When’s the last time that your PPC team got together for an old-school, creative brainstorming session for your accounts? Since we’re all busy people and often get caught up in our daily routines, it can be easy to put off the fun meetings, especially when deadlines are looming. I have a couple of reasons why you should still be doing small group brainstorming sessions, as well as some tips for making sure those meetings are useful for all involved.
The Benefits Of Brainstorming for PPC:
After working on an account for months, even years for some in-house folks, it’s easy to fall into a bit of a rut with account optimizations. You get to know the account so much you can almost recite the stats and what needs to be done to bring those stats in line with monthly goals. This is when you need a good brainstorm.
A fresh set of eyes can go a long way, even on your most difficult accounts. Although that account level knowledge is great, we can get in our own way and make it hard to see the bigger picture sometimes. A free flow of ideas, a pen, some paper and you’re off! If done correctly, everyone involved will walk away feeling like they’ve learned something from these meetings!
Pre-Brainstorming Prep:
- Have a list of accounts you want to discuss. Usually, choosing 1-2 is usually a great way to really dig in without using up an entire afternoon.
- Jot down notes about each account as you’re working in them so you can hit the issues or trends that you’ve seen in the past and make sure the group is aware of them.
- Write out the goals you have for the account complete with hard numbers. This will help you articulate a detailed description of the account, if necessary.
Suggestions For A Successful Brainstorming Session:
- Break into small teams for maximum idea generation: I would suggest not more than 3 to a team so you’re really able to engage with your teammates, but can still get a collection of ideas while hearing from everyone in the group.
- Get out of the office: Personally, I like changing up the scenery when I get creative. Find a table outside, a sunny coffee shop or a fun deli to get everyone’s creative juices flowing!
- Leave the computer behind: Get out from behind that desk and disconnect for a bit. This will help you escape from what’s already in the account and see the bigger picture for the account. (If you need help with performance trends, that’s more of a troubleshooting session. Not what I’m talking about here.)
- Make sure everyone knows the goal of the session: This will help you stay focused and on-task so everyone takes something away from the conversations. If you want people to come with some ideas ahead of time, send out a description of the account complete with the trends you’re seeing and the places you feel you can improve so they have some insight.
- Set a schedule: The more creative I am in sessions like this, the more I look forward to the next session. It gives me a mental break from the detailed work I do and allows me to just bounce ideas around. I like knowing when I will have a break like that again and have found myself writing downs discussion points so that I don’t forget anything.
I think that meetings like these make me more productive overall. If your team has a fun way of doing your brainstorming and creative meetings, let us know in the comments below! If you want some more tips on productivity from our team, check out this post.
