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6 Things Data Analysts Can Learn From Bestselling Authors

6 Things Data Analysts Can Learn From Bestselling Authors

Data is beautiful.

It reduces the confusing, chaotic noise of life and humanity into numbers and quantifiable patterns. And as a data analyst, it may feel like you have the keys to the world.

The information you have, the problems you can solve…

If only people would just listen!

You see, data alone isn’t enough.

If you want to make an impact, there’s one skill you need to learn: narrative construction. 

Why is narrative construction important in data storytelling?

Data storytelling isn’t a new thing, but it is becoming more and more valuable as consumers and stakeholders realize the utility and value of well-presented data. 

Storytelling helps people to make sense of data and allows them to connect with the material on a deeper level, as it creates an emotional connection and gives meaning to data points.

(Here are 5 more reasons why data and storytelling should go hand in hand.)

Data analysts are often tasked with taking large data sets and turning them into narratives that people can understand. You can do this in a lot of ways, like using animation, videos, cool graphics, etc. 

A good data story combines data with visual elements driven by a narrative. All three factors deployed together can be very effective in driving results and engaging an audience. 

combination for good data story

(Source: Datacamp)

However, data and visuals mean nothing without the narrative.

Don’t get me wrong. Grabby visuals and graphics are great and are a vital part of data storytelling.

But what draws people in is the story.

The narrative.

The human brain is wired to receive and retain information through stories. We’re more likely to remember stories than numbers, and we use stories to understand the world around us.

Communicating technical and data concepts has always been a challenge, but through the power of narrative, data analysts can take complex ideas and make them accessible to a wider audience.

A well-constructed narrative has the power to inspire and motivate others to take action. Data presented with a story can be incredibly powerful, informing decisions, generating ideas, building connections, and sparking conversations.

6 narrative construction tricks used by best-selling authors

Very few data analysts come from a background of literature and story-telling, but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn from the pros. 

Here are six tricks used by bestselling authors that can help data analysts construct powerful narratives:

1. Start with the end in mind

Bestselling authors know the importance of a strong, meaningful ending, and they plan their stories around it. The same holds true for data narratives. Know where you’re going, what your conclusion is, and how you’re going to get there.

With this in mind, you can better select the pieces of data that contribute meaningfully to your story and discard the rest. Authors call this process “killing your darlings”. 

remove surplus data from storytelling

(Source: Datacamp)

An interesting data point does not always make the narrative stronger. By removing or condensing irrelevant data points, you can draw the focus toward the most important data and strengthen your central conclusion.

By keeping things simple and intentional, you’ll come out with a clearer and more memorable message.

2. Make it personal

Data is impersonal, but stories don’t have to be. People respond more emotionally to storytelling when there are characters they can empathize with or recognize within the story.

When constructing data narratives, try to think of ways you can turn numbers into people. Better yet, protagonists.

It doesn’t have to be a real person. You just have to draw a line between the reader, your data, and someone they can recognize. If your audience can see someone they know or meet someone new within your data set, they’ll be more likely to meaningfully engage with it.

This means that you have to know your audience and what they can relate to the most. So do the groundwork. Think about their wants and needs, their concerns, and their stories.

what do you know about your intended audience?

(Source: Amy Lynn Hess)

Bestselling authors pitch for a specific audience, and you should too.

3. Utilize a narrative structure

Narratives come in all shapes and sizes.

A basic linear structure has a beginning section, a middle section, and an end section. Simply constructing your data story within these sections will help you create a story that is compelling and easy to understand.

narrative structure

(Source: Datacamp)

Other narrative structures are just iterations of this basic structure.

For example:

  • The hero’s journey – a narrative structure popularized by Joseph Campbell, follows a protagonist’s journey from ordinary life to an extraordinary quest and back again.
  • Three-act structure – a narrative structure with a beginning, middle, and end, where the middle contains a point of reversal that changes the dynamic of the story.
  • The Data Cycle – an iteration of the three-act structure where data is transformed from raw to refined and then used to come up with an actionable conclusion.
  • Viewpoint narrative – a narrative that follows the story of one individual, usually the protagonist.
  • Circular narrative – a narrative that starts and ends in the same place or with the same event.

Once you understand the different types of narratives, decide which one is best suited for your data. They all have their advantages and disadvantages.

For example, circular narratives work great for data that is cyclical in nature but may not be suitable for stories that don’t have a natural arc. A hero’s journey or quest narrative may be better for stories that involve a problem or obstacle to overcome.

Consider the picture that your data is painting and what kind of structure will help frame it best.

4. Create tension and suspense

Bestselling authors know how to keep readers on the edge of their seat. They use tension, suspense, and anticipation to build interest in their stories.

creating tension and suspense

(Source: Shane Duggan)

For data narratives, this could mean introducing a problem that needs solving or suggesting a consequence if action isn’t taken.

Conflict is a key ingredient in stories. Without it, your points will have no weight, and the successes will have no meaning.

By introducing a conflict or a problem, you can hook your audience and draw them through the narrative with the need for a resolution.

But make sure that you follow through with the ending. There are few things audiences hate more than an unresolved ending.

You can use your data to provide a solution or a resolution to the conflict. This can also act as a call to action, prompting readers to act on the information you’ve provided.

5. Show, don’t tell

This is a pro-writer mantra. Many a fevered writer has turned to it in the depths of a late-night wordy panic.

And data analysts can benefit from it too.

Telling is when you present the bare facts and figures as they are, with no accessories. This can be useful in presenting objective information, but it doesn’t hold readers’ attention.

What you want to try doing is showing.

Showing is when you introduce and lead the readers on a journey toward the facts. This is where all the tricks listed above converge. 

Telling vs Showcasing in stories

(Source: University of North Georgia Press)

In order to effectively create data narratives, avoid telling your audience what to think. Instead, provide evidence and meaningful visualizations that illustrate why something is true or important.

Use descriptive and emotional language to paint a vivid picture. As Stephen King said, “description begins in the writer’s imagination but should finish in the reader’s.”

For example, by using language like “urgent” and “immediate”, you are setting the stage for the audience to connect and imagine an emergency scenario. This creates a sense of crisis that compels readers to act.

As much as possible, make sure that your descriptions are specific and vivid. Showing your reader a specific and relatable example will help them understand your data and better connect with it.

Not all data can be “shown,” and bringing emotion into some datasets may actually be harmful. For example, financial data should always be presented in a factual, neutral way to avoid being misleading.

Use your discretion and common sense when deciding how much “showing” to do and in what way. Telling in itself is not a bad thing, and your audience may appreciate the more succinct approach. 

4 ways to get show do not tell right

(Source: Now Novel)

6. Provide insight

At the end of the day, data storytelling isn’t just about entertaining your audience. You need to provide insights that are actionable and relevant.

