Tema: Mal
Os males de que foges estão em ti
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sábado, agosto 15, 2015
Nabuco, Joaquim
Há máquinas de felicidade dispendiosas, que funcionam com enorme desperdício, e há outras económicas, que, com as migalhas da sorte, criam alegria para uma existência inteira
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France, Anatole
Tema: Infelicidade
A infelicidade é a nossa maior mestra e amiga. É a que nos ensina o sentido da vida
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A infelicidade é a nossa maior mestra e amiga. É a que nos ensina o sentido da vida
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Campos, Álvaro de
A chuva cai por uma lei natural/ E a humanidade ama porque ouviu falar no amor.
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OZONE - World’s Highest BarSoaring 1,608ft above sea level,...
Highest Bar in the World
The Entrance
Private Dining Room
Terrace with Tapas
Dom Perignon Brunch
Teresa Seong Moon
The Amazing Bar
OZONE - World’s Highest Bar
Soaring 1,608ft above sea level, Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong’s OZONE is the highest bar in the world. Conceived by Japanese interior designer Masamichi Katayama, the swanky locale, decked out in gold and marble, has a clubby feel and a sexy, futuristic edge. Inside, cocktails are impeccably crafted and served along with tantalizing Spanish and Asian tapas, exquisite Champagnes, and electrifying DJ tunes. The glamorous sky bar and its hovering outdoor terrace are perched on the 118th floor of the International Commerce Centre tower in Kowloon and offer astonishing views of Hong Kong Island and Victoria Harbour.
What Exercise To Do When You’re 3 Months Pregnant
At 3 months pregnant, the morning sickness may be beginning to wane and your energy may start to come back. The first trimester is the perfect time to start an exercise program to keep you and your baby healthy through the rest of your pregnancy. This article will help you be strong at 3 months pregnant.
Why Exercise When I’m 3 Months Pregnant?
Research shows that regular exercise during pregnancy can increase energy and decrease discomfort (like lower back pain, as well as foot and ankle swelling). It can also help with labor and delivery, as well as relieve some of the stress of carrying a baby around 24/7.
What does this mean for you at three months? While it may be difficult to exercise for the first few months due to morning sickness and fatigue, most women are feeling better by their third month. Exercise can alleviate some of the lasting effects of fatigue and nausea, making life a little easier on you.
How Should I Exercise?
This depends on your activity level before pregnancy. WebMD states that women who were active before pregnancy can continue with modifications as needed. Listen to your body and check with a doctor to make sure that your plan is right for you and your baby. If you were not active before pregnancy, start by consulting with your doctor. Strenuous workout programs are not recommended during this time. Walk, swim, or grab those stylish yoga shorts and head down to the gym for a prenatal yoga class. These are great ways to get your body moving without putting undue strain on yourself. Regardless of your activity level before pregnancy, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology recommends 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily. Moderate means that you have enough breath to talk while working out, but could not sing a song if you tried.
Which Activities Should I Consider?
Always check with a healthcare provider before exercising during pregnancy. Women with conditions such as heart and lung disease, high blood pressure, vaginal bleeding, or risk of preterm labor may be advised not to exercise. Once you’ve gotten your doctor’s approval and you’re beginning your exercise plan, here are few activities to consider:
Aerobics – Low-impact aerobics are recommended; high-impact aerobics are not. Most classes offer low-impact modifications for high-impact moves, so you can still get a workout without all the jumping around.
Running/Walking – These are excellent choices depending on your fitness level. Hydrate often, and listen to your body to make sure you’re not putting undue stress on yourself.
Strength Training – This is a great exercise for pregnancy. However, avoid lifting heavy weights. This can put strain on you and the baby. Fit Pregnancy has a great article on safe weight-lifting techniques during pregnancy.
Swimming/Water Aerobics – Many women enjoy the pool while pregnant because the water supports their weight, giving them a break for a while. Swimming and water aerobics work on both aerobic capacity and strength, making them an ideal pregnancy workout choice.
Yoga – The stretching and strength work in yoga is great for pregnant bodies. However, there are a few positions to avoid. Twists, inversions, and lying flat on your back are not recommended. Your instructor will be able to show you how to modify positions in order to keep you and your baby safe.
What Exercises Should I Avoid?
