+44 1509 440 151 [email protected]
TASKS vs OUTCOMES – Change your life TODAY 

TASKS vs OUTCOMES – Change your life TODAY 

by | Oct 7, 2021 | Digital Marketing

If you sit down first thing in a morning (at work or at home) and say to yourself “What would I like to achieve today or this week?” and write down your answers, I GUARANTEE you will make MASSIVE progress.  

You should note this advice is very different to what many folks will advise. Most people advise you to create TASK lists! WRONG, throw away all of your task lists, burn them (preferably in a sustainable way), and say “Goodbye Task Lists, Hello MASSIVE future“. 

So I wander around the office on a Monday morning and someone proudly shows me their task list for the day, I read through it, “ordering some stuff, doing some expenses, blah blah,” then down near the bottom I find it, “Get back to that customer about our proposal we sent last week”. WTF is this little golden nugget doing wallowing down at the bottom of the task list? Because this lovely person is avoiding the most IMPORTANT items, the things that will really add VALUE to your business! Instead they will focus on menial crap for over half the day rather than making a real difference, and possibly not get round to it at all as other menial crap also finds its way in. 

  

What are tasks? 

TASKS are boring, they are nitty gritty, they don’t see the big picture, it’s way too easy to end up writing down loads of things that “need” doing without really taking you any closer to any of your dreams, goals or outcomes, task lists are a way of avoiding what is most important. 

I remember someone once saying “ok, write down your task list, prioritise it, then throw away the bottom 20%, because you know you’ll never do it”. This was absolutely true, as time went on it was higher, maybe 50% at least.  

The only thing that matters is achieving the OUTCOMES you are aiming for, however, I grew to realise that this approach was all wrong, I needed to start with outcomes. 

If you think of a task and you are afraid of forgetting it, you can write it down, however, put it in a bucket (or a backlog in AGILE project management), and every now and again sift through the bucket to see if anything will make a big difference in achieving your goals.  

You only let yourself sift through the bucket on planned times of the month, not as a distraction. 

  

TASKS lack focus on OUTCOMES.  

If you always focus on outcomes, you will naturally complete the most relevant tasks to achieving that outcome, but you will waste far less time on tasks that do not achieve that outcome. 

So, what are outcomes?  

Ask yourself, WHAT would you like to have achieved at the end of the week? The answers will be much more powerful than the question “What should I do?”. Doing stuff can be a waste of time if it is not aligned to a greater objective, and will see you achieve a load of low value outputs. 

Here’s a table of Tasks vs. Outcomes:  

Tasks Outcomes 
I need to upload new imagery to the site. I want my website to look more modern. 
I need to chase invoices. I need to stabilise my cashflow. 
Check out my marketing analytics. Create strategy for effective marketing plan going forward. 

YES, I agree that we all have menial stuff to do, but do it when you aren’t going to be very productive anyway, like a Friday after lunch or something, and keep the time focussed and short. 

By ditching the task list and focussing on OUTCOMES, you will stop writing down menial tasks that merely help you hide from WHAT YOU NEED TO ACHIEVE.  

No more BS, focus right down on what you need to deliver to add value, and, by the laws of the universe and statistics you WILL, if you do this all the time! 

Death to TASK lists, YES to OUTCOMES. 

Want to learn some more about Fred? Check out his LinkedIn here!

Or check out another one of our blogs: The Top 10 Marketing Tools for Your Business

CiT Monthly Roundup of Marketing News & Updates 

CiT Monthly Roundup of Marketing News & Updates 

by | Oct 1, 2021 | Digital Marketing

Autumn has arrived, say goodbye to the long summer days and hello to crunchy leaves and woolly jumpers! Before we look ahead to Halloween (and Christmas!) we’re looking at the best marketing updates and interesting marketing news from the month of September. 

As you know, social media and Google are CONSTANTLY evolving. There’s a new algorithm change every single week, and it’s important for your business to stay up to date with the latest news and updates to please each social platform and Google.  

