By Olivia Justice
December 28, 2018
Category: Year In Review
Have you heard about hybrid blogging? Hybrid blogs were created to engage our customers in what were doing: it gives you a behind the scenes on how we make it all happen. In this video, Ted and Dan discuss the improvements weve made in 2018 that will have an impactin 2019. Watch or read the transcription below!
Do you want to have a great 2019? Do you want more customers? Now is the time to start setting your marketing and sales goals, and creating a plan for success.
When it comes to planning the year ahead, we want you to think about the following things:
Your budget
How you spent your money last year
How youre going to get noticed above the competition.
Standing Out from theCompetition in 2019
Were bombarded every day with so many marketing materials: images, social media postings, advertisements and videos how do you break through the noise? Virteom has therecipe to stand out and weve got the tools and some technology to help.
How does Virteom stand out from the crowd?
To
By Virteom
September 13, 2018
Category: Branding
When you start your own business, the planning phase requires you to focus on many different things at one time.
One of the most important aspects of building your new business is having an effective marketing strategy and the branding of your business. Your branding is a key factor in helping your company get recognized so you can achieve success.
For the branding of your business to be successful, it must carry through all of your materials. The themes need to clearly run through your website, printed materials, and social media accounts. To accomplish this continuity and have your brand be recognized, the colors, logos, fonts and other important features need to be consistent throughout everything.
Why is Branding Important to Your Website?
In our technology-driven society, a business website is often the first exposure potential customers have to a business. It is also quite often the first place people go to learn about a company or to make purchases. So, it is crucial that the
By Virteom
August 30, 2018
Category: Hybrid Blogging, Marketing
When you promote your business, it is imperative to set yourself apart from the competition. Developing an effective marketing strategy is vital to the success of your business, and doing something different will help increase interest in your company and improve the likelihood of conversions.
There are many different ways that you can promote your business, and it can be difficult to know where to start. Working with a skilled marketing partner can help you use all your outlets efficiently and direct you in different ways that will set you apart from your competition. One way to do this is with a term coined by Virteom hybrid blogging.
What is Hybrid Blogging?
Blogs are essential for todays businesses. If you think about it, majority of the pages you land on after Googling something is a blog. If youre a current Virteom customer, then youve probably heard CEO Dan Carbone talk about blogs and SEO in terms of frogs andlily pads. (You know, he gives you his whole spiel to think of your
By Olivia Justice
August 24, 2018
Category: Launches
This month has been a very productive month here at Virteom. Weve had 4 websites go live! The first of the August website launches was Ingot Metallurgy Forum (IMF) (ingotmetallurgyforum.org) -- IMF is a forum for technical discussions on producing steel and alloy ingots. IMF is headquartered here in Lorain, OH, but its reach is nationwide.
The case of the MILK-CARTON DEVELOPER
IMF came to us in need of routine website maintenance. The developers they were previously working with were not as responsive as they needed. Since the organization has two events each year, they need to keep the website up-to-date with information regarding their meetings. They reached out to Virteom for assistance! Since we are a full-time web development firm, were able to respond to inquiries quickly, and keep their members in the loop.
GIVING YOUR SITE A FRESH LOOK
In taking on the maintenance of their WordPress website, we found that they would do better working within our custom-built content management
By Virteom
August 09, 2018
Category: Content
Forget the sales pitch, people want content. Eighty-four percent of consumers expect content creation from brands, even from emails. Millennials distrust ads and ad blockers are the norm. This data means you need a content style guide to maximize your results.
What is a Content Style Guide?
If content is king, a content style guide is its chief advisor. For any and all content you publish or post as a company, this key document defines the
Voice: Rhythm and language of your brands personality.
Tone: Adaptation of your voice to different platforms.
Style: What your content looks like i.e. formatting, grammar, etc.
It clearly explains what your brand is and how to best express it through copy. It offers both an overview and detailed direction to writers, video producers and all other content creators.
The foundation of quality content starts with a well-researched content style guide.
How Does a Content Style Guide Help?
