Wed 20th Jul 2016
by CQ
Boom Online Marketing, a digital marketing agency based in Stapleford, were recently announced as a member of the Creative Class 2016 so we went along to meet Robert Deans, co-Founder and Director, and find out more…
Work ShowcaseMyself and Ian Lockwood started Boom six years ago in July 2010. Ian was working in the public sector, running training workshops and providing consultancy, and I was working in e-commerce, both as sole traders. We knew each other socially and shared the same core values and vision, so we thought, why not start up our own business? Now there’s 17 of us and our turnover has grown sevenfold! Our growth and expertise has been recognised by Google, who enrolled us on their Elevator programme, an invitation-only scheme exclusive to 250 high potential badged agencies in the UK and Ireland, designed to help agencies grow faster.
It seemed like a natural progression given our backgrounds. At the time, the industry wasn’t always seen in the best light, with some companies charging clients a fortune for things like PPC and SEO without explaining what it was or what they were doing to help, just that clients’ businesses were ‘doomed’ without it. It was often portrayed as some kind of ‘dark art’. We wanted to do things differently and be fully transparent and that’s why we launched Boom. We’ve built our reputation on working in partnership with clients, so they know exactly what we’re doing and the difference it’s making, in terms of real, tangible, measurable results.
We’ve been developing creative content from the start, long before the phrase ‘content marketing’ was coined. It’s the organic way of doing things and works with search engines like Google, rather than trying to ‘exploit’ it’s changing search algorithms. Google’s algorithms work by searching out quality content and recommending those sites to searchers in terms of Google ranking, so our sites rank highly based on merit, because of the content we produce. In today’s digital marketing world, with so many tools at our disposal, the bar is constantly being raised, which can only be a good thing for consumers. We’ve helped local startup businesses go from launch to become multi-million pound companies, whilst more established clients have seen double-digit growth in their businesses. We also do business differently. For example, we run joint ventures with some of our clients, rather than simply charge them an agency fee. We’re investing our time upfront to deliver long-term benefits for Boom.
Yes, our team is made up of designers, developers and specialists in things like SEO, paid search, social media, email marketing etc. The creative process begins with us sitting down together (often with clients too) to generate as many ideas as possible for relevant, interesting content. The kind of content that will deliver results. Our team culture is one of sharing and collaboration and we’ve created an environment at Boom that gives everyone here the freedom to make their own decisions and explore avenues of interest, taking their careers in the direction they’re most interested in.
Going into a physical store gives you the chance to physically pick something up and touch it, you obviously don’t get that online. Plus of course, shopping is a leisure activity, people like going out to shop.
It’s a recognition of all the hard work we’ve put in and it’s an honour to be placed alongside such high-calibre businesses, both this year’s and in terms of Creative Class’s worthy alumni. It’ll help us grow without a shadow of a doubt. It’s already raised the profile of our business.
Nottingham has an amazing creative and business community and it’s a fantastic place to be. We’re already involved in the business community, so winning #CC2016 will really help us build on this. We contribute to our industry too, by arranging the Drink Digital meetup in the city centre, where digital marketers from in-house and agency roles get together to discuss the latest in the industry. We provide short talks on new tools and tips we’ve discovered and have guest speakers on relevant topics. We have a great sense of pride in where we’re from and our team is a mixture of locally-born people and graduates who liked Nottingham so much they decided to stay, so everyone here is positive about the place and keen to see it develop and get the recognition it deserves.
We’re open minded and embrace change. When we spot the need to change, we change. We’ve had to innovate constantly since our business started. Google makes over 500 changes to its search algorithm every year, new features are added to digital advertising platforms every week and social media has evolved hugely over the last six years. All of this means that most of the processes, tactics and strategies that we used when Boom began are now redundant, replaced by new ones that we’ve developed as the landscape has changed. The most exciting thing about these new approaches is that they’re far more creative than the old ones used by the industry. We’ve also taken on a digital marketing apprentice, to bring new ideas and approaches into the team. Believe it or not, there’s a real skills shortage in digital marketing, so it’s really important we keep bringing in new faces and ‘grow our own’ talent.
We’re moving more and more towards personalisation. In terms of e-commerce, it’s all about giving someone a personalised online shopping experience, targeted to them. Online content will become more personalised too, the more we understand someone’s interests and what they like watching, listening or reading about.
Yes, it’s all about understanding people and then responding by crafting content tailored to them. We’ve done that in business terms here at Boom too, by launching our own e-commerce project, the Coffee Tasting Club, which sells freshly roasted coffee from independent roasters around the UK, including Nottingham’s own 200 Degrees, alongside a variety of coffee accessories. We all love drinking coffee, so we thought, why not? A big part of the business is the subscription service, offering coffee-lovers the chance to try a new coffee every month. Plus, we’re the only coffee retailer to offer such a wide selection of coffee from independent roasters.
We knew we wanted to get involved in e-commerce. After all, what better way to showcase our digital marketing skills than by operating in a tough environment ourselves. It allows us to understand the ins and outs of running an e-commerce from a client’s perspective, including the day-to-day trials and tribulations. Plus, we can use the site as a platform for testing new things. For example, we’re in the process of testing a new piece of software. Rather than simply recommending it to our clients, we’re trialling it first with Coffee Tasting Club, so we can really get to grips with how it works and the results it gives us. Only then will we recommend it. It’s how we’ve built our reputation. We work in a highly innovative creative industry and Coffee Tasting Club shows we’re innovative in our own right too, as a business. It’s due to finish its first year of trading with a turnover of £120k and won Best Popup Pitch at VentureFest 2016, which has led to serious discussions with various investors. The Club will help create jobs too, as we’ll be recruiting people to work on the project very shortly.
Modern urban living in and amongst refurbished lace factories and warehouses. On-trend independent retailers and many bars, restaurants, cafés, galleries, arts cinema and theatres. A buzz in the daytime and a rhythm at night.
Nottingham Trent University, the UK’s University of the Year, has a Creative Quarter campus. Nottingham College is investing £58m in a new skills hub. Confetti is expanding fast. Metronome is open for business and learning.
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