Check out our marketing business monthly roundup of the latest news and tips down below. 

Instagram have Spilled Allll the Tea on Hashtags!  

Just 3 months ago, the @creators account shared that their hashtag best practice is to use 8-15 relevant hashtags per post, but just yesterday, they revealed the rules have changed once again.  

Instagram are now recommending just 3-5 hashtags per post in order to boost content’s discoverability. According to Instagram, using 10-20 hashtags will now NOT help in getting additional distribution.  

It looks like hashtags are becoming less important in Instagram’s eyes, with more of a focus on Alt text, and keywords in posts. I mean, when was the last time you searched for a hashtag to find what you were looking for, as opposed to just searching a keyword in the search bar?  

TikTok Has Reached 1 BILLION Active Users 

If social media is a big part of your digital marketing, then you will likely be aware of an app called TikTok. Many people think that TikTok is an app for the younger generation and that including it in their marketing is not worthwhile, however, it is becoming an ever-growing platform for small businesses to reach customers and create sales.  

Are you wondering is TikTok good for business? Keep reading and we’ll tell you why it is. 

Just this week, Tiktok has reached 1 BILLION active users this week!  

“More than 1 billion people around the world now come to #TikTok every month to be entertained as they learn, laugh, or discover something new!” –  TikTok 

The rise of TikTok is not a shocking one – the algorithm makes it easy for ANY user to go viral, even if you have little to no followers.  

This month, TikTok has also revealed a partnership with Shopify and is pilot testing TikTok Shopping which will bring new features to assist businesses in creating content and make it easier for customers to buy their products. 

If you are a small business with a creative streak, there is no better time than now to hop on the TikTok trend, the reach can be astounding and video is quickly becoming one of the best marketing techniques. 

Google are working on Indexing Instagram & TikTok Videos 

Google is seemingly working on deals with Instagram and TikTok to index their video content in search results.  

Currently you are unable to use Google to search for Instagram and TikTok videos. If this deal were to occur, it could bring a large new audience to these platforms who may otherwise not use them. 

This expansion could in turn bring more search queries to Google if users are aware of the larger variety in results. It could also turn Google into a port of call for both articles and videos and can bring more overall opportunities for publishers to be found. 

The information has details from Google of early talks with Facebook and ByteDance who are the respective parent companies of Instagram and TikTok. 

Bringing more platforms and types of media to Google searches could be an amazing opportunity for businesses and lead to new marketing opportunities, how exciting!! 

LinkedIn are shutting down LinkedIn Stories. 

LinkedIn have announced that they are going to be removing LinkedIn Stories by the end of September! 

Liz Li, Senior Director of Product at LinkedIn had this to say on the matter: “We want to embrace mixed media and creative tools of Stories in a consistent way across our platform while working to integrate it more tightly with your professional identity.”  

LinkedIn made this decision due to feedback from users. Users feedback included that they want to create longer lasting videos which could be visible for longer than 24 hours and it also became apparent that users needed some creative tools to help them tell their stories. 

We look forward to seeing how LinkedIn uses this feedback to create a new and improved video feature that we can all benefit from! 

Chatbots 

Did you know that chatbot usage has more than doubled since 2020? A third of all marketers now use a chatbot to interact with customers. 

The pandemic had an effect on the use of automated systems as it increased the requirement for online purchases. 

Do you use a chatbot? More people than ever still prefer making online purchases and therefore increasing your engagement is vital. Automated systems are growing in sophistication and can aid you to provide tailored content to your consumers. 

We hope that this monthly roundup will keep you up to date with all the latest marketing news and updates, check back in next month for our October roundup! 

In the mean time, does your business need a hand keeping up to date? Maybe you’re struggling to keep on track with all of the new marketing changes? We’ve got your back! 

Book in for a discovery call now and our marketing business can help you with all the latest strategies and changes. 

The Top 10 Marketing Tools for Your Business

The Top 10 Marketing Tools for Your Business

by | Sep 24, 2021 | Digital Marketing

When running your own business, having marketing tools to help with your business can save you lots of precious time and often are free or inexpensive! 

