7 creative ways to increase community engagement on social media
7 creative ways to increase community engagement on social media
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Natural sharing platforms like Twitter and Facebook make it easy for your customers and audience to engage with your brand. The thing is, audiences are smart, yes they are open to your marketing but, ...
Being Passive Aggressive on Social Media is Bad Business
Being Passive Aggressive on Social Media is Bad Business
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You don't want to be the playground bully, but are you saying something different? On the heels of cleaning up a social media mess that recently landed us a client who was in need of some quick ...
Municipal Marketing Strategies
Municipal Marketing Strategies
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After over a year of being in lockdown, improving the economy is important now more than ever. Municipal marketing is marketing done to advertise a municipality with all stakeholders involved in ...
The Difference Between Influencer and Affiliate Marketing
The Difference Between Influencer and Affiliate Marketing
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It is no longer all about celebrities as brands are increasingly relying on influencers to help promote their brand. The diffusion between the two can be seen in the cost to acquire and the trust the ...
Tips for Marketing a Product to Existing Customers
Tips for Marketing a Product to Existing Customers
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Oftentimes brands too heavily focus on attracting new customers. Due to the high acquisition costs of a new customer that does not return, marketing to existing customers is just as if not more ...
5 Reasons Why PPC Is Crucial To Your E-commerce Strategy
5 Reasons Why PPC Is Crucial To Your E-commerce Strategy
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Pay Per Click (PPC) is a paid advertising model used to drive traffic to a website, and when used correctly, can have a major positive impact on your business. PPC advertisements include display ads, ...
How a viral Facebook post skyrocketed French’s tomato Ketchup
How a viral Facebook post skyrocketed French’s tomato Ketchup
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We love a good home grown story and this one in particular changed the ketchup market in Canada. When a man named Brian Fernandez from Orillia wrote a Facebook post urging his followers to use ...
Creating a marketing strategy with revenue goals
Creating a marketing strategy with revenue goals
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"SMART goals" is something we’ve all been taught throughout our academic careers and when establishing goals for the work world. And if you haven’t, SMART simply stands for Specific, Measurable, ...
The LCBO Re-branding: Will it affect sales?
The LCBO Re-branding: Will it affect sales?
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The Liquor Control Board of Ontario has updated their branding. Re-branding is a process that every successful company goes through from time to time. The $500,000 dollar re-branding project has some ...
Spring Marketing Trends
Spring Marketing Trends
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Spring is just around the corner. That means new trends to look forward to that will help grow your marketing strategy and stand out. We’ve identified some trends to look for this upcoming Spring ...
Your Guide To Google Search Console
Your Guide To Google Search Console
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Previously known as Webmaster Tools, Google Search Console is a free platform useful to individuals like website owners, developers, and content creators used to understand and enhance website ...
Hughes & Co. and Hubspot now in the business of small business
Hughes & Co. and Hubspot now in the business of small business
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I am writing to you from a breakout session in which I am hearing all about enterprise company marketing, and if you know us as an agency, you'll know this is our game. Or at least, we have worked to ...
Audience Research and Strategy
Audience Research and Strategy
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Knowing your audience is not a formality, it is a necessity.
Identify Your Target Market
Identify Your Target Market
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Is your business struggling to identify exactly who you should be marketing to? With so many mediums of promotion and communication, your customers aren't always one-size-fits-most. Understanding ...
The biggest marketing influencer in the world is operating in Niagara
The biggest marketing influencer in the world is operating in Niagara
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You’ve probably heard the term "marketing influencer" tossed around as of late. The way in which this term has come to be used in day to day speak is to describe a person of influence on social ...
Increasing the synergy between sales and marketing
Increasing the synergy between sales and marketing
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Sales and marketing are inextricably connected and only through both efforts are you able to close leads and grow your business. Successful businesses understand that collaboration between marketing ...
Case Study: When Office Automation meets Marketing Automation
Case Study: When Office Automation meets Marketing Automation
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The Client: Brock Office Automation Brock Office Automation specializes in office solution sales and service. The company handles the sales and service of small, medium and large scale office ...
Customers are people too: Appeal to the consumer with content creation
Customers are people too: Appeal to the consumer with content creation
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Why do we put so much time and energy into content marketing? The answer is simple: to grow our business. In order to generate more leads and turn those leads into paying customers, there is ...
Traditional Marketing and Johnny Bravo: An Undeniable Likeness
Traditional Marketing and Johnny Bravo: An Undeniable Likeness
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Inbound Marketing is the thoughtful consideration of what your future customers are actually looking for, being there when they need you. So, then what is traditional marketing? It is the perpetual ...
Being Honest Generates Leads and Shortens Your Sales Cycle
Being Honest Generates Leads and Shortens Your Sales Cycle
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We talk a lot about this concept of Honesty Economy at Hughes & Co. We learned this term at Inbound 2013, a conference hosted by HubSpot (full disclosure, we are a HubSpot partner... and proud of ...
Choosing The Right Agency
Choosing The Right Agency
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As we enter a new year, it is important to reflect on the previous 12 months to revamp and improve your business decisions. Take a look at both the success and failures to determine where to allocate ...
BFCM Checklist: Launch Early
BFCM Checklist: Launch Early
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The most wonderful time of the year - the holiday season - is right around the corner! With tight shipping deadlines and the ease of shopping online, customers are on the hunt for great deals ...
Maintaining Strong Marketing During The Return To Normalcy
Maintaining Strong Marketing During The Return To Normalcy
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After a long year and a half of lockdowns and restrictions, it feels as though things are finally starting to become normal again. If the global pandemic taught us anything, it is that things can ...
Building Your Summer Growth Marketing Strategy
Building Your Summer Growth Marketing Strategy
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Summer can often be a tough time for businesses if they’re not seasonal, with a change in weather comes opportunities to grow your marketing strategy. As temperatures rise this summer things may be ...
