You may have heard it said that business is an art. Marketing professionals are responsible for the creative vision of your company and the communication of that vision. However, for business-minded individuals, creativity doesn’t always come naturally in marketing.
Try thinking like an artist.
There are a variety of ways that artists across all mediums choose to express themselves, but the end goal is always to elicit emotion and drive an audience to action. In the same way, marketing teams must combine creativity and business-sense to reach their target audiences in a meaningful way. The best marketers and business-owners can derive inspiration from these disciplines while crafting a brand and developing a business plan.
Writers
“Creative writer” is a broad term. There are numerous unique literary forms, such as novels, screenplays, and poems. However, diverse as they may seem, all writers have at least two things in common: a knack for storytelling and the ability to create content with a purpose.
Content creation is the cornerstone of effective marketing.
Imagine visiting a company’s Facebook page to find no posts, or receiving an e-mail that’s completely blank. That would tarnish the company’s credibility, right? Thoughtful customers crave engaging content that informs their decisions and provides background on the company’s mission.
Like creative writers, content writers are the minds behind the creative direction of a company. They curate the story of your brand by analyzing your company’s products/services and your typical consumer-base. The real magic happens when the two meet in the middle.
If you adopt a writer’s mindset, you’ll tend to think outside of the box, make bold creative decisions, and deviate from overused practices. Brand strategies that stand out from the rest garner the most attention and excitement. A great example is Masterclass, a collection of professional webinars from celebrities and influencers.
This company is a perfect model for how businesses can take a creative idea and form a brand which provides a unique experience. Not only does it take advantage of people being stuck at home during quarantine, but the advertising makes learning a new skill feel exciting and easy.
Painters
You don’t have to chop off your ear to be a great artist – or graphic designer, for that matter. All it takes is a little creativity and a big vision. If content is like a book, graphics are the illustrations. Graphic design is an integral part of marketing. Like a great painter, it’s important for designers to think about the bigger picture.
It can be easy to feel bogged down by the small details: Which font should I choose for this post? What color-scheme looks best? However, it’s important to remember that the tiny brushstrokes all contribute to the finished product. You should have an overall idea of what you’re aiming for before you begin.
- How will you make your social media feed, website, emails, and e-books look cohesive?
- How do you want others to recognize your brand?
Just like modern artists study and emulate the great Renaissance painters, it’s okay for you to take inspiration from other companies and social media pages. Marketing doesn’t occur in a vacuum; current trends and popular demand play a big part. Although, you should check yourself to make sure that you’re only imitating instead of copying.
Actors
Think of your favorite actor or actress: how do they make you feel? How would you react if you met them, or interacted with them on social media? People should be just as excited and loyal about your brand.
Actors are known not only for their work on-screen, but for their charisma and ability to stir up excitement wherever they go. In the same way, a new company needs to charm its way into people’s hearts – and, subsequently, their pocketbooks. Much like actors at an audition, companies must sell themselves and their talent to their customer-base. This is a marketer’s job. It’s important to make a good first impression so that your customers choose you over the competition every time.
When creating a character, actors have to come up with a list of objectives (goals) and tactics (ways to reach those goals). Most businesses also set goals that they aim for. To reach your full potential, what tactics will you employ? What strategic choices will you make to become a brand that everyone can’t stop talking about?
Dancers
When you think of dancers, you probably picture a graceful ballerina or an agile tap-dancer. Regardless of style, all dancers have the gift of flexibility. Flexibility is one of the most integral characteristics your business can have.
To survive in an increasingly competitive workplace, you need the ability to change quickly when your customer-base requires it. It’s also important to remain alert and agile if things change socially. This summer, the COVID-19 outbreak has taken an unprecedented toll on small businesses everywhere. Disasters like these force companies to think outside of the box to keep their doors open and to better prepare for the future.
While dancers work hard to keep themselves in top shape for performances, it’s important that your company stays competitive as well. Competition can be stressful, but if you think of it as an opportunity to improve instead of a hopeless hurdle to overcome, you will only continue to learn and grow.
Musicians
Musicians have to practice for many years to master their chosen instrument, whether it’s the guitar, the oboe, or even the voice. When starting out as a business-owner, never get upset with yourself if you make mistakes or stumble along the way. Perseverance is a virtue, and practice makes perfect.
Making mistakes at the start is one of the best ways to learn valuable lessons and grow as a professional.
In marketing, it’s important to surround yourself with like-minded individuals who want to see you and the company succeed. Like a successful band or orchestra, every member has a special part to play that benefits the whole. For example, a social media writer can be really good at their job, but the content will only pop if a graphic designer can lend their skills to the content. Every successful business has a strong, dedicated team behind it – it could be two people, or two thousand.
- If you want help crafting a fresh creative vision for your company, look no further than our team here at PivotPath
Marketing your business can take a whole team and demands a high level of creativity. Though it may seem like an entirely different discipline at first, let the Arts inspire your method of creating content and promoting your company. It can change how you look at certain challenges and even inspire how you want to move forward with your marketing strategy.