MARKETING
Transform Your Skills and Create Stunning Graphics

From logos, posters, magazines, product packaging, and ads, we see graphic design at work every day.
It’s an industry that’s always in demand. Why? Because brands always need designers, whether it’s to create branding assets or design an upcoming event flyer.
If it’s an industry you’re interested in, discover the tips you can use today as you start your career.
What is graphic design?
Graphic design is the creative practice of combining visual elements, typography, and images to communicate messages effectively. It encompasses the art of designing for various mediums, such as print, digital, and web, to engage and influence audiences.
There isn’t one way to become a graphic designer, but there are some tips that can lead you in the right direction to improve your skills and set yourself up for success.
Graphic Design Tips for Beginners
- Learn fundamental design principles.
- Enroll in a graphic design course.
- Master a design program of your choosing.
- Network with fellow designers.
- Practice, then practice some more.
- Follow design influencers and industry leaders.
- Build an inspiration catalog.
- Dissect the process.
- Get specific with your online search queries.
- Replicate your favorite work for learning purposes.
- Embrace negative space.
- Seek constructive feedback.
- Undertake a passion project.
- Just start.
1. Learn fundamental design principles.
Graphic design is a visual communication tool that combines graphics, typography, color, and illustration to communicate a message.
And while there are endless ways to communicate a message (that’s where the creative part comes into play), there are fundamental principles that every graphic designer must follow:
- Hierarchy
- Alignment
- Contrast
- Space
- Color
- Proximity
- Repetition
- Balance
These fundamental concepts ensure a design is cohesive, impactful, and clear.
In addition to these principles, other elements come into play, such as typography and color theory.
2. Enroll in a graphic design course.
Contrary to popular belief, having an eye for design isn’t an innate trait – it’s a learned skill.
Courses can teach you about the history of graphic design, the various subdivisions within the discipline, the psychology behind design principles, and the tools you’ll need.
Here are the top online resources for graphic design courses:
Then, of course, there’s always YouTube University. The best thing about this university is that it’s 100% free. Though, it‘s not guaranteed that you’ll receive the same depth in the material on YouTube, and you won’t have the support of a professor. However, it can be an excellent place to start if you’re on a budget or learning on your own time.
3. Master a design program of your choosing.
It’s hard to think of graphic design without immediately considering the tools they use.
So much of graphic design work relies on using tools like Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, and Sketch.
These are all powerful software that allows you to create everything from logos and illustrations to website designs.
While they aren’t accessible to use, consider them investments in your career, as you will likely use them for every project you take on.
4. Network with fellow designers.
In addition to the knowledge you’ll gain from your courses, it’s essential to speak with designers who are currently working in the field. This will help you get a 360-view of what it’s like working as a graphic designer and what it takes to succeed in your role.
Start on social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn. You’ll find plenty of design communities and groups that share information and opportunities.
You can also use sites like MeetUp to find designers in your area who are interested in meeting up, as well as Eventbrite, to find fun events you can join.
Networking across is as important as networking up. Make sure you lean on your community for support and advice as you develop your skills as a graphic designer.
5. Practice, then practice some more.
When learning anything new, practicing is key. It’s not enough to take in the knowledge — you have to use it and learn how it works in real-time. Search for graphic design exercises online to further hone in your skill.
For instance, Type Connection and KernType allow you to test your typography skills. You can also use sites like Sharpen to find design prompts to work on. They have prompts in various categories, from branding to marketing and user experience (UX).
Once you feel confident in your ability, consider taking on a design project of your own. It could be a passion project you give yourself or seek out. Getting real-world experience in what it takes to take a project from start to finish, and all of the non-design implications, are important to consider.
6. Follow design influencers and industry leaders.
There‘s much to learn from influencers or leaders in the field of graphic design. They’re highly knowledgeable in their niche and are often willing to share the secrets to their success in their content.
If you seek out their content regularly, you’ll become more familiar with the graphic design world, discover more tips from industry leaders, become comfortable with relevant terminology, and stay on top of trends.
Wondering how to engage? Turn to YouTube, X (Twitter), Instagram, and even Tiktok.
