In the rapidly evolving digital marketing landscape, where every pixel and every second of video can contribute to a brand’s perception, the recent surge in AI-generated imagery usage has sparked intense debate. A sentiment echoed by a user on X about Nicki Minaj’s AI-driven Gag City marketing campaign sharply encapsulates the growing concern: “You know what I realised about AI images in your marketing? It sends out the message that you’ve got no budget. It’s the digital equivalent of wearing an obviously fake Chanel bag. Your whole brand immediately appears feeble and impoverished.”

The Temptation for Low-Effort Content
We’re sure you can agree – we live in an age where content is king, so the pressure to continuously churn out new material is immense. Brands are in a constant battle to stay relevant and visible to their audience, often leading them to the allure of AI-generated content. The reasoning is simple: why not produce a vast amount of digital content with minimal effort?

The High Cost of Video and the Rise of AI Assets
Video content, with its proven effectiveness in engaging audiences, comes with its own set of challenges. The algorithmic preferences of social media platforms towards video content mean that brands often require a video production team to make a significant impact. This quickly escalates costs, making it an unaffordable option for many brands. Consequently, we see an increasing reliance on cheaper AI assets as a workaround.

The Fallacy of Quantity Over Quality
Plain and simple, this strategy is inherently flawed. The primary use case for AI art, as it stands, appears to be flooding social media with content that lacks substance and value. The objective? Purely advertisement. But at what cost? The essence of branding and marketing is not just to gain visibility but to resonate with the audience on a deeper level, something that low-effort AI-generated content fails to achieve.

Recent incidents underscore the growing trend and its repercussions:

– Wizards of the Coast found itself under scrutiny for using AI images in tweets promoting a new Magic: The Gathering campaign.

– Wacom faced backlash for incorporating AI-generated art in a tweet, later stating the art was purchased from Adobe’s image library, which likely wasn’t tagged as AI-generated.

– Amazon saw its platform inundated with AI-generated product listings, some humorously acknowledging their inability to fulfil requests due to OpenAI’s use policy.

– Discovery has been called out multiple times on social media with users asking the brand if they have enough budget to use real models in their advertising.

These examples highlight not just the ethical and creative implications of using AI-generated imagery but also the potential for brand damage. The use of AI in these instances was not a testament to innovation but rather a shortcut that ultimately misled consumers and diluted brand integrity. AI can be a valuable tool if used thoughtfully. It shouldn’t replace human creativity but enhance it, offering benefits like improved ideation, website enhancements, and more efficient design processes.

Crafting Authentic Connections

The essence of a successful brand lies not in the quantity of content it produces but in the quality and authenticity of its connections with the audience. AI-generated content, while cost-effective and time-saving, more often than not misses the mark on resonating with human emotions and experiences.

All this doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for AI innovation- There are plenty of exciting ways to integrate AI and Machine Learning across your business process to deliver real, tangible results. However, in the quest to remain relevant and engaging in the digital age, brands must weigh the cost of convenience against the value of authenticity. 

As the digital equivalent of an “obviously fake Chanel bag,” over- reliance on AI-generated outward facing content can signal a lack of investment in quality, creativity, and, ultimately, in the audience itself if not done in a strategic and thoughtfully considered way, a way in which your audience won’t feel devalued or unimportant. In a world saturated with content, the brands that stand out will be those that prioritise meaningful connections over mere visibility, cultivating a legacy of authenticity and trust.

With technology becoming ever more influential in our everyday lives, it’s no wonder that we’re already seeing the beginnings of a consumer revolution. It’s an undeniable truth that there’s never been a better time for change, a time when innovation is the main focus of every consumer-facing company. But, what will consumers be talking about in 2022? How will it drive spend behaviours and how can you get closer to them?

Some consumer trends simply can’t be ignored. Here’s a glimpse of what businesses can expect over the next 12 months. 

• The Rise of the Mobile-First Shopper

Mobile devices aren’t just phones anymore and they haven’t been for some time. They’re even more powerful and multipurpose than PCs. Shoppers use their smartphones to plan and book vacations, make purchases and order online for delivery. Google even ranks mobile-friendly websites higher than their desktop counterparts in search results from mobile devices.

