Hello summer! It’s been a little warmer than usual in SF (it’s usually very foggy and cool in June & July) so I’m welcoming all the sun I can get. This weekend, I’m taking an impromptu road trip down & back to LA. I’ve never made the drive before, so I’m looking forward to it!

Finally, I’m reading up on: the Slate Coffee employee walkout that happened this weekend (@coffeeatlarge) and Boss Barista’s weekly newsletter.

Thanks for reading!

– Jenn

Featuring my own work & press

I’m in marketing & believe you should prioritize employees

It’s a cycle, really. Happy employees mean happy customers mean more profits. While I am not advocating for a total lack of a marketing budget, I am saying that your employees make your business what it is.

It is not–as some may think–the CEO, the coffee, or the Instagrammable space that keeps a business going. You can have all that and fail if you have a high turnover rate and unhappy employees. Employee hiring and training is expensive. 

How does a company justify having the money to pay for social media influencers but not having it to pay their employees well? I get the concept that marketing will bring in more sales but do these sales get funneled back to employee retention programs? If your marketing isn’t also helping your employees, then I say good luck.

Studies have been done on unhappy employees and their impact on the workplace. Engaged employees are twice as productive and 58% more likely to go out of their way to help a customer. In a study of retail and food-service workers, researchers found that employees who knew their schedules more than two weeks in advance were 10% more likely to be happy than those who only had a few days’ notice.

On a personal anecdote, I can safely say that some of the reasons I didn’t like being a barista were that my hours per week constantly changed, sometimes to 20/week in the winter, but the schedule wasn’t released until less than a week before. This completely prevented me from finding a second job. I quit that job after less than a year.

Employee advocacy isn’t a new thing but it seems to be missed in coffee businesses. Salespeople who use social media are found to have increased sales, employees who talk about their company are deemed twice as trustworthy than the CEO. This is a good 101 guide if you are interested in setting up an employee advocacy program.

In conclusion, don’t go all in on marketing at the detriment of your employees. 

Social media manager vs. community manager: What’s the difference?

[BYLINE] It might sound like social media managers and community managers have similar responsibilities, but each role has specific strengths and goals.

sproutsocial.com  •  Share

Quick text updates & links on what's new on the networks

Instagram added: saving of everything captured with the Stories camera for 7 days. It’s working on: a stop motion camera mode.

Twitter added: removal of option to tag precise location in Tweets.

Facebook announced its new cryptocurrency, Libra, and updated its comment ranking system. It’s working on: a new Preview option for page posts and removing some info fields in a page (like mission & company overview).

Helpful links on how to improve your digital marketing

Instagram Memes: The Best Brands Embracing Memes on Instagram

Get a look at 10 of the top brands who use Instagram memes to engage with their audience. Find out the full story of the trend and how to join in.

buffer.com  •  Share

Snapchat Publishes New Research on Gen Z, and How Brands Can Connect with Them

The first report, ‘Into Z Future’, is a 70-page outline of key Gen Z habits and trends, including a heap of key insights and stats to help guide your marketing approach, and to better understand this emerging audience

www.socialmediatoday.com  •  Share

Location-Based Marketing: What Works and What Doesn’t

Location-based marketing is growing, but is it right for your business? Here, we explain when location-based marketing works well, when it doesn’t, and how to get started with your geotargeting campaigns!

www.wordstream.com  •  Share

Anything I've enjoyed reading recently

How to build something that lasts 10,000 years

Few human-made structures last for millenia, but as Alexander Rose explains, it is possible for design for extreme longevity if you look to the lessons of history. (Fun fact: The Long Now also houses The Interval, a fantastic cafe/cocktail bar in SF!)

www.bbc.com  •  Share

The Future of Marketing Is Bespoke Everything

Personalized hair masks, facial serums, and vitamin cocktails are no longer reserved for the wealthy, thanks to technology—and data collection.

www.theatlantic.com  •  Share

Why Rice?

Five women reflect on what rice means to them personally, culturally and economically as food industry leaders.

lifeandthyme.com  •  Share

An update from my container garden!

Purchased this weekend, the Calathea ornata is also called the pinstripe plant!

What'd you think?

Feedback, questions, or fist bumps 👊 – send them my way by hitting the reply button. Also happy with the 👍 at the end. Or find me on the social networks @thejennchen. 

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By Jenn Chen

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💭 Thoughts on digital marketing as they intersect at specialty coffee, social media, writing, photography & social issues.

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🔗 @thejennchen | https://jennchen.com

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