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Marketing Strategy

Your Brand Is Not Alone

April 9, 2019

Oftentimes the conversations you trigger about your brand starts with ‘I’. While it’s a word that speaks of initiative and drive – after all it’s you who has given birth to your brand. But, when we always roundup our brand talks with ‘I’, we also feel that opinion overshadows outcome (in some cases).

Now think of moments when you comment on someone’s post or content, and surprisingly, people understand your perspective, because you also think of your individualism as a plural.

This is where you don’t feel reclusive or a bit sidelined; in better frame of words: your brand is not in its contours of brand-speak. Instead, when you think like your audience – and your community in general -quite pleasantly, people relate to your perspective (which inadvertently speaks about your brand).

So reframe your brand’s positioning by thinking more like ‘us’, more like ‘how can I help my audience’, more like ‘how can I fundamentally ‘get’ my audience?’ And that’s when you relate and effectively respond to conversations.

Your ‘brand’ is not a shop; it’s a platform in itself for people to participate and create a better ecosystem that underpins your purpose. So harness the collective and blend it with your brand’s persona – this anchor spot should help you to stand out from the competitive brand world yet make your brand a part of your audience’s lives.

That said, there is also an audience that sits somewhere in the continuum of your brand’s journey from I to us: people who have contrarian opinions/ perspectives. That’s when you can seed in and also find some ‘grey’ points where you can park in the word ‘I’ with humility and empathy.

Remember: your brand is not alone. It’s just finding the right minds that can speak a language that is better than the two ‘I’ combined. Because, at some point, 1+ 1 can be greater than 2. We can outnumber, outshine and evolve better when voices meld – however only when we understand, relate and empathize with each other instead of going into the rabbit holes of competing and comparing.

Agree?

christmas, Marketing Strategy

A Letter To My Readers: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

December 24, 2018

Dear all, this month I almost complete 4 years of blogging.

I personally thank everyone who has inspired me along the way to put my words into creating something meaningful (it was at least meaningful for me).

There were times when I got an idea for my blog when I was in a shower and sometimes when I am on my way back during my commute from office. Sometimes, sheer ironies and ‘fundamental complexities’ helped me capture what personal branding can address (in a philosophical and a transcendental way).

But I also think about redemption: moments when I just wanted to be with myself – still, striving-for-calming-settle, and some me-time for thinking through of what worked and didn’t quite work as per my own scale of manifestations.

There were also times when I just wanted to come out of my little head and think like a superhuman – someone who is unapologetically bold yet sincere in purpose and intention, think for the real good and inject every view with selflessness and kindness.

But it takes immense courage and hustling to be the real you when the world wants you to flex and bow and pace and comply with its never-ending expectations and demands.

So I between this twisting tryst with myself, I found my voice, which I can intelligently meander with, and try and create some logic or perhaps some understandable sense for people I meet or have a conversation with.

And that’s why I thank those trying times, those painful encounters and also some beautiful moments with my loved ones – all that have shaped my thinking and writing over these years.

On that note, I urge you to sometimes be knocked down, be broken, cry a little – but in those tears and sorrow and joy, just gather how much stronger you are than you think and can imagine in your wildest of dreams.

That said, don’t forget to love yourself – you have come a long way in your mortality project (sounds a bit abrupt, but that’s ok) called life. This Christmas, congratulate yourself for breathing in some good air of positivity, and sip some lovely cocoa (I love hot chocolate especially at this time of the year) and do some meditation. Let go of what isn’t ‘in’ you anymore and welcome a beautiful future that comes seeping into your warmth that will soak you in a cozy, nestled, beautiful present.

Wishing all my lovely readers and kind critiques a merry Christmas and have a blissful new year!

With love,

Aditi

Marketing Strategy

Don’t Give Up, Just Yet

October 28, 2018

We all have our set of challenges and pain points when we feel we cannot take the full plunge into something – be it work, relationships, professional confrontations with colleagues, etc.

