Ask an Expert: How to Develop a Content Marketing Strategy That Resonates During COVID-19
Social media usage and engagement have increased by over 30%.
We’ve been spending a lot of time at Create & Cultivate HQ discussing how we can best show up for and support our community during this uncertain time. Community is at our core, and connecting with others through one-of-a-kind experiences is what we love to do. While the world has changed, our mission has not. We’re committed to helping women create and cultivate the career of their dreams, which is why we’re proud to announce our new Ask an Expert series. We’re hosting discussions with experts, mentors, and influencers daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST on Instagram Live to cure your craving for community and bring you the expert advice you’ve come to know and love from C&C. Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the latest schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out!
Photo: Vlada Karpovich for Pexels
We’re in the midst of a pandemic, and there is no doubt that emotions are running high. As a marketing agency, it’s our job at Elevate My Brand to know when to adjust and pivot our own, as well as our client’s, marketing strategies. Because of all that’s happening with COVID19, you’ll likely have to adjust your messaging and be strategic in the way you approach your audience. Here’s how.
Step Up Your PR
While now may not be the time to be pushing sales, it’s a great time to step up your PR presence and get your name out there. Times are uncertain, but if anything is true, it’s that we’re all in this together. When COVID-19 started to unfold, the first thing I thought was, “How can I be of service to those who are struggling?”
As a small business owner myself, I saw it as my responsibility to use my expertise to help those around me. So, I wrote an article on 5 Marketing Tips to Stay Profitable During the COVID-19 Pandemic and our team worked their PR magic to push that article everywhere, with one goal: to reach and help as many people as possible during this difficult time. But one and done doesn’t cut it anymore, so we also penned the follow-up article, How to Elevate Your Brand, Strategize, and Execute in These Strange Days to give the next steps and a more positive future-looking perspective on how to approach things now that we’ve been in it for a few weeks. Things are changing rapidly, it’s your duty to support your community with whatever gifts you have. When you start there, you can’t go wrong and it’s clear that you aren’t tone-deaf or tackily selling.
With everyone shifting their focus to digital, now is also a great time to push your message out on socials via content collaborations. Instagram Lives have skyrocketed in popularity, with many large platforms hosting live takeovers, such as Create & Cultivate’s Ask An Expert series, which you have hopefully had a chance to see! Since we’ve all been #WFH, social media usage and engagement have increased over 30% so take advantage of this and reach out to as many sources as possible to see if they are willing to share your message.
Not only will you be helping your community, but you’ll be building brand awareness as well. This means that when things do open back up, you’ll have built some new top of mind awareness that will help you get back on top quicker.
Adjust Scheduled Content
Running on a schedule makes life so much easier, I know. But in a time like this when life is so unpredictable, it’s important to step back and take things day by day and that includes your marketing strategy as well. If you scheduled content to go out on your social channels and blogs, you’ll definitely want to take a look at it and see if it’s still appropriate for the times. At Elevate My Brand, we have had to pivot a little bit with our blog posts, pushing back topics to make room for content having to do with COVID-19. Sometimes, adjusting your content is as easy as changing a caption for a photograph. Want to post that picture of your product with a group of people? Be sure to let your audience know that this photo was taken pre-quarantine so your followers don’t get upset that you’re not following social distancing rules.
It takes a lot of work to properly plan and execute a successful marketing strategy, and you don’t want all that hard work to go to waste. While scheduled events and meetings may have been disrupted by COVID-19, that doesn’t mean that they should be canceled. We’re lucky to have technology on our side so that most of these scheduled events can be converted, rather than having to be canceled. Each year I host a women’s networking event called our Elevate Spring Salon, which is a schmooze and booze that supports a different non-profit each quarter. Obviously we can’t proceed as planned, but we have decided to convert the event to digital which should still give us a community feel, support the cause that we’re standing behind and, continue building brand awareness and visibility. P.S. fun isn’t canceled, it’s just converted.
Don’t Be Tone Deaf
As I mentioned earlier, emotions are running high right now. Everyone is reacting to the situation in a different way, so it’s crucial that you take note of your audience’s heightened sensitivity during this time. Listen to your community. What is it that they want and need right now? With social media and surveying tools like Survey Monkey, you can actually ask, what a concept!
Ultimately, you have to trust your instincts. Maybe it’s not the time to push that ad or sell that product. Now’s the time to be authentic and really showcase your brand values. Funny, positive and uplifting content is always welcome, just be sure that you’re being sensitive to the current situation and adding value, not just acting as if nothing has changed.
We’re going to be in this for a while, even after shelter-in-place orders are lifted. So the faster you can shift your messaging and positioning, the more successful you will be long term, and the less of an uphill battle you’re brand will have when this is truly over.
About the Expert: Laurel Mintz, J.D., M.B.A. is the CEO and founder of award-winning, Los Angeles-based digital marketing agency Elevate My Brand. Laurel’s gift is connecting with people and their stories. After all, companies are made up of people, and stories are just narratives that are the foundation of great marketing. Laurel’s energy has been the driving force behind the agency’s growth since it launched in 2009. Her awards include the 2017 Patrick Soon-Shiong Innovation Award, the 2016 Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Company award, the Los Angeles Business Journal 2016 Women In Business Award, and more.
Tune in daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST, for new installments of Ask an Expert.
Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out. See you there!
Opinion: How to Stay Focused on What Matters During Times of Great Upheaval
“Regardless of the tasks sitting on each of our to-do lists right now, we’re all grappling with unprecedented uncertainties.”
Photo: Stephanie Stanley
With shelter-in-place orders in effect across the globe because of the novel coronavirus, many have suddenly, and unexpectedly, found themselves without access to the physical spaces (offices; fitness studios; places of worship) and basic structures (daily commutes; relationships; jobs) that previously shaped their day-to-day lives. I know firsthand how unsettling this can be, even without the added anxiety of contracting or spreading a deadly virus that has already infected more than a million people around the world.
In November 2017, I was working at a prestigious corporate law firm when The New Yorker revealed that my employer had retained Israeli intelligence operatives to spy on the women coming forward with their stories about Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein. The news was particularly disturbing to me as someone who, just a few weeks earlier, had made the difficult decision to come forward publicly to The Washington Post about my own experience with sexual harassment as an 18-year-old intern.
About two months later, I left to launch the Purple Campaign, a non-profit organization to address workplace harassment in the wake of #MeToo. In a matter of days, I went from having a job in which I was assigned a steady stream of specific tasks—and required to track my time in six-minute increments for billing purposes—to being my own boss in an uncharted foray into social entrepreneurship. I suddenly discovered that the organizational systems I’d relied on for years no longer met my needs, and struggled to prioritize and balance the day-to-day demands of my new career path.
“I was having a hard time focusing on work because I was terrified of the uncertain future ahead of me, both personally and professionally.”
Staying grounded in my work became even more challenging that fall, when I separated from my husband and partner of 11 years and moved out of the house we shared. In the span of a year, I lost the two fundamental structures of my life (my job and my marriage) along with the physical spaces (my downtown office and my home) that contained them. As much as I loved the creative and intellectual challenge of building a new organization, I found it increasingly difficult to translate those abstract goals into day-to-day tasks.
The dramatic societal change currently underway has prompted a flurry of think pieces about how to create a work-from-home schedule and the importance of establishing a morning routine to boost productivity. Don’t get me wrong: this kind of advice is important and useful. Over the past two years, I’ve learned—through a lot of trial and error—how to balance my competing needs for flexibility and discipline. This has included establishing not only a morning routine (which consists of a daily prayer, meditation, and self-led Ashtanga yoga practice) but an evening one, too (which I’ll admit is largely dominated by my elaborate skincare regimen), along with other rituals that keep me grounded.
But while my routines help me start each day with focus and clarity, they haven’t always made it easier to get substantive work done—and that’s especially true when the future I’m working toward feels as uncertain as the present moment I’m living in. I often finished my morning routine only to find it impossible to sit down and focus on the work tasks in front of me. I’d procrastinate by doing other “productive” things instead (going for a run; meal prepping; organizing a friend’s bachelorette party), putting my work off until a deadline loomed, or an email landed in my inbox that demanded a response.
As my one of my work-life gurus Adam Grant wrote in a recent COVID-era column, there’s an explanation for this: people tend to procrastinate “when a task stirs up feelings like anxiety, confusion, or boredom” or when “you’re working alone on tasks that seem ambiguous and meaningless.” As passionate as I am about the work I do at The Purple Campaign, entrepreneurship came hand-in-hand with an underlying anxiety that I didn't fully appreciate when I dove headfirst into it two years ago, and which only increased in the wake of my divorce. I wasn’t having a hard time focusing on work because I lacked good routines—I was having a hard time focusing on work because I was terrified of the uncertain future ahead of me, both personally and professionally.
“Regardless of the tasks sitting on each of our to-do lists right now, we’re all grappling with unprecedented uncertainties.”
Over time, I’ve found a way to get unstuck in such moments: by reframing the task to focus on the people instead of the project. If my to-do list looms large with things that are intimidating or feel “ambiguous and meaningless,” I spend a few minutes focusing on the why behind them: the people affected by the anxiety-inducing or seemingly mundane assignment in front of me. As Grant explains, “we’re more likely to stay on task when we know other people are counting on us,” and re-framing to orient a project around them “can bring focus and meaning” to the work.
A few weeks ago, for example, when I found myself putting off signing the contract for our latest #MeToo Meet Up, I paused for a moment to think about the people behind the administrative task: the individuals who find community and healing at our Meet Up events; the survivors I’ve partnered with to develop the series; the employees at the Outrage who depend on fees from events like ours to operate their small business. The same approach works when I’m faced with a task that feels daunting rather than boring, like putting together the agenda for my first-ever Advisory Board meeting last December.
This global pandemic is affecting us all in both different and similar ways; simultaneously transcending and exacerbating the deep pre-existing socio-economic divides in our society. Regardless of the tasks sitting on each of our to-do lists right now, we’re all grappling with unprecedented uncertainties: the health and safety of our loved ones; knowing when we’ll next see cherished friends and family; finding financial security in an economic crisis. Focusing on the people at the heart of it all isn’t a cure-all solution, but it is a way to reconnect—and hopefully keep moving forward with—what matters most to each of us during this time of great upheaval.
About the Author: Ally Coll is the president and co-founder of The Purple Campaign.
MORE ON THE BLOG
Ask an Expert: Why Tapping Into Consumer Sentiment Is Key to Success in COVID-19
“It’s not about pushing product right now.”
We’ve been spending a lot of time at Create & Cultivate HQ discussing how we can best show up for and support our community during this uncertain time. Community is at our core, and connecting with others through one-of-a-kind experiences is what we love to do. While the world has changed, our mission has not. We’re committed to helping women create and cultivate the career of their dreams, which is why we’re proud to announce our new Ask an Expert series. We’re hosting discussions with experts, mentors, and influencers daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST on Instagram Live to cure your craving for community and bring you the expert advice you’ve come to know and love from C&C. Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the latest schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out!
Photo: Courtesy of Jenny Gorenstein
As a brand, it is more important now than ever to listen to and connect with your consumers. We are all isolated and feeling alone in the midst of the chaos of COVID-19. Consumer needs are changing, the economy is heading for a downturn, and there is no way to get face to face with customers, so we have to step up our virtual communities.
In this installment of our Ask an Expert live series, we tapped Jenny Gorenstein, the chief growth officer at Foria, to talk us through how forging connections now can carry brands through COVID-19 and allow them to thrive on the other side. Scroll on to read some of the best advice from the conversation and be sure to follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram to join us for the next one.
Now Is Not the Time to Push Products
“There is no playbook for how to market through a pandemic. We are leading with compassion now more than ever about how we are showing up in people’s inbox and on people’s feeds.”
“It’s not about pushing product right now.”
“Don’t focus on your own brand’s initiatives, show up through goodwill.”
“People just want to know how they can feel more connected to themselves and others and that’s the content we’re putting out right now”
Digital Content Is Key
“We’re all always on our phones. We’re addicted to our phones. That is how we are connecting now. From a brand perspective, there’s a lot of ways to meaningfully connect. Don’t put out things that are overproduced, show up raw, and give things that allow that person-to-person connection. Let people into your homes. Tap into influencers who already have the trust of others and are helping people get through.”
“We scrapped all of our marketing plans, which hurt because you take months building those plans, but we want to create content in the moment. We’re working harder than we ever have because we can’t plan.”
