Stats & Creativity That Will Change the Way You Do Business

Creativity doesn’t have to be something you express only on the weekends or during off-time—it’s an essential part of anyone’s professional skill set, and particularly relevant when hiring or looking for content marketing jobs. Not only does creativity lead you to innovative thinking, it inspires effective problem solving, new strategies, and fresh ideas.

Yet, people don’t always feel supported to express their natural creative talents at work due to tight deadlines, limited resources, or little encouragement from managers.

Why does this matter more than ever for businesses?...........

1) Creative industries boast faster job growth and slower job loss than other sectors of the economy

No matter what industry you work in, a company needs a creative department to develop marketing and content, as well as online marketing campaigns for products and services. Creative positions can include content developers, programmers, graphic designers, social media professionals, and the project managers coordinating the details—all of which companies need to compete for users attention. Creative positions are becoming more integral to the the bottom line for all businesses, especially when trying to establish a strong long term presence that dominates and that’s engaging and effective.

2) 75% of people think they are not living up to their creative potential. 

When people are showing up at work day after day without the ability to express their true gifts in some way, it can start to shift their mood, perspective, and performance. Making sure employees have the tools to express creativity within their area of speciality, as well as the time to play with creative options at work, can go a long way.

Google currently has a program that serves to foster innovation in-house called the 20% project. It allows engineers to spend 20% of their work week on projects that interest them to help tap into the many talents of its employees and give them an opportunity to consistently work on a personal passion—which is great for internal innovation and morale.

3) 6 in 10 people felt that being creative is valuable to their country’s economy (7 in 10 in the U.S.)

While making money is an essential reason behind why people work, sharing a special creative skill is also seen as valuable to the economy. When employees have a special skill they contribute to the pool, they feel effective and useful. Yet, (to reference the stat above) 75% of people feel they are not living up to their creative potential.

It’s a big disconnect, and also an invitation for businesses to provide ways employees can connect specific creative skills within a job role and encourage ownership.

4) People reported increasing pressure to be productive rather than creative at work. In the U.S. and U.K., 80% of people felt that way, while the number rose as high as 85% in France

Stress squashes creativity, no doubt, but looming deadlines are a reality in every workplace. Creatives working with online content also have the pressure to keep up with a 24-hour content cycle. It takes planning, creativity, and time to pull together engaging content that entices potential customers—all against a deadline. Putting together a clear content strategy with doable deadlines can go a long way, especially when you share it with the whole team. This enables anyone to jump in and take care of more tactical to-do’s.

5) People spend more than 50% of their time online looking at content.

People are hungry for content, and companies need creatives to generate, distribute, promote, and curate content to get potential customers interested and engaged. A creative team that’s inspired to innovate means they can help create online content that’s “click-worthy.” Keep in Mind frequency is crucial. Information is important, but searching for it is not going to drive success any faster then doing and learning.

6) Buyers go through about 57% of the purchasing process before ever talking to sales.

Almighty folks – potential customers are doing more work on their own than ever before to pull themselves through the sales funnel, but it takes creativity, strategy and well-executed creative content like an engaging website, well-done blog content, interesting social media and strategic email marketing campaigns to get them there. All of this work is done by creatives, well, it should be if you want it to be done well. A reason why it takes about 8 follow ups to close a deal.

 7) When CEOs were asked, “What is the skill you most value in your people?”, they said creativity, the ability to solve problems, come up with new solutions, and use brainpower to figure things out.

When you look at what company leaders are saying, they absolutely value creativity in their employees because they know it has a positive impact on ROI for a business. Creative people are independent thinkers and innovative with problem solving, which helps reveal solutions for marketing, content strategy or social media outreach that more business or technical minded people might overlook.

8) About 60% of CEOs polled cited creativity as the most important leadership quality, compared with 52% for integrity and 35% for global thinking.

When looking at the power of creativity in leadership—well, it’s one of the most highly desired of skills. Creative leaders are also more prepared to break with the status quo of industry, enterprise, and revenue models—and they are 81% more likely to rate innovation as a “crucial capability.” Good leaders are adaptable and think on their feet and are more willing to implement innovative strategies to get ahead in marketing, sales, or other key areas of business development.

Doing the same old thing doesn’t build success, but being able to see a way to change and break out as an industry leader definitely takes creative thinking and vision.

9) New research is the most in-demand content type sought by LinkedIn users (77%), followed by breaking news (68%), and case studies (55%).

Being creative in business also means you are staying up-to-date on industry trends and fresh ideas. Taking current business strategies and infusing them with fresh insight can go a long way and bring new life to current customer outreach.

