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By Carrie Cousins

Thank you to Valley Business FRONT for featuring our Director of Digital Marketing, Carrie Cousins, in their March 2024 issue.

When it comes to online real estate – your website, social presence, email, and more – where your assets live can make a big difference.  

Renting versus owning your digital home can impact everything from control of your brand and assets to search engine optimization. Just like with real estate, owning your assets provides protection against market fluctuations and the peace of mind that your content is truly yours.  

What is “Renting” an Online Presence? 

When you rent your online presence, you are using someone else’s tools or platform as a home for your brand, content, and information. This topic has gained importance recently as Google announced that all business profiles using the free website option lose those websites on March 1.  

That’s rented real estate and you have no choice but to move – quickly.  

While most of you probably don’t have a free Google website, you may be doing this same thing with other platforms.  

The most common rental is social media. Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, and others are all valuable places to put business information, but you can’t control the delivery of the content or if the platform will even exist tomorrow. (Yes, a social media channel could shut down and all your content goes with it.) 

Other “rental” solutions include popular website platforms like Squarespace or Wix, where you build a website in a builder that includes your domain registration and hosting. If that platform were to shutter, where would your content be? (The answer is likely nowhere or in the hands of the owner that is most likely going to make major changes to the platform.)

Yes, renting a digital home is easy and somewhat effortless, but you are at the mercy of the provider any time something changes.  

  • Your website provider has a rate increase? You have to pay it.  
  • Facebook knocks your content out of their algorithm unless you pay for ads? You have to find additional budget to reach the same customers.  
  • Your website platform discontinues service? You have to rebuild fast.  

Why “Owning” is a Better Investment 

When you own your online presence, you have access to all of your digital assets that can’t be revoked or taken away by a third party. Elements like your logo variations, photos, and video fall into this category if you store the files using a physical or cloud server. (Plus, a backup is recommended.) 

Other things you can own include your domain name, website, and email list. 

Generally, you know a digital asset is owned because it likely includes an upfront investment of time, setup, and/or money. Just like owning a home, these investments can increase in value over time. (Did you know search engines value domains that have been around a long time?) 

What’s probably most important about owning your digital assets is that you have control to change, move, or transfer digital assets between accounts or even marketing agencies on your own. Any reputable partner will work with you on accounts, ensuring that both parties have access to everything. It’s a red flag if someone won’t give you access to your business account information, such as a domain or website access.    

Rent vs. Own 

Rented assets are quick, cheap, and don’t come with any maintenance. The biggest risks are closure or cost inflation. Use this option for things that don’t generate much revenue for your business or if an ownership option is not available.  

  • Rent: Social media, email marketing provider, review sites or maps (such as Google My Business or Yelp), digital advertising platforms, licensed media or tools 

The benefit to owning is that you are building brand and online equity at the same time. You have control of your online presence and assets and can even monetize them. You should own all revenue-driving aspects of your business (such as a website that’s driving leads or sales for your business). 

  • Own: Domain, website, media storage, email list, analytics or historical data, your created content (blogs, photos, videos)  

Owning your digital house is a worthwhile investment. Think of it as your company’s dream home, providing long-term value as you grow your business. 

Carrie Cousins is the Director of Digital Marketing at LeadPoint Digital in Roanoke. For 15+ years, she has helped businesses tell their stories and get better results online with practical digital marketing strategies. She also an active leader in AAF, serving on the local and district boards, and is an adjunct professor at Virginia Tech. 

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Writing for Digital

LeadPoint Digital’s Director of Digital Marketing Carrie Cousins is set to share some of her insights on user experience and website marketing at an upcoming conference. On July 19, Carrie will kick off two days of presentations about online writing at the UX Writer Conference, an online event produced by Welinske & Associates, which has been hosting events for tech writers since 1991.

Storytelling With a Twist

Drawing on skills from multiple disciplines, UX writing is carving out its own space in the tech industry. With more than 15 years of experience in media, design, and content marketing, Carrie is one of the leaders in the field. She’s learned that storytelling is at the heart of every good website design. Her talk, Good UX Writing is Storytelling (with a Technical Twist), will discuss how to craft a beautiful narrative that humans want to read while optimizing how people use websites.