“You want to show up in a way that is resonant with what people are going through and what their life looks like.”
“We have a really playful brand and are leaning into that.”
“We do a lot of content that allows people to pause and take notice of nature around them and that is doing well right now. This is nature’s greatest reset, were all feeling more connected to the outdoors than ever.”
Work With Influencers and Reach Their Communities
“If you don’t have a budget for influencers, that’s okay. I think the organic route is the way to start anyway.”
“Start with gifting product. First and foremost, you want to make sure they love your product and your brand before working together. Try: Affiliate networks and giveaways.”
“Think about promotions you can do that keep your profit margins but make your products more accessible. If people are curious that gives them a reason to try and once you have them you can get a consumer for life.”
Embrace the New Normal
“Success can come in so many forms you can use Instagram as a means to drive business, you can use Instagram as a means to drive engagement or you can use Instagram as a means to educate.”
“The world of tech has opened up the most amazing toolbox for brands to create dynamic conversations.”
“Lead with the people behind the brand. Lead with heart. Lead with compassion.”
About the Expert: Jenny Gorenstein has focused her career on building innovative and iconic brands and media companies. Prior to joining Foria, she spent 15 years launching InStyle.com's digital ad business from the ground up, helping to grow Refinery29 from $0 to $100M in revenue, and joining pre-IPO Snapchat to take it’s retail business to the next level. Always drawn to mission-driven and early-stage startups, Jenny is passionate about driving cultural currency and sustainable revenue growth. She is a people and idea connector.
Tune in daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST, for new installments of Ask an Expert.
Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out. See you there!
Ask an Expert: How to Create Compelling Content and Grow Your Instagram, According to a VP Influencer Marketing
“The longer you wait, the harder it is to grow.”
We’ve been spending a lot of time at Create & Cultivate HQ discussing how we can best show up for and support our community during this uncertain time. Community is at our core, and connecting with others through one-of-a-kind experiences is what we love to do. While the world has changed, our mission has not. We’re committed to helping women create and cultivate the career of their dreams, which is why we’re proud to announce our new Ask an Expert series. We’re hosting discussions with experts, mentors, and influencers daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST on Instagram Live to cure your craving for community and bring you the expert advice you’ve come to know and love from C&C. Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the latest schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out!
“
The longer you wait, the harder it is to grow.”
—Rachel Zeilic, VP of Influencer Marketing at WhoWhatWear
With engagement on social up 30% since social isolation started, now might just be the perfect time to be growing your Instagram or finally figuring out wtf to do with TikTok. But in the midst of a crisis, creating good (and respectful) content can feel really difficult. In comes, Rachel Zeilic, VP of Influencer Marketing at WhoWhatWear, to answer all your questions.
Wondering what to post, when to post, what to pay for, or if TikTok is the right move for your brand? Rachel drops lots of advice on our IG LIVE on how to navigate social media in the midst of COVID-19. Tune into this Ask An Expert to make sure you don’t miss a single tip. We bet you’re already scrolling through Instagram, might as well scroll with purpose and grow your brand.
We Want Your (Respectful) Content
“Don’t make any assumptions. Don’t say, Now that we’re all working from home, because that isn’t true for a lot of people.”
“There really is a space for audiences to turning to influencers for comfort for information for distraction, they have a lot of time on their hands right now and time is a precious commodity so let’s serve them.”
“Stay away from anything that is like ‘this is a must-have’ because, if it’s not groceries or masks, it isn’t a must-have.”
“Some things that are performing really well right now is comfy chic, working from home outfits, beauty routines, anything affordable, people are still interested in spring trends, and they also want some escapism.”
“Now is also a time to give things away for free. Even if you’re a brand who could be doing well giving some at-home DIY recipes, people will really appreciate that and remember that when commerce opens up again. More than ever they will remember the brands who stepped up and are giving to the community.”
“This is the first time really in a long time where influencers’ lifestyles are really close to their followers’ lifestyles. They aren’t jetting around the world or wearing designer outfits. So this is a really great time for influencers to connect with their followers in a really relatable way.”
Get On TikTok
“TikTok is not like Snapchat or other platforms where they were popular but there was never really brand integration. TikTok is really different, the way it’s built is really engineered to be successful for brand campaigns. Particularly one feature, the hashtag challenges. That is incredible for creating UGC (user-generated content). To me UGC is gold. If your customer loves you so much that they are creating content, they aren’t an influencer, they aren’t getting paid, if they love the product so much they are creating content that is gold.”
“I think working with TikTok and ‘TikTokers’ absolutely should be part of your campaign given that the demographic aligns, it is a predominantly Gen Z audience. Also the KPIs of the campaign, you need to understand that currently TikTokers or influencers can’t link out anywhere, so if you’re expecting to see immediate sell-through from your campaign, TikTok is not the place to do it. But its great of awareness, you can reach massive audiences.”
“With regards to brands starting their own accounts on TikTok, it really depends if you can do it in a way that’s native to the platform. It’s really not going to work if you’re using the same kind of content you use on Instagram and other platforms. You should only be investing your time into growing a brand account on TikTok if you can do it in the way that is organic to TikTok.”
“The longer you wait, the harder it is to grow.”
Embrace Pay-to-Play
“Yes, it is a pay-to-play world. That being said, relationships and organic strategy are important to stretch your dollars.”
“It’s worth spending a little money on a consultant who can help you know how to spend your social budget.”
“Influencers assets on paid social perform so much better than campaign assets.”
“A lot of influencers have dropped their pricing or are more flexible on pricing right now.”
“Paid social pricing is down right now as well. You can make your budget stretch so much further right now.”
Insta Tips & Tricks
“We’ve been saying to influencers, Instead of getting a picture and then thinking, ‘Ugh what is my caption going to be?,’ why don’t you write the caption first and tell a story and then reverse that and think of an image that can convey that story?’ I don’t think they all have to be long, and they shouldn’t be long if you don’t have something to say. But every brand has a story to tell and every influencer has a story to tell and I think that can be great. It’s like micro-blogging.”
Tools to try:
“You should post as often as you can while creating quality content and without seeing a dip in engagement rate. The more you post the more your engagement will be spread out.”
About The Expert: Rachel Zeilic is an O.G. in influencer marketing, starting way back in 2007. She is currently the VP of influencer marketing at WhoWhatWear, running influencer campaigns for everyone from Walmart to Gucci. Before that she was creative Director of Majorelle at Revolve, and before that she founded two labels, Stylestalker and The Jetset Diaries.
Tune in daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST, for new installments of Ask an Expert.
Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out. See you there!
4 Things I Do Every Sunday to Mentally Prepare for the Week Ahead (COVID-19 Edition)
Put self-care on your to-do list.
Photo: The Lazy Artist Gallery for Pexels
Now that we’re on week six of social distancing and working from home, it’s getting harder to recognize the distinction between weekdays and weekends. Between working, parenting, homeschooling your children, reading the news to stay informed, cooking three meals a day, and trying to keep everyone in your family healthy, the mental load can get overwhelming. In a recent article published in The Atlantic, author Helen Lewis brings up a valid consideration: “one of the most striking effects of the coronavirus will be to send many couples back to the 1950s. Across the world, women’s independence will be a silent victim of the pandemic.”
With school closures and social distancing, the work of childcare is moving from nannies, daycares, and schools back to parents. In many cases, the responsibility will fall on mothers. Every family manages child care differently. Whether working parents alternate work and child care “shifts” or if they make the difficult decision of having the majority of one task fall on one parent, it can often feel impossible managing work and family responsibilities. This pandemic will pass, although with long-lasting consequences. In the meantime, how do we approach our mental health and manage the new structure of our everyday lives while still achieving our goals?
As a mother of two toddlers and a month- old newborn and a small business owner, I have found that doing four particular things on Sunday helps me mentally prepare for the week ahead and infuse a sense of normalcy into my days. Of course, it will take more than a Sunday ritual to handle the emotional effects of a global pandemic. But this is where I’m starting.
Step 1: Clean up your space, including your work area
Since many of us are working from home now, your desk could be anything from your couch to your dining room table. Wherever you decide to work, take a half hour to clean up the area. If I’m surrounded by stacks of random papers, unopened mail, or Legos that seem to permeate every corner of my house, it’s really hard for me to focus and start working with a clear mind. I still don’t quite understand how these piles of clutter show up consistently despite constantly tidying up. Nonetheless, I am determined to eliminate them.
Clutter isn’t just aesthetically displeasing. It can also affect your productivity. A study at Princeton University observed that clutter can lead to more difficulty focusing on a single task because various stimuli compete for neural representation. This ultimately makes it harder to pay attention and focus on completing tasks.
While you’re tidying up, do a once-over of your home and see what else you can put away in the time you allot for cleaning. Put away folded laundry, empty the dishwasher, wipe down kitchen counters and anything else you have been putting off. Although minor changes, your future self will thank you come Monday morning when you can sit at your desk and start working in a peaceful environment.
Step 2: Take half an hour to sit down and think about how you want the next five days to go.
Mentally preparing for the week ahead starts with taking care of yourself. Take five minutes to write down all the tasks floating through your mind in a notebook or planner. Relieve your mind of the burden of keeping it all in your head. That includes ordering produce, finding another pair of sneakers for your daughter, breaking down major work projects into manageable tasks, or anything else on your mind. Schedule your virtual barre class now. Plan to connect with one to two people from your network just to check in.
Also, consider blocking out work time. If you have a project deadline coming up on Friday, block out time on Tuesday to complete it. Physically create a calendar meeting and invite yourself. This will give you a sense of fulfillment and plenty of time to edit/submit it in advance without the stress of procrastinating and being up all night.
Look at your calendar and observe your schedule as a whole. Do you have seven Zoom meetings scheduled on Monday back to back? Think about what you can adjust or move around so your week is more evenly distributed. Can any of your meetings be converted to an email? The answer is usually yes. One Zoom meeting you may want to keep on your calendar—virtual wine night with a friend. That one feels essential to me.
Step 3: Take a long hot shower and go through your skincare routine
With a newborn and two small children at home, long showers and drawn out skincare routines are a luxury that I do not take for granted. I know the week will be packed with activities, deadlines, zoom calls and I will not have the time to go through a multi-step skincare process. On Sunday evenings after my kids are sleeping, a long hot shower is the metaphorical reset button I need to start fresh and enter the new week with an open mind and positive intentions.
It’s nothing groundbreaking but it’s time I carve out in the day to prioritize my well-being. This is a good time to deep condition your hair, do a scalp treatment, put on a face mask and truly take your time. Take a selfie and send it to a friend to encourage her to do the same. With everything going on, I haven’t found much time to do my makeup or style my hair but taking this time to take care of myself has become a positive part of my quarantine routine.
End your moment of solitude with a look through your closet to plan out your outfit for Monday morning. Whether it’s sweatpants or a spring dress you can wear around the house, laying out your clothes the night before will help you feel prepared for the week ahead by eliminating morning tasks that take up decision-making energy. Planning what I can on Sunday night lets me get in some extra sleep time the next morning and gets things started on a calm note, even if getting dressed involves changing from one pair of sweatpants to another.
Step 4: End your Sunday with an activity that brings you peace
For me, that activity is reading. I try to have everything done by 10 pm so I can go to bed and relax with my favorite book. It doesn’t always happen but when it does, I feel the effects both physically and mentally. One of my favorite joys in life is climbing into a bed with fresh sheets, ready to read and subsequently fall asleep on my book.
Going to bed early will also help you avoid pressing the snooze button incessantly in the morning. All these things together will help create a situation in which you are set up for success at the beginning of a busy week. Staying up late and constantly pressing the snooze button is problematic because it starts the day with an innate sense of failure. You knew you should have gotten up earlier but you didn’t, creating a negative feeling in the morning and a downstream effect for the remainder of the day.
Another activity that can help bring a sense of peace? Lying in bed and doing nothing. Taking the time to simply think about your day (without a screen), is not something we do often but the benefits are long-lasting. Think about what you would really like to accomplish during the upcoming week. What will give you a sense of satisfaction amongst uncertain times? What went really well last week? What do you want to do differently this week? As you’re taking care of everyone around you, what can you do to prioritize your own mental well-being?
