Display vs. Search vs. Social

/in /by

The Basics Of PPC

Before we delve into the different types of PPC, let’s clarify what PPC advertising is.

The PPC advertising model places a company’s advertisements in search results or on another website to generate more traffic back to the advertiser’s site. The ads are usually tied to certain keywords in a search engine, or placed on websites with similar content to the products or services being offered in the ad.

Rather than pay a standard fee for the ad, the company pays per click — that is, they pay each time someone clicks on the ad and goes to their website. PPC can be an effective marketing tool because it can quickly and easily find potential new customers who are interested in the products or services that your company already offers. Because PPC ads take potential buyers straight to your website, they also provide a direct connection with new customers without the hassle of trying to find them on your own.

With that in mind, executing, managing, and optimizing PPC can differ depending upon the type of advertising you are doing.

Search Ads

With the ubiquity of Google, Bing, and Yahoo, it’s little wonder that search ads have become the most common form of PPC advertising. Search ads are linked to certain keywords, and they appear along with your search results when a certain keyword or phrase is entered into the search engine. This particular form of PPC is especially smart because it places your ad in front of people who are already interested in your industry, service, or product. With this approach, search ads are able to provide strong, high-quality leads for new customers. And because these individuals are already searching for a related item, there is a much higher likelihood that you’ll be able to convert these leads into actual sales. These types of ads are also very simple and straightforward in their design — usually just a set amount of text — making it easier to use as a marketing strategy.

This simplicity can also be a drawback, however, as the lack of visuals and images in the ad itself can make it harder for your ad to stand out among others and engage new customers. Despite the simplicity, search ads can also be fairly expensive, as there is usually a great deal of competition surrounding them.

Pricing points vary, and since you’re paying for each individual click, those clicks can add up — especially if you’re not able to convert the majority of click leads into sales. Also, because the ads are linked to certain keywords or phrases, it can be difficult to get your message out to a wider audience.

Display Ads

Display ads are another popular form of industrial PPC that many companies use. These types of ads appear at the top, on the side, and in the middle of web content on almost every website. Display ads are known for their effectiveness — they reach more than 90% of people who surf the internet.

In fact, this high visibility gives them a wide reach among users to generate new traffic to the target site. Since these types of ads are fairly common, they face less competition and are less expensive than search ads. They’re also much more dynamic than search ads — allowing you to use a mix of images and text to create an ad that can really engage your audience. With fewer limitations, your ads can be personalized to fit your brand.

While the wide presence of display ads means that they can get you a lot of exposure, their prevalence can also be their downfall. Because they have inundated people’s screens for so long —what feels like since the beginning of the internet to some — many people don’t notice them or ignore them altogether. This translates to a very small number of actual clicks on the ad.

The prevalence and oversaturation of display ads have also made many people associate them with spam, making internet users less likely to click on them. Many people go so far as to install ad blocking plugins on their internet browser to limit the number of ads that filter through to their screen. If your targeted audience uses such a tool, you could be wasting your marketing budget on ads that might not even be seen.

Social Ads

Social ads are the fastest growing segment of PPC advertising, thanks largely to the growing popularity of different social media platforms among internet users. Many social media sites, such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, are programmed to be able to target specific audiences based on their network, their hobbies and interests, and their professions, among other factors. As a result, social ads are tremendously effective at getting your message to your intended audience quickly and effectively.

Social ads are also fairly inexpensive compared to other PPC ads — helping you get more bang for your buck with your marketing strategy. Social ads are also easy to use — making them accessible to nearly any size company or business. They’re also very effective at reaching your targeted audience and have a high click rate. The ads themselves also have a certain degree of flexibility in terms of design and content––allowing you to really show your brand through your ad.

Since social media is a relatively new media and considered to be more popular among certain age groups, its use as a marketing tool might be met with some resistance by your company’s leadership or stakeholders. In addition, many people are hesitant to adopt social media marketing because of its very different platforms and unique approaches to content. Thus, it might take more to convince your marketing managers or executives to invest in this particular form of  PPC advertising.

