With the availability of Wi-Fi on every corner, the physical space where work is done can be anywhere—but you’ll need more than a laptop and internet connection. As remote work becomes more common, tips for working from home efficiently are critical to ensuring team communication and productivity. 

 

For many companies, working remotely provides an opportunity to keep employees if they encounter a life change or to offer more autonomy and flexibility. When I had to temporarily relocate I was incredibly relieved to have Lessing-Flynn‘s full support to work remotely. But careful attention was given to how we would do this well and maintain client deliverables and our own objectives.

 

The Lessing-Flynn team consists of out-of-the-box innovators, collaborative thinkers, and down-right hard workers. Because of this, I was given the freedom to not only work remotely but develop my own work from home best practices. I was able to explore tools to maintain communication with my co-workers and productivity. Here are our top five tips for working from home.

 

5 Tips for Working from Home

 

1. Maintaining communication is key for remote work

Before jetting off to Omaha, our team established expectations. We formulated a plan to help Lessing-Flynn and myself stay successful. This communication plan has primary focuses.

Make the plan

Your company must communicate to every remote worker via a formalized plan outlining travel commitments, workspace etiquette, how check-ins will happen, and how frequently. We both had clear expectations going into this work-scenario. This enabled us to figure out what processes worked well in the office and what needed improvement for those working remotely.

Collaboration and communication isn’t automatic

Communicating online is easy, but it takes skill to communicate well and keep everyone on the same page. Email has a knack of taking the humanity out of human conversations and extra care is warranted when quickly messaging colleagues. We’ve all received that email that sends shivers down our spine and turned out to be nothing to worry about. To avoid this, jump on a video chat or phone call, in scenarios where you would normally swing by a co-worker’s desk. (More on this below.)

Implement routine “stand-ups”

When collaborating on a project, it’s easy to feel a bit out of the loop on certain things. Your team members meet casually while stealing some snacks from the kitchen. This aspect of my job quickly became a challenge. To mitigate this, we established routine “stand-ups.” These stand-ups became a core part of our work from home best practices to keep everyone on the same page.

 

2. Remote work requires resourcefulness

Communication is key, but when you’re in the remote working world, sometimes it can feel as though you’re on your own especially when colleagues don’t answer their phone when you need them to. With no cubicle buddies sitting at arm’s reach, communication is surprisingly diminished and sometimes you have to fend for yourself.

 

When the communication-well is dry, bring your favorite search engine and start researching. Perhaps find a podcast, or if things get really bad, call your mom. You’ll be shocked by how not having an easy answer provides a better answer.

 

If something wasn’t my strong suit, I jotted down notes into my development plan to make it a priority to learn more. In many cases, the answer you will find in your own research will be more thorough and provide more depth than had you received the easy response. 

 

Being independent is a must-have skill. It’s important to be able to figure out how to be a problem solver, especially when it comes to identifying tips for working from home.

 

3. Find the best tools

Online tools are your best friend when you’re working remotely. And because I did the research, you can save some time. 

Video conference tools. 

Try Appear.in. This handy (and free!) video conferencing site allows you to quickly set up chat rooms for anyone you’d like to meet with. By sending them the custom link, you are “in” with screen-sharing capabilities and high-quality video and audio. Google Hangouts, Go To Meeting and other tools like Slack are valuable too.

Messaging solutions.

Lessing-Flynn began using the popular online messaging application Slack long before our work from home best practices were forged. It dramatically reduced email redundancy. It allowed team members to quickly share resource links and files or ask teams one-off questions. Plus, it’s a great way to integrate fun into the work from home culture with GIFs and other interactive features.

Managing documents.

Digital documents are easily managed by shared OneDrive folders, DropBox, Google Drive or Google Docs and email attachments, but what of real paper?

 

Before you take up valuable coffee shop table space with a scanner, let me save you time and embarrassment. Tap into your phone’s app store and you’ll find a plethora of apps to convert documents from your phone’s camera. I found Scannable by Evernote to be easy to use. Plus, you can create both color or black and white documents with a tap.

 

Tools to maintain culture.

At Lessing-Flynn, culture is one of the key reasons I wanted to stay. According to The Harvard Business Review, great culture is also crucial for productivity. Culture must be included in your work from home best practices—this doesn’t have to be overly complicated.

