This is the time of year when I start thinking about goals and what I want to accomplish next year.  As I look through my goals, I realized a few things I want to remember in 2022:

Maybe You’re Already Reaching Your Goals

When I look at the life “buckets” I want to work on next year, I realized that a few of them, namely learning and socializing more, can be knocked out with my participation in Junior League.  Junior League offers members classes (we call them trainings) in all sorts of topics, everything from healthy eating to stress management to book clubs to special movie screenings. Each member also must volunteer as part of their commitment to Junior League, where I see old friends and meet new people.  It turns out, I have been accomplishing this goal all this time. Maybe you’ve been accomplishing your goals too without realizing it, you’ve just been accomplishing them within the context of what you’re already doing day-to-day.

Productivity Can’t Be Your Only Goal

Productivity is a great economic measure.  It’s not so great for measuring humanity. 

I had an epiphany one day, while bemoaning my lack of productivity.  I remember being so much more productive early on in my career. And then I thought, “Wait a minute.  I am doing work that is completely different from the work I used to do.” My work now is more strategic and graphic design takes time.  And that’s a good thing – it means I am advancing in my development rather than just churning out tactical stuff.

Seasons Change. So Should Your Goals.

Before you start trying to squeeze just one more task into your day, ask yourself, “Have my circumstances changed?  Has my career changed?” I bet you the answer is yes and yes. 

The past two years have been a doozy, for a lot of people.  I’ve had friends who have lost jobs and started new ones, go through heart-breaking loss, or take on more care-taking duties at home.  Considering all of these, its understandable that people would want to cut back in one aspect of their lives to pour more into another part.

Which brings me to…

Be Kind to Yourself

Something Julie reminds us of, especially when things are tough, is that we should give the other person grace.  We should give ourselves grace.  Be a little kinder.  Be the light.

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Perhaps instead of New Year’s resolutions or goals, I should keep these three realizations in mind and make them my themes for the year:

• Sometimes you can reach your goals without inventing a whole new set of actions to reach them.  What goals can you stack together?  How can you accomplish your goals within the context of your everyday? For example, if your goal is to exercise more in the new year and spend time more time with your kids, maybe a family stroll after dinner or a weekend bike ride might get you closer to your goal.

• Don’t do #allthethings.  Do #therightthings. Change up your to-dos in accordance with the seasons of your life.  Sometimes your home life will ask more of you than your work life and vice versa.  Sometimes your volunteer obligations will take over your life for two weeks straight.  Give yourself leeway to accommodate all the aspects of your life when they need to be addressed, not year-round.

• Be kind to yourself.  In the grand scheme of things, we are on this planet for only a moment.  Let’s make it a good one.

How do you describe a mom who is ready to re-enter the workforce and the marketing world after spending the past two years almost exclusively at home with toddler twins? Nervous. Excited. Anxious.

Will my sleep-deprived brain remember what to do? The marketing world is so fast-paced – is my skill set still relevant? How will I juggle all the things? As the self-doubt crept into my brain, I sat down to make a list. What do I need to do to be successful in my next workforce venture?

Ready to e-enter the workforce? Prioritize. Then, prioritize. And prioritize again.

Make a daily to-do list. First, what has to be accomplished today? Second, what can wait until tomorrow if the day doesn’t go as planned?

Set an alarm, and don’t hit snooze.

Whenever possible, wake before the rest of the house. Enjoy an early morning workout, or get a head start on work. Maybe drink a cup of coffee in silence. Then, get yourself mentally prepared for the day ahead.

Always prep the night before.

School lunches, snacks, clothes – the list goes on. Nothing is worse than waking up to realize ALL THE THINGS need to be done. So doing them the night before relieves this particular anxiety.

Learn to say ‘No.’

There are only 24 hours in a day. It’s ok to politely say no, I don’t have the bandwidth for that project or school activity.

Ask for help.

You can’t do it all, and you shouldn’t have to.

Re-enter the workforce by refreshing your marketing skill set.

Learn something new! Take a social media course. Or, follow a new marketing blog. Perhaps do a tutorial or a webinar.

These are just a few of the things that made it onto my growing list. After a few sleepless nights making this list, I then realized it was missing something very important. Probably the MOST IMPORTANT!

