The Do’s and Don’ts of Event Marketing: Lessons Learned from Our Experiences

There’s nothing quite like an event to boost enthusiasm and excitement around your brand. Virtual and in-person events each serve a unique purpose for connecting with your target audience. While events are effective, they can also consume a lot of staff time and financial resources. 

Effective event marketing strategies can help you get the best return on your investment. Using our experience as professional marketers and event planners, our team at Green Apple Strategy has put together a list of practical tips to ensure your next event is successful. 

The Do’s 

Do Set Goals (and a Budget!)

When it comes to strategic event planning, always begin with the end in mind. Before you set a date, reserve a venue, or book entertainment, you must determine the goal of the event. Is it to position your brand as a stakeholder in the community? Is it to tell a story about your brand? Or is it to generate leads and make sales? 

Once you set your goal, be sure to set your budget. Your event will look very different if you have a $5,000 budget versus a $50,000 one. 

Knowing the answer to these questions—and staying true to them—will guide you when making choices about venue, food, entertainment, marketing, and more. It will set you down the path of pulling off a successful, cohesive event that meets your strategic goals. 

Do Amplify Partnerships 

Most events require partnerships with third-party vendors and sponsors such as entertainment, catering, AV equipment, corporations, and more. Capitalize on these partnerships by highlighting them on social media or in a company email newsletter. Showcasing your business as a collaborative brand is great PR because it demonstrates your involvement and investment in your local community. Additionally, tagging these vendors in your social media posts can expose you to new audiences. 

Do Use Text and Email 

In today’s multi-channel, digital world, you have to meet your audience where they are. This means connecting with them on their phone and in their email inboxes through personalized, well-thought-out, and well-timed text messages and emails. Text messages are a great way to send key event information that doesn’t require a lot of copy. At the same time, an email drip campaign can spark interest and move your target audience to attend. 

The Don’ts 

Don’t Limit Your Focus to Ticket Sales  

Yes, you want to sell tickets to your event. Besides, you can’t have an event if no one comes! However, be careful not to focus your messaging only on ticket sales. Your audience needs to know where to buy tickets, but they also may be interested in what to wear, nearby hotels, or participating vendors. The purpose of all of your event-related content will be to drive ticket sales, even if some of it takes a more subtle approach. 

Don’t Set It and Forget It 

We love strategy so much that we included the word in the name of our business! But just because you have a strategy doesn’t mean you can’t be flexible if needed. When marketing your event, be sure to pay attention to all the analytics you have access to. Some numbers to look at are email open rates and click-through rates, social media impressions, and engagement levels. If you aren’t getting the desired results, adjust your approach to capture greater interest from your target audience. 

Don’t Forget to Follow Up

Congratulations! Your event is over, and your work is done! Well, almost. Post-event follow-up offers another opportunity to connect with your target audience. In fact, it’s so important that we consider it one of our best practices for event planning! After the event wraps, send out surveys to gather meaningful feedback that can be used to assess the event’s success and plan future gatherings. You can also use this time to connect with new leads and thank vendors and sponsors to further deepen your working relationships.
 

Get Started on Your Next Event 

Ninety-five percent of marketers believe that in-person events can have a positive impact on achieving their company’s goals. Green Apple Strategy understands that events can boost awareness, community connections, and revenue. But we also know they can take time, resources, and staff to pull off. 

Our team is here to help! Reach out to us today, and let’s talk about the benefits that the right special event can bring to your business.

How to Create a Marketing Moat 

In the ever-evolving world of marketing, businesses are constantly searching for ways to stand out from the competition to achieve long-term growth. Just as castles were fortified with moats to protect against attacks, today’s business owners can create their own “marketing moats” to maintain a competitive edge and better protect their market share.

Build a Strong Brand Identity

The impression that your brand makes on a customer can help you stand out from competitors. Develop a memorable brand story. Brand storytelling explains your differentiators and humanizes your brand. It helps customers understand who you are and why your business exists. Building a strong brand or achieving brand recognition can create a marketing moat that keeps customers returning because people prefer brands they recognize. 

Another impact of building a compelling brand story is creating a bond with your customers. This connection can foster trust and loyalty, which can turn into positive feedback and testimonials. You can use this feedback to promote the strong relationships you build with customers, which strengthens your marketing moat. 

Clearly Define Your Unique Value Proposition

Identify what sets your brand apart from competitors and communicate why customers should choose your products or services. Here are a few ways to identify your unique value proposition:

1. Understand your target audience. 

2. Analyze the competition and identify gaps in what they offer. Capitalize on these gaps.

3. Determine what makes your business unique and highlight those aspects.

Be sure to integrate your unique value proposition into all of your marketing and messaging consistently. Check out Green Apple’s approach to building a marketing strategy for tips to ensure your strategy is set up for success from the start. 

