technique

Business and Conscience: Inspiring Examples of Companies Giving Back during Coronavirus Outbreak

Posted on by Mario
  1. Jackson Brown Jr. once said, “Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.” Couldn’t agree more, right? I don’t know about you, but this virus outbreak somehow opens my eyes towards what I can’t see and what I don’t know. You only know the importance of washing hands properly and how to do it after the outbreak. You know the importance of growing your human conscience during this period and you certainly know some people are not willing to be selfless and instead being the opposite of it by taking advantage of the situation. However, if there was one thing that was mostly tested in this outbreak, I could say that businesses could be prompted to take certain actions to the next level, in a cringeworthy way. Sure, the Melbourne SEO services I have provided for the past few years might be losing some of our customers this year, but that’s actually the risk we might see coming, but not the virus. That being said, I wouldn’t start selling masks and hand sanitizers just because of this situation and I am sure my employer wouldn’t do that either. Yes, when I mentioned this, I have seen some businesses doing ridiculous things just as a way to deal with coronavirus outbreak. I mean, a restaurant that sells food and beverages could go so far by selling masks and hand sanitizers on Grab Food. Like, what the… Okay, I don’t want to curse here, but I didn’t see that coming. That being said, setting aside this kind of discovery, let’s start seeing kindness everywhere conducted by inspiring companies that give back to the community during coronavirus outbreak that can become your inspiration as well. Yes, there are people who are nice out there. If those businesses can do it, you can do it too. Keep reading this article to be inspired!

As mentioned above, here are the companies that are giving back to the community:

  • Microsoft announced that they will keep paying the hourly workers who support their campus.
  • Google established a COVID-19 fund that enables all temporary staff and vendors, globally, to take paid sick leave if they have potential symptoms of COVID-19, or can’t come into work because they’re quarantined. They have also made their video conferencing service, Hangouts Meet, available for all G-suite customers until July 1, 2020.
  • Forbes8 is hosting a free digital summit on March 20, 2020 under the theme of Business Resilience: Thriving in Crucial Times. The speaker roster includes top experts and best-selling authors such as Chris Brogan, Rohit Bhargava, and Dorie Clark. Many of the speakers were slated to speak at the cancelled SXSW this year.
  • LinkedIn is opening up 16 of its learning courses for free. Courses that provide tips on how to stay productive, build relationships when you’re not face-to-face, use virtual meeting tools and balance family and work dynamics in a healthy way.
  • Adobe is giving higher education and K-12 institutional customers of their Creative Cloud apps the ability to request temporary “at-home” access for their students and educators. This is being granted through May 31, 2020 at no additional cost and is available globally.
  • Amazon is hiring 100,000 more workers and giving raises to current staff to deal with coronavirus demands. Well, unlike some bosses who cut people’s salary with an excuse of coronavirus outbreak, Amazon is doing amazing things to appreciate their employees.
  • Starbucks has extended its mental health benefits. In partnership with Lyra Health, Starbucks is offering its partners personalized, confidential mental health care, 20 free in-person or video sessions every year for partners and each of their eligible family members, online scheduling with most providers available within two weeks, and access to a provider network of mental health therapists and coaches.
  • Dolce & Gabbana announced that it has partnered with Humanitas University to fund a coronavirus research project.
  • Giorgio Armani has donated $1.43 million dollars to four hospitals in Rome and Milan, as well as to the Civil Protection Agency.

Denzel Washington said, “At the end of the day it’s not about what you have or even what you’ve accomplished… it’s about who you’ve lifted up, who you’ve made better. It’s about what you’ve given back.” It’s never too late to share kindness and you are not going to be poor for that. You don’t have to give millions if you can’t afford it. A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal, so whatever you have and you want to give, that’s all that matters.

Beauty and the Gram: How to Promote Organic Skincare Products on Instagram

Posted on by Mario

Aside from accounts that have poetic quotes, I have always found myself being fond of naturally-sourced skincare product company on Instagram. Some accounts are really inspiring for women and encouraging self-confidence in a more positive way. Why do I find organic skincare more appealing? That’s because skincare products that contain naturally-sourced ingredients usually do not only promote activities and campaigns that are against animal testing and harmful chemical ingredients, but they also promote confidence and positive outlooks with natural beauty for everybody who follows them. The thing I like the most about those organic skincare companies is that they promote natural beauty without having to change who you are. However, as a person who provides social media services for clients in the same field, I have always observed the way competitors do things and promote their business on Instagram and it has come to revelation (and realization) that not many organic skincare does it the right way. Are you a business owner who starts selling organic skincare products? Well, if you are, first of all, let me tell you that you have got a good start to start something good and valuable like that. However, are you doing it the right way? In this article, I’m going to tell you how to promote your organic skincare products on Instagram that will not only sell your products more effectively, but will also spread positivity and kindness on Instagram which can also increase your business values and credibility. Keep reading this article to learn more!

