Lindsey Bartlett

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You don’t necessarily have to sacrifice one to achieve the other. All companies must eventually make sales if they want to last as a business. And to make sales, you need to work on marketing — or getting your brand and products in front of potential customers and detailing the reasons why they should pass their hard-earned cash off to you. But while earning sales is one of the main goals of good marketing, some efforts can sometimes come off too “salesy,” turning off customers with far too insistent and persistent language and messaging. Today’s consumers crave more transparency from brands, so marketers must work to balance their sales pitch with their brand’s authentic voice. Drawing on their own experiences as business leaders, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council weigh in below on how brands can balance authenticity and marketing when developing their unique brand story and why it’s so important to do so.

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To market to a younger audience, you first have to get to know them on a deeper level. Culture is rapidly changing, with influencer-recommended shopping and rapid content consumption becoming the norm. And as younger generations not only embrace this new culture but lead it, companies are finding themselves targeting a new demographic of consumers. However, taking the same-old approach won’t be effective if you want to gain the interest of young consumers. From marketing on the right platforms to supporting their favorite social causes, companies will need to consider younger generations’ differing preferences. Here, the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council offer up nine ways companies can better engage younger consumers and the methods that have worked well for them. 

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Watch out for these telltale signs that your brand may need some fine-tuning. Brand alignment is crucial to any business's success, both on an initial and ongoing basis. If your brand doesn't deliver on its mission and value proposition — or communicate this information in a way that resonates with your target audience — you might find yourself with decreased engagement, fewer sales and a lack of clarity on how to move forward. But how do you know if your brand is misaligned, and what can you do to fix the problem? Here, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council share some red flags that your brand needs realignment, along with actionable steps to get things back on track.

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If you want to convince someone to buy from you, first you have to understand the value you’re offering. When you run a business in a creative industry, it might not always be clear how to monetize your work. Whether you’re an independent artist, a freelance creator or any other form of solopreneur, one of the first steps on your road to success is managing to land your first sale — and that can be a tricky endeavor on your own. Having each worked in the culture space for some time, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council know what it takes to run successful businesses in creative industries. Here, they weigh in with words of wisdom for aspiring or current entrepreneurs on how to land that elusive first sale, and what it takes to keep your business going even after you’ve earned your first customer.

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Letting customers get to know your brand on a deeper level can drive long-term loyalty. Customers are more informed than they ever have been before — and they’d like to keep it that way. In fact, a recent study by Sprout Social found that 86 percent of Americans believe transparency in business to be more important now than ever. They want to know who they’re buying from, what they stand for and what it truly is they’re purchasing with their hard-earned dollars. This knowledge can help drive loyalty and trust among consumers, earning businesses repeat sales and a stable customer base. But what are some of the ways companies can give customers more behind-the-scenes insights? As business leaders in the culture space, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council have a few tried-and-true tips to share. Consider their advice to incorporate more opportunities for transparency with customers and have a positive impact on your company's overall reputation.

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