In addition to her work for LeadPoint Digital, Carrie’s UX writing has been featured in publications such as Design Shack, Webdesigner Depot, The Next Web, and Fast Company.

Register Today

Featuring speakers from companies like HBO Max and Google, the UX Writer Conference aims to share ideas and connect the UX writing community. It’s not too late to sign up for this incredible online event. Visit the UX Writer Conference website to register.

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Welcome to the Team!

LeadPoint Digital announces the hires of two familiar faces in the Roanoke Region.

Matt Brown joins the team as our new Account Manager. With more than 20 years of experience in design, art direction, marketing, promotions, project management, and social media, Matt’s wide range of experience and customer-centric approach make him a client’s best advocate.

“I’m excited to join work closely with our clients to help them achieve their digital marketing goals,” Matt said.

Prior to joining LeadPoint, Matt spent seven years at a local agency as an art director guiding client creative projects. He spent 13 years in the newspaper industry where he held a variety of positions, including creative director of the advertising design department and creative director of their recreation/lifestyle magazine.

Matt is a graduate of Roanoke College with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. He is a longtime member, and past president, of the Roanoke chapter of the American Advertising Federation (AAF). He is also a former two-time governor of Virginia for AAF and in 2015 was named National President of the Year by AAF.

Sarah Wardle Jones brings her creative ability and writing skills to the team as our User Experience Specialist. She is skilled in design thinking, user experience and user interfaces, and writing for the web.

“I’m thrilled to join LeadPoint as UX Specialist! I’m looking forward to growing and learning as part of this fantastic team,” Sarah said.

Additionally, Sarah is a creative professional with a background in non-profit arts management and has spearheaded the digital presence of numerous art organizations in the region. Prior to joining LeadPoint, Sarah enjoyed 7 years as Community Engagement & Education Director at the Roanoke Symphony. You may also know Sarah as a skilled flutist with the Alma Ensemble.

She holds degrees from Taylor University and Bowling Green State University and has a UX/UI Certification from CareerFoundry.

Want to Join Our Team of Award-Winning Professionals?

LeadPoint Digital is a growing digital marketing agency, specializing in search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising, website design and development, and content marketing, including email and social media. Contact us today to learn more, or view our current open positions.

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Another Great Feat for Cousins – and LeadPoint!

LeadPoint Digital is thrilled to announce that our very own Carrie Cousins was awarded Ad-verting Person of the Year by the American Advertising Federation, Roanoke Chapter. Carrie was recognized for her outstanding contributions to the field of advertising and marketing on Saturday, March 5, 2022 at the Western Virginia American Advertising Awards Gala in Roanoke.

As LeadPoint’s Digital Marketing Director, Carrie leverages her 15+ years of interdisciplinary experience in marketing, design, and media to help businesses tell their story and get better results through practical digital marketing strategies. Carrie established herself as a leader through her work building several award-winning marketing programs, shaping the marketing voice for Roanoke Outside and Get2KnowNoke before joining LeadPoint last year, and teaching the next generation of marketers at Virginia Tech.

“It’s a breath of fresh air to have a colleague like Carrie on our team,” says Brad Timofeev, LeadPoint Digital’s Managing Partner. “I honestly don’t understand how she keeps up with it all and maintains her enthusiasm and upbeat personality. I’m not shocked she won this award because she accomplished more in one year than most ad professionals accomplish in a lifetime. She is well-deserving of this award every year and LeadPoint’s clients are lucky to have a pro like Carrie on their side.”

In addition to her fantastic work on the LeadPoint Digital Team, she also serves as AAF Roanoke’s current President and donates her time and talents to help non-profits through Buzz4Good. In her spare time, Carrie enjoys serving as Star City Canine Training Club’s Pres-ident, training her own dogs, and running marathons.

Congratulations on your award, Carrie! We look forward to what you have in store for 2022.

