We did it—we made it through 2020 relatively unscathed. And we managed to put out some of our top-performing and most helpful blogs, too! With everyone staying inside for months on end, many of us shifted our focus to self-improvement. And for us business-minded people, we pivoted and made the...
Building a brand for your business is essential to its success. Creating a strategy for your messaging, design, and overall business image is critical if you want to make a lasting impression on your customers. Branding shapes your company’s mission and values and packages it for a larger audience....
Welcome back to our Beginner’s Guide blog series where we help you wrap your head around some of the most easily misunderstood marketing concepts. Today we'll tackle Local SEO: how it can help your business and how you can get started right away! Perhaps you live in a big...
What is an FAQ page? Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) pages are the holy grail of knowledge for any website. Every day, users are skimming through websites to find the FAQ page because they need clarification. These pages are essentially a well-packaged list of commonly asked questions and answers. The fundamental...
Every member of our talented team brings their own unique value. And since they might just be the ones helping you grow your business, it’s important to us that you get to know them, as well! So, we’re proud to present to you: The Flinnwest Solutions team! This week: Meet...
There’s no denying that most of us struggle with limited time—and shortened attention spans—these days. It seems that businesses almost need to grab their audience by the hair in order to keep them engaged with traditional website content (this isn’t a suggestion: please don’t yank any ponytails). Video content...
Welcome to the first blog in our Beginner’s Guide series! We understand that some marketing terms may be confusing. Wrapping your head around jargon can overwhelm even the most savvy business owner. At Flinnwest we value transparency and clarity, so we’d like to help you get better acquainted with some...
Every member of our talented team brings their own unique value. And since they just might be the ones helping you grow your business, it’s important to us that you get to know them, as well! So, we’re proud to present to you: The Flinnwest Solutions team! This week: Meet...
Marketing your business is an important part of growing and maintaining sales, but there are a few blunders that should be avoided at all costs. Steer clear of these nine marketing mistakes and your company will be laughing all the way to...QuickBooks! 1. Not having a blog on your...
Physical distancing due to COVID-19 has meant that many of us are unable to be in the office. Times are hard, but the show must go on! A successful virtual meeting is a breeze with many great new technological forums. Here are our top ten tips on how to facilitate...
Every member of our talented team brings their own unique value. And since they just might be the ones helping you grow your business, it’s important to us that you get to know them, as well! So, we’re proud to present to you: The Flinnwest Solutions team! This week: Meet...
If you’re anything like us, you’ve spent the last few weeks glued to the news in awe of the brave souls standing up for justice all over the world. We’ve been quietly listening, taking stock, and most importantly, considering how to be an ally. As we learn more, and our...
Every member of our talented team brings their own unique value. And since they might just be the ones helping you grow your business, it’s important to us that you get to know them, as well! So, we’re proud to present to you: The Flinnwest Solutions team! This week: Meet...
We are living in unprecedented times, and although I love disaster movies where this sort of thing happens to other people, I just wasn’t quite prepared for this new Covid-19 reality. As a kid, I would eagerly await my next chance to head to the movie theatre and watch as...
Every member of our talented team brings their own unique value. And since they might just be the ones helping you grow your business, it’s important to us that you get to know them, as well! So, we’re proud to present to you: The Flinnwest Solutions team! This week: Meet...
Picture if you will, a terrifying scene from a movie. The tension builds as the fear inside you grows and shifts, until—to your horror—you see… a 404 error page—one of the most dreaded things on the web! You’re doomed! ...Or are you? Before you get too scared, remember you...
Every member of our talented team brings their own unique value. And since they may just be the ones helping you grow your business, it’s important that you get to know them, as well! So, we’re proud to present to you: The Flinnwest Solutions team! This week: Meet Eric. ...
We see you. We know you have the best intentions. You’re going to get around to writing that email to all of your contacts soon...it’s just that you’re a business owner and you have other stuff to do first. We get it. This is where CRM systems and automation can...
If you’re running a business and choose to stay uninformed about what’s new in digital marketing, you may as well add “groovy baby” and “talk to the hand” to your vocabulary, because you are officially out of touch. If you don’t stay on top of the trends, you risk losing...
Every member of our talented team brings their own unique value. And since they may just be the ones helping you grow your business, it’s important that you get to know them, as well! So, we’re proud to present to you: The Flinnwest Solutions team! This week: Meet Ryan. ...
Do you understand your buyers? Can you empathize with them? Are you able to envision what would be a natural reaction for them? And most importantly what is your customer’s WHY? “The WHY is the purpose, cause or belief that drives every one of us”, according to Simon Sinek,...
Every member of our talented team brings their own unique value. And since they just might be the ones helping you grow your business, it's important that you get to know them, as well! So, we're proud to present to you: The Flinnwest Solutions team! This week: Meet Marlowe. What...
In Don Norman's book, "The Design of Everyday Things," he gives us an analogy that I consider to be the best explanation when talking about website usability: “The user experience is like someone trying to open a door for the first time, it is technically a simple interaction, but the...
