On relief.
And a review on coffee-flavored snacks
This week’s Thoughts section includes some musings on the feeling of relief and a piece I wrote and photographed about coffee-flavored snacks. It started with me wanting to try a bunch of snacks and evolved to wondering how the coffee flavor got developed for said snacks. It was fun to research and write and now I know to never buy coffee flavored yogurt.
On relief
I don’t know about you but this past weekend, it felt like I could take a full, deep breath for the first time in a long while. In October, I had been doing ok in terms of giving myself a break and not doomscrolling at all hours. Last week, though, I found myself attempting to work on the days I said I would work, staring at the computer screen, and then refreshing my Twitter feed for the umpteenth time that hour. The prolonged wait and experience of multiple Tuesdays in one week was bad for many people’s mental health.
So when Saturday arrived, I had prepped myself for another day of no news. At 8:30 am, I was awake in bed listening to my dog snore. I heard a whoop outside (very out of place for my quiet neighborhood) – that was my first alert of the good news.
Where’s the relevance of this in marketing? It relates to calendar planning and crisis management planning. And of course, mental health.
Planning a content or marketing calendar doesn’t just involve noting the dates that are important to your company. It also includes being aware of the dates that are important to your customers and audience. For many, this Venn diagram is a circle. But for those with a wider reach beyond their own neighborhood, it’s important to take note.
A good example of this is lunar new year. This holiday, celebrated across a number of countries by over 2 billion people, is by all statistics, major. It has only been in recent years that US corporations have taken notice and began advertising around it. Even if you as a company or owner do not celebrate it, if you have a significant portion of your audience that does, it needs to be documented. At minimum, the dates (the celebration is not only one day) are noted in your calendar. You might make a social post if it’s warranted. If it’s a holiday for a good chunk of your audience, you would make sure events were not scheduled on those days.
In terms of crisis management planning, our threshold of what is defined as a “major crisis” has undoubtedly changed in the last few years or even this last year. It used to be that you wouldn’t post promotional items when a major news item hit that affected your audience. Now, though, it takes a lot to stop posting or be aware of when you’re posting. News flies fast and loose and the only things you can do are anticipate possible times when it would be a bad idea to post and keep your other eye on the news. Last week was one of those weeks where marketing messages mostly got lost.
The relief I felt this weekend freed up a little room in my brain. Last week was a wash of a week but this week, it seems like much more is possible.
You Can Have Some Coffee Snacks, As A Treat
A look at the world of coffee-flavored snacks.
Quick text updates & links on what's new on the networks
No big, relevant updates on the major social networks for the last two weeks. Several focused their efforts on curtailing US election misinformation.
Twitter is testing a way to slow down a user’s ability to like a tweet if it contains misleading information. Twitter UK published a report on consumer hopes around the holidays.
Instagram is testing a way to react to stories without sending a DM.
Facebook is testing up/down comment votes in groups. The network published their top tips for writing ad copy
And in other network news, WhatsApp is rolling out their shopping feature globally; Pinterest published a gift trend guide (even if nothing is directly tied to coffee, it can give you an idea on how to spin gifts and which industries to pair up with); TikTok has a whole suite of advertising opportunities in their new TikTok for Business.
Helpful links on how to improve your digital marketing
How to Create an Inclusive Holiday Marketing Strategy
Here are some tips for creating a more inclusive holiday marketing campaign that can help drive sales and raise brand awareness. No lumps of coal here!
13 Simple (But Critical) Tips for Creating Better Landing Pages
Building a landing page? Make sure you use our top tips so you can create better converting landing pages for your company.
What Is Local SEO and How to Improve Your Local Ranking
If you’re looking for ways to improve your ranking on local search results, these six local SEO methods will get you there.
Anything I've enjoyed reading recently
The Restaurant Industry Needs Indigenous Farmworkers. Yet Their Fate Hangs in the Balance.
The pandemic and the California wildfires have exacerbated the challenges they face, but this November may be even more trying.
We are a group of women of color baristas based in Oakland, California who are former employees of the company Equator Coffees. One month ago, we collectively resigned our employment by walk out. Since then, we have felt the pressing need to issue another statement, this one to the specialty coffee industry specifically.
The Case Against “Golden Milk”
In the past few years, consumer interest for wellness beverages has spiked immensely and turmeric has become a daily go-to superfood for many.
An update from my container garden!
A new leaf on my monstera!
At this time, I'm open to: one-time coaching session clients or future project work (2+ months). I will not be taking any new client consults in the last two weeks of the year.
What'd you think?
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By Jenn Chen
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