In 2021, the number of mobile users worldwide stood at 7.1 billion, with forecasters suggesting that this is likely to rise to 7.26 billion.  With increased numbers of people turning to the internet to shop, source information or be entertained via mobile, the trend is to ensure that your current website is mobile responsive for all device types.

• Social Media as the Primary Channel for Advertising

More companies are now using social media to advertise, and they are also taking advantage of the new user interfaces and the ease of use. At present, over 4.5 billion people around the world use social media, with 400 million new users joining within the last year. 

By leveraging the power of social media to deliver more relevant, personal and seamless shopping experiences, brands can tap into technologies like virtual reality and augmented reality to offer shoppers more relevant, personalized and intuitive shopping experiences.

According to the Global World Index, 54% of people on social media use the platforms to research products, with 54% of Generation Z and 49% of Millennials calling social media their preferred channel for ad influence. The global ad spend for social media advertising is projected to reach US$ 173 988m in 2022.

• e-Commerce as a First Option

Can I get it online? Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, consumer adoption of online shopping has accelerated. As people become more interested and comfortable in the online marketplace, they will increasingly use search engines and online shopping apps to look for products and services. In addition, consumers are more likely to compare prices and products before making a purchase. As a result, more consumers are making their purchases online. 

More companies are leveraging the internet and e-commerce to expand their customer reach and increase turnover. And customers are more comfortable using the internet for things like online banking and bill paying. In the coming year, we are likely to see more innovations and improvements in how consumers shop online. Consumers will continue to make more purchases online and expect to be able to access their information from any location.

• Consumers Want to be Valued, Or Else:

Customer loyalty is going to be on the wane for those brands that fail to deliver rewarding experiences to their customers and clients. Consumers are aware that if they can’t get what they want from one business, they can easily find another. They are becoming less tolerant of poor B2C experiences and actively share both positive and negative brand reviews for others to see, which could either help or hurt your business. For 2022, it is essential to close all gaps in your overall brand customer experience. 

We’re excited to see how businesses embrace these consumer trends within their marketing strategy for 2022. Don’t have one yet? We can help. Contact us today for all your digital marketing needs.

“Are you printing that with a spot or is it in process?”

This is by far one of the most frequently asked questions we hear from printing companies when submitting design work to be printed. Today, we’re going with Spot Colour!

Unlike process colour printing, which use various percentages of cyan, magenta, yellow and black plates (4 colour CMYK process) to produce different colours, shades and hues during the print process, spot colours or “solids” are premixed inks that are printed using a single plate. It may be a colour that cannot be achieved in the CMYK, such as opaque white, metallic blue or neon pink. A spot colour may also be achievable within the CMYK but is used instead of the CMYK as it gives an image a better appearance.

If you’ve ever painted with watercolours, you’ll know how challenging it is to mix blue and red the exact shade of purple every time. Or yellow and red for the same shade of orange. The same applies to printing with process colours. Companies that use a specific colour as part of their corporate design may find slight colour deviations on their artwork. For this reason, spot colour is invaluable to corporate branding. It ensures perfect colour reproduction across different materials and substrates. Colour is always accurate and consistent; never lighter or darker. This is especially critical in large print runs. The last thing any business owner wants is a large print that unintentionally changes shade halfway through. Logos are often created with spot colours as they maintain colour integrity no matter who the print vendor is. This consistency is essential to brand identity as it is how customers identify a company’s products and services.

There are times when ordinary flat colours don’t quite cut it for brands that want a luxurious appearance. A metallic spot colour, for instance, can add an element of glamour and sophistication, making printed products more eye-catching and desirable, which the regular printing process can’t get anywhere near. With spot colour printing, you could add a top layer of Spot UV varnish to your prints. If prints are to be handled in any way, this layer will keep the colours looking fresh and vibrant. That makes it perfect for use on business cards, catalogues, presentation documents and more.

Additionally, Spot Colour can be removed by a printer without affecting any design elements on your artwork that use that same colour in the CMYK. For instance, if 100% process colour magenta is used, and this colour needs to be removed from only a “specific area” on artwork, a printer will remove magenta from every colour on your artwork that includes magenta, ultimately affecting your design. However, if spot magenta is used, and that “area” of the design needs to be removed by the printer, it will do so without impacting any other colour that includes magenta.

