What’s a Creative Agency? How They Help & How to Find One
Being in business is a bit more complicated than just making a product and putting it on a shelf. Once your products are ready for market, there needs to be a demand for your product! A creative agency Los Angeles can help you and your business in many different aspects of this need, they specialize in marketing, advertising, branding/re-branding, public relations, customer engagement, and so many more areas.
Marketing and Brand Strategy
Brands are practically living and breathing entities in our world, so whether you’re looking to create a personality for a new product line or re-brand an established product, creative agency services will have ideas for you!
Creative agencies in Los Angeles are masters at coming up with ideas to promote any product. There isn’t a product on earth that can’t benefit from a fresh marketing campaign, and a creative agency can help you plan your industry success from start to finish.
Have you considered the social media and Public Relations side of your business? Being active on these platforms is more than just fielding customer complaints (although leaving those unresolved can also be a disaster). It’s engaging with commentors on your ads and YouTube videos (creative agencies will be able to help you create a YouTube video too), it’s about carefully cultivating a personality that you convey to your customers and potential customers. At the end of it all, it’s about entertainment. Make people like your brand and you’ll create loyal customers.
Methods Backed by Science
Marketing is a lot more than just a group of people in a room shouting ideas at a guy with a whiteboard and a marker. A successful creative agency in Los Angeles will have research to back up their strategies and ideas.
Creative agencies do a lot behind the scenes before an ad hits the billboards. Ideas get focus grouped. Ad strategies get analyzed and examined. Surveys are conducted to determine how effective certain types of advertising are, down to the branding and the type of ad the consumer sees. Research gets done on your target market, your competitors, and the overall product market. People crunch numbers on all of this data.
Bringing on a creative agency in Los Angeles will give you access to all of this market data and your team there will be able to advise you with both marketing ideas and market predictions so you can choose the best path for your business.
Your One-Stop Shop for Marketing
All you need to do is Google “creative agency in Lost Angeles”, or whatever other area of the country you’re in, and you’ll get many hits right away. The key is sourcing out which ones YOU want to work with and that will be a good fit for YOUR specific business.
Some marketing agencies focus on certain areas of marketing. Some are great at visual advertising and graphic design, while others are incredible social media gurus. Still others are geniuses at interpreting data and predicting market trends.
Ideally, you should try to find your one creative agency that can do it all. It’s useful to have a graphic design contractor who can subcontract to a photographer they know, or a social media specialist they went to high school with who can run your content engagement. But it’s obviously less of a headache to go straight to a creative agency that can be your go-to for content creation. Subcontracting is great, but information gets diluted down communication lines. Having the same organization at the lead of your public relations and your future ad campaigns can be critical and having all of your departments communicating can yield results much higher than each limb of your brand working independently.
Trust Your Gut, but Don’t Run from New Ideas
Getting into business with a creative agency in Los Angeles can be daunting, their product isn’t an immediately tangible result! It’s only natural to be wary of investing in a service like this, but in this case, you’re basically investing in yourself. A creative agency has a vested interest in your success rather than just a single project graphic designer. Meet with the teams at creative agencies and try to find a group you can work with. Their successful project is your successful business!
Five Questions You Must Ask an SEO Expert Before Hiring
As search engines redesign their algorithms to have a smoother user interface, search engine optimization (SEO) is a rapidly changing activity. In the past, SEO could be achieved easily using keyword density calculations and cheaply purchased backlinks, today’s SEO can only be done as part of a comprehensive, coordinated digital marketing campaign.
It’s a full-time job in and of itself to find the best SEO expert. Choosing the right Houston SEO expert might be the most beneficial thing you ever do for your company. Choosing the incorrect one might be the most costly business decision you ever make.
Why is this so?
The possible harm done to your online presence as a result of weak SEO will have an indefinite negative impact on your digital image.
Here are five questions to ask before you hire an SEO expert:
1) Which tools do you use?
Knowing precisely what resources an SEO organization uses isn’t necessary, but being able to explain why they use such tools is important. Good SEO experts will have a variety of resources at their disposal for conducting audits and completing assignments, and they will have thoroughly reviewed each tool to determine which is the best. Consider the following questions:
What tools do you use to conduct keyword research, and why?
