Timeline
When you start working with Beacon Media + Marketing, our goal is a two-week turnaround from signing the contract to seeing your first piece of content go live. The exception to this is where we’ve negotiated special circumstances – for example, for custom projects – but this will be clearly set out in the terms of your contract. As a general rule, you can expect your timeline to look like this:
Step 1
Onboarding
- We’ll invite you to a meet and greet, and send you a welcome email with billing details.
- We’ll conduct a team brainstorm to research and develop ideas that reach your goals.
- We’ll present a marketing plan to help your business grow, scale and thrive.
Step 2
Behind the Scenes
- Our account managers will green-light the flurry of activity to deliver your campaign.
- Our social media team will start working on your brand personality and content.
- Our graphic designer will start creating custom assets to bring your brand to life.
- Our videographer will start pre-production on your photo and video shoot.
- Our Google team will start researching keywords and optimizing your ads.
- Our copywriter will start developing your messaging and SEO strategy.
- Our developer will start working on your shiny new website.
Step 3
Going Live
- We’ll provide mocks for your approval, then it’s time to release the campaign into the wild.
- Once your campaign is live, our account managers will provide updates on your success.
Contacts
We’re always here to help with any questions and feedback you may have. This welcome kit is designed to answer the most common onboarding FAQs we’re asked, but if you’d like to talk to a real person, our account management team is happy to help. You can connect with them face-to-face, over Zoom, phone, email or carrier pigeon. Just let us know what you’re comfortable with.
In terms of communication, our account manager will set recurring meetings with you, and they’ll let you know in advance if there’s anything you need to prepare. These are a great opportunity to let us know about any exciting developments like upcoming events or new product lines.
Billing
Retainers
- We issue invoices on the 15th day of each month for all ongoing marketing services clients.
- We send automatic reminders two weeks, three days, and one day before the due date.
- Please note that we require up-to-date credit card information, which we keep on file and store securely. This enables us to ensure your services are always delivered smoothly.
Projects
For project-based services, we will charge you in two increments:
- Bill 1: 50% charged up front. This will come through two weeks after you sign the contract.
- Bill 2: 50% charged on launch or after five weeks, whichever comes first.
Contracts
Our contracts are for 90 days. We expect to see quantifiable results after 60 days, and continued success after that. If we’re not seeing results in 60 days, we’ll bring our full team together for a brainstorm to identify the challenges you are facing and make the pivots necessary to ensure we reach your marketing goals. Your goals are our goals, so we want to set you up for success.
At the end of our initial commitment, we’ll take a deep dive into your marketing goals and results to help you define your next steps. We’ll develop a game plan to help you blow your next round of growth targets out of the water. Our goal is to partner with you on each step of your business success story. Remember, you can always reach out to your account manager with any questions.
Account Access
Facebook Page Access
The first step to Facebook marketing is to give us access to your page. This is a really simple process. All you need to do is log into Facebook, then click “Pages” on the left-hand side. Then, click “Page Settings” on the bottom left and “Page Roles” in the left-hand column. Type a name or email address into the box (your account manager will send this to you) and then select that person from the list that appears. Click “Editor” to select a role from the dropdown menu, then click “Add” and enter your password to confirm. It’s very straightforward and should only take about a minute.
Facebook Ads Access
Facebook Ads are posted through an application called Facebook for Business. If you’ve already set up your account, go to Ads Manager and click “Settings.” You may be asked to re-enter your password. Under Ad account roles, select “Add People” and then enter the name or email address into the box (your account manager will send this to you). Use the drop-down menu to select “Admin” and then click confirm. That will give our social media team access to your account.
You can learn more about adding people to your Facebook ad account here.
Dropbox Access
When you first join Beacon, your account manager will send you an invitation to edit a folder on Dropbox. This is where you can upload and share any documentation, images, and logos that we will need to deliver your services. The invitation will be sent via email and have a “Go to Folder” button.
Once you click through, you’ll see an empty folder. All you need to do is click the “Upload Files” or “Upload Folder” open in the panel on the right-hand side to add your files. Once you do that, they will be visible to the Beacon team, and we can get started on the next phase of the project.
You can learn more about accepting a Dropbox Business invitation here.
WordPress Access
If we’re designing a new website for you, or managing your web content, you’ll need to give us access through WordPress. Log into your site and select “Users” from the menu on the left-hand side. Click on “Add New” and then fill in the required information. WordPress will automatically generate a strong password for the new user. Check the box that says, “Send this password to the new user by email,” and select “Editor” from the dropdown menu. We’ll then receive an invitation which will give us the details we need to login and start boosting your web traffic.
You can learn more about adding users on your WordPress site here.
Services
We are a full-service digital marketing company, which means we can help with everything from digital marketing services to web development, branding and design, and video and photography. Want to rank on Google’s results page? Grow your Facebook community? Develop a fabulous new website? We’re here to help your business attract attention online for all the right reasons. Here’s an overview of our most popular services to you can see exactly what we can do for you.
Website Development
We’ll create a website that acts as a sophisticated digital storefront. After we meet you, our copywriter will conceptualize your new website. This involves researching keywords, your industry, and your competitors, before developing the structure and drafting the text. Once it’s written, it will be passed to our design team, and then along to our developer, before we present it for feedback.
- Create content, develop strategic landing pages, optimize copy for SEO.
- Design each page, create graphic elements, develop brand style.
- Build the back-end of the website, code each custom page.
Branding + Design
Your brand is more than your logo, it is the story you tell customers and potential clients. After we meet with you, our social media team will capture this in a branding guide. It will then be passed along to our designer, who will research and develop a fresh logo and an all-new brand kit.
- Meet with you and talk about your vision, mission, and business goals.
