If COVID 19 has given us anything, it’s an increased amount of zoom calls and webinars. This is a great way to stay connected and learn something new during a tough time. Studio Giggle’s managing director, Jonathan Brigden was on an expert panel of an EVCOM animation webinar last week (to watch the webinar and find out more, click here). But participating or hosting a webinar can really test your working from home set-up. It can also test your patience as having video conferences all day, one after another with bad sound and broken connections can create the worst kind of fatigue: Zoom fatigue.
1. All-in-one headphones and mic. Whichever you pick, the mic is a lot closer to the mouth, and so the quality increases dramatically. But if you go for this option try and avoid Bluetooth connected headphones and choose a wired set instead, for added reliability.
2. A lavalier microphone sometimes referred to as a tie or lapel mic. These are clip-on wearable mics, that plug into the audio jack or USB. There’s a lot of options on Amazon, and if you’ve got the budget I’d recommend a well-known brand like Sony or Røde (if you can’t find what you need on amazon check out CVP, Thomann or SCAN). With all mics, the price usually dictates the quality. The one downside is that this mic will make a distorted sound as it brushes against clothing, so if you do intend on moving around or being a bit more animated, option 3 might be for you.
3. The top-level mic would be a condenser studio microphone. This is the type of mic a professional voiceover artist might own because it is far better at processing sound waves and will pick up the nuances of speech. This should be reserved for those who want or need studio-quality sound. You’ll need to sit with it in front of you, so while it’s not hidden; it does look slick when talking into one, particularly if it’s held up with a boom arm. We recently bought a Røde NT1-A, which is great for webcasting.
Some more general tips for audio:
It’s fairly likely that your inbuilt webcam will leave a lot to be desired so I’d recommend investing in a decent HD webcam. We recently bought the Logitech Brio and the difference to the inbuilt cameras on my Mac was pretty drastic. The Logitech will record up to 4K, and the inbuilt mic was superb. You can treat it like a real camera and choose the field of view, frame rate, resolution, exposure, colour balance, autofocus and more, which will lead to a much better image. This is a great article for the top webcams on the market.
In reality, an HD 1080p camera would be fine though as most platforms compress everything down anyway.
If you are using a phone, then a tripod is a must-have purchase. This will raise your production value instantly (and save your arm from falling off!). A phone tripod is a piece of kit you can buy cheaply, and I would ignore the big brands to save some money here. Make sure the phone is on its side in landscape mode and if possible, stream in HD.
First and foremost, you should maximise the natural lighting in your room, by positioning yourself close to a window. Ideally, the camera would be in-between you and the window to help light your face. Try and avoid sitting with your back to a window as this is likely to have the opposite effect creating you as a silhouette and making you seem like you are in a witness protection scheme! While you may think the window makes a nice background, if you are talking for an hour, the lighting can dramatically change outside and by the end, you might end up looking quite gloomy.
If you do fancy getting a proper light, always go LED. They last longer and won’t get hot. A lot of Youtubers use a “ring light”, as they are soft and flattering to film faces with.
By now you may have experienced the custom background feature on Zoom. For me, this has led to many great calls with friends with the Tiger King looming over their shoulders. For Giggle’s Steve, a keyed background is the ideal way of hiding mess…
If your computer, like mine, can’t handle the background swap outs, or your webinar software doesn’t support them, then it might be an idea to actually tidy up.
If someone is watching you for an hour, don’t sit with your back to a plain wall like you’re steaming from prison. Up until now, the trusty bookshelf has been the go-to when it comes to Zoom backgrounds, but maybe check what books are visible first, otherwise, you could fall into the same hole as Michael Gove. Our own Jon has quite an interesting background when he is doing important video calls.
With all the kit in the world, your internet connection will play the biggest part in how clear you come across as streaming takes up a good chunk of bandwidth. If home webinars are going to be a regular fixture, it will be worth performing some speed tests on your connection and making sure you are in the best spot in the house, and with the best supplier for your area. Your streaming software should have a minimum and an optimal connection speed. A really simple way of doing this is a free test on speedtest.net. Make sure you check your upload speed as this will play the biggest role. If three of you are doing video conferences at the same time, ideally you need a connection that is something like 10-20mbps per person uploading.