What do you use to monitor rankings, and why?
What crawler do you use, and why?
What do you use to monitor backlinks, and why?
Not just read a lengthy list of “nice tools,” your SEO partner should be able to explain why their favorite tools are used and the effect such tools will have when used properly.
2) Can you meet the team?
To attract new customers, most SEO experts will send their best squad. They want to make a decent first impression, after all. There’s nothing wrong with that, but the odds are you won’t be able to find the agency’s CEO and technical SEO expert doing your job.
Inquire if you should speak with the project manager and, hopefully, any other team members involved. You want to ensure that your deal is secured and won’t be turned over to an intern.
3) Are they currently working with competitors?
See, business is competition. It is like sports. You can’t let the other team know your strategy, neither can you play with their strategy. In the same way, you can’t risk your SEO strategy being shared by other companies. Ask your SEO experts if they are or will they in the coming future, work with any of your contenders.
If they do or will, just try to mention in your contract that you might press charges if your research or data is leaked to any other company. Keep an eye.
4) How do you manage and report progress?
Companies that are unable to offer a clear guidance about how success can be calculated and published should be avoided.
The frequency at which an SEO expert updates you on progress is likely to be determined by the scope of your project. The majority of brands will anticipate monthly updates. Larger organizations, as well as short-term and individual programs, may need more regular reports on the work in progress, but keep in mind that monitoring real progress week to week is inefficient and misleading.
Search results fluctuate for a number of reasons, including Google trying new code updates, rivals changing their content dramatically, and so on.
5) How do they stay up to date with changes in Google’s algorithm?
Being an SEO expert is not a 9 to 5 job. It is not doing what you’re told to do, it is doing things creatively and better than everyone else. Now, if your SEO expert does not stay up to date with changing search algorithms, they might just be doing SEO for the money. Google regularly updates its changes in search algorithm on Google Search Central, try to ask some questions related to this to your SEO expert, if they are up to date, you are good to go!
To conclude, by asking these questions you can root out black-hat SEOs and locate an organization that provides long-term results. Reviewing the responses to assess the practices and policies an SEO expert integrates into work is the right way to move forward.
What to Expect from a Branding Agency
Branding is critically important for every business. Just look at the following statistics according to several studies and reports.
● 77% of B2B marketers acknowledge that building a strong brand is key to their organization’s growth.
● 75% of businesses say building brand awareness tops their priority list.
● 59% of customers tend to purchase products from familiar brands.
● 33% of customers have a brand in mind when they go shopping
The moral of the story is you need to build brand awareness to improve sales and growth or you risk yourself or your business losing behind your competitors. And a good branding agency can help you here.
However, there are many branding agencies in Philadelphia. And choosing the right one is finding a needle in a haystack. You need to know what to expect from the process. This will vary from agency to agency, as different companies offer different service offerings, use different processes, have different strengths and weaknesses, and are left by different individuals.
So, below we outline the key things you can expect when working with a branding agency.
Integrated Marketing Approach
A branding agency should have a focused, integrated marketing approach that incorporates all aspects of your company.
Branding agencies Philadelphia understand the importance of high-level thinking. When everything you do is a reflection of your brand strategy, you will have a focused and dynamic marketing program. This helps eradicate marketing that is off-target, flippant, and/or not attuned with the company’s overall mission.
Think of a brand strategy as something that helps you separate out everything you perform to make sure it’s impactful, resounding, and co-ordinated with business goals.
A Consistent Expression of the Brand
Branding agencies in Philadelphia should have a consistent expression of the brand using a set of standards and guidelines that they help you define.
Focusing on the brand ensures a coherent marketing program because everything will be steered by the brand strategy. This helps make your marketing initiatives more effective as they are a blended expression of the brand, and will all lend toward a better brand. This will eventually lead to brand equity.
When you devise marketing strategies and programs unaligned with the brand, you won’t be able to build long-term value. You need to think out-of-the-box and bigger. You need to implement marketing programs that resonate with the brand to formulate marketing initiatives that further business strategy and are substantiative to company stakeholders.
