Think Visual

Till the movies came along, if you couldn't read, you had no access to other worlds or knowledge.  Traditionally our education and work systems have also rewarded those who have excellent written skills. 

There was a brief interval of a few years when a limited vocabulary or articulation became acceptable - when 'SMS" lingo started to take over thanks to increasing communication through channels such as SMS, Email and Chats.  People from earlier generations bemoaned that the youth couldn't write and didn't seem to care about it.   

Looking back though that was just a minor blip, a course change taking place in the evolution of communication.  Because an even bigger transformation has happened - the world has gone visual!  With the drop of computing cost and bandwidth coupled with the ease of digitization, it has become much cheaper and easier than ever before to communicate in pictures. 

Forget Mature Brands, Think Like a Teenager 

We've long put so-called mature brands like Coca-Cola, IBM and Procter on a pedestal because of their longevity, discipline, rigor.

What if we celebrated brands who acted as teenagers instead? Instead of revering mature brands, what if we created brands that emulated how teenagers look at the world.

Joyful idealism: Nothing is quite so challenging as the political awakenings of a young adult and their righteous indignation at all that is wrong with the world. Oh vey. For astute brands, it is that idealism that provides an incredible platform for real change and a distinct voice. Ben & Jerry's has never been shy of using an idealism platform as their launch of Apple-y Ever Afterin support of gay marriage highlights. Just the latest in a history ofpolitically-inspired(and wonderfully tasty) proclamations about their values.

Cliques and Tribes: Few environments are more clique-y than a high school playground. Bieber Haters. Lady GagGa Wannabes. All these mini tribes circling, posturing and diss-ing each other. But those same tribes provide powerfully tight communities with enormous potential. Potential that brands like Harley-Davidson has turned into these incredibly loyal brand advocacy groups. Their HOGS (Harley Owners Groups) communities have the type of die-hard loyalties any brand managers would kill to have.

Read on for more...

An Easy Planning Work Sheet that Will Jump-Start Your Content Marketing Productivity

The Express Content Planner combines - on a single sheet of paper - a reader persona plus space to identify the specific steps readers can take to solve a problem or achieve a goal. 

This Express Content Planner work sheet addresses the hardest part of any content marketing project - overcoming inertia and getting started. 

The faster you choose a topic and identify an approach, the sooner you can begin to write. The sooner you begin to write, the more time you'll have available for editing and revision - where the real work takes place! 

Adapted from a work sheet I created for my book on coaching clients, the Express Content Planner is scalable. It works equally well for all types of content marketing projects, including articles, blog posts, eBooks, presentations, list-building reports, speeches, and white papers.

Get the details and download the planner here...

Your Office Space is Your Ambassador

Space or the physical environment impacts how we think and interact.  And this is also true for organizations:  the kind of physical environment and space they create reflects the culture of the organization and it influences the behavior of the people working there.  However, very little attention is paid in designing the work space to manifest the organizations foundational values and support the organization vision.

Couldn't we design our workspaces to create the experience we desire?

Common Pitfalls Observed in Social Media Customer Engagement Strategies

 When you think about brands like Zappos and Southwest Airlines, what's the first thing that comes to mind?

It's probably the fact that brands are becoming more than active on social media channels like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, and are highly successful at engaging with their end customers. Visit any of their social media streams, and you'll find a number of conversations developing between the brand and their customers - and they make it all look so easy!

But that's just the problem.

While we're all familiar with the success stories of how brands use social media channels to put a finger on the customers' pulse and generally to engage with them, do you ever think about the pitfalls of maintaining these communication lines? How can you ensure that you don't end up making some common, brand-eroding mistakes in your efforts to leverage the power of social media?

Here are some tips:

What Consumers Need in a Mobile Marketing Campaign

The rise of smartphones has lead to a proliferation in mobile marketing campaigns.

Brands know that they need to have a mobile presence that more than likely extends beyond a mobile-optimised version of a site. But the fact is that mobile marketing is still new to brands and consumers alike.

As consumers we're not quite sure what we expect out of brands on mobile - in much the same way as when brand activity started on Facebook - and brands are not quite sure how to use the medium in the best way.

Within mobile there are unique features such as being able to communicate with people on a location basis and utilise new mobile technology.

When looking at your mobile marketing strategy, it's important to focus on all aspects of mobile that are relevant, and this still very much includes SMS.

A recent study found that marketing offers via SMS had a return rate 6-8 times higher than email marketing, showing that it's not just about an online mobile marketing method.

But given all the opportunities open to brands in mobile, what is it that consumers actually want or need?

Job Listings on Paulwriter.com 

Watch this space for new job listings on Paulwriter.com every week for mid to senior level marketers. Or post a job here...  

VP Sales & Marketing - Pepper Square - Bangalore, Karnataka, India

Job profile is to develop new business & market opportunities. Conduct market research to identify opportunities for existing as well as future service lines and implement sales and marketing plans. Manage, monitor and report on all sales and marketing activities and outcome. Manage the Sales and marketing team

Target markets are India, USA, UK and the middle east. 5-7 yrs experience in sales and business development from the services industry preferably Digital media industry

Owner for all technology activities (People, research, strategy, ideation, development, quality, implementation) Resourcing, mentoring and training

Project management. Improving performance by implementing measurements and standards. Monitoring and Assessing performance. Client communication: Regular liaison with the clients, Partner communication, Creating new service line & practices. Set up Center of Excellence for technological services

Software Developer - Gaglers - Bangalore, Karnataka, India

Gaglers powers the messaging backend for online marketplaces. We connect the sellers and buyers in marketplaces via chat and email. Sellers in the marketplace can interact with anyone looking at their product, right from their cellphone.

You'll report directly to the Founder. You'll also be working with the web user interface designer and developer to implement new features of the product. You'll be working out of Bangalore, India

Apply Now...