Digital Marketing Archives

Content Pillars: The Secret to Content Marketing Consistency

Posted on June 8, 2023June 8, 2023 by Brian Oni

Whether for advertisements, social media, emails, or just about anything else the question always comes up: “How can I maintain a consistent, and quality stream of content for my brand?” As a digital marketing and communications agency, one of the strategies we’ve found works best is creating content pillars.

Content pillars are a strategic approach to organizing and planning content for your brand. They are a set of overarching topics representing the key themes or messages you want to communicate to your audience.

Organizing your content around a set of content pillars allows you to create a cohesive content strategy that supports your overall marketing objectives. This approach ensures that your content is aligned with your goals and consistently delivers value to your audience.

Creating Effective Content Pillars

Here are some tips for building a content pillar strategy that works:

Define your brand’s core values and mission. Your content pillars should be aligned with what’s most important to your brand. Consider what sets your brand apart from others and what messages you want to communicate to your audience.

Conduct research. Find out what your audience’s needs, interests, and pain points are, then use this information to build content pillars that will resonate with them.

Choose 3-5 overarching topics. The topics you choose for your pillars should represent your brand’s key themes or messages. Make sure they’re broad enough to allow for a variety of content types but specific enough to keep your content focused and consistent.

Develop a content plan. Once you’ve established your content pillars, develop a content plan that aligns with each one. The topics/themes of the pillars will inform the types of content to create for each pillar and the channels you will use to distribute it. You can also create pillars by channel or platform. For example, we frequently create content pillars for social media content. This helps maintain a steady stream of monthly topics and ensures the most important ones are always covered in a long social media calendar.

Evaluate and adjust. Monitor your content strategy regularly to confirm that it’s performing well with your target audience. Don’t hesitate to adjust your content pillars as needed to keep them relevant and effective. You’ll be able to measure which pillars are driving the most traffic and engagement, and which need your attention.

Get Started with Content Pillars

We share the goal of creating a cohesive and effective content strategy that drives results for your brand, and there’s even more that’s possible after first taking the time to fine-tune the pillars supporting it. If you need a hand getting started or honing your content pillars, we’re available to help.

Digital Marketing Priorities for MedTech Startups

Posted on April 12, 2023May 11, 2023 by Brian Oni

The role of digital marketing in MedTech has become more prominent in the last few years, and marketing leaders at MedTech startups need to focus on a few key elements in order to attract and retain customers, build awareness, and drive revenue growth.

Branding –Branding is extremely important for a MedTech startup, as it plays a critical role in shaping how the company is perceived by its target audience, investors, and stakeholders. A strong brand can differentiate the company from competitors, build trust with customers, and establish a unique identity in the marketplace.

Website –The website is the primary digital asset of the company, and it should be optimized for user experience and lead generation. MedTech leaders should work to ensure that the website is designed to be mobile-friendly, fast-loading, and informative, and features clear calls-to-action throughout.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) –The website must also be optimized for search. It is important for your SEO strategy to involve identifying the most relevant keywords and phrases related to your products and services, and optimizing your website content to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). This would include both on-page (such as updating headlines and copy on the page) and off-page optimization techniques (such as improving site performance, adding or updating metadata, etc.).

Content Marketing –Brands need to quickly establish themselves as thought leaders. In order to accomplish this, MedTech startups should focus on creating and sharing high-quality, informative content across blogs, social media, and email marketing to engage with potential customers and build brand awareness. The content should be designed to educate and inform your target audience about your products, their benefits, and the problems they solve.

Social Media Marketing –Use social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook to build a community of followers, share content, and engage with potential customers. Lean heavily into organic strategies and tactics when all you have is time and talent, and leverage paid ads to grow even faster.

Email Marketing –Build email campaigns to nurture leads and keep existing customers informed. Newsletters, new content announcements, product updates, new services, and other promotional materials all help keep subscribers engaged.

Web Analytics – Leverage various tools and platforms to measure the effectiveness of your digital campaigns, so that you know what’s working and what needs improvement. Based on insights gained from the data analysis, you can make adjustments to your campaigns, website, social media content, and other digital tactics to optimize performance.

Overall, the digital marketing strategy for MedTech startups should prioritize creating valuable content, engaging with potential customers across various digital channels, and measuring and optimizing your efforts to achieve your business objectives. Did you know? D2 Creative offers brand and digital marketing packages for MedTech startups to get your brand to market faster with a cohesive look and message. Reach out to learn more.

Why You Should Conduct a Brand and Marketing Audit This Quarter

Posted on April 5, 2023May 11, 2023 by Brian Oni

In today’s digital world, having a strong brand and effective digital marketing strategy is essential for the success of any business. However, many companies may not realize that their branding and marketing efforts may be falling short or not delivering the desired results. This is where conducting an audit of your brand and current digital marketing efforts can be incredibly beneficial.

