Products are made in the factory, but brands are created in the mind.
– Walter Landor
Everyone’s definition of what a brand is, is slightly
different. Ask someone what a brand means to them, and you’ll get a different
answer every time. We can all agree, however, that a brand is a lot more than
just its colour palette, a logo, and some creative fonts.
The truly good brands understand that the key to branding
success lies in getting key factors right. It’s these qualities that
distinguish successful brands from poor ones.
Below are five principles to keep in mind when thinking
about branding.
Keep Things Simple
When it comes to branding, keeping it simple is
important. A complicated brand message only leads to potential misunderstandings
about what it is the brand does or what makes it different.
There should be no confusion around how the brand is
perceived in the marketplace. Simple doesn’t mean boring as long as it’s
memorable, think Netflix.
Focus On Consistency
You want your brand to be memorable, yes, but you also
want people to trust it. Having a consistent image and style that you can share
with people over time, helps them recognize and place your brand. Trust is
built through experiences. Consistently delivering a unified brand experience,
assures people of a positive outcome.
Be Unique
The sum of all the things that separate you from your
competitors. It’s not just a brand’s image that makes it unique, but its story
as well. How a brand visually expresses, positions, and shares its personality
makes up its unique identity. It’s this unique identity that people remember
and relate to.
Continuously Build Relationships
Brands that can build relationships with their target
audience can keep them coming back. Engaging with customers and analysing any
feedback helps you align consumer wants with business goals.
Focusing on relationship building is a good way to ensure
long -term brand success. Good relationships mean loyal customers.
Share Stories
It’s no secret that storytelling is a powerful technique
in helping people connect and build relationships. Never has it been truer than
today, where most of us live in a fast-paced, digital world.
Stories are something we are hardwired to pay attention
to. The secret for brands is to share stories that highlight their value,
consumers that share those values will be more motivated to interact with that
brand.
When used correctly these branding and marketing
principles create the right opportunities for brands to create awareness and
grow.
Is your business using social media’s full potential?
At Brieffin we use our expertise to unlock everything
social media has to offer your business or personal brand. We use our
experience in content creation, strategy and planning, and social media
management to help build consistency and deliver marketing success. Let’s talk.
Our Moment of Bliss
Something soulful by Gregory Isakov. More to listen to on our Spotify Playlist.
“The secret of all effective advertising is not the creation of new and tricky words and pictures, but one of putting familiar words and pictures into new relationships.”
– Leo Burnett
Copywriting is one of, if not the, most important element in marketing. It’s the tool you turn to when you want to get an audience to take action! Effective copywriting informs, creates awareness, and persuades a reader to do something.
While effective marketing is a mixture of other essential elements like graphic design and strategy. Copywriting is what’s used to communicate with the reader while leaving a positive and lasting impression. While good design can draw a reader in, it’s the copywriting that does the ‘motivating’ to take the next step.
Not all copywriting is the same
To be effective, copywriting has to match its medium. In situations where a reader only has a limited amount of time, like a passing billboard, to read and receive a message, the copywriting has to be clear and concise.
Other mediums, like flyers, allow for more reading time and an opportunity to write copy that entices and pursues a reader to take the desired action.
Aligning the copywriting with the type of marketing ensures its effectiveness and impact.
Copywriting vs Content Writing
While both material writing, there is a fundamental difference between content writing and copywriting. Content writing is writing that informs and shares valuable information with a reader on a specific topic.
Copywriting is text specifically tailored for marketing materials like headings, digital and print adverts, email marketing, brochures, and calls to action.
Good copy and content writing go hand in hand. Without
quality copywriting good content would never get the proper attention it
deserves.
Creating an image through copywriting
Differences between brands are not only limited to their logo and the colours they choose to use. Their identities are also shaped by the tone, style, and language of their copywriting.
Copywriting reflects a brand’s character as much as the
visual elements of their branding. The tone of your copy should effectively
communicate the values and emotions you want readers to feel.
The perception a reader has of a brand will ultimately
impact their behaviour and buying habits.
Copywriting and Google
Good copywriting can also boost your SEO efforts. With search engines continually improving their algorithms, good copywriting has become a key element in allowing search engines to identify, understand, and rank quality content.
It’s important to remember that the best copywriting
strikes a balance between sharing valuable content readers will want to read
and being tailored towards making Google and other search engines happy.
As digital marketing’s importance in connecting with global audiences continues to rise, the importance of good copywriting will become more significant. The ability to make readers excited and curious will be crucial to inspiring action and ultimately the success of your digital marketing efforts.
Is your business using social media’s full
potential?
At Brieffin we use our expertise to unlock everything
social media has to offer your business or personal brand. We use our
experience in content creation, strategy and planning, and social media
management to help build consistency and deliver marketing success. Let’s talk.
Our Moment of Bliss
“All for you” by Stick Figure. More to listen to on our Spotify Playlist.
“Problems are only opportunities in work clothes.”
Henri Kaiser
Every customer has pain points (or problems) they are
experiencing and would like to solve, in some cases, they aren’t even aware of
any problems that need solving.
A marketer’s job is three-fold:
Firstly, to identify a customer’s true needs.
Secondly, to then help them realize these needs if they haven’t already become aware of them themselves.
And thirdly, convince them of the best solution to resolve the pain points they are experiencing (hopefully the one you or your business is offering).
Being able to effectively find and resolve customer pain
points not only sets you apart from your competitors but also communicates the
value you bring. Identifying the root causes of your customer’s pain points may
require you to look at potential problem areas from multiple perspectives.
While each pain point is unique, they generally fall into
four broad categories of pain points.
Financial pain points: Your
client simply wants or needs to reduce their spending on a specific aspect of
their business.
Process pain points:
Internal business processes need to be improved to increase efficiency.
Productivity pain points: These
are barriers to the effective use of time and being more efficient with it.
Support pain points: Identifying wherein a sales or customer journey additional support may be needed to achieve the desired goal.
But how exactly to go about uncovering your customers’ unique issues? The first thing to do is allow them to fully explain their problem and where they believe the roadblocks in their business may be.
Get feedback from sales or customer support teams. Their
interactions with existing customers (and lost ones) will shed light on where
pain points may lie.
Conduct surveys of existing customers to see how they feel. Viewing an experience from their perspective often shines a spotlight on a problem that was otherwise invisible from a different point of view.
Look to see what your competitors may be doing
differently to you. Studying their strategies may expose flaws in yours.
Then there’s Social Media, one of the quickest and most
powerful ways to check what’s being said about your products, services, and
brand. Studying comments and reviews is an excellent way to identify common
pain points customers are experiencing.
Once a pain point has been uncovered, it needs to be solved. And while there is no instant fix formula that can be applied. Each issue that needs to be addressed must first be fully understood, and the solution offered personalized for each customer. Not only does this show you fully understand their needs but you are the right person to trust in solving them.
Is your business using social media’s full
potential?
At Brieffin we use our expertise to unlock everything social media has to offer your business or personal brand. We use our experience in content creation, strategy and planning, and social media management to help build consistency and deliver marketing success. Let’s talk.
Our Moment of Bliss
We’re closing down the week with an upbeat sound. “Sunday” by Møme, a recent addition to our Spotify playlist.
You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.
– Maya Angelou
A portfolio is more than just a collection of your work.
For creatives and non-creatives alike, a portfolio is a calling card to the
outside world. It’s a way for you to showcase your abilities while sharing your
story.
Portfolios can be used to help boost your personal brand, share your skill set, increase your digital visibility, and most importantly attract potential clients.
Creating a portfolio that stands out while quickly and
clearly sharing your expertise and value with visitors is important. First impressions
count no matter what industry you’re in, it’s not only designers and creatives
that get to create amazing portfolios.
Even if you work in a non-creative role, thinking outside
the box can help you represent your work visually and take advantage of the way
people process information.
So, what elements make up a well thought out and professional
portfolio?
You & Your Work
You want to create a portfolio that shows off who you are
and what you’re offering. Help clients understand what it’s like to work with
you by introducing yourself, sharing your experience, personality, and background.
The work you decide to include in your portfolio has to
be the right mixture of ingredients to shine. Include your best (or most
successful projects, quality over quantity), and content that targets your
ideal client (keep to your niche or where you want to be).
Don’t limit yourself to work projects alone, include
personal projects or mock-ups. Having a mixture of content lets you showcase your
skill and creativity, something all clients are looking for.
Showcasing you and your work together is all part of
building your personal brand.
Simplicity (Design and Navigation)
When it comes to portfolios ‘less is more’ really is the
best. Keeping the design and layout of your portfolio clean and simple to use
is important in creating a good first impression.
Categorizing (or filtering) your work makes your portfolio easier to navigate and informs clients of the different skills or areas of expertise you have. Make yourself accessible so clients know how to best contact you.
Awards and Accomplishments
Including social proof or your track record in the
portfolio helps build credibility and trustworthiness in your personal brand.
Share client testimonials, awards, and certificates. Let
people know how good you really are.
Keep evolving
A portfolio is an evolving collection of your work and
professional career. Search engines are always looking for fresh content and
clients want to see up to date styles.
Update and change your portfolio as you grow, your goals
change and your work evolves.
Creating a portfolio is an effective way to highlight
your uniqueness in a sea of competition, it helps potential clients understand
more about you, your style, abilities, and accomplishments.
Is your business using social media’s full potential?
At Brieffin we use our expertise to unlock everything social media has to offer your business or personal brand. We use our experience in content creation, strategy and planning, and social media management to help build consistency and deliver marketing success. Let’s talk.
Our Moment of Bliss
Enjoying a super chilly song by Tim Legend, while we are creatively inspired to just write, and write, and write. Join our playlist on Spotify!
Viral
content: The gold standard for successful digital marketing – at least,
according to marketing clients. And, probably the bane of every digital
marketer’s existence, who’s had to manage expectations of viral content being a
norm rather than the exception.
