"Once Upon A Time...": Why Storytelling Matters in Marketing

Your audience is attracted to stories. 

We all are. We're social creatures and enjoy relating to other people.

We also enjoy relating to and connecting with brands. How does your brand use storytelling in its marketing? We'd love to hear about it in the comments below!

To see a larger version of this infographic, click here. 

Tweet us about your brand's story!

@RME360

By: Susan Gail Taylor, Social Media Manager and Copywriter at RME360

Your Brand Has A Story to Tell: The Value of Storytelling in Your Marketing

Happy Monday! 

We're kicking off a week of social media focus on the value and power of storytelling in your marketing with this infographic.

Your brand has a story to tell, but do you know the optimal times to do so on social media?













What would you add to this infographic? What tools do you use to post on social media? Tell us about your social media experience in the comments below!

How do you tell your brand's story? Tweet us about it:

@RME360

             By: Susan Gail Taylor, Social Media Manager and Copywriter at RME360

4 Tips to An Innovative Marketing Runway

"It’s always about timing. If it’s too soon, no one understands. If it’s too late, everyone’s forgotten.’”

-Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief for Vogue, on innovation and creativity 

Considering today's array of choices in products and services at consumers' fingertips and the ease of comparing them to competitors, the marketing runway is ripe for a messaging style that tells an authentic story and connects with prospects and clients. 

To that end, there are many less than innovative trends, tricks, tools and tactics to avoid. In the fashion world, Wintour would refer to the continued of these as a faux pas. 



Remember: timing is everything, and it's time to retire a few things from your marketing closet. 

1. Say no to spam. 

Your marketing should speak to a specific audience who needs your products and/or services and who will respond to your messaging; it shouldn't be a net you cast out to a broad population as you hope for the best. Use data to identify your target audience and personalize your messaging to connect with them. Segmented emails may cast a smaller net, but the results will be worth it. 

2. Don't write thin content. 

Thin - or shallow - content does not provide value to your audience. Keyword stuffing as a tactic has been far from trendy for quite some time, but it's still present among less savvy content marketing. Invest the time and effort into providing useful and insightful content that your audience will not only want to read but will also want to share. This level of crowd marketing is an excellent way to create buzz about your brand and also increases your rank among search results. 

3. Avoid smoke and mirrors storytelling. 

Your prospects and clients are keenly aware of marketing tactics. They recognize when they're being sold to and when a brand is attempting to connect with them to fulfill a legitimate need. Don't overlook this awareness; avoid using misrepresentations in your messaging that will put off your prospects and clients. 

4. Remember to interact with your audience. 

Don't rely on talking to them through your messaging; instead, talk with them about their needs, their expectations and what you can do to serve and exceed both. 

By: Susan Gail Taylor, Social Media Manager and Copywriter at RME360

Blank Spaces and Goals: 5 Tips for Goal Achievement

Earning a promotion. Eating better. Starting a business. Balancing our work and personal lives. These are points of change in our lives, points that require us to tackle a laundry list of tasks in order to achieve our goals of change. It's easy to set goals; it's not so easy to work toward them. We lose willpower, motivation escapes us and day-to-day bogs us down as we pursue change and greatness. But it doesn't have to be that way.

You've got these blank spaces, so write your goals:

1. Recognize who you need to become to achieve your goal. Change is coming, right? Your goal is something you've never reached and the work that precedes that is something you've never experienced. That means you've got to be ready to become someone new. 

2. Write down a plan to meet your goals. This one seems simple, but it's also easily overlooked. If you want to earn a promotion, write down each step it will take to get you there. What do you need to learn? Who do you need to lean on for professional support and advice? What responsibilities do you need to take on? Begin with these questions and discover other details that are important to consider. Answer those questions each day with your actions. 

3. Devote time to your goals each day. This may mean giving up your time to do other things other things or at the very least reallocating your spare time to make room for your new goals. Discipline yourself to do what's needed each and every day; when you reach your goal, you'll be proud of how far you've come.

