Front Porch Marketing is now 12 years old, thanks to you. What are our marketing take-aways from the past 12 years? We value your support and confidence in us over the years! You and your brands are our jam.
Marketing Take-Aways to Help Your Business Grow
Reflecting back on client trends and opportunities, on our pearl anniversary, we share common pearls of wisdom we saw at the beginning and continue to see today. We hope these marketing take-aways spur some thinking for you!
1. DIY Marketing
It only gets a brand so far. And, once your brand is established and has credibility, DIY marketing is no longer good enough. Time to take your garage band to the main stage. Hire a professional or firm.
2. Hiring One Marketing Person to Do All the Marketing Things
There are only a handful of unicorns on the planet that can do all the things marketing. If you go this route, know they need support. A marketing generalist isn’t your graphic designer, copywriter, webmaster, etc. Give them the resources they need to do their jobs.
3. B2B Websites
We hear from business owners their websites aren’t a priority and aren’t a sales and marketing tool. Not true. What we see most often is that you aren’t closing the sale or getting to the next round of meetings because you are getting the veto vote when potential clients go to your website to validate your credibility. Important marketing take-away: your website is your virtual office. Optimize it!
4. Marketing Take-Away for CEOs, C-Suite Executives or Managing Partners
Your role is strategy, operations, finances, and managing people. We have experienced too many times when you want to get too far in the weeds managing marketing. At that point, bottlenecks happen and marketing doesn’t happen at its best or consistently.
5. Brand Architecture
Without brand architecture, your branding is inconsistent. Define your brand mission, personality, positioning and affiliation. Let all things marketing flow from there. This becomes the filter and guidepost for branding and marketing strategy as well as execution.
6. Shiny Objects
You have Salesforce, but your team isn’t utilizing it. Then you get Hootsuite and ZoomInfo and, and, and. Stop right there. Marketing operations take-away: Make sure whatever technology you currently have is being utilized to its fullest. Then, if needed, build upon that with other tools.
Marketing Take-Aways to Take You Through the Next 12 Years
Cheers to you! Thank you for trusting in us, believing in us and getting us to our 12th anniversary. Without your support, we wouldn’t be rockin’ on the Porch today and lovin’ every minute of it. We hope these 6 marketing take-aways will be helpful for your business as we grow together over the next dozen years!
I enjoy seeing where the commonality lies each year between each of the Rockers as we all offer our reflections on our individual lives. This year, slow and steady was the name of the game. We need the steady years in life – years without major personal and/or professional events or milestones. They are the rebuilding years. They allow us to identify areas we’d like to see change, to set goals upon a solid foundation, and to take a breather for those years that catch us by surprise.
We hope you had the 2022 you wished for, and that our reflections foster a connection to your own.
Alison Moreno – Rock Collector
I feel 2022 was finally “back to normal” following the height of Covid in 2020-2021. My son began learning how to drive, my daughter began the decision process for which high school to go to, my husband moved up in his company, and we added a new dog to the family. My family was making advances and I kept things steady. Professionally, I felt comfortably steady, but not did not experience any growth. Some years are meant for a “steady pace wins the race” mentality and this was one of those years. With the freedom from being my kids’ chauffeur, I am excited to set and focus on my own professional and personal goals moving into 2023.
Vanessa Hickman – Rock Star
Recently, someone mentioned a “covid blessing”. A covid blessing could be a lot of things. For me, it became a positive outcome from the unusual and unprecedented circumstances everyone weathered during the previous two years. The 2020-2021 timeframe created a lot of change for my family. My now teenage boys started at a new school. We attended a new church. Also, we found new ways of working. And, we are grateful for the people those changes have brought to our lives, but I am also thankful for 2022 which allowed us to focus on restoring something old to make it new for our family.
At the end of 2021, we acquired a lake property. So the beginning of 2022 was spent renovating that property. We rebuilt from the ground up, floor to ceiling. We even raised the roof (which still brings me much joy to say)! I draw similarity between the lake house renovation and the year. Reflections on 2022? It was a year of setting new foundations, rebuilding, reinforcing, redesigning, and raising the roof!
Natalie Rosga – Rock Enthusiast
Thinking about 2022, I’ve tried to make a conscious effort every day to remember to slow down! One step at a time, one task at a time, one breath at a time. It’s ok if not every task is checked off the list at the end of the day. It’s more important to call it a night and wake up feeling happy and rested and ready to tackle the new day.