Check Out Our Position Openings

Want to work with award-winning marketing professionals? Contact LeadPoint Digital today for more information.

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Cousins Speaks on Her Career – And Marketing

Carrie Cousins, the senior digital strategist for LeadPoint Digital, was recently featured for her design and leadership expertise in an interview with 20i, an innovative British web hosting company.

In the interview, Cousins spoke of her longtime interest in design and writing — both dating back to her childhood. In addition to her design and digital marketing work for LeadPoint Digital, Cousins writes extensively about design — especially user experience design — for websites like WebDesignerDepot, Design Shack, and Fast Company.

Though she didn’t get a degree in graphic design, she sought out extensive training once she got involved in design during her days in newspapers. “I wanted to ensure that my visual ‘gut’ instinct aligned with some of the practical theory and technical skills to ensure that I was designing and not just decorating,” she said.

“One of the hardest parts of design is keeping up with trends”, Cousins said. “Visual evolutions seem to be happening on fast cycles,” she said. “The challenge is that a design can begin to look dated fast. This makes it more important than ever to be agile and create with an element of urgency.”

20i also asked Cousins about her marketing expertise. “Every business – from a micro-business to a small location with a few employees – needs to connect marketing to actual business goals,” she said. “It’s not enough to do marketing because ‘you should.’ Marketing with a strategy rooted in goals and outcomes will generate the best potential results. It’s ok to start with small goals and grow them with your business.”

Cousins also recently delivered presentations at the AAF District 3 Conference in Raleigh, NC; and was on the RBTC WoTech Women in Technology panel during Game Changer Week in Blacksburg, VA.

If you are interested in working with recognized leaders in digital design and marketing, contact LeadPoint Digital.

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Writing for Digital

Brad Timofeev, the managing partner of LeadPoint Digital, is spending a few days in Hilton Head, SC, to participate in and lead several sessions at the Southeast Concrete Masonry Association Annual Conference. He’ll advise, provide market data, and lead a workshop on the value of digital marketing.

Brad will speak on the following this week:

Advising Sessions

Brad will sit with the SCMA Board, Marketing Committee, Executive Committee, and National Concrete Masonry Association Representatives to showcase the impact LeadPoint Digital and the SCMA have had on the concrete masonry industry. The session will result in a general advising session on how this can be replicated on a national scale and bring to light untapped digital marketing opportunities that will continue a path of exponential growth.‍

General Session Market Recap

Brad will be recapping the digital marketing efforts for the Southeast Concrete Masonry Association and inspiring continued exponential growth through digital marketing. Since starting with the SCMA in 2017, LeadPoint Digital has been an integral part of making the SCMA a national leader and advocate for concrete masonry being the trusted building material of architects, engineers, contractors, and more.

Where to Start Marketing My Business?

Brad will be giving a workshop to members of the SCMA on how to start marketing their concrete masonry unit producer businesses through a quality website and search engine marketing.

‍How to Get Started on Social Media & Generate Revenue?

Brad will be giving another workshop to members of the SCMA on how to get started and generate revenue on Facebook and Instagram.

Learn More

As a certified digital consultant with many other certifications from Google, Brad possesses a pool of knowledge that leads our clients with the goal of creating long-term exponential value. Throughout his 15+ year career, Brad has been the digital advisor for a national marketing agency, other regional marketing agencies, and Fortune 500 companies.

His accomplishments have many recognizing him as a digital marketing thought leader.

Want to get to know Brad or learn more about what digital marketing can do for you? Contact us.

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Another Win for LeadPoint

Senior Digital Marketing Strategist Carrie Cousins, who joined LeadPoint Digital in April, has earned her Facebook Community Manager certification. This certification is awarded to candidates who pass a stringent exam testing proficiency in community-building strategies, best practices, and knowledge of the skills and tools needed to lead, moderate and engage an online community.

“Since Carrie has joined us, she has brought invaluable expertise to our content marketing and social media marketing programs for our clients,” said Brad Timofeev, managing partner of LeadPoint Digital. “This certification supports that Facebook and Instagram see the same value we do in our social media marketing plans and results.”

