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Baseline Creative

10 of the Most Relatable Marketing GIFS

By Blog

Digital marketing can be so incredibly fun and rewarding. That’s why it’s one of our specialties here at Baseline Creative. We’re passionate about strategy, content creation, design, SEO, and all the things that work together to make digital marketing successful. Marketing professionals, small business owners, and anyone who’s managed a social media profile will be able to relate to the following Top 10 Relatable Marketing GIFS.



1. Off Brand is Not Allowed

Brand, and brand voice, should always be considered in your marketing efforts. You don’t want any of your messaging or imagery to be off brand. Working with a marketing team that knows your business can keep you on brand and set you up for success!



2. Font Choice is Important

Branding is crucial, and an important part of that branding involves font choices. If you use the wrong fonts, you’ll definitely convey the wrong message. Fonts set the tone of everything you say. Baseline Creative started out as Baseline Fonts, so we know a thing or two about font creation and selection.



3. Analytics and Tracking are Cool

If you’re not measuring your efforts, then you can’t know what’s going right and what needs to be improved! Be like the cool kids and make sure you have Google Analytics installed on your site. We give that effort a big thumbs up. If you need help installing the tracking code or deciphering the analytics, Baseline Creative can help! We are a certified Google Partner Agency after all.



4. Don’t Forget to Caffeinate

This one is more of a suggestion, but totally relatable. Our team at Baseline Creative is known to enjoy a nice cup of coffee, or two! The Meryl Streep before and after coffee GIF says it all. Cheers!



5. Content Creation is Important

Content is key when it comes to marketing. From website content, blogs, social media, print collateral, and more, your content needs to be strong and working in favor of your efforts. You want your content to be engaging and also bring traffic to your business. Need help with content? Our team is like the cats in this GIF when it comes to content creation and strategy.



6. Creativity Matters

We mentioned content above, but want to stress that it has to be creative! If your content isn’t educational, entertaining, or evoking emotion in the viewer then it likely needs a creative boost. Don’t worry though, “creative” is in our name! From branding, mood boards, content creation, and more, you’ve got our entire creative team on your side when you work with us.



7. Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

Marketing is best accomplished with a team. That’s why full-service agency life is the best! You have access to an entire team of multi-talented professionals when you work with us. The ability to rely on a team is amazing.

8. We Love having Good Photography to Work With

Nothing is more exciting than having high-quality photography to work with for websites, social media, and print materials. Bad photography can ruin the impact of your messaging, meaning a waste of time and energy for your business. At Baseline Creative, we have a photographer on staff that specializes in custom photography for businesses we work with. Quality messaging paired with quality photography is a dream come true.



9. We Do Our Homework

What homework? Oh yeah, that homework, we did it. Every good marketer should do their homework. That means research, forecasting, analysis, competitor analysis, and more! Google is basically our best friend and if there’s information to find, we’ll find it. If the information doesn’t exist, we’ll help create it. That’s just how we roll.



10. We’re Here to Help

Marketing is incredibly complex. To do it right, takes dedication and hard work. We’ve been helping clients grow their businesses for over 20 years and have built some amazing partnerships along the way. Looking for help with your website, digital marketing, branding, or design? Let’s have a conversation.

Need Marketing Assistance?

We hope you enjoyed these relatable marketing gifs! Need help with any of your marketing efforts? Contact us today!

Baseline Creative is a Google Partner Agency

Baseline Creative is a Certified Google Partner Agency

By Our Work

As a full-service agency and Certified Google Partner, the Baseline Creative team works with a variety of businesses across multiple industries to help maximize the effectiveness of their Google Ads campaigns. Our team stays up to date on the latest digital marketing trends, tools, and strategies. Google Ads are a great way to maximize your reach and conversions online. How does our certification as Google Partner help you?

Baseline’s status as a Google Partner means the following:

  1. Our Agency has demonstrated knowledge and proficiency using Google Ads
  2. Our strategists are trained and certified in Search, Video, and Display Ads among other Google tools such as Analytics, Google My Business, and more
  3. The accounts we manage have met industry standards meaning they are successful, optimized, and making an impact

What does this mean for our clients?

We’re efficient with your time and budget.

We’ve been certified in the different applications for Google Ads. This means we know and understand the various ways to get your message or products to the right audience. Therefore, our optimization efforts go further because our efforts are strategic, not experimental.

