Research indicates that consumers are now tired of the empty empathy messages from brands such as ‘We’re here for you’, that became an overarching mantra across the nation ‘in these uncertain times’, particularly so because a lot of them couldn’t help but do so while using it as a sales opportunity.
So how do you put your brand out there without sounding like a creep? More info
We’re slightly behind with this News post, as Google Fonts turned 10 back in March, but we are huge fans of this website and we felt a pandemic was a good excuse to be slightly delayed, so here it comes now!
To celebrate their anniversary, Google Fonts has launched a brand-new website and updated catalogue.
Alongside the colour scheme change to match accessibility standards, some of the new features include an easy feature to download font-families, as well as now supporting variable fonts, which will make faster websites.
Head to fonts.google.com to test it out.
After what seems like forever in lockdown, we can start to see light at the end of the tunnel.
At Austin Marketing, we are starting the process of returning back to work from our office, here in Addlestone. Our work has always been undertaken from there and working remotely has not stopped us from providing our clients with high-quality work and support in these strange times. The team is now excited to return and we want to make sure we do so in a safe way, whilst keeping everyone’s health & safety a priority. More info
With the recent announcement from the Government, the construction industry has been encouraged to return to work, as long as they comply with the industry’s latest guidance relating to COVID-19.
To ensure the appropriate instructions and messaging is given to workers, our client, J Coffey Group has asked us to create a series of Operational Standards specific to the procedures and measures, to be applied during the COVID-19 outbreak. More info
Back when I was a student and deciding what course to pursue, I always knew that being a Communication Designer wasn’t essential work and if the end of the world came (or a COVID-19 pandemic), my skill set would certainly not be the first response to save lives – or will it? More info
Remote work has now become the new normal and alongside it, a renewed focus on corporate video communication. All that’s needed is a webcam and a microphone – which are often built into laptops – or even just a smartphone or tablet.
There are a huge amount of apps available out there that allow for video calls, but a lot of them were created with personal one-to-one chats in mind i.e. Skype and Facebook Messenger, and therefore not the best solution to have multi-user conferences, make presentations and/or even record the meeting details for further use.
We’re using a combination of Zoom, Skype and Hangouts Meet to communicate with our clients and Google Hangouts amongst the team, so we’re in the ideal position to give you an overview of what you can expect, good and bad, with most of these apps. With that in mind, we’ve chosen four of the most used free apps, listing both the positive and negative features for each, and even a few pro tips on Zoom, for you to really make the best use of it. Ultimately, you might end up having to use several of these depending on what the other party is accustomed to using (like us!), so it doesn’t hurt to be prepared. More info
If you’re now working at home due to the COVID-19 outbreak, you may find yourself without an IT department, on your own at home with your tech woes.
The most common work-from-home tech issues are the ones that impede our productivity: unreliable internet connections, low-quality video calls and unreliable Wi-Fi.
Now you’re not in the office, or out meeting clients and suppliers like us, it is likely you will want to stay connected and luckily modern technology allows this to happen via Video Conferencing. For this, you will need a reliable internet connection.
It’s safe to say that these last few weeks have not been the easiest as the Covid-19 outbreak has globally and dramatically affected all areas of life and caused businesses and economies to decline. More importantly, businesses have seen significant changes in their online web presence, both positive and negative.
Various B2B companies have experienced a decline in their website traffic while brands within the retail sector, such as Tesco and Boots, have seen a notable rise in the number of user visits and engagement as a result of the outbreak.
When it comes to SEO, it is about keeping up with and outperforming the online competition, especially in times of crisis, not just to make a website as visible as possible but to also maintain a healthy relationship between the website and Google by ensuring all the webpages follow the most up-to-date SEO practices.
At Austin Marketing, we have been doing exactly that for all of our online customers and we can do the same for new customers.
Whilst using social media to market products/services is by no means a new idea, many businesses are having to rethink their social media marketing strategies due to COVID-19.
The impact the Coronavirus is having on day-to-day business cannot be underestimated and this is why businesses must be proactive. Unfortunately, no one knows how long this period will last, but it will end. Therefore, businesses that can upkeep an effective marketing strategy during this challenging time are more likely to bounce back as our economy starts to recover.
Whilst we all adjust to the ‘new normal’ of self-isolation, social distancing and working from home, many of us are finding ourselves using social media a whole lot more than before! Facebook and Instagram have seen a 40% increase in usage due to COVID-19, with views for Instagram Live and Facebook Live doubling in one week!
Read on to find out how your business can use social media to its advantage during the COVID-19 lockdown… More info
Although most of our work has always been undertaken from our offices and studio in Addlestone Surrey, being a digital business Austin Marketing has already transitioned and our team members are working remotely with no disruption to the services that we provide to our clients.