Here's where we invite you to learn more about the fun and interesting things we're doing as an organization. It's a great place to learn more about our team members, client spotlights, and industry and community news.

Edutainment Content: What It Is & How to Create It

Posted on July 12, 2023

In today’s digital age, attention spans are getting shorter and shorter by the day, and the demand for engaging content is rising. The concept of entertaining, educational content, or “edutainment,” has gained significant popularity and has proven to be an effective method for captivating the imagination and holding audiences’ attention while teaching them new concepts or materials.

Understanding Edutainment Content

The goal of edutainment is to teach an audience what you need them to know in an entertaining way. As counterintuitive as it may seem, one of the best ways to get them to care about your story is to design content that’s relevant for them; not you.

This type of content goes beyond traditional education methods by incorporating:

Engaging storytelling techniques
Interesting visuals
Interactive elements

All of these techniques are designed to make learning more enjoyable and accessible. This encourages and motivates learners to actively participate and engage with your content.

Work doesn’t feel like work if you enjoy it, and when you present educational content in an entertaining way, you create a more immersive and enjoyable experience. This leads to improved retention of knowledge and an increased interest in the subject matter. For example, in some schools, students have fun while developing their problem-solving capabilities with the wildly popular video game Minecraft. It’s been successfully used in the classroom to teach students complex concepts by presenting them as fun parts of the game.

While it may seem new, edutainment content has a long history of success. Generations of young children have benefited from TV shows like Sesame Street and Mr. Rodger’s Neighborhood, which teach essential skills through music and comedic skits. Similarly, kids have enjoyed shows like Bill Nye the Science Guy, and The Magic School Bus which present scientific concepts in a fun format.

Creating Edutainment Content

When designing and creating edutainment it’s important to know who your target audience is. Understanding their needs, preferences, and potential educational goals will help you tailor the content so it resonates with them effectively.

Whenever it’s practical, consider adapting your content for different mediums so you’re able to deliver your message across multiple platforms. There’s power in repetition. If you have content presented as a video, part of a game, and also as a podcast, you’ll naturally increase the opportunities for your audience to interact with it in a manner that best fits their needs.

Power of Immersion

Storytelling plays a critical role in effective edutainment content. By crafting compelling stories you invite your audience to become fully immersed in your world. Here you can present them with complex ideas and information in a highly relatable format. By incorporating visuals such as illustrations, animations, or slideshow presentations, you can further immerse your audience and enhance their learning experience.

Designing Effective Edutainment

Adding humor to edutainment will make it even more appealing. When something is funny it feels lighter and easier to connect with. Interactive elements like funny little multiple-choice quizzes, puzzles, challenges, or interactive simulations increase active participation and reinforce what’s being taught.

Providing the chance for continuous communication and feedback with user surveys and assessments will make it easier for you to make any needed improvements going forward.

Implementing suggestions will also help keep your content fresh, effective, relevant, and entertaining.

The Best of Education and Entertainment

Edutainment content combines education and entertainment to create immersive and fun learning experiences. By understanding your target audience and using a variety of different mediums, you can design effective edutainment content. Embracing this approach can revolutionize the way your audience learns and at the same time make education more accessible and enjoyable for all.

Do you need help creating effective edutainment content? Contact ArachnidWorks; we will ensure your content resonates with your audience.

7 Ways to Boost Engagement & Conversions with Email Marketing

Posted on May 30, 2023

small business owner utilizing email marketing tips

When you send out an e-newsletter you want people to read and engage with it. Hopefully, they’re sending you replies and sharing your content with friends and family.

An e-newsletter can be a highly valuable marketing tool that helps you build lasting relationships with your customers. Therefore, you’ll want to ensure as many people as possible find it compelling. Here are seven of the best email marketing tips and tricks you can use to ensure your newsletter’s both far-reaching and highly engaging.

Segment Your Audience

Many emails are never even opened. However, segmenting your audience can increase the chance your message will be well received. Each segment can receive slightly different versions of your newsletter, and by understanding your audience’s interests, you create content speaking specifically to them. This personalization can dramatically improve how effective your newsletter is.