Invest in Consistent Content Creation

Produce relevant and engaging content that resonates with your target audience. This can include blog posts, videos, curated social media content, paid media efforts, email marketing, and more. Establish credibility by positioning yourself as a thought leader in your industry and offer valuable insight through white papers, webinars, online courses or trainings, and free consultations. All these resources can be promoted on social media and through email marketing. A well-executed content calendar and email marketing strategy can help you plan and organize your content so it remains relevant and consistent.

Work With Us To Build Your Marketing Moat 

At Green Apple, we help business owners execute ideas with a solid strategy behind our approach. Let us help you build a marketing moat that will lead to long-term success by establishing a presence that stands out from the competition. To learn more about our process and discuss how we can help, contact Green Apple Strategy. 

From Chaos to Clarity: How Process-driven Operations Keeps Marketing on Track

Everyone who’s worked in marketing knows what it’s like when things don’t go according to plan. It could come in the form of a last-minute request from a client or realizing you need to rush ship an important resource to an upcoming industry tradeshow. There are days — sometimes seasons — that feel like your marketing job description should include being a part-time firefighter. While you may not be able to completely prevent chaotic moments, having a process-driven approach to putting out fires and staying on track with responsibilities can ensure you (and your marketing team) can keep moving forward with clarity and confidence.  

Recognizing there will be chaotic moments and proactively developing a plan to address them is one of the most important lessons we’ve learned over the past decade at Green Apple.  

The Most Common Chaos Creators for Marketing Teams

Here are a few of the most common disruptors that marketing teams and agencies must learn how to navigate: 

1. Last-Minute Requests

Every company has sudden requests from other departments or higher-ups that require immediate attention. These can obviously disrupt planned marketing activities and require an extra measure of attention and focus. To navigate last-minute requests, it is helpful to have a system in place for prioritizing and tracking them and to be clear with stakeholders about expectations and deadlines.

2. Lack of Clear Objectives or Change in Direction

When marketing teams lack clear goals and objectives, they may struggle to prioritize tasks and may get sidetracked by less important activities. That’s why it’s essential to establish clear marketing goals that align with your overall business objectives. In some cases, new opportunities may arise or your company might change directions on a particular product or go-to-market strategy. In these cases, there may be opportunities to pivot your marketing without abandoning your entire strategy. 

3. Technology Issues

Technology difficulties can create an enormous amount of disruption in your day-to-day activities. Technical glitches or failures with marketing tools and platforms can disrupt campaigns and lead to chaos. As a hybrid marketing agency, we’ve had the opportunity to learn how to manage our workload virtually to stay connected and productive. Every person on the team knows what to do if technology issues occur and how to implement a backup plan if communication tools aren’t working. 

4. Human Error

Even the best-laid plans can go awry due to human error. It could be anything from a typo in a press release to a missed deadline. That’s why it’s important to have clear processes and procedures in place for catching and correcting errors. It is also important to create a culture of accountability and transparency, where team members feel comfortable admitting their mistakes and learning from them.

Process-Driven Best Practices to Keep Marketing on Track 

Here are some helpful best practices that a marketing agency could implement to create a process-oriented approach. Implementing some of these approaches can help keep things running smoothly.

1. Create your marketing plan with involvement from key stakeholders.

Every good marketer starts with strategy. But one of the ways to prevent many of the stressful back-and-forth or navigating changes of direction is to involve key stakeholders to shape your marketing strategy as you build it. This has become an essential part of our approach to building marketing strategies for our clients over the years.

2. Establish clear workflows for status meetings and specific deliverables.

One of the most important factors for a successful business and agency partnership is defining clear and documented workflows for different marketing activities. This includes outlining roles, responsibilities, and timelines for expected deliverables. It’s important to ensure everyone on the team understands and follows these processes.

3. Set realistic deadlines.

Saying “yes” to every request is one of the quickest ways to derail your marketing efforts. As you identify new marketing ideas and make a plan to execute them, you want to ensure that deadlines are reasonable and achievable. Managers should avoid overloading the team with too many tasks within a short time frame.

4. Implement a foolproof quality control system.

An important part of marketing project management is implementing thorough quality control processes to catch and rectify errors before campaigns or projects go live. One of the benefits of working with a marketing agency is that they often have proven quality control measures in place — primarily because of the volume of campaigns we’re running at any given time. 

5. Have a backup plan for emergencies.

There will always be situations or scenarios that are completely out of your control. It could be a major PR crisis or a single social media comment that needs to be addressed. Whatever the scenario, it’s crucial to develop clear protocols for handling last-minute crises before they occur. You should also designate a point person who is responsible for evaluating the appropriate action plan and prioritizing the next steps. 

