Volume Nine

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a soap and detergent manufacturer with sales in multiple channels. Charlie's Soap is the #1 Laundry Powder in the natural channel.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Volume Nine?

I needed to push the envelope, to optimize the organic search, and drive customers not only to our website, but to retailers across the country, all the while shoving unfortunate reviews onto page 5.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We wanted small, nimble, cost effective. I wanted someone who could understand that I knew what I wanted, but that I had no idea of how to get there, and could subsequently get me there.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

The project is ongoing. It is weekly SEO and social engagement (across multiple platforms) to broaden our search net and maximize clickthrough.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

3: a project leader, an SEO specialist, and a copy editor.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Our engagement is now tops. We have more engagement per total number of followers on our facebook page than many of our competitors. They have shoved negative reviews down onto page 3 and below and elevated searches that we never knew were relevent.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Everything we ask, they consistently deliver. Truth be told, if I were more succinct in asking for what I wanted, I would probably have it even faster.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The personal nature combined with expertise. This is not an easy business, despite appearances. And to make the numbers sound like they have a human component.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

We are aiming to work with them closely on strict measures of success, not just number of my off-the-wall projects that have been completed. They are not afraid to tell me, the customer, that in all things, I just might NOT know best. This is a huge plus for me.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Director of Marketing for a short-term rental company in Breckenridge, Colorado.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Volume Nine, and what were your goals?

We hired Volume 9 because we had an influx of traffic to our website, but a decrease in conversions.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We had heard of Volume 9 from one of our partners and interviewed a few other companies before deciding. After communicating with Volume 9, getting helpful insight before we signed a contract, and seeing their pricing and offerings, we knew it would be a great investment.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and campaigns.

Volume 9 took the reigns on diving into keyword and competitive research. From there, they made UI suggestions and funneled content suggestions we could take and run with.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked with two different people at Volume 9, but one of them was the main point of contact. They both worked together as a team and gave us a lot of different input and suggestions collaborating together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Since implementation, we've seen a more engaged user base, we've ranked for many new keywords, and have seen an increase in conversions.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

They were great at managing our expectations and the timeline. Amazing communicators that really went above and beyond to make sure we understood the changes we needed to make and the why behind it.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their overall knowledge of SEO.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

No! We will definitely work with them again.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the brand and content manager for ATB Ventures. We are a thesis-based innovation lab working to engineer the advancement of all humanity.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Volume Nine?

We needed someone to manage our social media accounts including content creation and paid social management. Our goals were to increase our awareness and engagement on LinkedIn and Twitter.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We were looking to change vendors and thus had a very good idea of what we were looking for - we shortlisted a few different vendors but it was clear based on conversations with Volume 9 that they were the right choice for us. We were looking for a collaborative partner who would be able to get us into a schedule around planning, posting, and analyzing.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

We already had a strategy that we were excited about and so we worked with Volume 9 to dig into it, identify any weaknesses, become really clear on our goals, and the level of volume we were looking for. Initially we worked together very closely to craft the posts as we were working on the development of our tone of voice at the same time. Now the Volume 9 runs with content creation, engagement, boosting, and we just have final sign off within their easy to use management platform.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Our initial kick off was with Natalie (CEO), but she quickly introduced us to our working team: Barb (Director) and Rachel (Digital Marketing Strategist). We especially appreciate the quick intro to our team so we could see if we gelled right from the start of the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Since starting to work with Volume 9 we have seen a 450% increase in followers and engagement across LinkedIn and Twitter.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Volume 9 set up a great rhythm for us where we have monthly meetings to plan content for the following month and then we can go into their tool and review everything all at once. We also have monthly reflections on the previous month to review how we are pacing to our goals.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Volume 9 has done a spectacular job of collaborating with us. They take time to understand our quite complex business and then target quality engagements of people who care about ATB Ventures and what we're doing.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

We have kept a lot of the design in-house as we have a brand look and feel that we want to keep very close to. That said, we are planning to transition this over to Volume 9, it's just going to be a bigger lift.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of marketing at an international continuing education institute for mental health professionals.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Volume Nine?

We needed their team’s expertise in social media marketing.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Volume Nine’s work for us centers on optimizing our social media marketing efforts to help us get the word out about our organization, mainly through our Instagram and Facebook pages. They track most of our ad spend and efficiency through Facebook pixel and augment our online presence by creating graphic ads and other multimedia content for us.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with one account manager and another member that handled our development and social media analytics efforts.

How did you come to work with Volume Nine?