Spot colour may also keep printing costs down. Every colour plate used during a print run costs money, and if budget is a real concern, you want to keep costs as low as possible. When a project’s design has only one, two, or three colours, it makes sense to use spot colour as fewer plates are used than the standard four in CMYK.

If you’d like to learn more about spot colour for your business logo, product and packaging designs, get in touch with us. We’ll be more than happy to create the perfect spot colours for your brand that hits the spot perfectly.

(Opinion and reflection piece by Chelsea Micklewood)

2020 became synonymous with banana bread. Worldwide, family recipes were shared, with Pinterest and Instagram imploding with pictures and videos of everyone’s home-baked goods. Amidst the anxiety and uncertainty that shadowed the year, many of us turned to structure and comfort in the form of wholesome baked bread.

But unlike banana bread, 2020 didn’t come with a recipe for how to survive a pandemic, how to balance working from home and online schooling, or how to keep physically and mentally strong.

If you have ever made banana bread you will know that the overripe bananas, those on the edge of being almost inedible, are the ones that make the yummiest of bread. I enjoy the visual of throwing all that decaying fruit into a mix to make something delicious. Perhaps this was our universal attempt at finding the sweet in the bitterness of 2020.

In my own small bubble at home, we tried to build some structure and routine, that included baking banana bread with the kids. We did at-home workouts, created coloured clocks to help our little ones understand when it was work time and when it was playtime for mom and dad (this was almost not an entire failure) and had multiple WhatsApp chats with friends we couldn’t see. And in those few, (very long) weeks we found some sweetness:

• The sweetness of slowing down, something I struggle with as a business owner and mom of 2 busy kids
• The sweetness of the simple things. Being “locked-in” highlighted what and who was most important
• The sweetness of gratitude, for our health, jobs, friends and family

One of the toughest areas to navigate over the last year for me has been in business. How I wish there had been a recipe for this!

The main focus and aim for me and my business partners at the start of the 2020 sh*t show, was to create stability for our team, and of course the business. With so much unpredictability we wanted to create a safe space for our employees where work could provide comfort in its security.

We were exceptionally lucky that our team were able to pick-up with remote working with little to no interruption and that our trial run, prior to lockdown (you can read about that here), put us in a good place to work from home when National Lockdown Level 5 was implemented.

As with many, my anxiety levels were pretty high going into Level 5, so completely unsure of what life and business would look like during a near-total shutdown.

Add to this the loss of loved ones for some of our senior team members, a scaling back of budgets for many of our clients, and slow sales amidst the economic uncertainty. It’s safe to say that things were, at times, pretty rotten!

Yet, despite those rotting bananas, we again found sweetness:

• Lockdown offered us the opportunity to re-evaluate our work and offering
• We were able to pursue projects and new ventures that the busyness of pre-lockdown business hadn’t allowed
• We developed an even greater appreciation for our team and clients, and grew stronger relationships with the people who supported, hustled and struggled through it all with us

So, amidst all the challenges and uncertainty I hope that you manage to find the sweetness, no matter how small, and remember that “…we have a choice: to pay attention to what we’ve lost or to pay attention to what we still have”. – Edith Eger

And when in doubt, bake banana bread…

Recipe:

Ingredients:

½ cup butter
1 ½ cups sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed bananas (±3 large bananas)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180’C

Cream the butter and sugar together
Add the eggs and whisk for 2minutes

In a separate bowl, sift in the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt

Fold the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture
Add the mashed bananas
Pour the batter into a greased loaf tin
Optional: Top with a sprinkling of sugar and crushed nuts

Bake for 1hour on 180’C
Remove from the oven and allow to cool while still in the tin
Remove from the tin, slice and serve with butter

Millennials, millennials, millennials. This tech-savvy, game-changing group of spirited people that has everyone talking, once represented the world’s largest and most powerful consumer group. But not anymore. #ItCantBe #NoWay #YesWay. Like with all things, change was imminent. There’s now a growing force of new, all-powerful spend influencers out there who are dictating economic activities and collectively helping to drive the future of marketing. Meet Generation Z.