6. Use project management tools.

Technology provides a variety of tools that enhance our communication and collaboration. At Green Apple, most of our days are spent collaborating in Google, Basecamp, and Airtable. These tools can help our team track progress, manage deadlines, and communicate with team members.

7. Maintain documentation of your processes.

Well-documented processes can help to prevent errors by ensuring that all of the necessary steps are taken. It also helps when onboarding new team members and provides a reference point for resolving issues. Based on our experience, we’ve learned that it’s essential to document your processes for areas like campaign planning, content creation, social media management, email marketing, campaign evaluation, and website management.

8. Be flexible.

While processes are essential, it’s also important to cultivate flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances or seize unexpected opportunities. Things don’t always go according to plan, so be prepared to make adjustments as needed. 

Minimize the Marketing Chaos with Green Apple Strategy

At Green Apple, we’re proud of our track record for helping clients take advantage of new opportunities while minimizing chaos and disruption to their daily operations. We have a deep understanding of the changing marketing landscape and know how to help our clients stay ahead of the curve. We also have a team of experienced and dedicated professionals who are passionate about helping our clients succeed.

If you’re ready to build momentum through an effective marketing approach, you can learn more about our process or schedule a consultation with our team.

From Story to Strategy: Leveraging Your Brand Narrative in Marketing Campaigns

In today’s crowded marketplace, it’s more important than ever for businesses to have a strong brand story. A well-told brand story can help companies connect with their target audience emotionally, build trust and credibility, and ultimately drive sales. From our experience, creating your brand story is the easy part. Weaving it into your marketing campaigns in a way that shares a consistent message and creates an emotional connection with your audience is more complicated. 

At Green Apple, we understand the challenges of building a solid brand identity and connecting with your customers on a deeper level. A few months ago, we took a deep dive into how to develop a memorable brand story. In this article, we’re moving from idea to implementation by unpacking the valuable best practices for communicating your brand narrative throughout your marketing efforts.

How to Use Brand Storytelling in Your Marketing Campaigns

 

Be Consistent

Once your brand story is in place, the challenge becomes integrating it into your marketing efforts. Consistency is key here. Whether you’re creating social media posts, email newsletters, or full-blown ad campaigns, be sure to weave a consistent brand narrative throughout. This doesn’t mean telling the same story repeatedly but finding creative ways to reinforce the core message and values that define your brand.

In addition to your overall voice, tone, and messaging, use consistent visual branding elements as well. This includes using the same colors, fonts, and design elements across all campaigns. Visual continuity reinforces your brand’s identity and narrative, making it instantly recognizable to your audience.

Client Example:  Silicon Ranch, one of the fastest-growing developers, owners, and operators of solar energy plants in the U.S., recognized the need to strengthen its branding to reflect its position as an industry leader. They also wanted to elevate their digital presence. We partnered with them to execute a comprehensive brand refresh, design a new website, and plan a trade show event to help them stand out in the competitive solar market. A key focus throughout the project was maintaining consistency across every platform and channel—from the visual design of the website to the messaging used in trade show materials—ensuring a cohesive and recognizable brand experience at every touchpoint.

Tailor Your Story to Meet Different Personas Where They Are

While consistency is crucial, it’s equally important to adapt your brand narrative to suit the preferences and needs of your target audience. Every audience is unique, and what resonates with one group might not work for another. As a marketing agency, we recognize the importance of understanding your audience’s demographics, pain points, and aspirations. By tailoring your brand narrative to address these specifics, you create a more personalized and engaging experience.

Client Example: As a long-time marketing partner of The Gardner School (TGS), we’ve had the privilege of helping them launch several locations in new cities and markets. For each new school, we take the time to develop specific target personas and tailored messaging based on the unique needs and challenges of families in that area. For example, when launching a new location in an urban setting, we emphasize the convenience of extended hours and proximity to workplaces, while in suburban markets, we focus more on community involvement and enrichment programs. We carefully balance these localized messages with TGS’s overarching brand narrative to ensure consistency across all locations while meeting each audience where they are.

Tell Your Story Through Meaningful Experiences

Marketing campaigns that truly resonate aren’t just informative; they’re immersive. This could include unforgettable event marketing or surprise and delight campaigns. You can also tell your brand story through digital experiences such as engaging videos such as YouTube Shorts or user-generated content campaigns that encourage active participation. These experiences reinforce your brand narrative and make your audience feel like an integral part of the story.

Client Example: We recently had the opportunity to help Crain Construction celebrate their 90th anniversary. To honor their legacy, we created an event that reflected their brand story by highlighting the people who shape their relationship-driven culture while celebrating their commitment to craftsmanship. The event was held at one of their standout projects, the Ferrari Dealership in Nashville, blending storytelling with an immersive brand experience.

