If you are a business owner, you certainly know the importance of website data analytics and how they inform your marketing strategy. Being knowledgeable about the who, when, and where of your target audience is central to the growth of your business. And an integral part of getting the whole picture is understanding dark social and its implications on your business.
Is dark social as ominous as it sounds? Thankfully, no: “dark social” encompasses all the social media activity that traditional website analytics can’t track. Even if you have great traffic on your website and an active content sharing module, there is some traffic that you are not capturing because it is being shared via messenger apps or texts.
Dark social was brought into the spotlight after the launch of Apple’s iOS 14 update, which offers users the option to opt out of data tracking across apps. While many iPhone users were delighted at the prospect of having more privacy, marketers were left with significantly less information about their audience’s demographics.
This shift has made dark social more powerful than ever, in large part because it represents the more personal nature of how content is being shared. Being able to capture this method of content sharing is instrumental for business owners: What specifically sparks your audience to share your content with someone they know? This helps you better understand your audience and what aspects of your content are most engaging.
Despite the popularity of social media apps like Instagram and TikTok, the fact is that that is not how the majority of people share information with one another. In fact, 84% of website sharing now takes place via private channels such as email and instant messaging. All of that traffic is dark social, which means that only 16% of content consumption and sharing takes place in traditional social media settings that are tracked by website analytics. While the efforts being made to track Instagram and TikTok engagement are certainly valuable, they don’t tell the whole story of who is consuming your content.
The largest source of dark social content sharing is messenger apps. Here is a list of the most popular messenger apps, based on the number of users:
Based on this, it would benefit business owners to attempt to tap into this aspect of content sharing and open up new avenues of audience engagement.
Dark social doesn’t have to stay in the dark. There are many ways in which business owners can try to engage this aspect of their target audience.
For more information about dark social and its impact on your website’s traffic, check out this video on Youtube hosted by energyhill CEO and Co-Founder, Dr. Ryan Lowe.
Developing a creative, high-traffic website can be complicated. Instead, relying on design and marketing experts can not only simplify the process but also save you time, money, and effort.
Contact us to learn how our award-winning marketing and design team can help your business grow.
We’re honored to share that our website redesign for Fork Union Military Academy has recently received a Silver w3 Award for Website Redesign and a Marcom Award Honorable Mention in Digital Media Website for an Educational Institute! We’re thrilled to know that our creative design and skills have been recognized by other industry leaders.
As a college prep and military school that has been around for more than 100 years, Fork Union Military Academy has a rich history that we wanted to incorporate into the website.
Our first goal was to clean up and rebuild their sitemap so that users could navigate the site with ease. Next, we created a color palette and custom icons for a brand design that was both bold and refined and matched the school’s incredible legacy.
All of this and more led to a brand new website that shows that Fork Union Military Academy is an elite school with a strong foundation. As a result, they now have a website that is drastically faster, SEO-optimized, and attracts more families.
The w3 Awards are judged by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts and are open to agencies of any size. Each year, the w3 Awards recognize the greatest websites, videos, mobile sites, apps, social media, podcasting, and marketing.
Likewise, the purpose of the Marcom Awards is to recognize and reward outstanding achievements in the marketing and communications fields. Receiving these awards demonstrates our commitment to providing great services to all of our clients in all industries.
Need marketing or design help for your business? Our team is eager to work with you and get your project started! Contact us today to schedule a meeting.
Thanks to the amazing efforts of our creative team, we’re proud to announce that we won a Gold NYX Award in Integrated Marketing and Company Branding for our work on the Rasmussen Periodontics brand design!
Dr. Rick Rasmussen came to us to create a brand and website design that could help Rasmussen Periodontics stand out from both the competition and his family’s practice.
We knew that the best way to do that was by highlighting his technical skills and impressive background as one of the few board-certified periodontists in the Tampa Bay area.
We wanted the brand and website to reflect the high reputation of Dr. Rasmussen and his trusted team of professionals. So we decided on a fresh color palette of different shades of blue, mint green, and white to give the brand a clean and balanced look.