This year has also been about carving out time for myself. As a mom, taking care of yourself typically falls to the bottom of the list. I’m learning that making time for myself is ok. Whether it’s a run on the treadmill, a pedicure, drinks with girlfriends, or a night out with my husband…it’s important to focus on myself.
Slow and steady wins the race! Let’s also not forget that the house is happier when mom is happy!
Lea Ann Allen – Swiss Army Rock
2022 has been a year where I definitely felt the notion of “the older you get the more you become yourself” take hold. I was more able to focus on important things and simply drop everything that I didn’t need in my life any longer: the naysayers, the time sucks, the unnecessary complications. I felt able to experience some of the joy of my early career in the work that I do, and constantly surprised myself when I found more patience, more stamina or more appreciation that I thought I had in me.
Last spring, my family replaced all the siding on our house which made it stronger and more able to withstand whatever the Texas weather plans to throw at us. At the same time, I honed self-care, exercise, and nutrition to make myself stronger and more able to withstand whatever life plans to throw at me next. Reflections on 2022 make me look forward to 2023 as a better version of my 2022 self!
Christine Finnegan – Media Rocker
In 2022, I practiced gratitude more than any other time in my life. It truly allowed me to view life through a positive lens. My thought process became increasingly optimistic and focused on solutions rather than problems. In the new year I am going to continue on this track by noticing simple pleasures and acknowledging everything that I have and having an awareness on a continuous basis of how I have been given.
Julie Porter – Chief Rocker
Speaking of gratitude; in our 11th year, I continued to be humbled by the amazing, talented, genuine folks I get to work with, those who entrust us with their branding and marketing, as well as the leaders who refer us to their contacts. Thank you to each of you.
This year my son, while also venturing into leadership roles in college, was able to intern on the Porch, where he too, received the gift of working with the Front Porch Marketing team, clients, and advocates.
I had the pleasure of once-again managing amazing volunteers, assisting with event coordination, and working with an amazing committee so the Jesuit Women’s Auxiliary Christmas Bazaar can steadily grow bigger and better each year. I have had the honor of regularly spending time with my daughter in her quest to volunteer helping animals. Our experience at Dallas Animal Services (DAS) has enriched our lives and relationship.
I am also grateful for the opportunity to take on a physical building project this year. The beach is my happy place. It is a consistent vacation choice for my family because it allows me to rest and reset. In January we purchased a beach condo. We envisioned saving money on trips to the coast and creating a revenue generating rental experience. As these endeavors often do, the condo process has not gone as quickly, as smoothly, or as cost-effectively as I hoped. However, I cannot help but be grateful for reflections on the lessons I’ve learned and the people I’ve met along the way. I have also been able to view first-hand the awe-inspiring tenacity and resilience from the people of Florida as they rebuild following a catastrophic hurricane season.
On a Steady Path: Reflections On Gratitude
Some seasons are awash with major developments, milestones, or life-altering events. Some are meant to keep us on a steady path. I have learned there is a lesson in all of them and to find gratitude in each.
We hope that you had a relaxing 2022 holiday season with family, friends, and we wish you steady growth in 2023.
Reminder: its almost Gratitude Week — or as most people call it, Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is one of our favorite times of the year. Why? Because there is much to be grateful for and so many blessings to celebrate. So here’s your gratitude reminder!
Gratitude for Those Around Us
On the Porch, we are thankful for our team, supportive families and friends, clients and advocates. We are always looking for ways to show our gratitude to our village. In doing so, we often have opportunities to create new, authentic connections as well.
Five Ways You Can Share Your Gratitude to Clients and Customers:
Share experiences. Host an event or invite them to attend events with the team. The time spent together is invaluable in building relationships and expressing gratitude toward one another.
Share socially. Acknowledge loyalty on your company’s social networks. Follow, like and comment on others’ posts.
Share financially. Donating to a cause they care about signals your attentiveness to what is important to them.
Share milestones. Commemorate birthdays, business founding dates, anniversaries together. Celebrating success is motivating and boosts confidence. We can all afford to celebrate more in life!
Share simply. Thank them at each touchpoint and in every interaction. A simple “thank you” goes a long way. Gratitude is a gift you can share any time of the year!
A Big Thanks from The Front Porch
Your clients and customers play huge roles in your success and should be reminded of your gratitude at every opportunity. So from all of us on the Porch, thank you to our own clients, customers, and readers of this blog. We appreciate you and wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!
How can your company create better social media content and increase engagement? A cost-effective marketing strategy that is often overlooked today is employee — we prefer “team”— activation. Not only can employee activation, hence forth, team activation, benefit brands externally but internally as well.
