3 Ways Business Leaders Can Improve Team Performance in a Challenging Environment with Harriet Stein

3 Ways Business Leaders Can Improve Team Performance in a Challenging Environment with Harriet Stein

by | Sep 28, 2020 | COVID Marketing, Insights

3 Ways Business Leaders Can Improve Team Performance in a Challenging Environment with Harriet Stein

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Business Leaders are finally realizing the importance of addressing the mental wellbeing needs of their employee base, since it is affecting their bottom line. It is unfortunate that it took a global pandemic for this issue to come to the forefront since the World Health Organization has stated that workplace stress was a global concern several years ago.

Leading in today’s environment can feel like a constant uphill battle where external circumstances are weighing on your team members. The good news is, your business (and your individual team members) can still experience growth no matter what chaos is happening around you. Burnout is an official medical diagnosis, according to the World Health Organization.

Based on my decades of experience, I have found 3 ways to improve team performance in a challenging environment.

3 Ways to Improve Team Performance in a Challenging Environment

Before you even begin, I invite you to shift your focus from the past to the present. No need to be looking in your rearview mirror at a past that is long gone. And worrying about the future has never proved valuable. 

The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.

Socrates

What can you do right now to support each individual and improve team performance?

  1. Pause and notice your thoughts and your own mental well-being. It is time to put the oxygen mask on yourself first and then look around you and see with fresh eyes who else you can help support.  A leader’s day-to-day attitude and behavior has a tremendous impact on the entire organization. Your health, and the health of everyone around you, will improve greatly.
  2. Support natural breaks that break up routines throughout the workday.  Invite your teams to take breaks.  One of the simplest things we can do even when working from home is taking at least 60 seconds (!) of every hour for what I call “non-doing”. Just rest and notice how it feels in your body without wanting it to be any different than how you find it.  Encourage it. 
  3. Provide your team with flexibility and resources introducing them to the practice of Mindfulness. 

 

“Mindfulness is the awareness that arises through paying attention on purpose in the present moment, nonjudgmentally…. in the service of self-understanding and wisdom.”

Jon Kabat-Zinn

The mind and the body work together. Your body is listening to you! It can hear you say, “How am I ever going to get all this done? I don’t even look forward to the weekend anymore.”

Why Your Team Needs Mindfulness Now

NOW, not later, is when you want to introduce a Mindfulness practice into you and your colleagues lives who are working so awfully hard for you, your company, and their families and friends.

Are you thinking, “I don’t have time for this… or we don’t have time for a program right now!”?

When people are thinking about the costs of health and wellness, they rarely consider the costs to the organization of sick time and lost productivity due to stress. All of us have been on Zoom meetings with others who are distracted, unproductive, or not fully “present.”

A Brief Mindfulness Practice

Join me in dipping your toe just briefly into the water of Mindfulness with this short practice. Find a quiet space where you can focus and follow my directions below.

I invite you to take a moment right now…and fully notice how it feels to be in your body…

noticing where your body is making contact with what you are sitting on…

feeling your weight on the back of your legs…and just resting in the moment…

with no place to go and nothing to do…and when your mind wanders as it surely will…

just noticing without judgment…once again how it feels to be sitting.

About the Author

Harriet Stein is the President of Big Toe In The Water (www.BigToeIntheWater.com), and has over 30 years of corporate and professional experience in healthcare. She is an expert on the topic of Mindfulness in the workplace as a presenter, coach, and inspiring teacher.

Harriet delivers Mindfulness programs to companies of all sizes – from small professional practices to global conglomeratets. If you are interested in having a mindfulness program for your company, please contact Harriet at Harriet@BigToeInTheWater.com or call her at 215-326-9459.