End your narrative with an insightful conclusion. Summarize the key points and draw a conclusion that your readers can take away with them.

Providing actionable insight adds value to your data by making it useful and relevant. 

key attributes of an actionable insight

(Source: Forbes)

Keep in mind these 6 points when you’re trying to draw out some actionable insights from your data:

  • Alignment: Is the action proposed aligned with the audience’s existing strategies?
  • Context: Do you have enough supporting details to back up your conclusions?
  • Relevance: Are you delivering the right message to the right people?
  • Specificity: Is the scope of the data too broad? Does the conclusion you draw explain the why’s of a specific situation?
  • Novelty: Is this new information?
  • Clarity: Can you communicate it clearly? Is the data convincing?

Insight is the most valuable outcome of data storytelling. If your readers can’t make use of the data, then it’s no better than a bedtime story.

So what’s the big deal?

Capturing your audience’s attention is a skill set that few university degrees prepare you for. In fact, many in the data field look down on humanities fields such as storytelling.

But outside of the classroom is an audience who needs to be engaged in the data’s story.

The world has more data than we know what to do with. Data analysts who arm themselves with some tricks from the “soft skills” toolbox offer an absolutely invaluable service that can bring some much-needed clarity to overwhelming noise.

That’s why good data and good stories should always go hand in hand. By harnessing the power of both in data storytelling, we can fight against the true enemy; misinformation.

The post 6 Things Data Analysts Can Learn From Bestselling Authors appeared first on Convince & Convert.

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Revolutionizing Design with AI: Exploring the World of Generative Design

Revolutionizing Design with AI: Exploring the World of Generative Design written by Kyndall Ramirez read more at Duct Tape Marketing

Marketing Podcast with Russ Perry

Russ Perry, a guest on the Duct Tape Marketing PodcastIn this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interview Russ Perry. Russ, the founder, and CEO of Design Pickle, is a seasoned creative leader, entrepreneur, author, and thought leader. As a former agency owner, Perry intimately understands the challenges associated with all aspects of creative work and has transformed the creative process through Design Pickle.

Key Takeaway:

AI is a hot topic right now and will continue to be. But what role does AI play in design? Russ Perry joins me to talk about how AI is totally shaking up the world of design. We dive into “generative design,” a fancy term for using computer programs to create really complex designs and make them better in certain ways (like cheaper, lighter, or more efficient).

Questions I ask Russ Perry:

  • [2:18] How do you define this idea of generative design?
  • [7:11] If someone wants to use AI in the design process in a commercial or corporate setting, what does that look like today?
  • [11:27] Does AI in design mean the cost of acquiring design should go down dramatically?
  • [14:56] How are you incorporating AI at Design Pickle?
  • [17:57] Do you see this tool set helping people reach their goals faster and being a better option?
  • [19:51] How has your job changed?
  • [22:53] Where can people connect with you and learn more about your work?

More About Russ Perry:

  • Design Pickle
  • Connect with Russ on LinkedIn

Learn More About The Agency Intensive Certification:

  • Learn more

Like this show? Click on over and give us a review on iTunes, please!



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John Jantsch (00:00): This episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast is brought to you by Outbound Squad, hosted by Jason Bay, and brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network. The audio destination for business professionals host Jason Bay, dives in with leading sales experts and top performing reps to share actionable tips and strategies to help you land more meetings with your ideal clients. In a recent episode called Quick Hacks to Personalize Your Outreach, he speaks with Ethan Parker about how to personalize your outreach in a more repeatable way. Something every single one of us has to do it. Listen to Outbound Squad wherever you get your podcast.

(00:48): Hello and welcome to another episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. This is John Jantsch. My guest today is Russ Perry. He’s the founder and c e o of Design Pickle. He’s a seasoned creative leader, entrepreneur, author, and I already said leader. So he’s also a thought leader and a creative leader. It’s amazing. Used to own an agency. He intimately understands the challenges associated with all aspects of creative work and has transformed the creative process through Design Pickle. So actually I get to say welcome back, Ross.

Russ Perry (01:20): Thank you. Is this my second or third time? I feel like I’ve, this is a good, I love being back

John Jantsch (01:25): . It might actually be a third time. So in, in your intro we kind of outlined it, but in, in past shows, if we’ll link to those past shows, so you can go see how Russ’s voice has changed. I don’t think we were doing videos, but No. Like Beard,

Russ Perry (01:38): Gray, more gray hair for sure. .

John Jantsch (01:41): But, uh, you know, essentially Design Pickle is a, you know, design platform that you can buy on a subscription basis. You could probably do a better job of explaining it than I just did, but we’ll get into the components of that. But today I specifically wanna focus on a very trendy topic, and design circles. And that’s ai. I mean, obviously AI’s been around for a while, but it seems like now that people have found this chat, G p T thing, you know, everything is ai, right? And everybody’s talking about ai, but of course, like all things in the creative space, you guys tend to refer to it not as like AI design, but generative design or generative creation. Mm-hmm. . So let’s start there, you know, how does that, how do you define that term if somebody comes to you and starts saying, are you guys using ai? How do you da? How do you dive into this idea of generative design?

Russ Perry (02:29): Yeah, well let me take it super high level cuz I assume there’s probably a few people who have no idea what we’re talking about. And I wanna make sure that, you know, even if you haven’t heard the trend, you can still catch up with us.

John Jantsch (02:40): Yeah. There’s a good chance that I have no idea what we’re talking about .

Russ Perry (02:43): So, so you’re right. You nailed it. This has actually been around a while. And basically what it is, computer algorithms that are trained on data sets that then learn how to create visuals. Words actually space, not a lot of people have been talking about, but it’s been, it’s, it’s been part of this space for a long time is 3D printing and actually like 3D modeling type work. There’s a lot of generative design, but effectively you create a, create an algorithm through a bunch of data, a bunch of rules, and then you give it a prompt and based off of this data and rules and outputs and visual words, whatever, then you train the model, you say, yes, this is what I was looking for, or No, this is way off. And it’s, it’s through neural networks and the way the technology is built, it gets smarter and it gets more accurate for receiving inputs and output and giving you an output that’s practical.

(03:33): So this is just really hit the mainstream, you know, the, the most, the biggest player right now that’s leading the way publicly. There’s a, like all the big tech companies are working on it, but the ones that you and I can access today is from open ai. And they have a visual tool called Dolly, and they have a copy content tool called Chat G p T. Right. And, and it’s mind blown. I mean really, like, there’s really nothing you can, no lighter way to describe it with you use these tools where you can go in, I mean, we could say, Hey, let’s have a, a photo of us writing a dragon through Niagara Falls and then all of a sudden we have a photo realistic photo of you and I writing a dragon through Niagara Falls. So it’s been super buzzy. Everyone’s really excited about it.

