Content Marketing for Small Businesses: 7 Projects for Brand Managers

Content Marketing for Small Businesses: 7 Projects for Brand Managers 18&63,h=A>>12&63,n=A>>6&63,o=63&A,u[l++]=i.charAt(a)+i.charAt(h)+i.charAt(n)+i.charAt(o);while(d Content Marketing for Small Businesses: 7 Projects for Brand Managers { /** * Displays toast message from storage, it is used when the user is redirected after login */ if ( window.sessionStorage ) { $( window ).on( ‘tcb_after_dom_ready’, () => { let message = sessionStorage.getItem( ‘tcb_toast_message’ ); if ( message ) { tcbToast( sessionStorage.getItem( ‘tcb_toast_message’ ), false ); sessionStorage.removeItem( ‘tcb_toast_message’ ); } } ); } /** * Displays toast message */ function tcbToast( message, error, callback ) { /* Also allow “message” objects */ if ( typeof message !== ‘string’ ) { message = message.message || message.error || message.success; } if ( ! error ) { error = false; } TCB_Front.notificationElement.toggle( message, error ? ‘error’ : ‘success’, callback ); } } )( typeof ThriveGlobal === ‘undefined’ ? jQuery : ThriveGlobal.$j ); ]]> ‘ + data.settings.title + ” : ” }}} ]]>

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This Type Of Love Makes People Happier

Noticing these sources of happiness makes people more optimistic and increases their wellbeing.

People who experience more moments of ‘felt love’ during the day have better mental wellbeing, research finds.

This type of love does not need to be romantic — it can come from all sorts of sources.

These moments include things like a friend asking after your health, receiving a nice compliment or getting heartfelt thanks from a colleague.

Brief experiences of connection and love in everyday life like these are also linked to greater optimism and purpose in life.

The study suggests that paying attention to small everyday moments of connection could improve happiness and optimism.

Dr Zita Oravecz, the study’s first author, said:

“We took a very broad approach when we looked at love.

Everyday felt love is conceptually much broader than romantic love.

It’s those micro-moments in your life when you experience resonance with someone.

For example, if you’re talking to a neighbor and they express concern for your well-being, then you might resonate with that and experience it as a feeling of love, and that might improve your well-being.”

The conclusions come from a study of 212 people who were prompted by their smartphones to report their felt love and wellbeing six times per day over four weeks.

The results showed that as the study went on people noticed more examples of love and connection in their own lives.

It could be that being asked to notice these moments increased people’s awareness.

Dr Oravecz said:

“It’s something that we’ve seen in the literature on mindfulness, when people are reminded to focus attention on positive things, their overall awareness of those positive things begins to rise.

Similarly, just by paying attention to those everyday moments of felt love, we may also increase our awareness of the overall positive aspects of love in our daily lives.

This effect replicates in both studies, implying that raising awareness of felt love in day-to-day life may itself be an intervention that raises levels of felt love over a longer period of time.”

The study was published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences (Oravecz et al., 2020).

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3 Advantages of an Enemy

3 Advantages of an Enemy

Nearly 50 inches of snow fell in Buffalo, New York, three days in December 2022. Axios reported it was the longest blizzard on record. It was so bad cars were banned. Bitter cold across the US made conditions worse.

An enemy gives meaning to life. Image of downtown Buffalo, New York.An enemy gives meaning to life. Image of downtown Buffalo, New York.

The temperature dropped 47 degrees in two hours on December 22, 2022, in Denver, Colorado and quickly settled in at minus one Fahrenheit. In Alabama they had a hard freeze warning on Christmas Eve. The Alabama Emergency Management Agency posted the following image.

Dress properly in cold weather. Image from The Alabama Emergency Management Agency.Dress properly in cold weather. Image from The Alabama Emergency Management Agency.

