Online reviews can be a potent marketing tool for your small business. Think about this: how often do you go online to see what others are saying about a service or product you're thinking of buying? Isn't it all the time? Your prospective clients are doing the same thing, so make sure you're winning the review game.
Want proof that asking for reviews and responding to and are smart moves?
- 89% of consumers will make an effort to read reviews before buying services or products. (Trustpilot).
- “79% of consumers say they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends or family. These days, word of mouth can come from outside a consumer's social circle, with an online review having a ripple outside of a happy (or unhappy!) customer's peers.” (Bright Local)
- Google and Amazon are by far the most popular channels people turn to for reviews. Google has 59%, and Amazon has 57%. (Bizrate Insights).
Reviews also provide a lot of value at little to no cost. You don't have to pay to leave or respond to a review, so it's free advertising for your small business. If you receive positive reviews and favorable feedback, these recommendations can and will impact future clients by instilling trust in your business before you even meet them!
Written By: Adam Bennett | November 10, 2021
Adam is the president and founder of Cube Creative Design and specializes in private school marketing. Since starting the business in 2005, he has created individual relationships with clients in Western North Carolina and across the United States. He places great value on the needs, expectations, and goals of the client.
Social media marketing is the general use of various social media websites and platforms to advertise a product or service, typically through social interactions. These social media platforms include LinkedIn, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, etc. This post will dive into its recent development and application, discuss its benefits for business and people, and analyze its potential as an upcoming marketing trend.
Written By: Hannah Kilpatrick | November 08, 2021
Hannah Kilpatrick Cube Creative DesignHannah Kilpatrick graduated from Western Carolina University in 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Communication with a Minor in Marketing and a Concentration in Public Relations. She has been around social media since its creation. (Meaning, she was in the first grade when Facebook became available to the general public.) As our very own professional Gen-Z, Hannah is a whiz when it comes to social media creation and paid advertising.
Online marketing goes by several different names, digital marketing, inbound marketing, or content marketing. Regardless of how you refer to it, you know that you should have some sort of content marketing plan for your small businesses. However, you need to understand who you are targeting, and this is where buyer personas come in.
HubSpot defines a buyer persona as “a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer based on market research and real data about your existing customers.”
In a 2017 study by Content Marketing Institute, only 89% of B2B marketers have integrated content marketing. It continues to say that only 37% have a documented content marketing strategy, and only 22% consider their content marketing plans and overall approach to be highly successful.
Buyer personas are a critical foundational element. You need to have a deep understanding of what it is, why you need it, how to build one.
Written By: Adam Bennett | November 05, 2021
Adam is the president and founder of Cube Creative Design and specializes in private school marketing. Since starting the business in 2005, he has created individual relationships with clients in Western North Carolina and across the United States. He places great value on the needs, expectations, and goals of the client.
As a small business in a rural area or small town, you know you have unique challenges. When it comes to marketing in general, there are several things that you can do to differentiate yourself from others and be found. One of the easiest and cheapest is to up your online marketing game!
When it comes to local business online marketing, we have numerous unique challenges. As someone who grew up and still lives in a small town in a rural area, I get it, and it makes it even more difficult when I see businesses struggle. The main reason it is so difficult is that the search engines don't understand us.
Let’s look at several definitions of what is considered a rural area.
Written By: Chad J. Treadway | November 03, 2021
Chad is a Partner and our Chief Smarketing Officer. He will help you survey your small business needs, educating you on your options before suggesting any solution. Chad is passionate about rural marketing in the United States and North Carolina. He also has several certifications through HubSpot to better assist you with your internet and inbound marketing.
