True North Technologies Blog

Across 2023, a year dominated by ever-changing marketing trends, our team buckled down and focused on more than marketing. From our web designer integrating a whole new web platform to our copywriter not succumbing to ChatGPT’s allure, Lincoln’s businesses reaped the benefits of expert digital advertising. Here’s some of what we learned from an off-the-wall year, and how we’re moving forward into 2024! A Brand-New Website & SEO Presence – LP Fitness Stop by LP Fitness, and you’ll be blown away. Headed up by visionary coach Liza Mendoza-House, this inclusive gym has reshaped Lincoln’s fitness scene. With an expert crew of motivational coaches, this award-winning gym has helped many Lincolnites kickstart and maintain their body transformation. Liza came to us with a challenge to reshape her website and kickstart her SEO presence. We took that on by getting familiar with her gym’s unique approach to personal nutrition and body transformations. Paired with a brand centered around positivity and personal motivation, this was a gold mine just waiting to be unearthed. Ever since LP Fitness worked with TNT to redesign their website and kickstart ongoing SEO management, they’ve seen results :  54% of traffic was from Organic Search 57% of sessions were from Organic Search Organic Searchers browsed for 1 minute & 16 seconds Direct Searchers browsed for 1 minute & 3 seconds An organic performance like this is perfect for getting Liza’s brand-new site in front of more clients, helping her gain more subscriptions. We’ve enjoyed working with LP Fitness and are looking forward to seeing how Liza guides Lincoln’s fitness community forward! A Revived SEO Presence – Generation V E-Cigarettes and Vape Bar Generation V (aka “Gen V” or “that dope vape shop”) is the Midwest’s best vaping goods retailer, with many award-winning locations across Lincoln. Their people-focused service and authentic care for helping others kick cigarettes to the curb are unlike any other vape shop. With expert leadership under Sarah Linden, this locally focused business has been able to expand its presence and service across Iowa and South Dakota. Generation V knew they needed to revitalize their SEO campaigns and get a corner man in the ring. With an ever-expanding suite of competitors, search engine visibility has become more important than ever. That’s where True North’s team came in to help Gen V oversee all 19 of their locations across Google. If any business manages a physical presence for their customers, they MUST manage a Google Business Profile (GBP) if they want any hope to succeed. To truly optimize their GBP(s), a business must at the very least: Courteously respond to reviews (positive and negative ones) Encourage customers to leave a five-star review (the more, the better) Add new content weekly (through Updates or new photos) Insert unique information across different profiles Keep their profile verified Well, the best collaborations are made with the best people. In Generation V’s hometown of Lincoln, all their locations consistently rank as some of the top 10 vape stores across Google Maps. By following benchmarks like these, True North and Gen V (hey, the client sometimes has to help) were able to get to the top of Google’s listings, setting the bar for Lincoln’s vaping community. A Top-Down Website Rehaul – Block & Beam Finally, Block & Beam is the Lincoln area’s premiere egress window and foundation repair specialist. Led by Dallas, they’re ready to take on any challenge at its foundation. With an original website that looked like one of Ye's album covers (2016’s The Life of Pablo if anybody’s curious), Dallas came to us looking for a new direction. Our web developer, Dylan, looked at Block & Beam’s tenured artistry and saw a story just waiting to be told. That’s why they tasked True North’s copywriter, Derek, to form a well-written story on top of the digital foundation. Dylan was able to craft a website using meticulous layouts and designs, integrating copy from Derek. The result... a new site that helped bring Dallas’s experience to life, giving his brand a space to shine online! We’ve Learned From 2023’s Marketing Trends Needless to say, our team is charging into 2024 and ready to go! From programming to writing, they’re all passionate about helping businesses beyond Lincoln grow and prosper. Give us a ring if you’re looking to expand your digital presence beyond what was possible for a local business. We cannot wait to meet you!