The advent
of social media has leveled the playing field, and fame and fortune are no
longer an elusive enigma, reserved for an elite few. Every fame-hungry
TikToker, influencer, YouTuber, and brand out there know they could be one
click away from producing that magic piece of content that could garner enough
views and shares to catapult them into the realms of instant stardom. And, if
you’re in the business of digital marketing, so do your clients.
In the
world of social media and digital marketing, everybody’s looking to trend. To
do so requires cleverly crafted content with enough wit and smarts to make it
go viral. Simple? Not so, according to marketing experts.
So, what
does it take for content to go viral? Is there a magic formula or strategy?
Does it happen by chance, or through the carefully thought-out efforts of a
high-cost marketing strategy?
There is no
magic formula for content virality. Viral content is so rare that most
marketers agree that even the most carefully crafted, big-budget promotion
cannot guarantee it – although it can go a long way to increasing your chances.
Viral
content takes a dexterous mixture of deliberate planning, good strategy, clever
targeting, and, wait for it…a whole lot of luck! Content virality is, after
all, a game of being at the right place, at the right time.
However, if
your business is not yet in a position to spend on a high-cost digital
campaign, there are certain elements you can incorporate into your content to
increase your chances of hitting that ever-elusive viral content jackpot! The
most common elements include:
Lists and GIFs: These, according to research, are the most shared types of content on social media. So, if you can craft yourself a catchy Top 10… list, or create a punchy GIF, you’re well on your way to going viral.
Tapping into the ego: Besides lists and GIFs, social media research also suggests most of us have a little “inner-narcissist” that draws us to content we think makes us look good or clever. If your content appeals to people’s egos, they’re likely to share and make it go viral.
Emotional triggers:
Content
that triggers positive emotions, entertainment or amusement tends to get more
shares than negative content. Humanizing your content is a great way to connect
with an audience.
Shock factor: Something
unexpected to shock and amaze.
Tips and hints: When people find
your information useful, they’re more inclined to share with others. It taps
into the ego factor, where they feel it makes them look good.
Offers: Everybody loves a
freebie! If you’re giving away freebies, you can almost be assured to get a
sharp increase in likes and shares.
Influencers: If you can get a
good one to notice your content, go for it!
It’s important
to remember that you cannot force your content or campaign to go viral, for
content to truly spread beyond just your target audience and get shared by
others it needs to happen organically. Keep your focus on creating good content
that fits your brand and targets your audience, if it has the right mix of
ingredients it might just go viral.
Is your business using social media’s full potential?
At Brieffin we use our expertise to unlock everything social media has to offer your business or personal brand. We use our experience in content creation, strategy and planning, and social media management to help build consistency and deliver marketing success. Let’s talk.
Our Moment of Bliss
A vibrant song to get our moods lifted in this new week that is just starting. “Sail Away” by Møme. Listen to this and other inspiring hits on our Spotify playlist.
“Your brand must communicate the value that you bring to a working relationship.”
Idowu Koyenikan
When should you/your business consider a rebrand?
Like fashion, most brand identities eventually reach their sell-by-dates. Trends, styles, and cultures are constantly evolving – what was hot in the ’90s is probably not relevant today. Similarly, what may have been considered a slick, well-crafted image then, may well be seen as outdated and out of touch with modern culture. When your audience can no longer identify with what your brand represents, you know you’re overdue for a much-needed revamp.
Below are a few
compelling reasons to help you decide if it’s time to shake off the old image
and update your look.
New direction, new you: Changing public perception
Most of us are familiar with the adage ‘it takes 30 seconds to make a good first impression’. Well, according to Forbes, you can cut that number down to seven seconds. You heard right – people’s impression of your business is almost cast in stone within the first seven seconds of their interaction with your brand! Your branding acts as that first seven seconds that determines whether you’re seen as an authority or follower in your industry. So, if you feel you’ve reached the proverbial glass ceiling with regards to your pricing, or might not be attracting the kind of talent you deem worthy of your brand, it may be that the image you’re putting out there, is not aligned with the image you have of your brand and business. Time to change perceptions.
You want to attract a new “fan base”
Fortunately, the
need to rebrand is not always the result of some crisis or urgent need to shake
off a sudden dose of negative association. Sometimes rebranding is the result
of what Millennials refer to, as nice life problems. A good example being, your
business doing exceptionally well, to a point where it starts to outgrow its
initial audience, raising the need to expand to new demographics. Dazzling your
new target audience, will require a change in thinking, and adapting your
engagement to a “language” that appeals to your new audience. A
“language” that can shape their perception to help them identify with
your new, evolved brand, and win them over.
Your values have shifted
People change, ideas change, and so do our values. What may have worked in the past, may not work today. As the saying goes, hindsight is 20/20, and if your current branding no longer reflects your new outlook, it justifies the need to rebrand. To echo Ashley Friedlein, “Your brand is the sum total of how someone perceives your organization.” If your audience no longer identifies with the outdated values communicated by your brand, it’s time for an upgrade.
You’ve become a dime a dozen – you’re blending in
with your competition
Lastly, if your
industry is saturated with competitors, revamping your image may be just what
the doctor has ordered to help give your business the edge it needs to stand
out from its competitors and reposition itself as an industry leader.
Is your business using social media’s full
potential?
At Brieffin we use our expertise to unlock everything
social media has to offer your business or personal brand. We use our
experience in content creation, strategy and planning, and social media
management to help build consistency and deliver marketing success. Let’s talk.
Our Moment of Bliss
Warming, loungy song, by “Solar Sun” for a new Autumn day. More to listen to on our Spotify Playlist.
On the surface, building a thriving image with the help of social media looks fairly easy. There are, after all, thousands of examples of personal brands with excellent social media profiles full of great content in every type of niche.
But if you’ve ever tried (for an extended period of time) to run and manage a social media campaign, you would have noticed that to gain the type of following or garner the levels of engagement some successful personal brands do, takes a well thought out strategy and plan.
Without a well-defined roadmap, social media management quickly run into several common problems. Namely; content that doesn’t target their audience, content that varies in its purpose, and publishing content on an inconsistent basis. All this leads to poor results with lots of time, and probably money, invested.
So before diving into
content creation, it’s always wise to take a step back and plan your approach. Whichever
process you use to create your social media strategy the following points will
help you not only define your vision but outline the steps it takes to get
there.
What are my online communications goals?
While creating generic goals might be easy, creating specific and measurable goals that you can work towards is something every marketing expert will tell you to do. And they’re right. Document specific goals (and in what time frame) your personal brand would like to achieve them. This will allow you to narrow your focus and push forward with a clear direction.
Who am I creating content for?
Every product or service has an idea of their ideal customer. By defining exactly who it is you are targeting you can better understand how to align your content with their needs.
You’ll be better able to answer the question, ‘Where will I find my customers and how should I engage with them?’. Having a clear notion of your ideal customer will help you find the right social media platforms suited to your personal brand and audience. Creating the right type of content for the right people is a sure way to get the attention of your target audience.
How will I get my message across?
At this point you have a clear image of who you’re sending your message to, next is deciding on the tone and voice to use in your marketing. Outlining your voice and the tone you use for different audiences and scenarios is what best shares your personality, image, and values.
Create engagement and get
valuable feedback by sharing content that speaks to your audience in a format
or channel they prefer.
Am I meeting my goals?
When it comes to getting insights into your social media analytics, there is no shortage of different KPIs, metrics, and reporting dashboards to review.
But knowing which ones to focus on, measure, and track is linked to your goals. Review the specific objectives you set yourself at the onset of creating your strategy and use the data that supports those targets.
Knowing when to review
your goals or pivot your approach saves you time and money.
It’s important to remember that any social media strategy or content plan usually requires investment at the start. Whether it’s your time or money, the return is worth the resources. In a competitive environment, it could mean the difference between a struggling personal brand and a thriving one.
Knowing how your strategy is performing will help you make informed business decisions.
Are you using social media’s full potential?
At Brieffin we use our expertise to unlock everything social media has to offer your personal brand. We use our experience in content creation, strategy and planning, and social media management to help build consistency and deliver marketing success. Let’s talk.
Our Moment of Bliss
Personal branding is fun! This is why this 2006 “almost classic” song, “Young Folks” by Peter Bjorn and John created the perfect environment for a personal branding inspiration moment. This and more inspiring song moments are waiting on our Spotify playlist.
The digital world of social media is fast-paced and continues to evolve in ways that push us to find creative ways to turn challenges into opportunities and shift our mindsets to align with not only the times but a brand’s communication style and goals as well. This award strengthens our commitment to helping Industrial brands overcome the challenges that come with digital marketing. With a conscious strategy, well thought out content plans, and a bit of creativity we believe that any brand can enjoy social media success.
A huge THANK YOU to our awesome clients and collaborators for their trust and support! We couldn’t have done it without you and we look forward to continued success in the years to come.
Our Moment of Bliss
Because today we are in the celebration and good vibes mood, we share this super classic by Smashmouth: “All Star”!
If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.
Zig Ziglar
A massive 72% of B2B buyers expect personalized
engagement from vendors, tailored to their
needs – this, according to research by US software giant, Salesforce, titled State of the Connected
Customer. Even more interesting, or
perhaps unsettling for business owners, is how 76% of the
customers surveyed, feel it’s never been easier to take their business
elsewhere, thanks to technology.
In today’s fast-paced digital era, the old saying; time is money has never rung truer. The average B2B buyer has no time for the one-size-fits-all sales pitches of the pre-technology days, or to sift through a minefield of information to find what they need.
Today’s buyer wants customized solutions and expects you to understand and meet his needs.
So, how do you “get into” your clients’ minds to understand their needs? The simplest way is to create buyer personas, or archetypes, in layman’s terms.
Personas are detailed profiles of your ideal clients, based on your team’s combined research, and data: Designed to help you understand their needs to tailor your solutions accordingly.
