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20 ways to boost your energy and productivity at work

JUNE 14, 2020

In today’s poll, you chose which personality type described you most. Curious as to why?

Well, iMPACT is taking a more insightful look into how personality traits can help you better understand when you’re most productive, and tips to give you an energy boost.

Let’s find out what you personality says about you and how you can have the best work day!

Dolphin

Personality traits: introverted, intelligent, anxious, detail-oriented
Productivity tip: Take mental breaks throughout the day to rest and recharge

Lion

Personality traits: diligent, optimistic, athletic, overachiever, charismatic
Productivity tip: Know when to sign off for the day and take time to do something for yourself.

Bear

Personality traits: extroverted, social, happy, always hungry
Productivity tip: Scheduling meetings in the morning is your best bet. When the afternoon slump hits, find activities that let you feed on others’ energy.

Wolf

Personality traits: introverted, creative, emotionally intense
Productivity tip: Starting the day might be challenging, so schedule meetings in the afternoon. Get ahead of work after hours when you feel the most awake.

Now that you got the idea, let’s get into those specific tips to try.

Keep up with that water intake. Challenge your co-workers and hold each other accountable to finish 60 oz or more before the workday ends.
Energize after lunch with a short walk or by heading to the gym if you get a chance. This active break can help improve your mood and energy levels.
Carb-heavy lunches are the sleepy equivalent to turkey on Thanksgiving. Feast on energy-boosting foods like salmon, kale, avocados, bananas, nuts, brown rice, wheat bread, and pumpkin seeds.
Boost your mood and energy with a work playlist. It’s been proven that our fav songs trigger a rush of dopamine, which makes us more productive.

Continue to iMPACT for more tips and hit new productivity levels by understanding your personality.

YouTube Hacks: 21 Tricks and Features You Probably Didn’t Know About

JUNE 10, 2020

Few things are as satisfying as tricks that make our job easier. Whether a keyboard shortcut or a full-stacked tool, it’s the difference between spending 5-hours versus 15-mins on a project. And we’re all about that high-level of productivity.

Hootsuite is sharing game-changing tips to get the most out of marketing on Youtube.

Create a GIF from a YouTube video. Add a bit of fun to your social accounts by jumping on the gif-train. Why gifs? Well, use it to promote your Youtube channel or deliver on-brand replies. Learn how to do it:
- Open the video.
- Add the word “gif” before YouTube in the URL – www.gifyoutube.com/[VideoID]
- Customize your GIF.
Take advantage of Youtube video transcripts. Did you realize Youtube automatically creates transcripts for every single video ever created? Now, full disclosure, creators can hide the transcript. But this transcript feature makes video more accessible, plus pulling quotes just go so much easier:
- From the video, click the three-dot ellipsis beside Save.
- Select Open transcript.
Improve accessibility and SEO ranking with captions. Adding closed captions make your content available to all from those who are hard of hearing or deaf, and those watching with the sound off. You can either upload your own transcript, which Hootsuite recommends or do it using Youtube Studio:
- From the left menu, select Subtitles.
- Choose the video to edit.
- Click Add Language and select your language.
- Under subtitles, select Add.
- Enter your captions as the video plays.
Promote extra content at the end of your video content. End-screens are the last 5 to 20 seconds of your video. It tells the viewer what they should do after watching your content…aka, a CTA. You can ask viewers to subscribe, watch another video, or link to an approved site. Here’s how it’s done in Youtube Studio:
- Open the Videos page and select a video.
- Select Editor from the left menu.
- Add an end screen.

Visit Hootsuite for the remaining 17 tips!

5 Small Ways to Boost SEO Rankings

JUNE 10, 2020

We’re all about doing the gritty work for the big win here at Team Carney. When we came across this action-packed read from DigitalMarketer, we had to share with our fam!

Here are 5 tips you can tackle right now to increase your SEO ranking.

1. Structure your content for readability. Content bombards our daily routine. As marketers, it’s our job to make it easy and painless. DigitalMarketer recommends incorporating following to publish reader-friendly material:

H2, H3, and H4 headers
Bold and italicize text
Emojis
Images, visuals, videos
Bullet points

2. Regularly check for and fix broken links. 404 pages leave major holes in your credibility to both readers and Google. For a reader, it’s a bad user experience. For Google bots, broken links contribute to a high bounce rate, which puts the content value of your website at risk. Again, regularly check internal and outbound backlinks on your site.

3. Don’t skip out on your meta description. Think of your meta description like an email subject line. It offers a glimpse of what to expect from the content inside. So make it impossible for folks not to click. When writing a meta description aim to show what the reader will learn and plant a seed of curiosity so they’re motivated to find out.

4. Update older content and republish. Bring old posts back to center stage by updating statistics or quotes, adding new information, or refreshing any examples. And that’s all we have to say about this point.

