Silverback Strategies

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the manager of digital marketing and e-commerce for a non-profit membership association that serves educators. We offer books, online learning, live-event conferences, and online/in-person consulting. I lead the digital marketing for all our product lines.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Silverback Strategies?

We needed to polish our AdWords account and better group our keywords across multiple campaigns. Our ultimate goal was to increase customer registrations for our live events.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Silverback curates our digital marketing campaigns including our PPC for Google AdWords and Bing, our social media campaigns on Facebook and Twitter, and our pre-roll campaigns on Youtube. As part of this, their team partners with us to create a comprehensive creative strategy, which is used as a foundation for our keyword and bid strategies.

What is the team composition?

We work with a dedicated account manager, a director, and a business development specialist.

How did you come to work with Silverback Strategies?

I was looking for a local agency and found Silverback. They conducted an initial audit of our existing AdWords account and came back with a lot of great suggestions on how to improve it.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested $35,000–$50,000 per year thus far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in January 2015, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In the beginning, we were focusing on keeping our cost per clicks (CPC) low and driving traffic to the site. With Silverback's help, we're now focused on a lot more specific metrics around cost per acquisition (CPA), which is a significantly more accurate conversion metric. This analysis helps us adjust our bids and campaign strategies to get the most out of our budget.

How did Silverback Strategies perform from a project management standpoint?

They're a responsive team and deliver high-quality products on time. If their project manager is outside the office, we're always told in advance. They use Basecamp, which streamlines all over conversations and files into one centralized system. We also meet face to face a few times a year, which is valuable. Because they get things right the first time, we never have to ask for any changes. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Silverback is proactive and always suggests creative media campaigns. They guide us to advertising channels that we haven't even thought about. 
They walk us through each step and optimize our campaigns to our goals.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Perhaps, they could involve other teams (SEO, Content, Analytics) in campaigns strategizing more frequently to ensure a comprehensive approach that is not just relying on paid media. However, I'm overall happy with their performance.

Any advice for potential customers?

It's important to understand how a vendor can help you reach your goals. 
Ask them for a proposal to see if they can provide what you need.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former director of marketing for an identity theft protection service. I was responsible for social media content and search.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Silverback Strategies?

We needed to improve our SEO. We weren’t as competitive as we could be and wanted to create a better strategy.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We initially hired Silverback Strategies to review our website’s technical setup. They presented numerous solutions we could implement to make the site better and rank higher. They worked on our keyword and content strategies, pulling up metadata to make improvements. We eventually had them take over our search program, work on Google Analytics and AdWords, and assist with social media. We continued to add services as the partnership developed.

What is the team composition?

We worked with different people for Google Analytics, SEO, and our project management. We had a sales representative and also met with their president a few times.

How did you come to work with Silverback Strategies?

A coworker had worked with them before, so we met a few times and ended up choosing them over another firm.

How much have you invested with them?

Our cost increased as we added on additional services, but we spent between $200,000–$1 million in the past two years.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve worked with them since January 2016, and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Once we implemented their recommendations, we started seeing better organic results and traffic. We improved our page’s load time and more people came to the site via our updated keywords. We definitely saw results from their work.

How did Silverback Strategies perform from a project management standpoint?

They were responsive, usually getting back to us within a few hours. We never had to wait more than 24 hours to receive a reply. We used Basecamp to manage the project, which was easy and helpful. Everything was all in one spot, and we could quickly communicate through the system. We held weekly meetings, and they provided monthly reports.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were extremely helpful and knowledgeable. They got results and were easy to work with. The team was nice, and I enjoyed worked with them.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Give them as much information as possible about your goals, plan, and system. The more they know, the better their strategy will be. And remember that organic search takes time to see results.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the chief marketing officer and vice president for a nonprofit life insurance sales company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Silverback Strategies?

Before working with Silverback, we had no digital strategy nor the resources to develop one internally. Knowing it was critical to our success, we started looking for a partner we could trust who had the experience and knowledge to help us market ourselves better online.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Silverback performed an audit of our website and fixed and updated many of its features (we had hundreds of 404 Not Found Errors at the time). After cleaning up the site, we went over additional goals we wanted to achieve and they helped us build some lead capture opportunities, while improving much of the site's content and SEO. They now act as our primary digital partner, overseeing SEO, PPC campaigns, and analytics, as well as content development for one of our sub-branded sites.

What is the team composition?

We spoke with Neil (President, Silverback Strategies) initially, who then introduced us to others on his team. For the most part, we work closely with Johnny (Paid Media and Analytics Account Manager, Silverback Strategies), Shannon (SEO Account Manager, Silverback Strategies) and Allyson (VP of Sales and Marketing, Silverback Strategies). We've also been in touch with some of their more senior staff as well.

How did you come to work with Silverback Strategies?

One of our partners recommended them to us. After Silverback's team performed the technical audit of our site, we were very impressed by the kind of improvements they recommended and their plan for going forward.

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested around $400,000 over the years.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working with them since August 2014 and they continue to provide ongoing monthly work.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Silverback's efforts doubled our organic traffic within the first five months of our partnership. They're helping us produce around 1,000–1,500 leads each month and session times are up on the website. They're also helping develop some really great content on our sub-branded site.

Before working with Silverback, we had no idea what we were doing—they basically started from scratch with us from a digital strategy perspective. Today, we can accurately and appropriately measure what's happening online and make adjustments based on the metrics and analysis they provide.

How did Silverback Strategies perform from a project management standpoint?