Born after 1997 and before 2012, Gen Z represents over 30% of the world’s population; approximately 2 billion people between the ages of 8 and 23 years old. But don’t let their ages fool you, for what they lack in years and personal financial assets, these young innovators more than make up for in influence – of culture, community, kin and all thing cool; important components that are proven to sway consumer buying activity.

In the US alone, Gen Z was responsible for influencing over $40 billion worth of spending in 2020; money that went on everything from cereal and school supplies, fashion and entertainment, to car brands, property and more. Brands that win this group over are those who understand what makes Gen Z tick and successfully build (and tweak) their business’ marketing strategies accordingly to appeal to the younger audience. Let’s examine some of what makes Generation Z special and how these demographic differentiators can help to increase brand awareness, relevancy, leads and sales.

 

Doing Things Digitally 

 

Smartphones. Social networking. Wi-Fi. On-demand entertainment. Artificial intelligence. Generation Z is the first to be born into a time when all of this technology existed. True digital natives, they have never known any other world, with most of how they experience life and engage with the world done in digital spaces or facilitated through smartphone technology. Constant connectivity through social media is ingrained into their everyday lifestyle, making it essential for any business to market to them using these platforms and tools. Members of this generation prefer:

• Texts to email, and messaging apps to texting
• Communicating with emojis and GIFs
• Visual social platforms, such as Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat
• Spending more time on their smartphones rather than watching TV

While many businesses have embraced digital adoption, the process is not fixed. Technology updates and new innovations emerge constantly. Businesses that stay abreast of this and adjust accordingly are likely to connect with this market, with content and how it is delivered being a major determiner of how much audiences engage with your brand.

 

Quick and Effective Content

 

This is where things get tricky. You’ve got approximately 8 seconds to capture the average Gen Z’s attention. Relatable content that has relevancy and meaning works best – communicated in short and efficient ways that get messages across. The good news is that if you have an Instagram or Facebook business page, you can start marketing immediately, with the platforms built to deliver video and image content in snack-sized portions that audiences enjoy, with organic content staying on your feed indefinitely and paid media being consumed by audiences for as long as the budget allows.

 

Speak their Language

 

Listen to a group of young people talking amongst themselves and there’s a good chance you won’t be able to follow the entire conversation. It’ll be full of code words: Slang, abbreviations and acronyms you’ve never heard of. By the time you’ve caught up with the lingo that kids are using today, they’ll be happily speaking tomorrow’s dialect. So if you want to talk to Generation Z, keep your eyes and ears open as to how they speak and what they respond to favourably. Otherwise, seek out a good interpreter like Coffee Creative Studio that talks their talk for copywriting and communication assistance that gets your business and its products/services on their lips and social media timelines.

 

Sell the Experience, Nothing Else

 

What benefit does your product or service provide? The intangible feeling that comes from product purchases is a key driver behind why Gen Z chooses one brand over another. They don’t want to hear about why your product is so amazing; they want to know how it will benefit them; the enhancement to human life and the experience it can provide.

 

Video: The One to Watch

 

Video content is key. According to Wordstream, “YouTube is the first platform Generation Z turn to when they want to be cheered up or entertained.” One hour of video is uploaded to YouTube every second with more than 500 million hours of video watched on the platform every day. This equates to $15 billion in revenue generated each year for the platform, and billions more for thousands of brands that advertise on the platform. And YouTube isn’t the only place for video content. Instagram, Facebook and Twitter enable video content sharing (with resharing built in to extend post reach),via feed posts and stories, while websites with video content make a fantastic platform for sharing video content that can show up in Google search results.

Marketing to Generation Z is going to be completely different, in many ways, from marketing to other generations. However, with the right attitude, thinking and team in your corner to help your business understand this demographic and build content accordingly, opportunities to connect with them favourably are abundant.

Even if you don’t work in a traditional office, you’re probably familiar with some of the basic rules of meeting etiquette. Don’t be late. Look professional. Stop chewing gum before you enter a conference room, to name a few. We’ve all grown up learning or hearing about the niceties and level of decorum one is expected to practice in a professional setting. (Well, a non-professional setting too, but that’s a whole other blog.)

