I am an enthusiastic award skeptic.

I wish I could say that I’m one of those English majors who always knows the answers to the Shakespeare clues in crossword puzzles, but the truth is that my down time mostly alternates between internet TV and internet news. This is to say that I am well aware that most Hollywood awards are bought – in fact, most of them are the result of extremely targeted marketing campaigns. This does not stop me from spending weeks prepping to watch the Oscars each year.

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Over the last few months I’ve noticed a trend of strangely formatted posts on LinkedIn getting incredible engagement and landing in my feed. A few things caught my eye, so I decided to take matters into my own hands and run a little test with my own network (whom I don’t post to often, shame on me) to see what types of responses I got.

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What’s up with Snapchat? This quick-paced social network has been struggling to find its raison d’être over the last few years. With a core user group of millennial females, its audience can be hard to please. Snapchat is finding this to be especially true since the announcement of their redesign that was announced last month. 

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Creative restlessness. The concept that launched Luminus when it was two hustlin’ freelancers is the same concept that drives the newest brand interpretation. Co-founders Tim Bouchard and Mike LaDuca have always been driven by feelings of creative restlessness. Feelings that mean good enough never is, and greatness is an ever-evolving target.

Way back when, Tim and Mike were a freelance team creating websites for local businesses. But as they grew, so did Luminus. And as Luminus carved out its place in the Buffalo marketing landscape and became a destination for rising professionals looking for opportunities to explore, expand and exceed expectations, we transformed from a web design agency into something much bigger.

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As a social occasion, they’re great. You get all of Buffalo’s ad people in a room with hors d’oeuvres and an open bar and you’ll probably have a good time.

As a professional showcase, they’re unmatched. You show all their best work on the big screen and you’ll probably end up motivated and inspired. Long story short, there was a lot of talent in that room.

Despite how proud I might be to be part of that community, though, it’s hard not to go there and feel a little small.

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This morning, before getting out of bed or even fully opening my eyes, I found myself reaching for my iPhone to clear away all of the little red notifications. I checked my to-do list for the day, scanned through my e-mails to make sure there were no emergencies, and scrolled through my Facebook newsfeed. As I was scrolling through my newsfeed, I found myself watching several seconds of videos that I wasn’t at all interested in including footage from an EDM show, millennials sampling foreign candy, and a profile on a restaurant located half way across the country. It felt like flipping through TV channels of my friend’s interests.

It’s safe to say that I may be addicted to my iPhone and/or social media, but I like to think that I’m just keeping up to date. But, I promise you, it’s not just me. Device obsession is skyrocketing, according to a study by Deloitte done in 2015. I’m curious to see the data from 2016, as I’m sure it hasn’t declined in any way.

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A social media profile is a direct extension of your business, and potentially the first point of contact for a large percentage of your audience. Does your social media account look more like a ghost town than a business profile?

If you’re getting lonely on social media, it’s likely that you’re isolating your social media marketing efforts. Believe it or not, your social media campaign needs to be able to communicate who your brand is concisely and accurately.

Values are an extremely important aspect of a successful brand, and social media only emphasizes the necessity for strong values. Through cause-related marketing, it’s possible to build loyal and meaningful relationships with your target audience through social media.

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Judging by her resume, content marketing extraordinaire Zontee Hou may be the busiest human ever. She works at Convince & Convert, runs her own consulting firm called Media Volery and teaches at the City College of New York.

Somehow, though, she found the time to speak to AAF Buffalo on Oct. 12 over at Big Ditch on the “Alchemy of Content Marketing.” If you missed it, shame on you, but here are my five favorite takeaways.

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We build brands and brands have a lot of components. Some are tangible and obvious: the logo, the website, the brochure. Some, though, are a little harder to grasp, and almost none are as difficult as the mission statement.

Mission statements are what I would call a “soft” deliverable. They’re internally focused, meaning they won’t be directly used to court and convert customers. They’re abstract, usually centered around values and aspirations than any concrete efforts. They’re not something you can use; they’re something you live.

So I’m not surprised when people hold up their hands when we’re discussing their mission statement and say “This is all well and good, but where do we actually use this?”

It’s a fair question, but it can be difficult to answer. Mission statements are malleable little pieces of text – you can use them almost any way you choose. There are four basic uses of a mission statement that usually come to mind, however.

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When it comes to digital marketing, I’ve found that many people want to do one of two things: try to do every digital marketing strategy at once or exist in a state of analysis paralysis. Guess what? Both of these methods result in poor results. There’s an overwhelming amount of possibilities for your brand when it comes to digital marketing and it can be tempting to throw yourself in quickly, but it’s so crucial to craft an intentioned strategy before doing anything at all.

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