Your brand consists of visuals and content both equally important
By Virteom
July 26, 2018
Category: Content Creation, Content Marketing
Is content development holding your website back from launching? Did one look at the site map for your new website strike fear in your heart because of the content that was required? The good news is, help is available. A copywriter can come to your rescue.
Here are some great reasons to hire someone else to write your content:
You Do Not Have Time to write content
As a business owner, your calendar, schedule and to-do list are likely maxed out. Adding content writing to your to-do list will only stress you out and leave you less time to get everything else done. But, content is vital to any business to engage with your target audience, increase conversions and communicate about your company effectively.
You Lack Content writing Skills
Expressing your thoughts with proper spelling and grammar is the foundation of writing. But, so much more goes into content creation. To publish quality content, you need to have knowledge of the following:
Grammar, spelling and punctuation.
Search
By Virteom
July 04, 2018
Category: Blog
Its no secret that blogging, or content marketing as its also called, is a great way to grow your business and authority. The challenge is coming up with fresh blog ideas on a consistent basis.
There are a lot of great resources and tools to help you come up with blog content ideas, but you can also use the list below to start crafting great content for your business blog.
Frequently Asked Questions
Your blog allows you to speak directly to your customers. It iis the perfect platform to help educate your customers. Take an inventory of the questions you get asked the most from your customers. Take the top five questions and create a blog post for each of them that goes into depth on the answer.
This approach not only is targeted to the needs of your customer, but its also a way to provide value and add credibility to your brand. It shows you listen and you care about your customers needs.
Case Studies
Find a few customers who have had great success with your product or service and
By Virteom
July 04, 2018
Category: General
For decades, Adobe Flash has been a cornerstone of the web, with the player plug-in doing everything from helping you watch videos to playing computer games. But Flash is on its way out as a technology. Adobe made the decision to phase out the software by the end of 2020. Some browsers are already making the transition, leaving Flash behind in favor of migration to open web technologies.
Why Adobe Flash Is No Longer Working
Hopefully you wont notice much difference, as browsers try to seamlessly migrate without disrupting your user experience. However, there are some hiccups. For example, at Virteom, we have had to make alterations to some modules (or plug-ins) that we use in our content management system (CMS); they no longer work because Chrome and Firefox are no longer supporting Flash.
How Are Browsers Transitioning Away From Flash?
Browsers have always been the primary delivery mechanism for Flash-enabled content, but today, popular browsers are definitely migrating away from
By Olivia Justice
June 13, 2018
Category: Launches
Virteom Launches Brolex Builders and Findlay Roofers!
Virteom is excited to announce the launch of two new websites: Brolex Builders and Findlay Roofers. Brolex Builders is a roofing and general contracting company located in Findlay, OH. Their roofing business, Findlay Roofers, services all of Northern and Central Ohio.
Virteom was brought on to help establish a better presence online for both of these companies. We begun our relationship as we encourage all, through discovery:cross analysis, persona development and site mapping. Through our discovery process we were able to put together a guided strategy to allow their website to connect better with their customers on a more personal level -- ultimately compelling them to convert.
Findlay Roofers started as a one-page scrollable website. We encouraged this buisness owner to spread his content across many pages, giving users ample opportunity to land on their website.
Visit Brolexs Live Site| Visit Findlay Roofers Live Site
Why We
By Virteom
June 05, 2018
Category: Buyer Personas
When youre building a business, its imperative that you know who your target audience is. In order to develop your marketing campaign and even design your website, you need to understand the people that would have interest in your product or service. This will help you better market to and interact with them.
A great way to figure out this information is through identifying buyer personas. Each buyer has a persona which is based on specifics needs, emotions and demographics. These buyer types will have a personality that can direct your online market strategy to help facilitate the production of leads and conversions through your website.
Why take the time to identify your companys buyer personas? Because it helps identify the objectives, problems, and questions your potential customers may have when visiting your website. Thus, providing a clear and direct path for them to take when visiting your site. It also helps you map out what their steps of engagement may look like.
