Month: July 2019

It’s inevitable — there is bound to be some conflict in your place of work at some point. When people work in close contact with others, there will probably be times when personalities collide and feelings get hurt. While it’s probably not possible to completely avoid all types of conflict, there are ways that you can reduce the chance of disagreements and give people the room they need to thrive and be themselves. One of the first steps to reducing conflict is to set people up to succeed. Lack of fulfillment and no chance of advancement can lead to pent-up frustration and hard feelings that can eventually boil over and come out at unexpected times.

Workplace conflict is a more common problem than many think. In fact, a significant amount of employee and employer time is taken up with managing problems between employees. Work often requires people with different viewpoints, goals and ideas to work together for a common goal, and that is often a recipe for disaster. It can be important to develop a workplace that focuses on mutual respect and cooperation. This is not a surefire way to prevent all conflict, but when you promote and encourage positive approaches to disagreements, it can lower the chance that you will find yourself or your employees in the middle of an all-out fight or ongoing contest of spats and snide remarks.

One key to making your workplace a more peaceful place to work is to be clear in your communication with others and with your employees. Communicating well reduces confusion, makes everyone clearly aware of their responsibilities and makes it less likely that there will be disputes that arise from subjective interpretation of your words. Clarity is important, whether you’re having a conversation with a co-worker or you’re giving instructions to your team.

It may not be possible to reduce all conflict in your workplace, but there are specific things you can do to make where you work a better, more productive and more peaceful place for yourself and others.

By Meagan Kerlin for Vertu Marketing LLC

If you’ve surfed Facebook or scrolled through Instagram, you have almost certainly seen a meme. These are photos, usually comical, with text overlaid on them that makes a funny or sarcastic statement. Memes are very much a part of online and social media culture, and it’s okay for businesses to use them to get more attention, engage with followers and even get a few laughs along the way. They may seem a little irreverent and slightly unprofessional — and that’s kind of the point. What better way to build a strong following than to show your company has a sense of humor?

While using a meme may seem like groundbreaking territory for your marketing campaign, it may help for you to note that many businesses have started noticing the benefit of memes and using them as well. One way that a simple picture can help your business is that it can build a bridge between you and your target customer, especially if that target customer is younger. It can make your company seem more accessible and open to conversation, which is an attractive quality for many potential clients.

Whether they realize it or not, may followers and consumers are looking for business to offer them something as far as engaging with them goes. While this often means sales or discounts, it sometimes means entertainment. When a meme can make a person stop and laugh, he or she will be more likely to share that photo from your Facebook page. This leads to more engagement, more people seeing your company name and, hopefully, more followers. Interjecting humor into how your company uses social media will set your business apart from the many others trying to get attention on Facebook and Instagram.

Memes are very popular right now, so this is a golden opportunity for you to try them out and see how they work. Chances are that you will be pleasantly surprised how far a little humor and levity can go when it comes to the success of your online marketing campaign.

By Meagan Kerlin for Vertu Marketing LLC

Marketing is a crucial part of building a brand, establishing a customer base and getting your company the exposure it needs. This means that you will have to develop a marketing strategy that suits the needs of your company, implements social media and more. However, the most thorough and well-intentioned marketing plan may not be very effective if you make certain mistakes. Before you move ahead, you may want to be sure that certain mistakes don’t tank your marketing plan.

One mistake people often make is assuming simply because they write something that people will read it. This is not necessarily true. If you write a blog, a Facebook post or even a new Instagram post, make sure people know. It can be the smartest, best thing you’ve ever written it, but this doesn’t mean it doesn’t need to be promoted — don’t be afraid to get your stuff out there. Another thing that’s important to note is that over time your products, promotions, opinions and even your company operations may have changed. This doesn’t mean you have to delete everything that’s outdated, but you will want to add updates to old posts that may confuse readers.

One common marketing mistake is to assume people only want to see new content all the time. While people certainly don’t want to be bored or read the same thing over and over, it doesn’t mean you have to create new content on a daily basis. Some of the most successful marketing plans recycle old material, repackage it, reproduce it or reintroduce it in new and exciting ways. You don’t have to recreate the wheel — you just have to show it to people in a new light.

Don’t overlook the benefit of the free or inexpensive tools available to you. Common marketing mistakes include failing to send out newsletters by email and failing to use Facebook and Instagram to their full potential. These are a just a few, simple ways that you can start to build rapport with your followers and begin to establish brand recognition. With a little homework and hard work, you can avoid marketing mistakes that can have a negative impact on your efforts.

By Meagan Kerlin for Vertu Marketing LLC