Have you seen any of these brilliant advertisements? Companies and advertising agencies are constantly striving to push the limit on creativity.  Since being creative and original has become the norm, discovering brand new ways to promote a product or message is more challenging than ever.  It takes a certain kind of creative mind and not accepting ‘impossible’ in order to …

  Name: Elly Bannon   Hometown: Mont Vernon, NH   Spirit Animal: Unicorn.   Your favorite thing about working at Young Company: Definitely the fun people, I feel like I am learning a lot! Also, being close to the beach.   Favorite place to eat in Laguna: I am new to the area, but anything sushi!   Favorite quote: If …

Snapchat has revolutionized social media today allowing individuals to view a moment into the lives of family members, old friends, and celebrities. More recently however, companies large and small have started utilizing the benefits of this brilliant social platform. Although Snapchat is wildly popular in people age 18 to 34, brands have been able to utilize millennials to share their …

When you come right down to it, what defines effective online content? Visits, Engagement, Shares? Well, actually all three of these factors enter into the success picture. When the numbers are high in this trio of categories, more often than not the interest level will be admirably reflected in brand performance. Thus, savvy brands should be doing everything possible to …

Keep this in mind before you design a schedule — social media is a varied bunch, each network operating on its own timetable. Twitter, for instance, engages best with around four tweets per day. Instagram requires about fifteen. The much-less demanding Facebook, on the other hand, does just fine with a mere one post a day. Bottom line is — …

Who’s a better judge of product merit than people just like you? This exalted, consumer-knows-best doctrine has fueled the soaring popularity and unquestionable validity of review sites such as Yelp. Nowadays, glowing public reviews can and often do mean the difference between a trickle of website visitors and an unstoppable storm. The consumer has spoken and has been heard. Somewhere …

It’s that time of year! Regardless of whether you’ve been naughty or nice, you’ve got your marketing wish list ready for Old Saint Nick. But what about all those things you don’t want? Check out the items a digital marketer does not want on their list… like, ever. A client with unrealistic expectations. A client that has many executives with different …

Big promises, big results … everyone’s heard the sizzling marketing pitches ad infinitum. And far too often, all they get for listening with rapt attention is big disappointment. The feverish pitches and promises prove to be nothing more than smoke and mirrors. And the show has knocked a big bruise in their budgets. So up go the brick walls, blocking …

The growing use of “social shopping” will greatly influence how people shop this holiday season. Social media is set to have more of a say on Christmas shopping lists this year than ever before, according to a new survey published by consumer advocacy company, Social Media Link. Sites like Facebook and YouTube will serve as primary sources for many consumers …

Instagram is an important marketing tool that can be used to represent the visual identity of your business. With a user following of over 400 million, any business not using it could be missing out on advertising opportunities on this ever-increasing social media platform. Gaining followers on Instagram can be a difficult and seemingly slow task, but these dos and …

When it comes to working with WordPress or any Content Management System (CMS), it is always good practice to back up your content. There is always a possibility that you make an update on your site and the next second the site is missing. The contents of a missing site can take several hours to weeks or months to get …

1. Like Norm’s…It’s Always Open Like most people, I’m not a huge fan of taking sales (or customer service) calls at 11:30pm. But with a website, you can have forums and documentation at your customers’ fingertips, ALWAYS. This way, customers can access the information they need, when THEY want. Most people understand that phone lines aren’t open 24/7, but they do …

In a world with so many ways to stay in touch, it’s flat-out impressive how much impact email continues to have. Over 205 billion emails are sent and received every day*.  Yeah, 205 BILLION. With that much back and forth, you’ll need to stand out among the crowd with your email marketing strategy by including a well-rounded strategy,  no matter …

Ad tech and marketing tech seem to be at odds these days, with the later grabbing most of the limelight. But why the rivalry? Both can and should be working together to create an unstoppable force. Just how these two disciplines can be aligned will be revealed in a moment. But first, these terms at a glance: An abbreviation of …

When it comes to building WordPress sites on a budget there are some great plugins available. Everyone enjoys taking advantage of free programs and software as long as they work and don’t break anything. After much time exploring and using many different plugins, I give you my opinion of the top 5 free plugins to use and apply to your website. …

If you haven’t noticed, Twitter recently changed the way you “favorite” tweets, by adding a neat little heart to the fold. Not only is it a heart, it’s animated heart! When you click it, little bursts are emitted from the art, confirming your action, and encouraging you to do it again. You may have noticed that mobile games have a …