If possible use a wired ethernet connection for increased reliability. Turning off any tabs in the browser background, stopping files that might be downloading, and turning off other Wi-Fi enabled devices during the webinar may improve the connection. You could also try and limit the number of people and devices that are using the internet at the same time as the webinar, as this may increase the risk of it interrupting your stream.
We hope you’ve found these tips and tricks for successful webinars helpful, and if there is anything that we can help you with then please get in touch.
*= delete as appropriate to Teams, Skype, Webex, Skype, Skype for Business, Slack, Whatsapp, facetime…the list goes on and on.
Audio Uproar are continuing to operate out of their spacious (over 2000 sq ft) studios on Whiteladies Road, providing audio post services to the Film, TV and Digital Media industries. We can facilitate remote sign off and have been doing so for various clients.
We have always operated using remote techniques to link up with talent, directors and clients all over the world using combinations of Skype, Zoom and Source Connect Pro.
Here’s a rough outline of how we are observing distancing protocols while on site:
I’m the only person currently in the building (studio space of 2000 sq ft) and VO talent wont be in the same room as myself at any point.
There are separate entrances and bathroom facilities. The VO talent will have their own green room if desired. The building is effectively divided into two areas with no overlap necessary at any point.
All areas are disinfected with isopropyl alcohol prior to any sessions (and after). Hand sanitiser is available on entering the building.
I’d be wearing mask, goggles and gloves (It’s a bit like being at the dentist, although hopefully less painful).
Link up to producers can be achieved using Skype or Zoom with a direct feed from the desk for audio clarity and programme material in vision via pro webcam. Alternatively Source Connect Pro can be used if linking with an appropriately equipped studio.
We are also supplying high quality recording equipment to locations, which works as follows.
I travel to the presenters location in appropriate PPE and supply them with a sterilised set up including H4n recorder/ mic and a VO (condenser) mic to record their voice wild.
We keep the set up as simple as possible and give guidance on best recording practice/ record levels etc and facetime or Skype them to help should they need it. The director or producer can dial in using Zoom or Skype (we supply headphones to the talent for a closed communication system).
Once the recording is done the kit is left outside the door of the premises for me to collect and sterilise.
I then take the recording back to the studios to edit and clean up if necessary, using the latest noise reduction technology.
If you would like to learn more then get in touch: [email protected]. Tel. 07989 422326. www.audiouproar.com
If you conduct email outreach to generate leads, then you’ll know how important it is to maintain a list of prospect email addresses. Sometimes you’ll be lucky and find the email addresses you need quickly and without any difficulty. More often than not, though, searching for them is like looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack.
This is why email finders are so valuable. Email finders automate this task for you, saving you time. If you’re still looking for that perfect email finder, I have compiled this list of the best ones on the market. I’ve outlined the specific strengths of each tool so you can pick the one that best suits your needs.
But before we dive into the list, here’s the criteria I used to determine which tools to include.
In order to make it onto this list, each email finder needed to meet a specific set of criteria. Above all, it needed to be both accurate and affordable. Ease of use, accessibility, and additional functionalities were also considered.
Here’s how I evaluated each criterion:
Price: Is the email finder affordable for small businesses?
Ease of use: Is it easy and intuitive to use regardless of prior skill levels?
Accessibility: How easy and convenient is the tool to access?
Accuracy: What is the advertised accuracy rate?
Additional functionalities:
Based on this set of criteria, I determined that these are the six best email finder tools for generating leads and growing your business:
FindEmails.com is very affordable and offers great value for money. Plans start at $29 per month, which gives you 1000 email search credits. The Better plan costs $49 per month and includes 2550 credits, while the Best plan offers 10000 credits for $99 per month. At any level, you can also purchase additional credits for only $0.02 each.
Findemails.com works via a Google Chrome extension. This means that you don’t even have to open a new webpage in order to do a prospect search. The extension is easy to navigate and returns results quickly. You can even search for a company’s website just using the company name.
How it works: you input the person’s name along with the company name. You can also search by job title if, for example, you want to reach the Head of Marketing but don’t know their name. FindEmails.com then uses its two-in-one email finder and verification tool to find the most probable email address. You can also purchase curated email lists, with prices starting at $0.01 per record.
FindEmails.com prides itself on its 98 percent accuracy rate, the highest of all the systems I compared.
