Everyone has not-so-fun aspects of their job, even if they love it overall. For me, playing the part of “brand police” is up there with entering my time as one of those things that are the least fun parts of my job.

Who are the “brand police?” They are usually folks from the marketing department who visit your desk, pointer finger wagging, reminding you to use the proper brand colors for your company or to use the most up-to-date version of your corporate logo, and not the one you saved to your desktop three years ago. Playing brand police is a necessary evil.

I always feel like a nag when I play that role. Brand consistency is just one of those things that is not high on people’s priority list, especially if they need to get a flier out. Right. Now. It’s not fun to rain on someone’s parade and explain to them that using five different fonts and lots of exclamation marks in the same collateral piece is not a good idea.

In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it’s hard to find time to explain why. Why staffers should stick to the company’s color palette. Why you shouldn’t stretch out a logo to make it bigger. Why your company’s words should match its deeds. Why using so many exclamation marks is not a good idea!!!

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So, here is a semi-official edict from the Brand Police, on why brand consistency is important.

Establishes Trust and Authenticity

When a company delivers a brand experience consistently, the public learns what to expect from that company. Over time, this builds trust. If a company is flinging from one tactic to the next, with no clear unifying purpose, that company takes the risk of looking unfocused and unprofessional.

Sticking to a cohesive brand says something about who you are, that your brand is your corporate identity and not something that you created just for marketing purposes or because its trendy.

Builds Brand Equity

Over time, customers will get to know your company through your brand. Your brand will become synonymous with certain values and expectations. This brand equity will come in handy when you launch a new product or venture, or in some unlucky cases, when your company goes through a rough patch. Your brand is your reputation and at some point, you will need to trade on your reputation. Make sure you’ve built it up over time.

Provides Measurement Opportunities

This is true for any business initiative but especially for branding. How do you know if your efforts are working or not unless you implement your branding consistently over time? You can’t measure something that isn’t thoroughly implemented or implemented for a short period of time.

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Brand consistency is important. It helps to establish trust with your customers. It builds equity, which will come in handy one day when you need it. And it gives you the opportunity to measure its effectiveness.

I think that’s worth sticking with the right brand colors and a few less exclamation marks, don’t you?

If I were to google you right now, what would I find? What impressions would I form after viewing your professional history, your social media presence (or lack thereof), and your photos? Would I want to do business with you? Hire you? Befriend you?

Wakeup call, people … you’re being watched. It’s time to take control of your personal brand.

Say what?

Whether or not you identify it as such, you have a personal brand. Branding used to be reserved for businesses, but with the mushrooming social media landscape and the growing gig economy, the time has come to embrace personal branding.

A personal brand is how you present yourself to the world. It’s what you want people to know — who you are, what you think, what you stand for, and what makes you unique. Oftentimes, it’s the first impression someone will make of you.

So … yeah, it’s important. A strong personal brand establishes you as a thought leader in your industry, promotes your company (and your career), differentiates you from those who share your space, and allows you to build trust with those who seek you out.

Know thyself

Developing your personal brand starts with taking an objective look in the mirror. How would you describe yourself personally? Professionally? How would others describe you? Identify a handful of adjectives that feel like spirit words and make them your litmus test for everything you publish, post, share, comment on, and participate in. 

Find your niche. Solidify what sets you apart. And then run with it. It won’t happen overnight. It requires communicating your mission to your audience, in a genuine way, consistently and for the long-term.

Speaking practically

• Focus your branding. Share only what rings true. Posting just for the sake of posting is just noise.
• Deliver value to your audience. Make sure what you’re sharing is relevant to those you are talking to.
• Put the “social” in social media. Interact on the platforms where you live. Comment when you have something to say. Like when something rings true to you. Start a conversation.
• Share yourself with your audience. Give them a glimpse into your life and your soul. People want to know what makes you tick.
• Don’t live and die by your numbers. Having a gaggle of followers is fantastic, but are they your people? Are they engaging with you and furthering your brand?
• Lastly, and most importantly, make sure the on-line version of you matches the in-person version of you. Nobody likes a stepford wife. Don’t get caught up in what you think you should be – be authentic. 

If you’re not sure how to get there, give us a ring. We can help you hone your personal brand and show you how to rock it!

Blogs. Social media. Video. White papers. Infographics. All these things, and more, are content and can be used in content marketing. But what is the point of generating all this content?

The point is this: in an increasingly fractured media landscape, building an audience and a community around your company is one of the few ways to directly reach consumers. By giving them something of value, they will give you some of their attention.