Hammering away at customers with an onslaught of sales messages won’t get you very far these days. In fact, by 2015 standards, that approach belongs way back in the Stone Age. People are extremely wary of pushy marketing, especially when brands shovel it on wide and deep. Anything that comes on too strong is customer poison. What people don’t tune …

  Young Company Spotlight: Amy Tolentino   Name: Amy Tolentino   Position: Intern   Time at Young Company: Three months   Hometown: Rancho Santa Margarita, CA   Spirit Animal: An ocelot, because they run fast and I’ve been told I look like one.   Your favorite thing about working at Young Company: The people! Everyone at Young Company is truly …

Far too many marketers misunderstand the landing page. For them, it’s merely a jumping off point for web cruisers … a simple, understated homepage. If you’re lost in this kind of thinking, it’s time to step into the light. First of all, a home page and landing page are NOT one and the same. Not even close. A homepage is …

Do you spend night after sleepless night wondering where social media is headed? If so, then don’t miss the following overview of — Social Media in the Year 2016 You On Demand Are people clamoring for a more spontaneous, instant you? Periscope is the answer. Recently snapped up by Twitter, Periscope enables users to transmit live personal videos to their …

For the majority of businesses, creating solid content can be compared to building the rocket that will launch their business into stardom. However, no rocket has ever left the ground without a solid platform from which to launch. Creating a piece of quality content is crucial, yes, but promoting and distributing that content to the right audiences can be an …

  Young Company Spotlight: Britney Pesch   Name: Britney Pesch   Time at Young Company: Four months   Hometown: Rancho Santa Margarita, California   Spirit Animal: A mermaid   Your favorite thing about working at Young Company: Getting the opportunity to constantly build my career and learn something new every day   Favorite place to eat in Laguna: The Deck …

Brand marketers, set your stopwatches for a rapid content marketing overview – one minute flat. It won’t make you an expert. But you’ll sure be able to fake it. The Funnel Get ‘em to the top of the sales funnel … Of all things content marketing is designed to do, this is the big one. Boosted rankings, greater awareness, higher …

If you have ever advertised anything online, it’s a fair bet you have come across Google AdWords at least once. This industry standard marketing tool, like all complex machines, can have a massive impact on your business when used correctly. One aspect of this complex marketing machine is budget management. Below are three steps marketers can take to get the …

  Young Company Spotlight: Paul Prisco Name: Paul Prisco Time at Young Company: Three weeks Hometown: Long Island, New York Spirit Animal: Pizza rat! Just kidding, I would have to say my dog Tito. He loves naps but he can also be full of energy. Your favorite thing about working at Young Company: Collaborating with bright and energetic people! Every …

What’ll the opposing quarterback do on third and ten? Does that batter sit tight or swing with two strikes? Answers to such questions provide sports teams with a valuable heads up; guide their game strategies. Hence, teams keep strict tabs on the opposition; watch game films, sniff out stats, and dig through countless other data sources. Exactly what content marketers …

  Employee Spotlight: Sarah Arbogast Name: Sarah Arbogast Title: Market Research Manager Time at Young Company: One year anniversary is coming up soon! Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri     Spirit Animal: My spirit animal would be a Great Pyrenees. Not only because I happen to own two of them, but because I am a natural leader just like Pyr’s are by …

As marketing practices have evolved over time with the advent of the internet, consumers are finding themselves inundated with advertising messages that span across every medium they interact with. The popularity of ad block tools and applications has risen sharply in response to advertisers and publishers who use aggravating “adtech” practices that track users from site to site, repeatedly serving …

In case you haven’t noticed, mobile technology has remolded our world. Smartphones and tablets connect people and brands in nanoseconds. Info zips back and forth without pausing. And everyone knows about each other. Or do they? What are Consumers Really Doing with Those Things? How much does your brand know about device usage? If you’re seeking mobile truth, don’t rely …

By Rebecca Fox To state the obvious, marketing has evolved profoundly over the last few years. Where platforms were once fickle and everyone predicted social media to be a passing trend, we have now been ushered into an age of solid platforms, diverse advertising options and a myriad of free outlets to the public. Yet with all progress, change is …

You’re braced for the edge-of-your-seat action rescue scene when it hits you right between the peepers – a 5-minute blitz of TV commercials. Soap, cars, aspirin, polish, and powders. Hey, somebody has to support those dedicated TV crews. So you wait it out until the heroics resume. But at least you know this isn’t the worst kind of media interruption. …