And don’t be afraid to reach out to them. You never know who might respond to your questions – and any positive connection you make will only help you move further along in your journey.
What I Recommend
- Build a X List of influential designers, so you can follow their daily insights without picking out their tweets from a sea of friends, coworkers, and news sources on your timeline.
- Have a mix of well-known designers who inspire you and those whose work you do not enjoy. That last point may seem counterintuitive, but consistently observing the work of that group can help you understand why you don’t like it, which is a crucial part of understanding design.
7. Build an inspiration catalog.
Start building a catalog of work that is successful.
That can be as simple as bookmarking images in your web browser, making a Pinterest board, or saving items to a folder on your computer.
Sifting through a catalog of inspiring work will help you to identify trends – both past and present – and can inform your style.
What I Recommend
- Get acquainted with leading designer portfolio sites like Dribbble and Behance. These platforms showcase an abundance of high-quality work from leading designers across the spectrum – everyone from web and UX designers, to graphic designers and typographers.
- Set aside time in your day to review these sites and use apps like Panda to make the collection process easier.
8. Dissect the process.
Dissect designs you admire to understand the steps and techniques involved.
One of the most pivotal moments in my design journey was when I recognized that every single illustration, infographic, and icon I had ever ogled over was the product of someone mastering how to combine shapes and lines.
Analyzing the process behind a design will allow you to understand the steps required to produce a piece of work. Depending on your current skill level, you may have a leg up in knowing which tools were used, or which aspect was created first. But if you‘re a beginner, don’t let that stop you – examining the construction of a design will let you flex your creative muscle.
What I Recommend
- Download a free vector or PSD design resource, and dig through the layers to see how the designer constructed the object. You can find a number of those files here.
- Once you pick your file, open it in Photoshop, then open the Layers Panel (which you can learn to use here) and un-collapse some of the folders, so that you can see the layers contained within them.
By simply changing the visibility of the layers, you can begin to see how the designer used each shape to build upon one another. You can also begin to understand how to use Photoshop Effects, like drop shadows and strokes.
9. Get specific with your online search queries.
As you begin creating your own designs, you’ll likely hit an obstacle where you think to yourself, “Hmm, how the heck do I do that? “
Chances are, others have wondered the same thing.
Like many self-taught disciplines these days, the majority of my own technical design knowledge was gained by watching a YouTube tutorial while I actively followed along.
The key is to be really specific with your searches, so you can find a highly relevant tutorial.
Searching for something like “How to Create an Icon” might deliver really broad search results. Instead, type in exactly what you want to learn, like, “How to Create a Flat Icon with a Long Shadow.” Boom.
What I Recommend
Browse a design terminology glossary to find the specific terms for techniques you‘re trying to learn. That can help you find what you’re looking for online much more easily, in addition to helping you familiarize yourself with the language.
10. Replicate your favorite work for learning purposes.
Let me be clear: Under no circumstances should you infringe on anyone‘s copyrighted work. Never reproduce someone else’s work and try to pass it off as your own.
That said, re-creating a design you like is helpful to gain a deeper understanding of design techniques.
You‘ll have to get creative with the method you choose to recreate the design. Don’t get frustrated if you can’t duplicate a design exactly – remember, the process is more important than the result.
What I Recommend
- Find a design piece you think is successful, which should be easy if you’ve created an inspiration catalog.
- Open up your go-to design software to recreate it.
- Start dissecting the design and recreating it using your own process.
- If you get stuck, use specific search queries and lean on your design community.
11. Embrace negative space.
Beginner and advanced designers alike often overlook the proper use of negative space.
What is negative space, or white space? It‘s the space in your design that’s not occupied by any visual or written element. A design piece that doesn’t incorporate enough negative space is like a sentence with no spaces: itisdifficulttocomprehend.
What I Recommend
Remember, there’s no hard-and-fast rule to using white space. It takes practice. Eventually, exercises in resizing elements of your composition and changing the layout will lead to a natural understanding of the amount of breathing room required.
12. Seek constructive feedback.
On some level, everyone is afraid of criticism. Learning to accept constructive criticism is no easy task, but it’s key to becoming a better designer.