5. Prioritize your content. This means letting your content do its job. We get it – using pop-ups and ads on ads to promote products and services is chocolate cake level of tempting. But we beg you, refrain from overwhelming your reader. Remember, people came to your site to get their own problems answered.

Read on to get examples and further explanations from DigitalMarketer!

How to Send a Press Release and Why They Still Matter in 2020

JUNE 8, 2020

It’s true, we rarely dabble in the public relations world, but when we do, we choose press releases. And Business to Community will show us the way, today!

Let’s first get clear on its purpose. A press release should reflect an interesting news piece that’s both specific and timely. That combo makes journalists jump at the chance to share your news. Among many newsworthy announcements, you can highlight an upcoming event, change in management, or company performance reports.

Hold the Zoom call and back up. Are we really considering press releases as a viable marketing resource? Heck yeah and here’s why…

1. Establish lasting relationships with the media. After all, their job is to share news with the public and you’re providing that value.

2. Align your brand with reputable journalists to boost your credibility. It’s their goal to deliver facts. While holding a strong code of ethics, journalists should verify your press releases.

3. Gain organic SEO traffic. See press releases contribute to content marketing and SEO efforts in that it’s a quality piece of relevant, interesting, and educational content. Not to mention, a great press release should include keywords and links.

4. Build engagement with customers by using snippets of your press release to share across social channels. We’re talking quotes, stats, or infographics. Your aim would be to get engagement such as comments or reposts.

Now crafting a press release involves detailed components like the 5 Ws, a relevant headline, plenty of quotes, a strong CTA, and contact info.

Once written, it’s time to send that flawless piece out. When submitting your press release, deliver a solid pitch or hype message, the time to be released, and most importantly, why your news is relevant to the journalist’s audience.

The full scoop from Business to Community is a click away!

25 Answers to the Most Frequently Asked Questions in Content Marketing

JUNE 7, 2020

How much of your job involves reassuring the boss or the client about content marketing strategies? We get so many, we developed a spidey sense for it. What is content marketing, how does it help my business, does it match my goals?… etc.

We know y’all have been there too. Thankfully, Content Marketing Institute is prepping us on both straight-forward and head-scratcher, commonly asked Qs we may receive.

1. How does marketing without talking about or promoting our product/service help us create leads and sales?

Consumers don’t care about your product or service. Say this loud and clear, marketers, ’cause your boss/co-worker/client needs to get this. Consumers are interested in solving their own problems.

For example, McDonald’s doesn’t sell a hamburger. McDonald’s offers a convenient place to get an affordable meal for the whole family.

2. Why would I want to educate my customers and help my competition?

Be in business for more than making a buck. By coming out as the expert in solving a specific challenge, you position yourself as the go-to brand.

Here at Team Carney, we know potentially competing agencies follow and learn from us. In the end, we have a wildly loyal, tight-knit community of folks who look to us as leaders in the marketing world.

3. How can content marketing help address our target audiences throughout the customer purchase journey?

This is the foundation of content marketing. When content addresses the motivations and needs of your customers, 3 things happen:

- strengthens positive feelings about the brand
- heightens the likelihood of converting
- increases a customer’s lifetime value

4. How much is it going to cost?

Anyone else despise this Q? It’s a reasonable question, but it’s hard to answer. Set expectations early by creating a road map of the content creation process to highlight potential costs.

Four down, 21 to go. If you get bombarded with content Q’s definitely keep this answer guide for reference.

How to Craft a Social Media Landing Page That Wows

JUNE 4, 2020

Wow-power marketing. It’s a level of marketing that makes a user’s jaw drop and wallets open. That’s the marketing we’re aiming for. And Agorapulse is going to help get one step closer.

Get your pen and paper out ’cause we’re running through 8 steps to create better social media landing pages.

Cut the clutter and keep your main goal crystal clear. With landing pages, it’s tempting to add sidebars, pop-ups, social share buttons, and everything in between. Here’s the thing, though a simple landing page will help visitors stay on task and moving straight down the buyer’s journey.
Make your brand apparent throughout your landing pages – logos, voice, colors, so on. It’s all about reassuring the customer. Maintaining your brand within all online presence tells visitors they are in the right place especially when leaving one place for another.
Knock that first impression outta the park with a killer headline. It’s the first piece of context they’ll see coming into the page, so make it count by explaining their benefits and encouraging action.
Consistency with your messaging matters. Regardless of where people come from – a paid ad, a Twitter post, Stories swipe-up, etc – they have expectations. Fulfill those expectations by using the same language from destination A to destination B and beyond.
Make the visuals count. Creatives add an appealing element to landing pages. It could be product photos, demos, or even digestible infographics. Just make sure it relates to the message you’re trying to convey.
Directly show customers the way with a compelling CTA. Help customers navigate through the buyer’s journey. Take blogs for example, at the end, send readers to learn about a related topic or product by using a short CTA that peaks interest to continue.

Two more steps to cover with Agorapulse, plus the what and why!