National Indigenous History Month
National Indigenous History Month
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June is National Indigenous History Month, a time to deepen our understanding of history, diverse cultures, and the many notable contributions of the Indigenous community. With the recent news of the ...
Creating a marketing plan for your service-based business
Creating a marketing plan for your service-based business
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As we continue to navigate through a second wave of Covid-19 cases, it's evident that service-based businesses are experiencing the most disruption. As a champion for small business - H&C Inc. is ...
Why your job posting should be backed with a marketing campaign
Why your job posting should be backed with a marketing campaign
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When you are looking for someone to join your team, you are not just looking for anyone to join your team. The right skillset is a good place to start when recruiting a new employee, but there are ...
H&C Inc. Announced as AOR for Prestige Hospitality Group
H&C Inc. Announced as AOR for Prestige Hospitality Group
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THOROLD, Jan. 17, 2019 - Niagara-on-the-Lake based hospitality group, Lais Hotel Properties Ltd., has confirmed a new agency relationship, designating H&C Inc. as their creative agency of record ...
A Lesson In On Point Black Friday Marketing Emails
A Lesson In On Point Black Friday Marketing Emails
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It’s been just two weeks since the four day Black Friday, Cyber Monday event and between those four major shopping days, I received over 250 promotional emails. That’s a lot of email to shift ...
Why organic website traffic is important for your business
Why organic website traffic is important for your business
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When we sit down with prospective clients to discuss the goals they have for their business, one digital goal that is consistently communicated to us is the desire to increase website traffic. The ...
Why Your B2C Professional Service should embrace Digital Marketing
Why Your B2C Professional Service should embrace Digital Marketing
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We preach the business benefits of digital marketing almost everyday here on the Hughes & Co. blog, but an industry we've not touched enough on has been B2C professional services. We're here to ...
Wingfest and What We Learned About Community Event Marketing
Wingfest and What We Learned About Community Event Marketing
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Recently, our founder and our graphic designer volunteered to handle the digital marketing for a new community event in Niagara, St. Catharines Wingfest. The event brought the community together to ...
Marketing Tips for OEM and Dealer Relationships
Marketing Tips for OEM and Dealer Relationships
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Marketing for dealerships with the help of the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) - it can feel like a headache, it can feel cumbersome, it can feel challenging... it should feel like a ...
Why you need to invest in an SEO strategy
Why you need to invest in an SEO strategy
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Have you ever wondered how businesses reach the top spot in a Google search result?
Hiring Sales Staff to Handle Leads, Not Find Them
Hiring Sales Staff to Handle Leads, Not Find Them
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Cold calling from the phone book is no longer a sales strategy that generates favourable results. As a consumer, you know that it is nothing short of a pain in ass when someone gets in touch when ...
Website Security is Critical
Website Security is Critical
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Have you ever stopped to think about how secure your website really is? Whether you’re an online business owner or just a blogger sharing content with the world, website security should be a top ...
Rebranding is a strategic decision
Rebranding is a strategic decision
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Rebranding refers to the process of changing your company's image, identity and/or name. It can be done for many reasons:
You have Hubspot, and you aren't sure its working
You have Hubspot, and you aren't sure its working
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So you were sold a Hubspot portal, promised dramatic transformation and fell head over heels with the narrative of possibility... and maybe that isn't your experience so far. That is okay, I want to ...
Hughes&Co is ten
Hughes&Co is ten
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Somehow Hughes&Co turned ten years old. I remember starting this agency with around $300 in my personal bank account, I couldn't even afford a laptop computer. I bought an iPad and set to work ...
Understanding AODA Compliance
Understanding AODA Compliance
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Understanding AODA compliance is crucial for all employers and workers in Ontario. In 2005, the Ontario Public Service implemented the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, or AODA, with ...
Drip Marketing & Email Automation
Drip Marketing & Email Automation
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Are you looking for a way to create meaningful customer relationships, generate pipeline and empower sales? Reach more leads than ever before when you incorporate drip marketing into your marketing ...
Support Local During Lockdown
Support Local During Lockdown
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While we would like to think COVID19 is coming to an end in Ontario, we are still facing lockdowns and restrictions. These past two years have been extremely difficult for the service industry as ...
Inbound Marketing Checklist
Inbound Marketing Checklist
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Inbound marketing is an effective means of brand promotion and should be viewed as a necessity in 2022. Inbound marketing, effectively, is a means of enabling your brand to get found by customers.
Holiday Marketing Strategies
Holiday Marketing Strategies
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Before you jump ahead to next years marketing strategies, you are going to want to successfully wrap up 2021. This final stretch can be extremely profitable for your year end reports. Make sure to ...
BFCM Checklist: Use Your Data to Your Advantage
BFCM Checklist: Use Your Data to Your Advantage
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The holiday season is quickly approaching. It is important to minimize discrepancies in your campaign that could put off your customers from interacting with your brand. BFCM is one of the biggest ...
BFCM Checklist: Make a Connection With Your Consumer
BFCM Checklist: Make a Connection With Your Consumer
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With BFCM fast approaching, it is extremely important to invest in your customer relationships. This will result in returns that can last long after the holiday season ends. Here are some key ...
BFCM Checklist: Separate Yourself From Your Competitors
BFCM Checklist: Separate Yourself From Your Competitors
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Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) is an opportunity to separate yourself from other businesses to optimize your competitive advantage. BFCM allows businesses to not only capitalize on consumer demand ...
BFCM Checklist: Turn Conversion Into a Quick Win
BFCM Checklist: Turn Conversion Into a Quick Win
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Turn conversion into a quick win by making checkout the easiest part of the sales process. We are all guilty of having an online shopping cart full of items we want, but just can’t push ourselves to ...
