A Brighter Web | Grow your business with digital marketing

Using Personality Assessments at Your Business

Personality tests are more than just Buzzfeed time-wasters. They can be tools for understanding coworkers, building better teams, and becoming more self-aware. So which personality assessments are the most helpful and how do they apply to marketing?

Show Notes

What are some of the personality assessments out there?

• Myers Briggs: 16 personalities with 4 different categories
• Enneagram: 9 personalities
• DISC profile: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, Conscientiousness
• Right Path: 16 blended profiles
• Strengths Finder: several different strengths ranked

How does GreenMellen get into using personality assessments?

• We have always been a team of do-ers. We get things done, we are task-oriented. This was great for projects, but when it was time to grow our services, we hit a wall.
• After one of our business coaches suggested a team personality assessment, we learned we how best to work with one another.
• Just “being nice” isn’t the right approach.

Are personality tests perfect? What are the pros and cons?

• Pros: Quick shorthand to understanding how people think and operate, fun to do as a team, gives you language around types of people and behaviors
• Cons: can be overly generalized, overused to make big decisions, hard to know which one to use, not obvious how to put the results into practice. 
• People can “own” them a bit too much and try to become what the test said they should be, which is certainly problematic.

What does this mean for marketing and your business?

• Make sure you have the right people on your team.
• Know what roles and tasks motivate people
• How to communicate properly with people
• Think about what personality each of your audience personas has

Balancing Remote Work with In-Office Work

Remote work has been around for decades, but a global pandemic and booming technology have allowed for working from home to become more commonplace. But is this practice a fad or the future of work? How do businesses handle this changing landscape of work?

Is this the desirable benefit some people think it is? Is it the future or a fad?

• Depends largely on the industry.
• Some businesses are able to get away with it more than others.
• It can also be individual. Some people are more productive at home than the office.

How have we made this work at GreenMellen?

In-person work:

• Collaboration time
• Social time

Remote work:

• Block your lunch hour
• Stay on communication channels

What are some of the benefits or disadvantages as we see it?

• Pros: more flexibility, no commute, happier employees, save $$ on offices
• Cons: less face time, abuse of company time, less collaboration, more isolation

How can other businesses prepare for more remote or hybrid work?

• Find the right communication channels—Slack, Zoom, Loom, etc.
• Help people set boundaries (reference our episode on mental health)
• Find ways to maintain a culture and keep people plugged in
• Keep an open mind and listen to what your team expects

How does this impact marketing?

• Online presence matters even more than ever—both for customers and the team
• Collaboration and communication become a challenge, but still achievable
• Save money in office space and put it back into marketing that has direct results?

 

What’s the Difference Between Inbound vs Outbound Marketing?

There are two basic approaches to business marketing: inbound and outbound. Outbound means going to your audience, while inbound refers to attracting your audience to your brand. There are pros and cons to each approach, but the best marketers use a blend of both.

What’s the Difference Between Inbound vs Outbound Marketing?

Outbound is essentially pushing marketing messages out to an audience. This means going to the channels where they are and broadcasting to a broad group.

Inbound flips that by trying to attract people back to your marketing channels. It’s usually about creating content that people find and willingly enter your marketing funnel.

What are some examples of each?

Outbound looks like advertising, sponsoring conferences and trade shows, sending direct mail pieces, or cold calling. It’s pushing your brand to people. 

Inbound can include blogging, lead generators with email automation, or free educational webinars. It’s pulling people to your brand.

What are the big differences between the two?

Outbound is more traditional. Jumping on someone else’s platform used to be the only way to do marketing. It can reach a broader audience that doesn’t already know you so you get better brand awareness and have an immediate impact. But it’s more invasive and can have a higher cost with a lesser return on that investment.

Inbound marketing is newer and more built around the digital space. The goal is to provide value to a smaller, targeted audience and then nurture them to make a purchase. However, this can also take more time to build content, and it can take more time before you see results.

Is one approach better than the other?

Inbound is becoming more popular because it’s not as invasive, it’s more focused, and has lower direct costs. However, it’s usually best for businesses to take a balanced approach. There are pros and cons to both, especially depending on your industry. 

Try a mix of both to see what works for you. Especially if your industry is dominated by one or the other, taking the alternative approach can help you to stand out.

Are thee the only two marketing approaches?