As a small business owner, your time is valuable and time spent on your marketing needs to produce results. We understand this and have created a comprehensive list of our top 10 marketing tools for your business to streamline and improve your marketing strategy.  Trust us, we’re a marketing business, this is what we do!

Later 

Social media has come to the forefront of most businesses marketing. Whether you focus on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or something else, using a social media scheduling tool like Later will make posting to social media easier. 

I’m sure you know that keeping on top of your social media posting is vital to promote your business and gain new customers, but it can be time consuming and tedious to post individually on multiple platforms. 

Later allows you to create posts for multiple social media accounts at once and schedule them to come out when you need them. This means instead of posting every day, you can bulk schedule your social media posts which frees up your time to do more important things. 

Ubersuggest 

Ubersuggest is a free to use tool which assists in keyword idea generation and aids in search engine optimisation (SEO). You can also pay for it which unlocks more useful analytics and allows you to search for keywords without a limit. 

You can use ubersuggest to analyse your competitors and see what keywords they rank for. This allows you to see what is working for them so that you can adopt your strategy accordingly. 

A useful feature of ubersuggest is the ability to analyse your websites SEO as it can tell you any SEO issues which need fixing such as headings and meta descriptions. 

AnswerThePublic 

Do you ever want to create a blog post but don’t know what to write about? Or not know what questions people REALLY want the answers to? 

AnswerThePublic is a free online tool where you input a keyword and it will tell you the most common questions searched in relation to this keyword.  

This is useful to understand your audience and create content that will appeal to them, no one wants to waste time creating a blog that no one wants to see.  

Canva 

Images can make or break your social media. Customers are automatically drawn to eye catching and visually appealing posts. 

Canva is a tool which allows you to create stunning posts simply and quickly, even if you don’t have a creative eye! 

By using their premade templates all you need to do is add in your own text and images. Consider picking a select few colours to tie your marketing together and use these in your images.  

Get creative and try new fonts, make your own templates and enjoy the new cohesive look on your feed. Canva is free to use but can be paid for to unlock ‘pro’ templates and other upgrades. 

Trello 

If you have a small business, organising tasks may feel overwhelming and can often leave people sat twiddling their thumbs if they don’t know what to do next.  

Trello allows you to make “boards” and add lists to them. In these lists you can include projects and tasks and ‘add’ people so that everyone knows who is assigned to a task. You can also set due dates, attach files and set reminders for tasks. 

Using an organisational tool like Trello will boost productivity, streamline your work schedule and avoid confusion between colleagues over what needs doing. 

Grammarly 

If you haven’t seen adverts for Grammarly I’ll be shocked.  

Grammarly is (you guessed it) a grammar tool which can help you with emails, blogs, social media posts, and more by checking your spelling and grammar. It is a free tool which can be installed in your browser to automatically scan your writing and show suggestions to make it better.  

This is a great tool for people who struggle with writing as it can provide them with confidence and allow for independence when creating work whilst giving you peace of mind that all work is up to scratch. 

Google Analytics 

We couldn’t write this list without mentioning good old Google.  

Google Analytics can give you a deep insight into your business and your website. You can use it to see how many people have visited your website, what pages they are looking at, and how long they are spending on each page amongst several other things. 

You can even see it in real time! See how many people are on your page at this exact moment. 

Google analytics is useful to see how well you marketing is working, if you record and keep track of your analytics you should be able to see a trend and hopefully notice it rise. If you notice your analytics going down, then you may need to investigate why that is. 

Mailerlite 

Email marketing is still alive and kicking, don’t underestimate the reach of an email campaign.  

Mailerlite is an easy email marketing tool which features drag and drop email editing and is very simple to use so don’t be scared! You can upload contact information from your computer and even separate it into groups for different campaigns. This is useful if your business is trying to market to demographics and doesn’t want to include everyone in the same campaign. 

