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On May 4, 2024, Mad Marketing, LLC was launched as McCook's new, local digital marketing partner.
My name is Maddie Elder, and I created Mad Marketing to bring tailored and impactful digital marketing solutions to local businesses in Southwest Nebraska. Mad Marketing is a hands-on branding asset that is sparce and limited in rural communities in the state. With years of experience in the digital media and marketing industry, I am committed to providing personalized creative strategies and comprehensive services that help local businesses thrive online.
I believe that every business in our community has the potential to have a trending and recognizable online presence, and I'm here to help brands find their unique voice in the digital space.
How Did I Get Here?
My journey in the industry began in advertising sales and consulting at The York News-Times in York, Nebraska. Quickly, I transitioned from local newspaper advertising to running creative digital banners on the newspaper's dynamic and high-trafficked website. I felt the strong pull toward our website and the audience behind the screen, so I transitioned my strategy for local businesses from traditional print media to online advertising efforts.
After two years of proven success in digital media sales, I was offered a promotion as the Digital Sales Director for our sister market, The Grand Island Independent in Grand Island, Nebraska. The Independent serves a territory that is 6x the size of York; this move came with a larger sales volume and a wider audience, so I was up for the challenge. I learned so many valuable lessons around the digital marketing product landscape as a sales director, however, the most valuable outcome of my role at The Independent was the connections made with my company's corporate leadership and other experts in the digital media field.
When COVID-19 hit the economy in 2020, it totally shifted the landscape of consumerism and what a normal work environment looked like. An opportunity presented itself to fill a role as a Sales Engineer and Strategist with our corporate partner, Amplified Digital, a national digital marketing agency out of St. Louis, Missouri. Because of the new normal at the time, this position was 100% remote and I could work from anywhere. After I was hired to join the agency, I honed my skills and diversified my expertise across various industries and market sizes when I accepted this role with Amplified Digital.
Unfortunately, an economic downfall led to my separation and a large portion of the company was laid off in July of 2023. This setback presented an opportunity for me to take a personal sabbatical and reevaluate my path in life. Though, timing could not have been more aligned with my dreams and goals. I had just moved to Summit County, Colorado, with the plan to experience the outdoors and life in the mountains.
I made the decision to explore another industry, not just to grow skills and change-up my "comfortable" routine and career, but to be present in my new community and to get to know the people around me. I'm an extrovert, and wanted to know more about my new home; whether they were local patrons who made Summit County home decades ago, or international travelers, I met and connected with each of them.
I worked in hospitality at a boutique hostel, flipped grilled cheese sandwiches and fried tater tots in a food truck around the county and eventually, started waking up at 4:00am to craft triple shot lattes at my local Starbucks. I may have averaged around 60 hours a week when juggling these jobs, but I never regretted it one bit and was ultimately thankful to have gone a different direction with my work experience. It was one of the biggest challenges, yet most rewarding decisions I thought I would ever make...
Until my mother was diagnosed with Stage 4 Metastatic Breast Cancer in February 2024. I quit all of my jobs and went straight back to Nebraska to be with my family. I was unsure what I was going to do, or where I would be, but I knew that I no longer would be available to my jobs in Colorado for the indefinite future.
After lots of prayers, conversations with mentors and too many ups and downs in the process, I made the decision to file my own brand as an official Limited Liability Corporation with the Nebraska Secretary of State.
Mad Marketing, LLC was born.
What Services Do I Offer?
Mad Marketing offers a range of services to boost your digital marketing portfolio and drive growth for your business through a variety of ways online.
General Branding
Branding refers to the process of creating and shaping a unique identity for your business. A successful brand can enhance emotions, associations and expectations among its target audience, helping to establish a strong and lasting relationship with customers. In essence, branding is about crafting a distinct image and reputation that resonates with customers and influences their perception and decisions.
Branding is a broad spectrum concept in marketing, given that it can be a large and timely effort, or a simple maintenance task. I like to consider a business' brand as their personality or their essence as a whole. There is no one-size option when it comes to branding, and each project is based on the level of establishment the brand has already built, or would like to build. Branding is a service that Mad Marketing offers, which is rooted in every strategic digital marketing decision and campaign that I manage.
Consulting and Strategy (Strat Chats)
Every client that I work with will be provided this service from the very first discovery call. "Strat Chats" as I like to call them, consist of open conversations, guidance and education on various digital marketing terms and topics so your business can better understand the entire parameter of our partnership. I strongly believe in the act of transparency when it comes to digital marketing and consulting services, and all topics and decisions will be discussed openly and objectively together. This includes assessing your company's current marketing efforts and identifying strengths and weaknesses. It is my own expectation to develop, implement and optimize campaigns and strategies to align with your business' brand.
This leads to a comprehensive plan that outlines how your business will achieve its objective. A marketing strategy involves defining your target audience, understanding customer needs and preferences and setting clear, measurable goals. It includes the selection of appropriate marketing channels and tactics and the creativity behind it. A well-designed marketing strategy ensures that all marketing efforts are aligned with your overall business goals and will effectively reach and engage the right people. It also includes monitoring and adjusting the strategy as needed based on performance data and market trends.
To summarize, marketing consultation is the expert guidance provided to shape your business' marketing efforts, while marketing strategy is the plan developed to guide those efforts toward achieving your specific business goals.
