Infographic: Shocking Employee Engagement Statistics

An interesting infographic by Officevibe captures popular misconceptions regarding employee engagement in the workplace. It stresses the importance of having committed employees and the overall impact they have on the success of the company. 

We can see that many employees quit because they don’t like their boss, while only a fourth of managers try to engage their employees. Surprisingly, 90% of bosses agree that engaging employees is crucial to the company’s success. As long as this gap exists, companies will suffer from a brain drain of their most talented and motivated employees. With the knowledge that 87% of employees are less likely to leave if they are happy with their organization, the time is right for companies to focus on creating innovative employee engagement strategies that include feedback mechanisms and communications tactics that clearly articulate the company’s strategic goals. 

Tips for Boosting Your Brand With Social Media

With the number of social media channels growing, it is no wonder why most businesses focus a large amount of energy on marketing through social media.  However, simply having a page that posts bland content once in a while won’t cut it.  Customers are turning to social media to become engaged and interact with the brands of their choice.  There is nothing more disappointing as a customer than to look for your favorite brand’s Facebook or Twitter page, only to find out that one does not even exist! To fully engage and interact with customers, companies need to make sure their social media agendas are planned out properly and are in full swing.  Here are some small tips on how your company can improve its social media strategy to engage your customers and boost your brand!

Repetition: As you post between the large numbers of social media channels, finding content to post can start to become a difficult task.  Put in the extra time and effort to avoid being repetitious with your content.  Having a variety of content across all social media channels will increase your number of followers and engagement across the board.  Customers will see that each channel has different content, making them more likely to follow you on all channels to make sure they are as up-to-date as possible with your brand.

Images Are Key: When posting content on your social media pages, images can be a great way to capture the attention of customers.  They pop from the page and are instantly captivating.  Having a small image with a blog post or Facebook post can make all the difference.  Want to step it up a notch? Create some infographics.  These are a great and fun way to get your message across by using images and pictures.  They are very appealing and very handy.

Have Fun!: The content you post across the board does not need to be serious 24/7.  It is always great to see a company post something funny or witty.  It keeps your audience interested and engaged with your channel.  Whether it’s a poll, a funny image, a wish for a happy holiday, or even a joke, these will shake things up a bit and will excite your audience.

Have a schedule: It’s very important to create a posting schedule.  Scheduling out your content ahead of time and creating a consistent posting schedule can be really easy but it is also really important.  Consistency is key to social media.  Customers can learn when to start expecting content from you and anticipate your posts.  It is also important to schedule posts around specific times.  I believe the best times to post are around the morning and evening commutes, as well as lunch time.  These are the times when people are taking a break from their day to quickly check out what is going on in social media. And don't forget to plan for different time zones as well.

Get Creative: There are so many different social media channels out there now! It’s important to get creative and see how else you can start to engage your customers.  Try to see if there are any untapped markets you can use to reach out to your clients.  Mobile apps are the best place to start looking! Apps such as Instagram, SnapChat, and Vine can be more challenging for brands but it’s not impossible.  Tap into these markets and see if you can be innovative and start something new before anyone else!

Track your Results: Finally, the most important thing in regards to social media is to track your results.  Free tools, such as Google Analytics and Hootsuite, allow you to see how your channels are doing.  You can use these results to see what’s working and what’s not.  Use these results to make any necessary changes to your social media strategy to make sure it is top notch!   

The Power of Reciprocity in Business

The power of reciprocation is one of the strongest human elements that affect our behavior. A simple act of aid or generosity goes a long way. Robert Cialdini, Author of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, explains that even in circumstances where we are not obligated to give back, we still feel a need to do so, because of the power of reciprocation. This natural tendency that all humans possess can be effectively used to strengthen your internal and external brand.

Respect: As a manager, it is important to treat your employees as equals. Giving every person a voice and being open to ideas allows for a strong and effective team. In effect, allowing your team the freedom to try new ideas without judgment will encourage them to experiment because you have created a positive environment for innovation.   

Trust: Building trust with your staff is important. The more trust you show them (i.e. not constantly peering over their shoulder, giving them space to work and report back) will be recognized and returned through more open communication. Once they believe you trust them to perform their jobs without constant intervention, they will work harder to exceed your expectations over time. 

Share valuable information: Customers are always looking for additional value without the additional cost. Offering them insightful knowledge, such as best practices or industry research, is a perfect way to build a relationship with a customer. Once an individual has recognized that they have received something of value, they are more likely to strengthen the relationship by offering something in return. This could be opting-in to your newsletters, following you on social media, or agreeing to a product demo. 

Build a long-term relationship: Building a relationship with your customers will help to ensure they remain loyal brand advocates. Show that you care by consistently providing exceptional customer service, offer quality products or services, and give them an incentive to remain loyal through deals, special status or other rewards.

The power of reciprocation is subtle and  rarely a conscious decision, but it is very effective, especially in the business world. Strive to provide value to  your employees and  your customers, and they will be more inclined to reciprocate in kind.