The Ultimate BFCM Checklist
The Ultimate BFCM Checklist
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With the holidays just around the corner it is critical to prepare your business for Black Friday and Cyber Monday! This is not just a time to make great returns on sales, but also to create lasting ...
Selling Your Products on Instagram
Selling Your Products on Instagram
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Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms with 1 billion active users per month and 500 million active users a day. This platform can be used for much more than just posting selfies ...
Email Marketing is Not Dead
Email Marketing is Not Dead
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Email marketing is a highly effective digital marketing strategy where you send emails to prospective and existing customers in order to drive sales and increase brand awareness. An effective email ...
The Ultimate SEO Checklist
The Ultimate SEO Checklist
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With the abundance of content being uploaded online every day, it is important to increase the visibility and relevance of your pages in search engine results. The use of search engines is the ...
Inbound Marketing Trends To Master in 2021
Inbound Marketing Trends To Master in 2021
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Just as marketing strategies are used for influencing consumer behaviour, consumer behaviour influences marketing trends! Businesses must keep up with the changing face of marketing as a result of ...
The 2021 Instagram Algorithm
The 2021 Instagram Algorithm
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You may have noticed that Instagram has switched from its traditional chronological algorithm to one that is more engagement-based. The new algorithm may first appear to organize content ...
Increase Your ROI During Lockdown
Increase Your ROI During Lockdown
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As the doom and gloom continues, the competition increases for brands to let their voices be heard and get their messaging in front of their customers. Pivots in strategy, adaptation of new business ...
5 Trends for the Future of E-Commerce
5 Trends for the Future of E-Commerce
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E-commerce is an ever-changing industry, one that has grown by 30% in 2020. The past year has led to a shift in shopping habits, consumer wants and trends. To help prepare businesses for adopting the ...
Navigating Brand Messaging in Lockdown
Navigating Brand Messaging in Lockdown
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2020 is officially over, but as the global pandemic continues we still live with uncertainty. The pandemic has allowed marketers to reevaluate their brand messaging and determine their core values as ...
Preparing for your busiest E-commerce season, in lockdown.
Preparing for your busiest E-commerce season, in lockdown.
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It’s safe to say that consumers have significantly cut back on in-store visits this year due to COVID-19. As a result, consumer preferences have shifted and more shoppers are leaning towards online ...
Creating Opportunity Amidst Tourism Restrictions
Creating Opportunity Amidst Tourism Restrictions
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With Covid-19 still impacting the tourism industry, it is important for affected businesses to create new opportunities to encourage growth and mitigate revenue loss. Although some might argue that ...
H&C Black Friday Checklist: Discounting Alternatives
H&C Black Friday Checklist: Discounting Alternatives
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With Black Friday and Cyber Monday quickly approaching, there’s no doubt that well-planned discount strategies are effective towards increasing website traffic and sales. However, consumer behaviours ...
H&C Black Friday Checklist: Get the Word Out
H&C Black Friday Checklist: Get the Word Out
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There’s no doubt that promotions are set to flood everyone’s social networks this coming Black Friday. So how does your business stand out? Creating a can’t-miss promotion is just the half of it. ...
H&C Black Friday Checklist: Ready Your Promotions
H&C Black Friday Checklist: Ready Your Promotions
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For any business, Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) is an opportunity to provide mega-value for consumers and increase customer acquisition - but of course, this year is different! As a result of ...
H&C Black Friday Checklist: Prepare Your Website
H&C Black Friday Checklist: Prepare Your Website
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It's no surprise that this year's biggest shopping weekend will be dominated by online shopping. With fewer brick and mortar opportunities, it's time for your business to prepare for an influx of ...
Diversification Strategies for Small Businesses
Diversification Strategies for Small Businesses
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Amidst all of the noise that has come with the year 2020, it can be difficult for your business to stand apart from its competitors. The unsettled economic climate, paired with a major shift in ...
E-Commerce is your 2021 Revenue Stream
E-Commerce is your 2021 Revenue Stream
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This year we have all had a good hard look at our operating models and had months of glaring gaps in service delivery staring back at us, while the world seemed to stand still. We had many clients ...
Creating a Growth-Focused Brand Identity
Creating a Growth-Focused Brand Identity
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Now, more than ever, customers are judging a company by its overall branding. Signage, recognition and awareness are key to communicating with your customers - especially in a post-pandemic world. So ...
Marketing in a post-pandemic world
Marketing in a post-pandemic world
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After almost four months of uncertainty, businesses everywhere are on the road to a “new normal.” Companies have either managed to navigate this new business landscape, or struggled to stay afloat. ...
Marketing During a Pandemic
Marketing During a Pandemic
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There is no doubt that the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic will far outlive the virus itself. The past few months have been confusing, frightening and uncertain. But through it all, there have been ...
Quick to Market in Action
Quick to Market in Action
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A few weeks ago, we brought new services to market amidst the Covid-19 Global Pandemic. We called these Quick to Market Services and we did this for a few reasons. The first is that with subsidy to ...
Why it’s not a good idea to abandon your marketing efforts during a global pandemic
Why it’s not a good idea to abandon your marketing efforts during a global pandemic
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It's a global pandemic. Life as we know it has changed and the future is more uncertain than ever before. Some businesses are being hit hard and struggling to stay afloat. Others, not as hard as they ...
Remote Work Toolkit
Remote Work Toolkit
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The H&C Inc. team has resumed operations as normal from home and we did that within an hour of starting our workday on Monday morning. Naturally, a few of our clients reached out and were eager ...
H&C Planning for COVID-19
H&C Planning for COVID-19
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Thank you for being a valued member of the H&C Inc. family, we are grateful to be doing work with and for you and we take our responsibility to you very seriously. We'll cut right to it, as an ...