Now, there are no shortcuts to creating high-value personas, but a carefully crafted profile can be invaluable to your marketing strategy. Done right, it could increase your conversions by 73%, according to Aberdeen research. To do so, you need to consider these factors:
1. Buyer demographics
First and foremost, you need a proper
understanding of your buyers’ background. This includes:
Age
Gender
Education
Income
Geographical location
Interest
Job title and role
Career goals
Job-related challenges
Challenges and,
Necessity points
2. Their
company’s DNA and what drives them
Dealing with B2B buyers often means you’re dealing with multiple decision-makers. To understand what drives your buyers, it’s imperative to have a detailed understanding of their firms, as well as the industries in which they operate.
You need to learn about:
Their company sizes
Culture
The average day of a typical employee
Reporting structure
Relevant decision-makers
Equally important, you need to find out about the
industries the companies clients belong to, and what products or services your
buyer’s firm provides for them. Bear in mind when dealing with multiple
decision-makers, you’ll need to create multiple personas to help give you a
better understanding of the personality traits involved.
3. Influences
These include questions about how your buyers absorb information, their preferred platforms, and sources of information. To do this, you’ll have to consider the social media platforms they use and other networks they’re on, popular keywords and language used your buyers’ circles as well as the type of publications they’re interested in. Simply put, if your buyers are all on LinkedIn, there’s no use trying to engage them on Facebook. You need to go where they are.
4. Challenges and deal breakers
Lastly, you need to learn about your buyer’s challenges, as well as those faced by his organization. The more you know about these, allows you to optimize your messages for maximum conversion.
Is your business using social media’s full
potential?
At Brieffin we use our expertise to unlock everything social media has to offer your business or personal brand. We use our experience in content creation, strategy and planning, and social media management to help build consistency and deliver marketing success. Let’s talk.
Our Moment of Bliss
Another inspiring moment, with an inspiring music background. “Riverwards Stream” by Nora En Pure. Listen to this song and more on our Spotify playlist.
“The wisdom of the wise, and the experience of ages, may be preserved by quotation.” — Issac D’Israeli
In an age of consumerism, fuelled by extravagant marketing and influencers, the importance of branding and social media engagement, as a differentiator, has never been more apparent.
With product relevance seemingly dictated by perception more than actual value, business survival has become a game of “Survival of the Fittest Brand!”
Here are 5 quotes to help you understand the importance of branding and social media for your business:
“Brand is the sum total of how someone perceives a particular organization. Branding is about shaping that perception”
Ashley Friedlein – CEO and founder of Guild
Now, unless you’re the new kid on the “novelty” block (think Uber or Airbnb), chances are, there’s plenty more where your product or services came from. Simply put; your target market is already spoilt for choice. With all the noise and information overload, who your clients pick, almost always comes down to branding. People don’t buy products, they buy the promises, expectations, values, and feelings communicated by your brand. It is up to you to shape that perception.
“Your brand is a gateway to your true work.”
Dave Buck – CEO of CoachVille
If eyes are the windows to your soul, then your brand is not only the window too, but the soul of your business. While your products and services pay the bills, branding sells what you’re offering. When consumers choose your products, their choice is influenced by what your brand promises to deliver. It is through that promise, that they identify with your true work.
“Social media will help you build up loyalty of your current customers to the point that they will willingly, and for free, tell others about you.”
Bonnie Sainsbury – Founder and CEO of Social Media Smarter
The age of social media upon us! Not only is it here to stay, but has single-handedly revolutionized marketing communication – almost rendering the spray and pray approach of traditional media obsolete, with its targeted approach. After your website, your social media platforms are usually the next go-to places for clients looking to engage. How you engage with clients shapes brand perception. And, when consumers get excited about engaging with, or about your brand – that’s social media done right.
“A brand is a voice and a product is a souvenir.”
Lisa Gansky – Ex CEO and co-founder of Global Network Navigator
As mentioned before, people buy brands, not products. In the days of information overkill, the reality is, you could be sitting on the best and most superior product in your niche. If consumers can’t identify with it, quality won’t matter. Why? Because the feelings associated with your products, and the perceived needs they meet, are what they ultimately buy.
“You can buy attention (advertising). You can beg for attention from the media (PR). You can bug people one at a time to get attention (sales). Or you can earn attention by creating something interesting and valuable and then publishing it online for free.”
David Meerman Scott – Online marketing strategist
Meerman’s statement about the advantages of social media is quite self-explanatory. Besides cost-effectiveness, the modern-day consumer (a whopping 72% to be exact), according to SmarterHQ, only engage with personalized marketing. Social media’s ability to let you handpick your audience, at little or no cost, trumps any exposure traditional marketing can ever hope to offer your brand.
Is your business using social media’s full potential?
At Brieffin we use our expertise to unlock everything social media has to offer your business or personal brand. We use our experience in content creation, strategy and planning, and social media management to help build consistency and deliver marketing success. Let’s talk.
Our Moment of Bliss
“Nevermind The End” by Tei Shi. One of the latest song additions to our Spotify Playlist.
Don’t be scared to present the real you to the world, authenticity is at the heart of success.
Unknown
We’ve all heard the saying ‘people connect with people’,
and for entrepreneurs and freelance professionals, this statement is especially
important. To understand how important, we need to look at where the global
freelance market is heading. According to (Peerism) Freelancers could
represent 80% of the global workforce by 2030, an eye-opening estimate.
With so many people becoming self-employed, differentiating
yourself from the growing entrepreneurial workforce will become vitally important
when trying to attract new clients or land freelance gigs.
Building a Personal Brand is the key to standing out
and being noticed. This is not just true for those that are themselves the face
of their businesses, think authors, speakers, or consultants, but is equally important
if you run your own business.
Which brings me back to ‘people connect with people’. An
audience is more likely to be attracted to and connect with a person than a faceless
brand. It’s a way for you to create impressions that customers will remember. Every
action is a way for you to increase exposure.
Let’s have a look at a few benefits having a personal
brand can offer:
Establish yourself as an expert and build authority.
Having a personal brand can help you position yourself
as someone with expertise in your niche. This helps you build trust and a
connection with your audience, and in the famous words of Zig Ziglar; “If
people like you they will listen to you, but if they trust you, they’ll do
business with you”.
Grow your network and gain clients.
We all know why growing our professional and social
networks is a smart business move. Having a personal brand that speaks to who
you are and what you stand for makes it easier for people to want to connect
with you.
Premium Rates.
A personal brand separates your products or services
from everything else on offer. When people see the value in your brand, they
become willing to pay higher rates.
New Opportunities.
Having a personal brand can open doors and lead to new
opportunities. It makes it easier for you to be found by potential clients,
businesses, and the media. It also makes it easier for you to pitch yourself or
your business when new opportunities present themselves.
In the future, you may decide to change your offering, sell your business, or start new ones, but your personal brand and experience will continue to evolve with you. Helping separate you from the competition as someone unique and worth talking to.
Is your business using social media’s full potential?
At Brieffin we use our expertise to unlock everything social media has to offer your business or personal brand. We use our experience in content creation, strategy and planning, and social media management to help build consistency and deliver marketing success. Let’s talk.
Our Moment of Bliss
Enjoy an inspiring “Nora En Pure” moment with “Polynesia” on our Spotify playlist.
A brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is – it is what consumers tell each other it is.
Scott Cook
If you’re a B2B company chances are your current online presence is restricted to your website and just one social platform. Which would make sense, because social media is for B2C companies… right?
Finding new clients and growing your network is important for B2B companies, but employing a social media strategy that only focuses on these points loses out on one of the key benefits of social media: Branding.
Using social media to build your brand and share your business’s story will allow you to shape your online image and attract the clients you want.
Twitter is a great example of how a B2B can communicate in real-time with its audience, answer questions, and actively participate in conversations in their industry to both inspire and educate.
To become recognized as a go-to authority for expertise on a selected area of specialization, B2B’s must share high-quality content that clients, intermediaries, and even competitors recognize as valuable. On the right social platform, this can become a powerful and viral tool in building engagement and a brand’s name.
With not all content being suitable to be shared everywhere, B2B companies need to decide on the type of content to share on their chosen platforms. Having the ability to post different types of content (think videos and curated content for Facebook, company news and professional content for Linkedin) to different channels gives B2B companies the freedom to showcase a side of their personalities and culture that would have otherwise remained hidden to both potential customers and jobseekers alike.
By creating a voice on more than just one platform, B2B’s get to benefit from the unique advantages each has to offer, which ultimately strengthens and supports the main marketing strategy by creating brand awareness and advocacy.
Is your business using social media’s full
potential?
At Brieffin we use our expertise to unlock everything social media has to offer your business or personal brand. We use our experience in content creation, strategy and planning, and social media management to help build consistency and deliver marketing success.
If you don’t give the market the story to talk about, they’ll define your brand’s story for you.”
David Brier
The next time you’re on social media take note of how
quick you are to scroll past anything that doesn’t immediately grab your
attention.
Within a few seconds, a (potentially interesting or valuable)
post can disappear into an endless social media stream of information, never to
be seen again. With the exception of blogs, articles, and some other content
types, posts shared on social media have a short-lived lifespan.
So, how then do you get people to stop, read, and engage with the content you painstakingly put out there to entice and educate your audience?
In order to take advantage of the milliseconds, it takes a person to process your post and decide whether to pause or not has everything to do with your ‘Visual Branding’.
Good visual marketing grabs attention.
Visual Branding is the introduction your business makes when meeting customers, it’s the first thing they see and evaluate your brand. This visual identity is what conveys your brand’s voice, values, and personality.
Creating visual content that appeals and influences how an audience reacts, is down to a mixture of different elements, that when blended together create your unique visual identity and brand experience.
Each and every brand has its own story, regardless of industry or niche. Sharing your brand’s history, experiences, mission, and even the voices of the people who work there create a story that helps people connect and understand your brand. Creating visual content to support your story makes it easier and more appealing to viewers.
