If you’ve been following the hype from the latest Star Wars movie, you’ll have heard the quote:
“This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things”.
As an ordinary person, this got me thinking: What can ordinary people like you and I do in business that can lead to extraordinary things?
Here’s my list of ordinary actions that you, or your business, may not be doing that can lead to extraordinary things.
1. Taking the time to chat to followers
Every business wants 100 000 Facebook and Twitter followers, but not many are willing to put in the work.
Out of all of your current social media followers, how many of them have you actively engaged with, i.e. replied to a comment they left, or instigated the first interaction with, by liking one of their Instagram pictures or commenting on a tweet, for example?
I’d guess less than 1%.
You don’t need world class social media skills to engage with fans or customers; you only need to dedicate a few minutes each day to do so – something any ordinary person can achieve.
Gary Vaynerchuk runs a multi-million dollar marketing agency, yet he takes time out each day to reply and engage with his followers on Twitter, personally.
Here’s what Gary had to say on the matter:
“People respond to effort. When a celebrity favorites your tweet, you’re excited. Someone you admire likes a photo of yours on Instagram, and it makes you feel good. Because it’s not about the 100th of a second it takes to double tap that photo. It’s about the fact that they looked at your profile. They chose a photo. They saw it. And then they liked it. That interaction, which takes all of five or six seconds, really touches a lot of people.” Source
2. Allow your employees to do extraordinary things
I worked for a number of businesses and clients back in my youth, and for each role I believed there were certain processes the business could do to increase efficiency or save time and money.
I never did come out and tell anyone my ideas though. Why?
It was mainly due to company culture. I felt I was treated like a cog in a much bigger machine, and that C-level executives and the higher ups didn’t care about, or didn’t want to waste their time listening to, my ideas.
As a result, I spent way too much time on tasks that could have been done faster. In the end, this decreased my motivation, and I left all those roles because of it.
As a business owner, you need to create a culture where employees aren’t afraid to throw out ideas, or talk to upper management, about ways to improve your business.
Brands spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on hiring so-called “experts” to find bottlenecks in their business and resolve them, but you could do that for free by giving your employees a voice.
The biggest tech company in the world, Google, uses this approach. VP of Google’s People Operations, Laszlo Bock, said:
“Personally, I believe this culture is an insight about the human condition. People look for meaning in their work. People want to know what’s happening in their environment. People want to have some ability to shape that environment. Google has cultivated a creative and passionate workforce that holds the key to the company’s innovation. “- Source.
3. The action to take action
How many ideas or plans did you have for your business this year that you have yet to take action on?
Was 2016 the year you took your SEO seriously?
Perhaps it was the year you planned on using AdWords to grow your business.
Maybe 2016 was the year to start a meaningful blog, creating the best content in your industry.
Whatever you planned to take action on but didn’t (I’m sure there are several things – don’t worry, I’m guilty of this too), do something completely ordinary today and take action.
An ordinary action, like finding an agency to manage your website’s SEO presence, could lead to your business doubling its lead generation and customers over the next year.
Will your business do extraordinary things next year?
The ordinary tips I’ve listed above are just that – ordinary. They don’t require you to have marketing skills like Yoda, nor do they take hours away from your workday…..and the best thing is, they can all be delegated internally or externally.
Just do one ordinary thing this year, and let us know how it changes your business over the next 3-6 months.
