Creativity vs Consistency — experimentation in marketing
So, I came across a really cool article that got me thinking a lot about stuff happening in my new team. And guess what? I couldn’t resist writing another blog about it!
This time, I want to chat with you about creativity, consistency, and why you need to allow yourself the freedom to experiment.
Being creative means letting your imagination run wild and coming up with unique ideas without external or internal restriction. But being consistent is also super important. It means sticking to your plan, keeping things steady, and not jumping all over the place.
I'm going to talk through some research online, my own opinions and give some insight into the work that is going on in the newly created Recruitment and attraction team.
Consistent brand
Having a consistent brand is really important to marketing. We don't really have much of an established brand for Work for Dorset yet (but this is being worked on)
As well as being recognisable like big established brands, consistency builds off your previous successes, increases your impact, and addresses the fact that people need to see something seven times for it to stick.
Why seven? Well this is a cool fact you can tell your friends
“The marketing rule of 7’s states that a potential customer must see a message at least 7 times before they’ll be provoked to take an action. This marketing principle is a maxim that was developed in the 1930s by the movie industry, who found through research that a potential moviegoer had to see a movie poster at least seven times before they would go to the theatre to see a movie.”
Now consistency alone does not work. If you push ‘Cookie-cutter’ messaging and overuse can lead to fatigue, and a perceived lack of originality. This is something i am VERY conscious of. I know how much people value their time on social media. This is a quote i like that came from a TikTok marketing course i took part in recently:
“Attention span isn’t short people are just selective on how they spent their time”.
If we play it safe, sticking to the same tone, style, and message, we’ll end up blending into the digital abyss. Trust me, the algorithm won’t spare us!
Additionally, if were not considering where the consumer is engaging, we risk coming across as tone-deaf, overly sale-sy and like we are sharing the same message repeatedly. (Yes i know we currently do this we are working it… Its only been a few weeks of the new team damn!)
Allowing room for creativity
In a world bombarded with countless advertisements and messages, a unique and creative approach can make your brand memorable. It piques curiosity and makes people want to learn more about what you have to offer.
When you think outside the box and create compelling stories or experiences, you tap into their emotions. This emotional connection builds trust, loyalty, and a deeper relationship between your brand and your customers. This can be as simple as making someone laugh with a pun to creating empathy or relatability with a story.
By being creative, you can communicate your message in a way that resonates with your target audience and leaves a lasting impression.
When you embrace a creative mindset, you’re more likely to come up with innovative ideas, strategies, and solutions. The more creative ideas the more you will stand out from everyone else! This is already being evidenced in the Work for Dorset posts.
Thinking back to that experimental mindset. Being creative in marketing shows shows that you’re not afraid to explore new territories, experiment with fresh ideas, and push the boundaries. This can attract a dynamic and engaged audience who appreciates your brand’s willingness to evolve and stay relevant. Staying relevant and ‘on trend’ is something i really think we need to push as a team. The most on trend i have gotten so far is posting a Ted Lasso post on the day the finale comes out!
(you can see that below)
*an update as i am posting this. The Ted Lasso posts did really well across all metrics so now i feel like a proud dad*
So you have to be creative but you also have to be consistent? As a team, how are we making sure we don't fall too much into each circle…
Well… let me start with what we have been doing
So for anyone who missed my last blog i have a new job in the recruitment and attraction team! I am now on week 3 eek.
Over the 3 weeks i have been playing around with different types of posts for different roles and as a team we are well aware that at the moment we are being reactive to jobs but are actively working on being proactive so we have more time to develop campaigns and go out to create video content as well as just posts.
Some examples of the graphics i have been making are below, they all had relevant text to go with them promoting the job and including a few emojis and puns.
Now i know you may be thinking that these are all a bit all over the place. Well, that's because we are in the…
The Experimentation phase
One thing i learnt whilst working in the Digital team is that things might not always work but you still need to try. Sometimes people can be so afraid of being told off or being made accountable when something goes wrong that they become to hesitant to experiment or try something new and different.
You need to step outside of the box you may put yourself in and see what works and what doesn't otherwise how will you ever know?
That brings me to the experimentation phase we are currently in in the team. Our goal is to explore various approaches and tactics to ensure we’re throwing enough at the wall to see what sticks. We’re looking at responses, engagement, and job applications from our audience to see what works what needs tweaking and what has really missed the mark.
By embracing this experimental mindset, we’re ready to take risks, push boundaries, and uncover the most effective methods. This is also then split into what works on different social media platforms and with different audiences.
Now since i started it has only been myself and Erin providing the creative voice for these posts but now the rest of the team has started it should be more of a creative ensemble rather then solo acts.
But that doesn't mean we are done experimenting! I mean what's the worst that can happen?
“We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down.”
Looking forward
Obviously new team means lots to do! I actually have a long list i am procrastinating from now by writing this blog…
One thing i have set myself the goal of rebooting the TikTok in June/July. Now, I know what you’re thinking. TikTok, isn’t that just for funny dance videos and cute pet clips?
I truly believe that TikTok is undervalued when it comes to marketing our culture and organisation. I am already working on a document with some video ideas and I'm going to get the team to do the same as well so we have lots of different voices on there. I even did a Tiktok training course which honestly taught be so much about the platform and how we can use it for recruitment. I'm really excited to get started.
Watch this space!
