Supporting Content Creators

“44% of content creators say their creator business is their family’s primary source of income,” according to The Tilt, but only “12% of those full-time creators make more than $50K in annual income” (Linktree). If you do the math here that’s not a whole lot of rich and famous for these people. Well, maybe a little bit of famous, minus the rich. Depending on where you live, $50,000 isn’t a whole lot for one person to make annually, especially if they have families to support. We’ve been working with content creators for almost a decade now and we truly love supporting them. They’re the best kind of client we work with. Usually they’re just normal people with no frills attached. They easy to communicate with and grateful to license their content to us for our campaigns. Thus far, we’ve paid out over $1,500,000 to content creators since Locomotive Contents formation. Here are some ways that you can support some of your favorite content creators or even friends who may be part of the creator economy.

1.     Amplify their voices: share their social media posts. Talk about them to friends who might be interested in what they offer. This one is the most important. It’s more important to share content from creators who are closer to us than those that we don’t even know. Help them expand their brand through engagement.

2.     Buy their stuff: this can be through using their discount codes for certain brands they are affiliated with or just buying something they sell through their website. If they have merch, buy that. if they sell a service, try it out.

3.     Write them a review: word of mouth is great, but we all know that people really do read reviews. If they write blogs shoot them a comment of feedback.

These creators put a lot of time and hard work into their craft, whatever that niche may be. It’s important to support them and help them grow their brands just like any other business. For many, this is a full-time gig. They’re very different from influencers in more ways than we can count. Join us in supporting the creator economy around the world!

Gun Violence Awareness Month 2023

It’s no secret that gun violence is at an all-time high in the United States. “Every day more than 300 people are impacted by gun violence in the U.S.,” (Brady Campaign). It’s a little crazy to us how divided this country is over gun laws when we’ve seen so much devastation as a result of the lack of restrictions nationwide. We are firm believers that individuals should have the right to bear arms but in today’s society there should be strict laws that prevent the wrong weapons from going into the wrong hands. That being said, that’s an article for another time. The purpose of today’s article is to bring awareness to the ways that one can act to help end gun violence during the month of June.

1.     Support gun violence prevention events near you

2.     Make sure your guns and others closest to you keep them locked up in the home

3.     Join a movement

4.     Act to restrict/ban AR-15 style weapons

5.     Wear orange

6.     Share information on social media channels

Here are some shocking statistics to get you thinking (NY State Division of Criminal Justice):

·      Every day more than 100 Americans are shot and killed in the U.S.

·      Access to a gun in a domestic violence situation makes it 5x more likely that the woman be killed

·      Access to a gun triples the risk of death by suicide

No matter what your stance is on gun law, it’s obvious that America needs to take some action in order to prevent more gun violence because the momentum hasn’t slowed down. If anything, it’s gotten worse over the past decade. When others travelling from other countries come here there is now a travel advisory warning them of possible gun violence. That speaks volumes to where we are with this situation in our country. It’s unique to our country alone. It’s sad and hopefully in the coming years the issues will be resolved.

Decision Making in Business

We’ve all had to make tough decisions in life at one time or another. Whether it be in our professional or personal lives, the process is always the same. It always involves identifying the goal, collecting all the relevant information and finally, weighing out the options to make the best choice. The benefit to making sound decisions is that they will stand the test of time, they weigh out all possible outcomes, they can eliminate conflicts of interest, it creates less second-guessing and provides somewhat of a roadmap. There are so many types of decision-making models out there. Ethical, formal, 5/6/7/8 step processes, analytical hierarchy process, rational, managerial, etc. The list goes on and on. Your goal can help determine your process. Let’s just look at the 8-step decision making process as an example.

1.     Identify goal

2.     Gather relevant information

3.     Determine criteria for critiquing alternatives

4.     Brainstorm all options

5.     Compare alternatives (pros/cons)

6.     Make your decision

7.     Execute decision

8.     Evaluate decision after implementation

Being strategic when making decisions is crucial. It’s important not to overthink but to appropriately analyze. Pragmatic decisions are made from using a systematic process that will guide you along to the right outcome.

