The 10 Best TikTok Tools For Fast Audience Growth in 2020

At the beginning of Q1 2018, a relatively new social media platform became the most downloaded application across Apple devices and 6^th in the world across all mobile platforms.

TikTok is now firmly embedded in Gen Z’s daily lives, it spans across 154 countries with 500 million active users.

If you are an aspiring influencer, business or brand and aren’t on TikTok, you need to really consider why you aren’t.

If it is out of concern that it will take time to grow your following and you simply don’t have the time, we can help. Here are the 10 best TikTok tools available to you.

#1. TokUpgrade

The best TikTok growth service currently available on the market is without doubt TokUpgrade.

One of the reasons this TikTok tool is so strong is the way they disseminate the targeting and data points for the demographics you want to appeal to and embed it in the growth strategy for your account.

It’s easy to deploy automation in order to gain followers, however, getting real targeted followers is a lot more complex. With the rise of platforms such as Instagram and Facebook, finding a niche platform to target customers has become more important than ever. TokUpgrade provides customers with a service that does just that.

Unlike other growth services, TokUpgrade is honest about its growth expectations for your account. They don’t promise exact outcomes as these are dependent on the community, data points, and demographics you want to work with. If you see a service that promises exponential growth quickly, you can be sure that the growth won’t be as targeted or niche as you require.

If these points alone weren’t enough to draw you to TokUpgrade, their security pledge may sway you. Very few growth providers make a concerted effort to ensure your account security, but TokUpgrade encrypts your data end to end to keep it safe. For stable TikTok growth and an easy to use platform, TokUpgrade should be your first choice.

Here is a quote from one of their happy clients:

“TokUpgrade really works, it has helped me reach more users and grow on TikTok! I’ve had a lot more duet requests!! Yay!”

– Kourtney Brewer, Digital Marketing Consultant

Grow real, targeted TikTok followers with TokUpgrade now!

#2. Toksocial

If Tokupgrade isn’t for you, then Toksocial can provide a viable alternative.

They pride themselves on having an organic growth strategy, which gives users fantastic results that reflect their target market.

When you use a growth service on TikTok, you want users that are interested in your content to interact with you, this then causes a feedback loop of other interested parties seeing your posts and your following building.

Toksocial provides the catalyst to getting your TikTok’s seen by the correct audience and then they branch out from there. Their advanced filter system allows you to really hone in on who you want to engage and interact with, this can be changed and adapted at any point to reflect market trends and changes.

Toksocial doesn’t offer users unrealistic growth expectations – organic strategies typically start slower than bought followers or wide-ranging bots and automation. But you can be sure that you will be getting quality over quantity, and if you want to build authority and social proof on the platform, this is exactly what you want.

Toksocial works within the parameters set by TikTok in their terms of service, so you can be sure that your account won’t be blocked from interacting with other users and you won’t receive a shadowban. They only promote true organic TikTok growth with real, active users.

Try Toksocial Here.

#3. AutoTokker

AutoTokker uses the tried and tested methodology, follow/unfollow.

It is a very basic principle, but it is one that elicits results, as other users like feeling validated when their account is followed and if your content is interesting, they will more than likely return the favor.

Unlike TokUpgrade and Toksocial, this TikTok tool has some limited configuration capabilities. AutoTokker solely relies on utilizing big accounts within your particular niche and will then follow/unfollow their followers. So there is a limit as to how effective it is, especially if there isn’t an account that is a true reflection of your niche.

The growth expectations provided by AutoTokker certainly aren’t outlandish, but for a program relying on other big TikTok accounts in order to generate a following, you may find that the results aren’t exactly what you want. The inability to input your exact target market may be problematic for some more niche accounts.

There is no mention of security and how Autotokker will protect your account, but they do work within the confines of TikTok’s terms of service.

Try AutoTokker here.

#4. Tok Growth

Tok Growth promotes the use of their ever-evolving smart algorithm that helps your TikTok following growth. This smart algorithm is limited to evaluating and assessing the most popular hashtags in your community at any given point in time and their growth strategy reflects this.