With many of us now working from home as part of company COVID-19 prevention plans, Zoom and other virtual meetings are part of our new normal. But it’s easy for the lines between professional and unprofessional to become blurred while working remotely. As a rule of thumb, we believe in bringing the same etiquette to virtual meetings that you would to an in-person setting. These formalities are important to ensure that professionalism between colleagues is still maintained while working remotely, and especially when in the digital presence of clients. Here are a few to consider (and follow) for your virtual meetings moving forward.

1. Be On Time: It’s a sign of respect for the other meeting participants and shows that you take your job seriously. Late starts mean late endings and often people have other plans, meetings scheduled or projects to complete. Your tardiness may affect their ability to meet those commitments, which then becomes a poor reflection and misrepresentation of who they are. If lateness can’t be avoided, let the meeting host know ahead time.
2. Look Professional: Hair that hasn’t been combed or wearing a pair of polka dot pyjamas tells a client that you don’t take them seriously, while reflecting poorly on the company. Even if it’s an in-house meeting, avoid anything sheer, as well as yoga pants and nightgowns. Get dressed with the professional purpose of being productive. Last but not least, never be nude! We’ve all seen those unintentional peep shows from employees who forgot the camera was turned on and stood up. Scary stuff!
3. Check Your Lighting: Lighting is very important for digital conferencing because it affects the clarity of your face on the other parties’ side. Avoid being backlit if possible. The same way you adjust the angle of your smartphone when taking a selfie, do the same with your laptop to achieve a clearer picture.
4. Camera On (unless you have connectivity issues): Virtual meetings are meant to mimic face-to-face set-ups as much as possible. If cameras are turned off, it becomes a phone call. Keep your camera on at all times as it shows the other parties that they have your full attention and aren’t speaking into the abyss.
5. Mute Your Mic When Not Speaking: There’s nothing more frustrating for meeting participants than hearing dogs barking, children screaming or car alarms going off in the background. Save everyone from the ear-splitting madness by joining the meeting while on mute and then turning your mic on and off according to when you speak.
6. No Food or Drink: This should be self-explanatory. Chewing isn’t a pretty sight, especially if close up, with mouth wide open and in HD. Lunch breaks are given for a reason.
7. Come Prepared: This is especially important if you’re a Meeting Host. Have a clear outline of what needs to be discussed, from intention to objective and everything in between. Winging it won’t work when everyone is there to follow your lead. It also reduces the chances of conversation deflecting to everything but the meeting purpose. Have a clearly defined agenda to ensure everything runs smoothly.
8. Be Aware of Your Environment: Your face isn’t the only thing on camera. A background of dirty dishes, unmade beds, messy rooms or provocative artwork and movies are not a good reflection on you, with the latter potentially making people feel uncomfortable. We recommend a plain, blank wall or a room with a clean and inviting backdrop that won’t raise any eyebrows.
9. Don’t Talk Over Each Other: Even if you mean well, interrupting is still rude. Allow the other person to finish their point before you share what you have to say.
10. Never Answer Your Smartphone: Sometimes life happens. Emergencies come up and you want to be on top of them, so unless this is the reason, don’t answer personal calls, respond to texts or scroll on social media. Virtual meetings are scheduled so that the people present have your undivided attention. Someone is giving you information or gathering information from you, so it’s important to give them the courtesy of your full attention.

Who would have thought that a tiny symbol so scarcely used for decades would grow up to become one of the most powerful tools of modern-day marketing? #MaybeNobody. Undeniably the most influential keyboard character of the age, hashtags have transcended the social media platforms that birthed their popularity, popping up in TV shows, movies, T-shirts, political campaigns and even while speaking in-person during face-to-face conversations to stress a point. Hands up if like us, you’re guilty of the latter.

Roughly 13 years since its rise in popularity (depending on which internet sources you trust most), the hashtag is still an effective way to get more eyes and engagement on your social media posts organically. For instance, according to Simply Measured, the world’s best social analytics platform, an Instagram post with just one hashtag averages 12.6% more engagement than posts without a hashtag. That’s pretty impressive. Although it’s quite common to read that hashtags are outdated like other social media fads that faded into oblivion (here’s looking at you Myspace), those statements generally come from people who don’t apply a strong hashtag strategy or use the tool correctly in their social media marketing. We’ve explored some of the benefits and ways in which you can use them to your business’ advantage.