What’s the Difference Between UGC and Stock Footage?

At this point we should all know what user-generated content is but for those of you that may not… UGC is any content created by consumers and brand advocates in a natural and organic way that typically has nothing to do with the brand in particular. It can be video, photos, music, art, and even blogs. The benefits of using UGC in advertising is paramount and extremely effective in creating emotional connections with brand audiences. It creates trust through transparency. So, what is the difference between UGC and stock footage. Stock footage is produced content that was created for the sole purpose of reuse in advertising, marketing, film, etc. UGC is organically created and unproduced. Stock footage is produced and people can see the differences between the two if you set them side by side. There are tons of stock footage libraries online and we work with some of them on particular briefs for our partners. However, since the audience can tell an obvious difference, we only pursue stock footage for briefs that call for it... There is a place for stock footage, but we prefer organically sourced user-generated content in order to create strengthened trust from audience to brand.

Digital Brand Protection

We’ve written articles on brand reputation in the past and how important it is to success. That being said, the digital space can ruin it in mere seconds. So, how do brands go about protecting their name on the internet? Well, there are so many variables to be considered, such as reviews, cyberattack, etc. but the short answer is digital brand protection. It is simply defined as the efforts of a brand to protect its intellectual properties, such as name, logo and any content related to the brand online, although it is much more complicated than it sounds. Here are some things that a brand will have to look out for when protecting their IP’s online:

1.     Fake website

2.     Counterfeit products/services

3.     Trademark abuse

4.     Copyright infringement

5.     Social media impersonation or impersonation on any level digitally

Here are some best practices to ensure that your brand is doing all it can to protect the brand online.

1.     Register copyright, trademarks and patents

2.     Establish monitoring

3.     Secure your social media handles

4.     Have NDA’s in place

If you don’t feel that you have the man power to keep up with digital protection then that’s ok. There are plenty of companies to outsource protection from. They will cover everything from keyword monitoring to pattern recognition to find counterfeit listings. Not only do they monitor they will remove them and report them in order to keep your brand name intact. Aside, from this it’s your job to keep your online brand reputation upheld through reviews and social media engagements. In the digital era that we live in today, all of these are crucial to a brand’s success.  

Economic Trends

Yesterday we wrote an article on the economic cycles, so what is the difference between that and an economic trend? A trend is the direction that the market is moving over time. The cycle, as we learned yesterday, is the different periods that the economy goes through. Economic trends show you what part of the economic cycle we are moving towards. Trends can go up, down or sideways. Upward is how it sounds, and wages are rising. Downward means that the economy is shrinking and unemployment is rising. Sideways just means it’s a steady economy. There are some indicators to look at in the market to see what trend may be occurring, such as gross domestic product, unemployment and consumer confidence. Others include:

·      Stock market trends

·      Interest rates

·      News

It’s important to track trends in the market if you’re in business. It can help you make better decisions, plan and identify opportunities. That being said, it’s important not to focus too heavily and get tunnel vision on the market. This can lead to missed opportunities and making the wrong assumptions. A happy medium needs to be achieved to be successful at tracking economic trends.

Adaptive Leadership

Think about the two words here. Adaptive: the ability to make suitable requirements or conditions; adjust or modify fittingly. Leadership: person who guides or directs a group. Put these two together. Someone who guides others through their ability to adjust or modify fittingly to the situations. Why is this important? Businesses are constantly changing with their respective fields so it’s vital to have leaders that can do the same. They should also be able to somewhat predict challenges that may arise, what risks are worth taking and they are open to constructive feedback. Adaptive leaders embody the 4 A’s:

1.     Anticipation of future needs and trends

2.     Articulation of needs to get support and action from business

3.     Adaptation for constant learning and adjust when needed

4.     Accountability of their actions and willingness to take on challenges

COVID 19 really brought out the adaptive leaders in the world. Those that were able to take on this massive change that went worldwide and still keep their businesses thriving understand how to be an adaptive leader on a deeper level. They embody certain unique traits.

