by kthigpen | Dec 1, 2020 | News
The Ace Studios team is delighted to share that The Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce of Nevada (GLCCNV) today announced it has signed on with Ace Studios as their social media agency to help the membership organization with its efforts in expanding existing and potential member outreach within Nevada.
Ace Studios is excited to partner with GLCCNV to provide content strategy and social media marketing services to achieve those goals.
“As an LGBTQ-owned business, we are happiest when we can align ourselves with organizations like GLCCNV that helps our community become more prosperous,” says Kurt Thigpen, CEO at Ace Studios “We’re very honored to be working with them and look forward to watching the organization grow.”
About Ace Studios: Ace Studios is a full-service multimedia digital marketing and design agency headquartered in Reno, Nevada with a focus on doing good work for good-minded businesses.
From image boosting to problem-solving; from stellar design to kickass in-house photography and video; from social media to social responsibility, Ace Studios stands firmly behind the companies to lead them to be their best selves.
About GLCCNV: GLCCNV is the local affiliate for the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. The organization works to advance the prosperity, equality, and inclusivity of Nevada’s gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and allied business community through referrals, education, networking, advocacy, and supplier diversity opportunities.
by kthigpen | Oct 11, 2020 | News
The Ace Studios team is thrilled that we brought home TWO ADDYs from this year’s American Advertising Awards!
The first is a Gold ADDY for the work we did for last year’s Reno Art Fest.
The second is a Silver ADDY for the photo we took last year for our own promotional use titled “Black Rock Superhero”.
You can view both winning pieces below!
Gold ADDY Winner – Reno Art Fest
Category: Photography, Campaign
Silver ADDY Winner – Black Rock Superhero
Category: Photography, Single
by kthigpen | Feb 28, 2018 | News
Small businesses are the backbone of our country. They are what make our communities great, and have a great deal of economic impact. But, many small business owners haven’t fully embraced that “thing” we are on hundreds of times a day – the Internet.
Companies like Amazon are crushing the little guy by making online commerce easy, leaving small businesses in the dust. Part of the reason for this is poor design.
There’s nothing like coming across a website from the ’90s era filled with blinking text, grainy images, and Comic Sans fonts to scare off prospective customers for good (if your website resembles anything like what I just described, you should really be paying attention to this article).
If you haven’t updated your website in the last 5 years, you could be teetering towards “scary”. This may seem like a large undertaking, however there are many ways to avoid this.
Luckily, there’s hope:
Eliminate the mystery. Some older sites have a lot of fluff. If a user can’t figure out what your site is about, they’re not going to become a customer. Think about your business’ message and revise. Ask yourself: would you buy what you’re selling?
Condense your content. Your website shouldn’t have long scrolling pages. Review what can be cut or reworded, and make sure the flow of your content makes sense. Make it easy for users to find what they need.
Use white space. A lot of folks think all of the information should be crammed together, front and center. But, clearly separating your content out using white space has shown to help increase user’s attention to your website. Not to mention, it makes your website look more modern and inviting.
Make your website mobile friendly. Most users on the internet are accessing it on their smartphones. Because of this, you should make sure that your website adjusts to multiple screen sizes so that users don’t have trouble finding the information they need quickly.
Speed things up. If your website loads slowly, users are going to abandon ship and visit a competitor. Give Google’s page speed tool a try and check if your site is running behind, and trailing the competition. If your website takes more than a few seconds to load: you’re losing potential customers.
When in doubt, consult a designer. Designers are worth their weight in gold. They’ve got experience, and can usually make a quick diagnosis of what is needed to improve your website.
If you can’t make these changes on your own, or don’t even know where to start, find a designer who can whip your website into shape.
Websites don’t have to be scary. If small businesses can get on board, it will open them up to a whole new world.
This article originally appeared on NCET.org.
by kthigpen | Jan 28, 2018 | News
It’s 2018, a brand new year! Most businesses are taking some time to reflect on 2017’s successes and failures, and how to improve in this new year. Part of those plans should include advertising.
It has never been more important than now to begin advertising your business. I’ve heard from many different industries, and they all tell me the same things. Markets are too competitive, we don’t have enough budget to run ads, etc. etc.
To quote Bruce Barton, “In good times people want to advertise; in bad times they have to.” To put it more plainly, you aren’t doing your business any favors if you aren’t putting aside a budget for advertising.
I’ll step off my soapbox, but you get the point. Now that I’ve said that, I’d like to emphasize the importance of thinking digital first.
Reasons why:
- No matter your industry, ALL of your clients are online. We are living in the age of technology, where most everyone in the world accesses the internet hundreds of times a day using their phone. I don’t care if you own a funeral home, people will still Google “funeral homes in Reno” when they need to. Don’t you want to be the first listing rather than on the third page of Google? There’s an ad for that. (Too morbid an example? Sorry!)
- Easy to set up, monitor and manage. Websites like Google, Yelp and Facebook understand that most business listings aren’t run by a marketer like myself. They’re run by normal people like you (marketers are highly abnormal, trust me I’ve been to lots of mixers). Because of that, these companies have made it easy to run an ad with a few clicks of a button. Platforms like Google even have a series of tutorials on Google AdWords where you can learn how to run ads, and even get certified!
- Affordability. Digital advertising, for the most part, is more affordable for small businesses than traditional methods. If you’re a small operation, every dollar counts, right? Take Facebook for example. You can boost a post for just $5 and reach a few hundred people.
- Advanced targeting. Do you own a pet store, and are trying to target people who like your page, and live in a certain zip code? Easy peasy. Platforms like Facebook and Google let you target folks based on many factors such as age, location, interests and recent activity. You can get down in the weeds enough to where it gets downright creepy (I’m looking at you, Amazon).
These are just a few reasons why you should consider digital advertising this year. Give it some thought, do some research on your own. Start somewhere! Cheers and good luck!
This article originally appeared in the RGJ, and on NCET Biz Tips.
