Category: Digital Marketing

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Business Digital Marketing Marketing

Why Spectruss is Chattanooga’s Choice Agency 

Why Spectruss is Chattanooga’s Choice Agency 

 

There are a few things that make Chattanooga the city that it is. Some say it’s the walkability, others say the booming restaurant and bar scene, and many say it’s the amazing natural scenery that’s in literally every direction you turn. 

 

You’ve got iconic brands like Chattanooga Whiskey, Hutton & Smith Brewing Co., and Lookout Wild Film Festival. Want to know what all of these brands have in common aside from being a local Chattanooga company? Each of these brands have used Spectruss for marketing or advertising needs to take their company to the next level. 

 

The thing that makes Chattanooga, Chattanooga is that everyone who enters leaves feeling like a local. They feel like they take a little piece of them when they leave. Chattanooga is a city that thrives on locality. From the restaurants, to the attractions, to the parks and the people – it’s home. 

 

Nobody understands that better than Spectruss. Spectruss has been Chattanooga’s Marketing and Advertising Agency for over 11 years. You might be wondering why knowing what it means to be a Chattanoogan is so important as a marketing and advertising agency and the answer is pretty simple…we understand who you are first. 

 

If we understand who you are as a company, creating a brand like Hutton & Smith Brewing Co., for example, becomes second nature to us. Working as geologists from Las Vegas, the owners moved to Chattanooga, TN, and fell in love with the city’s accessibility to rock climbing and various outdoor activities. They came to us at the beginning of the craft beer revolution with a new recipe and a dream to start a brewery. 

 

We were challenged with the concept of creating a brand that could be national, but would remain close to home for the owners. Hutton & Smith was named after the “Father of Modern Geology,” James Hutton and “Father of English Geology,” William Strata Smith. The brand started in Chattanooga with a connection to the rock climbing scene. It started with an understanding of exactly who Hutton & Smith Brewing Co. were and who they ultimately wanted to be. Both the brand and the beer were quickly embraced by Chattanooga’s rock-loving enthusiasts since it’s release in 2014 and you can now find the brand all over the US. 

 

The reality is, one of the things that draws people to our city is the connection to the outdoors. Whether that’s felt through beer, rock climbing, or even films – it’s there. 

 

Since its inception in 2012, Lookout Wild Film Festival has partnered with Spectruss to increase its brand awareness and audience attendance. Our digital marketing strategies and creative branding led to exponential growth for the Lookout Wild Film Festival. Year after year, we strategize on how to meet the high expectations of annual crowd goers. 

 

Each year, we gave the festival a fresh new look to set a new theme from previous years. In 2019, our team redesigned the entire identity of the Lookout Wild Film Festival, including a highly dynamic, attention-grabbing logo and a website redesign.

 

With increased brand recognition, Lookout Wild has attracted major film productions with big brand sponsors such as Redbull, Audi, North Face, and Patagonia. Even though the brand is rapidly growing, it started with Chattanooga. It started with having an understanding of the local audience and the local love for all things outdoors and through that mutual understanding, we took Lookout Wild to new heights. 

 

While knowing Chattanooga sets us apart as a Marketing and Advertising Agency, we’re also experts in the realm of ecommerce sites and website redesigns that are geared to touch other parts of the world. We want your business to grow and expand! 

 

Your website is a crucial part of your business and growth. Chattanooga Whiskey approached us in 2019 when their online presence was failing and in a digital world, you know that can’t be good. Our team worked in overdrive to create a new website for them that was user-friendly and fully responsive. We created their new website with the goal of seamless navigation at the front of our minds. Their online presence has done nothing but soar the last few years. 

 

After building a new ecommerce site for Royal Highnies, their online sales grew 25% and 10% for wholesale orders. While developing the brand new e-commerce site, our team simultaneously built monthly campaigns powered by multiple digital marketing strategies that all funneled to an online pop-up store for consumers to shop. 

 

At Spectruss we aren’t just local experts, we’re industry experts. To check out all the services we offer, visit our website. You can also read more case studies on local brands that we’ve partnered with.