 

For my group, it was as simple as staying in touch with our ongoing Snapchat Group and other events like our murder mystery parties. I made it a priority to plan out my schedule to be in the office on days when fun events are happening.

 

4. Find a positive routine

A remote position, in some ways, is like transitioning to a new job. Developing a routine daily and weekly is the key to success when developing your company’s work from home best practices.

 

Just like anyone else, I established regular office hours and kept myself accountable to stick with them. It is tempting to finish a few emails late at night when your laptop is a few feet away from the couch (or maybe the couch is your desk, I’m not judging). But keep expectations realistic and stick to a specific routine that works for you. Both for yourself, and those you work with.

 

5. Establish actual office space

Even though working in your PJs, at the dinner table, or hanging out with your dog at home is great, establishing a clear separation between workspace and life-space is key in developing A+ work from home best practices. It’s not the same for everyone. 

 

It’s wise to create a separate home office in a spare room, allowing you to literally close the door on your day’s conclusion. If space is an issue, this can be solved by getting out to a new coffee shop a few times a week, or if you crave the much-needed human contact and focus from an energetic office space away from home, coworking is the perfect option. I found a co–working space that offers a dedicated desk for me to work from daily. 

 

Coworking spaces have emerged all over the country, offering an atmosphere filled with quick-growing startups, independent freelancers, and other like-minded remote employees. Most spaces include access to conference rooms, refreshments, and networking events. Coworking spaces allow you to meet folks you probably wouldn’t have invited over to your shabby-chic living room office. 

 

Final tip for working from home pre-flight checklist. 

As your company hammers out your own working from home best practices, employees have some additional things to consider before setting out on your new adventure.  

 

Firstly, it’s definitely not for every industry, company or individual. Although you may believe it’s as simple as setting up a desk in your house, answer these questions to finalize your work from home best practices.  

 

 

Although it requires more planning, remote workers and work from home employees can maintain a collaborative, productive schedule and contribute to positive office culture. 

 

Do you work remotely already or have you established your own work from home best practices? Don’t be a stranger, leave a comment below so others can enjoy remote-working success. 

 

This was originally written May 22, 2018, but updated for 2020.

Next stop, this Digital Download. Here’s the latest from the digital news sphere, handpicked just for you.

 

What the heck is BERT?

Not the Sesame Street character, that’s for sure. In the past, computers have struggled to understand language — until natural language processing came along, which encompasses named entity recognition, sentiment, Q&A functions, etc. Tools like BERT work to incorporate them all. Google started to roll out BERT on Oct. 21, 2019, for English searches, but the tool will incorporate all languages eventually. While you can’t optimize content for BERT, natural language processing is important to understand, especially if you want to succeed in the search industry.

Break down the ins and outs of BERT with Moz’s Britney Muller.

 

Banner ad turns 25

Happy belated birthday to the banner ad, who celebrated its 25th birthday on Oct. 27. Regardless of how you feel about this type of digital ad, you should know it’s not planning to go anywhere anytime soon. Banner ads are becoming more sophisticated by the minute, especially on mobile, including video, sound and even augmented reality. CEO of Fang Marketing Jeff Ferguson says the average person sees around 1,700 banner ads a month but that the right strategy can cut through the clutter. Maybe they do deserve a spot in your next digital campaign. Yay or nay?

>>> Help yourself to even more history of the banner ad and check out where it’s going.

 

The Krispy Kreme resale scheme

Not all heroes wear capes. Some simply drive 500 miles round-trip to bring the goodness of Krispy Kreme donuts to the Twin Cities for seven months straight. That’s certainly Jason Gonzalez’s story, who went viral a couple of weeks ago for this very task. The Twin Cities haven’t had an operating Krispy Kreme store since 2008, so Gonzales saw an opportunity to ward off his student debt, driving to Clive, Iowa, to buy and then reselling the donuts back in St. Paul, Minnesota. The donut chain initially shut down Gonzalez’s operation, citing quality control issues, but he has since been named an independent operator, equipped with his very own company van. Sounds like this marketing scheme worked out.

>>> Satisfy your craving with the rest of this story.