Elite Accreditation

The Facebook Community Manager certification is an elite accreditation in digital marketing, involving rigorous testing and security. A certified Facebook monitor conducts the assessments under strict protocols to ensure no cheating or foul play.

Cousins is also a Certified Digital Consultant, has a Google Certification, and has won awards from PRSA Blue Ridge, American Advertising Federation, and Outdoor Media Summit.

Achieving the Facebook Community Manager certification recognizes the expertise Cousins has developed in her years as a digital strategist helping clients build online communities and scale and sustain their Facebook presence while improving engagement with their followers. This certification is a great asset to help scale and sustain Facebook followers, and improve engagement with those followers, for LeadPoint Digital clients.

Enhance Social Media Engagement

The LeadPoint Digital team believes in continuous learning and understands the value of earning industry accreditations that help us guide our clients in making the best marketing choices for them. Our team has certifications from Facebook, Google (Analytics and Ads), Yelp, Yext, and more.

LeadPoint Digital can help you grow your social media presence and engagement. Contact Brad Timofeev for more information.

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What is the Digital Marketing Funnel?

There’s a well-known concept in marketing that most people understand – the marketing funnel. The marketing, or sales, funnel is a concept that helps you understand the process from creating awareness and interest all the way to generating leads and conversions.

When it comes to digital marketing, there’s a similar funnel. The digital marketing funnel has four levels: High Funnel, Mid-High Funnel, Mid-Low Funnel, and Low Funnel. Each level requires a different advertising message and a different measurement of success.

High Funnel

This stage often represents your potential customers’ first exposure to your brand. The messages you put out for this audience should generate top-of-mind awareness. They’re meant to get people familiar with your brand and what you provide.

Advertising at this stage doesn’t produce an immediately high conversion rate. It’s meant to make impressions and capture the attention of potential buyers. With commitment and time, high-funnel marketing will drive sales to the lower portions of the funnel and closer to a purchase or relationship.

Digital marketing at this stage is typically paid and might consist of display ads and sponsorships on newspaper and local news websites, or a network of sites.

Internet radio also falls into this category. Traditional forms of high-funnel advertising include sponsorships, billboards, and bus and bus bench advertising.

Mid-High Funnel

At this level of the funnel, you’re still creating top-of-mind awareness, but your audience is already aware of your brand and what you do. The message is typically value-based (features, benefits, perspective, etc.) and designed to separate you from your competition.

This form of advertising still doesn’t have a great conversion rate, but because of the type of message it is, it’s more likely to push people down the funnel.

Digital marketing in this stage of the funnel is still primarily paid, such as display advertising on interest-specific websites, or sponsorships that are related more closely to your audience’s interests.

Because social media advertising can be targeted based on demographics and psychographics, it can be an effective channel for reaching people at this level of the funnel. Streaming audio and video also float between the high funnel and mid-high funnel.

Content marketing is the most popular form of digital marketing that falls in the mid-high funnel.

Television and terrestrial radio are complementary channels in traditional advertising.

Mid-Low Funnel

Once you hit this part of the funnel, you’re starting to drive sales. Advertising messages should be incentive-based and include coupons, promotions, and exclusive offers. The goal at this stage is to move people to action.

Digital marketing in the mid-low funnel is a mix of paid and organic. Email marketing, re-marketing, text message marketing, and, in some cases, social media. These channels deliver a targeted, incentive-based message to your audience.

Equivalents in traditional advertising include direct mail, newspaper ads, money-saver ads, and coupon books.

Low Funnel

Low-funnel marketing provides the best immediate return on investment (ROI). Messaging is 100% call-to-action, encouraging your audience to contact you.

Companies spend most of their digital marketing budget in this stage of the funnel. It includes search engine optimization, search engine advertising, and local directory advertising because search engines and directories are where people go when they’re ready to buy.

In traditional advertising, that used to be the phone book or direct mail pieces.

Applying Digital Strategy

After you’ve identified which audiences you want advertising to reach, you apply appropriate digital marketing and traditional media tactics. Digital marketing can be an effective way to move prospects through the buying cycle.