How will
By Virteom
May 29, 2018
Category: SEO
Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is a term is that is used a lot in our online business world. But what does it really mean? There is a heavy emphasis on using SEO to improve our search engine rankings and increase our website traffic, but there is an element to SEO that is often overlooked --the emotional element.
Emotions are what really motivates a customer to click, read or purchase. This is where many SEO strategies miss the mark. Most SEO strategies are technical in nature; pick the keywords, place the keyword a certain number of times within the content, etc.
What really motivates a customer to take an action, such as reading an article or clicking a buy button, is the emotion behind the words they are reading. This is where the magic happens.
Businesses who recognize this are at a huge advantage.
The truth is, SEO should not be looked at only from a technical aspect of keywords and meta tags.
Emotional SEO is creating content that helps your customer answer a question, solve
By Olivia Justice
May 25, 2018
Category: Launches
We are excited to announce a launched re-design and re-imagined site for Lineweaver Financial Group! Lineweaver Financial Group is one of Northeast Ohios most respected financial advisory firms.
Virteom was able to freshen and update the skin of the site, while keeping page content intact. Our goal was to create a design that would allow them to speak directly to their market, define a clear path to their latest media appearances, put their events front and center and make it easy for their clientele to access news.
Their old site had become a little dated and was not mobile friendly. This design gives their site a modern, updated feel, and it can now be accessible on any device.
The Old Site:
The New Site:
Visit the Live Site
Why We Love This Site
It was really important for Lineweaver Financial Group to have a site that spoke to their clientele. Through persona development we were able to identify what information these buyers typically look for when they visit their website.
By Virteom
May 17, 2018
Category: PPC
At first blush, Pay-Per-Click (PPC) seems like a simple way to garner marketing exposure for a nominal cost. Marketing agencies in the know have discovered it is much more. Your SEO effectiveness, Organic Search Rank, and advertising ROI grow by leaps and bounds with the application of a well orchestrated PPC campaign. Not convinced? Heres how it works its marketing magic.
ppc ads IncreaseVisibility
Your PPC uses similar target keywords to SEO for your original content. Instead of playing a game of pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey with the right keyword combinations, your PPC ads jump to 2nd or 3rd on most search engine results pages (SERPs) when you hit on that winning combination.
You dont have to be number one if your ad comes up above the fold below the top result. This is highly coveted space, and if your SEO keywords for your content and the PPC align well, you will start seeing more above the fold time. More visibility means more clicks, and those clicks directly translate into leads
By Virteom
April 30, 2018
Category: Marketing
We know why you arent marketing: youre running a business. Your time is literally your money and the money of everyone who works for you, and nothing eats up the hours of the day like running a business. When the buck stops with you, schedules need to be made, books need to be balanced, payroll needs to be in on time, supplies need to be ordered and products need to keep moving out steadily.
On top of all that, you still have to deal with daily decisions that cant be planned for. Being your own boss has its drawbacks, and a premium on time is probably the most significant.
The problem is your business still needs to market, because marketing wont happen by itself. Fresh original content needs to be posted to the business blog, social media needs to keep turning out fresh, useful information to your followers, and you need to continue to build your brand even as you get business done. How do you do that with all the responsibilities and time constraints you already have? Thats where we
By Virteom
April 16, 2018
Category: Website Maintenance
If you are running a business, your website is the tool that highlights what your business is all about. Your website defines your business and the services it offers, giving clients the information that influences their decision to buy. Over the years, though, this information can quickly become outdated, which can adversely affect your business if you do not make the necessary changes.
Consistent website maintenance is vital to your business online presence. Here are three reasons why you should continually update your website:
An Updated Website Attracts New Visitors
A great website provides useful information that immediately captures the attention of visitors. If your website is professional and tidy, you are likely to leave a lasting first impression with your websites new visitors. An unkept, outdated website will often scare prospective customers and traffic away.
