Nokia 3210 phones, Ibiza trips and an Action Man (and his privates) ????
I remember the sad day my parents moved out of our childhood home. But what sticks with me the most is the day they summoned me to go through all my old stuff a few weeks before.
“Sort them into keep and tip piles”, my Mum said.
The job was a lot bigger than you may expect. Despite moving out in 2010, my bedroom was like a shrine.
Football and running trophies and medals sit proudly on the shelves. Old posters and knick-knacks from my “gap yah” travels to Asia on the window sill. Cute pictures of old flames, discreetly hidden, away from prying eyes.
It was at this moment that I thought to myself:
“Bloody hell, Daryl. Do you know what this landmark emotional experience in 2021 would make?”
“No, Daryl number two. Please tell me.”
“It would make a bloody brilliant topic for a LinkedIn newsletter in February 2023.”
So, here we are, almost two years later. ?
If you can spare a few extra minutes, join me on a trip down memory lane as I discuss some of the things I found hiding in my old childhood bedroom.
Before the dawn of AI copywriting tools and the age of TikTok.
A time of VHS tapes, Saved By the Bell, cassettes and CD albums.
A moment when Ne-Yo was so sick of love songs, Becks was on the back of every tabloid newspaper on the reg, and Will Smith was a lover, not a fighter.
Who knows, you may even learn a few lessons about your marketing along the way.
Big phones and small texts
Why do we feel a need to keep old mobile phones? It’s not like we’re suddenly going to fancy loading up a game of Snake or reading old text messages to childhood mates. (Ok, maybe we will.)?
Yet, as I looked at my old Nokia 3210, I remembered the struggle of keeping my texts under 160 characters to avoid being charged an extra 10p.
The content marketing bit ??
As big Willy Shakespeare once scribed, “Brevity is the soul of wit”. In layman’s terms, using fewer words to express something shows intelligence.
My content marketing lesson to you – keep things brief.
Try to:
If you managed to write a declaration of love in under 160 characters to your high school boo before, you’ll be able to do the same in your marketing.
If lost, return to Ibiza
We’ve all been on party holidays. Sea, se…sandcastles and sun. ??
领英推荐
And let’s face it, how many of the mates in the pictures from your old Fujifilm FinePix Digital Camera would you call your best friends today?
One? Two? Maybe none?
The content marketing bit ??
Attracting new clients is an obsession. But what about your weak ties?
Your weak ties are the people at the end of your friendship list. Maybe you shared a moment years ago on a holiday or at school. Or perhaps you’re still in touch, but they wouldn’t make your wedding guest list.
Strengthening the relationship with your weak ties is often underestimated. Yet, it’s the people at the end of your friendship list that are usually the ones who give you opportunities or feed your ideas.
The solution? Get active on LinkedIn. Post content, send your old acquaintances a message and comment on their posts. They already know you, so you don’t have to spend days, months or years building trust.
No Action, Man
If there was an award for the best toys I never played with, it would be my Action Man figures. Whether it was the kickboxer, army or jetpack version, Action Man figures were too bulky to throw around during playtime.
In fact, their key entertainment factor came from dressing them up or checking out their hardware. And before you try and register me as a sick toy deviant, I bet you did the same, whether it was with an Action Man figure, Barbie doll or Troll toy.?????
The content marketing bit ??
The moral of the story here is that curiosity always prevails. Take this recent email subject line from Channel 4:
“First The Inbetweeners, now this…”
Instantly, I was intrigued.
Why? Because some clever clogs leveraged the power of a cult hit TV show I love and incentivised the click with the ellipsis. In other words, Channel 4 + email subject lines = “Completed it, mate”.
So, when you’re scratching around for a subject line, hook to a social media post or blog title, always remember the pulling power of Action Man’s smooth privates.
Enjoying this rambling trip down memory lane?
To see how I manage to turn Subbuteo players and a Daniel Bedingfield scratched CD into warm and fuzzy marketing lessons, read the entire blog on the Content Chef website.
And while you’re there, be a good sport and check out these blogs:
Meanwhile, on socials
Until next time,
Daryl and the Chefs