#i mean i do a lot of typically 'social' activities alone and have a blast not having to deal with anyone else

[consumeconstantly]

Small Buff Girl Sightings ch. 3

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ao3 

Marinette wonders when she got used to the crushing weight of expectations that had been imposed upon her by the Powers That Be. She also wonders when she got used to being lonely. These are two separate events, she’s fairly sure, but it isn’t like she keeps a diary anymore. She has long since fallen out of that habit, because she doesn’t want another Sabrina incident. With the class the way it is now, she can’t even fathom how much damage her diary could bring to her classmates, and likely, the whole of Paris. Because for some reason, Hawkmoth has some sort of a vendetta against her class.

Which is the whole reason why she didn’t transfer out of Mademoiselle Bustier’s class in the first place. Sure, she tried for the first few months to expose Lila and get things back to the status quo, but Marinette can only try and fail so many times before getting tired of her classmate’s willful ignorance. Then, she stayed in class for Adrien. Such a sweet, misguided boy. Marinette wonders how he would have turned out if his father was less of an asshole, or if his mother were still around. No use crying over spilled milk; she still feels bad for him, but she’s no longer staying in class for him. Her crush on Adrien is a thing of the past. 

As it is currently, Mlle. Bustier’s class simply provides the most excellent cover for all of her escapades and an excellent vantage point to see what the next akuma might be. 

After all, their class encompasses both the people who are most often akumatized-- minus Monsieur Ramier and Augustine-- and the people who are most likely to cause somebody’s akumatization. These are the usual suspects:

Chloe, who has admittedly improved her attitude after reconciling with her mother, but still doesn’t know how to deal with people like an ordinary person would. 

Lila, whose lies and half truths have ended more than one person’s dreams (as well as her own penchant to get akumatized willingly, but that hasn’t happened often after the first year, and Marinette doesn’t really want to go into that).

Adrien, who never intends to get anybody akumatized, but ends up doing so when the media catches him doing anything. Because everything he does gets covered by the media heavily. So when he goes out with friends and is mistaken for having a lover, there are a lot of angry fangirls who get akumatized.

Oh, and then there’s Marinette herself. She’s honestly not sure how or why so many people around her end up getting akumatized-- maybe she takes other people’s luck in exchange for having an abundance of her own-- but there’s certainly quite a number.

And if she’s talking about family relations, this class takes the cake too. Adrien’s father lashes out at his employees so often that Marinette is surprised that all his workers haven’t quit yet. Gabriel’s attitude has also convinced Marinette that she never wants to work at the man’s self-named brand. Mayor Bourgois and Audrey Bourgeois are both… frightening in their own ways. Both can end careers easily, but Audrey definitely goes about ending careers in a more harmful way. Juleka’s mom pisses off anybody who tries to come down the Seine; numerous akumas have appeared in response to her loud music blasting at all times of the day. And Ivan’s parents? Sweethearts, but both are so sensitive that their family is a prime target for Hawkmoth. 

She wonders when the new boy, Damian, will get akumatized. She doesn’t think-- hopes-- that he won’t, but with the track rate of their classmates, it was highly unlikely that he wouldn’t. So far, Marinette and Adrien have been the only ones in the class who haven’t been, including the series of brief transfers to their classes last year. Maybe he’ll be another to add to their number. And Marinette and Adrien both moonlight as superheroes. There’s probably some Miraculous magic involved, but Marinette’s not entirely sure. Master Fu doesn’t have answers for many of the questions that Marinette asks.

Damian seems like a decent person with a good head on his shoulders. Marinette hopes that he transfers away from this class soon, because she would feel awful if he does end up getting caught up with her classmate’s delusional version of reality. Because even though Lila has calmed down a lot and no longer tells such outlandish tales as she did in her first year at Francois Dupont, everyone else still follows her so mindlessly that it isn’t a healthy relationship for anyone involved. Marinette is almost certain that there are multiple people in the class that must know Lila was lying but now perpetuate this twisted version of reality because they’re afraid. Ninth and tenth year were important; if Lila really did lie about all of her connections, that means they messed their own futures up and need to work on themselves to fix it--something that is difficult to admit and commit to matter what age a person is. To admit that they did something wrong and take steps to fix it-- Marinette doesn’t think any of her classmates have that kind of mindset. After all, if anyone else had guts, there’s no way that Chloe would have been class president for as long as she was.

 Lunch comes around quickly, and Damian manages to catch her on her way out, grabbing and holding her forearm. Marinette is cautious, making sure that none of Lila’s lackeys are around. Despite her agreement with Lila, her classmates tend to make everything a much bigger deal than it should be, and they always tell Lila whenever Marinette steps so much as a foot out of line. Lila doesn’t always act on her classmates' words, but when there are too many voices that say that Marinette is doing something wrong, Lila has to act; if she doesn’t, she’s at risk of losing her position of power. Once Marinette is sure there is no one from Mlle. Bustier’s class watching, she pulls Damian with her to an alleyway a short ways away from her family’s bakery.

“I’m telling you again. You really don’t want to be seen with me.” 

“If you think I care about Lila, you’re mistaken. I will be seen with who I want to be seen with.” 

Marinette’s hand is warm and calloused. Her fingertips are extra soft, like she takes care to moisturize them more than the rest of her hand. 

The alleyway is surprisingly nice. Much nicer than any alleyway that Damian would find in Gotham, that’s for certain. It doesn’t have any blood stains and there are no crazy psychos hiding in the shadows. Instead, sunlight is let through the shorter of the two buildings, only five stories. Sure, the place smells slightly of urine and trash and there’s broken bottles everywhere, but that is par for the course for any major city.

Marinette’s not sure why Damian seems to be going out of his way to talk to her. She’s seen him interact with the other students, and he was positively stoic with them. His words are still clipped when he’s talking to her, but at least he speaks full sentences.

“It’ll be bad for your social health if you keep trying to talk to me.” 

He raises an eyebrow. “I don’t believe I ever asked for you to look after my social health, and I certainly don’t want  to talk to the idiots in that class.”

“I don’t think you understand, Damian. You might not mind being alone, but being lonely is different. It feels bad, and Hawkmoth will take advantage of you.” Marinette knows what being lonely is like, because despite her loving parents and all of her friends that she’s made outside of school in the past two years, before that, her world was limited. Sometimes, she wishes that some magical being came with Miraculous. Someone that she can actually talk to about all of her problems, both hero-related and those in her everyday life. As it is, Marinette never talks about what she does as Ladybug, unless she’s referring to herself in the third person and is forced to. Marinette doesn’t need people trying to figure out she is Ladybug, and despite Master Fu’s assurances that people without a Miraculous will never, ever catch on, she prefers to err on the side of caution. And as Ladybug, she only ever talks to Chat Noir, never deigning to talk about her personal life because it will be way too easy for Adrien to make the jump between her everyday problems and Marinette, because Adrien is a Miraculous user, and the Identity Concealment magic supposedly is less effective between Miraculous users. 

“I don’t believe we’ve interacted enough for you to judge my mental fortitude. Besides, you might have told me to avoid you, but I never agreed.” 

The former part of Damian’s statement isn’t true, but Damian doesn’t know that. As a superhero, Marinette needs to know how to judge people quickly and effectively. She’s read plenty of books on psychology and body language, clocked endless hours of videos on the subject. There’s also the matter of her bountiful personal experience, what with figuring out the issues of the ever increasing number of akumas that pop up around the city. Still, it isn’t like Marinette can actively refute his statement. 

For a while, the two of them stand in contemplative silence. 

“Fine, then, I’ll tell you why you need to avoid me. We might as well get out of this alleyway, though.” Marinette eyes the dumpster that stands a few meters away from them.

“And here I thought you were fond of alleyways,” Damian says, in reference to the first time they met.

She laughs, and it feels good. Marinette hasn't laughed in quite some time. Lately, her parents are always busy. They want to expand their patissiere by opening a second branch. That means they don’t have much family time, and when they do, it’s typically spent talking shop. Manon has continued in her bratty toddler stage, and the rest of the kids that she babysits are in a similar state. Uncle Jagged and Aunt Penny are still touring, bringing Luka around for the ride, Kagami’s currently in intensive training for the World Cup, and she simply hasn’t had enough time to see any of her other friends.

“I’d like to think that I'm more fond of my parents' macarons, than I am of alleyways.” Marinette leads him through the other end of the alleyway and through a few streets to get to the back entrance that leads directly to their house instead of the bakery. At least since Maman and Papa are so busy with business, she never needs to talk about her friends in school, or lack thereof.

#

“Let me get this straight,” Damian says, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You had four transfers last year and each of them ended up as akumas multiple times because of her lies, students who don’t believe her get expelled, suspended, or bullied, and the teacher and school refuse to do anything about it?”

“Well, Principal Damocles refuses to do anything; Mlle. Bustier believes her.” Marinette sips the cup of hot cocoa she prepared and lounges on her chaise. She doesn’t bother saying that all the transfers occurred in a six month period, after which Lila let up on her tyranny and turned into an average albeit still incredibly charismatic teen. Neither does she bother mentioning that Lila doesn’t lie anymore-- at least, not any big ones-- and has stopped getting herself willingly akumatized. She’s trying to get Damian to transfer out, after all. 

“That’s even worse. They’re useless.”

“It depends on your point of view. They’re very useful if you’re Lila or the rest of the class.”

Damian swivels the chair so he’s facing Marinette in her entirety. “How have you managed three years with that orange demon? Better question, why have you not transferred?”

“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” It’s not like Marinette can tell him the real reason why she’s staying in the class. That’s why she hasn’t told her parents about all of this. If they knew, they would definitely make her transfer classes, if not schools.

“That is no good reason for me to continue to stay with her group. I hate lying manipulators.” Damian’s mother is a good example.

“You might hate them, but if you can’t beat them and you can’t leave, you have to join them, or at least make a truce. And there’s no way Lila is going to give you up.”

“I really should just transfer.”

“I agree whole-heartedly. Please do.”

“But I can’t. My father won’t arrange a transfer for me. He wants me in that class.” More accurately-- Damian knows how many akumas came out of that class, and there is no way that he’s going to transfer away from it. It’s easier to figure out a game plan if he’s able to watch the action.

��I could arrange a transfer for you, if you want.”

“No, that’s too much trouble.”

“It’s no trouble, and if it helps one person by preventing them from getting akumatized, that’s great.”

“Why can’t you just expose her?” Damian counters.

“Tried that two years ago. Failed. Miserably. I almost got expelled.” She tactfully leaves out the fact that Lila also got her back in school. After years of making up excuses for where she’s been when an akuma attack calls her away, she’s gotten very skillful at lies by omission. Besides, if they’re to help someone, that’s okay, right? 

“If you can’t expose her then how are you going to get me transferred out?”

“Those are two separate issues. I might not be able to persuade a classroom that’s very interdependent on their relations with each other, but I was class president for two years, so I know people.” 

Damian decides to revise his tactics. “I don’t back down from a challenge. Besides, I want to see her empire crumble.”

The last part isn’t true. He cares little for the Italian girl, even less for their other classmates. People like Lila are alarmingly common when you run in the circles of the rich and powerful, and there are certainly people whose charisma is infinitely more dangerous. Lex Luthor, for instance. He shakes off thoughts of the dangerous business man. Damian needs to stay in this class because it’s the best lead that he’s got right now. He’s trying to be as covert as possible, under League request. Apparently, the Justice League of America isn’t supposed to interfere with what’s going on in Europe unless they call in for help. Damian thinks that’s a stupid rule-- in the end, they’re all just trying to protect the world-- but he agreed to secrecy and keeping his head down when accepting the mission. That means he’s not suddenly going to start asking his classmates about akumas unless they’re brought up in conversation. Unnecessary suspicion is a bad thing in this instance.

He takes another bite of the pastry that Marinette brought up for him. It’s much better than a lot of the other vegan options he’s found in Paris-- not that there are many to begin with. Everything in this damn city is made with butter or cheese. There is a lull in the conversation, and then, “She has no reason to hold on to me. I’ll just stay with you, in the back of the class.”

Marinette laughs at this.

“Lila isn’t going to let you go.”

“What do you mean by that? She let you go.” Damian almost feels like he should be affronted at some of the statements that Marinette has made. He feels like she doesn’t appreciate or know how capable he is. It feels weird to have somebody not hold him to the impossibly high pedestal of a genius billionaire’s son. Now that he’s with Marinette, he’s glad that the Justice League sent him under a different last name. He can only imagine the chaos that it would have caused when he arrived.

Marinette rolls her eyes. “She didn’t willingly let me go. She only did because I was constantly undermining her, though unsuccessfully. And besides, there’s a very big difference between the two of us.”

