You know that moment when you walk into your mom’s kitchen or your favourite bakery and the aroma takes you back? Don’t you wish you could bottle up the scent, the flavours, that feeling, the nostalgia? It got me thinking about the brand experience and the customer journey – it boils down to how a brand makes the customer feel. Take a look at your content pantry. Which content ingredients and components stand out?

Wild guess: you’re probably watching a lot more (streaming) TV these days than ever before. Some may say that those endless hours of television viewing are a bit of a time suck. Maybe so. I subscribe to the saying, “if you learned something, it’s not a waste of time.” It got me thinking about what lessons I’ve learned from all these shows we’ve been binging during quarantine. These three marketing lessons stood out.

Mamahood is one wild ride. And one and a half years in, I’m learning a lot about myself, about what it takes to keep a tiny human happy and thriving, how to balance family life and work life… and (surprisingly) a lesson or two (or three) about content marketing. The first lesson? You can only plan so much: be nimble for the unpredictable.

So I bought this snazzy new chess set. But here’s the thing: I’m no chess prodigy. One day, my hubby and I played a game of chess on a whim. We had no clue about the difference between a pawn, rook, knight, queen and the like – the key motivations and tactical moves of each piece on the board. It got me thinking about content strategy and how it can level up your game for your brand or business.

Sometimes it’s fun to roll up your sleeves and learn something new. This pandemic has turned me into a budding plant lady. And while I do have a long way to go with honing my green thumb, my first go at gardening this year has brought about a small haul and handful of farm-to-table-esque moments and taught me a few things… (surprisingly) about content! Here goes…

I love to graze. And chances are, so does your audience. You know, those bite-sized morsels of (content) goodness. It got me thinking about content and the customer journey. How taking the time to create, curate and assemble a meaningful and genuinely helpful collection of content can whet your customers’ appetites and keep them coming back for more.

Ever get a song stuck in your head? We’ve all been there. It got me thinking about the free-for-all forum of opinions and commentary on social media. The beauty (and the beast) of social media is that customer feedback can be music to your ears – or, on the other end of the spectrum, totally dissonant – or somewhere in the middle. The key is to listen to your audience. Listen. Tweak. Rinse. Repeat.

Raise your hand if you remember entering a colouring contest when you were a kiddo. I have fond childhood memories of getting my creative juices flowing and putting pencil crayon to paper. It got me thinking about the merits of user-generated content or UGC that (devoted) users share about a brand they love via social media platforms.

There’s something pretty magical when the stars align. It’s no different when it comes to a leap year – when an extra 24 hours gets added to the calendar to jive with planet earth’s lap around the sun. I think a leap year boils down to being at the right place at the right time. Let’s ponder that for a moment…

It’s charming. It’s quirky. It’s whimsical. It’s nostalgic. And it reminds me of sun, sand and sea – every time I look at it. And it got me thinking about the power of the visual experience in storytelling.