Use Compelling Subject Lines

Readers decide to open 50% of their emails solely based on the subject line’s appeal. So, you need to know how to create attention-grabbing subject lines. Some of the most popular ways to do this include:

Asking a question
Including a number
Being funny or starting with a joke
Using your readers’ fear of missing out to your advantage

You can also increase your email open rate by using clever strategies. Personalize your subject lines and add a dash of urgency, for example, “Hey Sarah, time’s running out; better go catch it!” This will make your audience curious to open your email and dive right into your newsletter.

Employ Valuable & Concise Content

You want to include things your audience values. That might be information, advice, or promotional offers. Be sure to keep your newsletter concise and scannable so it’s easy to read. You should also use interesting visual elements and multimedia content to keep them engaged. Remember, if you continually give readers something relevant and relatable, they’ll learn to trust you, and their brand loyalty will grow.

Create Call-To-Actions (CTA)

Your newsletter should strategically direct your recipients to take a desired action. This is your chance to direct them to visit your website, purchase one of your products or services, share your newsletter, or leave you feedback which can be used to further increase email engagement. You may want to experiment and test out which types of CTAs render the best results.

Use Interactive Elements

You can actively drive engagement by incorporating interactive elements into your e-newsletter. Make it friendly and fun. People often enjoy participating in polls or taking quizzes. You should also consider encouraging readers to share their opinions and participate in discussions with you and other readers.

Offer Social Sharing Options

You can get conversations going and grow your audience by providing social sharing buttons in your e-newsletter. You can even drive the direction of discussion by suggesting a hashtag they can use on various social media sites. Once everybody’s talking, the social media marketing party really gets started.

Test & Analyze

There are many components of your e-newsletter, and you’ll need to figure out which ones are working and which ones need to be refreshed. Sometimes it’s difficult to see where your content’s stress points are. However, A/B tests can tell you what’s going right and what’s not.

It lets you see if shorter or longer subject lines perform better. It can also show how your message’s length affects performance. You can even test if you receive more engagement based on time of day. This allows you to make sound decisions driven by data so you can optimize your e-newsletter’s performance for maximum effectiveness.

The Importance Of Experimenting & Adapting Strategies

As you’re enhancing your engagement, it’s important to continually try new things. If something isn’t as effective as you’d like, don’t be afraid to try something else. Start conversations and provide open lines of communication. By following these tips, you can enhance your e-newsletter’s engagement, broaden your customer base, and in the process, establish lasting brand loyalty.

At ArachnidWorks, we know how to boost e-newsletter engagement successfully, and we design your content to encourage high engagement with readers. If you’re ready to grow your marketing strategy, contact us now!

The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Digital Marketing

Posted on April 10, 2023

In marketing, AI can improve various processes. It can be used to target potential customers and respond to feedback from existing ones.

AI first started being used in the 2000s. However, it was on a small scale. Only recently has it taken hold as a marketing tool. Today, thanks to the development of more powerful algorithms combined with improvements in data processing capabilities, AI is becoming a much more sophisticated, effective, mainstream marketing tool.

As technology has grown, the role of AI in marketing has become much more prominent. Now, AI is capable of performing repetitive tasks automatically, making it beneficial in creating stronger marketing campaigns at a much faster pace.

The Benefits of Artificial Intelligence in Marketing

AI makes it easier to personalize a company’s marketing efforts by analyzing vast amounts of data quickly. Such information helps generate customer-tailored experiences and messaging.

AI increases the output of valuable marketing efforts by performing jobs that would have previously taken up valuable user hours. Naturally, this frees up employees to perform other tasks.

AI’s capability to process such large amounts of data quickly and accurately makes it an ideal tool for optimizing decision-making. By analyzing a customer’s past behaviors and preferences, and using that information to make informed predictions about that customer’s shopping habits, it can provide customized recommendations and deliver relevant content.

All of this leads to greater customer satisfaction and continued loyalty, demonstrating that Artificial Intelligence is a useful marketing tool, which will continue to benefit both businesses and their customers now and in the future.

AI-Driven Marketing Techniques

AI relies on data rather than opinion. This provides an easy way to understand complex data about customers, including their preferences and habits. Using AI may also help highlight emerging trends within a business or industry.

All of these concepts can be challenging for humans to comprehend and interpret accurately, but AI can grasp these ideas in mere seconds.