“I’m very capable at undermining people.”

“I have no doubt about that,” Marinette snorts. Damian Grayson is quite the character. They’ve met in the oddest of situations each time. At first, she thought he might be a stalker, but after getting to know Damian a little better, Marinette believes that it’s coincidence-- there’s no way that someone with as much pride as Damian would go out of his way to follow a mere girl. If he wanted to go out with someone, he’d simply demand it. “But the key difference is our gender. Lila Rossi may be bisexual, but her desired gender of arm candy is male. I’m sure you’ve seen her with Adrien. The blonde one?”

At Damian's nod, Marinette continues. “Don’t get your ego even more inflated, but you are good looking. You’re Lila’s type. Tall, muscular, green eyed. You’re the perfect balance to Adrien’s sunshine demeanor. Besides, she can’t have a girl with self-confidence within her circle,  so there was no way that we could have peacefully coexisted in the same group to begin with.”

Marinette’s comment about his appearance makes him feel an unexpected shock of pleasure. He knows he’s good looking. All of the Wayne kids are. He’s gotten enough compliments on his appearance to last him ten lifetimes. But knowing that Marinette finds him attractive feels different. She doesn't seem to be the type to exaggerate, and has a good objective eye for beauty.

“Yes, she already has Adrien. She doesn’t need me as well.”

“Greed never stops.” Marinette finishes her cup of hot cocoa and now stares at her ceiling, then at the wall opposite her, covered in fabric and design sketches. It seems like it was only yesterday when the walls of her bedroom were filled with the countless modelling endeavors of one Adrien Agreste. Now, there are very few pictures of him at all. She wishes that she got to hang out with him more, civilian to civilian. 

When she figured out that Adrien Agreste and Chat Noir were the same, it was a day for the record books. She had so much emotional whiplash that day that it still gives her nausea just thinking about it. Marinette figures that it is a good thing she found out when she did, otherwise she might have continued with her crush on him and would have ended up pointlessly heartbroken. She still loves him, just not the way lovers do. Marinette also suspects that Adrien himself is not looking for a relationship of any sort besides friendship. He’s been more tense in recent months, and Chat Noir confessed that people touching him made him uncomfortable.

Marinette wants nothing more but to rip Adrien from Asshole Gabriel’s hands. But she can’t, because Marinette doesn’t have the trust of Adrien Agreste. Not in the capacity that she needs him to. Not in the capacity that will allow her to unseat Gabriel as she so desperately wishes to. If Ladybug entrusted Marinette to help Adrien out, there is no doubt that Adrien would figure out her alter ego, and that is dangerous knowledge. Especially since he is so tense with everything else going on in his life. It’s a recipe for a powerful akuma and the horrifying possibility of Hawkmoth learning her civilian identity. Ever since retiring the other heroes, Marinette knows that she can’t afford to have Chat Noir or Adrien akumatized. She’s certain that she can beat him in either form, but on the off chance that Hawkmoth decides on a mass akumatization, she can’t beat them all. She’s just not strong enough, no matter how many hours she trains and no matter how many times she takes down baddies in her civilian form.

“So what, I should just let her put her hands all over me?”

That… admittedly sounds unpleasant. Marinette isn’t sure what Adrien and Lila have going on, but Marinette knows that they’re not actually in a relationship. She’s fairly sure that Adrien and Lila have stuck some sort of deal on their own, but she’s not close enough to ask Adrien, and she’s definitely not going to ask Lila. Still, when Marinette addressed her concerns with Lila’s touchy tendencies, Adrien gave her a weak smile and said that that was just part of Lila’s nature. He implied that he dealt with worse, which made Marinette worried to hell and back, but ultimately Adrien convinced Marinette that touching him was not done with ill intent by Lila and that her touch warded off other people’s interest. He promised that he was fine, and that he would tell Marinette if he was really uncomfortable. So Marinette let sleeping dogs lie, because despite her initial animosity towards Lila, she was good at manipulating attention away from Adrien whenever he was having a particularly bad day.

“I told you, I can get you transferred out.” 

“And I told you that I never back down from a challenge.”

“Then it seems like we’re at an impasse.”

“I suppose we are.” 

Marinette’s phone alarm goes off, and she jumps from her chaise. “We’ve got to get back to school. Class starts in five. You go first, I’ll clean up.”

“I am not a rude houseguest.”

“Well, I don’t want to be seen with you in school, so leave.” Marinette’s sudden burst of rudeness is unlike her, but she chalks it down to her deep-rooted desire for Damian not to end up like the four transfers last year. She keeps in contact with some of them still, and not all of them are doing all too well. Marinette really doesn’t want Damian to end up like that.

Damian’s mouth sets itself into a thin line. “Fine then, have it your way. Give me your phone number.”

A shrug. “If that’s what it’ll take for you to leave me alone during school.”

And then, Damian is off.

#

4:50PM | Unknown number: I’m testifying next Thursday.

4:55PM | Marinette: Damian?

Damian: Yes.

Marinette: oh

Marinette: me too

Marinette: i’m going to visit renee tomorrow

4:58PM | Damian: I’ll come with you. I’ll meet you at your parent’s bakery after school.

6:42PM | Marinette: uh

Marinette: how about that alleyway instead

Damian: If I must.

#

Marinette doesn’t really know what to make of Damian. The first time she meets him, she almost thinks he is another stalker. Almost, but not quite; he looks far too reluctant to be following her and looks too unfamiliar with the streets that they were going down to have done this before. Still, she doesn’t want to take any chances, so she makes quick work of her first stalker and immediately gets on the phone with the police, leaving her stalker in the alley despite her normal protocol to stay with the criminal until the police get there. She makes an exception for this, because even from a distance, the second person following her looks much more dangerous than the first, and she doesn’t want to fight with someone who’s bigger than her in a place that’s hard to run away in. 

When he appears near the alleyway he seems annoyed, then relieved and surprised when he sees the body in the alleyway. Like it was something he didn’t want to deal with.

When she brushes past him, there isn’t a hint of recognition in his eyes. Nothing except for surprise, and maybe a little bit of admiration. A raised eyebrow, saying, really? This short little girl just beat a man twice her size up? 

She ends up in violent altercations as a civilian on an almost regular basis. According to one of her stalkers, she was just so friendly. Clearly she wanted to go out with him. It’s her fault for coming onto him. When she isn’t fending off creepy men whose profiles were nearly all the same-- five to ten years older than her, with some sort of fetish for asian women (she shudders at the thought of being called exotic)-- she does her duty as a plain-clothes hero. Because her conscience will never let her get away with walking away from an instance that might end up harming someone else. Marinette feels an overwhelming sense of responsibility. She won’t forgive herself for not protecting the weak. 

#

The next time she meets him, she’s surprised that he actually approaches her and asks if she needs help. He clearly doesn’t actually want her to take him up on the offer, so she immediately turns him down. Marinette isn’t sure why he feels so compelled to offer his help when he clearly didn’t want to but-- oh merde. The class is going to leave her behind again if she doesn’t run and try to catch the bus now. She can take the metro, but she is short on the amount she needs to get all the way home. Marinette is also unwilling to turn into Ladybug, because Ladybug only ever shows up on night patrols and when there’s an akuma, and she doesn’t want to send Parisians into a mass panic.

Despite his obvious unwillingness, she reneges on her words and asks him to watch over the thief. He seems more at ease with it than she expected. Maybe he really had meant his offer. Weird. She is usually pretty good at reading people. Why can’t she get a good read on this guy?

His posture, too, is more at ease than she would expect of any civilian. Usually, if she ever asks somebody to watch over somebody she’s detained, they’re nervous and a little jumpy. Their hands are glued to their phone, ready to make a call if the slightest thing goes wrong. But this guy is relaxed and confident. Just the way he’s standing screams of years of training, in fighting and possibly in etiquette. Maybe he comes from some high class family.

She doesn’t have time to contemplate why and where and how. She just leaves him.

#

Then he comes in like a ghost, when she’s helping poor Nicolette. Somehow, Marinette knows this voice, this step pattern. She only needs a single glance up to confirm her beliefs. It’s the guy she keeps seeing around town. 

Despite her initial impression that he wasn’t dangerous, she still takes the proper measures to protect herself, just in case. She can never be too sure in situations like these, and although he has been nothing but helpful, she doesn’t particularly want to be on the receiving end of one of his punches. He looks like an athlete. Long, lean muscle. Dangerous too, if his eyes are anything to go by.

They’re dark green and calculating. He’s gone through Things. Marinette can almost guarantee that the guy has encountered at least a few life-threatening situations. 

She wonders how it is that he only ever seems to appear once she’s done with whatever issue she’s dealing with. Is he stalking her to see the extent of her abilities? Is he trying to make her let her guard down? Something about him makes Marinette anxious. He looks like he wants to tear her apart to see her inner workings. To figure her out. He makes Marinette feel like he’s always on the verge of finding out her biggest secret, and she hates it. 

Still, he makes for a pretty reliable cleanup partner. She doesn’t think that she would trust a regular civilian to keep watch over any person she thought was dangerous. Fraser is just a little too dangerous for Marinette to consider leaving alone in the street. She certainly would not have passed his care to any regular stranger. 

But Nicolette is clearly in need of comfort, and Damian looks like he can take care of himself and any trouble that comes his way. Which makes Marinette even more wary of him. Would she be able to beat him in her civilian form? She is certain that she could if he is just some common street thug-- she’s taken down people bigger than him-- but she gets the foreboding feelings that he is more than that.

#

It’s almost comforting to see Damian’s reaction to Ladybug and the akuma. He looks equal parts confused and awe struck. There is a touch of cynicism in there, for sure, a little bit of disbelief, but somehow, it lets Marinette breathe a temporary sigh of relief. 

He doesn’t know what is going on in Paris. He doesn’t know her-- either side of her. And it is going to stay that way. 

#

Of course it doesn’t stay that way. Marinette uses up all of her luck during her time as Ladybug, so the person who is currently at the top of her Avoid list shows up to her school as the American transfer. Of course he decides to sit next to her. She bemoans the loss of her blessedly empty desk. Damian is taller and larger than most boys their age, but he sits far enough away from her. 

That’s a good sign. He’s not going out of his way to touch her or make contact with her. Maybe this whole thing is just a coincidence. Please, let this whole thing be just a coincidence

Then he starts talking to her, and of course he notices the whole thing with Lila, how can he not? She didn’t make a wrong judgement on his level of perceptiveness. Great. That is one thing she would have gladly lost a bet on. Now, she has to deal with possible ramifications of Damian, six foot Adonis, not wanting to get along with Lila. Lila will not like this. Marinette knows exactly what she wants in her little circle: attractive boys and girls that are less pretty or less confident than her. People who are easily controlled by promises and tall tales. And although Damian only fits one of those categories, he will undoubtedly be on her shopping list. 

After their awful first year together, Lila proposed a truce of sorts. They could either try being friends or they could stay out of each other’s ways. Lila wouldn’t actively bully Marinette, and Marinette wouldn’t actively try to expose her. 

She can feel Lila’s eyes on her. Green. It seems like everybody and anybody who brought her trouble nowadays had green eyes. Tonight, she’ll throw out all the green items that she owns. Marinette doesn’t need any more bad luck around her.

#

 They return from lunch, and Marinette prays to every God whose name she knows that he is no longer sitting in the back seat. That Lila successfully swept him up. 

Of course she hasn’t. Damian’s too smart for his own damn good. Which means that she needs to start preparing for the consequences of the inevitable fallout. She really doesn’t want Damian to turn into an akuma. She’s pretty good at telling which people will be more powerful (devastating? devastating.) in their akumatized forms than others, and she’s pretty sure that Damian would round out her top five, alongside Adrien, her Maman, her cousin, Bridgette, and herself. People who have more control over themselves are that much scarier when they fall apart. 

#

This time, Damian shows up before things are completely settled, and she’s thankful for it. 

If she wants to build a case against this woman, she does not need accusations of her own violence levelled against her. Thus, Marinette had been almost entirely ready and willing to feel the woman’s slap, maybe even her nails cutting through her skin. None of that matters, though. Not in comparison to Renee’s future.

In Renee, Marinette can see a lot of Adrien. He is blonde, is soft spoken from what little she’s seen of him, and lives firmly under a rich and manipulative parent’s thumb. Even though he’s scared of getting hit by his mom, Marinette can feel, instinctively, that if she hits the woman back, not only will she be in trouble with the case, she will also have scared Renee. 

Damian steps in at exactly the right time, and leaves her free to call the police. 

