Complete Story via VentureBeat.

Complete story via VentureBeat.

Complete story via  VentureBeat.

Thinking and acting like a publisher or a producer is not as easy as it sounds, especially if you have never done it before.  Aside from having to learn to publish, companies need to develop a process to consistently create, manage, update, deploy, assemble and deliver content for multiple purposes.

In order for any business to start thriving in the new media world they must first shift their thinking from a traditional production process that is event or project driven to a continuous publishing process.  This is not a quota activity; it is a daily message that tells the story of your company. Be patient with it and learn to truly tell a detailed story that has a goal.  It is worthless to tell a story that is not meant to sell.

Businesses also need to think of content as assets to continuously acquire, edit, convert and store for sharing and re-use.  This is the modern era of marketing and content is truly valuable.  Use content to create value within your business model.

Some brands have even used their content to develop other lines of revenue, which will become more prevalent in the future.  Here are a couple great examples of content/story marketing that we have seen over the past 30 years:

Soap Operas: The soap opera was not created solely as a vehicle for viewers to watch a new show with bad acting; they were created to sell detergent.  Yes their intention was to create a show that people could watch five days a week, but in the end the ultimate goal the creators was to sell their products. They used the ability to hook people on their story to sell more units.

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory:  There was, of course, a book in existence before the movie, however, the candy was created around the film.  The creators saw an opportunity to build a brand from a story and the rest is history.  This is the most interesting and useful marketing example for social marketers today.  They used a story to create a brand and sell units, the opposite of a Soap Opera, but just as useful.

Get the picture?  Marketing doesn’t have to be boring or stale; it has the ability to take on its own life.  By no means am I suggesting that you write a movie or a TV show to sell goods, you just have to think the same way.  By treating your marketing efforts the same way a Hollywood producer would treat their movie you can begin to grow a brand that will stick.  If not, be prepared for 1% or less returns on marketing dollars for a long time to come.

Every few years the world makes a subliminal shift in the focus of its own social state.  These shifts have only two options, times are either iconic or civic.  Knowing the difference between the two is the first step to understanding the current environment.

Iconic periods take on tendencies and have the character of icons……in other words individuals are thought of as more than human and are followed blindly.  This is the type of period most of those reading will be able to understand, because it is the type of time you grew up in.

Civic eras take on tendencies of or pertaining to citizenship and civic duties….in other words community is the focus of the times.  People want to feel like they are part of something bigger and are tired of following people they thought were bigger than life.

To prove that this is real, take a look at the last 4 eras in history leading us to where we are today.  By simply looking back through the last 60+ years this become easier to see.

1940-1959

The world was in a complete state of iconic praise. Icons from this era were mostly associated with politics, business and war.  We were climbing out of a long war and the economy was starting to pick up steam.  The focus of this era was on the importance of an icon and the impact that they had.  Politicians were thought to be heroes.

1960-1979

The world had a strong focus on the importance of community.  Hippies, free love, civil duties and peace were the cries of the people.  Major icons from this era were more on the creative side and had less to do with politics and war.  Politicians were thought to be evil, the term “the man” began being used in commonplace.

1980-2004

The ever memorable cocaine era of business and “time is money” were born.  Icons from this era were always associated with money and the hard dollar.  Music and other arts were bland and mainstreamed with a focus on monetization.  Politicians were not thought of at all and the times were filled with iconic praise.

2004-Today

The world has made a significant shift in its focus in the last 7 years or so.  After the dotcom bubble and the real estate crash people found a new way of thinking.  Facebook and other civic platforms were created and exploded on the scene at the exact right times.  Politicians are thought of as evil and extremely corrupt.

Anyone with a TV or a computer can see we are in a time where the world is thinking in a very unselfish way, a civic way.  This is extremely important for marketers to understand.

Now, more than ever, one must understand that this is not the time for features and benefits or brand control.  This is the time for understanding that brands are controlled by the image the public creates for them and that the features and benefits of their marketing lie solely in the amount of social value brands provide.

One-way marketing works, when the world is iconic.  Interaction works when the world is civic.  Be mindful of this time in history and use it to your advantage.  Do away with thoughts of marketing your products and services and take hold of the opportunities you have to sponsor value for your demographic.