Social ads can also be more time-consuming to create. Because new content is always being posted on social media at a very high rate — with different keywords and topics trending at a given moment — it’s important to stay current with the latest content being posted. Additionally, social media networks are notorious for introducing new ad products, removing old ones, and changing specs, so you’ll need to keep up at all times.

Need More Info About PPC?

A strategic and targeted PPC program can be an effective part of your marketing strategy. However, it can also be challenging, and without the right knowledge, those clicks can add up quickly. Plus, you’ll want to make sure that the money you do spend is attracting real customers.

Have questions about what you just read Let’s talk – [email protected] 

 

The Importance of Design in Social Media

/in , /by

Take a second and observe your surroundings. What do you see? You’ll maybe see a book, your phone, your laptop, a poster on your wall or even a cup of tea. Each one of these objects was designed in such a way that would be convenient and aesthetically pleasing for you. Now think about the social media platforms you log onto on a daily basis. You’re exposed to a flood of “Likes”, tweets, tags and messages every day. However you don’t really remember all of them, do you? Well, here is where graphic design comes into play. If you really think about it, it’s kinda simple. Until and unless you see an image so catchy, that you absolutely have to share it, you won’t give it a second thought. With attention spans decreasing, it has become increasingly important for brands to up their design game on their social media pages.

Consistency is Key

Brands are becoming more and more active on social media. When a brand uses an image consistently throughout their social media platforms, you have a better chance of remembering it. If you relate to the image or if it manages to evoke any of your emotion, you may even share it. Inadvertently, you’ve just advertised the brand on your own social media. This is the power of good design. Take the Oreo’s Instagram account for example. To simplify it, Oreo is a company which makes cookies. What could they possibly come up with that may interest you? However, Oreo’s design team has come up with some of the most creative things you could do with an Oreo cookie. They may not advertise it straight up, but once you look at their page, you might as well get up and buy a pack of Oreo.

Show-off your Culture

Similarly, images are not just used to advertise your product. They can be used to convey a company’s culture as well. Most of the time, companies are so focused on advertising the product that they forget about who really makes their company a success. In such cases, social media becomes a perfect platform to showcase a company’s “behind-the-scenes” activities. Images of employees having a little fun or working hard can help customers relate to a company on a more personal level. Cisco is one example of such a company, which uses its Instagram account to not only showcase their expertise but also to showcase its employees.

Color it Up

The role of graphic design doesn’t just stop at pretty pictures. It also has a lot to do with branding a company. The colors a company uses, where the brand is placed, everything leads to how a company is perceived by you. While the big shots in the corporate world use soothing and limited colors, Google uses bright and a variety of colors in their graphics. This brings a sense of youth and playfulness in the way Google is perceived. The use of different colors also means that Google isn’t a company which is limited to a certain set of services. It conveys a sense of unlimited possibilities, hence setting Google apart from the rest of the world. If you’ve ever looked at Google’s social media pages, you’ll see how consistent they are with their branding. Google uses the same logo, the same cover image throughout their social media. This brings a sense of unity and builds a sense of familiarity with the user. Having a consistent look and feel on your social media goes a long way in building trust as well.

The next time you’re on any of the social media platforms you use, think about what makes you share a post, or what really appeals to your senses. Also look at a few companies and see if their social media pages have a sense of unity in them. The role of graphic designing is increasing at a rapid pace and this is just the tip of the iceberg.

TBI Landing pages

Why you need a landing page

/in , /by

TBI Landing pages

What is a landing page?  It’s a page that someone can land on. A landing page, however, is strategically written and designed with a specific purpose determined by business objectives. The end goal of a landing page: conversion. If you want to generate leads, learn more about your audience, or improve your marketing efforts, you need a landing page.

What are the basic components?

Images

  • The right image is worth a 1,000 words especially when it comes to conversions on your landing page. Use on-brand images that evoke emotion and increase the tangibility of your product or service. For example, using an image of real people enjoying the benefits of your product or service is more effective than an unbranded, impersonal stock photo. Because Google can’t “see” images, adding alt text or image titles helps the search engine recognize and categorize your image. Lastly, make sure your image is a high quality because no one likes a blurry photo.
  • Headline
  • Most people will spend a short time on your landing page, even when you’ve spent hours writing 500 words of copy. Landing pages are meant to be straightforward. Your headline needs to grab a visitor’s short attention span. In a few words, tell your visitors what benefit or what value they can expect from converting. Create a compelling headline, but be clear and concise.

