Sharp Innovations Blog
The Future of Digital Marketing: 5 Trends to Watch in 2026
December 2, 2025We’re entering the most transformative digital marketing era yet. If your head isn’t already spinning, just wait. So many changes, and even a shift back to a core old school philosophy. The next era will be defined not just by AI, but by human connection.
After years of rapid innovation like AI breakthroughs, shifts in consumer behavior, a cookie-less internet, and new discovery platforms, 2026 represents a true turning point. It’s the first year where AI-powered marketing stops being “new,” and starts becoming the default.
Google Ads vs. Social Media Ads: Which One Drives Better Results for Your Business?
November 28, 2025Choosing between Google Ads and social media ads can feel like a simple either-or decision, but it rarely is. Businesses often ask us which platform will deliver the fastest growth or the highest ROI. If you must pick just one platform for direct leads or sales, Google Ads is usually the better bet. yet the real answer is more nuanced.
Each channel influences the customer journey in a different way, and understanding those differences is what separates average campaigns from high-performing ones.
Google Ads Trends and Technologies: What to Expect in 2026
November 18, 2025Google Ads has long been the gold standard for digital advertising, giving businesses a direct line to customers with high purchase intent. But the pace of innovation has never been faster. What began as early testing and rollout in 2025, including Google’s new Tag Gateway, AW-tag, and enhanced AI campaign automation, is evolving into full-scale adoption.
2026 is the year when the industry shifts from experimentation to execution. Staying ahead of these Google Ads trends and emerging ad technologies will separate the advertisers who thrive from those who fall behind.
Email Marketing Isn’t Dead, You’re Just Using It Wrong!
November 11, 2025Let’s bust a myth right now: Email marketing is outdated, right? Wrong. Dead wrong.
While everyone’s chasing the latest social media trends and paying premium prices for ads that disappear the moment your budget runs out, savvy business owners are quietly building revenue machines that work around the clock. And they’re doing it with something you probably already have but aren’t using to its full potential: email.
Some myths are true, but other marketing myths, like email marketing being dead, are decidedly false. If your email marketing feels like it’s falling flat, the problem isn’t the channel. It’s how you’re using it.
Driving Innovation and Growth: Insights from the Lancaster Chamber Small Business Summit
November 4, 2025This year marked the inaugural Small Business Summit presented by our friends at the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce. If I hadn’t been in the loop, I would have thought the folks at the Chamber had been presenting this event for years.
I was super impressed by the production value, the organization, and the quality of the sessions. As a first-time gathering, it brought together an incredible range of local professionals, each passionate about solving real business challenges and driving growth here in our community.
From conversations with business owners and marketing leaders to sitting in on several insightful talks, the event offered tremendous value, both in learning about the unique issues companies in Lancaster face and in discovering fresh, forward-thinking solutions.
PPC Campaigns That Actually Convert: 7 Proven Tips to Maximize ROI
October 27, 2025Struggling to see results from your pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns? You’re not alone. Many businesses waste ad spend by focusing on clicks instead of conversions and return on investment (ROI).
Success in PPC starts with clarity. You need to understand your objectives, know what each lead is worth, and align your strategy with your business goals. If you’re serious about improving performance, it’s time to shift your focus.
The Biggest Local SEO Myths, and What’s Actually True
October 21, 2025“Local SEO,” has so many meanings nowadays. Especially in a country with over 350 million citizens from literally all walks of life. So it’s no surprise that there are more Local SEO Myths than there are Local SEO strategies. That’s not even including the fact that a Local SEO strategy in, say, a major downtown city is completely different from a rural urban area that gets a weekly newspaper made of mostly ads, public notices, obituaries, and high school sports scores.
Future-Proof Your Website: Web Development Best Practices for 2026 and Beyond
October 13, 2025As we approach 2026, businesses face a critical web development question: How do you build a website that won’t just survive the next wave of technological change, but thrive in it? Things are changing quickly when it comes to web design and development; and what worked for your website last year might already be outdated. What works today, may not cut it tomorrow.
The answer lies in future-proof web development, achieved with a strategic approach that combines current best practices with the flexibility to adapt to emerging technologies. Whether you’re planning a complete website overhaul or looking to optimize your existing digital presence, understanding these principles will save you time, money, and countless headaches down the road.
Digital Summit Series Recap: The Changing Landscape of Technology and Digital Marketing
October 6, 2025Last week, I hit the road and headed down I-76 to Philadelphia for the Digital Summit Series. The event featured two full days packed with valuable digital marketing and technology insights from marketers, tech experts, and innovators sharing where things are heading in digital marketing and how technology is leading the way in impacting immediate and future change.
The sessions ranged from content marketing and social media strategy to martech audits, artificial intelligence (A), all things digital marketing, and the future of SEO. The advice went beyond theory, with actionable insights packaged and ready to apply. I returned home with a digital notebook (aka Google Docs) full of ideas.
As I was driving home with those ideas swirling around in my head, it hit me that they were too good to keep to myself. So, in the spirit of collaboration, I’m sharing them here on the Sharp Innovations blog to help you and your brand grow.
Integrating Systems: Making Platforms Work Together Smoothly (and the Role of AI)
September 29, 2025Businesses today depend on a wide range of platforms. CRMs for customer management, ERPs for operations, ecommerce systems for sales, accounting tools for finance, and collaboration software for communication, to name a few.
Each tool is strong on its own, but real value comes when they can work together seamlessly. Without integration, teams face duplicate data entry, inconsistent records, and hours lost to administrative work instead of strategic efforts.
The negative impact this can have on your bottom line goes without saying.