Connelly helps Linden Digital Marketing climb to new heights

She had ventured from her native Connecticut to Rochester with the intention of pursuing a degree in film and animation at Rochester Institute of Technology, but soon realized she’d probably chosen the wrong field.

So, Lindsay Connelly decided to give finance a try and then, not long after, pivoted to marketing, which is where she found her niche.

All the while, she was enjoying her real passion: climbing. As a child, it was trees. At RIT, and still today, it was rock walls and cliffs.

And while the coursework of college created the foundation for a strong business, Connelly is convinced climbing provided that intangible X-factor.

“Nothing prepares you for a running a business like climbing,” Connelly said.

The exhilaration, the anxiety, the potential peril, the sense of accomplishment, the realization there’s always another challenge; it’s different yet the same.

“It gives you perspective,” Connelly said. “You’re able to say, ‘I’ve been in worse situations, everything will be fine.’ ”

That’s perhaps why Connelly felt no trepidation when she decided to launch her own marketing firm in 2018. And why over the past four years Linden Digital Marketing has established a significant foothold locally and nationally, with clients from Florida to Wisconsin to Los Angeles and across Greater Rochester.

A certified Minority and Women owned Business Enterprise, Linden Digital has grown 400 percent over the past four years and is projecting $2 million in revenue this year.

That success is a big reason why on July 30 Connelly was named Business Person of the Year in the “Under 25 employees” category by the Small Business Council, an affiliate of the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce.

The secret to the success: going beyond the traditional client-marketing firm relationship.

“The most powerful marketing tool isn’t an ad,” she said in her acceptance speech. “It’s human connection.”

Connelly, the agency’s president, and her team of 20 strive to bring that to fruition every day for their 80-plus clients. Linden Digital is industry agnostic but the ideal client has a marketing budget between $40,000 and $300,000.

“So instead of spending $40,000 on a marketing person, you get 20 people as opposed to one working on strategy and execution,” said Elyse Mee, the agency’s director of marketing.

“We’re like your best friends that you can call,” Connelly said.

Linden Digital provides services in four primary areas: Paid Data, Content, Design and Sales & Marketing. Within those divisions is expertise in website design, branding, SEO, print design, paid media campaigns and more.

Of the 80-some clients, about 60 percent based in the Rochester area. The majority have been with the agency for three years or longer.

“But no client makes up more than 5 percent of our total revenue,” Connelly said.

They operate a little differently than many firms, too. They don’t ask for yearly commitments, their deals are month to month, with flat-rate pricing for packaging. The approach has worked well.

“I tell everyone, shop it around,” Connelly said.

When Connelly launched the business, she was a solo act providing services to 11 clients. All were from outside of Rochester. The first, in fact, was a seawall construction and maintenance firm headquartered in Marco Island, Florida. Dynamic Seawall Maintenance System remains a client today.

It was simply happenstance that led to the partnership. Connelly was having coffee with a professor at RIT. He introduced her to an acquaintance, who in turn introduced her to Jim Timmerman, the owner and founder of DSMS.

Which is why Connelly so strongly believes in the power of the personal connection. And why bringing clients together is part of the Linden Digitial DNA.

Several years back they brokered a partnership between Stevers Candies and Black Button Distilling. Later this month they’ll bring together Generation Capital Management, nonprofit Journey of Solutions (for which Connelly is a board member) and the Rochester Yacht Club for an informational seminar “The Win-Win of Giving: How to Create Impact While Maximizing Your Benefits.”

So what’s behind the agency name, you ask? The name Lindsay, loosely translated, means island of the linden tree, Connelly explained. And she didn’t want her name as the firm’s identity.

“I climbed trees as a kid,” she said. “But I also decided that if I do grow as an agency, I don’t want it to be about me.”

Add to it the heart-shaped leaves of the linden tree, and that every service the agency provides is tied to the roots of a client’s business, and the name Linden Digital Marketing was perfect.

The specialists at the agency aren’t afraid to take some chances, either. Like with the Jewish Home, for instance. The organization was having difficulty finding enough nurses to meet needs.

The Jewish Home had been using traditional methods such as LinkedIn and Indeed. Linden Digital created videos with the facility with residents and posted them on TikTok. It worked.

“Our clients trust us,” Connelly said.

Since the company was founded, there has been no official home. But that’s about to change. Connelly bought a property on Monroe Avenue in Brighton. In the main building, plus the carriage house in the rear, there’s about 4,000 square feet. Part of the staff should be working on-site by October, with build-out of both buildings expected to be completed within a year.

“The Gen-Zers had a desire for in-office collaboration,” Connelly said, “so I bought a building.”

The build-out will begin soon, and will be very client-centric. She plans to use the expertise of clients like Rochester Bath & Kitchen and Messner Flooring to provide the right design touch.

Nothing says you’ve made it like your owning your own office building. But there’s far more still to accomplish.

“I wake up every day and get to work with my best friends,” Connelly said, “but I feel like we haven’t taken off yet.”

[email protected]/(585) 653-4020

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