Tag Archives: Marketing

Collaboration is inevitable, whether in our careers, schooling or social life. This past semester I have worked to find balance between my schooling and work. Through this, I’ve gained valuable insight into how brainstorming, critiques and suggestions are all necessary to reach meaningful results.  

Growing up, I had a difficult time taking suggestions or criticism of my work. I was quite a perfectionist in that I couldn’t help but feel that any critiques were slightly personal. Yet, as I’ve grown creatively and gotten to work with other talented creatives, I’ve shifted my perspective on collaboration. My mindset has changed from previously becoming discouraged to now feeling motivated to improve. Here are some tips that have stuck with me that I keep in mind during any project I work on.  

Tip 1: Critiques are not a Criticism of your Creativity 

In my graphic design course, my work is regularly displayed to the class for my classmates to comment on. Going into my first critique session, I was terrified for my work to be perceived by others. But after listening to the critiques and making the changes to my work, I’m able to see both aesthetic and practical improvements. This has shown me that critiques should not undermine your creativity. Ultimately, you’ve already done the work that becomes the base for any critiques you may receive. You were able to create something worth discussing and that people want to see grow to its best potential. No project is perfect from the jump, and sometimes it takes multiple sets of eyes to notice things you haven’t.  

Tip 2: Don’t Hold Back Ideas  

Growing up, I tended to hold back my ideas unless I felt confident that they would impact the conversation at hand. I became hard on myself when it came to brainstorming, often thinking that if I shared an idea people didn’t use, it was a waste of time. Recently, I’ve come to learn how harsh I was on myself and now understand the value of sharing any relevant ideas that come to mind. You never know whether your idea will have that big impact unless it’s shared, and if it doesn’t, that’s ok! Most of the time, our ideas become catalysts for others to expand their thought process. Great solutions are discovered from bouncing ideas off of one another.  

Tip 3: Push Yourself to Think Past the Safe Choice 

The most important thing to ask yourself when working on a project is if the work is a good reflection of your company. This requires you to consider your audiences and stakeholders, recognizing what they want from your business and prioritizing that. By fully understanding your audience, you can experiment creatively with your messaging. Although it’s important to stick to a cohesive brand voice, don’t be afraid of creating content outside your norm. This could mean hopping onto current trends or trying out a new advertising campaign; regardless, audiences want to see fresh, entertaining content. This is another area in which conversation is key. Speaking with others and gathering multiple opinions is the best way to grow creatively without straying away from your brand image. 

Collaboration is the backbone of the creative process. With each critique or suggestion, we learn more about our craft and improve our skills. It’s important to trust those around you, for that trust fosters innovation and can motivate groups to work towards a common goal. So, don’t be afraid to speak your mind, ask questions and learn from others — you never know which ideas will spark successful content. 


Small business owners pour their hearts into their businesses, so it’s no surprise that branding and messaging often feel deeply personal. But here’s the truth: effective marketing isn’t about what you like — it’s about what resonates with your audience. A message that caters to your audience’s needs, desires, and emotions is what drives connection, loyalty, and sales.

Yet, business owners sometimes unintentionally center their messaging on themselves or their products, missing opportunities to truly engage with their target audience. Shifting focus to your audience helps avoid two common pitfalls: talking too much about yourself and focusing solely on the product.

Why Audience-Centric Messaging Matters

Think about your favorite brands. Do you love them because they talk about how great they are? Or do you love them because they speak directly to your needs, solve your problems, or make you feel something?

Great messaging connects with people by addressing their emotions, solving their pain points, or helping them imagine a better future. It says, “We see you, and we’re here for you.” For small businesses, this means stepping back and crafting a message that puts your customers in the spotlight — not you or your product.

When you shift your perspective this way, your messaging becomes more relatable and impactful, fostering stronger relationships with your audience.

Pitfall 1: Talking Too Much About Yourself

It’s natural to feel proud of your accomplishments as a business owner. Maybe you’ve built something from the ground up, developed expertise in your field, or created a product you truly love. But when your messaging focuses too heavily on you, it can alienate your audience.