And this feeling is most often than not subsumed deep within us when things don’t move our way – and when persistence just seems to be a ‘dragging, weighty’ word to come to terms to.

But we must also pay heed to that inner voice, which wants to be heard and acknowledged.

The moment this voice becomes loud and clear, clarity helps us face the ambiguous, blurry, fuzzy path ahead with a pair of lens that can see through the vision.

So, here are four ways in which you can flex your grit muscles to not give up just yet.

– Think of your world view; your big picture. Always remember that bold vision you have for yourself. Sometimes, it may not be clear to you in the beginning. But you would have your imagination capture it for you – in sometimes subtle ways, or sometimes with strikingly tangible ways. When you think long-term, a lot of trivial many issues dwindle by your iron-clad focused nature. Your imagination starts to widen and manifest when you truly believe in your purpose of existence.

– Accept who you are. Love your imperfections as much as you admire your strengths. Both are a gift that creates a ‘real’ and vulnerably complete you. Sometimes your strengths are rooted in your bleep-ups, your not-so-proud areas of improvement. But that’s truly defining evolution: of your character, work and life. When you accept áll of you’ – you become more self-aware and conscientious of your larger self: one that believes in kindness, compassion and making world better with your creation capabilities. And then not giving up happens to become your autopilot mindset.

– Because serendipity meets hard work, by nature. It’s true: you can’t fool nature. When you choose to work harder, regardless of failures, good things happen to you. So even if you don’t believe in good luck, trust your efforts – chances are, they are meant to be chiseled, as nature plans to gift you its rewards in its own intentional ways.

– Be a student of your craft. Always be learning is not theory – it’s practical. When you invest time in improving your craft via learning in multiple ways, like reading books, listening to podcasts, observing others’craft and being an adaptive student, your perception of failure changes with time. Your progress hinges on learning, which is then balanced with your persistence to improvise on what didn’t work for you. Being a student keeps you humble but with a fair sense of narcissism when you know you can add value to your work or situations that need your input.

Over to you.

What’s your pivot when you fail – and fail often?

Let me know!

Creativity, Marketing Strategy

One Chief Skill That A Client Looks In An Agency

March 5, 2016

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Working in an agency is a perk of its own kind. You work with different creative and disruptive heads – not to forget the camaraderie of an agency set up is really cozy and comforting – and it makes you feel like a communication ninja in the making!

Well, to begin with, what is an agency?

A bunch of brilliant minds working in cohesion for a specific goal or a business communication objective. So to speak, it is people. And these are the people, who day-in and day-out churn out excellent PR and digital results for their clients (in the context of integrated communication).

For them, it is this excellent ‘team gravy’ that is the result of conspicuous results for their clients.

Now let’s switch gears to the client’s side. So here’s this question: how does a client define success in his lexicon when it hunts for an agency?

It is good writing skills that reflect inspiring story-telling.

While there may be many agencies that will be good with their oral communication skills and media coordination, but what ultimately connects people to people is a string of words that convey more than just the oral verbosity.

In today’s new age media world, there are newer agencies joining the agency-wagon to pitch their services to newer prospects and upsell their existing clients. And with attention deficit disorder prevalent today, not just for the media but also for prospects and clients, what captures the attention of these crazy-busy prospects and clients is a well-researched copy – be it in the form of e-mails, blogs, articles, e-books, pitch notes, press releases or any form of an article.

Yes, clients do read – but they are very selective about what they read. And that’s a challenge only a good copy can solve.

An agency’s writing style talks volumes about the agency’s brand as a whole – be it from the point of view of intonation, lucidity, succinctness yet profundity, or human relations!

Clients look at hiring agencies that weave words like a compelling story narrative, and agencies that do their homework well enough in advance so that they are precognitive enough to gauge what kind of questions a client can land up asking over the course of the discussion.

Clients want agencies that treat them as prospects every single day!

Why?

Because once you make the effort to win a client for a communication assignment, you never take that client for granted and always look at working the extra mile in giving value every single day.

