double b design + copy - Blog

How to Earn b2b Street Cred with a Unique Thought Leadership Voice

Tue, 22 Aug 2023 19:13:10 GMT

Thought leadership is a huge part of social media for your b2b brand. And seeing that social media is leading the game over traditional advertising or product marketing, the stakes are ever higher to get it right.

Have you fully defined and honed your brand voice? Are you capitalizing on your uniqueness in all of your thought leadership channels?

Let’s explore how to define and leverage your unique thought leadership voice to build your street cred – affecting everything from recruitment and attrition to lead generation and your and bottom-line.

B2b wins with thought leadership

The value of thought leadership is undeniable. 40% of b2b marketers say they’re able to link business wins directly back to specific pieces of thought leadership content. In fact, thought leadership is said to be one of the most effective tools any b2b can wield to demonstrate value, especially in a tough economy. The awareness-building capability of thought leadership can impact the building of new partnerships, acquiring new users and prospects, as well as establishing a corporate reputation that attracts and retains valuable employees.

Thought leadership benefits fall into one or more of these categories:

Building trust and credibility
Differentiating your brand from others
Engaging with C-suite prospects, leaders and influencers
Winning advocates and early adopters; driving growth
Establishing a foundation for marketing content
Identifying new industry categories

Find your own unique voice

With the value opportunity clear, the next step is defining and honing your own unique voice. This takes time and some trial and error. Start with this homework:

Know your brand: Be clear on your USP and how you differentiate from others in the market. Have a clear mission and vision (your mission is your what/why that defines what your do; your vision is your inspirational rally cry for the future).
Know your audience: Y ou must be clear on who you’re talking too. Thought leadership is about knowing the unique challenges of your users, the industry at larger and your place within it. This requires a deep and tuned-in perspective. Know what matters to your tribe.
Tell your story: To capitalize on thought leadership for growth, you must have a clear and relatable story. Weave that origin and vision into every opportunity to draw relevant insights relevant that leverage your point-of-view. Your story must be about the greater “why” while also being personal.
Stick to a plan: Thought leadership efforts are not willy-nilly. They should tie into a complete content strategy and within your messaging matrix for your brand. While being flexible enough to jump at media opportunities, don’t lose sight of the three points above, no matter what kind of thought leadership outreach it is.
Be actively sharing: Always. Your efforts should be borne out of generosity and a willingness to teach (not to make a profit). Share with purpose and genuine desire; the rest will naturally fall into place. As you earn the respect of those you are helping your leadership will become self-evident and continue to grow in impact.

Build street-cred with various tactics

As you craft thought leadership opportunities into your content strategy, there are various tactics you can use. Most of them are some combination of current or future-looking trends or strategies, and your unique advice. Think of yourself as the mentor to the rest of the market, and carve out ways to share your wisdom.

Present:

Define present challenges and give advice for how to overcome them. This might be specific tools, strategies, feature sets or other advice. Remember, you’re a few steps ahead of those that follow you. How can you share what you’ve learned and what has worked for you, to make their journey better?
Share research and expertise. Conduct research and share it with the industry. As a leader, you have more access to information or other thought leaders. Leverage your position to gain insight and expertise that others can use int their own practice.

Forward-thinking:

Identify trends you see in the industry, market or parallel markets that may impact your work. Offer these insights as a forward-thinking perspective. What do they mean? How will these trends inform future decisions? How have you navigated them successfully?
Challenge conventional thinking. Being provocative is part of the role of thought leaders and mentors. They challenge us to not just follow the pack, but to forge our own way. How can your insight inspire a new path for someone to follow? If you could do something again, how would you change your course?
Provide a roadmap pr a vision for the future . This could be short or long-term. This might be idealism at its finest, paving the way for a provocative shift in the way business is being done. Or it might be a subtle prediction of what new trends we might see down the line in the next year or so. Pull out your magic 8-ball and have at it.

You’ve got the tools, now lead

With these tips and all your tremendous experience, you’ve got what it takes to build a reputation worthy of imitation. Don’t let imposter syndrome slow you down. We’re all at different points along the professional roadway. Wherever you are, others are still making their way behind you. You can lead and inspire them.

So, craft your messaging around your unique brand voice and start building that street-cred. Just remember these three cardinal rules: Be focused, be consistent, and be yourself.

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If you need help injecting some with thought leadership content ideas or finding your brand voice for your b2b, feel free to reach out . Let’s chat about your brand and how we can make it anything but boring!

Eight Fundamental Design Principles (that also Work for Content and Branding)

Sun, 11 Jun 2023 17:52:58 GMT

Welcome to my new series exploring topics relevant to b2b marketers around design, branding or copywriting.

Let’s talk design principles.

I recently came across a file in my archive that visually explained these 8 key design principles. These principles are the foundational building blocks for just about any design solution, used alone or combined. As a designer, I have frequently referred to them to devise creative solutions when feeling stuck.

Receiving them anew, it occurred to me that there are also parallel interpretations that can apply to branding and/or content creation. Let’s see how.

Contrast

Defined as one thing being strikingly different or in juxtaposition to something else, the principle of contrast in design is used to create tension (dark vs light) or emphasis (large vs small). Similarly, in branding, the objective is to always to stand out uniquely from your competition. This concept of contrast can be done both visually, as well as with brand positioning and messaging.

Emphasis

One of the key objectives in design is to aid in understanding. If everything is of equal importance, nothing stands out. The designer indicates what is most to least important by using the principle of emphasis. Emphasis can also be applied in branding and content. To fully define and effectively communicate your brand you must first understand what is most important to your audience. Each asset or medium may place emphasis on slightly different aspects of who you are and why it matters.

Variety

This principle in design enhances visual interest so as not to be boring or monotonous. The b2b marketer can use this same principle when designing the building blocks for a brand, allowing for a variety of interpretations from one asset to another without going off-brand. Messaging distribution strategies may also employ the principle of variety. The brand story may vary from channel to channel or over time so as not to become monotonous or dull.

Unity

One of brands foremost tenets is to be consistent and unified. Unity in designs assures that all the elements work together in a cohesive way. When they look alike and sound alike, it is clear they belong together. Unity may be achieved by using one voice, delivering a unified brand personality and authority. A lack of unity can breed distrust or a lack of confidence in what is communicated and in the brand it represents.

Rhythm

Th design principle of rhythm, similar to pattern, is created by the spacing of elements to one another, either in a regular or irregular way. The rhythm or pattern can elicit emotions of calm or excitement. The same principle is used in marketing or content messaging. A single piece may use rhythm to create an interesting cadence to the words, building to a climax that persuades the reader to act. Or the cadence of blog releases, e-newsletters, emails or social media may build-up and deliver with anticipation a consistent and informative message for your brand.

Hierarchy

Similar to emphasis, the designer uses hierarchy to prioritize our attention. In branding, this principle requires we know who else is competing for the attention of our audience and where we stand within the market. In copywriting, as well as in design, the use of hierarchy is employed to make our content more scannable and easy to understand at-a-glance. The reader should walk away with a clear view of what is most important, why it’s important to them, and what they should do next.

Movement

The principle of movement is directly related to hierarchy, especially in content. The movement here is compelling the reader to act. In design, movement can be deployed to lead the eye around the page or screen, so as to digest bits of information the way we want them to. Movement is also important in branding by fully understanding your purpose and mission. This will guide your brand choices and move your audience with a shared goal and drive.

White Space

For new designers, understanding the importance of white space is a crucial step. The surrounding “negative” space around the elements on a page can have just as much or more impact as the elements themselves. The area around items allow them to breathe, or can create tension in various ways that bring the design to life. White space from a content or especially a branding perspective can be equally important. What are you NOT saying? Is it appropriate to your brand, your audience and your purpose? Or does it maybe reveal a lack of transparency or authenticity?

Underlying b2b marketing principles

The underlying principles for all of marketing are the same, regardless of discipline.

We’ve seen that each of these fundamental design principles have helped to also inform us when making b2b marketing decisions in branding and copywriting. Now go forth and create, marketers!

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If you need help using design principles in your marketing campaigns or with any other branding/design/copywriting project for your b2b, feel free to reach out . My goal is to help you get marketing assets out the door and be anything but boring!

Let Creativity Lift Your Brand from Boring

Mon, 08 May 2023 19:48:03 GMT

Time isn't all B2B marketers are running out of.

If you’re like most B2B CMOS, Directors and VPS you’ve got a lot of demands on your time. Your in-house teams are tasked with lead generation, nurturing, thought leadership, sales enablement, product messaging and channel building…I could go on. It’s a lot!

And oftentimes, KPI demands are getting, well, more demanding, while your teams and budgets are getting slashed. Does less time ever translate into less creativity? Oooh. Bad choice.

Last thing your audience wants from you is boring. So, don’t sacrifice the creativity.

Fast is not always good

Solutions that are fast, may not be very original. If you settle too quickly on a concept or theme, it’s probably too predictable -- something that has been done before. Probably too many times before.

Don’t get me wrong, not every concept has to be original (there are only so many original ideas left in this world). But you do need to put an original spin on it. And it needs to speak to your brand, not something that could just as easily have come from a competitor. So, push further.

I like to use the idiom “turn it on it’s ear” which conveys the ideas of taking something pedestrian and flipping it around in some unpredictable way to make it unique. So, recycling a concept is not all together bad, as long as you find a way to turn it on it’s ear, and make it yours.