About The Author: Tanya Kertsman is a freelance writer covering clean beauty, fashion, and wellness. She has an affinity for slip dresses, a fresh magazine, and booking last minute travel adventures, all equally enticing. Until recently, she worked as a Pharmacist in the Pharmaceutical Industry in Medical Affairs Strategy. Tanya lives in Philadelphia with her husband and three kids under five. When not in front of a computer, you can find her enjoying board games significantly more than her kids do, reading one of many half-read books scattered around her home and scoping out concerts in Philadelphia. You can find her at littleblankdiaries.com or on Instagram @littleblankdiaries.
What do you do on Sunday night to mentally prepare for the week? Add to the list in the comments!
Opinion: When Life Gives You a Pandemic, Scrap Everything
The founder of a DTC beauty brand on how she's adapted her business during COVID-19.
Photo: Courtesy of Curie
COVID-19 has had a never-before-seen level of impact on our lives. This pandemic is, literally, reshaping the world as we know it. As a CEO and small business owner, this has had a huge impact. Not only has my personal life changed overnight, but professionally, a year’s worth of carefully laid plans around product launches, brand strategy, and partnerships were completely turned upside down seemingly overnight. COVID-19 walked into our conference room and erased the whiteboard.
My company, Curie, is a direct-to-consumer brand that sells clean, performance-based body care products. Fitness studio partnerships were a huge part of our 2020 strategy. We were scheduled to announce a partnership with a major national fitness chain the week of April 1 and had another large partnership in the works. With gyms, fitness studios and retail stores all off the table, for the time being, we immediately shifted gears.
“Out went our entire social media and content calendar. In came an even deeper obsession with our customers and what they wanted.”
When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade, right? There’s no recipe for this situation. Scrap it, start over. Out went our entire social media and content calendar. In came an even deeper obsession with our customers and what they wanted.
Now is a good time to engage with your community in a way that isn’t strictly focused on selling products. People are home, relying on screens for work, connection, distraction and more willing than ever to share their thoughts. What our customers told us is that they wanted interactive digital content. Instagram Live workouts, how-to-tutorials, tips, and funny content simply meant to make them smile. I made a conscious business decision to focus on building relationships rather than growing sales.
If you rely on physical spaces, like we do with our retailers and fitness studios, this temporary shelter-in-place has had an even greater impact on your business. A solution is to move toward virtual partnerships and campaigns with other brands. These are a fantastic way to leverage other audiences with which you wouldn’t typically connect. This led us to Better Together, a community campaign we launched with 35 other female-founded brands that included a universal discount code, a charitable donation, and a massive giveaway. It was organized virtually overnight by Nichole Powell, CEO of Kinfield. Partnering with other like-minded companies is a great way to provide a benefit to existing customers while also tapping into new audiences. For Curie, the Better Together campaign contributed to over 50% of our revenue during the week it was live.
Right now, there are plenty of things that are going wrong in our businesses, but identify what is working, and invest your team’s time and focus on that. For us, our DTC website stayed relatively flat during the first week of shelter-in-place in California and other states, but our Amazon.com business was booming. We leaned into this shift, putting all of our SKUs (stock-keeping units) on Amazon.com. When Amazon lengthened their shipping times for what they deemed “non-essential products,” like deodorant, we pivoted our strategy. We made shipping free for all orders on our online store and started fulfilling Amazon orders out of our own warehouse to decrease transit times. Since we had previously used the low-cost FBA (fulfilled by Amazon) service for these orders, this meant a 30% increase to our shipping cost, which we decided was the right thing to do to keep our customers happy (and fresh!) during this time. Give yourself permission to throw out “the plan.”
“Things have changed, our world has changed, and the faster you can adapt to these changes, the better you will be able to serve your customers.”
Think about what your company has to offer. Does it still meet your customer’s needs? As COVID-19 spread in the United States, hand sanitizer, overnight, became an essential part of people’s daily routine. Coincidentally, we had just wrapped up the development of a new product: a moisturizing, natural hand sanitizer. We originally planned to sell this product to our fitness studio partners versus direct-to-consumer, but clearly, needs had changed. At the beginning of March, we got on the phone with our suppliers and were able to move the launch date for the hand sanitizer up six months. We will be launching this product in a few weeks and will be gifting 10% of our initial inventory to those on the frontline: delivery men and women, grocery store workers, doctors, and nurses. Things have changed, our world has changed, and the faster you can adapt to these changes, the better you will be able to serve your customers.
Lastly, never underestimate the impact of giving back in small ways. As Paul Graham once said, “Do things that don’t scale.” During this time, that especially rings true. I personally wrote 100 hand-written postcards to our most loyal customers. There were no marketing ploys and no offers involved. Simply short and sweet notes to show my gratitude and wish them well. My team also sent care packages to people who are stepping up in the community, such as fitness instructors that are leading virtual workouts online. Everyone could use a little extra love right now.
The economic uncertainty we are all experiencing right now is out of our control, but what you can control is your response. Keep your focus on doing right by your customers and don’t be afraid to throw out the plan.
MORE ON THE BLOG
Ask an Expert: How to Be a “Taboo” Brand and Speak Out on Topics That Matter
Fur's co-founder and CEO weighs in.
We’ve been spending a lot of time at Create & Cultivate HQ discussing how we can best show up for and support our community during this uncertain time. Community is at our core, and connecting with others through one-of-a-kind experiences is what we love to do. While the world has changed, our mission has not. We’re committed to helping women create and cultivate the career of their dreams, which is why we’re proud to announce our new Ask an Expert series. We’re hosting discussions with experts, mentors, and influencers daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST on Instagram Live to cure your craving for community and bring you the expert advice you’ve come to know and love from C&C. Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the latest schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out!
Photo: Courtesy of Laura Schubert
Launching a business that’s centered around a taboo topic isn’t easy.
Just ask of Laura Schubert, the co-founder and CEO of Fur, a self-care brand that’s signature product is pubic hair oil. (Yes, you read that correctly.) Today, Fur’s products are beloved by celebs (Emma Watson’s a fan) and the brand’s products are stocked everywhere from boutique salons to big-box beauty stores like Ulta.
But all this success didn’t come easily. “When I was reaching out to partners to create the formula, people thought I was prank calling them—they’d call me a pervert and hang up on me,“ explains Schubert. For today’s Ask an Expert Live segment, we asked Schubert to tell us all about how she’s used her brand’s platform to speak out on topics that matter, give back, and create a sense of community.
Scroll on for a few highlights and be sure to follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram to catch the next installment of Ask an Expert.
Stay True to Your Brand
“During this pandemic, we haven’t changed our messaging that much. We’ve always been a self-care brand and we’re all about self-care rituals that leave space for people to reexamine how they view pubic hair and reframe ideas that they may have about their own bodies and their body hair.”
Use Your Platform to Pay It Forward
“We’ve been giving back to the extent that we can. We gave away 500 Fur oils to healthcare workers—we asked people to send us a picture of their badge—and over 2,000 people got back to us. So, we’re trying to figure out ways that we can give back to people at this time and help people as much as much as we can.”
Create a Virtual Community
“At Fur, we asked ourselves, How can we create community online when we’re all hurting in so many ways? So we started Further Together an Instagram Live series where our community can
About the Expert: Laura Schubert is the co-founder and CEO of Fur. Prior to Fur, Laura was a management consultant at Bain and Company. Interested in starting her own business since graduate school, she honed her skills while waiting for the right idea and the right team to launch a new venture. Fur seemed like the perfect opportunity to create an entirely new beauty category with her sister and close friend, who also happened to have complementary backgrounds.
Tune in daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST, for new installments of Ask an Expert.
Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out. See you there!
Ask an Expert: How to Develop Your Brand Voice, Personification, and Tag Line
A digital marketing pro explains.
We’ve been spending a lot of time at Create & Cultivate HQ discussing how we can best show up for and support our community during this uncertain time. Community is at our core, and connecting with others through one-of-a-kind experiences is what we love to do. While the world has changed, our mission has not. We’re committed to helping women create and cultivate the career of their dreams, which is why we’re proud to announce our new Ask an Expert series. We’re hosting discussions with experts, mentors, and influencers daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST on Instagram Live to cure your craving for community and bring you the expert advice you’ve come to know and love from C&C. Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the latest schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out!
Branding is more important now than ever before with COVID-19. While it may not be the time to be pushing sales, it’s certainly the time to put your best foot forward and showcase your brand values in order to build a community. In order to market successfully during this time, you have to be able to connect with people and their stories. After all, companies are made up of people, and stories are just narratives that are the foundation of great marketing.
“Buyers make most of their decisions by relying on their two second first impressions based on stored memories, images and feelings.” This quote from Malcolm Gladwell’s book “Blink,” powerfully expresses how your customers think. In layman's terms, you only get one chance to make a first impression. To find out how to do it right, scroll on to learn more about branding, including developing your tag line and voice.
What Is Branding?
To begin, it’s crucial that you understand what branding is and what it is not. Branding is not telling people who you are, it’s managing what other people say you are. What will your audience associate with your brand? It’s up to you to create this emotional connection through your branding.
Specifically, branding is the look and feel of a brand, the characteristics, values, tag lines, logos, energy, etc. Branding includes all the ways your company shows up in the world and how you hope a consumer will relate and engage with it on an emotional level.
However, before you can even begin to market your brand out into the world, you must start by building a strong foundation. Here’s how.
How to Define Your Brand
Branding Exercise
When establishing your personal or corporate brand, it’s critical to begin by defining what you want your brand to be. This starts with developing a name and logo that speaks to your target market and evokes a specific emotion, adjective or sensory experience. You can go about this in many ways. When working with a new client, one of the first things we do is take them through a branding exercise that we call “word vomit” that looks a little bit like this:
1. Write down a list of words, potential names and/or concepts that you might want to start with (this is if you don’t already have your company name).
2. Write down a list of adjectives and emotions you want your potential client to feel when they see your logo or hear your brand name.
3. Go out and find 5-10 logos you like and 5-10 logos you don’t like and describe in detail why you do or don’t like them. The creative process is so subjective, so before we start throwing ideas at the wall, it's crucial that we know what your aesthetic is. Knowing what you don’t like is as important as knowing what you do like.
4. Similarly, determine a list of colors you like and don’t like and types of designs you do and don’t like e.g. I do like minimalist fonts, but I don’t like figures in logos.
This exercise allows you to get clear on your brand values, decide which words you want associated with your brand and, almost as importantly, which words and sentiments you don’t want associated with your brand. This type of exercise can help with buy in and can also spark creativity and should be a lot of fun.
At the end of the day you get what you pay for, so remember, this logo will live on your business cards, web site, and all marketing materials that you will create for your company, which are the first things a prospect sees, even before they get to know you. So putting your best brand effort first is key.
Brand Book
Let’s just get this out of the way—yes, you absolutely need a brand book. A brand book is a document that outlines every detail about your brand. It’s basically your brand’s DNA. At its most fundamental level, a brand book must include your mission and vision, your logo and colors, your typography, and sample imagery. The best brand book, however, has more than the basics.
As important as it is to define your brand, it’s equally important to define what your brand is not. What words or phrases are off limits? In order to stay on brand, you must know what it means to be off brand.
I said it once and I’ll say it again: Branding is not telling people who you are, it’s managing what other people say you are. In order to do this, you must know a little bit about your target audience. What do they like? With your target audience in mind, how can you shape your branding into something they can appreciate and recognize?
Ultimately, your brand is the foundation for all things marketing, so it’s critical that you get it right from the start and build a lexicon around it so that as you build and scale, the original ethos of the brand remains intact.
About the Expert: Laurel Mintz, J.D., M.B.A. is the CEO and founder of award-winning, Los Angeles-based digital marketing agency Elevate My Brand. Laurel’s gift is connecting with people and their stories. After all, companies are made up of people, and stories are just narratives that are the foundation of great marketing. Laurel’s energy has been the driving force behind the agency’s growth since it launched in 2009. Her awards include the 2017 Patrick Soon-Shiong Innovation Award, the 2016 Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Company award, the Los Angeles Business Journal 2016 Women In Business Award, and more. Need help figuring out how to do this for your brand? I can’t wait to talk. Reach out today to get started.
Tune in daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST, for new installments of Ask an Expert.
Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out. See you there!
Ask an Expert: How to Make the Most of Social Distancing and Be Productive With Your Extra Time
“Don’t allow your inner critic to talk you out of starting. Just start.”
