10 Things You Didn’t Know about Bob Ruffolo
Bob Ruffolo is the founder of IMPACT, which is one of the most successful digital marketing agencies that can be found out there. Currently, he is serving as the CEO on top of its corporate hierarchy, which is a statement that says much about the agency’s growth over the course of its existence.
Here are 10 things that you may or may not have known about Bob Ruffolo:
He Remembers GeoCities
It is amusing to note that Ruffolo remembers a time when GeoCities was popular. For those who are unfamiliar with the name, GeoCities was a web hosting service that let interested individuals put their websites in particular sections called “cities,” which had names based on the nature of their content. One example is how golf websites went into what was called Augusta, while websites on women’s issues went into what was called Wellesley. Currently, the Japanese version of GeoCities still exists, but the rest of the web hosting service is no longer operational.
He Started Out with Microsoft Paint
Ruffolo became interested in computers as soon as his parents purchased one. In those times, he started out by creating pictures through the use of Microsoft Paint, which was bundled with Microsoft Windows even in those times. In fact, it should be mentioned that said program saw widespread use because it was so simple, though it was soon supplanted by more sophisticated programs for more sophisticated purposes.
He Got Started with Marketing at a Young Age
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Ruffolo got started with marketing when he was still in high school. What happened was that he worked for a local YMCA, where he was responsible for creating its marketing materials. Later on, Ruffolo continued working in similar roles, thus leading to the present.
Told to Generate Traffic For His First Job
Upon graduating from college, Ruffolo signed up with a manufacturing company, which entrusted him with its website. Initially, Ruffolo was told to increase the number of people visiting the website, seeing as how it was receiving less than a hundred visitors per month. As a result, Ruffolo started looking into SEO as well as related topics, which soon boosted the website’s traffic to more than two hundred visitors per week.
Told to Generate Leads For His Job
With that said, the manufacturing company soon realized a common problem in digital marketing, which is to say, the number of visitors is not the same as the number of leads. This time, Ruffolo was told to increase the number of sales leads generated by the website, which convinced him to start looking into landing pages, calls to action, and the like. Once again, Ruffolo managed to improve the website’s performance, which had a material impact on the manufacturing company’s overall numbers.
His Boss Told Him to Speak to His Friends
In the end, Ruffolo’s boss was so satisfied with his performance that he referred Ruffolo to some of his friends, who needed help with their websites as well. This caused Ruffolo to become a freelancer, which in time, convinced him to switch over to digital marketing on a full-time basis.
Focused on Helping Businesses Succeed
Some businesses have rather complicated-sounding missions. Other businesses, not so much. Ruffolo’s IMPACT can be considered one of the latter. In short, it is focused on helping its clients succeed, which makes sense because digital marketing is meaningless unless it is having a material impact on the client’s progress towards their objectives.
Has Three Core Values
Speaking of which, Ruffolo has mentioned three core values that serve as the center of IMPACT’s modus operandi. One of these values is passion, while the other two are helpfulness and dependability, which are simple and straightforward but nonetheless respectable choices.
Likes Working with College Students
It is interesting to note that Ruffolo likes working with college students. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he particularly likes working with college students who are focused on sales, marketing, and entrepreneurship, which are familiar fields for him.
Heads One of HubSpot’s Diamond Partner Agencies
Ruffolo’s results can be seen in the fact that IMPACT is one of HubSpot’s Diamond Partner Agencies. For those who are curious, Diamond would be the highest tier for HubSpot’s partners, which can’t be had unless agencies are capable of meeting a certain level of performance when it comes to their digital marketing services. As a result, the fact that IMPACT is a Diamond partner says much about how much it can help interested parties in its fields of specialization.