Content marketing is about building trust. If consumers trust your company, they will be more likely to buy from your company.

Today’s consumer is used to doing their own research before they buy. According to a 2016 Demand Gen Report, 47% of buyers view 3-5 pieces of content before engaging with a sales rep. Wouldn’t you rather have one of those pieces of content be from you?

The Marketing Funnel is Changing Shape

The marketing funnel isn’t so much a funnel anymore as a flywheel. This Forbes article excerpt explains it best:

A change in mindset and a library of high-quality content will replace this traditional funnel with something more sustainable (and effective). The funnel is becoming more of an ongoing cycle that prioritizes continuous engagement over transactional relationships. This increased focus on nurturing, especially post-sale, makes customers more likely to stay with you or buy again — and more likely to give recommendations to friends and colleagues.

With content, you can transition your brand from vendor to partner. To be honest, someone else in your space can almost always come in and undercut you on price. But when you continuously engage your clients, build lasting trust, and form genuine partnerships, you’ll have much greater staying power.

The Oldest Content Marketer on the Block

Content marketing has been around for as long as there has been, well, content. One of the earliest, and in my opinion, one of the best content marketing examples is The Furrow magazine produced by John Deere.

What started out as an advertorial-driven publication turned into a beloved resource for generations of farmers. Today, The Furrow is a story-telling vehicle, with great photography and advice on how farmers can run their businesses.

And, there’s not much actual mention of John Deere. The Furrow is happy to be a trusted source for farmers, and in exchange, farmers let John Deere into their homes.

Fun With Fireworks

You don’t have to be the flashiest company on the block to use content marketing. Case-in-point, high-end cooler company Yeti. From the beginning, Yeti forged their own marketing path.

In addition to targeting “prosumers” with sponsored programming on hunting and fishing television stations, Yeti created a series of short video clips that put their product to the test. They pitted their coolers against a professional wrestler, a slingshot, and even fireworks.

Content marketing is usually educational. But it can be fun, too.

Canva is another great example of content marketing that takes care of the customer rather than pushing them through a funnel. Canva is a graphic design app that also publishes helpful content through their Design School blog and social media. They are a resource for their customers and earn their trust.

I used Canva when I was working in a job where I did not have access to Adobe products (the industry standard when it comes to graphic design.) I also tried out different software alternatives. Truthfully, if the Canva software didn’t work as well as it does, I might have gone with one of their competitors. But, Canva works well and it’s a great resource. So, I went with them.

Yes, eventually I moved on to Adobe products. But it certainly wasn’t because of price (graphic designers often call it the “Adobe Tax”). For a long time, I relied on Canva for graphic design basics and how-to information. And now, I tell anyone and everyone who needs graphic design software cheaply to try out Canva. I am no longer their customer, but I am an advocate for them.

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Content marketing is a slow roll. It’s like leaving a bread crumb trail for consumers to follow. Spread those bread crumbs around, make them irresistible. Everyone wants to be remembered, so tell your story.

To go along with our 8th Anniversary, which we are celebrating this month, here are eight marketing trends that are fast-becoming marketing must-haves. Are you taking every opportunity to build your audience?

1. Personalization

Personalization can take on many flavors. It can be as simple as including your customer’s first name in the salutation of an email. Or, a company can be very intentional about their website and lay out an easy-to-follow trail of digital breadcrumbs.

You don’t need to turn your supply chain inside out but do think about how you reach your customer at every touch point and ask, is this made for them?

2. AI

Speaking of personalization, Artificial Intelligence is going to make even more personalization options available. In fact, it already is – Amazon is a perfect example. When a customer logs into their Amazon account, the landing page is customized for them based on their past purchases and viewing history.

3. Live Streaming

Even in our hyper-connected world, people still long for connection. I think this partly explains the popularity of live streaming (also called live video). Conducting live streams with comments enabled can go a long way in building a relationship with your audience.

4. Visual Search

Human beings are visual by nature. So, it makes sense for people to want to search visually as well as with words. And the technology to do so is getting better and better.

Pinterest is a powerful example of this trend. For an interesting account of their pursuit of visual search technology (it all starts with an avocado, because of course it does), click here.

5. Voice Search

As we have talked about on this blog before, voice search is fast becoming a part of consumers’ everyday lives. Forty-one percent of adults use a voice- activated personal assistant at least once a day. Optimizing your website for voice search will become increasingly important.

6. Purpose & Emotion

The adage “people buy with their emotions and assign reasons to their actions later” is true. Nike, Tesla, Facebook. For better or worse, these companies have showed their purpose through their actions over the years. And customers have reacted.

