5 tips for remote working in marketing
Marketing is a broad area of business that encompasses a wide range of roles. And as marketers, more often than not we’re used to working as part of a team – whether that’s as part of a team of fellow marketeers, or working with peers and colleagues from different departments.
The last year has been an incredibly disruptive time for us all. Regardless of the industry you work in, whether agency or client-side, there’s not a single sector that hasn’t been effected by the pandemic in one way or another.
For many marketers, remote working schedules will have substantially changed. Even those used to working remotely will likely have seen an increase in the time they’ve spent flying solo from their home office. So how do you live your best remote working life as a marketer?
As many others, we’ve been getting used to doing much more remote working and have found the following tips to be handy…
1) Separating work from life.
If you’re working at home, an important first step is making sure that you do your best to separate your work life from your personal life. This might mean setting up your workspace somewhere out of the way, getting up and physically going for a walk around the block each day before you start work, sticking to a schedule of when you’ll down tools for the evening or anything else. Find ways that work for you to effectively split your work and personal selves.
2) Make time for creative headspace.
Much of marketing is about creativity, whether it’s the physical act of “creating” some shiny stuff, or coming up with compelling creative brand and marketing strategy. Creativity can be triggered by many things, but may be somewhat hindered by being stuck inside the same four walls 24 hours a day. Give yourself time for creative headspace. Take a walk (they’re allowed!), listen to some music or a podcast, read something lightweight.
3) Embrace video calls for now.
We’ve all had to do it and while it can’t replace a face to face, it’s something. In marketing, so many great ideas are sparked by chatting to your colleagues, whether about work or just in passing the time. You might not get as much of a chance for those spontaneous sparks, but it’s so important to keep lines of communication open. And we can all look forward to seeing each other in the flesh in the not too distant future.
4) Encourage (socially responsible) socialising.
As we’ve missed out on those smaller, regular interactions with one another, it’s important to still have a chance to let your hair down and interact socially. Set up some calls around topics of interest shared amongst your peers and have a rule that work can’t be discussed during them. So much of marketing is about building relationships. This should start with the people you work with!
5) Set realistic expectations… don’t beat yourself up.
These are strange times. Normal rules can’t and don’t apply and having so little normality over such a long period of time takes a toll. Be realistic in your own expectations and give yourself a break when you can. Seek support when you need to and know that everyone will have been experiencing their own challenges.