Modern marketing will boil down to a simplicity in the next few years, but for now we must all grab ahold of the thought that nobody cares who are brand is, until they know we can help them without selling them a thing.

Having a roadmap isn’t nearly as important as the process of making one. Managers have a real opportunity with this tool in particular to engage employees, freestyle brainstorm, promote autonomy and effectively prioritize. To take full advantage of map making, managers should combine big-group feedback with ideas gleaned from one-on-one sit downs. Processes associated with design thinking and innovation iteration capitalize on these methods to foster even more inspired ideas and strategies.

All team members should be invited to contribute ideas to the roadmap. Vibrant organizations all depend on healthy experimentation — and employees should be encouraged to put even their most outlandish ideas on the table. Once all of these needs, wants, concepts and goals are out there, the group can work together to determine which items are most important or require the most attention. From there it becomes easier to map out in more granular detail how much time and preparation should be devoted to projects, events, launches, etc. On top of that, the resulting plan is reflection of the team as a whole, allowing each employee to feel like he or she has a stake in things running like clockwork.

2. Ditch perfection. As the holiday fog clears, it can be difficult for people to pick up right where they left off. Projects are stale. Momentum is lost. A good manager needs to take this into account — not simply clap their hands and tell everyone to hit the ground running. When it comes to revving back up, there’s no greater buzzkill than needing everything to be outstanding or perfect the first time. Q1 is a time for drafts, for iterations, for collaborative thinking.

This slow start affects employees differently. For example, strong copy writers and content managers might have a hard time orienting themselves in everything that needs to be expressed. At the same time, engineers, product managers an executive team members might be stymied trying to find the right words for a blog post, product update or landing page. Now is a good time for crutches, for creatively matching skill sets, for overtly and vocally abandoning the notion that employees need to stick every single dismount to do a good job. Instead, a manager should survey who is grappling with what and group people accordingly. Instead of waiting for an engineer to hammer out the exact right language to describe what they are doing, it would be better to have her sketch out some bullet points just to get the thoughts on paper. Then one of the more skilled writers can smooth out the language.

People get intimidated by projects they think they have to nail perfectly. Breaking things down into more digestible pieces saves time and results in a higher-quality product most of the time.

3. Be the utility. Generally speaking, good managers don’t have big egos. But it’s important to take that one step further by not only working side by side with employees, but also picking up the slack and tasks that aren’t so desirable too. It’s one thing to also be working hard and burning the midnight oil, but it says more when a manager is willing to clean up a conference room before a meeting, or proofread a white paper, or review some basic code.

Being a utility — flexible and willing to pitch in wherever — not only motivates employees, it also fosters loyalty, which goes a much longer way than fear or pressure when it comes to getting things done. As a byproduct, managers who are utilities become more familiar with every tier of their team or project. They can speak knowledgeably and contribute meaningfully up and down the ladder, rather than occasionally micromanaging tasks or trying to oversee things they don’t necessarily understand.

4. Keep it simple. Project management and collaboration software seems to be everywhere these days. Startups have popped up to help usher projects involving dozens of people along a seemingly more streamlined path. But sometimes these systems can be more of a hindrance than a help, and protocol can get in the way of productivity.

Internal communication is always a good thing, but when people have to pay attention to recording even incremental progress on a project, or making sure they CC absolutely everyone who might tangentially be involved with something, time isn’t used effectively. Productivity applications and services used to be all the rage with the rise of the “Getting Things Done” philosophy, but recently there’s been a backlash — people saying they spend hours every day managing their productivity software.

A good manager implements sparing, low-maintenance tools to keep projects on track and doesn’t enforce strict guidelines on who or how to do simple tasks like send email.

5. Scatter milestones. The first quarter of every year is tough because there are few things to look forward to. There aren’t any major holidays approaching, few major events to prepare for, and sales tend to slow down. It’s easy to lose momentum when there’s nothing to pull together and work toward. It can take even longer to do the simplest of tasks.

To keep energy high and pacing quick, a good manager creates milestones for their teams to anticipate. This could be a company or team-wide event, a standing monthly meeting where people present their findings or creations, a trip relevant to the work at hand — anything that expedites the work that actually needs to be done and builds in a sufficient reward. If it’s something exciting, competitive or validating to look forward to, employees will stay engaged with what needs to be done in the present to achieve short-term success.

via VentureBeat.