The Importance of Conducting an Audit of Your Brand and Digital Marketing Efforts

An audit can provide valuable insights into the performance of your current branding and marketing efforts. This includes metrics such as website traffic, social media engagement, email open and click rates, and campaign conversion rates. These insights can help you identify what’s working well and what needs improvement. You’ll be able to detect gaps, such as inconsistent messaging, poor website design, or ineffective social media campaigns.

An audit can help identify gaps in your branding and marketing strategy, highlight areas for improvement, and provide valuable insights to help you make data-driven decisions. By optimizing your strategy and tactics, you can maximize the impact of your marketing budget and achieve better returns.

But, why is it better to have a third party perform this audit instead of doing it internally? Let’s take a closer look.

Why Use a Third Party for Your Brand and Marketing Audit?

While conducting an audit of your branding and marketing efforts is important, it’s often better to have a third party perform the audit instead of doing it internally. Here’s why:

An external auditor can bring an unbiased perspective to the audit. They are not influenced by internal politics or personal biases and can provide an objective analysis of your branding and marketing efforts, which can lead to more innovative solutions. They can also conduct the audit more efficiently, without disrupting your internal operations.

Outsourcing your audit can be cost-effective, especially for businesses that may not have the resources to hire a full-time marketing team. An external auditor can provide valuable insights and recommendations at a fraction of the cost of hiring a full-time marketing team. This does not mean you should expect to sacrifice experience. A third-party auditor should have expertise in branding and digital marketing and can provide insights and recommendations based on best practices and industry standards. Look for someone with decades of MedTech marketing and communications experience.

Schedule a Brand and Marketing Audit

Conducting an audit of your brand and current digital marketing efforts is essential for the success of any business. However, it’s often better to have a third party perform the audit to provide expertise, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and an unbiased perspective.

By conducting a thorough audit and making data-driven decisions based on the insights gained, you can optimize your branding and marketing strategy and achieve better results for your business.

Schedule a brand and marketing audit with D2 Creative.

7 Tips to Grow Your Brand on Social Media

Posted on March 22, 2023May 11, 2023 by Kenny Oyewole

Social media has become an essential tool for businesses to build their brand and connect with their target audience. It can be overwhelming to know where to commit your time and resources with so many platforms available. In this article, we will discuss tips on how to use social media to build your brand effectively.

1. Define Your Brand Identity

It’s important to define your brand identity before you start posting on social media. This includes your brand voice, messaging, and visual branding. Your brand identity should be consistent across all social media platforms, making it easier for your audience to recognize your brand.

2. Choose the Right Platforms

Not all social media platforms are created equal. Choose the platforms where your target audience is most active. For instance, if your target audience is primarily professionals, LinkedIn may be a better platform to focus on than TikTok. TikTok has over a billion users, but if they aren’t interested in your company or product then the platform likely won’t provide much return.

Read the top recommended social platforms for life sciences brands.

3. Create Quality Content

Creating quality content is crucial for building your brand on social media. Your content should be visually appealing and aligned with your brand messaging. Use a mix of formats such as photos, videos, and graphics to keep your audience engaged. If you’re looking to grow organically, however, you can’t publish a few good posts and expect to go viral. Focus on being consistent with your post schedule, and prioritize relevant and timely content that adds value for your audience.

4. Engage with Your Audience

Remember: social platforms are about building relationships and the conversation must be a two-way street. Engage with your audience by responding to comments, messages, and mentions. This shows your audience that you value their input and are listening to their feedback.

5. Use Hashtags Strategically

Hashtags can help increase the visibility of your content on social media. Use relevant hashtags to reach a broader audience, but avoid using too many hashtags as it can make your content appear spammy. Like with content, quality is more important than quantity. How many hashtags and which ones you use will also depend on the platform. Facebook and LinkedIn, for example, don’t have as much hashtag engagement compared with Instagram. Refrain from using hashtags that are too broad so your post doesn’t get lost in a sea of content. You’ll want to use specific hashtags that are relevant to your post and target audience, as well as branded or campaign-specific hashtags if you have them.

6. Collaborate with Influencers and Users

Collaborating with influencers can help increase your brand’s visibility and credibility on social media. Find influencers who align with your brand values and have a similar target audience. User-generated content (UGC) – aka content created by users or customers – has become increasingly important for brands, as it’s generally viewed as more authentic and can bring a new level of creativity and engagement to your social media page. Leverage the power of UGC by encouraging your customers to create and share content about your brand.

7. Monitor Your Metrics

Monitor your social media metrics regularly to track your progress and make data-driven decisions. Metrics such as engagement rate, reach, and follower growth can help you identify what’s working and what’s not, allowing you to adjust your strategy accordingly. Depending on the platform you use for tracking, you can see additional insights, such as when your followers are most active. That can help you identify the best days and times to schedule your posts so they perform better.