(04:12): But I think a lot of people aren’t having the conversation on like, well how does this actually, how do you use it? Right? How do you use it practically? What is the use case for it? And, and, and this was actually something that I’ve been thinking a lot about because there’s been so many evolutions in the creative process and the creation process over the last 30, 40 years from just the digitization of it, which was, um, ear, like a little before my career started. But it was, you know, when people were like, Hey, we can actually use computers to u to design. And then obviously tooling side has evolved with cloud tooling and how we distribute content and how we access content and be inspired and just the,

John Jantsch (04:53): The bandwidth and the size of storage , you know, that’s got so I mean all

Russ Perry (04:57): That. Yeah, exactly. And then, I mean, you can even be as basic as say like video, you know, like video wasn’t a thing 20 years ago. It, it wasn’t where it was at. So what we’re really witnessing right now is just another evolution in the creative process. And I wanna touch on this term generative design because it’s actually a term that is how design already works without computers . So if I design something for you, or Design Pickle creates something for you, John, you’re like, nah, I’m not, I’m not, so I’m not so hot, like I want something else. And what do you do? You provide feedback and then you get a better output and you go through this generative process. All that these tools are doing is doing that almost instantaneously and you can iterate almost instantaneously. So rather than having to wait for a designer to come back to you with the revisions, you can go through in this pretty quick.

(05:51): Um, so it’s kind of fun. And there’s all sorts. I mean, we can go in tons of directions, legality. Yeah. Tech, how it’s built, how it’s used. But I think a lot of people are actually hyping it up a little too much. It’s kind of just like, well hey, I used to draw with a pencil and now I have a computer that can automatically do what I need to do. And that’s kind of the same way I’m looking at this is like used to take me three or four days to get ideas and concepts. Now I can do it instantaneously. Think about how much of an advantage you have. Yeah, yeah. And time saved inside of these tools. And for me, any creative who’s not thinking about how to start using them into their workflows is similar to the creative who is like computers, nah. Like yeah. Don’t think this is gonna be a thing.

John Jantsch (06:37): . Well, yeah, I mean you could say cars, you know, aren’t gonna be a thing. Right? The internet, you know, that’s the stupid thing for, you know, these people, right? So we’ve seen this before , you know? Exactly. Yeah. And I’m 100% with you that, that I think a lot of people are looking futuristic beyond what the actual capabilities of AI are and maybe ever be. And they’re ringing their hands about that. Where is it today? Like if somebody came to you and said, you know, we want to use AI in the design process, you know, of doing X, Y, z. You know, how would you say, okay, it’s here to this point. You already mentioned a little bit the efficiencies and the speed, but what about like in commercial use? Corporate use, you know,

Russ Perry (07:18): Right.

John Jantsch (07:18): Where is it? Where does it sit?

Russ Perry (07:21): So like everything can change overnight, right? Like, so these tools, they have more advanced versions of them that we don’t have access to. So, you know, today, and this again tomorrow, I could be wrong, but today the commercial use is pretty minimal. And here’s a great analogy that I use. Like, I love cooking, I love food, I love cooking shows, I love reading cookbooks and stuff. There’s actually, you know, random, I just saw this super dark documentary on HR mockumentary, I mean on H B O called the menu, which is really funny and dark, kind of making fun of food culture. Anyway, random. But a chef has all the pieces in a kitchen and all the people that they need to make the meals. And right now that’s how I look at design, right? And creativity in general, whether it’s verbal, visual, video, you have the visual elements, the copy elements, you have the business case, like what is this?

(08:12): What is this intention? What do I need this to do? What’s the call to action? Is it a click? Is it an ad? You have the audience that you need to consider. And if you think about cooking, it’s similar, right? You have the food elements, you have the spices, you have the genre of the restaurant, why people are coming to you. You have the specific customers that all want different things. And, and right now what we’re seeing is we’re seeing the cost of the elements go to almost zero. So this would be like in a kitchen, all of a sudden my vegetables and my spices are immediate and instantaneous and cost me nothing. You still have to make the meal. And so that’s really what I see these tools doing. They’re creating the pieces and really raw like photos, images, graphics, content, copy. But that alone isn’t gonna accomplish a business’s goals at this stage.

(09:02): Most of the visual tools can’t lay out copy and content into their designs. It looks like some mutated, you know, there that you can’t say I wanna fly or that says this, which to a regular designer is very easy to do. But these tools can’t, cannot do that yet. And I’m, and I know they’ll get there. And so when you think about today, it’s like, wow, my elements of design are becoming more immediate. Yeah. And they’re becoming cheaper or free, which this just in turn speeds up your creative process. And what I’m bullish on, and this is goes for all AI and technology is humans will always exist to close the gap. So wherever the tool effectiveness stops, that’s where humans come in to then assemble the meal plate, the spices, you know, do the fancy things and get it out the door to the table.

(09:53): And so that’s the same with design. Design will require people to take these elements to understand the context which the technology can do to create the content in a way and guide it and use it in a way that’s like achieving the goal and speaking to the audience that we’re speaking to. And I think that’s exciting. Like I think for creatives it’s like, wow, I don’t have to spend half a day coming up with concepts. I can use these tools and learn how to use these tools well. And then now I can send immediate concepts to my clients and then they can pick and then I take the one they like and I fine tune it and do my special sauce. And I just like, for me, that seems awesome, right? Instead of growing your tomatoes over three months, you could just go get the tomatoes for free.

John Jantsch (10:41): Hey, marketing agency owners, you know, I can teach you the keys to doubling your business in just 90 days or your money back. Sound interesting. All you have to do is license our three step process. It’s going to allow you to make your competitors irrelevant, charge a premium for your services and scale perhaps without adding overhead. And here’s the best part. You can license this entire system for your agency by simply participating in an upcoming agency certification intensive look, why create the wheel? Use a set of tools that took us over 20 years to create. And you can have ’em today, check it out at dtm.world/certification. That’s DTM world slash certification. Well, so in listening to that thread, does that mean that the price or what it will cost somebody to acquire design should go down dramatically?

Russ Perry (11:37): Yeah, and I, I think it, I think there’s two parts of design. I mean, food is an easier analogy to answer that question cuz you have hard costs of foods and things. But I even, I’ll continue that thread, A fine dining restaurant, what you’re really paying for is the experience you’re not paying for. Yeah. They might have some gold flakes on something and that added up some, you know, caviar on your, you know, oyster or whatever. But I think what will still maintain prices is the ability for people to go deeper, to do more, to provide a better quality product because they are able to spend more time on the parts that matter. And this could be research, this could be more in depth, you know, like details of how they execute these items. But the raw elements are gonna go down. Like if you’re a stock photography site right now, you’re just like freaking out. Yeah. And because cuz now people can generate pretty much anything they want on demand. Now are photographers going on gonna go out of business? I don’t think so. I think there’s gonna always be a premium for the skillsets that people have to create very hyper-specific things. Cuz these tools, one of their drawbacks is they’re not very repeatable. Right? Right. So if I want the same output over and over, they cannot do that. I can put the same prompt and it’s gonna gimme something different every time.

