Intern Spotlight: Joshua Richardson

*Written by Joshua Richardson

Since my first day at Media Link, I only had my background in Sociology to add to the team. I was not familiar with marketing; I knew what it looked like, a few tricks that would work for influencers, but I knew nothing about how to make it as a business. I honestly did not have much to add to the team aside from my understanding from the individual versus the market. Marketing felt like a foreign language to me when I first came into the office, now it feels like something I should have been speaking my entire life.

Now, I have gotten the chance to expand what I know and what I can do with my major in the real world. I even had the chance to expand my understanding of small businesses and how they can all connect in a single city for an agency versus a corporation. I want to acknowledge the great opportunity they still gave me, even while a pandemic was ravaging the planet. That taught me a valuable lesson in organization and crunch time.  When I finally was able to return, we had plenty of work to do since the pandemic started. This taught me to stay cool under pressure and look to my senior staff for guidance. It also taught me to always ask questions. I am only twenty years old, so there is no way I have all the answers. Plus, the people in my office all come from different backgrounds and may have different strategies that can work in situations where I was stumped. Getting to work through this has also shown me what it can look like for an agency when the rest of the economy has fallen into a deep recession and how it can affect small town living and business. I believe this experience has helped me develop genuinely as an adult, but it also was a great chance to improve my skill set in terms of marketing, organizing, and branding for businesses and individuals.

I am excited to see what my work will look like a year from now with the skills I have gotten since working here at Media Link. I am planning to use the experience I received here in marketing to move in a direction towards talent acquisition. It might seem strange to go this direction with direct contracts with hiring staff for temporary jobs or full-time jobs, but the purpose of this strategy is to achieve my end goal of being a Producer.  When I say I want to produce, I mean I want to be that chance for someone to put their creative vision out in the world. I hope when I am working for myself, I can produce Video/Film for Music artists, Movie/Film writers, and market individual clients or groups creative such as graphic designers, animators, and painters. The recruiting background will help me find staff or temporary workers for whatever I need to produce, such as camera operators for films and mixers for musicians. I have already dived headfirst into learning as much as I can about the area of Film and Media during quarantine and I have even added a minor to help me learn at my college before I graduate. One day I dream that I can own my own studio, so I can do all of these things in one place. I would then take my team to some of the worst-off places in the States to give those kids an opportunity to be successful.

I recommend future interns pay close attention to smaller businesses, because a lot is happening and you will have an opportunity to prove yourself in many ways. Do not be afraid to make mistakes, even if this is your first internship. This is how you get better at your job. Finally, ask questions. Everyone in the office is here to make you a better advertiser for the future. Do not be afraid to use the resources and people that are here for you to learn.

Posted on: by Media Link

2021 Digital Marketing Predictions

2020 has provided a variety of new digital marketing options like the Spotify, Pandora and Hulu self-serve platforms finally making digital radio and OTT accessible for small and middle-sized businesses. Let’s have a look at a couple of 2021 digital marketing predictions.

 

Chat Bots

Chat bots already exist, but advances in artificial intelligence and natural language processing will tremendously improve their responsiveness. Most chat bots in the past relied on a limited amount of options to select, but the next generation will be able to come up with more sophisticated responses, including better product recommendations, e-commerce transaction support and troubleshooting. They are ideal for businesses focusing on solving customer requests online instead of relying on call centers. Mastercard has successfully implemented this element and others will follow this path in 2021.

 

Video Content

Video content will be quasi-mandatory for customer-facing businesses. While it was a desirable addition in the past, ImpactBND reminds us that:

  • At least 70% of consumers have shared a brand’s video.
  • More than 50% of consumers claim that watching product videos guides their online purchasing decisions.
  • 72% of businesses believe video content has improved their conversion rates.

Live streaming especially provides an opportunity for businesses not familiar with professional video production to produce valuable content.

 

Interactive Content

Marketers already familiar with creating effective video content need to focus on interactive content. There is something for all sorts of businesses:

  • Calculators and configurators
  • Quizzes, polls, games and surveys
  • Multi-touch photos and videos
  • Interactive e-books
  • Interactive infographics and data visualizations
  • Virtual reality and augmented reality overlays

A common example are interactive maps showing election results or the development of COVID-19 cases.

There is so much more to consider for 2021, so check out sources like AdWeek, the Content Marketing Institute and the AMA to get ready.

Posted on: by Media Link

What is Reach?