Copy

  • Once you’ve piqued your visitor’s interest with an effective headline, the body copy of your landing page is where you elaborate the benefits of your product or service. Keyword research should guide your word choices, but keep in mind that you still want to be brief. You can break up the copy by using headers and bullet points. This makes it easier for the visitor to know what’s important. Remember to ask yourself: how are you going to solve your potential customer’s problem? What can you provide that your competitors can’t? Another way to provide value to visitors on your landing page is by sharing a customer testimonial or a case study that support your claims.

Call-to-Action

  • Last, but not least is the call-to-action or CTA. This is the part of your landing page that tells visitors what they should do to convert. CTA’s are usually made in the form of a clickable button. Basic examples are: “Buy Now” or “Start Your Free Trial.” When choosing the best CTA for your page, it’s essential to test different colors, where the CTA is placed and CTA copy to determine which one gets the most conversions.

A landing page can have more components, but not all are necessary. When creating a landing page, the most important thing to have is one single goal. It eliminates any chance of distraction that would prevent your customer from converting.

The REAL reason why you need a landing page…

A landing page can guide your potential customer to the next phase of your digital marketing strategy. It can be used to promote a campaign, provide an offer or capture contact information— moving potential customers down your conversion funnel. It depends on your objectives and audience. If you want to increase the number of webinar attendance/sign-ups by five percent, you’ve got yourself a landing page goal. After running your first campaign, you can experiment with changing one aspect of your landing page (i.e. title, call-to-action, etc.) to refine your strategy.

With a thoughtful landing page, you learn more about your audience and what they’re looking for when it comes to your brand, product or service. You can take these new discoveries and apply it to your business strategy.

With the right branding, web design and marketing strategy, you can boost your business’s digital marketing efforts.

Contact TBI and find out how we partner with you to accomplish your business’s goals.

2016 Year In Review

/in /by

WE HAD A GREAT YEAR HERE AT TBI: WE UPDATED OUR BRAND, OUR WEBSITE, AND EVEN GAINED A NUMBER OF NEW CLIENTS WE’VE BEEN THRILLED TO WORK WITH. WE’RE EXCITED TO SEE WHAT 2017 WILL BRING AND ANTICIPATE EVEN MORE GREAT OPPORTUNITIES ON THE HORIZON. SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL OF OUR LOYAL CLIENTS FOR MAKING 2016 SUCH A FUN AND REWARDING YEAR.

Undervaluing Design in your Marketing Strategy: Big Mistake

/in , /by

With all of the talk in recent years about digital marketing, SEO and online presence, it’s no wonder that design has taken a backseat in the communications and marketing realm. BIG MISTAKE. While digital marketing is an incredibly powerful strategy for reaching large audiences, without excellent design, consumers will be less apt to engage with your brand. Instead, TBI recommends that you look at a holistic marketing approach – combining solid design, traditional advertising and digital media into one potent symbiotic campaign.

Why Design Matters

Brand Awareness

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a great logo is worth millions. Why? Because good design transforms and transcends a complex idea into a neat, easily digested image that effectively conveys your message, representing the essence of your unique organization

First Impressions Are Lasting Impressions

First impressions can either make or break a person, and the same goes for brands, too. While the impression may be subliminal, a great logo makes a person want to act. At TBI, our number one priority is to make your targeted audience act positively and to reach audiences that may not know they need your product or service.

Competitor Envy

Great design not only increases your audience and engagement, it also differentiates you from your competitors – a good thing when you have several direct competitors vying for the same customers you are. Good logo and overall branding design makes you look reputable, instilling trust and the desire for people to do business with you.

Marketing Reach

So, your company has invested in a digital media strategy and online advertising campaign – congratulations! You’ve taken the first step in reaching more customers than you ever thought possible. But – and this is important – if your logo is subpar or doesn’t effectively represent your brand, you may not convey the message you want to your target audience. Spending a bit more time and money on a holistic branding approach will definitely pay off for you, your organization and your audience.