Not all sports and activities are recommended during pregnancy. Here are a few that can be dangerous for you and your baby. Avoid contact sports like football, hockey, soccer, and basketball. They pose an injury to both you and the baby. Anything with a high risk of falls is also not recommended during pregnancy, like skiing, gymnastics, horseback riding, surfing . Scuba diving is another dangerous activity to avoid. The change in pressure can be harmful to the baby. Breathing from an oxygen tank has also been shown to increase birth defects.
The Bottom Line
Exercise is a highly recommended way to increase energy and relieve stress. With the approval of your healthcare provider, you can choose from a number of different activities to make sure that you enjoy what you are doing and stay motivated. The end of the first trimester is a great time to start a workout routine that will set you up for success through pregnancy, labor and delivery, and beyond.
Featured photo credit: 40 Weeks Pregnant/Future Street via flic.kr
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15 Things You Should Know About Having A Baby
“I thought I was the greatest parent, then I had kids.”
Picture this, you are sitting with a gorgeous bundle of joy in your arms, a scene you have probably pictured in your head several times during your pregnancy, and it hits you, I mean it really hits you – I am a parent. I am responsible for this beautiful piece of life in my hands! What the hell do I do now? Babies don’t come with a manual.
When I became a parent, I remember thinking to myself often, in the first year, “Why didn’t anyone tell me this?” Like most parents-to-be, we did the usual antenatal classes, read books, signed up on BabyCenter, and spoke to friends who had recently had children. But nothing can prepare you for your experience as a first-time parent. It’s one of those crazy, magical, not to mention, extremely exhausting, roller coaster rides of your life.
Whether you love kids, or have doubts about your parental instincts, or think you’ve got this parental shindig all figured out, you are in for a surprise. Your life is going to change in an unbelievable way!
Here are a few important pointers to help you along the way:
1. Breastfeeding is hard, but not impossible
Breastfeeding is not easy and it takes you time to get it right. However, it’s a great start for your child and if you choose to do it, arm yourself with the right information. Most breastfeeding issues are easily solved if you reach out for the right support. Please talk to friends who successfully breastfed to get the real picture and for recommendations for helpful resources such as lactation consultants.
Get all the help you need while in the hospital, after delivery. Seek a good lactation consultant who can teach you how to breastfeed. You need to learn to identify a correct latch and if your child is feeding well or not. La Leche League and Kelly Mom are great websites for finding additional support and more information.
2. Not all babies sleep long hours
Every baby book and website will tell you that babies sleep 12- 16 hours a day. That makes it sound like they sleep all the time and you can go about your work. But not all babies sleep for long, uninterrupted stretches. They sleep between 2-4 hours at a stretch, even at night, initially.
3. Hence, having a baby means you will miss sleep terribly
When I had been a mom for a week, I was awfully sleep deprived. I asked another friend with more experience, (having 2 older kids), when do I get to sleep properly through the night? She laughed and remarked, “Definitely not before they are 20!”
You come to slowly realize that sleep is a luxury for new parents. “Sleep when the baby sleeps” is the best advice I ever received. Don’t clean, don’t do laundry, and don’t use that time to cook, please just sleep! Take turns staying up at night.
Whether you choose to co-sleep, sleep train, or whatever, do your research and decide what works best for your family. Go with whatever gets everyone more sleep, at least until you reach a phase where you aren’t constantly exhausted. Or else, not just the baby, but you too will end up in tears. You can always change plans as the situation changes.
4. The first 3 months are the hardest
They don’t call it the fourth trimester for nothing. Your newborn baby will be gradually adjusting to life outside the womb and you will go through all kind of hormonal and physical changes while recovering from childbirth. Our world is the complete opposite of the safe cocoon the baby emerged from. Adjusting to constant stimulation, learning to express their needs, life outside is a big deal to a newborn baby, some adjust easily, and others take their time. You need to empathize with your child and give them what they need. I promise you that if you soothe your baby by picking them up, they won’t be stuck to your hip forever, not even a few months down the line.
Your emotions will be like a pendulum, swaying from one extreme to another. It’s important to get rest, eat, and drink well. It’s only too likely that you’ll lose yourself in the busy life of a new mother, but take care of yourself. Factor in ‘me time’ in the week to reconnect with yourself and rejuvenate. A happy mother makes a happy baby.