 

Snapchat rolls out long-form option for video ads

Brands around the world, rejoice. Snapchat is increasing the duration of the platform’s video ads beyond the current six-second limit. The new format will mimic aspects of YouTube’s TrueView ads, maintaining the six-second unskippable period and continuing to play for up-to-three minutes total with the option to skip anytime. With this option, brands will be able to utilize more of their already existing video ads and easily drop them into the app while Snapchat will see more ad revenue dollars. Win-win.

>>> Read more about the rationale behind Snapchat’s decision.

 

Experts optimistic about the future of digital

Think positive! That’s what the experts are doing when it comes to the future of digital life. According to a recent Pew Research Center study, 72% believe digital will “change for the better” in the next 50 years. Among these changes, respondents hope to see innovations that lead to longer lifespans, tailored use per user and reduction of inequality. It’s worth noting, though, that most all experts agreed that the end of privacy is looming as well. What do you think? Leave us a comment detailing your outlook on digital life.

>>> Read into more expert observations and insights to decide for yourself.

 

That’s all for now, but never fear. Sign up for our newsletter to get more digital news until our next Digital Download.

Well, well, well — look who’s back. Thanks for returning for part 2 of our newsletter blog, you newsletter junkies! Missed part 1? Get caught up. Today, we will be diving into how to continue your work as masterful newsletter experts so that your sends are consistently churning out favorable results. But to get there, we’re going to have to talk about some of the numbers behind the scenes that you need to pay attention to. Buckle up for a crash course on newsletter metrics.

Part 2: Understanding Newsletter Metrics

You’ve sent your newsletter and now it’s time to see how it performed. A general understanding of percentages and averages is going to make your post-send results analysis a lot easier, I promise. There are a couple of numbers that you should definitely be paying attention to and then some that are just neat, if you’re a closet number nerd.

 

Open rate

Not too hard to comprehend. Out of total recipients, who opened your send? This number is typically expressed as a percentage, but if you’re really into fractions for some reason, then by all means convert ‘em. Either way, this statistic is big — there’s absolutely zero chance that recipients are going to click through content if they don’t open your email at all. Zero is a number we can all understand, I think.

 

Optimize it:

In our experience, open rate is really reliant on the creativity and urgency of your subject line(s). Another aspect that contributes to open rate long-term is your sends’ history of valuable content — or lack thereof. Shameless self-promotion only works for the first 1-2 sends when your audience is learning who you are.

 

Click rate

Click rate is a tad more complicated than open rate, but stick with me. The reason is because click rate is broken down into multiple facets versus open rate, which is one number. Get it? Got it? Good. Click rate refers to the number of clicks on particular pieces of content within the newsletter. Overall click rate is also calculated using the total number of recipients, but you can get deeper than that if you want. Within the base click rate, you can typically view which content was served the most clicks and their adjoining click rate — factored out of the total click rate. To diffuse your confusion, let’s talk through an example.

 

Optimize it:

Say your total click rate was 4.5%. That means that out of your total number of subscribers, 4.5% clicked on content in addition to opening your email in the first place. Depending on your email manager, there may be a further breakdown of each unique click and which content it went toward. Out of 40 clicks, maybe your first content section saw 10 clicks. That means that section’s click rate was 25% or 10/40 clicks. Try experimenting with the highest click rate sections. Did they click here because they enjoyed this type of content the most? Was the graphic really eye catching? Do a few A/B tests to see if you can pinpoint the reason it performed well.

 

Why is A/B testing important?

If you’re looking to shake things up but are a little timid, stats are still your friend. A/B testing features use of a control and variable version of your newsletter — we’re basically in the STEM field. A/B testing is a great tool because it puts your goals into practice to see if they’re even practical before you commit to a change once and for all — whether it’s in formatting or scheduling. Gather the data, look it over and decide which version was more successful.

>>> Watch this quick video for a deeper dive into A/B testing from the Data Science Dojo.

 

Industry averages

It’s great to use industry averages for starting benchmark goals. For example open rates within the marketing and advertising industry, MailChimp reports the industry average to be around 13.9%. For click rate, the industry is seeing about 1.9% engagement. So, if you identify with this industry and are personally averaging a 2% click rate — you’re above industry average but you have plenty of room to grow.

 

Other numbers

If you have time, take a look at stats like successful deliveries to make sure your contact list is up to date and free of old email addresses. Total opens is also a neat number, which ropes in all the instances that your email was opened, unique or not. It’s a great stat to use when you want to see how many people return to your email later on.