Tell It

Take your business or organization to the next level and expand your audience reach with the power of design, digital media and good content strategy, TBI can help. Our comprehensive approach to branding, marketing and advertising combined with our professional team of designers, digital media strategists, content specialists and videographers bring your story to life. We’ll reach and engage a world of audiences on a variety of platforms, ensuring that your brand tells a strong, clear message.

7 Digital Marketing Trends For Your Brand Success in 2016

/in , /by

Digital marketing has undergone major makeovers in the past few years. Your brand success in 2016 depends on two aspects- A. knowing the marketing trends and B. consistently applying them and creating unique consumer experiences. As a digital marketer, keeping up with ever changing trends is a job in itself. We’re here to help.

The rise of content marketing
Companies running an active blog generate 67% more leads on a monthly basis compared to those who don’t blog. Content marketing strategies will continue unabated in the upcoming months.

Blooming marketing analytics
Marketers are already using dozens of analytics tools to keep a track of engagement and business performance on digital platforms. Expenditures on marketing analytics are set to rise by over 60%. Market data will become crucial in any brand endeavor and customer acquisition tactics. Companies are all set to utilize the vast information and content pool created online by consumers. Decision making in an overload of information and content, will be led by real data and not mere instinct.

More videos
The use of videos for marketing purposes has been steadily growing. Videos are a perfect way to show how a product works. Brands have started focusing on video content more than their text-only content strategy. Videos allow for greater engagement, lower site bounce rates and also showcase product usage in multiple scenarios. Browsing through their social media timelines, consumers are more likely to get attracted to a video advert that immediately grabs attention. We do expect to see a lot more ‘how to’ or inspirational brand videos for some years. Social media driven videos whether on Facebook, Vine, or Instagram are likely to go up as well. Video traffic growth has been shared by Cisco in its reporting stating:

It would take an individual over 5 million years to watch the amount of video that will cross global IP networks each month in 2019. Every second, nearly a million minutes of video content will cross the network by 2019. Globally, consumer internet video traffic will be 80 percent of all consumer Internet traffic in 2019, 79% in 2018, and 74% in 2016 up from 64 percent in 2014.

Humanization is the new automation
The only way to make consumers interact with content, is personalization. Offering personalized content means sharing relevant and knowledge based posts to offer a solution to consumers. Companies that have been making an effort to humanize their content strategy, have been able to:

a) increase sales,
b) inspire users to stay longer on their websites &
c) foster customer satisfaction
It’s important here to note that personalization requires companies to first know their consumers well. This may well begin by drawing out buyer profiles and knowing consumer demographics, and behavioral preferences. One size definitely does not fit all!

Storytelling
How do you stand out when the entire industry is focusing on churning out relevant content? You simply ditch the conventional and try something unexpected – storytelling. Unique storytelling techniques are the most sought requirements laid down by leading brands. Perfect for driving in engagement and nurturing leads, stories help brands align consumers to the emotional core of the brand. A mix of visual and contextual storytelling inspires emotions in consumers and increases trust.

Micro targeting
Targeting niche audience sizes and making use of data led advertising tools bringing in more effective results from campaigns. Targeted campaigns are two times more effective than non-targeted one size fits all campaigns. A study suggests that retargeted display ads inspire a lot more people to search for the product. It comes as no surprise that businesses are making targeting strategies more elaborately than ever. Facebook and Instagram allow marketers to really delve deep into the various options to select the right users, definitely allowing brands to spend their dollars wisely.

Online advertisements
Internet advertising is expected to rise by 10% on a global rate. Mobile ads will grow by a whooping 45% and online ad expenditure is set to rise through the year. With organic reach on platforms like Facebook taking a nosedive, and Google ad-words consistently becoming more expensive, it comes as no surprise. Sure organic branding and growth is one way to go, but targeted paid advertising is definitely allowing firms to expand their consumer acquisition at a faster rate.