Conferences are a great way to connect with like-minded people in similar industries. They enable and empower your team by introducing them to new tools and strategies. Education The most popular reason anyone goes to a conference. Speakers and hosts of these events are at the top...
One of the quickest ways to reach out to masses of people is through conveying your brand on social media. On average, people spend 142 minutes per day browsing social media, and those people on average have 7.6 social media accounts that they flip between. With the fast pace of...
The way we work is changing; instead of dragging ourselves off the couch to deliver resumés in person, we click a few buttons, and voila, our information is at our prospective employer’s fingertips. While our world feels smaller, the job market continues to expand. If your business wants to attract...
Everything in life changes with time, and company logos are no exception. We’ve compiled a list of some of the world’s most iconic company logo changes and the corporate reasons for why they decided to change. If you’re thinking of creating a new company logo, don’t be afraid to revisit...
No matter what project you’re working on, having the right tools can make all the difference in your success rates. After you find the best tools your project, you can then put all your focus on getting the most value out of each of the chosen tools. This couldn’t be...
What is local SEO? Local search engine optimization (SEO) is when you optimize your website and online properties to target potential customers who are local to you. The main goal for your local SEO strategy and development should be to increase your brand’s community presence so you’ll be found in...
Logos are everywhere. You see them every day, whether on your phone or on your way to work. They’re on every screen, storefront, billboard, print ad, and even at your own place of business. Logo design can be a saturated place for a designer; sometimes it feels like everything has...
Everyone knows there are educational benefits you just can't access unless you're in a live face-to-face setting. Live events give you the opportunity to watch and learn from visual cues, body language and the overall atmosphere. These non-verbal elements and the opportunity to see, feel, touch, taste and absorb the...
Well, it’s official—the holiday season is upon us again! And with it comes many of the things we cherish—eggnog lattes, sweet-smelling pine trees, and twinkling lights; but also, regrettably, the usual onslaught of poorly designed and ill-conceived ads, sales, and general product pushing. To be fair, holiday promotions that truly...
Believe it or not, this year is nearing its end and a whole new decade is rapidly approaching. With 2020 on the horizon, business leaders have more access than ever to the innovative tools and training available; and therefore, less excuses not to take them on board. Two major additions...
Imagine yourself at a networking event: sharply dressed with a handful of freshly designed business cards. You feel a sense of pride passing them out to prospective clients—you did, after all, meticulously select the high-gloss paper stock, chic typeface, and luminous gold foil yourself. You stand confidently, knowing your card...
First things first, if you don't use social media for business growth, start right now! It doesn’t matter if you run a small local shop or even an international company, Social media should be an essential piece of your business marketing strategy. Social platforms help you increase awareness, connect with customers, personalize...
Believe it or not, this year is nearing its end and a whole new decade is rapidly approaching. With 2020 on the horizon, business leaders have more access than ever to the innovative tools and training available to them; and therefore, less excuses not to take them on board. Two...
Slack Platform - Overview Slack was released in August of 2013 and now has over 85,000 organizations paying for their services. Additionally, 10 million people use the free services and versions that Slack offers every day. Slack is constantly coming up with advanced functionality revolving around improved team communication. It’s...
If you already have a website, what’s stopping you from writing a blog? In today’s world of digital content, having a blog can bring your small business’ marketing efforts leaps and bounds beyond your competitors. With 81 percent of internet users in agreement that blogs are trusted sources for information,...
A marketing plan for your small business doesn’t need to be an expensive endeavour. Here are five ways you can market your small business on a budget. 1. Blog and Social Media Posting relevant and consistent content on your blog and social media will help you to become trusted in...
Stop what you’re doing! Seriously, stop reading this article and Google yourself. Just don’t forget to come back. Welcome back, we were worried we had lost you there. Chances are, if you have a LinkedIn account, your LinkedIn profile was at the top of your search results. And if you...
Looking inwards and making strides to improve yourself is making an investment in your future. Embracing personal growth equips us with the abilities we need to succeed in life by teaching us skills to deal positively with change and enhance our future. Here are five (5) ways you can start...
Picking web fonts for your website or company brand can be a tedious or even daunting task. There are literally thousands of options available to you. Not only are there thousands of options, but there are thousands of options that are free to use. Google Fonts, for example, has over...
Top Six Reasons You Should Use Pinterest Many businesses are initially cautious about using Pinterest. It looks a bit different than other social sites, and might seem confusing from the surface, but trust us, it’s not. Once you get used to it, all you will see are awesome gains for...
With 3.196 billion active users across all social media platforms, advertising on social media can have a huge and positive effect on sales numbers. It is critical that your ad makes a great first impression: one of the largest components of success is the size of the images you use...
Promoting your brand on social media with video marketing is one of the fastest ways of reaching out to huge numbers of consumers. Using properly sized videos in your social media posts helps to make sure that your content is memorable and attention-grabbing. Follow this help guide on the best...
Everybody has seen a business explainer video, or most commonly known as an advertisement. It’s difficult to be on the internet for 1 minute without seeing one today. Why? Because in today's technological world, it’s one of the most effective tools for advertising and company exposure for many different needs...