Fast can be boring in other ways, too. A quickly chosen concept can be too one-note. While a great campaign concept has many “legs” or various ways to “spin” the idea for different aspects of the campaign or to make it last longer.

Think about some of the great advertising campaigns like the Geico caveman or Allstate’s Mayhem. The caveman campaign launched in 2004 and ran thru 2022. And Mayhem (the brainchild of Leo Burnett) was first introduced in 2010 and in some capacity is still running today.

Lesson: great concepts have “legs” which can lead to longevity.

How do you stay focused and productive without sacrificing creativity?

The trick to being both productive (with less time, budget or other resources) and creative is to spend what you have in the right place.

Time: spend it up-front

Creativity takes time in the early stages of a project. Give your team time to breath the objective and brainstorm ideas that push the creative boundaries. In-house B2B teams can learn from big consumer ad agencies when it comes to defining and drafting the creative brief. This document gets everyone on the right page and will be time well-spent down the line. From the brief, creative concepts can be fully explored, then culled, and then refined for execution.

Creativity: give it legs

Once the creative concept is approved, look for ways to stay within the concept while using those “legs” to expand on the idea. Can give-aways tie into the concept instead of being the same old branded swag? Can email messaging get a little more interesting by building on the concept and injecting humor and creativity? This allows one idea to become many without starting from scratch. And your implementation of each asset becomes more dynamic and interesting without breaking the bank.

Resources: systemize your process

As your team builds assets for your multi-faceted campaign, think of what stays consistent and what can change. There should be a central image and headline or tagline that ties it all together, but sizes and medium and audience may change from asset to asset. So, know which core assets to create and how to modify them as you implement each component. This process will maximize efficiency and save on production times, while also leveraging your creativity for a better and more cohesive end-result,

Process makes productivity

Now’s the time to kick your team into production mode. This isn’t your first rodeo. You should already know what types of assets you need for most campaigns and the timeline to launch for each component. These things should be systemized so you can plug and play from here.

Systemize your process

Delegate and prioritize each aspect of the campaign process: planning, operations, outreach, partners, sales, etc. You’ve put the time up-front to create a killer concept so now you just turn on the production machine and make it happen.

Automate with AI

I would be remiss in this day and age not to talk about AI tools. If your team is exploring AI tools, now may be the perfect time to implement some of them. Your creative and brief are the springboard AI tools will need to help you write copy quickly or generate new iterations of the creative. Just be sure the core creative (image and tagline) are consistent throughout, and be sure a human brain is always reviewing and filtering whatever work product AI spits out.

80/20 is better than perfect

Remember, marketing is a game of self-imposed deadlines. The only way to crush that game is to let go of the idea of perfection. The 80/20 rule is your friend here. We’re not creating the Sistine Chapel!

If it’s 80% there, even if it’s not perfect, let it go. Make the deadline. Stay on schedule. Your campaign success depends on everything working together, in sync and on time.

Never say there’s no time for creativity

We’ve talked about reasons and ways to have both productivity and creativity. There’s no excuse for being boring just because you’re short on time, budget, resources or all three.

You and your team can embrace the creativity your brand deserves even in these tight and troublesome times in the b2b world. Give it a go, and see if your metrics don’t soar as well.

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If you need help injecting some creativity into your marketing campaigns or with any other branding/design/copywriting project for your b2b, feel free to reach out . Let’s chat about your brand and how we can make it anything but boring!

Your Website Copy is Lazy.

Mon, 06 Mar 2023 16:00:24 GMT

Your Website Copy is Lazy. Here’s Why and How to Fix it.

Is your Website Copy Lazy? Ineffective?

Here’s a test:

Select a key phrase from your home page about your company or product and run a quick Google search. Does the same or similar phrasing turn up on numerous competitor sites? DOH!

Or try this one:

Search your own website for the phrase: “…for all your [fill in your offer] needs.” If that phrase is used, shame
on you, website copywriter. Surely you can do better. LAZY!

Customers find you via your website. It’s how you explain what you have to offer and that you can solve user’s problems. It’s where you convince users to choose you and not another provider. Your website is too important to let uninspired, unclear copy get in the way.

Optimize your website copy to make every word click. Every sentence and headline must work hard and hit home. And even when you get it right, phrases and messaging will change over time. So, your website may need a copy refresh to reflect those nuances and stay top-notch.

Truth is, most company websites should consider a redesign every 2-3 years. That task is often simplified by reusing existing copy as much as possible. But in reality, websites should consider a copy refresh every 6-months to a year, so as to avoid stale, inconsistent, or misleading messaging.

Reasons to Refresh Your Copy Now

There are several reasons why you should give your website copy a refresh. For every “why” there’s a “how” you go about doing it. Here are the whys. Then we’ll break down the how.

Why you need to refresh your copy:

Copy was always an after-thought
Analytics indicate what isn’t working
SEO and keyword trends
You pivoted on pain-points
New products or services
Competitive landscape or offerings
Your brand voice is lost in the noise

Now You Know Why. Here’s the How

Now that you understand the reasons to go about a website copy refresh, let’s walk through a few strategies of how to go about doing it.

1. Check in with your customers.

Customer feedback is gold. Try a survey or run a few informal interviews with your key customers. Or you might invest in user-testing of your website. Also, your sales reps are a valuable touchstone to what your customers are thinking. Ask them what they’re hearing from customers and prospects. Are those issues, questions and concerns addressed in your current messaging? If not, a copy refresh is needed.

2. Revisit goals and set new ones.

Your analytics will reveal what content is working and where your website needs work. You can look at conversion testing software and consider ways to improve your messaging architecture. A/B testing can greatly improve form completion, downloads, sign-ups and more. So, use your marketing analytic tools to address these issues one-by-one, then employ a copywriter to optimize each opportunity.

3. Create a brand matrix and pillars.

Along with annual marketing planning, create a messaging matrix which reflects any changes to your core value messaging, product offerings and customer pain-points. Then use these documents to inform all of your existing website copy and refresh it accordingly.

4. Remove and repurpose content.

Examine which content is obsolete and remove it from your website. Then review your evergreen content and key product messaging. Refresh and repurpose those assets and the website copy that promotes them. This keeps your content marketing engine primed, without having to start from scratch. And your messaging remains consistent and on-point.

5. Build trust and authority.

The longer you’ve been in business the more proof and trust-building sources you’ve acquired. Keep this content fresh by reviewing (or creating) case studies, customer success stories, testimonials, and awards messaging. Don’t forget the impact this content can have on your About Us section and recruitment pages. Are your employee benefits policies up-to-date and reflecting today’s job market?

6. Make content interactive and responsive.

Consumers want websites that are mobile-optimized and interactive. Users want more videos, animation, kinetic text, parallax designs and motion in general. But UX is paramount, so it has to function well on all devices, including buttons and form fields. Create new interactive content as needed and write well-crafted copy for every micro-action to maximize user experience.

Get the Most Out of Your Website Now

Imagine you’re at a singles bar and your opening line falls flat….FAIL! Don’t let that be your user’s website experience.

Instead, make every work count with a systematic and frequent website copy refresh project. Reach out to a website copywriting expert who fully understand the nuances and techniques employed by effective ecommerce websites like yours.

These techniques might include:

Brand personality and tone
Scannable content
Benefits addressing ‘what’s in it for me?’
Customer-centric storytelling
Educational copy: show, don’t tell
A sense of anticipation and urgency

If you need help with this or any other copywriting project for your b2b, feel free to reach out . Let’s chat about your website copy and how we can kick it into gear, remove the lazy language, and fix those copy fails.

4 Tactics to Revive Your Marketing Out of a Planning Coma

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 16:35:03 GMT

Are you stuck?

It’s already February and you’re still stuck in planning mode. Layoffs and a sluggish economy seem to have brought a lot of things to a standstill. Like hiring. Budget commitments. Goal setting. And tactical plans. But you can’t let yourself be squelched into inertia.

“Strategy doesn’t have to be complicated. Just pick a general direction and implement like hell.”

It’s time to get out of planning mode and start doing. According to an American economist and strategist, “The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.” But doing nothing is also a choice. And inaction caused by fear of failure may be your biggest mistake of all.

So here are some ways to get you and your team unstuck.

Revive Your Team from Planning Mode

Book a Marketing Therapist (aka strategy) Session
If too much internal uncertainty is stalling your progress, why not seek an outside perspective. This quick and inexpensive option allows you to bounce ideas around and can help you make some decisions. Sometimes just talking it through is all you need to gain the confidence you need to get started – sort of like a marketing therapist.

Look for a consultant or freelancer with a depth of experience who offers consultation by the hour or for a set fee. You’ll walk away with a clear action list. And they can probably help you implement as well.
Turn Your ‘22 Success into ’23 Gold
You can probably count at least half a dozen ‘year in review’ posts you’ve read recently, am I right? Why not take that retrospective insight to put your success on paper. Turn them into marketing assets in the form of case studies and success stories, to use throughout your buying process in 2023. Choose 2 or 3 client solutions and write a case study. Or craft proof-of-concepts success stories about how your offering serves a specific industry or niche.

These assets can become sales gold. Use them. Then use them again…as leave-behind pdfs for your sales team or wrapped into email sequences that nurture prospects. Bottom line: A decision to create new case studies or success stories is always a good one.
Revive and Refresh Your Brand Messaging
Along with annual planning comes brand and message refinements. What did you find was or wasn’t working last year that needs a little tweaking for 2023? What products or services are going to lead the charge? How have competitors affected your market and what adjustments will your team be making to compensate?

