TEAM: Together Everyone Achieves More

I love cheesy and inspirational titles.

The other night, I was browsing Twitter and came across this awesome article from HootSuite that is just too good not to share. The article is titled “8 Qualities of a Kick-Ass Social Media Team,” which naturally intrigued me since Old Town Media has made it a priority in 2015 to kick our own social media into high-gear. While I agree with Evan Lepage, the author of this great article, I find that these qualities make for a more efficient and effective team in general – not just for social media.

• Creative: It’s no secret that people are bombarded with content all day, everyday. Part of my job is helping our clients and OTM find ways to stand out from the pack. While at times this can be frustrating and draining, it is also exciting and stimulating. Inevitably, it is the companies that put the time, effort and creativity into every aspect of their company that produce the best work and captivate your attention.
• Collaboration: In my opinion, eight minds are better than one. Sometimes, I find myself stuck in my usual routine and look for input from the team to help shake things up. It’s nearly impossible for one person to be extraordinarily creative all the time by themselves. A great team also has the courage to look for collaboration opportunities from their online community, business partners and industry leaders.
• Collaboration Part II: In terms of social media, it is vital not to ignore the potential of collaboration. As a web design, development and marketing agency, we strive to represent all aspects of our team. We share everything from formulas dreamed up by Ryan to push up contests and client work.
• Flexibility: Lepage explains, “Being flexible means letting your [social media] following and your target following dictate how you approach social media.” Similarly, I’ve witnessed our need to be adaptable as an agency and the benefits. Though our fundamental goals and vision guide our work, we are constantly rolling with the punches and restructuring in order to keep up with trends, industry leaders and competitors. We aren’t perfect and the only way we’ll get better is by listening and learning.
• Agility: Tied to flexibility, successful teams need to be prepared to adjust and respond to events as they happen in real time. In terms of social media, it’s vital to stay relevant and up-to-date. What’s the point of posting something about Mother’s Day two weeks later? Great teams capitalize on trends for marketing purposes and brand awareness. As an agency, we work hard to track social media updates, Google algorithm changes, WordPress updates and more to ensure that we continue to produce the best work.
• Curiosity: In my eyes, curiosity goes hand in hand with collaboration – both imperative for learning. As new tools, techniques and technology emerge, we tend to find ourselves back at square one. Curiosity drives our team to go the extra mile to research, learn and become an expert on new features. Just a few weeks ago Mike and Miles went to Loopconf in Vegas, a WordPress specific conference, to listen and learn from the best of the best. This passion and curiosity helps Old Town Media stay ahead of the curve and push the envelope.
• Accuracy: We all make mistakes but what separates a good company from a great company is the ability to be detail-oriented and accurate 99% of the time. Especially with social media or inputting content, it is easy to fall into the trap of whizzing through things and not checking for spelling or grammar mistakes. Taking the time to slow down and strive for perfection makes for a more powerful team.
• Honesty: Lepage uses the phrase “sense of humor” for this point but in our case, it’s honesty. As an agency, we stress the importance of two-way relationships. Before starting a project, we always try to make sure we’re a good fit for the client and they are a good fit for us. Therefore, we do our best to show our true colors through social media, blogs and even our website in general. While posting a photo of our creative director on a Krazy Kart is naturally hysterical, it’s also honest and gives our clients/potential clients an inside look into our wild world.

As an agency, our goal is produce our best work by staying current and maintain the reputation of being a company people want to work with. How do we go about doing this? By being a kick-ass TEAM; together everyone achieves more.