Is Your Marketing Too Loud?

Your people hate marketing noise, just like you do. In a digital ecosystem where attention is pulled in a million different directions, most of us wish we had a mute button. And rather than contributing to the noise and interruptions, at Minna we aim to create inviting content that makes the right people want to turn the volume up.

What does a quieter, calmer marketing approach look like in practice? Glad you asked.⁠ 👇

Tips for Less-Noisy Marketing

1. Make it about them, not you.

   Take every opportunity to make your ideal customer the main character. People perk up real quickly when a story is about them or the outcome they are after.
   

2. Get into the feels.

   How do you want your audience to *feel* when they see or read something from you? This lens helps frame the job of your content (or a specific campaign) and figure out how loud it should really be. It’s also helpful when developing editorial and brand voice guidelines so you understand where your baselines are with tone.

   
   Do you want them to feel like you’ve got their back? Do you want them to feel empowered with knowledge? Do you want them to feel open enough to shift an old pattern? Do you want them to feel connected through shared experience? Do you want them to feel excited about something new?
   
   Sometimes you get loud on purpose and it’ll pay off—but if you’re always shouting, people will stop listening.
   

3. Don't force yourself into cultural conversations that aren't for you.

   But when they are for you, buckle up and commit. (Think: Seed Health giving up their billboard space to Swehl after their Molly Baz ad for lactation cookies was taken down and the internet went off on the double-standard of "decency" for women's bodies.)⁠
   
   At Minna, this has played into our client communications strategies as we’ve navigated the stream of global, national and local crises over the last few years. We often advise pressing pause on regularly scheduled programming during seasons of collective grief.
   
   At the same time, many of our clients are passionate about social and racial justice, women’s rights, sustainability, supporting their local communities and more—that’s when we help them figure out how to participate meaningfully in conversations so that they are not just making a statement but putting their money where their hearts are.
   

4. Make room for negative space and sensory rest.

   The most literal of our tips, this can come through holistically in your design decisions, the audio or editing style of your video content, the pace of your customer experience and more. If you're purposefully activating certain senses with your content, consider what you might dial down for balance.
   

5. Be interesting.

   Easier said than done, of course, but there’s nothing more interesting than something interesting.