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Prepared for the New Normal? How Businesses Can Emerge Stronger Post-Pandemic with Rajat Kapur

Prepared for the New Normal? How Businesses Can Emerge Stronger Post-Pandemic with Rajat Kapur

by | Sep 22, 2020 | Business & Marketing Strategy, COVID Marketing, Events

Prepared for the New Normal? How Businesses Can Emerge Stronger Post-Pandemic with Rajat Kapur

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“It is not the strongest of species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” – Charles Darwin

There is no denying the world has shifted since COVID-19, but what does that mean for your business? The changes occurring in behavior and attitudes are so deep that companies are realizing the need to re-examine how they do business to ensure they fit the mold of the emerging “new normal.” For many, this will be an opportunity to emerge even stronger and become more competitive. For others, things will never go back to what they were, and strategies that worked in the past may no longer apply.

Join us October 7th from 9am – 10:30am for a webinar with Raj Kapur, Founder & Managing Director of &Marketing and Emily Valeo, &Marketing Content Strategist, who will share what they have learned from working with companies of all sizes to adjust their strategies during this pandemic. During this session, Raj and Emily will review:

  • Shifts in the market and what has changed as a result
  • What other companies and industries are doing to pivot and get ahead
  • What Beacon members should be thinking about in regards to messaging, marketing mix and spend in 2020 and beyond

We look forward to seeing you in this interactive session!

Register Now!
About &Marketing

&Marketing provides the robust outsourced marketing department growing companies need without the high overhead costs of big agencies or full-time employees. Our variable model empowers businesses to reach their growth goals through access to the guidance and expertise of senior level strategists and a flexible execution team.

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Leveraging the Power of LinkedIn to Work For You: Tips and Tricks to Optimize your LinkedIn Presence

Leveraging the Power of LinkedIn to Work For You: Tips and Tricks to Optimize your LinkedIn Presence

by | Sep 16, 2020 | Business & Marketing Strategy, Insights

Leveraging the Power of LinkedIn to Work For You: Tips and Tricks to Optimize your LinkedIn Presence

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New social media platforms are introduced all the time, but they don’t all have the staying power of juggernauts like Facebook. But since 2002, LinkedIn has billed itself as THE networking platform for professionals. They have now lived up to that vision, with over 660 million users across the globe today. If you have a job, you likely have a profile. Maybe you post; perhaps you don’t. With that said, it doesn’t take much to spruce up your presence and make the platform work for you. Check out these tips and tricks to leverage the power of LinkedIn.

 

Your Individual Profile

Let’s start with the basics to get your feet wet. These foundations are the most important to complete, and pretty simple. Don’t skimp on the easy stuff!

  • 100% complete: Ensure that every section of your profile is complete. Try not to leave anything blank, but don’t add irrelevant details for the sake of filling in an empty space. You’ll know you are complete when you’ve reached All-Star status on your profile completion meter!
  • Optimize your profile: Use the words you want to be known for. If you drive strategy for businesses, make sure that is included. Profiles are indexed by search engines, but you have to make sure your profile settings allow for search engine visibility via your public profile.
  • Customize your URL: LinkedIn assigns a random URL by default. Simpler is better. You can update your personal URL to display whatever you want, but your name is typically the best option.
  • Get endorsed for your skills: A personal referral can go a long way with both people you know and people you don’t know. Being referred by others shows they trust you and endorse you for your skills. Get endorsements, and be sure to give endorsements as well.
  • Provide samples of your work: You can upload various pieces of media to show your work. Include things you are proud of and showcase your skills. It’s an easy way to demonstrate your authority to anyone who’s checking out your Page.

Your Posts

How useful could a networking platform be if you don’t actually network? Use posts to share and start conversations. Ask for advice or ideas. Give your POV on industry news, trending topics, and other major events. People you are connected with or those following certain hashtags will see your posts in their news feeds. There are a few basic rules of thumb you can follow to drive more engagement through your posts.

  • Content and consistency matters: Share quality insights and fresh perspectives based on your knowledge, expertise, or observations. Use your analytics to see what’s resonating. Be sure to post regularly on timely and trending topics that get people talking. It doesn’t have to be daily, but commit to a schedule that works for you.
  • Start a conversation: Engage your network by asking an open ended question or sharing a point of view. Don’t forget to respond to commenters and engage with other posts with a comment or share to drive the conversation.
  • Use @Mentions: Invite specific people to participate in your conversations by using the @mention function in your post. This increases the chances your post will get shared and seen by people you want to hear from, along with people outside of your immediate connections.
  • Use relevant hashtags: Use hashtags to indicate what your post is about and to get the attention of certain groups. Hashtags help your content get discovered and are searchable. Do your own search of hashtags to find ones that are relevant to your audience and have a strong following so you can reach more people.
  • Include photos or videos: Posts with images or rich media draw people in and bring your post to life. LinkedIn also indicates that posts that have a visual element perform better and are more engaging, which leads to more networking.