We’ve been spending a lot of time at Create & Cultivate HQ discussing how we can best show up for and support our community during this uncertain time. Community is at our core, and connecting with others through one-of-a-kind experiences is what we love to do. While the world has changed, our mission has not. We’re committed to helping women create and cultivate the career of their dreams, which is why we’re proud to announce our new Ask an Expert series. We’re hosting discussions with experts, mentors, and influencers daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST on Instagram Live to cure your craving for community and bring you the expert advice you’ve come to know and love from C&C. Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the latest schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out!
“
Don’t allow your inner critic to talk you out of starting. Just start.”
—Stephanie Fleming, co-founder of The Happy Planner
Now, let us start off by saying that we are not here to pressure you into being productive. After all, we’re in the midst of a global health crisis that has disrupted every aspect of our daily lives. One that has taken a serious toll on both our mental health and overall wellbeing, as well as our financial stability. First and foremost, we all need to take care of ourselves and our loved ones.
We are here, however, to give you the tools you need in order to be productive if you are looking to launch that business, learn that new skill, or get started on that project you’ve had on the back burner while you’re self-isolating. That’s why we tapped creative entrepreneur and co-founder of The Happy Planner, Stephanie Fleming, to share her tips on the topic for our latest Ask an Expert Live segment.
Scroll on for three takeaways from the conversation and be sure to follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram so you don’t miss out on the next one.
Create Work-Life Boundaries
“In a situation like this, boundaries are very important. Remember, you are the guardian of your own time so you need to create the boundaries that you need in order to be productive. Create a schedule for yourself but be aware that there are always going to be boundary bulldozers (i.e., Facebook, the news, your kids), just be aware of them, take a deep breath, and recognize that these are difficult times and it’s okay to not be at the top of your game.”
Minimize Distractions
“Set aside a dedicated workspace where you can minimize distractions. If you don’t have the space (some of us live in tight quarters), schedule some time for yourself to use a shared space. Do whatever you need to do to find a distraction-free zone or time so you have the space you need, both mentally and physically, to cross items off your to-do list.”
Just Start
“Procrastination and perfection are the enemies of productivity. Just start the damn thing. Rip the band-aid off. Use Mel Robbins’ 5-second rule and literally countdown from 5-4-3-2-1 and just go. Don’t allow your inner critic to talk you out of starting. Just start.”
About the Expert: Stephanie Fleming is a creative entrepreneur, speaker, optimist, and wellness seeker. Most notably, she is the co-founder of The Happy Planner. What began 20 years ago as a tiny, garage-based business is now an industry-leading lifestyle brand that offers a wide variety of products that inspire customers to live creatively and plan a happy life It’s Stephanie’s mission to create a happy life movement by empowering people everywhere to take control of their own happiness by embracing planning, positivity and all things creative!
Tune in daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST, for new installments of Ask an Expert.
Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out. See you there!
What Is Toxic Productivity (and How Do I Avoid It)?
Don’t take the to-do list too far.
Photo: Polina Zimmerman for Pexels
Everywhere you turn, people are feeling the pressure to do something truly meaningful during this time of self-quarantine. Sure, it's great if you can write your next bestselling novel, or re-organize your entire home, but sometimes, that need to be productive can be toxic. Here are some signs to spot if toxic productivity is creeping into your life—and what you can do to break the cycle.
What Are Toxic Behaviors?
First things first, toxic behaviors are behaviors that are harmful to you, your goals, and your daily life. Our culture expresses a lot of value for productivity (we reward the best students, we’re impressed when others pull all-nighters, we glorify the entrepreneurs who boast about their work ethic and lack of sleep). Rarely do we celebrate when people are present, rest well, or set and meet reasonable goals.
Quarantine means that people are at home, trying to work, in the middle of a crisis. And yet there’s never been so much content about how people should be using all this “extra time” to try and pivot their businesses, take every e-course on entrepreneurship, or check things off their endless to-do lists.
Don’t get me wrong, if someone is able to do these things in the midst of food and product scarcity, health concerns, and social isolation, that’s great. But to expect people to be productive during a pandemic is undeniably harmful. If we aren’t being generative in our homes and businesses at a breakneck pace right now, it doesn't mean we are failures, it means we are human.
Toxic productivity would have us see things differently, and it’s hurting us.
Here Are Three Signs of Toxic Productivity
Working to the extent that it harms your health or personal relationships.
Perseverance and determination are admirable, but if your work ethic means that you’re ignoring human requirements like the need to eat, drink, sleep, or go to the bathroom, then your hard work “ethic” is toxic productivity in disguise.
Your family members may repeatedly express frustration with you and complain that you’re “always working,” “never around” or “always on your phone.” What they are really saying is, “We miss you. We need you. Please spend time with us.”
Forgetting obligations and neglecting personal responsibilities is another sign that your tendency to have tunnel vision when it comes to work is harming you and your loved ones.
Having unrealistic expectations for yourself and ignoring important information (such as the detrimental effects of a pandemic).
Many people are expecting their level of output and productivity to be the same right now. When their entire lives have been disrupted. When they are working under stressful conditions at home. IN. THE. MIDST. OF. A. PANDEMIC.
These unrealistic expectations can make an already traumatic situation even worse. Expecting the same output from yourself during a crisis is like expecting a crop to yield the same harvest after a drought.
It’s unreasonable, and will likely add to your stress if you try to maintain your previous standards.
Difficulty with rest or stillness.
If you have a toxic relationship with productivity, you might struggle to be alone with yourself anytime you’re not busy working. When you finally take a break or let yourself have a day off, you might feel guilty. Alternatively, you could feel a sense of restlessness or emptiness during moments of stillness, play, or other things you may label in your head as “non-productive.”
People might complain that you’re “not present” emotionally or physically. For example, you might rush to do the dishes after dinner instead of sitting at the table and connecting with your family. Or you might find yourself feeling impatient while a loved one tells you a long story because it feels like an inefficient use of time.
You might notice feelings of lower self-worth when you aren’t producing, creating, or working in some way, or be distracted by comparing yourself to others that you see as more productive than you.
How to heal your toxic productivity
If you’ve determined that you are one of the many suffering from a sense of toxic productivity right now, you’re not alone. The good news is, it doesn’t have to stay this way. There are lots of things you can do to have a healthier relationship with your need to be productive. Below are a few ideas.
Set realistic goals; adjust as needed.
It’s important to consider the context when setting goals. During this time when there may be extra demands on you (perhaps you’re homeschooling your children or adjusting to working from home), you may need to reduce your goals to accommodate the transition.
Part of being realistic is recognizing that your home office is likely to have more distractions, interruptions, and stressors than your old office. When we are under stress, our ability to concentrate and think clearly suffers, so it may also be helpful to extend deadlines to accommodate increased stress levels.
If you’re managing a team you’ll want to revise expectations for them as well.
Reframe what it means to rest and take breaks.
Rest is not a four-letter word or something just for the weak. Rest is 100% necessary. Studies show that people who take breaks end up being more productive than people who don’t.
Reframe rest to be a vital part of your productivity. See it as a necessary tool to help you reach your goals more effectively. Instead of taking breaks when you feel on the verge of collapse, how about scheduling them regularly throughout your day? You’ll feel a lot better, and you'll likely be able to get even more accomplished.
The Pomodoro method is a great strategy to stay on task while also taking frequent breaks.
Practice mindfulness.
Mindfulness is a way to help us connect to ourselves and the present moment. Mindfulness invites us to observe and accept what is happening around us and within us without judgement. We learn to be more aware of our body and needs. Mindfulness is proven to have all sorts of health benefits, including increasing frontal lobe activity, which is where logical reasoning and executive functioning takes place.
Mindfulness helps us disconnect from our “fight or flight” survival instincts (which often keep us stuck in toxic patterns) and instead gives us the opportunity to connect with more mature, healthy ways of relating to the world.
Calm and Headspace are two apps that I highly recommend if you want to give mindfulness a try.
Get some accountability.
Make sure that you have wise people in your life that can hold you accountable and keep you aware of your self-destructive behaviors. Most importantly, take their advice. When they say you’re working too much and need a break, listen to them.
Define clearer boundaries.
Rework your boundaries with work, or clarify them to serve you better. Establish a few “baseline” boundaries and then refine as needed, such as:
No cell phone at the dinner table.
No more than 3 hours of work at a time before taking a break.
No more than 40 hours of work a week.
You must spend quality time with your kids at least once a week.
You must eat at least 2 meals a day.
You must get at least 6 hours of sleep.
These baseline boundaries are just ideas to help you get started but can be adjusted to fit your individual needs.
Heal your self-talk.
Do you define your sense of self-worth by how productive you are? If so, you may find yourself caught in a cycle of chasing accomplishments that give you a temporary sense of worth, until that wears off and you need yet another accomplishment to make you feel valuable. To heal your self-talk, start seeing that your value is not in what you produce or accomplish, but in who you are.
Ask yourself, “Would I have these same expectations for someone I care for deeply?” If the answer is no, then you shouldn’t have these expectations for yourself, either. Practice learning to speak to yourself the way you would a dear friend.
If you need help healing your self-talk, consider getting support from a therapist. Cognitive-behavioral therapy can be especially effective at helping you heal toxic narratives that have kept you stuck in a cycle of addiction to productivity.
It’s perfectly normal to feel uncomfortable with the changes you’re experiencing due to COVID-19, but this is a great opportunity to get real with yourself and heal from things that aren’t serving you well. When this is all over, hopefully, you can leave behind your toxic productivity, too.
About the Author: Dr. Therese Mascardo is a Filipina-American licensed clinical psychologist, founder of the L.A. Digital Nomads, and CEO and founder of Exploring Therapy, a wellness community that helps people build a life they don’t need a vacation from. She has been featured in HuffPost, Women’s Health, & Tastemade. Berkeley educated, she shares her knowledge in mental health, entrepreneurship, community building, and traveling full time as a digital nomad to inspire people to create more healthy, free, and connected lives they love.
Ask an Expert: How to Sell Through Video, According to a Business Coach
Lights, camera, conversion.
We’ve been spending a lot of time at Create & Cultivate HQ discussing how we can best show up for and support our community during this uncertain time. Community is at our core, and connecting with others through one-of-a-kind experiences is what we love to do. While the world has changed, our mission has not. We’re committed to helping women create and cultivate the career of their dreams, which is why we’re proud to announce our new Ask an Expert series. We’re hosting discussions with experts, mentors, and influencers daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST on Instagram Live to cure your craving for community and bring you the expert advice you’ve come to know and love from C&C. Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the latest schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out!
“It is an 80% higher conversion rate when you share services and products on video rather than standard text posts.”
—Tiffany Carter, founder of ProjectME
During COVID-19, you have to step up your social media game—and, according to business coach, Tiffany Carter, video is essential for engaging your followers. Whether you are going live on Instagram, pumping out some quick stories, or posting vids directly to your page, if you aren’t using video, you’re not making the most of your social channels.
In this installment of our Instagram Live Ask an Expert series, we asked the founder of ProjectME to walk us through her best tips for turning videos into conversions. If you’re afraid to go live, show your face on camera, or even just make your videos worth watching, scroll on for her best tips, and be sure to follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram to tune into the next conversation.
Video Is A Must!
“It is an 80% higher conversion rate when you share services and products on video rather than standard text posts.”
“You need to do video every day in your stories.”
“Its vulnerable to be our silly, goofy, awkward selves, but that converts the best.”
Use The EASE Method
E - Energy and Engagement
“You cannot fake energy. Get into the highest possible energy state you can get in for that moment. Do jumping jacks, put on fun music, call a friend to hype you up, whatever it takes”
“Look at the screen as though it is your best friend and use those same mannerisms you would use in real life.”
“The first ten seconds are crucial, especially for pre-recorded videos. It determines if someone will click on or off. Do not start a video with ‘hey, guys,’ it’s basic, it doesn’t work, it’s not engaging.“
A - Authority and Confidence
“You need to establish yourself as the authority in your niche.”
“What we tend to do [when we lack confidence] are weird things like looking down, not getting close to the video, or hair twirling. These nervous habits don’t translate.”
S – Storytelling
“Stories sell. People remember stories.”
“Have a story, it can be a mirco-story, but have a story prepared to share in your videos, something funny, or something that worked really well for you, have some kind of story.”
E - Execution
“You have to tell people what in the hell to do or they don’t do it.”
