Category: Website Design

It’s Time to Rebuild Your Website!

It’s Time to Rebuild Your Website!

Posted on | by Yeammy Torres
Graphic Design, IT Services, Website Design

 

It’s Time to Rebuild Your Website!
When was the last time you updated your business’s website?

 

When was the last time you updated your website? 5 or 3 years ago? With the current speed of changes in the digital world, going months without updating or adding new content to your website is way too much! It’s time to rebuild your website!

Also, it’s important to highlight that in today’s digital and aesthetic day, good design is everything. People laugh at websites from 5 years ago! It’s time to elevate your online presence and make a website that stands out. Whether you’re building a new site from the ground up or updating an old one, keeping your image sharp online can help put you at the top of your game for business.

Think about your own experience online. Do you prefer looking at images or long bodies of text? What colors stand out? Do you like those clunky buttons? Having a sleek website doesn’t have to be hard. With many easy site-building tools on the market today, it’s easier than ever to get an up-to-date look for your online hub. And if you can’t put in the time or don’t quite understand how newer tech works, The AD Leaf Marketing Firm can help with web design too!

 

Why It’s Time to Update That Old Site

  • First impressions are EVERYTHING.

When a customer searches for your product, the first thing they will see is likely your website. Taking advantage of this is crucial in today’s digital world; even word of mouth will lead to potential customers searching for your site for hours of operation, products, and more. Creating a website that answers these questions in a good-looking package means that consumers will have a more enjoyable experience browsing your site. Happy customers = good business. 

  • Your SEO Will Benefit.

SEO, or search engine optimization, is one of the most important factors in making a website. Everything down to the code used to build your site needs to be SEO-friendly to get the best online visibility. Marketing teams like The AD Leaf can help your website rank higher in Google, Bing, Yahoo, and other searches by utilizing key phrases and words. Making sure your website can be found is a great way to reach new and existing customers with good web copy, new blog updates, and more. 

  • You’ll Come Across Better to Customers.

If you put in the time to create a good-looking website, your audience will know that you will put in the time for them too. The best websites are created with the reader in mind; everything from button placement to how the content is written is crafted to make the browsing experience more enjoyable. With a bright, welcoming website, your customers will feel welcomed as if greeted by a friendly customer service representative. On the other hand, an old, forgotten page can come across as untrustworthy.

  • It’s Important to Keep Up With Competition.

Think about this: your competitors probably already have updated websites. With the push for more and more online services, the demand for website development has skyrocketed, meaning you might need to catch up. Don’t be left in the dust. Update your site as soon as possible to avoid missing out.

  • It Creates a Consistent Image.

Having a website accessible from a laptop, phone, tablet, or any other internet-using device is part of being up-to-date. Being visible on all platforms will help your brand stay consistent, creating a better image for you and your product. Combining a fresh new site with high-quality graphic design can be the best way to elevate your brand.

  • Your Audience Will Trust You More.

Let’s be honest. People don’t trust sketchy websites. Just like a house, customers who don’t feel comfortable on your website will leave it. A cluttered, dusty shop isn’t going to sell as much as a shiny new one, no matter the product’s quality.

 

Like an interview, you want your business to make its best first impression. In today’s digital age, people increasingly turn to the internet to search for products and services. Keeping up with current design trends and digital interfaces can help put you ahead of the competition. Whether creating your own site from an easy online source or taking advantage of creative services like ours, get your site up to snuff for the new year.

Why Accessibility Matters for Your Website 

Posted on | by The AD Leaf Marketing Firm
Website Design

On July 26, 1990, a law was created to prohibit discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all avenues of modern life: at work, school, on transportation, and in all public or private zones available to the public. This law is known as the Americans with Disabilities Act or ADA for short. So, how does accessible web design impact me, and why accessibility matters for your website? Title III of the American Disabilities Act “prohibits discrimination based on disability in the activities of places of public accommodations.” This means that if you provide goods and services from or at a public place, you must provide accommodations for people to access them.  

A recent example of a discrimination case on accessible web design is Robles v. Domino’s Pizza LLC, June 2021. This Ninth Circuit case deemed that Domino’s violated ADA title III due to its website not having accessible web design for visually impaired individuals. Based on a prior ruling from 2015, this case declared that while Domino’s website is not a “place of public accommodation,” its website does promote goods or services from a place of public accommodation. Therefore, if your business has a website and you sell goods or services in a public space, your website must be accessible to all individuals.  