Statements like:

  • “We’re the best in the business.”
  • “Our founder has 20 years of experience.”
  • “I wanted to create something that reflected my vision.”

…don’t tell your audience what’s in it for them. Instead, shift the focus with language like:

  • “You deserve the best service, and we deliver it.”
  • “You’ll benefit from two decades of expertise, ensuring a seamless experience.”
  • “This product was designed with your needs in mind, to make your life easier.”

This doesn’t mean you should erase yourself from your brand entirely. Your story can add authenticity and personality, but it should always serve the audience. For example, share your “why” in a way that connects with their values:

  • “As a busy parent, I know how hard it can be to find safe, eco-friendly toys. That’s why I created this line — to give families like yours peace of mind.”

Pitfall 2: Focusing Messaging Solely on the Product

The second common misstep is centering your message entirely on the features of your product or service. While features are important, they’re not the primary reason people buy something. They buy based on how the product makes them feel or because of the problem it solves.

Let’s say you own a coffee shop. Instead of simply advertising:

  • “We serve organic, fair-trade coffee roasted in-house.”

Focus on what that means for the customer:

  • “Start your morning with a cup of coffee you can feel good about—delicious, sustainable, and crafted just for you.”

Or, if you’re promoting a skincare line, shift from:

  • “Our moisturizer contains hyaluronic acid and SPF 30.”

To:

  • “Feel confident in your skin all day long with hydration that lasts and sun protection you can trust.”

The key is to connect features with benefits. Features tell what the product does; benefits explain why that matters to your audience.

How to Shift Your Messaging Focus

  1. Start with Empathy: What are your audience’s pain points, goals, and values? Make these the foundation of your messaging.
  2. Use “You” Language: Speak directly to your audience. Replace “We” and “I” with “You” wherever possible.
  3. Test Your Messaging: When reviewing your messaging, ask yourself, Would my target customer care about this? If the answer is no, refocus on what matters to them.

Build a Connection, Not a Lecture

Your brand’s messaging isn’t for you — it’s for your audience. By shifting your focus from self-promotion and product features to addressing your audience’s needs and emotions, you can create marketing that truly resonates. Remember: it’s not about telling your story; it’s about how your story fits into theirs. When you prioritize their perspective, you’re not just selling — you’re building a relationship that lasts.


Here are some marketing questions for business owners and leaders to ponder to truly rock 2025. Start the year off right. First, ask and answer these questions to help your team succeed by aligning your collective efforts. Then, optimize your team’s performance with clarity, collaboration, conviction, consistency and connection — and 2025 will be your year. And finally, don’t forget to regularly track your progress.

Ask Yourself These Marketing Questions

What are my business goals?

    To focus efforts and increase success rates, make sure your goals are SMART. SMART goals are specific, measurable, actionable, relevant and time bound. Areas in which to set goals are around your financial target, growth, operations and your team. In addition, set goals for yourself as a business leader. These goals can be around leadership, development, your role, work life balance, fitness, mental wellness, etc.

    Does my brand and messaging reflect what my business is today?

    Is your brand resonating with your team and your best target? Think about this. You have great clients or customers, a strong, best-of-class team, and a differentiating product or service. So is your brand a garage band? Or have you evolved your brand and messaging to reflect what your business has become?

    What is my marketing budget?

    Set your marketing budget for next year. This is one of the most important marketing questions for several reasons. Most companies’ marketing budget for 2025 is between 7–10% of revenue. Then you can align your activities and expectations once your number determined.

    Who are my best customers/clients?

    If you have data gathered, this will be easier. If not, you still need to answer this marketing question. Key metrics to consider include purchase frequency and recency. Also review the total revenue generated by that client or customer for the year. Further, consider customer loyalty — your net promoter score (NPS). In other words, how likely are they to recommend your brand to others?

    How am I going to achieve set goals targeted at my best prospects in 2025?

