Entry 5

I’m a creature of habit. I love routine. I love the known. Since California’s stay-at-home order, my routine has drastically changed. These are absolutely unfamiliar times; well, they are for me. I don’t typically fare well with change and I’m doing my best to adapt. 

My routine is fairly simple and straightforward. I’d wake up at 6:30 for work, leave right around 8, order breakfast once I got into the office, and then leave around 5. From there, dinner, and basketball on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights. I loved my loop. It was comfortable. It did the job. 

It’s not in my nature to try new things. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fairly risk-averse. In my opinion, a sheltered life isn’t necessarily a bad one. I know what I’m getting, I know what I have, and there’s no letdown. Why set yourself up for failure? 

Since I’ve been home, I’ve been working to find new ways to break the loops I’ve created. I’ve also been rewatching Westworld so if I tie in the show like I just did, you know why. I’m trying to use the time to challenge myself, to develop new habits, and mainly, become adaptable. 

Now that I’m looking to find a balance between my old routine and the one I’m building, I’m looking to find additional ways to grow as a human being. I’ve fallen into a rut over the last year where I’ve become stagnant with personal development. I define personal development mainly by the knowledge I acquire. I tend to fixate on politics lately and getting caught up in the occasional Facebook debate (since my account tends to skew toward a different ideology than mine). I enjoy the banter but I haven’t quite found that stimulating. 

Now that we’re heavily immobile, I’m working on setting goals. Mainly, I feel lost without routine and each day can’t pass with work, minimal exercise, and binging on shows. 

Here’s what I’m hoping to achieve:

• Reading More than Social Posts - I’m trying to enhance my knowledge philosophically as well as learn new tactics that I can use each day on the job

• Exercising - I can’t stream forever

• Feeling Comfortable with Change - What better time than now to work on something I haven’t historically succeeded with

• Less Tech Time - Honestly, typing that made me feel a child. However, I work in digital for a living and I’m coming to value my time away from my phone more and more. I’m well past the point of being able to scroll through Instagram and not angle how the content can fit our brand or what Content Strategy is being used

• Write More - The last day I was in the office, I went to therapy in the morning. That was the first time I saw in therapist in 15 - 20 years. The first thing the therapist recommended was to write. I’m here and writing and hoping to put fingers to the keyboard without much of an agenda, just freely flowing

• Adapt - Probably the biggest goal here. I don’t want this to be a temporary fix… I want this to last once things begin to feel like the old routine

I want to set myself up for success. I want to continue to grow. It’s unfamiliar territory. 

If I fall back into a routine, I’d like to add more to it. I’d like it to be more diverse. 

I appreciate things I know and I don’t appreciate the things I don’t as much as I should. What better time than the present to change what I’ve done, what I’ve been doing, and what I can do. 

I can’t keep saying I’ll get it done tomorrow. I can’t keep pushing it off. On that note, I plan on getting a jump start on my goals sometime soon. Hopefully, I’ll try to read tonight. 

Today’s the day is catchy but I’ve never owned it. I will. Soon.

Facebook Throws Curveball with New Algorithm

Originally written for Uptown Treehouse

Art: Taffy Rau

Editor: Bolen Walker

If you’re familiar with the show Westworld (we recommend you acquaint yourself if you’re not), you’ll know that things go awry when Anthony Hopkins begins to tinker with the robots’ central programming. The coding tweak led to a web of chaos across 10 episodes of amazing television. Don’t worry, we have a point.

Facebook recently made an algorithmic change that they’ve now implemented on the News Feed. They’re looking to foster genuine engagement amongst its users, reducing the organic reach of brands and publishers. Facebook says, “People have told us that they dislike spammy posts on Facebook… To help us foster more authentic engagement, teams at Facebook have reviewed and categorized hundreds of thousands of posts.” In the process, Pages will see their organic reach drop sharply if they haven’t already. This could be a major headache for brands on the platform.

The Facebook team is looking to devalue the type of posts that ask you to “Leave a comment with your favorite color,” or “Click here if you eat breakfast sometimes,” or “Tag a friend who breathes oxygen!” The team is tightening up on the content going out after announcing that some users inadvertently engaged with fake Russian accounts. With a lack of trust circulating in the community, Facebook’s move towards fostering genuine engagement shows that they’re actively working to rebuild that trust. The algorithm won’t affect how you see content from your friends, just Pages. Yep, that long chain post from your best friend’s neighbor asking you to share the latest conspiracy theory about the moon landing will still be highly visible. We’ll dive into what this means for Facebook, your organic and paid strategies, and why your brand should rethink its current KPIs.

