Small business means big service for Black Label

By Laura Toraldo

(BALTIMORE, Md.—November 06, 2017) — When small businesses support other small businesses, amazing things happen.

For the team at the Black Label, a Baltimore-based creative agency, support equates to seeing the community, business, and local economy grow.

“We are a local team, most of us born and raised in Maryland,” President Joshua Riddle said. “We see a rising entrepreneurial spirit in the city now more than ever…our focus will always be on the businesses here at home.”

Black Label works primarily with small businesses and nonprofits, helping maximize its clients’ digital footprint and increase visibility. But it isn’t just about click bait. It’s about the overall digital strategy.

“We drive traffic to our client’s websites, convert visitors to customers, and ultimately increase revenue,” Riddle explained. “There can be a lot of smoke and mirrors in the typical agency process. We decided to start a firm focused on mutual respect and truth.”

Riddle said Black Label is different from typical agencies because of its encompassing approach that includes a mix of online advertising, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, social media, and content marketing.

“We begin with research, collaborating closely with the client. [We] follow it with strategy, campaign development, and execution,” he said. “We are opening up the agency process to be transparent. There is no question if we are making a positive impact and we are held accountable for delivering results.”

Launched in March 2015, Black Label chose Spark, the co-working, incubator-style space in downtown Baltimore for its headquarters. The office boasts communal gathering spaces, glass conference rooms, and even local beers on tap.

“We ultimately chose Spark because of its ability to allow us to grow quickly,” Riddle said.

In the past two years, Black Label has helped more than 30 companies grow with a mix of small, fixed services to multi-year campaigns. Riddle said he owes a lot of that success to the team they have been able to assemble.

“Finding the right people is critical for early-stage companies and I feel we’ve been quite lucky in that respect.”

Whether with clients or his employees, Riddle continues to look at the big picture.

“Improve the lives of the people around you, empower them to make decisions, and encourage them to have a voice.”