Though he’s quiet throughout the ride to the station, she does see him look at the little boy in concern. Other than that, he seems curious. A little child-like, even. His eyes are darting around the inside of the cruiser. It’s almost comical. Maybe he’s scared of being in the back of the police car, but she can’t find it in her to bring out a laugh. Not when Renee is on her lap. Not when she can feel his tears through her shirt and his soft little hiccups. Marinette hates that woman. Hates her so much. Hates Gabriel, too.

Marinette is focusing more on Renee and the woman more than Damian, but when she does spare him a glance, he seems unsure. Discomfited. Maybe he wants to reassure Renee that it will be alright. 

She has been preparing for a situation in which she can take Gabriel to court for almost an entire year now. Despite this, Marinette still pulls out her phone and checks a few websites to make sure that all of the information she has is correct.  Damian pulls out his phone too, though he’s just fiddling with it so his hands have something to do. 

By the time Marinette breaks past the woman’s painfully bad facade of being a good parent, Marinette feels her blood boiling. She knows that she is not immune to being akumatized, and is very glad that it’s highly unlikely Hawkmoth sends out another akuma today. 

It hurt a little when she first discovered that she could be akumatized. She was thirteen, Ladybug, and invincible. Then, she was thirteen, Marinette, and scared. Despite the situation at the time, Marinette could never bring herself to fully hate Lila. In part, because she believed--and still believes-- that Adrien is at least partially right. She sees it, periodically. How lonely Lila is behind her lies and friendships. Marinette doesn’t know what the girl is missing, and she doesn’t particularly care to know, but Lila is young and immature and has time to shift her course. And after their truce, Lila backed down a lot. Her lies are soft, now. Quiet. Most times nonexistent. She doesn’t need to do much to manipulate the class into loving her because she laid down all the groundwork during that first, horrible year.

But Marinette feels entitled to be angry at these parents who treat their children like they are nothing more than tools. Like they are subhuman. Maybe some parents can’t love their children-- she understands that to some extent-- and maybe they can’t be with them all the time. However, if love isn’t possible, they should still treat their child with the basic courtesy of human decency. And there is a point where neglect turns into abuse. Marinette knows that-- sees that with Adrien and Gabriel-- all too well. 

Marinette is glad that all of her previous encounters with criminals taught her to record from the moment she interferes. She is glad that she sprung for a phone with extra amounts of storage. Her palms are hot and trembly, but her head is cold. She feels a twisted sense of accomplishment wrenched from her gut as she watches Renee’s mother flee from the room. 

It is in this cold daze that she finds herself outside with Damian. Alone together, again. And he asks her about Lila, and she doesn’t want to deal with whatever dangers Damian brings with him. She’s had to fight off an akuma, deal with an absolute horror of a woman, and when she goes home, she will have to finish a commission and study for a test tomorrow. Damian is an unnecessary complication. 

Somehow, her life has become a never ending cycle. At least she will sleep better at night knowing that Renee is in better hands.

#miraculous ladybug #dc #mlbxdc #daminette #sbgs #original content #adrien agreste #lila rossi #marinette dupain cheng #damian wayne

[hyphypmic]

HypMic: Utaites

Anon asked: Kinda weird but! How would the boys be with a Utaite s/o? (In case you don’t know, Utaites are singers who cover Vocaloid or jpop songs, and some even have original works, typically for YouTube or Nico). Like how would they do with concerts, shoots, and all that? Thanks in advance (also your writing is absolutely fantastic~~)

Uwu you make me soft hehe

—

Ichiro

Hahahah he would really go for it and sing along

Plus he would be so game to cosplay and do covers with you

Like he would also have you guest star in concerts because he is a very out anime fan so we know he is very unashamed with his obsessions

And with your original works, he promotes like crazy and even promotes your teasers and has reaction videos and all that

Plus he nerds out, a lot,,,, so he’s incredibly supportive

Plus, you do do covers of his songs and the buster bros which he finds incredibly adorable and loves you for it

Jiro

Also a very out and obvious anime fan

So he super duper supports you, though he’s kinda shy to ask Ichiro if you can guest star

But Jiro is really in awe of you and he asks shyly if you can cover some of his favourite songs

And he promotes you too on social media and all that

As for shoots, he’s game to dress up and like help you out

But it’s more of you have fun together rather than actually get any work done

You did his song alone then he insisted you do it with him

So at the time when you cosplayed as Jiro, the internet exploded

Saburo

Social media god with about three posts on his instagram

He promotes you so well that you see a rise in your followers right away

Plus he’s really good at taking pictures and doing photoshoots

He’s shy at performing with you, but if it’s for an anime he really likes, he goes for it and you love seeing his unfiltered enthusiasm because he’s usually a bit more shy

But yeah, he prefers to be your cameraman and to be fair, he really is good at what he does

He’s shy, but he loved it when you did your own rendition of new star and he’s so soft and uwu he put extra effort into editing that vid

Samatoki

Ah well, he probably heard some of the songs from when Ichiro would fucking blast them on the radio

And he actually likes some of them

So though he isn’t as well-versed as Ichiro, Samatoki would ask if you could play some of the ones he likes and you’re all for it

And he likes what you’re doing so in a very tsundere way he asks you to guest star and sometimes he IG story’s you and all that

And he also takes pics of you for your shoots…. And you managed to convince him once

Oh and of course, you did a cover of his songs while wearing his polo and that made him very happy

Jyuto

He also doesn’t get the anime shit right away

But I’m sure he knows some so he’s into it to some extent

He’s shy to cosplay, but once you convince him it works out miraculously

Plus when you dress up like him he loves to because he’s genuinely so flattered

Secretly an amazing photographer so he’s out there to just help you out

And he does ;et you guest star in concerts and he loves recording your practices for his own personal consumption because he’s a lil selfish like that

Riou

Doesn’t get it at first and things that all the shit you do is original

And after you explain it to him he lowkey gets into watching the shows and he asks if you can do some of the ones he likes

And he’s supper supportive in his own stoic way

Like yeah he won’t cosplay with you and yeah he won’t appear in duets with you (unless it’s his song or an MTC one)

But he is a solid presence all the time and you appreciate his effort and kindness

then he always reminds you to rest and not push yourself so that you can be at your 100% all the time, but it’s okay not to be

Ramuda

All the game to dress up and be your fashion desgoiner

He even makes the cosplay clothes for you and makes a version for himself

Actively asks you to duet with him and collaborate on videos and concerts and photoshoots

You also help him with releasing a cosplay line for his clothes line

And anyway, you love him the more for it

So the shoots are beautiful and the social media promo is off the charts because ramada is a god at it

And he’s very enthusiastic about your performances and he sells you really really well

Gentaro

Another behind the scenes kind of guy

You won’t find him in your pictures or in your videos or whatever

But he’s the one giving you tips on your vocals and what not

And also he’s taking your pics and since he’s an artist at heart (but I believe he can’t draw) he takes good pics because he can visualise it in your head

Also when he promotes you, like damn his words are really convincing and everyone just wants to listen to you

Plus when you dressed up as him one time, he felt so soft that he had to take the best pictures of the two of you

Dice

Im sure he knows a bit of the anime because sometimes you gotta watch what you can watch

And then he would dress up, but like only ion you force him too

And he pretends he doesn’t like it but he does

And he helps you out like conceptually, meaning finding the best locations for photos

And the one time you dressed up like him and he was starstruck for the longest time like he really wouldn’t stop fanboying

And yes we know he’s a street rat, but he is a very considerate street rat so he’s so incredibly proud of you and actually spends what little he has on buying your songs

Jakurai

Doesn’t really get it at first so he asks you to introduce to him the world

And when he does get it he’s really impressed because it’s not easy being an artist in general

So sometimes he dresses up with you because honestly I know Jakurai is down for anything and everything as long as he gets to see you smile

And when you do covers of his songs and other songs, he helps you out with how you should act and like vocally

He doesn’t do social media very well, but when he does everyone just goes uwu with how proud he is of you and makes you open act MTR sometimes

Oh and when you do covers with him, needless to say the world is in tears

Doppo

Doesn’t also get you at first

So you explain it to him and he is immediately in awe of you because that shit is hard

And no there is no way you’re going to get him to dress up if you’re gonna ask

But he is proud of you and loves what you’re doing

So all of your songs are saved on his phone and he listens to them in his free time and he lets maternou listen also

And the biggest and happiest moment for him is when you covered his song, like he was super emotional about it because he knew that you didn’t have to but you did anyway because you personally love the song and— yeah he really loves you for it

Hifumi

Is game to dress up with you, to take pictures with you and to do covers with you, anything on camera he is g

Anyway, he really is a smog puppy so sometimes he plays your songs in his club and he goes around saying this is my significant other!@ check out her YT and her Nico!

And then he’s one of the social media gods of hypmic so like…. He promotes you really really well

Plus, he has the perfect spots for all your shoots and MVs

You even did one in his club and another one for when you did his song

Plus he really just wants to be the best supportive boyfriend he can be and there’s nothing you would want more

#hypmic #hypnosis mic #hypnosis microphone #headcanon #mad trigger crew #samatoki aohitsugi #riou busujima #jyuto iruma #buster bros #ichiro yamada #jiro yamada #saburo yamada #fling posse #ramuda amemura #daisu arisugawa #yumeno gentaro #matenrou #jakurai jinguji #doppo kannonzaka #hifumi izanami

[purplesurveys]

786

Do you hate it when people rate their surveys "R" but none of the questions are R-rated?  Not really. It’s been a while since I took note of whatever rating a survey has and I don’t really analyze a survey if it has any R questions. Do you ever actively seek out R rated surveys 'cause you think they're fun? Only super early on as a teenager because accomplishing an rated R survey back then made me feel cool HAHAHAHA. Like I said though, I stopped caring through the years as I got older and got to experience typical grownup stuff. Have you ever taken the tests on sites like "OK Cupid" or similar? I’ve never even been on that website, so I dunno others like it. When was the last time you went out for a coffee/cup of tea? Sigh...March 2nd. I went to a nearby Starbucks to work on a business article and to extensively update a tracker that I was keeping for a class. Then because I still had work to do, but was feeling increasingly bad for overstaying at that Starbucks, I drove all the way to Gabie to stay at another coffee shop to continue working, at Coffee Bean this time. We had Yabu for dinner after and I had no clue it was gonna be my last coffee and Yabu date for a while. :/ Do you remember what TV shows you liked as a kid? (If you watched it) Yeah but all the surveys ask this damn question eugh so I don’t feel like directly answering this. I liked a ton of Nickelodeon and Disney shows, but I was super picky when it came to Cartoon Network because I vibed with mostly none of their shows.

Does stress ever affect you physically? If yes, how? It doesn’t really, actually. It hits me in other ways because I’d usually get cranky and will often cry when my stress peaks. I don’t get sick or lose weight or gain it or anything like that, and usually a one-time emotional release will help me deal with the stress. Who (in your opinion) deserves a medal and why? Frontliners do. Throw in better pay for them as well. Who was in power in your country the year you were born? Estrada. Not a very good president either. Though to be fair all of our presidents have been bad save for one; Estrada was just the worst of them all. In your opinion were they a good president/prime minister/leader? Just answered that question. Is gambling throughout your presidency good? Missing crucial meetings because you drank the whole night before and you’re hungover? Not entertaining courtesy calls with global politicians/ambassadors because you just didn’t feel like it? Yep, didn’t think so.  Do you own a coffee table? If yes, what is it made out of? Yes, my grandpa made it for my mom. It’s made out of wood but my mom painted it black so that it fit more with the ambiance she was going for. When did you last eat a parsnip? I don’t even know what that is haha, so I guess never. I tried looking for a Filipino translation but turns out we don’t even have a word for it, which just means it’s not a part of our culture at all. Is it just me or is TV seriously "dumbing down"? Not at all? If anything more and more creators have been using the presence and influence of TV to show representation and give important messages. Just look at Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Do you ever watch films and rip them apart for their innacuracies? Not really. I watch films to enjoy them, buuuut I wouldn’t shy away from hearing someone else point out mistakes, especially from historical movies. It’s always good to store some more trivia in your head haha. Do you prefer your partners to be taller or shorter than you? I’m already quite short so I’d prefer them to be taller. Can you smell anything? Not right now. Did you have a money box as a kid? What shape was it if you did? No. I had packed recess and lunch and I was seldom given money, so there wasn’t any reason for me to start saving anyway. When was the last time your stomach rumbled? Not sure. It hasn’t done that a lot these days because we have food all day long, so the last time was probably when I was still going to school. There are days that I had classes for like 5 hours straight, so getting food was impossible unless I stepped out of the classroom for a few minutes to grab a bite – which I didn’t like doing because I never wanted to miss out on any notes hahaha nerrrrrd. Are your nails long? It’s getting there, but they’re not distractingly long. Have you ever bitten a person for fun? Lol. Yeah, just my girlfriend when I’m feeling playful.