The popularity of programmatic buying is soaring. And so is the number of ad bucks flowing into this automated process. For marketers, this can be a clear route to robust ROI. OK, you already knew that. But did you know … ? Advertisers will spend about $58.6 billion on digital advertising in 2015. Programmatic buying will grab $14.88 billion of …

Too much head scratching and gawking out there. Throngs of brand marketers, prowling office corridors, wondering how find their way through the digital blizzard. All those new technologies, processes, and practices. Which trends matter? While there are many possibilities, none is having a bigger influence than the following: Mobile Video Ads By now, it’s no surprise that mobile video consumption …

Who’s your brand’s best friend? It’s not your CPA. It’s the not even the guy who rushes the all-important pizza deliveries to the office each Friday afternoon. So who is it already? Alright, alright … it’s your customer. Don’t act surprised. Who else is so loyal? Who else tells the world – nay, the universe, about how terrific you are, …

Plenty of exhausted brand marketers out there. But it’s not all that office overtime. It’s those frantic attempts to keep pace with the rush of digital trends. Something new coming atcha every second.  Blink, and you’ll miss one. And so the challenge – how to determine which way the digital winds are blowing? While this answer is never easy, certain …

Are you using Pinterest? Only 5% of U.S. business are at the moment… Did you know that over 1 million Pinterest boards exist (and counting…), and the site will reach over 47 MILLION PEOPLE THIS YEAR ALONE, plus the half-life of a pin is 3.5 months….so…are you using Pinterest…? If I had a business (and not just selling products to …

What does today’s consumer want? Well, other than a phenomenal product at a mouth-watering price, shoppers want to interact with brands. Doesn’t matter if you’re selling soap or satin. One-sided messaging is rapidly becoming yesterday’s news. Thanks to rapid advances in technology, marketers have a number of ways to create a fresh, interactive experience in the year 2015. Consider the …

Hello, and TGIF! We’d like to introduce you to our newest feature: 5 for Friday!  Each Friday, we will be supplying you a quick, easy, and USABLE list of 5 ways you can improve your CTR’s, leverage proper social channels, and drive more traffic to your offers/website! This week…. 5 Email Subject Lines that Increase Open Rates! 1.  Self Interest: …

Come along. We’re going to the Marketing Frontier. Pay close attention. We’ll be sighting some of the newest phenomena shaping the world of digital advertising. Sighting 1 –Programmatic Direct   Adjustments have been made. Attitudes altered. Still, ad buying in a digital world is a mystery to most. As a result, marketers are seeking cleaner routes to their ad buys. …

So…are YOU looking for your next website CMS? Well, let us show you our favorite option… At this point in history, WordPress is quite the household name.  Powering hundreds of thousands of websites, WordPress has grown and matured over the years into one (if not the most) powerful and diverse CMS infrastructures around. But, did you know how EASY and …

What’s just around the corner for marketing? Where should brands shift their budgets? How do they allocate resources? While there are many possible routes to the future, two in particular stand out as probable paths to success. The Big Connection Path. More and more, things and people are getting connected in a great, big universe of data exchange: TV, phones, …

First rule of Twitter? Understand WHY you are using Twitter. You REALLY need to do your research before engaging customers, and make sure that your target audience is actually ON twitter. By knowing what your customers are saying about the market/industry, you can decide on a much more effective strategy. However, Twitter may or may not be the right tool …

What’s brewing with consumers in the year 2015? What are these folks up to? What thoughts are rocketing around in their heads? Not always easy to know these answers, even if you’re a bona fide master guru with a million-plus following. Nevertheless, the trend spotters have been out and about. And they’ve detected certain things shaping up in Consumer Land. …

Everyone knows that Facebook is an AWESOME marketing tool, allowing you to reach an immense number of people in a relatively short amount of time. But, that doesn’t mean it’s easy. In fact, marketing on Facebook has become increasingly difficult to perform, if you don’t have the right strategy! So, we compiled a quick list of our favorite tactics that …

It’s just a little box, so compact it can fit on a mobile screen. But it contains the works – video, graphics, sound clips, and text.  Everything your brand needs to make a big impression – all at once. This magic marketing box goes by the name of card. And said card could be pulling in the lion’s share of …

Keywords and PPC advertising are crucial components in driving traffic to your site. Although they may appear straightforward in their implementation, there are an infinite number of options & settings available…. And that’s where WE come in! We’ve identified 5 areas that can instantly increase your conversions for paid advertising channels! No matter what industry, the same principles are at …

