LionShark Digital Marketing Blog

Always Believe You Can

6/26/2020

We have a book in our house that remains a favorite for both of our kids. The book is by acclaimed author, Grace Byers, and exceptionally talented illustrator, Keturah Bobo, and is called I Believe I Can. As I was reading this book for the umpteenth time today, I realized how much of it is applicable to entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurs reach for the stars. They make something out of nothing. They put everything on their backs and overcome obstacles. They’re never satisfied with what they’ve done before. They find value and meaning in their accomplishments. They press on and press forth, demanding more out of themselves than anyone else ever will. They believe they have a calling or can find purpose in their work and put in the sweat and tears to be successful day after day.

But that doesn’t mean that they always remember these truths.

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The Dangers of Being an Entrepreneur During a Pandemic

5/18/2020

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When COVID-19 made its way stateside and life as we knew it started to shut down, I never imagined we would be where we are today. I didn’t expect a total pause of normalcy and I had no idea it would last so long. Even now that we are more than two months in, there’s no end in sight and analysts are predicting that we may never return to some of the same activities that we enjoyed before. Speculation is running rampant about how things both big and small will change – everything from urban planning and airport security to theme parks and gyms could see their operations permanently altered. Schools are trying to decide what their plans will be in the fall when students are supposed to return. Even things like whether we will let kids blow out candles on cakes at birthday parties in the future has come into question. The world around us is changing – changing rapidly. And in the middle of it all, we’re just trying to adapt.

My personal life has been dramatically affected, but professionally it’s been business as usual for me. I’m already self-employed and as a work-from-home mom (WFHM), so while others have hit huge bumps trying to transition to the remote work routine, I’m already used to it. After getting over the initial shock, fear, anger, and confusion of being told I had to stay home, I settled in nicely. Or so I thought.

I threw myself into my work and just pushed harder to take everything I was doing to new heights. Whether it was running the business or parenting or fitness – I threw myself in head-first and didn’t look back. Of course I did, because I’m an entrepreneur.

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How to Write Effective Content

4/21/2020

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Effective content is the cornerstone of any digital marketing plan. However, many small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs) struggle with creating content that achieves their objectives.

Lackluster content results can occur when content is simply misaligned with organizational goals or when the content itself is uncompelling. First and foremost, content creation should be focused around furthering the conversation on a given topic, instead of just adding to the noise. To be effective it must be readable and actionable. Without these pillars content can’t gain traction, but even with these key elements it should still be promoted through brand channels and within industry corridors.

These “secrets” to writing effective content aren’t really secrets at all, but they’re often more difficult in practice than in name. Before creating blog posts, emails, scholarly articles, videos, white papers, infographics, or any other form of content, follow this content checklist to ensure the best possible results.

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Working Smarter to Survive COVID-19 with Kids

3/26/2020

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Regular readers know I usually write about content strategy, digital marketing, branding, and other topics for business owners. But today I come to you with a new topic – parenting during a shelter in place order.

While the concept of teaching and entertaining your kids at home is usually reserved for homeschool platforms and craft blogs, parents across the nation have become teachers and entertainers overnight. The sudden shift in our roles has been met with a collective sigh of frustration and dread. Parents, who already feel burnt out from having to get their kids to and from every activity under the sun, are now overwhelmed by the idea of having to be everything for their children every moment of every day. Or we were overwhelmed, initially.

In our house, I went through all the stages – disbelief, anger, resistance, sadness. Like some sort of progression through the stages of grief over the last 12 days, I ultimately landed at acceptance. I settled in. We settled in. We’re now a household with two parents working from home (one feverishly doing his part to support a global supply chain, and the other self-employed and creating content for businesses that need to reassure their customers) and two littles (one of which will celebrate her second birthday during this time at home).

I still get a little choked up when I think about the things we’ve missed and will be missing in the coming weeks. We had tickets to local happenings, trips planned, annual events on the calendar, celebrating Easter at church, and a once-in-a-lifetime experience to look forward to. But those have been replaced with crafts, playing in the yard, and trying to get work done with little people around that are constantly asking for attention. But most of all I’m thankful. I’m thankful to have the kind of jobs that are still needed and can be done remotely where our risk of exposure is much lower.

So, if you’re fortunate enough to be in the same position because you haven’t been laid off or furloughed, here are some tips to help you balance it all:

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Finding Your Brand Voice

2/4/2020

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The beginning of the year is the most popular time to start a business. People often think about their personal and professional goals for the coming year and decide to launch that new venture that they’ve been thinking about starting. If you’ve recently started a new business, or plan to in the coming months, you certainly have a lot to get done. Filing new business documentation, creating inventory, developing a marketing plan, looking for a location to rent, hiring staff, finding business software to streamline operations – these startup activities require substantial time and effort. However, during these essential early steps most entrepreneurs forget a crucial branding activity – determining a brand voice.