What's your favourite tree? I don’t have one. What do you currently need to buy? A new charger for my phone. Mine finally gave up a few weeks ago and fortunately my sister has an old iPhone charger that I’ve since borrowed for the time being. The charger she has is from Miniso though and honestly I’d feel much better with an original Apple charger haha. Has kids TV ever frightened you? Nah. I got spooked easily as a kid so I generally avoided cartoons that were already known to be dark, like Courage the Cowardly Dog. Do you have any potted plants in your house? Yeah, several. My mom likes having plants around. Do you like solitude? I’ll need it sometimes, especially after a hectic or a big social event, so it feels really nice when I have it. I don’t always like to be alone though, and I mostly crave it when I need recharging. Is there any religion which intrigues you above all others? Buddhism. We never delved deeper than learning the founders and basic laws of other religions (considering I’m from Catholic school), and after hearing about the major religions, it was Buddhism that fascinated me the most. Do you use the PC to "chat" often? I had YM as a kid, if that’s what you mean. I chatted with friends on there all day long. Are you much of a gamer? I am not at all a gamer. I know it's a common question, but, why do you take surveys? It’s a way of getting in touch with myself and to release stress if I have to. It also serves as a distraction whenever there’s so much going on in my life. Do you like meeting or talking to new people via the world wide web? I don’t particularly enjoy it in that I seek it out. It’s just nice when it happens naturally. Do you often wear belts? Never.  When did you last say a nursery rhyme? A very long time ago would be a safe guess. Did you like climbing trees as a kid? No. Most trees here are crawling with fire ants or just insects in general, so I couldn’t climb them even if I wanted to. Do you still secretly like climbing trees, given the chance to do so? Ha Do you find it flattering or "cheesy" when strangers wink at you? Disgusting. I’d take a photo of them and make sure to blast them online. Do you ever shop online? Super rarely.

#survey #surveys

[nummero123]

What Exactly Is Guerrilla Marketing? Examples to Inspire Your Brand

In its printed form, the term "guerrilla" appears to be highly intense.

 It evokes visions of insurgency and violence. 

When you put it next to the term "marketing," a lot of people say, "Huh?"

However, guerrilla marketing is not a combative mode of communication.

 In reality, it's a highly unusual type of marketing in that it promotes brand recognition among

 huge audiences without interfering with them.

What is guerilla marketing?

Guerilla marketing is a strategy of increasing exposure and, as a result, 

brand recognition by promoting utilizing unusual tactics intended to elicit surprise, amazement, or shock

The phrase was coined in the early 1980s by the late business writer Jay Conrad Levinson,

 who published many books on guerrilla tactics in a variety of professional fields. 

Of course, marketing, in general, looked quite different at the time,

 and while guerilla marketing is employed today, the ever-changing digital world is changing how it appears.

Roots of Warfare

When we hear the phrase "guerilla marketing," we immediately think of guerrilla warfare,

which makes sense given that this type of marketing earned its name. 

Guerrilla tactics in combat rely heavily on the element of surprise. 

According to Creative Guerrilla Marketing, consider “ambushes, sabotage, and raids.”

But how does this transfer into the job we perform daily? 

Guerrilla marketing tactics rely heavily on the element of surprise. 

It aims to develop extremely unusual ads that catch consumers off guard in the course of their daily lives.

Budget-Friendly

What marketers love about guerilla marketing is how low-cost it is. 

The actual investment here is creative and intellectual; nevertheless, its implementation does not have to be costly. 

Michael Brenner beautifully explains it in his essay on "guerrilla content," 

where he frames this type of marketing in the same framework as reusing your current material, 

such as selecting certain portions of a report and extending each one into a blog post. 

It is a time investment rather than a financial one.

Guerrilla marketing works in part by reusing your audience's present surroundings. 

Examine it and determine which parts of it may reused to integrate your brand.

Types of Guerrilla Marketing

As obscure as it may appear, there are a few sub-categories of guerilla marketing, 

as defined by the business ALT TERRAIN:

Outdoor Guerrilla Marketing is a type of marketing that takes place outside. 

Adds something to pre-existing urban settings, 

such as affixing a detachable object to a monument or displaying temporary artwork on sidewalks and streets.

Indoor guerilla marketing is a type of marketing that takes place within a building. 

It is similar to outdoor guerilla marketing, except that it takes place indoors,

such as in railway stations, stores, and university campus buildings.

Guerilla Marketing takes the form of an ambush during an event. 

Using the audience at an ongoing event, such as a concert or sporting event,

 to promote a product or service visibly, generally without permission from the event sponsors.

Experiential Guerilla Marketing. 

All of the above, but done in a way that requires the public to interact with the brand.

We realize that without context, the concept of guerilla marketing

might be a little perplexing, so let's look at how it's been used by a few other businesses.

Guerrilla Marketing Examples to Inspire Your Brand

1. Bounty's Giant Popsicle

Bounty discovered a novel approach to market its product

 and the solution it supplies by placing life-sized "messes" across 

the streets of New York – a huge, knocked-over coffee cup and a gigantic melting popsicle.

"Wouldn't a succinct billboard ad accomplish the same thing?" 

you may question. 

No, not at all. 

Culturally, we're beginning to seek out any means of removing advertisements from our life. 

That's why we appreciate features such as DVR and ad-free alternatives on

 streaming services like  YouTube. 

This campaign, unlike an advertisement, is more difficult to dismiss. 

After all, would you stop and look if you came across a melting popsicle 

the size of your mattress on your way to work?

The key lesson is to identify the most pressing issue that your product or service addresses. 

Then, create an unusual manner to convey that to the world, ideally without using words.

2. Deadpool's Tinder Profile

Some Tinder users taken aback when they saw none other than comic anti-hero and legend Deadpool appear on their app. 

Deadpool breached the fourth wall and met potential moviegoers

 ahead of the film's Valentine's Day premiere by posting "cheeky" photos and humorous profile content.

If a Tinder user "swiped right" and matched with the character, they  sent a link to buy tickets.

While Tinder isn't the ideal technique to build buzz 

(confined to a tiny fraction of users, and you're technically not permitted to use the site for marketing),

screenshots of this humour soon went viral on social media.

The key takeaway: Promotions that utilize "interruptive" 

tactics that offer unexpected joy aren't irritating.

3. Childish Gambino's Ice Cream Pop-Up

Have you ever noticed how effective free food can be as a motivator? 

Make it a sweet treat, and you've got yourself a winner.

Childish Gambino most certainly had this in mind when he held his

 "Summertime Starts Here" 

pop-up events, where he gave away free ice cream. 

As people waited in the heat for some wonderful ice cream, a big speaker blasted Gambino's two singles.

It was an excellent approach to introduce fans to his EP, Summer Pack.

The major takeaway: Sometimes you have to entice an audience with incentives in order to get their attention.

4. The GRAMMYs Singing Posters

Okay, so this one isn't fair because it wasn't done "in real life." 

But how awesome would it be if it were? 

The GRAMMYS music awards program developed a video to promote the candidates for its Album Of 

The Year category, showing what would happen if posters for the nominated artists suddenly started singing.

It may appear to be difficult to carry out such a task. 

But what if you could make musical posters for your company? 

Again, it's not like a billboard commercial since we don't expect to see wall of paper ads in

, say, New York City to start moving. 

Now, we'll agree that this isn't exactly a cheap concept, 

as it may need some technological labour to bring to life. 

Even if you could incorporate a single moving

 or digital picture among a sea of static ones – in a position where it would catch people off guard, such as a brick wall 

It would catch people off guard and, as a result, capture their attention.

The main takeaway: Consider the items that your audience could pass by daily and have them do something unexpected and involved.

5. Frontline's Interactive Floor Ad

I'll confess that I was taken by this shot when I first saw it. 

"Someone, get that dog out of there with those flies!" 

I feverishly pondered. 

Then I understood that neither the dog nor the insects were genuine. 

The former was a photograph, whereas the latter were real people.

Again, this approach differs from typical marketing in that 

it does not just plaster a single message somewhere that is likely to be overlooked. 

It generates an unintentional personal contact that reminds the observer of what the product accomplishes.

The main takeaway: Consider how individuals can unintentionally engage with your marketing messaging. 

While your product or service may not solve a specific need, such as bug eradication, 

there are methods to include people in the campaign.

6. Public Breakup on Burger King's Instagram

Breaking up is difficult enough in person, let alone when it's publicized online. 

That's what reportedly happened when one Instagram user commented 

on one of Burger King's Instagram photos, telling a story about his "daughter" getting meals from Burger King. 

There was just one issue. 

This guy had a girlfriend, but she wasn't anywhere near a Burger King.

Many thought when the comments went viral that the entire encounter was orchestrated by Burger King. 

And if it was, we can't help but admire them — what a way to push your brand into the public consciousness.

Burger King has around one million Instagram followers. 

While we don't know how many followers the former had before this famous split, it stands to reason that it brought greater attention to its social media presence, at least on this specific platform. 

People may have previously been monitoring the brand on Instagram, but were they actively discussing it before now?

The main point is that guerrilla marketing has gone digital. 

Consider where your audience currently exists online, and then perform for them. 

While we cannot tolerate dishonesty, we can appreciate ingenuity, 

so don't be hesitant to utilize the comments to get people talking.

7. UNICEF's Dirty Water Vending Machines

I'm just as guilty as everyone else of squandering money on bottled water. 

I don't have an excuse. 

I've got a reusable one. 

Even though my office provides filtered water from a machine rather than a traditional cooler, it remains a terrible habit.

That's why this guerilla marketing campaign from UNICEF struck a chord with me. 

"What if those bottles of water you squander money on were filled with filthy water?" 

it said. 

It was a means of reminding the wealthy that in far too many places of the world, 

whole populations lack access to safe drinking water.

Instead of wasting money on bottled water, UNICEF advised putting it into initiatives to deliver safe drinking water to these communities. 

It accomplished this by erecting improvised vending machines

 that sold bottled unclean water, with each button designated as an illness caused by a shortage of safe drinking water.

The key takeaway: Guerrilla marketing is effective in the non-profit industry as well. 

While terrifying, tragic pictures are frequently an effective method of expressing your purpose, 

there is a way to tell it that is less confrontational and more participatory for the audience.

8. GoldToe's Giant Briefs

Are you an underwear manufacturer searching for a novel approach to advertising your product? 

Try putting a massive pair of underwear on a famous charging bull statue.

We can't possibly make this stuff up.

In principle, it's so easy that it sounds like fiction. 

When the GoldToe company sought a means to tease and advertise

 the introduction of its new undergarments, 

it did just that: it casually placed these new articles of clothing on statues throughout New York. 

While we can't be certain that this is the path GoldToe chose,

 we truly hope that those bull-sized briefs were created from leftover production fabric,

 making this campaign even more cost-effective.

The main point is to not over-think things. 

What appears to be your most ridiculous idea may turn out to be the greatest one.

9. Fiji Water's #FijiGirl

One guerrilla marketing strategy for gaining attention in subtle ways is strategic product placement. 

Fiji Water's participation at the 2019 Golden Globes, 

when models donned blue and handed trays of water for thirsty attendees, is one such example.

But it didn't stop there. 

Kelleth Cuthbert, a model, positioned herself in the backdrop of photo-shoots, successfully photobombing high-profile celebrities.

When the images began to circulate on social media,

 people began to identify Cuthbert as a common denominator, dubbed her #FijiGirl. 

She eventually became one of the evening's highlights, winning over admirers and attracting notice to Fiji Water's brand

The main takeaway: Your business doesn't have to be the focal point of an event to stand out.

10 BBC's Dracula Billboard

When I think of Count Dracula, I think of the ultimate evil, associated with anything that goes bump in the night. 

The BBC sought to capitalize on this sentiment to advertise their Dracula program.

By day, their billboard was simple, with red writing on a white backdrop and a few bleeding stakes. 

The billboard, like its topic, transformed entirely when darkness fell.

The stakes deliberately positioned to create a shadow over Dracula himself.

The installation was highlighted in Ad-week and achieved some viral popularity 

due to its originality and skilled execution.

The major takeaway: When it comes to promotional materials, think beyond the box. 

In this situation, light and shadow sufficed to communicate the message and draw attention.

Conclusion

These examples should motivate you, especially if you're marketing a tiny company. 

Don't be scared to solicit material for these initiatives.  top digital marketing agency in Bangalore.