They're consistently available whenever I need to reach them. We've been collaborating mostly through Basecamp, which I've found to be extremely helpful. We also have regularly scheduled status meetings, but can reach them by phone or email in between without a problem. I know I can count on them to be on top of tasks, and I can relinquish project management over to their team.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're experts in their field and stay updated on the latest industry trends and information. That level of expertise can be challenging to cultivate within an organization's own internal IT team. Resources at Silverback tend to move up or into new positions, because they're constantly evolving, but I can always expect that someone on their team is working hard behind the scenes on our account and ready for the next challenge.

They also do a great job of managing relationships—they're true partners. Whenever I've had any issues, they've been able to step in and make appropriate and immediate changes to ensure we're working with the right resources on their team.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open to their feedback and trust their knowledge and ability to achieve what you want to achieve. They're 100% dedicated to improving their clients' businesses and very good at explaining their approach to the less technically savvy.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of marketing at Omega Performance. We provide training for customer-facing bankers and lenders.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Silverback Strategies?

Before I came on board, Omega Performance had been doing limited marketing, so I needed support in create a whole new marketing machine and branding. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Silverback Strategies helped us redesign our website to match our new marketing strategies and website best practices. They both designed and developed the new WordPress site from a custom template. They not only supported us with the look and functionality of the website, but also made sure it was optimized for SEO. They make sure the content aligns with our SEO keyword strategy and handled everything technical on the backend of the site.

Silverback continues to support the optimization of our website to show higher in search results. They review all new content and make recommendations based on our current keyword focus. They also continue to implement best practices and new technology to support our sight, for example a new tool to help our pages load faster since that’s is one of the factors Google looks at to determine search rankings.

They also manage our paid media. When I joined Omega Performance, they were doing some Google ads already. Unfortunately, they weren’t targeted correctly so weren’t bringing in leads who were our target market. They've come up with all new ads for Google, YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn and continued to test along the way. We’ve worked closely in developing a plan to targeting different groups with specific messaging for better outcomes. Moving forward, they're going to update all of our ads to with our new branding and innovation based messaging.

What is the team composition?

I work with many members of their team. Their business development person helps us with contracts and interacts with our legal department. The head of analytics and his team works closely with us, as does the SEO team.

How did you come to work with Silverback Strategies?

I’d worked with Silverback Strategies at a previous company. I spoke with multiple vendors and I ended up going with them, because I knew they would bring the quality and support I needed for the budget I have.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2017 and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our qualified lead volume has significantly increased. Our Google Ads now bring in better quality leads and our LinkedIn Ads convert at a much higher rate as well. Year over year, more people are coming to the website and increasing the time they're spending on the page. Our mobile traffic has gone up quite a bit due to the responsive mobile-friendly design. Website leads are increasing due to better website layout and forms. We've had people tell us that they’ve decided to go with us because the look of our website. It really shows who we are and that we are innovative. There reporting has been so helpful, they don't just provide a generic template for analytics but rather tailor their reporting to our needs.

How did Silverback Strategies perform from a project management standpoint?

I like that we don't have a specific project manager, we work with the doers directly. I find there's often a disconnect between a project manager and the rest of the team, so this helps the communication be more efficient. They're very communicative and responsive so we don’t need that extra layer. We have weekly calls, which they send an agenda before each call and then send out notes after with actionable items. They also use Basecamp to comment back and forth and share the spreadsheets we’re collaborating on. Any time I make a request, they’ll have looked into it by the next meeting to know what keywords align with that concept. They're constantly available and willing to have open conversations. We always know exactly what everyone is working on at any time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The people are amazing. They have that right balance of knowledge, skills, and customer service. They explain everything in ways that make sense and align to our needs, which I really appreciate. Working with them makes me feel like anything's possible. They’re always brainstorming and dedicated to figuring out a solution.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I always wish things were lower in cost, but you pay for quality.

Any advice for potential customers?

Be responsive so that they can get more done. Explain your business. Get back to them in a timely manner. Give them as much information as you can. You can't just expect them to do everything without understanding who you are and what you need; it has to be an open conversation in order to be successful.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the senior marketing associate for an education technology company that provides text messaging services between organizations and students.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Silverback Strategies?

We needed help managing and monitoring our Google and LinkedIn ads.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Silverback performed an audit of our website, providing feedback for how we could improve it. They met with us in-person the first few times, and then set up weekly calls to go over current ads and additional plans to improve campaigns they oversee for us on Google and LinkedIn.

What is the team composition?

I initially spoke with Allyson (VP of Sales and Marketing, Silverback Strategies), but Emily (Content Marketing Manager, Silverback Strategies) is our main point of contact now.

How did you come to work with Silverback Strategies?

We researched a number of agencies in the US, but came across Silverback by word of mouth. We like that they're just a couple blocks from our office.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started a six-month contract with them at the end of February 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In just four months, Silverback's efforts increased the quality and quantity of our leads tremendously.

How did Silverback Strategies perform from a project management standpoint?

They're very collaborative and maintain an open line of communication. Their project management is probably the best I've seen compared to other vendors we've worked with. They're responsive, attentive to our needs, and thorough about taking notes and addressing our concerns. We mostly communicate by phone and email, and track projects in Basecamp.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're clearly experts at what they do. I'm always amazed at how knowledgeable they are when it comes to paid ads. They're also very thorough and extremely detailed. They truly care about generating results for us, so it feels like they're part of our team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They're a little pricier than some vendors, but their level of expertise makes their services worth the investment.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just be honest and transparent with their team. They're always willing to help in any way, so don't be afraid to ask for specifics on analytics or any of the work they produce for you.