What emotions do your customers associate with your company? What is your company’s purpose?

7. Experiential Commerce

Much has been made of the retail apocalypse. But, as TechCrunch argues, retail might not be experiencing The End so much as an inflection point.

Many wildly successful e-commerce businesses have opened physical stores in recent years – Amazon, Warby Parker, Casper, Glossier. It’s all about creating a seamless experience where a business can court a customer little by little. Retail stores are showrooms and experiences unto themselves, where customers can try before they buy.

8. Content marketing

Consider this: 47% of buyers viewed 3-5 pieces of content before engaging with a sales rep.

Content marketing isn’t going anywhere. The media market is fragmented, everyone is their own publisher. Now is the time for companies to build their own audience.

2019 will be all about a better customer experience with personalization, automation and AI-powered technology, so you need to be sure you are producing custom content to engage your targeted audience. Whether you’re considering incorporating these trends or you’ve already implemented and are evolving your use of them, we are here to help you incorporate them into your marketing plan.

As the leader of your brand, it is up to you to determine the vision for your business, you are also the business leader. You are mission-control to successfully making that vision materialize. Be responsible for recognizing – and deciding how best to overcome – the barriers to your brand’s success.

One of the most powerful (and responsible) things you can do as a business leader is to get out of your own way.

The business leader and/or business owner holds a tremendous amount of power. You can be your brand’s greatest asset and its biggest backer. Critical to your mission, however, is not to become a barrier yourself.

During a conversation with a business owner and CEO of a $50M+ company, the CEO relayed that his largest client could not implement the programs offered to them because the necessary departments were not communicating with each other.

To overcome this hurdle, the CEO stepped in to facilitate meetings and interactions between his client’s departments. However, he was not getting paid for that time and taking on that role took him away from his own responsibilities.

When asked to provide my advice to this dilemma, my answer was simple: Don’t attend the meetings. If he did not attend the meetings, others would be forced to take on rightful ownership of their responsibilities, freeing the CEO to focus on his own responsibilities.

Here are four things to consider as a business leader in order to get (or stay!) out of your own way:

1. Build boundaries and bridges. Don’t put yourself in situations to be the point person when it is not your role. If you consistently play a role not meant for you lines become blurry and you increase your risk of burnout. You also risk not having the time and/or resources you need to be successful. Build a good team – in-house and/or through outsourcing. Then take a step back and let them fulfill their own roles.
2. Do it, delegate it or delete it. Does your to-do list continue to have the same thing on it week after week? Yes? Figure out why. If it is something that requires YOUR attention, do it. If it needs to get done but someone can or should complete it, delegate it. Maybe circumstances make completing a task unrealistic, undesirable or unnecessary – then, delete it. Procrastination is a barrier to productivity and to creativity.
3. Find your joy. Focus on the good contributions. Perhaps you work with a client who is abrasive. Understanding that he or she has a difficult job can help you avoid taking things personally. Look at the good things you are doing in your own role and the positive things the company is doing. If you focus only on the negative or get upset over the same things on a weekly basis, you prevent yourself from seeing the positives of your own – and others’ – contributions.
4. Celebrate success and forget failure. Failure is a necessary part of the process. Expect it. Embrace it. Learn from it. As a leader, failure should be empowering. Don’t let it get you down. Stop and acknowledge when you overcome it.
   

If you can get out of your own way, you may be your brand’s greatest asset. We have built a strong team and could be a powerful ally. Give us a call.

I’m a mother to three kids firmly in the grip of teenage angst, so I frequently find myself talking to them about the importance of authenticity. Recently my youngest child said, “You keep using that word. But what does it mean EXACTLY?”

And that got me thinking. Authenticity IS a buzzy word, used frequently in many different contexts, which makes it easy for the concept to feel trendy and hazy. So since I’m a word girl, I consulted my dictionary to give me the word’s purest form:

authentic

adjective

not false or copied; genuine; real

Not false or copied. Genuine. Real. That’s pure gold, isn’t it? Authenticity is a buzzword for good reason.

We talk to clients all the time about authenticity in their branding and marketing. As the Chief Rocker would say, “It all begins with the brand.” And she is SO right! If the brand doesn’t feel real and natural, your audience won’t:

1. Know you.
2. Like you.
3. Trust you.

Authenticity is the new brand standard. The most authentic brands in the world are also the top brands, period.

So how do you build an authentic brand? Answer these questions:

Does your brand have conviction?