#What Exactly Is Guerrilla Marketing? Examples to Inspire Your Brand #digital marketing companies in bangalore

[consulting-celiac-in-the-tardis]

11 Things People with Celiac Disease Do That Seem "High Maintenance" But Actually Aren’t

New blog post! After you’ve recovered from the initial shock of a celiac disease diagnosis and started adapting to living gluten free, you’ll probably begin noticing just how much your chronic illness shapes your everyday life. You might even find yourself feeling guilty for being so “high maintenance” because of the new precautions you have to take for celiac disease.

This Celiac Disease Awareness Month, I want to kick that guilt to the curb. As soon as I read this post about seemingly "high maintenance" things people with chronic illnesses do, I knew that I had to write a post from the perspective of someone with celiac disease. So whether you have celiac disease and want to stop feeling self-conscious or guilty for the gluten free lifestyle you must follow or are a celiac’s loved one and want to better understand what it takes to live with celiac disease, keep reading to discover eleven things people with celiac disease do that seem high maintenance but really aren’t. 

1. Traveling with enough gluten free food to feed a small army. 

There’s a running joke in my friend group and family that I’m not high maintenance except when it comes to food. Whenever I’m traveling, I don’t need to bring a lot of clothes or personal hygiene products, but I almost always have at least one bag or suitcase full of gluten free food. 

Thanks to the increase in popularity of gluten free foods in recent years, it is easier to find celiac safe food in more places. However, gluten free products can vary greatly in prices between one place and another, and different locations of the same grocery store chain might not sell the same gluten free products. I typically follow the “better safe than sorry” mantra and often pack more food than I actually need, and I imagine that many celiacs (especially newly diagnosed celiacs still figuring out where they can safely shop for gluten free food) adopt a similar strategy. So if our suitcases do feel heavier than the average bag, friends and family can rest assured that there is some solid logic behind our food stash!

2. Insisting that shared kitchen countertops be wiped down multiple times a day. 

In my experience, the most challenging part of going gluten free for celiac disease avoiding cross contamination. People with celiac disease can get sick from a crumb of wheat or someone using the same plate or utensils to make a gluten-filled and gluten free meal. As a result, if someone with celiac disease is using a kitchen that also contains gluten, cleanliness is a super important ground rule to set. 

Personally, I live alone in my own studio apartment during the school year, but when I’m at home for the summer, my parents’ kitchen does have gluten. I feel bad at times that my family has to change their routine and be extra vigilant every time they pour gluten-filled cereal or make a sandwich on regular bread. However, I try to remind myself that it isn’t my choice to need a gluten free environment; it’s a medical requirement. And if you have celiac disease or another medical reason to need a gluten free diet, the same can be said about you.

3. Spending five to ten extra minutes talking to a restaurant server or chef every time you eat out. 

I love eating out gluten free and there are many safe gluten free restaurants to choose from nowadays. However, when you have celiac disease, talking to your waitress or asking to speak to the chef is a regular requirement when eating out. Even if I’ve eaten at a restaurant safely several times before, I always explain to my waiter that I have celiac disease and need a gluten free meal free of cross contamination. Sometimes I even ask to speak to the chef or restaurant manager if the waiter doesn’t seem to understand what a “gluten free diet” really is. 

Some celiacs eve use special restaurant cards that explain the basics of celiac disease and the gluten free diet. These can be especially helpful if you’re traveling abroad. No matter how you explain your dietary limitations, however, it can take time...and this process feels one thousand times less stressful when your dining companions understand how important this conversation is to your own health and personal safety.

4. Insisting that there are separate condiment jars, toasters, etc. 

When you first learn that you have celiac disease, you might not expect to have to buy your own toaster or keep your own gluten free labeled peanut butter jar or butter container. However, cross contamination can cause serious health issues in people with celiac disease, which means that precautions like these are often necessary when you’re sharing a kitchen with gluten-eaters. 

How far you take the “separate gluten free” theme in your kitchen depends on your own comfort level and your family’s understanding of cross contamination. For example, some celiacs also have their own separate pots, pans and utensils. Personally, I share most cooking equipment with the rest of my family, but it’s always cleaned thoroughly and doesn’t have any scratches where gluten could hide. To learn more about how to set up a safe gluten-and-gluten-free kitchen, check out my post here.

Eating a gluten free diet while living with people who eat gluten can be challenging and requires a lot of open communication and compromises. However, your health should come first, and your loved ones or roommates should hopefully understand that. 

5. Turning down offered food, even when someone claims it is “gluten free.”

Just picture this: you’re at a neighborhood BBQ, armed with your own safe gluten free food. Then, a kind neighbor surprises you: she made gluten free brownies with you in mind! However, the more you talk to her, the more you realize that she doesn’t understand how sensitive celiacs are to cross contamination. What do you do?

As awkward as it feels, I often end up politely turning down the food in these kinds of situations. When I can’t be sure that the baking mix, spices, cooking utensils, etc. someone used in a “gluten free” dish are actually celiac safe, being polite isn’t worth getting glutened and feeling sick for at least a week. I’m sure that this is frustrating to some people, and they may think I’m overly paranoid or a picky eater...but I shouldn’t have to apologize for looking out for my health, and you shouldn’t either.

(Source)

6. Extensively researching any new restaurants or places you’re visiting. 

After I learned I have celiac disease, going out to eat became a lot more complicated. No longer could I just wander around town and eat at whatever restaurant sounded good. Now,  I often relied on research done before I even left the house. 

It can definitely feel frustrating to lose some of the spontaneity and flexibility you used to enjoy. Friends and family might also struggle with you not being able to “go with the flow” like you used to. However, if you explain that researching gluten free options ahead of time makes your trip a lot less stressful and more enjoyable in the long run, I’m sure most companions will appreciate your extra work. 

Plus, you can try to make a list of several options for gluten free food that way you can still have some in-the-moment freedom with choosing. Beyond handy-dandy Google, the Find Me Gluten Free app (and website) is my favorite research tool. 

7. Turning down some social invitations. 

One of the “celiac symptoms” I wish my doctor had warned me about after my diagnosis is the isolation that can result from dietary restrictions. Like or not, many social activities - especially in college or work - involve food. 

When you can’t eat the free pizza or your co-worker’s birthday cake like everyone else, social events can feel a little awkward and even less enjoyable at times. As a result, you may - for better or worse - find yourself turning down social invitations where you know there will be tons of food and little people or activities you actually enjoy spending time with or on. 

(Source)

I certainly don’t recommend avoiding every single social event that involves gluten. I’ve gone to countless parties where I can’t eat a thing, and by eating ahead of time, bringing my own food or just enjoying the company instead of the food, I’ve still had a blast. However, you also shouldn’t feel guilty for saying “no” every once in awhile, whether it’s because of celiac disease complications or other reasons. 

8. Spending extra money on particular brands of beauty or hygiene products. 

Some celiacs are fine using any hygiene products they find in their closet; others, like me, prefer using only gluten free products, especially if they run the risk of being accidentally ingested (as with lipstick and face wash). If you fall in the latter group, you might find yourself spending more money than you used to on beauty and hygiene products. That’s often just the reality of using high quality, allergy friendly makeup or cleansers. 

Like with food, there are ways you can save money on gluten free beauty products. Although I used to use Cleure (and still love their products), I eventually found gluten free shampoo and conditioner for a fraction of the cost on Amazon. If you do splurge on gluten free hygiene products, though, know that doesn’t automatically make you “high maintenance” or “picky.” You’re doing what you feel you need to do in order to live safely with celiac disease...and as long as you have room in your budget for these extra costs, that peace of mind is definitely priceless.

9. Getting upset over little things like not being able to eat the cake at your work’s office party. 

It happens. You might go weeks, months or even years eating gluten free with no problem...and then you’re having a bad day, you walk by your old favorite bagel place or you just wake up craving a “real” slice of pizza. And it hurts. 

When those kind of moments happen, I encourage you to embrace those emotions and let yourself cry if you need to. As I explain here, you might feel “silly” for crying over a sandwich or pasta salad, but you’re crying about much more than just food. Most likely, you’re really upset about losing the freedom to eat whatever you want, not to mention the less complicated lifestyle you probably once had.

Times like these are when having a solid support system who understands (or at least tries to) can make a huge difference. I always feel fortunate that my mom went gluten free with me. Although she doesn’t have celiac disease, my mom’s gluten intolerance means she can understand the social isolation, cravings and sad days that can come from dietary restrictions...as well as the joy I feel when I find a new gluten free food or recipe I love! 

10. Often preferring to eat from your “safe list” of foods or restaurants instead of trying somewhere new. 

It’s true that there appear to be more gluten free options than ever, whether you’re walking around the grocery store or looking for a nearby restaurant to dine at. However, “gluten free” unfortunately does not mean “celiac safe,” and many restaurants’ gluten free options are cross contaminated and therefore not appropriate for people with celiac disease. 

As a result, eating out gluten free can honestly feel a little scary. Even though we don’t go into anaphylactic shock like someone with food allergies, eating gluten can majorly hurt people with celiac disease. Personally, I experience stomach issues, extreme fatigue, insomnia, brain fog and several other symptoms for at least a week after being glutened.

So once I do find a restaurant that can do gluten free right, I often like to stick to that restaurant instead of trying new places, and I’ve heard from many other celiacs that they feel the same way. This doesn’t make us “boring” eaters or mean that we’ll never ever try new places; it’s just a natural reaction to finding a safe gluten free haven in a world full of gluten. 

11. Asking for help with simple things when you’re glutened. 

The last “high maintenance” trait I’m talking about today refers to the time during which people with celiac are probably the most “demanding”: when we’ve been glutened. 

Like I explained in the point above, accidentally ingesting gluten can cause major problems in people with celiac disease. Some celiacs even have to go to the hospital to receive fluids or other care after they’ve been glutened. 

So when a dietary mistake does happen, we’ll probably need even more help than usual, whether it’s with small things like warming up some gluten free soup or bigger chores like doing the laundry or grocery shopping. It can be easy to feel “lazy” or “stupid” when you’re glutened and your brain and body isn’t functioning properly. However, feeling guilty about asking for help won’t make you heal any faster...and I can say from personal experience that many family members and friends will do anything that can to help you feel better.

(Source)

And once you do recover from being glutened, nothing says “thank you” more sweetly than baking some GF goodies for the friends and family who gave you a helping hand! 

The Bottom Line

Even though it’s been five years since I received my celiac disease diagnosis, I still sometimes find myself apologizing for the quirks celiac disease gives me. I apologize to travel companions for always packing a ton of food; I apologize to friends for limiting our restaurant choices; sometimes I even find myself apologizing to waiters for my “complex” order. 

This Celiac Awareness Month, though, I’m challenging myself to stop apologizing for traits or factors that are out of my control. If you find yourself saying “I’m sorry” too often for celiac-traits traits, I hope you join me on this challenge as well. After all, we did not choose to have celiac disease, and we did not choose to need to eat a gluten free diet. Not to mention that celiac disease has actually given me several hidden blessings, and I’m guessing most celiacs can say the same thing. 

So this May, let’s change the mindset around celiac disease (and other chronic illnesses) from “high maintenance” to “worth the work.” Because it’s worth the work of being gluten free when it lets us thrive with celiac disease...and, chronic illness or not, we’re worth the work others might have to do to have us in their lives. 

Do you ever find yourself apologizing or feeling “high maintenance” for celiac-related obligations? Or how do you view your chronic disease with a positive mindset? I’d love to hear your ideas in the comments! 

via Blogger https://ift.tt/2k2FqiY

#Blogger #college #celiac #gluten free #coeliac #celiacs #paleo #primal #foodporn #foodart

[generationphotoandgift]

WEDDING: August 12, 2017

Ceremony: Pittsburgh Airport Marriott

Reception: Pittsburgh Airport Marriott 

Hair: Debbie Mraovich-Contemporary Hair Design

Makeup: LouAnn Marangone-Mary Kay Cosmetics. Jamie and Joan Marangone-Amazing Lash Studio

Florist: Pittsburgh Airport Marriott

Bakery: Pittsburgh Airport Marriott

Entertainment: Second to None, John Mitch

Videographer: Generations Photography and Specialty Gift Shoppe

Colors: Regency

Honeymoon: Aruba

This is a wedding that I have been looking forward to for a very long time…long before these two were engaged. You see, Chad and Danielle are not family by blood, not by marriage, they are however still family. My mom and Danielle’s mom, LouAnn have been friends since our brothers were little and played baseball together.  I am talking elementary school and before. My mom is an only child and when my grandmother, Minnie passed away, LouAnn and her sister Sandi became a close and amazing confidants for my mom, taking us under her wing and caring for us the way that only family does. She has been there every step of the way. We spend Halloween night together eating LouAnn’s delicious, homemade Italian wedding soup, we spend Christmas Eve with their family with an amazing spread at Sandi’s home and giving and receiving of gifts. We spend lots of days in their company and were blessed when my youngest and last child was born on LouAnn’s birthday, leaving her to be my son’s birthday twin and a bond that can never be broken.