“If you want people to comment below, don’t only ask them a question but tell them to comment below, point to the comment section.”
“If you’re not so sick of yourself that you’re thinking I can’t say this again or I can’t listen to my voice anymore, then you’re not saying it enough.”
The 3 Es of Content
Good content should do at least one of these three things:
Educate your people
Enlighten them
Entertain them
About The Expert. Tiffany Carter takes the mystery out of making big money while doing something you love. She uses a magnetic combination of her clear-cut communication style that she developed as a TV news broadcaster for NBC and CBS, her business savvy and proven strategies as a multi-millionaire entrepreneur, and her intuitive ability to connect with women on a deeper level, to uncover what’s blocking you from achieving your dream life.
Tune in daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST, for new installments of Ask an Expert.
Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out. See you there!
5 Things to Do While Self-Quarantining Without Buying a Single Thing
Your downtime to-do list.
Photo: Alex Gállego for Pexels
During the COVID-19 pandemic, our normal lives have come to a grinding halt. Beyond streaming our go-to TV shows for hours on end, there’s a lot more we can do during this downtime that will help retrain our minds and help us live our life, even beyond this period of quarantine.
So often, when we are looking to grow, change, or shift something in our lives, we are looking outside of ourselves. But, the truth is, everything you need to continue your growth journey is within you—and within arm’s reach. All you need is passion, interest, and a few simple strategies that’ll help you find what works for you.
Here are some simple things you can do to shift your mindset in order to stimulate growth, without spending a dime.
1. Try cooking a new recipe.
This incredible resource allows you to discover new recipes by listing the ingredients you have in your pantry, fridge, or freezer. If you're at a loss of what to make, this is a great way to shop what you already have and try something new, too.
Personally, every morning, I come up with some type of frittata using leftover vegetables, protein, and eggs. You can also use frozen veggies if you are trying to clean out your freezer.
2. Refresh your living space.
Beyond spring cleaning, try changing the layout of your space as well. It sounds simple but reorganizing furniture or décor can provide your brain with a really satisfying sense of change (without spending any money on new pieces.) You would be surprised how much this can act as a refresh during quarantine.
Now that I’m home a lot more, I’ve rearranged three rooms already. It’s been nice to re-think the space I have and make it feel new again. I have also used this time to clean out my pantries, fridge, and my kids’ play areas. I’ve cleaned out so much, I feel like every room is new.
3. Pick up that book you’ve been meaning to read (instead of buying a new one).
Psychologically speaking, we get a rush when making purchases. Buying new things, even when we have something similar at home, gives us temporary satisfaction. We can use this time to work on that, challenging ourselves with a "no buy" mandate (because, well, it's sort of the only option) and getting enjoyment from actually using things up.
Instead of focusing on the next purchase, we can simultaneously produce less waste, reduce clutter, save money, and shift our mindsets. Books take up a lot of space in our rooms as well as storage. We are reading a lot more these days and are finding books we forgot to start or stories we want to read again.
4. Learn a new skill.
I don't suggest putting too much pressure on yourself to be productive during quarantine, but if there's something you've been putting off doing due to a lack of time, now is a good chance to start.
Download Duolingo to work on learning a new language, watch free online videos to help you become more flexible, or bake the bread you've been seeing everyone make on Instagram.
For me, this is improving recipes, testing new ones, and adding twists to ones I use today in order to support immunity.
5. Connect (virtually) with your family and friends.
Throw a happy hour via Zoom. Download Houseparty to connect with your friends. FaceTime with your family during dinner. These circumstances make us truly value the people in our lives.
With Marco Polo, you can leave video messages with friends and family. This allows you to connect face-to-face but asynchronously. I’ve been celebrating birthdays over Zoom and scheduling virtual coffee dates and lunch meet-ups with my friends and family.
About the Author: Nora McCaffrey is the Chief Academic Officer at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She oversees all academic components to IIN’s course offerings. Prior to joining IIN, she trained at the Institute for Culinary Education in culinary arts and ran her own catering business in Brooklyn, NY, providing healthy food options for private events, school events, and meal deliveries.
To support her health focus, she became an IIN health coach and later decided to join the IIN team. In 2017, she obtained a master’s degree in Instructional Systems Technology from Indiana University. Her experience and education help her to continuously improve and innovate course offerings and learning platforms
Nora is from Brooklyn, NY and now lives with her wife, Helen, and two kids in Maplewood, NJ. As a lifelong foodie, Nora supports local farmers and restaurants to feed her family.
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#SmallBusinessBigInfluence: A Live Discussion on How to Support Small Businesses During COVID-19
Necessary #realtalk on the art of the pivot
We’ve been spending a lot of time at Create & Cultivate HQ discussing how we can best show up for and support our community during this uncertain time. Community is at our core, and connecting with others through one-of-a-kind experiences is what we love to do. While the world has changed, our mission has not. We’re committed to helping women create and cultivate the career of their dreams, which is why we’re proud to announce our new Ask an Expert series. We’re hosting discussions with experts, mentors, and influencers daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST on Instagram Live to cure your craving for community and bring you the expert advice you’ve come to know and love from C&C. Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the latest schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out!
Photo: Smith House Photography
It’s safe to say COVID-19 has upended our lives in every possible way. Socially, emotionally, physically, and certainly financially. In times of crisis, businesses are put to the test—supply chains are disrupted and profit margins are compromised. But if there’s one industry that has been impacted the most, it’s small business—and they need our help more than ever right now.
The Shelter at Home policy has seen all our favorite restaurants, fitness studios, salons, and boutiques close shop across the country. These businesses are the backbone of our country, and we need to support them the best way we can. In times of great uncertainty, success comes down to how you pivot and respond—and now is the time to be swift, not reactive.
For some #realtalk on how to pivot in a crisis, lead with purpose, and promote small business through big influence during these challenging times, we asked three powerhouse female founders—Deepica Mutyala, founder and CEO of Live Tinted, Danielle Bernstein, entrepreneur and founder of We Wore What, and Amber Fillerup, founder of Barefoot Blonde—to join our founder and CEO Jaclyn Johnson for a special roundtable discussion (via Zoom, of course) on the state of the industry and how we can support it.
Scroll on for some highlights from the conversation and be sure to follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram to find out how to join our next roundtable discussion. If you want to join the movement and support small businesses right now, please visit @SmallBusinessBigInfluence on Instagram.
On accept and establishing a new normal…
“I think the toughest part is creating that sense of culture when you’re not together.” — Deepica Mutyala, founder and CEO of Live Tinted
“I didn’t realize how much we accomplished in in-person meetings” – Amber Fillerup, founder of Barefoot Blonde
“Having a morning routine and treating it like normal has been the only way to create a normal.” – Deepica Mutyala, founder and CEO of Live Tinted
“I keep telling myself that we are all human and that’s the number one thing that matters right now.” — Deepica Mutyala, founder and CEO of Live Tinted
On embracing authenticity on social media…
“Now more than ever, people just want to see human.” — Deepica Mutyala, founder and CEO of Live Tinted
“I’ve tried to have the right balance of content that can distract with content that can educate with content that is actually helpful and useful.” — Danielle Bernstein, entrepreneur and founder of We Wore What
“It’s been an opportunity for us to do weekly newsletters where we profile people from the community who are doing heroic things.” — Deepica Mutyala, founder and CEO of Live Tinted
On leaning into charitable contributions…
“Everything has meaning behind it and I want my followers to feel better about their purchases and feel like they are really going to help someone.” — Danielle Bernstein, entrepreneur and founder of We Wore What
“No matter how much I do, no matter how many people I’m helping right now, I’m still getting hate thrown my way.”— Danielle Bernstein, entrepreneur and founder of We Wore What
“Every sponsorship I have coming up I’m asking them if we can donate to a charity in need.” — Danielle Bernstein, entrepreneur and founder of We Wore What
On pivoting during this unprecedented pandemic…
“We’re sold out of two shades and can’t get that back in stock, so its forcing us to get really creative, and something we’ve always wanted to do is merch and there are manufacturers in LA that are still working.” — Deepica Mutyala, founder and CEO of Live Tinted
“At C&C, our whole business is events, so were thinking how can we bring things online.” — Jaclyn Johnson, founder and CEO of Create & Cultivate
“Social media views and engagement have increased by over 30% in the last two weeks. Everyone is spending a lot more time on digital and social media.” — Jaclyn Johnson, founder and CEO of Create & Cultivate
“More than ever, it’s a great time to work with influencers, you just have to be sensitive to what’s going on in our current landscape.” — Danielle Bernstein, entrepreneur and founder of We Wore What
On putting your employees first…
“I’m trying to feel out my employees because this is really taxing on our mental health, too, and I don’t want to push my employees too much. So, were being really sensitive and taking things slow.” — Amber Fillerup, founder of Barefoot Blonde
“Every morning, we get on a FaceTime call and have our coffee and do a morning ritual where we do our rose and thorn for the week.” — Danielle Bernstein, entrepreneur and founder of We Wore What
“Transparency has been key for us.” — Deepica Mutyala, founder and CEO of Live Tinted
“I think there is solace in the fact that its everyone and it’s not industry-specific.” — Jaclyn Johnson, founder and CEO of Create & Cultivate
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Ask an Expert: How to Design a Work-From-Home Space That Boosts Productivity
The founder and CEO of Parachute shares her tips.
We’ve been spending a lot of time at Create & Cultivate HQ discussing how we can best show up for and support our community during this uncertain time. Community is at our core, and connecting with others through one-of-a-kind experiences is what we love to do. While the world has changed, our mission has not. We’re committed to helping women create and cultivate the career of their dreams, which is why we’re proud to announce our new Ask an Expert series. We’re hosting discussions with experts, mentors, and influencers daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST on Instagram Live to cure your craving for community and bring you the expert advice you’ve come to know and love from C&C. Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the latest schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out!
Photo: Courtesy of Ariel Kaye
Not to state the obvious, but the lines between work-life and home-life have been blurred beyond distinction. Now that we’re all sheltering in place and working from home in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, it’s harder than ever to separate our work lives from our personal lives and, #realtalk, we’re all just trying to make it work.
For tips on creating a work-from-home space that boosts productivity, we virtually sat down with Ariel Kaye, the founder and CEO of Parachute, for our Ask an Expert Instagram Live series. Not only is Kaye at the helm of a cult-favorite home brand, but she also lives in an 800-square-foot bungalow with her husband and 14-month-old-daughter (!), so it’s safe to say she knows a thing or two about maximizing space.
Keep scrolling for three key takeaways from our conversation, as told to Create & Cultivate by Kaye, and be sure to follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram to catch the next installment of our Ask an Expert series.
Set Up a Workspace That’s Easy to Walk Away From
Right now, more than anything, set up a work area that easy to step away from to maintain your mental health. I like to take my calls from my bedroom or outside in the yard, and I answer emails from the dining table, and I review content from the couch.
Then, at the end of the day, I like to take a beat by closing my computer and setting down my phone. It’s really about that distinction and having boundaries that establish your work zone and your home zone, which can be difficult now that we’re in the same space.
Clear Clutter to Minimize Distractions
I need a clutter-free space to be productive, so I have a basket with headphones, pens, and everything else I need to have within reach, and then I put away things that I know I won’t be using for a while to clear clutter. Every morning, I’ll fluff the pillows, wipe down surfaces, and clear clutter to get my space ready for the day.
Liven Things Up to Keep Your Space Feeling Fresh
I’m a big believer in grabbing fresh bouquets of flowers at the market every week to keep the house looking and feeling lively and beautiful. If you’re not going to the farmer’s market or grocery store right now, consider picking things that are already overgrown in your neighborhood, like branches of bougainvillea, for example.
I’ve also been shopping my own home and moving things from one room to the next to keep things fresh. I recently moved a piece of art from my bedroom to the living room and it’s changed the whole space. I also love candles. Burning a candle is one of the things I do to transition from day to night at the end of the workday.
I try to remember that we’re all just trying our best and i have to tell myself every day to be kind to myself.
About the Expert: Ariel Kaye is the founder and CEO of Parachute. While it began in Los Angeles in 2014 as a digitally native brand, Parachute has since expanded beyond its roots—premium-quality artisanal bedding—to include essentials for every room in the home. In the last six years, Ariel has evolved Parachute into a beloved home lifestyle brand with numerous brick-and-mortar locations across the country. Under Ariel's leadership, the brand also launched a hospitality collection, created in partnership with the U.S.'s top hoteliers and interior designers. Ariel’s first book, “How to Make a House a Home,” will be released on April 14, 2020. She currently resides with her family in Venice Beach, California.