Once you have completed the sign-up process you are asked to select hashtags that relate best to your content. This is a one-pronged strategy relying solely on hashtags and has its limitations.

There are no claims as to how much Tok Growth can help grow your account, but the use of the verb “explodes” alludes to exceptionally fast. This statement may well be an overstatement, especially during the first phases of deployment.

Try Tok Growth Here.

#5. QuikFlok

The QuikFlok pricing plans are based on the number of followers that you can expect to receive when you pay a certain price per month.

With the base package, according to their website you can expect 3000+ per month, or an average of 100 a day over a 30-day month. Whilst this isn’t a bold claim to make, their capability and reach as a platform seems limited as their strategy is based on picking out followers from larger accounts in the hope they’ll interact.

Yes, you can auto-engage with other users on the platform that are following the popular accounts, but the fact that you can’t input your own demographic and target market features vastly reduces the reach of your account.

There is no mention of features, parameters or management when it comes to the security of your account. I would expect to see a statement from any TikTok tool stating how they will endeavor to protect your account or ensure that their operations fall within the terms of service set out by TikTok.

Try QuikFlok Here.

#6. Jeffrey

Jeffrey also utilizes the follow/unfollow method, but it is slightly better than other services that provide a similar service. When you start using the platform you are able to program it to reflect your target market. This is a far more beneficial strategy for brands and businesses who know their demographic and who they want to see using their products.

Jeffrey is really simple to use with a smooth interface and as you control the actions, it is a good platform for someone that has a little more time on their hands or wants to come to grips with managing their own TikTok growth.

With Jeffrey, you get a security pledge, 24/7 account support and unlike other platforms, you are able to attach more than one TikTok account. Whilst it is a basic product, it provides users with value for money if you are in the position to be able to put in some time and effort.

Try Jeffrey Here.

#7. Vire

There is limited information as to how Vire will grow your TikTok account. They state that they don’t use auto likes, comments or follows. Through utilizing real interaction, the hope is that your account will receive real interaction back. If that is the case, then your dedicated account manager will be the one behind all of your interaction on your account and will be managing your growth whilst you continue to create content.

There is always a limit to how much human-level interaction can achieve when you measure it against automation, but it may result in followers that are truly reflective of your target market.

As it stands, Vire state that they have a good understanding of TikTok’s algorithms and its limits, so they won’t abuse these when it comes to following, liking and engaging with other accounts. There is no further information pertaining to how they keep your data and account safe.

Try Vire Here.

#8. Ektor.io

Ektor.io produced the first TikTok growth service available on the market. If you want a totally hands-off approach and have experience in managing bots, this platform could be a good option for you.

Their smart targeting allows you to really work out who you are trying to connect with on the app and can help improve your demographic results. Whilst Ektor isn’t difficult to set up, it can be challenging if you haven’t worked with these types of TikTok tools before. The results will entirely depend on how you have set up the tool and will need adjustments if you aren’t getting the results you require.

Unlike other services, you don’t need to hand over any login information, you simply sign in and away you go.

Ektor requires two-factor authentication before you reach the dashboard. This increased level of security puts me at ease about using such a service. You will, however, need to be aware of TikTok’s daily limits when you work with this bot, as you run the risk of getting your account banned if you auto like/follow too many accounts per day.

Try Ektor Here.

#9. Instamber

Instamber recently released a TikTok bot, after focusing predominantly on Instagram for several years. Their bot uses both usernames and hashtags to find relevant accounts to follow, a proven way to increase your following.

The security for Instamber is good as it is a cloud-based application, there are no downloads and no need to pass your information over to a provider. You have the ability to manage the account and the onus is on you for keeping it secure.

Try Instamber Here.