1. Hashtags Expand Your Audience
To prove this point, we added #Marketing to a few of our own social media posts then tapped it and found that the hashtag has been used on 43.4 million Instagram posts – all now neatly grouped for us to peruse and enjoy. Without the hashtag, we never would have found any of the shared Instagram content related to marketing. Consequently, we can now follow the hashtag to keep a steady stream of marketing-related content on our news feed, and follow the people and brands who posted the content, thus increasing their followers.

2. Generating New Business
Hashtags open the door to countless opportunities for acquiring new business. Piggybacking off of what we mentioned in point one, with Coffee Creative Studio being a digital marketing agency servicing clients globally, #Marketing allows all followers and brands of that hashtag around the world to see our content and the work that we do. This may lead to them checking out our page, liking our work and requesting our marketing services for their current and upcoming projects. Voila! New business generation.

3. Boost Your Brand’s SEO
Hashtags are essentially content links, like web page URLs only shorter. More and more
people are using them to find information and Google has caught on. When you search for a hashtag on Google, it not only gives you a list of search results. It also provides a live scrolling feed of Google+ posts containing that hashtag and links to other hashtag feeds on social networks, including Facebook and Twitter. Incorporating hashtags into your brand’s social media posts will mean that you have more opportunities to place your content in Google search results. Additionally, the right hashtags may cause your posts to go viral as more people share it and flock to your website (if you need a website we can help), increasing your website’s traffic which helps raise your SEO ranking.

4. Be #Specific
A lot of people use the same hashtags to promote their content, and with the Trinity (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) growing in user-numbers daily, it’s easy for your content to get lost among the clutter if your hashtag isn’t specific. The more words you use, the lower the number of posts yours has to compete with for attention and the more likely your posts reach their intended audience. Be careful of overusing the same hashtags repeatedly. Instagram can pick this up and shadowban (hide) your posts from users who don’t follow you, resulting in lower engagement. To avoid this, make sure to use precise hashtags. Your hashtags should connect you to your target market and not your followers, as it will be more beneficial for your brand at the end of the day.

5. Create Your Own

Be original, copies fade too fast. Think of some of the most famous hashtag campaigns you remember over the last few years? #ALSIceBucketChallenge, #ShareACoke, #BlackLivesMatter. Even when these hashtags are no longer trending, seeing them or hearing about them instantly connects you with the brands and their message. Creating your own unique hashtags is how your brand becomes more memorable. They also allow you to monitor the performances for your campaigns and increase your brand’s presence on social media.

As you can see, hashtags are still as important as ever for successful marketing on social media. With the right ones, you could either join the conversation, or be the conversation. Not sure which hashtags will work best? Give us a call and let’s talk about social media strategy for your business.

The title of this blog may be a bit of a tongue twister (Copywriters and their Jedi mind tricks), but one thing that definitely won’t bake your noodle is the WhatsApp Business app.

Like the name suggests, WhatsApp Business is a standalone application designed specifically for businesses that want to connect with, and market to, their clients and customers instantly on the number one messaging app in the world. With 1.5 billion active WhatsApp users in 180 countries and growing, it’s easy to understand why. The benefits for brands are plentiful.

Like its big brother WhatsApp Messenger, the business version enables direct two-way and group communication between individuals via text messages, voice notes, and voice and video calls, while also allowing users to share images, documents, locations and other media. However, there are additional tools to help you run your business with greater efficiencies. When combined with creative marketing ideas, these tools enable greater lead generation, strengthen customer-brand relationships, provide instant support service, and allow for direct sharing of business news, specials, promotional offers and more. Here’s what you need to know about the different features when using WhatsApp Business.

The Logo

When downloading the free app from the Google Play or Apple App stores, it is identifiable by the familiar green-and-white chat box logo, however, the telephone icon has been replaced with a capital letter B.

Your Business Profile

This is where you create a profile for your business, outlining pertinent information such as your company website, location and contact information, which is important for customers when finding and contacting your business.

Two Apps – One Smartphone

WhatsApp Messenger and WhatsApp Business can be installed on the same phone, provided each app has its own unique number. This a handy way of managing personal and professional communication conveniently from one device. WhatsApp Business may also be set up using a landline. During the verification stage, a registration code is received via a phone call. Even if the app is used for personal correspondence as well, the ability to set automated away messages (like out-of-office messages on email) helps you manage your clients expectations based on your availability.