All of this is typical stuff, and while it may not warrant a full-blown brand pivot, subtle changes and messaging focus can go a long way to get everyone on the same page.

A new Message Matrix and Brand Pillars exercise is a great place to start. In these two documents, your brand positioning and talking points are clearly outlined for the entire company. Everyone delivers the same messaging, and your tactical planning has the brand focus it needs to make every effort sell.

Some teams can find the tools and resources to perform these audits and produce these documents in-house. But more often, an outside consultant is well work the investment. They’ll clarify and consolidate all your internal input, adding expertise and strategic spin that will strengthen your brand.

Then these documents become the roadmap to help refresh all your customer-facing materials as needed -- from website and pitch decks to sales and marketing collateral.
Generate Some Quick Lead-Gen Action
While I’m not suggesting you create anything but a well thought-out lead-gen asset, I am saying that not all asset development has to take months. You likely have a lot of evergreen content and existing resources that could be repurposed and refreshed to generate a new asset that can kick-start your team out of inactivity.

Start off with a brainstorming session. What can you do fast for quick results? Also look at what you have that’s been working. Can you refresh it or riff off of it? Or what does sales keep hearing from prospects and having to repeat over and over? Look at your competitors. What are they doing or saying and how you can counter their efforts with one of your own, or how you can fill a gap that no one else has covered?

Remember – blue-sky here. Anything is possible. The narrow your list by what is doable and easy now? Define what the asset should be and how it will be used. Draft the content inhouse or hire it out. A good consultant can pull together both content and design in just a few weeks and your team will have new leads in their in-box in no time.

Now, Let’s Get ‘em to Drink

British actor and writer Frank Muir relates an analogy to define strategy from tactics: “Strategy is buying a bottle of fine wine when you take a lady out for dinner. Tactics is getting her to drink it."

Now’s the time to stop thinking about your strategy -- what you want your customers to do. Instead, it’s time to focus on getting them to do it. Let’s get ‘em to drink! Tactical action. You’ll get you and your team out of the planning coma by doing things that will move people to action. Now.

“Without execution, planning is useless.”

Need Help?

If you’re looking for ways to kick-start your 2023 marketing tactics, look no further. I’ve created these new Revive Service Packages just for you. The ideas and process of each offering is outlined, and I’ll help you with each engagement as we refine it together. But it’s up to you to take-action.

Check out the packages here , then give me a call and let’s start doing!

Header photo by Edge2Edge Media on Unsplash

b2b Culture Content is More Important than Ever in 2023

doubleb-bogue (Barbara Bogue) — Sun, 11 Dec 2022 16:46:49 GMT

Unbelievably it’s almost 2023! We’ve put the pandemic behind us yet we’re still reeling from political and economic upheavals. The b2b world has not gone unscathed in all this turmoil, and the employee-employer relationship is facing some growing pains. That’s one reason why culture content is more important than ever!

What is Culture Content?

Specifically, this type of marketing content, also referred to as employer branding, is about how you position yourself to prospective employees. I’ve seen an increase in employer-branding companies of late and an uptick in research that explores what’s going on. We’ll examine some recent insights into the minds of today’s b2b workforce, why they migrated in the Great Resignation, how they’re surviving layoffs and right-sizing, and what makes them stay in jobs once they have them. And we’ll consider, how b2b CMOs and branding experts like you can use culture content to benefit your growing b2b enterprise.

Philosophies Reveal Future Crisis

Greek philosopher Aristotle said, “Man is by nature a social animal” and 20 ^th century psychologist Harold Maslow concurred, ranking “love and belonging” among the top five human hierarchy of needs.

Mental health and wellness are also hot topics of late, bringing anxiety and depression out of the darkness in a world striving to heal and cope with so much change. So, while quarantines and working from home forever changed our view of work/life balance, most businesses today are still trying to figure out how to meet the emotional needs of both their remote and hybrid workforce. And employees (some say especially Gen Z) are striving like never before to fill a need for connection.

All these factors in 2023 place us head-on with a connection crisis.

Employer Branding for b2b

Research shows that strong brand cultures and employer branding have a positive impact beyond our internal walls. Management consultant, educator, and author Peter Drucker said, “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” His philosophy dictated that leaders exhibit high moral and ethical integrity, to empower employees, and ultimately serve the common good. These principles would supersede any marketing or economic strategies for success. And this ethos seems to resonate with Gen Z and Gen X employees. According to emerging brand culture agencies (like DeSantos Breindel, BetterUp and Mystery) a misalignment between brand and culture is the number-one reason why b2b brands fail. So, brands must solidify and communicate their culture content.

b2b brands, perhaps more so than b2c brands, are said to be built from the inside out. Meaning: leadership, employees and employee engagement are vital to success. And in the age of social media and the inherent devotion younger workers have to “living” online, employee engagement leads to social exposure and awareness for the company brand.

Employees become brand ambassadors whether you like it or not. Without proper alignment and tools, the amplification of these voices will have ill effect. Thus, branding for b2b companies has become increasingly about social mission and purpose. And these external-facing brand values must then be clearly interpreted and communicated within an organization to form an internal rallying cry of sorts, empowering employees to spread the message even further.

What’s Working and What’s Not?

So how are we doing? What does the research reveal? What do see that’s working and where can b2b marketers improve?

Negative Effects of Doing Nothing

Without strong cultural branding, employees lack connection resulting in lower employee engagement:

313% stronger intention to quit
176% higher likelihood to job search
158% more anxiety and depression

Positive Results from Culture Building

Employers who focus on employee engagement and culture, see improvement:

59% more positive relationships
48% more professional growth
41% higher social connection
34% higher strategic thinking
27% more job satisfaction

“ Leaders who can create those environments (a culture where employees feel like they're valued or respected, where they belong) are pretty game-changing for culture. ” ADAM MASSMAN, GLOBAL HEAD OF L&D AT JLL

Research shows that focusing on internal values and policies to foster more engaged employees has a positive external impact:

21% higher profitability
66% greater employee well-being
81% less absenteeism
51% better problem-solving skills

“ Collaboration may feel inefficient in remote setting, yet it can be a way to build relationships, productive friction and energy. We can achieve connection through work, not just at work. ” - ADAM WOOD, SR. CONTENT MARKETING MANAGER, BETTERUP

Now’s the Time to Create Your Content Culture

Research reveals the time is ripe. We build stronger companies by builder stronger cultures.

If you haven’t already got a handle on your brand’s values and culture, make it a 2023 initiative. Gather leadership and marketing research to examine your current positioning, not just within the customer marketplace, but within your workforce and employee base as well. Now’s the time to appeal to your future employee with solid mission statements and rallying cries. Build transparency into your organization that supports health and wellbeing and fosters collaboration and internal connection. Measure and improve as you go.

Then as you continue to build culture content into your brand and content strategies and distribution channels, your growth in 2023 and beyond is likely to follow.

If you need help examining and refining your culture messaging and content, reach out and let’s chat.

Make Your LinkedIn Content Work Harder with Mini-ebooks

doubleb-bogue (Barbara Bogue) — Fri, 17 Sep 2021 13:29:42 GMT

We're all going through life trying to make connections. In business, relationship building is half the game. Relationship maintaining might be considered the other half.

One of the best ways to network these days is through social media — LinkedIn for many B2Bs. With organic posts and messaging, you can build a following and foster individual relationships for practically no investment (except time and effort).

What's one way to break through the LinkedIn content clutter without spending for paid placements? Documents. Specifically, what I like to call mini ebooks.

These free document-carousel posts are visual, multi-faceted for informational messaging, and they can engage the audience 10x more than text alone.

Here are some tips for developing your own mini ebooks, perfect for LinkedIn.

Straight from the source: LinkedIn advice

According to LinkedIn , document sharing will boost your engagement significantly. Some great examples and the stats to back up the results are provided in the linked article: like Gary Vaynerchuk who received over 26,000 likes and 1,600 comments on his 7-slide document share in 2020. Wow, Gary! Who wouldn't love that kind of engagement….? For free!

But how do you do it? What makes the perfect mini ebook for LinkedIn?

Here are my tips:

Start with a good cover
Keep it simple
Follow the specs
Encourage engagement
Repurpose content
Have a CTA

Designing a good ebook cover

The perfect cover combines two things: a good title and a catchy design. What does that entail?

The title should be short and quickly readable. Like social headlines, a nice play on words or alliteration is great. Use an uncommon word or catchphrase. But never compromise clarity for the sake of cleverness. The title should be easily understood at a glance. What can help to make it "punchy" and communicate even stronger is design. The design should help illustrate, providing a sneak-peak into what the ebook is about. The design and mood should complement the message being presented. And it should provide strong contrast and visual impact that grabs attention without getting in the way of readability. Don't forget to make it consistent with your personal or company brand, so it clearly looks like original content. (Check out this link for more cover tips.)

Don't muck up the content

Respecting the medium delivery means keeping it simple. Don't muck up the content by using too many words, images that don't work at this scale, or by cluttering up the user experience with video or animation. You want the content to be easily digestible and scannable -- that's why the document carousel works. So, don't overcomplicate it in any way.