 

How Disabled Users Interact on the Internet 

So, why does accessibility matter for your website? Individuals with disabilities rely on various forms of technology to navigate and interact on the world wide web. W3C (The World Wide Web Consortium) has created standard content guidelines that developers use to make content more accessible. Some tools that disabled users depend on use these guidelines as a structure to interpret information online. These tools can include screen readers, alternative text on images, closed captioning, and keyboard navigation.  

Screen Readers 

Screen Readers allow users to navigate through a web page’s semantic/header tags or an image’s alternative tags to efficiently read out the synthetic text output or interpret the element to a readable braille display. However, screen readers are only as effective as the website design they view.  

Closed Captioning 

For video content, deaf individuals rely on closed captioning or transcriptions to read audible content. Most content today is audible, so transcriptions and closed captioning are absolutely vital for the hearing impaired. 

Keyboard Navigation 

Users with severe motor skill impairment from disorders like dyspraxia or ALS use special keyboards that combine screen reader capabilities and have large buttons that let them navigate the screen using the palms of their hands. These keyboards allow them to interface with their computer but lower the speed they can interact on the page. Without effective accessibility tools or a well-structured user interface and design flow, your business’s website can discriminate or hinder a large swath of people. 

 

Why Accessibility Matters For Your Website

Having accessible web design promotes inclusivity of not only disabled communities but of the elderly, rural, and developing communities. Good web design also increases your brand’s reputation; users notice companies that put in the effort to include others. Today Millennials and Gen Z are the first to notice bad inclusivity practices and are more likely to condemn or “cancel” brands that are not using the best standards. 

Creating accessible design improves your site’s user experience. The best experience you can have is one that you can fully participate in. The inverse is also true; the worst experience is when you cannot participate at all. 

 

We Can Update Your Site For Accessibility!

The AD Leaf Marketing Firm wants to improve your business’ reach! Creating an accessible web design experience requires experienced developers. Our specialists are trained in the best accessibility practices 

to improve your website’s user interface and user experience, increasing conversions. They will also help maintain user flow on your website using the best modern trends. 

If you have questions about why accessibility matters for your website, a website redesign or maintenance, you can contact 321-255-0900, info@theadleaf.com, or complete our contact form. We would love to become your trusted advisor for your business!

 

Sources: 

(WAI), W3C Web Accessibility Initiative. “WCAG 2 Overview.” Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). Accessed August 11, 2022. https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/.  

“Accessibility Fundamentals with Rob Dodson.” YouTube. SFHTML5, February 23, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8xUCzToff8.  

“Screen Reader Demo for Digital Accessibility.” YouTube. The University of San Francisco’sFrancisco’s IT Web Services Department, May 31, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEbl5jvLKGQ.  

Sidoti, Mark S. “Robles v. Domino’sDomino’s: The Saga Continues – on Remand, District Court Grants Partial Summary Judgment to Plaintiff, Solidifying the Scope of ADA Website Liability in the Ninth Circuit.” 

Gibbons Law Alert. Gibbons, March 14, 2022.
https://www.gibbonslawalert.com/2021/08/16/robles-v-dominos-the-saga-continues-on-remand-district-court-grants-partial-summary-judgment-to-plaintiff-solidifying-the-scope-of-a-website-liability-in-the-ninth-circuit/.  

Website Design

Website Design For The Best Lead and Customer Conversion

Posted on | by The AD Leaf Marketing Firm | Leave a Comment on Website Design For The Best Lead and Customer Conversion
Advertising, Marketing, Website Design

Currently, in 2022 there are over 1.92 billion active websites being hosted throughout the world today. But not all are converting website traffic into leads. It is now more important than ever, to build your website correctly, strategically, and in the mindset of achieving the mission, you expect with each webpage of your website. The Marketing and Advertising industries have conducted extensive A/B Testing with respect to website traffic and website customer lead conversion metrics. Through this discovery process, we have identified 5 components that websites need to show the consumer or business customer within 10 seconds of them viewing the web page in order to realize the best possible lead conversion for their website. Listed below are the 5 components of optimal lead conversion you need to implement within your website design for the best lead and customer conversion.  Remember, the ultimate objective with our website is converting website traffic into leads:

  1. Who are you? Your business logo needs to be strategically placed at the top left-hand corner of the website. Throughout the English language, we read from left to right, top to bottom. This is also standard across most websites and so the reader is programmed to look for it in that spot.
  2. What do you do? The reader(not you, but if you can’t decipher what you do from seeing your website, that’s worse) needs to be able to easily identify in 10 seconds of seeing your website, what it is that your business does, what service that it provides to your consumer?  In order to receive the credit for this, it needs to also be identifiable BEFORE the fold, or before you scroll your webpage down to the bottom.  The area that you see when you type a website URL(website address) into your website browser immediately when it loads, is called the “HERO” area.  Your website is going to be a Hero or a Zero and the customer will make that determination within 10 seconds.
  3. What makes you different from your competitors? Does the consumer need to understand what makes YOU different from your competitors?  The website home page needs to contain U.S.P’s (Unique selling points) and C.T.A’s(Calls to Action) that show the reader why they should call YOU instead of your competitors.  Great calls to action should be featured in strategic places above the fold, utilizing your branding and style color scheme.
  4. How do I contact you?  Your phone number needs to be placed at the top right corner of the website, and your email address prominently displayed so the consumer can easily contact you.  Also, the home page of the website must contain the standard “Form box” or side pop-out contact form.  These form boxes are standard across many websites.  They typically contain three lines:   Line1 is for the customers’ Name, Line 2 is for the customers’ email address, and Line 3 is for the customer to ask a question of you, or request additional information regarding your service and they then submit the form.  The form comes to YOU in an email.  These form boxes represent about 30-60% of total website communication from potential customers. Additionally, it is very important because it allows YOU to capture the potential clients’ email information as a lead so you can follow up with them.  If a contact form box is not feasible add the pop-out contact form plugin that floats along the right-hand side of your hero area within your banner images.  Installing a chat feature will also be a very important component to improve your lead conversion and lead flow.  At the end of the day, with nearly 1 Trillion active websites, you need to shout from the mountain tops, that you are open for business, you are welcoming to your customers, and that you are not forcing your customers to dig through your website just to contact you.  If you do not make it easy for your customers to reach you, you will lose your customers in 2022. The days of customers waiting with bated breath hoping and praying you will answer your phone to speak with the customer are long gone.  They do not have to be committed to you.  There are 9 other organic businesses on page 1 of Google, 3-10 Ad words businesses listed on page 1 of Google, and countless social media businesses listed for them to chose from.  Surely, one of your competitors will make things easy for your customer if you don’t and you won’t be converting website traffic into leads!
  5. Are you communicating effectively to your target audience?  This is where most of you completely miss the mark and target with your online business card or website.   When you developed your website, did you design its look, feel, content, layout, and structure with your target audience in mind?  Most business owners design their website with themselves in mind(based on your likes, your color pallet, your design pallet, what you wanted), and in most cases, the business owner isn’t their own target audience or target customer. As an example:  If your target customer is under age 35, do you have a chat feature installed?  Do you have a contact form box displayed on your home page?  Have you moved away from copy(written content) on the home page?  If you do have any content, is it written in 3-4 call to action bullet points?  If your target audience is an older consumer, do you have your phone number prominently displayed in the upper right-hand corner?  Is your website easy to navigate, is there a proper flow through starting from your home page to your about us page, to your services or products pages, and then to contact you?  If there are inconsistencies with the journey, the potential lead will just leave your page, it’s simple.  There are over 1.2 billion websites active online currently throughout the world right now.  If you do not communicate effectively to your target audience, you will lose your leads.  Remember, the main objective is converting website traffic into leads!

For more information on how you can improve your website by converting website traffic into leads, or how you can make a bigger impact within your business market please schedule a consultation. E: info@theadleaf.com | P: 321.255.0900

Web Design Bounce Rates

How Stellar Web Design Improves Bounce Rate

Posted on | by The AD Leaf Marketing Firm
Search Engine Optimization, Website Design

Even though the quality of a website’s content is what keeps an audience on a website, an appealing web design first catches the audience’s attention and keeps them on a site, keeping your bounce rate low. The design of a website is an essential component of making an indelible mark upon the target audience. Moreover, it impacts how your audience perceives your brand. For example, even if you have the best information among your competitors, your audience will leave the website and turn to your competitors if the design doesn’t resonate with your audience. This is why your website must have these five items to encourage your audience to remain on the site and lower bounce rates.