Desktop Friendly

Behind your laptop and want to send/read a message without reaching for your smartphone? The app is desktop-friendly, allowing you to respond to your customers right from your computer’s browser.

Messaging Tools

To send notifications to customers, businesses are required to make use of Message Templates. These can be built in advance and be used as automated responses to customer queries. One may create standardised greeting messages to engage with new customers, set “away” messages to let customers know when they are available or build an anthology of quick replies to FAQs for communication convenience.

Categorise Your Contacts

WhatsApp Business offers different options for the organisation of contacts using their label system, allowing you to categorise contacts into different groups i.e. clients, brands, staff, resolved and unresolved queries etc.  Additionally,  if you use a CRM that integrates with WhatsApp, the contacts from the CRM can be imported to the app, allowing conversations to be managed from there. The two platforms work together to import contacts’ information onto your business dashboard.

Web & Facebook Integration

Faster than an online “Contact Us” form, integrating the app into your website or Facebook Business page allows you to respond to customer feedback with immediacy over live-chat functionality. Individuals can click the targeted button on the platform to reach your WhatsApp Business contact easily, which goes a long way in increasing customer feedback response times and enhancing your overall company impression from a customer relations point of view. Studies show that customers are more comfortable engaging over live chat as one-on-one, real-time conversations offer more opportunity to discuss their needs/concerns/joys with greater detail and insights.

Short Links

If you don’t have a business website yet (in which case read more about our affordable web-development options) an easier way for customers to get in touch with you is through short links. It  enable customers to connect with your business by responding to a link that you send out or post online. Audiences may respond using the auto-generated message available, which can be edited, or they may draft their own messages from scratch.

Catalogs

Catalogs are a mobile storefront for businesses to showcase and share their goods so that people may easily browse and discover something they would like to buy. These can be updated as often as you like, bringing your business’ offering to consumer awareness instantly, and on regular rotation.

Social media moves fast. Make sure that you stay updated on other useful apps, technologies and new media that are simplifying business and providing new vehicles for growth by checking our blog regularly.

Be careful what you wish for. Some of us (okay fine, most of us) thought that working from home would be like winning the lottery. Turns out, it isn’t quite the jackpot we’d imagined.

The walls are closing in, we don’t own enough daytime pyjamas and the kids are driving us a little bonkers (pretty sure they’re thinking the same thing about us), so some of our Beans sent into the universe, a series of Working from Home Survival Tips to help others successfully manage the challenges of home confinement while delivering on professional responsibilities. Here’s how we’re making our work-from-home situations work – with practical and pleasant solutions as SA now heads into alternating levels of the national lockdown.

Start the Day by Listening to Something Motivational

“I start every morning by listening to something positive and motivational in the form of a podcast or audiobook. I find this helps me start the day with the right frame of mind.”
– Jordan

Create a Routine

“Building a routine to follow during lockdown has been super helpful, specifically while juggling working from home with kids. Having a schedule that includes exercise, mealtimes and breaks with the kids has made the transition of working at home a lot easier, and a great way for your kids to understand when mom and dad are free to play in between work.”
– Chelsea

Disable Auto-Updates On Your Device

“Limited home data? Disable auto-updates on laptops to avoid running out of internet fast. That way, you won’t deplete your data bundles unknowingly and can save a few Rands to buy more lockdown snacks. Hey, we all have our coping mechanisms…. nom nom.”
– Garth

Set Rules for People at Home with You

“Create a list of rules and stick it up in places where people can see it often. i.e. no noises while on a call, a closed-door means no interruptions etc. This helps limit distractions and keep you productive.”
– Jazz

Maintain Your Old Schedule

“Keep the same time schedule and discipline as you would in the office. Have a set time for tea and lunch. Avoid the call of the snack cabinet if you’re trying to eat healthier. Close your machine at lunchtime.”
– Bonga

Write a List of Priorities for the Day

“I like to write down my tasks and objectives in my diary every day. This way, I can manage my time and prioritise what is most important.”
– Julian

