John Laurie, Digital Marketing Strategist

 

For a marketing agency, growth is everything. 

Every day we focus on providing solutions that help our clients grow their business, and more importantly, their bottom line.

You’ll often hear it said at The Branding Agency that you have to spend money to make it, and we’re living proof of that.

We’ve recently invested in growing our staff at our Ballantyne/Charlotte headquarters, this means bringing on more talented marketers ready to help you grow your business.

We’ve been able to outpace our peers in the online marketing and website development space thanks to a strong focus on customer experience. This is the guiding light that drives our business decisions and has made all the difference in our ability to expand and better serve clients like you.

Let’s face it, the online world is getting more and more crowded. It’s harder than ever to stand out from the crowd and get your business noticed.

It’s not enough to provide solutions for clients, the customer experience from day one truly matters. Your satisfaction makes all the difference because online, word of mouth is everything.

In pursuit of our mission to provide the best possible customer experience, we’ve made extra investments to have the best-trained staff & top of the line training programs. Our team, the professionals that bring their passion to the office every day, are the catalyst behind The Branding Agency’s success.

With this, I want to introduce you to one of the newest assets at The Branding Agency.  

John Laurie is our new Senior Digital Marketing Strategy Partner, and we couldn’t be more excited about the marketing prowess he brings to the team. 

We are thrilled to have the wisdom of a powerhouse like John on our team and can’t wait to see the great gains he can bring to your business.

Check out the Q&A below with John Laurie and get to know this newest face on The Branding Agency team.

 

When and why did you decide to join The Branding Agency Team? 

I joined The Branding Agency's intake team in September of 2019.  I'd spent several years in the "big box marketing" space, and I was tired

of feeling like I was unable to deliver results for my clients. While researching boutique marketing firms in the Charlotte area, I found

The Branding Agency on LinkedIn - I started as soon as I could!

 

What excites you most about joining The Branding Agency? 

I'm excited to work with a company that can deliver real results. Online marketing is technical and complex, and there is no "one size fits

all" option that can get clients a good return on their investment. I really enjoy working with our team here - and knowing that each client

that I bring in will be treated well and see appreciable results!

 

What led you into digital marketing? 

I stumbled into it! I'd originally planned on working in radio and television, but I saw that traditional media was becoming less and less

effective every year. I also discovered that most small businesses can't afford TV and radio ads; I enjoy working with solopreneurs, so

digital marketing was the obvious step.

 

What's your favorite part about being a digital marketer? 

Helping small business owners achieve goals - period, hands down, case closed. I've been a small business owner, and I know how challenging

it can be to keep your company afloat in a competitive market. I love knowing that - in a very real sense - I'm helping those owners keep the

dream alive by significantly increasing the number of new customers and clients walking through their doors.

 

What have your previous roles taught you that you think will be helpful for your new role at The Branding Agency? 

They've taught me what I don't want. My prior experience in digital marketing was a "big box" agency with one account manager for every

250 accounts. Most companies in the digital marketing space exist to produce profit for the owners and shareholders; the clients are a distant

afterthought. As The Branding Agency continues to grow, we have a North Star to stay focused on - don't be like that!

 

Describe your perfect day at work! 

Any day that I get a progress report from a client's campaign is a good day. Their numbers keep on climbing, and I keep on smiling. It really

does feel good to help!

 

What do you like to do for fun? 

I'm a jack of all hobbies. I enjoy hunting and fishing, live theater and music, and mentoring young men in the Charlotte community.

 

 

 

The marketing support you need.

We've brought together an incredible team with the skills and expertise to make a difference for your business. With our team on your side, you’ll have the marketing support you need. Ready to work with us? Let's start a conversation.

 

 

 

It goes without saying that doing maintenance work on your physical property isn't a one-time thing. You've got to continually mow the lawn, dig up weeds, change smoke detector batteries and more.

Failing to do this will quickly turn your property into an unsafe environment no one wants to stay in for too long.

Things are no different with digital real estate.

Leaving your site neglected can have a major negative impact on business; according to Blue Fountain Media, 81% of internet users say they think less of a business if their website has not been properly maintained. (1)

Unlike with physical real estate, however, web design issues aren't necessarily as easy to identify as weeds or an unruly lawn.

In this article, we'll explore five easy-to-miss signs it's time to contact a web design company and have your site tweaked – or even completely overhauled.

Web Design Red Flags: 5 Signs It's Time To Overhaul Your Website

 

 

 

Sign #1 – Visitors Aren't Looking Around

The key metric to pay attention to here is your bounce rate. This rate represents the percentage of visitors who leave your website after only viewing a single page.

Standard practice within the industry is to view a bounce rate of 70% or higher as concerning.

Not only does it mean your website isn't captivating visitors enough for them to learn more about your company; it also tells Google and other search engines that your site is of low quality, pushing you down in rankings.

There are a number of factors that can contribute to a high bounce rate – not the least of which is poor or outdated web design.

Pay particular attention to your site's mobile experience.

With an increasing percentage of web visitors arriving from mobile devices, you need to be consistent in making sure that your web design keeps up with the ever-shifting mobile content formats.

You might know your content is great and totally worth suffering through a clunky viewing experience for, but your potential readers won't stick around long enough to find that out.

Sign #2 – Visitors Are Constantly Asking You For Help

Maintaining an open line of communication with your website visitors (whether through a feedback form or dedicated support staff) can alert you to many issues that may have gone unnoticed otherwise.

If you find that people are constantly asking you for help with locating something on your site, it may be time to give your web design a refresh.

The unfortunate reality is that, for every visitor who took the time to reach out for assistance, there are several more who just left and went to a competitor's site to find that they were looking for. So take this sign very seriously!