The one significant downside to FindEmails.com is that it does not integrate with other applications such as Google Sheets.
If you’re looking for an email finder that integrates well with applications such as Google Sheets, then Hunter is the one for you.
But this email finder is primarily known for its advanced search parameters, which can be exceptionally useful to your prospect research. Hunter allows you to search by specific technologies – for example, by filtering for companies using tools such as WooCommerce – and to filter by popularity. Hunter also allows you to track emails sent through Gmail with its built in MailTracker extension.
Hunter is easy to access and simple to use. You can search either on the Hunter website or via its Chrome extension. The bulk email finder is also exceptionally useful, allowing you to import large lists of prospects as .csv or .txt files.
Hunter’s advanced pattern-matching algorithm improves accuracy by comparing other email addresses from the same domain. Its overall accuracy level is an impressive 95%.
Considering all the features it offers, Hunter is competitively priced. The Starter plan is $49 per month and includes 1000 requests. With the Growth plan, for $99 per month, you’ll get 5000 requests, while the Pro plan gives you 20,000 requests for $199 per month. For larger businesses or those undertaking extensive prospect outreach, the Enterprise plan offers a whopping 50,000 requests for $399 per month.
If you want to make just a few requests, Hunter offers a free version of its service which gives you up to 50 searches without paying anything.
The downside? You have to make a second, separate search in order to verify that an email address is active. Additionally, Hunter’s LinkedIn integration has been discontinued, so it may not be the ideal tool to use if you conduct your prospect research primarily on LinkedIn.
If you’re looking to work with influencers to boost your brand, NinjaOutreach is the best email finder for you.
NinjaOutreach uses an extensive and ever-growing social media database to find prospect information. Because it relies solely on this in-house database, however, you might not be able to find all of the email addresses you’re looking for.
Unlike FindEmails.com, NinjaOutreach does not give you a contact confidence score either, meaning you cannot compare different best-guess versions of the same email address. At the time of writing, its accuracy level was not publicized. It does, however, offer email verification.
NinjaOutreach offers a highly rated Instagram API, allowing you to potentially connect with millions of influencers. Because the tool focuses on social media, it does not offer additional integrations with other applications.
NinjaOutreach can also be accessed via either the web-based interface or the Chrome extension. Both are user-friendly and uncomplicated to use.
NinjaOutreach sits at the higher end of the email finder price range, which puts some people off. Its Flex plan is $299 per month and its Pro plan is $499 per month. Prices drop to $119 per month for Flex and $199 per month for Pro if you pay for a year of access upfront.
Both plans include access to a database of 64 million Instagram influencers, 7 million Twitter influencers, 19.5 million business emails, and 6 million bloggers. With the Flex plan you also get one seat, one connected email, 1000 contacts, and 10,000 emails per month too. On the Pro plan, these allowances rise to three seats, four connected emails, 4000 contacts and 15,000 emails per month.
NinjaOutreach represents value for money if you wish to seriously concentrate on social media and influencer marketing. If your priorities are elsewhere, another tool will serve you better.
Snov.io is the perfect tool for you if you’re looking for a great free plan. Register for a free account and you will get instant access to business prospects and email addresses as well as high-performing sales templates which allow you to track your outreach and build powerful email drip campaigns. The free plan gives you 50 monthly search credits and 100 email drip recipients.
If you want more features, Snov.io also offers affordable paid plans. The Small plan costs $39 per month for 1000 credits and 1000 unique recipients. The Medium plan costs $69 per month and offers 5000 credits and 5000 unique recipients. For larger businesses, you can get 20,000 credits and recipients with the Large plan for $129 per month, and 50,000 credits and unlimited recipients with the XL plan for $199 per month.
Snov.io offers a great user-friendly interface which is very easy to use. Simply enter a domain name and Snov.io will return all the email addresses on that domain, as well as any available additional information about the email owners. If Snov.io can’t find any results, you will not be charged for that request. Snov.io is integrated with LinkedIn and its accuracy relies heavily on prospects keeping their LinkedIn profiles up to date.
Snov.io offers extensive integration with other tools including popular CRMs, teamwork tools, customer support platforms and many more.
This email finder can be accessed as a Chrome extension which can be opened on any website. Some users, however, criticize Snov.io’s lack of customer support. There have also been customer complaints that Snov.io is considerably slower than other, similar tools.
