Marketing Eye

Expert Marketing Blog - Page 74

Playing dress ups - is it good for business?

Playing dress ups - is it good for business?

Saturday night I attended a 30th birthday party for a dear friend of mine. The theme was nautical. After weeks of racking my brain as to what to wear, my friend and I ended up settling on being Boat Captains.

We had only one hour to spare on Saturday to put a costume together, so we headed to a costume shop and purchased a hat. Cheaper than renting it we decided.
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What is the better design?

What is the better design?

As a marketer with 20 years experience, I am always trying to figure out the psychology behind why a client picks one logo over another, or one way of doing things over another.

Sometimes, they have insight that perhaps marketers do not. Mostly, they just like a particular colour, font style, identity mark or a way of doing things that may not quite be up with the times.
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With stars in your eyes - anything is possible


I was thinking... when you have stars in your eyes, anything is possible. In every aspect of your life, if you walk around with stars in your eyes, it opens the world to possibility beyond anything you can ever imagine. While this is contrary to what most people believe on the topic of people who have 'stars in their eyes', there is some justification for what is popular opinion. 

Dreamers are something that like entrepreneurs, should be applauded. They make our world much more interesting. Every great idea started with someone dreaming it. But there is a difference from being a dreamer to being someone who has the ability to be successful.
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Are you writing your death wish?

What is the value of writing content? If content is king... how is this defined? When content is written well and tells a story or a message that people resonate with, it is KING. But what happens when it doesn't. When content falls prey to audience misconception or to a swing in favour because your opinion or comments differ from the opinions of your audience?

Olympic swimmer, Stephanie Rice, was innocently tweeting backwards and forwards to a friend and used a word that may be seen as deogratory to people who are homosexual, and all of a sudden she was 'on the nose'. Ousted. Gone.

In Kyle Sandilands latest rants, he said one thing that went a little too far, and all of a sudden, he too has fallen prey to the swing of the public and more importantly, the sponsors who subsidise his wages.

Content management, whether it is in the written form or through a media platform like radio, television, podcasts, webinars, youtube or any other media of this type, needs to be managed.

The written form for small businesses covers custom publishing, custom media, customer media, customer publishing, member media, private media, branded content, corporate media, corporate publishing, branded media, your website, your direct marketing campaigns, blogs, landing pages and more.

What is content marketing?

Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience - with the objective of driving profitable customer action.

What content marketing is not... is it does not 'sell' in a direct manner. It is un-interrupted marketing. It provides knowledge and explanation driving customer and prospect loyalty.

This marketing blog is a clear example of how content can work for an organisation. It provides information on 'real life' small business operations whether it be how we work with customers, marketing, employees, mentors, finance or expansion. It travels through the daily grind of being an entrepreneur and dealing with real emotions that at times goes up and down according to how the week flows. It is often raw with experiences or up-beat with positivity. The marketing blog uses examples of people that I interact with in business and in life and it cover how your personal life influences your business life.

How can you improve your content marketing immediately?

"Develop case studies and put them online, write a blog, use mobile enabled web outreach with website landing pages, video, advanced search engine optimisation, digital content and be sure to measure through analytics the results. How long are people reading your content? What is more popular?

Hiring a professional writer or a journalist to help you develop content that is readable will be beneficial to any business who is choosing to produce high quality content.

IN TODAY'S COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT... IF YOU ARE NOT CONTENT MARKETING, YOU ARE NOT MARKETING. THINK ABOUT HOW YOU CAN DO THIS BETTER.

Mellissah Smith, in Atlanta. 

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Mentors Only Make You Rich If You Let Them

My high school friend rung me last week as I was driving out to Palm Beach and asked if I could be a business mentor to her. She was happy to pay me market rate, and would require a few hours of my time a month. It needed to be in a business environment and she would like me to be hard on her.

The latter... very easy for me as I am a seasoned professional on being hard on people when they need a kick up the bum or a little push in the right direction.

Then, today, my mentor rung me. Not to give me a kick up the bum, but to ask me how I am going. As I explained the latest developments in my business and a little update on my personal life, I was able to hear out loud what my dreams are for my business and how I planned to execute them. I couldn't very well just give him an overarching view like I can with my employees. He wanted to know exactly how I am going to make it happen. Am I going to enough meetings with the right people? Have I done enough research? Is it financially viable? Have I run it past some other people we mutually know that are very smart in business? What do I want the outcome to be? Do I realise how much work is involved?
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Where's cupid pointing his arrow?

