Wheelhouse Marketing Blog

The New Year is slipping away, and we are about to jump into Q2. It is always helpful to take an introspective moment to understand why we're operating the way we are, but making sure your reaching for the right goals is something to re-visit before too much of the year passes. Lots of buzz starts early, picking up steam in mid to late December and exploding onto the scene in January. But like most ambitious, life-changing endeavors, the efforts are short-lived if we don't check-in and hold ourselves accountable. 

Let's be real for a second—2019 has been wild. Kanye started a church. Starbucks made it into Game of Thrones. The nerds nearly stormed Area 51. Fully grown adults bought and wore fanny packs. And Instagram announced it would be making "Likes" invisible on its platform.

Over the last few years, we've watched influencer marketing explode like a mac truck in a Van Damme movie. The past year was the biggest yet, indicating nothing but a continual climb for the marketing channel in the future. But as big as influencer marketing has become, many small businesses are still unfamiliar with how it works, as well as if it's right for their brand. That's why today we're explaining exactly what influencer marketing is, and why no matter who you are, it needs to be part of your marketing in 2020. Let's dive right in.

Fewer things are more likely to make a perfectly reasonable human being hurl their device across the room faster than an aggravating, user-unfriendly experience. With our proclivity to change devices to look at particular sites in different ways, responsive design can make or break the experience for the user. And, while you may expect that every site you come into contact with should work breezily on any device you own, it’s unfortunately not the case. There are still quite a few websites out there in their unresponsive state, which could use an upgrade to their experience for the sake of mobile devices everywhere.

Across the country, there is a unique class of folks that stand out as anomalies from the digitized masses. They aren't hard to recognize. Often, they're using aging tech or a non-smartphone, they would rather get dirt under their fingernails than be on social media and have little to no idea what a meme is. Often referred to in the marketing world by the kind euphemism of late adopters, this group of hard-working, rarely online folks typically has some of the sparsest resources when it comes to their marketing, design, and demand generation. 

They tend to occupy more trade, agricultural, and specialized skill forms of business, be it guiding, farming, construction, charter services, commercial supply, or more industrial-focused work. For many of these people, they have the "been doing it this way for 30 years, and it's worked well for me" byline, and business typically comes from a real word of mouth route. But, like all good things, the days may be numbered for continuing this way in a world going ever faster and faster toward the interconnection of things. Today we're looking at why every single individual, even these late adopters, can benefit from a strong marketing game.

This week, we’re kicking off a mini-series on all things infographics: why they’re valuable, the do’s-and-don’ts, how to craft them, and more. So go grab your favorite pillow, the popcorn, and hunker down, friend. We’ll be sitting around this campfire for a while as we spill all the dirt on what makes a powerful infographic and how you can use them to light up your business.

In the past year, there have been so many changes in social media, it's beginning to feel like a reawakening. After the birth of social, human beings rode the newness of the media like a wave. We stretched that sucker out as far as it would go, riding it all the way into the shoreline. But then we were left standing on the sand, staring at the horizon. Was anything new coming our way? What was once an exciting new medium quickly began to feel stale. We needed a change. 

In the past decade or so, we've seen the emergence of one of the most powerful marketing tools since the invention of automation: The Influencer. When tapped correctly, the influencer can be a major asset for promoting your brand awareness and overall product. On the contrary, influencer marketing done poorly can come back to bite you in the business butt in a major way. Today we're taking a look at what an influencer is, as well as some inspiration on how to use them, and some serious warnings on how not to use them from real life booms and busts. 

Social media has come a long way, you guys. From your first friend Tom to Mark Zuckerberg’s dorm room, to an entire network in your back pocket, social media has been morphing through the years. It’s no longer just the place where teenyboppers post their best duck-faced selfies. Don’t get us wrong, there’s still a lot of that out there, a lot. And yet, social media campaigns have become one of the best weapons for any company looking to get ahead. Let’s dive in and discuss three ways you can tap the benefits of social media marketing, no matter your business. First and foremost, it allows you to...