 

Categories
Business Design Digital Marketing eCommerce Marketing

4 Strategies for Holiday Marketing Success

Did you know that Holiday sales alone can make up to 40% of the annual customer transactions for both small and mid-sized businesses? You should be capitalizing on that! It’s crucial that ecommerce businesses, specifically, revamp their holiday marketing campaigns to manage this increased revenue during the Holiday season. Let’s dive into our 4 Strategies for Holiday Marketing Success.

 

Create a sense of urgency 

There’s nothing that will cause a customer to make a purchase quicker than seeing “only 1 item left in stock.” If a customer knows that an item they want is likely to sell out, they won’t wait to make that purchase. Creating urgency can also be caused by Holiday discounts that consumers know only happen once a year. It’s easy to devalue your brand when you have thoughtless giveaways or discounts throughout the year, so be intentional about the sales you create, especially during the Holiday season. 

 

You want to ensure that you capitalize on building a relationship with your customer during this season so that customers will want to make repeat purchases. 

 

Creative Holiday Visuals 

Whether it’s through digital or print ads or packaging for your item, get creative with your visuals! Why? You’re not just looking to be festive or enhance the appearance of your product, but you’re wanting to create an overall memorable experience for your customer. Christmas is full of nostalgia for many different reasons and finding a way to incorporate that nostalgia through a video campaign or packaging is a way to set your products apart. While new visual strategies can be beneficial, people love familiarity and are seeking that now more than ever since there has been so much change the last few years. Throw a big block party every year for past and future customers! 

 

What would the benefit be if every year you released a Holiday theme for your packaging, store decor, or a festive party? Get creative and let your customers weigh in on the excitement through a social media campaign! 

 

Involve the Community 

Christmas is the season of giving and many consumers look for companies that give back and support the community to purchase items from. Find a local organization that you can partner with whether it be your staff going to volunteer one evening, or if a portion of each sale goes to supporting that organization. Take behind the scenes footage of your staff volunteering and curate a Holiday video highlighting the partnership and telling customers how they can further show support. 

 

This creates that warm and fuzzy feeling that only giving can and customers are willing to pay a little more for a product when they know it goes to supporting a further cause. This is a great way to bring Holiday cheer to an organization that needs it while also creating incentive for customers to support your business. 

 

Personalize, Personalize, Personalize

Do you get the point? Holiday marketing can seem so generic at times and you do not want your company to fall into that trap. There’s not a better feeling than getting an ad served to you that feels like it was written just for you! Get incredibly targeted with your ads this year. Don’t just create campaigns for your big Holiday sale and call it a day. Have different target ads with different audiences and intended outcomes to allow your campaign to mean something to a consumer. 

 

For example, instead of a campaign reading, “Don’t miss our big Holiday sale November 30 through December 24th!” Let it read, “We know you’re shopping last minute. We also know you’ll be in the dog house with your kids if you don’t knock it out of the park this year, so help me help you by taking advantage of our big online sale going on now through December 24th.” That ad has a specific audience – parents. Most parents do shop last minute and it may seem simple, but again, when your audience feels like you’re speaking directly to them, it matters.

 

Spectruss was created to help you perfectly curate messaging and campaigns to maximize your ROI. If all of this seems overwhelming to you, we’d be happy to sit down and chat about your goals, targets, and Holiday campaigns in greater detail! 

Contact us to get your marketing and advertising plan started today!

 

Categories
Digital Marketing

3 Ways to Optimize your Marketing in the Furniture Industry

Spectruss works seamlessly in many different industries and brands, but one that hits really close to home (pun intended) is our partnership with Fowler Brothers Company Home & Patio. 

Now, what you might not know is that Fowler Brothers Co. was formerly known as two separate businesses called The Patio Shop and The Furniture Shoppe. One single store, with essentially two separate brands. 

Initially, Fowler Brothers Co. was outsourcing all of their marketing to multiple different agencies. One handled social media and digital advertising, one handled website design and management, one handled radio and tv marketing, etc. This way of business created brand inconsistency, increased margins and unnecessary hassle for Fowler Brothers Co. This is where Spectruss comes in! 