6 Reasons Why Your Website Should Have a Blog

/in , , /by

A 2014-2015 study by HubSpot found that companies that blog are 13 times more likely to generate a positive marketing ROI.

If you want to increase the visibility and credibility of your company to consumers, you should consider regularly posting quality content on your website that will be interesting and useful to them. A blog is where this content should be housed, whether or not you call this section of your website a blog. On many sites, the “blog” has a different label, such as News, Press or Articles.

1. Drive Traffic to Your Website

In addition to the ROI a website with a blog can generate, websites with blogs may be able to get more traffic than websites without blogs. So how do blogs drive all this additional traffic?

Good SEO results are largely driven by new content and relevant keywords, so not only do you need fresh content, you also need a place to house it. Blogs provide you with the platform to do just that: adding fresh content to your website gets it placed higher in search engine results than other websites, which makes it more likely to get clicked.

2. Convert Traffic Into Leads

Now that your website is getting more traffic, you have the opportunity to convert that traffic into leads. Each new piece of content gives you the opportunity to generate leads, and the way to do that may be by adding a call-to-action to each blog post. Try offering something that consumers will give up their contact information for, such as a free e-book, free webinar, free consultation or quote. Once you have their contact information, your sales team can follow up with those leads.

3. Become an Authority in Your Industry

The best small-business blogs can answer potential customers’ common questions and discuss industry trends. If potential customers view your blog as one that can provide helpful information about relevant topics, they may be more likely to do business with you than with your competitors. Interesting and unique content can also give you the opportunity to drive traffic to your website through inbound links. In fact, the Hubspot report found that websites with blogs have 434 percent more indexed pages than websites without blogs.

4. Build Relationships With Potential Customers

The comments section on your blog is the place on a website where you can have a two-way discussion with consumers. Encouraging engagement on your blog can be as simple as asking questions at the end of a post to get the conversation going, waiting for readers to leave comments and then interacting with those readers. By responding to your readers’ comments, you have the opportunity to build trust and gain insight into what your customers are looking for.

5. Give Your Social Media Efforts an Added Boost

Blog content can be perfect for sharing on social media. When you create original content that’s valuable, interesting and entertaining to your target demographic, you can be more likely to get social shares. An added benefit: Unlike posting curated content on your social channels, content that’s shared from your blog will point directly back to your website.

You can also add social sharing buttons to your blog so visitors can easily share your content—turning your readers into your own grassroots marketing team.

6. Drive Long-Term Results

So you write a post on your blog, promote it on your social channels and hopefully get some shares. After that initial flurry of activity, the traffic driven by that post will slow to a trickle. And that’s the end of that, right?

Not by a long shot. That page is now ranked in search engines. Just like the rest of the static pages on your website, this blog may continue to be visited as long as it’s on the Web. In fact, a website with a substantial amount of blog content can continue to boost total traffic from old blog posts, providing the potential of a pretty substantial return on the few hours you invested in writing a post.

From a practical standpoint, adding a blog to your business website may just make sense. With minimal expense and effort, you can boost search engine rankings, build credibility, increase website traffic and foster relationships with customers. This, in turn, can make your readers more likely to hire you or purchase products from your company, in addition to recommending your business to others.

Courtesy S. Rand

Google made a giant change today that could effect your businesses

/in /by

Today Google is making a major update to its mobile search algorithm that will change the order in which websites are ranked when users search for something from their phone.

The algorithm will start favoring mobile-friendly websites (ones with large text, easy-to-click links, and that resize or are “responsive” to fit whatever screen they’re viewed on) and ranking them higher in search. Websites that aren’t mobile-friendly will get demoted.

About 60% of online traffic now comes from mobile and Google wants users to have a good experience whenever they click on a mobile link.

Overall as many as 40% of top websites are not currently mobile friendly.

This mobile friendly test will let you know if your site is up to date or will warn you if you need work (not mobile friendly).

https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/

About TBI

TBI is a forward-thinking performance marketing agency focused on igniting the connection between brands and their consumers.

As individuals we are designers, strategists, writers, artists, art directors, techies, sales people, market analysts, media gurus, entrepreneurs, and inventors. As a collective we are much more.