#10. TrendGrow

TrendGrow offers a managed service where they interact with your target audience on your behalf. The more interactions they make the more your account has a chance to grow. There is little information pertaining to how they actually do this, it could be by utilizing hashtags or it could be through targeted follow/unfollow actions, a conclusion can’t be drawn as there is a lack of information about the service that they provide.

You don’t need to pass your details over to TrendGrow in order for them to grow your account and they state that they offer bank-level security when processing payments. They also allude to the fact that they work within TikTok’s parameters and terms of service as they have never had an account blocked. But again, without more information as to how they grow your account, it is difficult to make conclusions about the service’s validity.

Try TrendGrow Here.

Final thoughts

There is a plethora of TikTok tools now available. Depending on what you need there is a product to fit your needs.

If you want a totally hands-off approach and allow a team of experts to grow your account, you don’t need to look any further than TokUpgrade or Toksocial. Both of these services excel in growing TikTok accounts.

Be wary of any services that make bold claims about their growth potential, as there is a high chance that they could get your account shadowbanned or blocked due to breaking TikTok’s terms of service.

Guest author: Robynne Jones is a bit of a travel nomad, originally from the UK. She’s been living in Thailand for the past few years and is now currently trying out Australia! Loves writing in her spare time about anything tech.

The post The 10 Best TikTok Tools For Fast Audience Growth in 2020 appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.

source https://www.jeffbullas.com/best-tiktok-tools/

Why Encouraging Online Comments Could Substantially Grow Your Business

There are a lot of brands that are hesitant about online comments and it’s easy to understand why. 

When you’re just starting out you may want to be the one in control of your brand and what you’re putting out there. It seems like common sense.

But in reality, there lies a great opportunity for you to enhance your brand by allowing online comments that can bring you gains that you can’t get any other way.

Yes, there is some risk involved but that is the case with everything that can bring you above average results.

In this article, I’ll demonstrate how you can benefit from attracting online comments and all the different ways to do it and manage it well.

Depending on what you do and who your target audience is, you can choose out of the four major online comments subcategories and apply it to your site to help it grow and get more opportunities for exposure.

Consider this a new way of looking at online comments.

Facebook comments

Facebook Comments are a good basis to start with. This may seem like it could get out of hand pretty quickly and honestly, you might just be right.

The good thing is that if you’re offering good content/services it will instead help you boost yourself without paying extra for sponsored posts. 

Facebook comments are easy to get into since it follows the exact same model as your personal Facebook page.

A lot of brands nowadays take the approach of blocking any possibility for negative reviews. You might think this is helping but comments actually do a lot for making you seem approachable, legit and interesting. Nobody really wants to engage with a brand with zero personalized reviews, good or bad. Everyone is expecting a few bad comments, it almost never happens that you get a page or a promotion for a brand that has all positive reviews.

You should not overestimate the importance of negative comments over the ones that will actually catch the attention of customers that will stick around for longer. Nowadays, actually, if something has all positive reviews, people start to look at it with suspicion.

It has been proven time and time again that personalized messages and incentives work the best when it comes to driving more customers towards your brand. Think of Facebook comments as these personalized incentives where you don’t really have to do much work.

You will have the option to prioritize some comments over the others and hide the ones that you don’t think will do any good or may be false or straight-up spam. This is the most popular approach from big brands when it comes to Facebook Comments and it seems to be working.

People don’t sympathize with brands that don’t listen to their customers, by allowing for a space that lets you directly communicate with your users gives the customer a sense of importance and a feeling that they are actually contributing in one way or another.

Don’t think of online comments as something that is completely out of your control. It’s an opportunity for you and for the users to engage in a conversation that can drive change.

Also, don’t underestimate your users in thinking they won’t be able to tell between the one bad review and those that are actually helpful or positive based on their experience. And if it ever gets out of control Facebook offers you an option to ban certain words or people from your comment section.

The big con of Facebook comments is that it doesn’t allow for pre-moderated comment sections.

Custom-made comments

Custom-made comments are a great option for those who deliver services. Different from Facebook comments that can be made by just any visitor of the page who has a Facebook account, custom made comments are an option for those who actually experience the service and they don’t need a 3rd party account to do that.