First of all, avoid offending messages

Beauty products can sometimes trigger messages denoting beauty standards such as beautiful girls should have white skin, slim body and straight hair. Oftentimes I have seen many products claiming that have been proven to be effective in whitening and slimming and changing what’s supposed to be the standard of beauty. Yes, you must avoid that kind of message no matter what. Aside from it being offensive, it is also possible that kind of message will demotivate people and lower their self-esteem and confidence.

Be consistent with your content and schedules

One thing for sure when it comes to social media even for every business is that you have to be consistent both with your content and schedules. When making content, you should be consistent with patterns, colors and the messages you want to deliver to your target audience. When posting the content, you should make sure that every content is posted according to schedules and the prime time in your country so that people know when they can expect your content coming soon.

Encourage bravery and confidence

Selling beauty products doesn’t always mean making people enhance their beauty from outside. It is also about enhancing their inner beauty and self-love. You can’t fully give people the true benefits of your skincare products if they have low confidence and have no audacity to be themselves. Your content messages should deliver both motivation and knowledge on beauty.

Help audience discover the true meaning behind cruelty and harmful chemical free

You are offering a collection of natural products with no sodium laureth sulfate, no parabens, no gluten, and no animal testing. However, you can never deny that indeed you still need a little bit of chemical ingredients and even active ingredients. That is okay since it is completely normal. That being said, you need to ensure the safety of your product use and convince people that your products are not fully chemical. Don’t forget to include full ingredients and be transparent about it while explaining about your natural ingredients as well.

In the highly competitive beauty and cosmetics market, simply owning a natural beauty brand with great products is not enough. You will have to work hard to tell your unique story and to make sure the right audience is exposed to it. Content marketing is a great way to present your brand, your products and your company’s unique identity on a range of platforms and channels, so you can win your customers’ hearts and attention.

Tight on Budget? Here’s How to Use A Quick Social Media Marketing Strategy with No Budget

Posted on by Mario

Social media managers rarely boast about large budgets. Most can be found enviously gazing at the IT team that has been lavished with the latest tech tools, no expense spared. Your budget may not be reflective of the size of the business or organization. It may be reflective of the business or organization’s view toward social media marketing. As a person who provides social media services for businesses, I can tell that there are two main problems when it comes to social media marketing; first, the target, second, the budget. Finding targets can somehow be linked to the budget you have because using money, you can use social media ads to reach as many people as possible (depending on how much you are paying the social media platforms and what kind of target you want to reach) and those people are usually the ones who really need your business. However, if you own a small business that is still growing gradually, you can’t help but think about your budget, right? Sure, you might need that later when you have the budget, but for now, you can work on your social media marketing strategy without some budget first. Let’s call this “planned testing,” and let the results become your benchmark for your next more-budgeted strategy in the next following months. How? Keep reading this article to find out!

Make use of free design tools

80% of marketers use visual assets in their social media marketing. And there’s a good reason for that. When people read information, they’re likely to remember only 10% of that information. If a relevant image is paired with that same information, people retained 65%. Visual graphics are essential for social media. In fact, I would say they are the most important thing you must do to be successful at social media. While large brands out there have in-house graphic designers and their own special social media team, what if you don’t? Well, then, you can make use of free design tools. All you need to have is your own mobile phone camera and a little bit of basic Photoshop skill, you can create a unique design of your own. There are also graphic design tools offered for free by some websites. Although there is not much you can get from free design tools, at least for a start you can learn more about it and practice until you perfect it.

Being transparent about who you are

The biggest problem in social media marketing is how difficult it is sometimes to trust a business owner or an online shop on social media in this day and age because many of them were involved in fraud or other shady things out there. For that reason, it is okay to represent your brand and let people know that you are the owner of your business. It doesn’t mean you are boastful – you are showing them that you are not a scammer. You can put your personal Instagram or Facebook information on your bio. For example, if you own an online shop on Instagram, you can start putting your personal Instagram account on your bio. This way, the people who need your products or services will know that you are a real person. Of course, for that reason, your personal account should also be more convincing as well.

Use proper hashtags in every social media content post

From Instagram to Twitter, hashtags have truly brought a revolution in social media marketing. A hashtag is basically a word or phrase that comes after a hash mark or a pound sign (#) and is used on social media platforms to group messages related to the same topic (i.e., #smallbiz is a hashtag used to identify a post that has information related to small businesses). In order for your content marketing efforts to be fruitful, you will need to find a way to get your content in front of the right people. This is where hashtags come in. Hashtags are very important for small businesses on social media because they provide a way to give your content added visibility. That being said, you need to make sure that the hashtags you are using are relevant to your business and have acceptable amount of traffic as well as reasonable numbers of followers of the said hashtags. Therefore, you can start gaining more relevant targets and the right people who will buy your products or services.

And with that, we wrap up your social media strategy guide for 2020 and beyond…on a tight budget or no budget at all, since the points I have mentioned above are absolutely free! Hopefully this guide served as some much-needed inspiration for figuring out how to create a social media marketing strategy.