Creating consistent visuals (using fonts, colors, materials) with a unified look, and feel across your online content, helps in building consistency, differentiates you from your competitors and aids in strengthening your reputation.
The tone of voice which you communicate through social media (and off it) is extremely important, as it helps define your personality and gives your brand a human side. Defining your tone can help you come across as fun, smart, vibrant, and empathetic.
But possibly the most important aspect of visual branding is having a clear and aligned message across all platforms. This helps people interpret your message as you intended it and makes your brand feel more dependable, recognizable, and professional.
When we design content that combines tone, look and feel,
and an aligned message – we help develop experiences that shape the way customers
think and interact with a brand.
Is your business using social media’s full potential? At Brieffin we use our expertise to unlock everything social media has to offer your business or personal brand. We use our experience in content creation, strategy and planning, and social media management to help build consistency and deliver marketing success.
Let’s talk!
Our Moment of Bliss.
Where would we be without our beloved music? Listen to “So Good At Being in Trouble” by Unknown Mortal Orchestra on our Spotify playlist.
It no longer matters if you are a B2C company that sells directly to your customer or a big B2B corporate that sells complex industrial machinery, with the right strategy any type of company can find success and create a winning social media formula with a positive result.
Industrial companies have always had the challenge of how to portray their products and services without making them seem overly complex. The good news is that they can take a few pages out of the B2C playbook and add their own twist.
It’s a good idea to first understand some of the challenges that industrial firms face before brainstorming solutions. Here are 4 challenges to think about:
#1 Sales vs Marketing
Industrial companies generally have a much longer sales cycle, with a number of people involved in the buying/decision-making process. Marketing and Sales departments need to work together to agree on the type of content that will help buyers gather information and knowledge about the company as well as products and services, through every step of the customer’s decision-making journey (awareness, consideration, evaluation, and purchase). Closing the gap between sales and marketing teams means that content is produced with a specific aim or type of customer in mind. Creating content that can inform and engage while forming the building blocks of a relationship should always be the end goal, helping turn prospects into qualified leads in less time.
#2 Creating vulnerability
Releasing the technical overcoat and showing the human side. Vulnerability is a fundamental human condition and something all humans can relate to. By tapping into this universal feeling, industrial companies can stand out from their competitors and create new connections in a way they haven’t before.
#3 Resources and consistency
Limited resources such as time, budget, and backing for content ideas are challenges industrial companies may face when trying to create high-quality content. A social media strategy is essential to successfully plan so that the available resources are used in a way that marketers can consistently share high-quality content and grow the company’s audience. Limited resources can however force companies to think outside the box or focus on a particular segment of their market.
#4 Patience and managing expectations
Good content marketing takes time. Industrial companies need time to grow their online presence and authority with the understanding that producing quality content and building relationships cannot be rushed. Setting and managing expectations early on will help align goals, limit frustration and confusion, and increase the chances of success.
Is your business using social media’s full potential? At Brieffin we use our expertise to unlock everything social media has to offer your business or personal brand. We use our experience in content creation, strategy and planning, and social media management to help build consistency and deliver marketing success.
Social media is the ultimate equaliser. It gives a voice and a platform to anyone willing to engage.
Amy Jo Martin, Founder and CEO of Digital Royalty
Being in business in the connected age we currently live in and putting social media on the back burner, could mean overlooking your most effective marketing channel. While mastering social media as a company in the industrial sector is a bit trickier, the benefits of investing time and resources into these channels are clear.
Here are 8 reasons industrial companies should have an online social presence to help build their brand and explore the benefits they could gain by developing their virtual identity.
Creating a Virtual Identity
Taking control of your companies’ online identity shouldn’t be ignored. Customers and competitors alike are all participating in online conversations. Crafting your virtual identity on social media channels helps in shaping your brand’s footprint in the eyes and minds of your audience.
Educating and Creating Authority
Creating content for industrial companies on social media calls for creativity, like many others, but these platforms provide an excellent opportunity to educate potential customers on the benefits a company’s solutions can provide. Educating and informing audiences also positions a company as a credible and professional authority, and source of information, which leads to an increase in engagement and potential leads.
Adding the Human Touch
One area of challenge for many industrial companies is how to add the human component of the company to their technical or industrial image. Social media provides an opportunity to display that human side that would have otherwise remained hidden. Business is ultimately done between people and the less ‘corporate’ you can come across the more potential peers are likely to engage with you. By using storytelling industrial companies can begin a new conversation with their audience, one more centered around people.
Assisting With Sales
Social media may shorten the amount of time needed to close potential sales, by providing audiences with insights into different manufacturing processes, technology, or solutions you could offer them. This gives them a more informed opinion of your business and reduces the amount of time needed to educate peers or customers on your service offerings. Using social media platforms such as LinkedIn is a great way for industrial companies to find prospects and begin developing professional relationships by building trust, providing support, or answering questions.
Driving Traffic
The majority of valuable information that might be of interest to customers is usually located on a company’s website, the question is how to get them there? The content shared on social media is generally different pieces of information designed to educate, inspire or inform audiences about a company, but the ultimate goal (besides getting them to follow your social channels and engage with you) is to direct them to your website where they can be exposed to a wider and more detailed array of information that might interest them.
Keeping Your Audience Informed
Technological advancements and innovation move fast, and social media is a reliable way to stay informed about what your potential prospects or competitors might be doing. Likewise, it gives peers and decision-makers insight into the advances and new offerings your company might be launching, keeping them in the loop before you have even made contact.
Discovering More Benefits as You Grow
As your company grows on social media and you discover what works for your business, more and more benefits will present themselves.
Higher SEO rankings as a result of an active social media page. Aligning with other brands on campaigns on social media may allow you to build additional credibility in the market. Building a community online also attracts new talent, making your company an attractive option for future assets.
However, the true value of investing in social media can only be experienced in time. Like any other solid and sustainable relationship, it requires time, commitment, and clear communication. A more engaged community, better customer relationships, and access to new leads can only be obtained if social media is used in a way that educates, inspires, and engages people.
Our Moment of Bliss
Our thoughtful moments are always backed by inspiring music, like this corporate-meets-new-age style song “Into the Light” by Feki. Spotify.
Stay true to your values. That’s why you were a success in the first place, and that’s how you make incredible things happen.
Rafe Offer
“I recently heard some colleagues of mine discussing a brand they both liked, and when I enquired as to why this seemingly normal brand was held in such high regard by both of them, their answer was simply because they felt the company was authentic and transparent with their customers”.
In a digital world where every move a brand
makes can be scrutinized, saved, and shared in record time. It makes sense then
that building a relationship with your customers based on trust, transparency,
and authenticity will create a sense of sincerity around how you do business.
Why is that important? Isn’t the purpose of
marketing to outshine the competition by being more persuasive, flashier, and
stealing the limelight where ever possible?
A few years ago some would have argued yes,
the biggest marketing budget always wins, but not anymore. Audiences have wised
up and are watching brand interactions and communications closer than ever.
So why then does authenticity matter so much
and what should brands focus on to become more authentic?
Brand Values
Most customers today would agree that price alone is not enough to keep them coming back. Who they do business with and which brands they support, in turn, say a lot about how they see themselves. Finding brands that share common values is becoming increasingly important.
Getting feedback about what your customers
want is worth its weight in gold. It allows you to understand the values and
beliefs your customers hold and align yourself more closely with them. But
knowing what your customers want alone is not enough, you need to show them
through your voice and actions in order to build real connections.
Trust
A customer relationship built on trust provides important advantages for brands. It makes it harder for competitors to get their attention. Customers feel more confident in recommending your brand to others. And inevitably when things go wrong (and in business, they might) having customers that trust and support you will accept your apologies more readily and help you bounce back quicker.
Consistency
Building trust and an authentic brand like all good things take time and a consistent effort. You can’t pick and choose where you show your support or communicate certain messages. Being consistent is about making sure that your brand voice, images, actions, and values are the same across all channels. Aligning yourself with a certain political stance or message on one platform and then saying something different on another will lead to customer confusion and a loss of trust.
Honesty
Having great brand values, building trust,
and delivering a consistent message is nothing if you aren’t being honest.
Customers that feel respected are more likely to stick with you. Usually, becoming
an army of brand ambassadors (the best kind of marketing). But it all stems
from being honest with them even when things don’t go to plan.
Your target audience’s perception of your brand will ultimately decide its success. To appear transparent, authentic, and trustworthy you actually have to be transparent, authentic, and trustworthy. Those brands that stick to their values and show real authenticity even in trying times are the ones that set themselves up for long term success.
Our Moment of Bliss
Authenticity transcends beyond mountains, or ‘mountains beyond mountains’, as Arcade Fire artfully sings in Sprawl II, already bookmarked on our Spotify playlist.
That’s what we storytellers do. We restore order with imagination. We instill hope again and again and again.
Walt Disney
Storytelling in marketing is nothing new, but
so many brands continue to miss out on the unique capabilities that this type
of communication tool can provide for their business.
Storytelling in business can be used to help
break down or clarify a message that your customers will understand, remember,
and possibly share with others.
That last point is especially important
because a positive conversation about your brand from a trusted friend, family
member, or colleague can hold a lot of weight and influence on how you view that
company in the future.
Because humans are complex emotional beings,
when it comes to marketing, appealing to logic and reason is in most cases only
half the job. To try and create a level of trust (that grows over time with
positive experience) brands can use storytelling as a way of building a
relationship with their audience.
However, creating a real connection isn’t as easy as it sounds, people aren’t easily fooled by tall-tales and a questionable back story. So, it’s important to show your brand’s true colors and be authentic in the story you are telling.
As far back as we can remember people have
been using stories to pass down information, but why use a story, surely, it’s just
a longer route to saying what you actually want to say? While it might be
longer, stories help us recall information that we may have otherwise
forgotten, allowing us to piece together the underlying message and process how
we feel about it.