Clear Understanding of Marketing Goals and Objectives
Make sure the branding agency you plan to hire has a thorough understanding of your marketing goals and objectives.
When you have a well-defined brand, what you require to do to attain your mission and vision becomes much simpler.
When you have a brand platform in place, you know what your brand’s core values are, and recognize your key messaging, it’s much simpler to figure out where you want to go and what you have to do to get there.
A Foolproof and Impactful Strategy
The branding agency you plan to hire should have a great strategy that builds brand equity and trust through a meticulously engineered sequence of targeted communications.
When you build a brand with a long-term vision, and which resonates with consumers, it will help build trust with your target audience. And that trust will turn into loyal customers. When you have a loyal customer base, you build brand equity. And the more valuable your brand name is or to your customers, the more powerful your brand becomes. Isn’t that what you want?
Should Have a Follow-up Program
The branding agency should have a follow-up program in place to track and assess your brand’s progress to ensure its success.
When you have a clearly defined brand strategy, it helps launch and position your brand rightly and spur marketing initiatives. But branding agencies in Philadelphia recognize the importance of maintaining a brand continuously and measure its health.
Branding isn’t a one and done effort. It needs your continuous attention to stay relevant and meaningful.
So do you still have any questions about what to expect from branding agencies in Philadelphia? Please feel free to leave your comments below.
Key Points that will Help You Sell to China Online
Even though sell to China online has challenges, businesses selling through cross-border enjoy reduced tariffs and lower regulatory requirements. It provides an opportunity for companies to test the Chinese market without setting up a physical presence in China.
Here are a few key points to help you sell to China online.
China is the world’s largest eCommerce market, and the unique about Chinese cross-border eCommerce is that large amounts of transactions flow both ways. Chinese customers love foreign goods and inexpensive items.
Chinese Marketplace
Chinese top e-Commerce market place that host foreign sellers include the following
Tmall Global: It is a cross-border version of Tmall e-Commerce that leads the domestic online marketplace. Tmall offers to sell only imported merchandise via foreign merchants’ stores hosted on Tmall’s website. It uses Alibaba’s proprietary Alipay for payments.
JD Worldwide: It is the second-largest cross-border online mall and dominates home appliances and consumer electronic goods. It uses Tencent’s online payment services for transactions.
Sunning Global: It is a cross-border online mall of China’s largest commercial company that features more than 300 foreign storefronts and offers store operators and financial support services. It is mostly famous for electrical appliances and uses its own online payment escrow service, Yi-Pay, to complete transactions in RMB or foreign currencies.
Amazon China Global Store: It is an Amazon China platform for Chinese customers and uses Alipay, Tenpay, and UnionPay to complete RMB transactions or a foreign currency.
Online Supermarket
E-commerce supermarkets purchase large quantities of overseas goods and sell their goods to hypermarkets at a negotiated wholesale price.
Kaola: It is a cross-border eCommerce hypermarket with the most massive bonded warehouse in China that allows more than forty countries to sell their products on the Kaola platform.
JD.com– It also operates a hypermarket business that acts as a middleman, purchasing inventory from overseas companies and reselling it to Chinese consumers.
Suning is also a hypermarket model stocked by direct sourcing.
Below are the five key points that are driving China’s e-commerce market
E-Commerce shopping festival
With more shopping festivals and themes, e-Commerce is trying to gain more potential customers. According to a Double 11 festival survey, 79% of the customer participated that created an opportunity for local brands and foreign brands to leverage the collective enthusiasm for shopping among Chinese consumers. These holidays are perfect for experimenting and trying new things to gain customers. It also provides an opportunity for new brands entering the market to get noticed.
Consumption upgrade
Consumption upgrade means consumers are more confident in spending their money on several categories, especially food, cosmetics, and clothing. The Chinese customer recognizes imported goods for their attention to quality, health, safety, and even package design. Through various online platforms, Chinese consumers now have broad access to products from all over the world.
