Kris Clark Marketing Consultancy

Tag: #socialmedia

  • Value Proposition series: First – understanding what they are.

    Value Proposition series: First – understanding what they are.

    Value propositions are important and can be crucial in helping to create business goals and define strategy. But what are these and how do you arrive at them? A short new series on these often confusing terms.

    First up : what do we mean by the words ?

    A value proposition is a concise statement that clearly communicates the unique value and benefits that a product or service offers to its target customers. It serves as the foundation of a company’s marketing strategy and plays a crucial role in capturing the attention of consumers and driving their purchasing decisions.

    Words are important. And the first rule of communication is that between the sender and the receiver there is noise. This means that what we think we are saying, isn´t necessarily what we are saying and definitely not always what someone else hears.

    A compelling value proposition helps differentiate a product or service from the competition. A well-crafted value proposition highlights the unique selling points of a product or service, showcasing how it is distinct from others in the market. By clearly communicating the benefits and value that a business provides, it captures the attention of potential customers and compels them to consider the offering.

    A value proposition serves as a guide for effective communication. It provides a consistent and coherent message that can be used across various marketing channels, including websites, social media, advertisements, and sales pitches. This consistency ensures that the intended value is effectively conveyed to the target audience, reinforcing the brand’s positioning and establishing credibility.

    A strong value proposition helps address customer needs and pain points. By understanding the specific challenges faced by their target market, businesses can tailor their value proposition to highlight how their product or service solves those problems. When customers can see a direct connection between their needs and the offering, they are more likely to choose that particular solution over alternatives.

    So before getting into ´aspirational terms´ go back to basics. Ensure that everyone involved is identifying the same things with the same words and use them.

    What does my business stand for? What do I feel when I say that? What do I want others to feel? What am I proud of? What do I want to tell?

  • Storytelling series: summing it all up

    Storytelling series: summing it all up

    In the world of marketing, competition is fierce, and brands are always looking for new and innovative ways to stand out from the crowd. However, simply promoting products and services is no longer enough to build a strong brand. In order to truly connect with their audience, brands need to tell a story that resonates with their customers on a deeper level.

    Authenticity, narrative, and voice are three crucial elements in creating a compelling story that motivates customers to take action. Authenticity is all about being true to the brand’s values and identity, and it requires transparency and honesty. A brand’s narrative should be consistent across all marketing channels and align with the brand’s goals, while its voice should be distinctive and recognizable.

    By mastering these elements, brands can create a powerful story that not only engages their audience but also inspires them to take action. For example, a brand might use its narrative to tell a story of its journey to success, highlighting challenges overcome and lessons learned along the way. By using authentic language and a distinctive voice, the brand can create an emotional connection with its audience and motivate them to take action, such as making a purchase or sharing the brand’s message with others.

    Another example, for a gallery or artist, might be using the narrative to showcase the work by the journey of the individual artists. Using real stories and a genuine voice, you can build trust with your audience and inspire them to act, such as signing up for a subscription or leaving a positive review.

    With customers increasingly discerning and skeptical, storytelling is a powerful tool for brands to build meaningful connections with their audience. By mastering authenticity, narrative, and voice, brands can create compelling stories that resonate with their customers.

  • Tips: why SEO is not a simple solution

    Tips: why SEO is not a simple solution

    Full disclosure – it is always tempting to take something you do well, make it look even easier and then sell that as a service. That is the backbone of consulting.

    And many solopreneurs get boggled by all the terms we throw at them. SEO, SEA, SEM, CTR, CPC, ROI. As a business person, you know that SEO is important – you need to be found ! But what is it? And how do you do it?

    SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is not a simple solution because it involves a complex set of strategies and techniques that are constantly evolving. While there are some basic principles that remain constant, search engines like Google are constantly updating their algorithms to provide better search results to users. This means that SEO strategies that worked well in the past may no longer be effective, and new techniques need to be developed and implemented.

    Moreover, SEO is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Every website and business is different, and the SEO strategy that works best for one may not work as well for another. It requires a thorough understanding of the target audience, the competition, the industry, and the technical aspects of website optimization.

    In addition, SEO is not a quick fix. It takes time, patience, and consistent effort to see results. It involves creating high-quality, relevant content, building backlinks, optimizing website structure and content, and continuously monitoring and analyzing performance to make data-driven decisions.

    Lastly, SEO is not a set-it-and-forget-it solution. As mentioned earlier, search engine algorithms are constantly changing, and businesses need to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and best practices to maintain their search visibility and rankings. This requires ongoing research, testing, and optimization, making SEO a long-term and continuous effort.

    Everything in business and life if worth doing well but also requires thinking, rethinking and ongoing work—no simple fixes.

  • Storytelling series: narrative

    Storytelling series: narrative

    Another installment in my storytelling series. I wanted to focus, with regard to storytelling in marketing, on the differences and similarities between narrative and storytelling. We often ´forget´ in marketing that we have a narrative.

    Storytelling and narrative are related terms, but they refer to different aspects of storytelling.

    Storytelling refers to the act of telling a story, whether it is orally, through writing, or any other medium. It is a way to convey information or entertainment to an audience through the use of characters, plot, and other elements.

    Narrative, on the other hand, refers to the structure or framework of the story. It includes the way the story is told, the point of view of the narrator, the sequence of events, and the overall message or theme. The narrative can be seen as the underlying framework that gives the story meaning and coherence.