5. Everyone will have advice for you, mostly unwarranted
From the family, to your neighbor, to your friends without kids, to random strangers you encounter when your child is in the midst of a crying fit, everyone will have an opinion on parenting your baby and offer advice and suggestions. You will feel like you are not good enough. Trust me you are. As a new parent, you experience this enormous desire to get everything right! So it’s natural to be worried and question what you are doing. But learn to listen to your parental instincts, find your own parenting philosophy, and not get too influenced by everyone’s advice. Also, if you are open enough, you will learn not to judge another parent’s choices.
6. Get all the support you can get
They say, ‘it takes a village to bring up a child’, and they are right. Get all the help you can: you will need it. Ask family and friends to babysit, even if just for an hour so you can shower and eat a meal without having to rush to your baby. If you can get help with cooking and housework, don’t refuse. Let your partner share equally in the responsibility. Don’t worry if the house is untidy or meals are hastily thrown together, it’s ok to NOT be super mom or super dad. As your baby grows, these issues will sort themselves out. For now, just go with the flow.
Seek other new parents at playgroups, parenting support groups, breastfeeding cafes, and even online. It’s easier to turn to those going through the same stage in life for help, advice, support, and guidance. I didn’t have my family around when I had a baby so I set up a support group on Facebook to create my own community of friends and family for support. It was an immense source of comfort to me as a new mom.
7. Babies are stronger and more resilient than you know
Accidents such as minor falls and bumps with babies are common, but most do not cause much harm. Babies are, explorers by nature, which doesn’t help when you are exhausted parents. Luckily, infants have flexible bones and what might cause serious damage to an adult, will often, not do much harm to a tiny baby.
Other than accidents, there is so much that a new parent worries about: is my baby drinking enough milk? Is her weight ok? Does she have enough teeth? Why is she crying? It’s a never-ending list and parents are concerned that they might be doing it all wrong and may ruin their baby.
While it’s sometimes tough to gauge a baby’s signs- it takes practice and careful observation- babies are intelligent humans and if we don’t get in their way much, they will grow beautifully.
8. Milestones: don’t compare, because it’s not a race
Milestones are meant to be indicators of development, not a yardstick to measure your child’s growth and progress. Celebrate your child’s milestones and let them get there by themselves. Many parents think they need to help or teach their child to turn on their stomach, crawl, and walk. Please let nature do its own thing. These are instinctive and children will achieve these in their own time. There is no need to prop your child up to sit or hold their hands enabling them to walk even before they are standing up properly by themselves. Leaving them to do this by themselves is not just good physiologically (helps build strong muscle and bone structure) but allows your child to trust their body from a very young age.
9. Capture their childhood
My husband has very few baby pictures and he wishes there were more photographs to cherish. So he insisted on upgrading to a better camera when we knew we were having a baby. In fact, it was probably the most expensive piece of baby kit we invested in. And I’m very glad he did that as we have so many lovely photos and videos of a phase that passes by so quickly to reminisce over. I look at my daughter’s baby pics and think to myself, “Oh my! I had forgotten that!” Sometimes it feels as if those photos are of a different baby altogether. They change so much so fast, it’s incredible. Not to mention you are mostly too tired to remember everything.
Needless to say, you will want to capture every single moment. New parents are unsurprisingly obsessed with their newborns.
10. Babies don’t need a lot of things
Just lots of nappies, a few baby sleep suits, a few blankets, and your set. A newborn doesn’t need fancy gadgetry. So think before you buy that fancy toy. All they need in abundance is your love and presence. Most first-time parents tend to overdo it, buying all the latest gadgets to make life easier. But go slow, check parent recommendations and really think if you need it. You can save that money for the future instead.
11. Plan your finances
Having a baby is an expensive proposition. Parents from previous generations set aside money for college and maybe weddings, but many parents today need to think of childcare too. Childcare is expensive so factor it in before you have the baby. These days, childcare expenses are among the largest part of a family budget. This is understandable, as childcare costs have often been said to be at par or higher than college expenses.