 

Subscribers galore

Also, if you haven’t yet, I strongly recommended embedding a sign-up form on your company or organization’s website to grow your organic subscriber count. Make the form as straightforward as possible so that you’re maximizing follow-through — the more tedious the form, the less people want to subscribe (sad face emoji). As far as location is concerned, we recommend sticking your form at the bottom of relevant landing pages. This signals to the average visitor that after scrolling through your site’s existing content, you still have more value to offer.

 

Need more help? Have a question? Drop us a line!

 

Get your dose of digital news with this month’s Digital Download — just what the doctor ordered.

How prone are you to digital privacy issues?

You may need to brush up on your digital knowledge basics. According to the Pew Research Center, many U.S. adults struggle with certain cybersecurity and privacy issues. But not everyone is in the dark. Two-thirds of U.S. adults are aware of phishing scams and the role of cookies in one’s browser — not the edible kind, unfortunately.

>>See where you stack up against the complete survey results.

Instagram removes likes to promote self-love

Where do you stand on Instagram removing visible likes? If you’re a brand or agency, you may have some concerns. Influencer marketing brought in big dollars in 2018 — we’re talking in the billions. And most of that money was allotted based on an expected number of likes per post. Non-influencers, however, have publicly praised the app for its attempts to preserve the mental health of its users. As 2020 inches closer, it may be time to brainstorm new ways to gauge the effectiveness of influencer marketing.

>>Find out what digital success looks like without likes.

The Americans With Disabilities Act has a new precedent 

The Supreme Court revisited the Americans With Disabilities Act this month, allowing blind people to rightfully sue retailers if they find websites to not be accessible by American Disability Association standards. The initial lawsuit was filed against Domino’s Pizza three years ago after a customer, who was blind, complained that they were unable to order a pizza because Domino’s website lacked the necessary software.

>>Read up on the court’s proceedings and the relevant legislation. 

New targeting tools make for merry marketing

Tis the season to be a digital marketer. Google announced that they will be implementing two new features to Google Search to help narrow target audiences. For starters, affinity audiences — audiences that have shown a particular interest in a certain topic — will be able to be layered on top of keywords, a relevant tool for year-round. And just in time for the holidays, Google will roll out seasonal event segments, which will help target consumer who have already begun researching for upcoming holidays.

>>Navigate your holiday marketing strategy’s next steps with help.

Finally, sign up for our newsletter below to get digital news, LF news and more delivered right to your inbox once a month. It’s so much fun!

On Thursday, Oct. 10, Lessing-Flynn received 15 total awards at the annual PRIME Awards Ceremony, hosted by the Central Iowa chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).

The Central Iowa PRSA PRIME Awards recognizes individuals, campaigns and various tactics that have demonstrated excellence in public relations within the calendar year.

The following Lessing-Flynn client campaigns and projects were awarded:

 

PRIME Award (1st place)

 

Merit (2nd place)

 

“Being recognized for 15 different campaigns and projects demonstrates how dedicated our team is across the board to helping our clients be successful,” said Jess Held, Lessing-Flynn vice president. “Every person who contributes to a campaign adds something valuable that we can be proud of. It’s always a group effort.”

PRSA has a presence in all 50 states and on nearly 375 college and university campuses via their student organization Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). For more information regarding the Central Iowa Chapter of PRSA, visit their website.

When the concept of email newsletters first began, it was a mere vessel to send out humble brags,  generic information and boring company updates. If that content strategy sounds like your company’s newsletter: 1) well, this is a tad awkward, 2) please stop doing that.

While this old newsletter content strategy is useless, successful marketers know that quality email marketing is still one of the best tools available, especially for service-based businesses. This reinforces the fact that, hands down, there’s nothing more valuable than direct access to someone’s attention. So let’s talk about how to create and send an effective email newsletter to your audience.

Newsletters Done Right – The Setup

Establish your content calendar (and be consistent).

Your newsletter should work towards these three things goals: staying on-brand in voice and style; providing rich, relative content; and being niche enough to stand out. Around 82% of B2B and B2C companies already use email marketing, so it’s important you stand out from the crowd.

And like we mentioned previously, don’t be too self-serving. A good rule of thumb is to only use 10% of the newsletter’s content to promote yourself.

 

Give it a cool name.