Also, guess what? Your customers are looking for creative innovations in your industry—and then comparing them to your business offerings. The more educated they are, the more important it is for you to be on the cutting edge in your field for products and services, as well as your online marketing and educational efforts.

10. Consumer’s average attention span is 8 seconds—1 second less than a goldfish—dropping 4 seconds since 2000

This is probably one of the most important reasons to encourage creativity in your business and in the workplace. People don’t want to be sold to; they want to be entertained—and it’s getting harder and harder to do that as content distribution channels consistently expand and attention span falls with them. You need employees who are engaged, creative, and can drum up new ways to reach your target audience.

Cross-departmental creativity

Creativity is essential in fields like marketing and design, but a little bit of unconventional thinking can go a long way in just about every aspect of business. Creativity is often a key differentiator in the success of a company's individual departments and internal strategies, said Mike Mansbach, president of BlueJeans Network, a videoconferencing service.

"Not only does creative thinking produce ... winning sales and marketing campaigns that increase brand appeal to the end user, but [it] can also help foster a unique company culture that ultimately reflects and encourages creativity within each department," Mansbach told Business News Daily.

Yoni Ben-Yehuda, chief marketing officer of Web design agency Blue Fountain Media, agreed, and advised taking a collaborative, cross-departmental approach when encouraging creativity in your organization.

"If [you] have the opportunity to foster some creativity into the work that you do, it should be encouraged from all ends of the organization," Ben-Yehuda said. "Being creative in both the approach you take as well as the execution of those plans becomes paramount as you try to grow your brand and accomplish the objectives your organization sets." [See Related Story: Why Creativity Matters Most for Entrepreneurs]

Building a culture of creative thinking

Of course, you can't just say, "Be creative," and expect your staff to magically produce innovative ideas. An innovation-driven work environment must be carefully nurtured and encouraged, and it starts with your company's leadership.

Ben-Yehuda noted that managers should promote a safe, nonjudgmental atmosphere where new approaches are respected and failure is not a punishable offense. He also said that outside opinions from other departments should be welcomed and taken seriously.

"Sometimes, one of the best ways to inspire creative ideas is to consult with other employees outside of the immediate project team," Ben-Yehuda said. "Often, the best ideas come from those who aren't directly working with a certain client or project regularly, so taking the time to ask for opinions from employees that may not be working on a specific project can be quite impactful in creating a final outcome that is far from mundane."

Regular brainstorming sessions with diverse groups of employees can also instill a sense of appreciation for unconventional thinking, Mansbach said.

He noted that BlueJeans encourages a creative environment by using video technology for brainstorm sessions. "This allows businesses to easily connect people from different geographic locations, experience levels and specialties around the country to offer unique perspectives to problems," Mansbach said. "Ultimately, this enhances creativity, as the more diverse a group's knowledge and beliefs are, the more diverse ideas and creative solutions will arise."

Understanding your team's creative needs

The final step of cultivating creativity is to take the time to understand the individual creative needs of your team members. Just as employees have their own personalities and work styles, they are inspired in different ways, and by different things.

Hacking Creativity, a recent ongoing study by Red Bull's High Performance Group and Vibrant Data, uncovered some data about what drives creative thought and success in the workplace. Based on the study, here are a few things your organization can do to promote creativity among diverse employees:

Offer private work spaces. Despite the recent trend toward open office floorplans, 60 percent of respondents said they are most creative in private environments. That doesn't necessarily equate to solitary work, though: 30 percent of this group also said they were highly collaborative in these private spaces.

Give your team some time outdoors. Whether it's getting the freedom to work from a local park or stepping away from their desk for a walk, employees are more creative when they're allowed to connect with nature. Sixty-four percent of respondents said spending time outside is important to their creative process.

Set parameters. The cliché of "thinking outside the box" may not always yield the best results. More than half of survey respondents said they were more creative when they were forced to work within the bounds of existing rules.

Allow for adaptability. You might think that a concrete plan is the only way to achieve your business goals, but some of the most creative individuals go into a project without crafting a clear strategy. The majority of respondents indicated that they are open to chance opportunities that may change their direction and that, when faced with an obstacle, they are quick to reframe their approach.

Ultimately, no matter what methods you use to inspire creativity, it's best to encourage your company to dream big, Mansbach said.

"Whether it's brainstorming the next marketing campaign or planning internal events to boost morale, it's always best to reach for the stars and scale down as needed," he said. "Small aspects of a big plan are often better results than the whole of a small plan. When you start small and build big, you limit the bounds of creativity that may be feasible. So dream big, and then execute the aspects that will deliver the largest impact."