12. Going anywhere will become a massive task
A quick run to the shops to buy milk and bread will require 45 mins of preparation. It’s like packing for an overnight trip. You will have a long list of things to carry and forgetfulness that is a result of sleep deprivation and sheer exhaustion will slow you down. Keep a nappy bag always stocked and ready to go. Keep a checklist handy when you are too tired to think but need to pop to the shops for essentials. If and when you plan to go out for a nice evening, it will need detailed organizing and providing troubleshooting instructions to your babysitter.
13. Reconnect as a couple
“In the happiest of our childhood memories, our parents were happy too” – Robert Brault.
Parenting is hard on your relationship; especially in the early days when the new situation is challenging to both of you and survival is the main goal. It takes a toll on the best of couples. There are never enough hours to finish housework or errands, you are both exhausted and with a baby around, romance isn’t top of the agenda anymore. So it’s important to spend time with each other as a couple, without talking about responsibilities or your baby. Set up date nights at home if you can’t organize a babysitter often. If you argue in front of your baby, make sure to make up in front of your baby too. It’s important to create a healthy, happy, and secure environment for your child to grow up in.
14. You will gain new skills
“While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about,” – Angela Schwindt.
Children teach us so much about life. A child will find true joy in the simplest of things. Children teach us how to love unconditionally, how to forgive, to be giving, to be honest, to be carefree, to trust your instincts, patience, and perseverance, among many other things.
On a lighter note, you will learn to become a ninja around your baby when she sleeps. You won’t remember things that need to be done, but you will know the words to every rhyme even in the middle of the night. You will learn to eat your meals super fast or single-handed. You will learn to do many things single-handed. You will become an expert in non-linguistic communication and baby language. For a while, only you will seem to be able to interpret what your baby’s words mean. You will learn to sleep anytime, anywhere.
15. Enjoy your baby – they grow up too fast
Being a parent is mostly about being full of love, joy, hope and unimaginable delight, even when you’re bone tired. You will laugh more than ever before. All the craziness will soon end – the sleepless nights, the toilet training, and tantrums. Time will run swiftly and in the blink of an eye your infant will be a toddler and before you know it, ready for school. Savor the baby stage; it’s so special and so short-lived that you will miss it dearly when it’s gone. Watching your child grow is one of the most magical and mystical experiences of your life. Don’t be constantly worried and panicked about the baby.
You will be fine. Don’t take life too seriously. Remember to relax and have fun as a family enjoying this beautiful gift that you have been blessed with.
Featured photo credit: Lisa Rosario via albumarium.com
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10 Common Mistakes Made By First Time Moms
Are you a first time mom? Being a first time mom can be very stressful, as many women worry about breastfeeding, if they should accept help, or if they should follow the expert books they have bought. After all, every mom wants to make sure they are the best parent they possibly can be
Check out 10 common mistakes made by first time moms here.
1. Not Accepting Help
Being a first time mom can feel very scary. You want to get everything right, and many moms worry that asking for help will make them a bad mom. This is definitely not true – this is the first child you have ever had, and that is why you are worried about being a bad mom. You’re going to be a great mom, but if you are tired, stressed and sad, it will be harder for you. Accepting help is a totally normal part of being a parent.
2. Crying While The Baby Cries
Seeing your baby cry can be upsetting and stressful, which may make you want to cry. Your body is filled with hormones, and crying is a normal part of being a first time mom. However, crying while your baby cries will only stress your baby out more – meaning you will become even more upset, too. Try to remember that even the happiest babies will still cry.
3. Assuming You’re Doing it All Wrong Because You’re A First Time Mom
Every first time mom worries about being a good parent, but even the best moms were first time moms once. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Babies will scream and cry, you will scream and cry, but in the end you will both be completely fine.
4. Relying Too Much On The Experts
You may already own books on parenting techniques, baby behavior, sleeping patterns and feeding methods. In the end, your gut instinct is more important than anything else. Trust yourself to make good decisions for your child. After all, no one knows your baby better than you do.
5. Panicking Over Milestones And Comparing Babies
Don’t worry if your baby is the last to start talking – they could write a masterpiece when they are older. Babies grow at different rates, and this doesn’t have much to do with how you raise them. Try not to spend too much time worrying about when your baby will start crawling. Everything will happen in good time.
6. Taking Time Out For Yourself
Being a mom is one of the most important jobs in the world, but remember to take some time out for yourself too. You are still an individual person who will need alone time, and you shouldn’t feel guilty about that. It is normal and healthy. If everything is getting to you, ask your partner to look after the baby while you have a delicious glass of wine and a bubble bath.