Zuckerberg Wants You to Spend Less Time on Facebook

You read that right. In a recent post, he states, “We’ve gotten feedback from our community that public content – posts from businesses, brands and media – is crowding out the personal moments that lead us to connect more with each other.” Further down in his post, he mentions that he’s aware the time spent on Facebook and measures of engagement will decrease. Facebook is paving the way for connections to rekindle long-lost social friendships and keep engagement personal, narrowing the organic pathway for Pages.

The decrease in reach for brands ties directly into his statement. Our eyes are passively rolling over content and there are plenty of things that aren’t sticking. In the process, Facebook is losing younger members at an alarming rate. According to eMarketer estimates, “Facebook will lose 2 million users ages 24 and younger this year.” In that same statistic, eMarketer adds that Instagram and Snapchat are projected to add over a million users from the same range in 2018. Facebook is losing its younger demographic to other platforms, and as marketers, this affects how we optimize our social strategies.

Data from Global Web Index

Impact on Strategies

Your social strategy for Facebook needs to evolve. The organic and paid strategies you employed last December took a hit with the algorithmic change, so your content must carry its weight now more than ever. It’s time for the content we create to mean something, rather than just shooting for the month’s quota of ‘Likes’ as your KPI.

Facebook is not providing much detail into how the algorithm works outside of what we covered previously and the vague guidelines they’ve given around engagement bait and the News Feed. That means reading and understanding the right data again comes into the fold and will play an integral role in the evolution of your social strategy moving forward. In one of our previous posts, we mentioned that, “Big Data and analytics are transforming marketing. It doesn’t make marketing more strategic, it makes it more precise.” Hunkering down to interpret performance data is going to be the best way to gain valuable insights into how the change with Facebook directly impacts you.

The Facebook ad space is going to be a battleground. While organic reach decreases, the battle to catch your attention through paid media is about to heat up. As we like to say, “Time is precious. Attention is priceless.” The price to advertise is going to jump sizably in the blink of an eye. Some experts are predicting that the cost of advertising could bump up as high as 79% within the next year. You can prepare by doing a few things:

1. Adjust your budget accordingly and get ready to spend some serious bucks. This is not necessarily the soundest strategy unless you have money to burn and you’re comfortable with spending wads of dough. If you don’t have the cash, you’ll need to rely on your data to determine the next best channel to spend on.
    

2. Maximize your budget and promote the essentials. Place value on what you’d like your audience to see and hit it hard.
    

3. If Facebook becomes too costly to promote, you’ll need to target your audience in other ways. You’ll have to ask the tough questions such as, “Is Facebook becoming a place that’s difficult to drive growth” and “Is Facebook the place to spend money?” If your audience lives on Facebook and Facebook only, start preparing for rising ad costs now.

Video’s Time to Shine

With Facebook pushing for authentic content, brands will need to elaborate on their messaging a bit differently. This is where video will come in. Video allows you to tell a story that a still image just can’t do. Rather than pumping out dozens of stories that skip across the surface, create content that dives deep and connects with your audience on an emotional level. It’s quality over quantity, people. Don’t strike out numerous times and push content for the sake of getting content out there. Give it some real thought and create with impact in mind.

Audience plays a central role in a brand’s success. It's time to push strategies a step further and to start treating audiences as more than just potential clicks on a ‘Like’ button. Show that you care and let your creative do the talking. According to Cisco, “Every second, a million minutes, or almost 17,000 hours of video content will cross the network by 2021.” Get a jump on the new rules while you can as Facebook essentially forces your hand to provide a fresh wave of authentic, engaging content. Focus on cultivating a meaningful connection with your followers, rather than seeking clicks. Be smart with your content, check often to see how it’s performing, and be empathetic towards your audience.

Image from KPCB

In a Nutshell

Facebook’s updated algorithm could be viewed as a challenge by some and a stepping stone by others. Take a moment to reevaluate your strategies, your content, and create something special. Treat your audience as human beings and remember that they’re more than a statistic. Push the boundaries on what you’ve done and create the authenticity followers are looking for. Christopher Nolan never made a movie he didn’t care about. We don’t recommend that you take a page out of the Fast & Furious book and churn things out just because the formula has worked before. Sorry, Vin. Love your work as Groot, btw. Maybe there’s room for a Treehouse in the plot of Guardians 3?

Data. Content. Budget. There are a lot of variables to consider as Facebook’s change shakes the digital world. Which eggs are you putting into your strategy basket? Let us know what you have in mind and spread the word by subscribing to our blog!

Intent Marketing: Proactively Reactive

Originally written for Uptown Treehouse

Art: Taffy Rau

Editor: Bolen Walker

INTENT MARKETING? DO TELL.

“Sell me this pen.” Leo comes in hot with this classic The Wolf of Wall Street line. He reveals his intent to purchase, but nobody can close. Should a potential consumer reveal intent to purchase and you have no clue how to sell it, the odds of your sale will wilt like the Cavs in this year’s NBA Finals. If this happens on occasion with your brand, we may have the solution in our crystal ball.