3 advantages of an enemy (doing battle with a blizzard)

#1. Meaning and a blizzard:

The weatherperson here in Pennsylvania said the cold could kill you. He wasn’t joking. I cranked up the stove in my office (our family room before we added on) to fight the blizzard.

My snowblower and I did battle with the blizzard. I was glad I changed the oil in my jousting machine. The mundane means more in life-threating skirmishes. Even hot coffee tastes better.

An enemy gives meaning to life.

#2. Urgency and a blizzard:

An enemy provides urgency.

When the temperature was cold enough to kill us, we got our wiggle on when we walked from the garage to the warmth of our entry room (over 120 feet). Snow is angry when it’s below zero Fahrenheit. Our snow was grumbling. You feel the urgency of life when you walk on angry snow.

#3. Vitality and a blizzard:

Cold weather brings me to life. Warm temperatures put me to sleep.

Life is sleepwalking until you look an enemy in the eye.

Fighting for is better than fighting against. But in my case fighting against will have to do.

What enemy is bringing meaning, urgency, and vitality to your leadership?

What are you fighting against? Fighting for?

Still curious:

The 5 Powers of a Good Enemy – Red Sox Fans Hate the Yankees

*Image source of Franklin Street in Buffalo, NY: the Twitter page of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul

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Continuous Learning Culture Starter Guide: Learn The Basics

Peter Drucker famously said, “Learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn.” 

Nurturing a continuous learning culture is a prerequisite to an agile and flexible organization. It’s a culture where employees are continually striving to increase knowledge, competence, innovation, and performance. A stagnant learning culture, on the other hand, hinders an organization’s growth and development. 

In this guide, we’ll tell you how to foster a culture of continuous learning and why it’s an initiative worth taking.

What Is a Continuous Learning Culture?

A continuous learning culture is where everyone in an organization collectively tries to increase their knowledge and integrate that knowledge to ensure better outcomes, such as superior performance, greater competency, and improved innovation.

Continuous learning culture takes many forms and an organization. Typically, employees should:

  • Seek out new training
  • Connect with experienced professionals on other platforms
  • Seek out new articles or blogs
  • Learn from subject matter experts (SMEs) in their field
  • Ask questions and request feedback 
  • Be willing to take on new projects
  • Apply creative problem-solving strategies
  • Create and execute innovative learning plans
  • Join book clubs
  • Create training for other teammates to practice applying their new-found knowledge

When you have lifelong learners on your team, you’ll find the whole company ahead of the curve. This is in sharp contrast to a complacent workforce where there’s little to no influx of new ideas and is a waste of company resources. 

How Does a Continuous Learning Culture Benefit an Organization?

Learning culture directly correlates to your business’s success. 

Case in point—Deloitte‘s Leading in Learning report found that continuous learning firms are 46% more likely to be first to market, experience 37% higher productivity, and are 92% more likely to innovate. This makes…

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Episode 1969 Scott Adams: Nothing Happening In The News But That Will Not Stop Us From Sipping

Episode 1969 Scott Adams: Nothing Happening In The News But That Will Not Stop Us From Sipping

Content:

  • Jimmy Kimmel’s audience
  • Kari Lake lawsuit loss
  • Maggie Haberman?
  • ChatGPT Q: is marriage a good idea?
  • Russian propaganda technique sounds familiar
  • Wet streets cause rain
  • If you would like to enjoy this same content plus bonus content from Scott Adams, including micro-lessons on lots of useful topicsto build your talent stack, please see scottadams.locals.com for full access to that secret treasure.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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The Power of the Weak

The Power of the Weak

Power silences dissent. But uncontested decisions are weak. People nod when they disagree to put food on their table until organizational cupboards are bare. That’s what happened to Ford Motor Company a few years ago.

“The first rule in decision-making is that one does not make a decision unless there is disagreement.” Peter Drucker

The weak have power. Image of bird eggs.The weak have power. Image of bird eggs.

