The Rosewood team sitting together to review a productive 2023

In some ways the holiday break went a little too fast, but at the same time the Rosewood team is excited to continue existing projects and start a ton of new ones this year! We have a lot of digital marketing to strategize and websites to design and launch. However, just like previous years, we’re kicking off 2024 with a review of the success and accomplishments we and our clients shared in 2023.

2023 Proved No Less Busy Than 2022

In fact, 2023 kept us even busier as we served over 120 clients from developing websites to creating comprehensive marketing plans, and everything in between. To address our growing scope and project lists, we had a few new members join Rosewood. We’re still a small and focused team across our Canada-wide offices, but that hasn’t prevented us from making big accomplishments this past year. That focus also allowed us to provide individual and local attention to many of our small business clients concentrated in Newmarket, Uxbridge, Aurora, and around the GTA.

The Launch of Rosewood Fundraising

Rosewood launched a new division in 2023 dedicated to nonprofits that benefit their local communities: Rosewood Fundraising. We have been supporting and providing our services to nonprofits since Rosewood’s beginning; however, this new division dedicates itself to marketing solutions and strategies along with fundraising technologies that are honed to each nonprofit’s needs. Along with our digital marketing expertise, our new division includes our successful Catch the Ace lottery system as well as the new Fundraising for Good platform.

New Services and Insights from Rosewood in 2024

Our review shows 2023 was already a big year, and before we show how by listing all the incredible wins our team had this year, we want to discuss what the year ahead has in store to make it just as exciting. Along with the many projects already underway and soon to start this year, we are thrilled to unveil that we will soon be expanding our consulting services. We’re excited to launch this new service that will only further help small businesses succeed.

These consulting services will provide businesses and organizations with our team’s technical and industry expertise to identify the unique needs and best strategies they should put into practice. These comprehensive services will include website audits, social media branding and strategizing, email and SMS setup and best practices. For ads, these will go beyond traditional campaigns to focus on customized strategies, utilizing a full range of digital tools and resources. These consultations will be precisely tailored to meet the unique needs of every small business we collaborate with.

Wins from 2023

Websites:

  • 31 websites launched!
  • 50 ongoing website maintenance clients with over 570 hours spent in 2023 on various maintenance tasks.
  • Countless websites optimized.

Ads:

  • Generated over 110,000 clicks, directing traffic to a variety of local businesses, and boosting their online presence and customer engagement.
  • Achieved over 16,000 conversions encompassing leads, purchases, phone calls, directions requests, and much more.
  • Conducted extensive A/B testing with over 2,000 headlines across multiple industries to capture the unique voice and appeal of each business and sector.

Digital Media:

  • Over 1100 social posts were uploaded across all major channels to help businesses and nonprofits grow their reach and foster their digital community.
  • 112 email newsletters and many more email automations developed and sent to keep business’ clients and customers up to date while fostering loyalty.
  • 103 blogs written with another 64 also posted to improve website SEO while educating and entertaining site visitors.
  • 42 hours dedicated to copywriting not including editing and implementation.

Fundraising:

  • Launch of Rosewood Fundraising as its own dedicated division.
  • Over $1 million in Catch the Ace transactions processed with proceeds directly supporting community programs across Ontario!

Misc.

  • Further integration of Monday.com for client-facing operations, allowing them to track and update projects.
  • Hundreds of Video Tutorials recorded for clients and team members.
  • Hundreds of eye-catching graphics created.
  • Thousands of perfect images licensed and sourced.
  • Thousands of hours spent on Zoom, Google Meet and Slack Huddles!

Starting 2024 Right

Reflecting on all we’ve accomplished in our review of 2023, we’re only more excited to get started with 2024. We have plenty more websites to design, social posts to create, and ads to review, let alone the exciting things brewing both in our consulting services and over at Rosewood fundraising. We have big goals ahead for ourselves and our many clients. The new year is always a perfect time to set your own business resolutions to accomplish by the year’s end. If you have some big goals whether it’s web design, ads, social media marketing, fundraising, email marketing, or more be sure to contact us to get the year off to the right start.

Two women collaborating on a laptop to optimize a Google ad landing page for better results.

