WordWrite
5 reviews
WordWrite
5 reviews
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SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
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Jan 5, 2023
The Time a Great Storyteller Failed the Crowd
The moment was finally here. The greatly anticipated, prime-time speech during the opening night of the 1988 Democratic Convention was going to be the chance for a promising politician from Arkansas to wow the crowd in Atlanta and the millions listening at home.
Read moreDec 8, 2022
Wanamaker, Powers & the Squandered Legacy of 19th Century Ad Men
Born in 1838 as the son of a brickmaker, department store pioneer John Wanamaker changed the way the world shops. He introduced guaranteed pricing and money-back guarantees, and he was the first to have music played in stores (no Top 40 hits coming through the speakers, but actual in-store bands).
Read moreDec 1, 2022
How complex businesses use storytelling to drive growth
I’m sure it comes as no surprise to most of you that engaging with consumers through compelling storytelling is an essential part of marketing in the business-to-consumer (B2C) world.
Read moreDec 1, 2022
Exploring the power of business storytelling
All great leaders feel stuck at one point or another. They can clearly visualize where they want to go and who they want to reach in their marketing efforts, but their branding strategies aren’t resonating with target audiences. When this happens, it’s important to pause and evaluate the story at your business’s core — the impetus that fuels your mission to solve problems, innovate and inspire others in your industry.
Read moreNov 19, 2021
The 3 Elements to Great Business Storytelling
The best things come in threes — flavors in Neapolitan ice cream, laws of thermodynamics, “Godfather” films (OK, that’s debatable) and, of course, elements of stories.
Read moreSep 1, 2021
Three things your parents taught you about storytelling
A version of this blog post appeared previously on the Forbes Agency Council blog. As a consultant focused on uncovering, developing and sharing the great stories of our clients, I’m frequently reminded of my earliest lessons in the power of storytelling.
Read moreSep 1, 2021
Why 'S' For Story Should Come Before 'B' For Brand In The Marketing Alphabet
A version of this blog post appeared previously on the Forbes Agency Council blog. Over the last decade, the field of brand marketing has discovered the power of storytelling. Today, there's a confusing explosion of content, interest and hype around the storytelling concept.
Read moreSep 1, 2021
The corporate giant whose LUV for storytelling proves its power
Throughout 2021, one of America’s most iconic companies is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a storytelling extravaganza.
Read moreApr 29, 2021
The best way to reach journalists is the most obvious: Start with a good story
The principle of Occam’s razor suggests the simplest solution is almost always the best. Against the backdrop of an increasingly complex world where news is constantly changing, a recent report indicates how true that centuries-old rule of thumb still is when trying to gain the attention of the media. Reporters just want a good story. Cision’s 12th annual State of the Media study surveyed more than 2,700 journalists in 15 countries during February. We’ve read the full 32-page report for you, but feel free to download it here. The insights were interesting, plentiful and — at least to us — not much of a surprise (especially the good story part). Some key takeaways: Journalists receive way too many pitches but find most of them “irrelevant.” As COVID-19 coverage continues, 36.5% of journalists want “feel good” stories on getting back to normal and how companies, communities and technologies are helping others. 4% of journalists want more research-based, thought leadership content. Organizations are moving away from “news of the day” and toward longer, character-driven storytelling. Nearly half (47%) are covering five or more beats and must write seven or more stories per week. 33% file 10 or more stories weekly. More than half (53%) receive at least 50 pitches a week, and more than a quarter (28%) receive more than 100 per week However, nearly 70% say less than 25% of the pitches they receive are relevant to the audiences they’re trying to reach At WordWrite, we believe earned media (i.e., traditional public relations outreach to reporters) remains a critical element of tactical execution within a larger strategic marketing and communications plan — depending, of course, on your target audience and where your potential high-value clients or customers go for information. Thought leadership marketing, in its various content forms, is essential for providers of complex services to reach the leaders inside middle-market companies. On the flip side, we have been telling clients for years how reporters are spread too thin and don’t have the time to dedicate to becoming an expert in just one area. In the past, this attribute was a qualification for top writers to be able to work at larger, more respected publications. Given these challenges and the findings in the State of the Media Study, how exactly do you cut through the noise and ensure the information your business is sharing isn’t being viewed as “irrelevant” by reporters? If you’re at all familiar with our philosophy, you should already know the answer. It all comes back to a story – specifically your Capital S Story, which differentiates you from the competition and ultimately helps generate measurable results. The three key components are authenticity, fluency and engagement. Your story must start from a place of truth, be shared by subject matter experts in your organization and then be constantly evaluated to ensure it’s engaging your target audience. We even have a trademarked process called StoryCrafting to help you uncover and develop it. The old notion of PR simply “raising awareness” is rapidly fading away. CMOs and internal communications teams understand they must justify their marketing spend to the C-suite. And if you think ROI doesn’t matter as much to reporters as it does to PR pros or businesses, then think again — almost 60% percent of journalists in the survey agreed that the availability of detailed audience metrics has changed the way they evaluate potential stories. But the good news for businesses is that reporters still want to hear what you have to say. Nearly 80% of journalists want to receive news announcements from businesses and organizations. To move the needle, a Capital S Story must be deployed as part of a broader marketing communications strategy, developed in concert with your agency partners, your internal team and the C-suite. You must provide reporters and other key stakeholders with the right content, at the right time, and in the right places. It might sound obvious. It might be the best option. It could even be viewed as the simplest solution. But without a clearly defined Capital S Story, getting journalists to bite on your news won’t ever be easy.