Test, Iterate, and Stay Adaptable

While consistency is important, don’t be afraid to adapt your brand narrative as your business evolves. Regularly assess how effectively your marketing campaigns are communicating your brand narrative. Collect feedback and analyze metrics to understand what’s working and what needs improvement. You can use these insights to refine your approach in future campaigns. As you introduce new products, services, or values, ensure your brand story remains relevant and aligned with these changes.

Client Example: While working with CaringWays on their initial brand identity and website, the team identified a new opportunity to partner with companies and healthcare organizations, offering their platform as an employee benefit. This shift was a game-changer, requiring agility and close collaboration to evolve their brand narrative. We quickly adapted their messaging to reflect this new direction, ensuring it resonated with both corporate partners and healthcare providers.

Tell a Story that Resonates 

Your business can build trust, credibility, and loyalty by telling a compelling story that resonates with your audience. These are fundamental factors for driving sales and achieving your marketing goals.

If you’re looking for help crafting a brand story that will resonate with your audience, we’d love to connect. Our team can help you identify your brand’s unique story, develop a compelling narrative, and create marketing campaigns to help you share that story with the world.

You can learn more about our strategic planning services, get a behind-the-scenes look at our process, or reach out to our team to schedule a time to chat. 

It’s A Numbers Game: How Quantitative Data Drives Successful PR Efforts

Numbers don’t lie. For better or for worse, this rings true across brands and entire industries. At Green Apple Strategy, we rely on hard and fast data to tell us what’s working for our clients and show us opportunities for improvement. 

When it comes to small business public relations, finding relevant, quantitative data can take some work. After all, how do you measure feelings about your brand?

This post explores five ways numbers can help you build a favorable brand reputation while working toward increasing your small business’s chances of being featured in news and media outlets. 

What’s the difference between Public Relations and Marketing?

Public relations and marketing can often be confused by the general public. But as professionals, you and I know better. If you need a crash course in understanding the differences—and how public relations (PR) is great for business—stay tuned, and I’ll fill you in! 

Marketing typically involves some type of paid effort. Think advertisements, special events to get the word out about a particular product or service, promotional merch, and more. Whereas PR is exactly what it sounds like; building relationships with the public. In most cases, that will be your customers, community members, and decision-makers. 

Five Ways to Use Data to Get Noticed

The first step to getting noticed by media outlets is to actively make a name for your small business. PR tactics like posting on social media, authoring a blog or white paper, and speaking publicly about your business or industry create a connection with your audience and position your brand as a go-to industry leader. Here are five steps to grow your audience and improve your chances of being seriously considered when reaching out to news and media outlets.  

1. Grow Your Email List

Email can be a numbers game. The more high-quality email subscribers you have, the higher your open rates. What do I mean by “high quality?” Simply put, people who have opted in and have good email addresses. Strike a balance between staying top of mind and sending emails too frequently, which can lead to members of your audience unsubscribing.

Quantitative data can be helpful here, providing hard and fast numbers regarding open rates, bounces, and how many subscribers enjoyed your email messaging enough to click through.

2. Think Social

When planning your PR strategy for social media content, pay attention to your reach and engagement. Note how many followers are seeing your content as compared to how many followers you have. Next, note the percentage of likes, comments, and shares your content receives. Higher impressions and engagement rates will help your brand become better known within your community.

3. React Publicly

Is there a newsworthy or trending topic that relates to your industry? Establish yourself as a subject matter expert by sharing your thoughts and relevant experiences with your email list and on your social media accounts. The key is to remain professional, no matter how passionate you are about the topic.

Share your thoughts at times when your audience is already on social media to increase your reach and potential engagement.

4. Get Published

We’ve established that you have ideas, thoughts, and opinions to share on newsworthy content related to your field. So, why not craft that narrative into a story? But, instead of sharing it with as many print and digital newspapers and magazines as possible, cast a very intentional, strategic net. Yes, this is a situation where higher numbers will not do you any favors.

Think about who you know in the media business and start there. Or research publications relevant to your field and send them a well-thought-out email sharing your story idea. In this case, a narrow focus on the right outlets will drive more results than a mass approach. 

Another viable option is to self-publish by starting a blog. There are SEO benefits here too. Plus, you can get a solid count of clicks on a blog post to see how your content resonates with readers. 

5. Start Local

Here is where numbers and location can be on your side. You’ve done the work of building a social media following and a high-quality email list. You’ve shared valuable content with your digital community. Now, pitch your ideas to local media outlets. Be sure to share the numbers of followers you have and where you have already been published. Again, this helps to establish your brand as the subject matter expert, making it clear that you are THE best choice to speak on specific topics related to your field. 

Starting with local channels is a great way to gain experience with media appearances. Plus, there’s usually less competition when compared to larger, national outlets – a bonus when you’re getting started. 

