Blogs Archive - Top Digital Agency https://topdigital.agency Need marketing, web development, social media, advertising or other digital services? Use TDA to hire a proven top digital agency anywhere in the world. Mon, 22 Jan 2024 08:31:10 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.0 The Top Digital Podcast – Episode 9 https://topdigital.agency/blog/top-digital-podcast-9-peternel-rein-communications/ Wed, 22 Mar 2023 10:37:24 +0000 https://topdigital.agency/?post_type=blog&p=136237 Opening a new museum in a new city is hard enough. When the Croatia-based Museum of Illusions wanted to open a new museum from across an ocean, in a different country, a different language, and a different culture, they knew they would need the help of a local agency. They used TDA to find Charlotte …

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Opening a new museum in a new city is hard enough. When the Croatia-based Museum of Illusions wanted to open a new museum from across an ocean, in a different country, a different language, and a different culture, they knew they would need the help of a local agency. They used TDA to find Charlotte North Carolina’s Rein Communications. This episode features Nicole Peternel, founder and CEO of Rein Communications and PR professional.

Nicole spoke with us about how she successfully worked with the Museum of Illusions to launch in Charlotte. She also discusses the state of PR today, and tells her story of going from working in the big agencies in Chicago to starting her own in Charlotte.

Interview Highlights:

On the differences between American cities:

“Every market is different in the US. Charlotte, for example, we’re notorious for buying tickets last minute. So we’re not going to get these big acts that are international or Beyonce is not going to come to Charlotte if we’re not buying tickets. So I definitely had to walk [the Museum team] through it a little bit, talk a little bit off the ledge. But it would be sold out the first weekend and every weekend, I think actually every day after that. So I knew it would happen. It’s just, again, every mark on here in the US a little bit different.”

On adjusting to the challenges of putting together a launch event:

“There are a lot of moving parts and if you want to be able to have kind of balance in your planner, I’m a planner, right? So it’s all about contingency planning. PR you have to be able to play on but also be able to move at the drop of a dime. But we really kind of lay our best plans forward and knowing at the last minute whether it’s because we had that fight and it’s raining, or there are some technical difficulties that we have to kind of have that contingency and backup plan.”

On creating a flexible workplace:

“It was important to me with Rein that I do have opportunities for women who maybe they want to work on one client, you know, or they have gotten 10 hours to copywrite and they’re wonderful but they can’t bring those skills to other places. This was five years ago when you know, I started I said this is something that’s really important to me, that if I’m going to hire and build out a team, that I do it with the intention of flexibility.”

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]]> TDA’s Favorite Women-Led Agencies 2022 https://topdigital.agency/blog/tdas-favorite-women-led-agencies-2022/ Mon, 07 Mar 2022 15:03:17 +0000 https://topdigital.agency/?post_type=blog&p=115274 In celebration of International Women’s Day 2022, we’ve picked a few of our favorite digital agencies on our platform that is led, founded, or owned by super-talented women. TDA’s favorite women-led agencies Indiegogh Creative The Working Assembly The Oya Group Boundless Agency Bloom Digital Brandire PommePêche Tiny Milkshake Media  Appleton Creative Intuition Marketing 1. Indiegogh …

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In celebration of International Women’s Day 2022, we’ve picked a few of our favorite digital agencies on our platform that is led, founded, or owned by super-talented women.

TDA’s favorite women-led agencies

  1. Indiegogh Creative
  2. The Working Assembly
  3. The Oya Group
  4. Boundless Agency
  5. Bloom Digital
  6. Brandire
  7. PommePêche
  8. Tiny Milkshake Media 
  9. Appleton Creative
  10. Intuition Marketing

1. Indiegogh Creative

Founder & Creative Director: Emily DiGrazio

“I believe in what I do because I’ve done it for myself. I’ve successfully launched and scaled my business without spending a dime in advertising. That’s the power of the brand, and that’s what I work to achieve for my clients.“

2. The Working Assembly

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Founder & Head of Creative: Jolene Delisle

“Clients often come to us and say, “I love the branding of this.” And we’re like, “Well, that’s not really your target. It doesn’t really make sense for you as a brand.” And I think it can be hard for founders to separate their own personal aesthetic from what is actually going to be most effective for their business.”

3. The Oya Group

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CMO & Creative Director: Karen Herbert Gordon

“I see the big picture that defines a brand. Seeing things most people overlook and bringing them forth to tell a compelling story. I’m a brand hawk and can spot a brand gone awry a mile away. THAT gives me the heebie-jeebies — but there’s always hope.”

4. Boundless Agency

Founder & Head of Creative: Lesya Klymenko Liu

“I have doubled social followers for multi-million dollar companies, used Instagram to capitalize on major television appearances, and helped small local businesses put their presence on the map. I was able to achieve this through a combination of creative problem-solving and analytical approach to every marketing effort.”

5. Bloom Digital

Founder & CEO: Danielle Hixenbaugh

“Digital marketing isn’t just a job for me – it’s my calling. For that reason, I think about strategy & tactics differently than most and have been described by colleagues as someone who simply “gets it.” I approach my work similar to a puzzle – putting the right pieces & tactics in place to complete the big picture.”

6. Brandire

Chief Storytelling Strategist: Madia Brown

“Everybody has the potential to do great things that make a difference. We believe that, sometimes, the only thing stopping you is your ability to show the world how remarkable you really are.”

7. PommePêche

Co-Founders: Rachelle & Shawna

“Started out as co-workers, grew into friends, and evolved as business partners, Shawna and Rachelle founded PommePêche together in 2021. After several years of working in Corporate America, they became inspired to leverage their marketing and public relations expertise to support small businesses.”

