Chris Stone
The curtains have fallen, and oh boy, The Shape of Water nailed it. 13 nominations plus a deserving win for best picture in Oscars 2018.
Did you know that The Shape of Water is the first Best Picture winner with a female lead since Million Dollar Baby thirteen years ago? No there was not a mix-up this year. The Shape of Water director, Guillermo Del Toro, even flashed his envelope as a proof for the audience. But, hey mistakes happen. Sometimes, you win, other times you learn.
As the saying goes, when opportunity knocks on your door, make sure you’re home. There is an unspoken art of accepting an Oscar. You can either accept it with grace and panache, or you can simply mess it up terribly and make a joke out of it.
The same thing applies if you’re starting a digital agency. On the surface, it looks like the swan effect. Like a swan is paddling & moving in the water without any effort. But, the real thing goes inside the water. That is where the real battles are raging on.
In this blog post, we will highlight 5 timeless lessons that modern-day digital agencies can learn from Oscars 2018.
Lesson 1: Know your audience
“If I fall over during my speech, someone should pick me up because I’ve got some things to say.” Frances McDormand said this right after she stepped up on the stage. The next thing she did was unusual. She asked all the females to stand-up and embrace the diversity in the industry. The gesture was highly appreciated by everyone.
To understand, realize, and connect with your audience is one of the prime responsibilities of any digital agency. What is the point of flushing down your marketing budget without reaching your potential customers? In an era where customers must come first, you need to know where your audience is hanging out.
Use BuzzSumo to figure out what is trending. Incorporate those titles and ideas into your content. Next, with a clear vision, grab the attention of the users who are looking for your products. One way to know who your target audience is, is to launch a blog. Just be consistent with creating quality content on your blog, and people will flock towards you like a magnet.
Lesson 2: Thank your audience, humbly
“Coco would not exist without your endlessly beautiful culture and traditions.” Lee Unkrich, director, conceded while accepting the best-animated movie award.
If you look at the most successful digital design agencies, you’ll know that they don’t just acquire customers, they create a timeless bond with them.
Too busy to create a website? Let us help you design a dazzling website.
Instead of hammering them with countless marketing clichés & promotions, why not start by thanking them for their efforts. If you thank your customers, it can create a bond that can help customers connect with your brand in a more meaningful way.
It is your job to appreciate your customers for their time, engagement, and the trust they are putting in you. Try to delight your customers by offering a handsome customer service.
Lesson 3: Don’t make everything about yourself
“My fellow nominees, you represent everything that is good and right and human about this profession, you’re all extraordinary.” Allison Janney
From Jimmy Kimmel’s shortest speech to Allison Janney’s Acceptance Speech, Oscars 2018 was all about giving other people the credit.
As a business owner, your job is to make sales and get the word out about your business. In the marketplace, it is less about your potential, and more about what unique solution you can provide to your customers. Sure, customers don’t care about how many sales you nailed last year, or how much traffic your website received, but yes, the customers do care about the story that you’re willing to tell them. A great story helps customers relate to and care about your brand.
Find something that you’re good at, and find a problem that customers really care about, find that sweet spot in which both of your values meet. Go do that!
Lesson 4: Don’t forget to sell yourself
“This means so much to me. I stopped writing this movie about 20 times because I thought it was impossible, I thought it wasn’t going to work, I thought no one would ever make this movie, but I kept coming back to it because I knew if someone let me make this movie, then people would hear it and people would see it.”
Jordan Peele got a chance to pour his heart out in front of an audience and he took that chance and turned it into an opportunity to sell himself.
Not an Oscar, but hey we can develop an award-winning app for your brand.
Whenever a customer visits your website, it is your chance to sell your brand. You can either try to engage that customer or you can let them move on to the next website. Just like everyone else, you can leverage the power of storytelling to double the engagement and compel your users to stay off the website. Use persuasive website designs, stunning real-life images, and emotional content to help customers built a meaningful relationship with your brand.
Lesson 5: Cultivate a Charming personality
Everybody who appears on Oscars has a charismatic personality. No one needs an introduction. But, if you’re a brand that is just testing out the waters, you need to establish a brand personality. It takes extensive hours, and a lot of science to create a lasting impression on your customers. Pick anything. A logo. A website template, or even an award-winning marketing campaign. You need to create something that will be loved, and memorized by your users.
And then the good ending
I am a big fan of Hollywood movies. But as a digital strategist, I focus on gathering lessons from movies that are just a form of entertainment for everyone else.
With this confession, let us end-this blog with a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson,
“In every man, there is something where in I may learn of him, and in that, I am his pupil.”
Ashad Rehman
Adam McGriffin