New Retail: Online and Offline
The Online to Offline (O2O) business model helps transform the retail industry and bring both challenges and opportunities to the market. Alibaba has evolved with other supermarkets to encourage super engagement with supermarkets. Before shopping, they request customers to download an app through which products are purchased, and where spending and consumer profiles will be saved and stored online. Thus, customers can enjoy door to door delivery within 30 minutes.
Digital Payment
Alipay and Wepay are the most popular online payment methods in China. Just as credit cards drove demand and enabled the US market, financing from e-tailers will also have a trend in China. Many consumption loan provider expanding their businesses by cooperating with offline channels, providing comprehensive portfolios of services to their potential customers.
From Online platform to Media platform
Social media help people interact with one another, making it an ideal place to share and comment on products. Also, the high amount of mobile commerce has increased the e-tail advertising ecosystem’s transition from open to closed loop. Thus social media is an essential tool for marketing, especially when communicating and engaging with potential consumers.
In China, KOL is a massive marketing platform that helps push products through live streaming Applications and get paid live from their audience with gifts.
Why Would You Want an Ad Agency that Specializes in Financial Services?
The future of advertising is changing, and at this time, a marketing agency needs to know a lot more than how to give the audience an entertaining campaign. In order to bring in more leads, more clients, and to create a product that sells, clients are looking for ad agencies specializing in financial services to be the solution.
Today’s clients spend more on advertising strategies, and their consumers are willing to spend less on brands, but to spend more often. This is a different future for marketing strategies than was anticipated years ago. The future is digital, technology based, and it all works online. The consumer is also a different type and looks to advertising to fill different needs. Consumer attention is fleeting, hard to get, and hard to keep, but they are prepared for and open to advertising trends. There is a significant increase to be gained when you use ad agencies specializing in financial services. Here are some reasons why you would want to work with an ad agency that specializes in financial services.
Advertising and entertainment go together because the advertising strategies need to attract a clientele that can choose not to look at the ad if they are not interested. Consumers can be easily distracted, and it is important to get them to notice. Once ad agencies specializing in financial services become involved, everything changes. The number of clients and users, revenue, and brand recognition received depends on things that were not a part of the industry before digitalization.
There are a lot of regulations that must be followed
Advertising campaigns need to attract the attention of the search engines. There are quotas, limits and restrictions, and targets that must be met. It is a specific skill to understand these strategies of SEO marketing, as well as the restrictions and guidelines within them. Ad agencies specializing in financial services can easily focus the advertising strategy to come in line with financial services marketing compliance.
But that is not the biggest reason that ad agencies specializing in financial services are so useful to have on your team. Advertising can be used to build relationships with customers and to keep the customers even throughout re-branding and changes. These relationships last because of brand loyalty that is built from the start.
The online world is a big, crowded place, and it is in that crowded marketplace that your brand will either find its audience or lose itself. Ad agencies specializing in financial services can help target ads that will help with strategies to position the brand to create the best advantage.
Of course, there is a big reason that financial considerations must be a part of marketing plans. There is a lot of information to be gathered from where consumers click, and ad agencies specializing in financial services can see this clearly. An understanding of the kind of entertainment consumers choose when they go online tells agencies how they will spend their money, and that, in turn, drives decisions about development of the entertainment. Advertising, revenue, and entertainment are no longer separate. Consumers no longer own things that once could only be gotten through purchase or as they appear. Things like music, movies, sports, news, books, or television shows can be had on demand. They no longer buy video games. Instead, they have subscriptions to services that provide all access to everything, and the advertisements are an accepted part.
Ad Agencies Specializing in Financial Services
Consumers today do everything online, including the management of their money. Banking and accounting is all done online, and so is shopping. With the world changes that the pandemic has brought about, in some cases, the only way anything can get done is online! Online services have stepped in to make everything possible. If you are unsure about what the advertising agency can do, then take a look at what ad agencies specializing in financial services have to do. There are a lot of advertising agencies out there doing different jobs for the same purpose. Having one that specializes in and understands the ins and outs of everything is a big help. Ad agencies specializing in financial services can be just what you need.