Custom online comments are a great way for your future users to learn about the experience and they are also a great advertising tool that doesn’t really cost you much.

By allowing custom-made comments you also get direct feedback from your customers/users. It makes it easier to gather feedback and information about customer experience and helps you engage with your audience and to make the process way more efficient.

Plus, it eliminates the worry of spam comments. You generally have more control over the feedback in this case and it is perfect for those businesses that are just starting up and building their reputation, where you’re more vulnerable to the abovementioned trolls and random comments that are based on nothing.

One example of custom-made comments would be the Nowescape London UK Escape rooms page. You get access to all the comments made about whatever game or other activity you’re interested in. Plus, you get the reviews of those who have experienced it and can tell you everything that the company itself didn’t put on their page and that you would still like to know.

Custom-comments are common and a large reason behind it is that while Facebook comments increase the chance of a wider audience seeing your content, custom made comments make your content seem more legitimate and trustworthy and are accessible to anyone.

Sometimes it’s hard to convince customers to stick around if other people aren’t voluntarily endorsing you and your product/services. So this would be a great marketing strategy if you’re just starting out and have already built a small but engaged audience.

As with Facebook, it’s important that the visitor knows that the company is considerate of the feedback and cares enough to engage and communicate with them. Custom-made comments can also be managed more transparently and hence save you the trouble of being called out for filtering comments.

While fairly easy to manage, they aren’t very engaging and don’t allow other customers to have a discussion with each other, as with Facebook comments.

CMS native comments

These types of comments allow visitors to post comments to a blog post or on a page of your website. If you manage a blog or often clone blogs this could be the type of comment that would bring you the best overall results.

If you host a blog and it has a native comments feature there’s generally a bigger likelihood of conversation between those who comment. The hierarchical arrangement makes for a better place for future visitors to start with and increases engagement with your content.

Like the two other types of comments mentioned above, CMS Native Comments allow for modifications and are not really out of your control, since you, the moderator, get to approve all the comments before they get published. Once you have approved of it, the comment will appear underneath your content.

If you’re using WordPress, which is one of the biggest websites that implement this native commenting model, you will be free to choose from a variety of comment displays. Hence, it allows you to build a community that feels more connected and likely to actually discuss something between each other than the other two models.

You can attach your comment, your name, email, and website to your comment. These types of comments allow for real discussions, not the ones that usually happen on Facebook and spin out of control soon enough. As the owner of the page or the blog, you will have the role of moderator allowing you to control the content that goes onto your page, while also allowing the discussion to progress in a civilized manner.

This way you can make sure that spam never gets on your website or that less relevant comments don’t take up too much space or distract from the really good ones that actually spark conversation.

The other option that makes this comment system beneficial is that you have the option to close the comment section on old articles. This way you get to keep the blog/page but you won’t have to deal with the comments anymore if the topic is no longer relevant or some information has changed since the publication of the article.

Overall this is a great option but it also lacks exciting features and can sometimes feel bland.

Third-party online comments software

If you have your own website and don’t have the resources to hire people to develop a customized comment section, then your second best bet would be third-party comment software.

There are a lot of software providers that cover this specific topic. The most widely used third-party commenting system is Disqus and you’ve probably used it before yourself.

First of all, Disqus is multi-platform so you will be able to use this for the mobile version and the regular desktop version. Another feature of Disqus is that comments appear in real-time so you won’t have to refresh the page.

You do, however, have the option to pre-moderate comments to make sure your comment section looks clean, engaging and spam-free. If you don’t feel like moderating the comment section, you can actually leave this up to your users.

This particular software allows other users to increase or decrease the reputation of each comment so the comment section can look engaging even if you don’t interfere personally. You also have the option to block some people or add them to the list of trusted commentators.