Invest in a Great Website

/in /by

You just worked your rear end off for the last 12 months.

Creating your product. Having samples made. Ordering 1 million of them because that’s the factory’s minimum.

You had someone in Indonesia create a slick logo for you. You set up your UPS account. You’ve rolled up your sleeves and you’re ready to get started on your ecommerce website.

Maybe you know a guy who’s nephew builds websites from his dorm. Or you read some article on how to build your own website in three easy steps. So now all you have to do is get the website built and you’re good to go, right?

Wrong.

Over the years, I have met too many start-ups trying to build their own websites and too many entrepreneurs whining about the price to build a great website. And it bugs me.

Building a beautifully designed, fully capable website is no longer a luxury if you’re looking to launch or grow any ecommerce business in 2015. It’s a necessity.

Look, I get it. You’re a startup. You have a limited budget. You’re an entrepreneur willing to do things yourself. And that’s all very admirable. But if you’re launching an ecommerce business and you’re unwilling to invest in your website, then you’re better off having never launched your business.

Here’s why.

You have a single presence. Make it count.

Instead of a website, let’s assume instead you’re opening a new brick-and-mortar clothing store. Since you’re a startup, your shop would likely be small. Your budget for build-out wouldn’t be much. But at a minimum, you still have to pay for paint, flooring, lights, shelves, displays, mannequins, a POS system, an inventory system and quite a few fixtures. Even with just a short one-year lease for retail space, no matter where you open it, you’d still be looking at $100,000 to cover just your physical presence. Probably more.

And even after dropping $100,000, you’d still pale in comparison to the Bass Pro Shop down the road from you. Or the Dicks Sporting Goods. Or any other competition that is already selling online. They’d kill you in presentation, assortment and skilled labor. You’d never survive.

But…if you’re building an ecommerce website, customers view you differently. They view you only in the narrow world of online space. They won’t be thinking about what the Macy’s store in their neighborhood looks like. They’ll compare cabelas.com with your website.

And guess what? Now you have a much better chance in this competition.

While the cost of a good web developer varies, a beautifully designed, fully capable website should cost between $7,000 and $20,000 at most. Now compare that with the $100,000 you’d spend for your brick-and-mortar store — and you’d still lose that battle in every way. So why wouldn’t you spend a few bucks and build a kick-ass website? A website, by the way, that would last far more than a year.

So what does it mean to have a beautifully designed, fully capable website?

The best place to start when designing your website (both aesthetically and as a utility) is to roam the web seeking out your competitors. What do their sites look like? What do you like most about their design? What do you like least about their design?

Now start looking at sites outside of your competition. Look for anything from a design perspective that appears fresh or unique. I’m building a website now to sell bar products. Our gallery of thumbnails and product pages were inspired by a website I found dedicated to all those “fund me” sites that are so popular. A totally different industry, and yet, the design scheme fit perfectly for what I wanted to do.

So after you have the design figured out, then make sure your product photos are professionally taken. Every piece of research I’ve ever read confirms that the nicer your product photography, the higher the conversion rate. And of course, the lower the return rate of your products. Poor photography also intangibly affects your brand. Do yourself a favor and hire a professional photographer.

Now it is time to revisit your competitors and test their navigability. Pretend you’re the consumer. Do the categories make sense? Are there any special features that you love? Is there something you hate? Do you wish it had a certain feature to bridge the gap between shopping in-person vs. shopping online?

So when building your website, make sure to include the features you love and exclude the features you don’t. And if you can come up with a creative add-on to your site, all the better.

Mobile

I will not bore you with the stats (which are everywhere) but suffice it to say that if your website does not translate well into an easy and appealing mobile experience, you’re wasting your time investing in your new beautifully-designed, fully capable website.

About TBI

TBI is a forward-thinking performance marketing agency focused on igniting the connection between brands and their consumers.