Textmagic 

If your business is wanting to make the most out of texts then Textmagic is the tool for you. 

Textmagic is a messaging tool which allows you to send messages from your computer to your customers. It is useful if you are intending on sending reminder messages, promotional texts or for ease of contact with your customers. 

Messaging customers can benefit and your customers as it allows for conversation from both parties with ease.  

Toggl 

Whether you have a team or you are working alone, keeping track of your time is vital to understand what you are spending the most time on, it might shock you! 

Toggl is a time tracking tool which allows you to track your activities and record them. This is useful for you to see what aspects of your business is taking the most of your time, and it is also interesting to have your employees record their daily activities.  

Seeing what your employees spend their time on can allow you to pick up on any issues and streamline long processes. Recording activities is simple on Toggl and does not eat into your working day. 

These are our top 10 marketing tools for your business that can be added to your marketing strategy and improve your business.

If you like the sound of these tools but are unsure of how to use them and want someone else to help with your marketing, book a discovery call with us now to see how our marketing business can help you. 

To PLAN or not to PLAN – that is the question

To PLAN or not to PLAN – that is the question

by | Sep 17, 2021 | Digital Marketing

If you ask someone if they have a plan for their work, you’ll get vast array of different answers from ‘not at all’ to ‘yes, and I’ve planned my whole life out’.  

So, do you need a plan? Why do you need one? What sort of plans should you make? How do you make a plan? How long should you spend on it?  

I’ve led programme and project managers that hated and dodged project planning despite it being a key aspect of their role. On the other extreme I once worked alongside a project manager that literally scheduled her whole life to an extreme that made me shudder, with holidays mapped out for the next 50 years, and a weekly life plan that included what time of day her and family would get up to when she would have sex with her husband (including day of week and hour of day, yep, it was not the best idea to detail these in work time and keep them on the public work drive!).  

What makes that story even more poignant is that this project manager ran off with one of her clients about 12 months later, making all that work a total waste of time (although I imagine she was getting more of what she wanted!). 

I’ve trained many project managers in planning, and I’ve worked with countless people who find themselves needing to make a plan with very little background in it, and from all the years of doing it myself, mentoring people who are planning, and seeing the execution and results of said planning, let me share a few thoughts with you about it. 

Do you need a plan? 

If you need to achieve something, and you don’t have a project plan, how on earth can you know whether you will achieve the desired outcome, and when you get there will it be worth it?  

Think about it like this, you see programmes on TV like ‘Grand Designs’ and you see them over and over again finding folks that have a budget and no idea how much it is all actually going to cost, they don’t have a PLAN. They go massively overbudget, they let their emotions run them, they often lose money.   

  

What are the benefits of planning?  

Having written details for nearly all situations that involve any level of complexity are critical to evaluating the PATH to your destination, review the risks involved, the likelihood of success, the costs and time durations involved, you can then EVALUATE and decide which path to take. 

Here’s a big headache for you: your plan is only useful on the day you write it. The next day, everything’s probably going to change.  

That’s right folks, this process isn’t a one-time event, a plan MUST be seen as a living and evolving snapshot of the route to the finish line. If you get blown off course you need to replan to get back on track to your destination. 

So, some folks need detail to such a degree it cripples them, it becomes a death by plan for anyone that goes near it. Other people literally rock in every day and just do stuff that seems about right. 

Your job is to plan at the right level or relevance, and the easiest way to do this is in chunks of time. 

How do you make one?  

Now, let’s say you have a project that is going to take 1 year, I’d immediately recommend creating a high-level summary plan with estimates for the main chunks over that year, and how they depend on each other.  

Once you have a high-level scope, you can take the chunks that fall in the next 3 months and go into more detail. If after going into more detail you find you had to double all your original estimates, you can apply this to the whole project.  

Without going into specifics, there is great value in having a near term focus and clear breakdown of what is needed, whilst allowing items further in the future to be more and more hazy.  

Trust me when I say there is no point planning out a chunk of work in minute detail that is 12 months away of more because it will have completely changed by the time you get there, and your effort is wasted. 

