IntelliTrend Digital Marketing

06/17/2026

Letting the cat out of the bag on this one.

I’ve debated posting about this for a few months because I’ve seen several people and businesses I know proudly share these BusinessRate awards. I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings or take away from their excitement.

But these aren’t the type of awards most people assume they are. They're not real awards and are usually targeted at newer businesses.

BusinessRate "uses publicly available Google review data to create these scores and rankings", which are never really explained. They just look nice on paper. You don’t apply, enter a competition, or even know you’re being considered. The letter unexpectedly arrives telling you that you’ve won, which naturally feels exciting. It's kind like receiving a "Scam likely" phone call, you were just picked to be called that day.

That excitement from the "award" creates an excitement and emotional rush, especially for new businesses.
Great, you're number 1! That's exciting! But then...

You’re directed toward purchasing a plaque, trophy, framed letter, or digital award to commemorate the recognition. That excitement is a major part of what makes the sales pitch effective.

Meanwhile, other similar businesses nearby may be receiving very similar “Best of” recognition based on their category or location.

There’s nothing wrong with being proud of your reviews. Those came from real customers and are absolutely worth celebrating. This "award" is promoting it as if you won something grand with intentions of actually making money off you.

I absolutely encourage you to celebrate your customers feedback! Show off your great scores and reviews!

Just recognize that not all "awards" are what they seem. I say with quotes as I don't believe these are real in my personal opinion. I've never received one but I've seen enough to figure out how they work and what the reasoning is behind everyone receiving these.

Also in the example below, the logo says Best of 2026 but repeatedly says Best of 2025 in the description. Lol.

06/16/2026

Lighting is everything.

I’m using a current website build as an example, but this applies to almost every type of business.

The top screenshot shows the original photos. The bottom shows the exact same spaces after a few simple lighting edits.

Now ask yourself: Which one feels more open and inviting? Which one catches your eye first?

Nothing about the rooms changed. Only the way they were presented.

The same thing applies to dark photos of your store, poorly lit product pictures, food that looks unappealing because of the lighting, or service photos that do not show the true quality of your work.

Your photos help people form an opinion about your business before they ever contact you.

These do not have to be complicated edits either. Simple adjustments can be made directly in Canva and can completely change how your business is seen.

I say this a lot, but digital marketing comes in many different forms. It is not always ad campaigns or growing your social media. Sometimes it is something as simple as brightening a few photos so the work looks as good online as it does in person.

That extra attention matters. When someone invests in me, I want every part of their marketing to give them the best chance of being noticed and contacted.

06/15/2026

A lot of marketing companies want to sell you a package before they've even looked at your business.

I tend to do things a little differently.

This morning I put together a marketing review for a local business that I worked on for several hours last week.

No contract.
No commitment.
No sales pitch attached to it.
Just honest feedback.

I looked through their website, Google Business Profile, social media pages, reviews, photos, and overall online presence. Then I put together a list of what I think they're doing well, what could be improved, and where I see opportunities they may be missing.
Sometimes the answer isn't "spend more money."

Sometimes it's updating photos.
Sometimes it's adding services to your Google profile.
Sometimes it's posting more consistently.
Sometimes it's fixing things that have been overlooked for months or years.

I know what it's like to be a small business owner. Every dollar matters. Before anyone starts throwing money at marketing, I think they deserve an honest look at where they stand first.

Not every review turns into a client, and that's okay.

If nothing else, I hope they walk away with a clearer picture of what's working and what isn't.
Have you ever had someone take a genuine look at your business and give you honest feedback without trying to sell you something first?

06/12/2026

People only see your business as often as you show up.

And even then, social media does not show every post to every follower. On average, only around 5-6% of your followers may actually see a post.

So if you’re posting a couple times a month, and half of those posts are “Happy Friday,” you’re probably not giving your page much of a chance to work.

The more consistently you post, the more opportunities you create for people to see your business. Guess can reach an even higher percentage of people paying multiple times a day. You'll reach followers who haven’t seen your posts in weeks, or people who forgot what you do because you haven’t been showing up in their feed.

These platforms are free to use. Don’t treat every post like it costs you money.

Show your work. Share what you do. Remind people how you can help. Give the algorithm something to work with.

Not looking for volunteers, but if this sounds like you, what’s holding you back from posting more?

Is it time?
Not knowing what to post?
Not knowing when to post?
Or just overthinking it?

If you struggle with this, reach out. This is exactly the kind of thing I help businesses with.

06/11/2026

Boosting a Post vs. Creating an Ad

Many business owners assume they're the same thing, but they serve different purposes.

Boosting a Post is the quick and easy option. It's designed to get your content in front of more people and increase visibility, likes, comments, and shares. Facebook also actively prompts this users since it's the easiest quickest option.