It is rare for an advertising plan to only include a single order, or even several orders all of the same media type. Media Link places a high priority on evaluating a wide spread of options for our clients, so we can offer them more savings. One of the most important (but far from only) metrics we use to evaluate these options is called reach. In this article, we will cover some of the basics of just what this term means and why it is useful in analyzing a campaign.

Reach represents the group of people who have been, or are projected to be, exposed to an advertising campaign. It may be expressed as a raw number (ex: 176,000 people) or as a percentage (ex: 40% reach). Reach is distinct from another valuable metric called Gross Impressions, because each person can be reached multiple times.

Reach statistics exist in context. No advertising campaign has ever been directed at everyone, everywhere. Therefore, reach for businesses reflects information about only those people who would be the most likely to purchase their product or service. This group of people are often referred to as the target audience.  This target audience can include an age range, gender, geographic and psychographic characteristics.

It is more common to see reach reflected as a percentage with traditional media (i.e. radio, television, publications, outdoor). The reach is calculated based on the rating or the percentage of people experiencing an ad at a given time. We will go deeper into the specifics of the math in a future blog.

In the digital space it is more common to see reach reported as a number, because it is calculated within an environment where nothing can be done until after targeting has been established.

Why do we care?

Reach can be translated across different media types.  Media Link usually combines reach with a percentage. We believe this metric offers a clearer picture of progress toward our goals.  Reach does an excellent job of telling us how close we are toward building awareness of our message for a particular campaign.

However, if everyone were to see something only once it would not be effective at generating recall. This is why we must find a balance between reach and frequency. In our next blog, we will discuss what is frequency and how it is a useful tool when combined with reach for evaluating advertising budgets.

 

Posted on: by Media Link

Remote is not Regression: Leading in a Remote Environment

About the Guest Author

Dr. Burl Randolph, Jr., DM, is connecting remotely daily at MyWingman, LLC, a Business Leadership and Management Consulting company in Davenport, Iowa that serves the Quad Cities and the Nation.  Dr. Burl is also the author of the Best Selling Book, “Inspired, Not Retired: Leadership Lessons from Father to Son” and coauthor of “Can God Trust You with Trouble?”

 

Sometimes doing what we do may feel like regression.

 

As professionals, we are all accustomed to certain things like the corner office, big desks and nice computers with plenty of space to do our work.  Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many are forced to work at home, which is a dramatic change.  This concept of Remote Work or Working Remotely may feel like a regression in what you or your organization have accomplished.  This is only true if you allow it and at this point, I will diverge from my normal self and use a cliché’:

 

But leadership makes the difference.    

 

In this Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous (VUCA) environment, leadership is the glue that holds the organization together. Leading remotely is almost routine when your organization is spread across several states and square miles, the situation requires it, and you operate regionally, nationally, or globally.  Even in those environments, leaders must establish certain parameters to help spur success in the organization.

 

1. Establish Routine Connections.

Most people are creatures of habit (routine) and interaction (connections).  When working remotely, establishing routine connections is vital to the health of the organization and its members. People need to hear from their boss, coworkers and stakeholders as routinely as they did when business occurred in-person. So, what meetings, phone calls, events and motivational moments can you continue while working remotely?

 

2. Develop Stability.

When situations are the most uncertain is when stability is required the most. Routines and connections are two parts of that. Updates about all facets of the work environment are also key, so that people feel like they are informed.  This may include updates from human resources (HR), business development (BD), operations (OPS), and logistics and supply, just to name a few. A good one for HR is also Recruiting and Retention.  Are we still hiring or are people leaving in droves? For BD, are we gaining new clients or are we struggling to keep who we already have now?  Informed people work much better and have a higher commitment than organizations that keep people in the dark. How are you developing stability in your organization?

 

3. Inspire Accountability.

Accountability is a good thing, although it has been cast as a fiendish tool used by management to keep tabs on people.  One accountability measure that establishes routine connections and stability is having a Battle Buddy or Wingman/woman. Working remotely does not allow us to just walk over to someone’s desk and say, “Can you check this for me?” so, find a Battle Buddy to bounce things off each other. You become each other’s editor, muse, sounding board and backup. You hold each other accountable. Who is your Battle Buddy at work?  Who has your back? Who keeps you straight? Are they doing that right now?

 

4. Empower Communication, Collaboration and Innovation.

I have witnessed many innovative ways to help others during this pandemic. Can you use that same type of innovative spirit in your business? Empower everyone to communicate freely, collaborate openly and innovate without fear of repercussions. What can be done in your business that has never been done before? Who has a skill that was unknown until now? Who works well together and has formed a High Performing Team?

