Hello, 2023! It’s a new year and that means a fresh start, new goals and renewed drive. At Country Fried Creative, we’re starting this year taking a fresh look at our digital marketing road map. Together we’ll be walking you through how to get the most out of your digital marketing. Our first stop? 3 […]

Warning – this blog post is probably going to upset some folks, even though I intend to do the opposite.  My purpose in writing this is not to sell you anything, convince you of anything, or persuade you to do anything.  I just need to vent to you, my fellow community leaders.   I’m not […]

Where has the year gone? It’s already November, and as we wrap up with Halloween it’s officially the Holiday Season. This time of year a lot of businesses are evaluating their performance and making plans for the year ahead. If you’re making your 2022 marketing plans, here are some things to factor in. To re-brand […]

What are some of your favorite childhood memories? As a Millennial, some of mine include pulling up to the famous golden arches of McDonald’s, joyfully awaiting my Happy Meal and toy.  (Well, more so the toy- much to the despair of my mother!) Another is seeing the iconic Walt Disney Pictures title screen before watching […]

It’s been said that “you can’t manage what you can’t measure.” Although it’s not clear who originally coined that phrase or even the exact wording – the essence of it rings true.  Conversely, another version of the same idea was articulated by Lewis Carroll in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: “Alice: Would you tell me, please, […]

Hello, 2023! It’s a new year and that means a fresh start, new goals and renewed drive. At Country Fried Creative, we’re starting this year taking a fresh look at our digital marketing road map. Together we’ll be walking you through how to get the most out of your digital marketing. Our first stop? 3 […]

Do you know the difference between a marketing plan and a marketing campaign? I think it’s safe to say that most businesses and non-profit organizations want to expand the reach of their organization. Whether it’s increasing your brand awareness, generating new leads, or attracting new employees, it’s important to let the market know you exist. […]

The #1 mistake that most organizations make in regard to their online presence is building their website and then assuming that their job is done without taking steps to make sure they are found on Google. In today’s market, you must be able to be found on all major search engines. And, the ultimate goal […]

Run Digital Ads!  Do you know how to run digital ads, or even why you need to? If not, we are here to help. Have you ever done some online “window shopping”, and then seen an ad for that product pop up on your next social media scroll? Seems a little scary sometimes, doesn’t it? […]

Building a website is an undertaking on its own, but launching the finished product isn’t the end of the journey. To properly utilize your website and get the most out of it, you’re gonna have to take a look behind the curtain and keep up with your website analytics. Not everyone likes analytics, and there’s […]

The old adage “build it and they will come” simply doesn’t work for websites. Over the last few decades, the online world has gotten increasingly more saturated. That’s great for users- they can find absolutely anything under the sun that they may be looking for!  However, it makes it much harder for your website for […]

What is SEO? Search Engine Optimization commonly referred to as SEO, is the process of editing a website to maximize its visibility online. It ensures that when someone searches for your business, your website shows up. These search results are completely organic, meaning that they are not paid ads. This is why SEO is so […]

So, you’ve got a social media presence and regular content going out. How do you turn that into an engaged, growing audience? Follow. Make sure you and everyone within your organization is following your company’s social media accounts. Announce it in your company meetings and internal communications. Put links on your website and social media […]

Digital marketing is the process of reaching new and existing customers. This is done via online tools such as social media, websites, search engine optimization, and more! It is a blanket word for the many sub-categories of internet marketing listed above. Why should I care? In the past year, have you come across a single […]

As I write this article in late summer 2022, we are experiencing record levels of inflation all across the country. The price of almost everything is up – fuel, food, raw materials, rent, subscription costs, medical costs, and labor costs. Here at Country Fried Creative, we reluctantly had to increase our prices slightly this past […]

Don’t worry, we’re not packing up the business and moving away. It’s almost summertime and many of our team members are planning for a well-earned summer vacation. We decided to make vacation time the theme of our late spring/summer marketing with a campaign called “CFC Hits the Road”.   Here at Country Fried Creative, we […]

There’s a time-tested piece of business advice that I learned from a mentor years ago called the “90-Day Rule”. The basic idea is that you can expect to see results 90 days after implementing a change, new program, or initiative. This rule has served me well over the years when I’ve taken on new leadership […]

As we approach the mid-point of the year I always reflect on the past and think about the future. “It’s hard to believe that I’ve been in the workforce for over thirty years, nearly twenty of those years building our business”. – Country Fried Creative. We’re looking forward to celebrating our 20th year in business starting next […]

Here at Country Fried Creative (CFC) we’re often asked about how to “get the word out” and “tell our story.” There’s no shortage of books, podcasts, and internet articles about marketing. We knew that the best way to answer that question was to put something together that was memorable and easy to understand for busy […]

Next year our company will celebrate its 20th Anniversary. Founded in 2003 as Southside Consulting, the company was originally just me trying to figure out how I could help people with small web and IT projects. Over the years, our focus changed. For several years before the recession of 2009-2011, we became part of the […]

Let me guess.  You’re a local business-to-business (B2B) company that gets new clients from referrals.  You believe that you get enough clients from referrals and don’t think you need marketing.  You think marketing is a waste of money.  You’re wrong, and I’m going to tell you why from personal experience. There are many reasons I […]

It’s been said that “you can’t manage what you can’t measure.” Although it’s not clear who originally coined that phrase or even the exact wording – the essence of it rings true.  Conversely, another version of the same idea was articulated by Lewis Carroll in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: “Alice: Would you tell me, please, […]