We repeatedly talk about how Google Ads are great for small businesses. Their scaling budget, focused targeting, and clear metrics make them a versatile option. Once you’ve set up effective Google Ads, you’ll be able to direct users to a landing page on your business’ website. That landing page has just as important a job of ensuring potential customers continue on to purchase your products or services. We’ll explain how you can optimize your Google Ads landing pages for better results.

What is a Landing Page

A landing page is a page on your website where a user ends up when they click on a digital marketing campaign like a social media post or Google Ad. It’s where the user “lands” in their digital flight. The landing page ensures those who are interested in the marketing campaign maintain that interest and direct them to complete the desired actions. This could be to purchase a certain product, hire your business’ services, have them sign up for a newsletter, attend an event, etc. Your Google Ad’s job was to increase awareness about your business, its services, or its products and convert them to visit your website. The landing page continues that conversion process by providing a friendly and focused welcome with clear directions to keep going.

How to Optimize and Improve Your Landing Pages

Just like with any digital marketing, there are various strategies to consider when optimizing your landing pages to improve their performance. Here are some of the key strategies along with examples that represent these best practices.

The Right Page for the Right Ad

Unlike your home page, a landing page has a more precise job. It welcomes a user who has come for a specific reason through a specific Google Ad. Therefore, you don’t want an overly generic landing page that will leave users lost. Tailor the landing page to each ad or type of ad. For example, a Google Ad for a certain product or service should land the user on that product or service request page. If a user follows a link to sign up for a newsletter or event, the landing page should be the form to join. If users don’t arrive on a corresponding landing page, they are only likely to get confused, frustrated, and leave.

Concise and Effective Copy

Another way a landing page can potentially confuse any new arrivals is by being full of words. Users have come with a specific purpose, and a landing page should have clear and simple messaging that provides pertinent information. Keep copy concise to be the most effective. Wordiness or jargon could lead to confusion and distract a user from completing the conversion that’s your business’ goal. This landing page from FeminaHealth is a great example. Notice how the simple copy effectively communicates the information with distinct formatting that clearly directs the user to the next step.

Clear Call to Actions

Along with that direct and concise copy, you will want a clear and prominent call to action on any landing page. This will make it clear to a user how to proceed when they arrive on the page, optimizing its performance. On a product page, this will be a clear button like “Add to Cart”. On a newsletter or event signup, these calls to action could be a “Fill the Form” in prominent text with a clear “SUBMIT” button at the bottom. These clear calls to action help direct a user to continue from the landing to the next critical steps in the process. This landing page from Goldberg Centre Vision Correction for booking a consultation is a perfect example of a prominent call to action that directs any landing arrivals.

Cohesive Branding Between Google Ad and Landing Page

An important element of designing any optimized landing page is making sure it is consistent with the rest of your digital branding. When a user arrives at a landing page, they want the space to be familiar and expected. If they arrive at a page that doesn’t match the Google Ad visually and verbally, they’ll be confused or even worried they’ve been taken to the wrong place. That’s why it’s best practice that your landing page has cohesive branding. The space should seem familiar and right, and so should be custom-designed to match the visuals, tone, and style of your business. A great example of this strategy is this landing page from talkspace, where the branding is clear in the page’s logo, colours, and the tone of its copy.

The Best Landing Page is One They Don’t Walk Away From

Now you know some of the best practices for optimizing and improving your Google Ads landing pages. You want a landing page to provide a clear, directive, and familiar experience for any user arriving there. Its job is to keep users there and in contact with your business, not scare them off. If you want more tips for designing your landing pages or want some optimized pages designed for you, contact our advertising and web design teams at Rosewood, who are masters of sticking the landing. 

A man and a woman setting up various equipment for live streaming in real time

Today, live video streaming has well established itself as a dominant force in online content. As a powerful tool for engaging an audience, its popularity has led to every major social media platform providing the ability to view and produce live video content. Live streaming is an especially powerful tool for brands and businesses. It allows them to engage their audience in real time. We’ll explain some of the basics of live streaming and how your brand can use it to directly engage with its audience.