Paul Arden, who was the creative force behind Saatchi & Saatchi at the pinnacle of its success, wrote this in his best-selling book, It‘s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want to Be:
“If, instead of seeking approval, you ask, ‘What’s wrong with it? How can I improve it?’ you are more likely to get a truthful, critical answer. You may even get an improvement on your idea. And you are still in a position to reject the criticism if you think it is wrong. Can you find fault with this?”
Design critics allow us to incorporate others‘ viewpoints into our work and improve our ideas. You always have the option to reject the feedback, but considering it in the first place is what’s important.
What I Recommend
- Have a one-on-one conversation with an experienced designer. If you don’t know anyone in the design world, join an online community of designers.
- Post on Reddit’s Design Critiques.
- Publish your work on social media and ask for feedback from fellow designers.
13. Undertake a passion project.
Engage in design projects that align with your interests and passions. These projects will motivate you to push through challenges and provide direction during the early stages of your learning journey.
What I Recommend
- Align your interests or current situation with your projects. If you’re a blogger, try creating the header image for your next post. V
- Voice your willingness to work on an offer with your content team.
There are several ways to work design into your day, but it’s up to you to pick something that matters to you. And if you’re trying to market your work to the world from a personal portfolio or website, use HubSpot’s SEO Marketing Software.
Present your hard work in a format where professionals can see it clearly, and let the tool do the heavy lifting for you, generating copy and meta descriptions that target the niche your work caters to.
14. Just start.
It’s easy to be intimidated by the sheer amount of learning associated with graphic design, but remember that even the most talented designers were newbies once, too.
What makes the creative field so special is that everyone‘s journey is unique – there’s no one way to approach DIY design. You’ll find your own means to discern what you want and need to learn.
Furthermore, design is an iterative process, so keep reworking your ideas and projects.
Grow Your Career in Graphic Design
As you progress, you‘ll develop your own workflow, and one day, that design that took you all day will only take you a mere fraction of time. Trust me, I’m living proof.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in June 2017 and has since been updated for comprehensiveness.
MARKETING
How to Schedule Ad Customizers for Google RSAs [2024]
![How to Schedule Ad Customizers for Google RSAs [2024] How to Schedule Ad Customizers for Google RSAs [2024]](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/How-to-Schedule-Ad-Customizers-for-Google-RSAs-2024.jpg)
It’s no wonder that responsive search ads have steadily grown in popularity in recent years. Through Google’s machine learning capabilities, RSAs provide a powerful way to automate the testing of multiple headlines and descriptions to ensure a closer match to user intent. The benefits are clear: RSAs mean broader reach, better engagement, and improved performance metrics.
However, all these benefits come at a significant (but reasonable) cost – they can be extremely difficult to manage, especially when it comes to updating ad copy to promote limited time offers.
I know this firsthand – I work with several ecommerce clients with promotions that constantly change. Not too long ago, I found myself going through the consistently tedious process of updating a client’s RSA headlines and copy. As I was making the changes, I thought to myself: “There must be a better way to update this ad copy. I shouldn’t have to use find and replace so many times while pausing and enabling my ad campaigns.”
After expressing this to my colleague, Jordan Stambaugh, the two of us agreed there must be a better way. But we’d have to make it happen. A few weeks later, we put that idea into action and created a more efficient process for updating RSA ad copy on a scheduled basis. If you want to try this process for yourself, just keep reading.
Responsive Search Ad Customizers 101: Basic Options & Execution
Before diving into the process of scheduling automatic updates for your RSA customizers, it’s essential to understand some key Responsive Search Ad fundamentals.
First, you can customize three main options within RSAs: the Attribute Name, the Data Type, and the Account Value. Each of these plays a vital role in personalizing your ads:
- Attribute Name: This is essentially the identifier for the customizer. It is how you’ll reference the specific piece of information you’re customizing within the ad. For instance, if you’re running a promotion, you might name an attribute “Promotion.”
- Data Type: This indicates the kind of data the attribute represents and it determines how the information can be formatted and used within the ad. Common data types include Text (for plain, non-numeric text), Percent (to represent percentage discounts), Price (to denote monetary values), and Number (for any numerical value).
