Blog : leadership

Get to Know Your Audience: Leveraging Social Media Metrics for Smarter Posting
Andrea Kagey

Get to Know Your Audience: Leveraging Social Media Metrics for Smarter Posting

When was the last time you checked your social media metrics? Not just your company’s page, but your personal LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram pages? People want to engage with – and be inspired by – people, not companies. Allowing your audience to get to know you first helps them decide if they want to invest their time and money in your product or services. When done right, an active personal presence on social media can be an effective form of networking which can bring in leads and new clients for your business. So how do you know that what you are posting on your pages is resonating with those potential clients? Social media metrics. Read this blog post to learn more.

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Five Steps for Strengthening Your Marketing Strategy
Andrea Kagey

Five Steps for Strengthening Your Marketing Strategy

Whether you’re a small business striving for growth or a seasoned B2B company looking to stay ahead, reviewing and updating your marketing SOPs and Best Practices can make all the difference. Here are five essential steps to ensure your marketing efforts stay relevant, effective, and aligned with your business goals.

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Focusing the Lens: Your Business Name Story
Wendy Baird

Focusing the Lens: Your Business Name Story

Choosing a name for your business is one of the most important decisions you will make. Regardless of your industry, it needs to make an impression. Be memorable. Maybe have a little something to do with what you do. You might want it to be somewhat catchy or clever. Regardless of the vibe, what’s most important is that you are able to craft a narrative around your name that resonates with your identity, connects with your audience, and stands the test of time. At insight180, we understand the power of a name because we’ve been helping to name businesses, processes, and events for more than 20 years.

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Practicality Marketing
insight180 team

Practicality Marketing

Those of you who know me and are familiar with my role and responsibilities as “Principal of Practicality” at Insight180 will chuckle at how NOT surprising it is I would coin the phrase or espouse the concept of “Practicality Marketing.” (Well, some things should be predictable in life, shouldn’t they?)

So, let me explain what I mean. These days, there’s a lot of evidence to support the importance of writing blog posts and white papers to demonstrate your thought leadership and high level of expertise to your prospects. We advise it all the time and we’ve seen the benefits first hand with our own advisory firm clients who’ve adopted the practice as a successful marketing strategy. For many firms, it has catapulted them to significantly higher levels of business. But there are right and wrong ways to go about it and how well or poorly you do it makes all the difference.

All too often, such content is written to demonstrate how smart a firm is, how much “better” their expertise level is, how much “more” they offer the prospect. And these things might actually be true, but coming right out and saying so can make people’s eyes glaze over and create skepticism.

The best way to communicate such messages is to focus on your ability to provide practical answers to clients’ common problems and quantify their success in some way. I like to call it “Practicality Marketing.” What was the practical, bottom-line result of what you were able to do for your customers? How do they benefit? What do you help them achieve? (And just as important, what would THEY say you help them achieve?)

“Practicality Marketing” is a way of looking at, and framing what you offer in a way that is more customer-focused and relatable. Marketing from a practicality perspective forces you to think in terms of what prospects want from you and how you can help them instead of what you want to brag about. Don’t get me wrong. Bragging has its place. Marketing is all about telling the world how great you are. It just comes off better when your clients’ successes do the talking for you.

— Chris Quinn, principal and brand strategist READ MORE

Is Fear of Change Holding You Back?
Wendy Baird

Is Fear of Change Holding You Back?

 

 

You are not alone.

American entrepreneurs may have a well-earned reputation for risk taking, but once we have a modicum of success, we tend to turn into a timid bunch—or maybe the better term is reluctant. We’ve figured out what works on our own for initial growth, so we start relying on that status quo experience, often refusing to recognize changes appearing on the horizon, reluctant to see what’s right in front of us.