Let’s talk intent marketing. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, here’s a quick breakdown: Intent marketing works best after a consumer has expressed their intent to adopt or purchase. The intent is pulled from the accumulation and analyzation of big data, allowing marketers the ability to leverage the data they’ve collected. The idea behind this is that your strategy can be tailored to expressed needs and wants rather than keeping your fingers crossed that content just sticks and draws leads.

These categories can be analyzed to determine signs of intent and function best when analyzed together. Data is powerful when dissected intelligently and dangerous when used erratically. Bust out the screwdriver and tighten your strategic approach by gathering and examining as much data as you can.

SHOW ME THE MONEY

Intent marketing is a smarter approach for your brand, strategically and fiscally. If you put too much stock in demographics to reach consumers, you’re going to miss a sizable chunk of potential shoppers. Studying and understanding consumer intent is powerful. These insights provide further information to enhance existing selling strategies or to create new ones. Set up your tracking tools, then kick your legs up and let the data roll in.

Another plus for intent marketing is a higher projected ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) at a lower cost. How can this be true? Good question. Answer: Understanding intent gives marketers access to all the tools available to them without having to make an educated guess as to who the audience is or what consumers might be looking for. Why run the risk of missing out on potential revenue and drop cash like a kid in a candy store when you can generate more money, leads, and sales while spending less utilizing intent data?

INTENT IS EASY LIVIN'

Intent marketing creates a better consumer experience. Data is here to help, not intimidate. Marketers can be reactive with the data they receive so they can properly analyze the insights they’ve uncovered. We mentioned in our blog that the right team must be assembled to execute your strategic objectives effectively when it’s time to put big data to work. Starting with a data collection expert, they’ll define the data sources by looking through research reports, census reports, or conducting primary research. Welcome to stacks on stacks on stacks of reports. Intent will validate the “customer is always right” scenario. It presents a fresh perspective for brands offering a personal and relevant feel for prospective buyers.

Consumer experiences are becoming as important as the product or service you’re trying to sell. A superior product or service might not sell if the experience was subpar. Companies are stepping up their experiential game as we speak. When was the last time you saw a movie in theaters? If it’s been a while, you might be surprised when you see your local AMC has a bar and recliners. You can sip wine with your popcorn as you watch whatever superhero movie came out this month. Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara created an app to let users know key essentials about the stadium such as food locations, food delivery to your seat, and how long bathroom lines are in the stadium. Every essential for football lovers is mobile. Starbucks developed a mobile app that shook up the hospitality world with trackable rewards points and the ability to send gift cards directly from the app. Not to mention, the mobile ordering feature can change your life. Cutting past the line of peasants waiting to order or pick up their non-fat half-caf cappuccino gives you such a rush you barely need the caffeine anymore.

How we consume is continuously changing. Over the next five years, Mintel states that “[nonessential] categories, including vacations and dining out, are expected to see the greatest gains with projected five-year increases of about 27 percent each.” Positive experiences will not go unnoticed. Understanding intent is how you get there.

IN A NUTSHELL

If your company is data driven and engaged in sales, we suggest you eyeball intent marketing to build a strong foundation of distilled data that can uniquely enhance the customer experience and accelerate your conversion rate. The data gathered from consumers and digital window shoppers will help refine your strategic techniques to be more precise than ever, boosting your chances of a sale. If you’re not analyzing data already, there’s no time like the present. Take a glance at Tom Cruise in The Mummy compared to Brendan Fraser. Change can lead to a big win. OK, bad example. Brendan is the man.

Data is essential to understanding intent. Stay ahead of the pack and gather what you can on current and prospective consumers. Everything you wanted to know is being rolled out on your personalized red carpet. Just sit back and enjoy the stream of juicy insights.

Are you kicking the tires on an intent marketing strategy? Let us know by subscribing to our blog!

Eyes on 2019

I’m writing this post late on January 1, when I had originally envisioned it going live sometime last week. Good thing one of my resolutions for the new year is not hitting deadlines. Luckily, this isn’t a post about hitting deadlines, more of a recap of what I’ve learned from 2018 with my eyes on 2019 and my 30th year.

I declared my resolutions two weeks ago and I wanted to go into the new year with the plans of meditating, reading physical copies of books, and the potential of playing the drums again. I’m writing because I want to dive into the why, not the how.

Meditation

2018 was a year that definitely shifted the scales of daily balance. I went from a college student in 2017 to working nonstop in 2018, working primarily through my Slack notifications. Days went from 10 hours with breathing room to being available roughly 14 hours a day. Looking back on the year, my mental health was below subpar by the time 2018 was all said and done.

