Ground Up Marketers is a leading marketing consulting firm that specializes in regional marketing campaigns. We use the power of digital advertising to drive prospects in your service area into your sales funnel.

Karen Hokanson
Digital Marketing Leader, Owner @ Ground Up Marketers
Bio
Building your business from the ground up is hard, especially when it comes to marketing. As a startup or new business you have a limited budget and hundreds of strategies, channels, and tactics to choose from. Book time with me today and we can build a marketing strategy together. Here is how I can help: - Understanding the marketing channel that will provide the leads you need to grow your business. - Troubleshooting a marketing channel or strategy that is not working but needs to. - Setting KPI's for your current marketing strategy to understand how the channels are performing against business objectives. - Learning which tools or resources that will most effectively help you streamline or automate your processes.
Expertise
Content marketing
Content is king. It is an essential aspect of your marketing strategy that can engage prospects. I have written and designed hundreds of pieces of content for multiple verticals. Whether you are looking for guidance on a strategy, writing or topics, I can help.
Conversion rate optimisation
Tracking conversion rates are an essential step to understand how marketing channels are performing. Whether it is conversion tracking, reporting or identifying new A/B tests to optimize performance, I can help.
Email marketing
I have designed, written, built and executed hundreds of email marketing campaigns across all major platforms. Any aspect of email marketing you want to learn, troubleshoot or test, I am here to help.
Marketing automation
Automating your marketing processes can be incredibly helpful to streamline growth and reporting when it is done correctly. If you are looking for support about how to set it up correctly or how to troubleshoot issues that arise, I am here.
PPC strategies
I spent 6 years of my career at a lead generation firm that specializes in paid search. Curious about which keyword's you should be using, wondering what your budget should be or do you need to troubleshoot why your campaign isn't generating leads? I can help.
Public relations
I worked at a full service PR firm for two years starting as a Masters Level Intern, and quickly working my way up from a Publicist to an Account Manager. I can help with media relations, press releases, article features and much more.
Social media
I have over 10 years of experience using all major social media platforms for paid social campaigns, organic posting, event management, custom groups, event promotion, and even platform takeovers with celebrities. If you have a question, it is very likely I have an answer.
Toolkit
Google Ads
12 years of experienceI began using the tool as a Publicist in a PR firm when I was asked to manage clients campaigns. My skills quickly enhanced when I began working at a lead generation firm that managed $5M in Advertising campaigns a day.
ConstantContact
11 years of experienceI used the tool to design, write copy for and execute a high volume of custom email marketing, blog, and newsletter campaigns for a lead generation firm.
Dropbox
11 years of experienceI have used DropBox in multiples roles and use cases. It is a great tool to share resources, graphics, and videos between team members working remotely and clients.
Facebook
18 years of experienceI began using the platform as an intern in my undergrad, leveraging it as an event marketing tool. Since then, I have run custom paid advertising campaigns, managed dozens of organic campaigns, and built groups.
Google Analytics
16 years of experienceI first began using the platform in its primitive form when I was managing the website for a small non-profit. My skills and experience quickly advanced when I worked at a lead generation firm for 6 years.
Google Webmaster Tools
7 years of experienceI began to use Google Optimize extensively in 2020 to set up, run and track A/B tests on landing pages. It is a great tool to understand how to effectively design landing pages that convert at high rates.
Hootsuite
12 years of experienceI was first introduced to the platform when I was working as a Publicist at a PR firm. I was responsible for managing clients monthly social media schedules. This included setting up the posts, checking the link previews, and adding custom images.
JIRA
7 years of experienceWhen the pandemic first hit, I was asked to take over the Production of the Paid Search campaigns for a lead generation firm I was working for at the time. This included transitioning the production of the campaigns from Monday.com to Jira. I designed and built a process workflow and custom cards that were used cross-functionally.
LinkedIn
13 years of experienceMy first introduction to the platform was in graduate school at Emerson College. I learned how it could be used as an effective networking tool and a key opportunity to drive organic engagement with custom content.
Mailchimp
9 years of experienceI leveraged all aspects of the tool and still do to this day. I have designed, written copy for and launched email marketing campaigns, blogs, newsletters, and landing pages.
Marketo
8 years of experienceI was first exposed to the platform, when I transitioned our email marketing strategy from MailChimp to Marketo. I dove in head-first in my latest role, designing and building custom emails, analyzing data, and lead nurture campaigns.
Salesforce
11 years of experienceI began using the platform as a 100% novice, I quickly grew to be the company's Admin. I am proficient in both Classic and Lightning. I have designed a Case model, built custom lead workflows, Dashboards, custom buttons, and managed integrations with other platforms.
Trello
4 years of experienceI began using the platform at the beginning of this year when I was working at an SaaS startup. They needed a new project management process for the marketing team to improve its efficiency.
Twitter
13 years of experienceI started to actively use the platform at Emerson College when I was working as a Social Media Assistant. One of the highlights was doing a Twitter takeovers with celebrity alumni. It was a great opportunity to drive fresh on the page and engage our target audience.
Wordpress
16 years of experienceMy first exposure to the tool was revising and editing the website for a non-profit when I first graduated from my undergrad program. Since then I have used it extensively in multiple roles including a full site rebrand. Designing, building and writing compelling copy that converted at a high rate.
Zapier
11 years of experienceIt is an incredibly helpful tool that I have used in many scenario's. One relevant example was using it to connect Salesforce with GoToWebinar. I was able to set up a workflow so when a prospect registered for a webinar they would automatically be created as a lead and pushed into a campaign.
Experience

