5 Reasons to Outsource Your Marketing

“Why should I hire you if I can just figure it all out myself?” This is a common question many small business owners ask when they consider outsourcing marketing.

And that’s a great question. This might not apply to EVERY business. But most small businesses that are struggling to juggle everything are going to want to hear this. So here are 5 reasons it’s time for MOST businesses to outsource their marketing.

Business owner feels overwhelmed. He should consider outsourcing his marketing.
Feeling overwhelmed? Maybe it’s time to outsource your marketing!

5 Reasons to Outsource Your Marketing

1. You’re Juggling Too Many Things

When you have to do everything yourself, two things often happen:

  • You can’t perform every task at a high level because you’re too busy trying to do everything, so often you’re unable to give the necessary attention to all aspects of your business; OR
  • You forget about or give up on trying to do everything, so things like marketing fall by the wayside because you don’t have the time to dedicate to it.

If you see yourself in either or both of those situations, you’re not alone. You’re just juggling too many things, like this business owner.

2. You’re Focused on the Short Term

Like all good things in life, marketing takes time. And that time is a commitment you make to really invest in your business. But most business owners are often just trying to get through the next day, the next week, or the next month. And when it comes to marketing, this mindset is doomed to fail. Why? Because you’re focused on just the short term. It’s time to change your focus.

How do you start thinking with a long-term perspective? Since marketing strategies need regular planning and constant attention, you can start seeing results over time. Unfortunately, it is a rare business owner who can dedicate enough time to create a long-term plan specific to marketing.

That’s why many business owners will throw ideas at the wall and hope for the best. But this rarely works, if ever. And that’s why outsourcing your marketing to a team with the time can prepare your business to be successful over the long term.

3. You’re Losing Valuable Time

We often think of most things to purchase in terms of cost. How much is this lunch going to cost me? Am I going to have enough money to spend on my daughter’s dream wedding? How many dollars did your spouse just spend on that boat?! But what about the cost of your time . . . ?

If you’ve noticed a common thread through all these points, is that in most cases, business owners don’t have the luxury of time to dedicate to marketing. Ask yourself what all you could accomplish if you didn’t have to do all or any marketing by yourself.

Or maybe you haven’t spent much time on marketing, but it’s something you wish you had time for. A great marketing plan takes time and effort to create. And we’d love to help you do that!

4. You’re Limited to Only One Person’s Knowledge

Now maybe you or someone on staff has some marketing experience. That’s awesome! But what if you could multiply that knowledge? Together at Paragon Marketing Group, we offer more than 50 years of experience covering every aspect of marketing. Imagine what you could accomplish with so much more knowledge!

Let’s say you don’t have a background in marketing, but you’re considering hiring a person in-house. Now, this isn’t a bad solution, but consider the difference between hiring a full team of marketing experts as opposed to paying a single person a salary.

5. You Could Have So Many More Services at Your Disposal

Outsourcing your marketing truly does come with its perks. Consider all the additional services you could have employed for your business:

  • Email marketing, listings, social media, online advertising, podcasts, direct mail marketing
  • Video production, video marketing, streaming services
  • Web design, web hosting, web maintenance, e-commerce functionality, and SEO
  • Branding materials, advertisements, and presentation design

That’s a lot of services! And you could have all of them at your disposal if you chose to outsource your marketing.

You now have 5 great reasons to consider outsourcing your marketing. 

Now it’s pretty natural to have doubts or uncertainties about moving forward. It’s a big step. So as you have questions, consider talking to a marketing agency that could help take your marketing to the next level, and relieve that pressure you’ve been facing to do everything yourself.

Why Is Social Media Important?

social media head bubbles

Many people have asked the question, “Why is social media important?” But it’s no longer a question of if your business should be using social media, but which social media channels your business should use and why. Let us explain. Approximately 88% of marketers say that social media has helped increase their exposure. Keep reading to find out why implementing social media into your business’ marketing strategy is important and how you can go about it.

Why Is Social Media Important?

