Fall Into Autumn 2022 With Your Membership Update

I’m starting this autumnal quarter's update by announcing that we now have a whopping 228,000+ digital marketing professionals in our Digital Marketing Institute community! Among them are 30,000 POWER members who are getting to enjoy all-access to the benefits of this invaluable network. 

With that in mind, I’d like to make this community aware of the importance of our forum to connect with your fellow members. 

You can join a conversation or take a thread into a private message. We’ve got some really interesting active discussions ongoing at the moment, so share your voice and have your say on the matters of the day. For your ease I’m happy to direct you to a few - so join in!

• Discussion: Digital Marketing Channels (194 Comments), and
• Discussion: Developing Marketing Objectives (142 Comments), or
• Tell the Community About You #ShowcaseYou (78 Comments)
• And check out this thread - a ‘job summary’ of live vacancies

The forum connects you to such a major knowledge pool and in addition to this it gives you an on-demand virtual networking opportunity. 
 

The Power of Networking

Love it or hate it, there is no denying the positive impact that having access to a tribe of fellow professionals can have on your profession and your career development. 

The gem about virtual networking in a forum is that there is no nervous entering a room, no awkward ice-breaking exercises, no dusting off your elevator pitch or feeling like you need to get something from the opportunity - with our community you can shelve all that clumsiness and discomfort. 

You can start simply: join an already active conversation, or start another topic, private message someone you can help out and in doing so build friendships with your fellow digital marketing professionals. You can read more here about the power of community and becoming stronger together.
 

Insight: The Quiet Quit

Have you heard the latest buzzword? The phrase quiet quitting has flooded social media, particularly trending on TikTok. 

The terminology of quiet quitting is a bit misleading: the concept is more about reclaiming a balance between work life and personal life than it is about quitting your job. It’s about setting boundaries and can be seen as a response to the burnout many have felt and experienced during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The buzzword has created quite a stir, even being called a revolution by some. Depending on your interpretation you may support it, or fear it. Some people interpret it as mindful and a healthy balanced choice, while others feel it's a slippery slope or feel it's a really bad idea for your career.

We take a look at the implications of removing yourself from the rat-race.

What works for me?

Depending on your personality type, your job contract, and your passion for that job, you will of course see what elements of quiet quitting would fit your situation. It could be taking control of your work life balance, doing your job while still doing more than expected - but respecting your personal time and rejecting the idea that work can take over your life. 

Other people might start by doing the bare minimum, by no longer going above and beyond, and use language like “avoiding corporate exploitation”. You might treat the quiet quitting trend with disdain or welcome the conversation. But be aware, as people take differing approaches and interpretations of this trend, so too might you and your actions be perceived by your team, boss, organization, and even clients.  

For example, here’s a video explaining the concept of “acting your wage”. 
 

Join for FREE to access this video

Will it impact the team culture and spirit?

Some people might be lucky enough to work in a culture that respects saying “no” to burnout. Luckier still are those in an organization that promotes the concept and sets company-wide work boundaries and wellness days. On the flipside, if one member of the team adopts this quiet quitting approach it can disrupt the team cohesion. The team might feel like they are impacted adversely, and begrudge picking up the slack or pushing out deadlines. 

If you’re a team manager, it might be time to take a minute to review the work status quo. Are you happy with your workplace approach to task deadlines, staff well-being and your training provisions? Have you implemented any strategies to help your employees feel included in the company, its objectives and therefore connected to their work? (Here’s a quick peek at the world’s 10 happiest companies in 2021 via CNBC).
 

Am I satisfied with my job?

If the concept of this trend is attractive to you it’s also worth asking, are you ‘quiet quitting’ or are you disengaging?

Burnout is one of the top reasons why staff are not satisfied with their jobs and become increasingly disengaged. Recent research by Gallup found that there is a staggering increase in the rates of both disengagement and unhappiness amongst employees, with the number one reported cause being “unfair treatment at work”, while 50% of US and Canadian workers reported feeling stressed in their jobs on a daily basis.

Top tip: read: Our 10 Strategies to Manage Burnout

For those amongst you who feel disengaged from your role the quiet quit is probably not going to help you. If anything, it will exacerbate your negative feelings and unhappiness and may be the final nail in the coffin of any investment you might have in your current career. You may not be feeling proud of the work that you are doing, and you’ll have no vested interest in making any positive contributions - you’re more likely to become one of the many who are contributing to the great resignation. The quiet quit is not the solution you may be seeking.

What can I learn from this trend?

To drill it down to its simplest form, many workers really just want to do meaningful work well and have time for themselves, their families, as well as their personal interests. 

