Learn To Communicate Your Brand Effectively

In the world of SEO, search marketing, and content marketing, it’s becoming clear that getting a solid grip on the customer’s needs, desires, and lifestyle is equally essential to building your brand’s unique persona and story.

Ryan Kutscher, the creative force and founder behind CIRCUS MAXIMUS, joined me on the SEJShow to talk about how his team creates compelling brand narratives. We covered their use of Ikigai, a profound Japanese concept that translates to “a reason for being.”

This concept is a remarkable tool in their storytelling arsenal, providing a fresh perspective that introduces depth and purpose to their narratives. In this episode, we’ll gain invaluable insights into how Ikigai can be utilized to create more meaningful, impactful stories, ultimately adding a rich layer of authenticity to your brand narrative.

​​We take a step back for brands to think more narratively about what the story they’re trying to tell is. And then think about how they’re applying that to the customer journey rather than tactics first, which just makes your head explode these days. –Ryan Kutscher, 04:38

Sometimes as a business owner or an executive, you assume that the entire company gets the mission and what you said is a human mission. So, one of the things lacking in the workplace, so that’s been lacking in the workplace for the past 20-30 years, is purpose. What gets you up in the morning? –Loren Baker, 07:22

[00:00] – About Ryan
[02:43] – How they craft memorable brand narratives and characters
[08:50] – How human mission & passion comes in.
[11:57] – The Mark Cuban example.
[16:05] – How to get started with the voice of the customer.
[17:48] – How do companies earn revenue from pinpointing passion & mission?
[19:39] – Uber & Lyft example.
[24:46] – The In & Out Burger example.
[28:36] – Brands Ryan worked with applying Ikigai.
[32:11] – Other ways listeners can use the Ikigai concept.
[34:56] – How important are videos?

Resources mentioned:
Circus Maximus – https://www.circusmaximus.com/

The first question that we ask is why? Why is your brand doing what it’s doing? What is the brand’s purpose? That answer is not to make money or increase revenue by a quarter. It’s not a business goal. It’s a human mission. If everyone can kind of answer those questions the same way, or at least have an understanding of how the brand wants to answer those questions, they start to work for that idea or that narrative, and then that helps them do their job better and hopefully helps them tell their story better, tell the story better. There’s an internal role of answering these questions and having this shared narrative, and there’s an external role. So that’s where it starts, with purpose. –Ryan Kutscher, 05:32

People like Mark Cuban, who are successful entrepreneurs, understand that you start with the mission and then build the company around it. You don’t start with the company and then build a mission backward. And when you have a mission clearly defined, the people you need to help you build that company come to you because they’re attracted to the mission. And some of those people are customers. So that’s the power of the mission. –Ryan Kutscher, 13:32

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Connect With Ryan Kutscher:

Ryan Kutscher stands at the helm of Circus Maximus, an innovative agency transforming the advertising landscape. With a unique model that blends branding, content, and media, Ryan, founder and CEO, has propelled brands onto global platforms, partnering with industry giants and burgeoning start-ups.

Beyond his leadership role, Ryan is recognized for his creative approach to life. He champions entrepreneurship within his team, urging them to infuse creativity into their daily lives. And amidst all these, he finds joy in the companionship of his Australian Shepherd, Rudder.

Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-kutscher-a282605/

Connect with Loren Baker, Founder of Search Engine Journal:

Follow him on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/lorenbaker
Connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorenbaker

Snapchat My AI Snaps allows users to send photos to the My AI chatbot and receive AI-generated images in return, demonstrating its AI image processing abilities powered by ChatGPT and GPT-4.

Snapchat first released the new My AI Snaps feature to Snapchat+ subscribers to encourage feedback and make improvements before releasing it to all users. For reference, Snapchat launched My AI for Snapchat+ users on March 6, releasing it to all users on April 19.

Continue reading to learn how to use My AI Snaps and the potential My AI conversations hold for advertisers targeting younger audiences.

How To Send Photos To My AI And Receive My AI Snaps

Snapchat+ users with access to My AI can send a photo Snap to the chatbot using the same process as sending Snaps to friends.

Snapchat will notify you when My AI replies to your Snap based on your notification settings.

Depending on its analysis of your Snap, My AI will send a Snap in response.

These examples of My AI Snaps show that it has great potential but still has a way to go with image interpretation.

