Lyndsi Edgar Of eLuminate Marketing: Five Things You Need To Build A Trusted And Beloved Brand

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Treat your employees and consumers as if they were part of your family — customer service is key to a company success.

As a part of our series about how to create a trusted, believable, and beloved brand, I had the pleasure to interview Lyndsi Edgar.

Founder and CEO of eLuminate Marketing, providing branding and digital marketing to firms ranging in size from $2M to $15B in annual revenue within the fields of law, education, manufacturing, home services, hospitality, start-ups, healthcare and nonprofits. Her company was recently selected as one of the Five Top Marketing Companies to Hire in 2022. She is also featured in Huffington Post, Forbes Women, Business Collective and Black Enterprise as well as nominated for South Florida’s Up and Comers by South Florida Business & Wealth.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I received my master’s degree in Integrated Marketing at Florida State University, while in college social media was in its infant stages and a few innovative companies wanted to pursue this new thing called “Facebook.” I interned at these companies, discovering a true love for the industry. In 2014, I decided to start my own marketing company and it was the best decision I have ever made. For over seven years, I have had the privilege of working with some of the most talented individuals and developing incredible marketing campaigns. eLuminate Marketing is a boutique firm focusing on digital marketing. We help mid-to-large companies increase their brand awareness on social platforms by developing creative and innovative marketing campaigns.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I was putting together an email marketing campaign, after clicking send I realized I spelled “beaches” incorrectly (which was in the subject line, mind you). Thousands and thousands of people received an email that said “beachers.” I spend at least 30 minutes reading subject lines before clicking send.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

I’d like to put it in four buckets: First, the content we create is authentic, original and on-brand. Every piece of content developed is tailored to your company, with your logo, look and feel, and messaging. Second, we tap into what’s trending. We develop content about what is trending online. Your brand stays relevant, entertaining and is at the forefront of what everyone is talking about. We’re optimized, we develop highly targeted advertising segments to identify your ideal consumer. Through the process of advertising optimization, we can pinpoint exactly who will purchase your product or service and exactly what to say. Lastly, we’re nimble. We are constantly staying up to date with what is trending and what’s working.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

With the growth of social media accounts including Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok, personal branding is becoming so important. In addition to providing content for companies, we are also developing marketing strategies for their CEOs and employees. eLuminate Marketing will be launching personal branding packages where a videographer will come and film a variety of short 1-minute education videos, or the individual can film these videos on their phone and we will handle the post-production process. From there, we will edit those videos and post on social media on their behalf. This is a great opportunity for business owners, sales members, influencers, lawyers and more.

Ok let’s now jump to the core part of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define the difference between brand marketing (branding) and product marketing (advertising)? Can you explain?

Brand marketing vs. product marketing. What comes to mind when you think of eLuminate Marketing or Lyndsi Edgar? That is how I think of brand marketing. It’s the adjectives and descriptions your consumers are saying about your company. Product marketing focuses more on tangible details such as pricing and how this device/product can benefit you.

Can you explain to our readers why it is important to invest resources and energy into building a brand, in addition to the general marketing and advertising efforts?

We live in a different world. Companies are more than just selling a product or service. Consumers are demanding transparency, responsible choices for the environment, high standards for their employees and education behind their products. These are all aspects of brand building and can be done through video, social media, email marketing and two-way communication online.

Can you share 5 strategies that a company should be doing to build a trusted and believable brand? Please tell us a story or example for each.

1. Have a great product — if you don’t, you will never succeed.

2. Be willing to test, advertise, and try new things to get your brand out there. We are always researching new ideas, competitors, and practices to stay ahead of the game.

3. Feedback — use feedback and reviews as a means of enhancing your brand and understanding what consumers want.

4. Be Transparent — tell your story, be authentic.

5. Treat your employees and consumers as if they were part of your family — customer service is key to a company success.

In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job building a believable and beloved brand. What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?

I have the privilege of working with Sawyer Products. They sell outdoor products such as water filters and insect repellents. Consumers are extremely brand loyal because their products work. In fact, they test their water filters 3 times before leaving the warehouse to ensure consumers are receiving a high-quality product. In addition, every Sawyer product you buy is a donation to our common humanity. Providing clean water through 140 charities in 80 countries with their long-lasting water filters. Their success is providing top-of-the-line products as well as give back.

In advertising, one generally measures success by the number of sales. How does one measure the success of a brand building campaign? Is it similar, is it different?

When you have a large brand-loyal consumer base. No matter the cost, no matter the circumstance, they will reach for your product every time.

What role does social media play in your branding efforts?

Social media is one of the key pillars to branding success. Not only to share your companies’ values and insights, but also to help build a community of customers. Social media allows you to listen to what you customers are saying about your brand.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

Have periods of the day where you are not near your phone. When I pick my children up from school, I place my phone in a drawer so I can be 100% present.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Not to Worry.” This was a phrase often quoted by my grandmother and my mom my entire life. As an entrepreneur, mom and business owner, it’s easy to get frazzled over the little things. But in the grand scheme of life, I have my health, a beautiful family and I love what I do. There’s no need to worry.

We are blessed that very prominent leaders in business and entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world with whom you would like to have a lunch or breakfast with? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

Richard Branson, I love his approach to life. He is smart, successful, treats his employees well and knows how to have fun.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lyndsistafford/

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.