Inflight Briefing: 009

5 min read

Nov 30, 2022 10:52:30 AM

Delivered weekly, the Inflight Briefing is designed as a blueprint for the builder and inspiration for the curious. It's for the purposeful (that's you!) doing marketing for good.

009: Looking back before looking forward

As we step into the final month of the year tomorrow, there’s a unique chance to do a personal and professional retrospective and ask ourselves hard questions. If you’re like me, there were some wins but there were also a few losses, which makes it a mixed bag.

But isn’t life a mixed bag? And now that I have the benefit of hindsight, I have the advantage of being able to step back and learn those lessons that were either too painful or maybe went to my head a little too much.

When you’re in the purposeful marketing game, one of the first things you may ask is what campaign worked and which one didn’t? Was there an ad that actually got the job done? Did the lead-generation strategy work or how could it be improved?

Søren Kierkegaard, an existential, Danish philosopher, said, “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” We hope you enjoy the rollercoaster that life is when it’s lived in the moment, but we hope that when the ride slows down for a week or two, you can begin to shape an even better 2023.

Snackable snippets

So, did the ad actually work?

I have this dream that one day I’ll win the lottery, but I still never buy tickets. Many of us often have the same dream about our ads. Maybe this next one will create the buzz our organization deserves. But, just as important as creating great copy and captivating imagery, we also need to have the right expectations.

What’s the plan for 2023?

Part of looking forward and developing a marketing plan for 2023 includes looking back to see what you learned during the last 12 months. What will you focus on and what will you drop? By setting a clear path forward, your team will be able to execute on the things that matter and build a community through consistently and intentionally offering your audience value.

What even is lead generation?

Everything Julia Campbell touches in her podcast Nonprofit Nation is pure gold. But when she talks with lead gen expert Dana Snyder it’s pure fire 🔥. I feel like I’m writing the same thing week after week, but they believe collecting prospects’ emails is about building a community through creating high-value content.

12 questions to shape your 2023 quests

Growth leaders have to ask the right questions to get the right answers for 2023. Greg Head, who champions founders of all shapes and sizes, offers 12 essential questions to spark your planning and strategy for the upcoming year.

In the news

If you’re active on YouTube, this is good news for you! Creators who have over 500 subscribers can now take part in community posts, which allows them to engage with their community through polls, GIFs, text, images, and things other than video. Even Google and YouTube understand how important it is to build community!

Although overall ad spending continued to decrease by 3% in October, digital ad spend increased 5%. The current market volatility appears to be further reinforcing the trend toward digital channels.

LinkedIn has added new B2B marketing tools to help increase ad spend while we navigate a sort-of recession. One of the initiatives includes adding new ad sizes to the platform.

Something for your inspiration folder

Instead of the usual inspirational story or social post, since yesterday was a special day for nonprofits — Giving Tuesday — we’re highlighting a few amazing nonprofits that do inspiring work every single day of every single year. Check them out!