Creating an Ad through Facebook Ads Manager gives you more control over who sees your message (your flyer). You can target specific audiences, set campaign goals, track results, and focus on generating leads, website traffic, or sales.

Ever visit a website then magically a few moments later it pops up on your Facebook feed? Someone created an ad to retarget people who were interested or visited your website already.

A simple way to think about it:
Boosting a post helps you reach more people. Creating an ad helps you reach the right people.

Not sure which approach is best for your business? Let's talk.

06/10/2026

My mind runs at a baseline of 70 mph, always in the fast lane.

Sometimes I’ll be sitting on the couch and suddenly remember:
“I need to do that graphic tomorrow.”
“I can’t forget to follow up with that client.”
“Did I send out my invoices?”

For a long time, I tried to manage all of it with a simple to-do list on my phone.

The problem was, everything lived in one flat list.

A graphic would be “done,” but then it was waiting on review. Then it would come back with changes. Then it was back on my list again, sitting next to 20 other things that all looked equally important.

So instead of feeling organized, I still felt like I was constantly trying to figure out what actually needed my attention that day.

Recently, I started using Trello, and it has helped a lot.

I’m a very visual person, so being able to move tasks around makes a big difference. A task can go from “Needs Done” to “Waiting on Review” instead of staying in my head like it’s still urgent.

I can dump my thoughts into one place, organize them by priority, and actually see what belongs to this week, next week, or later.

A lot of my client work is recurring too, so now I can map out those repeat tasks instead of trying to remember everything as it pops into my brain. Then repeating the same things at the beginning of each and struggling to remember what's due.

It’s better than a list for me. Better than just a calendar.

It helps make my brain feel less frantic because I can see the work, organize it, and stop constantly re-deciding what matters most.

This isn't an ad for Trello, but if you're like me where your mind runs around constantly thinking, this is a great app that makes my brain feel much less frazzled. Im going to start using it for everyday tasks too.

I’m pretty sure I saw Sidekick Operations post a while back about helpful organizing apps, and Trello must have stuck in my mind from that.

So shoutout to Sidekick Operations for planting that seed and helping my brain a bit.

Give them a follow too. They’re always supportive of my content and they know their stuff when it comes to organization and building better business systems.

**Also, I'm not going to show you my actual flow since it lasts all my clients to do's and deadlines.

NKY digital marketing that delivers results and helps business visibility. Offering reputation management, websites, digital ads & custom graphics. We help small businesses grow with affordable, honest, and effective strategies tailored to their goals.

06/09/2026

Digital marketing isn't always websites, social media, or ads.

Sometimes it comes in the form of helping a business protect its reputation by helping them get unfair negative reviews appealed and removed.

Certainly a difficult task, and the final decision isn't up to me. But understanding the process and following the proper procedures to put a business in the best position for a successful outcome is part of what I do.

Whether the outcome goes their way or not, messages like this remind me what to say when people ask, "What makes your business different?"

I can't control Google's decisions, but I can make sure my clients have someone willing to fight for them, communicate with them, and guide them through the process.

It's behind the scenes work.
But that's digital marketing too.

EDIT: I did remove his picture since his reviews were a coordinated attack on his Google business profile.

06/09/2026

Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet with Hayden Murray, co-owner of 741 Wellness: A Midlife Movement & Wellness Studio.

I really enjoyed learning about what they do. They are not a gym, but a welcoming space designed for midlife and aging adults looking to improve their health and stay active. They even offer chair workouts, making fitness accessible to a wide range of people.
It's built for those who want to feel better but may not know where to start, as well as those who aren't comfortable in a traditional gym setting. No matter your fitness level, it's a supportive environment focused on helping you move, improve, and feel your best.

What stood out most to me was their focus on building a strong community and helping people feel comfortable wherever they are in their fitness journey.

Very cool studio, and I appreciate Hayden taking the time to meet with me and share his story. Look forward to our next conversion.

06/08/2026

Work is finished for the day... now starts the coursework.

My wife is also in the other room doing coursework... hers is a second masters degree leading into a doctorate. Smarty pants.

This is a house of learned doctors!

06/08/2026

One thing I've always believed is that if you want to grow, you have to keep investing in yourself.

Digital marketing changes way too fast to get comfortable. There are always new strategies, new tools, and new ways of doing things.

So over the next several weeks, I'm going to be spending some extra time learning, taking courses, and strengthening areas where I know I can improve.

The goal isn't just to collect certificates or say I took a class. It's to bring better ideas, better strategies, and better results to the businesses that trust me to help them grow.

If you're a client, don't be surprised if some of that learning starts showing up in your marketing over the coming weeks.