Services we offer
Yes! We manage social media accounts for clients across all social media platforms.
Yes! We manage paid ad campaigns across all social media platforms. The platform we recommend to a client will largely depend on their industry, goals, and target audience.
Yes! We run paid search campaigns on Google for clients of all sizes and industries. We typically run text ad campaigns, but we also have the option to run display ads on the Google Display Network if desired.
Yes! We offer Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to all clients (as long as they have a website). The size of the site, quality of their content, and the CMS it is built on, among other elements will dictate the pricing for this service.
Do we ever! We provide a wide range of website design options from a templated build to a fully custom design. We can also integrate most functionality a client is looking for. We build our websites on the WordPress platform.
Yes, but it is an add-on service for existing clients or clients signing on for multiple services. We do not offer it as a stand alone service.
Yes. We have an in-house team for basic video requests (low production budget videos for social media or stock footage). We also have a network of professional videographers we work with in most markets if the client needs high quality video for TV/OTT or similar advertising.
Yes. We will work with our vetted vendors in your market to provide the right photographer for your client's project.
Yes! We will work with your clients to write copy for everything from social posts, to website copy, to ebooks. If your client knows what they need we can write it for them. We can also help develop a content strategy if they do not have a clear content marketing plan.
Yes! we provide email marketing services for everything from short-term marketing campaigns to ongoing email newsletters.
Yes! We offer text message campaigns for any number of client goals. We can also assist with promotions to collect participants for the campaign.
Can a lion lick its elbow!? Actually, probably not... But we can definitely provide Out Of Home advertising services!
You name it, we can do it! We have a large group of talented individuals in-house, and an even larger network of professionals we've partnered with to provide any services your clients could want!
What are the benefits of these services?
Having a vibrant and engaging social media account is a great way to do what we call passive branding. It allows you to get in front of current customers and potential customers in an unobtrusive way. Often people will see a company on social media because they have searched it out, or someone they know has interacted with it and it shows in their feed. This lends credibility that is hard to gain in other marketing efforts.
Social media also gives a face to the company and allows them to show who they are and what they care about. This can be serious or funny depending on how the company wants to portray themselves, but it should always be engaging. It will help people feel a connection to the company that they won't get from seeing a billboard or hearing a radio ad.
Paid ads on social media are a great way to get in front of a specific demographic. We don't have to wait for people to come to us, we can get in front of them. And we can identify specifically who we want to be in front of.
We can also use different social platforms to our advantage. For instance, if we are running a recruiting campaign for management positions we'd use linkedIn, whereas if we are running a campaign to promote a product to millennials we would use Instagram.
Just like with organic social posts, social media ads are often not seen as obtrusive because they blend in well with users' feeds. Depending on the goals of the campaign paid social ads can be a cost effective way to get in front of a large number of people.
PPC is the end game for getting people to a client's website. We've put together a massive branding effort to get people to know a client exists, but we need to make sure we capture those people when they are looking for more information.
The goal of a PPC campaign is to drive traffic to the client's website, so we will always want to make sure their site is attractive and user friendly with clear paths to conversion before we start a PPC campaign.
PPC is a tactic that can get results quickly for a client. We usually start seeing clicks and conversions in the first month, and a campaign can often be optimized in as little as 3 months.
We will use branded campaigns (targeting keywords with the client's name in them) to make sure that we show up first when their name is searched for. The most common question we get is "why should they spend money on it if they already show up first organically?" Quite simply, we bid on branded terms because they're cheap and if we don't someone else could and then it won't matter where the client ranks organically. These campaigns are designed to capture people who remember the clients name and are specifically looking for them.
We use non-branded campaigns (targeting keywords without the clients name in them) to capture traffic of people who are searching without a specific company in mind. If we've been doing well with branding they will recognize the client's name when it comes up in the search and we'll be golden.
SEO will help rank a client's site higher in the organic (non-paid) search engine results. We will work with the client to identify which keywords they need to be ranking for and optimize their site and content to push their pages higher in the rankings.
It is absolutely imperative for a website to be on the first page of the search results. Even if they are ranking on the second page it is unlikely they will get organic traffic from that search engine because very few people go beyond the first page of results.
The higher a page ranks organically the more likely it is to be seen, but also the more perceived authority it has. Users inherently know that if a page is ranking high organically it is because the search engine has deemed the content to be relevant to what they searched.
SEO also includes some off page elements, such as updating Google business listings, removing low quality back links (so the site isn't associated with shady sites), and submitting directory listings among other things.
SEO is a long term strategy and typically takes 6-12 months to see significant results.
We don't have to, but it's always a good idea. If a company shows up in the paid ads, but also ranks highly in organic results it gives authority to that company on the topic the user searched for.
Furthermore, SEO ranking considers quality traffic to a website. If PPC is sending quality traffic to a client's site, SEO will get a residual boost.
SEO is a long term strategy and can take 6-12 months to see significant results. For most clients this isn't quick enough so it is always best to pair SEO with the quicker successes of a PPC campaign.