Tune in daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST, for new installments of Ask an Expert.
Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out. See you there!
Ask an Expert: How to Be Innovative as a Small Business Right Now and Remain Profitable
The youngest black woman to ever launch a line at Sephora shares her insight.
We’ve been spending a lot of time at Create & Cultivate HQ discussing how we can best show up for and support our community during this uncertain time. Community is at our core, and connecting with others through one-of-a-kind experiences is what we love to do. While the world has changed, our mission has not. We’re committed to helping women create and cultivate the career of their dreams, which is why we’re proud to announce our new Ask an Expert series. We’re hosting discussions with experts, mentors, and influencers daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST on Instagram Live to cure your craving for community and bring you the expert advice you’ve come to know and love from C&C. Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the latest schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out!
Photo: Courtesy of Trinity Mouzon Wofford
If there’s one thing we’ve learned from our Ask an Expert series, it’s that innovating will be crucial for small businesses to come out of the COVID-19 crisis stronger than ever. “Pivot,” “shift,” and “adapt” are buzzwords that have popped up in nearly every conversation we’ve had with founders in nearly every industry, ranging from events to skincare to fitness.
Naturally, we could think of no one better to speak to the topic of innovation than Trinity Mouzon Wofford, the youngest black woman to ever launch a line at Sephora and a Forbes 2020 30 Under 30 honoree. Keep scrolling to read a few highlights from our conversation with the forward-thinking co-founder and CEO behind the wellness-meets-skincare brand Golde, as told by Wofford to Create & Cultivate.
Check-In With Your Community
If you’re wondering how to talk to people right now about your business, ask your community. Instead of racking your brain trying to figure out what’s appropriate, ask them. It all comes back to thinking about your community and what they’re looking for from you right now.
Does your product or your service provide value for people right now? At Golde, we’ve found that our products provide a lot of value and service to people who want to practice wellness at home right now. What is it you’re selling and does it resonate with what people are going through right now?
Prioritize Word-of-Mouth Product Recommendations
No one wants to be sold to right now. More than ever, those micro-influencer relationships, those one to one product recommendations that are coming from friend to friend, are what’s resonating with people right now.
Lean Into Digital to Acquire (and Retain) New Customers
If you’re seeing increased traffic to your site and increased conversion rates, this is an opportunity to develop an acquisition strategy that brings people into your retention strategy.
We’re shopping online way more than we were before, and although consumer patterns have shifted due to a temporary situation, these shifts may last longer than the crisis, if not permanently.
Again, it comes down to having honest conversations with your community and what they want from you. You have to figure out what your voice is and what your opinion is and couple that with who’s listening and what they want to hear from you.
About the Expert: Trinity Mouzon Wofford was raised in New York's Hudson Valley by a single mom with an autoimmune disease. When she was a teenager, her mom started seeing a holistically-minded physician and saw an incredible improvement in her symptoms, which inspired Wofford to study pre-med at NYU. When Wofford’s mom had to stop seeing her doctor because she couldn't afford it, Wofford abandoned her plans for med school, frustrated by the lack of accessibility to holistic care, and fell into a marketing career in New York. She absolutely loved it, but she knew she wanted to come back to wellness somehow. That's the mindset Golde was born from in 2017.
Tune in daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST, for new installments of Ask an Expert.
Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out. See you there!
Ask an Expert: How to Elevate Your Brand, Strategize, and Execute in These Strange Days
Marketing from every angle.
We’ve been spending a lot of time at Create & Cultivate HQ discussing how we can best show up for and support our community during this uncertain time. Community is at our core, and connecting with others through one-of-a-kind experiences is what we love to do. While the world has changed, our mission has not. We’re committed to helping women create and cultivate the career of their dreams, which is why we’re proud to announce our new Ask an Expert series. We’re hosting discussions with experts, mentors, and influencers daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST on Instagram Live to cure your craving for community and bring you the expert advice you’ve come to know and love from C&C. Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the latest schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out!
Photo: bongkarn thanyakij for Pexels
Marketing can be confusing, but even when it feels like the sky is falling, it is not a dirty word and, in fact, often makes the difference between a three- or a six-month uphill battle to recovery.
Trust me, I know a lot about both marketing and dirty words! And if the recession in 2008 showed us anything, it’s that now is the time to amp up your digital marketing spend. At Elevate My Brand, our creative experts are good as hell in all the many and multifaceted elements of marketing that support your business’ visibility, awareness and sales.
Ahead, I’m breaking it down in two broad categories: digital and experiential. While these two forms of marketing may sound like they’re on opposite sides of the spectrum, they are integral to brand success (yes, even now!). They amplify each other’s effectiveness, so it is crucial that there’s synergy between the two. Enter, the mind map!
So, what is a mind map session?
Strategy is extremely valuable because of what is discovered in the planning process. It uncovers truths, areas of opportunities, blind spots and outlines the answers to necessary questions about audiences, goals, and budgets. This session is the starting point on any brand journey. It’s an opportunity to play, visualize and map out a strategic go-forward plan. Here’s what this could look like for you.
Digital Marketing
How do your customers find you online? This includes everything from your website and your social channels to your email marketing campaigns. We live in a digital world where people can access information fast and on every possible platform. Plus, people are more digitally literate and brand-minded than ever before, which is why brand consistency across all platforms can increase company revenue by 23%. Your digital footprint is a critical starting point. See if you can map it out like this for your brand.
Now, let’s break it down.
Your website
Let’s be clear. It’s 2020, so there is no excuse for a sub-par website. A website is basically a digital brochure of your brand. It’s your online headquarters. Making sure your website represents your brand through visual storytelling and quality content is critical. It’s often the first and only impression you make with a potential client, so make sure that you spend the time and money to create a stunning, interesting, information-rich and user-focused platform for your company. Think through the most important marketing elements of your site, such as forms, e-commerce API, mailing and database integrations, etc., to make the most of your customers’ online experience.
Your social media presence
Social media can be a great brand-building tool for your business if you use it the right way, especially right now where people are bored and looking to engage more than ever before. In your mind map session, make sure you’re outlining the social media platforms that will provide the most impact for your brand category and ones that you will be able to maintain activity on.
There’s nothing worse than seeing a brand social page whose content is spotty or non-existence. That doesn’t build brand loyalty and trust. If business development is your priority, consider LinkedIn or Twitter; product development or customer research, consider Twitter or Reddit; sales and UGC, consider Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest; and for general education or content, consider Facebook. Your social network of choice matters. Develop a social media strategy that aligns with your business plan and KPIs. What are the general goals for your quarter, your year? Don’t try to be everything to everyone.
In developing your social media strategy, it’s important that you stay updated on current news and trends. There’s no doubt that COVID-19 has caused several businesses to alter their social media strategy. You probably won’t be posting the same content, but that doesn’t mean you should lay off on posting all together. In fact, social media content is more important now than ever, with engagement up nearly 30%!
During times like these, your social media content is probably going to be less about showing your product, and more about showing your values. How is your company remaining positive and helping the community during COVID-19? Showcasing your values and how you treat your employees will help build brand loyalty and potentially put you ahead of your competitors when budgets open back up.
Your advertising strategy
Once you’ve developed a plan on your social network(s) of choice, it’s time to carve out a social ad budget and create some campaigns. Sadly, organic social alone won’t grow your audience or build brand recognition these days. You absolutely need ads to reach more eyeballs and increase your follower count.
In a mind map session, we guide potential clients in choosing the right ad platforms, whether that’s Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or even TikTok. You may think that advertising during the COVID-19 pandemic isn’t the best idea, but it’s actually the perfect time. Think about it: with other advertisers and competitors pulling out their ad spend, you have more opportunity than ever to grow your market share and rise to the top at a lower CPC, that’s a huge potential win.
Social isn’t the only ads platform. There’s also Google, have you heard of them? Whether you like it or not, Google Ads are a necessity. Recent updates to Google Ads’ algorithms have made it so that, if you want to be on the first page of a search engine results page (SERP), you have no choice but to pay to play. At a minimum, you need constantly running, highly targeted search ads to increase your SEO.
Your content development
Content is queen! Many people are surprised to hear that you should be posting content at least twice a week, which translates to 104 pieces of content for the year. How will you come up with this content? Our secret sauce, and something you can definitely execute while in quarantine, is a once-quarterly session where we spend one whole day to create content for three months or about 26 pieces. And rather than writing blog posts, we record vlog posts.
Why? Because YouTube is the #2 search engine after Google. In other words, video content with written transcriptions play nicely with the top two engines. The best part about content development? It’s low-risk and high-reward. You can set up some lighting and a good camera and record great content on the fly. Right now, while businesses are coping with COVID-19, is the perfect time to fill out your content reservoir. In our mind map sessions, we share with you some ways to create content “pillars” and build out a strategy from there.
Experiential Marketing
Whereas digital is the online experience of your brand, experiential is the offline experience. This includes events such as pop-ups, product launches, activations, trade shows, conferences, and even field marketing efforts. When planning and hosting events, it’s wise to use a little bit of your budget to bring on a photographer and a videographer so you can tie the experiential to the digital side as well.
A recent event series we did with the fabulous Tamara Mellon is a great example of how the two work synergistically. We partnered with the luxury shoe brand to create, fabricate and execute an event concept for the Create & Cultivate conferences. While we worked hard to fabricate their event, we also worked on the digital side to execute a hashtag that was unique to the event. It was #FlashYourMellons. It was a little salacious, and the brand wasn’t sure about it at first, but on the first day of the conference, Tamara Mellon got more social engagement through that hashtag than in the entire history of the brand!
Obviously, in-person experiential marketing is temporarily on hold thanks to COVID-19. But that doesn’t mean all experiential is on hold. Convert, don’t cancel. If you can, convert in-person events to digital hangouts. Rather than reveal a new product in-store, go live on social. In just one week, Facebook and Instagram Live views doubled. Use this bizarre time to build brand loyalists by converting your events rather than canceling, and creating even more intimate and engaging moments online.
Right now, Elevate My Brand is offering complimentary strategy sessions to any brands in need. Shoot them an email at info@elevatemybrand.com or ping them on Instagram or Facebook.
About the Expert: Laurel Mintz, J.D., M.B.A. is the CEO and founder of award-winning, Los Angeles-based digital marketing agency Elevate My Brand. Laurel’s gift is connecting with people and their stories. After all, companies are made up of people, and stories are just narratives that are the foundation of great marketing. Laurel’s energy has been the driving force behind the agency’s growth since it launched in 2009. Her awards include the 2017 Patrick Soon-Shiong Innovation Award, the 2016 Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Company award, the Los Angeles Business Journal 2016 Women In Business Award, and more.
"How Should I Handle This Crisis?"—What to Do When It's NOT Business as Usual
All the Ask an Expert IG Lives you need to watch RN.
We’ve been spending a lot of time at Create & Cultivate HQ discussing how we can best show up for and support our community during this uncertain time. Community is at our core, and connecting with others through one-of-a-kind experiences is what we love to do. While the world has changed, our mission has not. We’re committed to helping women create and cultivate the career of their dreams, which is why we’re proud to announce our new Ask an Expert series. We’re hosting discussions with experts, mentors, and influencers daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST on Instagram Live to cure your craving for community and bring you the expert advice you’ve come to know and love from C&C. Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the latest schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out!
Photo: Polina Zimmerman for Pexels
It’s safe to say that nothing feels normal right now. In the infamous words of Ross Geller, it’s time to “pivot” in both our personal and professional lives. As part of our Ask an Expert Instagram Live series, we’ve tapped some amazing women—spanning CEOs, lawyers, fitness instructors, and more—to help ease the transition for us all.
If you missed their conversations live, don’t worry. It’s not too late to catch them all on C&C’s IGTV. Below, we’ve compiled a few of our favorite segments for you to watch (or rewatch!). Spanning a conversation with a lawyer about force majeure clauses to a chat with a small biz owner on how to unite a remote team, there’s something on this list for everyone.
We’re all spending the better part of our days on Instagram, so we might as well spend that time learning something, right? Scroll on to get started.
“Have the difficult conversations—don’t avoid them.”
