(This first appeared in an email from https://www.azeliemarketing.com/ – reposted with permission)
Cue the scene:
Imagine a sun-drenched field, bursting with the promise of summer – filled with families weaving through rows of bushes, filling their buckets with the orchard’s ripest, most delicious berries.
For this orchard, it’s Instagram gold.
Except… for most small businesses, it isn’t.
This scene is a social media mirage.
Why?
Typically, it’s because of this:
No marketing team or social media manager to capture the moments
No social media strategy or consistent posting schedule
No time for owners to create content themselves
Sound familiar?
The small business owner’s lament:
“I’m too busy running my business to post on social media.”
It’s the modern paradox of entrepreneurship.
You create incredible experiences every day, but sharing it feels like pulling teeth.
So, what if there was another way?
Enter: our local orchard.
They face the same struggle.
No fancy marketing team
No influencer budget
Just a small business growing berries, serving local families, and finding creative ways to bring the community to them.
Their secret weapon?
A social media photo contest.
Simple, but brilliant.
And it changed everything for this little orchard.
Here’s how it works:
The orchard announces a photo contest every year
Families submit pictures of their berry-picking adventures
The orchard gets permission to use all the photos on social media
Suddenly, their social media posts are filled with real, raw customer experiences, user-generated content, and customer stories.
Hundreds of entries. A continuous stream of real experiences.
They turned their customers into their marketing team.
The lesson?
Your best marketer might be picking berries right now.
Your most compelling content could be in the hands of a 3-year-old tasting her first juicy strawberry right there on the field.
The question isn’t: “How can I create more content?”
It’s: “How can I empower my customers to help tell my story?”
Because ultimately, the best stories about your business aren’t the ones you tell.
They’re the ones your customers are eager to share.
__
Okay, but you might be thinking:
Cool, Dani. But I’m not selling sunshine and berries.
Here’s the thing:
Whether you are in the business of insurance, financial services, or selling plumbing supplies – every company is in the business of stories.
Actuarial tables = safeguarding someone’s dreams
Mutual fund = sending a kid to college
Pipe fittings = clean water to a family’s home
Uncover the stories hiding in plain sight.
These are your berries. These are your sun-drenched fields.
Your challenge isn’t to make your business “exciting”
It’s to reveal the transformation that exists in the everyday experiences you deliver to your customers.
Because whether you’re selling berries or bonds, pipe fittings or peace of mind, your business is built on human stories.
And those stories?
They’re the sweetest fruit of all. 🍓
Dani
P.S. My littlest spending hours on end picking every blueberry there is to pick :)
About Dani Kimble
2 years into my marketing business, and I wanted to quit. (like… literally change careers) I took on every request: - Lead generation - Paid ads - SEO Suddenly, I found myself way too busy buried in all the wrong type of work. The constant request for short term tactics, with most lacking a solid brand foundation for these tactics to scale. It was incredibly frustrating. As a marketer, I knew the highest-ROI channels needed a brand strategy: - Referrals trump cold leads when you have a brand worth recommending - Retention outweighs acquisition when there’s an authentic brand connection - Content drives impact when it’s an authentic expression of the brand’s voice - Paid ad yield profits when you know exactly who your target audience is There was this huge gap that no one seemed to be addressing. The lack of brand strategy underpinning it all. So, I pivoted in 2023 to focus less on marketing, more on brand. → Brand foundation → Brand strategy → Brand story → Brand identity I started with target market research. Then I added positioning and differentiation. Then I added brand story, POVs, and messaging. Then I created the visuals to help communicate it all. Each addition produced a stronger foundation, which led to more strategic and scalable marketing approach and greater results. So, I redesigned my business and core solution: Brand Strategy Though way harder to “measure” - brand strategy is the force multiplier for marketing spend. There are 3 ways I help professional services businesses doing over $3M ARR: 1. Brand Audit 2. Brand Strategy 3. Brand Activation Visit azeliestudio.com or send me a DM if you want to get the details.
2 years into my marketing business, and I wanted to quit.
(like… literally change careers)
I took on every request:
- Lead generation
- Paid ads
- SEO
Suddenly, I found myself way too busy buried in all the wrong type of work.
The constant request for short term tactics, with most lacking a solid brand foundation for these tactics to scale.
It was incredibly frustrating.
As a marketer, I knew the highest-ROI channels needed a brand strategy:
- Referrals trump cold leads when you have a brand worth recommending
- Retention outweighs acquisition when there’s an authentic brand connection
- Content drives impact when it’s an authentic expression of the brand’s voice
- Paid ad yield profits when you know exactly who your target audience is
There was this huge gap that no one seemed to be addressing.
The lack of brand strategy underpinning it all.
So, I pivoted in 2023 to focus less on marketing, more on brand.
→ Brand foundation
→ Brand strategy
→ Brand story
→ Brand identity
I started with target market research.
Then I added positioning and differentiation.
Then I added brand story, POVs, and messaging.
Then I created the visuals to help communicate it all.
Each addition produced a stronger foundation, which led to more strategic and scalable marketing approach and greater results.
So, I redesigned my business and core solution:
Brand Strategy
Though way harder to “measure” - brand strategy is the force multiplier for marketing spend.
There are 3 ways I help professional services businesses doing over $3M ARR:
1. Brand Audit
2. Brand Strategy
3. Brand Activation
Visit azeliestudio.com or send me a DM if you want to get the details.