 

5. Value the Impact of Connectedness.

Do not miss the boat on this one. As much as you may dislike Zoom, Skype, Google Go-To-Meetings, Microsoft Teams or the literally hundreds of other video teleconference (VTC) platforms, the connectedness they allow provides great value. In the prime of my CEO tenure, VTCs were reserved for the elite or those in trouble, so I only had the phone. Now, being able to see a coworker, boss, family member or friend can make a huge difference. Even when you meet wearing a mask and being socially distanced, it has a wonderful impact on morale and well-being. Do you value connectedness? Are you creating connection opportunities both professionally and personally?

 

How will you continue leading during this Remote Work Environment, so that it does not feel like regression is occurring in your organization?

 

Posted on: by Media Link

Media Link Software®, Made in Rock Island, Illinois

We invented and developed Media Link Software®, a patented media buying software system, and we have been using this system for 10 years now.  We market this product nationally to other advertising agencies and corporate media buyers which over time has made us a consultant to other marketing professionals.

According to Nielsen Media Research, our web-based software marks the first time an advertising firm created a user-designed platform for media buying.  Media Link Software® represents a cutting-edge change from the systems now leading the market and incorporates Nielsen TV and Radio subscriptions to more accurately project ratings and provide a more thorough and easier negotiation process.

Our technology is based on a process developed by our founder, Natalie Linville-Mass, who makes a science out of media-buying by removing much of the guess work. This platform allows you to compare different types of media options side by side and gives you a more thorough look at all the proposals in front of you for a given campaign. Media Link Software’s® ease-of-use and web-based functionality simplifies the process of tracking complex flights of media in multiple markets.  It is vital to buy the right mix of media to achieve your overall goals of reach, frequency, cost per point/cost per thousand, etc.

Complicated campaigns can also be cumbersome to track.  If this part of the process is not done properly, the result is a chance of missing commercials which did not run where you ordered them to run.  So, our system automates the process of planning, tracking and follow–through on media buys and makes post-buy analysis possible for all clients, regardless of their size.  This means significant savings to our clients and the assurance you will get exactly what you order.

Learn more about Media Link Software® here.


Posted on: by Media Link

Marketing in Times of COVID-19

Organizations like the American Marketing Association and the ANA provide a range of useful articles on navigating your marketing efforts around COVID-19. Here are three of our favorites:

 

The New Reality: A Guide to Marketing in a Post-COVID-19 World

This guide can be downloaded and shared as a pdf. It focuses on new consumer habits and expectations, including a growing demand for experiential and agile marketing, a higher reliance on virtual influencers, and society’s new focus on brand’s sustainability efforts. Another article, The Big Shift: A Prediction of What’s to Come Post-Pandemic, complements this content.

 

Allow Adaptation to Fuel Creativity Amid Isolation

Struggling with being creative when being refined at home is a common issue. The article suggests remedies like dividing your work into windows or 30-minutes to allow time for interruptions like helping your child with an assignment. Re-adjusting the approach to brainstorming with colleagues by limiting participants and trying out innovative work processes is another way to keep your creative juices flowing and to stay productive. The article Lead with Creativity, Not with Capital explains why remaining creative truly matters.

 

5 Steps to Pivot from In-Person to Virtual Events Today

This article provides an easy-to-follow approach to evaluating your physical events and deciding on whether to provide them virtually. They encourage a steering committee to analyze available resources and infrastructure to identify gaps. The final virtual events must provide a unique value to easily assess through appropriate virtual channels like life videos, blogs, audio files, PPT slides, etc. Similar considerations should be made in the area of healthcare marketing.

 

As always, please reach out to us with any questions and comments.

Posted on: by Media Link

Congratulations Adrian!!

We are proud to announce our own, Adrian Vander Wille, has received his second master’s degree from the University of Oregon this past month.  This second Master’s degree is in Sustainable Business Practices .

So, what is an MBA in Sustainable Business Practices you ask?? We are excited to have Adrian help fill us in on this exciting adventure he underwent over these past two years.

Adrian says, “I had already received an MA in Economic Development and International Studies and a BA in Economics, Business, and Middle Eastern Studies. These interdisciplinary programs play towards my passion for economic development and how businesses operate in a variety of institutional environments around the globe.

So, it came to no surprise for me to find there is no all-size-fits-all approach. I realized long-term economic development requires both a quantitative and qualitative approach which needs to be adjusted over time. The same applies to businesses of all sorts.

