109: Messaging tips, cultural fit beyond the beer test, cannabis branding, great SaaS content, and IG activism
Happy Saturday, my friends.
In personal news, I've just become a homeowner! Yay! But that meant this week and last was spent frantically navigating contracts, money, staging our condo for sale for open house this weekend, and packing everything we own into boxes.
Me:
I'm fine. Frankly, I feel lucky to be in a position to afford one in a time when homeownership is a pipe dream for so many in my generation.
While I continue packing, enjoy edition #109 of the World's Best Newsletter, featuring:
1. Podcast: My convo on messaging with Tim Riesterer
2. Nike Told Me to Dream Crazy, Until I Wanted a Baby
3. An Office Designed for Workers with Autism
4. The Instagram Army: Activism in the 21st Century
5. The emerging art of cannabis branding
6. What great SaaS content marketing looks like
7. Quote of the week: the beer test
---
1. Podcast: My convo on messaging with Tim Riesterer
Listen to my latest episode of the Explicit Content podcast where I got the chance to talk with someone I've learned a TON from, Tim Riesterer, Chief Strategy and Research Officer of Corporate Visions. Some highlights of this 45 minute convo:
"At the end of the day, the story you tell and how well you tell it sets you apart."
--
"What is thought leadership? Fresh, original, exclusive insight drawn from your experiences with customers. An opportunity to clarify things YOU found that others may not see the meaning in. Go tell the market what you're seeing, and why it matters." (Skip to minute 30 to hear this part of the convo.)
2. Nike Told Me to Dream Crazy, Until I Wanted a Baby
Ouch. In the latest example of faux-feminism, the NYTimes ran a blistering exposé this week that revealed:
"Many athletic apparel companies, including Nike, claim to elevate female athletes. A commercial released in February received widespread acclaim for spotlighting women at all stages of their careers, from childhood to motherhood. On Mother’s Day this year, Nike released a video promoting gender equality. But that's just advertising...
"...a multi-billion-dollar industry that praises women for having families in public — but doesn’t guarantee them a salary during pregnancy & early maternity."
Later in the article it's revealed that the four Nike executives who negotiate contracts for track and field athletes are all men. Cue eyeroll.
BONUS: Wait.. before you think or say "not all men" in response to that last point, read this TIME piece about that common phrase.
"Not all men" is "a classic derail, a bad-faith argument used to shift the focus of a discussion instead of engaging with it."
3. An Office Designed for Workers with Autism
"What happens when people who have trouble fitting into a traditional workplace get one designed just for them?"
This is a fascinating NYTimes piece about autism and office design.
The challenges of navigating the social complexities of a workplace is one reason unemployment even among college-educated people with autism appears to be disproportionately high... Anxiety, commonly experienced in people with autism, can make typical workplace competition unbearable.
4. The Instagram Army: Activism in the 21st Century
I highly recommend this podcast of FOMO Sapiens from HBR --
It’s hardly a new phenomenon for successful, famous people to wield their influence for social change. But in our modern social media, FOMO-driven world, it’s become more essential than ever for people with large followings to harness this unprecedented personal influence to create the positive change we desperately need.
Actress Jameela Jamil promotes body positivity and LGBT rights among her vast following on social media and her personal pages, and Alicia Keys has led her millions of fans in support of women’s inclusion through her nonprofit organization, She Is The Music, and children’s HIV charity, Keep a Child Alive.
This is about influence, the convergence of social media and activism, and the power of celebrity.
5. The emerging art of cannabis branding
With the legal marijuana industry projected to be valued at $146 billion by 2025, it’s safe to say cannabis sales are no longer the domain of dorm rooms with black-light posters. The burgeoning cannabis consumer base encompasses everyone from “stiletto stoners” to grandmothers, and dispensaries and producers suddenly find themselves in a very crowded marketplace.
“Branding has gone from being an afterthought to becoming a central aspect of the competitive strategy among cannabis companies,” John Kagia, EVP of industry analytics for New Frontier Data, told Forbes in 2018.
This great piece from Ceros examines several different marijuana brands — from edibles to dispensaries— and how they are "approaching the emerging art of cannabis branding."
6. What great SaaS content marketing looks like
A new study from Emily Byford, content marketer at Akkroo, contains some fascinating insights about what good looks like at high-growth SaaS organizations. The full, comprehensive article is a MASSIVE trove of data and insights. Here were my highlights:
Only 25% of companies share related content as a call-to-action
The average SaaS blog receives 1800 organic search visits per month
The fastest-growing SaaS companies are 2.5x more likely to offer product demos as a call-to-action than the biggest SaaS companies
7. Quote of the week: the beer test
"The beer test can be a poor proxy for cultural fit" - Erica Seidel, founder of The Connective Good
Her excellent article here provides a new perspective on identifying cultural fit, and thankfully some alternatives to simply going out for a beer. Her advice:
When in growth mode, cultural fit is not as important as cultural add
If you interpret cultural values too narrowly while your business is small, you could have trouble scaling as quickly as you need to
The words we use confer a judgement - and that judgement needs examination (low energy vs calm, cool, and collected.) Separate out the facts from the assumptions that you are making.
BONUS: If you're suddenly feeling like we've gone back in time in regards to women's rights here in America, here's what you can do to help women in states with extreme abortion bans. Freedom is the most fundamental American value. Freedom to choose is a citizen's prerogative.
Have a stellar weekend,
Katie
Katie Martell
Website | LinkedIn | Twitter
>> Share The World's Best Newsletter on Twitter, or LinkedIn <<
Event calendar:
San Diego, here we come, for ConquerLocal 2019 - an event all about driving digital success for local businesses from Vendasta, June 10-12. Listen to my interview with Vendasta CRO George Leith.
I'm speaking at Content Marketing World, September 3-6 in Cleveland, OH
I'm back at INBOUND 2019 in their new startup marketing track - let's talk about the 7 deadly sins of startup marketing, and how to avoid them!
More to be announced, but if you'd like to book me to speak, or emcee, you should. I'm a hoot!