👂 Social listening explained

Hello new (and loyal) followers. What the flip! After a LinkedIn post by Herman Maes, my follower base has grown remarkably. I'll be honest, it's giving me a bit of stress. What if everyone leaves after this edition? 😆 Because here, we obviously talk about professional matters, but we also enjoy a good laugh about life. Oh well, never mind. I am glad that last week I was able to clarify my tagline: "Branding Donkeys: Weekly Insights about Brands and Life." Ha! Yes, this is it, babies, this is what you get.

➡️ Branding: What do I do?

If you have 10% growth in one week (ok, easy when you are small), it’s only polite to introduce yourself. Hi, I’m Ingrid, and I’m a brand strategist. I help you clarify your message. This is incredibly useful for boosting your sales, growing your followers, and engaging your partners and stakeholders. But it’s not just about the message; I also assist with your brand and business strategy. How do you build your brand, and how to humanize it? As an employer? In B2B? In B2C? Or maybe your personal brand? Where are you planting your flag? In this newsletter, you read about brands I love, campaigns I love, f*ckups I see (or I do) and plenty of life lessons and leadership insights. Happy to welcome you here 💛

➡️ Marketing: How good are you in social listening?

Do you know the Stanley Cup, the ultra-fashionable water bottle that's exploding in sales across the US? Let me rephrase that: do you know Terence Reilly, the marketing genius behind the Stanley Cup? Reilly was also the driving force behind the resurgence of Crocs, those once-considered-ugly plastic shoes. He revitalized them through high-profile collaborations, including one with Post Malone. And now, he’s doing it again. (Doing or did he? I just checked his LinkedIn, and it seems he’s returned to Crocs!)

Little Mr. Reilly is really smart, because he also leverages the power of social listening brilliantly. What is social listening? It’s when businesses monitor online conversations to understand how people feel about their brand, identify new trends, and respond to customer feedback. It can be very beneficial for your PR!

So what happened? In November, a woman named Danielle posted a TikTok showing her car after a fire, with a Stanley cup in the cup holder that survived the blaze. She picked it up and shook it: the ice inside had remained frozen despite the flames. The video racked up over ninety-five million views! Recognizing a perfect testament to the product’s durability, marketeer Reilly responded by not only promising to send more Stanley products but also offering to replace Danielle’s car! Smart one 😜

@stanleybrand

#stitch with @Danielle Stanley has your back ❤️

You may or may not know, one of my clients is CÎME, a beautiful skincare brand. Last week, we also engaged in some social listening. We don’t have money to replace someones car, but hey, we managed to increase engagement remarkably. Check this out: is this cool or really cool?
Btw, how do you think you pronounce CÎME?

➡️ Copywriting : scientists are terrible copywriters

This newsletter is obviously influenced by the sectors my clients work in. This is how I discovered this brilliant piece of copywriting for the skincare brand, The Ordinary.

A fly poster that educates their consumers, tells a story and is simple with lots of white space - because scientists are terrible copywriters. Nice one by Nicholas Stanley.
(Are you also a fan of puzzles that just keep fitting together? Stanley cup, Stanley the copywriter?! Beautiful!)

➡️ Leadership: A message to all marketers out there! 📣

I mean: Applies to EVERY walk of life, not just marketers !

➡️ To read or to listen: Do you know Brené Brown?

I’m still (ghost)writing a book, and until it’s finished, I apparently can’t bring myself to read another. Because my brain always needs inspiration, I listen to podcasts while walking my dog. This week, I received a superb tip from the person for whom I am writing. During one of our long conversations, he introduced me to Brené Brown. Have you heard of Brené Brown?! It seems like everyone knows about her except me; is she a long-kept secret, or do I also introduce you to something new? Wow, what a revelation! This woman is smart, funny, and incredibly interesting. And that’s just the way I like women. The first podcast of hers I listened to had me taking so many notes on my phone. Have you ever tried to walk a dog and take notes at the same time? Then you get that you really have to be motivated to do this.

But about Brené, she is a research professor and has spent over two decades studying topics such as courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy. Brené is well-known for her TED talk "The Power of Vulnerability," which is one of the most viewed TED talks in the world. (Why didn’t I know her?!) She has written several books (go and read them), and has an amazing podcast. Go walk your dog and listen here!

Have a nice week, folks!
x Ingrid