- Account Value: This is the default value for the attribute that you set at the account level. It acts as a fallback if more specific values aren’t provided at the campaign or ad group level.
For example, if you wanted to promote a 10% off discount using RSAs, you’d use the “Discount” attribute, a data type of “Percent,” and an account value of “10% off.” Then, when someone is searching for products, Google would test automatically inserting a copy regarding a 10% off promotion into your ad.
Once you’ve set up the right customization options, you can start to format your RSAs with customizers.
Here’s how:
- Start by typing in {
- Click on Ad Customizer then select your attribute
- Google will populate your attributes that are already uploaded
- For a simple offer, use the “Default text” attribute as a catch-all. This will ensure your ads run smoothly if Google can’t pull the right messaging from your RSA feed
How to Schedule Your Ad Customizers with a Feed
Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s cover how to schedule your ad customizers.
Just follow this three step process:
1. Create the feed
Start by creating two sheets: The Parent sheet, and the Child sheet. The “Parent” sheet will act as the primary data source, while the child sheet will pull data from the parent sheet.
We’ll start by building the parent sheet. After opening the sheet, start by renaming the active tab to “Promotions.” Don’t skip this step, it’s crucial for referencing this range in formulas later on.
In your “Promotions” tab, head to the top row and label columns A, B, and C with the headers of your ad customizer attributes. For example, you might have “BrandSaleHeadline” as your attribute in column A, “text” as the Data Type in column B, and “Shop the Collection” as the Account Value in column C.
Once your headers are in place, move to cell C2. Here, you’ll input the expression =lookup(today(),F:G,E:E). This formula will play a key role in dynamically updating your RSA customizer based on the current date.
Next, go to columns E, F, and G, which will be used to manage your scheduling. In these columns, you’ll list out the different values your chosen attribute might take, alongside their corresponding start and end dates. For example, under the “BrandSaleHeadline” attribute, you might schedule various promotional headlines to appear during different sale periods throughout the year.
Here’s how your sheet might look:
Now look back at the first 3 columns on your sheet. They should look like this:
Now create a second sheet. We’ll call this sheet the Child sheet. It’s going to automatically pull in data from the parent sheet you just created, and will be the one you link to Google Ads later on.
Columns A, B and C will be almost identical to the child sheet, but we will be using a special formula later so we can automatically populate this. So, start by labeling Row 1 Column A “Attribute,” then the next column as “Data type,” then column C as “Account value.”
Then go to C2 and use this expression to populate the right account value from the parent document: =importrange(“[PARENT DOCUMENT URL HERE]”,”Promotions!C2″)
Your sheet should now look like this:
We recommend adding a date range with default text for any days you’re not running a promotion. In the example above, we have “Shop Our Collection” appearing as default text.
2. Input attributes
Once you have your feed created, the next step involves inputting your attributes into the Google Ads platform. This can be done either manually or through a bulk upload.
For the manual approach, navigate to “Tools & Settings” in your Google Ads interface, then go to ‘Setup’ followed by “Business Data.” Here, you’ll find an option for “Ad Customizer Attributes.” Click the plus sign to add your attributes. It’s crucial to use the same attribute names that you’ve established in your Parent Google Sheet template to ensure consistency and proper data synchronization.
Alternatively, if you prefer the bulk upload method, again head to “Tools & Settings.” This time, select “Bulk Actions” and then “Uploads.” For this process, you only need to upload columns A to C from your template.
Be aware that it might take some time for your uploaded attributes to be reflected in the business data section of Google Ads.
3. Set up an automatic schedule
At this point, you’ve almost finished scheduling your ad customizers. Navigate to Tools & Settings, then Bulk Actions, then Uploads, then click the Schedules tab at the top. Select your Child Google Sheet as the data source, and share your Google Sheet with the appropriate email.
And there you have it – Google will automatically pull in the data you populated in the sheets into your RSAs.
Common Challenges When Scheduling RSA Ad Customizers
When we test these sheets with our clients in the wild, we’ve uncovered five common challenges. Be on the lookout for these issues – solving them before they happen can save you a lot of trouble down the line.