GetProspect is a great tool for businesses looking to build relationships with other businesses. Just input your search parameters and GetProspect uses LinkedIn, the biggest online professional network in the world, to search for your prospect’s data. Searches can be filtered by criteria such as company size, industry or geographical location.
You can also use GetProspect to find other useful data such as the company’s website, physical address, phone number, and number of employees.
GetProspect has a free plan which allows you to find up to 100 email addresses. Its Starter plan costs $49 per month and gives you 1000 addresses, the Basic plan costs $99 per month for up to 5000 addresses, while the Plus plan costs $199 for 20,000 addresses. For those looking to undertake very large campaigns, the Pro plan offers 50,000 emails for $399 per month. All plans include unlimited team access, imports, CSV exports, integrations, and API calls.
GetProspect allows you to group your extracted prospect profiles into lists and export contacts to an XLS file. You can also invite as many members of your team as you like to share your plan. GetProspect can be used through its web-based interface or integrated with hundreds of apps including Gmail, MailChimp, HubSpot, Salesforce and Zoho.
Some users, however, complain that customer support is lacking and that GetProspect does not offer the rigorous levels of accuracy checking that other systems do. Some customer reports also place GetProspect’s accuracy at only around 75%.
AnyMail: Email Finder that Charges Only for Verified Emails
AnyMail Finder only charges you for finding an email address if it is sure your email won’t bounce. For an email to be verified, it must have a 97% or higher probability of successful delivery. This makes it the ideal choice for businesses who are cost-conscious and want to pay for only the strongest leads.
AnyMail Finder offers a limited free plan which gives you up to 20 verified email addresses. Its $49 plan gives you 1000 verified addresses, while its $99 plan gives you 5000. For $149, you can get up to 10,000 verified addresses. This represents great value for money, especially when we consider that each of these email addresses has a 97% or higher chance of successful delivery.
AnyMail Finder comes only as a browser extension, which allows you to upload potential company names directly. You can also use the API to input verified emails directly to your CRM. Customer reviews of the tool’s user-friendliness are mixed.
AnyMail Finder has limited functionality compared to other tools mentioned in this list. A significant downside is that it does not allow you to search for addresses based on job title or technology. Its strength lies in its accuracy guarantee. Some users have also complained about the company’s customer service.
Email finders are an essential tool for digital marketers. There are many such services available and it can be daunting to decide which one to go for. As you will have seen from this list, there are pros and cons to each tool based on pricing, ease of use, accessibility, additional features, and accuracy. Which one you choose will ultimately depend on your company’s individual needs and your budget.
If I had to choose the best from this list, though, I’d recommend FindEmails.com as the best all-rounder. Its low price makes it accessible to new and small businesses. It is also fast, intuitive to use, and offers those curated email lists to speed up and improve your prospecting efforts.
When you add in that extraordinary 98% accuracy rate, you’ll understand why I think FindEmails.com is la crème de la crème of email finders for businesses looking to grow their lists and start generating quality leads today.
At the beginning of this year, the climate crisis was at the top of political and business agendas around the world. In February we saw 20,000 climate protestors march in Bristol with Greta Thunberg, and momentum was building for COP26 in Glasgow. In the space of a few short weeks, with the spread of Covid-19 everything changed. But the climate emergency isn’t going away, and as we start to rebuild the economy, how can we do so in a way that’s green?
Taking place online in June, the Net Zero Sessions aim to tackle these questions and more. This series of gatherings and curated conversations will explore the role business can play in tackling the climate emergency. Our aim is to build a new community around this critical cause, by bringing together business leaders and policymakers from scaleups to blue chips to connect and find creative ways to collaborate in this time of climate crisis.
We’re drawing on a wealth of knowledge from speakers including…
…and more. With their help we aim to inspire and inform business leaders looking to accelerate their sustainability strategy, on topics including balancing profit and purpose, sustainable retail challenges and customer engagement.
The Net Zero Sessions will also support Offset Earth, our charity partner who plant trees and fund carbon offsetting projects around the world. They’ll receive 100% of the £10 suggested donation fee per attendee.
To find out more and join us visit www.net-zero-summit.com
In the current climate, businesses have had to adapt to survive. Increasingly, we’re seeing businesses across all sectors take their events from the conference room to the internet.
