Thinking Outside Your Industry
Thinking Outside Your Industry
The best things happen unexpectedly. Surely you have heard this cliche countless times. What about “thinking outside the box”? The moral of these two very different phrases, as applied to marketing, is that inspiration can come from the most unexpected places. This means looking outside of your industry for ideas, thinking outside your industry for creativity. Creativity is no easy feat, so it makes sense to search for it outside of your brand’s comfort zone. Let’s explore this approach.
Thinking Outside Your Industry
Draw an Analogy
Innovation in any field can be of use to you, even if it seems completely irrelevant to the products or services that your company offers. Studying developments in architecture, technology, clothing, makeup, literature, and theater can add color and variety to your own creative marketing strategies. Furthermore, each group of professionals will have a different approach to dealing with a problem. One way to begin effectively thinking outside of your industry is to draw an analogy. The further from reality this analogy is, the more “wild” the conclusions will be. For example, let’s say that you are trying to reach a larger demographic. You could break this down geographically and consider how your local power company is able to get power to all corners of the region. Consider their organizational system. This may seem far fetched, but, believe it or not, the expert eye will see patterns that can be mimicked.
Distance Yourself & Establish Your Own Voice
One of the best ways to deal with a problem is to distance yourself from it. If you have hit a roadblock, with inspiration nowhere in sight, step away. At times, industries can be too in sync when everyone jumps on the same trend, at the same time. They are all talking about the same things and posting similar content. Surround yourself with fresh perspectives. Of course, it is important to stay tuned to the hot topics, but that doesn’t mean you have to stand with the crowd. Establish your own voice. You could be discussing this same “hot topic” that every other expert in your field is, but you could be taking a refreshingly blunt or rebellious approach that will make readers and followers take notice.
So where can you find this outside inspiration? The answer is truly anywhere. Netflix, YouTube, Architectural Digest, the Food Network, your eccentric grandmother – whatever makes you forget about content strategies, post reach, email marketing, and metadata.
Happy exploring!