It’s all too easy to get stuck in a rut. We stick to what we know, what we’re used to and what’s worked in the past. Unfortunately, this can mean we’re not paying attention to cues around us. When we look up from our phones, notice trends and look for inspiration, we can better serve our clients and drive demand from our target audience. Paying attention is key to successful marketing.
Devon’s Favorite App
I was phoneless for 24 hours in the middle of the week. It was a little alarming to realize how much I rely on a single device for work, fun and basic communication with my friends and family. It was equally embarrassing to feel like I had to justify to the Apple Store employee why I had 56 different apps on my phone, and yes I really did need them all to be restored. Yikes, talk about getting some perspective!
This experience, though, led me to redownload yet another app (bring the grand total to 57 if you’re keeping track at home) – Moment. It’s a simple app for iPhones and iPads that tracks how much time you spend on your phone throughout the day. It’ll even let you know just how often you pick up your phone to check the time or look at a notification without even unlocking it.
I say redownload because I used Moment for about a week earlier this year but deleted it because I didn’t like what it was telling me. I’m giving it another try, and I encourage you to as well, to help balance my time (after all, we’re all about Family, Freedom and Fun here). My phone is an amazing tool and I’m incredibly glad it’s working again, but it was a great reminder to look up from it every once in a while.
Chase’s Favorite Blog
This week, I read a really interesting blog from Mark Schaefer about the changing popularity of social networks. In the blog, he talks about how teens are beginning to diversify their social media platforms and are beginning to prefer to use Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter more than Facebook. This doesn’t necessarily mean that teens are leaving Facebook, they just prefer to use social media platforms where there are fewer adults. This information can be useful in figuring out which social media platforms your business should focus on. If you want to target the youth demographic, you should focus your content on Instagram and Snapchat.
You can read more about the changing social media landscape by visiting Mark’s blog.
Audrey’s Favorite Video
As a graphic designer, I’m kind of obsessed with seeing and analyzing visual communication. The thing with graphic design is that you can get into a rut with what you create because of what you continually see. There’s this tension that we have to face in order to produce quality work. It needs to be familiar enough to the viewer that they can understand it but unique enough so that it stands out and communicates louder than the other visual noises surrounding it.
One way that keeps me inspired in my creativity is by keeping my eyes open to the visual communication around me. I analyze what I like and what I don’t like and why. Talking to other people and hearing talks about their perspectives on what they see and experience also helps to encourage my creativity. This TED Talk by David Carson about design and discovery is a great one to make you think about how and what you’re communicating. This viewpoint can and should be applied to marketing and the graphic design behind your business. Let your eyes be opened to new ways of expressing old ideas and you may find that million dollar idea.