As individuals we are designers, strategists, writers, artists, art directors, techies, sales people, market analysts, media gurus, entrepreneurs, and inventors. As a collective we are much more. #design #branding #web

Gregg Shuggar Contributor

The Most Important Change You Can Make to Prepare for 2020

/in , /by

If you’re in business today, it’s critical to become a visionary. Leaders who fail to anticipate the trends that will transform business down the road put themselves at a distinct disadvantage–one that could eventually become fatal for the company. Yet with the rapid-fire pace of constant change taking place in relation to work, innovation, and leadership, how can you be sure that you’re zeroing in on the trends that really matter to your company’s future?

Begin by looking for the emergence of common denominators. What do the most successful companies have in common? What are they doing differently to command greater market share than their competitors? With these questions in mind, though I don’t have a crystal ball, I can make some confident predictions about what organizations can do today to pave the way for 2020.

To start, a key way leaders can help their organizations plan for the changes in store is to learn how to embrace culture as a strategic competitive advantage. Companies that do so will be positioned to reap a number of distinct benefits. Here are three of the biggest ones:

Increased productivity

Over the next five years and beyond, more and more companies will become tech-centric–either relying on technology as an enabler or a driver of their core business. As Silicon Valley has shown us, a vibrant, deliberate culture is the common denominator among tech’s most innovative companies, from Google and Facebook to Twitter, LinkedIn, and Airbnb. The top tech firms have achieved a level of success that few companies have managed yet to replicate.

That’s because people work differently at the tech giants, in large part through their commitment to fostering a different type of work environment. Pluralsight recently toured a number of these firms, and we were blown away by the awesomeness of their cultures. On the surface, you see teams working in transparent, high-tech spaces while sharing meals in gourmet cafeterias, taking onsite yoga classes, and in some cases transporting between floors on giant office slides.

But behind the scenes, there’s a method to the madness. These special work environments–which provide employees with a setting that can feel more like after-hours than an office–do not lead people to get less work done, as might be expected. Instead, by creating a culture where people not only want to come to work but even enjoy staying past 5pm, the top companies attract talented tech-savvy Millennialswhile boosting productivity. When employees can take care of personal business on the job–like using an onsite laundry service or visiting a staff doctor or dentist–it’s easier for them to concentrate on crunching through that last-minute project, even if it means staying a little later.

Higher innovation flow

Workplace culture can also nurture creativity and fuel innovation. Companies that embrace culture as a strategic advantage ensure that more time will be spent on problem-solving than on negotiating cultural barriers. Creating an in-house setting like those described above helps ensure that employees will be empowered to innovate in a no-fear culture, with less political and bureaucratic overhead. Nothing quashes a company’s creativity engine faster than a culture where fear leads to poor communication, office politics, and disengagement.

These insights aren’t just speculation; they’ve been validated by research. The Bay Area Council Economic Institute found that the firms in Silicon Valley–with their especially employee-friendly cultural settings–are nearly four times more likely to align their innovation strategy with their overall business strategy, compared with non-Valley firms. Additional research from Booz & Allen found that the free-spirited cultures of Valley firms have more than double the likelihood of non-Valley firms to be tapped into the organization’s innovation strategy.

Easier recruiting, better retention

An awesome work culture is a magnet that brings the best talent to you instead of your competitors. Companies that have a reputation for prioritizing workplace culture have a much easier time with recruitment, as people want to participate in such organizations. Not only does culture facilitate recruiting by minimizing the need to search for talent, but it also saves money that would otherwise be required to get the best people in the door through large-scale recruitment efforts. The right work environment additionally makes it much easier to keep the best people. When employees are inspired by the culture, the mission, and the people they work with, they won’t want to go anywhere else.

Culture truly is a competitive advantage–in more ways than one. Creating a deliberate culture can play a major role in aligning employees with the company’s larger goals, encouraging intrinsic motivation to work toward a shared vision of where you’re all trying to go as an organization. This not only stokes a company’s productivity engine, but also helps ensure a continuous pipeline of fresh ideas–and long-range talent–to keep your business competitive. I would personally invest in companies with strong cultures over those that don’t, because as Patrick Lencioni points out in his book The Advantage, organizations that care about culture are much more likely to be more successful in the long run. It’s not just the latest trend, but a true business advantage that will become even more crystal clear in 2020 and beyond.