What is Intention & Why Does it Matter?

Intention: a thing intended; an aim or plan or conceptions formed by directing the mind towards an object.

Synonyms: Purpose, Goal, Intent

Late Middle English: from Old French entencion, from Latin intentio(n- ) ‘stretching, purpose’, from intendere.

Thank you Google Search!

Why does Intention Matter?

As an entrepreneur, much of your success depends on luck, your engagement, and intention. I genuinely consider intention as one of the elements that contribute to success. It might plausibly be one of the initial measures towards achievement. Intention emerges from the desire to create and trust in the process.

What is the purpose behind the stuff you do? Think about any of your regular habits and then consider how and why you developed them.

Setting intentions means you are aware of what to do to attain a specific goal. It helps you to be in the moment and focus on what you can do best now instead of wallowing in the past or fretting about the future.

Create a vision board

Okay, so you have that amazing idea but don't know how to go about it? Scattered thoughts are undoubtedly ignored, while a vision board reminds you of your intentions and makes it easier for you to align other aspects of your life to achieve a certain goal. A vision board is a reminder that you should focus your energy on your aim.

Perform Every Task with Intention

Our daily lives are made up of countless tasks that we tackle mechanically without asking ourselves the reason behind these. Constructing such a pattern without understanding the purpose of each task leads to a potentially destructive pattern that ultimately leads to a life without purpose. By being fully aware of why you're performing X or Y task, you acquire some sense of control over the odds and ends of your course and can hence eliminate what you deem as useless and utilize your energy to act towards your goal. For instance, you intend to build a brand that is built on sustainability, however many of your daily actions contradict this idea, by including a simple 'Sort out the trash' to your task list, you are actively working towards your intention. Start with the little things and watch the universe reciprocate.

Compose a Personal Statement

Begin your day with an understanding of your purpose. Build your plans based on your core values, beliefs, and your true self. Set the intention to do things purposefully and in alignment with your goals to fuel your aspirations. Your statement is a reminder that every thought, action, choice, connection that you make is directly or indirectly linked to your intentions and serves as reminders to keep you on track. Conscious choices power our intentions, illuminate our journey, and feed our flow. Feeling stuck? Sometimes, we need to look into our past choices, thoughts, and actions to make space for truer intentions. By including choices with intention, you can grow and create the best version of yourself and turn even your craziest dreams into reality.

Conclusion

If you wake up every single day with a positive intention, chances are that you'll have a better day and that:

1. You will be grateful for what you have completed.

2. You will find meaning in what you have done and accomplished.

3. You will look forward to the following day.

It is simply a step-by-step process to realizing your goals without losing sight of progress and purpose. Start by including purpose in each of your daily actions and build from there without making it too complicated. In the end, it's all about generating positive energy and consciously living and growing with intention.

By setting our consciousness in the right direction, it becomes easier to find pleasure in the most mundane tasks and construct the path to your goals and the life you desire.

More on intention here:

Setting Daily Intentions Will Change Your Life

The Importance of Intention

Why Intention is More Important than You Think?

Our Other Articles:

4 Genius Ideas on How to Use Storytelling to Shoot up Engagement on Social Media.

Social Media Marketing: Friend or Foe?

Diversity, The Black Sheep of Businesses.

4 Genius Ideas on How to Use Storytelling to Shoot up Engagement on Social Media.

Keeping your audience engaged is critical to your brand's success. Simply setting up a business page and showcasing your products online is not enough in 2021. You need to build a life-long relationship with your potential customers to achieve a strong reputation in your niche market. Storytelling is one of the most foolproof techniques to keep your audience hooked without wasting a single penny.

We all relish a good story, particularly when it is unique. Your audience needs to know more about the bits and pieces that make up your brand. I’ve discovered local brand stories through interviews and each of them had a unique story that added character to their brand.

Practically all businesses have fascinating stories that are worth sharing. Stories are impactful and more importantly, they inspire trust.

Storytelling has become an invaluable tool in marketing and it requires creativity.

Forbes defines it as an art that requires no boundaries but three precious ingredients: simplicity, directness, and honesty while Inc suggests:

1.Writing down your past, present, and future story. What got you started, why does your brand story matter, how is your business evolving and what is your brand vision.

