You’re always marketing. There’s no rest.

It doesn’t matter if you are a start-up, a tech company, a retailer, a home services expert, or anything else. Whatever you do in business or industry, you’re always marketing yourself. Or, as the pros call it, “personal branding”. The reality is, that in today’s 24/7 commerce environment, people, prospects, referral partners, clients, and even other businesses are checking you out to see what you’re all about.

So, it goes without saying, your Marketing is critical if you want to invite these prospective clients or customers to come and engage with you. 

Your website, socials, and other factors, just like your online reputation, validate what the prospect has seen or heard. While you may not be selling actively in any of those channels, you had better be putting a solid and consistent message forward. It’s essential to your business’ growth and your “personal branding”.

Better Execution4Stronger Outcomes  

I often see businesses, and business leaders, going through the motions. Some think that simply checking the boxes by “posting” this, “liking” that, and following “this other”, confirms their marketing challenges are being met.

However, being thoughtful and intentional with this work is the stronger play.

Determine what you are trying to say about your company, your culture, or your own persona. That will strengthen the message and reinforce your brand across all of these channels.  It may be an overstatement to say, “someone is always watching”, but that should drive how you message and market.

These prospects, potential employees, clients, or referral sources are keeping an eye on you and your company. What do you want them to see and hear? Validate yourself and your company with intentional messaging that captures the spirit of what you are about and how you do business.

Then, when you’re always marketing you’ll do it in a more focused manner.

That’s called “marketing that validates”.

Here’s a reality! Not all marketing and advertising concepts are absolutely critical to your business’ growth and development. You’ll hear from so-called experts that you must have a strong Search Engine Optimization (SEO) infrastructure in place, followed by an ongoing plan to build it, in order to see those big sales increases you want.

While that is sometimes the best approach, it isn’t always the case.

So many new business owners succumb to cookie-cutter schemes as they launch their companies. Or they’ll often try to build a foundation with marketing and advertising concepts that they’ve been told will deliver overall advancement.

I strongly believe in the power of implementing a marketing structure. It’s the right move for businesses large and small. What I’m suggesting is that, just because you own a business and something in a publication or online piqued your interest, doesn’t mean it’s the right move for you in your situation. Odds are your structure has some unique peculiarities.  

Let me explain.

Figure Out How2Grow Your Business

I recently met a new sole proprietor who was deeply focused on building the SEO of their company. That’s a worthy objective. In reality, this company was rapidly growing from word-of-mouth referrals and a second appointment channel through a partner organization. Fast growth – possibly faster than this business could manage – was the result of good work and a solid referring partner. So, before embarking on a complicated and long-term SEO program, that was greatly adding stress to this business owner’s life, I suggested giving themselves a break.

There is so much pressure on leaders from a multitude of outside voices that are causing frustration and anxiety.  

So, shut out the noise and focus on leveraging those referrals and lead sources that are in place and working. How are you caring for those relationships?  How are you nurturing those partnerships? How are you looking after those new prospects and potential clients? After you’ve done all that great work, are you following up with requests for new introductions and referrals?  

That’s where you start!

Once you’ve got the process moving cleanly through those pipelines, then you can embark on SEO, content, social media, and other outreach opportunities. That’s the orderly path that will fuel your further growth.

Each of us have discovered that people are fascinating. We simply need to take a little time to get to know them and then listen to what they have to say. That’s a big part of the challenge. As leaders we run from a tasks to meetings to challenges to solutions mindset. Unfortunately, it’s all too rare when we sit and just listen to people. Making that a part of our business routine is invaluable (it helps in our personal lives, too).  Often those times of listening can create a myriad of unforeseen opportunities. 

At the encouragement of a trusted advisor, I began meeting with my 5Points Creative colleagues individually, on a fairly regular basis.  We try to have lunch together – just us – a couple of times a year. It’s their time to tell me what’s going on in their world, what they’ve been thinking about lately, and where they’d like to see things going personally and professionally.

Not only do I enjoy them, I learn a lot at these lunches.
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Recently in two meetings I heard one team member tell me they were starting to feel a little overwhelmed with their burgeoning workload. As we added new clients and grew, there was a feeling of anxiousness about how they’d be able to manage the extra assignments.  While some of the agonizing was premature, their concern was quietly building. It was becoming more real to them – enough so that they wanted to bring it to my attention.

As we were pondering the best ways to support this employee, I had another luncheon.  This time it was over sandwiches with friends in the neighborhood. It was here that I got a chance to hear, firsthand, about this person’s somewhat hidden talents. 

All2Easy to Overlook

I discovered this valuable employee has a perpetual to-do-list that is detail-driven and requires focus. I also learned they have immense talent on the more creative side of our industry. It’s rare to come across people who have this mix of detail and creativity in their personality. It’s also exciting to discover someone who embraces the variety of talents needed to do what we do. 

So, while we may have figured this all out over time, these adjacent meetings reinforced the concept that listening and making time for people must remain a top priority for all of us. In this case, I was able to allay their workload concerns and at the same time identify new talents that with be worthwhile for all of us. 

Obviously this approach of taking time to listen is important for the employee.  It’s also the gateway to often finding solutions that are actually right in front of you – just a little tucked away.

It’s been well documented in past B2Seeds that I wasn’t the best math pupil. In fact, I never even made it to high school calculus. It certainly didn’t help that we weren’t allowed to use calculators on tests. I do remember wondering why I had to work out those problems by hand when my calculator could do it for me! 

Most teachers told us grasping the process made us stronger and helped us become more adept at math. Later on, some teachers admitted that knowing how/where to get the information (or the answers) was just as valid as going through the rigors of problem solving the hard way.

