bob ward

Bob Ward Declares Stevens and Tate as Agency of Record

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Bob Ward Companies has hired Stevens & Tate Marketing to increase brand awareness for the homebuilder in the Baltimore area and drive traffic to its sales centers. Named its agency of record, Stevens & Tate is responsible for media planning and placement for all Bob Ward communities as well as the company as a whole. The firm is overseeing creative strategy and implementation, designing fresh advertising campaigns that include digital display, social media, radio, outreach emails, and print. In addition, Stevens & Tate is implementing a Google Ads program that highlights the key selling points for each of the builder’s properties. To move prospects through the buyer’s journey, the agency is creating and managing a lead nurturing program that communicates with contacts in Bob Ward’s database on a consistent basis.

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Bob Ward is one of the largest homebuilders in metropolitan Baltimore with townhome, villa and single-family-home communities in Maryland, specifically in Carroll, Cecil and Harford counties. Since 1983, the company has built nearly 3,000 homes that offer buyers comfort, quality and value. The homebuilding industry, both local and national, has presented some of its most prestigious awards to Bob Ward, recognizing the company’s standards of excellence.

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Hubspot

Hubspot vs Mailchimp

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There are hundreds of different tools available for every aspect of online marketing. Such tools can be used to automate basic tasks, provide aesthetic options, analyze performance, and much more. However, choosing the right tool can be difficult, especially when it comes to email marketing. For instance, two of the main email marketing tools currently on the market include HubSpot and Mailchimp. Both have a stellar reputation for user-friendly interfaces, customization options, and automation features. But how do you choose between HubSpot vs. Mailchimp? The following is a breakdown between HubSpot vs. Mailchimp:

What Is HubSpot?

Hubspot

HubSpot is essentially an all-in-one marketing platform. As such, email marketing is just one of its components. The HubSpot ecosystem also includes inbound marketing, analytics, CRM, and sales tools. Using their email marketing service, you will be able to segment your email lists and use a variety of automation features to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of your email campaigns. Although HubSpot’s most basic plan starts at $45/month, they do offer free tools, including email marketing tools.

What Is Mailchimp?

Unlike HubSpot, Mailchimp’s primary focus is on email marketing. They have built a reputation as one of the premier email marketing services on the market. Like HubSpot, MailChimp does have a free service that includes their marketing CRM, form and landing pages, website builder, and creative assistant. However, access to additional email marketing features, such as custom branding, A/B testing, and more, requires a paid plan (plans start at $9.99/month).

What Are The Differences Between HubSpot vs. Mailchimp?

As email marketing tools with a large set of customization capabilities and automation features, HubSpot and Mailchimp may seem very similar. The following is a closer look at some of the differences between the two, which should help guide you in making your decision:

  • Price – Although both HubSpot and Mailchimp offer free plans, you’ll likely want to pay for access to more email marketing features. Mailchimp is going to be cheaper at every tier. HubSpot’s plans range from $45 to $3,200/month, while Mailchimp’s plans range from $9.99 to $299/month. Of course, you’ll be getting a more comprehensive marketing suite for the price if you go with HubSpot.
  • CRM – Both HubSpot and Mailchimp offer list segmentation tools, as well as pop-up and embedded forms. However, HubSpot also offers standalone and collected forms. On the other hand, HubSpot only allows up to 60,000 contacts compared to Mailchimp’s 100,000 contact limit (although 60,000 is arguably more than enough).
  • Email Building Features – Both tools offer drag-and-drop features along with customizable templates and A/B testing. HubSpot does have a design manager that makes its tool particularly user-friendly for building your emails.

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  • Automation Capabilities – Automation is essential to any successful email marketing campaign. Mailchimp’s automation features include data-based and behavior-based automation, welcome messages, product recommendation, and retargeting emails, as well as in-depth multi-step automation (such as pre-built journeys). HubSpot offers most of these features in addition to complex branching logic, follow-up campaigns, multi-channel automation, score leading, workflow templates, and more. However, access to these features on HubSpot requires their professional plan.
  • Analytics – Mailchimp includes a dashboard with real-time performance and analytics. Additional features include ROI tracking, a click map, advanced audience insights, and more. HubSpot has arguably more comprehensive email analytics capabilities, including up to ten reporting dashboards and custom reports for their starter plan. Higher tiered plans include more dashboards and report options. HubSpot’s data analytics are more detailed as well.
  • Landing pages – Landing pages are essential to building your email list. Not to mention that they are also needed for your emails to convert. HubSpot has an easy-to-use landing page builder that allows you to choose from various customizable templates. However, this feature is not available in their free plan. On the other hand, Mailchimp doesn’t have a landing page builder at all. Instead, it offers integrations with other third-party tools that you can use to build your email landing pages.

 

Both HubSpot and Mailchimp are excellent options when it comes to email marketing tools. However, when taking into account the differences between HubSpot vs. Mailchimp, we believe that HubSpot does edge Mailchimp in terms of its quality and capabilities. On top of that, HubSpot has an entire ecosystem of marketing tools and platforms, making it easier to integrate all of your marketing capabilities and to run your efforts from a single hub. As such, you should strongly consider HubSpot for your email marketing needs.