This is arguably the most fun part. Remember, subscribers should get excited to see your newsletter in their inbox. Catch their attention and capture their hearts with a name that sums up who you are in a professional-yet-personal way. Are you a reusable water bottle company that wants to start a newsletter that promotes sustainability? Congratulations: Your newsletter is called “From the Tap.” You can use that if you want, but not for free. My check better be in the mail.

 

Choose your layout wisely.

Layout is important. Newsletters may be a marketing industry standard, but each is different depending on what kind of content you’re wanting to include.  If you’re a startup photography business that solely wants to promote your work, it would make sense for your layout to have more imagery and less copy. But if you’re looking to share industry trends with your reader — like top 5 equipment trends this season — then the copy deserves a bit more room. That being said, a newsletter isn’t a blog. If anything, it’s just teasing the blog you already have, so be be stingy. Links to long-form is better than actual long-form.

 

Craft the perfect subject line.

Hate to break it to you, but “Here’s my newsletter!” isn’t going to prompt anyone but your grandma — who loves you very much — to open your email. I know; it’s heartbreaking. Luckily, subject lines aren’t too big of a beast to tackle as long as you remember one little acronym: CTA.

Call-to-actions (CTAs) are proven to increase a newsletter’s number of opens. They’re typically written as a command or action phrase because you want the reader to act in a certain way. Using the word ‘you’ in your CTA will also increase number of opens because the reader will feel like it’s personal and necessary to read. Example: “The ag industry needs you to speak up” — the CTA is clear, addresses the reader directly and references a piece of content featured in the actual email. I would know — I wrote it. It doesn’t hurt  to incorporate questions, numbers and the occasional emoji either.

 

Send a test email.

Some email marketing services allow you to send out a preview of your newsletter to a group of your choice before the actual scheduled send. This is an essential step, so don’t skip it! You’ll be able to see how everything looks from a subscriber’s point of view without having to solicit outside insight. This also gives your leadership team a chance to sign off or suggest final edits.

BONUS: Testing emails gives you the opportunity to see how your newsletter appears on a mobile device, which is of MEGA importance. Why? The most common device that people open emails on is an iPhone, according to Experian Marketing Services. And people who open an email on both their mobile device and computer are 65% more likely to click through to the actual content. That means the extra time it takes to optimize your newsletter for mobile is going to be well worth it. Yay, accessibility!

 

Schedule successfully.

This step may take a couple tries to get right, and that’s okay. Different people open their newsletters at different times of the day, and that is most likely the case with your batch of subscribers. Look to see if your email marketing tool of choice offers schedule optimizing. You don’t have to use it, but it’s a nice tool to have, especially if your number of opens has been dismal lately.

Loading poll ...

 

>>Check out part 2 to make the most of your newsletter metrics. 

As the sixth-generation farmer and an advertising professional, you could say I’m a little critical when it comes to the many messages used to target the agriculture community. I’ve seen it all — companies using the wrong crop pictures, ads talking about problems they think we’re facing and we’re not — my personal favorite is the Chick-fil-a Holstein cow mascot saying “eat more chicken” because it saves the cow *insert eye-roll*.

 

We Appreciate It

The trend in marketing to farmers over the past several years has been to “thank a farmer”. This phrase usually pops up on National Ag Day or National Farmer’s Day. Countless companies and corporations have jumped on the bandwagon to thank the industry every year.

Who could forget that Dodge commercial that debuted and aired during the 2013 Super Bowl? You know the one — Paul Harvey’s infamous 1978 ‘So God Made a Farmer’ speech over powerful, authentic farming images. I can’t lie, it made this Ford owner contemplate the switch to Dodge. Sure, my family and I enjoy eating at Culver’s after a long day of baling small square bales because of their strong and active support of the American farmer. I mean, why not support a place that supports you and your livelihood?

 

Man tends to calf and mother

But, Stop Thanking Farmers

The “Thank a farmer” messaging has been a great tool to boost consumer awareness of farms and their food. Corporations talk about the dedication, sacrifices and the passions of farmers. They’ve acknowledged the general lifestyle of the farmer and farm families, but we’ve reached a turning point. We should stop thanking farmers and implore audiences to trust farmers.

A decade ago, the target audience of this messaging was primarily people who were three, if not four generations removed from the farm. This decision led to many misconceptions about the industry. Today, those misconceptions have grown and multiplied.

