Tell A Story With Photos

If you’re looking for an article about ISO, aperture, or shutter speed, this isn’t it. I’ve always been overwhelmed by camera settings, so I choose to focus (pun intended) on how the photo tells the story instead both personally and professionally when capturing moments for clients. My husband even knows when I’m on the hunt for a good storytelling photo and often says, “You have a vision, don’t you?”

The goal here is to inspire you to consider your content when you take a photo so that the moment you capture brings back the experience clearly when it shows up on your Facebook memories 1 year, 5 years, 10 years later. These tips don’t just apply to fancy schmancy cameras. You can incorporate these tips with any camera…even your phone.

Back Up a Few Steps

Your surroundings tell so much about what you’re experiencing. One of my newest pet peeves is when I see someone post a close-up selfie on social media with a caption like, “So much fun at the circus!'‘ Wait! They’re at the circus? For all I know from the photo they’re sitting on the couch at home watching The Voice. Show me the fire-breathing clown behind you! Are you snapping a pic of your kids at the zoo? Take 5 steps back to include some animals or interesting tropical landscaping behind them.

Candid is King

There is a time and place for posed photos. I get it. However, candid photos tell a story in a much more dynamic and memorable way. The way your child’s brows are furrowed when he’s studying a bug or how your mom crinkles her nose when she genuinely laughs can only be captured in an authentic moment. Avoid telling people to say “cheeeeeeese” and just snap away instead.

Add People to the Picture

A photo with actual humans in the picture is so much more memorable than one without. Back to the zoo example…will you really care to see that zebra pic in 5 years or will your heart skip a beat when you look back at a photo of your daughter’s reaction to seeing a zebra for the first time? Will a picture of your plate of spaghetti remind you of the amazing hole-in-the-wall restaurant you and your husband found in Little Italy or would a photo of your husband trying to awkwardly serve the extra long noodles from a family-style platter make you giggle and launch you back to the moment?

You get the picture (pun intended again).

I’m A Mom Who Enjoys Working

My husband and I always knew we wanted to be parents. So, when we found out we were having triplets, we jumped right in. Just days after the revealing ultrasound while I was at home horribly ill with “morning” sickness, my husband traded in our two-door hatchback car for a giant Suburban. It was our first reality shift for each of our identities. We were no longer just “Laura and Jeremy” who could get through our days driving a Ford Focus. We were “mom and dad” and, dang, we loved it.

When our babies (two boys and one girl) were born, I paused my career as an advertising executive so that I could be a mom full-time. The demands were like nothing I could have planned for. It was 24/7 feeding, diaper changing, laundry, spit-up, and nap schedules. You know, all of the glorious things. Being a mom of multiples and coming from an agency environment that operated and thrived on process - I naturally translated that to my mom world.

I made a detailed schedule of our revolving door of helpers. I logged feedings, wet diapers, dirty diapers, sleep times, and medicine distribution in a binder. I researched homemade baby food and blended their meals from scratch. I created lesson plans to break their days into various learning segments. To find my balance at the time (code for: use my brain), I studied for and became a Certified Nutrition Consultant. When they were toddler-aged, I also ran two marathons in back-to-back years.

And while, of course, I did it for them, hindsight tells me I was also doing it for me. I thrive on goals and while I was so grateful to be able to be home with them to watch them grow up, I missed my non-mom identity. I missed using my brain for something other than keeping three tiny humans happy and healthy. Now, my kids are school-aged and I’m loving this entrepreneurial adventure.

I’m just going to go ahead and say it. I enjoy working. Guess what? That’s OK to say. That doesn’t make me any less grateful to be a mom. It’s OK to be mom and to be ME. It’s possible to love both and strive to be great at both.

There’s such a stigma that moms can’t say something like that or feel that way. There’s subconscious judgment surrounding moms who choose to work outside of the home. There’s also subconscious judgment surrounding moms who choose to be a stay-at-home mom. Let’s make a pact to just stop the subconscious judgement altogether and root each other on instead.

You’re a stay-at-home mom? Wonderful! You’re a rising executive at a law firm? Get it, girl!

Whatever your passion is, don’t ignore it. Go after it and let your kids cheer you on along the way.