Hello, 2023! It’s a new year and that means a fresh start, new goals and renewed drive. At Country Fried Creative, we’re starting this year taking a fresh look at our digital marketing road map. Together we’ll be walking you through how to get the most out of your digital marketing. Our first stop? 3 […]

Do you know how to calculate marketing ROI? Simply stated, Return on Investment (ROI) is a way to ensure that an investment makes good financial sense. In the context of marketing, it’s a way to ensure your organization’s marketing efforts are making a positive business impact financially.  Marketers sometimes refer to this as MROI (Marketing […]

Do you know the difference between a marketing plan and a marketing campaign? I think it’s safe to say that most businesses and non-profit organizations want to expand the reach of their organization. Whether it’s increasing your brand awareness, generating new leads, or attracting new employees, it’s important to let the market know you exist. […]

As essential purpose of marketing is creating market awareness of your product, service, brand, or organization. The market is your target audience – customers, clients, donors, volunteers, or whomever you’re trying to reach. Check out this which goes into some detail about the goals of marketing which include: brand awareness, lead generation, publicity, findability, and […]

The #1 mistake that most organizations make in regard to their online presence is building their website and then assuming that their job is done without taking steps to make sure they are found on Google. In today’s market, you must be able to be found on all major search engines. And, the ultimate goal […]

Run Digital Ads!  Do you know how to run digital ads, or even why you need to? If not, we are here to help. Have you ever done some online “window shopping”, and then seen an ad for that product pop up on your next social media scroll? Seems a little scary sometimes, doesn’t it? […]

The Goals of Marketing (And It’s Not Just Sales) As the owner of a marketing agency AND as a small business owner, I spend more time trying to clarify the difference between sales and marketing to my peers than any other business topic. There is a naive assumption that marketing and sales are the same […]

Happy New Year! Yes, it is going to be a Happy New Year because the Georgia Bulldogs have won the 2022 CFP National Championship AND the Atlanta Braves won the 2021 World Series. Unfortunately, with the good comes the not-so-good. Many of the issues we’ve all been dealing with the past two years are still […]

Hello Country Fried Friends, This is not the introduction I originally wrote for this newsletter. Something major happened in the world of digital marketing so we preempted our original content and write about what happened regarding Facebook. On Monday, October 4th, 2021 Facebook, Instagram, and other Facebook-owned social media channels disappeared from the Internet for […]

So, you’ve got a social media presence and regular content going out. How do you turn that into an engaged, growing audience? Follow. Make sure you and everyone within your organization is following your company’s social media accounts. Announce it in your company meetings and internal communications. Put links on your website and social media […]

We all want a huge following and high engagement rate. so- How do you go about achieving it? First, you need to determine WHO you are trying to reach. Is your audience Millennial women with a high income living downtown and interested in fashion? Are they Gen-X men living in the suburbs with a mid-grade […]

Here at Country Fried Creative (CFC) we’re often asked about how to “get the word out” and “tell our story.” There’s no shortage of books, podcasts, and internet articles about marketing. We knew that the best way to answer that question was to put something together that was memorable and easy to understand for busy […]

It’s been said that “you can’t manage what you can’t measure.” Although it’s not clear who originally coined that phrase or even the exact wording – the essence of it rings true.  Conversely, another version of the same idea was articulated by Lewis Carroll in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: “Alice: Would you tell me, please, […]

On October 12, 2022, I will have the pleasure of co-presenting a small business workshop about Cybersecurity for the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce.  In that workshop, I will speak about website security and how to protect your reputation online. Consequently, we would like for you to attend in person!  However, here is a sneak […]

The #1 mistake that most organizations make in regard to their online presence is building their website and then assuming that their job is done without taking steps to make sure they are found on Google. In today’s market, you must be able to be found on all major search engines. And, the ultimate goal […]

Run Digital Ads!  Do you know how to run digital ads, or even why you need to? If not, we are here to help. Have you ever done some online “window shopping”, and then seen an ad for that product pop up on your next social media scroll? Seems a little scary sometimes, doesn’t it? […]

Building a website is an undertaking on its own, but launching the finished product isn’t the end of the journey. To properly utilize your website and get the most out of it, you’re gonna have to take a look behind the curtain and keep up with your website analytics. Not everyone likes analytics, and there’s […]

The old adage “build it and they will come” simply doesn’t work for websites. Over the last few decades, the online world has gotten increasingly more saturated. That’s great for users- they can find absolutely anything under the sun that they may be looking for!  However, it makes it much harder for your website for […]

What is SEO? Search Engine Optimization commonly referred to as SEO, is the process of editing a website to maximize its visibility online. It ensures that when someone searches for your business, your website shows up. These search results are completely organic, meaning that they are not paid ads. This is why SEO is so […]

Digital marketing is the process of reaching new and existing customers. This is done via online tools such as social media, websites, search engine optimization, and more! It is a blanket word for the many sub-categories of internet marketing listed above. Why should I care? In the past year, have you come across a single […]

We all want a huge following and high engagement rate. so- How do you go about achieving it? First, you need to determine WHO you are trying to reach. Is your audience Millennial women with a high income living downtown and interested in fashion? Are they Gen-X men living in the suburbs with a mid-grade […]

Launching a Website: they will come…maybe! When it comes to launching a website, just because you have one- doesn’t mean it’s being seen or even doing what you need it to. How frustrating right? So what’s a business owner to do, when they’re trying to get seen online? These days we’re trained to Google first! […]