We’ll keep things running smoothly.

Ads need to be continually optimized, assessed, and adapted. Our strategists make sure that the correct audience is being targeted for your business so that your budget isn’t being wasted. Additionally, we’re constantly making improvements to your campaigns and keeping everything on track and optimized.

Digital marketing is ever-changing. We’re here to partner with your business to make sure you’re able to react and adapt before your competitors.

Want to work with a Google Partner?

Whether you’re looking to improve existing Google Ads to drive growth, or you’d like to begin implementing Google Ads into your marketing strategy, we can help. We’ve also worked with clients at varying stages of the process so we can jump right in to start making an impact for your business. Schedule a consultation with our team today to see how we can partner for success.

Instagram Features Algorithm and Feed Changes 2022

Is Instagram Going Algorithm Free?

By Blog

Instagram has announced some upcoming algorithm changes for user feeds that will affect consumers and advertisers alike. Over the past few years, Instagram users have complained about excessive advertisements and not seeing enough content from friends and companies they follow. Along with not seeing all relevant posts, posts do not show up in reverse chronological order. The content shown to viewers, and the order in which it is shown, can make or break the user experience on social media. Instagram usage, however, continues to rise and Instagram stakeholders are working to shape the user experience for the better. Keep reading to learn about upcoming Instagram changes that are projected in 2022.

Increasing Control Over Content Feeds

Adam Mosseri, Instagram chief, shared on his Instagram that they are testing feed changes in 2022. With the proposed changes, users will be able to toggle between three different feeds; Home, Favorites, and Following. These three feeds utilize the algorithm in different ways.

  • Home will be similar to current Instagram feed settings. Home, using the algorithm, features suggested profiles, advertisements, and other relevant content during your time spent on the app.
  • Favorites will consist of select profiles marked as favorites. Mosseri mentions using this feed for family or other profiles he wants consistently view.
  • Following will be similar to the previous Instagram experience consisting of only accounts you follow with posts listed in reverse chronological order, showing the latest content first.

What Will Instagram Algorithm Changes Mean for Advertisers?

Will Instagram’s feed customization features make users feel more in control and happier, resulting in more time spent on the app? We think so. Therefore, Instagram will still be a great place for companies to focus marketing efforts. We see great promise in the Home feed of Instagram. Advertising is all about getting the right message in front of the right person at the right time. Users browsing the home feed want inspiration, entertainment, and new content. Strong and engaging content will be vital to stand out on Instagram.

Partner with A Professional

As always, we’re here to stay on top of the latest social media and advertising changes to strategize in the best interest of our clients and partners. If you need help making sure that your social media marketing efforts resonate with your audience, contact us. Let’s strategize.

Baseline Creative Wins “Best Places to Work” Honor

By Blog

Baseline Creative was recently honored as the winner of the “Best Places to Work” for Small Business by the Wichita Business Journal. The award is based on the results of an employee survey that is administered by Quantum Market Research. Employees fill out the confidential survey which evaluates everything from team effectiveness, retention, employee alignment with company goals, trust with coworkers, and individual contribution to feeling valued, work engagement, and people practices. The companies with the highest scores are ranked in order, and the businesses with the top scores receive the award. Baseline Creative was a finalist in 2015, and took the top honor home this year.

“We are so excited to receive the Best Places to Work award,” said Bridgette West-Williams, Vice President at Baseline. “We have worked hard over the past several years to create a culture that shows appreciation to our team members through everything we do. From fair and equitable compensation to fully employer-funded top-notch health, dental and supplemental insurance, to flexible schedules and paid time off, we believe in easing the burdens that our team faces so they can thrive and not just survive.”

A positive and empowering workplace culture at Baseline Creative is important to leadership. “We believe we have the best team members,” said Nathan Williams, Principal at Baseline. “Our team members care about our clients and the quality of work we produce. We also care about each other. There are no egos at Baseline. Everyone is part of the team and as a team, we help out one another and get the work done.”

Baseline Creative leadership also believes in investing in the professional development of team members. “We believe deeply in growing and coaching our team members and their evolving areas of career and personal interest. We provide formal and informal continuing education, certifications, and degree opportunities for employees, and more importantly, mentoring and coaching opportunities with leadership and outside professionals as needed,” West-Williams said.