    Now you’re asking yourself one of the key marketing questions. From here you can develop your marketing road map. With your ideal customers identified, you can then tailor your marketing efforts to their preferences and needs. In addition, the budget you developed is also in play here, as marketing initiatives must be within that budget.

    Do I have the right marketing team in place to rock my business in the new year?

    For the most part, successful business leaders realize marketing should be done by professionals. They themselves should not be the marketers. Thus, evaluate your team and identify who is qualified to lead and execute your marketing team efforts to reach your goals. Most small businesses do not have that team internally. And most small business leaders know that an office manager isn’t their Chief Marketing Officer — that position should not be leading or executing marketing strategies and initiatives.

    These Answers Will Start Your New Year Off Right

    Cheers to a new year. Going forward, we are wishing you even greater business success in 2025. In addition, our wish for you and your team is to achieve optimal mental and physical health and happiness.


    It is not Marketing/Sales, it is Marketing and Sales. In one week, two things happened that spurred me into sharing that marketing and sales are in fact two separate functions. That work together.

    Marketing and Sales, Thing One

    A former client who is a successful business owner shared at a recent weekly team meeting, that his team discussed the need for a marketing strategy and a stronger brand presence. The salesperson on the team was pushing hard for additional marketing resources. And he wanted to lead the charge. They “went back and forth about the where, how and the value of a stronger brand presence.”

    The business owner was skeptical because he had grown his business traditionally from word of mouth. (Clearly too much time had passed since we worked together.)

    He continued his story to me, “Front Porch Marketing was the first marketing resource I thought of to visit with and have a clearer picture of what needs to be done and in which priority.” For that, we are honored.

    Marketing and Sales, Thing Two.

    I attended a networking group event. The speaker was a small business consultant who shared ways for business owners to increase revenue and improve profitability, among other things. The presentation was great until we got to the slide that included the line, “Marketing/Sales.”

    I thought “It is not Marketing/Sales.” They are not the same thing. They are not to be lumped together. These are two very distinct functions that both contribute to growing a business.

    Why You Need Marketing

    Marketing is no longer just an option for small businesses and nonprofits who want to grow. I am happy to share one-on-one my experiences over the last two years on this. Occasional marketing effort does not make your business grow. A marketing foundation must be built, strategized and utilized. You need consistency, conviction, and connection for marketing to succeed. These three things are must-haves when you’re marketing your business in the year 2024.

    How Sales is Different From Marketing

    Sales people and departments are responsible for generating new leads, converting those leads and closing deals. Sales leaders look at the ideal target customer or client and the product or service they are selling, and make a match.

    First, there are inside sales: looking at existing customers and how they can grow their business. These sales people are also converting inbound calls and emails to direct business.

    Then there are outside sales. This team’s approach focuses on face-to-face interaction with potential customers. They do this by attending targeted conferences and events. Building their network and relationships is the goal.

    How Marketing and Sales Teams Can Work Together

    At Front Porch Marketing, we sometimes work directly with sales leaders. Again, for that we are honored and grateful. Sales people overall have a defined pipeline, and may rely on the marketing people to feed that pipeline. These sales leaders know they need marketing. They do suggest initiatives to support their agendas. But most share what they are trying to achieve and trust that we will strategize and implement what is right for business growth.

    We also work with smart, small business owners and nonprofit leaders, who believe they need to elevate their brand and grow brand awareness to grow their toplines. That’s marketing. Few of these types of companies have an in-house marketing team though. They may have a person or two in marketing, but even this small crew cannot manage or specialize in all the marketing things they might need. And that’s where we typically come in.

    I could go on and on about the difference in marketing and sales functions. But alas, I must get up bright and early to French braid an 11-year old’s hair for school. So cheers to all of you marketing people and sales people growing the top and bottom lines, working with those you love, for those you love. All the while, taking care of your loves. Like we do.


