Marketing at Breakneck Speed – Tips for Staying Top-of-Mind

By on   /   Blog, Brand Marketing, Education and Training, Marketing, Strategy  
how can my company stay top of mind with marketing

Research is showing that traditional models of marketing and effectively connecting to your customers is evolving at breakneck speeds. What is your brand doing to maintain relevance to its audience? If your / your company’s brand is dependent on continued exposure in a specific market, what are the steps you’re taking to maintain that contact and staying “top-of-mind?”

Check out the latest post from SPOKE Communications to learn how you and your team build strategies to keep your brand at the forefront of your target audience!

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Going Stock: Connecting with Budget-Friendly Content and Images

By on   /   Blog, Case Studies, Design, Marketing, Print Design, Spoke Portfolio  
using stock photography for beget-friendly marketing

Being a photographer, I have a love-hate relationship with stock photography. Generally, if I CAN shoot it, I’d rather do it myself. But looking through some past SPOKE projects, I ran across one where we found the perfect stock set for the campaign we were developing.

Check out this quick case study on using budget-friendly stock content and images to connect for your marketing clients…

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How to Stretch Out Your Content Strategy

By on   /   Blog, Education and Training, Marketing, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Strategy  
stretch content strategy

Ah, yes. The daunting craft of consistent content creation. A promotional video for YouTube. A post for the web site. A photo or graphic or video snippet on Instagram. A handful of tweets. And don’t forget to share them to SnapChat, LinkedIn and Facebook. Post an explainer vid on TikTok. And on and on. It’s exhausting! Or is it? In the decade-plus I’ve been developing content strategies for businesses and organizations, staying ahead of the content creation cycle and maintaining consistency always comes down to one simple thing: capitalizing on good content. So I’m going to give you a little

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Marketing Communications & Recruiting / Retaining Employees in a Competitive Market

By on   /   Blog, Brand Marketing, Branding, Case Studies, Education and Training, Marketing, Strategy  
emplyee recruting marketing communications

In a recent conversation with a client, we discussed their struggles recruiting and retaining quality employees. While this is not an uncommon issue these days, we’re seeing companies turn to the marketing communications side to support and augment HR efforts in these matters. Some items we discussed to help gaining traction and retention with new employee recruitment: DEFINE YOUR PRODUCT (Is this the job for them?): Start with the job description. Be upfront with the need each applicant will fulfill as well as the value the hire will provide to the company. The job description and subsequent posting (on your

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Content Marketing: 4 Simple Ways to Feed and Support Your Sales Team

By on   /   Blog, Education and Training, Marketing, SEO, Social Media Marketing, Strategy  
content marketing and sales strategies

More than blogging, more than newsletter fodder or search engine optimization (SEO) and keyword depth, the content you develop within a strategic content marketing program has the power to truly impact sales. The more you can tell the story of your company, the stronger your team can present itself to your customers. For your sales team, content marketing provides a voice beyond product specifications, statistics and pricing. It offers depth, knowledge and leverage. While many content marketing campaigns focus on external distribution in a public-facing approach, imagine the value of crafting these stories to empower your sales team. The information

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300 Stories – A New Year, A New Milestone

By on   /   Blog, Brand Marketing, Branding, Case Studies, Education and Training, SEO, SPOKE News  
des moines communications agency

Today, I hit 300 stories… This is a special milestone for me and SPOKE Communications. Not only from a content marketing and P.R. aspect, but because from the day I started this career I wanted to do nothing but help people tell their stories. Whatever the application – graphic design, photography, videography, copywriting, illustration, public relations, education and training, I live to tell stories. Today, I hit 300 stories (for one client).

Can I help you tell your story?

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Businesses Stand Out Through Strategic Communications

By on   /   Blog, Brand Marketing, Branding, Marketing, Strategy  
strategig marketing communications

Well, thank you, Captain Obvious. Who would think otherwise? But did you catch the “Strategic” part? While the headline seems overly apparent, we’ve witnessed time and time again businesses from solo entrepreneurs to mega-conglomerate Fortune 500s miss the mark when truly strategic communications would have helped. Whether they miss an opportunity to speak up on a business-relevant event or their news feed is so full the brand focus and target of the message is lost, businesses need to make sure communications strategies are in place at all times. Much of this falls under Brand Communications and Public Relations Strategies. What

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5 Free Action Items for Better Digital Marketing in 2019

By on   /   Blog, Brand Marketing, Education and Training, Interactive Media, Marketing, SEO, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Strategy  
free digital marketing for 2019

Okay, 2018 is over and we can all look back and take a deep breath. Suffice it to say, 2018 was “Interesting.” Many cringe-worthy moments. Many upturned industries. Many marketing mistakes. At the same time there were some brilliant marketing events as well. All things considered, it’s time to set up the blocks that tumbled down in 2018 and start building for a more impactful 2019. To help us all get some traction in 2019, we’ve put together 5 action items you and your team (if you have one) can use to make sure you’re on the right track just

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The Basics: A Content Marketing Strategy Checklist

By on   /   Blog, Education and Training, Interactive Media, Marketing, Strategy  
content marketing strategy checklist

Would you expect to walk into an interview without prepared questions? What about teaching a class – wouldn’t you expect the instructor to have a lesson plan? Then why do so many companies embark on content marketing without a strategy? We see it all the time. “We have a newsletter. We send it out every quarter.” Nothing more… No targeted information… No actionable items… No measurement… No strategy? And generally, that’s the extent of it. How do people do business like that?!? Your content marketing HAS to come with a strategy. If there isn’t thought behind the effort what is

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The Value of Email Marketing

By on   /   Blog, Brand Marketing, Case Studies, Education and Training, Interactive Media, Marketing, SEO, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, SPOKE News, Strategy  
finding value in email marketing

Email marketing, for some, remains a mystery. From list procurement to communications strategies to drop schedules and more, the intricacies that go into an effective email marketing campaign make the channel somewhat difficult to grasp, let alone manage. But if done properly, and with purpose, an email campaign can not only raise brand awareness within your target audience, but increase actions that benefit your bottom line – whether that means taking action on a goal or mission, or clicking through to purchase a product or schedule a service. We recently sat in with a local marketing communications class where the

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