Partner with a Professional Agency

Thankfully, it’s a myth that only large corporations can afford to bring on a professional agency. Our team is well-versed in understanding the needs and budgets of small businesses. We’d love to help you create a data-backed public relations plan that enables you to grow and connect with your audience. Contact us today to start the conversation!

Marketing Outside of the Office: 5 Ways to Be A Successful Marketer Without Being Stuck at a Desk

Can you be a marketer without working a traditional 9-5? The answer is a resounding “YES!” Today, more and more marketers are finding success—for their careers and for the brands they represent—without spending all day behind a desk. 

Modern, untraditional marketing initiatives take many forms, including influencer, affiliate, guerilla, stealth, and street. I’ll unpack each of those in this blog post so you can learn more about how the marketing landscape is changing to include new techniques that largely occur outside of the office.

Influencer Marketing

If you’ve spent time on social media, you’ve encountered influencer marketing. This type of marketing is highly effective, relying on endorsements and product mentions from individuals with a dedicated social following who are viewed as experts within their niche.

For example, a popular fitness vlogger may be asked to post a video on TikTok promoting certain supplements or athletic gear. She then creates content around the product and shares it with thousands or even millions of followers. Because they already trust her expertise, they will be more likely to purchase the product she is advertising. 

Influencer marketing is effective because it relies on the relationships the influencer has previously established with her audience. Instead of the brand building trust with the audience directly, the influencer’s endorsement does that for them, quickly creating a bridge between the audience and the brand. 

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing refers to sharing a link to a good or service on your website or blog and earning a commission each time someone purchases the product from that shared link. 

This type of marketing involves little to no startup costs, as most affiliate programs are free to join. Plus, there are several different paths to choose from as you’re getting started, including promoting your link in search results or through email marketing, developing your own influencer program, or creating a website based on product reviews or coupons.
 

Guerilla Marketing

Less intense than its namesake guerilla warfare, guerilla marketing relies on the element of surprise to create wonder and awe in the day-to-day lives of potential consumers, both in person or online. It requires less upfront costs than many traditional marketing methods. But, what guerilla marketing lacks in costs, it makes up for in hands-on execution and creativity. 

Consider Bounty’s surprise gigantic messes in the streets of New York City – think an oversized popsicle and a huge spilled coffee cup – to advertise the effectiveness of the paper towels. Out-of-the-box ideas like this are noticeable and thought-provoking, meeting potential buyers where they are and leaving a memorable and positive impression. 

Stealth Marketing

In contrast to guerilla marketing’s eye-catching techniques, stealth marketing aims to fly under the radar. Brands want to showcase a product or service, but in a more indirect campaign that drives awareness more than sales. 

A popular form of stealth marketing is product placement (i.e. when a product is strategically placed in a T.V. show or movie). However, it can also occur via reviews, company partnerships, and web content produced or endorsed by a third party. The most important part of a stealth marketing campaign, or any marketing campaign, is to be genuine or risk ruining your reputation. 

When done well, stealth marketing can create excitement and conversation around a brand. It can make a brand more memorable and help potential customers feel empowered in purchasing decisions. 

Street Marketing

Street marketing is the close cousin of guerilla marketing. Like guerilla marketing, effective street marketing can be accomplished on a low budget if it’s big on creativity. 

A key difference is that while guerilla marketing occurs in person and online, street marketing is limited to just that: the street and other public places like sidewalks and transit stations. 

Street marketing includes tactics like placing static ads in unexpected places, such as an ad for Roto-Rooter on a manhole cover or using enthusiastic brand ambassadors to pass out product samples. 

Develop the Best Marketing Strategy

Our team at Green Apple has years of experience developing modern strategies for brands throughout the United States. If you’re ready to move your marketing outside of the office, reach out and let our team put together a plan that will stop your audience in their tracks.

5 Tools to Manage Your Social Media Marketing Strategy

Social media has become the cornerstone of any successful marketing strategy in an increasingly digital world. But with the ever-evolving landscape of platforms, algorithms, and user behaviors, staying on top of the trends is overwhelming. At the same time, managing requests from team members and finding the right balance between helpful and sales-oriented content can feel like an unwinnable battle. The good news? There are dozens of social media marketing tools that can help you organize ideas, strategize, create images, post content, and measure results. The challenge is identifying the right mix of tools without wasting time or resources.
 

5 Tools to Manage Your Social Media Marketing Strategy

How can you embrace the right content marketing tools that will help you guide your social media strategy toward success, efficiency, and meaningful connections with your target audience? After simultaneously managing social media for numerous clients over the years, here are a few of the tools we rely on daily:
   

1. Sprout Social

Sprout Social has been our go-to social media management platform for years because it offers a wide range of functionalities that empower us to optimize social media strategies for our clients. Its intuitive scheduling and publishing capabilities allow users to plan, create, and schedule content across multiple platforms, saving valuable time and ensuring consistent messaging. The platform’s robust analytics and reporting features provide in-depth insights into audience engagement, allowing businesses to track their performance, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions. It also offers social listening capabilities that let you monitor brand mentions, engage with your audience, and stay on top of industry conversations.