This, along with the use of two different fonts (Red Hat Text and Freight Sans Pro), made the brand and website look beautiful, elegant, and professional.
The final product was a strong brand narrative and design that showed Dr. Rick Rasmussen’s expert skill and experience.
Part of this project involved understanding Dr. Rassmussen's target audience and the flaws of their competitors. In this field of dentistry, many patients are looking for reassurance and knowledge, but most websites are layered with jargon that could easily intimidate potential clients.
This led us to modify our approach to the website by focusing on making information easier to understand and adding custom iconography for complex procedures.
The NYX Awards are a prestigious international award for marketing, communication, advertising, creativity, public relations, and more. We’re proud to know that we were among the list of winners in this year’s selection.
Got an idea for your brand or a website that needs a redesign? We’d love to help! Contact us and let’s get started.
In 2022, our work with Decksouth won two awards: the w3 Gold Award for Website Redesign and the Marcom Gold Award for Digital Media Website for Small Business. We are proud of the work we’ve accomplished on behalf of Decksouth.
Decksouth has built a strong reputation over the years for its high-quality craftsmanship and well-thought-out designs. Not only does Decksouth provide a beautiful outdoor living area, but also delivers excellence and innovation to exceed customer expectations and meet industry standards.
Our website redesign for Decksouth started with research and interviews with team members and clients to build their brand persona and define their target audience. Decksouth wanted their website to look sleek and luxurious, while providing a seamless user experience. We highlighted their projects with large images against a dark theme and big, bold fonts and animations.
The result was a striking website that prioritized their projects but was still lightning fast. With their new look, Decksouth was able to update their print collateral, vehicle wraps, business cards, and signage and continue making waves in the Atlanta market.
Every year, the W3 Awards recognize the best in websites, marketing, video, mobile sites and apps, social media, and podcasts. The w3 Awards are the first competition open to agencies of all sizes and judged by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts. This award demonstrates that our work is of the highest quality and stands out as the best on the internet.
The Marcom Awards honor those who show excellence within marketing and communications, while appreciating the creativity, hard work, and diligence of industry professionals. Since 2004, the Marcom Awards have grown into one of the largest and most prestigious creative competitions in the world.
If you have a brand logo or website design in mind, we can help you bring it to life! Contact us to start your project and take your business to the next level.
Energyhill has once again been recognized for excellence in design for our work with CPF Mortgage. We’re thrilled to receive the Hermes Creative Gold Award for Website Redesign and the NYX Marcom Silver Award for Integrated Marketing and Company Branding.
In 2022, energyhill won nine awards in total, each for different projects across various industries.
CEO Justin Kelly founded CPF Mortgage to provide exceptional home financing services. CPF Mortgage is committed to being a reliable home financing company that people can trust in Florida, Colorado, Georgia, and Tennessee.
Our plan was to provide a brand refresh that solidified their identity and was consistent throughout print and digital content. In addition to creating a new website and detailed social content plan, we crafted targeted marketing campaigns and press releases to announce the new brand launch.
In order to redesign the website, we had to first refresh CPF Mortgage’s visual identity. We began with the company's core values of integrity, trustworthiness, and compassion. Our goal was to remain true to the company while taking their presence to the next level.
We designed a simple, minimalist logo and introduced softer tones of blue and green to elevate their look. Paired with a fiery orange, bold teal, and strong fonts like Effra, this helped the brand stand out among the cookie-cutter appearance of their competitors.
When planning the website and sitemap, it was important to think through how users would navigate a large collection of mortgage-related tools. We wanted to make sure users could easily find what they needed without being bombarded with endless pop-ups. Additionally, thinking about the functionality on mobile devices was integral to our design process.
This isn’t the first time energyhill has been honored with a Hermes Creative Award and NYX Marcom Award. We are so thankful to be recognized among so many talented agencies, businesses, and media groups. We want to thank everyone who worked tirelessly to bring this award home. Your commitment to providing a beautiful product every time is what sets us apart.