Social Media
Social media management involves leveraging various online platforms with very large, specific and diverse audiences. It encompasses the use of social channels such as Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter,) LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest and many others to engage with said audience, build brand awareness and drive customer interaction. Below are components of social media management that I manage for my clients:
1. Content Creation
2. Audience Engagement
3. Brand Management
4. Paid Advertising
5. Analytics and Insights
6. Influencer Marketing
Social media as a digital marketing service is a powerful and ever-changing outlet for businesses to connect with their audience and build brand loyalty. It requires a strategic approach, including selecting the right platforms, creating quality content and continuously engaging with the audience.
Reputation Services
Reputation services involve managing and enhancing your business' public perception to maintain a positive image and build trust with your audience. These services focus on shaping and influencing how your business is viewed by customers, stakeholders and the general public. We manage your business' reputation and brand by continuing to monitor comments and reviews on all public forums and platforms, as well as utilizing (or developing) 1st Party Data and customer loyalty in order to keep retention high and customers satisfied with your business' products or services.
Managing online reputation plays a crucial role in helping your business maintain a positive perception, manage crises and to establish a strong, trusted presence in the market against competitors. By focusing on reputation, your company can build lasting relationships with your customers and protect your brand's integrity and overall brand.
Organic Web Growth
Organic website growth refers to the increase in website traffic and visibility that occurs naturally without the use of paid advertising. This growth typically results from effective SEO, high-quality content creation and positive user engagement. Website growth can lead to sustained improvements in a website's search engine rankings, visibility and overall performance.
A large portion of organic growth on your website is tied to SEO, mentioned above. To put it simply, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization which is the process of improving your website to build strong "Google JuJu" I like to call it. SEO is not a simple feature though, and requires consistent management and frequent updates in order to perform and rank high with search engines. There are way too many variables that go into SEO management, and my goal is to educate and create a strong SEO campaign to build organic website traffic and growth for my clients.
Content Development
Content development is a key component in building authority and relevancy to your target market through a variety of digital media channels. This includes creating, planning, producing, and managing various types of content to support a brand's marketing strategy. This content is designed to engage, educate, inform, or entertain the target audience, ultimately building relationships, increasing brand awareness, and driving conversions. Effective content development can position a brand as a leader in its industry and establish trust and credibility with its audience.
The concept of developing content is not linear. Examples of what content can be include blogs, vlogs, social media posts, press releases and any other organic material that is produced and "owned" by the brand. This drives confidence for your brand, pinning your business as savvy. This is a huge factor as well when Google is ranking the relevancy and depth of a website -- what is this business saying and how are they doing so?
Retention
Retention efforts focus on maintaining and nurturing relationships with existing customers to encourage repeat business and build brand loyalty. By prioritizing customer satisfaction and ongoing engagement, businesses can increase customer lifetime value and reduce churn which is a huge key to success. A few outlets I utilize to maintain performance include email marketing, loyalty programs, customer support, social media engagement, surveys and feedback, review requests and replies, referral programs, data analytics and reporting and so much more.
Retention efforts in digital marketing are essential for building a loyal customer base and ensuring sustainable business growth. By prioritizing existing customers and continuously providing ongoing value, businesses can improve customer satisfaction and increase the likelihood of repeat purchases.
Paid Media
Paid media is any form of online advertising where businesses pay to promote their content or advertisements to reach their desired audience. This includes a variety of advertising formats across digital channels such as search engines, social media platforms, websites, and mobile apps. What's even better about targeting an audience through paid media channels is businesses have the power and control over demographics, geography, spend and other parameters to get your message and brand in front of new customers. Paid media is a critical component of a comprehensive digital marketing strategy as it allows businesses to quickly and efficiently increase their visibility, drive traffic, and achieve very specific and niche marketing goals.
A huge benefit of paid media is the ability to measure the effectiveness of campaigns through deep analytics and reporting. By leveraging paid media strategically, businesses can achieve short-term and long-term goals, such as driving conversions, increasing the awareness of the brand and reaching new customers who may not have come across your business in an organic way.
The Benefit Of Partnering With Mad Marketing.
As a nationally trained digital media expert and strategist, I bring my knowledge and passion to local businesses because it's more than a partnership, it's a relationship. One that you will not find when working with a national marketing agency that manages hundreds of brands in black and white ways. Building campaigns alongside me means you'll receive one-on-one attention and a deeper understanding of digital media in general. Many small businesses and marketing managers have gaps to fill in their complete marketing portfolio, but how do you know what those gaps are?
It begins with an evaluation of current trends and industry research to determine what is lacking in your business' marketing strategy. Often times, a small business will disregard the need for marketing, especially related to digital media.
Nevertheless, it is critical to understand that digital marketing and having an online presence is often the center of a business' success.
When working with Mad Marketing, you gain access to tailored strategies and innovative marketing solutions that help your business stand out in the digital landscape. It is standard and very important to me to be intentional with my clients; I choose to partner with one local business per industry so I am not developing marketing plans and campaigns for competitors. Whether you're looking to establish your brand, increase your online visibility or engage your audience more effectively, I'm here to help you achieve your goals and fill those marketing gaps.
Let's Partner For Success.
If you want to observe trends, join others in setting them, or create your own, I am here to guide you through the process and become an extension of your business.
Contact me today to learn more about how Mad Marketing, LLC can bring color to your brand!