favorite marketing tips and hacks

Friday Faves: Feeding the Content Monster

Any successful marketing campaign needs a lot of content. Whether you’re posting to social media, blog writing, sending out emails or designing graphics, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the content monster. Here are our favorite tricks of the trade to creating and curating new content. Hopefully, you’re as inspired as we are!

Chase’s Favorite Facebook Tip

What do you do when you have a Facebook page set up for your business but you don’t know what to post? My suggestion is to follow other companies that have a similar target audience as you. Once you have a good list of similar companies, you’ll be able to go to your business feed and see what it is they’re posting about. This will usually spark an idea that you can develop into a post.

I also suggest sharing and retweeting content from other businesses, especially if you’re a new business or new to Facebook. Doing this is a good way to see what content your audience is interested in seeing. So rather than spending a lot of time creating posts that will ultimately flop, you can share other company’s posts to see if they get engagement. Once you figure out what your audience wants to see, you can begin crafting your own messages.

Erin’s Favorite Video

You know that thing where you’re staring at a blank page, hoping against hope it will fill itself with fabulous content? Creative blocks happen more than we’d like to admit. I find that the biggest brick in my mental wall is the desire to be original, even when everything has already been done a hundred times before. Work seems like a constant battle with cliches and copycat ideas.

Here’s the trick: accept that you’re not original and embrace your own style.

I think Austin Kleon said it best in his Tedx talk, “Steal Like an Artist.” Austin is a self-declared “creative kleptomaniac” and is proud of the work he produces. The origins of his newspaper blackout poetry date back hundreds of years but he maintains that his poetry is truly his own and I completely agree.

Creativity is not necessarily being original but rather being good at giving another perspective on something we may already know. So, if you must steal, steal like an artist.

Devon’s Favorite Inspiration

Writer’s block happens to the best of us at times. Lately, my favorite spot of inspiration comes from good-old-fashioned magazines. When I find myself struggling for that perfect intro line or transition, I pick up the nearest Inc or Fortune. Magazines feature a different type of writing than most online news sources and newspapers. They have a unique way of putting you in the story and grabbing your attention from the very first line. Don’t believe me? Pick up the next Vanity Fair you see and flip to a random story. Let me know if you don’t want to read more within three paragraphs, I’ll wait.

Magazine-style writing isn’t always appropriate for every kind of copy. But it is a handy tool to start getting the creative juices flowing and feed the content monster.

Still looking for the right inspiration? Check out my favorite was to create content and beat writer’s block here.

Audrey’s Favorite Local Fav

running relieves stress mcminnville oregon

When I’ve hit a roadblock on a project, the thing I like to do best is run. Exercise is an awesome way to clear your head and allow new ideas in. You get your blood flowing to your brain and the endorphins going. Studies have shown that a good workout can help with decision making and higher thinking.

Not only do I love running, I definitely prefer to do it outside in nature. Now, even if you’re not super fond of trees and bugs and the possibility of tripping over roots, nature is actually beneficial for your mental health. Exposure to nature has been shown to reduce stress, depression and anxiety. I don’t know about you but sometimes work can be a little stressful. So, when I have a deadline and I can’t seem to get anything accomplished, I love taking a break to go running out at Miller Woods (just outside of McMinnville, OR). I always come back refreshed and inspired with new ways to approach my problem.

Carrie’s Favorite Website

When I need to create visual content in a flash, I use Canva. From infographics to Facebook cover photos, I can design high-quality graphics with Canva’s easy-to-use platform!

Wi-Fi is All You Need

As a graphic designer, I use the Adobe Creative Suite for the majority of my projects. However, especially when traveling or not at home with my desktop, it can be nearly impossible to access Illustrator or any other Adobe software. Enter Canva, which only requires Wi-Fi, and automatically saves your design, so you can return to projects in your Canva account on any computer.

Ready-to-Go Design Elements

Canva has a great selection of high-resolution photos, Google Fonts, shapes, icons and illustrations. They are all copyright-free and free of charge, though some cost $1. Canva’s platform is very user-friendly and allows you to drag and drop these elements onto your canvas. It also has automatic guides that help you align elements and functions that make it simple to resize shapes or change the spacing of text.

Customization Capabilities

Although Canva’s ready-made elements make designing a quick and easy task, it’s important that Canva allows those elements to be manipulated. You can change the colors, size and fonts of any preset element. Canva also allows you to upload your own images or fonts, so you can rest assured duplicates of your design won’t be floating around on the internet.

If you’re interested in learning more about design or Canva in general, check out the Canva Design School. If you’re a graphic designer or business owner looking to visually sharpen up your brand, read my most recent blog post about creating a visual style guide!