Want to take your brand to the next level? Contact us and let’s get started.
In 2022, energyhill won the Marcom Platinum Award in Pro Bono Website Redesign for Legacy Christian Academy. In addition, we’ve also received a Hermes Creative Awards Honorable Mention for Website Redesign.
The annual Marcom Awards celebrate the best in marketing and communication by paying tribute to the dedication, innovation, and charity of those who work in these fields. The Hermes Creative Awards, on the other hand, recognize those who have helped to publicize the digital revolution and its cutting-edge ideas. We’re proud that our project is among the winners selected for this year’s awards.
Legacy Christian Academy (LCA) is a K–12 private Christian school. LCA gives children and teens a safe place to learn, with the goal of helping them grow spiritually.
Our main goal was to improve local SEO and make sure their website worked well on all devices. Their original navigation was cumbersome and confusing, so we started by creating a new sitemap and wireframes for their website. We also added an event calendar on their homepage to help their community stay up-to-date with all their school events.
Our team visited the LCA campus and took drone footage and photos of students and faculty to use throughout the website. It was important to show the culture of the school and how much fun they had while learning. Incorporating doodle iconography and bright colors made the website feel more energetic and lively.
In the end, we were able to provide LCA with a website that was informative, effective in announcing upcoming events and activities, and responsive across all devices. The brand refresh and focus on SEO increased local search traffic and gave them a solid foundation on which to build their visual identity. We also provided post-launch training to ensure that they had everything they needed to continue making updates.
Do you want to elevate your brand to the next level? Contact us and let’s get started.
Why do colors affect the way we feel? There's a reason that people feel more depressed in the winter than they do in the summer: the absence of light. Color theory is constantly used by companies to elicit specific reactions from customers, whether it's excitement, relaxation, hope or happiness. It takes most people 90 seconds to decide whether they'll buy a product, and 90% of that choice is based on color.
Put simply, color theory is the science and the art of mixing colors. Most of us know the terms primary, secondary, and tertiary colors. We've heard of hue, tint, shades, and complimentary colors. But how do we go from this basic knowledge to choosing a legendary color combination that wins over our audience? Generally, these are the emotions evoked by certain colors:
These are the common emotions, but note that not everyone will perceive colors in the same way. Their background, culture, age, and upbringing will all influence the meanings they assign to certain colors. That's why this next point is imperative to choosing the best color palette for your brand.
It always comes back to the people who will buy your product, visit your website, or follow your social account. Always design with them in mind. Before you start throwing together colors, remember who you're designing for and how you can best grab their attention. It might be helpful here to create buyer personas so you can better identify those who might be interested in your product or service. Also, always make sure your color palette aligns with your company's purpose.
Once you have your company's purpose down and your audience defined, it's time to set the mood. Here are some common color combinations that stem from color theory.
Analogous colors are adjacent to each other on the color wheel. The result is a harmonious and natural look.
Complimentary colors are pairs that are directly across from each other on the color wheel. They usually create a strong contrast and grab one's attention.
To choose a triadic color palette, pick a color and draw an equilateral triangle. These combinations tend to feel well-balanced.
Monochromatic colors are very "in" right now. It involves choosing a color, then adding various shades of white and black.
You should definitely know the difference between color, hue, tint, tone, and shade. They're actually a lot simpler than we think.
You're not alone in this; there's inspiration everywhere. Pinterest or Behance are great places to start and see what kind of look you want to go for. You can also use online tools to help develop your color palette. Adobe color wheel is great for extracting colors from an image, or starting a palette from scratch. Color hunt is great for design inspiration, if you want something a little more readily available. Coolors generates color palettes at the touch of a space bar, and Color Supply is a nice traditional method for choosing as well.
Is your brand looking for a breath of fresh air? Check out our services and set up a free consultation to get started.
