Full disclosure: I thought I was going to be a mentee.
Yes, I’m a Senior Copywriter at KWSM who specializes in brand messaging and digital marketing strategy. But I’m also the humble type, and I thought that I was going to be the one learning more about KWSM’s processes.
Yeah… nope.
My mission, once I chose to accept it, was to be a mentor for one of our designers, Melanie Graham, who wanted to understand the strategy process better. I’ve written dozens of brand messaging and strategy-related documents for KWSM clients, so (despite my initial hesitation) I was the right person for the job.
More disclosure: Melanie is a designer and I’m a copywriter, so we didn’t interact much before starting this project. Also, we were both first-time participants in KWSM’s Mentorship Program, so we had to get to know each other while we figured out how to assemble the digital marketing strategy & storytelling puzzle.
How it Started
We decided that the best way to understand the strategy process was by creating a new client strategy more or less from scratch. We started looking for local businesses in Orange County that had a potent offer but weren’t quite hitting the mark in their marketing.
Also, before we started the strategy process, we discussed the essential elements of a digital marketing strategy.
Zooming In On Our Target Business
After reviewing a few options, Melanie and I decided to use Chargezoom, an accounting software company based in Irvine, as the company for our project.
Chargezoom had a compelling service and a defined target audience. The company’s core offering is an online payment portal that freelancers and small business owners can use to create instant invoices and send them to clients.
Further, clients can pay instantly and securely through the portal, reducing the need for follow-up requests and other challenges that can frustrate solo operators and small teams.
All of those elements were good, but after our initial review, it was clear that Chargezoom’s branding and marketing needed improvements. The website left a lot to be desired, and the messaging focused more on the features available to users than the story or “why” behind them.
With a plan to improve Chargezoom’s Home page and messaging in place, we got to work.
Charging Into a Digital Marketing Strategy
Melanie and I created a Target Audience document and Brand Messaging for the Chargezoom audiences we identified – small business owners and freelancers who would benefit from the convenience, transparency, and support that Chargezoom provides.
Melanie and I shared ideas throughout the process and incorporated brand storytelling elements like pain points, transformation, and a one-liner for these audiences. With these components in place, Melanie created a new website Home page and started crafting marketing campaign assets as if we were pitching them to Chargezoom during the strategy process.
Charging into Storytelling
There were a lot of opportunities to incorporate storytelling principles and brand journalism into Chargezoom’s marketing strategy. Instead of focusing on features, for example, we focused on pain points and the transformational power of using Chargezoom as a freelancer or small business owner.
The visual elements also played a part in improving Chargezoom’s storytelling. Melanie’s website design included space for a tutorial video, which the existing site doesn’t have, as well as more space for social proof in the form of customer photographs and testimonials.
Marketing Strategy & Storytelling Results
By the end of our time together, Melanie and I had worked through the key components of the digital marketing strategy process, including new messaging for the brand, a revised Home page, and campaign assets to share Chargezoom’s updated story with their target audience.
On a personal note, partnering with Melanie was a delightful experience. Not only am I proud of the work we produced, but her knowledge of design and visual elements was also eye-opening for me throughout the research and analysis process. Hopefully, through my explanations of and experience with KWSM’s strategy process, Melanie learned as much as she taught me.
Looking to sharpen your digital marketing skills and help clients tell compelling stories? Click here to find out how you can join the KWSM team.