**Choose an employer who values my commitment to my family as much as my commitment to my job.**

Because the truth is without this, I can do all of the other things extremely well and still be unsuccessful when I re-enter the workforce. Since this item became super important on my list, another more meaningful list emerged describing this dream-employer.

• Choose an employer who doesn’t care when I clock in and out.
• Stick with an employer who understands life happens. Sick kids happen. Doctor’s appointments, house and car emergencies, and extracurricular activities all happen too.
• Work for an employer who values what I bring to the table, and my encourages my professional development.
• Value an employer who values me as a person. This would be an employer who cares what is happening in my life and wants me to be as successful at home as I am on the job.

At the end of the day, valued and trusted employees are happy. They do great work. And, they tend to stay at their jobs. It doesn’t matter if that work is getting done at 8:00 am or 8:00 pm.

I’m happy to say I have found that employer with Front Porch Marketing.

I’m new to the team, but I can’t express how excited I am about this opportunity to re-enter the workforce.

I want to do great work for myself, my team, and my clients, but Front Porch understands I’m a mom first. And with that, every day comes with lots of unexpected twists and turns. Is it going to be hard? Yes. Will it mean some late nights and early mornings? Sure. But moms tend to just figure things out. Woman-owned companies get things done! So, pour me another cup of coffee because I’m ready!

GenZ is Up and coming

Learn GenZ marketing strategies to market to this up and coming group as they become more involved in the economy. They use social media apps to shop, care more about knowing a brand and what they stand for, and are more receptive to different marketing strategies. As a member of GenZ myself, I know the in’s and out’s of how members of my generation think and shop. I also know what types of marketing they are the most drawn to.

Social Media Changes Everything for GenZ Marketing Strategies

What differentiates GenZ from prior generations is that we have grown up in a world where technology is changing by the year. We have used social media to our advantage, especially in terms of purchasing products or familiarizing ourselves with brands. According to a Forbes article, 95% or GenZ consumers use social media as their top source of shopping inspiration; 65% use social media to find entertaining content; and 61% are specifically interested in watching more video content. The most common social commerce platforms for GenZ are Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest. These apps are leading the way because of their easy checkout process, limited distractions, and ability to explore other recommended brands. Also, many members of GenZ will purposefully like and follow appealing brands so the algorithm will recommend similar brands.

Brands Have to Speak Up

Another thing about GenZ is that most of us are unafraid to take a stand about issues that matter to us. Especially in light of the coronavirus pandemic and black lives matter movement upwards of 78% of GenZ’ers have said that these events have shaped their worldview. Brands remaining neutral on these issues are no longer an option. GenZ’ers are becoming more and more reluctant to purchase from brands who do not present a stance on major world events. Additionally 79% of GenZ agreed that companies behaving more sustainably has become more important since the pandemic. This generation has an attitude that can change the world for the better and want brands to do the same.

New GenZ Marketing Strategies

GenZ kids are more receptive to video media and get their product recommendations from different places. Social media influencers have played a huge role in marketing and GenZ are very receptive to this tactic. Influencers will show off their favorite products routinely on social media and because they have built trust with their audiences, Generation Z’ers are more likely to purchase a product if a trusted influencer recommends it. Also, a brands social media aesthetic and presence are crucial. I can attest to the fact that a brands Instagram feed/aesthetic is one of the main attention grabbers for me which ultimately could lead to me following or purchasing from them.

The Change Upon Us

Businesses will have to adjust their marketing campaign tactics if they want to keep up with GenZ. They demand more from businesses in terms of usability, online presence, and advocation. Social media is playing a bigger role than ever before and change is definitely upon us.

Your brand has a voice.

As your brand’s marketer, you have control over whether that voice builds your brand or not. A strong brand voice is the structure and tone of the copy and content that is created for a brand to speak from. You can hear this voice on its website, ads, social and in collateral. With consistency, a brand can feel like a person. And over time that person can become familiar and even recognizable. That’s when you know you’re doing it right.

Why does brand voice matter?

First, a part of your initial branding exercise, your brand might have completed something similar to what we call The Brand Elaborative. This branding document outlines the personality of the brand. This helps writers write in that voice when creating copy for digital and traditional marketing and advertising. One of the most important parts of The Brand Elaborative are the three personality words that describe the brand as if it were a person. For instance: honest, kind, quirky. So why does having a distinctive brand voice matter to your brand?