 

2. Airtable

Planning is a critical part of social media success. Airtable is a tool that has enhanced our ability to organize ideas and collaborate around social media campaigns. From content calendars and campaign planning to tracking engagement metrics and influencer partnerships, Airtable enables you to centralize all of your ideas and streamline workflows.
 

3. Canva

Images and visuals have become increasingly important in social media content. Social infographics are one of the most effective types of social content we create for our clients. Canva is a content marketing tool that allows us to create compelling, professional graphics in a short amount of time. With its vast library of templates, graphics, fonts, and images, Canva offers endless creative possibilities to design captivating posts, banners, infographics, and more. It also allows you to build consistent branding across your social media platforms — which is incredibly valuable for brands who don’t have the budget to hire a professional designer.
  

4. Neontools Hashtag Analyzer

Using hashtags in your social media posts is a proven way to increase engagement. In fact, including just one hashtag on a post on Instagram can generate 29% more interactions. LinkedIn also has a feature where you can see which hashtags are trending in your network. But how do you know which hashtags will generate the most impressions and engagement? Neontool’s Hashtag Analyzer offers in-depth analysis and evaluation of hashtags, providing users with valuable information such as popularity, competition, and reach potential. By understanding these metrics, businesses can make informed decisions when selecting the most relevant and effective hashtags for their content, increasing visibility and reach among their target audience.

 

5. CapCut

For the past several years, we’ve been actively exploring how businesses can use TikTok for marketing after the platform’s meteoric rise in popularity. Keeping up with the demand to create engaging videos is a challenge many businesses face with the platform. With its powerful video editing capabilities, CapCut provides a way to create compelling video content that stands out, drives engagement, and boosts your overall social media strategy. The tool offers a wide range of editing options and an extensive library of royalty-free music and sound effects, enabling businesses to add a personalized touch to their videos.

 

Let Us Help You Stay Informed About the Tools You Need 

At Green Apple, we recognize you don’t have the time (or even the interest) to keep up-to-date on the latest marketing tools. We believe part of our responsibility as a marketing agency is to equip you with the essential information you should know. The Core, our monthly newsletter, is the best way to stay informed about the latest essential marketing insights. You can sign up here!

How to Audit Your Digital Marketing Strategy

You’ve invested time, energy, and resources into your digital marketing strategy. But how do you know if it’s actually working? Are you seeing the results you expected? Are you falling behind competitors despite your best efforts? These are the questions that many small to mid-size business owners ask themselves as they navigate the ever-changing digital landscape.

At Green Apple Strategy, we believe developing data-driven strategies and keeping tabs on the latest marketing trends is essential. No matter the size of your brand or how successful your current strategies seem, marketing is always evolving. Regular audits help you stay ahead of the competition, adapt to digital marketing trends, and ensure you’re getting the best return on your investment.

In this article, we’ll walk you through the why, when, how, and what of digital marketing audits. We’ll also share insights we’ve gained from over a decade of experience working with businesses in nearly every industry.

What is a Digital Marketing Audit?

A digital marketing audit is a comprehensive review of all the strategies, tactics, and channels your business uses to promote itself online. It provides an overarching view of your digital presence and helps determine whether your current marketing efforts align with your business goals.

A good audit doesn’t just highlight what’s working—it also uncovers gaps, inefficiencies, and opportunities for growth. By regularly evaluating your digital strategy, you can make data-driven decisions to maximize marketing success.

Why Are Audits Important?

Digital trends shift constantly—almost as quickly as a viral TikTok challenge. What worked last quarter might not be effective today. That’s why conducting regular audits is crucial. Here’s how an audit can benefit your business:

  • Keep Up with Industry Changes: Marketing platforms frequently update their algorithms, best practices, and audience behaviors. Without regular audits, your strategy can quickly become outdated.
  • Optimize Performance: Audits reveal what’s working and what’s not, helping you refine your approach to improve engagement, conversions, and ROI.
  • Outperform Competitors: Benchmarking your efforts against competitors can uncover opportunities to gain a competitive edge.
  • Ensure Data Accuracy: By assessing analytics and tracking methods, you can ensure your decisions are based on reliable data.

For example, in a recent mid-year audit, we noticed that changing the size and type of social media graphics for a client significantly boosted their engagement—simply because we adapted to shifting platform algorithms.

When Should You Conduct a Digital Marketing Audit?

The frequency of audits depends on how heavily your business relies on digital marketing. However, we recommend assessing your efforts at least quarterly or mid-year. Digital marketing moves fast, and regular check-ins help you pivot quickly.