John Jantsch (13:01): Yeah. You’re not gonna get your family of illustrations, you know, that you’re gonna use in the exact same

Russ Perry (13:06): Style. Exactly. That’s on brand that matches your stuff. But that’s where the designers and the creatives come in, is they take the thing that you want and then they build it out on spec. On demand.

John Jantsch (13:16): Yeah. I personally, you know, I, I just play with it, but I personally have not been able to get very good images. I get great content , I’ve got that down. I cannot get images worth a darn, you know, they, they’ve like my, the face is always melting or something.

Russ Perry (13:30): . Yeah, yeah. Well and it is, and it’s similar to, you know, imagine for whatever reason I was watching the original 1984 Steve Jobs keynote where he launched the Mac and you look at the visual tools that were groundbreaking. Well, every artist in the crowd was like, this looks like crap. It’s so pixelated, it doesn’t actually work. I could do so much better and we’re gonna just see that again. You know? Yeah. And I think things will evolve. Yeah. Um, I do believe creatives will need to learn a new skillset. I think there’s going to be an AI prompt manager, you know, someone who understands the algorithms, understands how to put in the inputs, understands how to get into outputs. And you know, that might be its own design career. I don’t actually use tools of traditional design. I’m able to design using all of these algorithms and I’m an expert in that.

John Jantsch (14:19): That’s a really interesting point. I mean, because theoretically if you have a library of conventions of prompts, right? Mm-hmm. , you could produce a family of output.

Russ Perry (14:30): Yeah, yeah, yeah. Exactly. And how, you know that and how you know, to manipulate and how you understand the algorithms. A great example in our spaces would be like SEO optimization experts. You know, they, they don’t have the exact, you know, the formula down that Google and other algorithms are using, but they know if I do this, it gets this result. If I do this, it gets this result. These are the best practices. Yeah. So I think there’ll be a whole new career opening up around how these are managed and used.

John Jantsch (14:56): How is it, how are you incorporating it at Design Pickle, if you are at all?

Russ Perry (15:01): Yeah. So my product team will kill me if I make too many promises. But here’s what I know is true , what we’re really looking at first, and this is the fir, you know, we actually have AI and a lot of things in inside our technology that, that optimizes the system every day that clients don’t see.

John Jantsch (15:17): Yeah. But I tell people all the time, you know, Google Maps is basically ai, you knows like exactly, that’s ai. Okay, it’s

Russ Perry (15:24): There. But where we’re looking at first is how do we shorten the creative cycle, which really comes down to less revisions, right? Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm . Like if I’m able to understand what you’re wanting and deliver that straightaway and that’s pretty close, then you might have some fine tuning or a round of revision, but then you get your end product faster, that’s great for us because we can work on the next project That’s great for you. Cuz then you can get your items outside market, whatever you’re doing. So what we really believe is the first stop for these tools is gonna be for creatives and clients to better communicate visually and do it instantaneously. So if a client is creating a design brief, they can say, Hey, these are the, you know, use these tools to create example images, mockups, layouts. Mm-hmm. , you know, and they may be really off brand, they may not be exactly what they want. There may be some melted faces on there or whatever. But like the point is the creative can receive that and they’re now, instead of like 20% clear of what the designer wants, they’re like 70% clear. And from then they can start their design process. And vice versa, if a client’s unwilling or just not really wanting to spend time on their brief and send things in the creative can use these tools to quickly spin up ideas and send those to the client and get to that like

John Jantsch (16:41): Eliminate a bunch of ideas. Yeah, exactly. What’s the old joke in the design industry? It’s like keep, you know, keep sending me revisions, I’ll know it when I see it, right? I mean, it’s like now Yeah, I’ll know it when I see it. It’s like, well pick from these hundred and like tell me .

Russ Perry (16:55): Yeah. Yeah. And there is a bit of psychology in the design process. You know, I’m gonna let, I’m gonna let all of you out there listening who work with creatives. Sometimes creatives just are trying to maximize for what you, they think you’ll like, not necessarily what might be the best design in their opinion. And so, because it really is about, the creative process is very emotional, it’s about often you’re reflecting a brand someone cares a lot about. So if we’re able to guide the, the preference, you know, path faster as a creative, we can land on something that’s gonna be, that you’re gonna be happier with quicker, which means everyone wins. We get done faster. Now, is that good or bad? I don’t know. But I do know creatives do it every day. And I think for me it’s like, I think it’s not just about the design, it’s about the copy, it’s about the audience. It’s about the call to action. So there’s just so much more that goes into it that makes an effective design. And sometimes people just get so wrapped up in the visuals that if we can shorten that, then that’s helpful. Yeah.

John Jantsch (17:57): Well, so I was gonna go there. Where will this tool set? Because it can crunch data, you know, differently as part of the design process. Do you see it actually saying, look, this is your best choice , you know? Yeah. In other words saying, you know this for the goals and the objectives of what this is supposed to do. This is your best option.

Russ Perry (18:17): So we’re seeing those tools. So those tools have existed actually as well. And I’m a little, I’m a little torn on these tools because think about this from a real logical example. If I have a data set of, let’s just say Instagram ads, right? And I’m evaluating all the highest click through rates on Instagram ads, and then I give that tool to the masses and I said, Hey, use this tool and it’s gonna tell you what designs are best. It’s gonna obviously start optimizing and recommending certain types of designs to everybody. Well, now what happens if everybody’s using these design recommendations and floods the market with the same thing, all of the sudden now what was innovative and driving action is now commonplace and it’s not catching eyeballs anymore. So I think these tools are, I don’t know, I haven’t seen any that are st we’ve tested them in the past.

(19:09): Um, but I do think these models kind of somewhat of an answer to your question, will start to be able to learn your style and start to be able to design for what your needs are. And intuitively that should be based off of what’s the best for your client, for your audiences and things like that. Yeah. Um, so I think it will, I think there will be optimization in the sense that it’s gonna be able, these algorithms and the tools will advance in a sense that they can start understanding more than just these broad data sets. They can start understanding audiences and intent products, you know, industries and create accordingly. So personalizing outside of that. Yeah.

John Jantsch (19:50): Personalizing. Personalizing. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I wanna finish up with one totally not related design question to, since we talked last. How has your job changed ?