Not scheduling your upload when the site changes
The first and most significant hurdle is the mismatch between the scheduled data upload and website content updates. For instance, if the Google Sheet is set to upload at 11 am, but the website changes occur at 3 pm, there’s going to be a discrepancy where the wrong message could be displayed for several hours, or new messaging could appear prematurely. Conversely, if the website updates happen before the scheduled sheet upload, outdated promotions might linger until the new data is imported. Synchronizing these schedules is crucial; it’s best to align them so updates occur simultaneously.
Skipping QA during a message change
Another pitfall is neglecting quality assurance (QA) during message updates. It’s vital to regularly check the business data section to verify that the correct values are in place post-update.
Issues with the IMPORTRANGE function
Then there’s the technical aspect of setting up the IMPORTRANGE function correctly in the Google Sheets template. The ‘child’ template must reliably pull data from the ‘parent’ sheet. If this function isn’t configured correctly, data won’t be imported as needed.
Not sharing access of the Google template for automatic uploads
Pay attention to your access permissions for the Google Sheets template. Google will prompt you with the email address that needs permission to access the ‘child’ sheet for automatic uploads. Overlooking the sharing of your sheet with this address will prevent the system from working.
Having date range gaps in your parent sheet
Lastly, a common oversight is leaving date range gaps in the ‘parent’ sheet. Every single date must be accounted for without overlaps. A practical tip is to have an ‘evergreen’ backup message ready, scheduled to run continuously, ideally through the end of the year, to cover any potential gaps.
Conclusion
Leveraging Google Sheets in conjunction with Google Ads to schedule RSA ad customizers is a game-changer for managing dynamic promotional content. This process not only streamlines your workflows but also ensures that your ads remain relevant and up-to-date, reflecting current promotions without the need for constant manual intervention.
By adopting this method, you’ll save significant time and effort, allowing you to focus more on strategy and less on the minutiae of ad copy updates. Give it a try and experience a more efficient way to manage your RSAs, keeping your campaigns fresh and engaging with minimal hassle.
MARKETING
10 Advanced Tips for Crafting Engaging Social Content Strategies

In 2023, there are a total of 4.89 billion social media users worldwide. One of the many reasons you should build your brand’s presence on social media is to capture a slice of this pie.
So, if you’re a marketer wanting to crush it online — this is your time to take action. The social presence of billions of users shows great potential to connect, engage, and build lasting relationships with your target audience.
The real power lies not just in being active on social media networks but in planning social media goals in advance and crafting engaging social media content strategies that make a meaningful impact.
And creating one isn’t as easy as it sounds. It requires a thoughtful approach that goes beyond the basics.
To help you accomplish your social media goals, we’ll cover ten advanced tips that you can use to craft an engaging social media content strategy.
1. Conduct A/B Testing
A/B testing allows you to optimize your social media marketing strategy based on insights and social media metrics.
Experiment with different content formats, headlines, captions, and visuals to see which format performs better.
You can also try different content styles and focus on visual content, which is 40x more likely to be shared on social media.
Example: Test two different headlines for a product announcement social post and use the one that users engaged with and shared more. You’ll need to track social metrics like reactions, shares, and new followers during your test.
2. Personalize your content
Before creating a social media marketing plan or content calendar, segment your audience based on demographics, behaviors, and interests.
Craft tailored messages for each segment and find social media content ideas for that target audience.
And to encourage them to engage with you, publish funny content. 80% of marketers say that funny content is the most effective form of social media posts.
Example: Tap into Instagram retargeting ads to promote personalized product recommendations to customers based on their past purchase history.
3. Embrace User-Generated Content (UGC)
User-generated content is a powerful way to build trust, gather a sense of community, and increase engagement rates.
Encourage users to share their experiences and stories about your brand.
Plan a posting schedule using social media tools, highlight, and feature UGC in your content, and give credit to the creators to showcase the authenticity.
Then, create a dedicated UGC marketing campaign.
Example: Invite customers to share photos of themselves using your product with a branded hashtag. Comment on and share these photos on your company’s social media (with permission, of course), thanking the participants for joining in on the fun.