Here’s a good rule of thumb to consider:

  • Quarterly audits help fine-tune tactics and make small adjustments.
  • Mid-year audits allow for bigger shifts in strategy.

Annual audits provide a broad overview and long-term planning insights.

How to Conduct a Comprehensive Digital Marketing Audit

A digital marketing audit takes a deep dive into your online presence, analyzing what’s working, what’s not, and where you can improve. Here’s how to get started.

Your Website: Is It Helping or Hurting Your Brand?

The first step in a digital audit is to take a good look at your website. It’s often the first impression potential customers get of your business, and 75% of a website’s credibility comes from its design. Ask yourself: Is it easy to navigate? Does it load quickly? Is the messaging clear and compelling? A well-structured, user-friendly website helps turn visitors into leads, so make sure yours is working for you, not against you.

Here are a couple of resources as you start looking at your website: 

SEO Check-Up: Are You Ranking or Sinking?

Next, audit your SEO. Search engines are constantly evolving, and your strategy needs to keep up. Review your keyword rankings, meta titles and descriptions, and on-page content to ensure it all aligns with current best practices. Check for broken links, slow load times, and mobile responsiveness—Google prioritizes sites that offer a smooth user experience. The goal is simple: make it as easy as possible for your audience to find you.

These resources can help get a better understanding of your approach to SEO: 

Content Marketing: Is Your Content a Conversation Starter or a Snoozefest?

Now, let’s talk content marketing. A solid content strategy should attract, engage, and retain potential customers. Take a step back and analyze which blogs, videos, or case studies are performing best. What topics resonate with your audience? Which pieces drive the most traffic? If some content isn’t pulling its weight, consider repurposing or optimizing it based on your findings. The key is to create content that adds value and aligns with your business goals.

Here are a few resources our team has created to help you audit your content marketing efforts:    

Social Media: Are You Winning the Feed or Getting Lost in the Scroll?

Social media is another major player in your digital strategy, so give it a thorough review. Are you posting consistently? Are your engagement rates where you want them to be? Look at which platforms are driving the most interaction and consider shifting your focus accordingly. Social media algorithms change frequently, so staying adaptable is key to keeping your brand visible.

These resources can help you evaluate and enhance your social media efforts: 

Email Marketing: Are Your Emails Getting Opened or Ignored?

Finally, don’t forget about email marketing. Despite being one of the oldest digital marketing channels, email still delivers impressive ROI—when done right. Audit your open rates, click-through rates, and conversion metrics for the best chance of success. If engagement is low, test different subject lines, adjust your send times, or evaluate your email automation journeys for customers. The more personalized and relevant your emails are, the better they’ll perform.

Here are a few tips, tools, and tricks to take your email marketing efforts to the next level:

A comprehensive digital marketing audit is about uncovering opportunities. By regularly evaluating these core areas, you can fine-tune your strategy, stay ahead of trends, and ensure your marketing efforts are driving real results.

The Value of a Deep Dive & Diverse Perspectives

At Green Apple Strategy, we believe a marketing audit should be a team effort. That’s why our audit process involves multiple experts, each bringing a unique perspective to the table.

In addition to our full-time team, we collaborate with specialized freelancers—our network known as “The Orchard”—to ensure that every aspect of the audit is analyzed with expertise. Our collaborative approach provides a holistic view of your marketing strategy and delivers actionable insights tailored to your business.

Ready to Take Your Digital Marketing to the Next Level?

A well-executed digital marketing audit is a strategic advantage. By regularly assessing your efforts, you can stay ahead of trends, improve performance, and ensure your marketing strategy aligns with your business goals.

If you’re ready for a fresh perspective on your digital marketing efforts, our team at Green Apple Strategy is here to help. Contact us today to schedule a consultation and start optimizing your marketing strategy for success!

Marketing Planning and the Perfect Timing [A Guide]

Strategy is so important to us that it’s part of our name. So naturally, we are big proponents of planning ahead when it comes to your marketing strategy. The short answer to the question of this blog’s title is that it’s never too early to begin crafting your approach to next year’s marketing strategy. Today, we’ll take a deeper dive into the reasons why that’s true. We’ll also highlight a few factors to consider while you’re doing that advance marketing planning. 


Benefits of an Annual Plan

With sufficient planning, you can keep all of your marketing efforts organized, maintain audience engagement with quality content, and adapt to changes in your industry faster. All of this means you’ll give your business the ability to thrive and stay one step ahead of the competition. 

Ideally, a good annual marketing plan should be high-level, since things change all the time, and act as a guide for multiple stakeholders. This approach is especially helpful for large teams working to stay on the same page and obtain the same end goal. An overarching marketing plan can unite your sales team, your business development team, your in-house and outsourced marketing team, and your C-suite executives.  It’s a useful tool that can help create a streamlined and focused tactical plan that everyone can get on board with. 