It’s all around us. The tapping, sliding fingers; flashing little screens; goggle-eyed faces tuning out the rest of the planet. Yes, mobile mania has a grip on us. And it’s still got a long, long way to go. How far is anybody’s guess. But at least we can peek around the corner and glimpse what’s a couple of years down …

Is your brand stuck in the mud? Going nowhere fast in the online community? Could be you’re doing certain things you shouldn’t. Here are some examples. Put them on your company’s forbidden list and keep ‘em there. Winging It Improvising is great for comedians but devastating for marketers. What’s needed is a clear plan that delineates every single goal on …

  It used to be that fashions got more colorful, shorter, or longer, thinner or thicker. Now they’re getting faster.   Fast fashion happens when shoppers see the latest styles and want them like right now. Currently, consumers are being served the hottest styles via the likes of Instagram, assorted fashion blogs, and countless other social destinations.   These sites …

Still scratching your head about Millennials? Still groping for a way to connect with this demo? Well, it can be done.  And your brand needn’t be the greatest thing since jet propulsion nor must it be priced lower than dirt. In fact, Millennial folk are willing to pay a bit more for consumables – so long as they feel the …

Feed a cookie to a user, and you can track them online with a high degree of reliability – assuming they’re not set up to deflect cookies. When channeled into such a monitoring system, marketers have the means to deliver targeted ads at just the right moment. Cookie-trackers, of course, were created long ago for users plugged into laptops and …

It may not bubble, pop, fizz, or foam, but the right brand brew still delivers a major kick to marketers. In fact, the mixture is essential for building strong marketing organizations that can capitalize on the current wave of new opportunities. How do you create this powerful brew for your marketing organization or department? Here are some key ingredients: In …

You’re the proud owner of a fabulous brand. You know what you’re about, top-to-bottom, end-to-end. But do customers? Chances are, they don’t. Nowadays, your brand’s identity easily can get lost in the monster media blizzard. So many competing messages whizzing back and forth, vying for customer attention. You’re only hope is to push your brand out of the whirl and …

See that trail ahead? Of course not. It still has to be made. And you’re going to make it. Because the only way to maximize your chances of marketing success is to blaze a few trails; stay ahead of the pack. After all, why be a trend-spotter when you can be a trend-setter? It won’t be easy. But you can …

The Social Media Express is rolling. And anyone who climbs aboard can reel in rewards galore. You know, things like higher ROI, greater customer loyalty, a grand reputation, and oh, yes, increased revenues. Not bad things to have when you’re a brand vying for a foothold in the marketplace. However, you don’t just jump on the Social Media Express. You …

Just what you love to hear. More about the power of mobile. How brand marketers should embrace the platform big time to boost ROI. How users are flocking to the small screen for their product info… Etc. Etc. Etc. But have you heard the one about Google and mobile? It goes something like this – Google plans to use mobile-friendliness …

Hey, all you brand marketers. You don’t really want your marketing strategy to succeed, do you? If it did, you’d have to waste time tallying up those soaring profits. Maybe even hire extra personnel to handle the swell of new orders. And think how much busier you’d be. When could you take those office naps? Relax. Here are some fool-proof …

If you’re running a media campaign, better load up on GIFs – and plenty of them. GIFs, of course, are those easily transmittable image files that seem to be showing up everywhere. And with good reason. These handy images perfectly align with the way in which contemporary folks develop and use media. Simplicity is the essence of GIF appeal. In …

Courtesy, timeliness, and dependability … all major considerations for the average customer service department. But more and more, these goals will be managed in a whole new way. It’s all due to the proliferation of mobile devices. Rise of Hand-Held Customer Service In the long-ago, pre-mobile era, customers seeking assistance had two basic choices: drag oneself down to the local …

You’ve got it. Now what will you do with it? You know, that jittering jumble of Big Data piled high in your secret vaults. Far too many of you brand marketers are stymied when it comes to spinning this raw material into something useful.  It is the rare bird who manages to transform the big loads of Big Data into …

The more, the merrier… a phrase that definitely applies to customers. But why can some brands pull in shoppers by the truckload, while others struggle just to get their attention? A recent ‘Customer Experience Management Survey’ by Econsultancy clears up the mystery. According to the survey, successful marketers thoroughly understand their customers. Apparently, what you don’t know about shoppers definitely …

Our mission was a complete success. We’ve reached the Brand Guru. This person is the wisest of the wise when it comes to customer relationships. Ask the Brand Guru anything pertaining thereto, and you’ll be enlightened beyond measure. We queried the wise one regarding the best way to get customers to commit to a brand. This is what the master …