 

Streamline your marketing 

We were contacted to be their full-service, in-house marketing and advertising agency. The reason for turning to an agency like Spectruss is because all of your marketing efforts can be streamlined and perfected through one funnel as opposed to being touched by many different parties. It’s like that game of telephone everyone played as kids where you whispered something in your neighbor’s ear and they passed it to the next person with the end goal being that the last person can repeat what you initially told your neighbor. It never turned out that way though! Too many people were involved in telling the story, so the message got lost. The same thing happens in marketing all the time when we allow so many different hands to touch our branding and messaging. 

Like previously mentioned, Fowler Brothers Co. was not always known by that name. Spectruss’ first course of action was to source all of “The Furniture Shoppe’s” marketing needs into one strategic and monthly generated campaign. We started handling their digital and print advertisements, social media, monthly TV campaigns and overall brand awareness. Not only did we save them time and money, but we significantly boosted their sales with a 24% increase on foot traffic by strategically streamlining all of their marketing efforts. 

 

Don’t be afraid to rebrand 

After a year of this partnership, we found there were many challenges in having one store with two separate brands. After strategizing and researching, we decided it would be best to consolidate the two names into one to eliminate potential confusion to customers as well as to strengthen the brand and spend marketing dollars more efficiently. 

We immediately started working on a rebranding pitch to turn the brands The Patio Shop and The Furniture Shoppe into Fowler Brothers Company. Our goal was “One name. One Store. One Company.”

Fowler Brothers Co. has a 135-year long history in Chattanooga and we really wanted to ensure we could commemorate the past while moving toward the future. While paying respects to the family-owned business, we created a new logo that stayed true to the original vision of the business that long-time patrons would recognize. We also developed a new website, e-commerce store, and a unified social media account so that the brand experience would be all encompassing from one channel to the next.

 

Use e-commerce stores to your advantage 

It’s easy in the furniture business to hyper focus on getting people through the door and while that will always be important, we have to know the direction the world is moving. Long are the days when people only bought furniture by going into a brick and mortar store and browsing for hours. Now, that will always be the preferred method for some, but others love the convenience and simplicity and looking online for any and all home decor. Don’t let this scare you! 

The new site we designed for Fowler Brothers Co. features interactive pages that allow customers to select their style choices and rooms they’re looking to furnish for a customized interior design recommendation. Product visuals are everything for online shopping! Don’t be afraid to create the best online purchasing platform available for your customers. In fact, the ease of your e-commerce store might prompt customers to stop by and try out the products before they purchase. 

If you’re in the furniture industry and you’re looking to optimize your marketing, book a 20 minute call with us to strategize about the future of your business! 

Categories
Business Digital Marketing Marketing

How to win business in a recession

How to win business in a recession

It’s no secret to anyone that the economy has been in a tough spot the last few years and it’s been tough for both consumers and business owners alike. Let us help you gain confidence and show you how to win business in a recession.

 

One of the first things our minds shift to in a pre or post recession economy is cutting extra costs. That could be from things like overhead, small business expenses that add up and even marketing costs. 

 

The thought process makes sense. You see a decline in sales and revenue so you immediately start to cut discretionary expenses like marketing. 

 

What’s interesting though is that research shows that marketers who cut their media spend risk losing up to 15% of their business. McGraw Hill did a study of companies during previous recessions and found that companies who continue to advertise during a 2 year recession saw 256% higher sales than their counterparts who saw virtually 0% growth. 

 

Why is that? Because your competitors aren’t cutting marketing and advertising costs so they get your business. 

 

It’s easy to think in the short term and just start cutting costs that you might consider to be luxury, but the reality is 55% of advertising is digital. And the ROI for email marketing alone is $36 returned for every $1 spent. 

 

These are numbers you want to capitalize on! How can you do that? Great question! 

 

The only way to get through a recession and prosper is to invest in your brand and your relationships with your customers. Why? Because if you don’t, it will undermine your growth. 

 

More than 60% of brands that increased their media spend during the last recession saw ROI improvements! 

 

Why? Because you’re keeping your brand at the forefront of your consumers’ minds, setting you up for success when the economy rebounds. The worst thing you could do is fall off the face of the earth to your consumers, then when the time comes for them to invest in your industry again, they’ve chosen to go with someone else who invested in their marketing during the lonely months. 

