Zen Media

Scattered marketing tactics vs. Integrated strategy: Which does your company use???? Tell the truth.??? Ad-hoc marketing is an easy trap to fall into. Your social media manager is putting posts together on one topic while your PR team is moving in a completely different direction, and neither are in-sync with your outbound email marketing campaign. Disjointed tactics don’t build brands. They build confusion. Imagine this: ? Content marketing that aligns with your email strategy ? Social media that amplifies your PR efforts ? Paid ads that complement your organic reach It’s not a pipe dream. It’s strategic planning. The solution is a marketing calendar. ?? You might be rolling your eyes and saying you already HAVE one of those, and it hasn’t solved your siloed marketing efforts. But just like your personal calendar is useless without adding each doctor’s appointment and visit from Uncle Dan, your marketing calendar is only as good as the people managing it. Who’s managing your calendar? #marketing #brand

Anytime I get to share the stage with my Chief of Staff Scott Thompson, I always enjoy it. Scott gets a kick out of asking me questions, and he never holds back. Today, we talked about what it takes to scale teams, how we are using AI at Zen Media at every level, and how to supercharge communication and collaboration. The entrepreneur scene in Miami also continues to be on ?? with new talent like Ryan Hall ??, Max Murciano and Tyler Miller all adding to the ecosystem. Thank you so much to Saif Ishoof and Northeastern University Miami for the invite!

I saw a LinkedIn post about activities that are a “waist of time” ?? We all need a little grace—especially on the internet. If someone is putting themselves out there with the intent to help or inspire, I should probably keep my criticism to myself. Instead, I started thinking about what a “waist of time” could mean. Often, in business attire, your waist is defined by a belt. In old-school black tie attire, men wore cummerbunds and women wore corsets. (I’m glad we’re past that time period!) (Note: I always thought it was “Cumberbund” not Cummerbund??) If we’re thinking of “waist” in terms of confinement, a “waist of time” may mean trying to hold onto time rather than accepting that time is not something you can confine. It may refer to the desire to stop the clock, to hold onto a memory. It could be all the things you want to bring with you from one moment in time to the next.?(Maybe you can strap a fanny pack around your waist to carry those moments in time ??) Your waist is the center of your body—your core. It could indicate an important time or an experience central to your being. Again, I know they meant “waste.” And rather than get on my high horse, I’m opening my mind to reimagining and reinterpreting. Language is dynamic. ? Awful used to mean amazing and to be “in awe,” and now it means terrible. “Could care less” has gradually taken on the meaning of “could NOT care less.” Our language is what we make of it. Rather than criticize, let’s relish the complexity and hilarity of our highly adaptable language. And give people a little grace. #socialmedia #writing #marketing

3 months ago, we stopped focusing on always-on marketing. What this means: Instead of having “quotas” like 3 social posts per week or 2 blogs per week, we are focusing on campaigns, and the assets or posting schedule each campaign needs to be successful. This means some weeks we post 3-4 times. Others, we post 1-2. It means that we may have an email nurture strategy that stops and starts and is highly specific, rather than a nurture campaign that is “evergreen” and always on—or we may have both. ??♀? And no: ? It hasn’t resulted in unfollows, low impressions, or less website traffic (we’re still trending up, even if there are dips between campaigns). ? We aren’t doing away with consistency—rather, we’re creating content that is targeted and caters to our campaign goals, rather than posting redundant or uninteresting stuff “because we have to.” ? Having a dynamic and campaign-oriented calendar hasn’t made our marketing operations confusing and more challenging. Zen Media we believe that a strong strategy with a distinct perspective and clear goals drives interest. Getting out of the always-on mindset gives us time to be creative and come up with truly interesting and unique campaigns. In fact, since we shifted our perspective, we've seen: ? Higher engagement across the board ? An increase in audience reach and brand awareness ? More excitement and buy-in from our clients Consistency is king—but creativity is queen ?? The king can only move one space at a time. The queen is the strategic hero that drives momentum. (Yes, it’s a chess analogy). ?? #b2b #marketing #zenmedia #digitalmarketing

At Zen Media, we're not just talking about change—we're living it. As we undergo our own rebranding journey, I'm reminded of a crucial truth in our industry: Brands must evolve to stay relevant. Here's what I've learned throughout this process: 1. Your brand should reflect your current identity, not just your history. 2. A refresh can reinvigorate your message without losing your essence. 3. Adaptation is key in a rapidly changing market. Our rebranding at Zen isn't just about a new logo or color scheme; it's about aligning our outward appearance with our inner growth and vision for the future. Remember: Your brand is a living entity. It should grow as you do. When was the last time you evaluated your brand’s identity? If it's been a while, maybe it's time for Zen Media to give it a refresh.

We’re a marketing agency ? of course ? we’re going to start making TikToks! Do you even have a social team in 2024 if you aren’t making the sales guy share his OOTD between calls? ??♀? At Zen Media we’re making a radical shift: ditching those boring corporate posts and going all-in on EGC (Employee Generated Content, obv.) Why? Simple: 1?? Personify your brand. Do you see how I posted my boss? It’s very demure, very mindful. I’m very social when I’m creating content. 2?? It’s noisy out there! If your channels are working together the right way, your audience will see your message as they enter your funnel. Social just gets them through the front door. 3?? Every employee is a potential influencer. People trust faces, not logos and it’s people, like Scott, who make your company unique. ?? So from today - I'm pushing my team to share their real experiences, challenges, and victories on social. It's not always polished or viral, but it's very genuine – and that's what audiences crave. Want to really know the creative minds at Zen? Follow us here on LinkedIn and TikTok??