the ward method

Tag: social-media

  • 5 things I’ve learned about marketing.

    5 things I’ve learned about marketing.

    I have to pinch myself sometimes, because I would’ve never expected to end up in the marketing space. For the longest time, I thought that world was reserved for people with degrees and fancy job titles, not someone who just loved creativity, storytelling, and figuring out what makes people tick.

    But somehow, I landed here. And along the way, I’ve learned a few things about what truly makes good marketing work, things they don’t necessarily teach you in a textbook.

    Marketing isn’t just about selling. It’s about translating a feeling, turning an idea into something people actually want to be part of. Over the years, I’ve learned that the best marketing doesn’t shout. It whispers, connects, and stays with you.

    Here are five things that shifted how I see it:

    1. A brand isn’t what you say, it’s how you make people feel

    It’s easy to focus on colour palettes and taglines (and yes, they matter), but what people remember is how your brand makes them feel. Whether it’s calm, confident, nostalgic, or bold, emotion drives loyalty. Design and copy are just how you express it.

    2. Simplicity is powerful

    Clarity is underrated. The more you strip away, the noise, the filler, the trying-too-hard energy, the more people actually listen. A good campaign doesn’t need to be loud. It just needs to be clear.

    3. Don’t underestimate email marketing

    Email isn’t dead, it’s where real connection still happens. Algorithms can hide your content, but an email lands directly in someone’s space. It’s personal. It’s intentional. And when done right, it builds relationships that outlast any social trend.

    4. Community > virality

    It’s tempting to chase numbers, but a community that actually cares about your brand will always be more valuable than one viral moment. The quiet, consistent connection beats the fleeting hype every time.

    5. Good marketing listens

    The best ideas come from observation, from watching how people talk, what they love, what they scroll past. When you listen before you speak, your message hits deeper.

    If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that anyone can learn anything. You don’t need a fancy title or a marketing degree to understand people, you just need curiosity, consistency, and the willingness to figure it out as you go.

    Everything I know, I learned by doing. By watching, testing, failing, and trying again. That’s the beauty of this space, it’s built for the ones who are willing to keep learning.

  • i deleted instagram for 2 months. here’s what actually happened.

    i deleted instagram for 2 months. here’s what actually happened.

    i’ve always joked that instagram is my toxic boyfriend. i know it’s bad for me, but somehow i keep going back. the mindless scrolling, the comparing, the random dopamine hits, it’s like emotional junk food for the brain. but this year, something in me snapped. one morning, i opened the app, scrolled for two minutes, and realized i didn’t actually care about anything i was looking at. so i deleted it. no big announcement, no “digital detox” story post, i just… left.

    and honestly? it was weird at first. like my thumb kept going to the exact spot where the app used to be, as if muscle memory was exposing how addicted i really was. but after a few days, the noise started to fade, and i started noticing things. real things.

    1. i actually have time.

    turns out, when you stop scrolling through everyone else’s life, you get to live your own. shocking, i know. i didn’t realize how much time i was wasting until my weekends started to feel longer. mornings felt calmer. i was making breakfast without also mentally drafting a caption about it. there’s something strangely freeing about doing things without thinking about how they’ll look online.

    2. my brain got quieter.

    without the constant stream of opinions, aesthetics, and “inspo,” my thoughts stopped feeling so crowded. i didn’t realize how much space instagram took up in my head, always comparing, analyzing, trying to keep up. after a few weeks, i felt… lighter. more focused. i could actually sit in silence without reaching for distraction.

    3. i reached out more.

    when you’re not liking everyone’s photos, you actually text them. weird, right? i started texting friends instead of just watching their stories. i had longer conversations, met up more, and realized how much deeper connection feels offline.

    4. comparison lost its grip.

    there’s something about being away from the highlight reel that makes your own life feel more than enough. i stopped obsessing over what everyone else was doing, where they were traveling, what they were wearing. instead, i started noticing how good my own coffee tasted in the morning, how peaceful it felt to walk without headphones, how lucky i am to have the people i have.

    5. i figured out what i actually like.

    this was the most unexpected one. without being subconsciously influenced by trends, I started gravitating toward things that genuinely made me happy, not just what looked “aesthetic” or got likes. i realized i love slick back buns, minimal make-up, baggy clothes, random playlists, and long walks with no purpose. my taste, my style, my thoughts, they felt like mine again.

    stepping back from the app reminded me of something i kind of forgot: scrolling isn’t living. it’s observing. it’s watching other people’s lives through a tiny glass window. but when you shut it for a bit, you realize how much beauty is sitting quietly in your own world, your people, your routines, your quiet mornings, your bad days, your good ones.

    and life offline? it’s slower, softer, more real.
    and honestly… it feels pretty damn good.

  • “I need a break from my phone” – me, five hours after scrolling non-stop

    “I need a break from my phone” – me, five hours after scrolling non-stop

    Lately, I’ve caught myself doing that thing where you open Instagram, close it… then open it again three seconds later. It’s not even conscious at this point, it’s autopilot. Like muscle memory, but with slightly more existential dread.

    The truth is: I love my screen (but at the same time I don’t). It keeps me connected, entertained, inspired, and occasionally gives me the serotonin hit I didn’t know I needed (hi, funny Tana Mongeau videos). But I’ve also noticed the flip side. The overstimulation. The headaches. The constant comparison trap. And that weird foggy feeling that creeps in when I’ve been staring at a screen for too long.

    So, I took a break.

    I’ve been off Instagram for almost a month now, and honestly? I feel way more present. Like I can hear myself think again. Like I’m actually in my life, not just watching it unfold through stories or comparing it to someone else’s highlight reel.

    So, how can we be a little more mindful with our screen time?

    Here are a few things that have actually helped me stop spiraling into the digital void:

    1. Create screen ‘windows’

    Instead of being on all the time, I’ve started scheduling windows for checking social apps, so once in the morning (after journaling, if I’m feeling like that girl), once around lunch, and then again in the evening. Giving myself clear times makes it feel like a choice, not a compulsion.

    2. Set time limits (and stick to them)

    I used to think app timers were unnecessary…until I realized I was spending four hours a day on YouTube. Now, I set a 30-minute limit on my most-used apps. Sure, I sometimes hit “Ignore for 15 more minutes,” but hey, progress, not perfection.

    3. Power down before bed

    This one changed my sleep game. Shutting down electronics two hours before bedtime has helped my brain actually wind down. When I can’t resist some sort of media, I’ll switch to music, a podcast, or an audiobook, something that doesn’t require my eyes to be glued to a screen. It’s way gentler on the brain and honestly, my dreams are better too.

    So what’s the deal with screens + mental health?

    Too much screen time, especially without breaks, can impact our brains. Constant stimulation trains our brains to seek dopamine hits fast (scroll, like, scroll again), which makes it harder to focus, feel grounded, or even enjoy the little things IRL.

    Studies have also shown that excessive screen use can mess with our sleep cycles, increase anxiety, and mess with our attention span. And if you’re already feeling emotionally off? The constant stream of curated content can feel more like a punch in the gut than an escape.

    It’s not about quitting your phone, it’s about checking in with how you’re using it

    I still love my phone. I still make aesthetic Pinterest boards, scroll on YouTube shorts, and send memes occasionally at midnight. But I also give myself permission to disconnect. To sit in silence. To be a little bored.

    Because sometimes the real magic happens off screen, when you’re sitting at the beach, taking a walk, or just breathing for a second without a notification pulling you back in.

    So if you needed a sign to log off and go touch some grass? This is it.