April 13, 2012
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Look inside: where to find brand stories

Fish don’t notice water; birds don’t notice the wind. Let’s say you’ve decided that the buzz around brand storytelling has some substance to it. The next step is to sit down and try create interesting stories around your brand. But what stories? This is the point at which a lot people get stuck. It’s not because you don’t know your brand well enough but because you know it only too well and you get lost in the details. You need to be able to step back and get the right perspective to look inside your organization and your brand to find the spark for a great brand story.

Brand stories can come from anywhere in your organization. There are things Continue Reading →

April 10, 2012
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What Google rankings can teach you about content marketing

Content marketing isn’t just a way someone dreamed up to keep content writers harmlessly employed. It’s an inbound marketing technique that uses the way internet search works to try and draw an audience to your business offerings via highly visible and attractive brand-related content. A good content strategy should bring you measurable results in your search rankings as well as your sales pipeline. Continue Reading →

April 6, 2012
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Building a business? First build an audience

Digital content can be a great hub around which to drive your business. This time, I’m going to define exactly what a meaningful audience is and how it can be leveraged for business growth.

You know you’ve got an engaged audience who consume your content  Continue Reading →

April 3, 2012
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Face time vs. Facebook time

After all the time I’ve spent advocating social media networking and online marketing on this blog, I’m going to step back and tell you that the digital arena isn’t the whole world. Online activities are great to have and make a real contribution to your business goals; but the story can’t begin and end there.

People still like to spend time in the proximate – not virtual – company of other people. No matter how handy e-commuting and virtual teamwork can be, there’s still value in getting face-to-face Continue Reading →

March 30, 2012
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8 steps to customer experiences that drive sales

A duck walks into a shop, asks the shopkeeper for Chap Stick. ‘Shall I put that on your bill?’, asks the shopkeeper. ‘Yes, that would be a relief,’ replies the duck. I know, I know – that was a groan-inducing pun. But it ties into the topic of this post. The better you can target customers with custom shopping experiences that are effective, easy and even personalised, the easier it becomes to convert a sale into an ongoing relationship. Continue Reading →

March 27, 2012
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10 steps to building a brand community that works

Ever since the first group of hunter-gatherers decided to build their huts closer together for mutual security and companionship, community building has been one of humanity’s most intrinsic and rewarding skills. But deciding where to pitch your tent can be a little less intuitive when it comes to setting up a community around your brand on the social web.

On the other hand, the pay-off can be valuable in the long term, as you create a low-expense, high impact vehicle for disseminating messages around your brand. It’s all about converting customers into advocates and followers into customers. But it takes hard work and preparation to get there. Continue Reading →

March 23, 2012
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A culture that works: creating a company ethos that spells success

All companies aren’t created equal; some plod along, keeping afloat but never making waves. Others seem to make a habit of excellence. What sets them apart? ‘Grow: How Ideals Power Growth and Profit at the World’s Greatest Companies,’ a recent book by Jim Stengel, addresses these questions. After an in-depth study on what gives some of the most successful companies in the world their edge. Here are the ten tips Continue Reading →

March 20, 2012
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Digital Marketing: the 6 metrics that matter the most

Measure, measure, measure…after all the claims made for digital marketing, the big task is to measure how effective your online activities have been. This is the point at which you tend to get bogged down in trying to figure out what you need to measure – or conversely, when you’re presented with a lot of statistics but aren’t sure quite what they mean.

The problem is, due to the nature of the digital medium, there’s just so much that you can measure if you choose to. So what should you measure? I’ve found it useful to define 6 broad metrics, Continue Reading →

March 16, 2012
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Business = people, or, changing the B2B mindset

Definitions can paint us in corners. Labels can limit us. The ugly duckling might really be a swan; a problem might really be an opportunity. When you’re working in the Business-To-Business or B2B space, it’s easy to forget a basic fact of your business: businesses are people. Each business entity you are trying to market to is composed of people, people whom you need to reach out to, listen to and engage with if you want to drive a sale. I believe that one of the main reasons B2B campaigns fall short is because they don’t take this into account.

 It  is even more avoidable in the digital medium, which allows for one-on-one interaction by its very nature. Let’s look at a few ways to make sure that your B2B marketing keeps the spotlight on the people who will drive Continue Reading →

March 13, 2012
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Creating brand stories that energize audiences

We’re a storytelling species; from the days of cavemen gathering around a fire, listening to a shaman sharing myths -to the stories in every shape and form that we consume from multiple sources; people have always loved telling and consuming stories.

That’s why brand marketing is really about weaving a compelling story around your brand. The more engaging the  story, more the number of people who will be willingly ready to consume it as an extension Continue Reading →