Do you remember the time when Snapchat started with daily videos? At the time, it changed the face of communication. Every person and business started using this platform to create their own video content. Gradually, other top social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram joined the league. These...
Get your sweet cheeks ready, we’re giving away a $15,000 digital marketing package. You ask, why are we giving this away? Because it was a lot better than a bike. Seriously, we considered giving away a tandem bike before this. We love our community of White Rock and South Surrey; however, we...
Twitter is one of the greatest news and social networking apps available today. It’s used currently by 321 million monthly users. The Twitter platform is essentially microblogging conversations between multiple people connected by what they search and follow on their accounts. Twitter communication is done the form of tweets, 280-character...
Are you thinking about promoting your business on social media to ideally reach new customers and improve your company branding? but don't know how to hit the right spot or grab your target customers attention? While everyone knows that digital marketing and social media are important, many do not take...
Images are a huge part of design and wherever you go you see them in advertising, both physically and digitally. When you think about it, it’s amazing how much is really out there. As a designer myself, I can tell you that everyone can be a critic and that every...
Often overlooked is the art of communicating a brand or product in a very short time frame. A simple message can often best be conveyed in a quick burst of words and imagery, which can yield outstanding results. This is the art of the 15-second commercial. Currently, one...
Do you remember the Airbnb Facebook campaign which forever changed its company outlook? The campaign ran from June 23-July 27, 2017 and reached a massive 238 million people worldwide. Three times the increase in return on ad spend compared to what they had before. The company had a 47% lower...
Age is just a number, many of the world’s top companies, products and ideas were created by people coming from both sides of the age spectrum. If someone tells you that you are too young or too old to pursue something don’t dwell on it, rather use it to benefit...
Why target? I want it all! It is imperative that any new business find and determine who their target market is. This is for a number of important reasons. In the beginning, a startup doesn’t have... The money The time The credibility The competitive strength … to sell to the...
What can Digital Marketing do for a Start-up Business? In this guide focused on start-ups and small business growth, we would like our readers to know what digital marketing could do for them with the right focus and strategies. Disrupt established enterprises: We always encourage start-ups to look for new...
Do you know who your clients are? Most companies have a vague idea of whom they want to sell their product or service, but many use the “everyone wants what I’m selling” model. The problem is, this isn’t true. By targeting your market and determining who will really benefit from...
Founded in 2008, Hootsuite is currently a very popular social media management tool in the marketing industry which allows you to compose, schedule and post to any of your social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, WordPress etc. all from one place, the Hootsuite dashboard. It has become the...
Conferences are a great way to supercharge your company into the future. Each year more pop up and it’s our pleasure to tell you what ones you simply can’t miss. These events are the perfect way to network and learn from industry-leading executives. This can help develop bonds within your...
44% percent of Americans 12+ years old listened to a podcast in 2018 according to a 2018 study done by Edison Research. That’s around 144,114,689 people! As this industry continues to develop so do the potential opportunities for advertisement, marketing, and financial benefits. However, as it grows and expands...
You only have one chance to make a first impression. The design of your website can make or break your business. It sets up how your customers/clients come to understand your brand and your business. Good website design will create trust and authority and doing that will help convert prospects...
It is no secret that conferences are a great way to connect with those in your industry. Not only can you make great connections but conferences are a great way to learn about innovative and new ideas in your industry. In this blog, we share the top 5 website design...
One idea can change the world. Jeff Bezos had a promising career as a wall street investment banker. He was making 6 figures and was on the rise within his firm. While some would be content to move through the paces of a promising career, Jeff had an idea. It...
A market is any group of people or organizations that will pay for your business or obtain your services. Ask yourself, who is willing to show you the money? Someone may want your services, but they have to be willing to pay you money for it. Wanting is not buying....
Marketing conferences are essential in keeping your company and its employees up to speed in a constantly changing marketing world. Innovative speakers, panels, and ideas can give you an edge over the competition. Conventions also provide an efficient way to create connections and share ideas with people in similar industries....
Success Mantra of Start-ups In our previous blog, we shared with you the reasons responsible for a start-up’s failure. Today, we will move forward and discuss more on start-ups and their success. Every start-up has some failures, but the success mantra is what can make it different from the crowd....
It’s true what they say, one idea can change the whole world. One startup crafted correctly can transform many lives, IF executed properly. This "IF" carries a huge importance. The whole structure and implementation of a startup relies on many "If's". Every moment including right now when you're reading this blog,...
Just imagine, if someone would have asked you to sell or promote your products and services on an online platform a decade ago, then you might have found it funny or even crazy! But sometimes, crazy things do happen, and they create history. This is what social media has done...
“Asking your customers how they feel instead of how satisfied they are will trigger candid, significant feedback, not platitudes.” This statement seems true in the real business. If you are not making your customers happy, then you are not here to stay in the business for long. To make sure...
If content is the king, then design is definitely the queen. Both are incomplete without each other. Words will lose its worth if they have no place to fit into and the designs will be useless if you have no content to complement the design with. So, let’s find out...