We found Volume Nine online after searching for potential local agencies to hire for this project. They quickly responded to our inquiry, and we then scheduled an initial meeting to discuss the particulars of the project. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $15,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in September 2020, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Volume Nine has helped us accurately track our ad spend and determine if our ads are doing their job in promoting our business. More importantly, their team has driven an increase in our organic site traffic, which has resulted in our product sales boost. Overall, I can say that their services have led us to great results.

How did Volume Nine perform from a project management standpoint?

Volume Nine’s communicative nature makes our project easy to manage.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’re a great team to collaborate with, so we have no complaints.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Organize your goals and ideas well before communicating these to Volume Nine’s team. They’re a reliable agency that can deliver the results you need.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing assistant and office manager at Factor Design Build, a design build firm for residential remodeling. We do everything from initial concept design all the way to construction and residential remodeling.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Volume Nine?

We hired them to increase our online visibility. We had a company doing digital marketing for us, but we weren’t pleased with them.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Volume Nine helps us with Google Ads and SEO campaigns. They also do some continual website maintenance and content creation.

What is the team composition?

Xavier (Digital Marketing Strategist) and Barb (Director) serve as my account managers, but I’ve interacted with five teammates in total. As the project requires, they bring more people onto the team. 

How did you come to work with Volume Nine?

We interviewed and went through proposals with many companies, and Volume Nine was clearly the best one. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $35,000–$40,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in January 2020, and our engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

Their service is very high-quality. In the time that Volume Nine has worked for us, they’ve brought up our organic page views by 63%, our organic sessions up by 95%, our total impressions by 200%, and our clicks by more than 100%.

They’re efficient, prompt, and good at taking the information I give them and putting it together in the form of a project. Volume Nine has the skill sets, capabilities, and creativity to deliver good solutions that maybe we wouldn’t have thought of. They’re looking out for the best interest of the company in everything they do.

How did Volume Nine perform from a project management standpoint?

They get responses to me by the end of the day. They’re very thorough, so there’s never any miscommunication, and they’re great at following up. If I ever get busy, Volume Nine always circles back to make sure that nothing gets dropped. They’re both efficient and effective. The team is always on time, if not earlier. 

We have monthly check-ins and use a running spreadsheet that they built out to track the projects. I can see the status of what they’re working on, but I don’t ever really need to look at it because I know that they’re always going to meet the deadline. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The people are great and fun to work with. I always feel like I can chat with them before meetings and that I have a partner. They know our company goals and have our best interests in mind.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I have no criticism. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust Volume Nine to give them the information they need. The more insight you give them, the better off your life is going to be.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior social media manager at RE/MAX, a real estate franchiser. I oversee the entire social media department team and our social channels, as well as our agencies and strategy for our executive social media. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Volume Nine?

We hired them to help us with our brand social media presence.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Volume Nine manages our Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn strategy across the board. They help with not only content, content curation, and post copy, but also community management and crisis response. 

The team carries a handful of posts for us every month, somewhere between seven and 10 pieces of content for a variety of our social channels. For community response, Volume Nine will go in and respond to questions and help identify any escalations for agent online behavior. 

They also help with our monthly social media analytics report, as well as quarterly social listening reports.

What is the team composition?

We put out an RFP saying we were looking for a social media agency. It was important for us to have a local company, and Volume Nine is located in Denver. They were also one of the top companies of all the options we looked at.

How did you come to work with Volume Nine?

We’ve consistently worked with about three people. Rachel (Senior Digital Marketing Specialist) is our team lead, so we work with her most exclusively. She helps with the weekly meetings, as well as just relaying information to the designer. 

Rachel has backup support from Megan (Digital Marketing Specialist), who helps with community response. Richard (Director) is our overall team lead with anything related to account management. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since January 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

One of the biggest efforts we’ve focused on this year is Instagram, and they’ve definitely helped increase not only our engagement year-over-year, but our impressions and comments as well. Our Facebook has also seen an increase across the board. 

Volume Nine has also been very helpful in educating the team. They’ve given us some actionable insights that we can take to increase our social media efforts, which has been excellent as well. 

How did Volume Nine perform from a project management standpoint?

Volume Nine has been extremely helpful. Compared to our previous vendor, it’s just night and day. The team takes feedback really well, they implement anything we ask, and the turn around is quick. We have a really great working relationship with them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

There’s an overall professionalism to Volume Nine’s work. As a larger brand company, we sometimes feel like we have to go with a larger ad agency to help some of the nitpicky things that happen with social media. To find a local ad agency that’s outperformed even the largest companies is amazing. 

