It’s Thanksgiving next week and we’re thinking about some things that we’re thankful for this year. In addition to being thankful for the opportunity to be creative on a daily basis and for our supportive friends and family members, we thought about some things that we’re very glad exist in digital.

  1. CreativeMorningsThank goodness for inspiration. This “breakfast lecture series” is free and features a brief chat about the state of design and creativity (accompanied by breakfast if you’re lucky to join the chat!). Our design team peruses the video library to get inspired and educated about the world of creativity.
  2. Google Webmaster ToolsGoogle’s weekly platform updates have kept every SEO team on their toes. With all these changes (especially with the new Google Hummingbird), we need all the tools we can get our hands on to help us be as efficient as possible. Google Webmaster Tools has become a great tool to gather insights into a site’s health and performance. From the new features to improve search engine optimization, our team is able to more readily decipher Google’s almost cryptic data.
  3. Programmatic BuyingWho doesn’t love a little help? Not only does it help us become more efficient in our ad buying, programmatic buying also takes any big data that we gather and applies that information through an advertising exchange to make better decisions on our ad purchases… in real-time! By taking a somewhat hands-free approach to ad buying, we are able to dedicate our brainpower to other aspects of a media campaign, such as creative and content.
  4. InfographicsThese visual nuggets of information can oftentimes provide more insight than a text-heavy white paper. Not only are they pleasing to the eye, but infographics are usually (carefully) packed with the most important stats to fuel the fire of a campaign strategy or to just impress a friend or fellow coworker with your newfound knowledge. Take five minutes to read through a visually impactful infographic and you’re guaranteed to have learned something of significance. After all, vision is our most dominant sense and your brain retains visual information the best. Also, bonus point: just because infographics are just images, they do have an SEO benefit! Since the infographic is curated and directed towards a specific audience, the infographic will gain traction and be shared and build your link portfolio. Infographics cut right to the chase, much to the readers’ delights.
  5. TwitterWithout it, our world would be that much smaller. We receive our breaking news quicker. We’re able to witness humanity at its best (re: #SFBatKid, IN REAL-TIME). We are able to share our thoughts to an audience that once didn’t exist. And brands are able to break down the wall between them and the consumer and engage with them on a more personal level. Thank you, Twitter. Also, congrats on the IPO.

What are you thankful for this year? Let us know on Facebook and Twitter.