Here at Mindscape, we have a philosophy that scares a lot of people: if you think something might work, try it. I know, horrifying, right? Well, to a lot of people it actually is. There is this idea floating around that any possible change you make in your digital marketing strategy could be devastating; any subtle copy alteration, navigation change, or shift in social tone could be the destruction of your company.
Honestly, I have no idea where this fear came from and why it has any bearing on anyone’s decisions. If we never tried anything new, how would we learn and grow? Every single marketing norm that we embrace today, was once just an idea in the back of some go-getters head. It’s as simple as that.
If you want to make your business the best it can be, you have to be willing to test things out and try new things. Below are a few things to keep in mind when trying to break away from the norm.
That spelling error won’t really matter
I know that this isn’t exactly a “change” you’ve chosen to make, but it plays into what I am talking about here, and I feel it sets a good precedent. When you make an error (a blurry image, a misspelled word, a link that doesn’t go anywhere) take a deep breath before throwing yourself into that deep dark pit of despair known as self-loathing. Your mistake is not that big of a deal. I promise.
Don’t develop a habit of carelessness, but your business isn’t going to collapse because you used “your” instead of “you’re” in a social media post. When you accept this, you will have a lot easier time trying out new (and potentially brilliant) ideas and strategies in your digital marketing strategy. When you aren’t making mistakes every once in awhile, then you are probably just treading water.
You can be “professional” while being “personal”
The word “professional” isn’t synonymous with “mindless, unimaginative drone.” You can maintain the socially acceptable guise of business formality, without throwing all semblance of personality out the door. Did you ever hear your high school teacher swear or make a funny comment? If you did, you probably remember thinking “Oh my gosh….you’re a real person.”
In the business world, a certain amount of levity can go a long way. Social media has provided us with the unique opportunity to get personal with our potential buyers. Don’t throw that opportunity away with boring, run-of-the-mill content. Branch out and try to show a little personality when you are addressing your buyers.
It’s okay to be funny
Humor can do a lot for your brand. I feel like this is a generally accepted fact by now. The issue is that a lot of companies are afraid of using it to their advantage. It’s “too risky.” Most people look at using humor and see two outcomes: Offending buyers or falling flat. But there is a third outcome as well. If you can use humor appropriately, you can reach costumers in a whole new way.
How can you know what’s funny and what’s not? The chances are that if the people in your office find it somewhat humorous, then it is funny. If no one in your office finds it offensive, then it isn’t offense. Of course, there are always exceptions, but if you know your buyers, you should be able to judge whether or not what you are saying will be received well.
You might think that all of these things are completely different, and you would be right, but they all have something in common. Realizing small errors aren’t the end of the world, embracing your brand’s true voice, trying out a little humor–all of these things can help you start making changes that will do big things for your company.
Whether it be trying a new style of landing page, sending out an informal email campaign, or completely shifting the voice of your web content, change can be good (disclaimer – A/B testing is a must). Remember that you aren’t risking everything on one change, you can always shift back to the norm. But unless you try something new every once in a while, your business won’t grow in the way that it could.
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