Farmers live in a world today where plant-based burgers are trying to replace actual beef patties as the healthier option. Politicians and celebrities are promoting a vegan lifestyle and blaming farmers for “ruining the earth” because cattle send methane and carbon emissions into the atmosphere.

We also hear the common misconceptions. Chemicals being overused, secreting into our water systems. Organic and all-natural food being better for you.  GMO food or GMO-fed meat can cause cancer or harm to your body.  And organic food has less environmental impact than conventional food production. These all support the idea that farmers don’t care about our land, the water or the planet and that couldn’t be further from the truth.

 

Try a Little Trust

Now is the time to encourage the trust of farmers. Trust us when we say there is a withdrawal period after a sick animal is treated with an antibiotic before it can be sold for market and enter our food supply. Or when we say that “all-natural” labeling is an unregulated marketing ploy used to increase sales. Or when we say we are good stewards of the land, using advanced technology to increase efficiency and decrease runoff.

Much like any successful campaign, there is always a follow-up campaign that piggybacks off the former. ‘Trust a farmer’ is messaging that my fellow farmers and I want to hear next.

Whether it be at a little league baseball game, a grill out with friends, a wedding or any sort of mingling, we do our best to educate and inform the general consumer the best we can about what we do, especially when the follow-up questions or conversation take place.

We can’t do it alone

Preston holds calf with adult cow standing nearby

As farmers, we want big corporations, companies and people with platforms to stick up for us. There are lots of general misconceptions and a negative narrative that has been painted of us. We want others coming forward and saying “Trust these families and these farms.” We want people to understand that we are doing things right for our land, water, communities, food, earth and air.

And we want people to know that we are some of the smartest and most curious people out there, trying to problem solve like the rest of you.

With the help of data, science, technology and the community, we are doing our best to make data-driven decisions, meet customer demands, advance our efficiency and protect our planet while putting nutritious and affordable food on the table.

Much like many consumers and corporations, farmers are doing things to make the land and world a better place for the next generation so that we continue to evolve and prosper. We’re on your side, and we want what you want — trust us.

 

On Sept. 12, 2019, Lessing-Flynn (LF) was named as one of 135 Iowa Top Workplaces for 2019 by the Des Moines Register.

Along with being named a Top Workplace, employers are also ranked among other companies and organizations of similar size. LF ranked in the top third of the 65 companies recognized as a Top Workplace in the small company category (35-149 employees).

“We win awards for the work we do for clients, but being named a Top Workplace in Iowa is really special because it says a lot about the culture and values we have worked so hard to promote among our team,” said Tom Flynn, president of LF. “You can’t make a great workplace without having great people. We’re very proud of this recognition.”

Top Workplaces are based on an employee feedback survey created by Energage, a Philadelphia-based company that has 13 years of culture research experience. The survey itself is comprised of 24 questions that work to paint a comprehensive picture of workplace culture using the following categories:

Among all LF team members’ survey answers, a handful of cultural elements ranked especially high: culture, people, work/life balance, investment in training and development, the LF benefits package, values and transparency.

You’ve probably never heard of Ludwig von Mises, an Austrian economist who immigrated to the United States in 1940 to escape the Germans in WWII. Or George Stratton, the American psychologist who pioneered studies on human perception. Or, our own Paul Lessing, founder of Lessing-Flynn 110+ years ago (and Iowa’s Godfather of Advertising).

The following is a discussion about consumer behavior that may (or may not) have actually happened when they each may (or may not) have randomly run across each other at a speakeasy in downtown Des Moines 90-ish years ago. This may (or may not) have been the most important meeting between the famous economist, the renowned psychologist and one of the ad industry’s true original mavericks.

AND, ACTION

 

Lessing:

Hello old friends. It’s with great honor that I share this opportunity and a cold brew with two of the finest minds in their respective fields of psychology and economics. Let’s raise a glass and toast to our common understanding of human behavior …but not too high, as we are still in prohibition and we wouldn’t want to get caught consuming a wicked concoction such as this. What have each of you been doing to further the study of man and his behavior? I am looking to leverage your wisdom.