Back in 1998 if you had a website you were ahead of the game. Now, you need to have a quality website that is visually appealing and provides excellent user experience. If your client has an outdated website that they have expressed frustration with, or worse, their customers have expressed frustration with, it's time to build a new one.
A properly designed website will not just represent a company in a visually appealing way, it will also tell their story. Our sites are all designed to match the client's brand and voice. Our sites also provide optimal user experience and are designed to move customers from their entry point to conversion as seamlessly as possible.
We offer templated, semi-custom, and fully custom websites depending on the client's budget and the level of design control they want.
The average lifespan of a website in today's world is around 3-5 years. If a client has a website that is that old and wants to just do updates to it to bring it up to speed, it will likely be more practical and more cost effective to replace the site with a new one.
Technology
All of our new website builds are done in WordPress and the primary platform we service is WordPress.
We are also able to work in most other web CMS platforms to execute general updates, either in-house or through 3rd party vendors.
Depending on the number and size of the updates it may be more cost effective to build a new website rather than update the old one in some cases.
We run our PPC ads on Google. Our text ads will be shown in the Google search results based on our bid for specific keywords.
We also have the option to run display ads through the Google Display Network. This allows us to place display ads on thousands of websites Google has partnered with. This is similar to running targeted display through Simpli.fi.
We optimize for Google since it is the most widely used search engine. Most other search platforms use SEO structures similar to Google so, while we optimize for Google, we typically see benefits on other search engines as well.
Services definitions
Hosting
Hosting means that all of the website files and data are stored on our servers. We run updates to the software to ensure that there are no issues with the site from the server side. Hosting and maintenance are not the same thing, but both are required to keep a website running smoothly.
Maintenance
Website maintenance keeps the engine running. It includes updates to plugins/dashboard extensions, website backups, scanning for malware/viruses, fixing issues related to CMS/plugin updates, fixing issues related to site security that arise while enrolled in a maintenance plan. Maintenance cannot be used to resolve any preexisting issues or for any updates that would be considered part of development.ย
Changes to the structure and content of the layout are part of development and are not included in maintenance (for example, changing images, updating copy, building new pages, etc.).
Pay Per Click (PPC) is the process of paying to place your ads at the top of search result listings. In most cases organic search results (non-paid results) are pushed below the fold, which means they aren't visible unless the user scrolls. Because of this, PPC is crucial even if the client ranks well organically.
There is no cost to place a PPC ad, you are only charged when a user clicks on it (hence the name). How much a click costs is dependent on a number of factors and will vary for each click. Every time a search is executed by a user an auction takes place among all parties bidding on the keywords in the search. We will set our maximum bid on certain search terms and if our bid wins, the client's will be placed in the search results accordingly.
PPC is a more short-term strategy. The client will see some results almost immediately in many cases. Campaigns can often be optimized in as little as 3 months.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of ensuring that your website, or specific pages on your website, has the best chance of ranking highly in search results for your selected terms.
Search engines have bots that will crawl a website and determine the relevance of a page to the keywords mentioned. We will identify the keywords we want to target and work to optimize the site and its content to rank as highly as possible when people search terms related to those keywords.
SEO impacts organic search results (non-paid search results). It is a long-term strategy and typically takes 6-12 months to see significant results.
Miscellaneous
Quite simply, we bid on branded terms because they're cheap and if we don't someone else could and then it won't matter where the client ranks organically. These campaigns are designed to capture people who remember the clients name and are specifically looking for them.
We will provide monthly reporting on the progress of each service your client is signed on for. Reports will include relevant data as well as an explanation of trends and any potential recommendations the team has.
Reporting will be completed by the 12th of the month and is available through Google Drive. there may be some variations month to month due to holidays and the 12th falling on a weekend.
Reports will be for the previous month's data (e.g., the report you receive on October 12th will be for September's data).
For some services there may be no report or just a baseline report after the first month. There will be no report the month the client signs on (for example, if they begin services on July 1st, a report will not be available on July 12th).
That's a tricky question that will be answered at the next stage, when you submit a proposal information request (which you can do here).
Pricing is highly dependent on the service, the market, target audience, level of customization desired, and much more. Many of our services have a standard base price, but we will look at all of your client's information and come up with a price based on our best recommendations of services to fit their needs.
Once you have completed a CNA with your client you can fill out a Proposal Request Ticket.
When you reach the question "Do you want help building your strategy?" select the response "Yes, I would like help from a MWFS strategist." After you submit the form a strategist will reach out to you to discuss the best options for your client.
Proposal Request Ticket
Please fill out this form if you have completed a CNA with your client and are looking to put together a proposal that includes services from Mid-West Family Services.
Strategy Developer Request Ticket
Please fill out this form if you are meeting with a client and would like to provide them with a strategy developer. This is ideal for clients with a sizeable budget and without a clear marketing vision.
If you still have a general question about our services or processes that hasn't been answered by the FAQ, please fill out the form below