I remember the first time I met Chad, I, like any other family member, had to put my feelers out and see what I actually thought about him…to say that these two are perfect for each other is an understatement. They are beyond compatible and their daughter, Mya could not be a more perfect mix of the two of them, she looks just like Chad in every way with her Momma’s Italian personality, she’s gorgeous and spunky and I just love her to pieces.

Once engaged, we scheduled their engagement portrait session, these two are funny when it comes to pictures, whether it be like a family member who doesn’t want to put you out or they are truly that laid back about them, I may never know. My suggestion was all in the City of Pittsburgh, that is where they met, fell in love, used to live, had their daughter…it was beginning of many first for them as a couple. We started at the West End Overlook, hands down my favorite view of the city, wide and expansive and on a nice clear day you can see passed the Cathedral of Learning in Oakland. Then we headed downtown near The Point, which is close to where they lived and ended our session at The Point with sunset. At the end of the night as darkness had fallen upon us we talked about the details they had recently accomplished, they asked me to please come and enjoy myself(to the wedding)…I reminded them that I would be! The best weddings for me are the ones that I am photographing…I truly love and adore what I do, I wouldn’t even know what to do with myself at a wedding that I was “just a guest”. I mean really, what do you do in between ceremony and reception? I am bride and limo chasing, I don’t know what you are doing haha. We talked about Danielle’s sister in law, Stephanie as we had been since we started, as she was STILL in labor with her second child! We knew the baby was a boy and I asked if Dean was going to be the ring bearer and obviously Mya, their little girl would be the flower girl and that’s when Danielle asked me for Gabe to be a ring bearer as well… Not even kidding, I may have teared up, said yes and spent the next 11 months dreaming of how handsome my sweet boy would be, hoping that the tux we purchased would still fit come August 12 and praying that my rambunctious 3 year old would please, please, please not throw a fit and wreck Danielle and Chad’s wedding day.

With the wedding day fast approaching and all the preparations complete, we are here….the morning that Chad and Danielle will become man and wife…I. WAS. TERRIFIED! Her ceremony was scheduled for 5PM and Gabe begins to melt at 3PM, he needs naps but has been refusing them like that was his job. I have a few things to recommend for parents of the flower girl/ ring bearers in and around the ages of infant – 5 years old. A backpack! We happen to have  one that we sell that says “Ring bearer” on it, but any old bag will do. I stocked that thing full of goodies. I packed snacks, drinks, candy (just in case it got really ugly) and activities as well as what I like to call, the reward system. My daughter was no a reward kinda kid, she didn’t care that you had a lollipop waiting for her if she went potty or behaved well in church, my son however will do just about anything for a Matchbox Car. I had a series of 8 cars that he would receive for each thing that he did. He walked down the aisle, enter 1969 Corvette Matchbox car….he stood still and smiled for pictures, enter 1970 Camero Matchbox car and so on and so forth. Even I the reward giver could not believe this childs behavior.

Some of my favorite weddings have all events in one location, it makes it so easy for guests and as well as myself during the preceremony coverage. When scheduling weddings, we typically get coverage of the groom and his groomsmen at the church, having all events at one location allows us to easily go back and forth between  Bride and groom at capture all the those special moments. Danielle got ready on the 15th “penthouse” floor while Chad got ready on the 3rd floor.

From the moment we walked in, it was like a dream, my kids were well behaved and Danielle was the portrait of beauty. Her dress is AMAZING, Her jewelry  was perfect and those Valentino shoes!

We sent the girls to get their dresses on and proceeded to take photos of the “details”. It was now time to deliver the gifts to Chad, Dave(Danielle’s Dad), Matt and Brian(Danielle’s brothers). It warmed my heart to see Mya all dressed up in her little flower girl robe and handing out those precious treasures. We returned to Danielle’s room and got her dressed. Knowing this family as well as I do, if they cried, I cried, if they laughed, I laughed. I adore each and every one of them and today was going to be amazing and flawless and perfect.

Watching Danielle walk down the winding path to the ceremony was surreal, I have known Danielle since she  was a little girl, taken her senior portraits and here I was, on this day, capturing one of the biggest moments of her life. I have watched her grow into a successful, gorgeous woman and mother, now wife.

We did outdoor photos of the bridal party and bride and groom in the courtyard at the Marriott, no need to fuss with traveling, we were on a strict timeline. But we were able to capture so many beautiful moments along the way, from trying to get Brian to jump, to a dance line, to my crazy directions…”OK, stand as close to the fire as possible without torching your dress” to “wait, wait, wait, the reflection is perfect”.

Upon entering the reception, I always like to get photos of the room before as I like to say “Anyone messes it up”. Everything was beautiful. The STUNNING ice sculpture was breathtaking and each and every decoration was well thought out and planned. It was Danielle, it was Chad, it was perfectly them, together.

This brings me to the first dance, Danielle and Chad started together and ended as a family with Mya joining in, the irony is not lost on me. They all held each other close, enjoyed and soaked in the moment. Danielle and her Dad, Dave shared in the father daughter dance as well as Chad and his Mom, Wilma, neither would be complete without that sweet little lady, their daughter, their granddaughter, Mya.

Let the fun begin! Dancing the night away was a blast for everyone, group pictures of every guest, dance battle of guys versus girls, dance line, special dances for Jackie and her new husband, little girls and big girls alike twirling the night away, Lou and Dave, Danielle and Chad, Stephanie and Brian, Wilma and Jim and my dear parents and many others…all joined in for the Anniversary Dance…which Wilma and Jim won!

With a certain little ring bearer getting pretty sleepy, we ended the night with a photo session outside where we congratulated “my family members”, hugged and wished them well, which happens at every wedding…but this time it was different. This isn’t a couple that I will keep up with on Social Media or when they come in for their next newborn session, this is a couple that I love, care for and will see very soon. I will know that they are not just OK, I will know that they are happy and in love and that they have found that person to which their soul loves. I truly do not have a “favorite moment of the day”, they are all my favorites, many of which include my little man. Watching Danielle walk down the aisle, seeing LouAnn’s face as she turned to Chad, their first kiss, the moment that Mya gave me her “big cheese” at the altar, seeing my little man enter the reception, watching Jeff give his best man speech, watching Danielle during the Maid of Honor Speech, the first dance, the parent dances, the anniversary dance, the dance line, the end of the night kiss. Each moment of EVERY wedding fills me with joy, in a world such as ours is now, I HAVE to believe in weddings. I have the believe in marrying the love of your life, the joy in families, the eternal happiness that one feels being with your soul mate, the one that God designed for you and you alone. I have to believe in the fairytale. I love weddings, each and every one. 

#wedding photography #wedding wednesday #pittsburgh #beaver pa #shoplocal #photography

[nastytrashblog]

Just because

A/n: I was supposed to release the Jinyoung one first, but I already started this one anyways. My first Astro fanfic woo! I was supposed to get this out last week, but I was sick and bed ridden for 3 days. I needed to catch up with work as well. I guess there won’t be any schedule for my fanfics and you’ll just have to put notifs on. I think the first parts of each fanfic will be pretty short, but I promise it will get juicer in the middle. I hope you enjoy! :D BTW this was requested by one of my friends, love you !

Fluff, Cha eun woo x reader, University AU, eventual smut (in a few chapters), friends with benefits. 

1740 words

You ducked your head out of the taxi and looked at the giant building that was in front of you. The bright sun shined on your face and the cool breeze blew through your hair. “A new day, a new beginning.” You thought.

“Hey lady!” You heard a man with a heavy accent behind you. You turned around to see your taxi driver holding your bags,  “Are you going to take your bags? Or will I have to steal them?”

“No, I’ll take them. Thank you!” You quickly walked to him and took your bags. He snarled at you and drove off leaving a cloud of gas for you to breath in. You turned around and followed the signs to get your dorm room. The whole school was a maze to you, even after the orientation. There were so many twists and turns inside and outside. Although you got to explore the campus a bit more. You noted where the jocks hung out, the nerds had their meetings and where the hipsters chilled just to name a few. Eventually, you found your way to the table to get your key. A blonde caucasian girl who was wearing a typical grunge outfit sat in front of you. She was so smiley that preppiness just oozed out of her, “Hi! Welcome to Carvard, what’s your name?”

“It’s (y/n) (l/n).” She looked up and down her list tracing her finger after each name, “Oh, here you are!” She turned around and took a key out of a box, “Here’s your key.” You took it from her hand and shoved it in your pocket, “Thanks.” you said and forced yourself to smile.

“It seems that you are rooming with a senior. Oh I know her, she’ll be a lot of fun! Well, I hope you have a blast with your 4 years here! Bye bye now!” You walked away rolling your bag with you. She was way too preppy for your liking to the point it was annoying.

You reached the girls dorm rooms and walked down the hall. “Room 248… ah here it is.” You opened your door and saw a girl laid down on the left bed on her phone. Her attention immediately went to you. She jumped up and dropped her phone on the bed and rushed to you.

“You must be (y/n)! I cannot wait to share a room with you! I’m Kayla.” She pulled you into a hug squeezing the life out of you. “Oh great, another one of these.” She let go of you and got the hint that you were faking a smile, “Okay, you’re one of those people. I get it, you don’t like the preppy types, I can be chill.” You nodded in silence and awkwardness filled the room.

“Here, why don’t you unpack and everything and then check out all the clubs and sports? Sounds like a good chance to bond right?” You could tell she was trying her best to be friends with you. “Maybe I should try to get to know her. I mean, she will be my roommate for most of my University years.” You rolled your bag to your bed and walked to her, “I’ll just leave my bag here. Let’s go.” She walked in front of you and lead the way, but you could tell she was trying to act chill.

Both of you walked side by side and took your sweet time walking to where all the clubs were. You two got to know each other and you learned a lot about her. She is the type to adjust to the people around her to make them feel comfortable. She is also a huge flirt and could get with any guy she wanted. It made sense, she had the body, the looks, and she has a way of talking to have anyone like her. This is why she’s well known on campus as the “all rounder.” She is every personality mashed into one person, which just made her even more lovable. She is a nerd at heart, yet sporty and active.

“Since I have been here for a year, I know how this school functions.”

“Well, of course you do. I mean, it’s not that hard to know how a University works.” She shook her head and let out a little giggle, “Not like that silly! I meant, the social anarchy, the “food chain” if you will. There are frat houses and sororities here as you may know. Most of them are at the top, just not the nerdy ones. I feel bad, they’re good people. Anyways, you have them. Then there’s us, the regulars. The jocks and cheerleaders who are not in frats or sororities, which is not likely but they do exist, are at the top. Then the art, hipster people, the geeks, the one’s that are always high, the nerds…” you stopped her confused.

“Aren’t nerds and geeks the same thing?” she scoffed and patted your shoulder.

“No! Geeks are the ones who are into video games and comics. The nerds are the brainiacs and always base everything off of science or math. Now, I may I continue?” You let out a faint smile and nodded. She was about to continue talking when someone caught her eye. She freaked out and started to hit your arm.

“Ow! What is it?” She was speechless and pointed to someone. It was a tall figure with wavy hair and in all black. You looked around and almost every girl was swooning over him. You have to admit, he was good looking, but not your type. You had a mischievous look on your face. You found her weakness and teased her, “Aww, does Kayla have a crush on the cute boy.” She immediately covered your mouth with her hand, “Shut up!” You laughed and pushed her hand away.

“He’s a senior okay? I’ve had my eye on him for the past year.”

“Makes sense, ‘cause you know, you went after many guys in that year.” She stuck her palm out jestering you to stop.

“Okay, that is a different story that I will explain later.” You rolled your eyes and chuckled. “What should I do? I’ve never been nervous before, especially when it comes to guys.” You put your hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her towards him, “Just go up to him.”

She squirmed in your grip and hid behind you, “What if he doesn’t like me? What if he doesn’t find me attractive? He’s one of the people who are at the top of the food chain. I can’t embarrass myself! I’ll be a laughing stock and that will go on until I die and never find anyone to marry and I’ll die alone and-” You stopped her rambling by flicking her on the forehead.

“Calm yourself! Just be yourself and talk to him. Don’t over think and just GO!” She took a deep breath and took two steps before she turned around to you, “Do I look like a mess?”