Express only one thought per page. And keep the design simple. Let the story play out with each panel, coming to a conclusion and call to action. This is still social media, not long-form content. So, if the content is derived from another source edit it to work on this medium and then take them to the longer version in the call to action.

Follow recommended specs and optimize

Data shows that many (most?) users view social media on their phones or tablets. So, follow the recommended specs to optimize your document for mobile devices.

In addition to the rules for simplicity above, keep the overall size of the file below 100 MBs, and keep the page count no more than 10 pages (anything longer is just too much for social scanning). The file formats that work best are PPT or pdf (PPT files tend to be larger, so consider converting to pfd and compressing the file). While landscape files work on LinkedIn desktop, square files work best for desktop or mobile. So I recommend designing for square formats (1080 x1080 pixels).

Encourage readers to respond

Remember, engagement is the goal here. Ask a question. Solicit opinions. Encourage audience dialogue to boost audience reach.

By keeping this goal in mind from the beginning, your content should be provocative or enlightening. Emotional or revealing content works well these days so perhaps your ebook can tap into a social cause or reveal new industry trends.

If you get people to interact with the content, keep the conversation going by responding to comments and tagging other people. This exchange will boost your audience reach and build your credibility. But the ultimate engagement is the call to action (see below).

Repurpose content you already have

We've all heard the advice to repurpose content and this is a great way to do that. Take the high-level concept from another piece of content and repackage it into a mini ebook to tease your reader into wanting more. Give them just one conclusion from a white paper. Or deliver just one key data point from a survey report or infographic. Offer one testimonial and key industry highlights from a fully developed case study.

Here are some content ideas to pull from:

repurpose evergreen content
highlight report data or an infographic
use testimonials (link to case studies)
summarize top tips (from a longer blog article)

The ultimate user action is the click-though

The ultimate call to action is to get the read to want to know more. Click to a landing page for some sort of lead-generating asset. Click to your website and read an article, blog or product information. Click to your profile to make a connection or to reach out.

Never forget the end game when developing your ebook content.

Clearly make the offer to act clear at the end of your ebook and provide them the link, both in the ebook and in your post comments. Don't be shy. No one is fooled that this isn't your attempt to "advertise" your business. If the rest of your content is not too "salesy" then the ulterior motive won't be offensive. They can take it or leave it.

Hopefully you've enlightened, entertained or otherwise engaged them. You provided something of value for their time, so if they are ready to take the next step there is no doubt in their mind as to how to do that. If they are not? No harm no foul, as they say.

Take the plunge and make your content work harder

Are you ready to give this content style a try? If you need some help developing your own mini ebook document for LinkedIn engagement, just give me a shout and let's chat. From repurposing your content to design and production, I've got you covered.

How to 'Be the Verb' in Your B2B Marketing

doubleb-bogue (Barbara Bogue) — Fri, 13 Aug 2021 19:37:22 GMT

Marketing b2b tech, in this explosive, digital world can be hard. New players are entering the field all the time. Venture capitalists are looking for the next unicorn company. And you're just trying to compete.

While you don't need the latest and greatest product solution on the market to make an impact, you might need a little more somethin'-somethin'. You do need to add some umph to your company story and product content to break through the noise. In a sea of "me toos" your goal is to not be.

Instead: be the verb.

Be the verb means to define what you do, by, well, doing it . It goes hand-in-hand with the adage "show, don't tell." This concept works on a few levels in the overall marketing mix. Let's examine each of them.

Branding

Campaign images from Slack. Way to show, don't tell, Slack, and be the verb in these creative visualizations.

When determining your brand strategy consider the way you set yourself apart by what you do. Describe your brand in verbs, not nouns. For instance: Curious. Innovative. Productive. Think of the solutions you solve and the words that evoke the feeling you want your users to have by using your brand. You are no longer a "thing" they buy, but an action they embrace. Once you've defined it, you must also live by it. Those brand qualities must become your DNA for doing business, not just words on a website.

Nouns can be impersonal and cold, boring even (something many b2b providers are still struggling with). Nouns are objective and utilitarian. But the modern b2b brand must be human-centric partners and educators, not institutions. The winning b2b tech brand is not all about the company but about the customer.

Build your brand DNA around verbs and you'll relate to your tribe on a more emotional and authentic level.

Messaging

Now, take that brand personality and translate in within all your core brand messaging. Keep the language proactive and positive. Be true to your brand voice in all your engagement activities, especially social media, where you should strive to inspire and motivate your users.

Verbs are dynamic and promote involvement. Verbs encompass teams, community and missions. As the foundation of your b2b brand, your messaging should include a call to action at every turn while championing the user and the aspirational outcome as the focal point. Build brand loyalty by connecting the story and successes of your users with one another. Let your customers evangelize your story for you by focusing on what they accomplish. Their verbs become fodder for your branding.

Design

By approaching design from the aspect of verbs, not nouns, you'll find your images will become more authentic and real. Focusing on the doing will put users at the forefront. Emphasizing verbs will make your design more immediate and emotionally appealing. It might be the difference between impersonal, abstract building facades and realistic action photography of people collaborating or working out a problem. It might mean the inclusion of illustration or organic shapes that contradict and replace an all-automated, mechanized process with a more personalized, human touch.

Whatever the interpretation, the visual design of your brand should represent and evoke the personality and dynamic quality of your brand verbs.

Not new, but different

This idea of being the verb isn't really new. Austin Kleon wrote a chapter on it (Forget the Noun, Do the Verb) in his book Keep Going . And author Stephen Fry as well was quoted as saying "We are not nouns, we are verbs" according to goodreads . Likewise, your product or service cannot always be entirely new. The next new thing will be always replaced by something else sooner or later.

Branding is not so much about being "new" as about being different. Be fresh and unique. This will lend that air of newness to your brand we all strive for. And as things and ideas and business itself evolves, your brand may also need to transform and refresh itself from time to time.

But whatever fresh thing you are doing, be that.

B2B Presentation Pitches and Brand Storylines

doubleb-bogue (Barbara Bogue) — Wed, 14 Jul 2021 20:54:12 GMT

String your storyline from start to finish

Back in the day we used a device called an elevator pitch. This is a short, one-liner that told who you are and what you do (like we might tell someone on an elevator in answer to the question "what do you do?" or in an interview "tell me about yourself"). Today we call that personal branding, but the concept is the same.

Your brand may already be grounded by a catchphrase or tagline that tells the story about who you are, while being unique and memorable. Businesses expand on this positioning with pitch decks and home pages that serve to reveal their brand storyline with clarity and impact.

In this post we'll talk specifically about the presentation deck. How do you make that connection with your audience? How does the one-liner concept come into play? And, how do you build and weave your storyline throughout the deck from start to finish? Let's see.

Different storylines for each type of presentation

Let's talk about the different types of decks. Each has a unique purpose, so the play of story is a little different for each. The basic types are:

Pitch decks (sell to investors/partners)
Sales decks (sell to prospects)
Webinar decks (prove thought leadership/highlight offering)
Event presentations (prove thought leadership/educate)

Pitch decks are probably the most heavily driven by your branded storyline. But this deck should also focus on the current market and the need of prospective buyers, thus driving home why your unique selling proposition is compelling.

THE PITCH STORYLINE:
Current landscape > need > market gaps > your solution > profit opportunities > pricing model, strategy > forecast > steps for engagement

Sales decks , while heavily branded, should not lean first on "you" but rather first on the prospect. Twist the story line to be about them and how you solve "their" problem. I've noticed many companies lead with their company story and history in their sales decks. I think the storyline is better told by first demonstrating that you understand their needs, then following with historical proof and credentials. (For more on sales decks see saleshacker.com . Here's a nice example of a sales deck that is problem-driven: DocSend .)

THE SALES STORYLINE:
Problem/pain > other inadequate solutions > objections, challenges > your solution > advantages, benefits > obstacles overcome > proof of concept, case studies, history > mission, brand > next steps

For webinar and event presentations, tie the theme or topic in with your brand, but keep it high-level so it doesn't come off like a commercial. The goal here is to establish your thought-leadership and to educate your audience on an industry topic related to your offering. The actual product or company pitch is non-existent or implied (maybe an end slide that offers more information or an invitation to engage).

THE THOUGHT LEADERSHIP STORYLINE:
Topic, theme, problem > speaker credentials, expertise > agenda > topic scenario, background > strategies, solution, how to > steps, demonstration, examples > conclusion, summary, resources > more info, brand

Now that you better understand the types of presentation decks and the storylines for each, be sure to weave consistency into your story from start to finish. This can be done with both design and with words. Repetition of words, concepts, imagery and styles can carry the story and make it more memorable.

Building your story around your brand

Good brand positioning addresses both "offering" and "personality." And content strategies are often broken out into various topics or talking points that relate to your product/offering and support your expertise.

For instance, your offering may have three basic benefits over the competition. By talking about these benefits in an abstract way (through blogs, presentations, white papers, etc.), you are touting your thought leadership and supporting your overall brand story. For more direct sales presentations, be sure to hit these advantages head-on with language that is "boiler-plate" consistent with all your marketing materials.

As an invited speaker at an industry conference, your brand may only be mentioned on the last slide or in your title/credentials. Even so, your overall message should remain on-brand.

By basing your presentation topics on your over-arching content strategies your presentation title, storyline, and associated words and themes will tie your story together for a compelling presentation that speaks to your brand.

