It happens in ‘Micro-Moments’!

Hugh MacLeod

I came across the term ‘micro-moments’ when I attended a talk by Qasim Majid, the CEO of digital agency ‘Wow-Zone’ — https://www.wow-zone.com.

It made perfect sense to me at the time. According to Google ‘Micro-moments’ are critical touch points within today’s consumer journey, and when added together, they ultimately determine how that journey ends.

You can download Google’s e-book on the topic here: https://styin.me/2P9uzoF

We hear a lot these days about being in the moment, instead of living in the past or future but very little is discussed about those ‘micro-moments’ in marketing. Nowadays we are so addicted to our mobile phones, surfing the web and social media channels, whilst also communicating via text with our business colleagues and loved ones. This means we are absorbing tiny (micro) bits of content in split second increments because we jump from app to app, experiencing a ton of distractions along the way.

So how do we capture the attention of those micro-moment actors?

Only by knowing what they are actually searching for or even having some insight into their habits, their dreams and desires.

That’s why Amazon are so incredibly successful, they already know and can deliver the right messages with incredible accuracy. How many times have you bought something from Amazon and wondered afterwards why you actually bought it. Was it because they suggested it or was it because you did actually need it? Probably the former.

It’s a never-ending puzzle for marketers to solve.

Happy creating!

Michael de Groot

You may have heard it before?

Hugh MacLeod

You may have heard it before. ‘You are the biggest storyteller in your life’. And most of it are lies. Lies about the people around you, lies about the world around you and most importantly lies about yourself.

Our mind is incredibly creative but it’s also very stupid. Because of your own conditioning, you believe the lies you have been telling yourself. Those lies become your truth because you have been thinking them over and over.

And this is how the media, advertising and politics work. Say something over and over and eventually it becomes hard wired in your neural pathways, a physical connection is made between your neurons that eventually become your truth, your beliefs and now you behave and act upon those new beliefs (lies) you have been exposed to, either by your own thinking or someone else’s thinking.

You (and I) believe we have free will and of course we do not. Free will disappeared when they invented the mortgage. Landowners (call them banks) realised that if they gave you a loan to buy some land (house) then basically they can determine your behaviour and actions to ensure you pay back that loan.

Queue the Bank of England and now you have removed free will in the minds of the world’s population.

You believe you are the hero in your life, when in actual fact you are just a character in a script which has been written by the over lords (and ladies) that own you.

Happy storytelling!

Michael de Groot

Have you actually compared storytelling with marketing?

Hugh MacLeod

I wouldn’t wish to presume of course, I can only go by the fact that I’ve never heard anyone talk about it or even hear anyone consider assessing it.

Picture the scene.

Marketing lay out their stall for the forthcoming year. They present their plan to the board of directors and show them a multi-million dollar spend on advertising, inbound marketing, posters, flyers, influencers, social media ads, SEO, PPC etc, etc.

Queue script writer/storyteller and video director. They present their video episodes, which includes a story about the founders of the business, the early pioneer clients, their current clients, their staff and their own individual stories in life and work and best of all an episode about why the organisation exists, their passion, value proposition and their why.

Which one sounds more interesting to you? And which one will have longevity in the minds of viewers, investors, customers, brand fans and kids?

Yeah, I thought so. Why isn’t everyone doing it then? Why does everyone on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn promote their crap and I’m only calling it crap because as we all know adverts suck!

Happy advertising!

Michael de Groot

Storytelling should be simple right?

Hugh MacLeod

When it comes to storytelling, we make it too complicated. We hear stories, narratives and anecdotes all the time, but we don’t turn around and say, ‘ah, that’s a story I am listening to or oh no, that’s a narrative or anecdote.

We just are engaged by what we’re listening to and we connect the dots in our brains in relation to what we have experienced previously. It’s almost impossible to create new neural pathways without referencing older neurological pathways that already exist.

For example whilst you are reading this, you in theory are creating a new neural pathway just with this short article. However the article can not exist on it’s own because you would not have any way of bringing it up from your memory. It has to be connected to something else that exists in your brain. You already have a neural pathway established which knows something about storytelling. For example when your mother or father told you a story, it’s likely that you will be able to recall what one of those stories were. Therefore you have some beliefs and opinions about stories already established. The neural pathways may be a pit rusty, but because you are receiving potentially new information about storytelling, you brain will attach the new information, the new neural pathway, to the old rusty pathway and refresh that part as well.

So now you have created more relationships to do with storytelling in your brain, which means whenever you hear, read or see something that mentioned storytelling you will be able to recall the whole lot in one go.

Clever or what?

But it’s the job of the speaker, writer, presenter to invoke this inside of you.

Without either a story, narrative or anecdote, which for me are all the same, you don’t have a chance to make the connections and therefore it will be totally forgettable.

Happy storytelling!

Michael de Groot

Calls

The purpose for Social Media is what?

Growing a following?
Posting content?
Getting likes, hearts, shares?
Being popular?

Nope, none of the above.

Being on Social should have only one outcome and that’s to receive calls.

There really is no other outcome!

Calls can arrive through the phone or via a form. The only measure therefore should be how many calls are you getting.

Social should drive your audience to your website and then your website should convert them to calls. You need the right detail, the right call to action and the right form and all above ‘the fold’.

Once you receive or make calls you have an opportunity to convert.

If anyone is busily trying to increase a following or measure the amount of likes and hearts, please assure them that it’s the wrong measure.

Happy calling!

Michael de Groot