Planning for the Busiest Times of Year

While long-term planning is ideal, you should plan at least six months ahead of your busiest time of year. Regardless of whether your busy season is summer or the holidays, giving yourself ample time to prepare is a sure way to drive optimal results. If you’re not sure when your brand sees the most business, it may be time to run an audit on your social media, website traffic, and other indicators of surging interest. With the right data, you can create a solid marketing funnel that can translate increased interest and search queries into qualified leads and sales. 


Strategic Planning 

Rather than using last year’s ideas or “institutional wisdom” to drive your planning decisions, embrace a mindset of data-based continuous improvement to develop a marketing plan based on your organization’s long-term strategy and vision. Data analysis can also help you hone and direct your annual marketing budget. Although it can be tempting to follow a gut feeling about where your leads are originating, the data may indicate a different funnel. For instance, while social media is essential for building brand integrity, email marketing may have more ROI in your annual revenues.  


What Happens When You Need to Pivot?

The best laid plans of mice and men… often need to be reframed in the light of your analytics! While that’s not exactly how the Robert Burns quote goes, it’s definitely something we focus on at Green Apple. The best marketing strategies are nimble and should allow you to drop one strategy or double down on an effective tactic if the data backs it. Don’t be concerned if you need to scrap your current strategy and recalibrate! That should be an expected part of the marketing planning process, and it means you’re committed to an evidence-based approach. If you need help interpreting the data or you need help collecting more information points, we’re here to help. Don’t hesitate to turn to an outsourced marketing team to support your in-house team with all the initiatives they’re launching. 


Let Us Help You Achieve Your Goals

Need some help getting started on next year’s marketing goals? Check out this Green Apple guide to start planning! Our team is here to help you build an effective strategy to help your brand achieve its business goals.

Graphic Design Hacks for B2B Businesses

Today’s B2B businesses have more access than ever to affordable, user-friendly design apps. With a few clicks and perhaps a few YouTube tutorials, anyone can create logos, websites, e-newsletters, and more in just minutes. But how do you know if your graphic designs are helping—or hurting—your B2B business? 

Simply put, good graphic design is important. To put you on the path to success, our team at Green Apple is happy to share some of the best practices we use when developing a graphic design strategy for B2B clients. While there is so much to learn about creating an effective design, we hope this list will inspire you to love and appreciate graphic design as much as we do.
 

Graphic Design for B2B Best Practices


Choose Colors, Fonts, and Logos Wisely

Before you begin any graphic design project, ensure you have a logo, fonts, and colors that appropriately represent your unique brand. For example, a technology company will choose a different font than a creative marketing agency. Likewise, a childcare center will choose different colors than a high-end restaurant chain. Together, these elements tell a story about your brand—you just need to make sure it’s the correct one!
  

Create a Brand Guide

You’ve taken the time to ensure the logo, colors, and fonts accurately represent your brand. When used consistently across all design channels, these key elements establish a strong brand identity. Now, you’ll want to create a brand guide. 

A brand guide is an internal, digital home that lists all the details of your fonts (such as names, typeface, and size), color names and numbers, preferred logo size, and how it can and cannot be used. Make this guide available to anyone working on your B2B graphic design. This way, no matter who is doing the design, a cohesive look and feel can be maintained. Remember: we need this cohesiveness to build a strong brand identity.
 

Focus on the Client

Graphic design for B2B should focus on the experience of the end user, not on the likes or dislikes of the designer. With so many beautiful design elements to choose from, it can be easy to get distracted by our own personal preferences. However, the best graphic designs are created with the user’s experience in mind. 

Focusing on UX means ensuring web designs are mobile-friendly, concepts are easy to understand, calls to action are clear and easy to act on, and all text is supplemented with easy-to-digest photos, videos, and infographics to maintain your audience’s attention. Graphic design for B2B should take your audience on a journey—and make it worthwhile for them to stay on the site.
  

Strive for Visual Clarity

There is much to be said for white space regarding graphic design for B2B. At best, too much information and visual clutter waters your message down and confuses your audience. At worst, they don’t know what action to take, so they don’t take any at all! Let your design focus on one directive or key point at a time. Your audience should be able to intuitively navigate your design, and the design should clearly specify what actions you want a user to take. 

With that in mind, be bold with your CTA  by using stand-out colors to encourage your audience to take action. If your website is blue, a CTA button in a vibrant shade of orange will pop on the page, engage your audience, and enhance click-through rates.
  

We Design with Leads in Mind

The best B2B graphic design strategies work to move the needle in terms of ROI. Our team at Green Apple is here to be a partner in creating effective design elements that support your business goals. Contact us to learn more about our approach to creating visually compelling B2B graphic design to attract more leads and land more clients.