The Benefits of Live Streaming

One simple benefit of live streaming is that it’s extremely popular. it’s one of the most popular kinds of video content online with 23.7% of time spent on social media platforms dedicated to watching live streams. The other benefit is that live streaming is the best content for directly engaging with your audience. In all live streams, users can chat and react to the content in real time. In turn, the streamers can immediately respond and engage with their active viewers. This makes live streaming extremely personable compared to other kinds of content, and is why it’s also a popular choice for influencers. The result? Live streaming is one of the best ways for your brand to foster personal connections and communicate directly with its followers.

Streaming Platforms

With streaming’s immense popularity, there are many platforms to choose from. However, like any services, there are some clear leaders. 

Social Media Live Streaming 

Considering how fast they deliver and spread content, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the major social media platforms have their own live streaming services. Facebook LiveInstagram Live, and TikTok Live are all great and popular options for your brand’s live streaming. These allow you to stream directly to the audience you’ve already developed on any of those platforms. Plus, it’s easy to start right away. Streams on these platforms usually have simple production values, with streams coming directly from a mobile device.

Twitch and YouTube Live

The two other dominant streaming platforms are Twitch and YouTube Live. They are by far the most popular. Twitch users watched over 210 million hours in just the third quarter of 2022. It originally was designed for streaming video games, which is still the primary content on the platform. However, over the past years, Twitch and its streamers have diversified to now include more broad cooking and “Just Chatting” categories, the latter being by far the most popular. As a true testament to the variety, the BC Marine Mammal Rescue streamed the Vancouver Aquarium’s otter habitat for multiple years there. YouTube Live streaming is newer but has always been as diverse as YouTube’s on-demand content.

A difference for these platforms compared to social media streaming is production value. Twitch and YouTube streams tend to have more complex video and audio setups. Streams are meant to be horizontal video and rarely, if ever, come from mobile devices. Similarly, some brands and companies even just stream out pre-recorded videos or presentations. On the other hand, that complexity also means these platforms come with various tools like creating clips or countless plugins that social media lacks. Overall, these platforms are better suited for brands planning to make streaming a regular part of their content delivery strategy. 

Tips for Live Streaming

The ability to communicate and engage directly with your audience makes live streaming incredibly exciting for brands, but it can also be a little daunting. Here are some of our tips if you’re looking to start:

  • Engage your audience – The strength of streaming is the live component that allows for engagement, so be engaging. Address feedback, answer questions, laugh at jokes, etc. If people see you are engaging back, they will be more motivated to keep engaging with your brand.
  • Choose who and what to engage with – You can’t and shouldn’t engage with everything. If a stream has a large audience there will be a flood of chat messages, and you will have to be selective where you spend your time. Your audience will understand. Unfortunately, some material might be inflammatory or insulting. Ignore it and remove it. Acknowledging it could only fan the flames.
  • Announce and schedule streams – While many do regularly spend time on social media, many won’t be aware of your streams unless they stumble upon them. Announce planned live streams on your social channels so that followers are aware of when it’s going to happen. You can also provide some hints of the stream’s content, such as QA, announcements, a contest, or a giveaway. On dedicated streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube, it’s more typical to have a set schedule and announce streams on other social channels.
  • Spice things up with spontaneity – Spontaneous and sudden streams can also have a charm of their own. If they attract enough audience, they keep your following regularly attentive, checking your other content to see if a live stream is happening.
  • Remember you’re live – Live streams have no edits or cuts. Be attentive to what you’re saying and how. Mistakes are fine and part of the charm but keep them innocuous.
  • Choose the right platform – It’s best to stream where you have the biggest following, especially in the case of social media. However, as already mentioned, if you’re looking to make live streams a prominent part of your brand’s content, look towards Twitch or YouTube.
  • Consider streaming on multiple platforms – You may have a substantial audience on more than one platform. Consider streaming on multiple platforms at once. Various other tools and services help with this, such as OBS. Just remember that when you are streaming on multiple platforms, you need to be attentive to engaging that audience in multiple spaces.

Let the Live Streams Flow

Now that you understand some of the benefits, and fundamentals, and have some extra tips in your toolbox, your brand is ready to go live. If you’re looking for more specific advice, need help with live streaming, or are considering making it part of your brand strategy, contact our marketing team at Rosewood Marketing. Their expertise will help you get those streams flowing.