4. Ignore excuses. Excuses will enter your mind with ease; ignoring them will be difficult. However, a critical part of your plan to meet your goal is working through those difficult days when you wake up unmotivated and those difficult nights when you come home feeling underaccomplished. Commit yourself to ignoring any excuses, and continue towards achieving your goal. 

5. Strive for excellence. What can you do better? What aspects of your performance can you refine for better results? What changes can you make TODAY that will impact your growth tomorrow? Create opportunities for excellence in even the smallest tasks and work toward daily improvement.

What tips would you add? What advice has help you reach your goals? We'd love to hear about it! Let us know in the comments below. 

By: Susan Gail Taylor, Social Media Manager and Copywriter at RME360

The Do's and Don'ts of Vlogging for Prospects

Looking to add shareable elements to your content marketing? 


Vlogging - or video blogging - provides dynamic content that helps you develop connections and helps your brand earn more digital interaction.






















By: Susan Gail Taylor, Social Media Manager and Copywriter at RME360

4 Marketing Mishaps Your Brand Can Avoid Today

Mistakes. Accidents. Mistakes. Disasters. They happen to the best and the most prepared of us. In marketing, they happen, sometimes quite historically  and sometimes at great expense. 

An effective marketing campaign sparks conversation about your brand and what it offers, so one could argue that Coca-Cola made a genius marketing decision as opposed to a mishap when it shocked audiences with New Coke in 1985. 30 years later we are still enamored with Coca-Cola Classic and thankful for its return. Does that have anything to do with how the company took the old version off the shelves during the 80s Cola War, a move that prompted notable negative response and resulted in a substantial increase in sales? Coca-Cola hasn’t admitted to such a ploy, but many pundits, fans and conspiracy theorists think otherwise.

If you have the next great New vs. Classic Coke strategy up your marketing sleeve, that’s great. But if you don’t, here are 4 marketing mishaps you want to avoid as you plan that strategy:

1.  Lack of research and testing

How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice. How do you create a campaign that will speak to your prospects and clients and get them to respond? Testing, testing, testing. Don’t guess as to what your audiences wants from your brand; research their needs and test different offers, prices and packages. Begin your research by asking them; they’ll tell you.

2. Using too many social networks

 Of course your brand is represented on social media. (It is, right?) But there’s being on social media and then there’s being on the right social media. Who is your audience? What platforms do your audience members use?

Research shows that Facebook reigns supreme as the most popular social media and the level of user engagement has increased. That’s great information to have, but what exactly does that mean for your brand? What types of content do the 71% of online adults who use Facebook best respond to and engage with? More importantly, what types of content are your audience members seeking to engage with?

3.  Failing to retain customers

Research shows that 71% of customers have ended their relationship with a company due to poor service and that it companies focus more of their attention on customer acquisition rather than customer retention despite that acquisition costs 7x more. Don’t forget that your current customers have needs; failing to retain them as customer can impact the power of your brand and your bottom line.

4. Failing to use (or optimize) hashtags

There’s a triangular approach I like to keep in mind when it comes to hashtags:

  

Hashtagify.me can help you identify hashtags related to your industry, and RiteTag.com can help you determine if your hashtag is overused. Hashtags are now integrated in multiple social media platforms and have made a comfy home for themselves across pop culture. Using them effectively makes it easier to find you and your content as well as provides your brand with a convenient way to be a part of a variety of conversations. 

Isn't that exactly what your brand wants? 

By: Susan Gail Taylor, Social Media Manager and Copywriter at RME360

20 Email Marketing Tips for Reaching Your Audience

What tips would you add to the list? 

What is it about email campaigns you receive that resonates with you the most? 

How can you improve the way you reach your audience today? 

Tell us in the comments below! 

By: Susan Gail Taylor, Social Media Manager and Copywriter at RME360