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What Do Corn Flakes Have To Do With Marketing?

by | Jan 10, 2024 | Marketing | 0 comments

What do corn flakes have to do with marketing?

Written by Katie Petersen

Ever heard of Bran Flakes? Maybe, but chances are probably not. I’m willing to bet, however, that you have heard of Corn Flakes. You know, the flaky, curled, corn-like cereal that people have been eating for almost 100 years. So, how does everyone know what Corn Flakes are but not what Bran Flakes are?

During the Great Depression in the 1930s, people were limiting their spending and the breakfast cereal industry was facing challenges. At the time, both Corn Flakes and Bran Flakes were popular cereals amongst consumers. While most cereal companies, including Bran Flakes, were limiting their marketing dollars and reducing spending, Kellogg’s, the manufacturer of Corn Flakes, took a different approach in navigating the depression.

Instead of reducing their marketing, Kellogg’s realized that it was a better idea to adjust their strategies to resonate with the financial constraints of the time and to tap into the emotions of the populous. They addressed head on that times were tough and people did not have extra funds to spend on high-priced breakfast cereal. Kellogg’s began capitalizing on the fact that Corn Flakes was a budget-friendly, yet still nutritious, breakfast option. They launched a targeted marketing campaign that emphasized affordability and health, positioning themselves as the economical choice for families that were struggling through the Depression.

One of the greatest parts of their campaign was the promotions they included. We all take box-tops for granted today, but Kellogg’s introduction of these small discounts in exchange for proofs of purchase incentivized consumers to buy Corn Flakes. They also began heavily advertising Corn Flakes through a variety of mediums, like newspapers, radio, and billboards. 

What Kellogg’s accomplished was quite impressive. During a time when the country was in an economic downturn and most companies were pulling back on their marketing, they went all in. With the right message that resonated with their audience, combined with a few additional discounts to show that they understood their audiences’ needs, they solidified themselves as a household name and have stood the test of time ever since. 

What if you applied this same technique to your marketing?

Every year, I hear from so many companies that they want to cut costs and plan to scale back on their marketing. While I understand that business finances sometimes necessitate this, I do always wonder if, instead of pulling back, what if those companies went all in? What if they, like Kellogg’s, took a chance and gave it everything they had? 

Sure, not everything may turn out perfectly. And it is more likely than not that your business will have some set backs. But how will you ever know what you could accomplish if you don’t try to embody what Kellogg’s did?

Here are my top 3 tips for how to market like Kellogg’s in 2024:

  1. Embrace Data-Driven Insights: Data has always been king and that is even more true in 2024! If your company does not actively track data insights, it’s time to start! Invest in data analytics and leverage insights to drive your marketing decisions. Utilize sophisticated tools, like Outreach, Drift, Sproutsocial or ChatGPT to analyze consumer behavior, preferences, and trends. By understanding your audience better, you can tailor your marketing strategies to be more targeted and effective.
  2. Ramp Up Personalization: Marketing, and social media especially, has become about community. Fostering a community with your audience means connecting with them personally! Consumers now expect brand to not only cater to the needs but understand and empathize with their needs! Utilize AI-driven technologies to customize content, recommendations, and interactions across various touchpoints. Implement personalized email marketing, dynamic website content, and AI-powered chatbots to engage customers on a one-to-one level, fostering stronger connections and increasing conversions.
  3. Invest in Emerging Technologies: Did we mention AI above? If you haven’t tried out ChatGPT yet, now is the time to do so! Utilizing AI to help you analyze data and create content will become a game changer and will put you miles ahead of your competition. In order to do so, however, you need to invest in the technology now!

If 2024 is anything for your company’s marketing, let it be the year you embrace taking a chance on yourself. Your choices may surprise you and who knows? You may even end up as the next Corn Flakes.

For those that want extra help with their marketing, reach out to an ArboRisk team member today to get signed up for our Thrive Sales & Marketing Package!

 

Short-Form Videos: Big Impact for Your Business in the Blink of an Eye

by | Jan 10, 2024 | Marketing | 0 comments

Short-Form Videos: Big Impact for Your Business in the Blink of an Eye

Written by Katie Petersen

If you’ve ever scrolled through Instagram or TikTok, chances are you got sucked into a catchy video that made you slow down and watch, only to vanish before your eyes. This is an example of short-form video content. But what exactly are these videos and why should your business make producing them a priority? Let’s take a look at what these are and how they can change your business’s brand!