 

Your Community

LinkedIn has a powerful tool for making connections and showcasing thought leadership within LinkedIn Groups. These groups provide a great platform for members to share their professional expertise, experiences, and advice with their connections, the larger LinkedIn community, and people who aren’t within their network. The people in these groups are there because they want to be, which allows for even more flexibility to highlight your expertise in a certain area. You can leverage groups in just a few simple steps.

  • Find the right group: There are literally millions of groups on LinkedIn, with new ones being added all the time. Find one that would benefit from your expertise. Not only can you learn from the group, but you may be able to help someone else.
  • Engage in conversations: You want to establish a presence without being too salesy. By driving thought leadership and subject matter expertise, the group members will see you as a knowledge base and take your guidance, which helps in making decisions.
  • Offer solutions (when appropriate!): Once you have established yourself as a thought leader, you can begin to offer solutions for the problems the group members are facing, but not just any solutions— your solutions. It’s also an opportunity to gauge the problems people are facing and allow you to tailor your marketing to better serve your potential customers.

Your Company

Although many people view LinkedIn as a site for job hunters and growing your professional network, it is also an effective tool for generating new leads and nurturing referral relationships. A company Page is one advantage of using LinkedIn for business. It is an opportunity to tell your company’s story, engage with followers, drive leads, share career opportunities, and scale your marketing.

  • Complete your Page: Just like your individual profile, the completeness of your company Page is important too. Even if you have had an active company Page on LinkedIn for quite some time, you should review it and make sure everything is filled out. Pages that are 100% complete get 30% more views than incomplete ones.
  • Post regularly: Companies that post weekly see two times more engagement with their content than companies that post less often. Find a cadence that works for you and stick with it.
  • Share valuable content: The foundation of any social media strategy is highly valuable content. Determine what types of information your audience needs and seeks and share content that answers their most pressing questions or solve their immediate problems.
  • Introduce new products or services: You can use this space to not only introduce new products or services, but highlight what your company has to offer. You can explain how you and your products will help customers solve their problems and meet their business needs. Driving people to your website enables followers to easily find more information and convert your website visitor traffic into warm business leads.
  • Optimize your Page and posts: Google and other search engines return LinkedIn company Pages and posts highly in the search results, so adding updates to your company Page and optimizing posts for SEO helps to improve your performance. As a result, your website may see an increase in referral traffic from LinkedIn, especially if your posts contain links back to your company’s website.
  • Invite your connections: LinkedIn says that once Pages gain 150 followers, their opportunity for growth becomes exponential. You can grow your audience by adding a follow button to your email and website, but also as a LinkedIn Page Admin, you can personally invite your followers to 1st-degree connections to follow your Page.
  • Review your analytics: With the data you gain through reviewing your Page analytics, you can see which content and topics your followers and audiences are engaging with across LinkedIn to help inform your content strategy. This data can be used to create content and posting cadence to drive more engagement and clicks to your calls to action.

All of the suggestions above are free and cost you nothing, but these are just the tip of the iceberg with the potential LinkedIn brings to the table. Many businesses are missing the free tools offered through LinkedIn by not taking advantage of all the platform has to offer as part of a comprehensive marketing strategy. A LinkedIn Company Page is essential and beneficial to your business growth. LinkedIn is a powerful platform for both professionals and the companies they work for. Check out our eBook that gives you the low-down on optimizing your company Page with both free and paid tools to maximize your opportunities on the platform.