These are two of the most recognized approaches to marketing, but I wrote an article a few years back about a theoretical third approach: what I call outlandish marketing.

The idea is to do something different that helps you to stand out even if it doesn’t obviously or immediately improve your bottom line. Some examples of this are the Guinness Book of World Records, the Michelin Restaurant Stars, and Domino’s Paving for Pizza.

Preparing to Migrate to Google Analytics 4

Google Analytics is among the most useful free tools in digital marketing. But as of 2022, businesses must transition to the newest update—Google Analytics 4. Here’s how you can handle this change and make the most of it for your marketing.

What is Google Analytics 4 and why do we need to move to it?

• 1995 - Urchin created
• 2005 - Purchased by Google, becoming Google Analytics.
• 2011 - New version
• 2012 - UA unveiled
• 2020 - GA4

How is it different from Universal Analytics—aka GA 3?

It's hard to explain over audio, but there are two main things:

• Instead of Pageviews, events, transactions, etc, it’s all just “Events”.
• This makes it much more complex out of the gate, but much more powerful.

What does this mean for the future of digital marketing?

• GA4 is trying to do more without cookies, which will help.
• As your audience goes into more separate channels (website + app, for example), this can do a better job of pulling all of that data into one place.

How can businesses make this transition?

• Run both sets of code for the time being.
• Start collecting data ASAP so you'll have historic data.
• Use tools to make sense of the data (like “scorecards” for some of our clients)

Why is data and analytics vital to marketing?

• You can’t manage what you don’t measure.
• Know what’s working and what’s not, and make changes accordingly.
• Allows you to run experiments and objectively see what works better.

Resources

• Preparing Your Business for the Big Transition to Google Analytics 4
• Google Analytics 4: What We Know and Think So Far
• Google Announces Transition to New Google Analytics 4 - Lever Interactive
• Google Analytics 4 transition - How to manage migration    

10 Ways Marketers Can Get Better at Selfcare

Self-care is frequently discussed, but too often overlooked, especially when it comes to marketing professionals. To start off a new year, let’s examine why self-care is as important as ever and why it’s needed for every marketer. Do yourself a favor and listen to this episode.

3 reasons why self-care is important for marketers

1. You do better work when you’re your best self
2. Reduce stress and anxiety
3. Avoid burning out

10 tips for better self-care

1. Take breaks during the day

Download an app like WorkRave or Timeout. Take a one-minute break every hour. Look away from your computer every 20 minutes. Otherwise, you’ll never find the time for yourself.

2. Set clear working hours

Consistently start and stop your workday at a specific time. Let your boss know when these are. You might not always have this autonomy, but work towards it.

When you’re done working, create a shut-down routine to tell your brain that work time is over. Turn off notifications. Shut the computer. Unplug the wifi, if that’s what it takes.

3. Get sleep

It sounds basic because it is—sleep is one of the most important things your body needs. But working or living on little sleep isn’t sustainable in the long run. Snooze for at least eight hours.

Depriving yourself of restorative rest will sap your productivity and make you more vulnerable to getting sick or injured (when you’ll have no chance but to stop working).

4. Don’t eat at your desk.

Eating is another obvious tip. Take this to the next level by using lunch as an excuse to take a break. Don’t eat while hunched over your keyboard. Your productivity naturally wanes during the course of the day. But stopping for half an hour to eat gives you a natural boost.

Don’t use this time to watch a video or catch up on emails. If you must be productive, eat with another person. Talk about something other than work. Use lunch to deepen a relationship.

5. Take a walk

Walking is one of the most basic, but structural practices for better physical fitness. As a bonus, it’s also great for your mental well-being. Walking allows your mind to wander and process.

Stroll, don’t scroll. Walking outside is even better because you get sunlight and fresh air. Walking with another person is best of all because of the added social benefits.

6. Find ways to refuel

Motivation naturally flags over time. We all go through dips in our work. So it helps to have sources of inspiration and energy when we’re stuck in a rut.

You know what works for you. Go to a conference. Read a book. Listen to a podcast. Watch a TED Talk. Read a blog post. Meet with a mentor. Pick one a do it regularly.

7. Take a vacation

Most businesses offer paid time off as a benefit to their employees. But the majority of Americans don’t use all of their PTO. Even when they do, they often work on vacation.