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How to Drive Website Conversions with the Buyer’s Journey

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Before any customer commits to purchasing a product, they will have to go through the sales funnel. The sales funnel is comprised of several stages that the buyer will go through, from identifying the problem they have to making a decision. In online marketing, the sales funnel expands from a prospective buyer to a buyer looking to purchase. Marketers are responsible for guiding prospective clients along the sales funnel until they eventually make a purchase. Attraction marketing is what will catch the attention of customers.

Growing social media usage gives marketers a chance to engage their prospective buyers by creating customized content. However, some marketers still find it challenging to identify the most effective content for each step. The following is a guide to creating the right content to drive website conversions at each step of the sales funnel.

Top of the Funnel: Awareness and Research

This is the primary step where prospective customers realize they have a problem or a need to fulfill. Buyers at the top of the funnel are searching for high quality and relevant information to point them towards the solution

Over 80% of buyers research products online before buying. The best way to attract them is by offering exactly what they need: highly optimized content with original research. Additionally, posting explainer videos that contain demonstrations can have a huge impact on your site. Lastly, create attractive landing pages to offer your visitors solutions at the click of a button.

Read More: How To Use The Buyer’s Journey To Create Great Content

Middle of the Funnel: Evaluation

During the second stage of the sales funnel, buyers are trying to sort through their best options that you and your competitors are offering.  It’s the seller’s job to explain why they are the best solution for the customer’s problem. The purpose of this section of the funnel is to highlight your expertise and begin the process of lead nurturing.

The best content for this stage are webinars and live communication features. These give the marketers and customers a space to interact with live questions and discussions. Email marketing is also a great way to offer relevant and consistent content. Don’t forget to include clear calls to action that will convert leads.

Bottom of the Funnel: Purchase

At the final stage, the buyer has decided they are ready to make a purchase, but they have not yet decided the source of their purchase. Providing them with access to the solution as well as some incentives will likely turn a prospective buyer to a customer.

Clear calls to action linked to trial offers, video tutorials, and product information can have a huge impact on prospective customers. Aligning your offers with educational and entertaining testimonials is an effective technique. It’s also wise to creating a purchasable demo based on a free plan that entices customers to access its premium features.

Pay Attention to the Buyer’s Journey

Above all, remember to consider your clients’ needs first. From there, develop your funnel in order to fulfill these needs at each stage. If the sales funnel is implemented correctly and your content is helpful to customers, your lead conversion rate will definitely increase.

Download Our White Paper Guide To Learn How To Perfect Buyer Personas For Your Business

best times to post on social media

When Are the Best Times to Post On Social Media?

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There are currently more than 3.6 billion people using social media. In 2025, that number is expected to grow to around 4.41 billion. Additionally, those people spend an average of 145 minutes a day using social media. If these numbers tell you anything, it’s that your business has to use social media as a way to reach and expand your target audience. Most businesses have some kind of social media presence at this point; however, to successfully grow that presence, you need to remain active by regularly posting to your social pages. The thing is, to reach as big of an audience as possible, you need to know the best times to post on social media.

The Importance Of Engagement

When you post to social media is important because it directly affects the level of engagement you’ll receive. Although you may have numerous social media marketing goals, increasing engagement is arguably the most crucial. Engaging your followers is what’s going to keep them interested in your brand. Engaged followers will be more likely to share your content, visit your website, and, eventually, convert. If the content you’re posting isn’t relevant, it won’t be engaging. Additionally, if your followers simply miss your posts, you miss your chance of engaging them.

How to Increase Your Social Media Presence in 2021

Knowing When To Post To Social Media

When you post content to your social pages, you’ll want to make sure it’s seen by as many people as possible. If you post content at a time when none of your target audience is online, it won’t do very well. Timing is everything. There are a number of factors to take into consideration when figuring out when to schedule your posts.

First, different social media channels have different user bases. People may be more active at night on one platform than they are on another. Second, you need to know your target audience. Different demographics tend to use social media at different times of the day. With this in mind, the following is a general breakdown of when to post on various social media platforms:

  1. Facebook – Many people will check Facebook towards the end of their workdays as they wind down and get ready to stop working. As such, posting between 3 PM and 4 PM will often result in a lot of exposure. You’ll likely reach that same audience between 1 PM and 4 PM at the end of the workweek as well, on Thursdays and Fridays. However, typically speaking, users are less active before 2 PM.
    best times to post on social media
  2. Twitter – Like Facebook, Twitter gets the most engagement during regular work hours. It’s especially active from 12 PM to 1 PM and during commuting times. Basically, people check Twitter when they have some free time available away from home. Twitter posts see less engagement outside of working hours, especially in the evenings and on weekends.
  3. Instagram – Instagram does have a younger audience than Twitter and Facebook. As such, you’ll get much more engagement in the evenings from 7 PM to 9 PM. Midday (11 AM to 1 PM) is also a good time to post to Twitter. Instagram engagement also tends to spike on Wednesdays. However, like Facebook and Twitter, Instagram posts see less engagement on the weekends.
  4. LinkedIn – Because LinkedIn is a professional social platform, posts tend to do best during work hours. There tends to be a significant drop-off in activity after 5 PM. Posts due best on LinkedIn when published between Tuesday and Friday. People often stay away from LinkedIn on weekends and are too busy on Mondays to engage on LinkedIn substantially.

Schedule Your Posts Appropriately To Improve Engagement

Use this general breakdown to get an idea of when the best times are to post to social media. Just keep in mind that your specific audience plays a big part in when you should post. For instance, older audiences are less likely to engage on social media late at night, while younger audiences are.

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