Call it brand sentiment or trust barometer or dark social (for example, you screenshot a tweet and text it to a friend) — it’s all the same. Despite all the efforts and all the software created, you won’t be able to capture all of your word-of-mouth acquisition data.
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In relation to a recent Sprudge piece, I thought I would reflect a little more on the use of nostalgia in marketing. Creating that feeling of nostalgia through advertising is not new. It’s part of emotional marketing and consumer psychology. Being able to create strong feelings inside the consumer (whether it’s anger or sadness or nostalgia) is one indicator of a successful nostalgia-focused marketing campaign.
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My word for the year 2022 is “intuition.”
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Your emails don’t have to be long to be nice.
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Do you know someone who works in digital marketing or social media or e-commerce? Or maybe they’re a freelancer, WFH worker, or all-around creative person. OR, you manage someone who’s in one of these roles. I’ve assembled a list of gifts that would likely be welcomed.
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I used to be one who wanted to “hack” my way through productivity.
If I woke up earlier, I’d have more time to get things done. If I did tasks in 20-min chunks, I’d find that creative flow. If I planned my day out in the morning and then recapped my day at EOD, I’d know what to do.
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How exciting! You got contacted for an interview, now what? Having been on both sides of this for various formats (magazine, online pub, blog, podcast, etc.) and as someone who likes to be prepared, I have some thoughts on the best ways to get ready for a press interview. This is written for the interviewee and to be more specific, the small business. Not the one who already has a PR agency.
These steps are mainly for live interviews, such as for a podcast or on a phone. If you’re doing a written interview, you can skip everything in the “during” part.
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If you’ve been in the business of providing services long enough, you’ve likely grappled with this question. “Should I charge for this X thing?” And even if you’re mostly a product-oriented company, you probably offer some services like classes or tutorials.
I do not have an easy answer for you, as it’s something I am also struggling with. Expertise comes with experience built on labor, whether physical or mental. When you reach a certain level of expertise, people start coming to you with questions. This isn’t about how to set your rates or prices, it’s about whether you should or not.
I am a believer in both not gatekeeping valuable information and paying people what they’re worth. It is unfortunate that we tie money with value but it is what it is. When you pay for something, you want to receive something back. This is an easy enough concept for physical goods but not so much about digital ones or intangible ones.
If you pay for a cooking class, you expect to learn how to cook that meal. The more you pay, the more detailed, personalized, and valuable experience you expect to have. Yes, you can watch a free recipe video on YouTube but maybe you want more.
And this is the hazy line that I’ve settled in. Generalized information and advice, like this newsletter, is free. Once you start veering into the personalized advice territory (i.e. “What should I do with my Instagram account for this specific goal I have in mind?”), it becomes a paid service. Digital worksheets could be both as long as the free one has some clear goal. It could be brand awareness or leading customers to a paid worksheet.
Likewise, you could offer free video tutorials on how to brew coffee with a certain method (there are so many of these out there). AND you can offer paid small group classes or 1:1 home barista training.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this, especially if you’ve drawn a different hazy line than I have.
DM like it’s going to be public because it basically is.
If there is any tl;dr to this, it is that DMs between a brand and person are never private and should never be written as if they were.
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When you work in marketing, part of your job is to keep an eye on trends. And these trends are everywhere, not limited to your own industry or even marketing. At which point do you decide that a trend is worth investing in? I don’t have a clear answer on this but I can tell you what sparked this post.
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I'm a San Francisco-based coffee marketer: digital strategist, writer & photographer. On the side, I munch on donuts & think of new ways to make you look stunning online.
You can reach me here or on Twitter.
Life goal:
eat / drink coffee / write / travel
>>>> all in one.