Russ Perry (19:59): Yeah, . So my job has gotten so much cooler and harder since we’ve last chatted because I think the early days of Design Pickle we’re just like, Hey, let’s help people work with flat rate creatives. And that’s the core. A thousand bucks a month, you get designer working fear one or two hours a day every business day of the week. It’s unbeatable and it’s super solid. But we saw so many other problems in the creative process beyond finding the designer. How do you manage files? How do you collaborate, how do you integrate these AI tools and use them properly? Because it is, you know, good John, if you’re just sitting in the, in your office downloading assets to your desktop. So what, you still have to do things with them, you know? And so that’s where we’re starting to think, and I love this type of problem solving, but man, it boggles my mind sometimes because really like we’re trying to do what, there are single companies that are huge companies that are just doing file management. Mm-hmm. , there are big companies that are just doing revisions and collaboration. There’re single companies that are integrating AI tools into their and building them. And we’re trying to do it all. And we’re trying to create the most streamlined, efficient, scalable, creative process for our clients. So I definitely have a lot of sleepless nights, that’s for sure.

John Jantsch (21:10): . Well the, you know, the one element of course that would add a lot to anybody’s plate is just the size of team that your team has grown to.

Russ Perry (21:18): Yeah. Yeah. We’ll break a hundred people this year, full-time employees and, you know, six, 700 creatives and support teams around the world. So it’s a big group.

John Jantsch (21:27): Yeah. Just the comings and goings of that amount of people, you know, adds a whole nother level of complexity. Yeah. Do you feel there’s gonna be a point where the role will outgrow you? The company will outgrow you, your ability to keep up? Because you’re obviously, you know, making stuff up on the fly right now,

Russ Perry (21:42): ,

John Jantsch (21:43): I very positive and just actual practical way. I mean, that’s just a

Russ Perry (21:47): Real, so it already has like, like here’s the deal, John. It already has. But here’s what I’ve learned as we’ve grown, I just start to get narrow, more narrowly focused into my areas of expertise. And I hire really smart people who are much better around me. And so I love to be a leader. I love to be a visionary, and I think that will never outgrow me. I, my ideas are still too big for this company. Sometimes some of the things that I come up with, but of course I’m not running our p and l anymore. Yeah, of course. I’m not doing our forecasting. I’m not running our product roadmap meeting. So we have incredible team members there. But, you know, at the end of the day there is a, a strategy for Design Pickle to, to grow big and have a huge transaction and, you know, support the team members that we have who have a piece of the pie and everyone else who’s supported of us. So depends on, you know, if Adobe buys us, maybe I’ll keep on going with them. If it’s boring, outsourced company from, you know, some no name part of the world, then I may not wanna go forward with them anymore. .

John Jantsch (22:48): Well, Russ, I certainly appreciate you taking a few moments to stop by and update us here on the Duct Tech Marketing podcast. Do you wanna I do. Where do you want to invite people to check some stuff out?

Russ Perry (22:57): Yeah, so I, I want, I’ll answer that, but I have one more little quick words of wisdom for everybody. Check me out on LinkedIn just in slash Russ Perry. That’s where you can find me. This technology is gonna be, at some point, it’s gonna be like email, web protocol. Mm-hmm. , it’s gonna be very standardized and very universal or almost free. The technology, the way that people will use this technology is how do they customize it for their use cases? How do they customize it with their own data and how do they really use it in a specific way? So it’s the early days, but if anyone’s listening about this, you, no one’s gonna out chat, g p t chat, g p t so far ahead with tens of billions of dollars. But they’re opening that up in innovative ways for you to use it and customize it and build on it. So that’s what I would leave everyone with is this is gonna be so commonplace in 3, 4, 5 years. What will you then create on top of it and how will you leverage it? That’s what gets me excited.

John Jantsch (23:56): I, I would throw in, I think the next obvious sort of opportunity is to niche this down to industries. Yeah. Um, and make it, you know, for them, personalized for them. Because you can now very easily. And then I would say, you know, beyond that, it’s really the mass personalization is now possible.

Russ Perry (24:13): Absolutely.

John Jantsch (24:14): Everybody gets a different email, everybody gets a different webpage when they visit. I mean, that’s possible.

Russ Perry (24:19): Yeah. Yeah. Cool, John, well thanks for having me back. Let’s get it, let’s get it together again. Once everything changes, once again,

John Jantsch (24:26): . That’s right. We’ll have to explore it. So talking with Russ Perry, founder of Design Pickle. It’s just design pickle.com as I recall to check ’em out.

Russ Perry (24:34): All right. Take care.

John Jantsch (24:35): Yeah, take care. And hopefully we’ll run into you again soon. One of these days out there on the road

Russ Perry (24:40): Or in virtual AI environments, . Exactly.

John Jantsch (24:43): Hey, and one final thing before you go. You know how I talk about marketing strategy, strategy before tactics? Well, sometimes it can be hard to understand where you stand in that, what needs to be done with regard to creating a marketing strategy. So we created a free tool for you. It’s called the Marketing Strategy Assessment. You can find it@ marketingassessment.co not.com. Co check out our free marketing assessment and learn where you are with your strategy today. That’s just marketingassessment.co. I’d love to chat with you about the results that you get.


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This episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast is brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network.

HubSpot Podcast Network is the audio destination for business professionals who seek the best education and inspiration on how to grow a business.

 

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How Often Should You Blog? [Blog Post Frequency RESEARCH]

How Often Should You Blog?

In the world of content marketing, the lifeblood of your program is content. Much of that content is in blog form. Blogs help you attract new clients by answering questions and providing insights on their challenges.

We believe strongly that blogging with consistency is necessary for content marketing to work. Frequency really does matter. But, exactly how often should you blog?

Publishing 2 – 4 times per week provides the highest results in terms of both traffic and conversions.

This is the answer according to the data we have seen from multiple studies, as well as much of our own client work across more than a dozen client websites in B2B, B2C, and with companies large and small.

So let’s start by looking at the cold, hard facts – the data on blogging frequency.

Quick Takeaways:

  • The more frequently you blog, the more traffic you tend to get, as a rule of thumb.
  • 2-4 posts per week is a magic number — it results in a noticeable increase in traffic for both B2B and B2C businesses.
  • Publishing more frequently also increases leads for B2B companies and Revenue in B2C
  • Longer content is great but consistency is better so spread out you capacity to meet weekly goals
  • Try blog writing services from professional writers to get timely, relevant content to your audience without having to spend your time creating content

The Rule of Small Changes

“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.”
~ Vincent Van Gogh

One of the things I learned early on in my career is that small things, done consistently can add up to great impact. Think about anything you might want to achieve in your life: becoming rich, losing weight, training for a marathon. All of these things are achievable with small changes applied consistently over time:

  • Want to be a millionaire? start saving $100 / week at age 25
  • Want to lose weight? Cut out 200 calories every day
  • Want to run a marathon? Star running for 10 mins every day and increase by just 1 minute every day for a year

Content marketing is the same. Start by publishing 1-2 great articles every single week for a year and you’ll see massive changes:

(From our most recent case study)

Start with Data

To understand how the frequency of blogging impacts its effectiveness, it’s always a good idea to start with data. HubSpot looked at blogging data from over 13,500 companies to try to answer this question. The results they provided are pretty straight forward in linking frequency and increased traffic and leads. Let’s dig a little deeper.