Sign #3 – Your Website Is Not Bringing You Business

With so many tracking tools available, it's remarkably easy to measure exactly where your business is coming from.

If you've invested a lot of time, energy and money into your website only to have it deliver disappointing results (or worse – it once delivered good results but is now rapidly dying), it's time to have a web design agency take a look at it.

Sign #4 – Your Website Is More Than Three Years Old

Among experts, the general consensus is that a web design more than three years old needs an overhaul. This timeframe – provided you carry out occasional tweaks in between – allows you to remain competitive.

As mentioned earlier, design trends, particularly when it comes to mobile devices, are always changing. 

Devices get bigger, giving you more real estate to spread your content out on. Platforms like Facebook Instant Articles come along. New plugins are created.

All of these changes can, and do, happen within a three year period. Your competitors are doing their best to keep up with the times – make sure you are as well!

Speaking of your competitors...

Sign #5 – Your Competitors All Seem To Be Updating Their Websites

If you're still rocking a website you built several years ago while your competitors have gone through one or two, or maybe even three, designs, it's time for a refresh.

Even if you think you have a better grasp on the offline market than your competitors, you could be doing so much better if your outdated design wasn't prompting visitors to check out another business.

Bonus Sign: You Don't Want To Work On Your Website

If your website has gotten so clunky that you dread making even the smallest of changes, it's a sure sign that things could use a refresh.

Your site's content management system may have been state-of-the-art five years ago but, as with your site's front end, things can get stale and outdated very quickly.

A new design won't just make things easier for your visitors and potential customers; it'll make things easier for you as well!

For services like web design and development, search engine optimization, paid search advertising, blogging and social media advertising, you can trust The Branding Agency.

We are a dedicated website development and digital marketing agency dedicated to giving small business owners an alternative to highly-priced traditional advertising firms.

Starting a blog for your business might seem like a time-consuming task – and indeed, it can be.

But, as evidenced by the number of companies (likely even many of your competitors) out there who do it, there are a whole host of benefits that come from maintaining a blog on your website.

Plus, a lot has changed on the internet in the last few years. There are now a number of blog writing services you can use to take the bulk of the work out of the equation for yourself.

There's really no excuse – especially not when you consider the following six benefits you'll miss out on by neglecting this major revenue source.

Starting A Blog On Your Company's Website: 6 Key Benefits

Benefit #1: Establish Your Authority

One of the best ways to convince others that you are indeed an expert in your field is to teach them what you know. Starting a good, informative blog on your company's website is a surefire method for accomplishing this.

For one, your blog posts will help you establish authority among people you're connected with via networks like LinkedIn.

But on a much larger scale, engaging, well-researched blog posts can help you establish authority with a potentially endless sea of people searching Google and other web platforms for information.

Your products and services will be a much easier sell to people who see you as an authority figure in your area of expertise.

Benefit #2: Search Engine Optimization

The aforementioned process of getting your website to pop up in search engines is known as search engine optimization (SEO).

Search engines like Google love websites that are constantly creating new and engaging content as this indicates, among other things, a high quality website.

But let's face it. There are only so many relevant static pages you can create for your website. That's where a blog comes in.

For any given niche, there's a near-endless number of evergreen topics you can blog about. Over time, a good blog writing service that operates with SEO in mind can help you build a network of content that supports your website and drastically increases the number of searches your website shows up for.

Benefit #3: Reduce Wasted Time

Inquiries and requests for clarification about your services can present a major opportunity for you to connect with prospective customers and guide them towards closing.

But it can also serve as a major source of lost time, particularly if you get lots of general inquiries that don't lead to sales.

By starting a blog on your company's website and updating it with valuable, relevant information regularly, you can answer common questions about your work.

This frees up your sales representatives to deal with getting you actual sales instead of playing teacher with people who are just curious.

Benefit #4: Places Your Finger On The Pulse Of Trends In Your Industry

Blogging about your industry (or even just being somewhat involved while a blog writing company does the bulk of the work) can make you hyper-aware of trends.

Think about it; with a blog, your goal is to create a portfolio of content that's relevant to people seeking your services. In the process of researching such topics and writing about them, you'll be able to provide services that match what the market is requesting.

Plus, as your catalogue of blog posts continues to grow, you'll begin seeing engagement from readers. This can be a valuable source of feedback and provide insights into what people are asking for.

Benefit #5: Brings More High-Quality Traffic To Your Site

Granted you have the right content strategy (or have hired a blog writing service that does), your blog posts will attract significant high-quality traffic to your website.

By "high-quality," we're referring to traffic that is looking to buy what you're selling.

For example, if you're a real estate agent, a good blog content strategy will attract people who are in the market for a real estate agent.

If you've already got a website that converts well, this should lead to a massive increase in conversion volume.

Benefit #6: Gives You Material To Play With In Your Other Marketing Efforts

Not sure what to post on social media? Wish you had some non-sales material to slip into that blank space in your newsletter?

With a well-maintained blog on your company's website, you never have to worry about coming up short in these situations. You'll always have fresh content at your fingertips to support your efforts on other platforms.

Looking for a good blog writing team? The Branding Agency has you covered.

Maintaining a blog can take a lot of time and energy. If blogging isn't your natural forte, those are resources you could be spending doing what you do best while leaving the digital content strategy to web design experts like us.

Click HERE to contact us and learn more about how we can help you achieve the above benefits through a high-quality blog on your company's website.

Google business reviews and reviews in general matter more than ever before ⭐️

 

Consumers don’t even have to search for reviews – they’re right there. When a customer searches for a specific business type within their area. Google reviews show up front and center and all they need to do is click