How to Transform Your LinkedIn Presence So It’s Not Just a Resume

JUNE 2, 2020

Twitter is the pitch, Facebook is the cover letter, Instagram is the portfolio, and that leaves LinkedIn as the resume. But if you’re only using LinkedIn to record past work experience, you’re doing it wrong.

Content Marketing Institute highlights lessons learned from LinkedIn Trainer, Michaela Alexis who calls this professional media giant the “multimedia publishing platform” helping folks achieve business opportunities.

Let’s learn how to unleash the power of LinkedIn!

1. Effective LinkedIn content focuses on being relatable, conversational, and helpful. Writing great content with those three characteristics isn’t always a piece of chocolate cake. Believe us, there’s a learning curve.

Hone in on reliability by beginning content with who you then discuss what you know.
Be conversational by writing how you speak. This doesn’t give an excuse for misspellings and grammatical errors though.
Help your connections by sharing resources that answer Qs and address challenges.

2. Stop beating around the bush and directly let people know how to take action. Whether its a company page or personal, add a call to action to every post. Don’t forget to track and measure the effectiveness of your CTAs.

3. Find your thing. The thing that readers and followers can immediately associate you with. For Michaela, it was a mug. And she used to represent her personal brand. To discover your object, think about what makes you approachable and reminds people that you’re human.

4. Strive for the “I feel like you wrote this just for me” level of feedback. Getting to that point takes some work and consistency by Michaela has a formula: What happened + Why it matters.

Recall a work-related success or failure in the past year. Briefly share what happened then get into why your LinkedIn connections should care, associated advice, and lessons learned.

LinkedIn is still a social platform and is key for thought leadership. Catch more insights from CMI’s article!

Using Psychology in Marketing: 7 Psychological Hacks for Email Marketing

JUNE 1, 2020

You voted and we will accommodate. Pencils at the ready because there’s no time to waste! Sendpulse is teaching us how to use psychological tactics to make marketing emails more effective.

1. Social proof. This top psychological strategy offers social consensus that your product/service is used, trusted, and loved by a wide audience. From a marketing standpoint think of customer testimonials, user-generated content, influencer endorsements, and so on.

Sendpulse highlights a brilliant email from Nike that showcases an endorsement and sense of community.

2. Framing. Show off your good side. This strategy is about building on brand’s strengths like an individual would in an interview.

Take Netflix for example. In its re-engagement email, Netflix has one, bold CTA paired with a value reminder.

3. Exclusivity. Think gold. Make your brand so desirable and rare that people put a value on the scarcity of it. How, you ask? Well, you could offer special editions, exclusive experiences, or limited-time discounts.

Famous Footwear sent out an email with the subject line, “Rewards Member Exclusive! Enter for a trip to NYC.”

4. Fear of missing out. Similar to exclusivity, FOMO creates hype and draws people in using emotion and urgency. In emails, you can insert a countdown timer for events or special sales. Be like Bose and remember not to be pushy about it though.

5. Reciprocity. You provide value to customers and they buy from you. It’s the back-scratching strategy. Reciprocity is a success when customer relationships begin with positivity and goodwill.

One way to do this is by offering a freebie in trade for an email address like The Black Tux offers a free trial of their service to new subscribers.

Two more tactics from Sendpulse left to check out!

How to Promote an Article: 76 Content Promotion Strategies for Blog Content

JUNE 1, 2020

We talk a lot about what kind of content to create, how to create it, and so on. Though, the job doesn’t end with a beautiful, value-packed piece of content. You have to tell people about it too.

Orbit Media broke down the process into 3 phases: Pre-publishing, launch-day, and post-launch promotion. Let’s dive in!

This first phase is about preparing your article to gain the best traction. Before going live, you’ll want to make sure you have these boxes checked off:
- Ask a related question on social media. Build a conversation around the content topic to peak interest. Then keep tabs on those who did engage so you can connect again when the piece goes live.

Tip: Ask easily answerable, multiple-choice Qs for low engaged audiences, and deeper, open-ended convo starters for highly-engaged audiences.

- Include quotes from experts and influencers. By adding mentions to your content, you’ll have the opportunity to give shout-outs on social.
There are countless, creative strategies to dive into on launch day. Organic social post aside, here are two strategies from the many listed:
- Add the link to a chatbot flow. Ready for a pro-tip? For all those folks who don’t fit as a potential customer, keep them engaged by giving them relevant content.
- Add a link to your 404-page or a Thank You page. Make these pages opportunities, not dead-ends.
When it comes to evergreen content, continue promotion for 6 to 12 months after publishing to solidify your post-launch strategy by…
- Scheduling 8-10 future social posts. For example, if the article is relevant to a holiday, schedule posts for that day.
- Post an excerpt of your article on LinkedIn Pulse or Google My Business. After organic traction slows down, make it visible to a new audience through different platforms, and add a CTA that leads to the original piece on your site.