- Develop your brand guide – including colors, fonts, themes, and key messaging.
- Design your logo and other graphic assets to represent your business visually.
Custom Chatbot Integration
There’s nothing quite like a customized user experience. Once we meet with you, our sales team will develop a custom sales flow to guide visitors through your website. This chatbot will function as a digital sales representative that will help capture your dream clients all day and all night.
- Install a chatbot onto all your main landing pages.
- Develop chat trees that use Q&As to customize the user experience.
- Track lead and conversion data and make adjustments to optimize the flow.
Facebook Content Management
Our social media team specializes in building connections. Once services begin, they’ll research your competitors, develop a strategy and branding guide to maximize your impact, create and post all your content, and monitor your analytics to ensure things are running smoothly.
- Analyze your closest competitors to evaluate the effectiveness of their social strategies.
- Create messaging and a content calendar designed to deliver your campaign goals.
- Develop graphics, select images, create animations, and edit videos to capture attention.
Facebook Ads Management
Great Facebook Ads need a great strategy. Our social media team will carefully craft Facebook Ads that reinforce the messaging of your Facebook content strategy and drive engagement. They’ll keep a close eye on the reports and run A/B testing to ensure you’re maximizing the value of your spend.
- Consider your marketing goals to determine campaign strategy. (e.g. reach, conversions, etc.)
- Evaluate your page analytics to determine which types of content are most effective.
- Create messaging, develop visual assets, and run A/B testing to optimize content.
- Analyze reports to determine campaign success and growth opportunities.
LinkedIn Ads Management
LinkedIn is a great way to conduct B2B marketing. It needs a sophisticated strategy to capture the attention of business leaders and professionals, so our social media team will carefully research your industry and create ads designed to create the right first impression every time.
- Consider your marketing goals to determine campaign strategy. (e.g. reach, conversions, etc.)
- Evaluate your page analytics to determine which types of content are most effective.
- Create messaging, develop visual assets, and run A/B testing to optimize content.
Instagram Content Management
Succeeding on Instagram requires a lot of thought and attention to detail. Our social media team will use photographs to tell your brand story, boost awareness, and visually engage new audiences.
- Analyze your closest competitors to evaluate the effectiveness of their social strategies.
- Create messaging and a content calendar designed to deliver your campaign goals.
- Develop graphics, select images, create animations, and edit videos to capture attention.
Social Media Videos
Video has exploded in recent years, which means it’s time to get on board. When you purchase a social media package, our team will meet with you to discuss strategy and start planning the shoot. When that day arrives, our videographer will meet you and spend a couple of hours talking to you and filming key shots, before editing polished and engaging social videos for you to share.
- Meet with you to talk about your messaging and marketing goals.
- Pre-production: Planning the shoot, organizing equipment, developing a creative vision.
- Post-production: Backing up all the files, editing footage, adding graphics and music.
Google Ads (PPC)
Google Ads are a great way to connect with people who are actively searching for products and services like yours. Our team will research keywords and budgets before crafting ads that ensure your business stands out. Our goal is to create the maximum impact for the minimum spend.
- Research keyword groups and keyword modifiers to maximize your impact.
- Create messaging, develop visual assets, and run A/B testing to optimize content.
- Analyze reports to determine campaign success and growth opportunities.
Google My Business
Google My Business is the modern version of a phone directory and a great way to connect with customers in your local area. Our team will log into your account and manage all your details to ensure people can immediately tell your business is awesome and encourage them to engage.
- Claim your Google My Business listing and set up your account.
- Check-in regularly to ensure your profile is active and up-to-date.
- Manage your reviews and participate in discussion with clients.
Landing Pages
Landing pages are a vital touchpoint, inviting people to learn more about your products and services before they choose to engage. Creating them is both an art and a science. Our copywriter and our designer will work together to optimize each page for SEO and functionality to captivate customers.
- Analyze your sales funnel: target customers, path to purchase, and opportunities for growth.
- Write text and develop a structure that will maximize engagement and boost conversions.
- Design the page to grab attention, develop it to prioritize customer experience, and go live.
Search Engine Optimized Blogging
Blogging keeps your website fresh and current, which can help boost your ranking on Google. Rules for best practice change all the time, so a big part of our team’s job is researching and implementing all the latest trends. This involves keyword research, industry research, and sparkling copy.
- Develop a content plan designed to maximize your Google ranking and promote growth.
- Write each blog post to educate your clients and establish your business as a thought leader.
- Optimize each page with keywords, edit and publish the post, and share it on social media.
Ongoing SEO Management
Remember how we said the rules change all the time? SEO isn’t a set-and-forget strategy, it’s something that can always be tweaked and improved. Our team can overhaul your website to optimize your pages for Google and manage content to ensure your site is always up to date.
- Running an SEO analysis of your website to check its health and look for technical issues.
- Prioritize issues to ensure the most important items are fixed first, e.g. loading speed, crawlability, keywords, meta tags, internal linking, broken pages, and more.
- Check-in regularly to ensure everything is up-to-date and running smoothly.
Delays
Sometimes, delays can’t be avoided. However, we often find that delays occur because we’re missing key information that we need to get your marketing journey started. We’re here to partner with you and help your business to grow, scale and thrive… and that means we need your help!
You can make a huge difference to keeping projects on track and making your campaign successful by ensuring all of the following items are completed as efficiently as possible:
- Completing client “homework” and providing full discovery. This means ensuring you have all the fundamental information, such as contact details, lists of your products and services, access to your website and social media accounts, organized and ready to go.
- Staying on top of deadlines and ensuring feedback and approvals come through on time.
- Responding promptly to emails and calls from our account management team.
- Letting us know if anything pops up that may cause a delay on your end.