Marketing techniques that are driven by AI make it possible for businesses to leverage large amounts of data and gain a deeper understanding of each customer. They can then use that information to target marketing efforts more productively with personalized messaging. This also results in better customer satisfaction because there is greater anticipation of a customer’s future needs, trends, and behaviors.

Let’s Chat About It

One of the most commonly used forms of Artificial intelligence is the AI chatbot. This is a software program that simulates conversations with human users in order to provide customer support or information.

The benefits of AI chatbots in marketing are These chatbots provide benefits like improved customer engagement, 24/7 availability, and cost savings, to name a few. However, there are some drawbacks.

Despite the impressive tech, there is still a possibility of communication errors, and regular maintenance and updates are essential. Additionally, AI takes away the personal touch that many customers prefer over automation.

Content Creation

AI manages tasks such as writing, editing, and optimizing content created for better search engine rankings, with the goal of creating high-quality content that meets user intent and adds value to their search results.

Voice Search Optimization

AI voice search optimization makes it easier to find relevant content using natural language queries, but it also requires a different approach to SEO and content creation to ensure visibility and relevance.

To optimize for an AI voice search, businesses should focus on creating conversational, long-tail keywords, providing succinct answers to frequently asked questions, and ensuring that their content is mobile-friendly and easy to access.

AI and Social Media

AI benefits social media management by improving its performance and accuracy, but one possible drawback is the fact that it lacks both the nuanced understanding and empathy needed for honest and beneficial communication with customers.

The Right Balance

The challenge with AI lies in finding the right balance between automation and the needed human touch. Using AI poses potential data privacy and security risks, as sensitive customer information is continually collected and analyzed.

However, marketing businesses can balance and negate this by prioritizing ethical data practices and cybersecurity measures. Implementing robust data protection policies, training employees on data privacy and best practices, and staying up to date on regulatory requirements is a great start!

Such methodology can be financially rewarding. Integrating AI with other marketing strategies can enhance a company’s profit margin by giving businesses a better understanding of their customer’s behaviors, leading to more successful marketing efforts.

More Advanced AI Systems

There isn’t simply one form of AI. It’s becoming a vast network many people are already engaging with, and they may not even be aware of it. Some commonly used forms of AI include:

Chatbots: These use natural language processing to engage with customers and provide specific recommendations.
Salesforce: This is a customer relationship management platform using AI to make improvements to sales and marketing processes.

Adobe Sensei: This AI framework powers Adobe’s creative and marketing products.

Ethical Consideration in Marketing Using AI

Businesses using AI in marketing must prioritize ethical considerations such as safeguarding privacy, avoiding bias, and respecting consumer autonomy.

While AI can perform certain creative tasks, it lacks the ingrained humanity needed for true creativity to flourish. So, AI is unlikely to replace creatives, and it’s more likely to enhance their work in the future.

Future of AI In Marketing

As technology continues to evolve, the AI future looks promising. Advancements in automation, personalization, and data analysis offer businesses new opportunities to connect with customers.

No Fear In Artificial Intelligence

AI is simply a set of tools designed to enhance human capabilities while improving productivity and solving complex problems.

With the proper solutions in place, AI is poised to be of great benefit to the marketing world. Hesitation over this new technology is natural and understandable, but a responsible marketing agency can use it to benefit every client in a meaningful way.

5 Digital Marketing Trends to Watch Out for In 2023

Posted on January 24, 2023

People change, and so do their stories. So it naturally makes sense that marketing will change as well. The trick is keeping up with these stories as they’re told.

Let’s discuss some marketing trends that will be prevalent this year and beyond, starting with…

User-Generated Content Marketing

People trust their friends, loved ones, and other reputable individuals, but they don’t always trust a business. Because of this distrust, a simple ad with a “buy our product” jingle may not be as effective as word-of-mouth.

Not so long ago when you wanted to know who the best plumber was, you simply called your friend who just recently had their pipes snaked. Today, you may still do that, but you can also use the internet and find testimonials or reviews (both bad and good) for practically any product or service.

Anything put online by a person not employed or paid by the company is considered ‘user-generated content.’ We can look forward to this becoming an increasingly viable marketing tool.