They handle requests very professionally — we don’t have to fight them on things, they actually listen to us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We did struggle at the beginning with onboarding them into matching their creative with our current look and feel. We went through a couple designers, but they handled it very graciously.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Set up some planning sessions ahead of time before assets are ever delivered to set expectations. Hone in on your expectations for creative.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

As a freelance voice producer recently diagnosed with epilepsy, I began a podcast called "Seizure Salad" to help me through the shock and life-change, as well as to help support other epileptics. The podcast has begun to work with Epilepsy Foundation of Colorado & other organizations, and is gaining a following, yet it's website didn't appear in search results.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Volume Nine, and what were your goals?

I hired Volume 9 to build an SEO Architecture for Seizure Salad, and to rework the layout of the site to retain visitors and funnel to desired calls to action.

SOLUTION

How did you select Volume Nine and what were the deciding factors?

Having worked in web development & some SEO in the past, I knew what I lacked and knew people & firms available. So I networked with those, then interviewed companies referred by them, and did follow up research online, much through LinkedIn.

The knowledge Volume 9 displayed and the transparency of their methods. I felt a good report with them and they were very communicative.

Website and podcast are not-for-profit, very small budget; and Volume 9 showed great care toward the effort. Very small project that could have easily said "no thanks" to, yet they took on the project like it was a big $ company, and gave it the same care.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and campaigns.

Began with a discovery meeting over scope of work and deliverables; kw must-haves, intended audiences, foundation & organization partners now & possibly future, and content optimization. Volume 9 took that information and ran kw metrics and analytical tools for them, curated relevant images & content for the website, etc.

They came back to me promptly and outlined in detail their implementation plan for the website and the podcast. Upon my approval, they installed the SEO Architecture, optimized the hosting acc't, installed Google Analytics & Google Search Console, Then optimized the titles, tags, content, kw's, & images to be more SEO-friendly. Once all of the pieces were in place, they submitted a site-map to search engines, and re-launched the site.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

I worked with just one person, the CEO of Volume Nine

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Within 48 hours the website url went from nowhere to be found to 6th in Google search for Seizure Salad Podcast. Now listeners and potential listeners can actually find the site. Nailed it. Volume Nine exceeded my expectations. I plan to work with them again in SEO for my business website.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

Volume 9 was very communicative, using a lot of Google calendar apps to schedule / change meetings, phone calls, etc. Very tech savvy, and we used Zoom for most of our conversations, yet they're open to Skype, phone, Meet, etc. Volume 9 beat their own timeline big time. Once I gave the go, I was given a 4-day timeline, and they were done in less than 48 hours!

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Volume 9 is very professional yet fun; that I knew. I found that they were much more responsive and engaged than expected. I know so many website companies, and people, who are great at what they do, yet you can tell they lost that passion for it. Volume 9 has that passion and engagement, and I felt they truly cared about my website.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Nothing comes to mind.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the brand manager for a company that makes whole grain nutrition bars.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Volume Nine?

We wanted to increase specifically organic traffic to our site.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Volume Nine started the project with a site migration to Shopify. They managed technical SEO during the process and made sure that we wouldn't lose legacy traffic. Moving forward, their team helped to direct our content strategy to increase our organic traffic from a keyword perspective. They developed a content calendar with SEO elements such as keywords, personas, alt-text, and anchor links to plan our blog.

What is the team composition?

We worked with about four people over the course of our engagement. Barb (Director, Volume Nine) led the collaboration but we also worked with different specialists such as Jake (Digital Marketing Strategist, Volume Nine) who led our content efforts.

How did you come to work with Volume Nine?

A PPC company that I’d engaged with previously recommended Volume Nine. We vetted some other agencies but felt good about working with Volume Nine for the sake of making sure there wasn’t too much cross over with keywords.

How much have you invested with them?

The engagement cost about $22,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’re done with our contract at this point but worked together from July 2018 until the end of this year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

Our organic traffic increased 20% year over year and our organic sales increased over 175%. Their team approached us with keyword recommendations that were backed up with a lot of research. The initial strategy deck was exactly what I hoped for in terms of our goals including the technical side and three content areas such as our cause bars. That propelled what we did during the year with our cause-related products. The launch of the website was seamless.

How did Volume Nine perform from a project management standpoint?