For marketers, this is a great way for people
to remember specific details about your products, services, or brand in general.
Making it easier for them to recall those feelings when they see or interact
with your brand.
Storytelling is about context and blending
facts and feelings to hold a customer’s attention long enough to make an
impression.
Creating a story that plays on the emotional side of our brains, allows brands a different way of marketing, one that shifts from a selling mindset to a connecting one and engages your audience in a way that your competitors might not be.
An important aspect to remember is that
sometimes the best stories lie not with your business but with your customers
and their experiences. By sharing stories that other customers will find
relatable they subconsciously make a connection with your brand.
Storytelling isn’t just about words either,
humans are undoubtedly visual creatures. With more and more businesses creating
video content, it’s important for brands to cut through all the clutter. Creating
engaging stories is the quickest way to connect, build trust, and ultimately
drive sales, traffic, or interest in your business offerings.
Storytelling is also not limited to any one industry or type of business. Any brand no matter how small their niche can tell their story and capture the hearts and imaginations of their audience. With a thoughtful and consistent approach telling your story might be your best marketing weapon yet.
Our Moment of Bliss
Storytelling is not limited to anything. Music is one of the best sources of all types of stories. Today we focus on the electronic song “Over & Out (Delamare Remix)” by Sparrows, Delamare featured on our Spotify playlist.
Raise your awareness and share your uniqueness with the world.
Amit Ray
It’s time to talk about “Content”.
Surely you’ve heard about content calendars, content strategies, content creators, content schedulers, and the list goes on. With all the buzz around social media and digital content, it’s important to take a look behind the curtain to see what goes into making great content.
So, what is content then?
Content by
definition is any information (imagery, audio, blogs, videos) that have been
created for a specific purpose either to entertain, educate or persuade a
target audience.
Reviewing your
current content creation process is important because it’s not just one thing
that makes great content stand out from the rest, it’s the culmination of a lot
of smaller steps that lead to making content people love and find
valuable.
To make great content you need to first have a proper strategy in place, to help define your goals, create customer personas and understand how your target audience consumes, saves or shares information on each platform. Once you know how a target audience is likely to interact with different content, you can start the content creation process.
A good content creation process asks questions. Once you know who you intend to make content for, you need to know why you are creating it; is it for customer education, to show off your expertise, or other marketing efforts? Researching what your customers want to know about a specific topic and then creating content for them is a smart way to draw their attention to your content.
Enhancing
your content through good Design & Copywriting
Basic human biology isn’t difficult to understand, we are all visual individuals. The neurons in our brains responsible for visual processing far outnumber some of our other senses. It would make sense then that good design should be a priority when it comes to creating content.
We’ve all spent time on social media, scrolling through our feeds, as our attention jumps from one post to another. It’s our job as marketers (whether you’re a brand or a personal account) to design content that makes the viewer pause and take note of what they’re looking at.
Design is about more than just color and typography. It’s about understanding the impact that a consistent and well thought out theme will have across an overall online presence. Good design invokes a sense of professionalism or trust in a brand.
Using good graphics, contrasts, scale, balance and generally keeping it as simple as possible while still adding enough of an impact to make someone stop and say “I’d like to know more”.
Once you have a great design that has been optimized for social media, it’s time to turn your attention to an equally important piece of the content puzzle: Effective and thoughtful copywriting can make a campaign successful, drive traffic or even boost brand engagement.
A brand’s tone should reflect their values, personality and convey their overall image. Paying close attention to what you are saying and how your target audience might receive your message, is a powerful strategy in driving customer behavior and turning your content into more than just “another post”.
At Brieffin we take our experience in content design and copywriting to tell your story and showcase your expertise. Optimizing every piece of content for each network. If you feel like creating content is an uphill battle get in touch to see how we can help you stand out and get noticed.
Our Moment of Bliss
“Safe” – Bay Ledges
“Yeah, we got magic in our hands, We play in the stars when the sun comes up”.
If you ask most people what “being digital” means, some probably will answer: to be virtual, to use electronic technology or being on the internet, and while technically these answers aren’t wrong, they don’t accurately describe how it links to communication in a business sense.
So, what does “being digital” really mean for a business? The following
Mckinsey & Company definition explains it perfectly.
“Being digital requires being open to reexamining your entire way of doing business and understanding where the new frontiers of value are. … At the same time, being digital means being closely attuned to how customer decision journeys are evolving in the broadest sense.”
Is content…
still king?
If you are involved in marketing then there is no doubt you’ve heard the
phrase, ‘content is king’. Today, this statement is truer than ever. What is
changing, however, is how people on social media consume content.
With more and more content being produced and changing customer
behaviors, brands are having to change the way they think about, produce and
share their content on social media. All to capture a customer’s attention for
long enough to make an impression on them.
Standing out means spending more time and resources to produce content
that not only appeals to your target customers but adds value and makes them
feel connected to your brand.
Does your
business need to be on all social networks?
The answer all depends on where you believe your potential customers to
be. Each social network has evolved over time to appeal to a specific audience
for a specific purpose. The trick to deciding which platform to join depends on
your business goals and the type of site-specific content you can produce.
Aligning your part of your marketing strategy with the right social
platform, whether it be Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube or Twitter will
help you connect with your target audience. Understanding where your customers
are and then sharing content that is relevant, reliable and
consistent will not only build trust in your brand but also cement your name in
their minds as a leader in your industry.
Real
engagement takes patience
For most brands, building up customer engagement is a slow but invaluable process. Not only does positive engagement help grow your following online but it also provides businesses with direct access to customers’ insights and feedback, which are crucial to any successful marketing campaign. Cultivating genuine and meaningful conversations and replying to comments and questions all forms part of a good organic engagement strategy. It’s through real engagement that a brand can share a side of their story that’s not always achievable through traditional marketing methods.
Is paid
advertising worth it?
The honest answer is yes, for most brands leveraging the power of paid
advertising on social platforms gives them access to a specific audience, enabling
them to be seen and get their message across more effectively.
Social media giants are constantly making changes to their algorithms,
and in most cases making it more difficult for organic content to reach a wider
audience.
However, with most of the world’s population now on one or more forms of
social platform, these changes aren’t necessarily a bad thing. With the large
amounts of data, these networks collect and process, using paid advertising
lets brands place the right content in front of the right audience at the right
time. There are some exceptions to this of course, slower more organic
engagement works better on LinkedIn where relationships are usually cultivated
on a more professional level.
Effective communication on social media takes an understanding of how to create content that grabs attention, copy that persuades, which networks will deliver the best results and how to create positive brand engagement. At Brieffin we handle the time-consuming tasks and create professional strategies that help our clients make the most of the ever-evolving social media and digital landscapes.
Our Moment of Bliss
“Stockholm” – Atlas Genius
We can crawl or we can run towards the sun… while we listen to our wake-up-and-smell-the-coffee collection on our Spotify playlist.
“You can never go wrong by investing in communities and the human beings within them.”
Pam Moore
To be competitive
in today’s digital market place, it’s now more important than ever to
understand the impact effective social media and digital marketing campaigns
can have on your brand’s growth and attracting the right customers.
Getting
Started
To be effective on
social media it’s vital to understand where to begin. We’ll take a look at a
bird’s eye view of the main topics to consider when outlining a social media
strategy.
Before creating an account or spending money on sponsored ads, you should ask yourself:
What is my goal
and why do I want to achieve it?
These may sound like unimportant questions, but giving detailed answers, will aide in helping you successfully create your social media strategy.
Answering these
and other questions upfront will make it easier to decide which direction to go
when creating and scheduling content, by knowing exactly what you want your
customer to think and believe about your brand, how they perceive your brand
values and what action you want them to take when viewing you on social
platforms, streamlines your creation process, puts you in control and delivers
the best results.
Measuring
Your Impact
But how to measure
these results?
For some, this
doesn’t always mean making a sale. Your goal could be to grow your following,
drive traffic to your website or create leads for your sales team to follow up
on. To fully understand how your content is performing you must set up and
track various key performance indicators (KPIs).
It’s through these
statistics that you will be able to see which content is yielding the best
results, where your followers are coming from, what their preferences are and
how they are engaging with you. Success is a moving target and KPIs keep you on
the right path.
When,
Where and How to Post
Deciding when,
where and how often to post your content takes a bit of trial and error to find
the perfect recipe.
Why?
Because much like getting started with digital marketing, creating a winning content schedule requires a closer look at your audience and then asking where are they from, which platforms are they using, how do they digest content (also known as audience behavior) and most importantly what time they most likely to be active.
These behaviors will dictate how we interact with each platform. Optimizing strategies and content to reach the widest audience available to us at the right time. Your goals and audience will determine what times and how often to post on each platform.
With the rise of
social media, many content management tools have been developed to help users
manage and review their content and profiles, all in one place. These tools
help businesses be consistent with their content, something most audiences have
come to expect.
Budget
In recent years
social media has turned the marketing world on its head. By being able to
target a specific audience exactly where they are spending their time online
has allowed businesses and brands of all sizes the opportunity to tap into
their desired markets for far less expense than traditional marketing
methods.
While there is no
perfect budget to use on social media platforms, with the right approach even a
small investment can yield surprisingly big results.
Setting the right goals, optimizing your content and sticking to budget is a sure way to succeed and make the most out of social media. At Brieffin we use our experience to help our clients navigate each of these steps, creating content and schedules that raise brand awareness through storytelling, good design, and a focused social media management approach.
For more information about how we can help your brand make the most of digital and social media marketing, contact us at connect@brieffin.com.
Our Moment of Bliss
“Sleepy Head” – Passion Pit
Take time off to smell the flowers… or listen to some creatively curated music on our Spotify playlist.
Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives.
William A. Foster
Let’s begin by understanding two important terms, Intention & Follow-through, for the purpose of this article.
Intention: a thing intended; an aim or plan.
