When social media first came out, developing a following and getting likes and shares was the task at hand. It was largely reactive, rather than proactive and responded to the trends of the day, rather than setting trends. As professional marketers expanded the social media space, being proactive and building trends became the pathway for much of the traffic. As this has continued, organic social media has taken a back seat to paid social efforts. As with most endeavors, paid advertising is what grassroots efforts use to go from local hotspot to regional or national trends.

When it comes to a website, many companies either tend to either hammer something out themselves, buy one, and then let it sit. But your website isn't a succulent you buy at the market, set on display, and ignore for months only to find it's blossomed beautifully. Think of your website instead as a garden, one that needs constant tending, with different needs and changes arising with the changing seasons. Likewise, if you ignore its existence, it won't bare you much fruit. But hey, we know you're busy. You don't have time to comb through every possible web factor that could require maintenance.

As the world has made significant shifts in response to health and safety in the last few months, so have businesses. Perhaps more than anyone, business owners have had to retain their sense of humor, stay flexible, and present a stalwart self. It's no easy task, and just like much of business, it's not for the faint of heart.

Social distancing is the hottest new term in our culture's arsenal. The unique side of this is that it is not so much of a social disconnection, as it is an experience of physical distance. We've had years of being social online, with people we have never met. Outside of your Mom wishing you and the kids would visit more, the pressures of distance have been eased by Facebook, Google Hangouts, FaceTime, and others. Yet, the challenge that so many are experiencing right now is not how to be more socially present, but how to cooperate and collaborate well in their space.

For small to medium-sized businesses, having the right tools can mean everything when it comes to their success. When you're running an SMB (small to medium-sized business), there are always more tasks than can be done, more hours required in a day than are realistically available. With business owners facing such an enormous amount of responsibility, the tools they employ become indispensable. Business is a battle, and going in with the wrong tool can be like jumping out of the trenches with no more than a water gun in your hand.

So, you're sitting in a meeting, and someone starts dropping acronyms like there's no tomorrow... You're reading the P&L, making sure you've got enough ROI on your SEO, and your COO starts talking about Q2 returns YOY, and how your MQLs have been outperforming your SQLs while your COS is climbing.

As we continue forecasting what marketing trends we think will be a major hit for 2020, today, we turn our sights on branding. Easily one of the most exciting facets of the marketing world, branding just gets better and better as companies have to try harder to compete to gain the attention of overloaded customers. Today we are taking a look at the best trends of 2020 when it comes to branding, and why we're so excited about them.

Around this time of year, there’s a lot of projecting for the year to come. And 2020 is no exception. As a new year, an election year, and the start of a new generation, there’s a lot of forward focus and forecasting surrounding the upcoming 365 days. With all of the speculating going on, web design is no different. While technology has obviously been on a compounded growth path, it seems like it practically blew up in 2019. And with its massive expansion and infiltration, we’ve begun to see how it’s changing what’s possible on the web, what users are drawn to, and what we can expect in 2020.  

Since our beginnings, man has been a fan of the pump-up. Waring tribes mixed warpaint to smear on their faces and smatter horse’s haunches. Pre-game rituals fuel the moment of execution, whether you are Brian Urlacher, would eat two chocolate chip cookies (while listening to country music) before each game, or Frida Kahlo, who liked to garden before touching paint to paper. The Ecuadorian national soccer team uses a witch doctor before their matches, and Michael Phelps listens to EDM after his breakfast of eggs, oatmeal, and four energy shakes.

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.