Brand voice drives consistency.

Our B2B client Agile Sourcing Partners specializes in helping gas and electric utilities and utility infrastructure companies improve operational efficiencies and performance. So, they speak in an authoritative voice with above average complexity of language. Given that their audience are decision-makers in engineering and other technical industries, it makes sense for them to speak the language of their peers. Thus, using this consistent voice in content sets them apart as insiders: educated and in-the-know.

Brand voice helps you discern what copy hits the mark – and what misses.

Our restaurant client Chocolate Angel Café & Bakery is a local favorite for cross-generational high teas, exquisite baked good and charming family recipes. They believe in serving one another and understand that relationships matter. Thus, their brand voice is connective, celebratory and conjures up memories of childhood. They express gratitude often, and make every day feel like a special occasion. So it’s no wonder they’re a favorite for bridal showers and family celebrations. If it sounds like your great aunt reminiscing about a casserole, then we’ve hit the mark.

Brand voice creates fans.

Our education client Faith Family Academy, a charter school in DFW believes in pushing public education beyond just the classroom. They speak in servant leader’s voice. FFA makes students the center of attention, celebrating wins and putting every effort possible into their individual and collective success. The social media channels for Faith Family Academy are a testament to this brand voice in creating fans. In both English and Spanish their fans celebrate right along with the students, staff and parents. The FFA community adds congratulatory comments and a plethora of emojis on a daily basis. So who wouldn’t want to be part of this kind of enthusiasm, joy and experience of being lifted up by your community?

Brand voice can make your brand the authority on subject matter.

Our real estate client The Slay Diaz Group is a woman-owned residential real estate team who regularly wins “best-in-class” awards for their work. As a result, their voice is very real, straightforward, easy-to-understand and ready to give helpful advice on everything home-related, even sharing their coveted list of service providers. This is who you ask when you don’t know if remodeling your bathroom is a good idea or not. And, this is who can tell you if now is a good time to sell your house, put in a pool or move to a new neighborhood. Their consistent brand voice has grown their business, their reach and their authority on the subject of residential real estate.

Brand voice lets people know what you stand for.

Our own brand voice here at Front Porch Marketing tells you that we will go the extra mile to help. That we share what we know without reservation. And that we will be your biggest cheerleader. We stand for lifting you up, making you laugh and creating opportunities for others to do the work they love while taking care of the people they love. If your brand has a mission, shouldn’t all of your content reflect that mission? We think that your brand voice can show your potential customers that you are like them – kind, helpful, positive – and they will want to hang around with people like that.

Need to define or redefine your brand voice for better consistency and stronger connections with your audience? Then get started with a branding exercise which results in the guidance documents you need to hone your tone and define your voice. Consumers actually prefer brands with strong, defined and unique personalities. And having a unique personality definitely helps in creating spot-on social content, email storytelling and website visuals for your brand – which results in stronger brand loyalty and repeat customers.

You can visit some of our Front Porch client brands to see different types of brand voice in action.

Marketing meeting must-haves. What are they?

If you’ve ever sat through a meeting and walked out wondering what its purpose was or why you were there, then you know you don’t ever want to be the host of such an event. The must-haves must have been missing. Must-haves are important, and this is especially true in marketing where people expect you to get their creative juices flowing from the start of the meeting. To help you avoid being a bad host, here are eight must-haves for hosting your next marketing meeting – and making it successful.

Meet only when necessary.

If something can be easily covered via e-mail, it should be. 

A prepared – and shared! – agenda is the best start.

An advance agenda helps set the tone of the meeting, lay out the goals, and allows people to budget their time, as well as prepare responses. Be sure to include time for brainstorming!

Begin with the end in mind.

Know what you are trying to accomplish during your meeting. This is not a status conference. The goals need to be clearly defined so that they can be addressed and accomplished.

Keep meetings small.

The smaller the group, the better the collaboration. Amazon’stwo-pizza team rule for productive meetings is well-known and highly successful. The idea is that the group must be small enough that two pizzas can feed all attendees. This keeps ideas from being drowned out by too many voices.

Keep your marketing meeting short.

Be respectful of people’s time. No more than an hour – half an hour is even better.

Keep it simple.

Use pictures. Charts. Demonstrations. Content is king in marketing meetings too so make them compelling and focused, but not overwhelming.

Keep distractions out.