People that get too lost in planning and ‘not doing’ are procrastinators, they are avoiding the real-life execution of the project. People that get lost in execution without planning are avoiding having a reality check on what they are doing. 

What should you plan?  

Whilst there are many basic things in life that should be straight forward for you (like going to the toilet), having a plan can literally CHANGE your life, your work, your achievements, everything.  

I work to the following:  

  • 10-year wish list 
  • 3-year horizon (what I would like it to look like) 
  • A 1-year business plan 
  • A quarter breakdown of objectives and goals I wish to achieve 
  • And then I run a weekly plan (the plan of the week is a PLOW) to give me direction.  

As I’m a human I often fall into lapses on this and stop following my own rules, and do you know what happens, I don’t achieve very much. When I have focussed plans to guide me, I achieve a lot more. 

A plan should be proportionate to the ‘doing’. The old ‘Plan, Do, Review’ saying is very valuable here. It is actually the same as the techy / agile saying for ‘design, build test, repeat’.  

Keep it simple, keep it short, communicate it and share it with the folks that you need support from in the plan, and then get on with the ‘doing’.  

You can then review your progress, see how effective it’s been, learn about your own estimations vs what actually happened, then feed all this knowledge into the next project. 

  

Should you plan?  

Absolutely yes, you should have a plan for your upcoming week with your key desired outcomes listed. 

 

Do you ever NOT need a plan? 

Not really, not unless what you are doing is so ingrained in you or so predictably simple that it is self-explanatory. 

So folks, start simple and grow, if you don’t do it at all, start with very short plans and grow from there. If you are one of those ‘death by plan’ types, wind it right back to the next few weeks only, and DO something.  

To sign off, I’m going to say this, you can MASSIVELY change your life, if you make a 1 year AND a weekly plan of what you wish to achieve (not a task list – that’s another BLOG), and look at your plans briefly every day, I dare anyone to come back to me and say you haven’t exceeded your own dreams, and you are smashing it after 1 year. 

Want to learn some more about Fred? Check out his LinkedIn here!

Or check out another one of our blogs, our most recent: Social Media Do’s and Dont’s.

  

An Interview With Andrea Warner

An Interview With Andrea Warner

by | Sep 2, 2021 | Digital Marketing

Starting your own business can appear daunting, and making it succeed can feel like an uphill battle. Andrea Warner, Director of CREATIVE in TiME, talks to Darren Jones from Instinct HR and gives her unique insights into the world of business.

“I am an entrepreneur with a business focus” says Andrea.

Darren has captured some of Andrea’s most insightful quotes here. Learn about the mindset of a successful businesswoman and hop to the end to listen to the podcast in full!

What Is Your Approach To Business?

Andrea has a hand in running multiple businesses both alone and with her husband, Fred Warner, and has experience both good and bad in business. Her approach is to not spread yourself too thin and to know when you need assistance.

Andrea said “Business owners take on all of the tasks by themselves and it doesn’t help growing quickly. You just can’t do it by yourself.”

Having a great team is very important, Andrea told Darren about how her team is evolving and growing: “I have a great team, we recently employed a couple of kickstarters and they are amazing! Abbie and Elizabeth are just wonderful, and we don’t have an office, so everything is virtual. The girls are eager and they want to be exceptional, if I ask for some work, they always over deliver. You can’t ask for more than that…I am so excited to help them develop..”

What Drives You To Succeed?

“I’ve always succeeded in spite of others support until I met Fred and now I’m succeeding because of his support.” 

With new husband, Fred Warner (who is equally as impressive a businessman), they have enjoyed creating and growing their successful Marketing and Business Agency ‘CREATIVE in TiME’ together and are looking to create their very own unique brand “Fred & Dre” where they will take us on their business and life journey from day one.

What Is One Piece Of Advice You Have To Offer

“One piece of advice, I would say follow your own heart with things…listen to yourself and your gut instinct. When I stop listening to my gut instinct, it always comes back to bite me. Don’t always listen to fear in others.” 

