The Australian 🔥have affected us all. The Southern Highlands have been hit hard 💔. We lost too many homes in the village at Balmoral and our neighbouring villages of Bundanoon, Wingello and Kangaroo Valley have been torn through. We’ve lost homes, property destroyed, the immense impact on our 🦘🐨 and flora, people displacement and our selfless local 🚒 hitting the front line daily.
It’s not something we see on the 6pm news. Minute by minute we’ve refreshed several apps, texting and calling family, friends and clients to share warnings, updates and see how we can help.
Through all the loss, we’ve experienced something special 💗. This community is remarkable 👊. The outpouring of help, opening doors to strangers, relocating 🐎 🐔🦙🐇🐕🐈🦆🐄🐑🐖 and of course, humans, has made us all feel more connected than ever.
Our region WILL need your help. When we co-ordinate the resources we need and share links to support and donate, please consider doing what you can to help.
Each one of us can make a difference, together we can achieve more.
Valentina xxx
Make A Difference, please
Two of our clients suffered a significant loss in the fires.
Sara Haslinger is a friend, and client, based in Exeter. Her beautiful 🏡 was destroyed in the Bundanoon fire. All that exists is a pile of tin, and the original brick chimney. When you escape a fire with no notice, you leave with very little. Sara is slowly rebuilding her life, and her selflessness means she’s started by helping the firies who evacuated her and kept neighbours safe, her community safe. But I know Sara needs help too. Anything you can spare, together makes a big difference. Her sister started a Go Fund Me Campaign to support her 🙏.
Sally Wilson is a local artist 🎨 in the town of Cobargo, the town that lost businesses in the main street and homes throughout the region. Sally’s amazing artworks, jewellery, camera, computer, brushes, paper, sketches, ideas… you name it, it’s turned to ash. This nightmare unfolded on new year’s eve for her. If you’re able to help her rebuild her business and provide for her family, I know how grateful she will be. Her partner’s son started a Go Fund Me Campaign to support her 🙏.
BUY TICKETS TO FIREAID 2020
FireAid 2020 aims to bring families and communities together to enjoy a stunning line-up of the best musicians and singers Australia has to offer. All in the cause of raising money to help the victims and the heroes of the current catastrophic bushfires. Daryl Braithwaite, John Waters, Leo Sayer, John Paul Young, Megan Washington, Angus Murray … and bucket loads more artists are performing in Bowral on January 24th. If you can’t make the gig, make a donation. Make your “I wish I could help” gut-feeling count. Rock on Australia.
Social Media During An Australian Summer Of Devastation
On the back of what seems like an endless drought that has numerous regional communities on their knees and the on-going dry conditions exacerbating the bushfire risk, our blog this month explores the role that social media has played in our crisis situation this Summer.
Our wonderful Liz, marketing strategist, has put her pen to paper to show the positive side of social media’s role. For me personally, it’s been a life-saver, quite literally. It was faster than the RFS Fires Near Me app and radio/TV updates, and it was just as quick as the Scanner Radio app.
Tough times aren’t yet over, and it will be interesting to see what unfolds in the next few months with the role the media is playing in portraying our fires compared to their role in supporting the rebuilds and recovery of 🇦🇺. No, this blog doesn’t get political, but there’s definitely a post in there!
The Single Best Thing You Can Do To Rank Your Website On Google
It’s the most common❓we’re asked: how can I get my website ranking with Google?
It’s simply not good enough to launch your website and then leave it where it is. If you want Google to rank your website, and particularly when you’re up against a number of competitors, then you have to work for it.
Now you’ve likely heard about SEO as a practice, but breaking this down into bite-sized chunks of action is your best bet of making a difference. Google has 3 key factors it’s looking for: E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness).
Link Building is a practice that ✅ the trustworthiness box. Backlinks 🔙 (or Inbound Links) are a reference from another web page to your own web page.
We’ve updated one of our most popular blogs of 2019 with 5 quick tips for linking within your website. The blog provides a range of (free) resources to work out what backlinks your competitors are achieving 🤭and the top 50 local directory sites within Australia that will provide you with all the linking ⚡you could possibly poke a stick at.
FDC Construction & Fit Out
FDC Construction & Fitout is an impressive Australia-wide construction 🏗️ and fit-out business that have succeeded for more than 30 years. FDC is responsible for the award-winning 🏆fitouts for the likes of Virgin Active Barangaroo, Angel Place Sydney, and Northpoint Redevelopment, Sydney.
Banter’s engagement with FDC commenced with the review and audit of the current social media strategy, which resulted in a redevelopment of the strategy based on customer and technology 👩💻insights. With a newly formed strategy, FDC invested in team training to roll out the strategy, using a 6-month program whereby Banter establishes the profiles, processes, content plans and management in the initial months, with a hand-held hand-over through a transition period for the team to manage social media in-house thereafter 🙌.
To further cement the strategy, Banter prepared and presented a Trends Presentation and report on global trends in construction and social media. This Trends Presentation 🗨️highlighted the global 🌐 trends in consumer behaviour and values which are impacted through construction, building and fitout.
Recent chats and upcoming stuff
DeakinCo – Data-Driven Marketing Levels 6 and 7
I’m honoured to have been asked as a Subject Matter Expert to put my digital skills and knowledge into practice by creating two online short courses for DeakinCo, part of Deakin University 🎓. These courses are focused on workplace capabilities, meeting the Australian Qualifications Framework for evidence-based learning and credentials. I’ve started with Levels 6 and 7 for Data-Driven Marketing, with more to come. What’s exciting about this, is I’m creating the levels of skills and knowledge to future-proof people and companies in marketing roles. The degree on its own is not enough. Utilising the degree and putting it into practice with evidence is what this is all about.
Real Estate Institute NSW: The Future Is Now Roadshow
March 2020 is when Fair Trading is set to make the BIGGEST changes to the real estate industry 🏘️ in decades, affecting your practice. From staying ahead of the Industry reforms to keeping up with the always-advancing digital space, REINSW will equip you with the skills to thrive in 2020. The Future Is Now Roadshow will be showcased across 18 locations, from Ballina down to Batemans Bay across February-May, delivering 12 CPD points. One of three speakers 🎤, my session is all about optimising your online exposure, including social & search. Tickets are on sale now and there’s a 20% saving if you book before 6th February. Use code RS20.
Branding Your Own Insta Filter
Creating your own filter isn’t new, it’s basically what made Snapchat what it is today. Then, you know, Insta copied Snapchat and put bucket loads more 💵into development. Volia, custom branded Insta filters 👏.
Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should, right?
That is, until someone does something useful and on-brand with said Insta Filter. That’s where the Good Things Festival 🎶comes into their own. Check out their clever Insta Story Highlight for IG Filter to see a little interactive Story leading you to their custom filter.
It’s totally on brand, completely useful for this audience to express themselves (and just quietly, I wish this stuff existed in my goth 💀days!) If you fancy getting creative to generate your own custom filter, you can follow the instructions from The Verge – and you’ll need Spark AR Studio downloaded to get started.
Until next time, enjoy!
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