 

So, have we shown you the importance yet of why you want to keep that marketing budget in tact? 

 

Spectruss offers 8 different services that you can invest in on an a la carte basis to fit your specific needs. Let’s say, for example, you have a killer website, but you really need help with google ads, social media ads and daily management of those things. We can help!

 

Or maybe you have a great digital marketing employee, but they don’t know how to build a website that will increase your business. We can help with that too! You can have a custom website built and live in as little as 4 weeks. 

 

We want to make sure that you not only survive during a recession, but thrive. Contact us to get your marketing and advertising plan started today!

 

Sources: 

https://www.marketingdive.com/news/marketers-increase-media-spend-recession-gain-ROI/628712/

https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2022/04/19/digital-marketing-statistics

https://www.wearemiq.com/blog/advertising-during-a-recession/ 

Categories
Business Design Digital Marketing eCommerce Marketing

Why Do I Need Digital Advertising?

Why do I need digital advertising?
Why do I need digital advertising?

Unless you live under a rock, I’m sure you’ve heard of the phrase “digital advertising”. Chances are you fall on one side of the spectrum about that topic: you understand it or you’ve just heard about it and don’t really know where to start. Hopefully by the end of this, you’ll understand why Digital Advertising is vital to your business.  

Digital advertising is a way to get your message out across multiple different digital platforms where your consumers spend most of their time. Some platforms that digital advertising are most effective on are Youtube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Google. Did you know that there are almost 3 billion users on Facebook? That’s more than a third of the world so that’s a great place to start digital advertising. 

What is digital advertising? 

In its simplest form, it’s creating a campaign (or ad) on one of the platforms mentioned above highlighting your product or service to potential customers with the goal being to entice them to buy your product or visit your website to learn more. 

A way to make that the most effective it can be is to put money behind those ads while targeting your specific audience. The truth is we live in a world where the market is oversaturated with messaging. So, with that in mind, we want to make sure your message gets out to the right audience so that the money you spend is actually providing results. 

The magic of digital marketing is finding your customer before they find you.

Why is it important? 

The nature of business is that you need a steady stream of customers coming in to keep your business alive and thriving. That means you need more sales, more website traffic, more leads, more brand awareness, more digital presence. 

Digital advertising is a fun and creative way to get that stream of customers coming in. It’s like you’re leaving a breadcrumb for them everytime they see an ad and each breadcrumb will ultimately lead them to make a purchase. 

It’s important to craft the perfect ad buy strategy when thinking about your business. This is where Spectruss comes in. 

How can Spectruss help? 

Glad you asked! We’ve done digital marketing for some amazing brands including: Royal Highnies, Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union, Brewski, the Chattanooga Choo Choo, RefinedLooks Plastic Surgery & Spa and Liberty Safe. 

The Mount Everest of goals when it comes to digital advertising is having a viral hit. Well, with Liberty Safe, we climbed the proverbial Mount Everest. In 2016 they approached Spectruss with a problem – Facebook announced they were banning all advertisements that included firearms. For Liberty Safe, a national gun safe company, this presented a challenge for ad buys. 

We had to think fast. Working around the parameters was a challenge, but we creatively censored a way to bypass Facebook’s ban resulting in a massive viral hit with over 6 million global views. The numbers on this ad were: 6+ million views, 35k+ shares, 10k+ engagements. 

We bring a lot of expertise to this area and we believe digital advertising can be the catalyst for your business to soar. 

How do I get started? 

The first step is a Zoom discovery session where we will go over your goals and start laying out a strategy for your ad buys. We’ll talk about budget, design, messaging, timing, correct platforms to use, and more. After we design your ads and you approve them, we can get the ads running inside of one week! 

What will this cost me? 

Well for starters, for every $1 spent on paid advertising $2 is returned. This is crucial for your business with that kind of ROI (return on investment). The pricing will vary based on the agency’s work and the ad buy itself. 

The ad buy depends on the campaign itself, what platform is going to be used, the size and audience, etc. An example package starts at $1,000 and can include: Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, Linkedln Ads and YouTube Ads. We offer payment plans and financing as well. 