Small Business Marketing Starter Pack: Design
Small Business Marketing Starter Pack: Design
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What does it look like to have professional-level design on your side when starting your new business? When the public-facing side of your business presents as one cohesive brand, not only will you ...
Small Business Marketing Starter Pack: Digital
Small Business Marketing Starter Pack: Digital
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The world of business has broken into the digital space and we’re not sure if it is ever going to leave. Online shopping has reached new heights and the convenience of same day delivery makes it ...
Small Business Marketing Starter Pack: Print
Small Business Marketing Starter Pack: Print
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Congratulations! If you’re reading this, you’ve likely been thinking about or recently just opened up your own small business. Now that you’ve taken the leap it’s time to get your assets in order to ...
We See You: Why you Should Consider Creating Buyer Personas
We See You: Why you Should Consider Creating Buyer Personas
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You know your brand and you believe it could be successful, but you are struggling to optimize your target market potential. Targeting the wrong audience wastes time, money and resources that could ...
What does a recruitment marketing campaign look like?
What does a recruitment marketing campaign look like?
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Finding the right talent for your business is important for the efficiency and flow of your workplace. When you recruit for an open position at your company, you know exactly what you’re looking for. ...
Do you have a crisis management plan?
Do you have a crisis management plan?
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As much as we hate to think about our businesses being in a crisis (they are our babies, after all), we hate the idea of being without a plan to put out a fire, if one were to arise, even more. ...
How to prepare for your next marketing meeting
How to prepare for your next marketing meeting
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Whether you’re thinking of hiring on a marketing agency to build your new website, or you’re already working with the perfect agency for your business, your marketing meetings are crucial for keeping ...
Inbound Marketing Fundamentals
Inbound Marketing Fundamentals
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Inbound marketing is a relationship focused approach to marketing that is customer-centric. It's about creating one-to-one relationships that have a lasting impact on your visitors and your brand. ...
Building a Conversational Growth Strategy
Building a Conversational Growth Strategy
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Let's step back in time for a moment to see how far we've come with our business communications. Before the internet, your business relationships were largely local, with a personal connection. These ...
The State of Content Marketing in 2019
The State of Content Marketing in 2019
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For the past three years, Zazzle Media has surveyed thousands of marketing decision makers, asking for their opinions and about their experiences and challenges when it comes to content marketing. ...
Being Customer Centric, But Really
Being Customer Centric, But Really
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I work with a lot of companies. Some of them are very big, some of them are as small as one person. A mistake that is made from the top of that list, all the way to the bottom, is selfish practices ...
Forecasting with Marketing
Forecasting with Marketing
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If you're like me, your business is a large piece of your identity. I am H&C Inc. in so many ways, I live for the thrill of entrepreneurship, I like to get hungry and chase goals, I even let ...
The methodology behind our brand
The methodology behind our brand
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The agency feels fresh, alive, ambitious and energized. I attribute much of this to the new brand we recently launched, or more accurately, the reworking of our existing brand into something more ...
Introducing the new and improved H&C Inc.
Introducing the new and improved H&C Inc.
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It’s time to pop a bottle of champagne and celebrate because the all-new H&C Inc. is here! We are overjoyed to announce that our agency has undergone a complete branding overhaul and is ready to ...
ALLIE HUGHES ANNOUNCED AS PANELIST AT THE ATELIER
ALLIE HUGHES ANNOUNCED AS PANELIST AT THE ATELIER
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The agency is buzzing with excitement! Today, the official announcement of Allie Hughes' participation in The Atelier, a unique business conference for women in the heart of Niagara's wine country, ...
Allie Hughes wins Niagara’s Emerging Entrepreneur Award
Allie Hughes wins Niagara’s Emerging Entrepreneur Award
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THOROLD, ONTARIO - Allie Hughes, CEO and Founder of Hughes & Co. was presented with the Niagara Emerging Entrepreneur Award at the 2017 Niagara Entrepreneur of the Year Awards (NEYA). The award ...
Our marketing performance as a digital agency
Our marketing performance as a digital agency
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It is typical for me to have many meetings per month to chat with business owners from all over the world and to spend my days feeling like I am flying from priority to priority. It is also typical ...
Why mobile responsive websites matter, a lot
Why mobile responsive websites matter, a lot
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How often are you on your phone? A lot, right? Studies show that mobile use of the internet is soaring, so much so, that most North Americans are now spending 70% of their time browsing the internet ...
The secret recipe for a successful business blog
The secret recipe for a successful business blog
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We get a lot of questions at Hughes & Co. from clients and business owners alike about what our secret recipe is for successful blog writing. Blogs aren't the only piece of the puzzle that makes ...
The ecommerce platforms we recommend for your business
The ecommerce platforms we recommend for your business
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The advent of the internet has created multiple new avenues for businesses to reach potential costumers. Online shopping wasn't the first popular use of the internet, but its benefits to companies ...
Align your business goals with your web design
Align your business goals with your web design
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It's time to start thinking about your website as an extension of your business, not something separate. Anything you post online needs to reflect your company values, and your business goals. If ...
Creating a great user experience on your online store
Creating a great user experience on your online store
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Online stores are growing in popularity and, more importantly, becoming integral revenues streams for small and large businesses alike. This is because the reach of the internet has made it easier ...
Simple fixes to sales orient your website
Simple fixes to sales orient your website
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If your website isn't delivering leads, you need to get to work.
The tools your creative agency needs to work remotely
The tools your creative agency needs to work remotely
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We received a cold reminder yesterday about one of the realities of operating a business in Canada: sometimes you get snowed out. Rather than brave the winter storm, our team all worked remotely. Our ...
Are you blogging? Because you should be!
Are you blogging? Because you should be!