Cloud software company Nutanix went to Bristol creative agency Workbrands to support it providing its CXO Masterclass events at a time when physical events are not an option. After considering a variety of choices it was agreed that an on-demand virtual masterclass would be thes best fit as it would enable Nutanix to take advantage of a Learning Management System it already has in place , Nutanix University. Participants are able to complete the Virtual Masterclass at their own place, taking the individual course modules when the timing works best for them, the perfect approach for the new working style we’ve all had to adopt.
Nutanix CXO Focus Masterclass attendees will receive a Certification of Completion from CTM. They also benefit from post-Masterclass access to CTM’s papers and research.
The Workbrands design team got to work adapting the Nutanix University Learning Management System to suit the format for the first Virtual Masterclass. Led by Dr Art Langer of Columbia University Centre for Technology Management, the Digital Disruption Masterclass is aimed at CIOs, CTOs, CEOs and other Executives who are looking to take their organisation, and their career to the next level.
Given the current pandemic, shooting new content was simply not an avenue that was available. So instead, Workbrands adapted existing footage of the first event that was captured in Singapore in 2019 and overlaid graphics from Dr Langer’s presentation slides as well as additional graphics to emphasise specific points. For the second module, they only had audio recordings, so the design team had to find a way to make it as engaging as possible in the absence of footage on Dr Langer and his dynamic presentation style.
Workbrands was painfully aware that at the moment inboxes are flooded with emails, so it’s imperative that the Nutanix CXO Masterclass invite stood out from the crowd. It’s also important that the brand practiced what it preached; if executives were to trust Nutanix’s authority on digital disruption then its digital content needed to be up to scratch. The Workbrands designers created a stunning email invite, that highlighted the key takeaways from the Masterclass course.
Both modules are now live, and Workbrands have began work on the second Virtual Masterclass topic: Authentic Leadership, led by Mike Robbins. This half-day Masterclass workshop is based on Mike Robbins’ two decades of research and experience working with top leaders and teams, as well as the principles of his four books. For this instance, Workbrands have changed their approach and were able to ask Mike to record the series at home. They’ll be splicing the video of Mike with graphics and slides to a sense of continuity with the Digital Disruption Masterclass.
Workbrands have worked with Nutanix for five years on a huge range of exciting visual campaigns, you can view some of them here.
It’s hard not to miss the amount of content being shared by agencies in the last few weeks as the pressure to engage increases. Insights and ideas, e-mail campaigns, webinars and online events abound. Sadly, as the volume increases the quality is declining. The high-quality pieces stand out, but the majority seem to be getting lost in the noise.
Brands and businesses are under pressure and are busy working out how they will adjust to new marketplace dynamics and different customer demands. But while in lockdown mode, the individuals you want to connect with are more accessible and they have more time to engage with both their existing and new agencies. So, there are certainly good opportunities to deepen client relationships and to open up new ones.
But while your targets are easier to reach, they are more discerning about what they engage with, partly because their need is heightened in the current environment and partly because of the volume of things they are receiving. They will only engage with the very best content. Anything that is bland, ill-informed or lacks insight is likely to create a negative impression.
And let’s not forget that your time is precious too. For many agencies, resources are stretched and budgets are tight. All your activities need to work harder than ever before. It’s no time for being a follower or just being average.
So, here are some practical suggestions to overcome these challenges.
STAND APART
It’s a basic requirement that you demonstrate an understanding of the client’s business and current situation. And you need to have genuine ideas that are relevant to the challenges that matter to them now and in the future. Your ideas need to be original and authentic, not just a re-hash of the same predictable things that everyone else is talking about. You should have strong points of view, which ladder up to your proposition. Draw on all your knowledge and creativity. Leverage your agency’s full experience and reject anything that’s not special.
DELIVERY MATTERS
Virtual has become the everyday reality and many agencies have jumped on the online events and webinar bandwagon. Not a problem if you know how to use these formats or you can get help from someone who does. But many agencies don’t – and consequently they have delivered poor experiences. Existing content needs to be adapted to work in different media, presenters need to be well practiced in the virtual environment and audiences need to be given the chance to interact. Everything should be produced to high quality, reflect your agency personality and be branded.