Web Content Presentation

When your audience visits your website, make the content presentation stand out. They need to be able to access info quickly and easily. Your website should deliver it. Heavy-text information without a good presentation can overwhelm your audience and make them leave your website. Moreover, the presentation also refers to the colors and fonts you use on the site. Choosing the proper colors and fonts can emphasize what is important about your content and makes the content easy to read.

Colors

The colors of your website can affect your viewer’s impressions and moods. Pick a color scheme that not only matches your branding but also appealingly presents your information. If you don’t, your web design will be a key influence on your bounce rate.

The colors can also help viewers decide whether your website is the real deal or not. After all, the right colors can help convey people’s emotions about your brand. It is also important to be ADA compliant. To find out more about this requirement, click here.

Navigation Design

Another killer of web design bounce rates is poor navigation. When your audience visits your website, you do not want them to get frustrated because of the complicated layout. Having a hard time navigating through a website can discourage your audience from remaining on the page. You want to ensure that your visitors make as few clicks as possible to find the information they want. Take them through an easy flow and format to see all information.

SEO

Don’t forget to include SEO. Many web design elements and practices influence how you publish content on your website, which in turn affects how search engine spiders crawl and index your website. As a result, a poorly designed website can have you ranking poorly on search engines.

Website Mobile Responsiveness

Nowadays, more people use their smartphones or other mobile devices to find information on the internet. Therefore, it will be essential for you to ensure that your website is fully responsive so that your audience can easily access your website and find the information they need without having a hard time zooming in and out of the pages.

Does Your Website Need a Refresh?

These are just some of the elements we employ for our clients to ensure their websites rank well and score high marks for client retention. Is your website not the lead capturing powerhouse it should be? Then, it is time for a refresh. Contact us today for a personalized strategy to get clients utilizing your website today!

e-commerce basics

The Basics of E-Commerce

Posted on | by The AD Leaf Marketing Firm
Website Design

Learn E-Commerce Basics

If you have ordered something off Amazon or another online shopping platform, you have engaged in e-commerce. This practice has seen substantial growth over the past year, as more people can purchase their essential goods from websites or mobile apps. If you are a business owner who sells a specific product, then starting an e-commerce platform could be a massive boost for your company. We’ll help you get started with these e-commerce basics.

E-Commerce is Growing

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many people went online to shop and pay for the items they wanted and needed. This caused 21.3% of all retail sales to be from online shopping. There were several additional reasons for this growth, including broader accessibility and faster service on e-commerce websites.

These online shopping experiences fall under B2C transactions. B2C or Business to Consumer transactions is when customers buy a product directly from a company. These businesses use their websites as a virtual storefront, showcasing products that customers either need or want. You can do this as well with your own business and products!

The Basics of E-Commerce and More

At The AD Leaf ® Marketing Firm LLC., we understand that starting your e-commerce store can be a bit overwhelming. There are many products that you have to load information of online, and the market of e-commerce platforms themselves continuing to grow. You might be wondering where to start, and our team of marketing experts is here to help. 

List of E-Commerce Websites

When it comes to e-commerce basics, there’s nothing more important than your website. Many general website builders, such as WordPress and Wix, can give you the option to add an online store to an already-existing website. However, some platforms allow you to make your store the focal point of the company’s website. Here are just a few:

  • Shopify
  • BigCommerce
  • WooCommerce
  • Square Online

Designing Your Website

The primary purpose of your e-commerce site is to attract new customers and bring back previous ones. That means that you should make sure that it is as accessible as possible. Some of the best ways to do this are choosing simple layout designs and easy-to-read text with your company’s colors. 

Leave It To Us

Although you might be excited to begin working on your e-commerce website, you might be wondering when you can take time out of your busy day to work on it. If you are in this situation, don’t panic because The AD Leaf ® Marketing Firm LLC.’s team of web designers and marketers can help. We can make your new website from scratch, ensuring that you and your store are represented in the best way possible.

Ready for a free consultation to see how we can help bring your business online? Call us today at 321-255-0900.

photos

Stock Photography: Silent Brand Killer or Time-Saver?

