Vertical Marketing

10/14/2026

Storytelling is what we love to do and it doesn’t get much better than telling the stories of our own backyard. Vertical Marketing is proud to partner with history buff Mary Dreier, Spirit of Okoboji, and the Lakes Area Museum Alliance, including the Friends of The Abbie Gardner Cabin Historic Site, on a video series celebrating Iowa Great Lakes area history.

Watch our latest on the Abbie Gardner Cabin, then go see it in person before the snow flies!

10/06/2026

We can now print bollard signs!

Bollard signs are lightweight, triangular, slip-on displays designed to transform standard concrete pillars into eye-catching promotional, safety, and directional messaging tools. Made from durable 4mm white coroplast, these weather-resistant signs feature vibrant full-color printing, easy tool-free assembly, and a snug fit for bollards up to 6.75" in diameter. Perfect for retail promotions, hazard warnings, wayfinding, and branded messaging.

09/24/2026

What a great morning with the Lakes Area Museum Alliance! 📸

We kicked off their meeting with a hands-on session on social media for museum volunteers with interactive post ideas, growing an audience without a big following, and yes, an "OK post vs. GREAT post" showdown that got some laughs.

If your team, board, or nonprofit could use a training like this — social media, marketing strategy, or just making sense of it all — we'd love to help. Send us a message or drop a comment below!

LAMA is at work learning about marketing so that we can share the great things our local museums are doing.

Lake Park Heritage Square Museum Dickinson County Museum - Iowa Iowa Rock 'n' Roll Music Association Friends of The Abbie Gardner Cabin Historic Site Higgins Museum Arnolds Park Amusement Park Iowa Lakeside Laboratory

09/22/2026

Consistency pays off, but it takes patience. 📈

In mid-June, Vertical Marketing + Design took over social media and Google Business Profile management for one of our retail clients. For the first few weeks, visibility crept up slowly. Then, about five weeks in, their daily views from Google Search roughly doubled, and they've stayed there ever since.

The numbers since:
🔎 3,426 views from Google Search
📍 651 views from Google Maps
✅ 4,077 total

What changed? No gimmicks. Regular posts, fresh photos, an accurate and complete profile and an active social presence, week after week. Google rewards businesses that look active and trustworthy, but it doesn't happen overnight.

And this matters beyond Google. More and more shoppers are asking AI tools like ChatGPT and Google's AI answers where to shop. Those tools tend to favor businesses with accurate, consistent, active information across the web. The work that grows your Google presence today also builds the foundation for being found tomorrow.

Is your Google Business Profile working for you? Send us a message and we'll take a look. 👇

09/15/2026

Everyone's automating. What if your best marketing strategy is just being human?

We're kicking off a year built around that idea. At Vertical Marketing, we're working with clients who want their brand to feel like a person, not a pipeline.

Storytelling, done right, starts here.

Get ready for the next launch! 🚀

09/14/2026

Really exciting news coming out from our little neck of the woods! 🎉

The Okoboji Entrepreneurial Institute, part of Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation, just took home an Entrepreneurial Award at the 2026 Mid-America EDC Annual Conference. That's a huge recognition for the work being done right here to grow the next generation of entrepreneurs.

We were honored to play a small part as one of the coaches working with students in the program, alongside a whole crew of other great mentors. So much credit goes to the Corridor team and everyone who poured into this.

Proud to call this region home.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI, SEPTEMBER 1, 2026: The Mid-America Economic Development Council presented its annual Economic Development awards at the 2026 Mid-America EDC Annual Conference, held August 31 – September 2 at the JW Marriot Grand Rapids. Award entries were accepted in up to three markets per cate...

09/10/2026

If you're in Sioux City or Northwest Iowa, we highly recommend working with Shell We Create! Shelley has been working alongside us with several of our clients this summer, and we're so impressed with her quick, professional work.

Looking for social strategy or branding help? Shoot us a message! And if we're not the right fit, we'll connect you with the best our area has to offer.

08/17/2026

This is the last post in my OEI series this year - and I saved my favorite for the end.

At the 20th Okoboji Entrepreneurial Institute, I coached a marketing student named Mitzully Morales through her pitch for a business called Puente Marketing. It means "bridge" in Spanish, and that's exactly what it does. It helps Hispanic-owned businesses in northwest Iowa tell their story to an audience that might not share their language or culture, without losing what makes them distinct.

Coaching her through that pitch reminded me why I do this work. It's not about handing someone your playbook. It's about helping them find theirs, and then getting the hell out of the way.

I wrote about what last week taught me, about Puente, about coaching and about my own path back to why I started Vertical Marketing + Design in the first place.

If you caught my other two posts from OEI this year, thank you for following along. This one means the most to me.

Read it here:

How a college student's pitch called Puente is reshaping what it means to market Hispanic-owned businesses in northwest Iowa, and what it taught her coach along the way.

08/17/2026

Watching David grow into the person he is today has been one of my favorite parts of being his aunt. Getting to photograph this milestone made it even more special. Congratulations graduate!

08/13/2026

What if the best coaching advice you can give someone is no advice at all... just their own words, said back to them clearly? That's what I tried with 8 students in one afternoon. Two of their stories are still sitting with me.

Read more on my latest blog post:

A coach spent 2 hours with 6 student entrepreneurs using one method: reflection, not advice. It started at Sunday night's meet and greet — two of their stories are still with her.