The tie between economic development and tourism is undeniable as proved by a recent recognition for LeadPoint Digital client, Franklin County Economic Development. 

Competing against 19 counties and 4 independent cities of the Southwest Virginia Region, LeadPoint Digital client Franklin County Economic Development was awarded the “Best Social Media Campaign” award for their ongoing series, Franklin County Shines. The series is featured on the website and social media. 

The award was presented on Aug. 1 at the Celebrate Tourism Summit in Wytheville. Friends of Southwest Virginia hosted the Southwest Virginia Tourism Awards Ceremony to celebrate the outstanding work within the tourism industry in Southwest Virginia. 

Southwest Virginia tourism professionals submitted more than 90 nominations. Winners were chosen after a panel of tourism industry professionals from across the Southeastern United States. 

“Franklin County Shines is more than just a campaign, it’s an opportunity to showcase the amazing people and businesses in the county,” said LeadPoint Digital Director of Digital Marketing Carrie Cousins. “LeadPoint is fortunate to work with Franklin County Economic Development to help enhance storytelling rooted around placemaking in this region.”

Franklin County Shines is a blog series about the people and places that make Franklin County one of the best places to live, work, and play. The campaign consists of interviews with people who span the diverse and creative industries in Franklin County, Virginia. Each interview is a window into a new vibrant slice of life in Franklin County and highlights what people treasure about their corner of the world. 

Each profile helps drive engagement online and on social media.  

Launched in February 2022, Franklin County Shines posts generated more positive sentiment, higher reach, more likes and shares and no negative comments, compared to all previous social media content.

To date, Franklin County Shines features over 15 interviews with farmers, craft brewers, community advocates and jewelers, just to name a few. Their stories are not to be missed! Visit Franklin County Economic Development on Facebook and Instagram to explore the campaign and learn exactly why Franklin County Shines.   

Huge congrats to Franklin County Economic Development on their well-deserved award! If you’d like help shaping your own social media campaign, we’d love to hear from you! Get in touch with LeadPoint Digital today.

The team was also honored with Lin Chaff Award for Creativity

LeadPoint Digital won six awards in five categories in the 2022 Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Blue Ridge Summit Awards. The honors were handed out on Feb. 16, 2023, at a luncheon and were for work done between October 2021 and September 2022. One campaign also won the Lin Chaff Sward for Creativity.

The PRSA Blue Ridge chapter is a professional association serving Central and Southwest Virginia public relations practitioners. With awards for six different client projects, LeadPoint Digital stood out at this year’s Summit Awards for excellence and outstanding contributions to the communications field.

“We’re honored to be recognized for the quality work we’re able to produce for our clients,” said Brad Timofeev, LeadPoint Digital Managing Partner. “We strive every day to collaborate with our clients and exceed their digital marketing expectations.”  

LeadPoint Digital, a Roanoke-based marketing agency, submitted client projects in five categories: paid media, PR campaign, website, earned media, and marketing products and services. Each sample is an example of a results-driven strategy.

Here’s a look at each winning campaign.

PAID MEDIA
Bug Man Exterminating, Gold Award
Bug Man Exterminating’s Google Ads campaign strategy was designed to increase pest inspections, pest control revenue, termite inspections, and termite control revenue. The strategy included keyword research, grouping of related keywords, Google responsive search ad writing, and integration with promotions and brick-and-mortar locations, and enrollment in the Google Guarantee program. As a result, Bug Man saw an 81% growth in leads, 14.4% growth in pest control sales, and 21% growth in termite inspections.

Carter Machinery, Silver Award
Carter Machinery is Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbias Caterpillar dealer with four different business divisions and a heavy focus on increasing online parts sales through their website parts.cat.com/carter. To increase online sales, LeadPoint Digital recommended a search engine advertising campaign through Google Ads, in effort of turning a positive return-on-investment. If the campaign was successful, the campaign would be a permanent fixture in their marketing efforts to increase online parts sales. The results of the campaign generated 404 transactions, resulting in a 3,945% return-on-investment.

PUBLIC RELATIONS CAMPAIGN
Franklin County Economic Development, Silver Award
Franklin County Economic Development is tasked with promoting the opportunities and abundant resources of Franklin County. To create a more positive social media sentiment, we launched Franklin County Shines, a blog series profiling citizens who thrive in Franklin County. Each profile was posted to improve messaging and drive positive engagement and sentiment online and on social media. When compared to the previous year, the campaign generated 257.7% more clicks, 235.7% more engagement, and no negative comments on any Franklin County Shines content.

WEBSITE
Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council, Silver Award
Under new leadership and with new goals, the Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council wanted a new website with a modern design that could appeal to members as well as wider technology audiences in the region. With imagery that shows who the organization is and prominent event listings and calls to action, the design needed to create user paths to help members and the technology community better find niche resources. In the first two months following launch, the website averaged more than 3,000 unique visitors (up from 500), A 69% year-over-year increase in website unique visitors, 58% increase in total visitors, while direct traffic leaped 300%.

EARNED MEDIA
Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, Silver Award
The Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center PR & Marketing campaign was designed to launch and promote COgro Labs, a major economic development project. The campaign included a press conference, website landing page build, search engine optimization, social media marketing, earned media mentions, and was designed to generate support for lab funding and biotech development in the region. Measurable campaign goals were to create media attention and website traffic while increasing local and national awareness of the project and potentially attract future business. 

The press conference, SEO optimization, social media campaign, and emails helped generate significant awareness and buzz. It also helped solidify interest from local government officials that lobbied on behalf of the region for General Assembly funding in the January session, that led to approval of a $15.7 million budget request to build a second facility in Roanoke.

MARKETING PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Yancey Bros., Silver Award & Lin Chaff Award for Creativity
Yancey Bros. is Georgia’s Caterpillar dealer and the oldest Caterpillar dealer in the United States. Yancey Bros. has worked with LeadPoint Digital to improve search engine visibility and attract Yancey’s target audience via search engine optimization. The goal of the program is to increase Yancey’s search engine visibility year-over-year and continue to attract a target audience that will most likely turn into a lead for rental equipment, new equipment, used equipment, and heavy equipment repair and service.

The results of the campaign increased year-over-year by every metric including a 53% increase in Google keyword rankings.

The campaign also received the Lin Chaff Award for Creativity, a premier award from the PRSA Blue Ridge chapter that recognizes unique challenges and creative ways to overcome them.

“We want to create great user experiences at every touch point, so our clients and their customers have seamless online interactions,” said Carrie Cousins, Director of Digital Marketing. “Meaningful results that help grow their businesses is at the heart of everything we do.”  

LeadPoint Digital marketing agency specializing in digital marketing and website design, located in Downtown Roanoke. A deep understanding of online behavior allows LeadPoint Digital to develop and execute practical strategies that drive results. If you are looking for a marketing partnership that is rooted in strategic and operational values, contact us.

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SEO, SEM, PPC?
What Does Search Advertising Mean for You?

On January 17, LeadPoint Digital’s managing partner Brad Timofeev is set to discuss the importance of search engine advertising and how it can take your digital assets to the next level.

Search engine optimization is a must-have for website owners in 2023. Brad Timofeev of LeadPoint Digital will help you understand the terminology and importance of search and some strategies you can start implementing today to make a difference in search engines.

View additional resources and download presentation.

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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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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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