Posted on | by The AD Leaf Marketing Firm
Graphic Design, Marketing, Website Design

 

As a business owner, there’s a myriad of decisions that fall on your shoulders from financial decisions to branding decisions. At the end of the day, you may find yourself wanting to slap on any photos for marketing to pair with your social media posts. But before you press that “Post” button, let’s dive into the Stock Photography vs. Original Photography debate.

First things first, why can’t we simply copy and paste any photo from the world wide web? 

Avoiding Copyright Infringement

The photos that we see on online publications are copyrighted and are unable to be used for commercial and marketing use. Using these photos without the permission of the photographer, company, or publication could result in a hefty fine or further legal action. This is typically when companies look to stock photography. Let’s look at the pros and cons, shall we?

 

The Pro’s and Con’s of Stock Photography

Stock Photography can be a great tool to lean on when deadlines are tight. It can save you an hour’s time of messing with a camera and worrying about copyright when you just need two posts worth of photos. Sprinkling in quality stock photos to buff up your volume of content certainly won’t damage your brand credibility, however, it’s important to sift through stock photography libraries. If the image isn’t blending in with the rest of your content or branding it’ll stick out like a sore thumb. We’ve all seen those generic photos of a group of “business associates” that are giving their best faux laugh with a thumbs up. 

The last thing you want when a consumer comes across your marketing content is generic. It cancels out your credibility of providing customized customer relationships and takes away the originality of your brand that you’ve worked so hard to build. Furthermore, nothing is more embarrassing for a company than when they realize their landing page has the same smiling employee as a competitor company in another state. With the public consuming so much content in a day, you’ll be surprised at how quickly consumers of all ages can spot stock photography usage. 

 

The Pro’s and Con’s of Original Photography

Many business owners think that the option of original photography is an expensive and time-consuming process searching for the right photographer. Websites, such as Fiverr, are a great place to find photographers! You’ll be able to analyze their style, read reviews from past clients, and even find a product photographer for as little as $30. Think of this as a legal investment now that you’ll have complete ownership of photos that you’ll be able to use more than once. Working with a photographer will also assist in expanding your brand aesthetic that consumers can recognize without seeing your company’s name. These photos can present your service or product in your perspective. This is a part of laying down the foundation for building trust and familiarity with customers. 

Due to the majority of people having a smartphone, there’s no reason to not have photos of your product or your employees in action while they carry out a service. By typing in “Basic Smartphone Photography” on Youtube, you’ll be provided with countless quick lessons on how to take the proper photo. Allow yourself to present your own point of view and indulge in your inner creative.

 

Stock Photography vs. Original Photography

 In the end, your own photos for marketing will perform better than stock photography. A while back we had a client that was reluctant to provide his Social Media Specialist with photos of his employees while they were working but was unsatisfied with the performance of their social media platforms. They finally decided to send one photo and amazingly enough, the response and engagement were twice that of any previous stock imagery the Social Media Specialist has used in the past. 

A study recently conducted by “Marketing Experiments” compared the response of consumers to a stock image of a woman vs a picture of a company’s founder. Consumers were 35% more likely to sign up for a free consultation when the founder’s photo was used. Even though it wasn’t likely that visitors would be conversing with the founder, they were able to connect with a real person from the company.

All in all original photography not only saves you money in the end but is a testament to your commitment to being a trustworthy, premium content company. There’s no need to ban stock photography from your marketing content, but you’ll find the best engagement success online with photos taken by you or by a professional. 

Still intimidated by the decision on which images to use? At The AD Leaf ®, we have a team of Social Media Specialists who thrive off of cultivating premium content for a variety of businesses. Let’s work together on expanding your company’s presence online! Give us a call at (321) 255.0900 or, set up a consultation by emailing us at info@theadleaf.com. We look forward to hearing from you soon! 

 

Digital Marketing Strategy

Why Businesses Need Digital Marketing To Survive COVID-19

Posted on | by The AD Leaf Marketing Firm
Content Writing, Email Marketing, Graphic Design, Marketing, Pay Per Click, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, Website Design

Why Businesses Need A Digital Marketing Strategy To Survive COVID-19

In the coming months, businesses of all sizes are going to become extra reliant than ever on their digital marketing strategy. Without wanting to sound too much like a killjoy, in many cases, it will be the deciding factor in whether they make it through the tough times that are ahead. 

