If you think social media marketing is simply scheduling content and watching the likes roll in, you haven’t met Hidden Falls Media.
This West Chester-based digital marketing firm does more than websites, social advertisements and SEO. Founded by 26-year-old Alex Vonderhaar, Hidden Falls Media adds neuroscience to each and every digital marketing strategy. That means building campaigns that play into what consumers actually want — with neurotransmitter data to back it up.
“People lie horrendously when it comes to standardized marketing tests; they don’t know what they want,” said Vonderhaar. “AI and neuroscience cut through that and go to a deeper level. Once we acknowledge that our buying and purchasing decisions come down to brain chemistry and habit, we can rework and change our approach.”
Using "neuromarketing," Hidden Falls Media uses brain imaging, scanning and other brain activity measurement technology to measure a customer's response to specific products, packaging, and other marketing.
Neurotransmitters. AI. Brain chemistry. These terms may sound like high-level, confusing jargon. But these practices work magic, and Vonderhaar has the data to back it up. Hidden Falls recently completed a website relaunch for a brand that was averaging around 3,000 website hits per month. After Vonderhaar’s team edited copy, reconfigured SEO, and worked their brain-chemistry magic on it, the website traffic more than tripled — within 72 hours.
With these impressive numbers, Hidden Falls Media has generated a reliable rotation of 10 to 15 projects and retainer clients regularly. The two-year-old company works across multiple industries, including manufacturing, landscaping, law and healthcare. B2B and B2C clients are equally welcome to the Hidden Falls table because “human behavior transcends B2B and B2C,” Vonderhaar said.
For a digitally savvy entrepreneur, Vonderhaar’s background is a bit surprising. He turned down a full ride art scholarship to pursue what friends and family told him would be a more lucrative career in the sciences. He studied psychology and neuroscience at Ohio State University, then started his career at a small West Chester business. That’s where his future took shape.
Vonderhaar instituted a social media strategy in his entry level role that led to massive business growth for the company. “I realized this was repeatable, scalable, and could help a lot of business owners,” he said. Soon after, he took the leap into entrepreneurship.
Hidden Falls Media, which was named a 2020 Cincy Inno Startup to Watch, attributes much of its success to the strong Cincinnati startup community. Vonderhaar’s company participated in the MORTAR entrepreneurship program early on, and regularly attends Chamber meetings and local networking events.
As Vonderhaar looks to Hidden Falls’ future, his eyes are focused on an exciting new offering: The Academy. This program teaches business owners and entrepreneurs how to “produce content like a seven-figure marketing agency,” according to The Academy website. The Academy is Hidden Falls’ first step in the global marketplace. It’s helping business owners near and far understand the true power and purpose of social media.
“Our main goal is to make social media simple,” Vonderhaar said. “Everyone overcomplicates it. They try to be prim and proper with it. It’s about the story. It’s about helping people, and it’s about connecting.”