As many young economics graduates, I appreciate the University’s focus on behavioral economics and interdisciplinary studies. Some majors primarily focus on the environmental and social impacts. It made sense to embed my passions in the broader framework of sustainability.

Broadly speaking, the term sustainability means meeting our own needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It turns out to be a surprisingly complex concept when applying it to businesses which is why I encourage you to check out Bob Willard’s resources at https://sustainabilityadvantage.com/.

Sustainability means innovation since it requires changes to business models and how global economies and societies operate. I took classes like Clean Energy Finance, Greening Sports and Events, Industrial Economy, Supply Chain Management, and Strategic Cost Management. I had the opportunity to take a trip to Asia trip and  tour businesses in Thailand, Vietnam, and China committed to creating a better world.  We were able to discuss their successes and struggles. We also met with a number of business leaders and toured headquarters like Nike, Columbia Sportswear, and Tillamook.

My MBA projects included creating a feasibility study for LO3 Energy leadership to assess the viability of entering the German market with the intent to decentralize the energy market with a unique software enabling owners of photovoltaic installations to sell their excess energy to community members supporting renewable energy. In another project, I worked with the Portland Trailblazers to create a marketing plan to promote their efforts to reduce scope 3 emissions.  I also had an opportunity to work with Orchid Health, a rural health clinic, to develop a marketing plan to increase awareness and improve their brand equity.

This focus fits perfectly to the current Zeitgeist and my years of experience marketing products and services. I help clients conduct their business in a sustainable manner considering emerging demands for economic and environmental justice, as well as associated issues like greenwashing. I make sure corporate communications reflects their efforts in an authentic manner making them believable and appealing to consumers.

The goal is to align social, economic, and environmental matters through a truly sustainable business strategy and corporate vision. In times of uncertainty and division, sustainable business practices are not a cost center anymore. They become the key to guaranteeing a firm’s long-term success.”

We are excited to incorporate Adrian’s experience into what we do for our customers at Media Link.  We know in this field of media and advertising, there is always more to learn and explore.  Our field continues to evolve and reflect the changes within our society.  Please reach out to Adrian (adrian@medialinkinc.com) and congratulate him when you get a chance.  This was an incredible undertaking and we are so happy he had this opportunity to build onto his already impressive portfolio.

Posted on: by Media Link

Digital Radio Advertising

Demand for digital radio services has been growing for years and many advertisers discovered this medium as a valid alternative to terrestrial radio campaigns. The big players in the market are Apple Music, iHeart Media, Pandora, and Spotify. You can directly negotiate a schedule with respective advertising representatives.  However, there are now two self-serve platforms available and we want to make sure you are familiar with their features as well.

Pandora

Pandora just recently introduced their self-serve platform via AudioGo. The minimum campaign budget is $250 and you can set the flight by determining a start and an end date. Commercials may be up to 30 seconds long and you can upload three different sizes of display ads that appear when your commercial plays: 300×250, 300×600, 500×500. They all link to a website of your choice.

You can target by gender and ZIP codes. Pandora uses similar age categories as Google Ads: 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, and 65+. You can also make sure commercials only run within specific music genres. In addition to the traditional genres, Pandora offers a couple of unique genres not provided by Spotify:

  • Christmas Music
  • Controversial
  • Schlager
  • Top40/Hits – Pop
  • World

Spotify

Spotify’s self-serve platform is intuitive and easy to use. Like Pandora, the minimum budget is $250 per campaign and you can set the flight by determining a start and an end date. Commercials can be up to 30 seconds long and can upload one 640×640 display ad linking to your website. ZIP code targeting is available as well.

Spotify has a couple of advantages over Pandora. First, Spotify produces your commercial without any charge. You submit your copy, select a voice (i.e. male/female, age, English accent, language), select/upload your background music and then Spotify will create the commercial for you to review. You will still have a chance to request changes, so there is no commitment associated with this feature.

Second, Spotify offers additional campaign features to promote artists like serving commercials to fans of certain musicians. Another feature focuses on announcing new shows or merchandise sales.

Third, Spotify offers unique targeting abilities.  These unique targeting opportunities include; targeting usual genres, certain interests of listeners determined by listener behavior and real-time context by focusing on playlists used for commuting, celebrating, studying and more. You will not be able to combine different targeting strategies, but you can target specific age ranges starting at the age of 13.  You can also select specific platforms (desktop, iOS, Android). Both platforms allow smaller businesses to access the marketplace for digital radio advertising after high minimum budget commitments have created barriers in the past. Please contact Adrian at adrian@medialinkinc.com if you would like to learn more about digital radio advertising.