Recently, Disqus added a new reaction feature, something similar to what you’ve already seen on Facebook. It is better for your engagement and will make your comment section interesting to look at

Third-party comment software has more features than those mentioned above. You have an option to link to other articles or other products near the comments section of your page, which is another way to try and increase your engagement and visibility.

So, if you have the resources to invest in those extra features they will surely make your website look more appealing.

As well, software providers now offer auto-moderation based on machine learning. This might sound elaborate, but if you don’t want to leave the moderator duties in your community’s hands, and you don’t want to do it yourself, then you’ll love this addition.

Wrapping up

Regardless of the model you choose from these options, it’s obvious that online comments can bring a lot of advantages to your business.

For the most part, each platform discussed gives you control over the comments section while still allowing the conversation to develop naturally.

So, if you’re not already using online comments to advance your business, now is the time to reconsider and add one of the above-mentioned tactics to your strategy.

Guest author: Konstantin has been in marketing and advertising since 2011. After leading marketing efforts of one of the largest financial brokerages and an innovative b2b fintech company, he decided to go solo and is now focusing on consulting financial companies on how to drive the best results from their digital marketing efforts. Next to this, Konstantin has been showing interest in the recent regulation of the most competitive industries – finance and iGaming. Stalk him on Quora or connect via LinkedIn to learn more. 

The post Why Encouraging Online Comments Could Substantially Grow Your Business appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.

source https://www.jeffbullas.com/online-comments/

5 Ways To Optimize Your eCommerce Landing Page For Improved Conversions

You’re here because you’re dissatisfied with your eCommerce landing pages.

You may have tons of leaks in your landing pages. The solution? Optimize your pages. Plug leaks in your funnel. Once you do, you get more conversions. But how do you figure out what to optimize?

Don’t be stressed yet. Here are 5 ways to optimize your landing pages.

#1. Create landing page copy targeted at buyer segments

Write copy that’s geared towards the traffic source.

Here’s why this is so important. Your visitors may be arriving from different places. Some see your social media ads and click through. Others find your business from Google ads and still, others find your business from organic search.

Customize your post-click landing pages depending on how people discover your site. And depending on the copy they were exposed to before.

A. When people land from organic listings

So let’s say some people land from search engines. The keywords you use on the page should match what’s found on the search engine page results. You can even go so far as to optimize thumbnails.

Ensure that the page’s headline matches the Google search headline. Repeat keywords evenly throughout the copy.  In addition, insert these keywords into the URL slug. Based on the target audience, some marketers even use emojis in their copy.

In this manner, you also get to optimize your landing page for SEO. People visiting a landing page aren’t always ready to purchase. And a generic landing page kills the desire in those who are willing to.

It stops people from getting to the place where you want them to be. So being specific with your copy is the first step.

B. When people land from ads

Let’s say people are visiting your page from a Google ad. Target the page to that particular segment. The landing page should converse with them, share their pain points and troubles.

To optimize these landing pages personalize them by matching its copy to the ad.

Personalization gets you sales. If the offer isn’t targeted to the end visitor you may end up losing them. A generic page kills all the effort you put in. Look at the landing page from Zoho.

Image Source

Can you guess the ad?

It’s hyper-targeted to a specific segment. People who are looking for the best CRM.

“Match your landing pages to specific user intent searches. You can do this by duplicating multiple landing pages and tailoring them to unique audiences. Small personalizations go a long way in increasing conversions. For example, if you’re a POS system that targets bars, breweries, wineries, and restaurants, make a landing page custom for each persona and then build out unique ads for each.” – 2ndKitchen

Having an eCommerce landing page target a particular segment of your audience results in better conversions.

With a generic page, you’re leaving a lot of conversions on the table.

Correctly create landing pages with copy that reflect the interests of the unique segments you’re targeting. You will see the difference.

#2. Have a specific goal

Your site visitors should see just one action item. Ideally, you want to direct visitors to a single offer. This raises the odds of getting conversions from them.

eCommerce landing pages that sport more than a single offer get nearly 300% lower number of leads than landing pages that sport only a single offer.