If you run a team, then you can do a few simple things to help them, such as:

• Recognize individual strengths, contributions, and team spirit.
• Acknowledge milestones e.g. birthdays, work anniversaries, weddings, and new babies as well as allowing space for difficult personal situations.
• Reward staff that go the extra mile, e.g. a token of appreciation or a half-day off.
• Commit to improving employee well-being and engagement e.g. offer the option for flexi-hours, encourage staff to leave on time, update all employees regularly on the business direction and strategies.
• Value every employee's input: encourage staff to put forward new ideas, and create a culture where everyone, regardless of department or job level, feel they can contribute. If possible, even have a dedicated budget line to facilitate employees to explore their proposed ideas/solutions.

As a digital marketing professional, here are a few simple things to help look after yourself:

If you are remote working - make sure you create a structure and routine that includes creating social interactions, and activities outside of the home such as a walk, run or cycle.

• Create downtime away from your screens, e.g. set restrictions on your phone, set a few reminders during the workday to stretch your legs.
• Practice some self-care activities e.g. adequate sleep and meditation.
• Encourage team communication - schedule regular catch-ups just for coffee and a chat.
• Create new positive challenges to keep you engaged in your work, e.g. is there a learning opportunity you can undertake to develop professionally, yet assist in helping you work better - time management, project management or productivity?
   

So, what do you think?

We’d love to hear your ideas on quiet quitting in our quick poll. Is this an opportunity not to work less, but to work better? Or is it just a buzzword for laziness? or is the first step for real quitting? 
 

My Content Hit List!

I’ve assembled some of our recent content pieces for you to feast your eyes on, in case you missed them.

Who doesn’t like Ryan Reynolds really? (It can’t just be me). Clearly lots of people MUST love him, because not only is he a great movie star but his own forays into digital marketing strategy are causing some major positive disruption in the beverage industry. Read all about it in our latest brand study - Aviation American Gin: Using humor to lift spirits (POWER members only).

What do you do when you get two digital marketing giants of industry giving advice and guidance that will help your 2023 strategy? Well you go watch Neil Patel and Chris Penn tell you how to boost your SEO strategy - Check out the webinar.

We’re always looking to add practical guides to our library and some recent examples are the press release template, email calendar template, and a paid media performance dashboard (in collaboration with PMI). 

What's popular in the DMI library

Here's a quick look at some of the most popular pieces from the last 3 months.

• A guide to using the often underrated but super useful local SEO.
• Additions to our email marketing guidance, including tips and trends for 2023 as well as advice from Drift on how to integrate email marketing with everything else.
• A look at why B2B marketing is often seen as boring (and how to fix that).
• Our webinar on how to structure your PPC campaigns was so well received we created a detailed guide for you (POWER).
• Our research into what CMOs consider to be their top challenges continues to be a popular read.

As we move towards the end of this year, we’ll be gathering expert opinions on trends to watch for in 2023. We’ll also continue to develop ever-more career content to keep you thinking about your career and professional development: you could start now with this toolkit on ways to assess your career (POWER) and listen to tips from our podcast on ways to be productive.

Google Analytics A4

The shift from UA to GA4 is a biggie and we’ve got you covered with lots of content to make sure you’re ahead of the curve. Download the eBook - Guide to GA4 (POWER) which will help you transition to GA4 quickly and easily.

• Catch the webinar on GA4 Essentials (with Neil Patel Digital)
• Articles on How To Set Up GA4 and A Guide to Reporting in GA4
• DMI Team Talk: What makes GA4 different?

We’ll continue to cover important updates and advice in the area but there’s one key message from all experts (like Chris Penn on our podcast) - start using GA4 now! 

CPD Points
Congratulations to the 2,200 CPD members who in the last 10 months have recorded an incredible 14K+ CPD credits. 

Power Members - complete your free short course, our DMI Sprint on Social Media Platforms. There are 7 DMI sprints which are available for you to complete, and in exciting news we will be adding an additional 3 in the coming weeks. And don’t forget these courses all carry CPD credits.

Upcoming Webinars

We have some great webinars planned to close out the year, so don’t delay and register your place today!

Up next, on the 10th of November we meet with Usability and Accessibility Experts TPGi, to see how you can delight your audiences and use small techniques to remove barriers to effective and enjoyable engagement with your customers. Accessibility is fast becoming an essential pillar of digital marketers' UX strategy - book your place.

On the 24th of November we look at How to Build a Customer Centric (CX) Strategy in B2B - book your place.

On the 7th of December, we look at how you can advance your career in 2023 and stand out from the crowd - book your place.

Looking forward to having you join us and tune in across the coming weeks and months. If you have any feedback or questions, reach out to us at Membership. And don’t forget to submit any of your own ideas to be published on the library! 
 

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