Here at Spectruss we believe in transparency. You will always know exactly what was spent, where it was spent and what the ROI was. We provide clear reporting and use hard numbers and data for our digital advertising campaigns. 

So, are you ready to start advertising your business online?

Categories
Design Digital Marketing eCommerce Marketing

Why do I need a custom website?

Why do I need a custom website?

In the world of web design your homepage is like a firm handshake the first time you meet someone. It’s important. It tells a lot about you without you having to “say” anything.

Building a strong online presence builds trust with your consumer. They feel like they get a glimpse into who you are as a company and what you have to offer them. A strong web presence also builds your credibility. There’s nothing more sketchy than wanting to check out a product someone offers before you make a purchase only to find they don’t have a website… or a good website. Did you know that 75% of consumers decide the credibility of a business solely based on their website? Wow! 

BRAND AWARENESS

Having a great website also helps build brand awareness. You want people to know who you are and what you can offer them without you having to spell it out everytime. Everytime they look at your logo, that leaves an imprint on their minds, so it’s imperative that your website is able to back up your brand and help solidify who you are to build consistency across the digital world.

Something else that your website is great for is what we call conversions. In the marketing world, a conversion is the moment that a potential customer takes a desired action previously decided by you. An example would be signing up for a newsletter or making an online purchase. The overall fluidity and design of your website are the most important steps to get conversions. 

This is where Spectruss comes in. Here at Spectruss we believe that first impressions can make or break a business which is why we provide web design as a service for an affordable rate and in a timely manner to ensure all your needs are met. After all, you can’t make a second first impression.

FINANCING YOUR CUSTOM WEBSITE

You can have a new custom website built in as little as 4 weeks AND we offer financing. In a post-covid world, cash flow can be hard to manage so you can choose between a 6 or 12 month plan to pay for your custom website. 

We don’t just build websites that are aesthetically pleasing, we care about the content. We care about giving you a competitive advantage in your industry which is why we strategize with you about what to say, the flow of your website, and how your custom website is going to aid in making your business the most successful it can be. 

Why do I need a custom website?

WHAT HAPPENS NOW 

So, let’s say you’ve recognized the need for our web design service and you’re interested in financing with us, the first step is a Zoom discovery session. In this first call, we’ll chat about what your goals are for the site and establish a strategy that will provide you with results. 

After this, the fun begins! We work with our specialized team to design the look of your website in Photoshop. Once we have your website checking all the design boxes, we give it to our programmers for them to begin making your website compatible for all screen sizes. Since most online traffic comes from mobile devices, it’s important your mobile site offers the same experience as the desktop version. 

So what happens to your website after it goes live? It’s all yours! You have total control of what happens to it. We will show you how to access the site through one of our hosting partners and then from that point we can be as hands on – or off – as you’d like.

If the digital world is still a little overwhelming to you, we offer ongoing support and maintenance packages after your website is live. What does that mean? That means anytime you have an update to the site, we take care of it for you. 

Spectruss boasts 10+ years of expertise in website design and development, so we’d be happy to help you maintain your website. 

LET’S DO THIS

If all this is getting you really excited to build your new site – we totally get it! We recommend scheduling a free consultation with us where we can go over those goals and strategy we talked about earlier, and you’ll also receive a quote! 

Web design is just one of the 8 services we provide on an a la carte basis, but it’s a great place to start! 

 

Categories
Digital Marketing

Marketing Ideas: Women’s History Month

Ways to promote Women’s History Month

March is Women’s History Month. As we celebrate the women who have greatly impacted American history, join your business in on the conversation. In this article, we give you some tips and tricks on ways to promote Women’s History Month.