LEAVE NO STONE UNTURNED
Commitment and preparation are key. Don’t leave anything to chance. Ensure that all the details of your content are correct. Check that none of your competitors are saying the same things. Think through all eventualities. Technology is never 100% fool proof in communication or presentation. If you’re trying to engage a live online audience, have a pre-recorded version in your back pocket. That way, if you have a technical glitch you can follow up immediately with the content, not days later when you are already old news.
CHANNEL AND AUDIENCE PLANNING
Doors may be closed but other channels are very much open. Email being the most obvious to reach clients. This is where it pays to have a system that is synced to your CMS and a well-built database. You don’t need to venture into fancy online events and podcasts if your written content is stunning. Remember that most content fails because it’s not properly tailored for the client. Don’t fall into this statistic. Be clear on your targeting and think hard about the different personas and roles in the client organisation. Be prepared to evolve, edit and tailor for different audiences, sectors and regions – and then distribute through all your channels.
FREQUENCY FATIQUE
Being the voice that remains is important but be careful not to alienate clients by bombarding them. The aim is to open up discussions, to engage and build relationships. It’s about nurturing not prospecting. Don’t rush to get content out for the sake of it. Pace is important but quality comes first. Build a programme which runs over time, with each piece (delivered in whatever format you decide) focused on a particular pain point. Make sure every impression you make is a good and lasting one.
The message is clear. Choose your audiences, subjects, opinions and tactics carefully. If you haven’t got anything good to say – don’t say anything until you have. You might just stand out because of it.
Purplefish supports Community-Led Homes West on its campaign to raise awareness of the benefits of community-led housing
We are proud to be supporting Community-Led Homes West as the organisation changes the perception of community-led housing in the South West.
In a time where community values have become more important than ever to the way we are living, particularly highlighted during the current coronavirus crisis. The theme of community spirit is central to the launch of a new campaign by Community-Led Homes West to raise awareness of community-led housing and the Community-Led Homes West Hub.
Central to the campaign is the launch of a short film with residents as the stars describing what community means in their own experience and how community-led housing initiatives have benefitted them. The launch of this initiative comes at a time when community mobilisation is at its strongest for years, illustrated by the impact of the NHS volunteer scheme which saw 750,000 sign ups to support neighbours and residents in just four days.
Entitled, “Ordinary people, doing extraordinary things”, the short film showcases members of the public being asked about what community-led housing is. Intended to explain that awareness in the general public is low, the piece then goes on to feature specific schemes including Southmead and Shaldon Road, Bristol; Marshfield, South Gloucestershire; and Fishponds Road, Bristol.
The Southmead regeneration scheme includes 120 one and two-bedroom homes as well as a health centre, library and community space. Marshfield is a rural housing scheme of 18 homes which are a mixture of social rent and shared ownership. Shaldon Road in Lockleaze incorporates a mix of 50 one-bedroom flats and four-bedroom houses and Fishponds Road includes seven shared ownership and five affordable rent homes.
The new film can be viewed here: https://communityledhomeswest.co.uk/ordinarypeople
Commenting on the campaign Lindy Morgan, CEO of Bristol Community Land Trust, said: “We have launched this campaign now as we are seeing a resurgence and interest in community-led initiatives. The current housing crisis is evident in both cities and rural environments with the shortage in affordable homes being well publicised.”
West of England hub manager, Susan Iglesias Cataldi, added: “We’re really proud of the film which puts people at the heart of their own communities to tell personal stories – we hope it will inspire and galvanise more people to get involved with this, lobby for more funding, engage in their own schemes and spread the word to people who can be positively affected by these projects which are for everyone.”
Talking on this topic Paul Smith, councillor and cabinet member for housing for Bristol City Council said at a council meeting earlier this year: “What excites me is that we are not building a few schemes, but we are building a whole new housing sector. We are helping to seed a new generation of locally based housing organisations which give local communities real control over an important asset within their area.
“There is this enormous flourishing of a wide range of approaches and different models that match the needs of different communities, and that is one of the benefits that community-led housing brings you.”
The Community-Led Homes West Hub is an organisation that sits under the umbrella of Bristol Community Land Trust (BCLT). BCLT is set up and run by ordinary people to develop and manage homes as well as other assets. It was established in 2011 and its mission in creating ‘homes for good’ is to build the most affordable, sustainable housing in the West of England.
