Generalists see the big picture

Yes you could hire a copywriter to sit in their shed and write 3000 words of copy. But what good is that if it doesn’t fit into your wider communications plan? Generalists understand the strategic importance of your marketing for business objectives and how it all fits in to the bigger picture. They know what they do impacts the rest of the business and ensure that impact is a brilliant one.

Generalists can be flexible

If you want to hire a freelancer for a long term relationship it can be beneficial to choose a generalist. They can remain adaptable and flexible to serving your business as needs develop and change, delivering the right service at any one time, in an agile way. Without the need for you to onboard someone new to your business.

Generalists bring a different perspective

If generalists work in different sectors they can often bring ideas from one to another. This boosts creativity and can bring a fresh perspective to your field. You want your business to be uniue and innovative, and that outside in approach can help you do just that. Full-stack employees are prized by companies like Google because they believe “innovation is found at the boundaries between disciplines.”

Generalists are great at leading teams

Because generalists can apply their skills to a range of issues, they tend to have a good understanding of the different roles that people in a team can play. They’ve been there. This makes them great at leading teams and building strategies for success. They have a variety of experiences and each one of them shapes their approach and understanding of what makes people tick.

What do you think? Generalist vs specialist? I’ve written about why you don’t need a niche here. Let me know!

This year has been a challenging one. I mean, I write and market great brands and businesses for a living, usually from my sofa. So it’s relative. I’m immensely lucky that my career allows me to do that. But marketing in 2020 has taken on a slightly different hue to usual. It has though, if not taught me things, reinforced a few truths that always ring true. Here are my (and my friends’) takeaways from marketing in a pandemic…

Think outcomes, not outputs

Programming and marketing a literature festival is always fun – but this year became a challenge. At Margate Bookie we didn’t manage the same number of events or to have people together in a room, but did transform lives through power of literature, which is what we’re here for. That purpose drove us to continue producing events and activity to support our community.

It’s all about the human story

Sometimes it’s easy to get lost in the whizzy features or technical details of something you’re promoting. A couple of months after I joined Heritage Open Days, Covid hit and we had to rethink things. It ended up being scaled back from 5500 events to 1800 – potentially a ‘bad’ news story. But it did see volunteers embracing digital for the first time, new and innovative ways of sharing history and heritage. That became the story.

And you’re human too

Alex Zeilinger-Goode says that brands and businesses need to remember this. ‘Don’t be afraid to show your soft side. I’m from a hospitality marketing background and one of my biggest takeaways from this pandemic has been the number of previously ‘untouchable’ restaurant and hotel brands that have come out to say that they’re hurting, and that this has been a really difficult time for them. A lot of the language of the bigger, more high end brands has transformed this year to be much more open and honest, from putting their business leaders out there to do opinion pieces to tone of voice on social media. A little vulnerability goes a long way in an industry where, pre-pandemic, things were becoming very focused on flashy installations and experiences.’

Creativity counts

Without the ability to disseminate The Lord Mayor’s Appeal’s annual Impact Report, we created a bold new design that runs through the pdf report, website and social media, allowing us to share impact through all channels.

Community matters

Pippa Goulden is founder of Pr Set ‘I’ve seen the brands who have nurtured their community (whether its a small one or a big one, online or offline) have really managed to weather the storm of the last 10 months.  Being accessible, present and caring – and real – has helped them get through and helped to create customer loyalty.  I’d say this year more than ever before, people are championing other people – e.gs local high streets working together to attract customers, small brands collaborating to cross promote to each other’s audiences.’ One great example of this is how Burger King have opened up their Instagram pages to other restaurants, helping to boost the hospitality sector.

Tone of voice is key

Eppie Shepherd says that she has noted how ‘brand tone of voice has adapted – we need to be more empathetic, more cautious or even have more of a sense of humour!’ It’s really crucial to know who your audience is and what matters to them. Crafting tone of voice and brand guidelines is my favourite thing to do – but this shows how it’s really important to have flexibility built into it.

Tess Agnew says something similar. ‘Listen to, understand and communicate *with* your audience & community, not just broadcast to it. Their needs, priorities and pain points will have likely changed during the pandemic so it’s important to put yourself in their shoes to understand how your content can provide answers to their questions.’

Flexibility wins

In fact, flexibility is a key theme of the year, with those who are able to be adaptable winning out. Literally PR a literature marketing business, run by Helen Lewis. She says ‘My biggest learnings about marketing during a pandemic were around the need to not get too stuck on a plan – even if lots of work has gone into it – if the timing isn’t right. The word of the year for me in marketing has been PIVOT!’

