The rise of remote working and how to make it work for you

We’re well aware that the Covid pandemic has changed the way we work forever. What was a forced change to remote working, has now become the norm. Love it or loathe it, remote and hybrid working are here to stay.

In 2023, there was a 177% increase in remote working in the marketing sector alone, which represents a significant shift. But what does this mean for our industry? Has creativity and collaboration suffered because of the ‘new normal’? Or has remote working resulted in happier, more productive marketing teams?

There’s two sides to every story

Hybrid working is now a key factor when marketers make career decisions. Understandably, employees don’t want the hassle of commuting, and remote working also provides a certain level of flexibility and autonomy that you don’t get with a role that requires you to be in the office Monday to Friday.

By offering remote working, employers can attract a wider pool of talent who aren’t limited by their geographical location. Remote working is generally seen as a perk, so marketers are more likely to be happier in their roles and therefore more productive. Which is all good for business, right?

What’s clear though, is that remote working isn’t suitable for everyone. Some marketers prefer the structure of being in the office every day and may struggle to adapt. It requires a high level of trust between employer and employee and it’s open to abuse if businesses don’t have the right processes and tools in place to manage a remote workforce properly.

The recipe for remote working success

It isn’t rocket science! Although running a successful remote marketing team does require planning, creativity, and a lot of collaboration. Communication is key and, with the right tools in place, there’s no reason you can’t deliver marketing campaigns remotely just as easily as you could in an office.

Here’s our top tips to ensure your remote marketing campaigns are delivered successfully.

Roles and responsibilities

First and foremost, in a remote working environment, it’s vital that you have clarity around roles and responsibilities. Using task management tool, like Wrike’s, enables teams to track the progress of multiple projects simultaneously, assign tasks and adjust workload depending on capacity. Centralised project information encourages real-time collaboration between team members.

 A clearly defined creative brief

As always, this is crucial to delivering a successful marketing campaign, wherever you’re working from. Agreeing a great creative brief and setting clear campaign objectives at the start of a project ensures teams are all working towards a common goal and stay focused on the task at hand. Each stage of project delivery should be checked back to the brief to make sure everything aligns, helping to ensure the campaign delivers once it launches.

It’s good to talk

Whether it’s email, phone, Teams or Zoom, successful long term remote working relies on regular communication. Giving teams the ability to collaborate and share opinions regularly ensures everyone can contribute and feels involved. It also helps drive a higher quality finished product, whether that relates to marketing strategy, creative, campaign messaging or tactics.

Use all of the technology!

The shift to remote working has facilitated the development of a plethora of platforms to enable remote teams to work together seamlessly. These tools cover everything from project management to content creation. There’s Slack, Trello or Asana for project management, and Google Docs or Dropbox for file sharing. Plus, add into the mix digital whiteboard tools, such as Mind Meister and Lucid Chart which can be used alongside Miro or Storm board for brainstorming sessions or workshops.

Encourage creativity and innovation

Perhaps one of the biggest concerns with remote working is that it stifles creativity and innovation, which is so important in marketing. Create a safe digital space for teams to share ideas, opinions, new approaches and techniques. Develop a culture of trust, transparency and experimentation among your team encourage regular collaboration.

Work your agency network

Agencies can be extremely successful extensions of your marketing team, expanding the knowledge and skillsets available to you. Bringing in subject experts and fresh thinking can massively increase creativity and innovative thinking, particularly from a marketing strategy perspective. Getting agency and marketing teams together remotely has never been easier, so why wouldn’t you?

Embrace the new normal

It’s clear that hybrid and remote working are here to stay for marketers. Flexibility, adaptability, and a commitment to effective remote working are key to navigating this evolving landscape. And, effective communication and collaboration are essential. By leveraging technology and agency partnerships, businesses can optimise remote working environments to drive productivity and deliver successful marketing campaigns.

If you’re looking to partner with a creative marketing agency to help your team deliver successful marketing campaigns, get in touch.

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