2.Formulating a brand statement that explains why the business exists.

3.And finally, writing a story based on the above.

Here are 4 elements that you should consider when writing your story:

Make it about the People

Your audience finds it essential to connect with the faces behind your brand which is why you need to incorporate details that reflect your brand values and this is efficiently achieved through people. People render brands more interesting and this aids in adding a human touch to your products and services. Stories are more appealing when they focus on people who share an intimate experience with your brand.

Customers, business partners, and employees are the assets of your brand and by introducing their narratives into your marketing strategy, you can emotionally connect with potential customers. Endorsements are valuable but storytelling builds a lasting impression on your audience since they can identify with your protagonists.

Let Them Know You Care

In 2020, consumers had the opportunity to reflect on their relationships with brands. Since then, consumers expect brands to actively take action and not just display empty solidarity when it comes to social issues. As a brand, your voice can influence and guide others. Therefore, your stories should be a reflection of who you are. Consumers want to connect with brands that care about causes and not solely revenue.

For instance, if you genuinely care about unfair wages or sustainability, you can provide information about these matters and suggest how you and your audience can help in tackling the problem. When the Wakashio Oil spill disaster struck Mauritius, small businesses like Kotpiale, Cahaya Morphosis showed their support by encouraging others to actively participate in the cleaning process. Storytelling can be a reflection of your brand values, ethics, and more. Remember that it is better to refrain from feigning that you care about causes on social media since it can conclusively lead to a backlash.

Storytelling as a Learning Tool

As a business owner, you have to be steadily aware of current marketing strategies and storytelling is one of the tools that allows you to learn more about your brand and your audience.

Storytelling can focus on educating your audience on the things that make your brand one of its kind. Your stories can focus on first-hand experiences and observations that allow your audience to experience all the elements of your brand while providing you insights into the market and society through research. By inspecting your brand position regularly, you can better understand your audience and address their needs. More on it here. Storytelling is beneficial to marketers and consumers, alike.

Make the Details Count

Small businesses have mastered the art of capturing their audiences’ minds through details. They highlight tasks such as their product packaging or their crafting processes thus, providing deeper insight into production subtly and interestingly. It is a means to promote your products without focusing on the sale or on the product itself. Storytelling has the power to render the plainest of things captivating which is why every marketer should consider it.

If you are not the creative type, I’d suggest constructing a product narrative, you have probably come across those cat adoption posts that reveal their personal stories, consider doing the same with your products, explain how and why your products are worth a try without sounding salesy. Blog posts are often dedicated to that purpose. They offer you solutions through storytelling which is more compelling than product specifications.

Storytelling at Pineapple Cloud Mauritius

The mission of Pineapple Cloud Mauritius is to generate entrepreneurship awareness in Mauritius, and since this is an honest interest of mine, most of my posts are dedicated to the journey of Mauritian entrepreneurs, their struggles, their products, and so on. This, in turn, leads to WOM (word of mouth) which is free and allows me to connect with like-minded people. It’s all about honesty, genuine interest, and simple stories!

Conclusion

Nike is seemingly one of the few leading brands that has adopted storytelling as part of its marketing tactics. The brand is renowned for tackling sports issues such as racism and sexism. Nike has convinced us that highlighting modern taboos lead to life-long customer loyalty.

If you still believe your brand doesn't have a story, it's time to analyze your journey, your brand ideas, and your vision.

Product specifications are outdated, storytelling has become the new norm and you surely don't want to be left out!

Want to discover more about Brand Storytelling, check out some of these links:

Sendible’s Guide to Using Storytelling on Social Media

Sprout Social’s Guide to Engaging customers with Brand Storytelling

Business2Community: The art of storytelling on Social Media

Thank you for reading! If you’re curious about entrepreneurs in Mauritius, take a look at our Small Business Stories posts.

Pineapple Cloud Mauritius

Social Media Marketing: Friend or Foe?