Community land trusts act as long-term stewards of land and housing, ensuring that it remains affordable, based on what people earn in their area, not just for now but for every future occupier. The hub works alongside the West of England local authorities, and housing associations to help build community infrastructure.
The Hub remit extends throughout North Somerset, Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire. It is funded by Power to Change which seeks to galvanise and signpost community groups, providing non-technical and technical advice to community initiatives. This includes how to set up groups, get funding and ongoing practical advice on running and generating interest in schemes.
To find out more information on community-led housing or sign up to the newsletter visit the Community-Led Homes West website here: https://communityledhomeswest.co.uk/.
In the past few weeks a lot has been said about the importance of focussing, prioritising and having a clear plan of action. As agency leaders you’ll have received suggestions that you should concentrate on clients, new business, employees, financial management, long term strategy – and everything in between. But are you crystal clear on who should really be responsible for what at the top level within your agency? It’s now time to take a good hard look at who’s doing what – and why.
ALL HANDS ON DECK
Many small to medium sized businesses have operated quite happily for many years without defined roles at senior management level, especially where they are a group of founders. The ‘all hands on deck’ approach has created flexibility and spread the load but as the business grows the need to clarify roles has often remained unconsidered or ignored.
In recent weeks, many agencies with clearer role allocations have also lapsed back into the ‘all hands on deck’ approach. But coming through the current challenges and thriving as a winner in the post Covid-19 business environment will require top level responsibilities to be focused like never before.
Without this clarity, there are some risky consequences:
So now is the opportunity to ensure every member of your senior team has a clear remit. You should consider the size of your senior team and define responsibilities where the required clarity has been absent. Or change responsibilities to put you in the best place to succeed in the future.
But don’t expect do this from a management textbook. Recognise the need to play to people’s strengths and to define appropriate roles to which the individual can adapt and in which they can excel.
FINDING THE SWEET SPOT
Very few people are perfectly equipped for all aspects of a senior role, so it’s a question of finding the right balance. One model we use to help do this is the Japanese concept of Ikigai (which translates literally as Life Meaning). Used for many years on a personal level by the Japanese, it’s been increasingly adopted to help define organisational purpose.
The model helps find the balance between four key factors that drive satisfaction and motivation: passion, expertise, demand and value. Let’s take a closer look at how this can be applied to the definition of roles.
1. Passion
For an individual, it’s what they are passionate about, what they just love to do – project work/ client relationship building/exploring new ways of working/ team management/ winning new business/ setting the vision for the company. The tricky bit here is that though there may be many things people love to do, only some of them will also meet the other criteria below.
2. Strength
While an individual might love to do many things, they will only actually be good at some of them. This is where Ikigai departs from the common advice to just “do what you love and love what you do”. In fact, just doing what they love won’t optimise impact. They need to be good at it too.
3. Need
For an individual or a business, if the focus is on something that isn’t really needed a lot of time and effort is going to be wasted. Individual’s roles and responsibilities can’t just be based on the things they are good at and love doing – they need to be focused on the areas that are vital to the success of the business.
4. Value
Many senior team members, often with many years of experience, will have the ability to turn their hand to all kinds of things. And to make a positive contribution. But where do they add the most value to the business?
PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE
Now how do you make it a reality? Once you’ve done the thinking, decided on the shape of your senior team, identified and aligned on the key areas for each person, it’s vital to define things precisely and communicate to everyone in the business. You’ll also need to decide how success will be measured for each role depending on the specific responsibilities.
And finally, as the new world evolves, so will your business and the people within it. Be prepared to monitor and hone your thinking around roles regularly to ensure you’re deploying your talent for maximum impact.
In light of the ongoing uncertainty surround Covid-19, we’re taking all of our events online as part of our webinar series for the foreseeable future. As with our in-person events, our programme of forward-thinking webinars is constructed to provide advertisers across the South West and beyond with the knowledge they need to achieve their growth ambitions in the long term. We hope you find the time to join us!
Below you’ll find all of our currently announced webinars, taking us through until June. But there are a number of additional dates in the pipeline – to keep up with all of our events and webinars as they break, click here >>>
When? 29th April 2020
MicrosoftAdvertisingXADFUTURES is an exclusive opportunity to hear directly from Microsoft Advertising about the future of the platform, why advertisers should be choosing Bing and the importance of diversity and inclusion within the Microsoft Advertising ecosystem.