Plan a trip every year. Even if it’s just a staycation to visit your own town. Disconnect for work for an extended period of time. Send work a postcard if you need to.

8. Don’t multitask

It’s tempting to try and tackle four or five or a dozen tasks simultaneously. That seems like a productive use of time. But it’s actually the opposite because you do none of them well.

Constantly switching focus makes you less productive and strains your brain. Work toward focusing on one thing at a time. Figure out what’s important and dive in deep.

9. Look at your work environment

Are you at your workspace right now? Look around. What do you see? Do you like how your desk looks? Does it seem like a good place to foster creativity and productive work?

If not, then spend some time working on your workspace. Dim the lighting. Declutter your desk. Store some snacks and water nearby. Hang some artwork. Maybe even invest in a standing desk (if you’re into that sort of thing like me).

10. Connect with people

A theme that’s emerged in a few other tips thus far has been engaging with other people—whether that’s family, coworkers, friends, or even strangers. Work can be isolating. Engaging regularly with others keeps you connected and helps fight off depression.

Occasional texts or messages are OK. Longer video calls or face-to-face conversations are even better. Find people who will pour into you like a professional mentor, or even a therapist. Figure out what relationships you need and find people to fill those roles.

12 Tools Every Marketer Should Use

The only thing we love more than digital marketing tools is sharing them with others. They won’t replace your work, but they might just make it easier or save you time. We’ve compiled a list of our dozen favorite digital marketing tools that you should check out today!

Tool recommendations are like the dessert of any conference presentation. So this episode is basically just a sugar rush of fun information of tools to test out and try.

We’re not going to mention some of the more obvious ones you’ve already heard of like WordPress, Google Analytics, Mailchimp, etc.

Mickey’s Top Tools

1. RSS Reader: Feedly
2. CRM: Pipedrive, SalesFlare, HubSpot or Notion
3. Reading: Kindle, Blinkist, and GoodReads
4. Notes: Google Keep, Roam Research, Evernote
5. Keyboard shortcuts. Operating system, to browser, to apps; here’s a handy list
6. Heatmap: Crazy Egg or HotJar

Robert’s Top Tools

1. Writing tools: Grammarly and Hemingway app
2. Password manager: LastPass or 1Password
3. CoSchedule Headline Analyzer & Email Subject Line Tester
4. Survey tool: Typeform or Survey Monkey
5. SEO tools: Moz or SEMRush
6. ThisPersonDoesNotExist.com

Should My Business Have a Podcast?

Podcasts are popular. The fact that you’re reading this or listening to this episode proves it. They’re not just for entertainment either. Podcasts can be great sources of information and building a brand. But not every business needs a podcast. Here are a few things to consider if you’re thinking about starting a podcast for your business.

Show Notes

Why are podcasts so popular?

• Podcasts are where blogs were 20 years ago.
• We’re slowly coming down from the boom. Plateauing in popularity.
• However, we expect that podcasts will still be popular in the near future.
• They’re easy to consume, especially passively.
• There’s a wide variety of topics and formats. Good way to find a niche.
• They blew up after we had the delivery platform (smartphones), unlike blogs.

Should every business have one?

• It’s a way to repurpose content and get it in front of more people.
• More places for people to find you.
• It builds trust and credibility.
• It forces you to stay on message and informed.
• M: We hired our CPA firm because of their podcast. Not anything specific, but just a few years of hearing their great content helped me understand what they were about, and even helped me develop more trust in them (without actually talking directly to them)

What are the reasons not to have a podcast?

• The biggest downside is the investment of time (and one-time equipment).
• It’s becoming an increasingly saturated market.

How does your business get started with creating a podcast?

• Get a name. Make it clear and unique.
• Pick out your hosting platform. Eg. Podbean, Libsyn or Anchor
• Set up your account.
• Decide on your format. Eg. interviews, roundtable discussions, audio blog
• Pick a host(s) and list of potential guests.
• Brainstorm episode topics. Start with 50, not all of which you’ll use.
• Decide on a publishing cadence. Monthly or bi-weekly. Start less.
• Start to make a content calendar.
• Build your setup. Buy mics and headphones. Know where to record.
• Record several episodes before launching. Batch recording is better.
• Edit episodes.

