Four States Small Business Blog

Why You Should Embrace Mobile-First Web Design

Posted by Jason Dittmer on May 23, 2023 at 7:00 AM
A decade ago, many websites were viewed from laptop or desktop computers. But as the smartphone became more popular, web designers began seeing the need for mobile-friendly versions of their websites. Today the transition to a smartphone-dominated internet is complete. The websites Zimmer Marketing hosts receive about 90% mobile visits. That means rather than creating mobile versions of a website designed with desktop users in mind, it is now essential to prioritize smartphone users with mobile-first web design. This week, we'll discuss the best reasons for embracing mobile-first web design. 

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Topics: Website Design

Why Storytelling Is So Powerful in Marketing

Posted by Jeannette Royle on May 16, 2023 at 7:00 AM
In today's fast-paced digital world, businesses constantly search for ways to connect with their target audience and stand out. One powerful way to achieve this is through storytelling. Storytelling has been a fundamental part of human communication since the dawn of time. It is an incredibly effective way to convey a message, create emotional connections, and inspire action. For these reasons, it's also one of the central tenants of the marketing system we recommend here at Zimmer Marketing:   Brandsformation. In this blog, we will explore why storytelling is so important in marketing and how it can be used to help businesses succeed.
 

Storytelling Builds Relationships

Storytelling helps you to create a personal connection with your audience. By sharing stories about your brand, your team, or your customers, you can help your audience to understand who you are, what you stand for, and why they should choose you over your competitors. When you tell a story, you invite your audience to become part of your narrative, see things from your perspective, and empathize with your experiences. This can be a powerful way to build trust and credibility and create an emotional bond with your audience.

Storytelling Answers "Why?"

As humans, we understand our lives in terms of progression and presume that things happen because of the forces of cause and effect. We think in terms of narrative. As a business owner, your marketing success depends on your ability to position your brand in terms of a story. And your story must answer for your potential customers why they should buy your product or services. Vehicle manufacturers do this excellently when they show their products enabling the lives people want to live. Why would you buy this car? Because it will get you where you already know you want to go, to your next ski trip, business deal, or family wedding. The product must make sense in the story you tell.
 

Storytelling Simplifies the Complex

By telling stories, you can help to make complex ideas or products more accessible and relatable. Presenting information in a narrative format can help your audience understand and remember key points more easily. This can be especially useful if your business sells technical or complex products or services. By telling stories illustrating how your products or services have helped real people in real situations, you can help your audience see the value in what you offer.
 

Storytelling Differentiates Your Brand

Creating a compelling story that succinctly describes your business can help to differentiate your brand from your competitors. It can take a lot of work in a crowded marketplace to stand out and capture your audience's attention. By telling unique, memorable, and emotionally resonant stories, you can create a point of difference that sets your brand apart. Whether you are sharing stories about your brand's history, your team's values, or your customers' experiences, the key is to find a way to connect with your audience on a deeper level.

Start Your BrandsFormation

For small, local businesses, there is no more effective way to establish your company as a growing and recognizable local brand than to follow the BrandsFormation system. BrandsFormation has helped dozens of businesses in the Joplin area find their unique and compelling stories and tell them impactfully, staking their claim to growing market share in their industries.

Get in Touch with a Marketing Consultant
 
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Topics: BrandsFormation, Branding

Growing Your Business Online: Answer Customer Questions

Posted by Kylie Davis on May 9, 2023 at 7:00 AM
We've reached part three of our series covering online content strategies to help your business grow. In the past two weeks, we've covered   blogging about projects  and   publishing customer testimonials. Now, we will look at a powerful way to brainstorm and create web content for your business: answering customer questions. Let's look at some practical steps to create content based on the questions of your customers and potential customers.

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Topics: Marketing Strategy, Digital Marketing, E-commerce

Growing Your Business Online: Post Customer Reviews

Posted by Kylie Davis on May 2, 2023 at 7:00 AM
Last week we began a series exploring   content creation strategies to help businesses grow online. Posting blog content on a regular basis accomplishes several simultaneous things: it allows you to compete for strategically important keywords, serves and informs web visitors, and keeps your website active. To continue this series, let's consider why posting customer reviews should be an important part of your online content strategy.

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Topics: E-commerce

Growing Your Business Online: Post About Projects

Posted by Brett James on April 25, 2023 at 7:00 AM
As more and more business is done online daily, building a competitive website is increasingly important. For the next three weeks, we'll examine some excellent content strategies to improve your website for potential customers and move up on the search results page for strategically important keywords. In our first installment, we will talk about the value of posting about completed projects for service businesses.

Businesses That Should Post About Projects

Generally speaking, service businesses such as roofers and landscapers benefit most from posting about completed projects. Here are some types of companies that can and should promote their business by sharing completed project details:
  • Homebuilders
  • Car Detailers
  • Clothing Designers
  • Home Decor Creators
  • HVAC Installers
  • Landscapers
  • Gardeners
  • Roofers
  • Event Venues
  • Caterers
Other types of businesses can also benefit from posting about projects, too. For example, a restaurant may want to post about the creation of a new menu item. Getting creative typically pays off!
 

5 Tips for Creating Project Posts

It can be a challenge to start writing. So let's look at some tips for crafting project completion posts to boost online engagement and search engine optimization. 

1. Get Customer Consent

If you're a service business, such as a car dealer, be sure you have customer permission to use pictures of their property, their name, or any other identifying information. Consider offering incentives to customers who agree to be used in your promotional materials and blog.   

2. Ask for Reviews

High-quality reviews are essential to the success of small businesses, especially online. Project completion posts are much more effective if your customer is willing to write a review for you to include in your blog. Again, consider offering incentives, such as discounts, coupons, or small gifts, to customers that agree to take some time to write a quality review. 