Set a no-computer rule and declare phones emergency-only devices.

Keep it interesting.

You don’t want a boring, tedious marketing meeting.  For instance, kick off the meeting in a fun way to grab their attention.

At a kick-off marketing meeting, for a client in the concrete industry, we needed to explain to the team that their audience didn’t know the difference between cement and concrete. How did we capture their attention? Cake batter. We demonstrated the difference in simple, relatable terms – without using engineer-speak.

Cement was represented as a box of cake batter. Concrete was then explained as the combination of the box of batter plus all other ingredients – resulting in a cake. This simple demonstration of making a cake in the meeting got the team’s attention, engaged their imaginations and helped them understand how their audience thought of them. Plus, CAKE!

Marketing Meeting Must-Haves are a Must

Well-organized marketing meetings can be great for productivity, team building, and brand development. Keep these marketing meeting must-have tips in mind so all you have to worry about is getting those creative juices flowing to rock your next marketing meeting.

Do you think you need a marketing audit? We’ve said it before, and we will say it a million times over – consistency in marketing equals recognition. You have to be consistent in your branding across all channels and materials. You also have to be relevant to your audience in the current marketing climate. 

There is a simple solution to ensure your marketing materials are current, accurate, and consistently following your branding guidelines – an audit of your marketing materials.

What is a marketing audit?

A marketing audit is designed to make sure your materials are aligned with your goals via a review (or creation of!) your brand’s marketing plan. It is a fabulous way to keep you on pace in the marketing marathon.

Here are five reasons you may need a marketing audit:

1. It has been a hot minute. Maybe you’ve never done an audit of your marketing materials or perhaps it has been a long while since your last one. If it has been a year since your last audit, it’s time to rock one!
2. Demand shifts. Products and/or services routinely go in and out of style. Your offerings need to be effective based on current supply and demand fluctuations.
3. Products or services have changed. If you’ve added or removed products and/or services, your marketing materials need to reflect those changes.
4. Competitive changes. This is one area you absolutely want to make sure you’re keeping up with the Joneses. You don’t want stale messages to hold your brand back while your competitors offer fresh and inspiring marketing.
5. Contact information updates. If your address, phone, website or e-mail has changed, your marketing materials need to as well. If you’ve added – or need to add – a social media presence then your marketing needs to reflect that, too.

The market is constantly evolving and changing. Don’t let the materials designed to boost your brand get behind the times. A marketing materials audit gives your brand the boost it needs to keep rocking. Give us a call – we’re always ready help your brand reset and refresh.

Seamless, sharp, and sophisticated. That is the vision that Front Porch Marketing has for you and your brand as we share why you should style your Instagram highlights.

With the right color scheme, design, and icons, you can drive more views and engagement with your Instagram bio at little to no cost.

If you are looking for a push to execute this vision and wow your audience the next time, they see your page, this is the blog for you!

The Vision

When you open up your company’s Instagram page, what is the first thing you see? Most likely, your eyes go to the colorful posts or maybe a bold profile picture with a strong branding icon, but acting as an overlooked middleman is a row of highlight icons. Currently, there may be as little as 0 or as many as 100 on your page – the sky is the limit.

Truly, the only limit that is regarded is that only up to 100 pictures can be posted within a story highlight, but highlights – much like a reel – should be seamless, sharp, and sophisticated and not fragmented, sloppy, and cluttered. Most importantly, they should be an extension of your brand’s story.  

The Highlight

Many take a lot of time and effort to create the perfect “story” to post on Instagram. Whether it includes colorful gifs, a unique poll, engaging videos, or a giveaway you are extending a vision to viewers about your brand and its values. What is disheartening about all that time and effort is that it dwindles in significance alongside the 24-hour frame that stories are set on. Plus it requires the utmost strategic thinking.

Now, with story highlight reels you are able to make the stories on your Instagram stay permanently on your profile for viewers to enjoy at any given moment. By adding this extra step to your Instagram branding strategy, you are able to strategically use a prime location on your bio and create an immediate place of engagement with users.

Step 1: Be Seamless

What is great about engagement is that you can cast the vision for what viewers see and find different ways to resonate with them. For example, aesthetics are incredibly favored amongst millennials and are a growing target market for many companies. Thus, considering aesthetics on all social media platforms allows you to connect with this audience and others like it.