1.     Emotional intelligence

2.     Organizational justice

3.     Development

4.     Character

As with any style of leadership there are some pros and cons. Some pros are that change is anticipated, welcomed, all opinions are considered and the team’s strengths are effectively applied. Some cons are that there is a heavy emphasis on rules or structure and decisions can be made more hastily. With this style of leadership solutions to challenges within the company may take more time than a single decision. That being said, we really like the concept of adaptive leadership.

Jewish Heritage Month

May is known for a few different things and one of them is celebrating Jewish Heritage month. We’ve actually worked on some cool projects in the past for antisemitism that we are very proud of. That aside, there are some other ways that we can all help support Jewish heritage month.

1.     Visit a museum of Jewish history

2.     Read a Jewish book (aka support Jewish authors)

3.     Listen to a Jewish podcast

4.     Attend a Jewish event

5.     Express antisemitism and share things on it

These are just a few snippets of things you can do to support the Jewish community for the month of May. But as always, remember it’s important to celebrate all cultures all times of the year. Celebrate diversity!

Advertising for Good

We recently read the Adage article on how advertising companies can help with promoting activism. Aka. Advertising for good. It made us think of some of the campaigns we’ve been a part of, one of which was very recent for help during Natural Disasters. Over the span of our time here at Locomotive, we’ve managed to be part of campaigns that really bring out the best in all of us. Our recent work with Home Depot for disaster relief is one we’re very proud of but it’s not just limited to this one campaign. We’ve done campaigns the spotlight human kindness. And one for Comcast called, “Lift Zones,” where they gave free internet in underprivileged schools so kids would have access. Even small acts of neighborliness were touted in a Ritz commercial we helped source user-generated content for.  We’re not trying to toot our own horn here or anything it was just eye opening to read this article and realize that we’ve been part of some really great campaigns that advertise for GOOD. Here at Locomotive we’re proud to say that we are able to contribute to causes that are for the greater good of the world. Now, more than ever, it’s important to the consumers that brands are socioeconomically aware and give back somehow. They won’t support brands that don’t and that’s the bottom line now. Most of all, brands should be doing this not to only appease their audience but to do something better for the world. Leave it better than when we came into it!

Types of UGC

While our company deals a lot with still and video content (inclusive of audio), there are many types of user generated content out there. UGC or UCC can be defined as any form of content created by a user that is organic, original and published somewhere online. It comes in many forms and it can come from anyone: customers, loyalists, employees, creators and/or just regular people with a social media account. Here are the types of UGC out there:

1.     Video: this is our main area of expertise

2.     Images: we also specialize in this

3.     Social media: this includes any video, photo or even text

4.     Testimonials: this is usually in the form of a vlog or video

5.     Reviews: this typically is in text form on sites, such as Yelp or Trip Advisor

6.     Live stream/podcasts: usually vocal or video

7.     Blogs: text content but can also be a vlog

8.     Q&A Forums: text content here as well

UGC is so influential on purchasing motivations and is inherently authentic. It creates trust between consumer and brand. Aside from this, it increases confidence in purchases, improves customer feedback, is far more interesting than produced content, and it encourages engagement and influences consumers on which products to purchase. On the professional side, it can help stretch your brands budget. To see a good example of a UGC campaign check out the work we recently did for Duracell holiday. If you haven’t dipped your toes in the sourced content water yet, what are you waiting for? Give us a shout!

What’s Is It Like Working in the Found Content Space

We love our employees! Each of their unique skillsets and personalities bring something special to the table for each project we do. Working in found content can be a tricky place at times but the rewards it reaps are high, especially since we have the best team available in our field. What better way to explain what it’s like to work in found content than interviewing one of our very own employees? For personal privacy purposes, the name of individual(s) interviewed will be left out due to their allowance to work on other projects. Although we sadly regret not being able to praise their name to the mountain tops, we completely understand that this is their preference and we respect that.  