You can save Snaps My AI sends in the chat or take a screenshot of it.

My AI doesn’t always send a Snap in response. Sometimes, it only offers a text-based reply to your Snap.

At the time of testing, My AI could not understand Snaps sent from photos in my Cameral Roll. But that will likely change in the not-too-distant future.

Snapchat My AI Ads & New Advertising Opportunities

In addition to sending and receiving Snaps, My AI displays ads in select conversations. Ad relevancy can be hit or miss in relation to the discussion at hand.

Ads within My AI conversations offer advertisers a chance to reach a growing ad audience via generative AI that includes:

• 13 to 17-year-old users: 125.6 million – 19.9% of the total ad audience.
• 18 to 24-year-old users: 243.5 million – 38.6% of the total ad audience.
• 25 to 34-year-old users: 145.9 million – 23.2% of the total ad audience.

You can see the potential for advertising in Snaps from My AI. My AI could recommend fashion, restaurants, recipes, and other relevant products or services in Snap conversations.

While ads do not appear in image Snaps, they appear in My AI conversations after sending and receiving Snaps.

Considering that users can invite My AI into group chats, it’s only a matter of time before most Snapchatters become familiar with AI-powered conversations.

Snapchat Web Interface With My AI

Although Snapchat is available via a web interface on desktop browsers, many My AI features are only accessible on the iOS or Android app.

In place of ads served by Snapchat My AI is the following message:

Not Supported on Web
Check from your phone to see what was sent!

When My AI sends a snap, it shows the following message:

New Snap
Open the mobile app to view

You can, however, view the My AI profile on a desktop browser and add it to your friends.

The Future Of Snapchat My AI Snaps & Ads

The integration of My AI Snaps is a powerful step forward, blending the realms of social interaction with advancing AI capabilities.

While there are areas for improvement in image interpretation and overall safety, the platform’s potential is vast, particularly in providing novel advertising opportunities to reach younger audiences.

As the technology develops, we can expect Snapchat My AI to transform how users interact with generative AI, offering a personalized social media experience and a new range of advertising opportunities.

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Featured image: Ink Drop/Shutterstock

With the ever-evolving SEO industry and emerging new trends, is content still the key to a successful strategy?

How do you ensure your content meets the latest search standards?

On May 25, I moderated a webinar with Carlos Meza, President and CEO of Crowd Content.

Meza shared what it takes to form an effective content strategy while keeping up with modern times.

With us spending about 473 minutes (a third of our days, almost eight hours, or at least 50% of our waking hours) consuming content or media, is content still king?

Here’s a summary of the webinar. To access the entire presentation, complete the form.

Is Content King In Modern SEO?

[Find out, now] Instantly accesses the on-demand webinar →

First, let’s go down memory lane to understand where we’re coming from and where we’re going so we can understand where modern SEO is headed.

Content In The Past

Creating content in the past looked like this:

• Writing for search engines/keyword stuffing.
• Using volume was a competitive advantage.
• Mimicking competitors.

Because these tactics don’t give the best value to your customers, SEO techniques have changed.

[Get the key to a successful SEO strategy] Instantly accesses the on-demand webinar →

Content In The Present

Intelligent SEO professionals have evolved very well and are now:

• Writing based on persona.
• Being intent-driven.
• Using topic-clustering.
• Using expertise to be more authoritative.
• Becoming helpful.
• Putting importance on volume.
• Creating assets first before the message.

[Explore each in more detail] Instantly access the on-demand webinar →

Given these current strategies, how can you love your customers even more? Let’s look at the future of content.

Content In The Future

Here are the elements of that future content. What is essential, and what will matter?

• Becoming human-centric & using pathological empathy through:
  • Relatability.
  • Vulnerability & authenticity.
• Standing out with brand, voice, and tone.
• Getting hyper-personal with micro-audiences.
• Using multi assets to be more interactive & creating trust through:
  • Experience.
  • Expertise.
  • Effort.
• Leveraging AI, ML, and technology.
• Focusing more on quality over quantity.

[See some great examples in action] Instantly accesses the on-demand webinar →

Ultimately, it all comes down to helping the audience and caring.

[Slides] Is Content The King In Modern SEO?

Here’s the presentation:

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Image Credits:

Featured Image: Paulo Bobita/Search Engine Journal