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I am not reinventing the wheel when I tell you that the digital landscape has changed and continues to change. If you have a new website and you don't have a blog, they did it wrong. There are so ...
Attending Marketing Events is Important
Attending Marketing Events is Important
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Besides the fact that marketing events are fun and interactive, they provide you (and your team) with a wealth of current and actionable knowledge. Attending marketing events demonstrates your ...
Introducing The New Vlog, Haste & Hustle and More: Vlog #1
Introducing The New Vlog, Haste & Hustle and More: Vlog #1
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Welcome to the very first Hughes & Co vlog of 2017. Founder Allie Hughes introduces Greg Miller, Account Manager and new vlog coordinator. In this episode, we outline what you can expect to see ...
The best practices for constructing a blog post
The best practices for constructing a blog post
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People always ask us what the easiest way to get started with content marketing is, and our answer is always blogging. Blogging is an essential element to every content marketing strategy for a ...
Why it's important that your website speaks to your customers
Why it's important that your website speaks to your customers
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Does your website speak about your business or does it speak to your customer? You may be wondering what even is the difference?
Updates in Inbound 2016
Updates in Inbound 2016
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It has been a while since I had something to say that my team hadn't more efficiently already told you. The pressure of being in an environment with many brilliant minds is one thing, being the ...
How valuing research over design can drive the success of your website
How valuing research over design can drive the success of your website
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Within marketing there are two parallels; design and strategy. Marketing is a balance in this sense, between applying design to attract and deploying strategic initiatives to drive ROI. When these ...
"What Is Inbound Marketing?" and Other FAQs
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Inbound marketing. Maybe you've heard of it, maybe you have fully immersed your business in it or maybe it sounds like just a trendy buzzphrase to you. I was the latter only nine months ago. But the ...
State of Inbound 2016: Sales truths
State of Inbound 2016: Sales truths
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Hughes & Co. is proud to be a partner agency with HubSpot and the time of year has come to review and learn from the HubSpot’s State of Inbound Report. This year the report included a quote that ...
Getting real about spending your marketing dollars wisely
Getting real about spending your marketing dollars wisely
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Business and marketing are synonymous, it’s a true, no-brainer statement. You spend money on marketing in the hopes that your efforts will get your brand into the public sphere with messaging ...
Your succession plan needs leads
Your succession plan needs leads
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You have a business, you've enjoyed a career and you're ready to sell the company and realize the retirement plan or next career you're longing for. But how much is your company worth? Is it enough ...
Your business in its best light
Your business in its best light
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Exceptional products and services deserve to be shown in their best light.
Every member of the team
Every member of the team
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I have a hand in a lot of what leaves these walls, but not in everything. I spend time thinking about growth, HR, compliance, the team. We are small by choice, we've passed up investment ...
Rethinking the business of marketing your event
Rethinking the business of marketing your event
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If you have been reading our blog this past week, you’ll know we’ve been focused on the business of marketing the St. Catharines Wing Fest. We’ve shared strategies with you, branding advice and even ...
How working with HUGHESANDCO is different
How working with HUGHESANDCO is different
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As a student at Brock University, I chose to do an internship working with HUGHESANDCO this summer. Working here as an intern for the last three months has been the best learning experience during my ...
What Is Sales Enablement and Why Should You Be Using It?
What Is Sales Enablement and Why Should You Be Using It?
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Marketing and sales. The two key components to converting customers. They should go hand-in-hand: marketing drives traffic and sales converts that traffic into leads. However, more and more companies ...
Is your sales team equipped for success?
Is your sales team equipped for success?
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Is your sales team equipped for success? Tradition says yes, today's consumer patterns say your team is falling behind. Despite skill, persuasion and connection, your built-in sales process needs a ...
What is the all new hughesandco?
What is the all new hughesandco?
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We've launched a new website. You're on it, I hope you like it. We spent hours mulling over how we wanted this site to look and feel, considered how we would position our services and worked together ...
Thinking business when marketing: Buyer personas
Thinking business when marketing: Buyer personas
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You’ve outlined what your product or service has to offer your customer and are ready to start making some sales. What you’re now probably thinking about is “who is my target market and how will I ...
Some thoughts on arriving prepared
Some thoughts on arriving prepared
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Right this minute I am standing at the front of a classroom, and I am watching my students write their final exam. This is my second last time that I will do this in this context, I have another exam ...
5 Reasons why your Inbound Marketing Strategy isn’t Working
5 Reasons why your Inbound Marketing Strategy isn’t Working
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Inbound marketing is now more crucial than ever before in connecting to your visitors and turning them into leads. If you aren’t using inbound marketing strategies, you are most likely overlooking a ...
Why we say no
Why we say no
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We often say no. This week we are feeling the weight of those "no"s in a big way, so I thought I would directly take to the blog to chat about why we make this choice. The shortest explanation is "we ...
The most effective words to use in your calls to action
The most effective words to use in your calls to action
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Calls to action (CTAs) are how we encourage visitors to take action on our website or our social sites. Whether we’re guiding visitors to a specific page or encouraging them to download a free ebook, ...
How to use Twitter for customer service
How to use Twitter for customer service
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Apple’s recent foray into the Twittersphere has us thinking about the ever evolving functionality of the social media network. While most use Twitter as a new source, others are using it to solve ...
The art of writing winning blog titles
The art of writing winning blog titles
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Attention grabbing, interest inducing, lottery ticket winning, blog titles. They are what will get your blog read, they will bring traffic to your website and they will be the first introduction to ...
Simple ways to capture leads on your website
Simple ways to capture leads on your website
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We believe that your website should be your hardest working employee, but it can only operate that way if it has been strategically optimized to do so.
It's time to find a new browser, Internet Explorer is dead.