Posted on: by Media Link

Promoting Your Business During COVID-19

Our Senior Marketing Consultant, Adrian Vander Wille, participated in a Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce webinar series for small business owners. His presentation “Promoting Your Business During COVID-19” introduced a 5-step process for business owners to act immediately without any cost. You can watch and share the webinar recording on YouTube. Here is a brief summary:

Step 1 – Assessment

Take a step back and assess your situation. What are your main challenges? Who are your main stakeholders and what are their main challenges? How do you communicate with your stakeholders and are there alternative platforms you should consider? What information do you need to relay and how do you do this in a consistent and strategic manner?

Step 2 – Online Listings

People learn about your business through your website and social media, but there are many more online listings you may not have direct control over yet. Claim listings like Google My Business or Bing Places and learn how to utilize them to improve your online presence – without paying a cent!

Step 3 – Social Media

Learn how to improve your COVID-19 updates posts within seconds. Explore automated responses, online and live events, and see examples of a small business successfully applying these techniques.

Step 4 – Paid Advertising

Keep your business top-of-mind with Google Responsive Display ads. Use remarketing strategies and generate leads to follow up when people are able/willing to spend again. Consider selling gift cards and merchandise online.

Step 5 – Innovation and Strategy

Every crisis exposes weaknesses, but also strengths and opportunities. Use business analysis tools like the Value Chain Analysis to better understand what makes your business unique and competitive. Think outside the box and come up with innovative ways to improve your products, customer service or distribution network. Innovation is not limited to large corporations!

Please contact Adrian at adrian@medialinkinc.com for a copy of the slides. Don’t hesitate to connect with him on LinkedIn; he is more than happy to answer any follow-up questions.

Posted on: by Media Link

Home Offices – The New Normal

There has been a lot of talk about Home Offices as a temporary solution to social distancing, but many businesses, including Media Link, have already successfully employed this strategy for years. Our Sr. Marketing Consultant, Adrian, has been living on the West Coast for over two years now, “Setting up a webinar to have a face-to-face conversation with people thousands of miles away only takes a minute. Because our team is so young and agile, texting and face time is second nature to all of us now.”

A benefit of using webinars is that you don’t need to spend time on organizing rooms, coffee and snacks. You won’t be late because of traffic and you have the opportunity to meet your colleagues in a place truly special to them (pro-tip: introduce you pets!!). Webinars though your home office makes printing copies of presentations redundant, because you can email the pdf in advance and simply share your screen during the conversation without losing eye contact. According to Entrepreneur and Forbes, there are plenty of other benefits to consider:

  • No commute saves employees money, time and lowers their carbon footprint.
  • Employers may be able to downsize office space, expand employment and save on office supply, snacks and other variable costs.
  • Since Millennials and GenZ value flexible work arrangements, home offices make you more competitive and may increase retention rates.
  • Home offices allow employers to access a larger labor pool. The perfect job candidate may not be able to move, but this won’t be necessary with a home office.
  • Working from home makes many people more productive, because they experience less interruptions and can truly shape their office to fit their needs.
  • The amount of sick days will likely decrease, because contamination risks are lower when anyone coming down with something switches to working remotely.
  • Employees may claim Home Offices on their tax returns.

Home Offices have never been this easy to implement. There are dozens of services to manage teams remotely and to make sure team members communicate efficiently. Meetings can simply be set up via Webex, Skype, Zoom or other services. Online meetings are often more productive, because you can easily share your screen to introduce documents and email them to other participants. You can also take advantage of personal chat windows to coordinate with others.

Organizations new to this model have a chance to evaluate the feasibility of having staff work remotely and to get their feedback. Some employers will make working from home a standard option or apply it to bridge days when productivity is low.

Rest assured; Home Offices don’t have to be solely functional. You may even consider permanently transforming a room into a working area you and other family members can use even after returning to regular work arrangements. A separate “office” room can help children focus on their homework. Your spouse may finally have a quiet place to write on their novel or engage in art projects. Here are a couple of home office ideas and tips as inspiration.

Always feel free to schedule a webinar with us to experience some of the benefits yourself! Right now, please contact Ben to see his Star Wars memorability, Adrian to see a painting from his favorite artist Franz Marc, and Natalie for her cats Olaf and Jackson.

Posted on: by Media Link