Follow-through: the continuing of an action or task to its conclusion.
Digital marketing has been around for about three decades now since the first appearance of this concept with the launch of “Archie”, the first-ever search engine. Nowadays, we don’t find people or brands asking what it is, or how to use it technically-wise, but the challenge lies in what (to create), where (to share), when (in time), and how (in purpose) of content strategy.
All the main social media sites have strengthened and while in the beginning, the intention was on “personal” connections, the last few years of marketing and advertisement overflow on these platforms have left users asking to return to that more personal approach, but this time around… with the brands.
The growth of entrepreneurship around the globe has triggered an even larger rise in this behavior, making it easier to reach out to our professional connections, family, and friends to promote that which we are committed to. Digital marketing, and social media more specifically, have made possible the creation of integrated advertising campaigns at all levels, merging the personal and the professional worlds.
We’re all in this together. People and Brands.
In this stage and age in which almost every user has developed knowledge about how social media works and what it is about, the improvement in content quality haunts us all. The relevance of doing-it-right. Content has been gaining even more importance with the over-producing and over-sharing of graphic and written media and the limitless demands placed on all these social platforms by the users globally. Demands that are placed lastly on the content producers.
Random content without intent for the sake of awareness is now seen as spam, memes have lost their humor, and videos of cats… oh well, they’re still fun to watch! But the point is that either visual or text-wise, people and brands that really commit and consider social media as a valuable tool for awareness, and connection, are working harder on their intention to deliver content that communities look forward to seeing, watching and reading.
However, the overflow of options can lead to confusion and this why the follow-through of those intentions set by digital marketing and social media strategists is even more important today.
From both a user and a marketer perspective, content purposefully delivered can help us all to make better choices. To make sure that our needs are met in our consumerist society, online and offline, at all levels.
For those times in which you feel directionless of how a social media plan could work for you and your brand, contact us and we’ll be happy to show you what our Content Creation and Scheduling packages are all about.
Our Moment of Bliss
“A Shock of Heart.” – StéLouse
A powerful thought: We can change the world if we change our words and the way in which we deliver those words.
Take a moment off to doodle your next communication plan while listening to a carefully catered collection of inspiring songs from our crew on our playlist on Spotify.
Good communication must be HOT. Honest, Open, and Two-way.
Dan Oswald
Few
things seem to evolve at the same rate as digital marketing and communication
strategies, and there is no doubt we’ll see some big changes in how brands
communicate in 2020.
And
while there are no shortages of topics to discuss, below are a few trends we
all need to take note of if we wish to keep our communication strategies
effective and up to date.
Search Engine Optimization
With search engines constantly tweaking their algorithms in an effort to bring the best and most valuable content to the top of an ever-increasing pile, it’s our job as marketers to be responsive to these changes. One trend we’ll see in 2020 is content creators sharing longer and more valuable, keyword packed, content in an effort to drive SEO and capture leads. Users value informative and free content and search engines know this. Creating high-quality content not only leads to more shares and saves but also better rankings overall.
Brand Involvement
This
year, we’ll see brands draw attention and hone in on important social topics
and matters that impact their audience. The growing trend of brands involving
themselves in important issues is one way for them to align themselves with
what their customers stand for and to stay culturally relevant. Showing people that there is action behind their
‘marketing’ voice.
Influencer Marketing
The
continued rise and importance of influencer marketing shows no signs of slowing
down in 2020. Consumers have wised up to influencers prompting just any
products and services and prefer to see genuine relationships between
influencers and brands. We can also expect to see another big jump in the number
of videos influencers share, as one of the main strategies to communicate with
their followers and create longer lasting impressions.
Getting Personal
To
cut through the noise across digital channels, brands are employing strategies
and using software to help them build more complete profiles of their audience,
not only as a whole but on a more niche level, microtargeting different groups
inside their greater customer base. The better they understand the different
wants, needs, and preferences of these sub groups, the easier it is to craft
tailored messages and campaigns that appeal directly to them, ultimately
leading to a better return on marketing investments.
Leveraging Artificial Intelligence
One trend and industry moving faster than almost any other is the continued rise of artificial intelligence, if you’re picturing the Terminator it’s not quite that kind of artificial intelligence but more a variety of smart tools and software that allow you to analyze and sort data in a way that hasn’t been possible before. Ultimately allowing you to understand, respond, create and share information with an audience quicker and with less effort than ever before.
Interactive communication
Lastly,
we can expect to see a rise in the amount of interactive content being produced
and shared, all in the name of keeping customers engaged. What exactly is
interactive content you ask? This could be anything from virtual (augmented)
reality, dynamic audio products like some podcasts and eBooks, posts which you
can ‘shop in’, fun polls and quizzes and a lot of interactive storytelling. Getting
your audience to be responsive by keeping them entertained is a trend we’ll see
a lot of this year.
In an attempt to stay ahead, adopting and implementing some of these trends will not only help you raise more brand awareness, drive leads and form loyal relationships with consumers but it will help you communicate and share your story, message or expertise in a thriving digital age.
Our Moment of Bliss
“Let’s Fly Away Together.” – GANZ
Take a moment off to doodle your next communication plan while listening to a carefully catered collection of inspiring songs from our crew on our playlist on Spotify.
It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives. It’s what we do consistently.
Anthony Robbins
How do businesses with an inherently technical and complex offering such as those in the Engineering and Industrial fields, attract and keep the attention of audiences on social platforms, which by nature have been designed to always offer us something new, continuously fighting for our limited attention span?
This is the question most companies in these sectors ask themselves but fail to give a satisfying answer to. The answer in its simplest terms is to ask, for what purpose are we putting ourselves out there. Why would we stray from our tried and tested traditional marketing methods and enter the ever-changing and fast-paced world of social media? For most companies having a presence on the world’s biggest social media sites is the missing puzzle piece in raising more awareness about their brand.
In today’s world, no marketing strategy would be complete without this vital cog in raising awareness not only about a brand’s offering but more importantly, carefully and thoughtfully creating an environment where followers can be educated and engaged.
But how to raise a brand’s presence and create an environment in which followers want to know more?
The fast-paced nature of social media means that in order to capture the attention of viewers, companies need to create content that is not only a mixture of fun, informative and thought-provoking but also quickly and easily digestible by breaking information up into small bite-sized pieces.
Winning people over has a lot to do with the perception brands project to their audience. Taking the time to analyze each social media platform to understand how best to craft content to appeal to the experiences people are looking for. By understanding how best to provide that experience, brands can create content that allows them to share their knowledge as well as their personality.
Brands that can educate, excite and participate in conversations with their audience gain an advantage in not only understanding what their followers want to know but by being able to effectively communicate their overall corporate message.
For businesses, social media is not only about selling, but it’s also about increasing the brand’s visibility. Not only for people outside the industry but especially for people in it. A good social media strategy is a brand’s secret PR weapon, allowing them to attract the interest of potential employees that recognize what the company has to offer.
By thoughtfully and consistently crafting clear and informative messages, Engineering and Industrial companies can align their online communication strategies with their corporate image, enabling them to build a truly global network by showcasing their expertise and know-how, all while building trust and confidence in their brand. Through their projects and stories, these companies can show the human side to their businesses, a big advantage over most traditional forms of marketing.
By placing the focus on building brand awareness, companies can market themselves in a truly new and exciting way.
Our Moment of Bliss
“Don’t you want to get high?” – The Love Within by Bloc Party
Slow down and join our playlist on Spotify for a spicy moment of musical bliss.
No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.
Albert Einstein
Considering the speed at which our online world changes, it seems like we’re all just doing our best to keep up. By the time we figure out that algorithm, or get our social media strategy in order, it seems like we must pivot to the next big thing. Always chasing, never able to take a deep breath and just exist where we are.
However, there certainly do come times when we feel that our content’s gone a bit stale. Or we’re not seeing the same kind of results from what we’ve been doing in the past. It is finally time for a change. But where to start?
Sometimes, all it takes is a change in perspective. It doesn’t mean you need to overhaul everything you’ve ever done. Maybe make a few tweaks here and there. And rather than looking at it from a “I-have-to-do-this” perspective, look at it as an opportunity for growth. Reframing your mindset in a more positive way can make a big difference.
So when it’s time to change your perspective regarding your marketing or content efforts, here are a few areas to consider.
1. Let your research guide you
In last week’s post, we discussed the power of insight. The analytics about our websites, social media activity, and other content provide use with valuable information that can be used in our favor. This information can help us learn from our past and guide our future. Any additional research you’ve done about your target audience or market trends can help in a similar way. When you make strategy decisions, you can feel confident that they’re backed up by hard, solid facts.
2. Focus on the important things
No matter how much you
consider changing, make sure not to let your brand evolve into something you’re
not comfortable with. It’s usually a good idea to keep the heart of your brand
identity the same – you can always refine it to help it resonate further, but
don’t turn it into something totally new. No matter how much your strategy ends
up changing, it’s generally best to keep a consistent message to reinforce
brand identity and recall for your audience.
3. Have fun along the way
Although you’re using research to back you
up, and you’re staying true to the heart of your brand, it’s important to remember
to have fun. Not everything goes perfectly the first time, or even the second or
third time. Flexibility, agility, and a “roll with the punches” attitude will
get you far, whether it’s in revamping your marketing strategy or in different
aspects of life. Learn to embrace the unexpected and laugh along the way, and
you’re guaranteed to find little moments of bliss.
A change in perspective or an adjustment in
mindset. Or even someone to bounce ideas off of. If you’re looking for a
partner in your marketing strategy, we’re here. Let’s work together to breathe
new life into your brand.
Our Moment of Bliss
“Now you
got the whole of the world at your feet.” – Charlie Cunningham (Minimum from Lines)
Join our playlist on Spotify and accept the bright ideas floating around your mind.
“The power of visibility can never be underestimated.”
