Marketing is a demanding job that requires you to work hard to generate leads, optimize campaigns and prove that your strategies will work to produce a strong ROI. Even if you love your job, you can still get bogged down with tasks that leave you feeling depleted rather than recharged. You know the feeling… and so do we.
But guess what? Making a few simple changes to how you approach your work can help bring the joy back and create stronger connections with your customers, too. Check out these five tips to bring more joy into marketing.
Reconnect to Storytelling
Everyone loves a good story. They’re fun to tell, interesting to gather, and sticky with readers and viewers. One recent study asked students to each create a one-minute persuasive pitch and present it to their class. All of the participants used statistics in their pitch, but only one told a story. Do you know which presentation the students remembered best?
You guessed it, the one with a story. Only 5% of people recalled presentations with statistics, but over half (63%) remembered the presentation with a story.
Using relatable stories in your marketing shows customers that you understand their challenges. Stories also create empathy and give people real examples of how your product or service works. Of course, there are many ways that you can infuse storytelling into your marketing, but a few ideas include writing more case studies, sharing customer experiences on social media, or providing an “inside look” into your company culture to create greater connections with the people you serve.
Focus on Helping Others
Kindness creates more “happy” chemicals in the brain and, ultimately, more joy. Marketers have plenty of opportunities to integrate kindness and giving back into what we create.
One example of marketing focused on giving back is Xerox’s “Chief Optimist” campaign. The strategy started with simple biweekly emails but eventually expanded to a partnership with Forbes magazine to create the “Chief Optimist” publication. The content was designed to help the audience feel more optimistic, but marketers can’t help but feel joyful when creating content around optimism.
Beyond the work itself, there are many ways you can bring kindness into your daily life as a marketer. Think about your colleagues, and what might bring joy in your relationships. One example from my own experience is that I recently had shoulder surgery, and experienced kindness from a co-worker in the form of a Slack message to see how I’m healing up. It was a small moment of kindness that made me feel seen as a human. And, you know what? It makes me want to prioritize collaboration with that co-worker in the future.
Look for those small moments of joy that you can bring to others, even if it’s a compliment about the way they said something in an email. Kindness goes a long way.
Infuse More Humor
Do you ever notice how you feel better after a good laugh? Science supports that laughter is good for your well-being. It relieves stress, soothes tension, improves mood and even boosts your immune system. Plus, it’s just fun. A few brands creating humorous content include:
Intel uses “geek” jokes. Known for being staffed with smart “geeks,” the brand decided to poke fun at its reputation with a humorous video series.
ZenDesk went for it with a TV commercial entitled “I like it when he gives me the business.” I’ll let you watch that one on your own. It might give you a chuckle.
And, just like with the kindness thing, you can infuse humor into your daily interactions as well. As our VP of Marketing would say, “Just keep it classy.”
Get More Social
Marketing is social by nature. You’re collaborating across departments, interviewing experts and doing your best to create excellent experiences for your customers. This collaboration is great for bringing joy, because it helps us all feel connected and grow a sense of community. One survey found that over half of respondents said that a strong sense of community keeps them at their jobs.
Create more joy by looking at your marketing efforts and asking: Do we have opportunities for more collaboration? Here are a few ideas:
- Brainstorm giveaways. Giveaways are a fun way to collaborate with other departments and give your customers and prospects value. What opportunities exist to collaborate with other departments to create giveaway campaigns?
- Team up with influencers. Almost half (49%) of consumers depend on influencer recommendations. Are there any influencers in your space you can team up with to create thought leadership content and reach new communities?
- Create more user-generated content. Brand engagement increases by 28% when people are exposed to a mix of professional content and user-generated content. Talk to customers, get their stories and reviews, and leverage this content to create more trust with your audience.
- Launch an interview series. Consider creating a YouTube series where you speak with industry experts about hot topics and tips. Spin that content into blog posts, social media quotes and other types of content to get more from your efforts and become a true creator of community in your industry.
Ramping up collaboration both inside and outside your company helps you launch more interesting and satisfying projects that help spark joy.
Offload Manual Tasks That Weigh You Down
As a marketer, you’re creative. You certainly don’t want too many mundane tasks interrupting your flow. It can be an uphill battle to recapture that creative energy.
Offloading repetitive tasks through marketing automation can help you do more of the work you enjoy. Instead of developing new campaigns from scratch, or releasing content manually, you can use automation to replicate and streamline tasks, freeing you up to focus on higher-level work. Using automation also helps deliver better results. For example, SimScale quickly increased email open rates by 68% over a short period of time by using marketing automation. And RSA Canada increased customer engagement 300% by using marketing automation. What’s good for you is also good for the customers and the brand. Plus, having your plans work and work well just feels great!
Focusing on Joy Creates a More Rewarding Life
Of course not every minute of every day in a marketing job is going to be the best, most joyful moment in the world. It’s work. But, it’s also possible to create a rewarding experience for yourself and others by focusing on the small moments that can bring joy. Do me a favor. Read this next part, and then close your eyes and try to do it. Then, find us on social, and share your experience. I want to know if this brings you a little joy. Close your eyes and take a long, slow breath in. Imagine a person (or pet) in your life that you love dearly. Picture that person’s face in your mind, and imagine them smiling at you while you smile back. Let love flow from your heart like a light, brightening first that person’s face and immediate surroundings. Then, imagine that love and joy overflowing to fill the room they are in, the building, the city, the country, the earth. Let that love spread and overflow to all beings. Take another deep breath, and connect with the feeling in your body. Is it joy? Good!
Now take that wonderful feeling out into the world, and bring the joy back into marketing whenever you can.