Interactive Websites

Interactive websites invite users to explore content on a deeper level. This may mean questionnaires, attractive animations, or anything else that’s more than just simple information and “Learn More” buttons. If implemented well, this content will bring the customer back time and time again, which leads to a higher conversion rate. These experiences have the potential to make traditionally boring subject matter a bit more fun.

Because of their conversion potential, these websites are certainly something we should all be on the lookout for and expect to see more of in 2023 and beyond.

Influencer Marketing

Lately, this has become more than just a buzzword, But what exactly is it?

The concept stems from the days of celebrity endorsements or advertisements, bringing that marketing concept online and modernizing it. The difference is that oday’s “influencers” don’t have to be movie stars. Love it or hate it, ‘online fame’ is now its own universe, and this universe has a lot of marketing power! That’s because influencers have a loyal following. If they say, “Product X, is the best,” then many of their followers will turn into customers. In some cases, the influencer matters even more than the actual product they are promoting. It’s a powerful trend, and it’s getting more prevalent.

Automation Tools

The “one size fits all” approach to marketing is a thing of the past. With automation tools, marketing websites will be able to give a user a greater level of personalization. Today’s customers want and deserve what meets their personal needs. Every time you visit a website, its automation tools may ask for your name and email address. That automation is a tool that’s allowing marketers to match a product with the customer who may benefit from it the most.

As time goes on, these tools will become more refined, which could have a profound effect on the way we market.

Short-Form Video Content

Video Marketing is a gigantic volcano in terms of just how red-hot it is. These videos are beyond popular. That’s why your social feeds are filled with video content. It catches the eye in an instant. People are making content for the products they like—free advertising for the seller!

A 30-second video of an unknown teenager discussing a skin-care product she loves can be more effective ad than a paid endorsement from a big star.

You may be asking how this is possible. The answer is that the girl making her own short-form video is genuine, therefore more believable. So, as we start 2023, and continuing in the future, we’ll be expecting this form of video advertising and marketing to continue.

At ArachnidWorks, we’re always up to date on the latest marketing trends, and we consistently put these practices to use helping our clients achieve success. We know how to implement the latest tools and techniques to ensure your content is ready for today’s marketing landscape.

What You Need to Know About the Shift to Google Analytics 4

Posted on November 30, 2022

computer showing google analytics

When Europe updated its privacy and security laws in 2018 aka GDPR, Universal Analytics (UA)
essentially became illegal. Many other countries followed suit in updating their privacy
legislation including New Zealand, Japan, Brazil, and even the state of California. This change in
policy resulted in Google announcing the rollout of Google Analytics 4, offering up increased
privacy, security, and control over your data.

What is Google Analytics 4?
Google Analytics 4 (or GA4) is a completely new version of Google Analytics replacing the
current Universal Analytics. It measures website and app traffic together, instead of being
tracked separately.

How is GA4 different?
GA4 and UA differ in how they view and track page views and screen views, user sessions,
content groupings, custom dimensions, and more.

Google Analytics 4 vs Universal Analytics: What’s Changing?

Data collection
With the advent of omnichannel e-commerce, GA4 collects data from both web and apps to let
businesses see unified user journeys and customer life cycles across different platforms.

Event-based tracking
UA measured users by tracking sessions on platforms and devices. This resulted in missed
opportunities and data loss when switching devices. Now, GA4 uses an event-based data model
to track user behavior. Using user IDs and unique Google signals, it’s much easier to follow
users along the customer journey.

With the shift to event and parameter tracking, GA4 introduced engagement metrics such as
engaged sessions, engaged time, and engagement rate. This is a big shift from how you were
able to track metrics in UA.

Data control and privacy
In the wake of data privacy laws such as GDPR and CCPA, GA4 offers new data controls for users
to keep their privacy. These data privacy options include the user's ability to:

● Control how their data is collected, retained, and shared.
● Decide whether the data collected can be used to deliver personalized ads.
● Delete Analytics data by submitting a request to Google.
● GA4 only stores data for 14 months and doesn’t carry over historical data from UA.
When you switch to Google Analytics 4, it only collects data going forward, so
transitioning early is critical.

No IP Collection
Unlike its predecessor, GA4 does not collect IP addresses or store cookies.