4. Incorporate influencer collaboration
Partner with influencers in your industry who have high engagement rates. 67% of marketers agree they prefer working with micro-influencers with 10k-100k followers or subscribers.
Collaborating with influencers allows you to tap into their social networks and leverage their credibility to boost engagement.
Use social media management tools to co-create content, host giveaways, or collaborate on campaigns aligning with your brand and the influencers’ style to extend your reach and gain engagement.
If your target audience is Gen Z, you can prefer Instagram Reels for influencer marketing.
For context, look at the stats below:
Example: Partner with a fitness influencer to promote your health supplements through workout videos.
5. Use interactive elements
To accomplish your social media marketing goals, you can engage people to interact with your brand via polls, quizzes, and surveys. Encourage them to participate and share the results.
Incorporating interactive elements into your social media marketing strategy will spark active participation between your social media team and audience, making them more likely to engage and share opinions.
Example: Host a poll on X (formerly Twitter) to let your audience choose the next product feature you’ll develop or the types of content they’d like to see.
6. Leverage user reviews and testimonials
Showcase user reviews and testimonials as part of your content strategy. Highlight positive feedback and make improvements by taking accountability for negative feedback.
Incorporate these testimonials into your social media strategies to create dedicated reviews or testimonial videos. Sharing this social proof helps build trust and credibility with your audience.
Example: Feature video social proof of a satisfied customer explaining how your software improved their business.
7. Create long-form content
While social media platforms are mostly known for short-form content, they’re switching gears to focus on long-form content.
It’s great, especially if your business receives great engagement on X (formerly Twitter).
“Long-form posts on the microblogging platform are now at 3 billion views per day and rising.”, said Elon Musk, the owner of X.
“This is roughly on par with all newspaper articles views on Earth,” he continued.
Educational content and case studies tend to work great on LinkedIn. Additionally, blog posts can also help you establish your brand as an authority in your industry.
Publishing compelling content is a great way to increase engagement and shares. You can also repurpose educational content on multiple sites and tailor it to each platform for the best results.
Example: Publish content about challenges and opportunities your company faced and how it helped you increase return on investment.
8. Collaborate with other brands
Collaborate with complementary brands or businesses for promotional content.
As part of your digital marketing strategy, come up with mutually beneficial collaboration ideas that can help you both increase reach and tap into ideal customers.
Joint campaigns, cross-promotions, or co-sponsored events are great ways to use the power of collaboration.
Example: Team up with a travel agency to promote your hotel and their vacation packages through a joint social media campaign.
9. Emphasize customer service
Social channels aren’t just a source for publishing content but also for providing excellent customer service.
Marketers these days actively invest in building social media communities to better connect and interact with potential customers.
Respond promptly to inquiries, comments, and feedback from your audience. Show them you genuinely care about them by addressing their concerns and providing helpful solutions.
This level of engagement can build customer loyalty and community building.
Example: Respond to customers’ support requests on social accounts and resolve their issues within a few hours.
10. Monitor trends and stay updated
Stay updated with social media trends, algorithm changes, and content formats. Track performances, content audits, and social media KPIs.
Experiment with new features or types of content introduced by social media channels.
Plan your social media content calendar based on engagement metrics. Keep an eye on what your competitors are doing and identify strategies that work well in your industry.
Out of all content types, short-form videos are taking the spotlight. Research states that 64% of shoppers ended up making a purchase after seeing branded video content on social platforms.
Example: If video content is becoming popular on social platforms, create your social media content strategy around it.
You might also consider incorporating data storytelling into your strategy. Why? More brands are moving towards storytelling in their social media posts.
This helps reach larger audiences and accomplish business goals. If you haven’t thought about it, give it a thought. The early bird catches the worm.
Final Words
And there you have it — ten advanced tips to level up your social media marketing strategy.
Test the waters with new features on social channels and plan your content marketing strategy accordingly.
With consistency and some creativity, you can increase your brand awareness and establish a strong foothold in the vast sea of social media.
Are you ready to boost your social media presence and accomplish all your business goals? Here’s to your success!