Margaret Cho
As the digital landscape and social media continues
to change, it seems like there are always new ways to use it. You may be able
to think of a few brands that have an excellent, stand-out social media presence,
while others take a more middle-of-the-line approach. And some companies don’t
use social media at all.
In our blog, we’ve previously discussed many of
the benefits of using social media effectively, as well as strategies and
tactics to bolster engagement, brand awareness, and loyalty.
However, we understand that many of our clients and followers face social media content creation from a unique perspective due to the nature of their industry. An international pizza franchise or a cutting-edge technology company may have more bandwidth for creativity regarding tone and content, among other things.
But for European industrial engineering brands –
like our clients – much of the conventional advice about social media might not
ring true.
If you find yourself in a similar category, you
might wonder if it’s even worth it to keep up with social media. If it’s worth
it to continue expending the time and energy. What about when the best
practices don’t apply?
At Brieffin, we have an opinion on this. YES, it’s worth it to keep a social media presence.
Even if you don’t have the best, most exciting content
in the world. Even if you think no one is seeing or engaging with your posts.
Even if you might think it’s a waste of time.
Here’s something important to understand. Social
media, among other things, is a strong tool for visibility.
Even if your Twitter feed isn’t full of
fantastic, groundbreaking content, don’t worry. It’s not about that. It’s about
getting your message out there. Consistently.
Because it’s likely your competitors are doing
it. And the truth is, in 2019, brands – no matter what type – are expected to
have a social media presence. The presence itself says just as much, if not
more, than what the content says.
What does the content say? Well, if you feel
like you’ve already said everything there is to say, there’s something else you
can do. Re-purpose. It’s a key ingredient in content strategies, and it helps
you share a consistent message in a different way.
So even on the days where social media feels like an uphill battle, remember the reason why you’re doing it. Because it keeps your brand visible, post after post, to your followers. Because it shows regularity and attention to detail. And… because it’s expected.
As social media content creators for industrial
brands over the past 8 years, we’ve had our share of challenges. But we’ve
always come out stronger on the other side.
If you want to know more about creating a consistent
social media presence to increase visibility, reach out to us. Send us an email
to connect@brieffin.com and we’ll be
in touch soon.
Our Moment of Bliss
“Live
through this and you won’t look back.” – Stars (Your Ex-Lover Is Dead from Set
Yourself On Fire)
Ask anyone what the most important asset to the job search is, and most would say one answer: the resume. This short document summarizes the applicant’s skills, experience, background, qualifications, and education to a hiring manager. It also includes important contact information which is used to contact the applicant.
In the sea of job applications received for any given
position, your resume is an opportunity to set yourself apart from the others.
You may have heard the oft-quoted statistic that hiring managers only spend six seconds looking at each resume. However, newer studies suggest that only 17% of hiring managers spend less than 30 seconds, while 68% spend less than 2 minutes reviewing each resume. Nevertheless, your time to make an impact is limited, so it’s important to ensure your resume establishes yourself as a strong candidate in a timely manner.
When it comes to writing your resume, standard advice has
changed over the years. No longer are the templated, rigid resumes suggested
for every position in every industry. As multimedia portfolios and LinkedIn profiles
have entered the mix, it’s easier for a prospective employer to get a holistic
look at any given job applicant through more mediums than just the resume.
However, resumes continue to be a crucial aspect of any job
application, and here are several tips to keep in mind when writing yours.
Keep it short and sweet
In general, resumes are suggested to be no more than one
page long. Remember – most hiring managers are spending less than 2 minutes reading
your resume. If it’s too long, they might not even make it to the second page.
Being able to condense all your information into one page also shows that you’re
able to make decisions about hierarchy of information importance.
There may be some exceptions – if you are applying to a very
high-level job and have many years of relevant experience, two pages may be
more acceptable. But in general, one page is considered to be best practice
across most industries.
Decide what’s really important
This goes hand-in-hand with the previous point, but on the
flip side as well. Don’t include everything that’s ever happened to you, even
if it keeps your resume under one page. For example, I used to be a waitress at
the American pancake restaurant IHOP. While I value the experience gained and
lessons learned, it’s not very relevant to the positions I’m interested in at
this point in my life. However, if I ever find myself interested in the food
service industry again, it might be something I would include. Be discerning
about your experience and the desired position.
Show the numbers
Any time you can discuss results you achieved in your previous
positions, it speaks to your previous success and suggests what you can
contribute to your new company. Any time you can include numbers, statistics,
or facts, it quantifies those achievements. Instead of generic statements,
include specifics such as these: “Closed support queue tickets within target timeframe
100% of the time,” or “Implemented new travel management tracking software,
saving $15,000 in overhead costs during initial 6 months.”
Fit the industry
When you’re applying for a creative role, such as an art director
or copywriter, it’s generally acceptable to let your resume show a bit of
personality. Using strategic pops of color or infographics would not seem out
of place; in fact, it might be an advantage for the hiring manager to see how
your creativity fits in with the company. However, if you’re applying for a
more corporate job, it’s probably a better idea to use a very structured,
buttoned-up format for your resume. You don’t want to stand out in a bad way!
Proofread
Just like we mentioned in a previous article about cover letters, it’s of the utmost importance to proofread. There’s nothing worse than sending off your resume – which you’ve worked so hard on, and are so proud of – to your dream job… and then finding a typo or grammatical error afterward.
There’s really no way to undo it, and all you can do is hope
that the hiring manager doesn’t notice it. But the unfortunate reality is that
many are looking for any reason to disqualify an applicant from the application
pool, and spelling errors are an easy way to narrow it down. After finishing
your resume, come back to it the next day with a fresh set of eyes. Have a
friend or family member read it, too.
Include contact information
You should always include your first and last name on your
resume – of course – because how else will they know it’s yours? You should
also include your phone number with area code (and country code if applicable),
full mailing address, and email address.
Many employers will make initial contact via email, so you want to make sure you have a “professional” email listed. If your everyday email is something like dance_gurl12345@gmail.com, you might think about using a different email address. Better yet, use an email provider like Gmail to create a brand new, professional email address. Ideally, it should be some variation of your name with minimal numbers.
Format appropriately
You want your resume to be visually appealing and organized
in a sensible way. It should flow well from top to bottom. However, that’s not
the only formatting you should think about. When including your resume file to
attach to an online job application or email, you’ll want to make sure you’ve
saved in an appropriate, efficient manner as well.
Saving your resume as a .PDF is a great way to make sure you don’t lost the integrity of the document when your file is being viewed on different computers or operating systems. Additionally, make sure you give the file a professional name, because the hiring manager will see it. John_Smith_Resume.pdf is a good example.
Resumes can be a complicated topic, but these tips should help to put you on the right track! Remember, at Brieffin we specialize in professional resume and portfolio design, so reach out to us if you need a hand getting started.
Our Moment of Bliss
“And the seasons will change us new” – Blind Pilot (3 Rounds and a Sound from 3 Rounds and a Sound album)
Join our playlist on Spotify and remember that your potential to succeed is infinite. Namaste.
All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on.
Havelock Ellis
In a previous blog post, I shared a story about a great social media interaction I had with a popular U.S. airline a few years ago. Today, I’m here to share a not-so-great story about that same airline.
I’ve been back in the U.S. for a visit, and I was flying
from my hometown of Kansas City to Spokane, Washington for a vacation, with a
short layover in Denver. Before even leaving Kansas City, I learned that my
connecting flight from Denver had been delayed three hours. I would be landing
in Spokane at 3 a.m. – which was 5 a.m. in my home time zone.
I was angry. I felt helpless. And when the flight attendant asked me what I wanted to drink, I had to stop myself from saying “An on-time departure from Denver, please.” Instead, I took a deep breath and politely ordered a Sprite.
Later, I decided to check the plane’s location and see how
much time until landing. When I looked at the map, the image I saw threw me for
another loop. Literally, the plane had made a looping zig-zag, and I could tell
we weren’t headed toward Denver anymore. Instead, we were backtracking away in
the opposite direction. Bad weather in the Denver area meant that we were being
diverted to Wichita to re-fuel – Wichita being a city I could have driven to faster.
I wasn’t sure if we’d even make it to Denver at all.
At some point, I finally started to understand: there was really nothing I could do. Confined to my window seat on that Boeing-737, all I could do was keep breathing and try to remember that there was nothing I could do. Really, the only option available to me was making peace with the fact that it was going to be a long night.
There are so many points throughout our lives – from plane rides, to the workplace – that we want to have control. We all have a deep need for control. We want things the way we want them, without other people meddling or messing things up for us. Not having control makes us feel insecure, uncomfortable, and threatened.
Most of us strive for that control, sometimes to the point of unhealthiness. This can be particularly true in career-focused societies, and even more so in the entrepreneurial lifestyle. When you feel entirely responsible for every aspect of your business, it’s especially hard to relinquish control in any capacity. Worst-case scenarios flash through your head.
According to Cheryl Cran, author of The Control Freak Revolution, you might have some control issues in your professional life if you answer yes to any of the following statements:
You’re proud of never taking vacation time.
You feel angry when others let you down.
You’re always “swamped.”
People ask you a lot of questions (because they’re afraid they’re not doing it right).
You actually believe that no one else can do what you do.
A lot of it comes down to the idea of trust. You may believe that you can’t trust anyone else as much as you trust yourself. This isn’t an inherently bad trait, but it certainly can lead to a lot of additional stress in the workplace.
Learning to delegate effectively is an art, and it may come more naturally to some people than others. But surrounding yourself with those you trust might help make the transition to delegation easier. Little by little, learning to lean on the people you trust can help alleviate some of the discomfort that comes along with feeling like you’re letting go.
At Brieffin, we also use the practice of mindfulness to guide our professional work. Being mindful of when we’re feeling “out of control” can also help to re-center us. It can turn an anxious feeling into an accepted one (even if it’s not entirely welcomed).