1.     What is your favorite part of the job?

Obtaining the rights to the videos or Buying the content because you get to connect with the content owners. I enjoy the chase and the challenge. I also like the creative part of discovery/curation to find that diamond in the rough for their vision.

2.     What was your favorite project you’ve worked on and why?

My favorite project was the Oreo Stay Playful campaign because the content was so fun and all the creators were so excited to be a part of the campaign. The campaign was also shown in Times Square, which was very cool.

3.     What do you love most about your job here with us?

Overall with the job I love the people that I work with since we are a boutique agency. I love working with our family and bouncing ideas off of each other. Each of us has our own expertise that they can add.

4.     What is your biggest challenge when sourcing content and/or working on a project?

The biggest challenge would probably be working with the super remote video owners or trying to track down the international content that we work with. Some people are just off the grid and very difficult to reach, especially if they don’t have a large social media presence. On the flip side of that, it’s also very hard to find the correct owner of a video that’s gone very viral.

5.     What do you enjoy being able to work fully remote?

Definitely the flexibly and just being able to be home with my family, while still focusing on work.

6.     What do believe about this allows you to work efficiently and still remain connected to others within the company/company culture?

I would say the amount of time that I get back from not having to commute to and from work. If I need to log on earlier, especially with the different time zones we work with all over the world. The hours allow me to work completely efficient at home and not be tied to an office.

7.     Are there any aspects of the team culture that you would change or improve?

We’re all so spread out so I would love to be able to meet up in person but we do stay pretty connected and I do really like the culture.

8.     What led you to work in this field?

My degree is in entertainment marketing and advertising. I studied this in college and got my Bachelors. I worked in television production for a couple of years and I just sort of fell into this through that.

9.     Describe a favorite work memory from Locomotive.

I would say, not sure if it’s a favorite but after we just did the Duracell campaign, this client had their hearts set on a certain video. We did not think it was going to happen and in the 12th hour we were able to make a deal with the video owner. It was so stressful but when it finally came through I was so relieved. I see that commercial everywhere now. Ofdsn Sunday night football and other content creators have even seen that commercial. It was such a gratifying.

10.  Is there an area of working in found content that you think you can improve and/or when working on projects?

Well, the industry is kind of like the wild, wild west still and video owners can sometimes be very skeptical. Content creators can think that agencies like us might be a scam because what we do is still so new, but when they actually look up our company, they see that we’re a 5-star agency with lots of great reviews from creators that have worked with us in the past.

We love hearing what our employee(s) have to say about working in the found content space. We hope it was enlightening for you all as well. If you’re curious about tapping into the power of UGC strategies, contact us today.

Competitive Analysis

Who are your competitors? We’ll wait while you think about it….

Have you thought about this before? If not, you should be. Knowing your competitors is important to your brand’s success. You need to know what your advantages and disadvantages are. What makes your brand different? What do you have to offer that they don’t? Conducting regular competitive analysis will keep your brand at the forefront of your industry. You should first know who your direct, indirect and substitute competitors are. Once you know this, you can begin to gather information about them. How do their products and services compare to yours? What about their pricing? What is their reach and where do they engage their customers? Once you have done this it is time to move on to the next step. Review their website and online presence. Is their target market the same as yours? What type of reputation do they have and how does it compare to your brand? How big is their brand compared to yours and who do they work with? This can give your brand insight into future partnerships for yours. Lastly, what are their strengths and weaknesses as a company?

Once you have done all of this and answered all of these questions, you can determine your position relative to your competitors. What’s your advantage and disadvantage? This can help your brand improve on areas of weakness and increases your strengths. Areas of opportunity will become apparent and your brand can grow. So, have you done a competitive analysis lately? If not, it’s time to finish out the year strong with improvements going into the new year!

