly it was able to attract others and in doing so a talented team of people who have helped the agency grow to what it is today.

We have numerous retained clients and have delivered projects for companies spread not only across the UK, but globally too.

Were very excited, and very grateful, to have seen such growth especially over the past 12 months and are looking forward to seeing what our future holds as we emerge from the pandemic.

:::

The move to digital lead generation and online profile by B2B firms is driving a rebound at Harrogate agencies Appeal and GBM which have appointed Emma Kennett to manage the Harrogate office, their second hire during lockdown.

The agencies have seen quarter one 2021 sales rise to 120,000, up more than 20% compared with the same quarter of 2020 before the economic impact of the pandemic.

The sister agencies have clients across the UK and US and, over the last two years, have diversified into services aimed at attracting direct sales enquiries from online content, as well as traditional and digital media profile, a move that started to pay dividends during lockdown.

Recent client wins include PR, profile and lead generation projects for organisations and businesses in Rhode Island, Boston, Leeds and Belfast, and across sectors as varied as financial services, manufacturing, government services and hospitality.

Appeal was founded by director Paul Snape in 1998 and specialises in PR and digital media profile.

GBM followed in 2014 to cater for the US market, where the firm also has a Boston office, and focuses on lead generation, digital and sales projects.

Snape said: Over the past year, the shift towards digital has obviously accelerated and, fortunately, as we already offered a number of unique online services, we have been able to help businesses adapt to some of the challenges of lockdown.

As well as needing to replace in-person and trade show marketing, weve also seen clients wanting more than PR and profile, and thats where our two offerings work well together, generating inbound, named leads from the media coverage we deliver.

Clients want to see the value of all marketing spend these days and were able to draw a clear line between the investment they make and the sales return, and thats particularly compelling at the moment when every penny spent is scrutinised by sales and marketing directors.

Local, long-standing clients of the award-winning business-to-business marketing specialists include JCT600, law firm Clarion, Begbies Traynor Group, Eddisons and Reed Boardall, as well as new clients such as water mist fire suppressant business iMist in Hull and Brighouse-based welded steel mesh products manufacturer Siddall and Hilton Products.

Further afield, the team represents US-based logistics experts Coast to Coast, software scale-up Covernet from Northern Ireland, and oil and gas platform operator Fraser Wells Management based in Great Yarmouth and Aberdeen.

Appeal director Susan Reid added: The reset in global marketing has played to our strengths as sales and marketing directors are now more open to trying innovative new approaches, and our investment in developing these digital services since 2017 has been a real bonus for us during some challenging periods.

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This March, Digital Elite Group launched its new insights hub which offers digital marketers across the UK an online community to share insights and expert opinions, as well as events and training opportunities.

Joining it as an official partner, Leeds-based integrated digital marketing agency Enjoy Digital, aims to become a driving force and contributor in providing the best insights into new and innovative methods in SEO, CRO, and analytics.

As a partner, the team at Enjoy Digital will be involved in regular meetings to support the industry and bring new innovative strategies to the table.

The agency will also contribute towards the organisation of events, panels, and roundtables, alongside sponsoring events and awards hosted by Digital Elite Group.

Chris Jackson, MD at Enjoy Digital, said: Weve worked with Digital Elite Group numerous times over the years, most recently on the Digital Elite Awards where our team won Analytics Agency of the Year.

The opportunity to work more closely with the group as a partner and key contributor of insights means we can foster a community of collaboration across digital marketing.

By sharing our expertise, we can improve the quality of digital marketing overall, meaning clients get better results.

As well as launching the Hub, Digital Elite Group organise and host Digital Elite Day, a conference that attracts thousands of participants each year who work within SEO, CRO, and analytics.

The group successfully ran the conference for nine years in a row and continue to offer training courses from some of the best minds in the industry.

Jackson added: Offering training and being a part of developing digital marketers skills is one of our businesss core focuses.

As an integrated agency, our team members have a wealth of knowledge across all areas of digital marketing, so were in a great place to share this knowledge with our peers.

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Data-powered integrated agency, Jaywing, has added to the senior leadership of its Performance and Media Science team with the appointments of Kay Henderson as operations manager and Chris Langan as organic media director.

Formerly search director at McCann Connected, where he spent four years growing the agencys organic media offering, Langan has over 10 years of experience in SEO.

He will apply his considerable expertise to improving integration at Sheffield-headquartered Jaywing and driving growth across search strategies.

