Friday 5 Marketing Observations – Work on Your Strengths, Not Your Weaknesses
Happy days, only 2 more sleeps and we won’t be bombarded boring negative political ads for a least a couple of years.
I must admit this campaign has almost put me in a coma. The only real excitement in Warringah has been the Challenge to Tony Abbott by Zali Steggall. Everybody seems to have an opinion predicting a verdict.
Whatever the outcome on Saturday, we can be sure the sky won’t fall, despite all the doom & gloom Ads.
I ‘m looking forward to the Sausage Sizzle. Bring it on & here’s are my are top 5 Business & Marketing Observations for the week.
Work On Your Strengths, Not Your Weaknesses
Photo by Josh Calabrese on Unsplash
Think of something you want to improve about yourself. How would you categorise the thing you chose: Is it a strength or a weakness?
In all likelihood, you chose a weakness. A study from 2016 found that we tend to see weaknesses as more changeable than strengths—which means we’re more inclined to try to improve where we’re weak. But various studies have shown that when we focus on developing our strengths, we grow faster than when trying to improve our weaknesses
Plus, people who use their strengths are happier, less stressed, and more confident
- I remember one of my High School teacher telling us not to focus on our weakness because you’re still going to suck, but rather spend more times honing your strengths…You’ll get more leverage and you’ll drag your weakness up. He didn’t say abandoned your weakness all together just don’t pour all your energy into them…
- When we “focus on your strengths,” it’s easy to read that as “just do what you’re good at and you won’t need to improve.” But that’s what Stanford professor and researcher Carol Dweck calls a fixed mindset: Believing that your talents are innate gifts… Dweck argues that both strengths and weaknesses can be improved, and she says that people with a growth mindset “tend to achieve more than those with a fixed mindset because they put more energy into learning.”…
- In his book Go Put Your Strengths to Work, Marcus Buckingham says we often identify our strengths and weaknesses in the wrong way. We think of strengths as things we’re good at and weaknesses as things we’re bad at… Buckingham argues, is to figure out what energizes us. Strengths make us feel strong; weaknesses make us feel weak
Go Read –Work On Your Strengths, Not Your Weaknesses
Google Marketing Live Day 1; Everything You Need To Know
More than 5,000 marketers descended upon San Francisco, eagerly anticipating what Google would unveil at this year’s Google Marketing Live.
We were not disappointed.
Google is shifting search into a new direction with more than 10 product releases and new data features.
Anticipate, smart, machine learning, and responsible were the buzzwords of the day. Each innovation and beta touched on at least two of these themes.
- Wow! 6 New Ad Formats… Google’s new ads are all highly engaging, with visual elements and particularly well suited for with multi-channel strategies… SEM Gallery Ads, Showcase Shopping Ads, Discovery Ads,
- Google is also increasing its commitment to measurement and reporting… Optimisation of local campaigns will now include offline KPIs for calls and store visits… Display & Video 360 integrations will bridge gaps within display and video reporting, allowing for long awaited synergies between these platforms…
- Privacy Google discussed how everyone should be prepared that less data will be available to work with in the future. Users manage their privacy more and more closely…
Go Read –Google Marketing Live Day 1; Everything You Need To Know
The Smallest Viable Audience: How Micro-Influencers Are Changing Marketing
When it comes to choosing influencers, a lot of brands work on the assumption that bigger is better, and go for people with the biggest numbers.
However, as marketing guru Seth Godin notes, marketing on such a large scale can sacrifice what makes you special in the first place.
Instead of going big, says Seth, businesses should look for “the smallest viable audience” of fans, and building meaningful and dedicated communities around them.
- Seth is one of my favourite Marketing authors, His book Permission Marketing changed way we market, getting people to opt into your message. Purple Cow Be remarkable if you haven’t read these go grab them…
- Seth Godin’s gives the closing keynote address, “Social Media and the Revolution.”… In his presentation, Godin took a hard look at the true promise of social media in understanding human communities, and how marketers can use it to its full potential…
- This his take on Social media… Social media metrics are all about the numbers. Your follower count, your likes, your clicks – it’s easy to fall into the temptation to get those numbers up… It’s a “race for mass,” that pushes you to create more content to reach more people…
Go Read –The Smallest Viable Audience: How Micro-Influencers Are Changing Marketing
30 Best Marketing Books To Get Remarkable Results In 2019
Photo by Susan Yin on Unsplash
Leaders are readers.
Top CEOs read a book per week.
A study of 1,200 incredibly successful people showed they had one thing in common: They self-educate by reading.
When asked how he learned to build rockets, Elon Musk said, “I read books.”
- I have bookshelves all around my house jam packed with books business & Marketing Books I notice plenty of my books got a guernsey on this list. Mt top 3 would be Breakthrough Advertising – Gene Schwartz, Guerilla Marketing – Jay Conrad Levison & Permission Marketing – Seth Godin…
- Bill Gates says he learns by visiting interesting places, meeting with scientists, and watching lectures online… “But reading is still the main way that i both learn new things and test my understanding.”… Buffet recently explained the value of reading this way: “That’s how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest. All of you can do it, but I guarantee not many of you will do it.”
- I have read most of these books, but be heading to Amazon and getting more books on my Kindle… I’m keen to read Wired for Story: The Writer’s Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence … The book is a brilliant how-to on doing what engaging copy must do: “ignite the brain’s hardwired desire to learn what happens next.” With nods to the evolutionary purpose of story to electrify human curiosity, marketers will be equipped to spin yarns that drive traffic, engagement, and brand-audience relationships that drive sales…
Go Read –30 Best Marketing Books To Get Remarkable Results In 2019
How To Use AI To Provide Seamless Email Journeys For Your Customers
You probably had your first dose of artificial intelligence (AI) through Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi films that depict robots coming to life and gaining control over the world.
Though this is still a distant dream, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if such advancements actually came true in the near future.
As the world is moving at breakneck speed, the concept of AI is receiving a mix of emotions from all around the world. Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates referred to AI as a “holy grail” in the realms of computer science and technology that would go a long way in making lives easier.
- Recently, Google rolled-out its biggest upgrade in years for ‘Gmail’, which aims to make Gmail more user-friendly, secure and smart with artificial intelligence. This is something that puts the entire idea of email marketing in for a grand overhaul…
- Optimizing email subject lines – The subject line is unarguably the most critical aspect of your overall email marketing strategy. An appealing subject line is sure to help your email stand out instigating the user to click-through and skim the email content…
- Yes, AI leverages algorithms to come up with smarter and appealing subject lines that will appeal to your audience thus, driving open rates. AI does this by analyzing the data of all your email marketing campaigns followed by helping you optimize and improve subject lines over time…
Go Read –How To Use AI To Provide Seamless Email Journeys For Your Customers