05 May Authenticity Feeds Innovation
It Takes Time To Do Marketing Right
I am always promoting marketing authenticity, although guilty of falling into the mainstream momentum trap and often using superficial and flat content while doing 3,000 other things. That being said, it makes me cringe when I see specific messaging and visuals on LinkedIn or other professional platforms from larger and established companies. It is also why it takes me longer and harder pounding for our business, but good and authentic work takes time to research, plan and execute. It also takes failures, reworking, and pivoting. Everyone wanted everything yesterday, but they should have started planning a year ago, realistically!
Many companies follow the flow with repetitive, subpar content and by ‘humbly’ sharing their goal-lacking initiatives. Thus, not realizing that although it takes less time, it sucks resources and finances in the long run. They don’t have to do it this way! You don’t have to come up with ideas at the last minute just to fit a marketing calendar! The calendar should represent your already developed operating plan. It should also be a storytelling exercise.
Treat Consumers With Respect
Furthermore, let’s not teach the consumers to accept flat marketing as acceptable. We want consumers to spend more, yet we pay less on intelligently conversing with them. One way or another, it will not end well, and it will become challenging to come up with creative ideas that have social and community meaning and impact at all. In short, the day you will be impacted by cheap markering is coming! Innovation is something we nurture by celebrating professional and consumer-driven critical thinking and open dialogue. Innovation is not the technology we use per se, but how we use it and what we use it for. This is when products and services excel and allow fair and rational competition.
Content Shouldn’t Fit the Marketing Narrative, It should Lead It Strategically
You may think, it is just another social media post about Women’s Day, but it is your demonstration of how you do business. Was it last minute, is there longevity to your message, and what’s the substance behind it? How long did you build the initiative for? Does it represent your corporate culture and leadership mindset?
If you are promoting an initiative on #womensday, show us the real transformation story, program and results. Let the people speak from their hearts from that group photo! As professionals and people, we can tell last-minute efforts and photo ops apart. I would stretch that thought and state such actions disrespect our professional community because they 1) Promote social causes just for the sake of the day and because everyone is doing it, and 2) Because it doesn’t innovate business and challenge competitors to do better. Hence, to drive change.
Your company is going #green! Is it for the social media post and investors’ goals or have you implemented specific actions and goals that will drive success for you, the community and your customers? Share your results and next steps. Create a multi-year plan, share it, be accountable for the results, and lead by example. Do not share retrospective results to always fit the narrative of the day. Failure is also part of the story, and it is authentic! You make projections for your business; social and environmental causes are part of it!
Be Playful
Often people underestimate the power of good marketing, and this is how we end up in a weird environment, where witty and clever taglines are not easily understood and approved. Innovative ideas take time to understand and plan and need investment, and management will disregard them. More and more, the messaging and visuals describe the product and service literally. Almost we removed the ability of consumers to think and be playful or touched by our efforts. Are we afraid they will not relate? Maybe we are not aiming right then.
Why Are You Doing What You Are Doing?
Without going into further details about the movie itself, I loved the “Don’t Look Up” movie. It hit me right into the heart as a marketer and resonated authentically. We have created a society and business that operates with the wrong values and has forgotten what innovation is. The sea of moving images and texts is removing creativity and authenticity. When I scroll down, Instagram is a parade of Canva templates and a plethora of the same persona. I know it is hard to be authentic and doesn’t bring vanity metrics immediately, but why are you doing what you are doing anyway?
I used to say that we need to stop running and think for a second, even if we lose money at that moment. The rewards later will be abundant, professionally and as an organization!
The Difference Is In the Vision
As a marketing professional, it hurts me sometimes to see enterprises with the power to influence social and business change do mediocre work on promoting their own values. It is truly your opportunity to shine, innovate and lead!
As a strategic marketing consultancy, we are in a competitive landscape, where flashier and bigger companies offer design and digital services and have larger client rosters. What truly differentiates us is intimately understanding the business and seeing the future, not the day of. We see how to take your business to the future and make you stand out. I firmly believe this is the only way forward. If we don’t resonate, we are not a good fit.
Happy business-ing!
~ Mira K.
Founder & COO