This is the area where we will sit and pontificate about all cool things related to marketing and branding. We’ll attempt to come off like we really know what we’re talking about but chances are we will fail miserably. Well, it probably won’t be that bad but we do promise to keep it real and talk about basic concepts of what you can do everyday to keep your brand and your message relevant.

Marketing tip #3 – If content is King, you should start building your castle.

In the world of marketing there is a saying that I believe holds true for every person in one aspect of business or another…..

“Content is King.”

I recently spoke to a group of young leaders in Missoula and one of their questions to me was, “How can we develop a strong personal brand and be seen as a leader in our industry?” My answer to them was simple…Content is King. In other words, if you want to be seen as the expert in your field, the thought leader in your group of industry peers, then one of the things you need to do on a regular basis is develop interesting and thought provoking content on various topics about your industry or business specialty. It’s one thing to re-blog and re-post interesting articles. That’s easy and anyone can do it. It’s a completely different ballgame when you’re the person creating this content.

Marketing tip #7 – The power of a free hot-dog.

I heard this story once a long time ago and it’s always stuck with me. You see, there was once this guy that owned a hot-dog stand that wasn’t doing much business. He was approached by a radio ad sales rep about doing some radio advertising. The hot-dog stand owner scoffed and said, “Radio is expense and it doesn’t work.” The sales rep said, I’ll tell you what…I’ll run the first week of radio ads at no charge to you but what you have to do in return is advertise that you’re giving away free hot-dogs.” The guy thought about it for a minute and then said, “No way would I ever do that.” The sales rep asked why and the guy said, “Because I’d be overrun with people wanting free hot-dogs.” The sales rep responded, “I thought you said radio didn’t work?”

Marketing tip #6 – Why do you do what you do?

If you’re getting ready to pick up a new client or start that new job marketing for an organization, make sure to ask the employer what their #1 motivation is for doing what they do…why the organization exists. There should be a million great answers but if the first one is “to make a profit” then you may want to pass on the work. It starts with passion and profit is a byproduct of passion…not the other way around. I’ve been lucky to work for passionate clients and employers…it makes a huge difference.

Marketing Tip #9 – Let your creative team be creative.

I consistently hear stories about marketing teams trying to overwhelm the creative process and getting to the point where they start telling the photographers, designers, copywriters etc. exactly what to do. Don’t turn your most talented members of your creative team into button pushers. Give them a voice, they have amazing ideas and their best work comes when given the freedom to stretch their imagination. It means giving up some control but in the end, this is when the best work comes to life.