While many companies talk about self-care and work/life balance, Baseline truly walks the walk. Flexible work from home and in-office schedules allow team members to take care of their personal needs and the needs of their families. Additionally, self-care and mental health are important to Baseline leadership. “When we were working fully remote at the beginning of the pandemic, Nathan and I decided to provide 10-14 extra days of paid leave to give team members more frequent breaks throughout the stressful year,” West-Williams said. “It’s important to us to touch base with individual team members and see how they’re doing. Not only do we think it’s the right thing to do, but it’s also good for business.”

Baseline Gives Back Holiday Campaign

By Blog

Happy Holidays! It’s the season of giving and instead of spending money on cards or branded tchotchkes, Baseline Creative wants to give back!

Throughout the year our team donates time, talent, and resources to organizations that have missions that we believe in. This year we’re honoring our clients with a gift back to charity!

Please choose one of the following nonprofits and Baseline Creative will donate to the cause you select based on your vote. Every organization that receives a vote will get a donation. It’s the best way to end the year!

Vote by clicking here!

You can learn more about each of these wonderful organizations on their websites.

Nathan Williams headshot

Nathan Williams Recognized as a 2021 Marketing Awards Honoree

By Blog

Nathan Williams honored as part of the Wichita Business Journal’s 2021 Marketing Awards

Owner and Principal of Baseline Creative, Nathan Williams, was recognized as an honoree of the Wichita Business Journal’s annual Marketing Awards. You can read Nathan’s full profile feature in the Wichita Business Journal.

The Wichita Business Journal’s Marketing Awards “honor Wichita-area senior marketing professionals who excel in making their company or organization look and perform its best.”

Client-focused service and support

Nathan brings an innovative approach to customer-first marketing at Baseline. He’s not afraid to do the work alongside his team, whether it be everyday fulfillment, high-level strategy, or developing a custom solution. Most importantly, he treats each client as the most important asset to our company, no matter the size of the account.

Nathan’s commitment to finding the best solution—or creating one—is always present in the day-to-day processes at Baseline Creative.

Vice President of Baseline Creative, Bridgette West-Williams says, “Nathan always ensures we provide clients with effective strategy, while being good stewards of their time and resources. His respect for honest and ethical business dealings ensures the success of our clients, and our own business.”

Servant leadership from the heart

Aside from providing exceptional client service, Nathan donates time, in-kind work, and resources to our local community in various ways. He is a longtime supporter of the Kansas Humane Society, Kansas K9 ResQ, Beauties & Beasts, Wichita Animal Action League, among many other regional and national animal rescues and shelters. In addition, Nathan is also a SCORE and SBA volunteer.

Each year, Nathan donates in-kind work to nonprofits and local organizations in need of marketing services, custom websites, and application solutions. For example, ICT SOS, Camp Sunflower, the Kansas Hispanic Education & Development Foundation, the Alzheimer’s Association of Central & Western Kansas, the League of Women Voters of Wichita Metro, and the Wichita Grand Opera.

We are proud to be part of the team Nathan has established at Baseline Creative. We congratulate Nathan on his recognition as a 2021 Marketing Awards honoree!

a variety of icons indicating a broken website

Web Maintenance Keeps You Running

By Blog, Uncategorized

Just like a vehicle or a building, your website requires regular maintenance to keep functionality working correctly and to keep your website secure. Plugins are continually updated for security and performance and outdated plugins can pose a security risk. In addition, regular web maintenance ensures your site is running as quickly as possible and is optimized for search engine optimization (SEO). Below are some reasons to do regular, monthly web maintenance.

Reasons for Web Maintenance

  1. Security – Hackers are always looking for vulnerabilities and outdated plugins and versions of content management systems such as WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal. When a hacker sees that plugins for these websites are not updated, they can either take advantage of a current exploit, or create a new one. Aside from plugins, it’s also important to keep your content management system updated to new versions. Developers for plugins and content management systems are continually working on creating new, more secure versions of their products and it’s vital to your web security to keep up to date.
  2. Performance – A website is a well-oiled digital machine, and when your plugins aren’t up to date, these plugins can become clunky and can break, which in turn, breaks the functionality on your website. Examples of broken plugins could include missing elements including maps, images, and forms. This creates a poor user experience, which effects your overall search engine ranking.
  3. Speed – Speed is part of the overall performance of your website, but it’s important enough to have its own bullet point because speed is a crucial factor in your search engine ranking. When developers push out new versions or updates to plugins or content management systems, it’s because they have improved these products, often optimizing for speed.
  4. Save money – When a website is not routinely maintained, it can cause more problems that require additional time and money to fix. Like ignoring regular oil changes, a website without maintenance can eventually come to a halt with a variety of broken functionalities, slow speed and poor user experience. Unfortunately, this can take more time for a company, like Baseline to fix. As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Web Maintenance is Available