Presentation design tools and tips

Once you've got your presentation setting, objective and story in mind, what tools are best to build your presentation? PowerPoint is still the leading presentation software in the market because of its integration with other Office programs like Word and Excel. But there are other tools you can use like Google Slides, Keynote, Prezi, Slidebeam and Canva. There are also tools online for automating data slides like charts and graphs, and for adding animation. And all of these tool offer templates designed to make layout easier. So, what's the best way to go?

Like any tool, its only as useful as the skill of the user. So choose whatever works best for you but don't let the software or the template dictate your presentation. Doing so can result in dull, text-heavy, bulleted "death by PowerPoint" presentation decks, or decks that are not really on-brand. Instead, the content and storyline should drive your design and layout.

In most businesses, a brand style guide or a brand-approved template will dictate your broad design choices. And for some event presentations you are restricted to a template provided by the even sponsor. Even in these cases, however, try to allow the storyline and content dictate which page layout option you choose and be sure to mix it up so you page layouts are not monotonous.

Whatever tool you use, it should give you the flexibility to accomplish these objectives:.

Express the overall brand and theme
Be consistent in design, style and layout (and on-brand)
Build and break-up the story with visual impact
Simplify the message to make it memorable

If you're not a designer and don't have access to one, the following are some helpful design tips to keep in mind.

Start with an outline and progress the story logically.
Build "cover" and "chapter" pages into your design.
Don't just "display" an outline of your oral presentation.
Capture ONLY the main point on the slide (an image, illustration, quote or a few words).
If you offer bullets, list no more than 5 and limit to one line each if possible.
Use no more than 2 fonts throughout (vary weight, italics and color).
Use a consistent color palette. Use color for emphasis. Maintain contrast.
Be consistent in capitalization, periods and use of ampersands (&).
Give slide text and elements room to breathe.
Bleed images or background colors off the page for a full, rich look.
Don't layer boxes on boxes. Place images with transparent backgrounds on colored areas.
Size and crop placed images first to reduce the overall file-size of your presentation.

Wrap it up and tie a bow

Like the happy ending in every story, you want to end your presentation with punch. Wrap up what you've told them with a summary or conclusion. Keep it short and easy to remember. But wait, you're not quite done. Now, tie it with a bow….

Wait, what?

If this were a one-on-one conversation, what would you want them to do next? What lasting impression do you want them to have of you? Perhaps it's a call to action: "do this" or "get more information here". Or maybe you offer a farewell note of inspiration: a powerful quote, the repetition of a strong value statement or theme. Or perhaps you end this exchange with a simple calling card or invitation to get in touch.

How Hands Connect Us to Ourselves and Others

doubleb-bogue (Barbara Bogue) — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 17:26:59 GMT

Our hands are amazing things...

They let us experience the world around us through touch. They link our brains to action. They help us "do". We may express feeling or emphasis with our hands when speaking, when writing, or in our art.

Considering this, we might ask: are we using these tools to the full? Let's consider some ways in which the hands and brain work together.

Our hands and our brains

The obvious correlation between hands and brain is exhibited in feats of hand-to-eye coordination. The surgeon trains his hands to apply his medical knowledge with the use of his tools for the prescribed outcome. The greater the connection, the stronger the skill.

But that connection seems to offer more than mechanical adeptness. Maybe it's the old right-brain/left-brain argument that comes into play, but research has shown that many hands-on activities like handwriting, drawing and other tactile pursuits can unlock other emotional and perceptive powers. Perhaps our hands can help us tap into our inner selves. For instance:

Memory: It's no mystery why students take notes when hearing a lecture. The simple act of engaging this motor skill to capture key insights can heighten our memory of the material being presented.
Healing: Both art therapy and journaling are examples of how the use of hand-to-heart expression can provide emotional healing. There is a cathartic release many people undergo when using their hands in these artistic, expressive ways.
Creativity: The hand-to-mind connection can sometimes unlock our creativity from self-imposed boundaries or fears. Writers use free-form writing exercises to break through writer's block. While artists sometimes keep a doodle or sketch journal to discover fresh ideas or techniques.

Helping hands and the world outside

Hands can also be considered a symbol of collaboration. We use our hands (literally and figuratively) when reaching out to help others. We put intentions and convictions into action when working toward a common goal in collaboration with others with the hope of accomplishing more together than we ever could on our own.

As service organizations, we reach out to others all the time, soliciting business, fostering partnerships, building relationships. We also have internal teams and departments that present opportunities for collaboration and support. How can we enhance our collaboration skills when lending a helping hand? (See this InVision article as my source of inspiration.) Here are a few ideas:

Facilitation: When meeting with others regarding a common goal, the team will always benefit from a facilitator. If this is a business meeting with your client, that facilitator is probably you. If the meeting is with your team, it might be you or someone else. But the goals of the meeting and the spirit of collaboration cannot be fully achieved without a clear facilitator guiding the process. Give mindful consideration to the roll of facilitation even when you're offering a helping hand.
Time: To improve collaboration, make time for it. You might set aside a special day for an intensive collaboration, brainstorm or special-project session to tackle a specific problem. Or you might choose a few minutes each week or each meeting to allow others to share, offering inspiration or revealing roadblocks. The time you allow in your routine to make room for helping others will be reflected in the actual impact you are able to make in this regard.
Tools: Improving collaboration in the virtual/digital environment may depend on the right tools, in part because you must build trust without the face-to-face interaction. Tools facilitating online meetings and sharing repositories like Google, Slack can build comradery and team productivity. Whiteboards and other project tools keep the information flowing freely between team members. Try to foster a culture of transparency and respect to build trust, which in turn will enhance a helping culture.
Consistency: The goal to being helpful and collaborative must be more than empty speech and shouldn't be short-lived. To really make improvements, make the commitment to build helpfulness into your culture, routine and DNA. Practice it daily and foster it in your team. Value it by giving it recognition and commendation. Delegate, mentor and support the efforts and contributions of others, both within and outside the workforce. Show personal interest in colleagues, peers and clients. With this consistency you will build a loyal tribe who value and respect you and what you offer, regardless if it's paid for or free.

The human hand is unique

Few mammals have appendages like the human hand. Primates can grasp, but they don't have full reason and same emotional connection we have. And, only humans have fingerprints that are unique to each individual.

The human hand has the ability to express, discover, connect and give. If I can do at least one of those things each day in both my work and personal life, I venture to say that would be a good day. ��

Patterns in Our Day-to-Day

doubleb-bogue (Barbara Bogue) — Fri, 14 May 2021 19:00:29 GMT

Patterns...

Graphic patterns are a fantastic tool that can add depth and interest to a brand. A pattern can be a bold or subtle way to pull colors, mood and personality together. They can be used in so many creative ways like packaging, background textures and illustrative expression. But, there's another more figurative type of pattern we can deploy to build a brand reputation.

Another word for pattern might be habit.

We build habit into our lives by repetitive behavior. Doing things over and over becomes a habit. Hopefully those are good habits, that keep us sane or healthy. Some patterns become ritual. These can be more spiritually nurturing or socially enhancing. Rituals around holidays or milestone events help us build family and communion. The rituals and patterns in our day-to-day life can offer depth and richness to our experience.

I came across a wonderful statement the other day about marketing that I'll relate to this idea of patterns.

The statement: "We don't have to be well-known, to do well."

Meaning, we don't have to be liked by everyone. We just have to be loved by a very small number of people. The right people who understand what we're about and what we have to offer. And just enough of them to sustain our needs. This is essentially the difference between mass marketing and niche marketing. Tribe marketing, as Seth Godin put it.

“A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader,
and connected to an idea.”

Relate this concept of marketing to patterns and you might ask, ' what are the patterns of behavior that help us to nurture that special small group, without wasting our time and energy on trying to reach or please everyone on the planet? ' The patterns must be in step with the goal. So, how do we put this into action?

New School vs. Old School Marketing

Marketing strategies are constantly evolving. Some of these evolving methods include:

The 4 P's vs 5Cs
OLD: Product, Price, Placement, Promotion
NEW focuses on the Customer: Contact, Connect, Consider, Consume, Community
Outbound marketing vs Inbound marketing
Interruption vs Permission
One to many… then one to few… then one to one or relationship marketing (also ABM)

The right marketing strategies must include patterns that promote our individuality and target our special tribe. This helps us stay laser-focused on what we love and why we love it. Our marketing messages are brand-forward, and our voice is more confident. We're not sidetracked by naysayers or dissenters. Our patterns become ritualized, building loyalty and community. We can then be content in doing 'well'.

New School Marketing Patterns

Following are three of my favorite 'patterns' to build into your marketing. These will help you focus on the right few and forget about the rest.

1) Be true to you.

This pattern should permeate everything you do. If you're just staring out or rebranding in some way, do your homework first. Know your mission. Know who you serve and what is important to them. Know how you serve them, what matters to them, and what problems you solve. Once you know this inside and out, all your marketing efforts must be tempered with authenticity and focus…always being true to you.

2) Lead the way…generously.

If you have this special thing to offer (and you do) then bring it. Offer advice. Share knowledge. Lead… and they will follow. Instead of the old-school mindset of ' how can I make a sale? ' ask instead ' how can I help? ' Aside from giving your product away for free, be generous in your expertise and advice. Don't gate content and hide behind forms. Instead, make it easy for your followers. Educate and assist them and you will build a solid reputation over time.