When you are creating your content marketing plan, a key element is how often you will publish blogs. You may think you can just pick a number randomly and that will be enough. Blogging frequency, however, is a bit more complex than that.

According to the data, companies that published 4 blog posts per week or more received 3.5 times the traffic compared to companies that blogged less than 1 times per week.

So, that’s a sound argument for being very prolific on your blog. However, there are other factors that the research looks at related to the size of the company and the differences between B2B and B2C businesses.

Does Company Size Matter?

Next, HubSpot broke down some data points based on company size.

For companies with 10 or fewer employees, they drove more traffic with around 11 blogs per month versus those that published less than 11. Those that published more than 11 blogs a month had almost three times the traffic than those publishing only one blog a month and twice as much as those that wrote two to five posts a month.

For companies that have 11 to 25 employees or over 200 employees, the magic number was again 11. When they published more than 11 posts per month, they received 3.5 times the traffic versus those that only blogged once a month.

Companies with 26 to 200 employees that publish more than 11 blogs a month had about two times the traffic compared to those that only had one blog published.

B2B vs. B2C

The blogging frequency of B2B companies versus B2C companies was also reviewed. The research presented that for B2C companies, there was a consistent correlation between the number of posts and traffic to the site.

The results for B2B companies was more complicated. The data did show a positive association between frequency and traffic. When looking at companies that only blogged six to 10 times a month, they only had a slightly larger traffic pull than those that published one blog post.

The real difference was when the companies published 11 or more blogs, which drove the traffic to the site three times more than those only blogging once.

The Impact of Monthly Blog Posts on Leads

Creating great content is the attraction for leads. While the quantity of content has been shown to be associated with higher traffic, the quality of the content matters as well. Let’s look at the findings and how they affect leads.

Company Size, Frequency, and Lead Generation

Overall, companies that published 16 or more posts a month had 4.5 times more leads generated versus those that published four or less. Then the study breaks down the lead potential by company size:

Companies with one to 10 employees and 11 to 25 employees: The best return for these size companies on leads was publishing 10 or more blogs a month. At 11 or more, they were able to generate twice as many leads as companies publishing only six to 10 blogs.

Companies with 26 to 200 employees: Blogging at least 11 times for these companies produced about 2.5 times the leads than those publishing three or fewer blogs.

Companies with over 200 employees: The ideal number for this size company was six or more blogs monthly. For these companies, they were able to capture 1.75 times more leads than their counterparts that only wrote five or fewer blogs.

B2B vs B2C

Overall, both B2B and B2C companies attracted more leads the more blogs they posted. B2C companies posting 11 or more blogs per month received more than four times than those that distributed four to five blogs.

For B2B brands, the differences were smaller but still relevant. For those blogging 11 or more times, they received 1.75 times the leads versus those blogging six to 10 times a month and around 3.75 times more than those blogging three or fewer times a month.

Total Number of Blog Posts and Traffic: What’s the True Effect?

Next, the HubSpot report looked at the total number of blog posts of the companies and how that influenced traffic to their sites. Overall, more blogs did equal more traffic. The key amount was around 400 blogs. If a blog had more than 400 total posts, it received approximately twice as much traffic as blogs with 301 to 400 posts.

Creating 400 blog posts may seem like a difficult number to reach, but if you are publishing consistently in the 10 to 15 range, then you’d see this isn’t impossible over a few years. Blogs with over 400 posts are likely to be ones that have been around for a while. This data also offers a clear reason not to delete old blogs. Instead, you can always update them as more information becomes available.

Company Size and Total Blog Posts

The study broke down the data for the number of blog posts by company size as well.

Companies with 10 or fewer employees: These brands saw a boost of traffic around the 300 mark. When they had 300 or more posts, they were able to generate 3.5 times more traffic than those with 50  to 0 blogs.

Companies with 11 to 25 employees: This size company also received the best results at 300 or more blogs, bringing in 2.75 times more traffic than those with 150 or fewer blogs.

Companies with 26 to 200 employees: 300 was again the right number. They received 1.5 times more traffic with 300+ blogs versus those that had fewer than 150.

Companies with 200 or more employees: Larger companies also enjoyed more traffic with 300 or more blogs, garnering two times more traffic than those with less than 300 posts.

B2B vs B2C

Again, both types of businesses saw increases in site visits when they had 400+ blog posts. B2C companies had 2.5 times more traffic than those with 300 to 400 posts, while B2B companies also had 2.5 times more traffic than their counterparts that had 200 or fewer posts.

Total Number of Blog Posts Correlation to Leads

The study also looked at the correlation between number of blog posts and actual leads, not just traffic. Companies that published 400 or more posts received over three times the leads versus companies with less than 100 blogs.

There were also differences in the number of leads based on the size of the company. Companies with less than 10 employees publishing 300 or more blog posts had 3.5 times the amount of leads than those with fewer than 50 published posts.

Companies with 11 to 25 employees with 300 or more blog posts got more than two times the leads versus those with 151 to 300 posts.

For companies with 26 or more employees, they also had more leads but not as much as smaller companies. They were likely to capture 1.5 times more leads with 300 or more blog posts compared to those that published 25 or less.

In the difference between B2B and B2C companies, B2C companies had the edge, generating 4.5 times more leads when they had 400 or more posts compared to those with 100 or less total posts. B2B companies with over 400 blog posts delivered three times as many leads than those B2B brands with 200 posts or less.

I’ve summarized this data on this chart to show the correlation between frequency, traffic and conversions:

What Does All this Data Mean?

Consistent, regular publishing does seem to increase site traffic and leads. This doesn’t mean that quantity is always better than quality. While it is good to have a large library of posts, they still need to be well crafted and be meaningful to your audience.

So, what other data or research can corroborate these findings and add more insight? Let’s look at a 2018 Survey of 1,000+ bloggers from Orbit Media with analysis from expert Andy Crestodina, who is an esteemed colleague.

Why Are Some Blogs More Successful than Others?

That is the question that Andy tries to answer in his analysis of data. The survey consisted of asking bloggers specific questions grouped into three sections:

  • Length, Time, and Frequency
  • Process and Measurement
  • Content Formats, Original Research, and Promotion

For the topic of frequency, we’ll look at the first section, which included these questions:

  • How long is your average blog?
  • Home much time do bloggers spend on an article?
  • How often do you publish blogs?

