Digital Content Marketing blog

Acumen Studio Digital Marketing Agency B2B Marketing Award

October 18, 2016

Our First Award

For the 18 years that I (John Bracamontes) have done work online and in the digital marketing space, not once had I ever submitted work to be recognized as a job well done.
My opinion was that the work spoke for itself, because I drove leads, and leads meant new sales, and new sales meant higher revenue for my clients.

“Why Would I Need An Award To Show Greatness?”

Is how I thought.

I’ve seen over the years other agencies share in the successes of their teams and genuinely promote how great their clients are, which began to soften my perspective on the benefit of awards and recognition for the work outside of its result.

I realized that uniting with a sense of pride on what you do for others, recognizing the value and celebrating together is massively powerful.

So this year, Acumen submitted one entry in the St. Louis Business Marketing Association’s B2B Marketing Excellence Awards.

That night the team was recognized for the work we did (and do), we had fun and celebrated together, celebrated with others and set a precedent for the future of the agency.

No longer will we hide our wins and pride for the value we bring to those who choose to work with us!

And Thanks to Kopytek.com for being such an amazing group to work with!

by John Bracamontes

Regulated Social Media - Finance - NASDAQ

October 13, 2016

B2B Content Marketing, Bank Marketing, Content Marketing, Digital Marketing, Digital Strategy, Financial Services Digital Marketing, Financial Services Social Media, Social Media Marketing

How the Highly Regulated NASDAQ Got Into Social Media

While many highly regulated organizations stay away from Social Media, others are moving ahead with the understanding that telling their story online is a must to drive visibility and growth.

Enter NASDAQ.

What They Did

To gain social proof that their audience wanted to consume their content online, the NASDAQ team started out channel by channel running content that they thought would be of interest to their customers.

As they gained new insight from their customers through behavioral observation and direct feedback they were able to craft a unique experience for each channel and they were able to take the direct feedback to their leadership and improve on already existing business practices.

What Did This Social Media Push Result?

NASDAQ created a thriving social media community around their brand that is actively consuming their content, reading posts, watching videos, commenting and ultimately investing.
They went from virtually no online presence to having over 1,000,000 likes and followers that they communicate and engage with every day.

NASDAQ Social Media Accounts
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NASDAQ/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NASDAQ
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nasdaq/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nasdaq-omx
Snapchat too!

So in a world of regulation, you can still create engaging content and a robust community.

Check out more on social media for regulated industries here: Social Media Strategy for Banks

by John Bracamontes

September 21, 2016

B2B Content Marketing, Content Marketing, Digital Strategy, Social Media Marketing

The Creative Director is No Longer Needed

Not really, a Creative Director will still be needed, just not in the same way it is today.

A recent article on AdAge.com spoke on how most ad & creative agencies are 5 – 10 years behind the current state of marketing’s capabilities. And the Creative Director works as it did back then where they create a few ideas, hand off the ideas and comps, then call it a day.

Guess what? That’s Dead!

Here’s the deal.
Whether creative agencies want to admit it or not, their decisions on what to create are driven by data. They ask the client questions and create something they feel meets the client’s expectations.
We get it, they want to please their client.

Here’s what’s missing, The Customer!

Best case scenario is that the client knows their customer so well that the data they give you is solid. Much of the time it needs to be supplemented with current customer behavioral & search data.
It is important to look at what customers are searching for online and find out where & how they qualify products or services they are looking to buy.
This will inform you on how to engage and what content to create for maximum exposure and conversion.

Back to the Creative Director role

Not only will the Creative Director need 3rd party customer data to inform creative decisions, but they also need to consider more technical aspects of design such as UX and UI as it relates to a customer’s motivations, needs, use of the medium and conversion optimization.

Even more, this Director will need to be aware of how to integrate all 3rd party data into their design process.
For example, variables in ads that are dynamic and will modify based on weather conditions in any given geography. Imagine a Starbucks ad that changes once it starts raining in St. Louis to show someone having fun in the rain with a cool umbrella and holding their favorite venti-sized drink as they smile & splash a small puddle. But it is totally different when it is dry and overly windy.
I’m weeping as a write this at how beautiful this level of personalization is 😉

We are advocates of moving towards a more informed creative process (see our Digital Marketing Audit), do this ourselves and want everyone to follow suit.

Follow the leader (we like it at the front of the pack)!

*Ad Age Article Here: http://adage.com/article/digitalnext/creative-director-role-exist-10-years/305623/