S&G Content Marketing

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

We immediately saw significant increases in both our monthly website and blog traffic when we started working with S&G. It’s hard to say how much traffic the blog content influenced, but those posts were the first thing we really changed. The conversion rate also increased as a result of the boost in traffic.

How did S&G Content Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve performed really well. They’re required to deliver a 600-word minimum blog post each week for which they always do so on time. Their blog posts are always high-quality. I’m very satisfied with their delivery.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They quickly and accurately understood what we wanted to achieve in order to turn it into tangible results.

It should also be taken into account that we’re a German-based company, so our focus lies in this region along with the U.K. Their ability to understand the kind of quality we want for specific situations here in Europe has been brilliant. They’re able to understand what our development here is doing as well as the compliance requirements involved, which really differ from the U.S. market. We didn’t have to teach them any of this because they already possessed an understanding of the European market. They bring an international background with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything they could do better. I’m really satisfied with their work. They’re always within budget and on time. Everything has been perfect. It would be a struggle to find another agency with the same high quality as S&G.

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

The work was well worth the spend for what it did. It was great in terms of the direct contacts we established, but also the PR newsworthiness of how SchoolApply was able to position itself and the trust was immediate. We were cherrypicked about a year ago by Fortune as one of the emerging EdTech companies to really pay close attention to.

A lot of the content that came directly from them had a great impact in terms of month-on-month growth. We have a constant stream of leads, applicants, and soon to be students that find SchoolApply thanks to them. Content marketing and SEO is a marathon race, but even today there are constant increases in terms of our position in the search engine results.

How did S&G Content Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed brilliantly. They were very straight to the point and clear. Based on a target-based approach, they understood exactly what was required and went for it. They were very target oriented and made it simple and non-complicated to work with them. It was particularly great given  that we work in an emergent market like EdTech where aggressive growth is very important.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were able to understand what we were trying to accomplish and lived and breathed our project. It was unlike a normal agency that bills on a monthly basis only dedicating a certain number of hours to you, and doesn’t really know what it is going on or cares for that matter.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could have done better in really getting SchoolApply in front of more people when it comes to more of the PR side as well as the features. They are very good in the U.S. market, but the U.S. is not the entire world. There are many more places where I they could have done better work.

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

Because our work together was more about building my business up, I do not have the typical metrics one might prefer for this kind of question regarding my industry. However, I was very excited by the number of placements I got through S&G’s efforts to help build up my voice as an authoritative one in my field, which was one of the major objectives of our partnership. These placements were not just in industry-specific publications, which can be easier to achieve, and included various great national publications.

If I take on a client who needs a content strategy or a marketing component of their market strategy to be translated with a U.S. perspective or voice, I will often introduce them to Lauren. Referring them to my clients is probably the biggest vote of confidence I could give another provider. My clients are my livelihood, and I only refer to them people next to whom I feel confident putting my name.

How did S&G Content Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management was very good and is continuing to improve. One of the most difficult things to overcome as a growing company is to maintain the uniqueness of what you are offering without it becoming diluted by additional staff. S&G’s staff numbers grew quite a bit during my time working with them, but they have done a great job of making sure that I always felt like I was an important client. I always had great touch-time with one of their principles and I never felt like I lost my ability to work with them directly.

There was a lot of give and take during our working relationship, and S&G consistently made sure that I held myself accountable. In order for them to write appropriate content, I had to be diligent about helping them understand my business and myself. I appreciated how good they were about checking in with me and reminding me of deadlines, because I’m busy and I wanted to stay on target as much as they did.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to understand my industry really made them stand out from the competition. A client who is in a very different field did our initial introduction, so I was skeptical that there would be any professional synergy between myself and S&G. Once we actually met, however, I was very impressed by how quickly they broke down what I was doing, applied their formula to it, and helped me understand how they could help my business grow. They were on target with their deliverables, which needed very few edits overall, and they kept to their schedule.

A lot of people in my field feel a need for digital marketing and social media strategy, but no one quite knows how to pin down exactly what that entails. The spectrum of what’s available for a product offering is so vast that I did not know where to start. When I met Lauren, she had a great bird’s eye view of how best to crystallize what exactly was the most appropriate for my business. I was very happy to find a company with whom I could develop a great relationship. S&G gave me a little bit of everything for which I was looking. When we met our objectives, they did not try to have me stay on beyond suggesting that I stay in touch for whenever I might be ready to move on to the next new strategy, which I also appreciated.

Are there any areas they could improve?

my industry, I think that there is a lot of confusion about what is content, social media, digital strategy, and related terms. Whenever I talk to my colleagues, everyone still seems baffled about what all of the above is, despite many companies having implemented new roles like “Director of Digital Strategy.” I suggested to S&G that they do a little more self promotion and begin educating people on this topic, what they offer as a company, and why the subject is both different and important.