Machine learning
GA4 applies machine learning technologies to fill in data gaps versus first and third-party
cookies with UA. Predictive analytics finds trends in user behavior, allowing you to provide
more intelligent insights and create forecasts.

In-depth Reporting
GA4 introduces Explorations, which lets you access data and analytical techniques that aren’t
available in UA’s default reports. These features give you a more in-depth look at your data to
answer complex questions.

Expanded integration
GA4 was designed to work better with other products such as Google Ads, and Google Data
Studio.

I need help making the switch to GA4.

The Digital Team at AW has been hard at work transitioning our clients to GA4 to ensure
historical data is recorded and future data collection is started early.

If you need help in making the transition, ArachnidWorks is here to help. Contact us today!

The Do’s and Don’ts for Holiday Social Posts

Posted on November 3, 2022

Every fall, when temperatures dive and the Maryland nights grow longer, Brian, our CTO, starts his tradition of listening for the first annual playing of “All I Want for Christmas is You.” Released 28 years ago tomorrow, Mariah Carey’s blockbuster, officially launches the holiday season around here, whether we’re ready or not.

For our content marketers and social media marketing strategists, the sappy tune also triggers our holiday social media planning. At AW, our team has been handling the social needs of our clients long enough to know that holiday posts need a little something extra. By keeping in mind a handful of Dos and Don’ts, we can ride the coattails of the most important seasonal trends and avoid any eleventh-hour social media crises.

DO: TWEAK YOUR POSTING CALENDAR

Review your typical posting schedule and adjust it so you can reach clients and potential customers during the ramp-up to Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Hannukah. Organize the dates throughout the holiday season that are most relevant to you, schedule those posts, and set reminders so you can stay on top of plan. Keep in mind that it’s a fine line between keeping your base up to date and inundating them with TMI.

DON’T: DISCONNECT FROM YOUR CLIENTS

Even the best holiday social media posts don’t take the place of a personal connection with the people to whom you owe your business. Do your best to communicate with your clients in non-digital ways when possible. You know you can’t speak with or visit everyone, so make sure your holiday posts for social media are authentic and meaningful enough to foster genuine connections.

DO: CREATE A THEME THAT REFLECTS YOUR BRAND

Ignore the hackneyed and the trite colors and images in favor of the visual components that make up your brand. The goal is to make your content stand out from the rest and appeal to your audience, so if a color palette of magenta and melon make your message pop, go with it—leave the red and green, and the blue and gold, for those with more traditional brands. Don’t be shy!

DON’T: STUFF YOUR CLIENTS’ STOCKINGS WITH NONSENSE

During the month of December, one well-known social media site lists the following dates as “not-to-be-missed” opportunities for reaching out to your clients and customers: Eat a Red Apple Day, Let’s Hug Day, National Roast Suckling Pig Day, Answer the Phone Like Buddy the Elf Day… You get the idea. Unless any of these reflect your brand and give you an opportunity to tell an authentic story about your company, skip them. Before you post anything, especially a holiday social media post, ask yourself why. If you don’t know the answer immediately, hit delete.

DO: HOST A GIVEAWAY OR CONTEST

Your loyal followers will likely enjoy the chance to win something from you that they’re pining after. Choose an item that’s appealing to your regular base, but also shareable to encourage new followers.

DON’T: USE THE HOLIDAYS AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SIMPLY SELL, SELL, SELL

Holiday observances around the world are becoming more secular, but for many, Christmas and Hannukah have deep cultural or religious meaning. Be respectful in your choice of images and words. Most people want warm wishes and cheer rather than links to your best-selling product’s page.

DO: ENCOURAGE POSTS FROM FOLLOWERS

Try including 1–2 photos in a social media post from a holiday tradition you or your team members enjoy observing, and invite your followers to do the same. Encourage the authentic, the genuine, and the meaningful—you’ll build your digital community and engender the type of trust and goodwill that elevates your brand.

Keeping in mind these couple of dos and don’ts, some careful planning, a solid strategy, and a commitment to brand awareness will go a long way toward a successful social media strategy this holiday season…and you don’t even have to wait to hear “All I Want for Christmas is You” to get started.

Too much on your plate for the rest of Quarter 4? Do you know how important a solid social media strategy for the holidays is for your company? No one ever said you have to do it alone. ArachnidWorks is here to help! Let’s talk.