My goal is to stay sharp during the year with the ability of being mentally flexible for whatever may come my way. I tried Headspace earlier in the year and I can’t remember a time where I felt so at peace. Granted, it was roughly 10 minutes spent meditating. Enlighten me and imagine a world where I meditated semi-regularly.

Reading Books. Yes, Actual Books

This resolution is something to completely pull me away from the office. Working in digital media, I’m always looking for the next great idea (by great, I mean one I can get approved). I’m researching without realizing and not giving myself the time to recharge from the day, the week, or the month. Reading is more of a distraction to steer my thoughts away from my phone, get lost in my unread Bukowski books, and just educate myself more on the digital marketing sphere. I’m finding my niche in the new stages of my career and with some interest from big agencies late in the year, I want to keep attracting those companies. I need a clear mind to do so and meditation with a steady diet of reading should provide the balance I’m craving.

Drumming

We all need a hobby, right? Not sure how many times I’ve been called out in the office for my epic double pedal beats, but it’s happened enough times to warrant inclusion. I haven’t touched a kit in roughly 4 years now, as time was the deciding factor in why I stopped. My dream of being a musician has wavered, but letting out some steam seems like a great reason to pick it back up.

All in all, I’m looking forward to 2019. I ended 2018 with the development of some positive habits and the understanding of who I am, what I’m becoming, and where I can go from here.

I live my life curated and calculated. 2019 is about remaining in lockstep with my goals, practicing discipline, and continuing to grow.

Eyes ahead.

A Stroll Down Facebook’s Memories Lane

I can’t remember the last time I wrote a blog without the core premise tying back into marketing. I’ve felt inspired recently so I wanted to touch on a few critical moments in my immediate past that have paved the current path I’m on. By the time I wrap this post, I’m aiming for that Andy Dwyer feeling when he sings his classic rock ballad, “5000 Candles in the Wind.” Pure elation.

During the last week, I caught a Facebook update from an old coworker. It was a combination of nostalgia and emotion from their time on the job. The post opened up the floodgates of past work memories and how I feel better off now that I’m gone. I didn’t always have this mindset though.

I spent roughly 10 years at a job I pictured as being a high school job, something that merely paid for clothes and bills, and something temporary. It evolved into so much more. I grew up there; built hundreds of relationships spanning coworkers and patrons. The timing of my exit was unexpected and I felt negativity toward the move. There was no contingency plan. What I didn’t know was that leaving the company would force me to be introspective, re-evaluate my long-term goals, and put me on a path that was more adventurous than I cared for.

The day after I left, I started an internship at a digital marketing agency. After college, I wanted to get into the world of marketing and advertising. Since I couldn’t find another job, I figured I could get an early start and climb a new career ladder. This internship was a bittersweet moment. I went from a traditional working environment to an office space complete with scooters to move across the office, to epic ping-pong matches held during lunch. I was content at the time, staying busy as I completed my fall semester. Once classes ended, I was overcome with emotion - feelings of failure, embarrassment, and discontent. I ran into issues with unemployment and was burning through my savings account, low on money with no job prospects in sight.

By the time my internship ended, things started to click. My final semester of college started, I was back on the job hunt, and most importantly, I felt motivated again.

About a month after my first internship, I landed a new internship in Downtown LA and the rest is history. Quick disclaimer: I have a feeling a few people from the office might read this blog and I hope they know I’m not trying to butter anybody up… or am I?

My internship turned into a contract and my contract led to a new career. I went from an environment where everybody had to look out for themselves to an environment that focused on teamwork, a positive work-life balance, and hard work. When I looked back, I did my best to pull the positives from nearly 10 years on the job when compared to the bitterness I previously felt.

To be 100% transparent, I’m still learning what work-life balance is, but I figured I’d mention that it’s promoted and instituted as best as one company can. I work when I don’t have to and I blame my mom for that.

I look back at the time during my first job and I pull the positives now. I learned patience. I learned how to manage. I learned how to work with people who don’t understand you on a personal level (I stood out like a sore thumb at that job for two reasons - I was heavily tattooed and younger than other leadership staff by roughly 15 years). I appreciate all of the relationships I built and the people who still reach out to me when I stumble into them around town.

With that said, I’m in a different headspace and I’m chugging along with my team at Uptown Treehouse. I currently oversee clients that are recognized on a national scale. If you get the chance, look into Uniqlo and Western Union. I’ve been given the opportunity to lead up both accounts, working with their internal marketing teams on providing the best social strategy out there. I’ve had the pleasure of local influence and now I’m working behind the scenes on a global scale. Perseverance pays off. Eventually. How it pays off is all a matter of perception.

To end this piece, I want to leave you with a question. When the odds are stacked against you, what’s your next move?