What are Short-Form Videos?

Think of short-form videos as the bite-sized snacks of the digital world – tiny yet irresistible to the point that you cannot have just one! Normally less than 60 seconds, these little videos require an abundance of creativity, humor, easy to digest how-tos, or inspiration. The main platforms you will find these videos on are Instagram and TikTok. 

 

How Can Your Business Utilize Short-Form Video?

This is the million dollar question that every business has – how do I use short-form video to catch my audiences’ attention? Luckily, it’s much easier than you think! You can use short-form video to showcase a product or service you offer, share behind-the-scenes glimpses into your business, offer quick tips that will directly solve a problem for your audience, and even introduce other members of your team! These videos are your opportunity to directly connect and engage with your audience and help them to learn a little bit more about you and how your business can directly solve a problem for them.

 

The Perks of Short-Form Video Marketing

Short-form videos are attention magnets—they grab eyeballs faster than you can say “viral.” They do not require a lot of overhead; all you need is a phone to capture your content! They can be uploaded directly to a FREE platform where you can directly engage with potential customers. Plus, they’re shareable, which means your content has the potential to reach additional people beyond your audience in a matter of minutes. If you utilize high quality content, provide a good hook in the video as well as your caption, and capture your audiences’ attention with a Call to Action, you’ll have an abundance of people engaging with your content, thus increasing your chances of them buying your product or service.

 

In a Nutshell: Tiny Videos, Big Impact. 

In a world where attention is the hottest currency, short-form videos are the golden ticket for your business. They’re quick, snappy, and oh-so-shareable, making them a game-changer in your digital marketing playbook. So, grab your phone, get creative, and let these mini-masterpieces tell your brand story in the blink of an eye!

If you’re struggling trying to utilize short form video in your marketing, reach out to an ArboRisk team member today to sign up for our Thrive Sales & Marketing Package!

 

Using AI In Your Tree Care Company

by | Jan 10, 2024 | Marketing | 0 comments

Using AI In Your Tree Care Company

Written by Katie Petersen

By now I’m sure you’ve heard of AI and its impact on marketing strategies. If you haven’t yet played around with AI, specifically ChatGPT, I highly encourage you to start! AI is here to stay and while there are some precautions to take with it, it is a game-changer for content creation for your business. 

Think of AI as your marketing assistant, but a super smart one! It helps businesses understand their customers better and make smarter decisions without needing to be an expert. Imagine having a friend who knows exactly what your customers want and can even predict what they might need next—that’s AI in marketing for you!

AI will help your business work smarter, not harder, and will eliminate wasted time so that you are free to complete other tasks! Here are a few ways that AI can revolutionize your marketing strategies in 2024: 

  • Personalized Customer Experiences: By using AI, you can easily analyze data already in your system to understand individuals’ preferences, behaviors, and purchase patterns. From this data, you can create experiences tailored directly to your consumers, delivering the correct message to the right audience at the optimal buying time. Looker, Akkio, or Polymer are all great options if you want to integrate all of your data in one spot and have AI identify trends, behaviors, and purchase patterns. 
  • Content Generation and Optimization: The next time you are feeling stuck for content, take a few ideas you have and put them into ChatGPT. It will produce content for you based on your prompt, which you can then use and edit on your own, or ask it to expand or simplify what it wrote. This is a great way to end writer’s block and to batch create content efficiently! Plus, the free one works great, meaning no need to purchase the paid option!
  • Marketing Automation and Workflow Optimization: Similar to content generation, AI can help you automate some practices within your business. You can have AI create email marketing campaigns, scheduling and data analysis that then works for your business without you having to do it yourself. There is some set-up involved, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner! Outreach and Drift are two AI softwares that will integrate with your current procedures and spit back key messaging across your data.
  • Voice Search Optimization: Voice search has seen an increase in 2023 and will continue to rise in 2024. AI helps optimize content for voice-enabled devices. By helping to understand user intent and context with searches, AI strategies will optimize your content to match your audiences’ search queries.
  • Social Media Insights: AI tools can analyze social media engagement and conversations, giving you data on trends with your audiences’ behavior. This can help you tailor future social media campaigns to your audiences’ preferences, aiding in brand perception management. HootSuite and Sproutsocial are two platforms that you can use to organize content and they have integrated AI into their platform to help you analyze your data more easily. Circleboom and Lately are also user friendly and support AI to help you generate content. Answer the Public is another great social tool that will analyze your audience and their patterns.