- Supported the execution of 400+ projects by Marketing Team members to meet the company’s aggressive growth targets. - Led weekly team meetings to ensure projects were completed on time. - Tracked the ROI of all Marketing channels, leads, and systems through the entire sales funnel, including $2M+ of revenue driven by the Marketing Team in Q1. - Managed the Marketing Team budget including tracking systems and overall expenses.

- Executed ABM strategy to target the top 500 home improvement companies in the nation. - Owned all trade show and in-person event planning, logistics, and cross-sell strategies, including participation in 50+ shows. - Managed the end-to-end development of all webinars with industry-leading partners and magazines.

- Owned the delivery and launch of Paid Search campaigns. Launched 200+ PPC campaigns over the course of 2 years. - Owned the creation and optimization of PPC campaign production timelines, and adjusted to ensure the team was reaching company objectives. - Improved the average landing page conversion rate by 3%, resulting in an additional $5M in revenue. - Primary facilitator of the Production board, JIRA card templates, and new project intake. - Managed landing page testing in Google Optimize, tracked results, and integrated wins into landing page templates.

-Supervised publicists in securing article and press release placements in industry leading B2B/B2C publications. -Supervised writers in developing highly technical content for clients including articles, press releases, blog entries, newsletters and social media posts. -Met with clients on weekly basis to discuss how PR could support their aggressive growth targets and company objectives. -Managed clients PPC campaigns, LinkedIn groups and blogs using Hubspot and WordPress. -Worked closely with editors from industry leading publications to develop special editorials that featured clients. -Developed Social Media and Publicity reports on a monthly basis for clients. Worked as a Public relations intern for college credit from May - July 2015. Offered a full time position as a publicist, worked from July 2015 - October 2015.

-Worked with the Office of Communications and Marketing’s professional staff to prepare social media campaign concepts, text, photography, and video for Emerson’s SM networks. -Wrote copy and acted as a copywriter for social media posts on behalf of Emerson. -Designed infographics using Adobe Photoshop to support social media campaigns. -Developed and implemented a special SM campaign featuring a celebrity alumnus' role in a television show on a major network.

- Implemented 5+ educational panel discussions for schools and community members. - Developed a Harvest Festival & produced theatrical plays; tripled attendance, procured multiple sponsorships & doubled revenue on yearly basis. - Hired and supervised 30+ volunteers and interns to support organization this included establishing an annual intern fair in conjunction with Community College and re-designed intern program to enhance professionalism, policies & education. - Coordinated and facilitated 25+ community and professional trainings. - Wrote semi-annual guest column for Stowe Reporter during awareness months.