Christopher August

Is Your Social Strategy Minty Fresh? You read that right: only 3.5 billion people in the world own a toothbrush while 3.7 billion own smartphones. Whether that’s a testament to dedication to Rihanna’s Instagram in lieu of oral hygiene, or just plain forgetfulness, we don’t know. But we do know that with that many mobile devices out there to reach, you have to ask yourself if your social strategy is really taking advantage of that fact. Your social media use won’t affect your teeth but you can definitely bristle or sparkle depending on how you use it: here’s some other surprising facts you need to know. Please Buy A Toothbrush First!  Facebook and YouTube are the most widely-used apps in America. With 125.7 million and 98.9 million unique users per month respectively, Facebook and YouTube represent the glut of most peoples’ social activity. Video should be part of your social strategy if you can swing it, but Facebook is where most people go. Interestingly, 70% of questions ...

When even the legacy media catches up to current marketing trends, you know that the trend is solid. 60 Minutes’ recent interview featuring Kim Kardashian was actually a referendum on social media marketing and the individual content creators who are driving this new industry of social influencers. Lesser known but just as effective influencers King Bach and Amanda Cerny were also featured on the program. Remember These Guys?  Now Your Dumpster's BFF!  You don’t have to go watch the interview, but what you need to do is catch up to the future of advertising! Let’s take a look at what is replacing the old school TV/radio spot. SOCIAL MEDIA Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are now solid bets if you are looking to create a product buzz. They are no longer ancillary; they should actually be primary in your marketing structure if you are aiming at an audience with an average age less than 40. Keep your ear to the street for new social media, because it ...

If you are a business owner with a website, you have undoubtedly heard of SEO or Search Engine Optimization. You know that it is something that your website needs so that customers can find you online, and that it has something to do with keywords, but beyond that you may be scratching your head and asking, What in the world is SEO? And do I really need it? Let's look at some quick FAQs about SEO that will help shed a little light on this mystery. What is SEO? When someone enters a phrase into a search and hits enter, the search engine, probably Google, gets to work. Search Engines use certain algorithms to determine the order in which to place the sites that relate to that phrase. It isn't random. Very broadly, it is based on relevance, quality of content, how recently it was updated. But Google isn't really reading your website. Instead they are looking for certain things that tell them how relevant, how high quality and how current your content is. What is Go...

Once in a job interview, I remember saying to myself something along the lines of; “If I’m not creating, I’m dying.” So true. And much more eloquent than Andy from 40 Year Old Virgin saying, “If you don’t use it, you lose it.” Shy With His Son, Hayden That’s how creativity works to me, the more you’re allowed to explore your creativity, the stronger and better that creativity becomes. On the other hand, if you are in a cookie-cutter environment that doesn’t truly allow you to push the individual boundaries of your imagination, you may soon learn that you are but a shell of the innovator you were born to be. I personally, feel a resurgence in my artistic vision since joining the team at Christopher August LLC. I’ve worked in media my entire adult life. From the age of 17 I was on the radio, on television or in print in some way shape or form. It was perfect for me, a right-brained guy, who never wanted work to feel like work. I just wanted to do with my career, what I’d love ...

The world changes at a faster pace than ever before, and your business especially need to take note. The ever-expanding world of digital marketing means that people are more likely to find out about you online first, even if you’ve got a brick-and-mortar location in a high-traffic area. If you’re still in analog, here’s some things you need to take note of. More SMB Tips, HERE 1. You are more likely going to take care of customer service on social media. If a customer has a particularly bad experience, they’re unfortunately more likely to take it online than they are to deal with it privately in email, over the phone, or in person. Complaining on the internet has pretty much taken the place of baseball as an all-American pastime. However, you can use this to your advantage by providing stellar customer service and going out of your way to make things right for the customer and people WILL see this. 2. Infographics are hot. Blogging can be an effective way to...

