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Archives for May 2021

Should Associations Spend All of their Advertising Dollars on Facebook?

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In the recent U.S. Elections, Facebook decided to pull the plug on political advertising. During this moratorium, an issue arose when it came to what constitutes as political advertising and what is in fact simply news. News story posts that mentioned politics or issues were being blocked and placed in the same category as paid political advertising when, in fact, they weren’t. This raised the question “Is Facebook a media outlet that can decide what it wants to support and censor or are they the free platform they claim to be?”

Facebook has been called out in the past for archiving promoted news stories that cover politics or issues as political advertising. This brought push back from many journalism and news associations. It also raised the question of how much regulation can Facebook enforce on policy issues and associations it may disagree with. For example, if Facebook supports the Go Green initiative, could it eventually censor ads from associations that may represent things it deems harmful to the environment? This then causes one to ask, should associations put all their advertising assets into Facebook?

While Facebook ads can be a good way to spend association ad dollars, it is good to know your options in case policies change or they decide to censor issues important to your association. Google Ads are a viable option for reaching members and policy allies and allows you to tailor your ads to display to a specific audience or audiences. Some are shifting away from Facebook due to privacy and effectiveness issues. A recent survey by Inc. reported that 32 percent of CEO and senior-level executives surveyed said they are now getting less for their marketing dollars with Facebook than they used to, while 27 percent said they mistrust Facebook’s use of their business data.

With increasing advertising costs, noise, and fear of censorship from Facebook, it could be worth looking into alternate ways to spend your association’s marketing dollars. Putting resources into search engine optimization efforts and content marketing can be very effective means to attracting new members, and as before stated, Google Ads is another option for advertising. This isn’t to say you should completely cut Facebook advertising out of your marketing strategy if it works for your association; but it is always wise not to put all your advertising eggs in one basket.

Need help diversifying your digital strategy for your association? Contact us here.

Content Marketing Case Study: TydenBrooks Security Products Group

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TydenBrooks is the global leader in security seals and custom security solutions. Security seals are tamper-evident mechanisms used to seal cargo in transit in a way that provides tamper evidence and some level of security. These seals can help detect theft or contamination and are used on all forms of cargo shipments including by truck, rail, sea, and air. As a 147-year-old brand and the global leaders in their industry, TydenBrooks was looking to put in place a successful content marketing program that included owning the industry’s thought-leadership space as well as running successful social media, e-mail marketing, and digital ad campaigns. The end goal of this strategy would be to generate leads and increase traffic to the e-commerce website.

TydenBrooks hired Arc 3 Communications to create a content marketing program that would place them as the thought leaders in the industry. Through a combination of content, email marketing, digital ad campaigns, and SEO, Arc 3 was able to build and put into place a successful program that resulted in leads, sales, increased brand awareness and new product launches. The process began with a content audit of TydenBrooks’ existing content efforts. A strategy session was then held with the marketing and sales team to identify goals, audiences, and objectives. From there a content marketing strategic plan was created and put into play.

Content marketing strategy included website content in the form of weekly thought leadership content geared toward their target audience. The topics of these blog posts would vary by month based on vertical focus. Keywords were strategically used in each piece to drive SEO. These blog posts were then uploaded to the website, shared across social media channels. Arc 3 also created and distributed a monthly e-newsletter that ensured customers were informed of new products as well as the latest trends in cargo and supply chain security. These newsletters helped drive leads and increase traffic to the website and social media channels.

Arc 3 set up digital ad campaigns for TydenBrooks through Google Ads and LinkedIn. After conducting intensive keyword research, an extensive SEM campaign was created promoting TydenBrooks products and services. Through a combination of text and display ads that included a retargeting campaign, these campaigns earned the client strong ROI.

Content from weekly blog posts were also utilized as sponsored content geared toward the industry vertical it pertained to using LinkedIn ads. Through LinkedIn, specific industries, or even specific job titles were targeted to make sure the ads get to potential customers who are most likely to click through. These ad campaigns brought in quality leads through newsletter sign-ups.

TydenBrooks now owns the thought-leadership space for their industry, further cementing their place as the global leaders. Its extensive archive of evergreen content that includes blog posts, case studies, and infographics is a resource for everyone in their industry. TydenBrooks content journey has not only resulted in an increase in leads generated and traffic to the website, but ultimately an increase in sales and revenue.

Website Development Case Study: North Carolina Aggregates Association

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The North Carolina Aggregates Association (NCAA) is the leading advocate for the aggregate industry in the state of North Carolina. It is a non-profit, member-driven association that has both producer and associate members. The mission of the NCAA is “promoting the environmentally sound, responsible and economically viable extraction of crushed stone, sand and gravel for use in all types of construction for public benefit and for positive statewide economic development.” North Carolina is one of the largest crushed stone producers in the United States.

The NCAA is a non-profit trade association incorporated in 1964. During the past 60 years, consumption of aggregates per capita has increased from 3.5 metric tons per year to over 10 tons annually. Companies engaged in the production and/or sale of crushed stone, sand and gravel in North Carolina make up the association. Environmental programs in legislation; marketing and public relations; technical specifications, safety and health, air, and water quality; mining and reclamation; transportation and research are all services offered to member companies, specifiers, and users of aggregate products.

With the aggregate industry experiencing renewed optimism,  the NCAA wanted to reflect this by updating their communications with a redesigned website. They wanted the new site to be mobile friendly and present content to their members in a way that made information easy to find while being aesthetically pleasing as well. Arc 3 Communications worked hand in hand with NCAA to create a website that represented their brand and gave them a strong new visual identity. Many features such as a slider of member logos, an interactive calendar of events, easy to navigate menu, and membership sign-up were incorporated to create a successful and informative user experience.

The North Carolina Aggregates Association’s new website resulted in substantial growth in unique visitors and page views to the site. NCAA’s website has provided a new strong visual brand identity for the association that stands out and represents them well. Most importantly, NCAA’s new website has resulted in an increase in member engagement, greater awareness about the aggregate industry among key partners, state legislators, and civic leaders; and more associate membership leads.

How to Tell the Difference Between Real and Fake News Online (Infographic)

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In this day and age of unlimited information at our fingertips, readers need to take time and do a little research to verify the news they are reading and sharing with others is, in fact, real news from a credible source. Below are a few steps you can take to make sure the information you are receiving and sending is reliable and true.

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