Friday Feature

This is our first Friday content creator feature. We thought it about time to switch it up a bit from our Friday fun favorite campaigns. If you loved it, don’t worry. It’s not gone. Just taking a break for a while. This week’s creator shout out goes to Vibe Salon in Atlanta. We recently worked with them on one of our campaigns helping source content for an Oreo spot. If you live in the Atlanta area you should check them out! It was a pleasure working with them and it seems they do amazing things with hair! Have a great weekend all!

Topical Content

Fan doing the Megan Rapinoe stance from her celebrating her team's first goal during the 2019 Women's World Cup quarter-final match between France and the U.S.

There are so many types of content out there nowadays so, what in the world is topical content? Topical content is relevant to current events or timely topics. Think about things that are currently trending. Writing, vlogging, news stories, videos or even advertisements can be done on trending topics. These would all be considered topical content pieces since they focus on current news/trends. So, let’s talk about some of the advantages and disadvantages of writing topical content.

ADVANTAGES:

1.     Authority in your field: by staying current with trends and news in your field you set yourself up as a brand who has authority. It shows your brand researches relevant subjects often. This will help build trust with your B2B and B2C audiences.

2.     Requires less work: all it takes is a quick glance at sites and news stories to give you the ideas you need to produce topical content. This can save time and money when creating content. It can also help with creativity when at a loss for fresh ideas.

3.     Drives seasonal traffic to multiple channels: this can increase your audience reach because your topical content can gain traction over multiple points: social media, website, emails, etc.

DISADVANTAGES:

1.     Others are posting too: your competitors are probably posting on trending topics too, all the while spinning their own take on it. This can make it harder to stand out from the crowd. It can require a lot of time, effort and money to make yourself stand out, so if this is something you can’t commit to, then you may want to shift your strategies.

2.     It doesn’t benefit the long run for SEO: it can get you more traffic to your site in the short game but trust is built over time. This is where evergreen content comes into play, which we will talk about in our next blog.

Topical content has its place in the marketing and advertising world. It can provide relevant information on current affairs and can be a way to switch it up from the mundane. Ultimately, your marketing and advertising strategies should be a mix of topical and evergreen content. How much you choose to create topical content will also depend on what your business goals are and the audiences’ you’re trying to attract. Industry standard states that a mix of 1:4 is the general rule of thumb for the topical to evergreen content ratio. The first being topical content to every four evergreen content posts. Topical content definitely has its place but evergreen content is what’s needed to keep your audience behind your brand in the long haul.

Labor Day 2022

Every year, the first Monday in September is set aside as an annual celebration of the social and economic achievements of American workers. Today we take a pause from our regular broadcast blog to talk about Labor Day: its history, its founders, etc. it has been recognized long before it became an official holiday on February 21st 1887 by the state of Oregon. Before that, in 1882 New York City had the first Labor Day celebration on September 5th. This included a parade. President Cleveland signed the law to make it nationally observed on June 28th 1894. The original founder of Labor Day is unclear. Some say that it is Peter McGuire of Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners. Others believe it to be Mathew McGuire of the International Association of Machinist. We find it a bit odd that they both have the same last name, but that’s beside the point. You can find a list of America’s labor leaders at the Labor Hall of Honor. Enjoy your holiday today celebrating the fruits of all your hard work!

Anniversario di Quattro Anni

And just like that, our boutique, white glove service content agency turns 4 years old today. There have been so many ups, downs, challenges and rewards. If I were asked what the most beneficial times were for us in the past 4 years, I would have to say the hard ones, or the downs. They've helped us navigate through obstacles, face challenges head on, and most importantly, they've helped us learn how we can be better for our partners. I mean, we've all gone through a freaking pandemic together. My passion for content has only grown. I’m not just the Founder, I’m also intimately involved in every single detail from discovery to distribution, and I'm proud of that. Content licensing is my energy source, my DNA. With nearly 20 years of experience searching, acquiring, clearing, and helping create projects with unidentified internet content, our partners have a direct line to me every single day. To those of you that have trusted us to help you create, we are extremely grateful and we hope that our passion and dedication to your needs have shined through on every single project that we have touched. To those of you that we have not had the pleasure of working with just yet, we look forward to earning our place with you and fostering those relationships. Here's to the next 4 years... 