It's time to find a new browser, Internet Explorer is dead.
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UPDATED It’s official, as of today Internet Explorer (IE) users will need to start looking for a new browser as support for the remaining IE 8,9 and 10 has been discontinued by Microsoft. Without ...
How to optimize your social media content
How to optimize your social media content
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Social media has become the preferred medium for sharing information and because of that social media sites have become incredible drivers of web traffic. The main goal of sharing content through ...
Tips for running a Christmas social media campaign
Tips for running a Christmas social media campaign
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We are closing in on Christmas - 9 days! This is the time when we all start to panick about Christmas presents, but are also very welcoming to the influx of Holiday season content on our social ...
These 5 ideas will help you come up with blog topics
These 5 ideas will help you come up with blog topics
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If you’ve been reading the Hughes & Co, blog enough, you’ll already know how important blogging is to your digital marketing strategy.
Here's why I'm practicing the gift of giving
Here's why I'm practicing the gift of giving
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The holidays are fast approaching (15 days!), and what to buy friends and family are at the forefront of all of our minds. It’s the time of year when the rush of December leaves you struggling to ...
How to develop a standout LinkedIn Company page
How to develop a standout LinkedIn Company page
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Estimated reading time: 4 minutes When LinkedIn opened up their publishing platform to the public in February of 2014, they allowed their site to become something much more than a hot bed for ...
Digital Quotient - Thriving in the Digital Economy
Digital Quotient - Thriving in the Digital Economy
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We’ll say it, marketing strategies are in constant change, but one constant that remains, is that every business needs a digital marketing strategy. Those companies and leaders who invest in their ...
Meet Lead Ads, Facebook's New Lead Generation Campaign Tool
Meet Lead Ads, Facebook's New Lead Generation Campaign Tool
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Estimated reading time: 3 minutes source Lead ads have quickly become our favourite new social media tool for lead generation and for good reason. They are simple, quick and effective. Facebook ...
Why content marketing is important to small business
Why content marketing is important to small business
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As a small business, we know that some of your top concerns surround generating revenue and maintaining a lean budget. We also understand that funnelling funds into marketing without seeing a hard ...
Why email marketing unsubscribers aren't always a bad thing
Why email marketing unsubscribers aren't always a bad thing
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But you know what, we’re not mad, in fact, we’re not even worried about it. When people unsubscribe from your emails, it can be a good thing for your business and for your marketing strategy. Last ...
Cold hard facts that prove that your website needs a blog
Cold hard facts that prove that your website needs a blog
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The cold hard fact is that blogging works and if you want your website to see more traffic (and convert more leads) then your website needs a blog. According to HubSpot 92.35% of companies using ...
How to track your content marketing's performance
How to track your content marketing's performance
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One of our favourite things about content marketing (aside from the fact that it works) is that it is totally measurable.
Why you need to know about SSL and how it affects your SEO
Why you need to know about SSL and how it affects your SEO
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Estimated reading time: 3 minutes The security of your website is a top priority for Google, so much so that in 2014 Google called for HTTPS everywhere. You may have seen HTTPS or Hypertext Transform ...
Simple Ways to Generate Leads Through Blogging
Simple Ways to Generate Leads Through Blogging
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Keep calm and blog on. Add that to your weekly mantra. Why? Websites with blogs maintain more traffic and generate more leads than other sites. This is because these websites are constantly creating ...
Website metrics that you should be focused on
Website metrics that you should be focused on
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We often run in to potential clients that solely focus on website traffic and total views to measure their success. While increasing traffic does provide an overview of the strength of your website, ...
What your website's homepage should say about your business
What your website's homepage should say about your business
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You may have heard the saying, 'looks aren’t everything,' but when it comes to the homepage of your website, to put it simply, they are. The look of your homepage combined with quality of it's ...
The top reasons why customers are leaving your website
The top reasons why customers are leaving your website
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Do you have a great website that just hasn’t been effective in capturing customers and leads? Then it’s probably not a great as you think, your website in it’s current state, may not employ the most ...
5 Reasons Your Website Needs to be Mobile Friendly
5 Reasons Your Website Needs to be Mobile Friendly
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On April 21st, Google will introduce their new algorithm that focuses on ranking your website based on whether or not it is optimized for mobile use. If your business’s website is not fully optimized ...
Case Study: School Enrolment Boosted by Inbound
Case Study: School Enrolment Boosted by Inbound
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The Client: Niagara & Halton Skilled Trades Academies For those considering a career in the HVAC and Gas Technician industries, the Niagara and Halton Skilled Trades Academies offer a variety of ...
Are you Really Content Marketing?
Are you Really Content Marketing?
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Estimated reading time: 3 minutes With more talk about marketing than ever before, content creation is always top of mind. But are you really content marketing? Of course, you are delivering content ...
My Inbound Experience | Carly
My Inbound Experience | Carly
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When Hughes & Co. became a HubSpot Partner Agency, Inbound 2013 was days away. My schedule didn't allow me to join Allie at the conference that can only be described as life changing, so I had to ...
My Inbound 2014 Experience | Amanda
My Inbound 2014 Experience | Amanda
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Martha Stewart at Inbound 2014 As the team’s newest employee, Inbound 14 probably had an entirely different effect on me than on my colleagues here at Hughes & Co. I found myself in a similar ...
Why Your Inbound Agency Should Design Your Website
Why Your Inbound Agency Should Design Your Website
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As an inbound marketing agency we are often brought into the marketing conversation after another firm has been contracted to build a website. There are some fundamental issues with this and amongst ...
Want to generate leads? Go where your customers are
Want to generate leads? Go where your customers are
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You wouldn’t try to sell a swimsuit at the North Pole. You’d take it to the market that’s looking for it – somewhere hot or at least somewhere people want to swim. That probably sounds like an ...