To create a seamless experience for users, use highlights to promote content that can showcase your products or services, express your brand, drive traffic and market your business. If your profile has bold colors, seamlessly transition the same color palette to your story highlights while also extending a nod to your brand as a whole. If your posts have a color scheme, extend it to your highlight to establish immediate brand recognition or go with a splash of color to draw in your audience with a double look. No matter what you choose, think about your brand as a whole and embody that within your highlight story covers – the first picture that viewers see on a highlight reel.

Step 2: Be Sharp

When it comes to your story highlight covers, always use high-definition content and think “succinct” when it comes to titles. There is a 10–11 character count rule of thumb when it comes to highlight covers. The more characters you use, the higher the chance that your highlight title will end up with an ellipsis instead of the word you were trying to promote. Whether you use CTA words like “events,” “promotions,” “sales,” or “giveaways,” be consistent and above all, do not be misleading in any way.

Step 3: Be Sophisticated

Last but not least, when it comes to Instagram story highlights create a look of sophistication. By using sites like Canva, Unsplash, and/or Pinterest, there are 100’s of highlight cover designs that are pre-made and ready to go at a moments notice for you and your company. No matter if you choose icons, HD pictures, graphic designs or a color palette, always keep your brand at the forefront.

In Conclusion

First, to bring your Instagram to the next level, revamp the look of your Instagram’s aesthetics with a seamless, sharp, and sophisticated look. Second, when it comes to highlight covers think about what story you want your viewers to plug into. Third, see your platform through the viewers eyes to see which highlights you want them to engage with first.  In summary, bring the middleman to the forefront.

Chances are you have seen a post or two about what days and what times are the best for posting on social media. And in fact, they are all probably right, and probably wrong. You see, the best time and place for YOUR social media is totally dependent upon your followers.

Short Cuts to an Optimal Social Media Time and Place Posting Schedule

What people want is a quick fix to their social media. A set-it-and-forget it system that they can follow that requires the least amount of work. But social media is not a broadcast channel like television, radio, or a print ad. Social media is supposed to be SOCIAL. Your social media channels are the place where you can actually have one-on-one conversations with people who love your brand already. How do you know they love you already? They’ve chosen to follow you, haven’t they? So talk with them when they are sitting there ready to have that conversation.

Sure, there are general guidelines for posting on social media channels, many of which have to do with putting yourself in someone else’s shoes for a moment. When are people most likely scrolling thru Instagram? What are people doing on their lunch break besides eating? (hint: scrolling thru Instagram) What’s the last thing that people do before they go to sleep at night, while they’re laying in bed? (another hint: scrolling thru Instagram) You get the picture. So how do you determine what social media channels and times are the best for your brand? When can you maximize a conversation with your followers going forward? The short answer is “the past”.

The Right Channel for Your Social Media

Each social media platform has a specific and different purpose. By offering a little bit different perspective and content on each channel of social media (instead of using the channels to broadcast like a tv or radio station) a company can show their many sides and offer a more nuanced look at their company, much like you would develop a friendship with a real person and grow to appreciate the many facets of their personality. So after you’ve given your social media channels a spring cleaning, start looking at your analytics.

Social Media Analytics

Every platform you post on for your brand has some form of analytics. You can see a surprising amount of information about your followers in the insights part of your dashboard, whatever the platform. One of the most valuable pieces of information in there is when your followers are on the platform. Start there. Your followers might be the breakfast crowd, in which case 6:15 – 8:30am is a good time for you. Maybe your followers are night owls in which case, program your posts (or manually post them) after 9:00pm.

With 63% of American users checking Instagram at least once a day, and 74% of American users checking Facebook once a day – according to Hootsuite – , you’re sure to find at least one and probably more than one heavy use time in your follower insights.

Scheduling platforms like Hootsuite, Buffer and Planoly make it even easier – they look at the analytics of your followers and tell you the best times to post without the research. Taking advantage of these low-cost automation platforms can save you valuable time, so you can concentrate your efforts on content creation.

Past Performance

Look at your social media feed on any channel as an indicator of what to post in the future. Which posts did well? What type of content got the most likes or comments? Do more of that. Look to your past performance to guide your future endeavors.

What are your competitors doing?