Cupid is the most famous of Valentine symbols and everybody knows that boy armed with bow and arrows, and piercing hearts . He is known as a mischievous, winged child armed with bow and arrows.

The arrows signify desires and emotions of love, and Cupid aims those arrows at Gods and Humans, causing them to fall deeply in love. Cupid has always played a role in the celebrations of love and lovers. In ancient Greece he was known as Eros, the young son of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty.

Today is Valentine's Day. It's a day that holds so much expectation for so many people around the world, particularly those who are young. It's a day that every girl/woman wants someone (anyone) to say to them they are special... usually in the form of a card, roses or a gift. The day is so full of expectations, that I am sure many people end up not savouring the day and enjoying it for what it is, but instead having disagreements like the young couple in the park this morning with the guy following a beautiful girl in tears with a bunch of roses.
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10 Things a man should do to be more successful in business

Yesterday I wrote a blog about the 5 things women should do to be more successful in business. Thousands of people read it - even though it was on a Sunday. Thanks :) I am chuffed.

It got me thinking... what should men do. Now, I am no expert, so these tips are only a singular point of view, but something that perhaps should be considered. What do you think?

10 Things A Man Should Do To Be More Successful
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5 Things That Every Woman Should Do If They Want To Get Ahead In Business

I am doing what many people like to do on a rainy day... laying in bed reading.

With a bookshelf full of every book genre imaginable, I am working my way through Small Giants - Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big by Bo Burlingham. My good friend Kingsley Smith (from Kingsley's restaurants fame) gave it to me to read and I can't seem to put it down. Luckily for me, its raining outside and last night I celebrated a friends birthday, so I am little bit weary.

As I read, I am getting more and more inspired. It is encouraging me think beyond  what I am reading and imagining the lives of other business women around the world and what makes one more successful than the other or for that matter, more happier than the person next to them.
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Another day, a new outlook

Today, I couldn't wait to get to work. I work up at 4am, desperate for the sun to come out so that it would be a sane time to go to work.

I am inspired. Work is fantastic. Life is falling into place and things are getting done. It's amazing what 24 hours can do. Another day, a new outlook.

Sometimes when you have been staring at the same document for days or doing the same things over and over again, its hard to have a fresh perspective.

It may take some time away from what you are doing to have a 'new outlook' or perhaps it means showing someone else your work.

If you have goals and you want to reach them, then its important to stay on track. Try new paths, but when they are obviously leading you in the wrong direction, switch. Don't waste time. Make the cold hard decisions that need to be made and revisit your business plan or your marketing plan to make sure everything still leads in the same direction.

Some tips on how to keep on track:

1.  Ensure your plan is written down in hard copy. We are all about soft copies these days, that sometimes a hard copy is the reminder we need to ensure that we follow things through.
2.  Ask others to make you accountable. It may be other members of your team, your board of directors or your family and friends.
3.  Change paths if the path you are on isn't going to work.
4.  Make decisions and don't be afraid of failure.
5.  Engage with everyone around you and get their buy-in.
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As one door closes, another opens - that's the life of an entrepreneur

As one door closed late last week, another opened minutes later.

I sat on the beach, looking out at the stars and soaking up a warm summers night in Palm Beach. It was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. I had had a run of bad luck. Fortunately, not in business. It was more little things like parking fines and delayed flights. Things that don't matter too much but all together seem like a big deal. I also had the anniversary of my father's passing, which is never a great time for anyone.

But sitting on that beach, I had a moment of clarity. And then everything changed.
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Some people never learn - are you one of them?

Do your friends say the same things to you over and over again, and you shrug it off thinking they have no idea?

Have you had the same type of relationships over and over again, only to find that they keep ending the same?

Do you keep on getting the same outcome out of life and still find yourself sitting there on a Sunday night lonely?
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What's more important? The Superbowl or losing a client?

The Superbowl is on and most of America is glued to their television screens. Madonna's performance was one of her best yet and the game is as thrilling as ever.

You have a problem with a client. They are unhappy and want to be attended to immediately. Do you take 10 minutes and ring the client or do you watch the superbowl knowing that 10 minutes out of the superbowl won't change your experience that much but what the heck... it's the superbowl?

That is the question. I know someone who chose the Superbowl and lost what could possibly be the most valuable client they ever had. Amazing where some people's priorities lie.

Millissah Smith, Atlanta. 
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