Month: May 2021

If you aren’t leaving room for creativity in your life, you could be missing out on opportunities to grow and learn. Giving yourself the opportunity to create, think and enjoy artistic endeavors can provide clarity and insight that you may not get from any other types of professional development efforts. In fact, your best ideas for your business or your career may come from times you set aside for creative efforts.

Creative time allows you to relax, and it gives your brain the ability to think about other things outside of your work. You may find creativity gives you the ability to think more clearly about things, and you could have sudden “aha” moments while you’re busy with your non-work activity. In fact, you may do your best thinking while you’re doing things that don’t involve a lot of thought.

You may feel like you are too busy to include intentional creative time in your schedule. In fact, you could feel constantly stressed and overwhelmed by everything currently on your to-do list, and stepping away from your responsibilities may seem unwise. In reality, taking a “brain break” can actually result in better productivity and final results. Sometimes, taking a break from work is the best thing you can do for your work.

You don’t have to be an artist to benefit from creative time. You could simply cultivate a hobby you enjoy, such as reading a book or doing a crossword puzzle. If you have a hard time including these things in your everyday life, you need to make it a regular priority by including it in your schedule. Taking care of yourself through creativity and regular breaks is as important in your success as anything else you do.

If you aren’t leaving room for creativity, hobbies and stress-relief activities in your schedule, you should be. Taking the time to do these things is a step toward protecting your mental and emotional health, especially in times of stress and busyness.

By Meagan Kerlin for Vertu Marketing LLC

The last year and a half has been one full of uncertainty and changes. The pandemic has brought upheaval to virtually every area of life across the globe, and like many others, this means your work life most likely changed as well. As vaccinations increase and the virus begins to wane, many will be returning to the office. In many fields, virtual work is not effective or possible, and you may be working in-person soon. As you can imagine, post-pandemic office work could be very different.

Workspaces may be spread out, and offices may implement policies that will limit close contact. You could be restricted in what you can bring from home and take home with you. Depending on the nature of your work, you may be doing everything exclusively online, even if you are working in the office.

You may also find that workplaces will implement rolling schedules. You could alternate days you work in the office and virtually from home, or your employer could stagger who is in the office in other ways. There may be a shifting in teams and new strategies for how you will work with your team members.

For at least a few months, changes could be part of the norm. Your employer may experiment with different strategies to find out what works best for your workplace. If you have to go back, it will be crucial to be flexible and willing to adjust accordingly. You are not the only one who will be dealing with changes, and flexibility is key.

You may be looking forward to returning to the workplace, or you could be dreading in-person work after a year of doing your job virtually. It will be helpful to remember that while this is a step toward normalcy, it could be awhile before things feel truly normal. In the meantime, patience and flexibility is key.

By Meagan Kerlin for Vertu Marketing LLC

Are your social media pages successful? Do you get a lot of likes and comments on your posts? This is a great way to gain exposure and to increase your brand recognition, but at some point, you want to turn these followers into real paying customers and clients. How can you make the leap from a social media relationship to a business relationship?

This conversion is tricky. It’s one thing to ask someone to follow you on social media, but it’s another thing entirely if you want those same people to trust you with their money. This is why it’s critical to use your social media platforms as a way to inform, educate and establish trust.

One way to do this is by asking your social media followers to sign up for your emails. Your subscription contacts are a great way to communicate more directly about the different ways the readers can engage with your company. To entice followers to sign up, you can offer incentives like percentages off their first purchases or other benefits.

Another way to convert your followers is to have fun. People respond well to social media accounts that are engaging, entertaining and fun. No matter what type of company you work for, it is possible to let some personality shine through your posts. It is also important for your content to be genuine and approachable.

Finally, keep your content professional. This doesn’t mean boring—it just means to make sure that what you are posting is well-written and accurate. If you have a Facebook post full of spelling errors, your followers may not take your business very seriously. Every post, video, meme or other type of content you post is a chance to make an impression and take another step in converting your followers into customers.

By Meagan Kerlin for Vertu Marketing LLC