“The only constant is change.”  —Heraclitus

As brand advisors to consultants, professional service firms, nonprofits and other advisory firms, we often see the fear of change take hold in our clients. Where we see it most is when we’re addressing brand—brand name, brand identity and positioning strategy (learn more about the difference between these marketing terms here). While so many CEOs are ready to take risks in hiring or launching new products and services, many are quick to dismiss the value that a re-brand could offer. They feel themselves tied to the “brand recognition” they think they have, limiting their opportunity for growth. The problem is this: when making decisions, many of us focus only on what we have to lose rather than all that we could potentially gain.

And heck, it’s scary. Change is scary. Loss is scary. Our brains work hard to fight change; plus our habits, which have helped us succeed so far, are powerful and efficient (read more in this great Forbes article). You’ve worked hard to establish a reputation and grow. But what are you missing out on by not taking a closer look—or an objective look of what you might gain?

“To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” – Winston Churchill 

I write this blog post as I’m thinking about several of our clients who are in the midst of great change. One in particular, with whom we still work today, swore almost a decade ago that he would never change his business name, but upon closer examination (via a 180 Positioning Workshop™), not only changed it, but changed his business model, developed a spin-off company, rebranded both and subsequently grew six times over in four years.

He called me today for some advice on refreshing the spin-off company and said, “I will always remember what you said during our workshop when I was so worried about our brand equity. . . you said, ‘right now, nobody knows who you are.’ And you were right! We were afraid to change.”

While my words may have sounded harsh, he needed to hear them. He and his staff had already gotten so involved in their routines that they didn’t realize how much further they could go.

What our exploration did fundamentally, was enable him to focus more on all the possibilities and potential gain that a change would offer versus the loss of his “brand recognition.”

This name change and rebrand ultimately allowed his entire team to regroup and speak from the same set of brand values. It helped differentiate the company in the marketplace and brought a new pride to the team. Sharing that new life, that new story, became part of the excitement now shared among all of the staff, clients, and prospects, which created more excitement within the industry. When done correctly, a rebrand can be the event that breathes new life into an organization, reassures existing clients and helps attract new ones.

“People underestimate their capacity for change. There is never a right time to do a difficult thing.” – John Porter

When seeing change in terms of what you have to lose, your focus is on staying safe, avoiding mistakes, fulfilling responsibilities—all honorable pursuits—you’re hanging on to what you’ve got and that’s okay, but it likely won’t help you grow.

If, instead, you see change in terms of what you might gain, your focus is about moving forward, maximizing potential, and reaping the rewards. It may require more of a leap of faith, but it’s also about creating opportunities for success.

Neither approach is wrong. However, the latter is an approach that can energize an organization and propel it forward.

So how can you learn to embrace change for the sake of your future happiness, particularly when it feels risky or uncertain? The answer is surprisingly simple: when you think about making a change, focus only on what you have to gain, and let go of those thoughts of what you might lose. To find out if

it’s time for a brand refresh, read more

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Sir Richard Branson: A Brand Leader's Influence & Role
Tara Urso

Sir Richard Branson: A Brand Leader's Influence & Role

Richard Branson The Virgin Brand

There aren’t many organizations where the leader is just as famous as the brand itself. Sir Richard Branson, the Founder of Virgin Group, a collection of more than 400 companies, the most notable of which: Virgin Records, Virgin Mobile, Virgin Atlantic and Virgin America, has created an energy and excitement around the Virgin Brand that is unparalleled. Virgin Group has created more billion-dollar companies in more sectors than any other company.

Brand Parallels

Although the thought of having over 400 companies under a single brand may sound overwhelming, Branson explains, “Contrary to appearances, Virgin is focused: Our customers and investors relate to us more as an idea or philosophy than as a company. We offer the Virgin experience, and make sure it is consistent across all sectors. It’s all about the brand.”