Social media is an extremely useful tool because you can reach new and current customers. It’s a way to communicate with them and establish a better relationship with them. It’s a useful tool to post about a sale or promotion, updates about the office, or just promoting a new product! Most social media platforms now give you the ability to livestream or post a story that stays up on your profile for 24 hours which is perfect for if you have a limited-time sale or something quick to share with your audience.

Which Social Channels Should You Use for Your Business?

There are a few different things to take into consideration when picking out which social media platform to use.

1. Identify Your Audience

  • Who is your typical customer?
  • What is the age range of your customers?
  • Are they male or female?
  • What are they interested in outside of your service?

2. Define Your Goals

What do you want social media to bring to the table for your business? Do you just want to engage with your customers, use it as a way to sell your product, or use it as a way to provide customer service? Maybe it’s all three. Make sure you’re clear on what your goals are.

3. Find Your Audience

Once you have your demographic and goals defined, you can choose a platform. Which platforms are best for your demographic? Here are four of the main social media platforms and what their typical demographics are:

Facebook

The main purpose people use Facebook is to build relationships and keep in contact with friends and family. This is why it’s a great place to build relationships with current customers and provide customer service. It also offers Facebook Ads to boost your business and promote it to your targeted demographic.

Instagram

Instagram is the second largest social media after Facebook. Since it’s more visually-based, it’s great for restaurants, retail, and beauty, it relies strictly on photos and videos to communicate. However, if your business doesn’t fall into one of these categories, Instagram can be a great place for you to update your customers on what’s going on around the office, post how-to videos, and you can create engaging graphics to post.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is not only for older audiences like most people think; nearly 60% of LinkedIn users are between the ages of 25-34 years. This platform has a more narrow focus on job searching and networking. This is another great platform to let your connections know about exciting upcoming projects or that new logo you hung up in the conference room over the weekend!

TikTok

Since this platform only started in 2018, using it as a marketing tool is a fairly new concept, but a very exciting one. TikTok is solely based on videos that people create and the sky’s the limit. You can post skits, how-tos, reviews, a “day in the life”, etc. The average age of TikTok users is pretty even across the board with 25% being between the ages of 10-19 and 20% being between the ages of 40-49.

If social media marketing is something you want to tackle and become an expert on for your business, reach out to one of our team members at Paragon Marketing Group today. We’re here to help. (262)443-9092

Grow Your Brand With Your Company Values

A chalkboard displaying the words "mission," "vision," and "core value" to display company values

We’re leaping into the new year with confidence and enthusiasm, and you should too! Owning a business is tough work, and it’s something you should be proud of. The year 2022 is about priding yourself on how far you’ve come and how much farther you’re about to go in the upcoming year! Here at Paragon, we accomplish our work through our five core values: Creativity, Approachability, Character, Accountability, and Faith. What are your business’ morals? Have you incorporated them into your work? We’re hear to help grow your brand with your company values. Check out these ideas to reshape your values into your products and services:

What Are My Company Values?

Company values are a set of beliefs and principles that help you and your employees work together in harmony towards the same goal. These beliefs typically align with customer satisfaction, internal business relationships, or general business operations.

Why Are These Values Important?

We recommend making a concrete list of values can to make it easier for employees to communicate and get things done. If you have your sales team working with your marketing team to assign a project to your graphic design team, a lot of things can get lost in translation. Having the same set of core values enables everyone to complete the project quickly and seamlessly.

Examples of Company Values

Paragon Marketing Group has a set of five core values that we incorporate into all of the work we do. To help you get an idea of what might work well for your business, here are our beliefs and what they mean to us:

  • Creativity. We push past boundaries with fresh and innovative ideas.
  • Approachability. We are respectful and open minded to present ourselves in a welcoming manner.
  • Character. We are ethical, truthful, honest, and dependable in everything we do.
  • Accountability. We responsibly work towards accomplishing our goals and meeting your expectations.
  • Faith. We know our professional paths are directed by God to use our given talents to better those we serve.

How Can Your Values Expand Your Marketing?