    To put it simply, storytelling is the act of telling a story, while narrative refers to the way the story is structured and presented. Both elements are crucial to effective storytelling, and they work together to create a compelling and engaging story that resonates with the audience.

    We often overlook that we have a narrative in marketing. To talk about the product or service we are selling. That gives us the framework to play with the story on top of it but we should not create flights of fancy.

  • Will AI tools replace marketers?

    Will AI tools replace marketers?

    Another in the series of tips. Yet a bit different – as with AI tools it really depends on what it is you need.

    As with everything start with your goal – want to find a better and more professional-looking email on a regular basis? Then a marketing automation tool will be helpful.

    Want to measure how customers respond to content and follow up with the most engaged in your database? Again a marketing automation tool is helpful.

    Want to give customers to your e-commerce site real-time help for frequently asked questions? A chatbot is fabulous.

    Natural language processing tools can help analyze customers’ feedback to improve your product offering.

    And recommendation engines can encourage shoppers to add a similar or related item to the basket.

    Let´s not forget Grammarly for checking spelling and grammar (English language )!

    Okay, we´re all tripping over Chat GPT as a substitute for writing. See ChatGPT as an inspiration engine. Enter in say ´AI tools in Marketing´ and see what it suggests. As with storytelling be authentic and use your own words.

  • What are vanity metrics?

    What are vanity metrics?

    A part of the semi-regular marketing tips series:

    Metrics, KPIs, business intelligence, and data – are all very important terms and I personally love to analyze and measure things. However, often entrepreneurs and marketers fall into the trap of vanity metrics.

    Vanity metrics are performance indicators that are often used to measure the success of a business, but do not necessarily reflect the true value of the business or its ability to generate revenue. They are often used to make a business or product look good on paper, but do not provide any meaningful insight into the customer experience or the effectiveness of the business’s strategies.

    Examples of vanity metrics include website traffic, social media followers, or the number of downloads of an app.

    These metrics can be easily manipulated and do not necessarily indicate whether a business is profitable or sustainable. It’s important to distinguish between vanity metrics and actionable metrics that can help to improve the business’s performance.

    But you say, those figures are straight from a dashboard! True, however, for example, website analytics, and organic followers come to the landing page and then jump off after 20 seconds. They don´t continue the journey. So even if your traffic is increasing your revenue isn´t and you need to do something about that.

    It isn´t easy but try to avoid the vanity metrics trap of just more likes, unengaged followers, and empty website traffic.

  • Storytelling in marketing: what is it?

    Welcome to my brand-new series of articles about storytelling in marketing. I wanted to dive deeper into the concepts of and behind storytelling. I will confess there is a personal motive as well. I plan to publish these short articles monthly. So stay tuned!

    Storytelling has become a buzzword. As a follow-up to authentic, you have probably heard the term storytelling thrown around for the past few years. Pop in a few references to Simon Sinek´s Golden Circle and Seth Godin´s Tribes, you’ve got a strategic storyteller on your hands.

    According to the Product Marketing Alliance: Storytelling is a process used by product marketers to communicate a message to their audience via the combination of fact and narrative. While many organizations use stories based on fact, others combine fiction and improvisation to drive home the key components of their brand’s core message.

    In other words, it’s similar to describing your product to those you would like to purchase/use it. But it’s not that simple, as internally, we think everyone understands our company own shorthand. Or even that our target audience has done deep research into the product/service and wants details.

    Stories are a journey. The storyteller’s role is to take the listener on that journey. Not just leading the way by saying ‘follow the yellow brick road’ but narrating the path–walking alongside.

    A library with white walls, rounded shelves nd 2 chairs on the left side. Image by Rafael Cosquiere and courtesy of Pexels.com

    Although we may use fiction, hyperbole, similes, and exaggeration in the story, it must be based on at least one solid fact. However, we must also take the person to the finale —the end of the story. Just driving down the road and back isn´t storytelling.

    Storytelling is more than just making things up.

  • Being social savvy

    Being social savvy

    I shouldn´t have to say this but I recently read a #jobposting that reminded candidates that their #socialmedia accounts would be checked. Yes, we are now seeing #selfies on LinkedIn and interview reels on #instagram. However, be careful and clever.

    Remember that social media profiles are your public face and story – so think about the story you are telling. I live a lot of my life on social media – as an Expat it is an easy way to keep my scattered family and friends connected. But I am clever about next to what I post – what my profiles are.

    Here are some easy tips to help you keep a clean separation.

    Tip #1: claim your #linkedin profile name. It sounds silly, but there are still many candidates without their name in their profile name and still ´just a number´.

    Tip #2: have your contact details in your profile and if you have a whacky email address consider changing it to something a bit tamer. Seriously, would you respond to Gotbeer@hotmail.com?

    Tip #3: turn on your privacy settings for Facebook and Instagram! Only be discoverable by say friends of friends unless your ambition is to be an influencer. If you have a public profile such as an artist or online shop spend some time setting up profiles for that (drop me a line I can help).

    Tip #4: as with LinkedIn do the opposite for Facebook and Instagram – turn your online name into something only you, friends, and family know. That increases the separation between your professional and your personal profile. Be just that less findable.

    Happy New Year and Happy job hunting!