Branson’s Vision

One of the reasons why Virgin Group is so successful is because Branson and his team have a clear vision of their brand, their culture and their core mission. Branson notes, “I think people see the virgin brand as not taking itself too seriously, it’s a fun brand, an adventurous brand, it generally offers great quality at great value, it’s a people brand.” If everyone in your organization isn’t on the same page concerning your brand and the direction you want to go, it can be detrimental to your organization at large.

The Virgin Experience

“The Virgin experience” is alive in everything Virgin does, whether it’s a commercial for Virgin Mobile, events happening at Virgin Mobile FreeFest or even goals Sir Richard Branson sets for himself.

A large part of the Virgin brand is their commitment to facilitating giving through their companies and through new initiatives. Branson spends 80% of his time on non-profit ventures. One expression of this attitude of giving manifests itself in Virgin Mobile FreeFest.

Every year Virgin Mobile Free Fest is held at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD and it is completely free to attend (assuming that you can snag a free ticket before they “free” out). Instead of charging $50+ for a ticket (which with their big name artists, Virgin could definitely do), Virgin focuses on donations and charitable works such as the Sasha Bruce RE*Generation house in DC. Last year, attendees could sign up to put together care packages or spend a day doing work at the Re*Generation house in order to upgrade to a VIP ticket at FreeFest. All contributions go

directly to youth homelessness

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Is complacency killing your business?
Tara Urso

Is complacency killing your business?

“Are we like late Rome, infatuated with past glories, ruled by a complacent, greedy elite, and hopelessly powerless to respond to changing conditions?” — Camille Paglia

“History and experience tell us that moral progress comes not in comfortable and complacent times, but out of trial and confusion.” — Gerald R. Ford

“Success breeds complacency. Complacency breeds failure. Only the paranoid survive.” — Andy Grove

Like these iconic quotees know, complacency can consume even the most vigilant of leaders. Some may call it paranoia, others understand it as their main motivation for success. While reading an article about startups and the fear of complacency, I thought about well established businesses. Although they may have an established business model, staying complacent can be what kills them.

How the mighty have fallen.

Microsoft, which used to have a monopoly on the global consumer computer market, has had to compete with both Apple’s beautiful OS and products, as well as the global shift from personal computers being the only devices able to connect to the internet, to smartphones and tablets being thrown into the mix. Especially with the news of Apple’s recent decision to offer free OS upgrades, Microsoft’s business model seems to be deteriorating.

Via Extreme Tech

Kill complacency.

In order to be a thriving, innovative business you need to do more than stay up to date, you need to think ahead and anticipate the future of your industry.

Keep up with your competition.

Know what your competitors are doing. Track them. With social media and the internet in general, it’s easier than ever to keep tabs on your niche, or watch similar companies who are seemingly cornering a market you are interested in.

Facebook has a new feature called “

Pages to Watch

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What Makes a Meaningful Brand?
Tara Urso

What Makes a Meaningful Brand?

What Makes a Meaningful Brand?

When you think of a meaningful brand you might envision an organization that is philanthropic, transparent, socially and ethically responsible. While these are all pieces of what it means to be a meaningful brand, the relationship between the audience and brands are changing and in a nutshell, it means brands need to work a lot harder to be meaningful to their audiences. In order to beat the competition, a brand’s products or services not only must meet their customers’ needs, they also need to appeal to the things that their audience cares about and can implement into their daily lives.

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Shifting perspectives
Wendy Baird

Shifting perspectives

shift key

Hard to believe the first month of the new year has come and gone. With one twelfth of the year over, are you following the vision you set out for the year, holding to your resolutions, meeting your goals? Actually, this year in the onslaught of posts about planning, predicting and creating visions to start off right, I was struck by the number of people who were abandoning the idea of resolutions altogether and trying something different. Instead, some are working on creating new habits slowly and gradually, choosing a word or theme for the year, or choosing a book (or three, like in Chris Brogan’s Three Book Diet) to read and truly implement to influence leadership or success in their lives.