—Jamie Lieberman, attorney and founder of Hashtag Legal
If You Want To... understand what COVID-19 means for your contracts.
Watch... How to Review a Contract for a Force Majeure Clause (and What to Do If You Don’t Have One)
What You'll Take Away... Most of us ignore the force majeure clause in our contracts, but they are super important in a time like this. Jamie Lieberman, attorney and founder of Hashtag Legal, talks us through what it means when it is impossible to carry out contracts in place. Can I cancel? Can I postpone? Do I have to give my client their money back? Jamie is here to answer all these questions and more. If you’re not exactly Elle Woods and you need a little legal advice, this is a must watch!
“Fear is something that you have to embrace as an entrepreneur.”
—Cyndi Ramirez, founder and CEO, Chillhouse
If You Want To... chill out!
Watch... How to Stay Chill During a Stressful Time
What You'll Take Away... It is stressful to be a business owner right now. Cyndi Ramirez, the founder and CEO of Chillhouse, walks us through the ways that COVID-19 has effected her business and how her self care centric business is staying afloat. Cyndi is #relatable for anyone struggling to find their place in the middle of a crisis. Watch to see the ways she is pivoting, embracing fear, and supporting businesses doing the right thing.
“Regardless of how talented you are, if someone can’t look at your resume and see how you’d be a good fit for the role, your resume is not going to be effective.”
—Michelle Lando, certified professional resume writer, personal branding expert, and founder of Write Styles
If You Want To... spend your downtime updating your resume.
Watch... How to Update Your Resume and Find a Job When You've Been Laid Off
What You'll Take Away... If you’ve been laid off, there are still things you can be doing to make yourself hirable. Michelle Lando, a certified professional resume writer, personal branding expert, and the founder of Write Styles, joins us to share all the ways you can be using your time off to expand your resume and find a job. Michelle recommends using this time to learn new software, get new certifications, take on small projects to show off your skills, and tailor your resume to your dream job. Take a look at all the tips on how to make the most of your time off.
“Know that, when you are feeling anxious, the anxiety will end. It’s okay to be uncomfortable right now.”
—Lo Bosworth, founder & CEO, Love Wellness
If You Want To... ditch your anxiety.
Watch... How to Take Care of Yourself and Reduce Anxiety
What You'll Take Away... Anxiety is at an all-time high right now as we face an unprecedented change in our lives, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing we can do about it. Lo Bosworth, the founder and CEO of Love Wellness, walks us through her best self-care tips and ways to calm anxiety. Lo recommends sticking to a schedule, meditating, moving your body, and, above all, leaning into the anxiety and acknowledging and accepting your feelings. “Don’t be afraid to help yourself,” by watching for more tips from this wellness expert!
“What I would encourage you all to be thinking about, more than thinking about growth right now, is sustainability.”
—Gretchen Jones, strategic business advisor and keynote speaker
If You Want To... carry your business through this crisis.
Watch... How to Understand the Needs of Your Business During a Crisis
What You'll Take Away... This is anything but business as usual, but we aren’t throwing our goals out the window. We hear from Create & Cultivate founder and CEO Jaclyn Johnson’s business coach, Gretchen Jones on how we can adjust our business strategies in this crazy time. She talks through lay-offs, sustaining your business, budgeting, and being a good virtual boss. If you’re trying to keep your business afloat and adjusting to a new economic reality, DO NOT skip this must-watch IG Live.
“Think back to when fun was your number one boss, your number one motivation.”
—Grace Harry, joy strategist
If You Want To... find joy in isolation!
Watch... How to Discover Joy in Turbulent Times
What You'll Take Away... It may feel like the world is lacking joy, but that is far from the truth. While joy may not look the way it used to, Grace Harry, a joy strategist, joins us to share all the ways you can find joy while stuck inside. Whether you want to shake out the “sillys,” think back to your favorite childhood activities, or turn your house into an adult playground, joy is everywhere. Time to tap into the collective experience we are all having and bring on the joy!
“If necessity is the mother of invention, then COVID-19 is the mother of creativity.”
—Cindy Eckert, founder & CEO, The Pink Ceiling
If You Want To... use downtime as dream-time.
Watch... How to Be Innovative in a Time of Isolation
What You'll Take Away... We’re stuck at home, and as tempting as Netflix may be, we are using our downtime to dream big! Cindy Eckert, the founder and CEO of The Pink Ceiling, is sharing her tips for getting innovative. Whether you’re problem-solving for your business or trying to develop your skills, an hour a day of “creative time” is the number thing Cindy recommends for isolation time. Make time for yourself, your ideas, and to watch this video!
“Let’s get our bodies moving, let’s feel good together.”
—Megan Roup, celebrity trainer & founder of The Sculpt Society
If You Want To... have a lunch break sweat sesh from your living room.
Watch... 30-Minute Live Stretch and Sculpt Session with Megan Roup
What You'll Take Away... Fitness is more important than ever these days. Not just because we can’t stop snacking, but because movement is self-care. Megan Roup, a celebrity trainer and the founder of The Sculpt Society, brings us a quick work out that everyone can do from home. Put the computer down for 30 minutes and refresh your mind and body.
“Make sure you’re giving your audience and customers only what they want.”
—Vanessa Lee, cosmetic nurse, skincare specialist, and founder of The Things We Do
If You Want To... make use of digital and master the pivot.
Watch... How to Jump on Digital Even If Your Business Isn't Online
What You'll Take Away... Pivot is THE hot topic for business owners right now. Businesses everywhere are trying to figure out how to stay connected and make money as our routines have shifted. Vanessa Lee, a cosmetic nurse, skincare specialist, and the founder of The Things We Do, is sharing her quick shift to digital and tips on how to make it all work. Its time to get creative people! Whether it’s online consults, extra social media content, or offering new services, the pivot is essential.
“Being positive and optimistic yourself is really important. You set the bar. Even if you are freaking the eff out on the inside, you need to be as cool, calm, and collected as you can for your team.”
—Sonja Rasula, founder, Unique Markets
If You Want To... connect with your team and be the leader they deserve.
Watch... How to Unite a Remote Team
What You'll Take Away... Isolation can be really, well, isolating. But socializing at work and feeling like a part of the team is essential to WFH productivity. Sonja Rasula, Founder, Unique Markets, shares her tricks for staying connected and spreading positivity in our new digital workplace. It’s time to start a Slack channel for water-cooler talk, remind your employees that you too are a human, and avoid freaking the eff out!
“Use your values to determine what expenses are important, protect your company culture, and trim where you can without hurting your core business.”
—Sallie Krawcheck, CEO & co-founder, Ellevest
If You Want To… be wise with your $.
Watch… How to Make Smart Money Moves During COVID-19
What You’ll Take Away… For small business owners, money matters are stressful on even the best days, but now the pressure is on more than ever. If you’re feeling paralyzed, Sallie Krawcheck, the CEO and co-founder of Ellevest, is here to be your guide through this turbulent economy. Her first tip: control what you can control and stop thinking ‘what if?” Watch on as she breaks down budgeting, layoffs, and why you need to keep your eye on D.C. right now.
About The Author: Cassie White is an editorial intern at Create & Cultivate. She's a senior at Chapman University majoring in Marketing and minoring in Leadership. Cassie is from Denver, Colorado and is excited to be pursuing her passion for supporting women in business.
Ask an Expert: What Does the Small Business Stimulus Package Mean for You?
The editor-at-large for Inc. Magazine and Inc.com talks us through it.
We’ve been spending a lot of time at Create & Cultivate HQ discussing how we can best show up for and support our community during this uncertain time. Community is at our core, and connecting with others through one-of-a-kind experiences is what we love to do. While the world has changed, our mission has not. We’re committed to helping women create and cultivate the career of their dreams, which is why we’re proud to announce our new Ask an Expert series. We’re hosting discussions with experts, mentors, and influencers daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST on Instagram Live to cure your craving for community and bring you the expert advice you’ve come to know and love from C&C. Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the latest schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out!
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To speed up the process, you want to apply with a bank where you already have a relationship. I’d suggest trying your local bank first because they’re viewing this as a way to get new customers.”
—Kimberly Weisul, editor-at-large for Inc. Magazine and Inc.com
It’s no secret that small businesses are hurting right now. Local restaurants, salons, and fitness studios across the country have closed their doors in order to help flatten the coronavirus curve and contain the spread of COVID-19, and needless to say, closing shop has put untold financial strain on these businesses.
In previous installments of our Ask an Expert series, we’ve covered how to get financial relief as a small business owner, how to pivot to digital even if your business isn’t online, and how to support small businesses right now (even if you can’t afford to spend a dime). In today’s segment, we tapped the editor-at-large for Inc. Magazine and Inc.com, Kimberly Weisul, to talk us through what we need to know about the small business stimulus package so far (note: information is still forthcoming from the government on when payments will be released, how independent contractors can apply, and more).
That said, here are some key takeaways from the conversation, including a breakdown of the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Emergency Advance.
The Paycheck Protection Program
Who can apply?
“Almost any business with less than 500 employees is eligible to apply. If you’re self-employed, an independent contractor, or someone who receives 1099 tax forms, you can apply starting this Friday, April 10. Small not-for-profits and faith-based business are eligible to apply as well.
What are the details?
“This loan is designed to be used especially for paying employees. It’s a loan that has the potential to turn into a grant if you use 75% of the money for payroll expenses and you keep your employees on for at least 8 weeks after getting the loan
You can apply for up to 2x the amount of your payroll for the previous year. It’s a two-year loan with a 1% interest per year. You don’t need to put up collateral or a personal guarantee and you don’t need to show that you tried to get credit elsewhere and failed.
More information will be available for independent contracts on how they can calculate their income this week—this information is not yet available.”
How do I apply?
“The loan is guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Association (SBA), but you’ll need to apply through a bank. That said, banks aren’t set up for this yet. On the first day, Bank of America received 800,000 applications.
To speed up the process, you want to apply with a bank where you already have a relationship. I’d suggest trying your local bank first because they’re viewing this as a way to get new customers.
If your bank has told you they’ve already closed applications, keep in contact with them because they might open applications up again, but I would suggest that you start bank shopping. Keep in mind that the interest rate for this loan is fixed, so if you find interest rates higher than 1% that’s illegal.”
What else do I need to know?
“Be careful when you apply that you know what you’re signing up for. If you’re using an intermediary, you should read the fine print on all the documents. You’re sharing a lot of financial information so you want to be clear on what you’re signing up for.”
When can I expect to receive funds?
“The most optimistic projection I’ve heard for the release off funds is one week. We’re thinking at least two weeks.”
The Economic Injury Disaster Loan Emergency Advance (EIDL)
Who can apply?
“Almost any business with less than 500 employees is eligible to apply.”
What are the details?
“If you apply in good faith, you can ask for the $10,000 to be granted to you immediately, and if you eventually declined for the loan, that $10,000 is forgiven. So it’s well worth the time to apply for this loan.
It can only be used for working capital. For example, say you’re a restaurant, you can keep the employees on using the Paycheck Protection Program loan, but you can use the working capital to pay for inventory that’s spoiled.”
How do I apply?
“You can apply directly through The U.S. Small Business Association (SBA). Only about half the application form is up, meaning it’s really easy to apply for this lean quickly. This money would come directly from the SBA, in other words, you don’t need to have a relationship with a bank, unlike the Paycheck Protection Program.”
When can I expect to receive funds?
“The most optimistic projection I’ve heard for the release off funds is one week. We’re thinking at least two weeks.”
**”If you do apply for either of these loans, you need to make sure your bookkeeping is up to speed. Be very careful. If you do get one of these loans and you’re ultimately looking to have it forgiven, you will need to have the documentation to make sure that happens.”
**”If you already have an SBA loan (you may also know this as a 7A loan) through your bank, they’re offering deferment on payment for up to six months so that’s cashflow that you can have coming in right now. Talk to your bank—keep in mind that they’re very overwhelmed—and set this up.”
About the Expert: Kimberly Weisul is the editor-at-large for Inc. Magazine and Inc.com, where she writes features, opinion, and news stories about entrepreneurship, women, and technology. Before joining Inc., she was a senior editor at a BusinessWeek, where she directed all coverage of small business and entrepreneurship and was the founding editor of a spin-off publication, BusinessWeek SmallBiz. She is also the creator of The Fundery, the only searchable database of venture funds that have a mandate to invest in women.