DOWNLOAD OUR EBOOK
About &Marketing

&Marketing provides the robust outsourced marketing department growing companies need without the high overhead costs of big agencies or full-time employees. Our variable model empowers businesses to reach their growth goals through access to the guidance and expertise of senior level strategists and a flexible execution team.

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How Does the Google Ads Update Affect Your Digital Marketing Strategy?

How Does the Google Ads Update Affect Your Digital Marketing Strategy?

by | Sep 9, 2020 | Insights

How Does the Google Ads Update Affect Your Digital Marketing Strategy?

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In early September, Google surprised the industry by making a major announcement to Google Ads. Google will no longer display the full list of search queries that triggered an ad to appear in any given campaign. The change, effective immediately, will make a significant difference in the level of insight you can derive from the search patterns of your audience. This will undoubtedly make an impact in digital business and marketing strategies not only Google Ads, but also SEO, content, and insights into your audience. To help walk you through how this will affect your Google Ads strategy, we’ve pulled together some insights and suggestions for mitigating the issue.

    What exactly is changing?

    Until now, Google account managers have been able to view the Search Terms Report in their Google Ads console to see what queries were used to trigger a campaign’s ads. This meant we could actually see what people typed into Google to trigger an ad to appear. Not only did this allow us to uncover new and relevant keywords to target, it also made it easy to negate search queries that were spending money but not generating results.

    For example, let’s say you are running a campaign with a goal to sell computer monitors. When someone searches the terms “computer monitor,” you want your ad to appear. But when someone searches “monitor computers,” you don’t want your precious ad dollars spent on the similar, yet highly irrelevant term.

    That’s where the Search Terms Report has helped by blocking the term “monitor computers” from triggering ads. This most recent update will reduce the number of terms Google provides in the report by 28%.

     

    How will this impact you and your business?

    The easiest way to identify wasted spend is to review search terms that generate one to two clicks. It’s not uncommon to find single search terms that cost $3, $5, $10 or more per a single click (think of your daily budget and how much that irrelevant click will eat up). In the past, Google would show us 98.7% of all search term data so we could easily identify terms to negate. With this new implementation, that number goes down to 72%.

    Chances are you don’t have a full-time person or marketing department managing your Google Ads, and your budget is minimal. That means your wasted spend is probably much higher than the generally accepted rate of 5-20%. When onboarding new &Marketing clients, we’ve found that the percent of wasted spend for less ad-savvy (or overwhelmed) account managers is typically much higher, with an average in the 35-40% range. Given the fact that daily budgets for our clients are minimal, these irrelevant terms eat into their budget, preventing them from showing up consistently for terms that actually drive conversions and attract ideal customers.

    Because of this, you’ll lose visibility into more than a quarter of your spend, not knowing whether or not those clicks were for terms that are valuable to your business. Additionally, this will affect your SEO strategy. These search terms can help you better understand customer intent to help you identify content opportunities and determine what keywords to target when writing blog posts or improving website copy.

     

    What can you do?

    The good news? This change is NOT historical, so you can go back to previous months to get a better understanding of your wasted spend. If you need some help with this, check out our PPC inefficiencies calculator—if you upload your search terms, we’ll even do a quick audit for you. To date we’ve saved our clients over $15K in Paid Search spend that has been reallocated to higher converting terms.

    You should also continue to be vigilant in monitoring your Google Ads account. Don’t give Google money that doesn’t help you (they have enough). Take a look at the search terms that are driving unwanted clicks (even if they are only showing 72% of them) at least weekly, and negate them as quickly as possible.

    Also, consider testing Smart Bidding Strategies. Google is trying to push people to Smart Campaigns and automated bidding. It may be wise to consider a small test to determine the results for yourself.

    Last but definitely not least, continue to follow our blog, as we’ll be monitoring this change to provide key updates.

    Want to get ahead of the curve and see how much wasted spend you have? Check our PPC Inefficiency Calculator.

    Get The Calculator
    About &Marketing

    &Marketing provides the robust outsourced marketing department growing companies need without the high overhead costs of big agencies or full-time employees. Our variable model empowers businesses to reach their growth goals through access to the guidance and expertise of senior level strategists and a flexible execution team.

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