I always look forward to sitting down in January with one of my favorite people, an executive leadership coach friend of mine, Sharon Keys Seal. For me, Sharon offers a fresh perspective on events from the preceding year and outlook for the year to come. She helps me to see growth and successes that I might have missed, and identify opportunities for continued growth and shifts in my perspective. One of the things that she does each year is to pick an annual theme based on a couple of words or ideas to allow her to look through a different lens — to stretch her perspective in business and in life. Instead of (or in addition to) your typical visionary/forecasting work in terms of goals and numbers, or resolutions that you’re going to take on, it’s another way to look at the new year and bring something new to it. What’s nice about this approach, is that it compels one to look at their business, life, relationships, or anything else that matters to them, from a different perspective –– stepping outside of the norm and the way it’s always been done, balancing the outside factors and really looking inward. Sharon’s done this for years, and you can see each of her January word/theme choices on her Coaching Concepts website.

Why the need to shift perspective? Well, any small to mid-size business (SMB) owner or CEO has a lot on his or her plate. We’re reminded to work on our business rather than always “in” it, because we need to have that higher-level perspective. Shifting perspective keeps us on top of changes in our industry, observant to the changing needs of our clients and able to be more visionary and strategic.

Real connection

As marketers to advisory, consulting and professional services firms, we’re seeing some shifts as well. One of the things we’ve noticed is that more SMB leaders are taking more personal responsibility for their brands, particularly around storytelling and really becoming honest about their businesses. They are sharing personal stories of success and failure, authentically sharing perspectives that help them connect to prospects and clients on a more personal level. Human beings need connection, and we’ve always loved stories. So when we can be drawn in on an emotional level, we take note and can often relate on a personal level. This type of connection can help change and enhance perception. That’s what branding is: the perception of you or your business in the mind of your client or prospect. Advisory firms, typically thought leaders, have incredible opportunity to shift perceptions. And any shift can have an enormous ripple effect.

My friend and another leadership development expert David Craig Utts says that we are in the middle of a major transformation in business and customers are demanding deeper value. This requires that we are more authentic and real with our clients so we can develop a level of intimacy that allows them to share their deeper concerns. People want genuine connection, not sound bytes and glitz. David Craig says this requires business executives to increase their self-awareness, look within and make their own development as leaders critical to the success of their business. David Craig draws on not only on his 15 years of coaching senior executives of Fortune 500 companies, a masters in organizational development and post-graduate studies coaching and leadership, but also from 30 years of meditation, and the study of eastern philosophy, metaphysics and visualization.

Objectivity and perspective

And in that same vein, just this week I attended a

PSA Partnership event

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Did u poof read?
Bethany Howell

Did u poof read?

As a continent strategist, nothing bothers me more than seeing selling miss aches in professional writing. Moreover, today almost every1 sends lots of time txting, and they begin 2 carry over the the short-hand language from txt messaging to their work pace. Be care full to remember ur audience and right appropriately. Sell check does not pick up everything, and auto correct sometimes choses the wrong word, so poof read your writing!

When writing it may not seem necessary to proofread. After all, you just finished typing it; you know what you wrote, right? However, just because words sounded good in your mind doesn’t mean that you actually typed them correctly. In addition, a sentence may sound correct in your head but that does not mean it is grammatically correct. When you read the words you have written mistakes might jump out at you — they will probably jump right out at the recipient!

With more and more business being conducted remotely — through email and over the Internet, your written words are often all the other person has to form their first impression. Your writing is a reflection of you and your brand. If a document is loaded with grammatical errors and typos, people won’t take you seriously. Sure the content is supposed to be more important than anything, but often, even small mistakes will mean that the person has already formed a less than stellar impression before they have fully understood the value of what you’ve written. The written language used to package your message is very important.

Small mistakes can tell the reader a big message:

  • You can’t spell or write properly
  • You don’t care enough to spell or write properly
  • You don’t care about details
  • You’re just not very careful
  • You might be wasting my time.

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