Your core values are a great brand marketing tool for your business. Having faith in your beliefs is the strongest tool you can use, because the faith and confidence you have will show through in all the work that your company does.

Your beliefs can help create a sense of community within your company. Creating a sense of community within your business can also help invite customers into that community feel, too. Reassuring your community about the completed work will help your assure your customers and encourage them to purchase your products or services.

If you aren’t quite sure what you want the community within your company to look like, think about what your personal beliefs are. Do you pride yourself on your loyalty, empathy, or your drive? What about all three? Think about your personal brand and what parts of that you want reflected in your business.

If you have your values but aren’t sure where to go with them next, call or message Paragon Marketing Group today. We’re here to help. (262) 443-9092

Personalized Videos For The Holidays

two business owners standing in a green house shooting personalized videos during the holidays for their customers

The holidays are a great time to express gratitude and let the people in your life know that you care about them. Yet this goes beyond friends, family, and your employees . . . you can give thanks to your customers, too! There are many ways to reach out to your customers, but what’s better than doing it through personalized videos?

What Are Personalized Videos?

There are two types of personalized videos that you can make: automated vs individual.

Automated Videos

With automated videos, you record one video and use it as a template to personalize your message. For example, you can switch out the name of the client and include pictures from their visit at the office or an event they attended, etc.

Individualized Videos

An individually personalized video is a video that is catered to each individual viewer. Rather than film one video to send out in a mass email to your customers, you create a script and have props that are relevant to your relationship with that client. A personalized video shows authenticity, and customers will feel valued as a result. You can get as specific as each customer’s product usage, a personalized demo, etc.

Automated video is the way to go if you are looking for something that costs less time and money to create, but individualized videos hold a stronger message and feel more meaningful.

Benefits of Personalized Video

There are so many reasons why creating videos catered to your clients will benefit your business. Here are a few:

  • Encourages engagement
  • Improves customer loyalty and trust
  • Improves brand image
  • Better customer satisfaction
  • Increases email open rate

Why Are Personalized Videos So Important?

It’s important to establish loyalty and trust with your customers. Not only does it build your brand’s reputation and image, but it makes your customers feel more welcome and are therefore more likely to continue using your product and services. This day and age of digital marketing can make us feel a little disconnected at times, and this humanizes your business’ marketing efforts. 

Personalized videos can go far beyond the holidays, too! You can create them for birthdays, a special occasion or launch, etc. If you’re looking to send out individualized videos to your customers this holiday season, Paragon Marketing Group can help! We have the correct tools, resources, and attitude to help you create something wonderful for your clients. (262) 443-9092

5 Ways To Prepare Your Digital Marketing Strategy For 2022

Entrepreneurs standing around a table filled with papers, preparing their digital marketing strategy for the new year

With the holidays coming up, the year 2021 will be over before we know it. Now is a great time to think about your marketing plan for 2022, and if you’re not sure what your next steps should be, we’ve got you covered! Here are 5 ways to prepare your digital marketing strategy for next year.

1. Dust Off That Blog

When was the last time you updated your blog/resources tab on your website? On average, 47% of customers want to read at least three blog posts on your business’ website before they make a purchase. If you haven’t written a new blog in a while, now is a great time to! Especially if you haven’t made a blog post in a couple of years, your business, products, and services have probably changed. It’s a good idea to keep your consumers up-to-date on what you have to offer.

2. Go Mobile

Not only do the majority of people spend time online nowadays, but they spend a lot of time browsing their apps and the internet from their phones. It’s a good idea to make sure your social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn are all up to date. This is also a good time to make your website mobile-friendly for easy shopping and browsing for current and new customers.

3. Up Your Graphic Design Game

The visuals of your business are key to the success of your advertising and marketing efforts. Take some time to think of bold colors and fun images/animations you can create. Our social media feeds are so cluttered nowadays, so using attractive graphics will set you apart from other businesses and pages. You automatically attract more audience members because it’s a lot more appealing to read from a picture or graphic than it is from a text paragraph.