Tune in daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST, for new installments of Ask an Expert.
Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out. See you there!
8 PR Pros on How to Stand Out in a Sea of COVID-19 Headlines
“It’s important that we’re compassionate and socially aware during these uncertain times.”
Photo: Ekaterina Bolovtsova for Pexels
Unprecedented. Uncertain. Extraordinary. It’s safe to say you can’t scroll through your news or social media feeds without coming across at least one of these coronavirus-related buzzwords. Of course, these terms are completely justified seeing as we’re in the midst of a global health crisis of unparalleled proportions, however, it does beg the question, how do you stand out amid the coronavirus headline saturation to get your brand’s message heard?
To gain insight into how brands can lead with humanity, stay relevant, and be of service during the COVID-19 crisis, we tapped some of the leading public relations and digital marketing pros in the industry and asked them to share their #1 tip for cutting through the noise. From setting up virtual desksides with media editors to re-engaging existing customers in new ways, keep scrolling for their innovative and mindful tips—you’re going to want to write these down.
Melissa Davis
Founder & Co-Owner, Ruby Press
Experience: 19 years
The Tip: Make it relevant and solve a problem. Many of us are working from home, many of us are concerned about finances, and we are all concerned about staying healthy. While my agency represents lifestyle brands, there are many stories we can share with the media and influencers that are very relevant to the current situation.
Why It Works: While we are all keeping up with the news about the pandemic, we need some good news too. It's a balance. Those fun, light-hearted features are also important right now—but they need to be sensitive to the current state of the world. The best results we have seen from outreach over the best couple of weeks have been surrounding positive, problem-solving stories.
Benjamin Almeter
Founder & Managing Director, Dispatch
Experience: 7 years
The Tip: Lead with authenticity.
Why It Works: Speak to what's most authentic to you and your brand, that's where you'll organically resonate and find the most success in growing your community, standing out and driving conversion. Now, more than ever, we're surrounded by brands pushing product and leaning into a timely conversation where they're not always the most relevant. That's off-putting to consumers, easy to spot, and can have long term negative effects on your brand’s perception.
The Tip: Don't undervalue your existing community.
Why It Works: We're always focused on ways to engage and acquire new customers—now's the time look back and reengage your existing customers to do just that. Utilize your existing customers as a tool to share your brand’s story and introduce the product to their community. Consumers highly value the opinion of those within their direct communities.
Kamari Guthrie
Founder & CEO, Kamari Chelsea
Experience: 15 years
The Tip: If you're looking to make headlines right now, your brand has to tell a story about one of the following: novelty, altruism, practicality.
Why It Works: I use the acronym "NAP" to help people remember this, but don't be fooled by the name. You'll have to put in work.
Novelty: Is your brand saying or doing something new right now that no one has ever heard of? For example, are you offering a unique service to help women-run small businesses survive? Or, are you launching an at-home manicure kit that creates salon-perfect results right at home for half the cost? Be honest with yourself about whether your brand offers something new, unique, and essential that people need during these times. And if so, pitch it as a novel solution to the many new challenges people are having.
Altruism: Maybe you don't have something to offer that fits within your business model, but you have extra cash to donate or a robust and influential network. Mine your business for resources that you can give to those who have lost everything. For example, you can start a new campaign with your brand's influencers or extra cash to help fund and inspire those who are struggling. Then, pitch it to the media to get the word out that you're offering support.
Practicality: If your brand has a utility or a good use that can be applied to support those impacted by COVID, double down on telling stories about that thing. For example, if you're a designer and you can design masks—talk about it! Or, if you're running an accounting business, offer to write an op-ed or pitch a podcast interview, where you will provide tangible advice to companies and employees who've lost revenue and income.
Meghan Donovan
Founder, mmd communications
Experience: 13 years
The Tip: My goal is always to be a helpful resource for editors, and now is no different. I am, however, being extra sensitive in my pitches and also more cautious in follow up. There's so much more at play in the world right now than beauty and wellness, and so I think the majority of publicists are trying to be more in-tune with the stories that make the most sense given the current climate.
Why It Works: I got into PR because I value communication and relationships. Now, more than ever, we need to be resources for one another. I always tell the brands I represent that my style is not mass-pitching or trend pitching but rather I want to meet the editors where their needs are and try and tell the best stories.
This is more important than ever as—work aside—we're all human and we're all trying to manage both stress from working under new constraints but also managing our new normal in the world. I think we all feel stress and anxiety at how our lives are evolving and no one needs overly zealous or tone-deaf pitching in their inboxes. (I've seen a few horror stories circulating that exhibit that!)
Jaspre Guest
Founder & CEO, NOISE 784
Experience: 9 years
The Tip: At NOISE 784, we are focused on keeping positive momentum through this uncertain period. I believe you need to be open to shift strategies by changing the narrative. When everything changes the ability to pivot quickly is almost the surefire way to be still standing when the dust settles.
Why It Works: During this unprecedented time, consumers are craving direction. We are meeting a need. One of my mantras is to find the hole and go through it. Currently, there are a ton of holes. You just have to reframe the situation. We are highlighting how our clients' expertise can provide guidance to consumers on how to thrive despite the circumstances.
Simona Rozhko
Founder & CEO, evna media
Experience: 8 years
The Tip: My number one tip for standing out during this time involves a two-step approach. First, you have to quickly let your clients know you're aware of the climate and that things are rapidly changing (for them and for you). Setting up a dedicated call and agenda regarding the situation is crucial so that the next steps can be created to navigate together.
It's an important time to let the world know that brands are still okay, given the circumstances, and that we're in this together. There are many questions that arise week after week, so the client-publicist conversation should remain a two-way street—what changes are we experiencing in PR should the client know about? What changes is the client experiencing that PR should know about?
This leads me into the second step, which is to identify that a pivot has to be made as well as a plan to restrategize for the next TBD period of time featuring new goal-oriented programming for the client. For evna media, it was moving current and future initiatives into a digital-first protocol and making sure we could support our clients beyond PR if need be.
Some initiatives were easily applied to a digital version while others needed more definition and finesse. These initiatives included meetings, product launches, events, desksides, social media, and of course pitching-- heavily monitoring the news cycle and checking in with editors. We were able to quickly create meaningful moments with media while connecting with widespread communities and supporting our clients through this unusual adjustment.
Why It Works: Relying on digital tools and virtual workshops has worked pretty seamlessly for us because the majority of the world is checking the news, universal updates, stats, government regulations, etc. on our smartphones already. We're creating content in real-time while everyone's user-activity is surging.
On top of that, we are working from the comfort of our own homes, which creates much less physical effort for someone to attend a virtual event or make time for a digital meeting. I think there are going to be many permanent changes post-COVID-19, not only in the PR but across all industries. Some of the tools we're using now that maybe didn't have a place before—because of the forces of innovation—will carry over when we're all back in our offices.
Megan Bell
Senior Account Executive, Sharp Think
Experience: 7 years
The Tip: Be human! It’s important that we’re compassionate and socially aware during these uncertain times.
Why It Works: The current COVID-19 crisis has impacted all of us on both a personal and professional level, causing us to rethink how we’re communicating with our clients and the media. A sense of compassion for all and sharing relevant, impactful news are the driving forces for our current strategy. We’re checking in with our media contacts to see how they are holding up and asking how we can be most helpful with their editorial plans—after all, we’re all in this together!
This way, we can be sure that we’re sharing the most relevant, topical news to meet their needs. We’re providing solutions for their readers to help tackle everyday issues, from financial anxiety and coping with the changes to our everyday routines to providing a temporary escape through virtual experiences that readers can enjoy from their living rooms. We’ve seen great success in highlighting these much-needed topic areas and feel that our media contacts appreciate this approach.
With the state of the media landscape changing on a daily basis, my team has made it a priority to check-in with our clients regularly. We’ve shifted our status calls to video conferences for some much-needed face time, which allows us to have a more open and organic dialogue while strategizing. We’ve been nimble and thoughtful in providing creative recommendations for clients, with a primary focus on consumer and community needs. My team is implementing virtual experiences in lieu of in-person meetings or events, and we are crafting solution-based pitches for our product-focused brands.
Now more than ever, we need to prioritize collaboration with our client partners and journalists, as we’re all working towards a collective goal!
Beth Bassil
Co-Founder, b.good PR
Experience: 7 years
The Tip: Keeping it real. It's not about being self-serving right now and worrying if your brand is making sales or included in every single story. We are encouraging our clients to focus on rebuilding community, take this time to network and collaborate with one another.
Connecting with your network on another level. B.good PR has been hosting virtual coffee meetings where we ask for 15 minutes to meet with our media contacts to learn more about them, the work they do and to pump some fun into our days—it's not all business.
We consider our media relationships like an extended family. In exchange, we share virtual gift cards to their favorite coffee or juice shop to help support local businesses during this time. The response has been so positive—it's really nice to see we're lifting people's moods during this time.
Why It Works: Through the virtual meetings, we're able to connect on a whole other level—learning fun personal quirks about each other, too. We're able to share what our clients are doing during this time to help spread positivity and bring communities together… by keeping it real we've actually landed a lot of opportunities for clients through these meetings.
Up next: How to Adjust Your Media Strategy and Connect With Customers in a Crisis
MORE ON THE BLOG
Ask an Expert: How to Adjust Your Media Strategy and Connect With Customers in a Crisis
Now is the time to prioritize and pivot.
We’ve been spending a lot of time at Create & Cultivate HQ discussing how we can best show up for and support our community during this uncertain time. Community is at our core, and connecting with others through one-of-a-kind experiences is what we love to do. While the world has changed, our mission has not. We’re committed to helping women create and cultivate the career of their dreams, which is why we’re proud to announce our new Ask an Expert series. We’re hosting discussions with experts, mentors, and influencers daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST on Instagram Live to cure your craving for community and bring you the expert advice you’ve come to know and love from C&C. Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the latest schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out!
Photo: Courtesy of Ali Grant
Ali Grant is always ahead of the curve. Case in point: She was among the first people to recognize the power of influencer marketing back in 2011 when she launched her sought-after PR agency Be Social. Today, her client list includes the likes of H&M, SoulCycle, and Tone It Up, so naturally, she’s at the top of our list of experts when it comes to the topic of adjusting a media strategy and connecting with customers during a crisis.
In this installment of our ongoing Instagram Live series, Ask an Expert, the public relations specialist offers her expert guidance on how to navigate marketing and PR in the midst of the COVID-19 new normal. Keep scrolling to read the top three takeaways from the conversation and to find out how to tune into our next Ask an Expert live chat. (Psst… follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram and head to our COVID-19 content hub for more resources on navigating the coronavirus crisis).
1. Lead with compassion.
“If you remain authentic, compassionate, and transparent, you’re one step closer to building trust and loyalty. By building trust, you’re building your consumer relations and brand affinity. Be a resource for your customers during this challenging time, and hopefully, organic sales will come naturally, but that shouldn’t be the prime motivation right now. Consumers will appreciate any value you’re adding to their lives and will support your brand naturally.”
2. Don’t be opportunistic and look for ways to capitalize on this crisis.
“Remember, this is a health crisis. Lead with compassion in every decision. Now is the time to prioritize and pivot. Remember that it’s okay to put a pause on non-essential messaging—evaluate what’s important to push across, and what’s not. Avoid messaging that feel irrelevant or inappropriate right now, and pause or cancel campaigns that don’t make sense. Now is the time to lead with compassion and be inclusive.
3. Find ways to give back to the community and be helpful.
“First and foremost, this a health crisis, the biggest consideration should be humanitarian support. We’re recommending our clients find ways to add value to their customers, whether that means sharing expertise or offering a virtual service, while remaining authentic to their brands. Keep your brand mission together but pivot messaging to remain relevant and considerate of the time. Be a resource for accurate news and information.”
About the Expert: Ali Grant launched Be Social in 2011 as one of the first agencies executing integrated influencer outreach and collaboration. Be Social has been named one of Inc.’s fastest growing businesses spearheading influencer campaigns. Accolades, speaking engagements, and notable press coverage include Inc., PRWeek The Innovation 50, Forbes, Huffington Post, Fashion Monitor, The PR Closet, PR Couture, Bulldog Reporter, Daily Front Row, BW Confidential, The Holmes Report, America’s Beauty Show, and O’Dwyer PR.
Tune in daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST, for new installments of Ask an Expert.
Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out. See you there!