— Dustin Pagliughi, Founder & CEO Locomotive Content

Advertising Predictions 2022

2021 was a great rebound year for advertising after the catastrophic one that preceded. Now that some of the dust has settled, we’ve been seeing inflation; interest rates increasing at sizable rates and stocks dropping significantly. A recession is now predicted and feared to be here sooner than later. But what does that mean for the advertising industry? Let’s look at some history for some insight. According to AdAage, U.S. advertising spending decreased for the previous four recessions back to 1991. However, the really rough recessions before that, the kind that were “marked by periods of double-digit inflation,” advertising spend actually increased. For example, ad spend during the recession of 2009 was down -10.2% and the following year it increased to 8.8%. So, how do we know which will happen this year and the one following? Well, we don’t but we can speculate. At Locomotive we are optimistic. We expect a slight decline but not a full halt. We also believe we will see another large increase in digital marketing, just as we did in the midst of the 2020 pandemic with sourced content. Why, do you ask? Well, for one, it’s more cost efficient. With the rising cost of goods and services, agencies can use their budgets more efficiently with advertisements that utilize user generated content. Publicis Group’s, Zenith, expects internet ad spending to increase to 71% by 2024. Zenith also predicts overall ad spend to decrease this year to 11.6% from 18.7% in 2021. With that being said, it’s expected it to continue to drop in 2023 then begin rising again in 2024 with smaller gaps between overall advertising spend and internet ad spends.

Sorry! We know we just threw a lot of stats at you. It’s important to look at the past trends in order to predict what may be ahead. In summary, we expect internet advertising budgets to increase greatly. We predict that will inherently increase the number of agencies that utilize UGC content in their campaigns. We expect this, in part, due to increased budgeting caused by inflation.  The efficiency through using sourced content campaigns helps advertisers get better bang for their buck! It’s more cost effective.  We do expect this year to slow down, and most likely the following, but we have high hopes that it will slowly begin to increase again and we will see the trends from the earlier major recessions before 1991.  

Memorial Day 2022

 Did you know that Memorial Day first began shortly after the Civil War ended in the spring of 1865? It was originally dubbed Decoration Day since the original purpose was putting flowers and decorating graves of fallen soldiers. It became an official holiday in 1971, where its federally declared birthplace was Waterloo, NY. After World War II it evolved into something where Americans would pay respects for all soldiers who died in all wars serving the United States. This holiday is really anything but happy as we remember those who gave their lives for their country. However, we can pay respects in many ways all across the continent. Some host parades, some visit cemeteries, some wear red, white and blue. Some even honor the fallen by giving back to the living veterans on this day. Visit this website to learn more on ways to do this. There is also a universal moment of silence that takes place at 3pm local time everywhere in the U.S. on this last Monday of May. Although, it’s a great way to appreciate those around you and spend quality time with family and friends, understanding why we do this every year is important. Whatever way you decide to pay your respects today, just realize that it’s not just another 4-day weekend to drink beer and eat BBQ.

The Importance of Customer Satisfaction

Customer satisfaction is the measurement of how well a business’s products or services meet their customer’s expectations. I mean, we all know this. We have our favorite brands that we buy from and we know the reasons why. We have all also been in a place where we have decided to stop buying from a business. Statistics show that 59% of customers will leave a company after several poor experiences and 17% after just one according to PwC. I know I have done this and you’re probably saying to yourself right now that you have too. The top reasons for customer dissatisfaction are quality issues, pricing problems, poor customer service, failure to meet implied expectations and usability complications. Don’t be that person. Listen to your customer’s wants and needs. It’s much easier to keep a client than acquire a new one and it’s actually costlier. According to Survicate, it can be 5-25x’s more expensive than retaining an existing one. Exceptional customer service will also lead to new customers through word of mouth. So, what makes great customer service stand out from just good customer service? Well, it’s going that extra mile to make sure that each customer’s experience is positive by going the extra mile. Going above and beyond expectations. Here are a couple of ways to ensure that your company has stand out, customer driven service.