Baseline Creative offers regular, affordable, maintenance for websites that we’ve built, as well as sites we didn’t build. Our service includes regular plugin updates and security checks by a real, live developer! Our team will make updates, test, and make optimizations as needed. If you’re interested in regular updates, contact your account manager, email us, or call us at 316-260-5294 and we will answer questions and get you on our schedule.

A cell phone shows the Instagram Reels splash screen

Instagram Update

By Blog

Instagram, the visual social media platform recently announced that they are “no longer a photo-sharing app.” Instead, Instagram is shifting its focus over to compensating creators, video, shopping, and messaging. This doesn’t mean that users won’t be able to share photos anymore, because that functionality will still exist. However, what has changed is what content users see first including content from accounts the user doesn’t currently follow. We break down the Instagram update happening now below.

Four New Areas of Focus

  • Instagram’s research showed that users come to the platform to be entertained. Instagram believes that a big part of entertainment will include video. Instagram is experimenting over the next few months by recommending videos to users from accounts the user doesn’t follow yet. This is similar to the way both TikTok and YouTube suggest content to users. Instagram’s video format is called “Reels” and has been criticized for imitating many of the same features as TikTok. Reels are now the preferred format for the Instagram algorithm.

  • In addition to pushing out more video content, Instagram is updating monetization features to compensate creators. Creator shops allow Instagram users to set up a shop directly in the app or connect their personal and business profiles more easily. Affiliate commerce allows creators to be compensated by brands for their recommendations based on the number of sales the creator pushes through. The Brand Content Marketplace allows brands to partner with creators that match up with their brand values.

  • The pandemic brought online purchasing into the spotlight and Instagram is looking to capitalize on that with expanded shopping options. Instagram hasn’t revealed any specifics on this area, but with 131 million users clicking on shopping posts per month, they are looking to capitalize on this trend.

  • Finally, Instagram is focusing on messaging. More users are using messaging features on social platforms and Instagram is updating its messaging to include a visual component in which the user can reply to a DM with a photo. More updates to messaging are planned.

How Does the Instagram Update Affect You?

What does this mean for businesses that advertise on Instagram? For retail businesses, the new shopping platform will make it easier to sell their products. Brands interested in collaborating with influencers will also benefit from these changes. For businesses that have Instagram accounts, the biggest change will be switching over to more video content. Creating more video content will take more time than posting photos. Businesses should budget more time for content strategy, creation, and implementation.

If your business needs help with social media management or paid social media ads, Baseline Creative can help! We have a team of strategists who stay up-to-date on the latest industry trends and best practices. Contact us today.

Bridgette West-Williams is a Woman Who Leads

By Blog

Bridgette West-Williams Recognized as a Woman Who Leads by the Wichita Business Journal

Baseline Creative’s Vice President, Bridgette West-Williams, was honored and recognized by the Wichita Business Journal for her leadership in the professional services sector. The Wichita Business Journal featured Bridgette including her career path and advice for other women in the profession alongside other leaders.

Serving and supporting employees and clients

Bridgette’s commitment to the safety, wellbeing and security of the Baseline Creative team is always present, especially during the pandemic. In her position as Vice President, she developed policies to accommodate every employee’s work style while supporting client needs and expectations.

In addition, her leadership helped employees thrive throughout the pandemic. Among her many responsibilities, she regularly checked in on employees’ mental health and well-being. She also mentored other business owners, providing them with guidance on how to create effective practices, policies, and boundaries.

A passion for diversity, equity, and inclusion

Bridgette’s volunteer work speaks to her core values, passion, and commitment to social justice. Through her leadership, in-kind contributions, and donating her time and resources, she supports a number of organizations. Above all, she demonstrates her commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in her everyday actions.