 

ChatGPT may seem scary, but it is like anything else – once you start using it, it’s actually pretty helpful! Try this: access ChatGPT here. There is no need for you to purchase a higher version; the free version works just fine! Input this prompt into the search box: “Write me a blog post about 5 trends in arboriculture for 2024. Make the post professional but give is a conversational voice as well. This article is for prospective customers who do not know anything about arboriculture.” 

What did it spit back out? I’m guessing it gave you a smaller, more condensed article. That’s okay! If you want to use that and expand on it, go ahead! If not, you can ask ChatGPT to go more in depth, to clarify certain points, or to do something entirely different. Either way, you’re not starting from square one. You can now take that information, add in your own personalization and brand voice, and you have a blog post to easily implement on your website and social media!

These are just a few of the ways that AI can assist your business in 2024. It helps businesses stand out by creating personalized experiences that make customers feel special and keeps them coming back for more. My advice? Start out by trying ChatGPT when you’re done reading this article!

If you’re struggling trying to utilize technology and AI in your marketing, reach out to an ArboRisk team member today to sign up for our Thrive Sales & Marketing Package!

 

2024 Marketing Trends

by | Jan 8, 2024 | Marketing | 0 comments

2024 Marketing Trends

Written by Katie Petersen

Welcome to 2024! As I was researching marketing trends for 2024, I couldn’t help but look back at my previously written articles on this same topic. From 2021, to 2022, to 2023, marketing, and the technology associated with it, has evolved so much. 2024 looks to be no different!

Here are 5 trends the marketing world expects to see grow in 2024:

  1. Rise of AI-Powered Personalization

Picture this: A marketing strategy so personalized it feels like a tailored suit. In 2024, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is poised to revolutionize personalization.

By now, you’ve probably heard of ChatGPT and possibly a few other AI content generators. If you haven’t played around with the program yet, I encourage you to start! It has been a game-changer for ArboRisk this year in regards to assistance in creating content. Using it to help you brainstorm or create an outline for a blog post are great ways to help automate these processes for your business. 

Please be advised, DO NOT SIMPLY COPY AND PASTE THE INFORMATION YOU RECEIVE FROM ANY AI! ChatGPT gives, what I like to call, a “working draft.” It is up to you to edit the content you receive and apply your brand voice to the information. If you don’t, you could get flagged for copyright infringement and people can tell when there is no personalization to written words.

  1. Interactive Content Takes Center Stage

Engagement is the name of the game, and interactive content is stealing the spotlight. Get ready for immersive experiences through augmented reality (AR), interactive polls, shoppable posts, and engaging quizzes. 

Every single webinar, course, content guide I’ve look at this year has said the same thing: engagement is what matters. You might only have 20 followers on a given social media account, but if all 20 of your followers engage with you and interact with your content, that is far better than 200 uninterested followers.

It is also important that within all of your content, you are encouraging followers to engage with you! Every piece you put out should have a call-to-action, a way for your audience to respond back to you. If you don’t tell people what to do, they won’t do anything, even if your content is the most amazing thing they have ever seen!

In 2024, it’s not just about showcasing products—it’s about creating experiences that captivate and convert.

  1. Sustainability Marketing Goes Mainstream

Green is the new black! Consumers are increasingly conscious of their ecological footprint, and brands are heeding the call. In 2024, expect sustainability to become an integral part of marketing strategies. 

This does not mean simply slapping a “green” sticker on your service and calling it good. Customers are looking for authenticity and they know when they are being duped. The green initiative is also about tapping into consumer emotions. Sustainability is at the forefront of audience concerns and by addressing this, companies are solidifying their space in the future market.

From eco-friendly packaging to transparent sustainability reports, brands will weave environmental consciousness into their narratives, connecting with a socially aware audience. Tree services can promote their use of electric chainsaws, biodegradable bar oil and/or natural soil amendments like biochar or compost tea.

