Is It Time To Break The Rules?

Hold on to your hats, we’re about to contradict everything we’ve said in our past blogs, podcasts and social media content!

 

Well not entirely, and nothing nearly as dramatic as that sounded, but we do want to make a case for breaking from your norm at times. Hear us out…

 

While it is crucial to have a brand that reflects your values, with consistent visuals and voice, there is also a time and a place to walk off the beaten path and choose the road less travelled. Your strategy might be well thought out and beautifully executed, but there should always be room for taking a quick detour now and again!

 

So what does this actually mean?

 

If your brand palette includes pink, peach and gold, there’s nothing wrong with peppering in more blue or green sometimes. Or maybe even use black when you need to really make a statement.

 

Maybe your brand voice is optimistic and informative, but when something really matters to you, it becomes determined, confident and authoritative.

 

And then there’s the concept of your content. You may do a lot of “How To’s” and “5 Things About” blogs and you share tips and tricks every Friday, but all of this needs a shake up sometimes, especially when you’re adapting to what’s happening around you in the moment. In this day and age of immediate digital connection, audiences understand that you may quickly pivot your strategy or switch out your regular Live session on a Tuesday to connect on issues and ideas happening in real time. These can be within your business (sub a regular Live for a video on a new product or renos happening in your space) or in the world, such as when major world events are happening that you want to weigh in on.

 

It’s amazing to have a strong content plan and if it’s working, certainly don’t break it, but there is always room to shake things up, in fact we highly recommend keeping your audience surprised and excited about what you share with them!

 

All of these ideas and examples aren’t really what we have in mind when we talk about breaking the rules though. The rules we mean aren’t just those that you’ve created to keep your brand consistent and dependable to your audience. We also mean the “rules” of the platforms, the accepted social standards, the things from the “do’s and dont’s” lists – all of the rules that tell us to post on a certain day at a certain time, to use a specific number of words and hashtags and to keep things within the safe lines of what people will easily accept. These are the rules you should consider breaking sometimes!

 

Best practices are there for a reason and of course, we recommend sticking with them and making adjustments as you learn what works best for you, but the things that make waves, the best campaigns you remember, the content that goes viral, usually does so because it’s unique. It grabs the attention. It makes you take notice. And usually, it pushes the envelope a bit.

 

When we talk about breaking the traditional rules and stepping out to try things that are unique or a bit weird or a little edgy, think Burger King, Wendy’s and Skittles – Brands known for their unusual visuals, spicy comments on Twitter and big moves that position them right in your face.

 

So next time you sit down to write a blog, script a video, share content, draft a social post or create any marketing collateral, if the moment seems right to try on a different hat that day, give it a whirl, you never know what will make that big impact for you and keep you top of mind with people!