GarthBox

Imagine you’re a manager of a project. You were just told you made a huge mistake on the project and needed to fix it right away.

Now imagine one version where you focus on your mistake, the strong words from your boss and the disappointment from your team.

Now imagine another version where you focus on getting back on track, making it better than expected, bringing the team together and rallying.

Which version do you think you’ll make a greater impact with?

Where you put your focus has a huge influence on where you actually go (and often that you actually go). Both versions feel the sting of the mistake, but one puts focus on what moves them forward.

It’s not easy and that’s why so few do it, but damn is the reward worth it when you do.

 

Stay Positive & You Decide What You Focus On

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In a world of 140-character thinking, it’s easy to pick up on a brand’s intention.

Click-bait language is clear that they’re measuring clicks.

Noting when content is sponsored expresses the intention of building trust and being transparent.

A giveaway is clearly about engagement and learning more about the target so the brand can speak more directly to them in future messaging.

Next time your reviewing creative, copy, any tactic … consider what your intention behind it is.

The consumer’s going to see it one way or another.

Better to have it align with what you truly stand for.

 

Stay Positive & Down With Vanity Metrics

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The fact it worked doesn’t mean it was worth it.

It doesn’t mean it should be done the same way in the future.

It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t look for a way to improve.

The fact it worked doesn’t mean it will again.

Better to put mental energy to question what will work better.

 

Stay Positive & Better, Not More

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Making things seem worse than what it they are is a habit of most.

After all, the worse the situation, the more it makes sense to hide, to avoid it, to say it’s untameable.

Making it seem worse than what it is is a cop-out well worth avoiding. Here’s how: Anytime you think something has gotten too big to handle, give it the five-minute test. Give it your complete attention and energy for five straight minutes and see what happens.

 

Stay Positive & 5 Minutes To Learn How Little It Is

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Forcing your ads where they are unwelcome is like turning the wrong way down a one way.

You’ll get noticed fast, but people will honk, they’ll say “what an idiot” and a few may even try to stop traffic so you can find your way out of their way. What kind consumers.

The next marketing strategy is to find intersections where you can place your message. Maybe one of these people driving through have to see it? The more people who do, the more effective the ad will be, right?

Turns out that those at an intersection are merely there because they’re on their way to something else, something that has already earned their attention, something they care about.

That doesn’t leave many options open, but maybe it’s less about finding a space and more about finding a flow?

The best kind of advertising strategy is the kind that either joins the one way (the ad is placed where it is welcome) or it makes a one way (people like us are doing this, join us if you want, but we’re definitely not for everyone, this is a one way road, not an intersection).

And if you’re trying to be all places to everyone, well, just forget about it. It won’t work. That’s like trapping yourself in a roundabout and you’re left wondering why no one is paying attention to you.

 

Stay Positive & The Target’s Way Is The One Way

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It’d benefit businesses to spend more time considering what their target hopes is next versus what they (the owner) wants next.

It’s easy to answer what’s next when you put it in context of the right person: the customer.

 

Stay Positive & Target First, Always

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Oddly enough, there’s still a thought process regarding sharing content that started in 2015.

In 2015, everyone was creating content and the strategy about placement of that content was: put it everywhere.

Have a Q&A? Throw it Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, DevianArt, Ello, Flickr, Foursquare, Pinterest and, yes, Google+. Might as well convert it into a video and put it on YouTube and your website, too. What if you turned it into an infographic and put it out on every social platform, too? How about a news release, too? A by the number chart? Why not.

Distribution of content went across every platform, negligent of whether the target was actually there or cared.

And that’s where vanity metrics get us.

When we get a few likes on this platform and few views on that platform, we feel the need to continue pushing content on those platforms.

The reality is, most brands shouldn’t be on (insert social media platform here) regardless of the fact a few of their fans are there or because the brands have content they could convert to that platform.

Such as life, when you put time, energy and money into one thing, you’re also not putting time, energy and money into another thing.

It might seem like it’s only a few dollars, a little mental space and five minutes to convert content to a different platform, but day after day that adds up.

In the end, you could have used those resources to better connect with your fans where the majority actually are.

Be where your message will be welcomed, not forced.

 

Stay Positive & Definitely Don’t Do It “Because We Can”

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