Register for the webinar today by clicking here >>>
When? 13th May 2020
Hosting the event, digital media buying agency, SearchStar, will support Google, offering their thoughts and expertise about the future of advertising, the opportunities on the horizon and an actionable case study of how advertisers can make the most of advertising on Google today.
Register for the webinar today by clicking here >>>
When? 28th May 2020
This webinar, part of the SearchStar Shorts series, will go intro greater details on the nuances of search engine marketing on Amazon, and the specific strengths offered by paid advertising and organic search on the platform. But more than that, it’ll go beyond the individual strengths and best practices of each approach, and demonstrate how, when working together, they can deliver your business the exposure it needs to thrive in an increasingly competitive environment.
Register for the webinar today by clicking here >>>
Well, we certainly hope so. But for a better idea of what a SearchStar webinar looks like, the recording of last week’s Conversion and Analytics webinar is available below:
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Most of us have valued those on the frontline in our society for as long as we can remember, but never more than we do right now. And we’re showing our appreciation loudly and proudly for the people making things happen to keep our country safe and moving forwards during this difficult time.
Quite right too. But our own attitudes and expectations will be different because of the current frontline battles and behaviours – and this applies beyond the here and now. There are some fundamental truths for business leaders to learn in terms of the roles they play and how they motivate others to play theirs. This is especially true for agencies where people are the heart of the business. It’s about attitude and it’s about action.
So, if you’re running a business that you care about and you’ve put a great deal of effort into having the best team around you, you’ll have your own frontline team to inspire and mobilise. Yes, your first priority as a leader may be to keep calm, act rationally and have a plan. This is expected of you. But you will never succeed in the future unless you respect and utilise the skills, efforts and knowledge of those who are delivering the now and next of what gets done.
So, let’s look at what can be adopted from society’s frontline experience and how this will serve you well in the future.
UNDERSTAND LEADERSHIP
Good leadership isn’t exclusively the purview of those with fancy titles. There are informal leaders in every agency who make a difference on a daily basis. Lessons from the frontline tell us that many do so without being asked – but too often go unnoticed. They are present, in touch and dig to solve the complex problems in the way of survival, or success. They are relatable, resourceful and optimistic. And if you haven’t already, recognising the power of these people is your secret weapon.
LOOK AT YOUR OWN FRONTLINE
Look at your own people. Who has stepped up and stepped forward in the current environment? Recognise them but also consider what their new, or more apparent, strengths might mean in a post-Covid era. Start with what your business will need, map that to the skills and strengths of these individuals and give them the support they will need to potentially realign their roles and progress.
MEASURE THE TEMPERATURE
Having an accurate and regular measure of how people feel about what’s ahead, is critical. The heroes on your own frontline are likely to be very well networked and well placed to get a read on sentiment as well as playing back what’s working and not working. They are also a trusted source better able to get messages to the majority of agency and client teams and credibly reinforce them.
STAY CLOSE AND HONEST
One thing we can learn from the here and now is that facts matter and empty promises do not – even if made with the best of hopeful intentions. Don’t let a desire to lead allow you to mislead others to the point where you lose goodwill and momentum. Share what you don’t know alongside what you do – especially on matters of job security and future investment. And take the messages directly to your frontline, don’t rely on antiquated cascade systems. It’s all about stability.
FREEDOM TO ACT
Few businesses will be able to crack on as usual, so leverage the eyes and ears you have to get a closer read on emerging client needs – importantly what will best serve them in the future. Creating a culture that empowers people to improve whilst always delivering is what being frontline is all about. So feed the appetite to innovate and give your people the freedom to make things happen.
POWER UP PURPOSE
The word ‘purpose’ has had a good wash over the last few years and to the point where even the believers doubt its metal. But dressed up words aside, it’s when we’re being tested that who we really are shows up. The trick is not to lose sight of it when the current test is over – because it never will be. Let what you really believe in lead the way and shape your priorities as you move from defence to offense.
So, if you aren’t already, it’s time to get on the front foot. This isn’t about a ‘new normal’ – whatever that really means. It’s about remembering who will really win your battles every day and harnessing these heroes so you can be at your best well into the future.
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