7. Not Focusing On Healing After Giving Birth
Your new baby is so perfect and tiny and adorable, it can be hard to stop watching over them and worrying about them. However, you are also recovering from childbirth, and you need to focus on that, too. Try to make sure you are getting lots of water and nutritious food – if you don’t have any time to cook, buy healthy snacks that you can grab on the go.
8. Not Asking For Help With Breastfeeding Issues
Breastfeeding is a lot harder than it seems, and many women struggle to breastfeed. This doesn’t stop you from being an awesome mom, and don’t feel guilty if you are having problems with breastfeeding. Speak to a consultant or a pediatrician, and see if there are any solutions to the problems. If not, it doesn’t matter – lots of awesome moms don’t breastfeed their children.
9. Being Territorial Of Your Baby
Lots of moms struggle to share their baby with others as they want to forge an important bond with their child. Remember that you have spent 9 months bonding with your child, and letting other members of your family hold your child gives your baby a chance to bond with the rest of their family – share the love!
10. Taking Advice That You Don’t Trust
If your friend tells you to ignore a rash, but your gut tells you to go to the doctors, listen to your gut. Don’t worry about offending your friends. You are the only mommy of your baby, and it is likely that you know best.
What did you think of this list? Share it with the moms you know and see what they think!
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10 Tips for Raising a Child with High Self-Esteem
Every parent dreams of raising a child who is confident but not cocky, who is self-assured but sensitive, and who feels empowered to make choices and follow their passions. Even if, as parents, we suffer with low self-esteem ourselves, there is much we can do to enable our children to learn to love themselves and to be an active participant, rather than an observer, in their own lives.
1. Start with you
Our children learn far more from what we do rather than the lessons we try to teach them. In the way we conduct ourselves each day, we teach our children how to be. We act as role models and inspire our children. So if we model high self-esteem, our children are more likely to develop high self-esteem too. For those of us with low self-esteem this can make us worry that we’re doomed to pass on feelings of self-doubt and negativity to our children, but that needn’t be the case. Whilst we can’t fundamentally change our personalities overnight, we can think carefully about the way in which we portray ourselves each day. We can think about what we choose to say aloud. We can make a conscious effort to present the best version of ourselves.
When we’re struggling with issues of self-negativity, a good way to redress the balance is to try and see yourself through your child’s eyes. When they are young, kids tend to adore their parents unconditionally. Don’t question it, embrace it, and try to channel the parent your adoring child sees whenever self-doubt creeps in.
2. Tackle negative self-talk
When we talk badly about ourselves, it reinforces low self-esteem. Again, we should start with ourselves here and make a conscious effort not to talk badly of ourselves. It’s remarkable how often self-critical phrases creep in when you listen out for them. Additionally, any time we hear our child talk negatively about themselves, we should question it. Ideally we should not just dismiss their concerns, but rather provide evidence to the contrary, or balance negative self-talk with meaningful compliments.
3. Give feelings names
When we struggle with difficult thoughts and feelings, it can really pull down the way we feel about ourselves and our place in the world around us. When we give these feelings names and are able to explore them, it can help us to understand and manage them, reducing their impact on how we feel about ourselves. Help your child to understand the different ways they feel, both physically and emotionally, so that your family has a shared language for both positive and negative experiences, which will enable open sharing and support.
4. Listen
As well as helping your child to name their feelings, you need to give them an opportunity to talk about them. This can work best if we get into a habit of listening early on. If we build listening into our daily routine, our child gets used to being heard and will more readily share with us at specific points each day. This will enable us to understand what’s going on in our child’s life as well as tackle difficulties and misconceptions early on before negative thoughts and feelings become entrenched and embedded.
5. Be a stable base
Whether your child is a toddler or a teenager, they need a stable base from which to explore the world. They need to understand the rules you set and be able to predict likely outcomes from their actions. They need to be able to rely on you to look out for them and to support them. Once they know that they can rely on you, they’ll be ready to walk away and become more independent and self-assured.