    When was the last time you embarked on producing video projects for a client? For most of us the probability is high as they aren’t every day, week or month projects. So, while video production is FUN and it’s important to be aware of video marketing trends, it can also be a hectic time. We might have a vision in our head of how we want the finished product to turn out, but it takes a lot of work to get there.

    From the planning that takes place during preproduction, to shooting the content during production and editing the footage during postproduction it can all become a little overwhelming. Let’s spend a few minutes walking through the process from start to finish, so your next video project is smooth sailing.

    Preproduction for Video Projects Is Important

    Let the planning begin! All successful video projects start with a buttoned-up plan. While the list below might not be all-inclusive, it can be used as a springboard to get started.

    • Kickoff Planning Meeting(s)
      First things first, you need to gather the key players to define the objective and goals of the video.
    • Create a Project Overview.
      This document outlines the following elements of the shoot:
      • Objective
      • Goals
      • Project Scope
        • Video Content
        • Shoot Location, Duration, Dates and Delivery of Final Product
      • Estimate
        • This can encompass storyboarding/scripting, videographer costs (pre/production/post), photographer costs, project management, expenses (mileage, music, stock footage, meals, hair/makeup, wardrobe, meals, talent, etc.).
    • Shoot Deliverables
      Once a video projects’ overview document and estimate has been client approved, it’s time to get busy on the deliverables.
      • Create a detailed project timeline and assign team responsibilities.
      • Secure the videographer and talent, photographer, hair/makeup and wardrobe (if needed).
      • Develop the script and storyboard.
      • Scout the location.
      • Schedule the shoot. Create a detailed timeline for the day(s) of filming. Make sure everyone knows when and where to be and include contact names and phone numbers.
      • And don’t forget the food. The last thing you want is a hangry team!

    It’s Time to Create Your Video Project: Production

    The plan is set, and it is time for filming to commence.

    It’s finally time to implement all the careful planning that has taken place. The video team will arrive well before the talent to set up the camera equipment, lighting, mikes, teleprompter. The set will also need to be prepped for filming. That might mean setting up any props, adjusting furniture, etc.

    Next comes the hair/makeup/wardrobe team and talent. While the video team is finalizing film prep, the talent is becoming camera ready.

    The film crew, set and talent are ready so its time for a quick walk through to make sure everyone is comfortable with their roles and knows the process/filming order for the day. And remember, there are going to be hiccups. Set or script adjustments need to be made. Someone is running late. There is a wardrobe malfunction. Remember to breathe and that every problem has a solution.

    So now…Quiet on the set! Action!  

    Postproduction of Your Video Project

    The film is ‘in the can’ and postproduction is ready to commence.

    During this phase the videographer will sort and organize all of the raw footage, edit the video to tell your story, add graphics and voice and music tracks. When you are happy with the edited piece it is ready to share with your client for feedback.

    Once client approved, you can then develop the different video formats needed and deliver the finished product for distribution through your various marketing channels.

    Now that you know the roadmap for video project production, it’s time for you to create your masterpiece.


    What’s your business growth opportunity for next year? Identify it. Now is the time. Q4 is upon us. Before we know it, it will be January 2025. So take the time now to really contemplate where you want to take your business next. Once you have that nailed down, you’ll have a clear place to steer yourself in Q1.

    Your Growth Opportunity Is Not Swayed by Circumstances

    Your business growth opportunity for next should be based on YOUR business. Not so much on outside forces happening in the world. Despite the economy. Or the uncertainty due to the election. Strong brands will survive and thrive in 2025. What makes you a strong brand?

    Uncover Opportunities With Probing Questions

    Ask yourself some of these questions when you review your business in Q4. These questions will help you determine your success for 2025 based on your successes in 2024.

    1. Review your 2024 key clients or customers’ successes. Where have you seen the most business growth this past year?

    Make a list. This will give you insight into where your business growth opportunity might be for next year. Looks for patterns and trends in your business’ success. You might just be getting started in some area of your business that will continue to pay off.

