expert panel

Here are a few ways to track success you may not have thought of. When it comes to meeting your customers where they are, getting on social media is likely a good place to start. But while more and more customers are shifting their browsing and shopping habits to social media, tracking the effectiveness and ROI of a social media campaign can be tricky. Attempting to determine how much money was made from “likes” or “comments” isn’t as straightforward as other forms of marketing, and this can be a major struggle for social media teams trying to prove their success.  However, money made isn’t the only way to define “success,” and there are other goals or milestones that may indicate customers are getting value from what you’re offering. If you’re struggling to find a return on one of your social media campaigns, consider tracking one of the following metrics, as suggested by the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council. These key performance indicators may help you see your campaign in a whole new light.

expert panel

Make getting a return on your investment easier with these simple steps. Advertising, in one form or another, is necessary to get right if you want to properly market your product or service and get the word out to potential customers. However, because of factors such as the complexity of the customer’s journey and the creative strategy that goes into advertising, determining and ensuring a high return on your investment can be a difficult task.  In this way, when you’re unsure whether the time and effort you put into your advertising strategy will yield the desired result, you have to be careful to make every dollar count. This ensures you don’t incur more costs than are absolutely necessary. So how can businesses be more mindful about their ad budgets? The business experts of Rolling Stone Culture Council recommend the following six steps. Here, they outline their top tips for making your ad dollars count and ensuring a high return when it can often be challenging to do so.

expert panel

Expressing gratitude is just one way a leader can show they care. One of the many jobs of an effective leader is to inspire and motivate their teams to put forth their best effort and do good work. However, inspiring and motivating are made much more difficult when you aren’t sure exactly what to say. What words will lead your team to solve problems? Find their creativity? Nurture relationships with clients?  According to the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council, it’s not necessarily about the exact words you say so much as their meaning and your genuine feelings behind them. From acknowledging employee contributions to offering more autonomy, your words and their intent can have a powerful impact on your employees and the way they work. Try out the following nine suggestions and see what you can inspire your team to do.

expert panel

Don’t let these blunders ruin your customer relationships. Poor customer service can have a big effect on a business’s ability to succeed. And while a smile and a helpful attitude can go a long way toward creating a positive experience for a customer, they aren’t the only aspects of customer service that need to be focused on. Whether it’s slow response times or even relying too heavily on customer self-help tools, there may be some practices you don’t even realize are hurting your relationships with your customers.  Pinpointing your company’s bad practices is essential if you want to improve your customer service efforts and, as a result, the overall happiness of your customers. To get started, consider this list of bad practices that could be derailing your company's customer service efforts, courtesy of Rolling Stone Culture Council business leaders.

expert panel

Cut through the noise by amplifying your unique story. Today, it seems that nearly everyone is on social media — and that includes businesses. With the majority of small businesses using social media to reach their audience, there’s a lot of competition when it comes to earning the attention of potential customers. This is why it’s so vital to find a way to stand out and cut through the digital noise. However, beyond creating viral videos or following the latest social media trend, there are a number of other, more meaningful ways to set your business apart. Here, nine business leaders from Rolling Stone Culture Council weigh in on some of the steps a business can take to ensure their social media presence stands out from the competition and engages their followers in a meaningful way.

expert panel

Building the brand image you want starts with smart PR moves. In business — and especially the culture space — what the public thinks of your brand is everything. Do they find you trustworthy and reliable? Do they think of you as innovative, cool or luxurious? Controlling the narrative around your brand is key to ensuring you create the image you’re after — and to ensuring you’re reaching your desired target audience.  However, public relations is an art as much as it is a science, and many businesses that don’t have experience in this particular area can end up making mistakes that could damage their reputation in the short and long term. To avoid these same blunders, consider this list of common mistakes as outlined by the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council. Below, they detail why these mistakes can be detrimental to your brand goals and advise what actions you should take instead.

expert panel

The first step to reengaging a customer is to remember that they’re human. Whether it’s due to a lack of perceived value or just a lack of time and money, customers can often fall off the wagon when it comes to interacting with and purchasing from brands. And while some customers disengaging can be normal, companies may begin to worry once a pattern starts to emerge.  So what can they do to reengage those customers they seem to have lost? What’s the most effective method? Below, 10 business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council share their insights on the marketing “hacks” or strategies companies can use to boost engagement among disengaged customers and pique their interest once again.