We're Shipping Up To Boston!
We're Shipping Up To Boston!
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Estimated reading time: 2 minutes We’re Shipping Up To Boston! Our bags are packed, we’re ready to go - Hughes & Co. is INBOUND for Boston. We’ll be heading to “Beantown” for Hubspot’s INBOUND ...
MAJOR HubSpot Announcements from #INBOUND14
MAJOR HubSpot Announcements from #INBOUND14
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We are SO excited to bring you some incredible news today. News for our existing clients and news for each and every prospect that is working with our team or who will work with our team. Today is a ...
The #ALSIceBucketChallenge and social media success
The #ALSIceBucketChallenge and social media success
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It’s all over your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and pretty much everything else you look at on online: people dumping buckets of ice water on themselves in support of Amyotrophic Lateral ...
Improving Creative Thinking in the Marketing World
Improving Creative Thinking in the Marketing World
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Estimated reading time: 3 minutes Creativity is a vital component to the success of a marketing team. A sweatshop-esque environment is definitely not the best place for marketers to prosper. Here are ...
LinkedIn and It's Importance for Online Marketing
LinkedIn and It's Importance for Online Marketing
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Inbound marketing and non-profits are made for each other
Inbound marketing and non-profits are made for each other
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There are thousands of non-profit organizations out there operating right now and it can be a struggle to stand out amongst the sea of competition, especially in the digital age. Non-profits need ...
Creating the Email Campaign People Want to Read
Creating the Email Campaign People Want to Read
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At Hughes & Co. we send out a lot of newsletters. Our clients have vibrant bases of existing contacts and they are always receiving new inquiries about their business. It is our job to engage ...
Political Campaigning in the Digital Realm
Political Campaigning in the Digital Realm
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Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes Election season is upon us, in fact, the Hughes & Co. locale is electing municipal and regional governments in just a few short months. The campaign landscape ...
Announcing our Silver Agency Status with Gratitude
Announcing our Silver Agency Status with Gratitude
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It is with an immense amount of pride, heaping spoonfuls gratitude and as much excitement as I can muster, that I announce our HubSpot Silver Partnership. This accomplishment is one that few agencies ...
“But I don’t like sales!” – How Inbound changes that attitude
“But I don’t like sales!” – How Inbound changes that attitude
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I never wanted to be a salesperson. No matter how well I knew my product, the thought of having to pick up the phone and call someone I had never spoken to before to convince them they needed ...
The Psychology of Buying
The Psychology of Buying
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The process of deciding to purchase a product or service sees the consumer go through a series of steps in creating the need for what it is that is being offered. The best businesses are identifying ...
Inbound Marketing for Real Estate
Inbound Marketing for Real Estate
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ESTIMATED READING TIME: 3 MINUTES Real Estate Marketing The real estate industry presents opportunity in lead generation and innovative marketing, and the best part is that you reading this ...
Twitter Introduces the Mute Button
Twitter Introduces the Mute Button
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ESTIMATED READING TIME: 2 MINUTES The social media sites of the present receive regular flack from frequent users over the noise. Facebook keeps introducing new paid content spaces and Twitter is ...
Creating your buyer personas
Creating your buyer personas
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Developing a buyer persona is an essential component of successful marketing for any business. Our clients are often overwhelmed by determining their target market, nevermind pinpointing the specific ...
Using Instagram for Business
Using Instagram for Business
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Every business is different but share the equal need for impactful marketing. Some businesses use Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn because this is where their customers spend their time. Across the ...
Infographics: When to Use Them
Infographics: When to Use Them
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Infographics are simply a visual (like a chart or diagram) used to represent information or data. They can be used in many different ways to help and present findings in a more simplified way than ...
Marketing Mistakes
Marketing Mistakes
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Everyone makes little mistakes when it comes to marketing. But do you want to make those same mistakes over and over again? Here are three of some of the most common mistakes companies make in ...
Positive and Productive Change
Positive and Productive Change
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ESTIMATED READING TIME: 3 MINUTES Why do you do what you do? Think about that. The dead honest, real why of your everyday. What is it? If the answer even remotely resembles "because it is what I've ...
What is Being Innovative?
What is Being Innovative?
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Often the word innovation is reserved for the tech community, the ones that are reading code and doing other things the layman has trouble comprehending. Innovation isn't just tech. It certainly is ...
Learn from Duane Reade's Mistakes: Don't Tweet Celebrity Names/Pics
Learn from Duane Reade's Mistakes: Don't Tweet Celebrity Names/Pics
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ESTIMATED READING TIME: 3 MINUTES File this under "Good to Know," Duane Reade is the living lesson that tweeting celebrity names could spell trouble. Katherine Heigl served the drugstore a $6 million ...
Be More Productive Without Doing More Work
Be More Productive Without Doing More Work
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The world is moving at a faster pace than ever before and that calls on us to do the same. It can be exhausting in any industry, and in ours especially we are moving at warp speed to accomplish ...
Global Business for Your Business
Global Business for Your Business
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We are jetting off to visit a member of our client family that benefits from a much warmer climate than ours today, and it got us thinking... why don't all business operate on a global business model ...
What Your Marketing Company Does All Day
What Your Marketing Company Does All Day
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ESTIMATED READING TIME: 3 MINUTES Our clients are always telling us that we have the coolest jobs and that they wish they could come to work with us everyday. So you know what, we decided that you ...
Busting Blogging Myths
Busting Blogging Myths
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So, you keep being told it's time to start blogging, but you have no idea why. Isn't blogging for mommies, diy-ers, foodies and an audience of other bloggers?
LinkedIn for Business is Changing: How it affects you
LinkedIn for Business is Changing: How it affects you
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LinkedIn has notified the masses that business pages are about to undergo some changes. Gone are the products and services tabs that companies have used to generate interest in their offerings. The ...