Your brand must stand for a specific promise, and everyone within your organization must believe that it’s important.

Does your brand have consistency?

Your brand must deliver on its promise at every touch point, every time. Your outreach efforts should be undertaken regularly and on schedule.

Does your brand have connection?

Your brand must be relevant and persuasive to your target audience, or your message is falling on deaf ears. Establishing an emotional connection with your people is key.

If the answer to these three questions isn’t a resounding YES, give us a call. We can show you how to rock your brand authentically!

“One of the greatest rock songs ever written is ‘Stairway to Heaven’ [by Led Zeppelin]. ‘Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run, there’s still time to change the road you’re on.’ So, whatever’s wrong, whatever’s not working out, whatever you’re not happy with – in yourself or a situation – take the initiative and fix it.” – Shaun Breidbart, comedian and executive director, The Ivy League of Comedy

As you choreograph your brand’s 2019 marketing plans, press pause if the same old song and dance is on repeat – particularly in the following four areas. A remix (and the addition of instrumental help) may be your brand’s ticket to achieving rock star status.

1. “Let it Go.” Turn Over Control of Social Media.

Time is money. Social media marketing isn’t just about increasing sales. It is storytelling. It is about consistent connection with your target audience. For social media to truly boost your brand, dedicated time to engage with your audience regularly – in real time – is crucial. You can’t press pause for vacations, trade shows or weekends.

Mistakes are costly. Social media management is customer service. In the absence of a solid social media strategy – and someone experienced to execute it – mistakes are likely. Poor customer service leads consumers to give brands the freeze-out.

The person/company managing your brand’s social media is its agent, tour manager and promoter all rolled into one. Outsourcing those managerial duties gains you an experienced professional who knows the ins and outs of social media.  This frees you up to focus on other areas of your performance.

2. “What are You Waiting For?” Take the marketing plan off the back burner.

Leaders must understand the importance of brand marketing. As we’ve said before, we love partnering with business leaders on single release initiatives. But to avoid being a one-hit wonder, a brand needs a solid marketing plan to complement their strategic plan.

If the creation or implementation of a marketing plan is left “Standing Outside the Fire” you will have no plan. If you have no plan, you will have no direction. Without direction you won’t have consistency – leaving your brand running “Against the Wind” to build consumer trust.

3. “Breakaway.” Transform garage band marketing to unique, memorable content.

Having a website is great, but customers believe “What You Get Is What You See.” Are you getting the veto vote because your marketing is lacking? How do you look when going up against competition? Are potential clients trying unsuccessfully to validate you?

Bands wanting to become famous must promote themselves to make the right connections to boost their profile. Likewise, your marketing must make meaningful connections to your brand. You can bang those drums “All Night Long” but that alone won’t help you advance. You must have someone in your corner to successfully influence the interest of others.

4. “Shake It Off.” Say Goodbye to Gmail.

Excellent email communication is now a required piece of good customer service. Here are 3 reasons you should say goodbye to Gmail:

• Your email address and content represent ‘how you look’ in the online world. Having a business email address with your company’s domain name is judged as professional. Business emails sent through Gmail raise doubts about your credibility.
• An email account contains confidential business information. Using Gmail does not afford you the luxury of controlling whether employees utilize that information appropriately.
• Gmail does not allow you to integrate your brand’s logo and colors to your email messages to make them more consistent and memorable. This renders it ineffective as a marketing tool.

You are “The Leader of the Band.” No one knows your brand better than you. It is ultimately up to you to determine your vision and whether your current track is helping that vision materialize. We are here to help you rock!

Frequently, we ask a potential client what their marketing budget is in an effort to better understand what resources we will use to meet branding and marketing goals.

And regularly, we hear, “What should our marketing budget be?”

We are already two weeks into Q1, so let’s talk about your marketing budget. Total marketing budgets are on the rise (yay!) and are at 7 – 12% of total gross revenue. If one of your resolutions this year is to grow your small to mid-size business, let’s rock.

Here are four things to remember when formulating your marketing budget:

1. Small businesses should budget 7 – 8% of gross revenues for marketing in order to compete against larger companies.

2. Track your marketing budget and results monthly – at a minimum. If you consistently track your results you will be better able to adjust your marketing spending over time to spend smarter, not harder.

3. Increase the budget for new product launches. Keep track of what you make on the product and tweak as needed to cover the marketing costs and increase profit from sales.

4. One size does not fit all. While the latest Forrester Research report projects that digital marketing spending will make up 44% of all ad spend, this number can vary depending on a variety of factors including industry, growth plans and local market.