Make sure you consistently update your websites design themes and content to ensure that your visitors are getting
By Virteom
April 09, 2018
Category: Website Trends
The internet has been around for decades. So, most people are comfortable with it and know how to use it to their best advantage. Websites are an integral part of the internet, and without them, life would be difficult for both everyday and business use. Over the years, the standards for web design have evolved and been refined. Here are some of the best practices and standards that you can see in web design in the coming year.
The Basics of web design:
The Header
The header of your website is one of the most valuable areas of yor site. It made up of your logo, navigation, sub menus and search features.
Navigation
Navigation tools are important for any website. The navigation of your website are the links that take visitors to one page or another on your website. This information is most often placed in a header across the top of the homepage. That way it is easy to find and use. For more on navigation best practices click here.
Search Feature Placement
If you are going to include
By Virteom
April 05, 2018
Category: Video Marketing, Marketing
A television show, movie, video game they all hold our interest. And, while most of us love a good quality program, even the less-than-stellar options keep our attention at times. Incorporating video marketing into your marketing strategy capitalizes on this draw.
Why Video Marketing is Important to You
Videos hold human attention longer than our usual eight second, similar-to-a-goldfish span. Elevating us to new heights, video marketing interactively engages your audience, raises brand awareness and prompts lead generation. EyeView Digital suggests that landing page videos boost conversions by 80 percent.
Increased time spent on your branded page, the trust raised with your audience and capitalizing on our human preference for having material fed to us (rather than reading it) gives video a leg up. But theres more. Check out this HighQ infographic for the stats on why video must be an integral part of your marketing strategy this year.
How Video Marketing Fits Your Strategy
Incorporating
By Virteom
February 06, 2018
Category: Marketing101, Online Advertising, Google AdWords, Social Media Ads, Advertising, Paid Ads, PPC
Online advertising meets consumers where they hang. Its effective and its success continues to grow with the explosion of technology and SaaS platforms. There are hundreds of strategies to online advertising and many places you can post ads. So where do you start?
Your Online Advertising Options
There are many places to advertise online but for our purposes here, we are going to break it down into two ad types: Passive and Active Advertising. Think about these from the customer perspective; are they finding your ads in passing or are they searching for the answer?
Active Advertising
Active advertising means that the user you reach is actively looking for a solution to a problem. These are typically Search Ads but can also be found on sites like Yelp or Angies List. Have you noticed the results labeled Ad at the top?
Search engine ads come up when you search for something on Google (or any search engine) and are based on PPC (Pay per click). Something to keep in mind here is that
By Virteom
February 01, 2018
Category: Content Creation, Content Marketing, Marketing 101
Content is king, but what does that mean for you? How will it keep your business moving forward when content writing requires so much time? How will that bring leads in? Youre wantto write the best content because you want yourcustomers to find you first, find you fast, and find what they need.
Creating valuable content that finds its way to your audience requires you to stay true to your purpose, the customer. Of course, efficiency makes it happen week after week drawing in consumer and search engine traffic through frequency and follow through. But successful web content come from the value within it.
Use these seven tips to get your content done right and get ready to see the leads roll in.
1.Know Your Purpose and Plan
An editorial calendar lays out content topics ahead of schedule. This tool saves valuable time and defeats creators block. Knowing your purpose for each piece of content and how it fits into your goals keeps you on track. Try grouping similar topics together for
By Virteom
January 09, 2018
Category: Marketing101, Marketing Automation, Marketing, Blogging
Sometimes, the most valuable things cannot be measured. Gone are the days of a brands marketing strategy being only about the metrics and products or services. Marketing can be an impossible game to play as its based on assumptions. As our CEO Dan Carbone once put it, Its really just guessing and testing. However, the secret to success here can be simplified; Think Like Your Customer.
Many businesses know that this is easier said than done, but once you have it down, everything falls into place. Many companies put a lot of resources into finding out their target market, the ideal customer. Some companies, dont put a focus on determining their buyer personas at all. Whether you have or have not pinpointed who your true audience is, understand that knowing who they are and how they behave is half of the battle. You have to put resources diligent effort into understanding who the people are that you will truly help with your business.
Once you know who your buyers are, the rest flows naturally,