You’ve heard of Gen X, the Baby Boomers, and the Millennial generation, but if you are not marketing to Generation Z, then you are missing easy business. Let’s take a look at who Generation Z is and the kind of business you can expect to do with them. Learn About My Agency, HERE Who is Generation Z? Generation Z is not the Millennial generation — that is Gen Y. Gen Z is defined as those born after 1995, and in many ways, they are the exact opposite of the Millennial generation. Gen Z grew up in chaos, they are more mature than any generation in history at their age, they are looking to work early, they have babies early, and they have incredibly thick skin. How Does Generation Z Buy? “Vertical commerce brands,” or companies that begin online rather than in a physical storefront, is the term that you need to learn. You do not have to necessarily be a vertical commerce brand to sell to Gen Z; you just need to act like one. These are the young people who have no pro...

If you're a Quentin Tarantino fan, you undoubtedly believe that Jules Winnfield is one of the coolest characters ever brought to life. The man took no prisoners! Pulp Fiction was one of the defining forces of the 90s to boot. Consumer behavior happens to be one of the defining forces for not just getting your business noticed, but getting customers in the door and happily buying from you. In the digital age, knowing how consumers behave is critical for getting sales as their behaviors constantly evolve alongside technology. Learn More About My Agency, HERE Here's some ways that tapping into these behaviors is even cooler than Mr. Winnfield asking what Marsellus Wallace looks like. 1) 78% of shoppers don't look at a product in the store before buying it online. This may come as a surprising statistic in an age where online shopping is king, and both large and small businesses are subject to these sieges of customers only checking out the product in the stor...

I was driving to the grocery store this morning to pick up a side dish for one of my best friends 35th birthday party this evening.  It's a long drive from downtown to Broadripple, which is where I was headed, and it got me thinking… Perhaps it was because I kept seeing an  Indiana State University  commercial the night before, or it could have been because I was reminiscing about all the good times my friend and I had growing up, and when we decided to room together our freshman year at ISU. It's hard to say what train of thought led to my trip down memory lane, but it was that moment that started me thinking about how proud I am to be an alumnus of Indiana State University. And I think what I have to say will resonate with a lot of ISU alumni. I guess we’ll see!  When I was attending Indiana State, it was known as the red-headed stepchild of public state schools in Indiana. They had the "not so good" reputation of being where all the kids who wer...

When it comes to building the perfect website to represent a brand across all corners of the Internet, small and medium-sized businesses owners essentially have two core options available to them: Squarespace and WordPress. Both allow almost an unparalleled level of control over website design and creation, but each one brings something unique to the table that is worth exploring. Cost Perhaps the major factor that separates Squarespace from WordPress is also the most important to small businesses in particular — cost. While it’s true that you can get WordPress up and running for free, this doesn’t mean that your site will come at no cost. If you’re not self hosting, you’ll need to pay a hosting company. If you want a custom domain, you’ll need to pay for that. Themes, storage, bandwidth — everything will be purchased piecemeal. Squarespace is definitely more convenient in this regard, as everything is included in one of two website and two commerce packages that you can choose...

The KPIs that you choose will determine how effective your digital agency will be compared to its competition. Here are some of the best behaviors that can give you real insight into how your agency is performing. Total Website Visits The most simple metric is also one of the most important - over time, simple views will give you better trends when it comes to search engine optimization. You will also be able to find problems in your SEO before they cause you to lose out on weeks of visibility. Deep Page Views When your potential customers visit your website, you will achieve more of a connection if those people visit more than one page - your deep web pages with more information about your products. By tracking these pages individually, you can determine the most popular pages on your site. That information may cause you to change your landing pages or reorganize your sales funnel into a more successful order. Time on Website Time spent on the website does not lead d...

You're overwhelmed at the prospect of tackling SEO and digital marketing so you're looking at various marketing agencies. You pop "small business marketing" into your search engine of choice and pore over the results, and pick the most impressive-looking agency you can find that looks like it's well-staffed. Little do you know that you basically just hired Kim Kardashian. GIF CREDIT-GIPHY AND GQ PIC CREDIT: GQ & GIPHY Well, maybe not Kim Kardashian per se..... But chances are that you just hired a salesperson who presented just as much shiny veneer and even hype, but wound up just being all gloss and no substance. Your small business isn't likely to benefit from the general marketing services that they're trying to sell you: those large agencies mostly sell things like directory listings and bare basic social media management. You're fulfillment team is likely out of state and being managed by recent college grads with zero experience...