Ideas on how to promote Women’s History Month:

  • Make an Instagram Story asking your followers who their favorite woman in history is
  • Celebrate the woman in your industry who pioneered a way for you with a social media post
  • Create an educational email campaign about which women paved the way for you
  • Have a giveaway for your followers- they must comment on your post with their favorite woman in history
  • Tell interesting stories about women in history on your Instagram stories
  • Promote a fundraiser that supports women in need

We hope the article gives you a good starting point on celebrating Women’s History Month. Do you have any suggestions? We’d love to hear from you! https://spectruss.com/contact/

Read more about Women’s History Month here: https://womenshistorymonth.gov/

Categories
Digital Marketing Marketing

Improve Your Reach With Search Engine Images

Improve Your Reach With Search Engine Images
Chances are if you have a business, you have it registered on Google and Bing. Did you know that you can upload photos to your business page on these search engines? Choose pictures that showcase your business and add in the keywords that would better help your future customers to find your image. Improve your reach with search engine images. Let’s get started!

 

Here are a few photo categories that you should consider uploading:

 

 

  • Pictures of your business
People want to see the inside and outside of your building! Don’t forget the parking area. 

 

  • Your staff
Mix in a few smiling faces of your staff. Show that you are friendly and welcoming!

 

  • Your business logo
Someone could have seen a vehicle or billboard with your logo. If they are searching for you, this will be an easy way to prove who you are!

 

  • Your products or services
Products: Show them what you sell! Many times when people are shopping, they will simply search for the item on Google. If you sell gym equipment, upload a photo of a basketball goal with the EXACT title of gym goal. 

 

Example: The E715 Adjustable Basketball Goal. Be sure to use the exact title with any supporting keywords such as the color, etc. 

 

Services: If you have a Heating and Air business, show your employees performing these services. Ideas include changing out an AC unit, duct work, etc.

 

Adding photos to your Google or Bing profile is extremely helpful and easy! By doing this, you will improve your image SEO and land more customers. Try this easy tip today!

Find tips directly from Google here.

Need additional help? Contact us today!

Categories
Business Digital Marketing Marketing

Cultivate Your Blog Strategy

Cultivate Your Blog Strategy

Ah, what to blog about? The task can seem daunting to some. Let’s cultivate your blog strategy and start driving more traffic to your site!

To start, let’s view this like we would a business plan. Think about your niche and what your business has to offer. You will want to write blog topics that go hand-in-hand with your business. Random topics that have nothing to do with your line of work should be avoided.

 

Let’s say you are a General Contractor. You will need to write about topics that go along with your trade. Here are some ideas:

  • What To Look For When Selecting a General Contractor
  • Five Crucial Things To Consider When Selecting A House Plan
  • The Best Time To Start Building Your Dream Home

 

Do Some Research!

See what your local and national competitors are writing about. It is important to research both as your local competitors are who you are challenged by on a daily basis. National leaders can help paint a bigger picture- it’s always important to aim high with your goals!

 

Implement SEO

This is a biggie. Without good SEO, your blog will not reach your intended audience. It’s ok if this is over your head. You can always hire help!

 

Add Visuals

Break up your text with engaging visuals. Bonus points if this is your own imagery! Stock photos are acceptable, but your viewers want to see the real, raw content!

 

Scheduling Your Blog

If you are just starting out, plan to write two blog posts a month. Once every other week is perfectly fine and will give you adequate time to write an exceptional blog post!

Some find in hard to get good imagery for their blog, especially when starting out.  Find free blog images here.

Needing further help? Contact us today!

Categories
Business Digital Marketing Marketing

Three Reasons You Should Refresh Your Website

Three reasons you should refresh your website

Three Reasons You Should Refresh Your Website

It shows your customers that you care. We know, the easy thing to do is to let your website sit and not deal with it. We get it – sometimes you just don’t have the time to take on an additional task. It is important though to show your customers that you put time and effort into your business. If you have an outdated site, this can be viewed as the company being lazy. Keep reading to learn more about the three reasons you should refresh your website.

 

You’ve adapted – show the world the new you!

Through the years you have grown and changed! Update your old employee photos and add in new company videos. Freshen up the “about” page by adding in recent accomplishments that you have achieved. 

 

Tech is always changing

The world of tech is always evolving. Many companies are now using TikTok to advertise. Use this type of cheap marketing to your advantage by adding these updates to your site. Make an announcement and link your new social media pages! 

 

Note: Make sure your website is device-friendly for all computers, cell phones and tablets. 

Need help revamping your website? We’re pros at this! Contact us today to learn more.