4. Optimize for Voice Search

It’s projected that by 2022, 55% of households will have smart speakers. The good news is, optimizing your website for voice search is easy. The first step is to alter the keywords on your site to things that people would say versus type. For example, instead of saying, “how to make fried chicken,” people are more likely to say something like, “how do I make fried chicken?” These are small, simple changes that can go a long way.

5. Get Creative

Now is the time to think outside of the box. You can get creative in a number of different ways, like changing up the tone and style of your business. Maybe you want to try a more colorful and casual approach with your customers. Or you could communicate with them on a different platform like TikTok or Twitter. You can also reach out to current customers and ask what they want to see from you. Asking for their feedback is a great way to let them know you care about what they have to say!

Get ahead of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and call the experts at Paragon Marketing Group today! You don’t need to stress when the near year comes around. We can help with all your marketing needs so you can start planning out your digital marketing strategy right away.

Professional Design: Keep It Consistent

marketing

Fall is the season of change, so what better time than now to change up your business’ graphic design strategy? There are a lot of bases to cover when it comes to professional graphic design. This includes colors and patterns, logo design, digital ad graphics, brochure layout, and much more.

Professional Design Offerings

Our graphic design team at Paragon Marketing Group has the resources you need to create a new strategy. Keep reading to find out what services we offer and how they can be beneficial to you!

Branding

It can be difficult to create or find a new image for your company. We want to showcase your business’s story through your logo, color scheme, and overall aesthetic of your online presence. Our trained staff has extensive knowledge on professional design tools like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign to create exactly what you’re looking for. If you need some more guidance on rebranding, check out our blog on the importance of professional graphic design before taking the next step.

Advertisements

And we’re not just talking about social media ads. When you think about it, everything your business does is a sort of advertisement. This is why it’s important to design a logo and pick a font and color scheme throughout all your marketing. When your customers see your posts online or brochures at local events, you’re creating consistency in your advertising, which shows professionalism.

Remember that advertising isn’t only online. Here at Paragon, we can help you create posters, mailers, postcards, newspaper ads, and more. If you host any in-person event, your venue probably has a banner, t-shirts, or cup koozies with your company’s logo. It’s okay if you don’t know what would work best for your company’s logo. We can work with you to find the perfect design and colors.

Presentation Design

Do you have an important presentation for a livestream, pitch, or meeting that you need to create? It can become overwhelming to create a PowerPoint that follows the style of your business. It may be the last thing on your to-do list, which is why we’ve got you covered with Keynote and PowerPoint design.

With an important speech or gathering, having creative assets to assist your presentation can really take your business to the next level. Providing handouts and flyers to your audience can help seal the deal by allowing them to follow along with your presentation and get a closer look at your products and services.

We want you to do your job to the best of your ability. Why? So we can help you by doing our job to the best of our abilities! It’s okay if you’re completely new to the world of graphic design or if you come to us with a notebook full of ideas. Our team can help you out at any stage in the creative process, and we won’t stop until your expectations are exceeded. Call us at (262) 443-9092 or email us at [email protected] for more information.

4 End Of Summer Marketing Ideas

End Of Summer marketing tips.

Summer is winding down, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing! There’s football, pumpkin spice lattes, and cozying up during chilly nights to look forward to – but not so fast. Sometimes the end of season can make you run out of marketing ideas . . .

End of Summer Marketing Ideas

Soak up these last few weeks of warm weather and the opportunity to boost your sales. Here are four fun end-of-summer marketing ideas:

1. Celebrate Fun and Unique Holidays

Between the Fourth of July and Halloween, there aren’t really a whole lot of things to celebrate – or so we thought. There are so many fun and quirky holidays your business can use to market your products and services! In the month of September, there’s National Swap Ideas Day, National Day of Encouragement, National Double Cheeseburger Day, and so much more. Check out a master calendar of all unique holidays and figure out how to incorporate them into an upcoming blog post and social media advertisement.

