What is reality?

Hi!

What is reality?

Last week I shared on Linkedin how happy I am with the choices I’ve made. I’m happy. But also: see this picture? This was how my week started. With a yoghurt explosion on the kitchen walls.
Linkedin vs reality. Both are true. I may scream about my happiness. At the same time I’m cleaning yoghurt on monday morning.
No highs without lows. We always have to remember this.

Creating anything GREAT

“How is your newsletter doing?” my colleague asked. He himself has a weekly newsletter. So maybe he was asking this because he was looking for support? Or recognition? Or he wanted to give me some advice? You never really know the reality of others.

Although I love writing these pieces, it’s also hard, especially when it is dark at 4 PM, and all you dream of doing is putting on your pyjamas and binge-watching Grey’s Anatomy. Haha. But then reality hits, and you realize the world has seen this show already 10 years ago, and there is a lot more to life than watching shows. You have to feed children, walk a dog, do your job, be a good parter and maintain your social life. People are counting on you! So sometimes I curse that I have to write this newsletter, or worse, promote it to have some new subscribers.* But also, I love doing it. Life is not black or white.

I sent this image to a friend this week. The emotional journey is inevitable and perhaps necessary. You have to pass through the swamp.

*If you’d like to help promote my newsletter, I really love you. There, I said it.

Does your content support your goals?!

Off with the pyjama’s and into the working clothes. Because you have a job to do! Lately I am seeing a lot of confusion about a good content strategy.

Everybody knows (I hope) that a good content marketing strategy is hugely important. You want an audience that engages? Do you want them to trust you? Content marketing has become an essential strategy for this. But … Many marketers focus only on creating content without thinking strategically about how it fits into their broader business goals.

Before hitting that "post" button, ask yourself:
✅ Why am I sharing this?
✅ What key message do I want my audience to remember?
✅ What specific actions do I want them to take?
✅ Is my message consistent across all channels?
✅ How does this content contribute to our overall business objectives?

A common mistake people make with content marketing is focusing only on tactics without an overarching strategy guiding them. Many people use the word “strategy” when they actually mean “tactics”.

➡️ Tactics are the specific individual tasks or actions you carry out to meet your strategy objectives.
➡️ Strategy refers to how you fit specific tactics together into an overall integrated plan — you have to see the whole forest rather than just the trees.

It's easy to get excited about various tactics, like creating “viral videos” or optimizing for search. Strategy is about maximizing your value. The job of a great strategic content team is not to just be good at content—it’s to understand how to make your content support your business objectives. 🎯

Brandlove

A really good example of a brand that is excelling in content marketing is Red Bull. Even though I dislike the drink, I admire their marketing. Their positioning is crystal clear!

Red Bull began sponsoring Formula One races in 1995. They would print the winners of the races on marketing materials that had their logo all over it. This content was working way better than the ads about the product - their energery drink. Red Bull understood that becoming a media and lifestyle brand was the key to their success—Red Bull Media House was born.

The Red Bull Media House came a full 20 years after the brand was established in 1986. The media portfolio helps Red Bull engage with audiences in the best possible way through the company’s owned and managed channels, global partnerships, and communication networks spanning 170 countries and 36 languages! Wauwie. And this for an energy drink that tastes like bad candy (personal opinion :-)).

Reading Tip

Instead of binge-watching TV shows in pajamas all winter, I'm back to reading! Right now, I'm into Phil Knight's autobiography, 'Shoe Dog.' It's an easy read and totally relatable for entrepreneurs and how they/we are sometimes stuck in the swamp. 💛 Recommandation worthy!!

Have a lovely week with lots of energy and little rain or yoghurt on walls.
Bye!!

xIngrid