3) Be lovable.

I'm a firm believer that brands have personality. Even B2B brands. People buy from people. So always be likable. Don't be boring, bland or lifeless. If your mission is cause-based, all the better. If it's not, find a way to connect with the community by showing your human side. Support your employees. Champion the cause of your clients. Promote charities or volunteerism. Have an opinion and stand by it. Showing prospects how much you care will earn you customers who in turn will become loyal evangelists.

One last thought on patterns.

Author David Epstein wrote in his book Range , about the idea of learning. He examines the pattern of specialization versus that of generalists. You hear these terms a lot today in an effort to categorize job expertise or qualifications.

Epstein writes, "Everyone needs habits of mind that allow them to dance across disciplines.

The most effective learning looks inefficient; it looks like falling behind. Don't fall behind.”

At first glance this concept might seem contradictory to what I've just said above about building a tribe and staying focused on your mission. But here's what I got out of it.

The habit or pattern of learning includes failure and experimentation. It's by this that we grow. This is a pattern too. So, accept that. Life changes…constantly. We must change and grow and learn and transform with it. This pattern of self-discovery can bring joy and wonder to our lives, and to the lives of those around us.

So, the last pattern to add to my list would be:

4) Always be learning.

Be free to learn, to be open-minded. Actively choose to adapt and grow and share the wonder of discovery in your work and your life. I think this pattern also keeps us young (at heart) and humble. After all, we never want our patterns in life to become mundane or stale. We don't want to be bored or stagnant. Rather, the pattern of learning will keep our minds fresh and our hearts open.

So… patterns. We use them in design to add vibrancy and texture. They pull together our brand personality, our brand colors, and our unique design esthetic. And they can become the backdrop or the accent to our visual brand interpretation.

Patterns in our life can also color our approach to how we market ourselves. We want to be in-step with who we are as a brand and attract those who are like-minded. Not trying to be well-known by everyone. But to do what we love well, recognized by a special few.

So, choose your patterns carefully and practice them day-by-day. I'm confident that becoming well-known (at least with those that matter) will one-day follow.

The Power of Data in Design

doubleb-bogue (Barbara Bogue) — Mon, 12 Apr 2021 19:25:02 GMT

This isn't the first time I've championed the power of data in marketing. Why? People simply trust numbers.

While people make decisions with their heart, they justify them with data. Data can be more quickly consumed than paragraphs of copy, so visual 'bytes' of data are persuasive. And, third-party data builds credibility and proof.

Data in general has become the lifeblood of all types of marketing and business. Financial data helps businesses measure performance and efficiency. Consumer data helps marketers better understand their target audience. Sales and marketing rely on all types of data to measure tactics and pricing and competitor information. Thus, presenting data to stakeholders, customers or prospects is ever so important to designers.

How can you use data in the best possible way?

1. Keep it fresh

There are lots of ways to present data besides pie charts and bar charts (tree maps, bubble clouds, scatter graphs). And even these can be designed in a way that beautifully enhances and supports your visual brand while making the point of the data stand out.

2. Use color and typography well

Be sure the right words (or numbers) are emphasized. Don't let the color draw away from the data but add to it. Consider which would work best in your application monochromatic or multi-color?

3. Create a data style

Well designed data has a distinct set of rules/ Set those and be consistent throughout the piece. This lends credibility as well and legibility to the data and let's your brand shine through.

4. Keep the words simple

Data can sometimes be overly complicated. Surveys and research questions are not typically written by marketers. When presenting data, you want to preserve the integrity of the data, while simplifying the content to be as direct as possible. Remember 'why' the data is important. Sometimes you need to reframe the content to have the biggest impact. (For instance, what works best…33% or 1 out of 3; first, 1 ^st or #1?)

5. Illustrate the data

Data can be illustrated by images or iconography to add a stronger visual to the content. So instead of just stating the numbers, illustrate them with clever typography, symbols or icon-based infographics.

Bottom line: numbers can be powerful and persuasive. Use them well in your design and embrace the beauty of data. You may come to realize how right Pythagorus was when he claimed "numbers rule the universe."

Adding Play to Life and Design

doubleb-bogue (Barbara Bogue) — Mon, 15 Mar 2021 19:56:47 GMT

I recently saw a presentation by designer/illustrator Erin Jang , entitled Design is Play. She talked about how play influenced both her career and her personal life. This joyful sense of creativity permeated her life. She wielded it as a way to spark pleasure in others, from museum visitors to members of her own family. I saw in her example, glimpses of myself, though perhaps without as much conscious intention. And I felt a common ground, something to build on.

So here are 5 take-aways from Jang that can affect your own

journey of discovery and design - for business or for life:

1. Practice playful seeing

Pay attention to things with "unusual" eyes, that is, see things in a new way. One example was a project for a city walking tour. By looking at the problem in a new way, she took note of a specific dominant color of interest at each of the tour's stopping points. She documented the hues, which eventually became a technicolored pathway illustrating each stop and was used to promote the tour.

So, when presented with a problem, how can you look at it from a unique way to see the solution. In pandemic lock-down, how can we view things in a new way and get a fresh perspective of things?

2. Make it yourself

For most designers like me, we do everything on computers these days. In fact, for many of us in pandemic mode, we do nearly everything in front of screens. Instead, try using your hands. Make art the old-fashioned way. Find "old school" tools or ways to do things without technology. Rediscover the joy of creative "play" -- with your hands.

3. Make and gift it

I can attest to something Jang said, some of the most rewarding things I have designed have been things I made as gifts for others -- one-time, one-of-a-kind, make it and give it away items. These tokens are often made for the least cost, while offering the most thoughtfulness to the recipient. Whether you're an artist or not you can implement this advice and use your creative play to make something to make someone smile. And if you're a business looking to apply this principle, be generous with your wares or your expertise. Give to those in need, with a genuine authenticity that shows you mean it. Show a personal touch that is not manufactured or mass-produced.

4. Create elevated experiences

Jang told a story about her children's love for books. She would read to them at night (as many of us parents do) and foster this love. But Jang went one step further, creating this wonderful tradition and family event around each time they finished a book. Like, when they finished the book Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory -- she made them their own golden ticked wrapped in a chocolate bar and then celebrated with a movie night (of the same title of course). She took every opportunity in life to "do small things with great love."

5. Listen to kids

Children are amazing observers and natural teachers. And, they've got this play thing down (no self-editing, no self-consciousness). So, if you're honored enough to have children in your life, listen to their insights. Learn from their innocence. If you don't have an at-hand connection, tap into movies or books or go where children are and take note. Even our adult selves gravitate to the positivity of their play. We can learn not to judge our ideas so harshly. Don't self-edit so quickly. Good ideas come from bad ideas. Let brainstorming be a free zone and let laughter and play take you to a new level of creativity and unexpectedness.

For me, I intend to make application of these simple take-aways -- to make play an even bigger influence in my life, and in my design. Because play can inform the principles chosen for how we conduct business, what values we build into our branding, and the choices we make for our day-to-day exchanges with one another.

Play can relieve stress, supercharge learning, stimulate imagination, energize our mind and body, build relationships and teamwork, and connect us to others and the world. Play can also make work more productive and pleasurable, can heal emotional wounds, foster emotional bonds and nurture our inner child. Play can spread joy.

"We must never take ourselves so seriously that we forget to make our work play"

- authors Chip & Dan Heath The Power of Moments

The Era of Empathy

doubleb-bogue (Barbara Bogue) — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 20:47:03 GMT

In my mind the word of the year seems to be "empathy." It's a time in history when we certainly need a more empathetic understanding of our fellow humans. What are their struggles? Their goals? Their dreams? Let's focus more on what we have in common and less on what we don't.

A running second concept would be "diversity." From a business standpoint, the need for the former seems to be the driving trend toward the latter. In terms of recruitment and corporate culture, the buzz words of diversity and inclusion are seemingly top-of-mind. Businesses are looking at ways to empower and nurture their remote teams, building stronger bonds and fostering greater awareness and tolerance for social, cultural and socio-economic realities. Helping teams thrive means creating a culture that rewards diversity and inclusion, which can also mean achieving a more vibrant, equitable and globally responsive brand. This can translate into economic rewards.

The empathy economy

In researching this topic, I came across something called " the empathy economy ." The concept was described as a level of self-awareness, an aspiration to gain a deeper understanding of others through our own, possibly flawed perspective. Apply this lens to society and the empathy economy touches corporate leadership, governance and ethics, marketing, brand and more. "Empathy has a broader meaning that extends well beyond its dictionary definition of ‘the ability to understand and share the feelings of another'" says ThinkNow . "Empathy has become as essential to business success as the products and services a company offers."

The article went on to expound on three ways diversity and inclusion become key to the empathy economy:

1. A lack of diversity and inclusion negatively affects all aspects of corporate culture

2. Diversity and inclusion in marketing increase positive aspects of brand perception

3. Reaching diverse audiences will deliver more financial value

This concept is supported and strengthened by another foundational tool of marketing: emotion.

Emotion is at the heart of everything we do as marketers, designers and copywriters. None of it matters if we don't touch the heart of our audience. Brand is built on it. Cultures are built on it.

How can we aspire to crack the golden nut that is emotion without a clear and honest appraisal of empathy? They are intrinsically linked. In fact, the process of design thinking is broken up into five specific stages, empathy being one of them: empathy, definition, ideation, prototyping, and testing.

