Before this pandemic threw a spanner in all of our work, experience drove creative inspiration. Eating something new, traveling or meeting new people helped drive ideas and inspire content.
What happens when that is all gone? What happens when the world that inspired your creativity is suddenly unavailable?
If you are reading this, you probably know the marketing world keeps going and well… you need to keep creating. As Delightful’s Visual Design Specialist, here are 4 ways I am helping drive the inspiration necessary to keep creating fresh B2B marketing content.
Collaborate your way forward
Working from home has its perks. However, without the physical community around you, it’s easy to feel like must work completely alone. That is not true. In this current climate, you should be intentional about reaching out and sharing your work with your team and co-workers. Otherwise, you risk working yourself into a creative rut. No one likes feeling like you are not making any strides or creating anything worthwhile.
This is where collaboration comes in. Having a fresh pair of eyes, or collecting feedback during the ideation stage can help promote the flow of new ideas that make work enjoyable and fresh. This can still be done while working remotely, just in a different manner!
Follow your creative instincts
Dean Haspiel, an Emmy-winning illustrator says:
“Look around you. Listen to others. Listen to your heart. Take it in. Let it steep. Make the art. Express yourself.”
In a world driven by data, analytics and trends, it is easy to let information drive your creative decision-making. While having that information in the B2B world is essential to creating relevant content, do not forget to follow your creative instincts. In fact, studies show that 31% of ads with emotional pull succeeded vs. the 16% success rate of ads that focused on rational content.
Audiences are moved by content that resonates or reflect their personal lives. Therefore, we must create from a place that pulls not only from our professional experiences but also from our personal experience. These individual experiences can give you the edge in a highly competitive environment and help deliver what your client needs.
Recently, we were able to collaborate on social media assets for the Microsoft IoT in Action Virtual Learning offering, which was a new platform that gave people a learning experience in replacement of the usual in-person events. We were tasked with creating marketing campaigns that were reflective of our current reality while still looking vibrant and full of life. The images we used showcased social distancing, working from home, proper PPE wear and various other COVID-19 precautions. When content feels familiar to the daily life of the audience, it succeeds.
Plan accordingly
One of the most important aspects of working from home is maintaining structure. We want to avoid schedules becoming blurred and projects being delayed. By strategically prioritizing how you go about your workload, this will not be a problem.
So, when it comes to working from home, it is important to plan accordingly. There are tools that can help facilitate this process—here at Delightful, the tool I implemented for my personal workstream was so useful, we decided to implement it for the team. After creating Microsoft office integrations through Zapier, we were able to streamline projects into a platform that allows us to see projects as they come in and gives our project leads a top-down look at where what is in the creation process. Keep in mind organization tactics and find one that works for you—they are just as important in the creative process as coming up with fresh ideas!
Remember why
When you hit a creative block, ask yourself—what is the WHY behind the work I am creating? One of our company principles is “People not just pixels.” We take this very seriously. That principle is a daily reminder that people are at the center of everything we do. It is a daily mantra that reminds us that our work and what we create is more than just a design file or strategy. Behind every number is person who buys into our brand, because we put time into the work. It’s important to remember why you’re creating what you’re creating.
Need help around creating great content and the strategy behind it? We invite you to explore more around our Content Strategy and Content Creation services. Also, you can reach out to us at hello@delightfulcommunications.com with any questions.
Dan Galan – Visual Design Specialist // he/him/his // Delightful Communications
Don’t forget to: subscribe to The Personal Brand Lab, follow @Delightful on Twitter, like the Delightful Facebook Page, and join us on LinkedIn.