MARKETING
3 Questions About AI in Content: What? So What? Now What?

In the United States, Thanksgiving will give us the needed break to take a collective breath.
I don’t know about you, but getting my bearings around the disruptions of generative AI presents an extreme challenge. Innovations come so quickly that once we think we have our arms around it, something new appears.
Almost one year into seeing what generative AI can do for content creation and marketing strategies, OpenAI has introduced custom GPTs for those who pay for access.
You can build custom ChatGPT applications to use the tool’s newest capabilities to do things specifically valuable to you. For example, your company could upload 10 years of blog articles and instruct the custom GPT to use the knowledge gained from the content to formulate answers to questions on the blogs’ topics. In theory, you get the depth and breadth of ChatGPT’s large language learning model focused on your knowledge base and able to take specific actions, such as sending an email or automating a task.
Impressive. But sheesh. What does that do to your plans to integrate tools into your marketing workflow? It seems like one of a hundred things that you’re supposed to pay attention to right now.
Time to reflect
If your time frees up this week either because of the holiday or because the Americans are on holiday, take a moment and reflect on these disruptions to your current marketing and content efforts.
A little more than 20 years ago, a nursing professor at Swansea University published a helpful framework for self-reflection and communication. His exercise has helped me in times of disruption, and perhaps it can be for you as well.
Answer a few questions that fall into three stages – what, so what, and now what?
- What? Describe what has happened simply and objectively – without judgment or interpretation. Some helpful prompts: What happened? What did you observe? What events occurred? What is the current situation?
- So what? Answer questions about what you know now that you didn’t know. You can introduce emotions. Some helpful prompts: What did you learn? What difference have the events made? Answer as yourself or within the context of your team or company.
If it’s just you, potential questions could be: Did what happened clarify an interest? Did you hear or feel anything that surprised you? How is your experience different than what you expected? What do these events mean to you?
If you answer on behalf of a team or group, you can ask the self-questions along with these prompts: What do these events suggest to you about this group? How might the group work better or worse with these events? How were decisions made or not made based on these events?
- Now what? Reflect on your future actions based on the first two steps. These broader implications react to what happened. Questions center on defining and looking at the root cause: What would contribute to a successful response? What would be in the way of successfully navigating through this? What learning has now occurred, and how can I/we apply this learning?
Ask your team to do this same exercise. When you meet back up, create a workshop or team gathering where you discuss the answers and determine where opportunities may exist.
Real reflections aren’t hot takes
If you find yourself thinking that process is basic, well, you’re right. These three questions – and the provocations that come from them – mirror a progression you’ve all tried to work through a problem. However, you don’t often do it for big disruptions in the moment. It’s just too easy to jump to the third step, “now what,” and confuse it with “what’s next.” You get overwhelmed by all the actions you can take.
You can see this challenge happening with the disruption of generative AI.
Check out this article that reflects on the disruption of generative AI in the video game industry. To make the case, it leverages Bain & Company research that “more than half of video game development process will be supported by generative AI within the next five to 10 years.” It uses “what happened” to make a case for “what’s next.” The author didn’t even bother to ask “so what” to reach the conclusion: “Microsoft wants AI to solve problems that game makers say they won’t actually have.”
If you reflect on what the Bain research actually said, you can see it’s almost the opposite of the Microsoft conclusion. The research plainly says few executives believe AI will reduce development costs. They say AI will not significantly impact talent and “do not believe it will replace the creative spark necessary for game development.”
By misinterpreting what happened and not asking, “So what,” the author jumped to predicting what’s next, which is almost useless to make any productive change to address what’s really happening.
This is why working through this process is helpful.
Now, to be clear, hot takes are fun. I’m not suggesting you do away with predictions or the occasional response. Hot takes are a great way to start the conversation, not to finish them.
Take the time – and the process – to work it out. It’s not perfect. It’s also not meant to be a fail-safe way to predict the future. The three-question stages are meant to help you balance facts and feelings to make more productive and satisfying responses to the disruptions you face.
The process is meant to change your future, not by helping you see it more clearly but by helping you clearly see how you change it.
It’s your story. Have a wonderful, reflective Thanksgiving, and tell it well.
Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute
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