Every business has a brand voice, but not all businesses have intentionally chosen theirs.

In the beginning, many new businesses start with the owner’s voice as the brand voice. However, as more employees are added, or content is outsourced to a digital marketing company, it becomes much more difficult to keep a consistent voice if there are no parameters to guide communications across customer touchpoints.

Businesses that take steps like creating a website, setting up social media profiles, running ads, and sending invoices without regard to the overall voice that they’re using typically end up with a piecemeal brand voice. Without being deliberate a brand voice will lack direction and cohesion, weakening the brand and constricting business growth.

Some business owners may feel that specifying brand voice is unnecessary, but most often the limiting factor is time and effort. Business owners are typically intimidated by the concept of creating a brand voice, causing it to get deprioritized behind time-sensitive tasks that directly generate revenue. However, the process does not need to be difficult.

Get the ball rolling by simply asking, “If our brand was a person, who would that person be? What would that person sound like, say, ask, and tell you? Where would that person live, work, visit, and spend time? What would that person do for fun?” These questions (and any others you can think of) help to personify the brand, allowing a way to match the brand voice with the business’s market positioning to maximize revenue.

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What is Content Marketing?

1/14/2020

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Content marketing is:
A strategic marketing approach based around creating valuable and engaging content for your target audience to drive profitability and create brand value.

Let’s break that definition down.

While all marketing should be strategic, far too many business owners (especially small business owners) are still using shotgun marketing approaches. They may buy advertising space in printed publications, fill radio spots, or run TV commercials in the hopes that wider general exposure will drive revenue. The assumption is that simply providing more ways for people to hear about a company increases brand recognition, ultimately increasing revenue. And while this may work in some instances, it is not a very strategic approach. Content marketing is a strategic marketing tactic that defines a clear target demographic before pursuing that audience with customized content.

Content is tailored for a specific target audience to go after their needs, desires, and aspirational goals. By creating true value and engaging audiences, brands form a lasting connection that spurs purchase activity and fosters a loyal following.

In this definition content can be articles, blog posts, videos, white papers, case studies, social media posts, or anything else developed by the business to connect with consumers. In fact, content doesn’t simply involve online materials. Content more broadly encompasses offline items like product packaging, tradeshow materials, and point-of-sale displays as well.

Find out what you need to know about content marketing to succeed with this highly lucrative marketing approach!

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Content Predictions for 2020

12/18/2019

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The holidays are filled with marketers making predictions for the new year. We can’t help ourselves, we’re like months to a flame. Maybe it’s the thrill of realizing you were right or the unquenchable urge to help businesses improve their strategic marketing planning, but marketers love their trend predictions. Seeing these posts crop up during December and January are as predictable as Santa riding in on his sleigh.

Here are our predictions for the coming year:

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Content That Changes Paradigms

12/3/2019

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As a digital marketer and content strategist I routinely write optimized content for clients across many different industries. While they all have their own challenges, quirks, joys, and triumphs, one stands out among the crowd.

Yes, I have a favorite client. I said it. The cat’s out of the bag.

This client isn’t my favorite because he’s zany or insightful or kind (although he is all those things). I like working with this client because doing work for him feels more like a collaboration than a job.

When we first started working together though, he kind of terrified me.

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The Ultimate Guide to Charitable Marketing

11/12/2019

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If you support any charitable organizations, get ready for your inbox to start growing. ‘Tis the season!

While for-profit companies began ramping up their email marketing efforts in early October to notify shoppers of upcoming promotions and seasonal releases, charities will be following suit in the coming weeks. Thanksgiving unofficially kicks off the charitable giving busy season that runs through Christmas and into year-end.

The message that charities will be overwhelmingly promoting is that in this season of gift giving, there is no greater gift than to give to those in need. Broadly speaking, this encompasses every charitable marketing campaign whether the goal is to increase cash contributions, volunteer hours, public displays of support, or in-kind donations.

So, what do marketers working with charitable organizations need to know this holiday season?

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Is Associative Marketing Just Hype?

10/17/2019

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As a marketer I’ve always been fascinated with the ways that brands appeal to consumers and influence purchase patterns. Subsequently, I tend to notice strategic marketing approaches more than the average person.

While there will never be a one-size-fits-all marketing approach, I’ve noticed some emerging trends in my years as a digital marketer. Lifestyle marketing, cause-based marketing, and self-improvement marketing have all seen a dramatic rise to popularity in my time. Over the last few years though there has been a huge uptick in what I call “associative marketing.”

What is Associative Marketing?
Simply put, associative marketing is selling to people like you.

This is a widely used (and wildly successful) tactic among minority groups and marginalized consumer segments. Associative marketing can be based on any characteristic but is most common among sexes/genders/sexual identities, races/ethnicities/nationalities, and religions/beliefs.

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