Three ways

The article went on to expound on three ways diversity and inclusion become key to the empathy economy:

A lack of diversity and inclusion negatively affects all aspects of corporate culture
Diversity and inclusion in marketing increase positive aspects of brand perception
Reaching diverse audiences will deliver more financial value

This concept is supported and strengthened by another foundational tool of marketing: emotion.

Emotion is at the heart of everything we do as marketers, designers and copywriters. None of it matters if we don't touch the heart of our audience. Brand is built on it. Cultures are built on it.

What creatives are saying

"The reality is that people make decisions based on emotion. Tapping into that

emotion and using it to drive business outcomes is the creative superpower."

-- Adam Morgan, Executive Creative Director

"Nothing is more authentic than being transparent and empathetic."

Stacy Martinet, VP Marketing Strategy & Communications, Adobe

“Leaders have to encourage and elevate creative thinking. It’s not enough to have a culture that tolerates creativity. Every meeting is an opportunity to reject the status quo — and we have to endorse creative problem solving and require it from our teams.”

-- Sarah Kennedy Ellis, VP of Global Marketing, Adobe

Adobe report

In an Adobe report, The Future of Marketing is Creative , published by Adobe last year this is idea of empathy and emotion was essential to successfully navigating our pandemic-coined "new normal." The advice was summed up this way:

People need human connection, now more than ever.

Show customers and employees you genuinely care
Offer more value-added services and educational content
Foster community fellowship and sharing
Make the digital experience as rich as possible

These new tenets of business have transcended that "new normal." What we originally thought would be a passing trend, are now part of the fabric of business reality, destined to outlive the virus and lock-downs. Our workloads, attitudes and strategies have forever changed.

So, to sum all this up, I buy into the empathy economy and champion the need for empathy, diversity and fellow-feeling. I intend to incorporate these concepts into every project I touch. That might mean asking the hard questions of clients and stakeholders:

How can we elevate the goals of this project to be more than getting that next lead or enticing that next CTA?
How does this asset make one feel? What unsaid value is being represented?
Are we representing a bigger mission and reflecting a positive message that is empathetic to your audience,
nurturing to your employees, and empowering to society at large?

Let's show emotion, heart, and fellow-feeling, embracing a kaleidoscope of humanity, in every word and pixel we promote.

Does Ageism Exist?

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Sat, 12 Dec 2020 19:04:00 GMT

"What year did you graduate?" • "Where do you hope to be in 5 years?" • "You're overqualified for this role."

Even in 2020 these questions/statement reveal that the problem of age discrimination still exists. It seems to be engrained in the hiring and recruiting processes of many employers, even new companies. Working from home in the COVID era hasn't seemed to make a difference.

Many workers experience ageism, especially women

According to the ADP Research Institute, the average American worker is 42 years of age. Yet a new survey reveals that a third of workers have already experienced some form of ageism before they turn 45. A third!

University of California, Irvine research professor David Neumark, reveals this issue is even worse for women, starting in their 40s. “The evidence of age discrimination against women kind of pops out in every study,” says Neuman.

It's true that remote work and the uptick in virtual and freelance-contract gigs has freed many from the bias of age. Application processes can be less restrictive or bypassed all together. Many virtual workers communicate primarily via phone or email, making age less visibly apparent.

However, the reality of the current older workforce is that 55% of them hold the types of jobs that do not support remote work. And one study reveals that those older workers who do work remotely are more susceptible to burnout and stress.

Why? How can modern employers identify and address the issue of ageism?

Here are some helpful Dos and Don'ts for employers.

What NOT to do:
Recruiting Policies:

don't "cap" how many years of experience someone should have
don't automatically screen out "overqualified" candidates
don't ask candidates how old they are (which is illegal, btw)
don't ask for a birthday on the application form
don't ask what year they graduated college
don't ask silly questions like "where do you hope to be in 5 years" or "what are your career goals" --
save those for in-person interviews with entry-level applicants you are looking to mentor
don't over-emphasize age-specific benefits like paternity leave

Cultural Policies:

don't extend advancement or educational opportunities only to younger employees
don't assume older candidates are not current on skills or technology
don't let Millennial trends rule; be inclusive when it comes to social events, themes, incentives, etc.

What you SHOULD be doing:

do value experience at any age
do show respect and foster dignity
do embrace diverse and remote work teams
do address anti-ageism in your HR policies i.e. “We respect workers of all ages,” and list how
do extend family-friendly perks and PTO to everyone equally

Do we value experience or don’t we?

Society in general admires and respects leaders in their field who have invested many years toward their careers. We seemingly value wisdom and experience.

Yet, when it comes to our day-to-day work lives, we tend to marginalize and disregard the contribution of older colleagues. Is business missing an opportunity by not correcting a narrow mindset and rooting out obsolete, biased policies?

We can do better, people. We can do better.

Name Your Marketing Thing with Zing

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 15:01:08 GMT

"Hey, I have this "thing" I need to name. I need to call it something… sexy. Something exciting… you know, something catchy."

If this is you, whether it's a new business name, or a product, or an event or some promotional thing. My friend, you need to say it with zing.

There are lots of things in business that it makes sense to name. You can't just call it any old thing. You need a catchy phrase that gets stuck in your head. But how do you go about doing that… finding that catchy phrase or that perfect name for your 'thing'?

Here are some guiding principles to help (or download the full Naming Worksheet: Say it with Zing here ).

Consider the 5 types of names

Naming strategies generally fall into one of five categories (or some combination of them). They are:

Descriptive
Suggestive
Playful
Arbitrary
Wordplay or Acronym

You also need to be clear on the scope of your naming project. Ask yourself questions like:

What are you naming?
How long will it last in the marketplace?
What are the characteristics the name should communicate?
What is the personality or attitude you want to convey?
What other brand properties does it need to relate to?
How will it be used? What design considerations will inform the solution?

These answers comprise your design brief. Whether you're taking on this project yourself, or enlisting help, everyone needs a creative brief. It will focus your exploration and influence the decision you make in the end.

The creative process

Now you're ready for the fun part. This creative brainstorming process might look something like this.

Making Lists

Considering the brief, list adjectives that come to mind for this 'thing'
Now list action words or verbs to describe what this 'thing' has to offer
What other word associations come to mind? List them.

Playing around

Make columns or pages for each of the 5 naming strategy types: descriptive, suggestive, playful, arbitrary, wordplay. For each category, combine your words and phrases from your first three lists and create naming ideas that fit that concept. Don't judge your ideas. Write down anything, even if it sounds off. Be crazy. Think of opposites. Follow any word association that comes to mind. Write it down. Try to create quantity here, not quality. You can do this as a group or alone. You can assign the same exercise to several people and then compare lists, to arrive at new combinations. Remember, it takes a whole bunch of bad ideas to arrive at a really good idea. And your first handful of ideas are probably not very original and should be thrown out anyway. Keep going.

Go back to your creative brief. Look at your competitors. Look at market trends. Does this spark any new ideas? Add them to your ideas by category.

Review your work

OK. NOW you can put your judging cap on. Review all your ideas and eliminate any that simply won't work. Narrow your favorites down to 3-5 of your best options. Put those on a new list by themselves. Now STOP.

Think on it

It may sound crazy but the creative process is a little like that philosophy about never sending an email when you're angry. You draft it and get all your angst out on the page. Then you sleep on it. You give it some distance; let it settle. When you come back to that email you likely have a whole new perspective on the matter and you might choose to revise the message and send it, or to not send it at all.

I'm not saying you may decide to scrap your whole naming project, but I wholeheartedly believe in the creative subconscious, and the power of a fresh perspective. Come back the next day or next week and review your ideas again.

Don't forget the value of input and feedback from others. (Just be careful they fit the demographic you are targeting as that can sometimes throw you in a wrong direction if your target is very specific.) If others have performed the brainstorm, add all their favorites to one list and review them together.

You may repeat steps 1-3 in various forms as many times as you like, depending on the project or you may move on to step 5.

Choose & go

Now it's time to choose. Review the creative brief again to refresh your mind about the focus of your project. Now, which of the favorites best hits the mark? Are there tweaks you can make to them? Are there new ideas you didn't think of before? Are you done or do you still have work to do? Only you will know at this point. You can revisit your entire list and work through the exercise some more, continue to get input and ideas from others or reach a conclusion and move on.

That's it. You've taken the creative naming strategy journey and hopefully you have a new name for your 'thing.' Congratulations. You've successfully added some zing to your thing.

Download the full Naming Strategy Worksheet below.

Don't have time for DIY or just need some help? Fill out the contact form or give me a shout and let's chat. I would love to noodle on it for you.

Is Your Brand Voice Burly or Brainy?

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 15:01:08 GMT

Sometimes marketing can feel like shouting into the wind. Is your voice even being heard?

Companies work hard to build a unified visual brand. They strive to fully understand who their buyer is and to share information with their audience. They communicate the pains and challenges prospects face, and how they can solve them. Solution providers sweat the details when explaining benefits and features. And sales teams exert considerable efforts toward finding a prospect who needs their solution at just the right time.

Tons of factors impact whether or not a marketing message gets through. Assuming you do all of them right, don't risk ruining your chances of making the sale by saying the right thing in the wrong way.

That is the power of brand voice.