How often should I blog?
How often should I blog?
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When the thought of blogging crosses your mind we want it to be met with jubilation... we know this isn't always the case. We are not naive to the impression that blogging takes a lot of time. Why? ...
Do your marketing dollars make sense?
Do your marketing dollars make sense?
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Forbes Magazine recently rocked the world of traditional marketers with an article that hammered home the notion that traditional marketers just aren't earning their clients any money. Brand ...
Niagara is Ontario's Next Inbound Marketing Success Story
Niagara is Ontario's Next Inbound Marketing Success Story
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A few months back the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce hosted the Niagara Technology Summit. This was an event designed to open the eyes of Niagara based businesses to the technology opportunities ...
Marketing Forecast for 2014: It is all about the content
Marketing Forecast for 2014: It is all about the content
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You have maybe seen this plastered all over everyone else's blog site, and if you have, good on them. They are getting real with you. Content is where it is at for 2014, and this is happening for a ...
A Year in Review: Hughes & Co.
A Year in Review: Hughes & Co.
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The past year has been a formative one for Hughes & Co. We are the little company that could, taking on big clients, going head to head with large agencies in major markets and managing to keep ...
Facebook Pages Update: H&C Client Example of the New Look
Facebook Pages Update: H&C Client Example of the New Look
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ESTIMATED READING TIME: 3 MINUTES One of the perks of working in the social media business is fast access to all of the goodies that our favourite sites roll out. This week we are pumped about the ...
Answer The Questions They're Asking
Answer The Questions They're Asking
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One of the fundamental truths of the internet is that people tend to be their most authentic selves online. The questions that are embarrassing are fair game on Google, the medical ailments that they ...
Jack of All Trades Business Ownership: When Will You Detonate?
Jack of All Trades Business Ownership: When Will You Detonate?
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When we work with business owners we often see their insistence to be intimately involved in every detail of their business. It is not an indication that this is how all business owners behave, but ...
Is conversation the new business speak?
Is conversation the new business speak?
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Is being the unwavering authority always a good thing? Cold and wooden would be our go to description of the corporate communications of most companies we deal with before we entered the picture. ...
What is Inbound Marketing? |  The Convert Stage
What is Inbound Marketing? |  The Convert Stage
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It is a question we hear often, and one that we love to answer. Inbound Marketing is the future of the marketing industry and we just so happen to be specialists that are partnered with the leading ...
What to Write When You're Uninspired
What to Write When You're Uninspired
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It happens to the best of them and it will happen to you: writer's block. That complete brain breakdown that just prevents anything creative from come to light as you tap away at keys. It feels ...
Kick Ass and Take Names
Kick Ass and Take Names
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There are few industries that kick ass and take names (literally) as their primary goal, but with inbound marketing that is exactly what we hope to do on the daily. Let us break this down for you: ...
That Time That Dove Melted our Hearts
That Time That Dove Melted our Hearts
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ESTIMATED READING TIME: 1 MINUTE Last night I was dining with my inlaws, enjoying the famous Hughes lasagne (for Irish folks, they sure have Italian cuisine figured out!) Following dinner I did the ...
Teamwork, Time-Use and Total Domination
Teamwork, Time-Use and Total Domination
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ESTIMATED READING TIME: 3 MINUTES
You Don't Sell Anything, You Solve Problems
You Don't Sell Anything, You Solve Problems
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How do you like your sales? Consultative, helpful and full of benefit for you. How do you not like your sales? Aggressive, out of the blue and laden with guilt. The world of sales has changed, ...
Creating a Home for your Business
Creating a Home for your Business
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Hughes & Co. is moving on up into a brand new office space this week and we couldn't be more excited! Being the creatives that we are, we've been thinking a lot about how we want our new digs to ...
What is Inbound Marketing? | The Attract Stage
What is Inbound Marketing? | The Attract Stage
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It is a question we hear often, and one that we love to answer. Inbound Marketing is the future of the marketing industry and we just so happen to be specialists that are partnered with the leading ...
We Can See Right Through Your Online Presence
We Can See Right Through Your Online Presence
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Are we instigating? Maybe. Did we poke the bear? Probably. The fact of the matter here is that authenticity is a winning strategy when it comes to building your online brand. But we've told you that ...
Sochi Style and Design
Sochi Style and Design
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Every four years, Canadian pride reaches its peak for 2 weeks in February when the world gets together for the Winter Olympics. We are usually a reserved, yet proud bunch when it comes to our ...
Unfamiliar Identifiers and Other Business Mistakes
Unfamiliar Identifiers and Other Business Mistakes
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In an earlier blog post we chatted about the importance of Answering the Questions They're Asking. That is a fundamental rule of blogging. When you craft your content strategy make sure you are ...
Hiring a Marketing Associate or Outsourcing to a Firm
Hiring a Marketing Associate or Outsourcing to a Firm
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Business owners today have plenty to worry about. There is that nagging bottom line that requires regular attention, the sales that keep the business running, maintaining your current client list, ...
Why Your Marketing Failed in 2013
Why Your Marketing Failed in 2013
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It is the time of year that we receive a whole lot of inquiries from local companies about what they can do to be better in 2014. We are looking at their marketing spends for the past 12 months and ...
Networking Online and Offline | Get in the know!
Networking Online and Offline | Get in the know!
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Think of the last time you were at an industry event, social gathering or even getting your favourite caffeine fix. You start chatting with someone who you are sure you can benefit from knowing or ...
Nobody is reading my blog and other excuses
Nobody is reading my blog and other excuses
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So the numbers are in and despite the readership you believed you were cultivating, the numbers look weak. Why continue? It is obviously way easier to give up and walk away, so that is probably the ...
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