As recently as a few years ago, we had a better grasp on what “content” meant online. It referred to individual posts – blogs, vlogs, infographics – typically stored on your site and discovered or shared through different channels, including search engine rankings, social media, and email.

But today’s internet works differently. There are more social channels, more types of media to pick from, more content creators than ever before. And as a result, users’ preferences have changed over the years. The ways in which we consume content have changed fundamentally, for example; we multi-task more than ever, and are more likely to “skim” articles than read them in their entirety.

More broadly speaking, even the ways we think about content have changed fundamentally in recent years. It’s no longer discrete, but omnipresent, built into the very fabric of the way that we use the internet now. Readers and searchers have grown more savvy and media literate, and your approach to content creation needs to be as sophisticated as they are – crafted in a way that consumers find appealing and made accessible on the channels that your audience is already using.

Read more

For a long time, Facebook leaned heavily on the idea that it was free – and always would be. Similarly, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram have absolutely no barrier to entry for individuals or organizations, as long as they’re old enough to sign up.

This low bar is what, in many ways, led to the social media marketing boom; potential customers signed up, and brands followed suit, leading to an online ecosystem full of constant conversations and access on both sides unlike anything that had ever been seen before.

So if social media is free, why do so many businesses hire marketers to handle their profiles? Well, the reality now is that…

Successful Social Media Actually Isn’t Free Anymore

Read more

FourStar Wealth Advisors is a Registered Investment Advisor firm headquartered in Chicago, with advisors located in offices around the country, including Massachusetts and Nevada. FourStar Wealth Advisors takes an independent and client-focused approach to wealth management and financial planning, helping their clients define what is most important to them and then formulating the strategies that are suited for their needs, whether they are accumulating wealth or investing for income, solidifying a retirement plan, or devising a distribution approach that meets their  lifestyle and legacy goals.

Our Mission 

FourStar Wealth Advisors is a next generation wealth advisory firm, focused on using new and innovative technologies and finding creative ways to communicate with their clients. FourStar came to Geek Chicago looking for a modern site that spoke to their independence and their commitment to industry-leading innovation. 

Read more

G&G Law Offices 

The attorneys and staff of Chicago’s G & G Law Offices know a thing or two about good business. As small business lawyers with clients throughout Chicago’s neighborhoods and suburbs, G & G works with small business owners just starting out, as well as established organizations with millions in revenue.

As a 21st-century neighborhood law firm, G & G Law is known for thinking outside the box, incorporating technology and automation to make their services more efficient for their clients, while always maintaining a close personal connection and developing lasting professional relationships. 

Read more

How do you showcase the ideals of an old school Chicago family-run business in a digital world?

That was the opportunity Geek took on when we began working with J. Blanton Plumbing, a plumbing and HVAC company based on Chicago’s North Side.

The answer? Stay authentic, stay real, and stay engaged with the community.

Read more

Their Story 

For more than 15 years, the talented teams of Sweeping Dimensions Cleaning Service have been providing clients all over Chicagoland with high-quality customized cleaning services, in a professional and trustworthy manner. Offering both residential and commercial cleaning services, Sweeping Dimensions has earned a stellar reputation for its exceptional work and superior customer service. 

As a company, Sweeping Dimensions is also known for its generosity and its strong commitment to giving back. SDCS is all about empowering the community, investing in people, and working for a better world — including putting a significant focus on using sustainable cleaning solutions and working to clean up our rivers and oceans. 

Read more

So you’ve gotten visitors to your site, perhaps thanks to your SEO or pay-per-click SEM campaigns.

But are you keeping them coming back and buying what you have to offer again and again? Are you just churning through users, or building a loyal following of big spenders and glowing referrers?  

While it’s always great to be bringing in fresh leads and acquiring new customers, retaining your existing customers is also a key pillar to increasing the value of your brand. This is what is known as retention marketing - the art and science behind increasing the probability of a customer purchasing from you again.

The Benefits of Retention Marketing

And retention marketing doesn’t just create abstract value, like engagement or brand recognition! It also translates to your bottom line, and in a huge way, at that.

Indeed, by some metrics, it costs 500% more to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one, and yet a loyal customer is worth up to 10x as much as the value of their first purchase. 

Read more

Maybe you’re a brand that’s focused on attracting active young consumers. Maybe you’re a B2B organization looking to reach influential industry decision makers. No matter the target demographic that you want your branded content to reach, social media is a powerful tool for extending your brand messaging and connecting with your ideal audience in 2019, and beyond. 

Now, just as important is deciding which social media platforms are the right fit for your brand to utilize to boost your message and reach your audience. Researching and deciding on the social media platforms you want to target is an important step for any brand getting started with social media marketing, and the outcome from this important choice will vary from business to business.  

The ways in which people interact with different social media platforms can change quickly. As a result, it is important to stay up-to-date on audience changes on these various platforms over time. That can mean keeping a close eye on both recent updates and more long-term audience trends, as well as staying apprised of new ways of leveraging these platforms, such as influencer marketing. 

Read more

In 2019, when people want to find an answer to a pressing question, scout for a product that they’re curious about, or connect with a local business, they turn to search engines, such as Google or Bing. 

Reaching this audience of eager search engine users has long been one of the single most important things you can do to attract traffic to your site and capture new leads for your brand. For some time now, there have been two primary methods for reaching this engaged and extensive audience of searchers: SEO, and SEM. 

SEO, or search engine optimization, is about creating content that ranks highly on search engines, allowing you to bring in organic traffic. SEM, or search engine marketing, refers to paid search campaigns, wherein you place bids with Google or another search engine to elevate your links to the top of the search pile. 

Read more

Gunderson Law Firm’s Story 

Based in Chicago’s Roscoe Village neighborhood, the talented attorneys and staff of the Gunderson Law Firm pride themselves on providing their clients throughout the Chicago area with exceptional legal representation and services in the areas of bankruptcy, real estate, and personal injury law. 

As principal attorney Michael Gunderson likes to say, this is a firm that is “committed to providing the advocacy you need - without the attitude you don’t.” 

Read more