The unparalleled, and almost-total disappearance of all channels related to live events and conferences, and the increasing barriers on face-to-face business, pose an enormous challenge to any business model. 

B2B companies, in particular, rely on the annual circuit of trade shows and exhibitions to network and build customer relations. In industries that are not digital-native, they may also be less sophisticated in their digital growth and customer relations strategies. Especially in the case of smaller businesses that are used to getting new customers strictly word-of-mouth referrals or on the strength of a hard-won reputation, their loss is going to come as a shock if it hasn’t already.

Larger companies are now finding themselves in the position of having potentially lost millions of dollars from canceled events alone. They won’t claw back the hours of time and expense spent on preparations for this year, but insurance and flexible cancellation policies are going to leave them with some marketing budget to reassign. Digital Marketing in any aspect is likely going to be the clear and obvious choice here, and companies that may not so much as had a Facebook page before will need to move into social media marketing, content marketing, SEO, and even influencer-led campaigns. 

This, of course, means there are opportunities out there for the taking and a key factor in resilience is adaptability. If it’s standard in your industry to go out and meet new customers face-to-face before you do business, adapting may mean opening new channels over web or social media platforms where introductions can be made and relationship fostered. In the coming months, you prospective clients are going to be less open to the idea of letting you walk through the door and shake their hand, and no-one really has any idea how long this will last and whether this will lead to longer-term change. 

We are going to be in some uncertain times, but with the increase of remote working and a collaborative approach, companies are going to turn to digital channels and embrace the transformation. There has already been a real spike in the last few weeks from companies wishing to create or update their websites, launch new social media channels and campaigns focused on home-workers and a real focus on using influencers and SEO to reach new audiences. 

Being confined to the office — or even the home — rather than on the road on sales visits or at events, means marketers are going to have more time to develop digital marketing strategies. This means researching where your customers can be found online, and how different approaches and tactics might impact your success. If your organization previously put minimal efforts into digital channels, now is going to be a prime time to revisit them. That could be as simple as giving your website or social media pages a refresh, or a more innovative approach. 

A key point to note is that a lot of corporate entities use up about 50-60% of their marketing budgets on events. When things go back to normal, budgets will most likely be going back to those live face-to-face events, but if organizations can see the benefits and opportunities that digital marketing can offer, they might understand the benefit of adding it to their long-term marketing strategy. 

Channels such as Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn Live are going to be crucial moving forward as the ability to connect with a targeted audience real-time is very beneficial, if not essential. 

It’s certainly true that the coming weeks, or months – or however long this situation lasts – will be a challenging time for any company that isn’t ready to think about how they will replace the opportunities that have been lost. 

As long as businesses can approach the shift to digital marketing strategically, there’s no reason why it should just serve as an emergency fill-in but could carry on providing long-term value when the world eventually gets back to normal. And of course, this would make companies more resilient to deal with any future pandemics. Do you need help with your Digital Marketing Strategy? Looking to take your social media or SEO to the next step? Contact the team at The AD Leaf ® Marketing Firm and learn how you can grow with us today and weather the storm that is COVID-19!

Marketing Agency

5 Reasons To Hire A Marketing Agency VS An In-House Team

Posted on | by The AD Leaf Marketing Firm
Content Writing, Email Marketing, Graphic Design, IT Services, Marketing, Pay Per Click, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, Website Design

Should you hire a Marketing Agency or build an in-house team?

In today’s digital landscape, there is no shortage of marketing options for businesses. From freelancers and marketing agencies to hiring your own in-house team, companies have more choices than ever before, specifically when it comes to online marketing. As your business grows, you will need to consider how your marketing will be handled, including whether to hire new employees and build an internal marketing team or empower your brand through a Marketing Agency.

While each has its own advantages, a full-service Marketing Agency provides substantial value to large, medium, and even small businesses. They strive to build cohesive and effective brands, put organizations in front of their customers and audience, and drive sales through awareness.

5 Reasons to Hire A Marketing Agency

1. Unparalleled Experience

Why piece together individual talents when you can hire an experienced Marketing Agency to handle everything for you? One of the major advantages of hiring a Marketing Agency is a professional experience. In fact, a good agency will have specific knowledge in a wide range of industries and markets, along with experience facing a diverse range of scenarios and challenges never encountered by many newer business owners. Having a knowledgeable and experienced staff at your side can produce immediate results for owners, helping to quickly get your marketing efforts off the ground.