    2. Is your team convicted that the brand is important?

    Review your brand’s foundation. Is your brand strong? Does your leadership team articulate your brand clearly at every internal touchpoint? Your audience needs to be able to recognize you and count on you. They want to see you as the voice of authority, every time they turn to you for answers.

    3. Are you communicating consistently?

    Consistent communication is key to having a strong brand, and a strong presence in the marketplace. If you are not communicating clearly and consistently about your brand, you are diluting your brand and the competency of your organization.

    4. Does your target care about what your brand stands for?

    The stronger the emotional connection to your brand, the more likely the target will be predisposed to your organization. What were your successes with your audience this past year? Plan to do more of whatever that was.

    Other questions to ask yourself about your business, looking for your business growth opportunities in 2025:

    • Are you leveraging your senior team’s strengths?
    • What are your strategies? Define these and then everything else should fall under that.
    • What are your holes in marketing resources? What do you need help with?

    Pro-Tips For Growth

    Identifying your business growth opportunities is just your first step to a successful 2024. Reviewing 2024, there are areas where we see success for small to midsize businesses and nonprofits in 2025. Make sure you have this Pro-Tip list covered in Q4 this year, and follow the path to uncover your own insights and build your business in 2025. If you need help along the way, Front Porch has your back.

    • Identify your growth opportunity.
    • Make sure you have the team needed to realize your goals for your clients.
    • Have a plan. Be focused. A marketing plan is important to maximize resources and reduce unneeded spend.
    • Sharpen messaging. Review your message map. Make edits where necessary.
    • Be strategic. Define strategies and then tactics that will help you accomplish the strategies.
    • Remember, tactically, less is more.

    We’re hard at work on The Porch — even though its summer — and we wanted to share some of our proven digital strategies so far this year. The summer has flown by, and our team, business and clients have enjoyed many successes balanced with time with family and friends. As we roll into back to school whether it is elementary school, first year of college or next term of an MBA program, we have big goals on our mind at home and work.

    With that being said, we are sharing digital strategies and tactics resulting in business success. Here’s what is working for our clients.

    We Use These Proven Digital Strategies and Tactics for Our Clients

    There are a handful of proven digital strategies that we are using to help build our clients’ brands. Often these strategies work together, and build upon each other. Sometimes they even share assets, which helps marketing budgets go further.

    Email Marketing

    Consistent communication whether it be weekly or monthly is paramount. Open and click rates for our clients’ email marketing exceed their peers’ average performance. And, their unsubscribe rates are lower than benchmark.

    Keys to email marketing success include consistent communication, compelling content and professional creative and visuals.

    The results include business growth by referral from existing clients and customers as well as inquiries from prospects and connections.

    Digital Advertising

    Our clients are spending their ad dollars on digital advertising strategies and tactics this year. The results continue to exceed the norm. LinkedIn and Google ads, geotargeting and retargeting continue to result in business growth.

    Social Media

    Content calendars are king. Client connections and reach on social media for the companies we work with have been strong — above industry averages. Social continues to be a proven digital strategy YoY.

    LinkedIn continues to lead on the business-to-business front. Our clients’ senior leadership are embracing the power of LinkedIn. They are consistently active. This is resulting in broader brand awareness and increased employee engagement among other things.

    Hashtag strategies continue to evolve. Less is more is proving successful for our clients. Protip: Utilize free tools to evaluate the relevance of the hashtags you use. We are happy to share our go-to tools. Email us!

    Blogging

    At least two blog posts per month continue to engage our Clients’ key audiences, their existing customers and new prospects. Google Analytics confirms this on the monthly reports we provide to clients. In addition to this, our clients’ websites’ SEO is benefiting from this proven digital strategy.

    Video

    Short and long form video marketing is increasing our clients’ SEO. Videos are a proven digital marketing tactic that also provides compelling, engaging content for social media. Repurposing these videos for digital advertising has also been a hit.

    Website Refresh

    Continuing to add content whether it be through blogging or keeping the look and feel of your company’s website updated has been a win this year as a proven digital strategy in 2024. Have you looked at your website lately? Is it working hard for your business? If not, we can help. If you don’t know how to figure out if it is effective, we can help with that too.