What is Team Activation?
Team activation provides team members with social media guardrails. This approach allows them to share content and ideas on social media that align to their interests and professional goals.
More than 10 years ago, employee advocacy was popular. Team activation is similar but more engaging and collaborative. Employee advocacy forces team members to blast boilerplate messages and brand content to their social networks. The generic approach and efforts of employee advocacy fizzled out over time.
But team activation encourages employees to authentically create and share content that aligns with their company, on their own channels. If done properly, team activation benefits brands from employee engagement and communication to marketing and sales. As well as much more.
How does this work on different social channels?
Team activation works across all the social networks, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, etc. Over the past few years, according to our clients’ successful team activation campaigns, we have found:
Team members grow to consistently like brand posts on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.
Whereas they like LinkedIn posts and tweets, they also reshare or RT the information to their personal accounts.
How does this help the brand internally?
When team members are socially engaged, they are more likely:
Stay at their company
Optimistic about the company’s future
To believe the brand is more competitive
How does this approach help the brand externally?
Here’s a fact: sales reps using social media as part of their sales strategies outsell 78% of their peers. According to Social Media Today, content shared by employees receives 8x more engagement than organic content shared by brand channels. More and more, social algorithms bury a company’s page posts, tweets, pins, etc. And, people believe individuals’ social media posts and engagement are more authentic and creditable than a brands’.
Done well and right, your team becomes real brand advocates. Think less expensive form on influencer marketing. We can help. Front Porch Marketing holds collaborative in person or virtual team workshops. Also, we do one-on-one team member training.
I get asked what it’s like to work with my mom, the boss of Front Porch Marketing, Chief Rocker Julie Porter. Well, let me tell you. It’s a lot harder than you would expect. Why? Because she expects so much more out of me and she knows that I’m capable of doing almost anything and everything.
Is work easier when your mom is the boss?
A lot of people usually say “oh she definitely lets you slack off” or “oh I bet it’s so easy”, but they couldn’t be more wrong. It adds a lot of pressure on me when I do work for my mom’s company, because I want to do my absolute best in order to impress my mom. I want to live up to her expectations of me. But, it is also very comforting to know that my mom is the boss and CEO.
The boss always has your back
While she is always challenging and expecting the most out of me I know that she will always have my back and be the most understanding when it comes to work. No matter what, there will always be someone in my corner. She also tends to have a great support system.
She surrounds herself with the very best team members which makes my situation a lot more comforting. Seeing her support all of her employees, and create a successful remote working environment makes it a lot easier and more fun for me to do work for her, and the other Front Porch Marketing team members. I don’t say it a lot but when it comes to working with and for her sometimes, I can be a little excited. While she has taught me a lot about marketing, she’s also taught me about running a business. Because she is good at this.
Takeaways from a summer internship with a parent
All in all, this summer has been great so far and it has been a pleasure to heighten my business relationship with my mother. I’ve learned so much from my mom the boss, that I can apply to college and my future job endeavors. I owe it all to her and I love her so much. Thanks mom!
Business growth is always top of mind for me. Bringing it to the forefront is the fact that I am 2/3’s of the way through my Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small BusinessesBack to the Classroom program. Back to the Classroom is an opportunity for 10KSB alumni to reconnect with the lessons and concepts of the 10KSB program as we navigate the current economic situation and our next business opportunity.
Each week of the four part series addresses the key learnings from program modules. For each session, we are required to attend webinars and growth group meetings.
In between sessions, we have homework. We continue to refine our new business opportunity.
And, unlike my last 10KSB experience, this one is national. Every section of 10KSB Back to the Classroom includes alumni from across the country. I engage with small business owners from Alabama, Maryland, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Oklahoma every few weeks. This is probs my favorite part.
Key Takeaways Thus Far From Back to the Classroom
Networking, even virtual, is a good. Even though this group might not be my buyers, they are inspiration. They know people who may be buyers.
Brainstorming with other small business owners who work in other industries is priceless. This group is energized and excited to help each other. The ideas shared and problems solved big and small help refine and shed new light to the strategy and execution.
Run the numbers. Work the scenarios. It is painful, like stick a needle in my eye, torture for me. However, with help from my business advisor, the time spent doing this was invaluable. The financial exercises are proof of my concept. The numbers less daunting than I expected.
Keep reading. Even if you don’t have the time, make time. I have four new books on my desk suggested by this group. Three I have never heard of.