Competitive research is not just for branding and creative. Take a look at what your competitors are posting – what, when and where – when you’re setting up your optimal schedule. Look for patterns in not just your own feed, but in the similar feeds of your competitors and do more of what they are doing the best.

Post, Rinse, Repeat

Testing your content in different forms and at different times will also provide key insights when scheduling the best times and places for your social media as part of your content marketing plan. There is no one-size-fits-all best time solution that will fit every grand, as your brand’s best time and best platform are just as unique as your branding.

With a little effort upfront, you can glean insights into your audience that will not only increase your engagement, but actually help your followers even more. They have questions they want answered and you have the answer – so use the information that is readily available and answer that question sooner.

The Pinnacle Moment

If you had to think of a pinnacle moment with the C.E.O.S. in your life, what does that look like?

Does it center around an act of kindness that was fueled by previously voicing a need? Providing a spectacular purchasing process because you answered all of the customer’s questions? Or simply, being affirmed by a team leader for a job well done?

Through each of these experiences, the space to have a conversation was created.

The Pinnacle Question

Celeste Headlee, award-winning journalist, professional speaker and best-selling author of We Need To Talk: How To Have Conversations That Matter, is notorious for creating these spaces with people and raises an important question in 2016 that is still relevant today.

 “Is there any 21^st century skill more important than being able to sustain coherent, confident conversation?”

To put it simply, no.

Headlee believes that in order to hone this skill people need to engage in “honesty, brevity, clarity and a healthy amount of listening.”

Yet, sadly, this skill has been greatly inhibited by a highly polarized culture. One that is constantly driven by the need to speak with the intent to be heard instead of speaking with the intent to listen.

This egotistic intent, where the focus is on oneself instead of others, has created an unbalance that Headlee hopes to restore to balance.

“A conversation requires a balance between talking and listening, and somewhere along the way, we lost that balance.”

This unbalanced, polarized culture is fueled by the most trivial of issues from politics to entertainment. Nowadays people are so passionate for or against a side that the idea of compromise has become pointless to them.

“Pew Research did a study of 10,000 American adults, and they found that at this moment, we are more polarized, we are more divided, than we ever have been in history.”

Although this study seems daunting and irrevocable, Headlee’s decades of professional speaking experience allowed her to create a framework that will help renew the balance and bring people back to the roots of speaking with the intent to listen.

Headlee’s 10 ways to have a better conversation:

1: Don’t multitask. Be present.

2: Don’t pontificate. Enter each conversation with the assumption that you have something to learn.

3: Use open-ended questions. Find out the five W’s: Who? What? Where? When? Why?

4: Go with the flow.

5: If you don’t know, say that you don’t know.

6: Don’t equate your experience with the other person’s experience. All experiences are individual.

7: Try not to repeat yourself.

8: Stay out of the weeds. Focus on the root of the story not the trivial points.

9: Listen.

10: Be brief.

Although 10 rules seems like a lot to remember, Headlee states that if a person takes the time to master even one of these rules that they will be skilled enough to create a space to enjoy better conversations with coworkers, friends, and team members.

Conclusion

Whether you use one or more of these rules, Headlee’s TED Talk boils down to this, “Go out, talk to people, listen to people, and, most importantly, be prepared to be amazed.”

I am truly amazed each day by the people in my life and grateful for the conversations that have made me into the person I am today.

My hope for you, is that this framework will help you flourish in your day to day conversations with the C.E.O.S. in your life and encourage growth in your soft skills.

Go out and do great things!

Bio on Headlee

Celeste Headlee, the speaker of this TED Talk, “10 ways to have a better conversation,” has over 20 million total views to date. Celeste’s work and insights are featured on TODAY, Psychology Today, Inc., NPR, Time, Essence, Elle, BuzzFeed, Salon, Parade, and many more. She has presented to over 100 companies, conferences and universities including Apple, Google, United Airlines, Duke University, Chobani and ESPN, and received the 2019 Media Changemaker Award, (celesteheadlee.com).

We have put together a must-read list of ’10 marketing books for 10 years’. Front Porch Marketing turns 10-years-old this month! Marketing has been constantly evolving over the past decade. As an all-remote, agile marketing company, we’ve evolved right along with it. But sometimes it can get hard to stay on top of all the changes.

That’s why we turn time and time again to the experts in our marketing books. In honor of our 10^th anniversary, we rounded up 10 must-read marketing books that we think demonstrate positive perspectives and practical advice.