He said: Joining Jaywing felt like an easy decision. The talent and skill of the agency is extraordinary, and theres a real passion to grow and continually meet the challenges our clients face in this unpredictable world.

The agency has a product that truly differentiates itself from the marketplace and driving Organic Media as a part of the agency vision will be a great experience for me and the team.

With 13 years of experience in operations and project management, Hendersons new role will see her facilitating smoother working across Performance and Media Science, as well as overseeing how the department integrates with the wider business.

She has experience with start-ups, web-builds and mobile marketing, most recently holding the position of operations manager at Fonemedia, where she oversaw a bespoke customisation of the agencys CRM system.

She said: Im really excited to get stuck into this role. What drew me to this agency is its ethos of collaboration and creativity, which really aligns with me personally.

Im looking forward to the opportunity of making a positive impact on peoples working environment, whilst also helping the business to run more smoothly and efficiently.

Catherine Kelly, managing director of Performance and Media Science, said: We are delighted to welcome Kay and Chris to team.

With over 23 years of experience in the field between them, the knowledge and wisdom they bring to the department will be indispensable.

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The Universe, a news and lifestyle tabloid established for 150 years, is growing a new digital audience with the launch of an online version designed and built by Leeds-based agency Creative Marketing Services.

With a loyal readership amongstBritains Catholics, the print edition of The Universe is a weekly paid-subscription title covering news alongside features on special interests and hobbies, with religious content provided by a free insert in the form of the Catholic Times.

TheUniverseMedia Group commissioned Creative Marketing Services to create and manage a website which mirrors the print issue and incorporates ecommerce to deliver an additional revenue stream alongside the publications expanding list of advertisers.

Andrew Batty, managing director at Creative Marketing Services, said: At a time when many print titles are losing circulation, the publications that have evolved with the most success in the digital age have developed an online offering that complements and works in tandem with their print offering, in terms of content, engagement and cross-promotion, finding an audience that likes to consume its media via more than one channel.

Thats what we sought to achieve with The Universe online, and the early signs are very encouraging.

There has been a flow of new print subscribers while long-standing print subscribers have also been signing up for a digital subscription as well as using the online shop.

Within a few months, the online readership has doubled to over 20,000 unique visitors.

The print edition is maintaining a steady weekly circulation. At a time when people are buying newspapers less due to Covid concerns, The Universe offers an attractive proposition to advertisers trying to reach new audiences.

Clive Leach, chairman of the Universe Media Group, said: The success of the online edition is an amazing achievement.

The reach of thecatholicuniverse.com is growing month-on-month. Were delighted with the site and the growth that Creative Marketing Services are delivering.

Advertisers can now reach a new market at a very low cost per thousand with press ads, digital ads, inserts or advertorials.

More here:
Agency roundup: The Big Bamboo Agency; Appeal and GBM; Enjoy Digital; and more | TheBusinessDesk.com - The Business Desk

TLDR: With a 3-year subscription to ITU Online, users have access to more than 220 IT training courses covering everything from networking and cloud storage to cybersecurity and beyond.

Information technology means a lot of different things to a lot of different organizations these days. Some may be focused on transitioning all of their existing operations to the cloud. Others might be plagued by cybersecurity problems. Still more could be trying to build out customized apps for streamlining efficiency and performance across their entire employee network.

Regardless of their direction, few organizations have the resources to employ IT personnel tasked to each individual initiative. Therefore, an in-demand IT pro today needs a sound base of knowledge in a host of different tech realms and procedures, while being constantly ready to dive into something entirely new if the organization should shift priorities.

Knowing what you dont know can be as important as what you do, so access to an ITU Online All-Access subscription ($99.50 for 3-year subscription after code LEARNIT from TNW Deals) can be the ultimate backstop, a stockpile of training information ready to be consumed 24/7/365.

For almost a decade, ITU Online has been one of the foremost outlets on the web for quick and easy digital learning. With this membership, users have access to the entire archive of ITU coursework, a career advancement library ready whenever you confront a new area you need to master fast.

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Once users start into an ITU course, theyll enjoy features like a progress tracker, a note-taking section with a save function to keep notations secure, as well as a practice exam. There are also more than 19,000 prep test questions to help students ace specific all-important IT certification exams.