The Magic of the Marketing Funnel

Marketing is part science, part art, and part magic.

It takes time for a brand message to lead to sales because customers have to continue to move forward through each stage of the marketing funnel. There are many variables involved in the funnel process such as product price point, proper consumer targeting, and more. However, below are the 5 common stages of the funnel and how to work through each as a brand.

Keep in mind that each phase must happen in order.

1.) Awareness

If a customer doesn't know about your brand there’s no way they can buy what you’re selling. Your message needs to surround your target audience multiple times in order for them to really hear what you’re saying. As the old saying goes (it’s really not an old saying…I kinda made it up), would you rather have one prospect hear your message ten times or ten prospects hear your message one time? The answer is always the former. One and done doesn’t work in marketing. You must surround your target audience from every angle to keep your brand top of mind and move them to the next phase.

2.) Consideration

Now that your customer knows about you, you have to connect with them and inspire them to want to choose your brand over your competitors. What makes you different? What problem are you solving for them? How will their life be better with your brand in it? Part of the consideration phase includes talking to friends, visiting your website, doing online research, and more. Making sure to answer the previous questions through your marketing and social media storytelling will make their move to the next phase easy for them because they’ll have convinced themselves they can’t live without your brand.

3.) Conversion

OK, now they know about you and they’re convinced that you’re the one for them. Time to make the conversion. The key to making the conversion process memorable is to make it an experience instead of a transaction. This is not just an exchange of money. This is someone saying, “Yes, I trust what you’re selling!” Considering there are likely many competitors for them to choose from, this is a big compliment to what you’re offering. Let them know that you appreciate their business at this phase. It will go far.

4.) Loyalty

This is the phase of the funnel that many brands ignore. They’re simply satisfied with the sale and move on to the next one. What they forget is that keeping loyal customers costs less than it does to acquire a new one. Show gratitude to your customers through messaging, loyalty programs, exclusive discounts, and more. When you do so, they’ll have no hesitation moving on to the next phase.

5.) Advocacy

Word of mouth is a double-edged sword for brands. On one hand, it’s extremely powerful when it’s positive. On the other hand, it’s extremely powerful when it’s negative. If customers have had an exceptional experience with your brand, they’ll be more than willing to tell others to consider your brand, too. Thus, starting the funnel all over again for someone new. Referral reward programs are a great way to encourage your customers to spread the word for you.

Abracadabra! That’s marketing in a nutshell…er…funnel.

Can You Sell Me This Pencil?

Let’s be honest, job interviews can be boring, awkward, and just…awkward. Oh, I said that one already? Well, it’s worth repeating. As an interviewer, I like to break the ice and shake off the dust with out-of-the-box questions. One of my favorites isn’t even a question. It’s a challenge. I find a pencil on my desk, slide it across to the interviewee, and simply say:

“Sell me this pencil.”

10 times out of 10, the interviewee launches into the pencil’s features without asking me why I need it.

“It has a great eraser.”

“It’s sharp.”

“It’s yellow.”

After about the 5th feature, I stop them and reveal that I didn’t need the pencil for writing, I actually needed the pencil to poke a hole in a piece of cardboard for an art project I was doing.

The point (pun intended)? The end result is the key selling point, not the features. And to know that end result, you have to know what the customer’s needs are. It’s not just the key to succeeding at my awkward interview challenge, it’s also key to great marketing.

Here are some things to remember as you attempt to write end-result marketing copy:

• After you write something, ask yourself, “So what?'“ In other words, are you communicating something valuable for the customer?

• Communicate what life change will occur when your customer uses your product or service. While that’s easy for some brands, it can be a bit more challenging for others, but I assure you it CAN be done.

• When in doubt, tell a story. It’s difficult to get caught up in boring product features when you’re telling an authentic story (and that’s a good thing!)

I’m a visual learner, so how about an example?

Feature Copy (Bad!): Our signature caramel swirl ice cream is made fresh in-house daily with the finest local ingredients.

End-Result Copy (Good!): One bite of our signature caramel swirl ice cream will prove to you that this sweet treat will forever be your cheat day go-to. It’s totally worth it!

Long story short, it’s about them, not you.