Here’s an example to learn from. This one is from The Farmer’s Dog.

Here’s why this landing page is spot on. The value proposition they start with, “Dogs Should Eat Food, Not Burnt Brown Balls” isn’t just a blanket statement. It’s flanked by enough proof around it to prove itself. The copy below explains how they’re different from the scores of comparable options. You see social proof from reputable brands.

Image Source

Scrolling below you will see that they quote actual people behind the statements they make.

The content describes how to claim the offer. The icons are easy to follow and the CTA button quickly grabs attention. It stands out in contrast to the rest of the page.

To sum things, the landing page starts with a featured image that conveys what the offer is about. The image feels authentic. It’s apt and builds a lot of clarity around the offer.

The landing page wastes no time in throwing social proof around. It’s hard to go wrong with the single action it demands of visitors.

When you fail to optimize a page for conversions, the target visitor escapes without converting. A non-optimized landing page gives a lot of ways for the person to click and escape. By optimizing your pages you reduce the number of escape routes.

Grab your visitor’s attention by not throwing them the kitchen sink and everything else at them in one go. Keep the focus super targeted with one single offer.

#3. Remove site navigation

Yuppiechef has a great example to learn from. They removed the navigation bar from a registration page and increased conversions from 3% to 6%. Yeah, that’s nearly double the conversions than before.

Optimizing product pages can make all the difference between a landing page that converts and one that doesn’t

An eCommerce landing page doesn’t really need a navigation bar. It’s a form of distraction you can do without. On a landing page, strive to maintain a perfect attention ratio of 1:1.

What’s the fuss about attention ratio?

• Attention ratio is what you get when you divide the number of clickable elements on a landing page with the number of elements where you want to drive clicks to.
• A skewed ratio means you get fewer clicks to your calls-to-action.

You don’t want that to happen. It’s supposed to be 1:1.

You can ensure this doesn’t happen by reducing the number of clickable elements on the page. Ideally, they shouldn’t be more than one. This one link is your CTA.

With the site navigation gone, you effectively leave one good choice for visitors.

This makes visitors either do nothing or click on the CTA. As distractions reduce, the clicks to the CTA go up. And that’s what you want.

#4. Make the search bar prominent

One of the most used features of an optimized eCommerce landing page is the search bar. Not optimizing the search bar is also one of my biggest pet peeves. Despite its frequent use, marketers never really pay any attention to search bars. I don’t know how many of you ever pay attention to it. But it’s a pretty significant factor. An effective navigation menu is dotted with a prominent search bar that’s easy to use for your users.

30 percent of customers rely on site searches to discover products. Definitely not a number you can laugh at. It’s an essential component of someone’s retail experience online. Run a Google Analytics audit to find the most common queries people search for on your website.

Plus do these things.

• Place the site search bar in a prominent place on your website.
• Make it easy to notice.
• Make it big enough.
• Add a magnifying glass symbol next to it.

You may not think of this as anything but we as humans have a long history with symbols. Art and symbols used to be a large part of how we made sense of the world. They still are. They’re the most recognizable objects for us.

Symbols are your best friend. A magnifying glass icon just beside the search bar tells your visitors what the bar is for. You might feel that it’s foolish of me to emphasize this. But such symbols are universally recognized. With the symbol, it’s easy for someone to associate the bar with a search.

Also, test the size of the button to find out the most optimized version.

Don’t crowd it around other elements. By crowding the search bar with other components of the site you make its discovery difficult.

In addition, you might want to make search easy without making users have to search. How?

By cobbling together data on top sellers, and top categories you’re making it easy for them to figure out what to look for.

Categories and such lists make it easy for the person to understand what the site is about.

Finally, use the auto-complete feature to aid search. With this feature, customers can make their searches without the hassle of typing. This helps them avoid typos when they’re not sure of the spelling.

Printerland integrated a search bar with an autocomplete feature and it helped them increase their sales.