 

Stratton:

Well, Paul, I’m not certain that you’ve heard of the soon-to-be famous experiment that I have been conducting to test the adaptability of the human brain. I just so happen to have brought these special goggles. If you try them on, you’ll see that the mirrors inside them invert the perspective of your view. Instead of seeing things upright, you see them completely inverted — up/down or left/right.

 

Lessing:

Oh, George, I don’t need special goggles to invert my perspective. Just order me one more of this fine brew and it will do the same thing, albeit only temporarily. But please, do tell more!

 

Stratton:

Well, for my experiment, I donned these goggles for twenty-four hours a day for the better part of a week. Imagine walking through your own house with everything inverted. It was dizzying and laborious to say the least. But by the 5th day, I was able to start getting around a bit more comfortably. And by the 8th day, it almost felt, shall I say, normal. My brain had adapted and un-inverted my perspective.

 

Lessing:

Oh George, un-inverted is not correct diction. But I digress.

 

Stratton:

Ah, Paul, you always were the wordsmith. But the point is, my research shows how the human mind adapts quickly and becomes a very efficient filter of information. I thought this may be applicable to your line of business as an advertising pitchman.

 

Lessing:

Yes. Yes! This will come in very handy as my analytics have shown people spend less time reading circular ads and pamphlets delivered by mail. I can only imagine how difficult it will be to capture the attention of customers bombarded by advertisements delivered by radio and other technological devices. Human minds will quickly learn to filter out ads out much like they do the Burma-Shave ads alongside the country roads today and it will be incumbent on those in my line of work to continue to effectively develop new strategies to deliver messages that are not caught in these filters. Content marketing. Influencer marketing. Experiential marketing. Even just more creative, entertaining ways of presenting a brand will be important.

 

Stratton:

Ah, now you have lost me. The science of advertising is far too difficult for my simple mind to grasp. But alas, it sounds as though understanding how the human brain effectively filters out common advertising will be helpful as you determine new ways to create effective marketing strategies. Ludwig? You’ve been relatively quiet? What have you to contribute?

 

Von Mises:

Yes, Stratton, I too am intrigued by your discovery. While yours touches on the mastery of effectively delivering a message via a medium that doesn’t get filtered by the consumer’s mind, mine touches on the importance of the message itself. Have you read my magnum opus, Human Action? It’s in all of the prestigious book shops in the East.

 

Lessing:

Ludwig, I’m afraid you stumped us at magnum opus. English, my friend.

 

Von Mises:

Haha! I’m afraid I’ve overestimated my esteemed colleagues this evening. You can read my full doctrine, but it was written in a vernacular that may be foreign to you, so I will just give you the Cliff Notes version:

  1. People are motivated to improve their own situation. All people act this way. The difference is in how they value things, and this is determined by their unique personal experience, knowledge and access to information.
  2. For a person to act, they must:
    • Become dissatisfied with their current condition
    • See a viable solution
    • Feel they can achieve that solution.

 

Lessing:

Very compelling. Do let me know when you’ve released the “voicecast” because I would love to hear more. From a marketing standpoint, I see where this is highly applicable in terms of consumer behavior. Essentially, what you are saying is that we must sell the problem before we can sell the solution. If people don’t know there is a problem, they won’t seek a new product or service that will solve it for them. This, my friend, is pure genius and directly applicable to some new clients challenged with selling farm boots and lightning rods.

 

Well gentlemen, I must go. Thank you for your enlightening discussion. We must do this again soon. It has been far too long. I assume one of you will close out the tab. I’ll get the round next time. Be safe.

 

*Fade to black*

Oftentimes when people think of digital ads, they default straight to Google Ads. But there are many instances when the targeting and placement opportunities on Facebook are just as relevant, if not more so. Facebook Ads can do so much more than just boosting your posts (and no, I don’t mean influencing presidential elections). So, let’s break down the different targeting and placements opportunities of each platform and go over guidelines on when to use each.

 

Targeting:

Google Facebook
Keywords X
Geography X X
Demographics X X
Interests X X
Education / work X
Life Events X
Parental status X X
Behaviors (ex. technology early adopter) X
Event attendance X
Prior engagement X
Website visits X (with Pixel installed) X (with Pixel installed)
Custom audience X (on select placement types) X
Lookalike audience X
Affinity audience X
In-market audience X

Digital ad placements + types:

Google Ads

Google Ads come in many different formats, with different targeting methods available to each. Based on the ad type selected, the ad creative can include text, banner, video and Gmail ads.