Books are one of the easiest ways we know to dive into new marketing topics. Then we can grow our practice and application of that knowledge. We hope these suggestions offer you some inspiring new perspectives on the ever-evolving world of marketing and help you stay on top of all the changes. If we can help you with your marketing challenges in any way, please ask!

Must Reads: 10 Marketing Books for 10 Years – our marketing reading list for 2021

Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends and Friends into Customers by Seth Godin

This is one of our favorites. Seth teaches you how to frame your marketing messages so that your customers will willingly accept them. Permission marketing enables brands to cultivate long-term relationships with customers. This builds trust and ultimately increases the likelihood of making a sale. Seth challenges you to only talk to people who are already raising their hand asking to speak with you. Then he shows how this customer is your most valuable one.

Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success by Adam Grant

This one is near and dear to our own Front Porch Marketing mantra. Adam – an award-winning researcher and professor – says that the key to success is not ambition or greed, but thoughtfulness. Good guys will indeed finish first in Adam’s worldview. And he gives ample evidence and example to prove it.

The Results Obsession: ROI-Focused Digital Strategies to Transform Your Marketing, by Karen J Marchetti

Karen leads with proven and practical digital strategies to boost client leads. She shows you how to increase email click-through rates and generate higher opt-in rates. She shares how to assess your current digital marketing channels like SEO, email and PPC and optimize them for better results. And with an emphasis on small business, this book serves as a handbook to make the most of every marketing dollar.

Marketers of Tomorrow: A Step by Step Toolkit for Inbound Marketing by Tyrona Heath

Tyrona, a Google marketing alum, offers valuable information on attracting and converting customers using inbound marketing. With SEO, blogging, social media and email marketing as your toolkit, follow Tyrona’s step-by-step system to set up and deliver an inbound marketing plan. Turn strangers into visitors, visitors into leads, leads into customers and customers into loyalists using minimal resources.

Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne

The authors of this book base their thinking on a study of 150 strategic marketing moves spanning more than 100 years and 30 industries. They show you how to build lasting success from creating a new market space (a blue ocean) in which there are no competitors. This book represents a ground-breaking new perspective because dominant marketing thinking for the past 25 years has been concerned with creating revenue by taking market share away from a competitor.

Brand Storytelling: Put Customers at the Heart of Your Brand Story, by Miri Rodriguez

Miri helps brands understand the why and how of infusing their marketing strategies and tactics with an authentic voice that will resonate with consumers. This book serves as a template for helping brands discover that voice, and their story, and structuring them to share insights with their customers.

Killing Marketing: How Innovative Businesses are Turning Marketing Cost Into Profit by Joe Pulizzi & Robert Rose

Joe and Robert – the founder and the Chief Strategy Advisor for the Content Marketing Institute – share bold thinking putting content at the forefront of marketing. They’ll help you create value for consumers and instill loyalty in your followers. This book outlines how to look at marketing as a profit center instead of a cost center. Content marketing helps brands own media instead of purchasing it.

The Hidden Psychology of Social Networks: How Brands Create Authentic Engagement by Understanding What Motivates Us, by Joe Federer

Joe, the former head of strategy at social media giant Reddit, offers effective engagement strategies on social media through the lens of human psychology, neuroanatomy, biology and anthropology. Using more than a decade of experience, he explains consumer behavior in social media in terms of how the different social platforms each represent different mindsets: the Id, the Ego, and the Superego.

Tap: Unlocking the Mobile Economy by Anindya Ghose

From the MIT Press, Anindya draws from his extensive research in the US, Europe and Asia using real-world examples from global companies to explain consumer behavior in the mobile realm. He identifies nine forces that shape consumer behavior and how to tap into those forces to influence shoppers and maximize brand opportunities.

What’s Your Problem? Become a Better B2B Marketer by Enhancing Your Problem-Solving Skills by Steve Goldhaber

Before jumping into content marketing, step back and assess what the core business problems are that content marketing can solve. Steve offers a guide to identify and define those problems. Then he helps you understand where content marketing can add the most value for your brand. Content marketing is more than just writing and design, and Steve teaches better techniques for distribution, measurement and optimization.

Let us know if you’ve read some of these, or have others that are your favorites! Please share your favorite marketing books in the comments to make our list more complete.