When was the last time you looked up at the sky and really enjoyed the sunshine, being in the moment.

Felt the breeze on your face. Found shapes in the clouds.

If you stopped right now, went outside and looked up, how would you feel? What would you be thinking? Are you happy? Content?

Perhaps, like many of us, things are basically good, but you’re in a bit of a life rut. Same routine over and over, and you suddenly realize how quickly the years are slipping by. Or maybe things simply aren’t going the way you want. There’s a little too much rain on your parade, and it’s gotten you down.

We all feel this way at some time or another. In today’s busy society, no one is immune from getting swept up in the stampede of life. Or being occasionally trampled by it. So how do you break free?

One way, again, is to simply look up. It’s sunshine, folks!

Let me explain. The other day, I heard a client talking about an employee who wasn’t performing at her best. He noted, “All she needs is a little water and sunshine, and she’ll be great.”

That was an amazing observation, and it really struck home with me. Of course, he was talking about nourishment. Nourishment of a person based on who she is. The things that feed her soul. Things to help her grow and thrive and blossom!

Ok, I’m overdoing it a bit, but you get the idea.

Friends, what is your sunshine? What are the nutrients that will nourish the essence of who you are? What do you need in your core being to shine more brightly?

It’s easy to ask these questions but not always easy to answer. Try to discover the tiny inkling within that excites you. Something you love and are passionate about, deep down. Maybe it’s a hobby, like painting or gardening. Perhaps it’s philanthropic, like rescuing dogs or mission work. It could be a special career skill that you didn’t pursue in college. Something on your bucket list? Take a moment and really listen to your gut. What are you hungry for?

When you find it, FEED IT! Embrace it! Nurture it! And give it plenty of sunshine!

Before you know it, you’ll be following your own heart on your own journey instead of being fenced in, grazing with the herd. It may be new and different, and it may require taking a risk. But you are only you once.

Dare to be great!

Cheers! Your company has a clearly defined brand – a simple, relevant customer promise that competitively gives you an edge. Check that off the list, right? Absolutely! But before you move on to other things, have you thought about your internal processes?

What must you do internally to execute the brand? To make it come alive? Become more than just a piece of paper? Ensure that your customers understand the brand as you intended?

Before you talk about your brand to the masses, you need to first look within to be sure you’re delivering on that brand throughout the organization. You don’t want to set an expectation that disappoints later! So consider this carefully – What are your customer touch points? Think about ALL of them, from where your store is located to how well the product performs or even how clean the front desk is when you walk in the door.

They’re all important.

Ergo, all companies need to identify and proactively manage their brand at all points of customer contact. Make a list of your contact points. Especially the less obvious ones like:

• the way your phone is answered
• how seamless your billing processes are for customers
• what your employees say to others about their job
• the attire of your salespeople
• the quality of your packaging
• the functionality and ease of navigating your website
• your response time for customer questions

Basically, everything you say and do as an organization reflects on your brand. Look carefully at your internal processes. If you’re experiencing problems at a touch point, they need to be addressed – you don’t want a seemingly minor issue to be the string that unravels all the work you put into building your brand. Assess each item on your list, and then prioritize those you need to change.

The goal is to eliminate negative experiences and keep or build on areas in which you are strong. Strong in communicating the brand promise.

Often, we ask a client, “If you do everything right, what’s the one thing you want your target to remember about you? If we conducted research now, would they give that answer?”

This is the fun part, folks! Branding and marketing rocks! Every company has struggles, but strategic marketing built on a strong brand is the impetus for success!

Go team!

Julie Porter is the chief rocker at Front Porch Marketing. You can follow her, julie_porter, or her company, itsfrontporch, on Instagram; and Twitter @juliedporter01 or @itsfrontporch; and like us on Facebook at FrontPorchMktg.

Chances are your business is using content marketing as part of your overall marketing plan. The objective of content marketing is to deliver valuable information that will engage your audience. Consumers are tuning out the more intrusive marketing tactics. What they really want is great, customer-focused information that helps them make a decision or solve a problem. That’s what content marketing delivers.

I actually like The Content Marketing Institute’s definition of content marketing the best: “Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.”

So when it comes to content marketing, as a marketing professional, your job is to create and share valuable, free content to attract and convert prospective buyers into customers and engage existing customers so they are repeat buyers. The content you create and share should be closely related to what you sell without selling.

The purpose is to build relationships, awareness, branding and overall establish your company as an expert in your industry. You want to educate people and gain their trust so they do business with you.

There are many types of content that form a content marketing strategy including:

• Blogging
• Guest blog posts
• Social media posts and sharing
• Email marketing
• Infographics
• PowerPoint presentations
• Podcasts
• Standard videos
• Micro-videos (i.e. Vine)
• Public Speaking
• Webinars
• Articles

It’s up to you to know what is the best way for your brand to reach those potential and current customers. Just remember the power of great content marketing can make a person stop, read, think and behave differently. The return on investment for content marketing can be huge if executed correctly. And, it really doesn’t take a significant investment!