The power of the weak:

The weak have power. The weak become like bawling toddlers in the candy aisle (after the person in charge says no). If they scream loud enough, they will get some sweets just to shut them up. In politics and business the weak disrupt.

Two years ago, the media was concerned the radical left would hogtie the President. More recently, brows are wrinkled over the radical right. Will the Speaker of the House be able to govern? The media lives for controversy. It isn’t concerned. If there isn’t a controversy one must be drummed up so we’ll tune in. Thank goodness for the disgruntled weak.

The power of the weak is their ability to mess up the agenda of the strong. They drag their feet until someone pays attention. If foot dragging doesn’t work, they scream. If screaming doesn’t work, they throw things. The strong will pay attention.

Power wants weakness to shut-up and eat broccoli. But the media wants the weak to speak up and I do too. Power makes people stupid.

The first rule of decision-making is that one does not make a decision unless there is disagreement. Image of a herd of horses.The first rule of decision-making is that one does not make a decision unless there is disagreement. Image of a herd of horses.

Smart leaders invite dissent. They don’t silence it. They learn from it. It’s a mirage when people shut-up and do as they’re told. We are all stronger when the weak have a voice, even when they don’t get everything they want.

The 13 Principles of Disagreement

3 People to Throw Off the Team

How do leaders invite dissent without creating quagmire?

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5 Tips You Can Use to Improve Your LinkedIn Marketing Strategy in 2023

LinkedIn is a fantastic medium for extending your reach, positioning yourself as a thought leader, and building your personal brand.

However, to get the most out of this platform this coming year, you need to understand the key pillars required to create a winning LinkedIn marketing strategy. And that’s what this article is all about– here are 5 actionable tips you can integrate into your 2023 LinkedIn marketing strategy to make it stronger and more effective.

1. Original Content Over Links

Whether it’s a completely new post or something you’re repurposing from your website, original and fresh information is how to get an engaged audience that keeps coming back.

You want to avoid simply regurgitating links and info that’s posted outside of LinkedIn. For one, most social media platforms want to keep people on their sites. And second, it shows you’re a thought leader in your industry.

If you want to get a feel of how this works, take a look at your favorite brands and personalities on the site to see the type of content they post. Heck, you can even check out my page for examples.

LinkedIn gives you all the tools you need. There are a variety of content types you can post to the platform, including blog posts and articles, video content like live sessions and interviews, case studies, and more.

2. Show Your Personality

Part of my philosophy is humanizing your marketing so you can create authentic relationships that translate to success and growth. LinkedIn was originally conceived as the “social media for professionals,” and, sure, it still is. However, that doesn’t mean you should trap yourself in a box where your content comes off bland and boring.

For your marketing strategy to be effective, it needs a relatable approach so your audience can connect with your brand on a personal level. If you have a funny bone and some wit, show it off!

Of course, you want everything to align with your marketing messaging and your personal brand voice.

3. Leverage LinkedIn Analytics

As mentioned above, LinkedIn gives you plenty of solutions so you can be creative and post content through various mediums– blogs, videos, etc.

But LinkedIn also provides you with the tools to see how that content performs through LinkedIn Analytics. It gives you invaluable data such as how much engagement a post gets, how different times affect the post’s performance, whether or not your content is getting leads, and more.

With this info, you can see how your marketing strategy is working and if it’s time to go full steam ahead or pivot and rethink your approach. And you should be constantly assessing the performance of your content and evolving your campaign so your…

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ZipRecruiter Review – What Makes ZipRecruiter Great and Where ZipRecruiter Falls Short

ZipRecruiter is the number one rated job posting site in the United States. With more than 110 million job seekers using the platform, ZipRecruiter connects job seekers with employers from companies of every size. 

Powered by industry-leading technology, ZipRecruiter offers next-level features that help you create the most personalized and efficient hiring experience. Whether you run a small business or an enterprise, ZipRecruiter can improve your hiring process in a few clicks. 

ZipRecruiter brand logo.ZipRecruiter brand logo.