8. Tiny Milkshake Media

Co-Founder & Producer: Lizabeth Cardozo

“I manage everything from personalities, budgets, timelines, clients, operations, marketing, production to strategies and expectations all while steering us towards a common goal: producing animated stories that delight audiences and build brands.”

9. Appleton Creative

CEO & Principal: Diana LaRue

“Under her creative direction and leadership, Appleton Creative has produced regional, national and international award-winning campaigns. LaRue’s track record covers a variety of industries, including healthcare, technology, nonprofit organizations, real estate, development, tourism & hospitality.”

10. Intuition Marketing

CEO: Paula Bruno

“We believe in the human element combined with the power of technology to reach the right influencers for our clients.”

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]]> How to Tell if Your Web Design Agency Is Overcharging You https://topdigital.agency/blog/how-to-tell-if-your-web-design-agency-is-overcharging-you/ Tue, 08 Feb 2022 09:54:48 +0000 https://topdigital.agency/?post_type=blog&p=113555 Getting a website made isn’t very difficult. What is fairly difficult is discerning the quality of a web design agency before working with them. However, there are a few distinct warning signs that you can recognize and maybe the warning you need to consider before going into business with that web design agency. No Clearly …

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Getting a website made isn’t very difficult. What is fairly difficult is discerning the quality of a web design agency before working with them. However, there are a few distinct warning signs that you can recognize and maybe the warning you need to consider before going into business with that web design agency.

No Clearly Defined Budget for Your Project

All agencies and freelancers alike should have, at the very least, a loose budget to work with and guide the web design and development process. If the budget is too low, then the work usually can’t get done at the level you might have wanted. However, if the budget is too high, this is also a big warning sign that they may be overcharging you. If you’re not sure whether they’re over or under budgeting, then you should consider the features you’ve discussed with the web designers and do a web search to determine if this is relatively close to the budget proposed for your project.

Services Keep Being Added to Budget

In most cases, budgets will grow over the course of completing your project, and that is usually fine. But, there are some cases when the budget never stops growing, and services or features keep being added to your project, and this is a clear indication that you’re being upsold without your consent. A good way to avoid this is to be very clear at the beginning of the project (during the proposal stage) what you want and what your desired outcomes are. If they can’t keep the budget at a reasonable level, that’s your sign to avoid them.

They Charge More than Their Competitors… For No Clear Reason

Most web design and development agencies will have some form of price listed for their services on their website. If not, you can always request them via email or phone call. However, if the prices are considerably higher or lower than their competitors, then this may be a sign that something is fishy. Of course, there is always a chance that their prices are justified based on the quality of their work, or the detail and customization of the website’s backend code, but it is best to question this. If a web designer is worth their salt, then they’ll be more than happy to give their reasoning regarding the cost of your website.

Don’t Divulge Specifics of Your Website

As the owner of the website you are commissioning from a web design and development agency, it is your right to know what is going on in the website backend. This means divulging specifics of the code and how it enacts what you wanted in regard to front-end features and systems. Of course, that doesn’t mean you should go overboard and ask what each line of code means, but rather a general overview of the specifics based on your knowledge level.

If a web design agency does not go over the details regarding your website and the features or functions that will be implemented in the creation process, that is generally concerning. They don’t need to go into excessive detail, as a decent 70%+ of the information they could divulge with you would go straight over your head, but if they refuse to divulge any details, that’s likely going to be your sign to back out of the project as quickly as possible. Withholding details and keeping the client uninformed are blaring warnings.

They Never Show You Mockups or Prototypes of Your Website

One thing that may seem innocuous at first, but could signal an underlying issue, is if the web designers and developers never show you any form of mockup or prototype before diving straight into the project. Good web designers have mockups upon mockups and even prototypes of the website that they could easily show you–as, along the path toward completing your project, it’s necessary to have mockups and prototypes usually created for internal (web design agency) use. It’s fairly normal and simple to share the design mockups or prototypes with the client (yourself), so don’t feel afraid to ask. If they don’t allow it, that’s another red flag to avoid them and not proceed with their proposal.

You Don’t Have Administrator Access to Your Website

If your project is completed and paid, and you didn’t ask for the web design agency to handle post-production handling of the website, but they haven’t given you administrator access to your website, that’s concerning. Maybe they forgot to give you the login details, or maybe they intended to bail out at the last minute, holding your precious new website hostage, but that’s unlikely. It could be that this is an indicator that they weren’t to schedule, or, that they know the website isn’t up to your standards on the backend features side of the website. Always be sure they allow you Admin access to your own website.

The Design and Functionality of the Website Looks Pre-Made (A Template)

These days, web design agencies that use templates and charge little to nothing for their services are a dime a dozen. It’s a fairly common occurrence for low-skilled to mid-skilled web designers to recolor and redesign a pre-made template for your web design project. However, if you’re looking for something more unique and optimized to your desires, a pre-made template is not the way to go. Additionally, pre-made templates cost very little to purchase and implement yourself, so it’s better to pay a freelancer for that if you wish to use a template for your website design project.

Analytics Reports Are Not Clearly Explained

If you happened to sign a contract with a web design agency that extended to the post-launch handling of your websites, such as SEO (Search Engine Optimization) of your site’s pages or blog posting, you deserve to get regular analytics reports. Additionally, the reports should be written or broken down in a way that makes it easy for you to understand, as you’re the owner of the site in the first place. If analytics reports are messy, convoluted or in their “raw” unedited form, that’s a potential sign that they’re not getting the results you desire, and they wish to obfuscate that.

Hire a Web Design Agency on TDA!

The best way to avoid all these issues related to web design agencies overcharging and underdelivering is to hire a web design agency on TDA to help redesign and implement your website. Or, if you’d like to learn more about web design, consider reading this article on 3 Web Design Projects That Agencies Will Line Up To Get.

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