Lastly, don’t undervalue the power of collaboration. I collaborate with my team on the daily. And, for that, I am blessed. But, collaborating with this group reminds me how valuable that is.
For business growth, you need lifelong learning. You need motivation. Small business owners are equally interested in positive outcomes for other small business owners. Keep calm and collaborate on.
Your Brand in 2021: Front Porch Marketing has seen an interesting client trend this past year, especially in the second half. Many entrepreneurial brand companies have decided that 2020 – and indeed 2021 – is a good time to double down their brand. They want to really dig in, define their brand and differentiate themselves from their competition. Even big corporate companies, like Burger King, have rebranded, seeking to better define their mission and vision going forward.
If you step back and take a look at your brand with the fresh eyes of 2021, does it look like the company you envisioned when you started? Likely, your brand has evolved and so have you. Does your current branding reflect where you want to be in 5 years with your company or even where you are now, or is it trapped in the past? Maybe it’s time to graduate your branding.
Your Brand in 2021: Envision, Evolve, Emerge
Are you adequately featuring your new products or services? Are you communicating your most compelling benefit? Does your brand look legit, grown-up, like a serious brand that does serious business? Don’t get the veto vote from a customer or a partner business because your brand is not getting taken seriously. You know you can do the job…make sure your branding speaks that truth this year.
Branding – and the digital marketing that embodies branding – has become more important than ever. Your customers and clients are getting bombarded with texts and emails from business service providers to retailers. Ask yourself “why should they read mine?”
What do you stand for?
Do you know what your company’s biggest benefit to your customer is? Do you know how each of your products or services add value to their lives, make their lives easier or answer their questions? Does the tone of voice you use resonate with your customer, and instill loyalty to your brand?
If you don’t know the answers to some of these questions, 2021 might be the year you think about doubling down on your brand. What DO you stand for? What is your mission? As part of your Marketing for 2021, branding can help you answer all of these questions and more, leaving you with a clear map of where to take your business next and how to get there. Branding gives you the platform and parameters to deliver tangible solutions to your customer. We’ve seen the excitement and commitment of more than half a dozen of our own clients rebranding for the future, in just the past six months.
Don’t just work IN your business, work ON your business.
Branding is not just about looks though, it is also about strategy and tactics. What are you going to say, and where are you going to say it are key. You need to be cohesive and coherent in your messaging, as well as look professional. Small businesses often fall down thinking they can “do it themselves” with marketing but without a marketing background – from logo design to social media to PR. Often, they are holding themselves back because they are too busy working IN their business and to work ON their business.
So double down on your brand this year – strengthen your commitment to your particular strategy or course of action. Become more tenacious and resolute in your bringing your brand vision into 2021 and beyond.
Reflecting on the past year, we are so grateful for courageous, fearless business leaders. We continue to be inspired by those who bravely carried on in 2020. Grit and gumption.
Cheers to those leaders who showed up. Those who made the most out homeschool, while working or not, closures, pivots, business opportunities and personal and professional loss.
Earlier in the year, I watched no TV. I read only the daily work related briefs and blogs.
However, in the later part of the year, I read a good chunk of mindless trash. This is how I escape. Reading fiction, mostly murder mysteries and romance novels.
The two personal and professional development books I did read were life changing for me. Leaders must read. One was this. The other was Brene Brown’s Braving the Wilderness. I read it twice in the past two months.
Leaders will brave the new year.
How?
Do you. Brown talks about praying and cussing. Those who know me will not be surprised I love this. She talks about not being moved. Doing work in an honest way that is true to yourself. Leaders, time to truly support each other. I let others “do you.” And, I do me. Belong to yourself. ” … brave the wilderness of uncertainty, vulnerability and criticism.”
Speak truth to bullshit. Do not shut down. In other words, that is the easy road. Leaders do not avoid communication. Learn more about others. Even if we still disagree, at least we engaged in meaningful conversation. We have a deepened mutual understanding. However, at all costs, be civil.
Strong back. Soft front. The latter is most challenging for me. No more armored front. I will stay open. Leaders are comfortable with vulnerability. “A soft and open front is not being weak; it’s being brave, it’s being the wilderness.” Eeeek … here goes. I can do it.
Be fearless. I am a Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program alum. The experience was life changing. My co-hort continues to inspire me. My growth group was named, “The Fearless Five.” Coincidence? “Fear is how we got here.” Fear and blame. Own your pain. Do not inflict pain on others. Be fucking fearless.
Read the book. It is worth your time.
And, in conclusion, I am driven to make this my best year, for me and my family, business, team, clients, community, country and world.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