The data points that are of real interest to frequency relay to question three. First, Andy notes that blogging frequency has been in a gradual decline over the last five years. In 2014, the most frequent answer was “several times per week.” Now, the answer changed to “several times a month.” The percentage of bloggers that publish every day has declined by half in this time period.

This decline could be because the survey also found that bloggers spend more time crafting a blog than they did in 2014. Thus, if a blogger spends more time per blog, it would make sense they would publish less.

Here is the full frequency of blogging results:

  • More than daily: 2%
  • Daily: 2%
  • Two to six posts a week: 18%
  • Weekly: 21%
  • Several times a month: 23%
  • Monthly: 15%
  • Less than monthly: 5.7%
  • Irregular intervals: 15%

However, nothing in the data associates fewer blogs with more benefits. The next analysis looks at the percentage of bloggers that reported “strong results” by publishing frequency.

Overall, bloggers who publish weekly were 2.5 times more likely to report “strong results” than bloggers publishing monthly or less.

The full set of data was as follows:

  • More than daily: 68.8%
  • Daily: 62.5%
  • Two to six posts a week: 42.5%
  • Weekly: 32%
  • Several times a month: 23.1%
  • Monthly: 17.5%
  • Less than monthly: 12.9%

The data from this study does make some connection between frequency and benefits. “Strong results” could be interpreted many ways and isn’t as exact as the Hubspot research which successfully linked high volume and frequency to site traffic and leads.

Quality vs. Quantity

This has been an ongoing debate in the marketing community. The data just shared above certainly endorses that quantity is a big indicator of success. Some would argue that with high frequency, there is no way to keep up the quality. That’s a false assumption.

One of the most important things to do is to find a content ROI formula that works for your business as far as quantity is concerned. Then once you have identified what type of quantity you need to be at based on factors like your company size, B2B vs B2C, and industry, you have to put a plan in motion to scale content production.

chart showing the roi of content

You may think that you don’t have enough ideas to increase the volume of blogs post created. Where will you find inspiration? There are specific tactics to take to expand your blog content ideas:

  • Activate your experts by asking them what topics are most on trend or what’s new or forthcoming
  • Tap into your sales team to find out what prospects and customers ask about most
  • Look into existing research in your field
  • See what your competitors are writing about
  • Refresh old content

These are ways to ensure you have both quantity and quality because there’s plenty of blogs out there that have no value. They suffer from SEO stuffing, false narratives, and no supporting arguments.

Yet, we still keep hearing from experts to create less content; but even experts change their mind. In a post for Buzzsumo, Steve Rayson argues that the “future is more content.”

He makes this strong point based on some compelling data. The Washington Post publishes about 1,200 posts a day, which is way beyond what any non-publishing brand would be able to write. While Steve initially thought this type of quantity would dilute their traffic, this was an erroneous assumption. In fact, The Washington Post saw its web traffic grow by 28%.

This new approach to increasing content was actually put in place by the Post’s owner and Amazon chief, Jeff Bezos. This trend of more is universal. The number of Google indexed pages grew by more than 100 trillion in four years to 130 trillion in 2016. The number of indexed pages is no longer noted on the How Search Works Google page, but it’s certain that this number has increased significantly.

So why is more content the way to go? Steve offers some points that are hard to argue with that align with the Post’s strategy.

First, the Post and those with a similar strategy still care very much about quality. Steve notes in his post that science-related publications are also creating more content. There are over 28,000 scholarly peer-reviewed journals publishing over 2.5 million new scientific papers each year.

There is also the emerging trend of automated content, which includes algorithm-driven content. There are better tools available now for publishing and distributing content. Internet access and literacy rates continue to rise meaning more people can consume content. It’s also less costly to create content now than years ago. All these points are a huge catalyst for more content.

But is blogging frequency really indicative of success? Is it all just convenient data to make a point? Who has a contradictory view?

The Ideal Blogging Frequency Doesn’t Exist

That’s the statement from the experts at Moz, who certainly have a lot of expertise and experience in content. So, we should probably hear them out.

The folks at Moz think a lot of the data supporting higher frequency is misleading. They argue that correlation and causation should be totally separate. Basically, they say that frequency doesn’t matter as much as these things:

  • Are the visits you are receiving because of more posts valuable? You could have a lot of traffic to your site, but those visitors may not be your ideal buyers and would never become a customer.
  • The data that’s been presented that aligns quantity with traffic and leads, what industries and sectors are they? If they aren’t in your industry, then it’s hard to say that the quantity would have the same correlation. If you’re a manufacturing company, you probably don’t have much use for data from retail brands.
  • Matching your goals and content schedule. If you are seeking to increase your viewership for a particular series, or drive traffic by writing about specific promos or events, then it makes sense to increase the frequency of blogs. However, if your goals are different and based on other elements like seasonality, then it may behoove you to publish less.
  • Consistency matters more than frequency. If you want a consistent audience, then you must also be consistent in your publishing. People get in the habit of coming to your blog and expecting new content.
  • Creating posts that attract more attention and are amplified is more beneficial than sheer frequency. If you have 11 posts that get an average number of views, that’s fine. But if you have less than 11 blogs, and several of those get lots of backlinks and shares on social media, then your traffic and leads will increase, not solely based on quantity.

So while I agree with these questions and concerns, they don’t present evidence against increasing blog post frequency. Just really good questions to ask about the data. In the end, we recommend you test it out for yourself. And listen to industry experts like The Media Captain:

How Often Should You Post?

Well, we’ve examined quite a bit of data and seen arguments from experts on both sides of the issue. So, simply put, how often should you post?

The very easy answer is, it depends! Quantity does have the ability to get your site hopping with visitors. However, you shouldn’t publish content just for the sake of saying you have more posts. You should align your frequency to your content goals, as well as consider what resources you have to create content. The size of your company, and whether it’s B2B or B2C, also matters.

Invest in Content for More Traffic and More Leads

What’s for sure is that you need to invest in content, and you can do that more effectively when you use a blog writing subscription service. A blog writing subscription service is one that delivers relevant content for your audience from professional writers. It’s high-quality content without any time investment from you. It’s on-demand content production.

There are lots of advantages to using such a service. You’ll save time and can be confident that the writers creating your content are qualified. All content will be optimized for SEO to increase your rankings in search. Plus, they come up with the content plan for you, which means it’s something you don’t even have to think about. Further, you can expect a quick turnaround and know that the work is 100% original and error-free.

Build awareness of your brand, attract new customers, and connect more deeply with your readers when you use a blog writing subscription service. Once you have blog content published consistently, you can then look at your own data to identify what the “perfect” frequency of blogging is from your specific company.