LeadPoint Digital can help you to identify which forms of digital marketing will help you meet marketing goals. We’ll help you create a customized plan with a focus on business objectives and lead generation for different parts of the market funnel and sales cycle.

Contact us to learn more.

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We Are Opening in Roanoke!

ROANOKE, Virginia – Local digital marketing agency, LeadPoint Digital, located at 10 Church Ave SE, Suite 300 in Downtown Roanoke, will celebrate its new office space with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, May 14 at 10:00 am. The event will take place outdoors in Century Plaza, located at 14 Church Ave SE. Small group tours and refreshments will be available after the ceremony inside the LeadPoint Digital office on the 3rd Floor of the Spectrum Building.

While many companies have scaled back during the pandemic, LeadPoint Digital continues to grow rapidly. The agency doubled its team in the last year and relocated to a larger corporate office that maximizes creativity and communication with clients, both virtually and in person.

Following the event, tune into RVTV Channel 3 or visit www.BizRoanoke.com for an interview with the City of Roanoke and LeadPoint Digital’s Managing Partner Brad Timofeev.

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Personas are the anchor of many digital marketing agency strategies. Understanding your client’s audience is vital to building a successful digital marketing strategy that delivers results.

The Problem with Personas

Think about it: Personas are your client’s “perception,” their audience’s “perception,” which results in your own “perception,” which ultimately becomes the “persona(s).”

It doesn’t just sound confusing; it is confusing to mix and match so many perceptions of the same reality. But it doesn’t have to be.

Apple built their entire company based on what people don’t know they want!

Aha! Moment for Building Better Personas

Every other month, we hold communication training for our team because it’s an undeniable skill present in every aspect of agency life and our personal lives. At the end of every 2-hour session, we make it a point to apply our training to real scenarios.

After nearly 10 years of bi-monthly communication training, the “aha!” moment hit me. All the things we discussed in our training were never part of persona building. Let alone any persona our client provided us, or we saw from other competing agencies.

Using Communication Laws to Build Better in Personas

There are many studies, research, and formulas that make people better communicators.

Trust us. We’ve been through them all. But they all boiled down to these primary laws, which allow you to build personas that digital marketers actually get value from.

1. Representation Style

This is how people process the world and things around them. This gives you a medium on how to best communicate to this persona, which includes:

  • Visual (see)
  • Auditory (listen, read, write)
  • Kinesthetic (touch, smell, taste)

2. Attitude

All people have 6 attitudes that perceive value to them. Everyone holds all these attitudes, but your personas will have attitudes that carry more weight than others. Using this gives you the formula to create value props for each attitude:

  • Theoretical (more facts and figures)
  • Utilitarian (wants good investment)
  • Aesthetic (needs to look good)
  • Social (what will others think of me)
  • Individualistic (how do I make product/service better)
  • Traditional (needs to fit with personal values and global outlook)

3. Language & Behavior

Like the game of telephone, everyone deletes or distorts information based on their behaviors and language. These behavioral characteristics will help identify how your persona makes a decision:

  • Motivation = Proactive vs. Reactive (avoid future trouble or is in trouble)
  • Direction = Toward vs. Away From (solutions to get closer to a goal or reasons why goal can’t be achieved)
  • Source = Internal vs. External (makes a decision on how they feel or make a decision based on validation from another)
  • Reason = Options vs. Procedures (likes control in decision making or likes clear path to decision)
  • Scope = Specific vs. Global (small details vs. lofty bigger picture)

4. Human Relations

Being able to understand people and their nature allows you to communicate with your persona skillfully, which includes:

  • How to make people feel important
  • How to set peoples’ moods
  • How to influence people
  • How to convince people

Here’s the Point …

It’s great to understand your audience’s demographics, interests, geographics, and psychographics. But it doesn’t do your digital marketing any good if you don’t know how to utilize that data to sell more products or deliver more services. Incorporating human nature laws and communication behaviors into your personas enables you to craft marketing messages that resonate with your entire audience and deliver results.

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