Read moreMar 30, 2021
Differentiation drives your organization’s digital marketing success
More than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, no one will be surprised to learn B2B and B2C businesses have become increasingly reliant upon digital marketing to increase their customers, clients or market share. The results of The CMO Survey provide page after page of data documenting this shift away from more traditional marketing and advertising approaches. The purpose of the 26th edition of the report is to “collect and disseminate the opinions of top marketers in order to help predict the future of markets, track marketing excellence and improve the value of marketing in firms and society.” Of nearly 3,000 top marketers solicited for their feedback, more than 350 responded. Nearly 95% of those who chose to participate were VP level or higher. If you have a tendency to “geek out” on this type of information (like we do), then feel free to dive deep into the survey’s highlights and insights PowerPoint, which tops out at a whopping 85 slides. If not, allow me to share a CliffsNotes version focusing on what we believe are the most significant findings from the report – at least in terms of their relevance to B2B providers of complex services. 72% of marketing leaders responded that the role of marketing in their companies increased in importance during the last year During the pandemic, digital marketing spending increased by an average of 11.5%, including a whopping 15.6 percent increase in digital marketing for B2B services Nearly 50% of marketers are able to demonstrate the ROI of their marketing investment, an increase of almost 40% since the beginning of the pandemic Spend for B2B marketers in companies of less than $500 million in sales has increased 3% during the pandemic B2B marketers are forecasting an even higher digital marketing spend in 2021 Traditional advertising is down 5.3%, meaning the increase in digital marketing is coming directly from traditional advertising LinkedIn has emerged as a favorite for B2B marketers who can use the platform to build online events, target prospects based on specific search terms, start online user groups and build their database en masse In adapting to COVID-19, B2B marketers concluded “reputation marketing is king” Certainly, that’s plenty of information to digest as an appetizer, let alone the full meal outlined in the massive report. These trends are likely to increase as marketers learn more about where their target audiences go to consume information digitally. Yet with opportunities come fresh challenges, including how to distinguish yourself as a business from the competition as digital marketing (and the subsequent boatloads of digital noise) increase exponentially. You’ll note how the findings highlighted above indicate a growing parallel between the growth in marketing spend and an organization’s increased emphasis on and ability to demonstrate ROI. Missing from that equation is how exactly B2B marketers should define success. At WordWrite, we recommend you never spend a dollar on marketing unless you can prove how the investment has contributed to the business goals you seek to accomplish. But what is it that you should measure? Clicks? Likes? Follows? How to differentiate Readers of this space likely know where I’m headed next. Just because what I’m about to write might be predictable, however, doesn’t make it any less true. Without first establishing an authentic story that is rooted in truth, shared consistently by those experts in your organization who can tell it fluently and measured for how well it engages your target audiences, the most well-intentioned marketing campaign can fall flat. If “reputation marketing” is king (at least according to this survey), then uncovering, developing and sharing your Capital S Story is the path to marketing success, digital or otherwise. This story describes why someone should buy from you, invest in you, partner with you or work with you. Without differentiating yourself from the crowd, you’ll simply blend in with countless competitors who are also technically sophisticated and skilled in creating digital marketing assets such as ads, landing pages, social posts, videos, images, etc. But where do your target audiences go and what do they see when they interact with those assets? What exactly is it those assets are telling them to do? How does the content inform their journey into your sales funnel? Those are the types of questions we help clients answer when we work with them to create their Capital S Story. Digital marketing lives in a big tent. It can quickly devolve into a circus if you’re not carefully focused on what makes your business stand out. To learn more about harnessing the power of your company’s authentic story, click here to read a sample first chapter of WordWrite Founder and President Paul Furiga’s new book, “Finding Your Capital S Story: Why your Story Drives your Brand.”
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