Your marketing team is one of the most important factors in your success as a business. They help you reach new customers, expand your reach, and help you learn more about your customers and target market.

While many companies still have their marketing team working in the office, the recent growth of remote work has led to many companies using remote marketing teams. This is great for reducing overhead, improving productivity, and is great for getting a more global and varied perspective on things.

However, having remote teams can introduce a new set of challenges for companies to work through as they aim to be as effective and efficient as possible. One such challenge is how to build an effective team. With that in mind, this blog post is going to go over a few secrets about how to build an effective remote marketing team within your company.

Hire Intelligently

The ability to hire well is at the core of any effective team (marketing or otherwise). If you don’t bring in the right people, building an effective team will be challenging. The more effort you put into hiring intelligently, the better your results will be.

Because the team is remote, you may not be able to meet every (or any) candidate in person. As a result, be sure to hold interviews, check out social media profiles, give assessments, and read through resumes incredibly carefully to ensure you choose the right team members. The homework and research you do are crucial to making an informed decision.

Using tools and technology like applicant tracking systems (ATS) is also an incredibly good idea and can help you organize and manage candidates, check for the right CV keywords, and generally make sure that nobody is missed or forgotten about.

Communicate Well

There is no doubting the importance of business communication, and this is especially true when dealing with remote teams. You need to frequently check in with your remote team members to make sure things are going well.

Miscommunication and mistakes can be common when a bunch of people is working remotely, and keeping up the communication efforts can help keep these to a minimum. Make an effort to ensure all members feel included and heard, and provide the necessary tools and software to make communication simple and streamlined.

While checking in is a good idea to keep the remote team fully up-to-speed, make sure not to be too overbearing or micro-manage. Also, don’t forget about the time zones the remote teams are in, to make sure you are checking in at appropriate times of the day.

In addition to keeping everyone on the same page, communication amongst a remote team can help them develop better relationships and stronger bonds.

Ensure Goals and Expectations are Set

Setting clear goals is another way to ensure you build a remote marketing team that is effective. Having goals gives teams something to work towards, helps them be productive, and can help foster a sense of accomplishment and pride once goals are reached.

When setting goals, it is a good idea to make sure they are SMART goals. This means they should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Keeping this idea in mind makes sure that all goals you set are clearly understood by your team.

In addition to goals, you also need to make sure that your expectations are clear from the start. Remote workers should be made well aware of what you expect from them, and not have to guess for themselves.

Be clear with deadlines, and always let the team know what is expected of them well in advance. Clear goals and structure are very important for many remote workers, as their days are often more flexible than those working in the office.

Keep Employees Engaged

A great team isn’t built in a day, and it can take time for your team to take shape. A big part of building up your team over time is keeping them engaged. If your team isn’t motivated, challenged, or engaged at all, you likely won’t be getting as much out of them as you could.

You want your team to be excited about their job, and have a connection to your company’s values and vision. Not only are engaged employees more effective and productive, but they are also generally more loyal.

To keep people engaged at work, remotely or not, you should consider what motivates them. Things like providing incentives, offering growth opportunities, and holding fun events can all help to encourage and foster better engagement. For example, incorporate team-building activities such as team trivia, virtual escape room games, or murder mystery parties into monthly meetings. Also, there is nothing wrong with simply asking your team about the types of things or benefits that would help them work harder and be more productive.

Gather Feedback and Use it

The building up of your remote team is a process, and it can take time for everyone to get comfortable with their roles and develop a positive working relationship with one another. Not only that, but some employees will have concerns with how things are run and implemented.

If these concerns are never addressed, it can drive employees away and hold your remote team back from reaching its true potential. As a result, take time to ask for feedback from your remote team about everything from workload to the software being used, to expectations, and anything else you think is valuable.

Of course, make sure to actually use this feedback to make positive changes. Remote employees love to feel like their opinion matters and have an impact on how things are done. The happier you keep your remote marketing team, and the more of their concerns you take into account and address, the more effective and productive the team will be over time.

In conclusion, these are some of the best tips and secrets to help you build an effective remote marketing team. It may not happen overnight, but building up an effective remote marketing team is certainly possible and can take your business to new heights.