Facebook Ads

All Facebook Ads allow graphics/video with a link or a lead form no matter the placement.

A note if you’re a B2B business: Your contacts and prospects are people too! Facebook isn’t just for B2C brands. It is actually a great tool to use for B2B advertising as well. With the target capabilities, you’re able to hone in on your audience and reach them wherever they are: at work or at home. 

When to use Google Ads:

When to use Facebook Ads:

Why you should consider using both:

At the end of the day, there is a time and place for both platforms. But they are both important to a comprehensive media plan and can play a vital role in meeting your organization’s KPIs. Don’t be afraid to dip your toes in the digital advertising waters — you’ll see there are plenty of opportunities!

 

 

The Social Media Club of Des Moines recently recognized Lessing-Flynn with four awards for work the company completed for three different client-partners at the sixth annual Hashie Awards on Aug. 22, 2019. Judged by a panel of six social media marketing experts from across the United States, the Hashies recognize businesses, organizations and marketing firms that have demonstrated excellence in social media marketing.

 

Lessing-Flynn received awards for the following:

2019 Hashie Awards

Gold Hashie Award (First Place):

Bank Iowa — Best Use of Snapchat

Equipment Technologies — Best Use of Instagram

National Pork Board — Best Overall Social Media Presence

 

Silver Hashie Award (Second Place):

• Bank Iowa — Social Media Campaign of the Year

 

“Social media is an important part of any marketing strategy. We’re proud of the work we’ve done with our clients in this area, and we’re always excited to see our efforts make an impact on their business,” said Tom Flynn, Lessing-Flynn president.

The 2019 Hashie Awards received 110 entries for 20 different social media categories that recognized social media marketing excellence among both businesses and nonprofit organizations.

It’s hotter than a fire cracker lit at both ends — it’s your digital download.

 

Who will come out the streaming champion and what does this battle look like for marketers? 

The over-the-top (OTT) landscape is changing quickly as the streaming industry goes through a drastic shift. Although Netflix has been the unrivaled streaming champion for many years, with the anticipated launches of Disney+, Apple TV+ and more, the new champion will be determined by their ability to best understand the three key things about OTT. MarketingTech emphasizes the need to focus on understanding how mobile is changing the way viewers watch television, broadcasters’ desire to reap the benefits of their content, and rich insights on consumers making OTT services a fertile ground for marketing.

 

>> Read more about the key to OTT services here

 

 

Facebook adds Instagram scheduling to Creator Studio

Instagram scheduling has never been easy for social managers, but Facebook’s new addition to Creator Studio may be the cure to the ongoing headache. This new option allows users to see exactly what their posts will look like, similar to posting on a Facebook page natively. Social managers will choose whether they want to post to their Instagram feed or IGTV, however scheduled story posts are not yet available. Although the new addition will certainly reduce frustrations of social managers, it is too early to know whether or not scheduled posts will impact post engagement.

 

>> Learn how to schedule Instagram posts here

 

What makes a high-performing story (according to Instagram)

Instagram stories are on the rise, creating an opportunity for any brand looking to connect with a social audience. With over 500 million active daily users, brands are always looking to make their Instagram stories as engaging as possible. A recent Facebook webinar reported 58% of story viewers become more interested in a brand after seeing them featured in a story, and shared the key elements to consider before posting your next story. Though many elements may seem obvious such as quality creative, Facebook provides more key insights such as the impact of sound and the importance of a mixture of static and motion.

 

>> Discover ways to make your stories more engaging here

 

 

AT&T rolls out a plan for Free Spotify Premium

As a direct response to Verizon’s new offer of free Apple music for its customers, AT&T rolled out a promotion of its own. Free Spotify Premium. That’s right, AT&T is offering free premium subscriptions to both new and existing customers. Customers with the unlimited and more plan will qualify for a full premium subscription, while other plans may qualify for six months of Spotify Premium. Better yet, if Spotify isn’t your thing, AT&T offers many other subscriptions to customers on an unlimited plan including HBO Go, Pandora, Showtime and more. With increased audience sizes to these streaming services, we’re left wondering if advertisement rates will fluctuate in the in-term.

 

>> Read more about how to get free Spotify Premium and other offers here

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