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Social media marketing has been all over the internet for the few past years and, if you haven’t figured it till now, it is high time for you to capitalize on SMM! With the advent of new technologies, chances are that SMM is here to stay. SMM is a great way for SMEs to connect with their audience and even develop a consumer persona. It is by far less costly than advertising and allows more flexibility in terms of strategy. Yet, as remarkable as it might sound, marketers should be vigilant when it comes to irrelevant content or data deluge. This article highlights the opportunities and obstacles when dealing with SMM.

Social media marketing is about connecting people with brands thus, building customer retention through engagement. Social media has provided a reliable space for businesses to interact with potential customers. This would have been practically impossible ten years ago. With the right content and tools, businesses can build a lifetime relationship with a target audience without spending millions. Social media platforms make it easy for marketers to keep track of their brands' success through insights. Marketers can decide when is the best time to post, who are their potential customers and so on. It is also a low-cost strategy in contrast with advertising.

A Strong Presence

The benefits of this novel approach of marketing are numerous but the most significant remains the fact that businesses can have conversations about their goods and services at virtually any time of the day. The interaction between companies makes the targeted audience feel valued. It is precisely this social currency that encourages consumers and users to recommend a brand and this is surprisingly sufficient for a brand or its product to go viral.

The Human Touch

This form of marketing remains key to the growth of small and medium enterprises. Businesses with a genuine purpose and carefully crafted messages can reach thousands of customers but the key is to remain relevant and to ensure that the targeted audience desire this bit of knowledge. The challenge remains the human element when interacting with the audience. Using automated posting software allows businesses to establish a 24/7 presence but this has been criticised due to the lack of human interaction. Many businesses tend to overlook the purpose of consumer service which is more important in customer retention than marketing strategies. Customers can feel that they are nothing but just the next prey of some brand; brands run the risk of being perceived as part of the problem rather than a solution due to data deluge.

Aligning Business Values with Content

Businesses should be aware of major trends and events in order not to share something that may be deemed inappropriate. Using social media can be tricky, therefore businesses should be extra careful whenever they share content related to current issues. Capitalizing on movements is a risky move that should be considered only if the values of a brand align with the message of a movement, else brands should refrain from curating anything related to the event to dodge possible backlash.

Brand Parity

The other hazard is the over-saturation of products and services from brands that are already in a better position than striving brands. For smaller businesses that rely mostly on an organic reach, it might simply not be possible to acquire the desired support without sufficient capital. Hence, it is fundamental to invest in content that distinguishes your product or service from the rest. Standing out in a pool of data is crucial. You want your audience to remember your brand and forget about the rest.

Exposure to Brand Damage

Since traditional media allowed only one-way communication, chances that the reputation of a brand could be ruined within a few hours were faint, but now that customers have acquired a voice they can easily leave reviews and cause irreparable damage to a brand. For instance, various brands were condemned for using the BLM movement in 2020 as tokenism to show support. What was highly unexpected was the backlash that followed within a couple of hours of their claims. The worst part is that users managed to find relevant data to support their claims and exposed these brands. (e.g. L’Oreal Paris, Jacquemus, Pretty Little Thing)

Social media marketing offers numerous opportunities for budding businesses to develop brand equity. Brands can differentiate their products or service from other brands by analysing their competitors' tactics and create a marketing strategy accordingly. Marketers should keep in mind that marketing trends are prone to change and it is, therefore, essential to experiment to stay ahead of competitors. By developing a customer persona, marketers can put themselves in the shoes of their potential customer and focus on brand resonance. It is imperative to focus on building loyalty through which businesses are more likely to have a high rate of customer retention which in turn converts to word of mouth marketing and sales.

Lawlor, A., 2014. Is social media automation hurting brands? The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/sep/02/is-social-media-automation-damaging-your-brand [Accessed March 11, 2021].

Ritschel, C., 2020. Pretty Little Thing sparks backlash with 'inappropriate' illustration of 'jet black hand'. The Independent. Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/pretty-little-thing-hand-twitter-racism-skin-colour-minneapolis-protests-a9539456.html [Accessed March 12, 2021].

Wainewright, P., 2013. Social media marketing starts within a business. The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/salesforce-partner-zone/social-media-marketing-starts-within-a-business [Accessed March 11, 2021].