1.     Offer omnichannel customer service avenues. This will offer options for everyone. Offer phone, text, email and live online web chats. Everyone has a different preference when it comes to contact so be prepared for that.

2.     Be timely. No one likes to sit on hold for a half hour! Ensure that your customer service is prompt! 66% of people think that valuing their time is the most important thing in any online customer experience (Help Scout.) Resolve issues as quickly as possible but make sure not to rush through. Quality over speed every time for the more complex problems. 

3.     Don’t be pushy. No one likes a pushy salesman. Help customers help themselves by not shoving products down their throats. Offer help but don’t be overly aggressive.

4.     Personalize and be consistent. People like to feel like their experience is being tailored to their own needs. For example, know your customer’s names. I know that I personally love it when I repeatedly go to a business and they say hello calling me by name. I’ve actually recently stopped doing business somewhere because the owner acted like she doesn’t know me when I’m there every single week and we had personally had introductions at some point early on in the business relationship. Rude!

5.     Be positive and know how to problem solve. A positive attitude is one of the most important aspects of the customer experience overall. Smile, say hello, know what to do when there is a problem and how to go about solving it. Be creative in the process. Be flexible with your customers. Relationships are a give and take from both sides. They choose to do business with you. Respect that and make sure that they know you appreciate that!

Understanding ways to provide great customers service are vital to the success of a business. A business will thrive with the skills to provide this to their customers. Of course, this is not the only thing necessary for an accomplished business but it by far one of the most important in retaining your audience and growing it.

Ways to Foster Employee Trust in the Workplace

Oxytocin is called the “love” hormone released into the bloodstream that produces a euphoric feeling. It happens after we exercise, listen to music and embrace another human being in some way. A study done by Harvard Business Review demonstrated that acts done in order to produce trust from person to person, oxytocin is also released. This feel good hormone aids the process of trust within our bodies. It makes us feel good when we can trust someone. “People that work at high-trust companies compared to low-trust companies report that 50% state they’re more productive, 74% are less stressed, 106% have more energy at work and 40% have less burnout from work activities.” We’ve decided to make a 5 hit bullet point list of our top ways to improve trust within the workplace between employees in all positions.

1.     Listen more than you speak and ask for feedback. Make it clear that their input is important to the company and they can be part of the changes that go on within it. When employees feel that the company aligns with their values and that they can contribute to the company’s growth they’re more invested in its successes.

2.     Be transparent. Share information when you can. Have daily one-on-one communications with employees to reduce uncertainty about their careers and the current work situations going on.

3.     Encourage. Don’t demand! Motivating employees through encouragement instead of demands has been shown to increase productivity. I mean, I know that I don’t like being told what to do! I’m more apt to complete a task with encouragement than commands. This shows that you trust the employee to do the right thing and it gives them the freedom to do things their own way. When they feel trusted they will reciprocate.

4.     Emphasize what you have in common. Building real relationships with employees is crucial! Neuroscience shows that building social ties increase oxytocin and improves performance. Nurture these relationships with work events and team building activities.

5.     Show vulnerability and admit faults. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Even if you’re the CEO you’re still human! It will remind your employees of this and is a not a sign of weakness but a sign of secure leadership. When you make a mistake own it. They will respect your honesty and ability to embrace faults.

Trust only improves a business. Fostering care from the inside out will ensure a successful company that will stand the test of time. Let’s make this the “New Normal” in the workplace and continue to build great relationships. Not only inside the workplace but out!