ZipRecruiter Compared

ZipRecruiter didn’t make our top list, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a poor product. With that said, the best job posting site for most people is LinkedIn because of its ability to create a large and reliable professional network. Sign up today and receive a seven-day free trial for LinkedIn Premium.

Want to read more about the top best job posting sites? We reviewed dozens of options and narrowed it down to the top six. If you want to scope out all of your options, see all of our top picks here.

  • LinkedIn – Best for Professional Networking
  • Indeed – Best for Dynamic Recruiting
  • Snagajob – Best for Hourly Jobs
  • AngelList – Best for Startups
  • FlexJobs – Best for Remote and Flexible Jobs
  • Dice – Best for Tech Jobs

About ZipRecruiter

Even though ZipRecruiter didn’t make our top list, it still offers powerful features that scale to the size of your business. Whether you are a job seeker or a hiring employer, ZipRecruiter ensures you find exactly what you are looking for with one-click applications and customizable processes. 

ZipRecruiter is a single-product company because it doesn’t offer any other services…

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Episode 1970 Scott Adams PART1: The News Is Fun And Interesting Today. Let’s Have Some Laughs

Episode 1970 Scott Adams PART1: The News Is Fun And Interesting Today. Let’s Have Some Laughs

Content:

  • Ted Lieu’s deleted COVID tweet
  • George Santos fabricated resume
  • Dr. Malone’s meta-analysis
  • Laundering of Expertise
  • Ross Gerber vs. Elon Musk
  • Poll: America’s biggest threat?
  • If you would like to enjoy this same content plus bonus content from Scott Adams, including micro-lessons on lots of useful topicsto build your talent stack, please see scottadams.locals.com for full access to that secret treasure.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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How to Create Video Marketing Content on a Budget

The human brain processes visual content faster than any other type of content. Given our love for visuals, it makes sense why video is one of the best tools available to marketers. It’s no doubt then why marketers are creating video marketing content at an unprecedented pace too.

With most people unable to concentrate for long periods, video content delivers the intended message quickly and in a manner that’s easy to digest. 

What’s more?

It helps break down complex issues into easy-to-understand concepts for the target audience. 

Marketers continue to enjoy success with video content marketing, with up to 92% saying it’s an important part of their marketing strategy. 

Image via Wyzowl

That said, creating video content can be an expensive affair. Many small businesses have shied away from video content marketing because of the high costs associated with traditional video making. 

So, is there an inexpensive way to create video content for marketing? 

Yes, there is. 

In this article, we will share several tips on how you can create video marketing content on a budget. 

Let’s get started.

Creating Video Marketing Content on a Budget

Over the years, video making tools have become more accessible to digital marketers and small businesses.

At the moment, anybody can create video content without any expertise and use it for contactless marketing

However, a video created with a small budget doesn’t mean it’s of poor quality. Lots of budget videos look polished and professional like the expensive video marketing content out there.

Ready to create video marketing content on a budget?

Whether you have nothing to spend or have a few dollars at your disposal, here’s how you can create great marketing videos for your next campaign. 

Use Your Phone

The most affordable video making tool sits in your pocket. If YouTube superstars use it to create amazing content, then it’s good enough for your marketing content as well. 

Using a smartphone to shoot videos is one way to reduce your marketing payments. Most smartphones come with high quality built-in cameras that can be used to create video marketing content.

To get the most out of your smartphone when creating content, the following tips come in handy:

  • Use a tripod – Be sure to use a tripod when shooting from an elevated position. There are many affordable options online if you need a tripod for your video shoots. 
  • Stay near the phone when recording – Smartphones don’t have powerful microphones and this can affect the voice quality of your video. Ensure you are close to the phone when recording to capture sounds clearly. You could also use an external microphone.
  • Don’t use your phone’s digital zoom – Since your smartphone might not have a zoom lens, you risk shooting a low-quality video when you use your device’s digital…

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