Why Your Website Needs a Blog and How to Start One

Posted on September 29, 2022

Let’s cut to the chase––you need to start blogging.

Blogs are not just for those ranting because the sour cream was missing from their grocery order. Starting a blog doesn’t mean you must spill the tea on why you will never wear parachute pants again, but we’d love to read it if you do (#welovethe80s). Blogging is one of the most powerful marketing tools business owners can wield to grow their audience, boost sales and establish a brand voice. By the way, all kinds of fabulous content can help you stand out from the crowd. Yet, for this piece, we’re covering the OG.

At ArachnidWorks, we know a thing or two about blogging. You’re kind of reading one now, right?

Right!

So, we gathered our collective marketing brains to share why your website needs a blog.

Three Little Letters: SEO

A quality blog can boost your entire website’s SEO ranking. Here’s how.

Content & Keywords – Blog posts are a form of content. Content adds keywords to your site. Search engines crawl through your site and read your content to determine what your business offers. That helps search engines find your website over others. Nice, right?
Relevancy – Blog posts are a deep dive into a topic. They help you gain traction and position your content in front of more eyes, leading to more conversions. And with Google’s latest algorithm update, there is a heavy focus on intent––your relevancy––which provides value for the posted content.
Tag, You’re it! – Categories and tags are metadata mysteries that are not so mysterious. They tell search engines where to find your website and drive users to it.
Stay Awhile – A quality archive of material keeps people roaming your site longer. Extra dwell time on pages tells search engines people loved hanging out with you because your content was on point and fabulous.
Internal Links – Links, links, and more links within a blog to your previous posts equal more clicks on your content. It’s all a part of strategic thinking to help users find your brand and message.
Share & Share Alike – Think of it as the more the merrier. Internal linking in posts means more opportunities for other websites to find and link back to your site. The more websites linking to you as a source, the merrier, right? Right! And when you tag and repost your blog on social media, you tell two friends, and they tell two friends, and so on, you’re going to have more eyes on your content.
Where the Heck Are You? – Tagging locations to your post is a must for location-based businesses. For the local donut shop that needs those eclairs to fly out the door, you want donut-lovers to know where to snag the best in town.

If You Write it, They Will Come

You want to set yourself apart as an expert in your lane. It helps customers get to know you and build trust. It’s not a matter of just writing content for content’s sake. You want to give the masses material that solves a problem, gives them actionable steps, and shows them YOU are the one who feels their pain (points).

Who Are You?

You have a brand to define for the masses. That starts with creating a voice people recognize. You immediately know when you see that circular, green sign that it’s calling you toward caffeine. That smirk on a cardboard box? Something special is on your doorstep, right? These companies have defined their brand to the point that you don’t even need a name on their logo to know who they are. You know their voice, identity, and how they improve your life with their services. You can get there too! It starts with becoming an industry expert who builds rapport and connects with others.

My People!

You can’t grow your audience without content, and content helps you grow your audience. You want traffic to be bumper-to-bumper on your site to generate new leads. These leads mean you’ve found your people! A great way to keep the interaction alive on your site is to include a call-to-action (CTA) that offers them a little something. You know what we mean by CTA. Things like:

But wait, there’s more!
Free gift just because you’re fantastic!
Act now. Space is limited!
Sign up today, and you’ll receive an invite to my virtual bad holiday sweater party!

Other CTAs we love include:

Free eBooks
Downloadable whitepages
Fact sheets
Video lessons or webinars
Free trials
Donuts. The ones with sprinkles.

Okay, maybe not the donuts, and it’s obviously sugar-rush snack time at ArachnidWorks HQ, yet you see where we’re going with this. Anything you can offer users to jump into that funnel and start a relationship can drive long-term results.

Ready to start that blog? Awesome! Want to turn to the Frederick, Maryland, marketing pros who can help you get it done? Even better! ArachnidWorks is a multi-disciplined design collective dedicated to bringing clients strategic marketing, top-quality design services, and SEO strategy that gets businesses noticed. Let us help you make some crazy-cool content. Reach out, and let’s get started!

Content and SEO Strategy––It Matters

Posted on September 7, 2022

Believe it or not, organic search visibility, rankings, and traffic take a lot of effort. What makes a big difference in your success? Creating stellar, optimized content.

