I have a secret.
Well, it’s not really a secret, at least not after sharing this blog with you. Let’s start with some backstory…
I have a secret.
Well, it’s not really a secret, at least not after sharing this blog with you. Let’s start with some backstory…
“A brand is more than just a tagline.”
Any savvy marketer would say, “Well, duh.” It’s a mistake to think your brand “is” an attribute, like a logo, product/service, or a name—even though certain brands garner great recognition and respect based on name alone (e.g. Apple). Unfortunately, it still happens and is one of the missteps Darren Gurr discusses in his article, “The 5 Enemies to Building a Relevant Brand.”
You’re likely familiar with FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), which is not only a widespread cultural phenomenon but also a useful marketing approach. Convincing leads/customers there’s something to be lost if they don’t jump on board (or stay on board) is a tactic as old as time but one that has butted heads with a few digital barriers as of late.
There are plenty of reasons to include social media in your marketing and content marketing strategies. We’ve published blogs about the topic (it’s true, social media IS more than cat videos), and this Hootsuite article shares 23 short synopses as to why a social media strategy is more than smart business.
However, having a reason why doesn’t necessarily mean you get the job done—or at least done in the most effective way.
White Space Marketing Group is a “fully-distributed” company. A term coined in 2010, a distributed company is one without a centralized office and with staff working from a variety of regional, national, and even international locations. What used to be a Silicon Valley trend, is now a common occurrence for companies of all sizes and in a wide variety of industries. Whether based in small Missouri city or bustling New York City, distributed companies are here to stay.
Prolific Automattic, the makers of WordPress.com, WooCommerce, Jetpack, Simplenote, VaultPress, Akismet, Gravatar, Polldaddy, Cloudup, and more, boasts 694 “Automatticians” in “63 countries speaking 80 different languages.” White Space isn’t nearly that large (yet) but we have the same advantages and challenges all other distributed companies face.
Tomato, tomahto; potato, potahto is one thing, but the Yanny/Laurel debate took us to a whole new level of social dichotomy.
By the time it had hit its viral peak, celebs were cat-fighting. Age-old friends were battling. Marriages were in danger of dissolution. New York Magazine editor Madison Malone Kircher summed up her thoughts in a telling tweet:
In one of my other career lives, I was responsible for helping to curate the company’s monthly newsletter. Not an e-newsletter, but a hard-copy piece of paper that went into customer’s billing statements—an indication of how long I’ve been in the game.
One of my tasks was to proofread each version per market. If a mistake weaseled its way through, there wasn’t much that could be done retroactively. E-newsletters have eased that worry considerably. How many times have you received an “oops” email in your inbox?