Brands are both seen and heard

Brand voice is directly related to brand personality. Think of a company, then imagine its personality. Playful. Serious. Helpful. Innovative. If the outward appearance and the mission of a company is "helpful" but the words used are unresponsive, detached, and indifferent the messaging will come off as hollow and insincere. You will lose your customer.

Likewise, the best way to define your brand voice, is to fully understand your brand personality. Start with your product or service offering. What does it provide to the customer? What feelings are you delivering? How do you want them to feel about your product or service? What is your mission in serving them?

There are three common techniques for defining brand personality

The 3-word technique: Choose three words that describe your brand personality; i.e. Apple = clean, simple, confident.
The archetype/brand persona: Describe your brand personality as an actual person. How old are they, how well educated? Hobbies, gender, etc.
This, not that technique: Define 3-4 descriptive phrases that interpret what your brand is and isn't; i.e. Confident but not cocky. Smart but not stodgy. Informal but not sloppy.

Now imagine someone who is a personification of that personality and how they speak. What words do they use? Don't confuse this with industry jargon, acronyms or buzzwords. While you need to know those terms to reach your audience, it's best to use plain English for prospect messaging, so you don't alienate anyone who doesn't know what they mean.

Do consider the type of personas you are speaking to but never talk down to your audience. Connect with them head-on, like a meeting-of-the-minds.

Voice vs. tone

Once you have some descriptive words for your brand voice, you need to understand tone. Tone comes into play based on when you are talking to your audience. While voice expresses the personality of your brand, tone expresses the emotional inflection appropriate to the specific situation or message type. What is the communication channel? Are you writing for the website to a general visitor? Or is this an email communication to an existing customer? Is this a sales pitch within a slide deck? Or a booth banner at a tradeshow?

Places where your brand voice will be most noticeable and impactful include: calls to action, customer onboarding communications, Instagram messaging, customer service emails, and social media bios.

All of these channels will have a variation of your brand voice known as tone. It might be more sales-focused. More persuasive. More instructive and advisory. A good copywriter knows how to adjust the tone of a message for each specific channel.

Learn from the best

The quintessential example of mastering brand voice is Mail Chimp. They devised a unique and quirky brand and followed through with carefully crafted copy at every customer touchpoint. If you've ever used Mail Chimp you know that using the product just made you smile. If you're unfamiliar, check out their well-defined brand voice style guide here.

Want to see more? Check these out these sample guidelines:

Document, monitor and modify

OK. You've done the hard part. You've defined your brand personality and voice. You've isolated your various communication channels and filtered your tone for each, accordingly. Then, you documented it all and built some guidelines to help you stay on track.

Now it's time to write. And market. And message. And educate. And write some more.

Take the time to monitor how you're doing. Listen to your audience and make sure you're staying in tune with trends and the competition. Then learn and modify and write some more.

Rinse and repeat as they say. By following these tips, you're sure to be a sounding voice above the noisy marketplace. With a well-defined brand voice, you can be distinct call, with a message all your own.

Design Hacks: How to Customize Design on the Cheap

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 15:01:08 GMT

Marketing is a demanding sport, even in B2B. The challenge to get your brand out there and call attention to your latest product launch, webinar, event or whatever can be grueling. And no doubt, you have limited time and budget!

Maybe you have in-house graphic designers at your disposal, or you might use freelancers or agencies to help you get it all done. Either way, you want to achieve a custom-designed look without going overboard.

As an experienced freelance graphic designer who also spent years working on in-house design teams for various B2B products, I have a few tried and true tips to help you get the job done creatively and efficiently. Lucky you, I'm in a sharing mood.

Tip#1: Be original in some way

If you're picking a slogan, headline or theme for your promotion, it's hard to be original. And sometimes, that's OK. Business is rife with 'already done' concepts and often you just don't have time to reinvent something totally original. If that's the case, at least try to interpret the theme in a unique way, or style the design in some way that is totally yours. A past colleague of mine would offer the advice: "take that already-done idea and turn it on its ear."

Let's take an example. Say you're planning your annual sales kick-off meeting and you've been given the theme "Leading the Pack." Not much for originality, but you don't have time to argue the point and come up with something new. Instead, interpret it in an original way.

Maybe tie it in with your corporate mascot, or your local sports team. Or maybe choose imagery that is specific to your product/solution and what "leading" might look like for your sales team, not just the generic race-car theme that could just as easily be seen at your 7-year-old's birthday party! No one wants that, my friend.

Tip#2: Keep the concept simple

The best designs start with a concept that makes sense to the content and the application. Maybe you're doing a lead-gen campaign. The main asset is an ebook, based on an industry research survey you conducted. Research stats in-and-of themselves are not very sexy. Your ebook needs a hook. The concept for the hook will drive your title, your graphics and the stats throughout the ebook. It must be relevant and attention-grabbing to your intended audience.

Here are a few examples:

"LinkedIn Content Marketing Tactical Plan"
The theme used here is cartography and mapping
"The B2B Marketer's Lead Generation Field Guide"
This theme is an outdoor adventure guide
"Ouch! Revealing the biggest pain points in B2B Digital Marketing"
They chose the "pain" and a striking typographical treatment

The point is to find a concept that works with your content and can drive the visual presentation of the information in a compelling, relevant and memorable way.

Tip#3: Be consistent and integrated

This leads us to our third tip which is consistency and integration of the design concept. Rarely does one marketing asset stand alone. Once you write that ebook, you have to promote it on social media. Maybe there is a similar webinar the presents the same data. And for all of that you no doubt need emails, landing page and website assets to promote them. To get the most out of your design, be consistent with all your asset treatments and your campaign will work well together to make a bigger impact.

Using the same words, colors, images and URLs will create a truly integrated campaign. Your design investment will go farther because you're just resizing and repurposing what you started with when developing the initial concept. Aren't you the smart one?

Tip#4: Stock art can be your friend

The days of cheesy clip art are a thing of the past -- or they can be when placed in the hands of a skilled graphic designer. Sure, it would be great if you had an unlimited budget like some tech giant who can hire an illustrator or photographer to create an original piece for every project. Reality check; that rarely exists!

Not to worry. Every graphic element doesn't have to be developed completely from scratch to look custom to your project and brand. A good designer knows how to follow your brand guidelines to stay consistent with style, color and fonts. And the best brand books allow room for a skilled designer to stretch their creativity.

Source files can be purchased very inexpensively that are editable and customizable to match your color palette. Typography can be combined with modified vector files, inexpensive stock photography (chosen carefully), textures and backgrounds. With originality you can walk away with something truly unique and custom -- on-brand, on budget and unique to your need.

The secret's out

It is possible to achieve a custom design look without going overboard in time or resources. It just takes a little creativity and skill plus a willingness to work with what you've got. So, go ahead! Think big and aim for something unique even though you may only have a small budget. Only small imaginations think that's a real limitation. We know better, now, don't we?

double b design + copy - Blog

How to Earn b2b Street Cred with a Unique Thought Leadership Voice

B2b wins with thought leadership

Find your own unique voice

Build street-cred with various tactics

Present:

Forward-thinking:

You’ve got the tools, now lead

Eight Fundamental Design Principles (that also Work for Content and Branding)

Welcome to my new series exploring topics relevant to b2b marketers around design, branding or copywriting.

Let’s talk design principles.

Contrast

Emphasis

Variety

Unity

Rhythm

Hierarchy

Movement

White Space

Underlying b2b marketing principles

Let Creativity Lift Your Brand from Boring

Time isn't all B2B marketers are running out of.

Fast is not always good

How do you stay focused and productive without sacrificing creativity?

Process makes productivity

Never say there’s no time for creativity

Your Website Copy is Lazy.

Your Website Copy is Lazy. Here’s Why and How to Fix it.

Is your Website Copy Lazy? Ineffective?

Reasons to Refresh Your Copy Now

Now You Know Why. Here’s the How

Get the Most Out of Your Website Now

4 Tactics to Revive Your Marketing Out of a Planning Coma

Are you stuck?

Revive Your Team from Planning Mode

Now, Let’s Get ‘em to Drink

Need Help?

b2b Culture Content is More Important than Ever in 2023

What is Culture Content?

Philosophies Reveal Future Crisis

Employer Branding for b2b

What’s Working and What’s Not?

Negative Effects of Doing Nothing

Positive Results from Culture Building

Now’s the Time to Create Your Content Culture

Make Your LinkedIn Content Work Harder with Mini-ebooks

Straight from the source: LinkedIn advice

Here are my tips:

Designing a good ebook cover

Don't muck up the content

Follow recommended specs and optimize

Encourage readers to respond

Repurpose content you already have

The ultimate user action is the click-though

Take the plunge and make your content work harder

How to 'Be the Verb' in Your B2B Marketing

Instead: be the verb.

Branding

Messaging

Design

Not new, but different

B2B Presentation Pitches and Brand Storylines

String your storyline from start to finish

Different storylines for each type of presentation

Building your story around your brand

Presentation design tools and tips

Wrap it up and tie a bow

How Hands Connect Us to Ourselves and Others

Our hands are amazing things...

Our hands and our brains

Helping hands and the world outside

The human hand is unique

Patterns in Our Day-to-Day

Patterns...

The statement: "We don't have to be well-known, to do well."

“A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea.”

New School vs. Old School Marketing

New School Marketing Patterns

1) Be true to you.

2) Lead the way…generously.

“A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader,
and connected to an idea.”