Remember what Motivates You and Exercise

“Remember what is important to you and what drives you every day. Write it down and paste it somewhere you may see it often, so that it reminds you when you are feeling a bit down. It’s an uncertain time and you need to remember what and who is important to you. Additionally, do some exercise to clear the mind and reset!
– Chris

Eat Away from Your Workspace

“I find taking 30 minutes away from my computer to sit outside, get some fresh air away from my screen, helps me massively. It’s almost like an emotional and mental reset in the midst of the day’s business.”
– Tam

Scent Your Workspace with Productivity-Boosting Aromas

“I use a citrus-scented air dehumidifier while working. I associate the smell with work time and it puts me into a positive mode and mindset.”
– Kyle

Move over Instagram. Step aside Facebook. There’s a new crew of #HotAndHappening social media platforms rapidly making their way into the hearts (and laptops and smartphones) of netizens around the world. If buzz on the digital street is anything go by (which it always is), the rise of TikTok, Houseparty, Zoom, Google Classroom and Disney+ has only just begun.

With around 250 million downloads (and counting) racked up between some of the top-performing apps over the last three months, it’s no surprise that their usage has err… gone viral… since the Coronavirus outbreak began. Given that we’re all safely locked inside our homes, exploring newer avenues of recreation and staying in touch, these five apps are among the trendiest ways to stay connected to loved ones and keep entertained while supporting public health efforts to flatten the curve of COVID-19.

TikTok

Remember when Ke$ha woke up in the morning feeling like P. Diddy? Yup, that was Tik Tok in 2009. Here’s the kicker. Ten years later, everyone can wake up in the morning feeling like P. Diddy (and sound like him too) thanks to a different type of TikTok.

TikTok is the latest craze in video storytelling. The platform allows its 1.9 billion users to create 15-seconds clips of anything they like using the app’s special effects and features to jazz up their footage. From impersonations, dance challenges and pranks, to duets with ducks, cosplay and more, the app uses the unique formula of resharing content into different versions to make videos go viral, and bring people together. TikTok also allows creators to monetise their content; which is a fantastic incentive for any content creator hoping to make a few extra bucks in the digital space. The only limit to creating standout videos is the user’s imagination.

Houseparty

Since real-life house parties are out of the question right now, the Houseparty app is the next best thing. Available free on desktop, Android and iOS smartphones, it enables duos or groups to interact through video-enabled chats, virtual games and a range of fun quizzes. When a Houseparty contacts arrive online, a push notification is sent to that person’s contacts alerting them that they’re available to connect. “Housemates” can lock a room for private conversations, or leave these rooms open for friends, and the friends of friends, to join in on the fun, bringing more people together through shared mutual connections.

Zoom

An unlikely star of the quarantined world, Zoom combines cloud-based video conferencing, online meetings and group messaging into one easy-to-use application. While the majority of users are utilising it as a remote work-from-home tool to connect with colleagues and employees, it’s also become the perfect place to host everything from virtual cocktail hours to cabinet meetings and classroom learning. Available as a free or subscription service, Zoom users can choose to record sessions, collaborate on projects, and share or edit on one another’s screens. As the world evolves and remote working becomes part of the new normal in a post-COVID19 world, Zoom is likely to become a dominant player in the app space.

Google Classroom

Another platform passing with flying colours is Google Classroom, a free tool that allows teachers to create an online classroom in which to administer lessons and teach their students in real-time. The app has been downloaded 50 million times worldwide, as teachers and students embrace the technology to continue academic study during COVID-19. Within the Google Classroom, students and teachers may facilitate conversations around their syllabuses and submit assignments, with the tool also serving as a digital organiser where teachers can keep class materials and share them with students, inside and outside of school.

Disney+

Disney Plus, the new streaming service that includes Aladdin, The Lion King, Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar and all other franchises from the Disney vault, has racked up 50 million global subscribers; just five months since its release. Netflix, in comparison, needed 17 years to reach that number. Disney’s allure has always been its enduring message of happy endings, an ideal the whole world is working towards in terms of the Coronavirus, which explains why audiences are signing up for fairytales and feel-good content by the millions. As containment measures keep cinemas closed, the platform has commenced with screening new film releases on the platform, a move that could see the magic of Disney Plus grow even more spellbinding as the months go by.