Apparently, I’m doing it all wrong. What you should do (warning: should is a dangerous word) is niche down. Find one thing you like doing, in one sector, and become known for that. Usually this advice comes from people who are writing 3000 word white papers in some niche financial tech sector, or something similar. They are also charging a fortune for it.

I get the logic. It’s best to be a big fish in a small pond. But gosh, it sounds awfully dull.

I set up my own business because I love variety. I’m one of those people always out exploring more, learning new things, discovering how the world works. That innate curiosity is something I bring to my work, and I think it makes me better at it.

I’m good at asking questions, and getting under the skin of a new client. It doesn’t matter where they are from, or what they do, the skill of being able to draw out a story is key. My journalism training probably helps me here.

I also think that working on varied projects makes me more creative. I can have a great idea for one, and see how that approach can help me with another. I can learn something with one client, and see how that idea could be applied to another.

But as I said, apparently I’m doing it all wrong. I don’t know.  I have a lively roster of clients and business seems to be doing well.

I set out to see what others thought of countering the perceived wisdom and not niching down – and found I wasn’t alone.

Georgie Darling agrees. She started out as a travel writer and now (mostly due to the current climate) broadened her services into copywriting, scriptwriting, social media content creation, basic graphic design and Pinterest pin design! She also went from working mostly with travel companies to working with coaches, makeup brands, agencies and more. ‘It’s been great for learning more skills, boosting my confidence and widening my portfolio as a freelancer,’ she says.

Bryony Bishop also says how Covid-19 has highlighted how important it is to not have all your eggs in one basket. ‘Covid-19 has shown that being adaptable, flexible and having a range of skills enables greater resilience. It also makes for varied and enriching work, in my experience. I definitely agree that finding clients that align with your values and where you can be an extension of their team, adapting to their needs, is vital.’

Carolyn Hughes is  a PR consultant and chooses clients based on cultural and personality fit, rather than business sector. ‘I work with clients who I basically get on with really well. I want to be an extension of their team so it’s all about whether we align in personality, ways of working and objectives. My skills are totally transferable so the industry matters less.’ She also points out that focusing on one industry can limit you, as many clients wouldn’t want her to work with a direct competitor.

Jess Dunbar was a broadcast journalist for 10 years before happily falling into copywriting when she had her children. Like me, the bit she loves most about the job is the variety. ‘The job demands I can capture the essence of a business in a short time and accurately represent it. What could be more inspiring than the constantly changing variety of work? Plus the challenge of tackling industries I know nothing about.’ Having a fresh pair of eyes and an objective approach is useful for clients, as you can put yourself in the customer and client shoes without bias or opinion. She says that ‘I love not having a specialism and passionately believe it helps me give my customers an edge.’

That’s not to say don’t ever focus. When marketing yourself it is key to highlight what is relevant to that client or audience. Gemma Pettman is a communications specialist with 21 years of experience. ‘I would say I have a couple of specialisms but that doesn’t prevent me working in other spaces. I think this partly comes down to how you market yourself. When I talk to charities I talk about my non-profit experience, when I talk to policing organisations I focus on that.’

It’s important to do business in the way that works for you, says Hira Sahmed. ‘I think it is more about embracing the whole of us in our businesses and our lives! If we focus our energy of niching down it might feel like it not *you* And I am a big believer of doing our businesses our way, more in tune with who we are with all the quirks and strengths + in alignment with our values. So to put that in perspective- one of my value is curiosity and I love learning new things so I make space for new projects (mostly multi-disciplinary ones) in my creative work.’

We are all multifaceted beings. And our work can reflect that. ‘Society puts so much emphasis on committing to ONE interest. Heck, we’re even expected to pick a favourite colour!’ says Karli Drew, copywriter and disabled activist. ‘But letting go of niche pressure is a one-stop shop to career freedom. Instead, I choose clients based on brand values. It improves my performance and everyone leaves a winner.’

And that’s what clients want – to win. And that’s our job – to enable them to do so. Every client wants to feel special, so as long as you bring your skills and expertise to doing a damn good job for them, it really doesn’t matter if you work in one industry or ten, on one kind of work or multiple. It’s your business, You can do work that energises you and makes your clients happy. That’s the sweet spot we’re all searching for.