6. Let your child spread their wings
Watching our children grow more independent is one of the most nerve-wracking things we ever go through as parents. However, if we want our children to develop self-confidence and assurance, we need to have the confidence to let them go. We can’t live their lives for them, we need to provide them with the tools and encouragement they need to go out and take risks, make mistakes, and reap the rewards of starting to find their own place in the world.
7. Celebrate uniqueness and diversity
Show tolerance of others in all that you say, and celebrate what makes each member of your family unique. Never expect children to live up to expectations set by siblings, nor to fulfill your own childhood dreams. Instead, help them to develop their own skills and talents and enjoy these individual differences.
8. Empower decisions that have impact
Let your child see that they make a difference in your family. Talk to them and listen to what they have to say. Invite their opinions on decisions both big and small, like what should we eat for dinner? Where should we go on holiday? Also, be prepared to listen to and act on their answers. This way your child learns that their view is valued and that they can be an active participant in family life.
9. Be honest about your mistakes
There are few mistakes we cannot learn from. You teach your child a far more valuable lesson when you hold your hands up and say you got something wrong. They can look for the learning there, better than when you try to portray an image of perfection each day.
10. Don’t forget to say “I love you”
Finally, we need to remember to show and tell our kids that we care about them. As parents, the love we feel can overwhelm us. It might seem impossible that our children could fail to know that they are loved; however, you should never assume your child knows how much you love them. Instead make an effort to show it and say it out loud. We all know how good it feels to be loved. This is no different for a child. Actually, it can be an important bedrock of self-esteem, as well as making family life just that little bit more pleasurable each and every day.
Featured photo credit: Let’s do – Latteda via albumarium.com
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7 Strategies To Boost Your Facebook Business Page
Facebook is an outstanding social media site that develops social connections between people. The good thing is that business people can now easily reach Facebook users to promote their products or services virtually. Here are some strategies for improving your Facebook business page that will help your company grow and accomplish its goals:
1. Optimize your page description
Having a well-established Facebook business page encourages potential buyers to engage with your brand. You can do this by optimizing the ‘about’ section of your business page; this is the core of having an effective business page. It is important as well to develop a two-way relationship with your customers. Provide your best contact information on your page, so clients can talk to you with ease. If you have a separate website, you can also provide a link to it in the ‘about’ section. Facebook is a great platform to promote your company’s services, and many apps have been developed that you can simply integrate with your page to allow for further optimization.
2. Build good content to encourage sharing
Quality content goes a long way. But of course, you must focus on what is valuable to your customers and relevant to your brand. It is not ideal to sell your products all the time; it can overwhelm your potential clients. An ideal way to encourage users to buy your product is through engaging content which adds value to the needs of your customers and sells your product at the same time.
3. Target your posts
Everything you publish needs to be targeted so it will be delivered to the right people. You can target prospective customers by location, gender, age, language, and status. Targeting your posts can increase respondents and lead to enhanced customer commitment to your business. Facebook is a great tool for targeting potential customers through your posts and/or campaigns. But before anything else, you must first define your target market and subsequent marketing plan to ensure success.
4. Be timely
Relevant and informative content will be useless if it is delivered in a delayed manner. One advantage of using Facebook as a business page is that you can form real-time connections with your audience. You can schedule posts depending on what time will be most relevant and effective.
5. Include a call-to-action
Businesses can now direct their customers to a landing page with less effort. Facebook allows business users to include a call-to-action with their campaigns. A call-to-action is a link that will take users to your company’s website or product page. An excellent call-to-action can drive more users from Facebook through to purchasing products and/or services with ease. Facebook also gives businesses the ability to track the number of users who have clicked a particular call-to-action.
6. Give freebies
Freebies excite customers and potential clients. Giveaways and special offers can actually gain you leads and increase brand awareness. For example, imagine you decided to run a giveaway. You can make it a requirement of entry for users to share a particular post. This sharing activity can attract more people to visit your business page and encourage them to take a variety of desired actions to help grow your business.
7. Hold a monthly contest
An efficient way to boost Facebook likes and shares is through running a monthly contest. There are various kinds of Facebook contests you could consider implementing:
- Interactive quiz: Facebook users answer questions and winners are picked randomly.
- Sweepstakes: a lottery approach with a prize being awarded to one, or a few entrants
- Instant win: entrants are required to do a certain action before accessing an instant prize.