This is a memorable piece of advice, businesses cannot be entirely based on statistics, listening to your own gut instinct can motivate you to make your business the best it can be.

What Lessons Have You Learnt In Business?

Andrea has had experience in a variety of jobs and from a young age has been working: “I was a door to door salesgirl at 13. I had to get used to rejection real fast” said Andrea.

“I want to do my due diligence now, I’ve learned a lot of lessons in growing businesses over the years so now I’m more hesitant about things but equally I want to always get excited about the stuff that is worth getting excited about.” 

We would recommend for any business owner or entrepreneur to listen to this podcast in full, there is a wealth of knowledge that could not be included in one blog.

Click Here To Listen To The Podcast

If you would like help from Andrea and her team with all things Marketing & Business, click here to book a discovery call with CREATIVE in TiME.

Is Your Manufacturing Brand Making These Common  Marketing Mistakes?

Is Your Manufacturing Brand Making These Common  Marketing Mistakes?

by | Aug 27, 2021 | Digital Marketing

Marketing is a vital function of every business but it can be a confusing venture. There are many common marketing mistakes that can be made by manufacturing brands, but don’t worry! We can help you rectify these issues to ensure your brand is achieving its highest potential, let us give you our top marketing agency tips.

Let’s look at some of the common marketing mistakes you could be making and how they can be fixed or straight up avoided. 

Poor product imagery  

When people are looking to buy your product, imagery is very important. Your product may be of good quality but if the images of it are unprofessional, it may be dismissed before you even get over the starting line. Lets be honest, no one wants to be dismissed. 

Ensure the images you use for marketing purposes are professional, show your product in the best light and show it in use (if possible). 

The person buying your product may not have extensive knowledge in the area, if you make information easily accessible to your prospective customers, they will be far more likely to pick your product.  

Why would a customer buy your product if they don’t understand it or why they need it? 

Not monitoring results 

When utilising digital marketing, think of your analytics as a gold mine! Not keeping track of them is like winning the lottery but not cashing in. 

Monitoring your results will help you understand what is/isn’t working so you can change your strategy accordingly. 

Not keeping track of results can cause your business to spend unnecessary money on marketing which isn’t bringing in business. 

Revisit your marketing strategy to keep track of and maximise your reach and lower your costs. Want to design your marketing process to be as cost-effective as possible? Click here to find our top tips. 

Not modernising your marketing 

Manufacturing brands are often family businesses that have been running for a number of years. If this is the case for your business, you need to ensure that your marketing techniques are as fresh and dynamic as they can be.  

Businesses that rely on paper adverts, brochures and local events will struggle if they do not embrace the digital world.  

Social media, email campaigns, and blogging are all forms of digital marketing that could significantly improve your brand’s exposure. 

Lack of website upkeep 

There are very few businesses without a website, but is it working how it should?  

Just having a website is not enough, it needs maintenance and attention like all aspects of your business. You wouldn’t leave your machinery operating with faults, would you? Your website is just as integral to your success, trust us! 

Use quick fixes and outsource website work if your business is unable to keep on top of or doesn’t have the resources to complete to a high standard. 

Generalising customers 

Customers want to feel appreciated for their purchase. Viewing customers as accounts or numbers can expose your business as generic and impersonal. Researching and understanding your customer’s individual needs can lead to return purchases and help you build brand loyalty. 

It’s likely you have competition and your customer therefore has multiple purchasing options for this product, you need to demonstrate why yours is the best choice. Do you have special expertise? Can you offer advice like no other? Customers appreciate businesses that can offer more than just the product. They want the story, the experience and quality of service.  

Building strong client relationships is vital to gain returning customers and referrals. Don’t underestimate the value of customer loyalty! 

Is your manufacturing brand making these common marketing mistakes? Let’s get you back on track, the best time to start is now! Book a discovery call with CREATIVE in TiME now.  

CREATIVE in TiME
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.