We outlined the tasks that we needed to accomplish but ss expected with any SEO group, there were shifts in strategy along the way because it isn’t a perfect science. Communication was clear and their team didn’t miss any deadlines. They executed the content optimizations before we had to post or send communications about our blog posts. Everything was seamless on the project management side. There was trust that deliverables were met when I wasn’t directly involved.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Volume Nine definitely has their finger on the pulse of digital marketing across the board. Their leadership has a big-picture understanding of what it takes to drive the success of a website and an e-commerce business. They're high-quality professionals that have the experience needed to be successful. For the size of the budget, their team delivered good value.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their one area for growth was PPC, which Volume Nine seems to be addressing.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to engage with Volume Nine. The value for the money’s strong. Their team’s smart and willing to work with you on any level.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a digital senior art director for a large apparel company. I work on their business outfitter side.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Volume Nine?

Our team on the business division is very small, and for a while, we’ve been hoping to grow our social media bandwidth. Instead of hiring in-house, we decided to look for a company who could act as an extension of our team and focus entirely on social.

My company hired Volume Nine to create more brand awareness and reach within our organic social. We hoped to increase follower growth, engagement per post, and, ideally, conversion rates. Since we wanted organic and not paid social, our goal was to improve our PR through brand reach. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Volume Nine is currently managing our social media platforms for organic content. We asked them to look over our YouTube and Twitter accounts, but the solidified contract is just for Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. We’ve done a lot of testing over the past year, and most of the spend is actually going toward two out of the three platforms, although we’re still posting on all three. They schedule automatic social media posts.

Volume Nine boosts posts, but they don’t do paid ads. I work very closely with the creative lead to make sure the creative is in line with the types of things we’re doing on a month-to-month basis. They write up the information that will go in the post and then match that to whatever creative I give them. 

We’re looking at expanding the scope of Volume Nine’s work; outside of social, their services include SEO, in-depth content for websites, and more. We’re also discussing having them take over our paid space.

What is the team composition?

When we began working with Volume Nine, Chuck (Founder, Volume Nine) and the project manager came on-site to walk us through everything, and then they came up with a strategy. Upon signing the contract, we had three people assigned as resources.

I typically communicate with 1–2 people: the account manager or the person responsible for posting content. When I send creative work, sometimes it’s easier to just go through that person posting the content.

How did you come to work with Volume Nine?

When I was at a previous job and my company needed SEO services, another agency recommended Volume Nine. I decided to hire them after having a quick phone call with Chuck; he was extremely knowledgeable. I asked a couple of poignant questions that only someone who really knows what they’re doing would be able to answer so quickly and efficiently. He was impressive.

How much have you invested with them?

Our monthly spend was $2,500, but we just increased that to $6,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We had our initial talks in May 2019 and then signed a six-month contract that was set to end in October. However, we signed a new contract with added spend, and we’re looking at what else they can do outside of social. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

I’d say 80% of the content that they write for us is ready to be posted right away; for the other 20%, we have a single phone call, and then they quickly and efficiently rewrite the content according to our exact specifications. 

Before engaging Volume Nine, we were getting almost zero conversions out of our social platforms. In July, they brought us up to 5,000 conversions; by September, our conversions for the month were 22,000. Our month-over-month return has been pretty outstanding, and that wasn’t even what they were focused on; they were prioritizing impressions, engagement, social, and strategy. Our impressions have gone up 3,000–4,000%. We look at the results and can’t believe what we’re seeing in terms of growth. 

How did Volume Nine perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re great. They must have some really good behind-the-scenes systems, because everybody always knows exactly what’s going on with all of the projects. They use their own system to schedule posts to be pushed out every day, which makes it very easy. If I send a quick email with a creative asset, they’re on top of it within thirty minutes. 

Every time we’ve approached them with a problem, they’ve hit it out of the park. We’re a small team, so it makes it a lot easier having a group we can count on.

What did you find most impressive about them?

You never quite know what you’re going to get in terms of creative content when working with an agency, but Volume Nine has really done their homework. They listen to what we’re asking them for and then have a conversation with us, which I think is what really makes them shine. They’ll let us know if they think we might be going astray or limiting our potential by doing things one way. They don’t say no, but they really make sure we’re not losing out on any opportunities by being on top of the things that are in the marketplace at the time. 

The piece that stands out for me is that we feel like they know our brand, company, and goals, and this doesn’t happen with most agencies. Volume Nine doesn’t try to use a blanket approach with all of their clients. They’re experts in different vertical industries, and that comes through in the content and support that they give us. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

So far, we’re extremely happy. I would just say that they could more proactively tell us about the other services that they offer. We’re just brushing the surface in terms of what we have them doing, and we’ve been so impressed that it would be nice to hear what else they could potentially do for us.

Any advice for potential customers?

Absolutely hire them. Whether you’re a small or large company, it’s daunting to hire an outside company, since you want to spend your money wisely. I’ve worked with Volume Nine at two different companies, and I’ve been impressed in both cases. They really make the spend worth it.