Running an effective Facebook contest will create great exposure for your business. But always keep in mind that benefits should exceed costs- determine whether your company can afford to hold a contest, and whether it is really necessary.
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Great Advertising Won’t Save Your Crummy Product
Sriracha; A company that’s created an enormously viral product without ANY marketing.
“How’d they do that?,” you ask? Simple. They built an amazing product.
Word of Mouth Advertising
Today, social media is the plumbing to the word of mouth in our society, creating word of mouth advertising for products that actually provide real value. If you make a great product and you can get people to taste it, both literally and metaphorically, then there’s a tremendous opportunity for your name to spread on its own. There are tons of brands, not just Sriracha, that don’t spend a dime on marketing and win simply by making a great product that people can’t help but talk about.
Word of Mouth Influence
In that regard, social media has put us in a very interesting space. You can use word of mouth influence to build up your consumer base. So, what is “word of mouth influence?” Simple: leverage the social “influence” of one individual who’s had a great experience with what your business offers, and you can be well on your way to surpassing the attention that any paid budget would get you. But: you need to make sure you actually have a good product. For instance, if you’re a small time restaurant that happens to have great food, all you need is that one person on Instagram or Twitter to talk you up because they love what you have to offer.
The Takeaway
The key to all of this is actually building a product that provides real value for the end user. You can have all the money in the world, but if you have a crummy product, in the long term, it won’t make a difference. Companies like Sriracha are certainly anomalies in many ways but the core to their success is a simple one; They built a product that people actually want and for that, those people have spoken, and will continue to speak as long as the product continues to provide them value.
Featured photo credit: Gary Vaynerchuk via garyvaynerchuk.com
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6 Hurdles Successful People Overcome At All Costs
Success is a journey. It takes consistency and action and not mere words. Many people do not tend to appreciate enough the hurdles and challenges successful people must have overcome before reaching their goals. Paying attention to such details and not taking these hurdles for granted, but having a superior mindset to crush them could define how far you and I will go in meeting our successes. Even when you become successful it is important overcome at all costs these hurdles as you set forth to reaching your goals.
The lack of an identity
When nobody knows who you are it is difficult for anyone to vouch for you or offer the needed support to gain enough credit. This is why people who become successful meet several turn downs before they meet success. For the ordinary person it is easy to walk away and remain in obscurity, but people with a successful mindset don’t let their being unidentified stand in the way of their meeting success. They create an identity for themselves.
Poor timing
Having a great idea or being a great talent is not enough. You have to take advantage of the times. Many who have failed met it because they had the right motive or desires and set forth for it at the wrong time. To become successful you don’t have to procrastinate though, you don’t have to say you are at the wrong side of age and that you need more time. Successful people set forth and take advantage of the time. They know that they even if they fail because of poor timing they would have benefited themselves in form of knowledge and be prepared enough to try again.
Being around the wrong people
There are a lot of people around who are willing to crush your spirits and dampen your self-belief. It is difficult to attain success when you surround yourself with ordinary who are okay with being average and sticking to the conventional. Getting out of the box and meeting success requires that you find your tribe of like-minded persons who will propel you and push you to maximizing your potential.
A lack of direction
You could have the right intentions and desires but you are not channeling your skills and abilities in the right direction. All this could be dependent on not having the right knowledge or the right people around you to put you through. Having a clear cut strategy and the right approach to reaching your goals is always very important in becoming successful. Successful people gain direction through mentors, books or observing the trends.
A terrible lifestyle
Successful people understand that their body is the vehicle to success. You cannot do much without having the right vessel to take you to your destination. Many do take this for granted and do not pay attention to their health and lifestyle. You can’t do much under intense stress and pressure from what is around you. Successful people do well to minimize their stress and focus on getting the best out of their body. They eat right, exercise and have a decent rest. Ordinary people live with ordinary habits and this doesn’t matter too much, but successful people overcome the hurdle of destroying the vessel that will take them success by maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Trusting in what others think
You could be misguided with the many views on different platforms. It is hard not to listen to people and their opinions; some about your personality, others about your actions and decisions. But if you want to be successful, you have to overcome the hurdle of listening to what everyone has to say about you. Successful people believe in themselves rather than in the opinions of others. Ordinary people on the other hand become discouraged or disappointed as people dampen their ambitions with mere words.
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