All posts by Kayla Carmicheal

In college, I took a class on graphic design. One requirement for the class was to have working knowledge of Adobe. Since most of us in the class had no idea how to use Adobe’s expansive design suite, my school invited an implementation partner to visit and show us the ropes. Someone from the partnering agency came to our class and demonstrated how to use the tools we had for InDesign to maximize our success in the class. I loved this presentation because it was created just for our group — the presenter polled us about what we wanted to learn and delivered relevant information based on that feedback. I […]

When McDonald’s first opened its doors, they had two items on the menu: burgers and fries. After surveying competitors, the founders saw that in order to stand out as a food company, they had to be different. Instead of offering a multitude of menu options, they decided to hyper-focus on the bestsellers, which catapulted their customer satisfaction. What McDonalds’ founders did was find white space opportunities in their industry. While other fast food restaurants at the time were offering a diverse menu but lacking in customer service — the McDonald’s team decided to focus on two items so customer service would be at the forefront. By surveying what was missing […]

The writing process is a chance to let creativity fly and tell a story with your own words. Another, less glamorous part of the writing process is editing. As you may know, proofreading is essential for any blog or ebook. It makes your work look professional, and without editing, it’s unclear to know how many mistakes or readability problems being published. Remembering every single little grammar and editing rule is nonsense. While many become instincts over time, humans are known to make mistakes. That’s why we’ve created a checklist for you to use while editing so you have a point of reference while proofreading. This list isn’t just about grammar […]

What optimization strategies are you using to improve the performance of ads? If you’re like almost half of marketers, your answer probably includes ad placement and targeting. As we know, targeted ads are used to find the most qualified leads by showing audiences content that’s relevant to them. Targeted ads connect you with the leads that are going to be the most interested in what you offer. So, how can you be sure that you’re generating the most qualified leads with your targeted ads? While there’s no sure fire way to tell, there’s an optimization strategy you may be missing: behavioral targeting. Targeted advertising allows you to use demographic information, […]

If you’re a marketer, at some point, it’s likely you’re going to be asked the question, “Is it on brand?” This is especially true for social media content. Companies with social media pages generally have a theme that relates to the organization. The use of colors, sensory details, and styling all contribute to the overall theme of a page. I, for one, love thematic Instagrams — they’re so aesthetically pleasing. When the colors, text, and photos all fit, I find myself going through all the content because it’s so easy to look at — the same is true for Stories. Sometimes, I come across posts that make me think, “How […]

A few short months ago, I discovered the beauty of webinars. I love to learn more about the marketing industry. Every chance I get, I’m on LinkedIn searching for engaging content that teaches me something new about social media or content creation. And my favorite way to learn is by watching a webinar. By taking an hour out of my day, I can gain valuable insights from industry experts about virtually any topic. In most cases, I’m introduced to a new thought leader in the space, as well. The only downside to webinars is that a lot of them are live events. Most of the time, my schedule doesn’t allow […]

How many times have you seen a term for something you already knew about? This probably happens a lot, right? For example, before I took marketing classes in college, I had no idea that there was a term for making sure your content has a better chance of ranking highly on search engines. (Hint: This is search engine optimization, or SEO). You may already know about upstream and downstream marketing. When I learned what these two terms meant, I found myself saying, “Oh, so that’s what it’s called!” You’re probably here for the same reason. So, let’s talk about the difference between these two terms and how they work together. […]

Let’s say you’re buying a new phone. You probably also have to buy a screen protector and case. But, never fear — The phone store has an array of both from different companies. They are bundled with the phone for a lower price. A phone store that bundles their products with complementary ones is an example of cooperative marketing. This offer takes advantage of products you’d already need to invest in when buying a phone, and uses that to entice you into purchasing. That way, instead of spending time and money to make a campaign about the phones a screen protector is great for, the cooperative partnership drives leads and […]

How many times have you interacted with an ad on Facebook and gotten lost down a rabbit hole? If you’re like me, your answer is probably up in the dozens. I could click on an ad about ice cream, and five minutes later, find myself looking at YouTube videos of homemade sundaes. Sometimes, though, I come across an ad that’s seamless — They’re quick to grab my attention, and it tells me everything I need to know when I reach the landing page. This morning, for example, I checked my timeline. I came across this ad while scrolling, and because I saw my favorite colors in the ad, I had […]

“As the saying goes, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This is especially true in the context of distributed teams,” says Meaghan Williams, HubSpot’s Remote Work and Inclusion Program Manager. Team building gives your team a greater sense of togetherness. Most likely, you can envision team building games in your head: exciting team outings, fun outdoor activities, or after-work happy hour chats. But what does team building online look like? When members of your team work remotely, it can be a slight hurdle to foster team building without face-to-face contact. Williams notes, “It can be hard to build that same sense of belonging and commitment to […]