Happy Sunday, Pixie friend,
When I was collating the articles for this week, I kept a close eye on the Pixie’s True North. The True North document that we have is actually a Venn diagram known as a Hedgehog Concept. Here’s the basic version if you want to have a look at it.
If you think it is a bit of an overkill to have your strategy documents open while crafting publications like this, you’re obviously a new subscriber. ;) Haha!
Seriously, though: Using your (living) strategy documents as your constant-reference companion stops you from sharing what you personally think is rad. It keeps you focused on the value that your business provides. It stops you guessing.
This week’s articles are really meaty, too. They range from designed brand complexity, to the (most recent) Facebook debacle. They explore issues of openness and intent, publishing and content, and even sales messages. Along the way, you’ll learn loads of things that you can put into practice straight away.
cheers
Leticia Mooney
Queen Pixie at Brutal Pixie
Tip of the week
Staying on your chosen path, in life or in business, takes more courage than you can imagine.
The Sunday Five
Here are the best articles we’ve found from the past week. If you find any gems during your week and would like to see them included, email them to hello@brutalpixie.com.
[ STRATEGY ] Embrace designed complexity and grow your brand
In this article in Australia’s Marketing Mag, Sergio Brodskey takes a fine-toothed comb to the issue of brand complexity. His argument? Life is not simple, so don’t be persuaded that complexity results in misunderstanding or confusion. His examples are drawn from a range of brands, including Mercedes Benz and Disney. The levels of complexity here are important to understand, particularly as you start working at a strategic level of communication. Find it here.
Key takeaway: If your business is complicated, that’s ok: By embracing complexity, you unearth creative opportunities. In turn, these inform how you establish your communications. Remember, ‘communication’ is audience ‘interaction’. It might be a trade show as much as a blog article.
[ OPENNESS ] Labor’s voter tracking practices exposed by a simple Google search
If you don’t want the practices of your business to be made available to the public, such that the public can make assumptions about you, this is essential reading. This week, a software firm inadvertently revealed a list of fields in a database. Though the supplier is blaming the contractor they used. While there was no user data revealed, it serves as an excellent warning for all businesses about being able to explain their practices. I suggest that having a transparency-first mindset makes it a moot point. Go have a look here.
Key takeaway: Understand your intent (and your business’s intent) in every single thing you do.
[ CONTENT ] Amazing results with long-form content: 5 simple tips
Long-form content is, well, long. We’re talking 2,500 - 5,000 words. Search engines love it, people love sharing it, it’s the best thing you can publish. So why does it fall flat for so many people? One is because people fail to get back-links from others; one is because you have to choose your subjects wisely. The most important is to serve your audience’s intent (so make it short, if short is warranted). This means making it lightweight, and fast to load. There are a bunch of other awesome tips here, and I highly recommend you go read it, especially if you’re commissioning work from a strategic agency like ours. Read it here.
Key takeaway: Simply writing long pieces for the hell of it is going to get you the same results as writing anything for the hell of it: Not much. Every time, your strategic intention and UX wins.
[ PUBLISH ] Hubspot, how much content do you publish on average in a year?
This is not an article. It’s a forum post, in the Hubspot community. The asker wanted to know how much Hubspot publishes, and the reponder was completely open about it. It turns out that Hubspot publishes about 208 articles per year, which is about 4 per week. The critical thing in the response, though? The reason for the calls to action. Take note: Their attitude is not about selling. Read it here.
Key takeaway: When you have a duty to help others, your content has a very different tone.
[ VIDEO ] Facebook’s video ad revelations prove that marketers must think like consumers
In this sharp and insightful article by Rebecca Sentance, we come face to face with the bare facts about Facebook’s complete lies about video metrics. The ‘pivot to video’ is something that I have talked about derisively for a couple of years, and the proof that I was right just keeps coming. Readers prefer text-based content over video, and marketers who work with publishers need to make sure they’re audience-centric. When we say ‘publishers’, this means you. YOU are a publisher, if you produce content. Related: Our decision to get out of Facebook at their first ethical debacle (2014) was a good one. Read Rebecca’s article here.
Key takeaway: You are a publisher if you publish things that people read. This means: think like a publisher, design strategy like a publisher. Publishing is NOT marketing, though there is a grey area where the two overlap.