    Implement These Proven Digital Strategies and Tactics for Success in 2024 and Beyond

    The fall time period is the perfect time to re-assess your marketing plan and add some of these proven digital strategies to your brand mix. Reach new customers. Broaden your brand’s horizons. Share new products. Build loyalty. It’s all possible by starting now, and sticking with it.


    In today’s interconnected world, the boundaries between PR and Digital Marketing are increasingly blurred. Both disciplines play a crucial role in shaping a brand’s image, reaching target audiences, and driving engagement. When blended effectively, these two disciplines can create a powerful force that amplifies brand messages and achieves strategic objectives. In best practices terms, that means integrating them to maximize their combined impact.

    Align the Goals and Strategies of PR and Digital Marketing

    Successful integration of PR and digital marketing begins with aligning goals and strategies. Ensure that both teams or functions are working towards common objectives, whether it’s enhancing brand visibility, generating leads, or driving website traffic. Establish a unified strategy that leverages the strengths of both PR and digital marketing.

    For instance, if a PR campaign is focused on increasing media coverage, digital marketing efforts can complement this by amplifying the coverage through social media channels and paid promotions.

    Create Consistent Messaging

    Consistency in messaging is crucial for maintaining a coherent brand voice across all platforms. Ensure that the messaging in your public relations materials — such as press releases and media pitches — aligns with the content shared through other marketing channels, including social media posts, email campaigns, and website content.

    This consistency helps reinforce your brand’s key messages and creates a unified narrative that resonates with your audience. Regularly review and update messaging guidelines to ensure alignment across all communication efforts.

    Leverage PR and Digital Marketing Data and Analytics

    Data and analytics are invaluable tools for optimizing both of these efforts. Use insights from digital marketing analytics — such as website traffic, social media engagement, and conversion rates — to inform PR strategies.

    Conversely, PR metrics, such as media coverage and sentiment analysis, can provide valuable context for digital marketing campaigns. By integrating data from both camps, you can make informed decisions, track performance, and adjust strategies to achieve better results.

    Enhance Content Distribution

    Content distribution is a key area where these two team players can intersect. PR efforts, such as media placements and influencer partnerships, can drive traffic to digital assets, such as blog posts, landing pages, or social media profiles.

    Further, digital marketing trends can help amplify public relations content by sharing it across social media platforms, using SEO tactics to improve its visibility, and leveraging paid media to reach a broader audience. Develop a content distribution plan that outlines how these marketing efforts will work together to maximize reach and engagement.

    Collaboration on Campaigns

    Collaborative campaigns that integrate can lead to greater success than isolated efforts. For example, if you’re launching a new product, a coordinated campaign that includes a press release, social media announcements, influencer endorsements, and targeted digital ads can create a comprehensive promotional strategy.

    Foster communication and collaboration between teams to ensure that campaigns are well-coordinated, messages are consistent, and resources are used efficiently.

    Engage with Your Audience

    Engagement is a critical component of both PR and digital marketing. Use PR efforts to build relationships with media, influencers, and industry thought leaders, while leveraging digital marketing channels to interact directly with your target audience. Encourage two-way communication by responding to comments, participating in conversations, and addressing feedback. Engaging with your audience in a meaningful way helps build trust, strengthen relationships, and enhance your brand’s reputation.

    Harnessing the Power of PR and Digital Marketing Integration

    The intersection of PR and digital marketing offers a wealth of opportunities for brands to amplify their messages and achieve strategic goals. In today’s digital age, it’s not just a best practice — it’s a strategic imperative for achieving holistic and impactful communication. As you navigate the complexities of modern marketing, remember that the partnerships in marketing can be a powerful tool for your brand’s growth and success.


    With the rise of social media platforms, influencer marketing has gone through a significant transformation. Influencers have come to be key players in the marketing scene, appearing on platforms like YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and more. To build more genuine and meaningful connections with their target audience, brands take advantage of the reach and power of these digital personalities. 