It’s been a big week for us here, to say the least. We’ve reached many milestones over the past year, from our 2020 LIBA ribbon cutting to the launch of new services like TapOnIt , but this week will serve as a major demarcation for us all moving forward. We began the week with news that our founder and CEO, Renee Sobotka, was named among Forbes Magazine’s Next 1000 “entrepreneurial heroes” who are “redefining the American Dream.” This list was created to shine a spotlight on America’s upstart entrepreneurs across every region of the United States. According to Forbes , Renee “founded True North Technologies to help small to medium sized businesses develop mobile apps in an affordable way. Despite the onset of the pandemic last year, Sobotka invested $100,000 by growing her team from three part-time employees to nine mostly full-time employees in six months.” Renee was chosen alongside another Lincoln-based business owner, Brent Comstock, CEO of BCom Solutions, and both were recognized on Monday in our popular local newspaper, the Lincoln Journal Star . This announcement hit like a ton of bricks and still seems surreal to many of us. The support we’ve already received from countless members of our community has been overwhelming—Renee’s phone has been ringing off the hook all week with calls of congratulation from friends, clients, family, and acquaintances. Our team is incredibly humbled and grateful to celebrate our company’s continuous growth and unbelievable success together. This week, we also added two new full-time employees to our team. For the first time in our company’s short, two-year history, we now have nine(!) full-time team members, a 200% growth over the past 12 months. Wesleyan University graduate and Imperial, Nebraska native Emma Bauerle was recently brought on as Executive Assistant; her resourcefulness, adaptability, and communication acumen will undoubtedly have a long-lasting positive impact on our organization. Beatrice, Nebraska native and Hastings College graduate Brady Achtemeier also joined our ranks this week as Graphic Designer, and is beyond excited to leverage her artistic skill, style, and experience to contribute to the success of our team and clients. These two ambitious individuals have hit the ground running, eager and willing to participate from day one, and it’s our sincere belief that they will both find their stride and their own true north beside their upbeat colleagues. We invite you to join us in welcoming Emma and Brady to our crew!

The corporate world, especially in the IT industry, tends to be cutthroat. However, we're a unique bunch of young professionals determined to celebrate each other's growth. We champion our teammates through thick and thin, and together we reach for the stars day after day.

The Lincoln Independent Business Association ( LIBA ) has provided countless leadership and educational opportunities for Lincoln’s growing business networks over the years. They continue to educate the public regarding the essential role independent businesses play in creating meaningful jobs, supporting local families, and championing their communities. LIBA recently held their annual Free Enterprise Convention on April 29th of 2021 at the downtown Hilton Embassy Suites. Hundreds of local business and community leaders were present for this fun-filled evening full of networking, fundraising, and appreciation. Many business owners were even nominated by their fellow colleagues and advocates for special recognition by LIBA’s Board of Directors. True North Technologies Founder and CEO Renee Sobotka was among the select few independent business owners nominated for distinction by their peers. Ultimately, LIBA’s Board of Directors decided to recognize Renee as 2021 Enterprising Gambler for her outstanding business success throughout the uncertain year of 2020 and beyond.

The first quarter of 2021 has been quite noteworthy for us here at True North. We hit the ground running in January despite global uncertainty, local restrictions, and a record blizzard which brought over a foot of snow to Lincoln. In February, we all celebrated our 2nd year company anniversary—time sure flies when you’re having fun! This quarter, we also brought on Alexandra Coffelt-Bush and Abigail Dowd as Vice-President of Operations and Sales Assistant, respectively. We were beyond thrilled to launch some amazing websites over the past few months. Among the list of new or republished websites are 8 Ave Boutique , ArcLight Solutions , Claudia’s Cleaning Service , Wasser Builders , Scheele-Kayton Construction , and Zeng Granite . We’re especially proud to work together with our clients to design and deliver the exact website they desire. Our websites provide an optimized professional space to display products, services, testimonials, and valuable information for our clients’ current and prospective customers. Check out our work and let us know how we did! We welcome any and all feedback, as it helps us to improve our services long-term. Recently, we also announced another new service, Social Media Management ! We now provide management services for various clients across multiple platforms, including Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. For example, we currently help local homebuilders, Smetter Townhomes , with their Facebook and Instagram pages. Every social media platform is different, and we know the tips and tricks to boost brand awareness and audience engagement on each of them, so you can rest easy knowing your pages are in good hands. It’s our goal to make social media management a breeze for small and large companies alike, so they can focus on what they do best—growing their business!

We’re fast approaching our 2nd anniversary here at True North, and it’s certainly been an exciting year, to say the least. We’re all pretty comfortable envisioning the future, so it’s easy for us to forget our humble beginnings. We’ve made many significant changes in recent months and we want to take some time to reflect on our team’s exponential progress. The following list contains a quick glimpse into our best year to date.