Daily Buzz: Are You Ready for Innovation?

In business, innovation can be the key to continued success. But it’s not necessarily the fix for everything.

“Many business leaders are turning to innovation as the answer—thinking (albeit misguidedly) that it’s the solution to all their problems. Whether they need to grow market share, reduce costs, or reinvent their brand, their default is ‘Let’s innovate!’” says Chuck Swoboda on Forbes  (opens in a new tab).

Before you declare innovation the solution to your problem, Swoboda suggests asking yourself a few questions to determine whether you and your organization have what it takes to achieve real change. For one, consider whether everyone on your team is willing to go all in.

“Backup plans and contingencies certainly have their place in running a business, but not in innovation—where they have negative value. When people believe there’s an alternative path—one that is ‘good enough’—they’ll invariably choose it when faced with difficult problems,” Swoboda says.

Also ask yourself if you’re willing to disrupt your organization, since innovation will inevitably require major changes to business operations. “As investors like to say, ‘Past performance is not indicative of future results.’ Innovation is no different; in fact, it obliges you to go beyond what made your business successful in the past,” Swoboda says.

If you can answer “yes” to such questions, then innovation is probably a good solution, he says.

The Benefits of a Social Media Schedule

Oooh, so THAT’s what you should be posting… https://t.co/W6yxHYZKNB  (opens in a new tab)

— Hootsuite 🦉 (@hootsuite) April 29, 2020  (opens in a new tab)

Without a concrete plan in place, it’s easy for things to fall through the cracks—that includes your social media strategy.

“How many times have you found yourself scrambling for content at the last minute? Frantic last-minute posting risks typos, tone problems, and other mistakes,” says Christina Newberry on the Hootsuite blog  (opens in a new tab). “It’s much safer—and more efficient—to dedicate a specific time in your workday to create, tweak, proofread, and schedule posts.”

Beyond timely posting, a social media schedule can help you plan a nice mix of content, give equal time to all of your social media platforms, and post content at a certain time of day so that you’ll reach the largest audience possible.

Other Links of Note

If you’re leading the digital transformation at your organization, don’t use the traditional “plan, build, run” operating model, suggests Michael Bertha on CIO  (opens in a new tab).

Research ideas. Nonprofit Tech for Good offers a collection  (opens in a new tab) of fundraising and digital marketing reports worth scanning through for ideas.

If you’re offering online education to members, here’s what it should look like  (opens in a new tab), says Colleen Bottorff of MemberClicks.

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