2. Host an Event

Did someone say barbeque? Make the farewell to the summer season a fun one by hosting a barbeque. This is a great way to connect with current clients and bring in some potential new ones. This is also a great way to market your business. Hang up banners, use cups, or wear hats and shirts with your business’ logo on it.

3. Market with the Weather

Is the weather hot, hot, hot? Why not give your customers an equally hot, hot, hot deal? If the temperature rises over a certain temperature, offer a discount on one of your services, or offer discounted beverages like iced tea or lemonade.

On the flip side, people are expecting hot deals… but what about cold sales? The obvious is to use the season to promote your products, so get ahead of what everyone else is doing and start advertising for something cool happening in the winter months. This not only helps you stand apart from your competitors, but it also gets your customers excited about what’s to come!

4. Try Out a New Style

Spring cleaning is out, Fall rebrand is in! This is a time when people transition into different schedules with school, work, and extracurricular activities. Why not switch up your business’ routine? Try out some new ideas, like starting up a podcast, cleaning up your website, or upgrading your logo. If you’re not sure how to design your website or where to start with graphic design, check out our blog page.

Turn the end of summer into something to celebrate! If starting a podcast or upgrading your video production sounds like the perfect way to ring in the fall season, give Paragon Marketing Group a call. We have the marketing ideas, resources, and proactive mindset to get you started. (262) 443-9092

Collaborate With Your Community

Time to Collaborate

Are you looking to grow your business’ network and increase your revenue? Of course, who isn’t? Even if you’re just looking for a way to switch up your advertising technique, we have the solution for you; collaborate with your community. Collaborating with other local businesses is a great way to combine and strengthen your skills while involving the community.

4 Reasons To Collaborate with Your Community

Collaborating with your community will . . .

1. Grow Your Network

By collaborating, you are opening up new connections to another small business within your shared community. You create new contacts for you and your employers to form successful and useful alliances. By hosting an event or seminar with them, you also gain access to their consumers and customers.

2. Save Money

Depending on what kind of partnership you’re partaking in, both companies can be splitting time and effort into production, including expenses. These expenses can vary from marketing and advertising expenses to a physical table at a local farmers market or other locations. Collaboration is a great marketing tool for your business because you can get a bigger bang for your buck by expanding your advertising to a wider audience for a lesser expense and use of resources.

3. Spark Creativity

It can be easy to get stuck in a rut. We get used to our day-to-day routine and forget to research new ways to boost our businesses online. What’s a better way to switch it up than working with a set of fresh, new eyes? Collaborating on any sort of project invites both parties to invite the skills they already have and combine them with new ones to create an entirely different marketing plan.

4. Create Connections within Your Community

Putting financial and marketing benefits aside, having the chance to talk to the people in your community is a win-win for both businesses! There are so many ways you can get involved with your community like hosting a seminar, sponsoring something fun like a bar crawl, or just a simple networking event at a local coffee shop. If hosting something in person isn’t quite your speed, you can also hold an online webinar or workshop! Any way you can work with customers in a social and exciting way, is sure to be a success.

The sky’s the limit with what you can do to collaborate with local businesses. Summer is the perfect time to host an event to get your brand out there! If you aren’t sure how to plan an event or advertise for it, the people at Paragon Marketing Group are here to help. Call or message us today (262)443-9092

4 Ways Event Hosting Can Benefit Your Business

Event marketing.

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and doors are opening! If the last year and a half has taught us anything, it’s to appreciate quality time with those who matter. That’s why now is a great time for event hosting. It will not only benefit your business, but also bring enjoyment to your customers. The best part is, you don’t need to have a huge marketing budget to plan the occasion.

How Will Your Business Benefit from Event Hosting?

Here are 4 reasons event hosting can benefit your business today:

1. Provides Opportunity for Customer Interaction

According to a Salesforce Research study, 89% of consumers are more likely to make another purchase after having a positive customer service experience. Think about it, are you more likely to purchase from a company with whom you have a personal relationship? Or from a company that didn’t make an effort to connect with you at all? When you establish that connection with consumers, you have the opportunity to create future marketing campaigns they’ll want to attend.

