jess

Jess Thomas

Project Manager
Jess is an Account Manager with the best style. Not only does she dress to impress, she’s always advocating for her clients’ success. Besides her great fashion sense, she is also loyal, kind, and low-key funny. Jess’ 12 year old daughter inspires her with her can-do attitude, her constant desire to be the best version of herself, and her desire for those around her to do the same. Just like her daughter, Jess grew up playing as many sports as she could. The lessons she learned as an athlete translated into life lessons such as overcoming adversity, working as a team, humility, and grit.
Jess's

Superlative

Most likely to lose her keys while holding them in her hand.
Jess's

Motto

“Don't be like the rest of them, Darling” - Coco Chanel

The team Jess puts up with.

Jared
Melanie
Junior
Zach
Sofian
Marisa
Nicole
Erika
Adam
Erin
Jess
Kristina
Nolan
Danny
Abby

Articles by Jess

IOI Insider

Using AI to Help Improve Your SEO

We’ve emphasized the importance of SEO in the past, and today, we’re going to dive even deeper to demonstrate how AI can simplify your life.

 

SEO and blog entries stand out as two of the most important tools for boosting your online visibility. According to searchenginejournal.com, “70 million blog posts are published every month, with an astounding 42% of the web relying on WordPress alone. These numbers  underline the impact of blogging in modern marketing strategies.”

 

We’re well aware that optimizing your SEO can sometimes feel like a daunting and time-consuming task that often gets relegated to the bottom of your to-do list. 

However, using AI can make this process significantly smoother.  Here are a few ways we have found that AI can help you to improve your blog writing process:

 

Keyword Search:

Blogs provide a platform for strategically incorporating keywords pertinent to your industry, products, or services. AI can help you pinpoint the most effective keywords, giving your content a competitive edge

 

Streamline Content Creation:

Writer’s block? No problem. AI can effortlessly generate engaging and relevant content, ensuring your blog appeals to your audience.

 

Scheduling and Automation:

AI can be used for more than content creation; it’s also a reliable scheduler. It can help you plan and automate your blog entries, guaranteeing that your website always serves up the freshest and most relevant content.

 

While AI can help improve efficiency in your blog entries, it should never be solely relied upon.  Although it’s magical how easy it is to take advantage of the powers of AI, it is still in the learning stages. Make sure to always fact check, add in your brand voice and tone, and edit and review any content you put out in a digital space.  

 

By embracing AI for your blog entries, you’re not just saving time; you’re also elevating the quality and relevance of your content. Whether you’re a business owner or a content creator, taking advantage of AI to enhance your SEO strategy through blog entries will certainly help you stand out in the digital world. 

 

Need help with your SEO strategy? Let us lend a hand!
IOI Insider

3 Reasons NOT To Ignore SEO

We’ve all said it a million times over. Let me just google that.  In just a second’s time, you will have the answer to “where is the best pizza near me?”  

When the name of a search engine becomes a verb, it’s pretty clear that it’s a big deal.  According to an article written by Meg Prater for HubSpot, Google controls a little more than 92% of the search engine market share worldwide. That includes 72% of the desktop market and 92% of the mobile search engine market.  In a world where information can be readily obtained in the palm of our hands, we need to take advantage of it. 

This is where the importance of SEO  comes into play and why you do NOT want to ignore it. 

Increase your visibility

As cited by the Entrepreneur Store, 53 percent of all website traffic comes from organic search.  As Google is the preferred search engine for most users, increasing visibility will directly impact your SERP (Search Engine Page Result).  It’s no surprise that the higher ranked your SERP, the more likely a user is to click on your link. In fact, in a study conducted by Backlinko, the #1 result in Google’s organic search results has an average CTR of 27.6% and is 10 times more likely to receive a click as opposed to the page in the number 10 spot. 

Optimizing your SEO will help you move up those rankings and reach the customers that are trying to find you. 

ROI

Although it may seem daunting, improving your SEO is a simple way to improve your business’ success without a large investment.  Paid advertisements can be costly and with ever-changing algorithms, may be a bit tricky.  You can take matters into your own hands with optimizing SEO.  In increasing your visibility as mentioned above, you want to appeal to the masses.  Identify keywords that are relevant to your business. Regularly publishing good and authoritative content that appeals to your audience and contains the keywords that users will be searching for is half of the battle. 

Credibility

Let’s be honest, if you find yourself in the deep dark place of page number 2 with your SERP, the user perceives this as a lack of credibility.  We know this isn’t true, but if they aren’t giving you that click that you’re looking for, they will never find out for themselves. Improving your SEO and climbing those rankings will in turn increase your credibility with your audience and yield more credible leads to your site. 

Google may run the search engine world, so let’s make the best of it.

Connect with us and let IOI help you improve your SEO. 
IOI Insider

3 Things Franchises Can Do to Maximize Their Marketing Efforts

Expanding your company can seem like an enormous undertaking. In establishing a strong foundation from the get-go and providing your franchisees the tools for success, you can change that narrative. 

The following are 3 important components to getting off to the right start with your marketing efforts. 

  • Know Who You Are

Before you even think about branching out, you need to know who you are as a company. Brand voice matters. Be clear with your brand’s voice and awareness not only for the consumer, but also for your franchisees.
Having a consistent and recognizable brand across all locations is a fundamental step in connecting with your customers. Creating and sharing a brand book or set of brand guidelines for your franchisees, along with a unified brand message, will help in streamlining your message across the board.  It’s beneficial to start this practice from the beginning.  Your franchisees are the bread and butter of your success.  Afterall, a team is only as strong as its weakest player, right? Equipping your team is imperative for achieving and maintaining growth. 

This leads to our next point – 

  • Support Your Team

Franchisees want to feel at ease and well taken care of, but at the same time, they want the freedom to run certain areas of business the way they see fit for their market. It’s a fine line for a franchisor to walk.

One way to establish trust and empower them is  to share pre-approved content to their own social media platforms and social circles. You can accomplish this by giving them access to marketing assets (ie. fonts, colors, logos and images) and content that you have found successful.  In doing so,  you’ll expand your reach tremendously.  However, franchisees should have the freedom to create their own strategy. They will be the ones establishing a presence within their community and they should know it best. Providing franchise owners with the necessary training to make sure that brand guidelines are met will help in keeping that consistency mentioned above. 

  • Be Patient 

As the old adage says, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” Neither will a successful, long-lasting franchise.  You may want to hit the ground running and build that empire as fast as you can, but choosing the right representative for your brand in your next franchise owner is of the utmost importance. After all, franchisees are your business partners. Selecting the right fit for your team will create the foundation you need for continued success for years to come.  In your search for partners to add to your company, remember quality over quantity.  You’ve established who you are, finding a team that aligns with your voice and values should remain a high priority. 

Need tips on how to expand your team and franchise? Let IOI Ventures help in establishing your brand and finding your team!