2. Broader Skillsets

It can be difficult to locate suitable in-house employees with branding and marketing skills such as SEO and graphic design. By hiring a Marketing Agency, you’ll not only have the necessary tools to achieve your vision for success but a suite of creative services at your fingertips.

For example, a full-service Marketing Agency can assist clients in everything from rebranding their company image and website, developing their print and direct mail campaigns, and creating a social strategy to boost SEO and PPC campaigns. With a Marketing Agency, a client may choose to utilize one service or all them–whereas, with an in-house team, businesses are limited in what they can achieve.

3. Fresh Perspective & Inspiration

Another major advantage of hiring a Marketing Agency is a new perspective. A marketing team can help inject new life into marketing efforts, helping to identify unseen opportunities and enhance current campaigns. One example is social media marketing. With more companies looking to broaden their social reach through sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, a Marketing Agency can significantly enhance a brand’s approach to social media, including how they’re perceived by their audience.

4. Speed, Efficiency, and Consistency

As an up-and-coming business owner, you’ll be forced to wear several hats when getting your business off the ground. Generally speaking, this will almost include tackling aspects of the business you’re unfamiliar with, such as branding and digital marketing. With only so much time in the day, it’s important your marketing approach doesn’t suffer from time restraints or inexperience. Hiring a Marketing Agency can easily solve this dilemma.

5. More Affordable Than Hiring In-House

The cost of hiring and maintaining a team of in-house marketers can be very expensive. For smaller businesses, this expense may be too much to afford.
One of the more surprising benefits of hiring a Marketing Agency is cost-effectiveness. Along with providing a plethora of knowledge, experience, and skillset, a Marketing Agency is almost always more affordable compared to hiring a full-time marketing team. For example, after hiring a marketing manager, web designer, graphic designer, content writer, and social media manager, the total cost can reach upwards of multiple six figures a year! And that’s not even including the cost of employee benefits.

Marketing is the heart and soul of any business. At The AD Leaf ®, we’ve spent the last 25 years working with a diverse range of clients — from healthcare and technology to governmental, law enforcement and consumer goods — to perfect our approach to marketing, advertising, and branding. From strategic creative direction to engaging digital marketing, our extensive marketing team is here to handle every aspect of your business.

Want to enhance your content marketing? Looking to take your social media to the next step? Contact the team at The AD Leaf ® Marketing Firm and learn how you can grow with us today!

Graphic Design services in {{lpg_city}} can be used to help your business grow

Getting More Out Of Your CMS

Posted on | by The AD Leaf Marketing Firm
Marketing, Website Design

Every Content Management System or CMS has its own sets of advantages and disadvantages. A CMS really gives the power to website creators and website owners to add content and change or modify it as needed. How well it can build a website for your business depends on your skills to deploy it and market it. Here are some useful facts to consider when trying to get the most out of your CMS.

Customization

Every CMS allows for some amount of customization, some allow a lot more than others with the availability of themes and plugins. Plugins are what really allow you to expand on what your CMS is capable of right out of the box. Many CMSs can be enhanced with add-ons and plugins that can turn a basic blog into an e-commerce site, a forum, or a web application. Your plans for the new site could steer you towards one or two Content Management Systems that offer the plugins that you’ll need.

Usability

You don’t need knowledge of HTML or CSS to edit your website if you use a CMS. a CMS offers editing tools are provided for you in a clean and simple way and there’s very little to learn. Some CMSs do include complex content editors that are similar to popular document processing software, and some let you edit page content in a live view. If you ever have a problem using your CMS, many of the popular platforms have very large and well-established communities full or users that extend their expertise and help users with solving their problems on the platform.

SEO Responsiveness

You should never use a CMS platform that does not assure you about the site’s search engine optimization. While it’s true that most CMSs are equipped with search optimization tools, their effectiveness varies. You won’t be able to make your website prominent in the search engines without the proper tools that are needed to boost a site’s rank position. You need to be careful in picking the platform that has inbuilt SEO features or SEO features that can be easily added with the help of a plugin.

If you aren’t using a content management system to manage your website content, making the switch will certainly save you a lot of time, money, and frustration. The key is to choose the right CMS that closely aligns with the functions, extensions, and flexibility that you require.