The Crew Log

An Ongoing Anthology of Moon Musings
January 23, 2019  by

Should I Hire A Marketing Agency?

Not sure if you need help from a marketing agency? Answer these two questions to find out.

Let’s say your company is getting ready to launch a new product. Or, your brand feels as old as the original Apple logo and really needs a refresh. These are real-world business scenarios our clients have faced, prompting them to ask the question a lot of companies ask: Should I hire a marketing agency to help me with this?

You might look to your budget for the answer, in which case we’d yell:

STOP

We know from working with clients for over 20 years that budgets are a real thing and spend must to be justified. But deciding whether to hire marketing services cannot solely be based on your budget. If you’ve ever considered working with an agency, here are two simple questions that will give you your “Yes” or “No” answer.

 

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Jessica Bains
December 27, 2018  by

Jessica | Goodbye & Good Luck

A.A. Milne, author of Winnie-the-Pooh, once wrote:

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”

 

I never thought I’d find myself writing this blog post, but here I am! I’m saying goodbye to a company that welcomed me with open arms. Moonlight has taught me more than I ever expected in these last three years.

 

This transition is so bittersweet. On the one hand, I’m very excited for my new adventure in Raleigh, NC, but on the other hand, it’s so hard leaving these wonderful people behind. I will miss our sweet, little office with its abundance of cozy chairs. Tuesday staff lunches are something I’ll definitely miss looking forward to. Desk decorating, mimosa moments, and celebrating (or dressing up for) every silly holiday out there are some of the few great memories that I will cherish. It was those moments that made working at Moonlight never feel like work.

 

I’ve built some great relationships with so many clients, who I will also miss dearly. I’ve learned and grown so much at Moonlight and am forever grateful to Dawn for allowing me to explore beyond my comfort zone and for helping me reach my potential. I can’t thank her enough for bringing me on to the team.

 

It’s going to be strange not seeing these amazing people every day, but I’d like to consider myself a ‘Moonlighter’ for life. Thank you all for putting up with my lame jokes and amusing quirks, for letting me be your part-time office DJ, and for being such a great team. Thank you for everything.

 

 

Check out other blog posts

We're Looking for a Web/Graphic Designer!

Moonlight Creative is looking to add an out-of-this-world designer to our crew. As a Moon Crew member, you are a:

Read More ›

We're looking for a Marketing Master!

We’re looking for a new member of the Moon Crew! Think you’d be a good fit? We’d love to hear from you!

Read More ›

Let’s Rise Above the Coronavirus

Working together to keep moving our business community forward.

Read More ›

 

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November 21, 2018  by

Influencer Marketing

Britney Spears drinking a Pepsi. Steph Curry shaving with a Gillette razor. Influencer marketing has been around as long as marketing itself. The goal is simple: find people with clout within your market and partner with them to showcase your product to their followers. How convenient that their followers just so happen to be your target audience!

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October 2, 2018  by

Jocelyn | Goodbye & Good Luck

You might have heard rumblings through the galaxy about changes in the Moonlight office. A few weeks ago we introduced you to Anna, and now it’s time to say farewell to Jocelyn as she embarks on a new adventure in Atlanta.

Before making the move down I-85 South, Jocelyn shared her three favorite things about her time at Moonlight:

  1. THE CREW

The Moon Crew is one-of-a-kind. Our rockstar designers are crazy talented and never cease to amaze me with their beautiful creations. Our fearless leader is a wonderful mentor with a killer instinct for smart marketing and great design. I will miss working (and lunching) with this talented second family.

  1. THE CLIENTS

Not only does Moonlight have the best team, but we also have the best clients. During my time here, I got to partner with people from a wide variety of backgrounds and industries, each with different goals, needs and target audiences. It was an honor to tell their companies’ stories and help solve their marketing problems.

  1. THE FUN

Above all, I feel incredibly grateful to have worked at a place where coming to work every day is FUN. I mean, where else do you get to dress down for #NationalPJDay, plan an eclipse-themed picnic or make a Christmas tree with sticky notes? (Answer: Nowhere else.) I loved bringing this spirit of fun and creativity to our clients and the work. Big thanks to Moonlight and our clients for making my time here unforgettable.

 

We will miss you, Jocelyn, and we wish you all the best in ATL!

 

Check out other blog posts

We're Looking for a Web/Graphic Designer!

Moonlight Creative is looking to add an out-of-this-world designer to our crew. As a Moon Crew member, you are a:

Read More ›

We're looking for a Marketing Master!

We’re looking for a new member of the Moon Crew! Think you’d be a good fit? We’d love to hear from you!

Read More ›

Let’s Rise Above the Coronavirus

Working together to keep moving our business community forward.

Read More ›

 

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July 11, 2018  by

What if my brand isn’t inherently visual?

