Nathan Rafter

Revving Up Business

Our collaboration started with producing professional commercials for their most popular motorcycles, ATVs, side-by-sides, and jet skis at their 44,000 square foot showroom in Sanford, Florida. These videos were then broadcasted across their website and my ad networks online to interested shoppers in ways that let them schedule in-store test ride appointments within 2 clicks. All this information is then shared with the sales team at Seminole Powersports, keeping their schedules predictable and filled with motivated shoppers ready for the next step.

My ad strategy for each product video for Seminole Powersports incorporated split testing because it hones in on the perfect set of ads for your true audience and delivers them at the right moments. My split testing spanned both individual product ads and across product types. Although the 2020 Sea-Doo RXT X-300 Commercial and 2020 Husqvarna Vitpilen 701 ads below are similar, I found their differences in performance compelling.

Digitizing and automating your sales processes is a worthy business investment because more sales staff doesn’t always translate into higher revenue. An always-on approach shares relevant offerings and clear calls to action whenever and wherever your audience is active, not just during your business’s operating hours. By digitizing Seminole Powersports's connection with customers and building complete campaigns around that connection, their customers can now schedule in-store test rides appointments based on their availability and comfort level, whether that's the same day or weeks out. Each component of this complete campaign works together to generate new in-store foot traffic, energize the sales team with dependable appointments, and help interested shoppers pull off the lot with something new.

Producing Professional Commercials

My goal for each product video was to create a self-contained story that reflects the customer's journey and one-of-a-kind Seminole Powersports shopping experience. This compelling content is shared with targeted audiences across my advertising networks while I foster engagement by contributing to these communities with relevant custom content. I find that producing your own quality content gives creative liberties that provided content doesn't by allowing you to freely remix it in ways that keep it fresh. Moreover, showcasing your offerings in action and on-location builds trust with your true audience and conveys pride in your process.

Creating Ads That Convert

The primary difference between these Facebook ads is the video thumbnail, a choice made intentionally to engage leads in varying stages of the buying process. The Sea-Doo ad features a model in a lifestyle shot with the product mostly out of view, whereas the Husqvarna video thumbnail features no model with the product in full view. The goal was to compare which type of content is most effective at eliciting engagements between audiences who are early in the buying stages and starting to envision the lifestyle, versus active shoppers who are already invested in the lifestyle and ready to buy.

Facebook Ad Split Test Results

Together these two ads produced 33 leads, over 15,533 engagements on the Seminole Powersports Facebook profile, 816 retargetable website visitors, and 234 real interactions from interested shoppers during the month of March. So, how could you apply this information to grow your business? Using lifestyle content, such as the Sea-Doo ad, gets prospects engaged and would be great for general sales announcements. Similarly, new product announcements might be better supported by the Husqvarna approach. Both theories are worth further testing as I continue building the best portfolio of effective Facebook video ads for Seminole Powersports.

Tying The Room Together

Forever thought to be a pipedream and not without its challenges, I helped seamlessly connect their legacy hybrid POS, CRM backend that handles real-time inventory, payment processing, and live order tracking with a Magento front end sporting a modern shopping experience within 90 days.

One of the central goals for this project was to avoid adding systems and duplicating efforts. By leveraging FROG in unorthodox ways, it now drives real-time product data and customer order information through Magento. This now powers their newest and most convenient website feature, live order tracking.

The final piece to the puzzle was creating complete and compelling content for all 3,755 products. My database for Hudson's Furniture of custom copy, photography, and videos sets their SEO strategy apart because Search Engines like Google reward websites with complete product information woven into compelling content with higher search rankings. Competitors in the furniture space traditionally cling to locked-down platforms that share the same content, a practice punished by search engines with poorer rankings and less traffic.

So what exactly did Hudson's Furniture gain through working together? A brand new ecommerce website with built-in conveniences like live order tracking and real-time inventory, all driven by an integrated POS populated with content that captivates online shoppers anytime, anywhere. Interested in setting your business up for success like Hudson's Furniture did? Then connect with me now and let's chat!

Hudson's Furniture Website

Fresh, responsive, and filled with features that matter to today's furniture shoppers, the new Hudson's Furniture website is driven by their hybrid POS, FROG CMS, and Magento backend.

World's Best Boss

By establishing modern project management processes and advocating for best practices, my team achieved and maintained an average productivity gain of 41% for 40 sprints. They also launched more major projects in 2019 than they had in the previous 2 years combined, including the company rebrand which had been in progress since 2013. Within 4 months of taking over, the rebrand and all supporting collateral were ready to share with the world. Most important of which was their new website.

Beyond conquering big projects, I managed more than 35 client accounts with services spanning advertising, monthly maintenance, performance reporting, and so much more. During my time as Digital Manager, nearly half of my clients expanded services, including starting new initiatives. My expertise across nearly every facet of the creative industry also empowered Next Horizon to offer professional photography and video production services.

The Next Horizon Team at the 2018 GrowFL Florida Awards hosted in Tampa, Florida.

Although the roster switched up a few times, I mostly lead a multi-faceted team of 2 designers, 2 copywriters, and 1 senior developer. Altogether my contributions honed Next Horizon's approach to digital marketing and accelerated the Digital division's growth for 12 months straight. This growth helped secure their wins for the OBJ Fast 50 and GrowFL Florida Companies To Watch awards. Just imagine what we could achieve together. Better yet, connect with me.

Certifications & Professional Training

During my time at Next Horizon, I renewed and attained a variety of certifications spanning digital advertising, project management, productivity frameworks, and advanced experience design. More importantly, as the leader of the Digital division, I motivated others to do the same. Altogether, my team earned more than 30 certifications.