Insights from Nebo

A few weeks ago, I was at a leading marketing and advertising conference with some of the best and brightest minds in the industry. We talked about new ideas, new tools, and new strategies—all ways to become better marketers.

We also talked a lot about Millennials.

At least two or three sessions became heated discussions about the worst generation this country’s ever seen. There wasn’t just anti-Millennial sentiment. There was Millennial hate.

Running a blog is a lot of work.

There's the sometimes-grueling task of generating ideas and managing the editorial calendar. There's the constant workload juggling that needs to occur to find time to write. And then there's the actual writing itself -- sometimes effortless, sometimes an absolute battle.

But I think, in an honest moment, we'd all admit that working on the Nebo blog is one of our favorite tasks. It's one of the few times we get to sit down and put our own thoughts to paper (or pixels) with little thought to ROI, CTAs, or SEO. We pride ourselves on our blog being a place to explore interesting, authentic topics and to generate discussion among our whip-smart industry peers.

Here are the posts that resonated most deeply this year, with us and you.

Thanks for reading.

If there’s one thing you can say for certain about Santa Claus, it’s that he’s a giver.

Most famously, he brings us toys and gifts – sliding down the chimney on Christmas Eve and bringing joy to all of the children lucky enough to make his “Nice” list.

He also brings us great deals on razors, sports drinks, and jewelry through an onslaught of holiday advertisements, as seemingly every brand on the planet is keen to cash in on the jolly red elf’s popularity once the holidays roll around.

But even more than that, Santa Claus brings us incredible insights into our past. Throughout the years, he’s been a unique reflection of art, culture, history, and religion --somehow, looking at old iterations of Santa Claus is like looking at a snapshot of our world at a specific moment in time.

Agency life is thrilling. We get to work on exciting projects with amazing clients. We get to build incredible web apps and create beautiful designs. We get to be on the forefront of marketing and technology. We get to help brands tell their stories and connect with their customers. We get to push the envelope and take chances. This industry may be brutal, but for those of us with the willingness and fortitude to survive, we wouldn’t trade our careers for anything.

However, if you ask agency folks what they dislike most about their jobs, the answer is almost unanimous: bad clients.

For as long as I can remember, the structure of an English argument paper has been ingrained in my mind. You have your intro where your thesis resides, oftentimes in the last sentence. Then you have your body paragraphs, which contain your supporting evidence. Then there’s your conclusion, in which you restate your thesis and wrap up your piece.

Easy, right?

The hustle and bustle of gearing up for holiday season isn’t the only busy part of the transition from fall to winter. With multiple algorithm updates from Google and some major shake-ups from Bing, Apple and Firefox, it has been a busy couple of months in the SEO industry. Keeping up with search trends and algorithm changes is paramount, so we’re recapping some major updates and news so you can stay up to date!