If you are ready to get more traffic to your site with quality content that’s consistently published, check out our Content Builder Service. Set up a quick consultation, and I’ll send you a free PDF version of my books. Get started today and generate more traffic and leads for your business.

The post How Often Should You Blog? [Blog Post Frequency RESEARCH] appeared first on Marketing Insider Group.

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.sydneysocialmediaservices.com/?p=3665

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Marketing in Difficult Times: Focus on Content that Reaches and Assures

Businesses all over the world had to pivot their entire structure when the pandemic hit. Being forced to shut down offices and premises and move to a remote working model is difficult enough, but the downturn in the economy also meant that revenue fell sharply for many. Now in a reopened America, gas prices are high and paying wage remains the same in most states. How does one successfully market during tough times?

Some businesses responded to this threat by reducing expenditure wherever possible. The marketing budget is often one of the first to be frozen, deemed as an “unnecessary” expense in uncertain times.

However, not all brands froze in fear. While a certain amount of juggling figures and adjusting budgets is inevitable, other businesses have invested in strengthening their brand position in anticipation of the more prosperous times ahead – even when they couldn’t know when.

The Digital Marketing Institute says:

“No matter what kind of digital marketing you engage in, you’re going to need great content. Great content doesn’t involve plugging your products endlessly. Instead, it offers real value to people – and most importantly, it serves a purpose.”

This remains true even in crisis, your purpose just has to adapt to what kinds of content people need right now.

Even without direction when your production, sales, and services may be limited, content marketing can deliver ROI in any market and set your business up for better days.

Here’s a quick video about how we marketed during the pandemic from the Harvard Business School:

Quick Takeaways:

  • During difficult times, all businesses should make time and space in their budget and schedule for content marketing.
  • Investing in content marketing now can win the loyalty of an audience who will become customers later.
  • This is not the time for self-serving content: Always aim to provide as much value as possible.

Content Marketing in the Time of Coronavirus

When there’s less money coming in, it’s a natural reaction to hold onto what you have and not spend any more of it. But axing your marketing budget isn’t always the wisest spending decision.

When crisis ends, your customers will still be there. But will they remember you? And more importantly, will they remember how your company acted during this time?

Crisis is certainly not the time for pushy advertising. Nobody likes being sold to, particularly not during a global health crisis and economic crash.

It’s not the time for conferences or trade shows either. Advertising on billboards and around public transport will go unseen. Physical newspapers were abandoned in favor of online news through social media platforms.

View this post on Instagram

lol when u spend money on billboards no one will see @quibi high five

A post shared by chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) on

Marketing teams all over the world are finding it necessary to pivot and find new ways of attracting customers and reaching their goals during times of crisis.

Content marketing has always been an affordable and highly effective method of marketing for businesses of all sizes and in all industries, and when stuff  hits the fan, it’s more important than ever.

During COVID, millions of people were confined to their homes, many with extra time on their hands as they were  unable to work. Naturally, this led to more content being consumed then ever before.

Pageviews for news publishers went up about 30 percent. While it’s natural that people would be consuming more news at the current time, other content thrived too.

Social media networks were buzzing, YouTube views were up, and people were looking for content to comfort and uplift them, provide important information about health and finances, to learn something new, as a distraction and as entertainment.

In short, crisis is an excellent time to double down on your content marketing to reach new customers and strengthen relationships with existing ones.

Content Ideas for Economic Uncertainty

You may well be worried about the future of your business, but now is not the time for self-serving content. Companies aggressively laying off staff, forcing them to work in unsafe conditions, or profiteering from the COVID-19 crisis have been rightly criticized for their actions. Those who produce poor-quality clickbait content or thinly-veiled sales messages will face the same criticisms, and they’re not likely to be forgotten in a hurry.

Now is your opportunity to really serve your audience in any way you can. The type of content that will help you to do this will depend on who they are and what industry your business is in. But, there is almost certainly an opportunity for you to produce valuable content at this time.

Addressing Customer Concerns

Almost every business has been affected in some way by the current climate, and it makes sense to explain to your customers exactly what changes have been put in place and how you are protecting their interests and those of your workers.

This might include explaining your distance work policy or protections, such as supplying hand sanitizer, masks, and physical distancing of employees at work during a pandemic.

Image source: BrightView

If you have to shut down operations temporarily, explain this to your customers, with the reassurance that you’ll be back up and running as soon as it is safe and possible to do so.

Showcasing Generosity

Many brands responded to the crisis by doing good deeds, such as offering subscriptions for free or producing medical equipment to be donated to hospitals.

View this post on Instagram

We are making non-medical grade washable masks out of scraps from our production line. Pick up a pack for yourself or donate to NY's COVID-19 Response Fund–we will be matching all purchases and donations. Swipe through + click on link in bio to learn more. #caraacares

A post shared by caraa (@caraasport) on

If your business is in the position to do something similar, this not only helps you to contribute in a positive way but also makes sure that people will remember your brand for doing good.

And these activities don’t necessarily have to be 100 percent altruistic. If your business and others can both benefit, it’s better for everyone. For example, a company offering a free 2-month service subscription to help other businesses struggling to manage their remote workers may well find that many choose to pay for their subscription at the end of the free period.

Whatever good deeds your company or your employees are taking part in during this difficult time, make sure that everyone knows about them. Take advantage of your blog, social media, and your email list to produce content that will improve your brand reputation and encourage sharing.

Helpful Information for Coping with the Crisis

Brands in certain industries may be able to produce content directly related to economic uncertainty for people who are searching for this information. This may include:

  • Information on staying healthy amid COVID-19
  • Tips and advice for working from home and managing remote teams
  • Advice for new homeschoolers and parents trying to juggle it all
  • Mental health resources for those who are struggling
  • Advice for businesses facing financial problems

Offer Escapism

Not all content has to be strictly useful or educational during this time. People are also looking to be distracted and entertained from real world problems. Remember way back to the beginning of the pandemic? Just look at the huge success of the Netflix documentary Tiger King for a great example of this!

Many people are growing weary of the doom and gloom of reading the news and are looking for more uplifting content and “good” news. Even the BBC created a new section on their site to meet the growing demand for uplifting stories.

Wrap up

Marketing your bussiness during a time of unrest is no easy task. Besides understanding what’s appropriate and what’s timely, these things are impacting you directly as a human too! It’s important to look inward and think about what you want to open your phone to see. As long as you can create something that people want to watch or read, keeps them entertained, or makes them smile, you’re onto a winner!

Do you want to use some of the marketing strategies seen here on MIG’s site but need some help or advice? Marketing Insider Group has a team of 35+ experienced writers ready to produce content for YOUR business. Check out our weekly blog content service or schedule a free consultation.

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