expert panel

Building a successful brand means understanding who you are and staying true to it. In so many areas of culture, building a successful personal brand is key to getting ahead. Who you are, what you’re known for and what value you provide to others all play a role in creating your brand, and those who create positive ones are likely to find more opportunities coming their way. But creating a personal brand isn’t as simple as some may think. It requires intentionality and a deep understanding of self to get started. Here, 14 leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council share some of the other steps you’ll need to take if you want to build a successful personal brand, in life and in business.

expert panel

Even the smallest advice can grow to have a big impact. In the business world, it’s not uncommon for aspiring entrepreneurs (and seasoned ones) to have someone they look up to or whom they hope to be like one day. While this person can often be a fellow entrepreneur or business leader, they can also be an everyday person — someone in their family, a friend or an inspiring acquaintance. Regardless of their role, their wisdom can have a profound effect on their ability to lead and have the confidence to do so. Below, 10 business leaders from Rolling Stone Culture Council share the lessons they’ve learned from powerful female leaders in their life or their industry, the impact those lessons had on them and why these lessons remain so important to them today.

expert panel

Building a business can be a slow process — but it doesn’t always have to be. One of the most difficult parts of starting a new business is getting sales. When you first start out, you’re still trying to find customers to purchase your product or service, so sales can often take a while to really ramp up — even if you’ve found a few repeat customers. But such a slow start can be frustrating, especially when you’re not yet making a profit or breaking even.  While growing a business is often a test in patience, there are ways you can speed up the process and increase your sales at a quicker pace. According to the business and culture leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council, implementing any of the following eight tips can give your business the major boost it needs to attract more customers, quickly increase sales and really get your budding business off the ground.

expert panel

Prioritizing your website is prioritizing the happiness of your customers. A website is, more or less, the “face” of any business. It’s where your customers can learn more about your brand and products, where they can peruse your offerings and, if you’re an online-only brand, it’s the only opportunity they have to make a purchase. Because of this, business leaders who don’t put a high priority on both the beauty and functionality of their websites are at a distinct disadvantage among their competition, and potential customers may not stick around long with a poor user experience. To ensure your business website meets and exceeds customer expectations, you’ll need to consider the following nine factors, as suggested by the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council. Here, they go in depth on the reasoning behind these considerations and why prioritizing them will have a positive impact on your visitors.

expert panel

You can tackle more than you think — as long as you plan properly. After finding success in one business, entrepreneurs will often dip their toes in one or more other businesses, either as the founder, a board member or in another leadership capacity. While this can be very rewarding to do, it can also be the cause of a lot of stress if not managed properly. Overlapping schedules, a bursting to-do list and not nearly enough time for everything that needs to get done can quickly turn a rewarding endeavor into an overwhelming one. So how do serial entrepreneurs do it? According to the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council, the secret lies in the following 12 tips. Here, they expand on each one, offering up their best advice for any aspiring entrepreneur on how to juggle multiple businesses and responsibilities at the same time.

article

It’s all about knowing your goals, working as a team, and tuning out external pressure.

expert panel

Introverts bring a unique set of skills to the table that other leaders may not possess. When frequent networking, public speaking and an outgoing personality are so often praised as necessary for effective leadership, it can be difficult for introverts to see themselves running a business. But extroverts aren’t the only ones who have great ideas to share with the world, and it’s just as important for introverts to have their voices heard in the business space. By honoring their strengths — like listening and empathy — introverts can not only be effective leaders but great ones as well. Below, the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council offer their best tips to introverts looking to lead a successful business in the culture space and explain why they can do it just as well as anyone else can.

expert panel

Scaling sustainably is all about the right timing. Running a business is all about taking risks, and so it may not always be clear when or how you should make a move. However, that doesn’t mean business is a guessing game. With data, personal experience or the experience of others at your disposal, you can make smart, educated decisions about the steps your business should take next. When it comes to scaling your business, though, timing is everything. Thankfully, there are signs you can watch for that will help you determine the best time to expand and the right speed of growth. Below, the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council offer their guidance as they discuss seven signs that it may in fact be time to scale your business and what a leader should do upon noticing any of these signs.