As you create your marketing budget this year, don’t start with the tactics. Develop a defined marketing budget to support a marketing plan with measurable goals and a sound strategy.

Any good marketing plan wouldn’t be complete without the inclusion of some event marketing as part of the mix. Hosting an event allows you to reach people personally, build a relationship, and increase brand loyalty.

I love a good analogy, and I liken running an event to conducting a symphony. A symphony needs a strong conductor to unify performers, set the tempo, and control the pacing of the music. It needs a strong and diverse instrumental ensemble to provide a beautiful, multi-layered performance. And it needs a captivating musical score that sets the tone and crescendos in spectacular fashion.

Planning and executing a successful event lies in these details:

Crystallize Your Vision

Start by “scoring” your event. Identify your audience, define your message, and determine the experience you want to provide. Having a clear vision is important, because all the smaller event details and decisions will flow from it.

Logistics Follow

Your “score” will inform your logistical decisions. Choose a venue, food, music, entertainment, format and feel in keeping with your vision. Stay true to the experience you want to provide and these decisions will flow easily.

Choose Your Partners Wisely

Ensure the professional  partners you choose to assist you are on board with your vision. Your caterer, photographer, videographer, etc. should be well versed in what your plans and expectations are for the event.

Plan and Train

Plan everything, down to the minute. Have a schedule and a timetable. Ensure that your “orchestra” understands their roles from beginning to end. Identify your transition times, your presentation times, time spent ramping up and time spent winding down. It’s all important. Extremely important.

We love planning and executing events for our clients. Most recently, it has been our privilege to partner with Practice Ministries in order to “Set the Table” for the future success. We look forward to delivering an exceptional experience to their attendees bright and early on Thursday morning!

Do you need some help planning an event? Come see us on the Porch!

Everything is bigger in Texas! This includes the opportunities for small business owners and entrepreneurs to network and learn from each other. One of these opportunities – the Governor’s Small Business Women’s Forum – was recently held locally in partnership with the National Association of Women Business Owners, Arlington Chamber of Commerce and Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County.

There, as part of a digital marketing panel alongside other local business owners (including Kalyn Asher, president of our fabulous client Asher Media, Inc.), I had the honor of presenting tips from the Porch on integrating your digital marketing with your brand strategy. Now, I get to share them with you rockin’ readers, too!

Brand Identity

1. First, build a strong brand identity. The foundation of your brand strategy is your brand architecture.

Brand architecture is built on the following pillars:

• Vision – Determine who you are and who/what you aspire to be as a company.
• Personality – The human personality traits that describe how you want to be known.
• Positioning – The place your brand occupies in the mind of your target audience.
• Affiliation – What you want other people to think of and associate with your company.

Strong brands have three main attributes. We like to call them “The Three C’s”:

• Connection – Brands that cultivate loyalty connect with their target audiences. Consumers care about what your brand stands for.
• Conviction – Everyone in the company needs to believe that the brand is important.  They need to know that the company brand stands for a specific and important promise. Company leaders need to understand the brand, articulate it clearly and champion it internally.
• Consistency – Brand consistency equals earning consistency. Be consistent with your look and message. Deliver on your brand promise at every touch point.

Content is Key

2. Create quality, engaging digital content. The foundation of your digital marketing strategy is having content you can utilize consistently as part of your overall brand strategy.

Another key thing to remember are the three “C’s” of content. Your digital marketing content should be:

• Customized. According to The Content Council, 61% of consumers say they feel better about a company that delivers custom online content.  Also, they are more likely to buy from companies that deliver customized content. Nielsen’s 2018 Total Audience Report shows American adults spend nearly half of their day online looking at content. Most consumers liked custom content for brand engagement. Know your audience. Use the power of personalization to your advantage.
• Creative. Create customized content. Keep your content consistent in your brand guidelines but try to push the boundaries of your brand and voice.
• Cohesive. The customized content you create should be repurposed across platforms and networks.  But remember, repurposed does not mean identical.  Your content should not look the same or say the same thing across different channels.

Don’t Forget Email Marketing

3. Finally, do not underestimate the power of email marketing. It is cost-effective and allows you to easily create different journeys for different groups content-wise.

Customize your email content so that it is personal.  This goes beyond simply including users’ names.

Make your marketing emails skim-friendly. Emails should have a clear call to action and purpose. The less effort and time required for interaction, the better.

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In conclusion, if you want to rock a bigger, better brand, start with a strong foundation. Integrate your customized, creative and cohesive digital marketing to connect with your audience.  Remember: Consistency is key.