“Just go!” She nodded and walked to him. Surprisingly, he started the conversation. You felt like a proud mom at that moment and walked to where the clubs were. You walked around for a good 30 minutes until you got bored. None of them caught your attention and you walked to the quad. It wasn’t full, but it wasn’t empty either. Some were having lunch, others were playing chess, it was diverse. You could tell who were at the top of the “food chain” and who were just the regulars. You found an empty spot on the grass and laid down. The sky was clear and beautiful. You let out a sigh and closed your eyes. It was only noon time and you felt tired. You didn’t care at this point whether or not you fell asleep. You felt yourself drifting off to dreamland where everything is perfect. Even though you were an adult, you were still a child at heart.

You were walking on the beach, waves crashing on your legs. You felt at peace. No one was around you, no cars to be heard, just nature and the sun’s rays hitting your face. You missed summer vacation, being with your high school friends on a private island that your rich friend owned. You wanted to go back at the time where you knew the people around you, but you also wanted a new start. Just then, in the distance, you heard someone yell “watch out.” *Thud*

You woke up from your nap and felt pain on your stomach. You looked to your left and it was a football. You sat up in anger and picked up the ball. You wanted to pierce a pen inside it and hit whoever threw it, but you contained yourself. You heard footsteps getting closer to you until figure towered over you and covered the sun. You looked up to a man with pale skin, brown eyes, pink lips and a tall nose. He looked concerned for your well being.

“Are you okay?” The man said. You were still mad, and stood up. He was still towering over you. You looked up and shoved the football into his chest.

“I’m fine, thanks for asking.” you responded sarcastically. Another person came running beside him. He had light brown hair and was a bit shorter than the other one.

“Sorry, he’s not a great catch.” He pointed at him with his thumb. The other boy turned to him angry, “Wha-? Are you trying to blame me?”

“If you caught it, it wouldn’t have hit her.”

“But you threw it too high!” They bickered back and forth forgetting your presence.

“I’ll leave the married couple to fight.” you turned to leave when one of them grabbed your wrist to stop you, “No, don’t leave.” You turned around with an irritated look on your face. The tall one took his hand off and took a step back. “I’m sorry for having the ball hit you.” The other nodded frivolously with a big smile one his face, “Yep, all his fault.” The tall one hit him in the chest and looked at him, “It’s both our fault.”

They seemed genuinely sorry, well at least the tall one, “I accept your apology.” The tall one felt a huge wave of relief and stuck his hand out to you, “I’m Eun Woo by the way.”

#astro #astro fanfic #cha eunwoo #cha eun woo #cha eun woo fanfic #cha eunwoo fanfic #astro fluff #astro smut #cha eun woo fluff #cha eun woo smut

[ohmytheon]

A Brief Lesson in Chemistry (Rebelcaptain College AU, 2)

For @daceymormont​, who gave me the original Rebelcaptain College AU prompt, and myself because I'm weak and this is a lot more fun than I anticipated. This is the first time I've ever written something like this and it's proving to be really enjoyable! I'll probably write a few of these. Nothing is planned, just whatever comes to mind (okay, I have a few ideas) and if anyone has any requests for this AU.

Where are you? (sent 5:26 pm)

Just got to swim practice. (sent 5:29 pm)

Cassian sighed as he looked away from his phone. It felt like Jyn was always at swim practice whenever he tried to initiate communication between them that didn’t involve her breaking into his dorm or suddenly appearing at his desk in class or at the library. But then he knew that it was the one thing that Jyn was dedicated to and she was good at it and enjoyed it, so he never faulted her for it either. He’d never seen her swim, but judging from what he’d seen of her body, she was probably good.

He furrowed his brow and squinted his eyes when that crossed his mind. Dangerous thought. He got rid of it as quickly as it came. His phone buzzed in his hand again. Assuming it was Kay, Cassian took his time to rifle through his backpack to make sure he had everything before looking at the text.

Meet me at the pool in two hours. (sent 5:31 pm)

Well, he could do that. It was a surprise, but he’d take it.

In the meantime, Cassian returned to his dorm to get a headstart on his homework for the weekend. He was going to need it if he actually went with this foolish plan. The first hour he spent studying and listening to acoustic music alone in his dorm, as Kay was still in class, but it wasn’t long before his dormmate stumbled in. Kay was tall and incredibly lanky, like his body couldn’t decide whether it wanted to be good at basketball or not. (He wasn’t.) He was very smart, but that included a smart mouth. Kay was also Cassian’s best friend, so he’d learned how to handle the other boy throughout the years.

“Oh, good,” Kay sighed in relief as he shouldered his way inside the small dorm room, carrying what looked like thirty pounds of books from the library. “She’s not here.”

Cassian didn’t even bother looking up from his highlighted textbook and notes. “She has a name, you know.”

“One that isn’t on our door,” Kay pointed out, sniffing dramatically as he dropped the books on the bottom bunk, which was Cassian’s. It had made sense to give Kay the top bunk with more space for him to stretch out. “I was beginning to think that she’d moved in here and it’s small as it is.”

“Yes, especially with your ego taking up almost half the space alone,” Cassian replied dryly.

The response did nothing to affect Kay, who merely harrumphed as he began to transfer the books one-by-one to the top bunk. He liked to read in bed whereas Cassian preferred the desk. It worked out perfectly when both of them were in here trying to do homework. As Kay got situated, he hummed along with the music under his breath, familiar with Cassian’s taste as much as his own, not noticing at first that Cassian was starting to finish up. They didn’t have any plans to hang out, but Kay sometimes assumed it on Friday nights.

Finally, after he had clambered up on his bed, Kay looked down and saw what Cassian was doing. “You’re leaving? But I just got here.”

“Don’t worry; I’ll be back soon.” Cassian shoved the rest of his notes into his backpack and then slid it under the bed. He had learned how to consolidate space a very long time ago when he was a child. Honestly, the dorm was kind of spacious if he thought about it. “I’ll play Assassin's Creed and you can watch, okay?”

“I don’t know how you do it,” Kay said as he settled into his bed and picked up a particularly hefty book. He found the page he was looking for and then grabbed a pen. “I’m terrible at stealth games.”

Cassian grinned. “You just don’t have any patience.”

“You must have an endless amount,” Kay said, “if you’re able to deal with Erso.”

“Mmhm, you too, buddy,” Cassian countered as he slipped into a thin jacket. He had gone to grab his favorite hoodie first until remembering that it was conveniently missing and had been since Jyn “popped in for a visit” three weeks ago. He slipped his keys into his pocket and made sure that the dorm keycard was in his wallet before walking out.

“Tell her I said hi and to learn how to knock!” Kay called out right before the door shut. Of course Cassian didn’t have to say anything. There were very few reasons why Cassian would go out on a Friday evening without any pre-determined plans. Friday nights were his homework and gaming nights, so that he wasn’t rushed on Sundays before classes. He broke that rule for very few reasons and even less people.

It was a little chilly from the fall breeze, but it wasn’t too bad. The sun was mostly set, but other college kids were still running around, coming to and from night classes and extracurricular activities. Cassian wondered every now and then what it would be like to be one of those kids that was connected to college outside of classes and dorm life, but then he’d never been a club person. He liked going out with groups so he could blend in and talk with multiple people, but he preferred to do things on his own in the end. Kay said that he could be really popular if he wanted to be, but the problem was that Cassian didn’t want to be popular.

The natatorium was only a fifteen minute walk from the dorms, which made it convenient for a lot of reasons. It was open until nine so that people outside of the swim and diving teams could take their turn doing laps or for the swim lessons that some of the lifeguards, all college students, taught on the side. The pools were mostly empty save for a few people, as practice had ended ten minutes ago, but somehow Cassian was able to recognize one lithe form cutting through the water like a knife.

Cassian had seen Jyn in a swimsuit before, but only in a few pictures that he’d managed to see on social media. She was one of the smaller swimmers on the team, but he imagined her gliding through the water like a bullet. Seeing her now made him realize that he had been right. She was small and thin, but toned muscle hid underneath the multiple layers of clothing that she typically wore. She wasn’t going at full speed, doing a cooldown, but his eyes were locked onto the way her arms rhythmically rose and fell in the air and the subtle twists of her body. Before he knew it, he was hovering near the edge of the pool. Technically it had been over two hours.

Jyn must’ve somehow spotted him despite looking completely concentrated on her swimming as she slowed down and came to a stop upon reaching the wall. Floating effortlessly in the water, she slipped her goggles off and tossed them onto the ground at his feet. “You made it.” She glanced up at him as she tugged off her swim cap and undid her hair. Taking a breath, she briefly bobbed underneath the water before bursting back up and lifting herself out of the pool with practiced ease.

“I’ve never been here before,” Cassian noted as he peered around the pool, trying to look at anything but her. She was soaked, water dripping from her and sliding down her smooth skin, making her appear slick and tempting. Instead, he tried to look mildly curious, but mostly unaffected.

“Never?” Jyn asked as she walked towards the bleachers. He followed her, being careful not to step in the puddles that trailed behind her. “Not even to just relax?” He shook his head. She picked up a towel and began to rub at her hair in a half-hearted attempt to dry it. “You do know how to swim, right?”

“Of course,” Cassian scoffed.

Jyn grinned. “Because I could teach you if you don’t. I’ve got late night access here.”

Late at night, alone with Jyn, with him in nothing but his swim trunks and her in a skintight bathing suit? That sounded like a recipe for disaster. He didn’t even need Kay around to know that. Cassian shook his head again, trying to smile politely, but it came off as thin and tight instead. Jyn seemed to get the picture as she snorted and went back to toweling her hair. Difficult woman. He did not like the fact that she had such a good read on him.

“So what’s up?” Jyn asked as she began to wrap another towel around her body. Cassian blinked, startled by the sudden switch in conversation. “Seemed like you wanted something when you texted me earlier.”

“Oh. Right.”

The text message. He’d asked her where she was and she had willingly invited him to meet her in what he considered her sanctioned area. Now that he was here though, with her standing in front of him, Cassian found that he wasn’t quite sure what to say. He had kind of planned on asking her via text, but had gotten caught up in her inviting him here that he’d forgot and hadn’t figured out how he wanted to do this. Jyn arched an eyebrow as she waited for him to continue. He wanted to propose the question delicately, seeing as how Jyn could be prickly for strange reasons, but instead did nothing of the sort.

“There’s a party tomorrow and I wanted to see if you’d like to come with me.”

A brief silence fell between them, nothing but the sounds of two other swimmers making laps in the pool behind them as they stared at one another. Cassian refused to look anything but impassive, but he was cringing on the inside. That was...not how he’d wanted it to come out. If he tried to backtrack though, she would either tease him or think that he was teasing her. He had found on more than one painful occasion that she either did not take compliments well or didn’t believe them. What had made her so suspicious?

“A party. With you.”

“Well, not with me -- I mean, with me, as in arriving together,” Cassian attempted to explain. The attempt was poor at best. He was very good at talking with people -- until suddenly he wasn’t and tried to blast his way through any awkwardness. “Kay is coming too, but he’s not very, well…”

“Much of a party person?” Jyn offered. That was one way of putting it. Cassian nodded his head. “To be honest, I didn’t peg you, Cassian Andor, as the type of person to go to a party either.”

Cassian shrugged his shoulders. “Han Solo is hosting it -- off campus. You’re right; it’s not my thing, but it’s a good place to meet and make connections with upperclassmen. And it sounds like it could be...fun.”

Jyn laughed. “If it’s being thrown by Solo, then it’s going to be a little more than fun.” Of course Solo’s reputation would precede him. He was a senior who had gained notoriety by being able to smuggle alcohol back when he’d lived on campus. Rumor had it that he had thrown parties in the dorms that covered entire floors, but no one ever ratted him out if they got caught with alcohol by RAs, even if everyone knew that Solo was the one bringing it in. Now that he lived off campus, his parties were well-known and invites were sought after hard. “How’d you get an invite?”

“Leia Organa’s in my Philosophy class,” Cassian explained. “He’s been hounding her to come to one of his parties and she finally agreed, but only if she could invite some of her friends too.”

“You being one of the lucky ones,” Jyn said in a wry tone. The way her lips twisted suggested something else besides humor, though he couldn’t imagine what it was.

“And you, if you want to come,” Cassian quickly added. “I’m not very close to her, but she told me that I could invite anyone that would make things more comfortable.”

Jyn’s head tilted as she gazed at him, her eyes shining dangerously. He didn’t look away from her, not even when she took a step closer to him. He couldn’t tell if he was smelling the chlorine on her or from the air in the room, but she seemed quite close. “And I make things more comfortable for you?”