By now you know the value of social media and even Instagram Stories (if not, check out our previous blog posts on these topics – we’ll wait). But maybe you’re not sure how to make these visually driven platforms work for you because your product or service isn’t inherently visual. After all, we can’t all be glamorous like hospitality, retail or beauty – where quality photography and videography goes a long way. So, what do you do? Throw in the towel? No way!

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June 28, 2018  by

4 Keys to Unlock the Power of Online Reviews

Where do you turn when you need a new pet sitter, hair dryer, yoga studio, date night restaurant or sofa? The internet, of course! And if you’re like 92% of consumers, you read online reviews to get the truth about what to expect from a product or service before you buy.

Online reviews are incredibly powerful – a product with at least 5 online reviews has a 270% higher purchase likelihood than a product with 0 reviews. Why? Because we’re inundated with options and information about those options. Online reviews help us cut through the noise, weed out the good from the bad, and (hopefully) make worthwhile purchasing decisions.

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May 30, 2018  by

Instagram Stories — What, Why & How

  What are Instagram Stories?  

Let’s start with the basics, shall we? For those unfamiliar, Instagram Stories is a feature within the Instagram app that lets users post photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours. The content you share on your Story doesn’t appear on your profile page or in your followers’ main feeds – instead, it lives at the top of their feed alongside the Stories posted by whoever else they follow.

 

  Why should you use Instagram Stories?  

You might be wondering why you’d put time and energy into creating something that lasts for less than 24 hours? Because people LOVE Instagram Stories. They’re easy to watch and they inspire higher engagement than typical posts – the Instagram algorithm measures engagement and rewards accounts that effectively engage users. So, if you’re regularly posting interesting Instagram Stories, the rest of your posts will also rank more highly in your followers’ feeds.

Also, you can make your best Stories last longer than 24 hours by saving them to your profile page, where they will be available to anyone who visits your profile.

 

  Tips to Get Started:  

> Tell a Story
They’re called Stories for a reason! ;) Go behind the scenes at one of your company’s events, describe a day in the life of an employee, illustrate the experience of a customer, demonstrate how to use your product or service, host a “takeover” by an influencer, partner or collaborator, etc.

> Engage
Use Stories to speak with your current and potential customers. Ask for feedback (comments on Stories are private), run polls and contests, pose questions, offer tutorials, host Q&A sessions, etc.

> Don’t Let Perfect Be the Enemy of Good
Think of Stories as a less formal way to communicate with current and potential customers, allowing them to get a more authentic look into your company, your culture and your values. Like we mentioned before, the content is temporary, so it’s an ideal place to get creative, run experiments and find out what works and what doesn’t. In the process, you’ll help make your brand more human and relatable.

 

Ready to get started? Check out this article to get a step-by-step guide to creating your first Instagram Story.

 

Need some additional support? We’re happy to help you strategize, brainstorm, plan, create, measure, etc.
Send us a note!

 

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May 17, 2018  by

Banner Ads are Dead

Sorry to break the news, friends, but banner ads are dead. They’re annoying, interruptive and ineffective and there’s a new ad in town – the native ad.

But before we get into native ads, let’s back up for second and make sure we’re on the same page. First off, what’s a banner ad? You likely encounter them every day while perusing the interweb – and you probably ignore them entirely or accidentally click on them when they’re in your way. Banner ads are those rectangular graphic display ads that stretch across the top, bottom or sides of a webpage. Exhibit A:

banner ad example

Why are they dead?

Well, they’re annoying and worse, they often interrupt you while you’re trying to do important things on the internet like read an article about the 53 cutest dog photos of 2018. Banner ads are next-level annoying on mobile devices where screen space is more limited and you have to use extra time and energy to scroll past ads to get to the content you actually want to see. Therefore, it’s no surprise that over half of clicks on mobile banner ads are accidental.

So, what should you turn to instead? The native ad!

What’s a native ad?

It’s an ad that looks like it belongs on the website you’re viewing – because it matches the form and function of that website.

For example, ads on your Facebook newsfeed look and behave like your other Facebook posts. The same is true for the ads on your Instagram feed – they look like the rest of the posts but they’re marked as “sponsored.”

native ad examples

Good native ads provide relevant, useful information to your viewer (related: check out our recent post about content marketing). Examples include sponsored content, like this article from the satirical news website, The Onion: Woman Going to Take Quick Break After Filling Out Name, Address on Tax Forms – you’ll notice that it’s sponsored by H&R Block. Makes sense, right? The Charlotte Agenda, a hyperlocal news website in our hometown also does this well – check out this guide to saving money in Charlotte, which is sponsored by Bank of America. Brilliant and useful, right?

another native ad example

Need more convincing? Native advertising performs – these types of ads are viewed 53% more than banner ads.

What other golden nuggets of learning do we have to share from the Digital Summit? Learn more here.

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