marketing – Jenn Chen

07.13.22

Cultural competence & pop culture

Do you need to have a working knowledge of pop culture to be effective at marketing?

This is the question that I’ve been mulling over for a bit. The cultural competence part came in when I read a piece about therapists and building up a cultural competence of those who are “extremely online.” In marketing, it doesn’t seem like we call it cultural competence. Instead, we create buyer personas and market research. We do focus groups and ask if someone’s interested in such and such product, dutifully noting down their demographics.

centered are a group of five red leaves surrounded by green leaves

06.15.22

Why I’m a marketing specialist and not a generalist

A few times a month, I receive work inquiries about consulting with a company that is not in the coffee industry. They’ve sometimes found me through my writing on Sprout Social or through a google search. Some have even read my note about taking on only specialty coffee coaching clients, referencing the note in their form, and yet still email thinking that I am the solution to their problems.

02.09.22

Hyperbole & superlatives in marketing

My writing/journalism hat and marketing hat are sometimes at odds with each other and this is one of those times. In writing, especially academic, I was taught that superlatives and hyperbole should be kept to a minimum unless they are backed up by a credible source. In marketing, hyperbole is used more often while superlatives without sources run the risk of false advertising.

01.26.22

Influencer disclosure basics

It’s been three years since I wrote about influencer tips so I thought it’d be a nice revisit on the basics. I’ve seen quite a few social media posts now where either the influencers or brands or both weren’t disclosing their relationships.

09.09.20

All about the press kit 101 (Part 2)

If you need a refresher on the who, what, whys of a press kit, I covered it two weeks ago. In this part, I cover what you can do to expand your press kit. This is assuming you already have a press kit and/or you have additional time to beef it up.

08.26.20

All about the press kit 101 (Part 1)

Press kits make marketers’ lives easier. There are a few different approaches to it and in this first part, I’m going to address the who, what, why questions and what you need in the most basic press kit. You could spend 15 minutes assembling it if you have all the needed items or days/weeks if you want a robust one and you still need to create the content.

white hands are pouring milk into a hot chocolate

06.26.19

I’m in marketing & believe you should prioritize employees

It’s a cycle, really. Happy employees mean happy customers mean more profits. While I am not advocating for a total lack of a marketing budget, I am saying that your employees make your business what it is.

05.29.19

7 marketing lessons in 7 years of freelancing

Seven years is a long time to do any one thing. Yet here I am, seven years later, still self-employed and still focused on specialty coffee. My services have naturally evolved through the years and it’s been an interesting journey through it all.

08.31.18

The Responsibility of Marketing: Using Words & Imagery

Cultural appropriation in food businesses and media is not a new topic. There’s been many a discussion surrounding who gets to sell what kind of food and confusion on what’s appropriation and what’s not. I’m not going to get into the details here. If you need articles to read, there’s a great list here.

06.27.18

What to Look for in a Social Media Consultant

This is Part 3 of my outsourcing series. Here’s Part 1 and Part 2.

How do you figure out if the social media consultant you see online is the perfect one for you? This article is going to go into tips on what to look for in a consultant and manager. The content creation part of outsourcing, like photography, is a little easier since you can see tangible products (e.g. photos) and evaluate fit through there.

about

Jenn is a San Francisco-based writer & photographer. On the side, she munches on fun flavored chips & hangs out with her dog Zoey. You can reach her via the contact page or on social media @thejennchen.

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All photos were taken by Jenn Chen, unless otherwise noted, & under full copyright. Photos of me in red & orange were taken by Jessica Caisse. Do not use copy or photos without prior permission. Logos designed by Hannah Ellen.