Whether youre looking to break into IT work or just need to add some new training to your resume, the ITU Online All-Access: 3-Yr Subscription offer can help get you there. Regularly a $399 value, a 36-month membership is now 50 percent off its already discounted price as part of the ongoing TNW Deals Semi-Annual Sale. Use the codeword LEARNIT when you check out to drop the final price for this offer down to just $99.50.

Prices are subject to change.

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Master AWS, CompTIA, and more with this IT certification and training prep, now under $100 - The Next Web

TLDR: The collection of digital marketing training can optimize your online sales efforts, all at 50% off with the TNW Deals Semi-Annual Sale happening.

Knowing how to sell is one thing. Knowing how to sell online is another story entirely. Businesses have to engage with potential customers everywhere they may be congregating on the web. That means catching them on social media or Amazon, in Google ads, or a well-crafted email. And each of those venues requires different sets of knowledge to best convert more sales.

This collection features 10 different sets of digital marketing skills that any seller will want to add to their assortment of abilities. Not only are they vital for launching digital marketing campaigns, theyre also economical. Right now as part of TNW Deals Semi-Annual Sale, you can take 50 percent off the price of each item by entering the codeLEARNIT during checkout for a limited time.

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Facebook posting is great, but if you arent leveraging the power of Facebook as an advertising platform, you need to expand your vision. These nine courses explain everything you need to know about creating effective Facebook ads, buying them at the best possible prices, and tips for actually getting Facebook users to click on your all-important links.

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Prices are subject to change.

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Add these 10 in-demand digital marketing skills to your resume, now 50% off - The Next Web

Internet usage has greatly increased and this has influenced peoples buying behavior. Aligning sales and marketing can help your business to become better at closing deals. Digital media opportunity revolves around marketing, sales, and customer service.

Digital marketing should be an integral part of your marketing plan and there are specific ways of doing it. Lets take a look at the importance of training the sales team on digital marketing.

To understand customer needs

In the digital world, the sales team needs to understand the customer journey and engage and convert potential buyers into real, long-lasting customers. Digital marketing should form part of your overall marketing plan where you can use offline mediums as well.

Consider a case where you want your sales personnel to increase sales in your hotel business. Leads could originate through Google search and then appear through a remarketing campaign. If the sales team understands how remarketing works, they can easily convert a prospect into a real customer.

Professional sales personnel training can help to improve the sales in your hotel business. Learn about online hotel sales training here at Jacaruso.com to understand how you can leverage digital training to boost revenue amid a global pandemic.

For personal branding and personal selling

Concepts such as modern selling and social selling are becoming popular among the sales team as they use social media to connect with their audience. Digital media plays a role in increasing the number of online followers and promoting sales.

For instance, if a salesperson goes through a prospects profile before contacting them, they can improve the quality of conversation and increase the chance of closing a deal.

Content focused on personal branding through blogs and social media channels is valuable to sales and professionals. When you train your sales team in digital marketing, it can help in increasing the leads and final conversions.

To meet lead generation goals

Apart from their primary accountability, the sales team can support the marketing team to achieve lead generation goals. For instance, by participating on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter can easily generate leads as they learn about the customer requirements.

Online digital marketing training enables the sales teams to work better on lead generation campaigns. They are taught things like how to respond to customer comments on social media, create effective social media profiles, and so on. The sales personnel can contribute to lead generation through Search Engine Optimization, content marketing, email marketing, and social media marketing.

For segmentation and personalization

Some subscribers open segmented emails and click on a call to action if the email is segmented. Segmentation minimizes email bounce rates and unsubscription rates and increases revenue. Sales teams can be trained on how to segment emails using demographics such as location, age, gender, and more.

Email subscribers want relevant messages that fit their interests. Understanding digital marketing, including personalization in email marketing, increases click-throughs and subsequently sales.

Personalization is based on data analysis and digital technology to generate personalized product offerings. The process requires special skills to enable the sales teams in conjunction with the marketing teams to engage with existing customers or prospective leads.

To provide feedback to the marketing team

Salespeople regularly interact with customers and therefore, they can confidently share customer insights. For instance, if salespeople give feedback regarding the quality of leads, this can increase the efficiency of marketing teams in generating relevant leads. If well-trained, the salespeople can track the sources of leads that could be received through walk-ins or inbound calls.

Salespeople can share feedback with marketing personnel to make the marketing content more valuable and relevant. Sales professionals should join digital marketing training to expand their profiles and become more efficient in their work.

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Why Your Sales Team Needs to be Trained in Digital Marketing - Southeast Missourian