Content and SEO are in a relationship, and their union could launch your website to the top of the rankings. Are you utilizing their partnership to get noticed? Well, you should be.

Content That Impacts Your Bottom Line

Content is everywhere, and we mean ev-ry-where! You want your brand to stand head and shoulders above the rest. That’s why having an SEO-driven strategy is critical. It separates you from the others and gets attention. How does it work? The team at ArachnidWorks is glad you asked!

SEO + Content = Eyeballs on Your Brand

We promise this isn’t an algebra lesson, and the math isn’t hard to master. When you marry the science of SEO with beautifully-crafted words (ahem, content), that sweet little combo produces focused marketing. It’s not just throwing words on a page, or spaghetti at a wall, hoping something will stick. It’s a strategic approach that impacts your business and a ROI that makes your bottom line happy.

SEO combined with purposely-created content is the perfect pairing. Here’s why:

SEO optimizes the on-the-page experience and increases the likelihood of launching you towards the top of the search engine results page (SERP).
Content marketing is the vehicle for your message to the masses, offering information and advertising your ____________ (insert company, brand, product, nomination for an ADDY award, etc.)
Adding them together equals traffic that contains more than just rubberneckers. They’re stopping by, staying, and engaging because they’re enticed to investigate further. The added bonus: potential conversions that become customers, sales, and the like.

Each company’s measuring stick for success is unique. No matter how it’s calculated, everyone wants to reach their goal numbers for growth.

It Starts With Killer Content

You want every visitor to have the VIP experience while engaging with your brand. That begins with quality content. SEO and SERP should intertwine with your message. These are not hindrances to crafting that magical tagline or a blog post that goes viral. Think of them more like The Three Muskateers rather than The Three Stooges. When you combine their superpowers, you’ll receive:

Better search visibility that translates into more eyes on your page.
Information accumulate about your customers, their needs, and insight into solving them.

Wait. There Are Different Types of SEO?

Yes, yes, there are. Let’s break them down and provide a snapshot of what they do.

On-page SEO – Content, keywords, internal links, and metadata: these work together to help your page gain ranking.

Off-page SEO – Guest bloggers, building backlinks, and social media marketing: these items build brand awareness. Although they have nothing to do with your website, they help boost your ranking with every little share and click.

Technical SEO – Mobile-friendly, page speed, sitemaps, and site structure: these enhance user experience and engagement while also helping search engines look through your site.

Local SEO – Google Business profile listings, relevant keywords, up-to-date company information, respond to reviews: if you want searches to convert, start local. These valuable leads in your own backyard can quickly become conversions, and that’s golden, friends.

Every good strategy begins with a plan. From finding your brand voice to strategically sourcing strong content to drive traffic, ArachnidWorks can help you take your business to the next level. Our multidisciplinary marketing and design collective in Frederick, Maryland, is dedicated to creating unique and successful marketing strategies for our clients. Ready to make content and SEO work for you? Reach out, and we’ll get busy making your brand shine.

Customer Relationships: How to Keep Them in Tip-Top Shape

Posted on July 28, 2022

Good customer relationships matter. Excellent relationships with clients are what we all should strive for. Unfortunately, agencies can become oblivious to signs that—well—they’re becoming off-putting without realizing it.

Ouch, right?

There you are, doing everything to collaborate, exceed expectations, and meet project goals. At least that’s what it seems like from your perspective. Yet, are your clients happy? Are they fed up: teetering on the edge of breaking up with you?

Our team at ArachnidWorks has put together a few of our favorite ways not to annoy clients and how to build lasting relationships.

Communicate, Communicate, and—Our Favorite—Communicate

How’s your response time? There isn’t a hard and fast rule when returning business phone calls or emails, yet not responding within 24–48 hours will put you on the client’s naughty list. The best way to avoid their frustration is to clarify communication processes during onboarding, block time during your day to respond to those who reach out, and verify you’ll get back with them in greater detail if you can’t promptly touch each point of concern.

Wait, You Wanted to be Involved?

