The Partner Channel Magazine_Winter 2018
This is the final issue of The Partner Channel Magazine published with Jenny Davis as its editor in chief. Topics evolved around sharing your story throughout life and business. Enjoy!
This is the final issue of The Partner Channel Magazine published with Jenny Davis as its editor in chief. Topics evolved around sharing your story throughout life and business. Enjoy!
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LEADERSHIP<br />
CLICKING<br />
TOWARD<br />
YOUR<br />
Real Story<br />
story by TRACY FALEIDE<br />
illustration by SHAWN OLSON<br />
Research published last year in Computers in Human Behavior cited that up to 90 percent<br />
of us believe that others lie online at least sometimes about their age, gender, activities,<br />
interests, and appearance. And yet, the number of marriages that start on dating websites<br />
has been reported to be as high as 33 percent. So, what does this mean for your business?<br />
Although people are increasingly wary, they continue to rely heavily on search engines<br />
and the recommendations of like-minded others to make decisions ranging from sushi<br />
to life partners. We are out there searching for steps to clean a Singer sewing machine, to select a service<br />
provider, and everything in between. And since we’re used to customized experiences, our searches are more<br />
specific than ever. If I want a “recipe for brownies containing baby food prunes and cocoa powder”, I can enter<br />
the quoted phrase and get 500,000 recipes within a second with the top three being exactly what I need. If I’m<br />
less specific – omitting either the cocoa powder or baby food prunes – I get 1,500,000 recipes, but more isn’t<br />
better because I’d have to click through at least a dozen to find one calling for both my desired ingredients.<br />
Besides me craving brownies (as per usual), this example is meant to show the ubiquitous use of specific<br />
keywords.<br />
What are your company’s specific keywords and phrases? If your website contains only general phrases<br />
like “business solutions service provider” or “serving the needs of small to medium-size businesses in the<br />
Southeast,” your information will appear behind dozens of other companies with more descriptive positioning<br />
messages. Over the years, I have found three common “obstacles to clarity” when it comes to branding<br />
statements. Companies who have trouble writing decisive statements about what they do are often:<br />
»»<br />
Not ready to specialize<br />
»»<br />
Afraid of losing out<br />
»»<br />
Unaware of storytelling tricks<br />
44 WINTER <strong>2018</strong> | THEPARTNERCHANNEL.COM
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