Decades later calculators are pretty much a thing of the past. Most students use their “smart phones” for solving math problems and looking up information for answers to test questions. Information is at our fingertips, and we learn from it 24-7. 

Today, there’s Artificial Intelligence (AI). The ways in which it has taken this whole issue of learning to the next level, is astonishing. These same classrooms – with new teachers and obviously new students - are now wrestling with what to do with AI. 

AI4Future Consideration

For the last several years, we have actually dabbled with AI in our writing.

You may wonder if Bruce is the one writing this issue of B2Seed or some computer? On the other hand, does it really matter?

There are all kinds of ramifications as it relates to AI becoming a key influence in business and education. Beyond that, concerns have been raised with AI creations in the world of art and even broadcast news. The fact is, AI is steadily improving. While that creates fear for some, others see it as an opportunity.

In the advertising and marketing world, AI could assist you with integrating faster solutions as a part of your routine. Some would ask, “why do we need 5Points Creative if AI can deliver the same results?” That’s a legitimate question. However, I prefer to look at the positive. We can do more for our clients with the support of AI. Plus, I choose to believe the human touch, along with a set of empathic eyes that accompany the human touch, provide an unmatched value.

So, let’s just agree to keep watching the evolution of AI with an eye on how it can help us all do a better job of marketing and advertising. For starters – check out Google Bard and see what it has to say for itself.

Sometimes you hear a song and realize, hey I know that. 

Melodies jump into our brain and then what is commonly called an “ear worm” takes over and there is no way to make it easily go away. Sometimes those songs are for advertising. Maybe it’s a musical branding piece done specifically for a company. Often, it’s a remade song that is newly incorporated into a campaign. 

First, let me say that using music in your advertising can be extremely effective in driving your message. It can help cut through the clutter better than others. You hear the first few notes of a “tune” and immediately recognize the advertiser. 

On the other hand, some music used in advertising is annoying. Case in point is the“Yacht Rock” song “Magic” made popular by the British band “Pilot” in 1975 and by Selena Gomez in 2009. “Oh, ho ho – it’s Magic.”  Well, no doubt you’ve heard this in the campaign for the diabetes (and weight loss) drug Ozempic where “It’s Magic” is replaced with “Oh-zempic.” I don’t know about you, but every time this commercial hits the air, I hit the mute button. 

Listen2the Music, but BeCareful Using It

For them, the song use is all about name recall, since that’s the biggest concern for drug companies primarily because their drugs have such weird names. Big Pharma pays Big Money to firms that specialize in the process of coming up with stupid names.  

After all of the images of happy people doing slice of life things, this mind-numbing, overplayed, 60- or 90-second television commercial takes more time talking about the “side effects” than it does to sell the product. And, all the while, that irritating music – “Oh-Oh-Ohaaw-ful” - is going on in the background.

So, my advice is to be mindful as you plot your next campaign.

Using music in your advertising can enhance audience emotions and make your ad memorable. Used wisely, it can help you differentiate and set your advertising apart from the crowd.  Should you opt for pricey well-known music? Perhaps. Sometimes the extra cost is worth it. But remember you need to obtain permission and the rights fees can be staggering.

Music in advertising can be beneficial, but be aware of the annoyance factor when considering an original “one hit wonder” song. Save the 70’s and 80’s tunes forMusic Trivia night at the local bar or for Final Jeopardy.

When I started this company 14 years ago, Public Relations wasn’t a focal point of our new firm. Back in those days, we farmed out press releases, press conferences, and even media training. My background was in the television media business, so I was more focused on the advertising side of things in our industry.   

Then over time, as I listened to seasoned pros and watched many in the PR realm do their thing, I saw value in us branching out into this interesting arena as a service for our clients. You would think that the media, with its ongoing need for news and information, would be eager to print or air just about any PR piece we’d send them. I mean they need a constant influx of information to fill their pages or their newscasts, so why should it be such a challenge to get media exposure for our clients. Well, it isn’t that easy and has taken a constant effort to build an efficient and effective PR side of our agency.  

Some FreeAdvice4YourConsideration

Decades ago, I heard the saying, “It’s a bad day when 60 Minutes knocks on your door.” Though that show is almost as old as I am, that statement still rings true. 

While it’s unlikely any of you reading this piece will ever get contacted by the CBS News Network, you never know when unexpected reporters or challenging topics will cross your inbox or connect via your mobile phone. Even kind and friendly reporters, just out doing a casual story, can very easily catch you off guard and take you into a conversation you may not want to have. 

Recently I was meeting with a client who was about to experience her first live television interview. It was set to be a friendly meeting in a studio. In spite of those expectations, I wanted this person to be prepared. I coached her on some basic information to help frame the interview – questions I thought would be asked, what to wear, how to sit, and some other tips. I also spent time encouraging her to answer the questions she wants to answer and not always the question that is asked.  

Most of the time those in media have an agenda. I’m not talking about the kind of agendas being put forth by some in politics. Instead, it could be as simple as – tell a good story, or get this sound bite as quickly as possible so we can get onto the next assignment. Obviously, they have something they want to accomplish. You also have an agenda. You also have something you want to accomplish.That’s the kind of give and take you should utilize whenever you have any opportunity with the media. 

Hopefully the crew from Dateline or 60 Minutes never comes “knocking on your door.” But, if they do, or if you ever find yourself in a regular interview setting, be sure you make it a point to talk about what is important to you. Knowing how to engage the media in advance is generally the smartest plan.