The theme at Inbound ’17 was empathy and authenticity. Almost every speaker — including Michelle Obama and Brene Brown — touched on the need to find your voice and connect with others. Those things are important, absolutely. But we still have to sell widgets, right? As marketers, we have a responsibility to work a little… Read more »
Author: andigraham
Bet your future on empathy
I’m at Inbound 2017 right now, awaiting the first breakout session scheduled for the first official day. Walking in to the conference, a huge marquee out front welcomes you with the message: “Build a future on empathy.” That may seem a bit odd for one of the world’s largest marketing conferences, but it’s the essence of… Read more »
Listening
You can’t truly help people or call yourself a partner if you don’t listen.Sometimes, people just need to vent. They want to tell you what’s going on, they want to share their concerns and make sure you understand what pressure they’re under. Your first response might be to help, or to offer solutions, or to defend… Read more »
Promises unkept
We are 6 days without power after Hurricane Irma swept through the Southeast US last weekend. For 6 days, we’ve been waiting and watching the news from our power company as they assessed damage and started restoration. On Wednesday, after the presumed damage assessment had been completed, they issued a statement, promising power back… Read more »
After the Storm
A hurricane of enormous proportions just passed through our area. Hurricane Irma threatened to hit the Tampa Bay area directly as a dangerous and deadly Category 4. The Tampa Bay are doesn’t get hit very often by hurricanes. This is because the city faces the Gulf to the west, and the prevailing east-to-west trade winds… Read more »
Blogging every day
If you had to choose just one activity that you could rely on to grow your business, something you could do every day, what would that activity be? The communicator and strategist and inbound marketer in me suggests blogging as that one thing, and the research agrees. I’ve been blogging for well over a decade. I… Read more »
True passion is the root of authenticity
I had a conversation the other night with an acquaintance who also owns a small marketing agency. He went on and on about his true passion, which is AI and machine learning. How he “this marketing stuff” is just a way for him to fund his real passion, until he can make that work. And… Read more »
What’s wrong with your core values?
How do you decide when your content is authentic? As an individual, the answer is usually pretty easy. Do you live your words? When you’re writing for your business, organization or — even more tricky — for a client, it all comes back to your core values. Core values should guide everything your organization does…. Read more »
Balancing authenticity and audience
There’s a tricky balance between solving for your audience and remaining authentic in your content marketing. How do you know when you’re sticking to your own thoughts and beliefs, or pandering to the needs of your target audience? For our company, it’s about always aligning with our Core Values. If the messages we’re putting out… Read more »