By hosting in-person events, you have a wonderful opportunity to get to know your customers on a personal level with face-to-face interactions. The event doesn’t always have to be extreme and out of the box. It could be a coffee and donuts, a table at your farmer’s market, or an event with pizza and beer.

2. Builds Brand Awareness

Face-to-face interactions help boost your customer retention rate which can help with your brand awareness. Regardless of the event type, ensure your business’s logo, brand colors, and apparel are visible and accessible. By plastering your logo on a banner for the occasion, your customers become comfortable and familiar with your brand. Don’t be afraid to bring pens, tote bags, stickers, or whatever else has your company logo to give to consumers.

3. Generates Publicity And Leads

Hosting in-person events can help attract people outside of your customer base which can help you gain sales leads. Regardless of how big or small your business is, it’s important to always promote your products and services. Local newspapers, coffee shops, and radio stations are typically willing and happy to work with you to promote your event, especially if it brings traffic to these resources and places. Don’t be afraid to write a press release and send it to your selected contacts prior to the event.

4. Increases Your Revenue

Of course, ticket purchases for attending the event provides immediate cash flow, but there are other ways hosting an event can increase your revenue. By creating a space to connect with new and current customers, you have a great opportunity for people to purchase your products and services. If they do not purchase anything at the event itself, you at least created a connection to allow them to return to your business when your services are needed.

Regardless of how big or small your event is, bringing your customers and employees together in a social setting is a great way to build relationships and boost your business’ SEO. If you have an event in mind but aren’t sure how to promote it, call or message Paragon Marketing Group today! (262)443-9092

5 Video Marketing Strategies For 2021

video marketing 2021

What’s on your new year’s resolutions list? Eating healthy, staying active, and traveling of course. What about upping your video content game? 2021 is the year of fun, trying new things, and being adaptable! We’ve created a list of video marketing strategies your business should be incorporating into your marketing plan this year.

Video Marketing Strategies

What type of video content could up your marketing for 2021? Check out these 5 video marketing strategies:

1. Casual, Laidback Content

Yes, you read that right. In light of COVID-19, big video production has been put on hold. Throughout the year, we’ve seen companies create advertisements and videos from compiled home videos of their employees and customers and we don’t see this leaving us any time soon. Above anything else, people prefer authentic content. That means snippets of live streams and selfie videos from your iPhone can be used and reused on your social accounts! While they may be lower quality, they invite personality to your business and your clients can have a better understanding for your company’s message and morals.

2. Live-Streaming

You can also thank COVID for this one. Did you know that the online live streaming industry has grown 99% between April 2019 and April 2020? Live streaming has become increasingly more popular for many reasons. It’s a way for businesses to directly interact with their customers and people love it because they can watch video content with advertisements or commercials. According to Livestream, 82% of people prefer live video from a brand over standard social media posts and 80% of people prefer live streaming over reading a blog from a brand.

3. Super Short Videos

We’re talking 5-10 seconds short. We all know and love the “Skip Ad” option on Facebook and Youtube videos. Creating an advertisement that people can watch before being able to skip the ad ensures that your content is being seen.

4. Long Video

To the same degree, consumers are increasingly enjoying longer content. Perhaps it’s due to COVID and freed up time on people’s hands, people are getting more used to watching longer content. A recent study found that videos longer than 15 minutes account for 50% of all video engagement but only 8% of content. This means you can produce fewer, longer videos for better results. The key to success is to make the video exciting and engaging.

5. 360 Video and AR Content

360 video is a powerful tool to allow your audience to be more interactive with your content. This type of video is becoming more popular even for regular, every day people to use. AR content is being used by big businesses and smaller companies are slowly catching on. IKEA, for example, allows you to place their products into your living spaces to see it for their intended use.

With these video marketing strategies, your business is sure to capture the attention of new and current customers. Paragon Marketing Group is no stranger to any of these types of videography and are eager to help you launch into the new year! Call or message us today (262)443-9092