You may have noticed the massive Jeep Apocalypse 6X6 cruising around Destin, beautifully wrapped with a large “Five Channels” logo covering the vehicle. This is just one of the many examples of Jason Hall’s brilliant marketing abilities on full display.
It all started in 1999 when Jason became employed at a Chicago-based digital marketing company. In 2007, he launched his own agency that he named “Five Channels” to represent the five major domains of marketing. He operated as a one-man band until adding Brian and Tera to his team in 2011. Jason quickly gained celebrity in the industry and found himself published over 100 times across dozens of national magazines including Inc., Money, Fast Company, Entrepreneur, and Forbes. This recognition allowed him to work with huge national brands like the 497-year-old Beretta which was founded in 1526! The list also includes brands like Allied Van Lines, the National Dental Association, and New York Red Bulls pro soccer club. Five Channels currently works with over 100 businesses including local organizations ranging from the Destin Commons to the Destin Chamber of Commerce.
SEO is only one channel. Five Channels also manages paid traffic, social media, digital assets (such as video or content marketing) and PR campaigns. His agency’s approach of using these five marketing channels is perfect example of omni-present marketing which translates to businesses receiving visibility across multiple platforms to reach multiple demographics. He has found that his team’s expertise in this rapidly evolving space allowed them to fine-tune each channel. And this is the secret to keeping his clients visible to the people they aim to serve.
Jason predicts imminent changes are happening in online search spurred by the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in marketing, especially with the growth of voice search. Many businesses will wake up to find their online presence has declined rapidly once these changes are implemented. If a business has not already implemented a strategy to combat this, it may find itself behind the curve and incur a financial cost.
AI has been already used extensively to quickly match shoppers with relevant products and services. Early search engines simply matched keywords. Newer search engines are more nuanced and include an analysis of many aspects of a business's overall online presence. This analysis is heavily infused with AI that can do the heavy lifting of sifting through the glut of information hosted on the internet to serve up relevant results.
Being able to speak a query has changed how a person approaches online search. Research has shown that typed queries tend to be quite telegraphic, including just a few keywords. With AI, many customers are shifting to a conversational approach to search. “Where is a shoe store near me that carries leather sandals?” Jason explains that long-tail keywords need to show up in blogs and other online content. Wording should include phrases that people use when speaking.
"Rapid developments in online searches do require constant updates to marketing strategy. However, the heart of an effective marketing strategy that is always relevant is omni-present marketing, which is maintaining an active, online presence in multiple areas as we discussed earlier when describing Five Channels.", Jason told us. One interesting Five Channels project highlighted the many different paths consumers take to find products and services. Five Channels thought it would be fun to film street interviews. They asked the general public a predictable question, “If you need to buy an item (for example, a television, socks, or jewelry), how do you search for it?” They expected a Google search to be the most common answer. Instead, the answers were completely different! There was a wide variety of answers - asking a friend, YouTube reviews, buying from a favorite social media reviewer. They ended up confirming the importance of omni-present marketing.
Ultimately, the goal is to have your business at “position zero”. If you are like us, you may be asking yourself, "What is position zero?” Position zero is the first slot in the search results – above the search results. Jason wrote about this and the significance it has today in his most recent Forbes Magazine article How SEO Impacts AI And Voice Search. In the past, it was okay to show up on the first page of search results. That doesn’t translate to a voice-driven search. Try it. After you ask for something, you are offered the number one answer. That’s the only result you will hear unless you ask for more!
So, in the Men's Issue, we wanted to feature the man. The man that brings big marketing to a small town. With the evolution of everything in the business world, it remains crucial to evolve your marketing to maintain your digital market presence as our small town grows. Jason Hall remains one of the great marketing minds in the area!