Even just acknowledging how you’re feeling can help take some of the feeling’s power away. Recognize that feeling without judging yourself. The need for control is not a character flaw or a weakness – it just is. When you’re not sure what to do, breathing more is always a good solution. Breathe and focus on what’s around you.
Mindfulness is about focusing on what’s real in the here and now. And while you can’t control everything – or, let’s face it, much of anything – in life, you can control your breathing.
And in the end, I was “lucky” that my flight to Spokane was
delayed. After arriving super late in Denver, I was still able to make my connecting
flight. And while the whole ordeal to get halfway across my own country took longer
than it would have for me to fly back to Madrid, I took a deep breath, stepped
off the plane, and felt grateful that I’d made it. Even if it was 3 a.m.
Our
Moment of Bliss
“Don’t know how to tell myself just stop, breathe.” – RKCB (Elevated from In Contrast)
Join
our playlist on Spotify and take a moment to just stop
and breathe. Namaste.
As
the technological landscape continuously changes, there are more and more
voices participating in the social space. Anyone with an internet connection
can write and publish anything at any time.
With this, social media has evolved from its original purpose. It’s more than just a place for friends and families to stay in touch. Instead, individuals and brands alike have the opportunity to share content. But with more voices comes more noise. Social media is sometimes seen as the void that internet users are shouting into. Everyone is saying something, but is anyone listening?
For this reason, social media sometimes gets a reputation for being superficial. But here at Brieffin, since we manage social channels for our industrial clients, we make a special effort to practice mindful social media. To us, this means designing and writing content with purpose. Purpose that meets our clients’ needs while also providing value to our audience.
In
each of our Brieffin blog posts, we include a song at the bottom: our moment of
bliss. Last week, I heard a song for the first time that really made me stop
and think. Of course, it’s included at the bottom of this week’s post. But let
me explain why I found it so interesting.
The song is called “Blood,” by the band ANIMA!. Its lyrics talk about the process of creating art and the struggle behind it. It made me think: the writing process that we go through when writing social media is similar. By that definition, does it mean that mindful social media is art?
Let’s
take a look at some of the lyrics and see if/how that pertains to social media.
“Art is a mean meditation, staring at a blank screen In between what we mean and the things we say.”
In
general, I think that most types of writing qualify as art. It’s a creative
practice. Anyone who has ever written something they cared deeply about has had
the experience of staring at that blank screen or blank page trying to find the
right words. Whether it’s poetry or social media, we often write with intention,
but that doesn’t always mean writing plainly. There’s a careful strategy to
everything.
“So I try to put a little piece of myself in Keep the pretty people listening.”
This first line relates very closely to what we firmly believe at Brieffin: that personality is an indispensable ingredient to any type of brand or social media strategy. Putting a piece of yourself into your message helps to humanize it, therefore connecting with your audience in an authentic way.
The
second line refers to the nature of performance when it comes to art. Painting,
sculpture, music, theater, dance, or social media – all are generally meant to
be public, made by varying degrees for audience consumption. For some of these,
such as social media, they wouldn’t really exist without that audience. Keeping
that audience in mind is crucial when creating that art form.
“Too many sides to a story, all these colors and shapes I’m afraid if I love it they won’t agree.”
When sitting down to create, design, or write, there’s a decision to be made about the art’s creative direction. With so many options, choosing the most meaningful and impactful way to tell the story can be overwhelming. Along with that, especially when you’re working with your audience in mind – whether that’s your client, the consumers, or both – you have to remember that it’s possible they won’t like what you came up with. It’s opening yourself up to be in that vulnerable position.
“Art is love, love is work It hurts to give yourself to it.”
Writing
has always been something I’ve loved doing. From the time I was young, I was always
writing – from stories and journal entries as a kid, to articles and campaign
strategy books as I got older. These days, I spend more time writing blog posts
and social media. But there are times that I work on a social campaign and feel
totally spent afterwards. Just because it may be a 280-character Tweet or an
Instagram post with emojis and hashtags, doesn’t mean that it wasn’t carefully
thought out, written with intention.
These
are only a few of the lyrics from this song, but just from these ones, I’ve
personally come to the conclusion that social media – mindful social media –
can be art.
If your business is looking for mindful social media content creation, or to take a more hands-on approach to your marketing strategy, get in touch with us. We’ll be here to help you however you need, to help you create social media art of your own.
Our Moment of Bliss
“Art is work, work is love, reminding us why we do it.” – ANIMA! (Blood from Art:Work)
True joy results when we become aware of our connectedness to everything.
Paul Pearsall
Social media users know the difference between a brand that engages with its consumers and one that doesn’t. Of those that engage, these social media interactions can make or break the associations that consumers have about your brand – positive or negative.
Although it may seem that negative interactions may have more lasting impacts, positive engagements can go further than you may think. In fact, these positive experiences can build a community of extremely devoted customers, who may be quite outspoken in their loyalty.
Here’s a personal example that I love to share:
I was once on a Southwest Airlines flight to San Francisco
with a short layover in Los Angeles. While I was on the flight to LA, I
received a courtesy text message notification that my flight to San Francisco
had been canceled.
I started to panic. My mother and I were meeting in San Francisco
for a weekend together, and I was afraid the trip was ruined. What if I couldn’t
get there?
Since I was cruising at 10,000 feet, I couldn’t call Southwest
to help me. I wasn’t able to rebook a new flight in my app. I had one option
left: I bought the $8 in-flight WiFi service and sent a desperate direct message
to Southwest on Twitter.
Within 45 minutes, a social media agent had responded, apologized for the inconvenience, booked me on the next available flight from LA to San Francisco, and checked me in for that flight.
By the time I touched the ground – as other passengers arrived
to the news that their ongoing flight had been canceled and took their places
in line at the customer service desk – I was ready to continue my journey,
stress-free.
This happened more than three years ago, but I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve spoken about Southwest’s fantastic customer service and recommended them to others. With that service they provided to me, they converted me into a fan for life.
Though not all brands are in industries that can provide that kind of save-the-day service, social media engagement can still go a long way with your target audience to create a community of loyal customers.
Here are some best practices when it comes to social media engagement.
1. Respond in an appropriate timeframe for your business.
According to a study by Lithium Technologies, 53% of social media users who tweet at a brand expect to receive a response within one hour; 72% expect that response in the same timeframe if it’s a complaint. This is especially true with time-sensitive issues such as a delayed or canceled flight.
However, if you’re like us and have a specialized industry – like industrial brands – a prompt response would most likely not be expected by your audience. If they’re asking a highly technical question about a piece of equipment, you as a social media manager may not be equipped to answer that question. In that case, it’s best to post an acknowledgement of the question and then get in contact with a specialist who can answer the question.
In these cases, don’t worry about speed – the quality of response is more important.
2. Talk with your audience, not at them.
Most young people – Millennials and Generation Z – don’t like being targeted by brands. They’d rather engage with you on their own terms. This is where alternative channels for content creation, such as blog posts, can be beneficial. Provide this audience with useful information without expecting anything in return, and you’ll gain their trust organically.
3. Share the good stuff.
When your consumers are happy and tag you in their social media posts, share it on your own channels! It’s basically free advertising. Whether it’s selfies with LOESCHE Mills or an excited customer that just received a long-anticipated delivery, sharing this consumer-created content shows that you care and you’re celebrating their positive experiences with them.
4. Don’t censor your users.
Some social platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, allow a brand to delete other users’ comments from their page. But the internet was meant for the freedom of expression, so instead of deleting a negative comment, think again about the best way to handle the issue. While not everyone may have the experience with your brand that you’re hoping for, attempting to silence those users reflects badly on your credibility.
5. Be authentic.
Some brands – particularly fast-food chains – have recently gone viral for their quick-witted humor and sarcastic clapbacks to consumers and other brands on social media. While some might enjoy this kind of social presence, others feel it gives an air of inauthenticity and “trying too hard.”
Remember to stay true to your brand’s voice. Consistency is important, and while your brand’s personality and tone may evolve over time, customers need to feel like they “know” you in order to feel a strong sense of loyalty.
Our world has always been about connectedness, and today’s technology allows us to connect in a different way, on a larger scale than ever before. By putting in the work to streamline your social media content efforts and engage with your consumers, everyone involved is able to benefit from this new form of connection – a true online community.
Our Moment of Bliss
“Life is a honeymoon phase.” – Shakey Graves (Kids These Days from Can’t Wake Up)
Join our playlist on Spotify and reconnect with your childhood space. Namaste.
Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.
– Franklin D. Roosevelt
Every message that we create carries an energy of its own. A power. We need to find the right avenue to get that message out.
Digital marketing is brimming with limitless possibilities for sharing and connecting with people both personally and professionally.
Some of us, however, find this wealth of options a bit overwhelming at times, leaving us unable to relish the online social experiences to the fullest. Burning us out.
When using social media as a means for branding and promotion, there is always uncertainty about how to work around a plan that won’t come off as compulsive, but steady enough to have a nice flow.
How much is “too much”? How little is “too little”?
There is no standard formula for every case. Every profile, every page, every user has a unique rhythm.
We are pulled in many directions with an unstoppable stream of information being shared. Specializing is always an option.
The style of each social network helps us to come up with a formula specially created for each piece of content and its goal. We can create an environment, a landscape, for our specific stories.
Not everything needs to be everywhere. Sometimes less is more.
We can feel lost at times. Where to start? What will work better here, or there? The truth is you never really know until it’s done. Social networking is about cooperation, feedback, action and reaction. Our audiences and communities will show us the way.
Being fully aware of this fact is how our experiences improve. It’s about producing, placing and receiving. Finding the ideal balance.
Our Moment of Bliss
“Do you remember when we were young. Life was so simple and we just had fun”. – The Wild Wild (When We Were Young from the EP Kids)
Join our playlist on Spotify and reconnect with your childhood space. Namaste.
Industrial social media specialists of the year 2020 - Spain
