7 Quick Ways to Improve Work Performance Over a Holiday or Vacation (Without Really Trying)

By Rebecca Murtagh | Rebecca's Thoughts on . . .

Improve Personal Performance – Even While on Vacation or Holiday

Most American Entrepreneurs find it difficult to step away from their work, I know, I am one of them. However, one thing I have learned over the years is that taking time off is not only good for relationships with family and friends, but good for business. The Europeans are very good at stepping away from work to take time for family and friends. Americans, not so much.

Here’s what I’ve learned over the years – let me know if I’ve missed anything…

1. It Can Wait

It doesn’t matter what comes up, there will always be more to do. A crisis may require some delegation. However, for the most part, you already know that there will always be something new that requires your time and attention. So, taking a day, or two, or ten, isn’t going to get you caught up. Your work will never be done.

2. Taking Time off is Good For Your Business

Time away from the business is healthy. It enables the team you left behind to step-up, exercise their problem-solving talents, and appreciate your contribution – that is if you have built a good team and are a good leader. The alternative of course is that all hell breaks loose. In which case you have a new priority when you return: to build a new team.

3. Taking Time Off is Good For Creative Thought

You know I’m right. Sometimes extracting yourself from the day-to-day routine is the only way to invite creative thought. You must turn off the automatic-pilot your brain operates on in a typical day to create space for new thoughts, fresh perspective and new ideas.

4. Time Off Provides Fresh Perspective

This is true for any aspect of your life, but taking time away from the business exposes you to new people, places and ideas, which can give you fresh perspective on a specific problem or solution.

5. Taking Time Off is Good for Your Body

Time away from the business can be stressful for some. However, when you commit to truly stepping away from work, your stress levels go down, you relax, and may even find yourself enjoying the company of humans in conversation that has nothing to do with business.

6. Taking Time Off is Good for Relationships

If you are reading this, I am pretty confident that you have been told, on at least one occasion, that you work too much. Probably by a family member or friend. So, do yourself a favor and turn off the devices, turn your attention to loved ones and give them your full attention. I promise you the rewards will be worth it!

7. Taking Time Off Creates Balance

The more balanced you are as a human, the easier it is for others to relate to you, in the board room, on the soccer field, or on your next business trip. After all, we are all human, and we learn how much we have in common with others, when we take the time to notice.

And, if you still need a business reason to take time off – balance makes us more real and relevant to those we influence, and are influenced by, in every aspect of life.

Give yourself permission. Take the time off, and enjoy yourself..it will do you wonders!

 

 

Tips from Rebecca Murtagh Featured in Women’s Magazine Article on Facebook Marketing

By Editor | Media Room

Rebecca Murtagh interviewed for Magazine article on Social Media Marketing

Women @ Work, a magazine feature of a NY Capital Region newspaper recently interviewed Rebecca Murtagh, recognized thought leader and CEO of Karner Blue Marketing LLC regarding social media.

The magazine feature article highlighted tips from Rebecca Murtagh in the context of Facebook as a business marketing tool.

Facebook and Social Media Marketing Tips

Murtagh provided tips related to social media marketing as an overall topic, emphasizing that Facebook is not right for every business, stressing “The most important thing is to put everything in context and understand that Facebook is effective when you target your audience,” Murtagh says. “You have to understand who you’re trying to reach and you have to have a plan in mind.”

Most important tip: Have a plan before you invest valuable time and resources into Facebook or any social media platform with the intent of promoting your business.

Click to view the entire article.

404 Page Humor: Amazon.com Keeps it Light While Losing $4.8 Million

By Rebecca Murtagh | Retail & Internet Shopping

Amazon.com Goes Down, 404 Message Offers Light-Hearted Apology While Losing Millions

On Monday, August 19th, 2013 Amazon.com went down for approximately 40 minutes, resulting in an estimated $4.8 million loss in sales.This is based on an estimated $120,000 in revenue generated for every minute of the day.

Of course with that kind of sales volume, chances are customers will notice. And, boy did they. The observation was widely reported on social media.

Twitter updates covered Amazon website going down, and its recovery.

Amazon itself was not very visible in the stream of tweets about the site going down. Fast company, Business Insider, Mashable, as well as internet personalities Barry Schwartz, Brian Clark, Danny Goodwin (and yours truly) chimed in to share the news.

A Light-Hearted Alternative to the 404 Error Message

However, if one tried to visit Amazon.com during the outage, they were served up the following graphic, which revealed an apologetic, funny error message, in lieu of the traditional 404 error message.

The titles displayed with Amazon’s apology displayed books titled “I’m Sorry…My Bad!“, “Oops!” and “Grave Mistake“, which added a little levity to the situation. Although I am quite confident there was not much levity behind the scenes while Amazon attempted to identify the problem and recover the website to full functionality.

Study Shows Most CEO’s Still Don’t ‘Get’ Social Media

By Rebecca Murtagh | SMM - Social Media Marketing

Richard Branson Blazes Trail in Social Media for CEO’s

For those CEO’s unsure about whether social media could be useful to them, or their brand, Virgin CEO Richard Branson is living proof that social media is exactly where CEO’s should be. With 3.4 million followers on Twitter, Branson doesn’t just engage, he encourages followers to engage him directly. This is one CEO that understands the power of winning hearts and minds in building a brand.

Branson uses a promoted tweet, highlighted below,  which appears above all recent tweets, to make his invitation ever-present, visible at the top of the conversation for anyone viewing his profile.

Study Reveals CEO Participation in Social Media

Social media has been recognized for its role in building brand, visibility, SEO, promotion and the coveted direct-connection to the customer. Despite this evidence, CEO’s have resisted the call to become more social in recent years. Has the tide begun to change?

How Many CEO’s Use Social Media?

A recent study conducted by CEO.com and Domo reveals that CEO’s are beginning to embrace social media. However, if we look to the Fortune 500 as representative of CEOs, a shocking 68% have absolutely no presence on social media.

Of course, not every platform is right for the executive, or the brand. Most will gravitate toward one platform or another. The top social media platforms have emerged as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Google+. In a one-year period, CEO participation on each of the top four social platforms has increased, even if nominally.

A mere 6% of Fortune 500 CEO’s are on Twitter.

Many CEO’s with enormous followings may remain cautious, or unconvinced of the power of the social space. One of these personalities is Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffet who follows no one, has posted only three tweets and has over 500,000 followers who apparently hope for more from the executive.

LinkedIn attracts more CEO’s.

28 percent (140) of Fortune 500 CEO’s have a LinkedIn Profile. The LinkedIn “Influencer” program has created followings for voices of CEO’s without the requirement of personal connections. On LinkedIn, Richard Branson attracts 2.2 million followers. Warren Buffet, who is not active in the program does not have followers. This differentiation defines how the reach of a brand can be greatly influenced by social conversation from the top.

5 Questions to Ask Before Your CEO Goes Social

Because the stakes are high, many CEO’s are intimidated by the social media space. After all, what is posted is permanently out there. However, with proper strategic perspective, social media can be a powerful tool for the CEO and the brand.

1. Does the CEO have a strong identity, or individual voice?
2. Can the CEO communicate effectively?
3. Will the CEO dedicate some level of time to engage in social media?
4. Is there a clear reason for the CEO to invest in customer relationships?
5. Does the CEO love the audiences (customers, media, employees, shareholders, etc.) he or she serves?

If the answer is yes to all five questions, your CEO should seriously consider social media as an additional channel to exercise their leadership in expanding the reach of the brand, one customer at a time.

If the answer is no, it is still important for a CEO to establish a presence. Rather than publishing, the focus may be to listen and learn from what is saying about the brand.