Build a Better Social Media Presence

Social media can be a powerful tool for building your brand if used effectively. By defining your brand identity, choosing the right platforms, creating quality content, engaging with your audience, using hashtags strategically, collaborating with users and influencers, and monitoring metrics, you can build a strong social media presence for your brand. Remember to be consistent and authentic, and stay true to your brand values throughout the process. And, of course, download our social media guide for even more tips.

The Website Redesign Issues You Didn’t Know You Were Making

Posted on August 29, 2022April 3, 2023 by Anthony Purificato

Even for experts, some projects don’t go as expected, which our e recently undertook the redesign and development of our website. Focusing on our own site, which is easy to lose sight of amid client projects, came with its fair share of challenges and some of them were a real surprise. However, all projects are learning experiences, and this one gave us some valuable insights we want to share with you.

An Internal Website Redesign and Development Project Was Born

After recently completing a “brand-refresh” we determined the agency website was the most logical place to apply it. We also decided to take this opportunity to revisit the site’s user experience and also explore new tools and platforms. First, our Manager of Creative Operations, Corey O’Rourke, hit the drawing board and came up with new design concepts for the website.

The two web screens depicted in the image (to the right) shows our website’s new, updated designs that were implemented. Compare that new design to the old design that was on our website’s homepage (to the left).

The two web screens depicted in the image (bottom) shows our website’s new, updated designs that were implemented. Compare that new design to the old design that was on our website’s homepage (top).

Our Typical Web Development Approach

Next up, the technical approach. Dan Eckles, the lead developer, opted to build a fully custom “theme” rather than use an off-the-shelf theme or template. This choice was made so the site could support all of the impressive and complex UI interactions the design team included in the new design. This custom approach is often our preferred choice for websites that we develop at D2 Creative. As Dan Eckels says: “We build custom themes for virtually every client project; we generally avoid pre-built options promising a quick solution.” We believe this approach results in a more stable site that is easier to manage because it gives the administrator more granular control.

From the CMS standpoint, we stuck with WordPress. However, we decided to utilize one of the more popular page builders available today, Elementor. While this was mostly an effort to update our site, we took the R&D opportunity to see what the limits of this page builder plugin are.

We learned A Few Things Developing the New Website

We soon found that Elementor, while a powerful tool, has its share of limitations, especially in the context of the user experience and design approach we envisioned.

Here are some of our findings:

Page builders don’t always save time – Depending on the amount of tweaking you need to get things exactly the way you want them a page builder might just increase the work effort. And if you need to “hack” the plugin to achieve the effect you want it will require even more time.
Might not be so mobile-friendly – Page builders like Elementor have their own way of dealing with mobile views.
The extra code added by a page builder can reduce page speed – Because plugins have associated code needed to function they can negatively affect page speeds and the time it takes for pages to load. This can impact both site visitors and site editors.
Hard-coded styling options limit flexibility – This means that you may have to add custom styles to pages and content if the hard-coded options aren’t aligned with your designs. Elementor, for example, only has an option for adding 2 color gradients. As result, we had to go back to the drawing board to redesign pages to accommodate this (instead of sticking with our original “3-color gradient” design).
Plugins on WordPress need regular updates – In order to function properly and remain secure plugins are regularly updated. Every additional plugin you add increases the likelihood of introduced bugs when updated. This can result in your site breaking. So, if you don’t need a page builder, it is probably best not to use one.
Training is required – Editing content with page builders will take time to learn. If you have a team of publishers that aren’t used to the technology, they will have to research and experiment in order to effectively use the tool.

Our Final Thoughts on Using Page Builders for Publishing

The decision to use a page builder is a choice that should be made on a case-by-case basis. In website development, there is no “one size fits all” approach. If you are building a small website or landing page with a simple layout, a page builder might make the most sense. But as the website grows in size or design complexity a custom theme is probably the best choice.

Making the right technology choice early on helps to ensure that you hit the ground running when the site launches. Considering who will be using your site (both externally and internally) is imperative for choosing a development approach that truly works. There will be times when the off-the-shelf solution is perfect for your needs, but you have to be mindful of the limitations of that solution, and how they may make modifying the site in the future more challenging.

Turning COVID Challenges into New Opportunities

Posted on July 13, 2022May 2, 2023 by kkudzma

The pandemic presented (and continues to present) a myriad of challenges for businesses, but staying agile can lead to new and more innovative solutions. A recent example is also a personal one, with the recent addition of fully remote video shoots to our video production toolbox.

From Frustration to Innovation

Just before the start of the pandemic, our team was ready to produce interview-style content for one of our longtime clients, IEEE EMBS. However, COVID made the process a lot more complicated, and routine video shoots quickly became anything but.