Another decade of marketing mishaps has come and gone. This past year saw plenty of new campaign tactics, design trends, and brand overhauls, but a few key things managed to stand out. Here are some marketing insights from our founder and president, Ryan.
From celebrity endorsements to fast food squabbles, 2019 saw no limits in the marketing world. While some brands struggled to keep their heads above water, others thrived on PR, both positive and negative.
Celebrity endorsements are nothing new. However, this past decade it became even more crucial to find the right people to represent your brand. Cardi B took on Reebok, Chance the Rapper took on Doritos, Jason Bateman took on Hyundai. Nike's Colin Kaepernick ad was an intentionally controversial PR move that ended up putting the company's name in everyone's mouths even more than usual.
Meanwhile, Popeyes and Chick-Fil-A went at it on Twitter over the title of best chicken sandwich. While an incendiary response from Popeyes could've had negative consequences, it actually worked out for them. It was entertaining to watch the two companies hash it out, and meanwhile, people were lining up at every Popeyes across the nation to see what the hype was all about.
Near the end of the year, a Peloton holiday ad went viral. The ad, which featured a husband gifting his already thin wife a luxury fitness bike, was called out for being presumably privileged and sexist. Even Ryan Reynolds used the company's negative PR to leverage his own company, Aviation Gin, in an ad featuring the same actress. The "Peloton girl" memes continued.
One of the largest transportation companies in the world that doesn't own a single vehicle, Uber, strengthened and diversified their brand this year. They rebranded, developed Uber Eats, and promoted it with celebrity endorsements. The results were nothing but positive. One of the key factors in Uber's success is their ability to research and understand their audience.
This new year and new decade brings with it a new way of understanding marketing. Because people are more focused on authenticity and transparency, companies will really have to nail their values and ethics. Not to mention, we should be seeing a lot more augmented reality and SMS.
Texting has been around for years, but companies are now starting to use it to their advantage. More businesses are going to look to SMS to further push their services, as reminder notifications produce an incredible retention rate. Though the service industry has started to dominate this realm, companies should think of creative ways they can incorporate SMS into their messaging without annoying their customers.
The "place" social networks are essential for a company's credibility. Short-links, reviews, and engagement on both platforms helps boost a business in the customer's eyes. Which place are you most likely to visit: the one with 0 reviews, or the one with some 5-star reviews and some 3-star reviews? Get those reviews, and contribute content (e.g. events, sales) to effectively engage with your audience. These platforms are only expected to grow in the coming years.
This technology still needs time to solidify and really become seamless. As of right now, we sometimes need equipment like headsets or extra devices to use AR. In the next few years, companies will fine-tune the usability and experience of augmented reality, and think of innovative ways to use the technology.
One of our projects at energyhill last year was to create an app for Founding Fathers Fireworks that makes historical figures come alive. Using augmented reality, a user can scan their box of fireworks and hear the legacy of figures like Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. This project is just one example of a creative way to use an existing technology and create a seamless experience for the user.
This year, companies should push to diversify their brand and really polish their messaging. Using tools like SMS, Google My Business, and augmented reality can put your brand a step above the rest. Assure that your website and apps provide the best user experience, as nowadays, you have only seconds to make an impression.
What are your predictions for this new year/decade? Let us know in the comments!
In the ever-changing industry of marketing, it's easy for a brand to get left behind. Staying on top of the latest trends and staying aligned with an audience requires constant self-analysis and research. Take it from the big brands; they're continually morphing their look and messaging to stay current and maximize their reach. But how do you know whether your company needs a complete rebrand, or a brand refresh?
It's important to always keep an eye on the market to determine whether or not it's time for change. However, rebranding is not always necessary. Instead of planning a complete overhaul, sometimes all companies need is a refresh to reflect the ongoing changes in the industry.
