THE WHITLATCH WEEKLY

The Chicago Cubs are the 2016 World Champions of Baseball.  Just saying that hasn't really sunk in yet, has it?  Talk about being patient. For decades, the Cubs have had both winning and losing seasons, a Billy goat , and a man named Bartman steal the dreams of thousands  millions. Achieving greatness takes discipline. It takes trust. It takes a group of individual skills coming together to accomplish a goal.    I was first introduced to SEO (Search Engine Optimization) when I was given a book called, SEO Made Easy: Everything You Need To Know About SEO and Nothing More ,  by Evan Bailyn .  It was my first day here at M1 Data & Analytics and I was eager to dive in and see what was so difficult with this SEO monster. Up to this point, I knew SEO was the reason why your link would or would not pop up in the search results, that's about it.  One chapter after another, I realized this was no overnight type of task. I wasn't going to b...

By now, I hope you have figured out who has gradually taken over the throne in Social Media Marketing the last few years.  You guessed it, the CUSTOMER.  By the end of 2016, 89% of Companies expect to compete mainly on the basis of CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE compared to only 36% only four years ago.  Just as Marketing and Advertising on Social Media began to get a little ridiculous, the CUSTOMER stepped in right in time.   Don't get me wrong, Marketing and Advertising are at an all-time high via Social Media and I don't see that changing anytime soon.  However, WHO - WHAT - WHEN - WHERE - WHY and HOW this Marketing and Advertising ends up in the CUSTOMER'S hands is no accident. WHO Defining and Identifying your CUSTOMER (Target Audience) is priority number one.  If you don't know what pond to fish in, how do you expect to catch any fish?  Knowing WHO your CUSTOMER is will help you know where to hang out - Facebook , Twitter Chat, Blog...

Snapchat, Tweets, Trump , a lingering Bern   that just won't go away, and Clinton could return to the White House.  Man, I bet ole Abe and George Dub are literally rolling over in their graves as I am typing this. The 2016 Presidential Election is definitely unique, let's put it that way. Unlike past elections, Social Media has played a significant role in the election. From Facebook to Twitter , even Snapchat and Instagram have had their persuasion and benefiting moments for a majority of the candidates. Go ahead, hate on the Millennials. It's our fault that little blue bird even exists. Like this share that. But like it or not, Millennials are as involved and as tuned in as really any generation currently. The Presidential Candidates , more importantly, their campaign managers, are fully aware of this and taking advantage of that. Let's take a look at some of the key reasons why Social Media works, even in politics. BE GENUINE   Bad acting...

DO YOU EVER FEEL AS IF YOU'RE BEING TOLD WHAT TO DO A LITTLE BIT MORE OFTEN THESE DAYS? YOU MUST JOIN THIS GROUP. YOU MUST POST THAT PICTURE. YOU MUST DO THIS. YOU MUST DO THAT. AND THAT'S JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG. FACEBOOK , TWITTER , YOUTUBE, ANDROID OR I-PHONE, GOOGLE OR YAHOO. IT'S LIKE WE ARE BEING ASKED TO ENLIST IN A SOCIAL MEDIA BRANCH OF THE MILITARY. AM I RIGHT? WHAT STARTED AS A FRIENDLY BLUE BIRD AND A CATCHY THUMBS UP TO EXPRESS OUR FEELINGS OR EMOTIONS, SEEMS TO BE GETTING A LITTLE BIT PUSHY. MARKETING IS ALL AROUND US AT ALL TIMES. PICTURES, SLOGANS, ADVERTISEMENTS, ALL MADE TO PERSUADE OR ATTRACT A CERTAIN AUDIENCE TO A CERTAIN BRAND OR PRODUCT. THIS MARKETING IS COMING AT YOU FROM SEVERAL DIFFERENT ANGLES - TELEVISION, RADIO, PRINT, AND ONE OF OUR NEWEST MEMBERS - SOCIAL MEDIA. IF YOU HANDLE YOUR COMPANY'S SOCIAL MEDIA EFFORTS, EACH DAY FEELS LIKE YOU MIGHT O-D ON TWEETS AND LIKES. IT'S OVERWHELMING. BEING ABLE TO IDENTIFY WHICH PLATFORM...

What makes you open an email? Is it the subject ? Maybe the font or color ? What ever the case may be, there are several factors that determine the outcome of that email becoming a success or a complete flop. Deleted. Denied. Another email finding its way into the spam or trash folder.  But not so fast. You can't give up yet.  Email Marketing can be one of the most cost effective methods of marketing, but that is easier said than done. Like any marketing, it takes a certain skill. A certain touch. A certain art. Let's go ahead and clear one thing up. Email marketing will never be perfected. A campaign with promise of success could flop, as easy as a campaign expected to flop can be a success. Some elements are uncontrollable as a marketing professional and solely up to your target customer opening the email.  Here are some things you CAN control: IN YOUR HANDS -Avoid using large images. If your message has a low ratio of text to image, the message...

This will be the year marketing changes.  I mean really changes.  The year where the modern consumer jumps on the bandwagon.  The Millennial bandwagon that is.  Millennials are considered to be anyone born around 1980-2000, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have the “Millennial Mindset.”  Brands no longer target a certain age group, but rather those who have adopted the modernized way of marketing and being reached via marketing.  So sit back, relax, and let me tell you why Millennials will shape the new era of marketing... you just might like it. Making up a quarter of the United States, Millennials remind me of that friend we all have.  You know the one.  If you meet them once, you probably won’t really like them to be honest.  But after a few more hang-outs and convos, they begin to grow on you.  No more do you just see the headphones, the cell phone, text this, tweet that.  You finally see something more.  Somethin...