Marketers… You Need A Benchmark!

By on   /   Blog, Brand Marketing, Education and Training, Marketing, SEO, Social Media Marketing, Strategy  
research and marjketing strategy des moines iowa

The late, great Yankee, Yogi Berra was a prophetic quote machine. One of my favorites has always been, “If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.” As silly as it sounds, it’s powerful advice. When it comes to measuring marketing performance, it’s imperative to plan your path to success. With that, until you know where you’re starting (setting the benchmark), how do you know where that path will go? Setting the benchmark is important in data-driven marketing campaigns. If you have a program that measures against specific KPI (Key Performance Indicators), but have no benchmark

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How to Stretch Out Your Content Strategy

By on   /   Blog, Education and Training, Marketing, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Strategy  
stretch content strategy

Ah, yes. The daunting craft of consistent content creation. A promotional video for YouTube. A post for the web site. A photo or graphic or video snippet on Instagram. A handful of tweets. And don’t forget to share them to SnapChat, LinkedIn and Facebook. Post an explainer vid on TikTok. And on and on. It’s exhausting! Or is it? In the decade-plus I’ve been developing content strategies for businesses and organizations, staying ahead of the content creation cycle and maintaining consistency always comes down to one simple thing: capitalizing on good content. So I’m going to give you a little

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Marketing Communications & Recruiting / Retaining Employees in a Competitive Market

By on   /   Blog, Brand Marketing, Branding, Case Studies, Education and Training, Marketing, Strategy  
emplyee recruting marketing communications

In a recent conversation with a client, we discussed their struggles recruiting and retaining quality employees. While this is not an uncommon issue these days, we’re seeing companies turn to the marketing communications side to support and augment HR efforts in these matters. Some items we discussed to help gaining traction and retention with new employee recruitment: DEFINE YOUR PRODUCT (Is this the job for them?): Start with the job description. Be upfront with the need each applicant will fulfill as well as the value the hire will provide to the company. The job description and subsequent posting (on your

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Content Marketing: 4 Simple Ways to Feed and Support Your Sales Team

By on   /   Blog, Education and Training, Marketing, SEO, Social Media Marketing, Strategy  
content marketing and sales strategies

More than blogging, more than newsletter fodder or search engine optimization (SEO) and keyword depth, the content you develop within a strategic content marketing program has the power to truly impact sales. The more you can tell the story of your company, the stronger your team can present itself to your customers. For your sales team, content marketing provides a voice beyond product specifications, statistics and pricing. It offers depth, knowledge and leverage. While many content marketing campaigns focus on external distribution in a public-facing approach, imagine the value of crafting these stories to empower your sales team. The information

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Good Social Media Engagement While Social Distancing

By on   /   Blog, Brand Marketing, Education and Training, Interactive Media, Marketing, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Strategy  
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Engaging brands on Twitter and Facebook and other various social media channels have a unique challenge when it comes to truly building community and support behind their brands.  Do brand managers monitoring their social media experience engage every tweet and post that mentions their name, product, service or industry? How appropriate is it to “chime in” on conversation streams with advice and “promotions?” And when is the line crossed from Good Social Media Practice to Something Dangerous? Below, we’ve put together four helpful tips to remember when it comes to being a good steward of your social media brand. While

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Old is New Again in Direct Marketing Strategy: “Lumpy Mail” Wins

By on   /   Blog, Case Studies, Design, Education and Training, Marketing, Print Design, Strategy  
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Direct mail marketing programs are not dead. They should be an integral part of your Direct Marketing Strategy. Contrary to every social media super star’s testimony to the contrary, when you use “Snail Mail” to send something of value to a customer or a prospect, it’s going to get noticed. I don’t care who you are or what your thoughts are when it comes to checking the mailbox, if there’s something in there with weight, or girth – better yet, if it makes noise – you’re going to open it. And for a marketer, that’s 90% of the battle. We

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Business Vampires… or “Fresh AB-Negative – FREE for the Taking?”

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business vampires

In a recent feature I saw on LinkedIn, the author talked about purging your life from those that make it miserable. “Buzzkills” she called them. Well, in the business world, I call them “Vampires.”  I wrote this feature about 12 years ago when I was pretty new at this blogging and social media thing, so I thought “What the hell, let’s see if I actually knew what I was talking about.”  Surprisingly, “Vampires” are always relevant. I hope you enjoy. 😉  (This post was originally published at TheBrandChef.com.) *** This morning, while still sound asleep (where I do my best

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Strategy Sparks Joy and So Much More

By on   /   Blog, Marketing, Strategy  
strategic communications

Sometimes I get so laser-focused on the “day-to-day” that I forget the joy in what I do. Outside graphic design, outside web development and maintenance, outside content writing, outside video, outside all of the “tasks,” I love (pronounced “luuuuuuuv”) strategy. As Marie Kondo says, “It sparks Joy.” I love the why. I especially love the how. There’s little more exciting to me than a blank slate laid out in front of me with a goal on one end and a deadline on the other. So, Andy, how do we make the two connect? Today I set aside the “day-to-day” and

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