Staying On Top of Digital Marketing News & Trends

Digital marketing is constantly evolving and there’s always something new to learn. How do you keep up with the latest trends and news? It’s a neverending task that you’ll never fully tackle, but you can certainly still be more informed—even without overwhelming yourself. Here are five ways we like to stay up to date and in the know.

First, let’s split out interesting news versus useful information. I enjoy interesting news, but it’s not super helpful.

• Interesting news: The new Android 13 beta is out, Elon Musk talking more about going to Mars, etc.
• Useful news: Major algorithm changes, security concerns, etc.
• How do you decipher what’s not interesting or useful? There’s a lot of noise out there. Filtering and curating seem more important than just absorbing.

Social Media

• In terms of staying on top of news and trends, t’s mostly entertainment, which isn’t to say it’s all bad.
• Depending on your business, it could be helpful.
• At the end of day, you’re seeing what the social network wants you to see. That can lead to a filter bubble.
• Which platforms do you use? How do you find information beyond the doom scroll?

Books

• For most marketers, a tighter grasp on overall best practices is more valuable than learning about the latest tiny tweak that Google made to their algorithm.
• Full books are great, but Blinkist + Goodreads can be a good shortcut.
• Not all marketing books are recent. Is there something to be said for older books that might be slightly outdated on technology?
• Eg. Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook is still startlingly relevant on the topic of social media.

Blogs

• I’m still a big believer of blogs and feed readers, because you get 100% of what you asked for; nothing more, nothing less.
• Be careful, though, as you might create your own filter bubble.
• Using an RSS reader to consume multiple blogs more efficiently.

Newsletters

• These are making a comeback more recently.
• Similar to blogs, but more bite-sized information delivered directly to you.
• Examples: Stacked Marketer, Total Annarchy (Ann Handley), Daily Carnage

Memorization

• Learning isn’t worth much if you don’t remember.
• The best way is to put it into practice.
• Tools like Anki can help a lot too.

Why LinkedIn is the Best Social Platform for B2B Marketers

Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok might be the trendiest social media platforms (for now). But LinkedIn has been around longer than all of them and is a more reliable medium for B2B marketers. We’ve got some advice for how you can leverage LinkedIn for networking, learning, and growing your business.

Why should companies, especially B2B companies, use LinkedIn?

• It’s the most prominent professional social networking site
• It’s a great way to network and learn information
• They earn money from more than just ads (so the ads are less in your face)
• It’s actually older than Facebook and Twitter (and more well respected)
• It’s free from a lot of politically charged nonsense

How can a business leader start using LinkedIn?

• Claim your company page to grow visibility
• Share updates with a professional audience
• Engage existing team
• Recruit new talent

What are some of the best practices when it comes to LinkedIn?

• Make sure your branding is consistent (profile photo, banner image, etc)
• Get your employees to link their profiles your page
• Visually compelling posts (especially videos) or long-form, mini-blog posts
• Figure out who your audience is (and who it should be)
  • LinkedIn lets you see the experience, industry, job title, seniority, etc of your followers
• Follow your competitors and others you want to be like
• Comment on other people’s posts to build a community
• Connect with humans versus automation

There are a few downsides to LinkedIn

• Groups are very engaging (unlike Facebook) (did you mean “aren’t”?)
• Profiles always get more engagement (but less analytics)

Taking Control of Your Online Privacy & Security

If you do anything online, there’s always some risk that your privacy or data could be compromised. Hackers are a real thing, and so is identity theft. Thankfully, there are some simple steps you can take to protect yourself and your business online.

Why does this matter? What’s the worst that can happen?

• Identity fraud
• Account hacked, like Facebook
  • Hacked ≠ Cloned
• Credit card information stolen
• Website hacked (and you might not even know it for a while) - episode 15

What are ways to keep your accounts and passwords safe?

• Use a password manager like Lastpass or Onepass
• Use strong passwords and different passwords for each account
• Use dual-factor authentication, either texts or an authenticator app
  • Three factors: Something you know, something you have, something you are

How can people keep their online information secure?

• Check your privacy settings on each platform; know what information you’re sharing
• Watch what information your share online, especially social media & email
• The browser and email client you use matter.

How does this apply to businesses?

• Keep your customer data safe.
• Keep your customers feeling safe.
• So your business doesn’t lose money or credibility