#5. Follow best practices on menu names

It’s better not to experiment too much with navigation making it difficult for customers to find things on your site.

Stick with the norm. This also helps boost trust.

When considering the navigation on your eCommerce landing page consider how you are going to name the menu items. Keep the wording simple and familiar. I agree that there may be some leeway in being creative with menu names. But that shouldn’t come at the cost of sounding cryptic. Too much creativity is a risk. It can alienate site visitors.

Never forget the user and how they might interpret what you say. You might have gone over the menu names a thousand different times which makes it easy for you to make the association. Don’t imagine that your users are going to feel and think the same way. Even familiar words in everyday language may seem quite out of place when taken out of their context. If something on your menu is labeled marketplace your users may be left wondering as to what it means and entails. Especially so if all others name it “Shop”.

Link names and labels shouldn’t take more than a minute to figure out. Otherwise, it’s a huge compromise on user experience as well.

Concluding thoughts

These are 5 tips you can use to improve conversions on your eCommerce landing page. Keep things simple and distraction-free. The goal is to make people take action on the most important action items.

Guest author: George is a SaaS marketer and blogger. He runs seekdefo.com where he discusses Conversion Rate Optimization and Marketing. You can hire him here.

The post 5 Ways To Optimize Your eCommerce Landing Page For Improved Conversions appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.

source https://www.jeffbullas.com/optimize-your-ecommerce-landing-page/

9 Expert Tips For Managing a Remote Team

The workplace is changing. The water cooler where you shared the latest celebrity gossip and ranted about that last season of Game of Thrones? That’s a Slack channel now. The meeting room where you gathered your team to brainstorm strategy on the office whiteboard? Now just a video chat with a screen sharing option.

The internet has enabled workers from around the globe to come together and be productive in ways that simply weren’t feasible 20 years ago. In fact, 70% of white-collar professionals work remotely at least once a week now. Despite the upsides of having remote teams, managing them and maintaining the same level of collaboration as you see with a traditional office can be a job in and of itself.

After seeing how hundreds of successful businesses manage their remote marketing apprentices and working firsthand with remote teams myself, I’ve gathered their best advice to help you get the most out of your remote team.

Bonus: Acadium apprentices help you with your marketing, unpaid, as part of their training. For a limited time, Jeff Bullas’ readers get $50 off their first credit purchase.

#1. Respect office hours

When working from home, it’s easy for the lines to blur between work and relaxation time. In the digital age we live in, it’s easy for any working professional today to feel a pull to always be connected and ready to be productive when the need arises. For remote workers, this erosion of the boundaries between when you should be working vs. when you should be taking time for yourself becomes even more prevalent, due to the fact that your entire relationship with your job is digital. In fact, remote workers have reported that their number one struggle with being a remote worker is the inability to unplug after work.

If you want your remote team to be happy and productive during work hours, then you have to give them time for themselves outside of those hours. Be clear with what hours your team is expected to work between and be mindful about respecting those hours and not messaging them or tasking them with projects during their free time.

#2. Meet face-to-face

There’s no way around it – communicating online can often be cold and emotionless. No matter how much time you spend finding the perfect emoji or reaction gif to convey how you’re feeling, the sentiment often gets lost when compared to face-to-face interactions.

Even though your team might not be able to meet up with you in person, that doesn’t mean you still can’t have face-to-face interactions. Communicating as much as possible through video chats can help you properly convey tone, build relationships with your team, and help you read their emotions better.

Find a video calling tool that works best for you and make it part of your culture to utilize that tool whenever possible. Even if it’s for a quick check-in for clarification on a certain task, video calling will help you communicate more effectively and more efficiently than through text. Just be sure to send a quick summary of the meeting after the fact so that your team can reference it if need be.

#3. Give them room to breathe

Arguably, the biggest perk for remote workers is the flexibility it provides. As tempting as it is to micro-manage your remote team to ensure they are on the right track, you don’t want to stifle this benefit for them and make them feel like they are constantly being monitored.

