Set your brand’s intention

Staying true to the very essence of EXHALE, defining your brand and content marketing strategies requires deep breathing, and letting go of that which no longer (or possibly never did) serves you. Stay with me on this, downward dog optional.

SET YOUR INTENTION

Setting your mission and your vision is good practice and should feature in every brand strategy; personal, as well as business. You showed up, great. Now what are you here to do? Fill your mission with aspiration. Any kind you like. Decide on it and we can revisit it later, in fact, it would be a terrible idea not to. Your mission, or, as I like to think of it, your brand’s intention, should be a short, bold statement. The chances are it will feel as relevant in the long term as the short term.

LET GO

The majority of brands aren’t actually short of content, they’re usually drowning in it. The problem is, most of it doesn’t add value, but we can’t let go of the idea that quantity means quality. It doesn’t. Check Google’s SEO guidelines. Less can definitely be more, as long as it’s reliable, demonstrates authority and showcases expertise. Reams of content that doesn’t actually tell you anything won’t increase your search ranking position and will probably bore, confuse and alienate anyone who reads it. They’re your customers, your prospects, your potential partners. They’re important. Give them a little less, and they’ll want more. Human nature, right?

“YOU WILL FIND THAT IT IS NECESSARY TO LET THINGS GO; SIMPLY FOR THE REASON THAT THEY ARE HEAVY”

Take stock of your current content inventory, it will be worth it. There will definitely be some diamonds in amongst the rough – you can polish these up and repurpose them (ready made content is the best), get your money’s worth from these babies. But be ruthless and admit what’s rough, and let it go. Carrying extra weight around that does not serve your brand only makes it more difficult for the organisation behind it to make progress, and makes it painful to do what your brand was actually created to do in the first place. That feels better already, doesn’t it?

Letting go is pretty much synonymous with instant gratification. Things will be feeling rusty in places, but you’ll find that your brand quite quickly becomes more flexible than it’s been for a long time. On an exhale, let go.

CREATE SPACE

Now that you’re no longer drowning in weighty, useless content, you can breathe, and you have space to be much more dynamic. You’ve freed up resource to explore new marketing trends, new social platforms and you’ve invested more energy into pushing your brand further where it already performs pretty well. This makes so much sense. When you find this space, do not rush to fill it. Our tendency to maximise every last moment we have, whether it’s actually a spare moment or not, does not lead us to a more fulfilled place. Instead it zaps us of energy and as a result we, and the brand we’re behind, perform poorly across the board.

BE GRATEFUL

What are you noticing now that you’ve taken some deep breaths, reminded yourself why your brand is here, and let go of the rough that’s been dragging you down? You’re feeling damned good that you can still touch the floor with your heels despite being out of practice. You’re revisiting your mission, and feeling totally sure that yes, you are in the right place. Or, at least, you’re in the right place right now to get to where you want to be. This is your reason for being. And you want more. Heck, your audience wants more.

Talk to hannah@exhalebarcelona.com about setting your brand’s intention and creating space in your content marketing strategy.