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Say what you mean and mean what you say

BY BRENDAN KANE

Say what you mean and mean what you say

Sometimes we default to our factory settings when choosing our words. We fall back on a familiar but bland vocabulary whose strength has eroded from overuse. When we apply weak and faded descriptions to content,...

Too much information–a fatal content pitfall ☠️

BY BRENDAN KANE

Too much information–a fatal content pitfall ☠️

A running joke on the TV show Schitt's Creek is the massive, multi-page menu at Café Tropical. ...

Would you eat a black bean brownie? 🫘

BY BRENDAN KANE

Would you eat a black bean brownie? 🫘

Nobody wants to eat a black bean brownie. You might fool yourself into believing it’s just as ...

Too old for TikTok?

BY BRENDAN KANE

Too old for TikTok?

Justin Bieber is almost 30. Let that sink in for a minute. The baby-faced teen idol synonymous...

Do you have a weird sense of humor?

BY BRENDAN KANE

Do you have a weird sense of humor?

It’s obvious that comedy is a great engine for driving viral content, but not all content is equa...

Can you wear a tuxedo to a baseball game?

BY BRENDAN KANE

Can you wear a tuxedo to a baseball game?

Do you remember seeing your Kindergarten teacher outside the classroom for the first time? It daw...

BY BRENDAN KANE

Avatar is a movie, not a marketing tool

When you imagine your ideal customer, you probably have a list of attributes that form an avatar....

How to talk to real people

BY BRENDAN KANE

How to talk to real people

GenZ doesn’t use Google anymore. From instructional videos to product recommendations to virtual ...

We know how to speak to 95% of your audience

BY BRENDAN KANE

We know how to speak to 95% of your audience

Osmosis is the process of absorption; a usually effortless and often unconscious assimilation. An...

10,000 hour rule debunked

BY BRENDAN KANE

10,000 hour rule debunked

144M followers and 11B likes. A television show, podcast, book and a signature perfume. Oh yeah, ...

Seasons greetings! Too soon?

BY BRENDAN KANE

Seasons greetings! Too soon?

It’s impossible to forget Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, Father’s Day, the 4th of July, Labor Day, e...

Lessons in storytelling

BY BRENDAN KANE

Lessons in storytelling

Once upon a time there were three bears, and one day, after they had made porridge for their brea...

“It’s Corn! A big lump with knobs” 🌽

BY BRENDAN KANE

“It’s Corn! A big lump with knobs” 🌽

Hey, The question we hear the most at Hook Point is, “I get what you’re saying about growing m...

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Strategy Sessions With Brendan Kane

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“It slices and it dices”

“Set it and forget it”

“The biggest fishing invention since the hook”

000 hour rule debunked

11 billion views

1956 paper published by cognitive psychologist George A. Miller

1983 Panasonic Microwave Oven Commercial

50 People Try to Peel an Egg

7 different pieces of information

abandoned Google for TikTok and Instagram search.

ABC of marketing

absurdity as a performance driver

adaptive cruise control

advertising content

ancient advertising practices

and dark chocolate

and Dunkin Donuts

and music are key elements of a viral video

and textures of a culture

as precisely as possible

attention-grabbers

audience growth

balances authenticity and directness

Be passionate about what you’re selling.

Behavior Design Lab at Stanford University

Behavior equals Motivation

behind the curtain

black bean brownie

bland vocabulary

Bluma Zeigarnik

business innovation

business strategy

capitalize on all that growth

cautionary tale

Charli D'Amelio

Cognitive biases

Colin and Samir

Communication is math

competitive analysis

competitors’ product

complicated questions

Conan O’Brien

concentrated talent

confirmation bias

confusion directly

Connection + value = caring.

content creation

Content creation channels

content creator

content creators

content for moms

content ideation

content strategy

conversion rate

cookie coffee table

cooking channel

Create your offer

creative process

creativity and talent

Creativity is subjective

Cristiano Ronaldo

cryptocurrencies

cyclical repetition

David and Goliath

decentralized currency

deeper connection

deliver an experience

descriptions of your product

digital advertising

digital business

digital marketing

digital platforms

digital strategy

Dimash Kudaibergen

Do A Lot Of Drafts

does this work optimally?

doesn’t fit their brand

Dollar Shave Club

Dr. Julie Smith

Drummond Street

effective content creators

emotional hook point

entitled little girl

European CHampionship

experience-based format

Facebook Ad Library

factory settings

faded descriptions

far easier time remembering an incomplete task than one that’s completed.

fictional company

financial struggle

first time author

free-throw line

From Pac-Man to Mario

generalist principle

Generations Y and Z

Good comedy feels effortless

graphic designer

grocery shopping

Guardians of the Galaxy

How To Grow Your Brand On Social Media

Humor is subjective.

hypothesis: absurdity

ideation process

instant success

Internet crack up

Jacksonville Jaguars

James Bond film

Just slightly ahead of our time.

Kids Try Famous Video Game Food

Kids Try Store-Bought vs. Homemade Cookies

Know when to call for action.

language of social media

layers and variations

legacy advertising practices

lists of all its features

Lithuanian psychologist

Little Red Riding Hood

Malcolm Gladwell

market and economic conditions

massive audience

maximize the impact

McDonald’s McRib

meaningful connections

mediocre content

mental shortcuts

million views on YouTube

mission and plan

mysterious guessing game

new content formats

No magic formula

no one size fits all solution

not the features.

One Million Followers

One Million Followers: How I Built A Massive Social Following In 30 Days

organic social media

ower-performing videos

Paid 'Professional' Rappers To Rap on My Beat

pattern interruption

Pew Research Center Study

Planet of the Apes

Play To Your Strengths

Pocket Fisherman

popular channels

potential pain point

Pre-Visualize the Perfect Effect

predictable engine to drive sales

predictive viral content model

present your content

Primitive Unique Tool

problem solvers

Process Communication Model

product development

professional content-consumers

professional content-producers

professional regular people

proven track record

put in the work

Quality and consistency

Quality over quantity

quarterly marketing

Quiznos Sponge Monkeys

reach audiences

reaching customers

Read It Out Loud

real goal is attention

reative and be original

reversal of fortune

Salesman of the Century

science of human behavior

scientific approach

seasoned veteran of the publishing industry

Seasons greetings!

sensitive or serious topics

short-term memory

Showtime Rotisserie

Simplicity is key.

Sir Alexander Fleming

social advertising

social marketing

social media content

social media strategy

social networks

social platforms

specific expertise

St. Patrick’s Day

start TikToking

Strategy + Implementation = Viral Success

survivorship bias

t's a profit deal

tactics vs strategy

Talent isn’t enough

Talk about the benefits

target customer

There is no shortcut

thirty-second video

three seconds to grab a viewer’s attention

TikTok lawyer Erika Kullberg

title this piece

Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

too big to fail

Total immersion

traffic source driving

Twitch streamer Mzkif’s

unexpected punchline

unity of action

unstructured message

versus what they actually need

viral successes

visceral sense of tension as new plot elements

weird sense of humor

what the customer wants

Wine Expert Guesses Cheap v. Expensive Wine

world’s largest

YouTuber Mark Rober

Zeigarnik Effect

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