3. Use Multiple Quality Photos

Nearly all smartphones can take quality photos suitable for your website. So, when you're on the job site, take pictures at the start, throughout, and at completion. If possible, avoid taking dark pictures; more light is almost always better.  
 

4. Know Your Keywords

When writing about a project, remember that you're not merely writing for human audiences. Search engines are incredibly important for your business. Know what keywords and phrases your potential customers are using, and write your post to satisfy the search intent of those terms. A great way to start is by finding questions people ask Google and answering them directly in your post.

5. Use Social Media

Social media can be an important tool for drawing traffic to your website. Be sure to post about each new project blog on your social accounts, but make sure it's just a teaser. Consider putting in a short quotation from the post and a single picture, and encourage your followers to see more on your website.

Get Started

You've got everything you need to start creating quality content for your website, and there's no time to lose. Websites that go without regular updates appear defunct to search engines and are unlikely to show up often in search results, so it's important always to be broadening the content on your website. If you can do that and engage the curiosity of web visitors, you're in the sweet spot!

Blogging Services by Zimmer Marketing

You've got a business to run. That's why we offer complete blogging packages at Zimmer Marketing. Our team of experienced web writers can help you create content to lift your website on the search results page and bring in more leads!

Learn More About Zimmer Marketing Web Services
 
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Why Your Business Should Have a Library of Digital Assets

Posted by Danielle McCollum on April 18, 2023 at 7:00 AM
Digital assets are one of the most essential parts of any branding plan. They help you build and reinforce your brand in online and certain offline spaces. Digital assets are also some of the most versatile and easy-to-distribute resources your business can own. Given all that, building a library of digital resources for your brand makes sense. 

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Case Study: Dogwood Hills French Bulldogs Website

Posted by Jeannette Royle on April 11, 2023 at 7:00 AM
Every once in a while, it's good to cover a topic that's more tangible than it is conceptual. So, this week, we'll be doing a case study on one of our favorite websites we created in the last year:   FrenchieBulldog.org for Dogwood Hills French Bulldogs.

Dogwood Hills French Bulldogs Scenario

When we began working with Dogood Hills, they were already running a fantastic, fine-pedigree French Bulldog breeding program. What was the catch? Although they had great referrals and excellent dogs, their online presence was limited to a Facebook page. With no website, their business opportunities, visibility, and e-commerce capabilities needed to be improved.  
 

Unique Web Design and Brand Development

The Zimmer Marketing web design team started by creating an entire Dogwood Hills branding package, with logo creation, brand colors, and open-source web fonts. Afterward, we used these elements to craft a web design that emphasized the beauty of Dogwood Hill's bulldogs and the elegant motif of blooming dogwood trees.  

Transparency & Credibility

Reputation building is essential to the success of any business, and doubly so for those that care for animals. Our website design and content creation emphasized the outstanding standards of care that Dogwood Hills maintains in three areas of the website:

Veterinary Endorsement
Dogwood Hills has a fantastic relationship with Monett Veterinary Hospital, which enthusiastically wrote an endorsement for the website. The veterinary page also features comprehensive information regarding the healthcare the Frenchies at Dogwood Hills receive.

Breeding Program Information
The about page offers detailed information on the Dogwood Hills French Bulldogs breeding program, complete with an explanation of the American Kennel Club registration process that Dogwood Hills utilizes.

Frenchie Owner Testimonials
The new website by Zimmer Marketing features over a dozen long-form testimonials by verified owners of French Bulldogs from Dogwood Hills. 

Puppy Listing System

Each puppy born at Dogwood Hills can quickly be listed on the website with all relevant information, including:
  • AKC Registration
  • Height 
  • Weight
  • Price
  • Parents
Additionally, each puppy has an attached gallery of pictures and a video!
 

Stud Dog Listing System

Every Dogwood Hills prized Frenchie stud has its own featured page. Every puppy it has sired is automatically listed beneath it.

Online Payments

Finally, every modern business website needs e-commerce capabilities.   FrenchieBulldog.org  has online payment portals for credit, debit, and PayPal.
 

Project Completion

We increased Dogwood Hills French Bulldogs' online visibility through unique web design and search-engine-optimized content creation. Additionally, our innovative dog listing solution greatly increases the ease of posting puppies for sale and maintaining accurate breeding records.

Build Your Pet Breeding Business Online

When you're ready to take your pet breeder business online, we're here to help!

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Topics: Website Design, Case Studies, E-commerce, Online Sales

Building Your Brand with Graphic Design

Posted by Danielle McCollum on April 4, 2023 at 7:00 AM
Graphic design is a frequent topic of discussion in businesses everywhere. Most of the time, when people think about graphic design for business, they think of logos. However, while your logo is essential to your business identity, graphic design should be central to your company's brand identity in many other ways. 
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6 Ways to Maintain ADA Compliance on Your Website

Posted by Jason Dittmer on March 28, 2023 at 7:00 AM
As a small business owner, you may be familiar with the   Americans with Disabilities ACT (ADA)  relating to certain aspects of your business, such as wheelchair accessibility. But did you know that the ADA also sets requirements for your website to protect those with disabilities? It's true, and as more business moves online, ensuring your company website complies with all ADA web guidelines is essential. 

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Topics: Website Design, E-commerce

4 Ways to Boost Your Recruitment Marketing Efforts

Posted by Kylie Davis on March 21, 2023 at 7:00 AM
As the nationwide labor shortage continues, attracting and retaining talented employees remains critical to your company's success. Recruitment marketing makes up a larger share of your business strategy than ever. But often, it may seem like your pouring money into recruitment marketing with little success. To combat this, we'll look at some effective ways to improve your recruitment marketing efforts.

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Topics: Recruitment