Sometimes we get so busy doing the work and making it awesome that we forget about the most essential input—the client’s. We know it’s not intentional, but creatives can become mini silos churning out content. That can leave our customers feeling iced from the process. The last thing you want to cause is friction and distrust, right? The best ways to avoid giving clients the cold shoulder is to keep them involved, specify roles and expectations on both ends during onboarding, use collaboration software when appropriate, and set routine check-in appointments.

You’re Not the Boss of Me!

Well, they are the client, so they kind of are friends.

Customers come to you for your help, knowledge, and expertise. They do not come to you to make them feel small, uneducated, or like a nuisance. You know how to get their brand noticed and make their product sing. The thing is, no one likes a know-it-all. Be the person who invites the client to speak freely, listens to them intently, and never overpromises or overreaches to impress. Own up to it, apologize immediately, and make it right if something goes wrong on your watch.

Smarty Pants

Have you heard the expression about how words are like toothpaste? Once they come out, you can’t squeeze them back in. Using buzzwords, jargon, or acronyms you understand doesn’t mean your client knows what you’re referring to. Also, phrases like “to be honest” or “I understand your concerns, but…” or the all-time fave “with all due respect” can give clients the wrong idea. Unless you’re speaking the same industry language, never use words and phrases that alienate, be careful of certain words and phrases that could offend, and fight the urge to have the last word. Sometimes restraint, even when responding is warranted, says more than words ever could.

It’s a Date!

Deadlines matter. Period. End of story. Not delivering on time or sticking to agreements frustrates clients. They’ve made launch plans internally and externally based on your deliverables. Hiccups do happen, yet only promise what you know you can hand over promptly. Communicate immediately when there’s a bump in the process. Help keep those deadlines intact by looking ahead for obstacles during the creation timeline. It’s better to turn over work early to an ecstatic customer than explain why it’s late.

At ArachnidWorks, we’re in the business of giving our clients the best experience possible, from that first handshake to the celebratory launch of your project. Ready to put our experienced teams to work for you? Contact us now.

How to Find Your Brand’s Voice

Posted on May 26, 2022

What do some of your favorite brands communicate to you? What personality do you associate with them? Did you even realize they have personalities? This is their voice, and finding yours is an important part of your strategy.

What is Brand Voice?

Your voice is the distinct personality of your brand. If it was a person, how would it dress? How would it speak, and what other quirks would it have?

This personality, once created, will carry across all forms of communications from blogs to newsletters, website copy, emails, and social media.

Voice and tone are two sides of the same coin: Voice is what your brand itself says to your customers, and tone is how you communicate that message.

Finding Your Voice

This means defining your buyers personas. Once you do that, it’s relatively easy to “talk” in a way that resonates with them. Is your product or service geared towards Gen Z, for instance, or is it focused on B2B? Is it a small business, or an enterprise? If you’re addressing a young audience, you may want to keep your voice relaxed and “hip.” B2B, on the other hand, may require content that is more authoritative or geared to C-suite audiences.

You may find that your tone changes across audiences. How you present your brand when you launch a new product or service will be different from how you address the media or communicate with someone regarding a customer complaint. Messaging should be consistent, yet with a flexible tone to suit different situations.

Take a look at some of your current content. How does your audience engage with your posts, communications, and website? Once you see what your target audience identifies and engages with, you can begin to build your brand’s personality.

Lastly, truly define your voice. What three words do you think best represent you now? This should be a team exercise; break out the whiteboard and have fun with it.

Staying True to Your Voice

Now that you’ve found your it, it’s important to stay consistent. If you have several people on your team touching each piece of content, this may be harder than you think. Documentation will help you maintain brand standards. This should include:

Your business’ mission and values statement: The tone of your mission statement should be reflected in your voice.

Consistent terminology: Every product or service should remain consistent with its name and description, regardless of what platform you’re using to promote it.

Personality: Fun, clever, and irreverent, or authoritative and strictly professional? Once you choose your brand’s personality, be sure to document it so everyone connected with content and website creation stays consistent.

Routine Audits

You’ll need to reevaluate your brand’s voice to make sure that your chosen strategy is working for you, and that your team is working to represent it consistently. You may find that you need to tweak your ideas before finding one that works for your business.

We take branding seriously. We know how important your voice is, and we’ll not only help you find it, but we’ll also help you maintain it. Ready to put our experienced teams to work for you? Contact us now.