Al Matesic of SWAMP80 on how a digital marketing professional makes the difference
Tell us a little bit about yourself:
“I’m Al Matesic, the President of SWAMP80, a full service digital marketing agency. Our collective experience has had us working on everything from small, local businesses to large companies, like North Jersey Community Bank, Sara Lee, and Subaru. I personally lead our web development practice.”
Do you have an area you specialize in?:
“I really like having the opportunity to refresh or rebrand a company’s digital presence. It’s exciting to work with clients and take their vision to the next phase. Our team members have a variety of experiences and expertise. We love to get in a room together and work on our vision for the next phase of a company – envisioning brand assets, tag lines, social media strategies, blog posts, it gets us all excited about coming to work every day.”
What sets you apart from the competition?:
“My team at SWAMP80 is really good at seeing the whole picture – we never work in a silo. We want to work hand in hand with our clients, as an extension of their own company and marketing team or as their actual digital marketing arm. Because of our varied experiences, we see the digital marketing program holistically and work on our strategy as part of a larger puzzle, complimenting your existing PR and traditional marketing efforts.”
What’s going on in your business these days?:
“There’s a lot of education needed in this space – more traditional or “old school” business owners question the value of digital marketing. At the end of the day, the internet – both in terms of websites and social media – is where your customers are, even in the B2B space.
“To share a billboard you see on the road, an ad in the paper or a TV spot, you would have to take a picture (or clip it out of the paper) to share it with someone. Even at that, you’re sharing it with one person. Digital marketing allows word of mouth to have an exponential reach – if I can share your TV spot online because you put it on YouTube, too, that means all of my 800+ Facebook friends see it – not just the few people I remember to tell. It’s also instant – there is no waiting or forgetting to show your network something; one click and it’s out there.”
Anything else you want to say?:
“It’s important to remember that the digital space is evolving and your overall business look online and digital marketing strategies need to evolve with time, as well. Working with an agency affords you depth of the bench: where you would hire a few people to manage your website and social media presence in house, working with an agency gives you more hands and much more cross-industry knowledge to bring to the table. While your son or cousin or nephew might be able to build a website or throw up a few social media posts, to have a truly professional digital presence it’s important to work with just that – digital marketing professionals.”