And what’s the best way to go that extra mile?

Write value. And write more.

That way your agency becomes a top brand in the mind of your client via your writing prowess and collaborative communication.

It is ultimately good writing skills that can win media’s attention and eventually win client’s trust in your communication.

Happy writing!

 

Marketing Strategy

7 Things To Keep In Mind Before Starting Your Business

February 20, 2016

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We all at some point find our calling. Our very definition of ‘why’ – and that is the time when need to put our power-packed ideas into execution.

 

While many of us are ‘in the know’ of what entrepreneurship means, we still need to sustain and thrive that dream business.

 

Here are 7 things (more or less) that you need to keep in mind before the entrepreneurship bug bites you.

 

  • Leave your day job when you are mentally ready. To have a financial cushion – even if you feel you have one already – you should not call it quits with your day job until you feel you are fully ready to take the plunge. While our day job may not be that rosy, but be practical of the fact that you have your personal expenses and daily chores to look into financially. Once you are confident enough of making money via your side business, take a leap and move the ball forward.

 

  • Are you driven enough about starting your business? Or is it still a distant dream? You can start inching toward realizing your business goals by first cutting down on your’ should-have’ and focus on your ‘must-have’. For example, you can start listening to more audio books instead of being glued to your favorite video games or movies. By using your time wisely, your execution becomes smoother and more effective.

 

  • Work on your 1oo times multiplier. I cannot stress enough on the fact that one should only focus on their +100 times multiplier, aka their strengths instead of downplaying your business with your areas of improvement. Create a sheet where you write a repository of your skills sets that when put use yield you at least 100 times more result instead of relying on your mediocre level work attributes. While your areas of improvement also need to ameliorate, but to start your business and help it grow consistently, focus on your vital few core competencies. Your job is to know your limitations – and accelerate. For example, if you are good in business development and cold calling, charm your prospects with your new business development approach and communication skills. And delegate everything else that you feel you wouldn’t be able to give your 100% into. Hustle smarter.

 

  • Understand the business need before launching. There are myriad cases of startups failing simply because their market understanding of a business need is not deep enough. Though startups can fail because of many other reasons; like hiring the wrong person or being too hurried to be seen in the market; lack of product innovation; or simply not researching well about the industry they are vying to enter. The best bet is to constantly seek feedback from your ecosystem and research well ahead of time to gauge if the market is lucrative and has a potential to be tapped for the long-term or not.

 

  • Set a pre-launch strategy. Don’t know how? Read Jeff Walker’s Launch and a post that highlights the importance of seed launch, Today all businesses are online and the best way to garner people’s interest in your product or service is through a seed launch. What is it, anyway? It’s a launch to your internal contact list where you get paid as you launch the product. Start connecting with your personal network and find out a need that can be met with your solution. That way you will not only make money; you will also find a business proposition that can be monetized with your winning skills and competencies! Need quick steps to fast-track your launch, read this post by Jeff Walker, here.

 

  • Specificity sells. And didn’t I mention content?! Don’t make abstract goals to start your business. Create a calendar detailing all your personal KRA’s (key responsibility areas). That’s right: just like how you have your KRAs at your workplace where you are employed; as an entrepreneur you work for your customers. Make it radical yet doable by defining your weekly and monthly goals in advance. For example, you can make a content marketing calendar for the first 3 months and assign responsibilities and content that need to be disseminated to get some good leads for your business. Likewise, you can make a marketing collateral plan on how you plan on marketing your content via e-books, whitepapers, blog post or social media – the idea is to flesh it out in a way that it becomes manageable for you.

 

  • And can personal branding be left behind? Create content that defines your personality online. Take some time to showcase your competencies online – especially on LinkedIn and Twitter to create some momentum via building up on your knowledge when you are reading and researching on your industry. When you can solve a problem, you know you have built a decent imagery of a go-to person in industry when people can contact you.

 

Yes, you can launch now 🙂

 

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    Hello there – I’m Aditi, the founder of Let The Muse Flow.

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