    Evolution of Influencer Marketing 

    Influencer marketing was simple in the early days of social media. Companies partnered with well-known bloggers and YouTubers to market products using endorsements and reviews. Influencer marketing became much broader as sites like Instagram and TikTok became popular.  

    Influencers in today’s world can range in size from small influencers with fewer but very engaged audiences to large influencers with millions of followers. With this diversity, marketers can tailor their campaigns to appeal to certain groups and demographics. Influencers are becoming more than just brand ambassadors; they are content creators that include brand messaging into their own personalities and styles to relate to and de-commercialize marketing.  

    The Challenges Going Forward

    Influencer marketing presents challenges even with its benefits. Keeping authenticity is important because audiences can recognize fake endorsements, leading to openness on sponsored collaborations. Since influencers’ behavior might affect related brands, proper screening is important. Return-on-investment tracking can be difficult, requiring companies to use tools and set exact key performance indicators. A brand’s values consistency, popularity, and follower demographics are all important factors to consider when choosing a good influencer.  

    To sum up, influencer marketing is an effective tool that helps businesses engage with their target audience by providing real and interesting content. Despite the challenges, it can still be an exciting and significant part of current marketing campaigns with proper preparation and successful execution. 


    Here on the Porch, we create a lot of specialized content for our clients. Websites, social media, newsletters, videos and the like. As their marketing partner, we operate as an extension of their marketing department. We think through their branding, their voice, their business goals and more to make sure that their content is right — every single day. In other words, we work hard to make it rock! And we love what we do.

    Our clients trust us to use our expertise to help them grow their businesses. They know that a smart business owner doesn’t try to do everything themselves — instead they surround themselves with other experts who can help them achieve their goals.

    How Can You Best Utilize Your Marketing Partner to Make Your Content Rock?

    Say you’re a business owner who doesn’t know how to — and honestly doesn’t have the time to — create your own marketing. So you do the smart thing and hire a marketing partner to help grow your business. First, realize that your marketing partner is an expert at creating smart, on-target content for your business and is also in it for the long haul like you are. They want you to succeed.

    Helpful Tips for Businesses Utilizing a Marketing Partner

    1. Remember: You are not your audience. What is spoken and written internally in your company, doesn’t necessarily make sense to your client or customer. Trust your marketing partner’s recommendations on brand voice, relevancy of message and content
    2. Your time is a valuable asset so use it wisely. Provide big-picture counsel. Spending your valuable time giving big picture direction up front on content initiatives vs. spending your time editing every post, is time well-spent. Let your marketing partner help you focus on other important parts of running your business by taking the daily detail of marketing content off your plate.
    3. Digital content lasts nanoseconds. Today’s post is forgotten by tomorrow and replaced with another one. This process builds your brand’s personality over time. Each social media post is not precious, it is simply the next stepping stone on your brand’s path.
    4. Trust your content creators. The copywriters and designers on your marketing partner’s team do this day-in and day-out for multiple clients. They are experts. They know your channels better than you do and are creating content using best practices for their industry. Just like you use best practices in your industry.
    5. Work ON your business, not IN your business. You can’t be everywhere at once. Surrounding yourself with experts who know how to do things that you don’t know how to do is the smart move. Marketing, copywriting, and design professionals on your marketing partner team all have expertise and knowledge that can help you grow your business in ways you couldn’t have imagined. Let them do their job, so that you can do yours better.

    Our Overall Advice? Trust Your Partners.

    Digital content creation is a marathon with no finish line. It is a day-in and day-out process that builds your brand, and your audience, over time. Digital content like social media, blog posts, newsletters, and websites are crafted with your audience in mind. And they’re crafted to build your brand long-term. So don’t over-think every single post. Don’t over-edit every single piece of content. Whether it’s social media, blogging, email marketing, video scripting or any piece of your digital content universe, it all works together to build your brand and make your business a success in the eyes of your audience and potential customers.