A brand refresh involves keeping the bones of your company the same and simply giving the surface a good makeover. Usually when your brand feels like it no longer stands out, it's time to revisit your marketing tactics and find out what's not working. You can also tell by your sales whether or not it's time to refresh. Consider a refresh if:
A refresh can be thought of as a spring cleaning for your brand. Take a look at your messaging, color palette, images, videos, website, and logo. Sometimes all it takes is fine-tuning your slogan and refreshing your marketing materials. Choose a new font, tweak your current logo. Don't worry about revamping your entire image.
Sometimes when you opt for rebranding, you risk doing more harm than good. Pulling off a successful rebrand requires a lot of planning and research. You have to create an entirely new brand "personality" and possibly go into a different market than before. Consider rebranding if:
Rebranding is all about changing the way your audience sees you. In order to do that, you need to really determine what you want to accomplish with your rebranding. Setting a clear goal helps to steer you in the right direction. Examine your competition, but don't copy them. Focus on what makes your company unique and build a new identity based on the core values of your business.
At energyhill, we help businesses find their voice or just freshen up their current one. We understand the changes in the industry and advise the businesses we partner with accordingly. If you are looking to modernize your brand's identity or are looking to start from the ground up all over again, contact us to get the conversation started.
It all started with a Tweet. Suddenly the battle that nobody saw coming was in full swing, and out of nowhere, people were lining up at Popeye’s left and right. This whirlwind has left everyone wondering: how exactly did Popeye’s go from a nondescript fast food joint to a suitable rival for Chick-Fil-A? As usual, the answer is simple: social media.
Similar to Dunkin Donuts and IHOP changing their names, Popeye's chose the viral marketing stunt route. Surprisingly, the debate began with a tweet by Chick-Fil-A, which was quickly and hilariously followed up by a response from Popeye’s marketing executive. This set off a conversation that would go on for weeks. The post was retweeted 87.7K times and received 325K likes. Evidently, Popeye’s came out with the win, with $65 million in marketing revenue in less than a month.
Brands are no longer just companies selling to us. They’ve adopted online personas and can interact with consumers in a way that’s kind of eerie; one voice becomes the spokesperson for an entire franchise made up of millions of people. It’s easy for people to get involved in online conversations with brands, especially fast food joints like Taco Bell, Wendy’s, and Jimmy John’s. They talk the way we talk. They take on approachable, comical, and sarcastic tones that can easily be converted into memes or other reshareable images.
The best thing for brands like Chick-Fil-A and Popeye’s, in this interesting time of social media popularity contests, is to say something unexpected online so that they become the topic of conversation. Obviously, it worked for Popeye’s.
Some companies undervalue the importance of social media engagement. But the effect it can have on a business is huge, if you do it correctly. Almost anything can be brought into the spotlight, with the right voice and brand personality. Here's how you can improve your online presence in 3 ways:
It's important to know what people are talking about so you can engage with them in a way that they can relate to. One of the ways to do this is be consistent. Strike up online conversations with small, medium, and large accounts on a daily basis. Post often, go live, and use all the tools of the app to engage.
Sometimes brands can get out of hand with the things they say online, and this can lead to trouble. Be honest, but not too honest. You want your followers to get the sense that you're being transparent without revealing too much. Maybe it's not relevant for your company to join in on the chicken sandwich wars, but there is something else out there that your brand can have a say in.
Brand personas are a great way to visualize the types of consumers interested in your product. Come up with three or four "types" of people that might buy your product. List their values, personality type, lifestyle, philosophies, fears, goals, etc. This helps you adjust your voice and content to target the right audience.
Although Popeye’s has sold out of their legendary sandwich, Wendy’s has joined in on the debate. There’s no doubt that more brands will start to interact the same way with their rivals and consumers to garner attention and sales.
It’s difficult to predict exactly what will go viral on social media. If it’s not Area 51 memes, it’s chicken sandwiches. You have to really understand your audience in order to achieve the massive success that Popeye’s did, and stay one step ahead of everyone else. And although it does say something somewhat negative about our society’s values, it is a great marketing tactic for companies to try to replicate, if they have the right product.