  1. The Era of Influencer Authenticity

No more smoke and mirrors! Authenticity will reign supreme in the influencer sphere. In 2024, audiences crave genuine connections. Influencers are at the forefront of these connections.

Micro-influencers with niche authenticity have actually seen a rise in the last year. More and more brands are partnering with local influencers who have a connection to their area. Through this, the brand is able to have their product promoted by a local influencer that others in their community actually know. This lends credibility to their product and erases the sense of polished perfection.

Influencer marketing is all about trust and relatability. If you have an influencer in your area that would fit well for your company, I highly recommend looking into this type of marketing in 2024! If you’re looking for more information, please see the article I wrote from 2023, describing all aspects of influencer marketing!

  1. Video Marketing And Short-Form Content Dominance

In a world where attention spans are as fleeting as shooting stars, short-form video content, succinct snippets—ranging from seconds to a few minutes—are the new language of expression.

While video marketing isn’t new, its dominance has been sustained by the rise of platforms like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels. Short-form video will continue to dominate in 2024 and we may begin to see a shift to Instagram becoming more of content search engine as opposed to a social media platform. That is the power of short-form video!

Brands are now leveraging short-form videos not just for advertisements but for storytelling, product launches and even customer testimonials.

 

In 2024, experimenting with emerging technologies and humanizing brand experiences will be the hallmarks of success. Stay tuned as we navigate this exhilarating voyage through the ever-evolving landscape of marketing trends in 2024!

If you’re concerned that your marketing tactics aren’t ready to take on 2024, reach out to an ArboRisk team member to start our Thrive Sales & Marketing Package!

 

The Key to Accident Prevention

by | Sep 6, 2023 | Safety | 0 comments

The Key to Accident Prevention

Written by Amanda Carpenter and Anthony Tresselt

Originally published in the July 2022 edition of the ISA Ontario Arborist

The hierarchy of controls is a system of controlling risks in the workplace, a prevention through design strategy for prevention and/or reduction of occupational injuries, illness, and fatalities. Despite the best designed and applied control solutions, there is an independently acting human being that is involved in every workplace injury. Human behavior is the one thing that cannot be eliminated, substituted, engineered or controlled to create safety on the worksite. The person is most often forgotten in risk control hierarchies.

In the arboriculture industry, a lot of focus is put on regulation and technical training.

These administrative and engineering type controls can and do help, but alone they are not the total solution. For instance, the ANSI Z 133 has been in existence since 1968. As a consensus standard, it is updated at regular intervals by those in the industry. Yet the incident rate for occupational injuries still remains high compared to other industries. The same can be said for technical or skills training. Advances in tools and techniques have been progressive, the number of individuals in the industry providing quality training has increased, yet the incident numbers as a whole remain high. 

What regulation and training cannot take into account is the human. Even new, top of the line tools and techniques can be used poorly or misaligned. Highly articulated and crafted regulation with the best intent still must be followed by those doing the work to have any effect.

When, as an industry, we look at the incidents in arboriculture, we see again and again how misuse of well-designed tools, misapplication of well-established techniques, and/ or disregard for industry best practice leads to death and injury. This, coupled with tens of thousands of hours of one-on-one patient interaction with an orthopaedic physical therapist for occupational related injuries, leads us to the observation that many injuries could NOT have been prevented with more safety training and engineering.

 While a vital part, safety training is just one part of the system.

 Without an understanding of how and why humans act, training loses effectiveness. The worker must choose the safe act, the safe tool, the safe technique. There is a human involved in every accident or near hit. The subcon- scious nervous system is in charge of the human’s thoughts and actions 95% of the day; therein lies the key to a safe worksite and meaningful reduction in incidents.

Safety training involves establishing or changing a behavior. When we train or teach, we are speaking to the analytical part of the brain. However, access to training in the moment of a true emergency is not possible for some on this analytical level. It lies behind the gate-keeper of subconscious patterns that are formed from prior experiences, many of which occurred in the first 7-8 years of life. When choice is involved, the human brain will rely on established patterns and appear to resist change. Breaking these established patterns for new, safer ones, is an involved process that takes awareness, patience, and time.