She serves as a board member and co-chair of the Membership Committee for the League of Women Voters, Wichita Metro. Bridgette was also recently appointed as the DEI Chair for the League of Women Voters Kansas.  In addition to her role as a board member, donor, and volunteer for ICT SOS, she also supports Camp Sunflower through in-kind contributions.

Bridgette also serves as a leader, volunteer, and donor for several community organizations, including Rise Up For Youth, Progeny, Beauties & Beasts, WAAL, Kansas Humane Society, Lawrence Humane Society, KMUW, KPTS, and Kansas Alliance for Wetlands and Streams.

Cultivating a positive company culture

Most importantly, Bridgette has developed and cultivated a positive company culture and work environment at Baseline Creative, Inc. She uses her strengths to serve and support her company and community.

When asked what advice she has for young professionals, Bridgette says, “Find mentors with seniority and experience who hold roles or positions you envision yourself in, as well as peer mentors. Make time for yourself along the way, and don’t be afraid to set boundaries in your professional life and seek a workplace with a culture that best serves you.”

We are incredibly proud to be a part of the team Bridgette has helped create and the work that Baseline does for clients and in the community. Our team congratulates her for being named a Woman Who Leads in our community!

A cell phone is compromised in a phishing attach

Don’t Click That Link – How to Avoid Phishing Attempts

By Blog

We received a call from a concerned client the other day because they had received an email through their website contact form that claimed that they were using copyrighted images on their website. The emailer claimed that they would sue our client if they didn’t remove the images, and the copyright proof could be accessed via a link. Once I assured the client that we only use images that we create, or that we pull from our stock photo subscription, he was relieved. However, this type of phishing scheme is happening more often. We thought it was a good time to remind our clients about the types of schemes that we frequently see, how they can avoid them, and the importance of website security.

Copyright Infringement Scheme

This is a common type of phishing scheme. After creating panic in the website owner about copyrighted images, and the emailer claiming they were going to sue and involve the website hosting company. The hacker will then demand that the user clicks a link to see evidence of their copyright. Once the user clicks the link, they can one of several things:

  • Hold your device hostage and demand a ransom.
  • Access your other accounts and compromise your financial information.
  • They can upload viruses and worms onto your device.

As a preventative measure, Baseline Creative uses advanced captchas and honeypots to help deter, and track, users who are attempting to access websites. These tools also help limit the amount of spam on website contact forms.

A new version of this scheme has popped up on Instagram. Instagram users may receive a direct message or an email claiming that Instagram has found that they’ve used copyrighted images on their account. They cleverly add, “If you think we’ve made a mistake, please fill out the copyright objection form below,” which of course, will provide the hacker with access they need to take over your Instagram account.

You can avoid these types of phishing schemes by remaining vigilant and suspicious of emails that want you to click on a link, or download an attachment. Some signs that an email is a phishing scam are more obvious, such as, the email has poor grammar or misspelled words, or if the name shows up as someone you know, but the email address itself isn’t correct. However, scammers are becoming more sophisticated every day, so don’t drop your guard.

Domain Slamming Schemes

These types of schemes involve the claim that you must renew your domain. Usually they are marked “URGENT” and can come via email or regular mail. The scheme requires the business owner to fill out a form and pay for the domain renewal, which is quite often much more expensive than it should be.

Unfortunately, when the user completes this, they have unwittingly transferred their domain registration to someone with ill intent. These bad actors can then turn off your website, hold it hostage, or access the private information contained on your website.

If you’re unsure that your domain is about to expire, log into your domain host directly, and not from a link provided in an email. You should be able to log into your GoDaddy, BlueHost or another domain registration provider and see when your domain is set to expire. You can set up autorenewal so that you never have to worry about an expiration. If you are a Baseline Creative client, and we’ve set up your domain, we make sure that renewals occur each year so you don’t have to add that to your already full plate.

Avoiding Phishing Scams & Website Hacking

Baseline Creative is always vigilant when it comes to website security. We use tools to help us detect hacking attempts, as well as preventative firewalls and security measures to keep websites and data safe. If you receive an unsolicited email claiming copyright infringement or the need for a domain renewal, feel free to contact us. We can help you stay safe in the digital space and assist with website security needs.