Give your remote workers time to do what they are there for – work. If you’ve done your due diligence in the hiring process then you employed them for a reason. Give your remote team enough space to do what they do best. Yes, checking in is important and it’s understandable that urgent matters sometimes come up and need to be addressed immediately, but for day-to-day productivity, give them some room to breathe.

#4. Focus on goals

Of course, we all want our team to work hard and get the job done. When you’re not working in close proximity to the team you’re managing it’s easy to be anxious about their activity. At the end of the day, does it really matter if they were online and working at every moment of their working hours if the job gets done and gets done well?

Don’t focus on hours worked, focus on results. Set clear goals for your team and rather than checking in to make sure they are working towards those goals, make sure they are hitting those goals. Outline clearly what the expected outcomes are, define clear KPIs, and only when team members start missing those goals should you be on their case about their work habits.

#5. Don’t overlook onboarding

Believe it or not, it’s still possible to foster a particular culture when your team is primarily remote. Of course, in a traditional office environment, the onboarding process and adoption of a culture is a bit more of a natural process. When you’re dealing with a remote team, it’s important that you have a clear onboarding process that you can optimize over time. You want your team members to be aligned regarding the processes and expectations for your team and you want to ensure that they are complying.

Spend the time to build a thorough onboarding package that you can give to all new hires. Set out clear expectations for the first month, first quarter, and beyond. Hold new hires accountable to these expectations. What works for some people might not work for others, so try to build materials that suit all learning styles and check in periodically to see how new hires are adopting these practices and meeting your expectations.

In exchange for your coaching and guidance, Acadium apprentices help you with your marketing, unpaid, as part of their training. For a limited time, Jeff Bullas’ readers get $50 off their first credit purchase.

#6. Invest in the right tools

Staying organized is a big challenge for a lot of remote teams. With everyone working in different locations and, often, at different times, keeping everyone on the same page can be difficult.

Thankfully, there are a number of tools online that you can use to manage your team. Pick the right tools that fit your needs and make sure that your whole team is using them. They might cost a little bit of money but the results can be well worth it in terms of keeping your team organized and connected.

For project management and keeping track of weekly goals, you might want to use something like Trello.

For video calling, Zoom could work for you. For managing files, you might go with Google Drive. Take time to research what tools you may need and test them out before getting your whole team set up and using them.

#7. Build relationships

You might hate office small talk, but it’s a great way to build relationships and trust amongst your team. Because you’re not working in the same space together, taking the time to build relationships may be more of a proactive effort rather than a passive one.

When hopping on a call with a team member, ask them how their weekend was, chat about that horrible Netflix movie you watched the other night, ask them what life in their city is like. Making the effort to get to know your team on an informal basis can get them to trust that you are there for them. This helps them feel more accountable when their actions will make a positive impact on someone they know and care about.

#8. Get together

If it works logistically and you have the money to spend, try to get the team together physically at least once a year. Be it a conference that you all meet up at, a team-building retreat, or a group vacation, getting your team to meet in person can go a long way towards making them feel like an actual team.

At Acadium, we get the team together for a company-wide retreat twice a year. They spend the week together relaxing (and working) alongside a business coach, personal chefs, and members of the remote team. The retreat brings the team closer together and teaches them new strategies for working and collaborating with each other.

#9. Acknowledge accomplishment

With freelancers and marketing apprentices, in particular, it’s easy to see them and their work as a means to an end. Don’t get trapped into forgetting that these people are just that – people. Give credit where credit is due. Acknowledge wins. If someone is going above and beyond, give them some praise in a public Slack channel. You will find that doing so will not only boost morale but encourage team members to strive towards these wins.

Bonus: Acadium apprentices help you with your marketing, unpaid, as part of their training. For a limited time, Jeff Bullas’ readers get $50 off their first credit purchase.

Guest author: Ryan Byrne is the Content Team Lead at Acadium. He is also an overly-caffeinated film and #CDNPoli junkie.

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