 This process of behavioral change cannot be regulated or engineered.

Forced compliance is short term. Procedure can only serve as a guideline for action. The impetus of action, choice or decision must come from established behavioral patterns. This is easily seen in the all-too-common faulty logic on the tree care job site of, “we have been doing it this way for years and haven’t got hurt yet.” Often said or implied, this attitude shows the basic human reliance on pattern and the reluctance to change.

Even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, many production arborists make a conscious decision to ignore hazards and use technique known to have high risk of injury. Or conversely, they choose not to take actions known to protect them when engaged in hazardous activity.

Luck or hope is not a safety strategy.

The number of times an “unsafe” act has not resulted in dire consequences does not reduce the hazard. Yet many use this as a justification for not using personal protective equipment, established procedure or new techniques. The best tools and regulations can and often are short circuited by human behavior.

Some humans are more tolerant to change than others. The predictability of change tolerance is often found in the story behind one’s eyes. What has been one’s prior life experience with change? Has life thrown several unexpected and unfortunate changes at them? Did life throw a single pain- ful experience at an early stage of life, which set a pattern in their nerv- ous system resulting in their need for consistency?

 People make changes for one of two reasons, out of desperation or out of inspiration.

Desperation becomes a catalyst for change. Acute pain gets one’s attention; it screams and demands that something be done NOW. While chronic pain is an underlying, low-grade discomfort that allows one to put it off, the voice of chronic pain says; “I can’t keep doing this” or “I can’t keep living like this.” Yet, most often a change is not made until the body takes one out with an acute injury or illness. Why is this? The answer lies in the understanding of the autonomic nervous system.

Humans have a pattern of life, learning and adaptation, a rhythm that becomes familiar and predictable. This pattern, whether healthy or not, becomes recognized by the autonomic nervous system as normal and is perceived as safe. Anything that veers from this pattern can become a trigger; a stimulus that results in an underlying stress response in the body similar to fear. This pattern is exactly why change is so difficult. There is no reasoning this experience, it occurs instantaneously in the body at the subconscious level. You cannot rationalize an irrational response.

In injury prevention, safety training alone often does not create a long-term change in behavior, but the injury itself can be a catalyst to change.

It is not the fear of injury that keeps people safe, rather their ability to tolerate behavior change. For example, a tree care worker has developed a habit of one handing a chainsaw, (a behavior that incident numbers tell us causes many injuries on the tree care job site). The behavior is restricted by legislation as well as manufacturer instructions. Despite legislation and instruction, that pattern is very difficult to change. However, an injury creates an acute pain, often resulting in an immediate change in behavior.

 An expert is born from the internal emotional response that can only occur during a real experience.

Many safety trainers share their personal story to inspire others to behavior change related to hazardous actions. The story of pain, expressed through the authentic  vulnerability of another human can also become a catalyst of change for others. The emotional connection and response that occurs through authentic storytelling can support the behavior change we are hoping for in safety training. Proper technique, rules, and regulations cannot spawn the same type of long-term change housed in the subconscious.

We believe the key to worksite accident prevention is in transformation of the human nervous system, which involves both the person in the mirror and a supportive, vulnerable team willing to hold each other accountable and learn through shared experiences. When skillfully done, human behavior can be changed through transformation, creating a safer worksite and world.

If as an industry we wish to make long term, lasting change, we must address not only training, and industry regulation, but the third hidden factor of the worker and how he or she makes choices. We must come to understand the vital role subconscious patterns (healthy and unhealthy), the autonomic nervous system, and the story behind the eyes of the people doing the work, all play. Failing to do this is akin to claiming a flat tire is fine as it is only flat on the bottom!

Developing individuals and leaders to see and recognize the cognitive dissonance created when familiar ideas and/or beliefs are challenged or proved ineffective can and will transform this industry. But like the very problems we wish to address, it begins and ends with the individual human. We as trainers and facilitators need to take part in and develop a better understanding of the human factor in all we do as arborists, climbers, sawyers, crew leaders and business owners.

To learn more about Amanda and Tony’s transformational coaching program Leadership Performance Mastery: Uncovering the Leadership of Vital Energy, visit their website at https://www.leadershipofvitalenergy.com/