With travel restrictions and lockdowns in place, flying our crew and equipment out to interviewees became out of the question. We needed to find a way to do things remotely, but how could we keep the finished video looking professional and polished, not a choppy, blurry Zoom recording?

We quickly put together equipment kits, which we mailed to interviewees. We also researched higher-quality video capture alternatives and put processes in place to help interviewees set up everything on their own. We were able to produce video of the quality that IEEE EMBS needed, and now had new remote video production capabilities and technologies we could leverage with all of our clients.

Finding the Silver Lining

When the tried-and-true way of making video content for clients was suddenly not an option, we discovered a way of shooting them that, in some scenarios, is even better.

As challenging as this dilemma was, solving it lead to a video production tool that could help far beyond its original need. Video shoots with clients around the world can be extremely expensive given the time and cost of travel. But with our remote recording kits, what used to take weeks can be done in as little as a few days.

All it took for us to find out how was a push out of our comfort zone.

Here’s the big takeaway: In every challenge your company faces, there are opportunities for growth you wouldn’t otherwise see. Whether it’s difficulties specifically related to the pandemic, or something more general, taking a step back and examining how to turn difficult situations into innovative solutions is a major part of how companies grow.

Can You Tell the Difference?

I’ve got a challenge for you. Watch just one of the dozens of videos we produced for IEEE EMBS during the pandemic. Can you tell that it wasn’t shot by an on-site film crew?

We take pride in our ability to solve problems, both for ourselves and our clients. You can read more about how our challenges with IEEE EMBS remote shoots turned into a new and exciting innovation for our video team in our recent case study. Or, browse some of our other stories of how we’ve helped our clients solve more digital marketing issues.

The Latest from Google Ads: Pros and Cons of Performance Max Campaigns

Posted on May 31, 2022April 3, 2023 by Laura Lentchitsky

Google Just Launched its Newest Campaign Type: Performance Max

Marketers are used to selecting the ad formats and channels for campaigns in Google Ads. However, if you want to run Search ads and Display ads, you need to make two separate campaigns and split your budget accordingly. With the recent launch of Google’s Performance Max, those days are over.

Instead of having to select and build separate campaigns for specific ad formats, Performance Max ads are shown in every channel Google is able to target within one campaign, including Search, Shopping, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail, and Maps.

What Are the Benefits of a Performance Max Campaign?

To start, it’s much easier to build one Performance Max Campaign than it is to create and monitor multiple campaigns by ad format or channel. You simply create one campaign and upload all your copy, images, and videos to that campaign.

The real benefit comes from expanding your audience pool to include all of Google’s channels and networks, not just the ones you specifically select. This can help you find more converting customers from places you might not have expected.

Finally, as marketers, we understand the frustration that can come with trying to crack Google’s algorithm. Most experts estimate that Google changes its search algorithm around 500-600 times each year.

Whether you’re building an audience segment or optimizing a landing page for search, it can feel like a constant struggle to get it right so that you’re able to reach the right audience at the right time. Performance Max campaigns hand Google the reins, allowing it to use its real-time understanding of customer intents and preferences. Basically, you’re letting the algorithm do the heavy lifting for you.

Performance Max Campaign Assets and Specifications

Here are the assets you can include in your Google Performance Max campaign:

Text

3-5 headlines (30 characters max; include one with 15 or less)
1-5 long headlines (90 characters max)
2-5 descriptions (90 characters max; include one with 60 or less)

Image

1-20 landscape images (1.91:1)
1-20 square images (1:1)
0-20 portrait images (4:5)
1-5 square logos (1:1)
0-5 landscape logos (4:1)

Video

0-5 horizontal, vertical, or square videos, at least 10 seconds long

You’ll notice that some assets (like headlines, company logo, etc.) are mandatory, but others (like video) can be omitted if you don’t have content available.

These specifications may change, so check Google Ads documentation for the most current information before you create your assets.

What are the Drawbacks of a Google Performance Max Campaign?

When building a campaign in Google Ads, one of the first steps is to select campaign advertising and conversion goals, respectively. This helps the Google algorithm better predict to whom to serve the ads based on the actions that person is most likely to take.

Should your ads have different campaign goals, know that Google will only allow you to select one objective per campaign. For example, if you’re planning to increase website traffic using Search ads, build brand awareness using Display ads, and get leads using YouTube ads, a Performance Max campaign might not be the right choice.

Lastly, if you already have a number of Google Ad campaigns up and running, it’s possible that a Performance Max campaign could cannibalize existing campaigns and cause their performance to suffer if you’re not properly prepared.

Ready to Create a Campaign?

Google Performance Max campaign can increase ad reach and find more customers where they are, but at a cost of some control. To set your Performance Max campaigns up for success, check out Google’s best practices guide or ask your digital ad agency for some assistance. D2 Creative is a certified Google Ads Partner.