“Sometimes,” Cassian admitted because right now he was very much not comfortable but it wasn’t bad either. He just felt like squirming under the intensity of her gaze and proximity of her body. Were he another guy, perhaps someone more like Solo, he would’ve reached out to her, put his hand on her waist, and pulled her closer to him despite the wet towel. Maybe if he got rid of some of this tension, he’d be more comfortable. But instead, he stood stock still and looked down at her as a smile slowly spread across her face.

“Okay, I’ll go with you,” Jyn told him, “but on one condition.”

Cassian eyed her warily. What sort of conditions could she come up with? Would she tell him that she got to pick what he wore? Or maybe he wanted her to pick her up, except that his car was a jalopy at best. He could think of a lot of ways that Jyn might torture him for her own amusement. He also knew that he’d agree no matter what. It was a matter of stubbornness.

“Bodhi gets to come too,” Jyn said.

It took everything in Cassian not to sigh in relief, but he did visibly relax. “That’s it? Sure, sure, Bodhi’s cool.”

In fact, he thought it was an even better idea that Bodhi came. It would make Kay feel better about Cassian inviting Jyn to the party without telling him, so he wouldn’t feel like a third wheel (even though that was ridiculous and he had tried to explain it to Kay multiple times.)  Also Bodhi  had a natural calming effect on Jyn, so she probably wouldn’t try to convince anyone to mud wrestle or something.

“So I’ll see you tomorrow then?” Jyn asked as she started to gather her things. He nodded his head again, his mind already trying to work around the details. How they would get there, if they should bring their own stuff, what he should wear. “I can’t wait to see what Captain Uptight Andor looks like drunk.”

“I’m not going to get drunk,” Cassian protested, folding his arms across his chest.

Jyn smirked and leaned in, like she was going to kiss him on the cheek or something. “That’s what you think now.” And then she was walking to the locker room to shower, waving a hand at him.

Cassian practically scowled at her back as she disappeared around the corner. No way was he going to get drunk with Jyn around. Who knew what she would do? Probably take pictures and convince him to do ridiculous things that would embarrass the hell out of him later. He’d only been drunk a handful of times and he knew what he was like: dangerously courageous and willing to do anything that he was dared to do. But what was that about him being uptight? He wasn’t uptight. Jyn was just teasing him again, knowing it’d get a rise out of him to make him want to prove her wrong.

(It unfortunately was working.)

This would be...interesting, Cassian told himself as he walked back to his dorm in the dark, a few streetlamps guiding his path. For the most part, he and Jyn hung out together outside of everything else. They didn’t do things with other people, save for the few people in their group, like Kay and Bodhi, and even that was pushing it. This felt different, like he was taking a step in another direction, except he didn’t really know where he was going.

But the moment Leia had told him that he could invite someone else, his first thought had been Jyn’s challenging face and her hand reaching out to him. It had been very easy to make his decision, even if he felt unsure now.

#rebelcaptain #jyn erso #cassian andor #rogue one #star wars #college au #k-2so #jyn x cassian #cassian x jyn #human k-2so #han solo #leia organa #bodhi rook #sw #sw fanfiction #rebelcaptain fanfic #i'm having TOO MUCH FUN

[cilverstephen-blog]

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But in case we're looking for a larger trend it's that SEO plus what we call real marketing” will continue to blur the particular lines between them as the particular job of the SEO turns into that of a traditional marketing expert - having to understand the particular user, the competitors, the market place and also the implementation aspect. Thanks for going to the world of Search Motor Optimization (SEO). For example, we regularly produce content on the topic associated with "SEO, " but it's nevertheless very hard to rank nicely on Google for such the popular topic on this acronym alone. What can this industry shifts show about the particular future of SEO and content material marketing? Search engine marketing (SEO) is on a move. Whether a person are an SEO Professional, Electronic Marketing Agency, SMB or Brand name, looking to increase your visitors or to monitor your web site's evolution, this SEO software may provide you with best within class digital marketing strategy evaluation and insights for your company. Their expertise is usually incredibly valuable because there is definitely plenty of science to SEO, plus it is constantly changing because search engines like Google keep on to update their algorithms. From a content viewpoint, I'd say one of the particular best ways to get SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION value out of video is definitely to focus your efforts upon addressing your customer's pain factors. If you avoid look after SEO, you may get lost among the trillions of links out there. Heading forward SEOs have to become able to quantitatively show the particular value of their online marketing and advertising by identifying and implementing Essential Performance Indicators (KPIs) that will certainly demonstrate the value added simply by their SEO initiatives. The topic cluster model will be your way forward in SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION this year, but it's not really the only method to obtain your website content to position higher once it's been made. WIthout simple SEO in spot, your business may not end up being a result on the look for engines when a customer is usually specifically searching for your enterprise! SEO information can help improve your sociable efforts, and social media may help with the search rankings. Within his book Ultimate Explained Customizing Your Website, SEO and web marketing expert Jon Rognerud displays you how to construct a top-end website and get top position on all search engines. 00: 38 SEO will be heading towards voice search. SpyFu is usually really a paid tool that will uses 11 years of historic data to help you discover your competitors' most profitable key phrases and the keywords they've utilized for SEO and ads. The simple truth is that on-site navigation hackers like search bar with smart autocomplete, internal linking with point texts or immediate customer assistance boost both UX and SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION. Even though it is challenging to assume about the alterations that might take place inside 2019, but we know regarding sure what SEO trends involving 2018 will take greater importance in 2019. Join us for the three-day, one-track conference full involving forward-thinking, tactical sessions in SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION, growth marketing, the mobile panorama, analytics, content marketing, and a great deal more. The objective associated with SEO is to get some sort of website ranked as high since possible on search engines, for example Google. When you are improving user knowledge by focusing primarily on the particular quality of the MC associated with your pages and avoiding : even removing - old-school SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION techniques - those certainly are usually positive steps to getting even more traffic from Google in 2018 - and the type associated with content performance Google rewards is usually in the end largely from least about a satisfying consumer experience. For instance, when I'm logged in to Google+ and We search for SEO, I obtain the following in my top 5 search results. Black head wear SEO practice involves breaking most of the rules and rules of the search engine. Every time you notice or hear the phrase research engine optimization, ” substitute exactly what create quality and indicating relevance” and you'll have the correct mindset permanently SEO work. SEOs conveniently call this effect ‘domain authority' and it appeared in order to be related to ‘PageRank' : the system Google started in order to rank the web within 1998. In case you have more time plus are keen to follow the particular SEO industry, subscribe to Moz and Search Engine Land. Integrating these keywords into the write-up allows you to add range while still retaining SEO energy. SEO specialists started in order to abuse PageRank in order in order to raise the rankings. Now could be a great time to take a nearer take a look at SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION marketing information because search is getting even worse for all those types of B2B plus B2C businesses. SEO marketers plus writers typically come up along with different kinds of content in order to place the necessary keywords within. These are some of the particular most used types, and every one helps to lead to the level of variety in conditions of website content. Certain black hat SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION techniques, such as keyword filling, are thought to be the SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION equivalent of spamming, and lookup engines will penalize them. Internet marketing is exclusively driven by SEO or research engine optimization. Others are usually simply traditional PR firms that have learned SEO as properly as the value of hyperlinks. Here's a cliche among electronic marketers: Search engine optimization (SEO) isn't what used to end up being. Google announced that will they released several minor enhancements over the period of the particular time of about a 7 days and after analysis, experts inside the SEO industry concluded that will the updates were the outcome of keyword permutations and web site using doorway pages. SEO, or Search Motor Optimization, means setting up your own website and content to show up through online search results. People which want to take their company to some new height plus generally and mostly believe within the way of SEO advertising.

A greater number associated with people will stick to tone of voice search, so SEO specialists will certainly need to adjust to this particular relatively new kind of research. Seo or SEO is usually a powerful method to generate targeted traffic to your web site and hopefully increase your bottom level line. Whilst many marketing tactics rely upon you reaching out to your own audience, SEO gives you the particular power to achieve people whenever they are actively searching out there information related to your providers and products. Light hat SEOs the actual recommendations of Google and other research engines like google. As Google's search engine outcomes become increasingly monetized and some other platforms such as Amazon plus YouTube gain more SoV plus search volume, I think wish overdue for the focus associated with SEO to shift far through Google. Traditional SEO is definitely Blog9T focused on building (keyword relevant) links and (keyword relevant) articles. The main reason these kinds of are sometimes misunderstood is because which whole Internet underbelly of alleged SEO companies that you may pay to link to your own site on their networks associated with low-quality articles. However, before we obtain to our main event, We must note that after our own 2017 edition of SEO developments launched last year on Lookup Engine Journal, we heard the couple of complaints about simply how long it was. After that your boss tells you most likely accountable for search engine marketing (SEO), too. Michael jordan Harling, SEO Specialist at Roman Blinds Direct, agrees with the particular consensus that voice search may be the trend in 2019. Link building is a type of off-site SEO where various other sites link back to your own site if they feel a person offer something of value in order to their audience. In many important areas they overlap; if SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION is more technical and provides to a narrow sphere, articles marketing takes a holistic strategy. Equally, presently there is no point in throwing away your SEO marketing efforts simply by delivering lots of traffic in order to your website from highly appropriate search queries, when the consumer experience upon landing on that will website is poor quality. On web page, SEO relates to keywords. In addition to the over search engine optimization solutions, SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION services provide other Internet marketing and advertising services, which includes: search-friendly internet design, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising promotions, backlink programs, SMO services, blog page optimization and marketing, targeted nearby search engine marketing, and cellular marketing optimization. A successful SEO effort wants to move beyond building joyful to rank on highly researched keywords and should have the heavy focus on providing solutions for genres of unique inquiries that many people might research by voice. Learn the particular strategy behind great SEO, which includes keyword planning, content optimization, hyperlink building, and SEO for e-commerce, local search, and mobile viewers. Search engine optimization or SEO is usually the simple process of making sure a website can be discovered in search engines for words and phrases and phrases relevant to exactly what the site is providing.

Here's a true statement you don't need to hear as often: Your SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION technique for 2018 shouldn't concentrate on keywords. (1888PressRelease) Packet Marketing, a Boston-based, full-service SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION and search engine marketing techniques firm today announces they have been rated as the number five SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION firm in the 2010 Advertising World Top ten SEO Firm Award initiative. According to Forrester Analysis, the number of global mobile phone subscribers is expected to achieve 3. 5 billion by 2019, crossing the 50% mark intended for smartphone penetration by 2018, plus reaching 59% by 2019. On-page SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION ensures that your site can be read by both possible customers and search engine automated programs. In 2019, voice-search will become the dominant way that individuals search. But SEO is all regarding the organic” rankings, which show up in the middle of the particular search results page. The most important SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION factor for creating high-quality content material 15 Things You Should Do In SEO 2019 is doing good keyword study. Criteria changes in 2018 seem in order to centre on reducing the strength of old-school SEO techniques, along with the May 2015 Google ‘Quality' formula update bruisingly familiar. Keep in mind in SEO article writing suggestions you keywords have to create sense too. Domain Authority within SEO is a rank that will measures how popular and reliable search engines call at your own website. If the key phrases you might be hoping to rank with regard to don't display on the page, this will be much more tough to achieve your goals : making on-page optimization a important part of most SEO promotions.

[alejandrinawink-blog]

Things That Make You Love As well as Hate team.

Leading Ten Common Bias Regarding team.

For some firms, group structure is considered any team activity that draws you from your routine setting, from lunch getaways to business golf retreats. As ESPN's Rich Cimini reported, on Tuesday alone the Jets revealed they were reducing their most senior protective player (inside linebacker David Harris), while team sources told Adam Schefter they would certainly be revealing their best pass receiver (Eric Decker) the door. Specify ways that teamwork could maximize your time for the specific jobs that just you could do and release up for study, ministry as well as preparation. The Atlanta Falcons' go to a berth in Super Dish LI was even more exceptional considered that the team finished it without probably their best protective gamer. In a properly created group structure workshop the primary communication is amongst employee with directions given by the leader at intervals throughout the event. There are programs that additionally consist of trust fund building video games, such as letting the team catch an individual who is blindfolded. As a team leader, you need to be familiar with the people benefiting you, and while there is great deals of chances of doing that during work hrs, the sad truth is it is truly challenging to open to your manager in a rigorous workplace. Ensure you incorporate your steps into your following team structure events and give a favorable emphasis in your following team building activities assistances. I had actually found a desc tag, as well as not knowing its price, traded it in addition to 2 recs as well as a scrap, for only 1 unusual shortstop. With more hands as well as minds at work, you can hand over the ordinary functions to your group to make sure that you can focus on more vital aspects like business preparation, development and also advertising. For instance, we provided our Build-A-Bike ® team building workshop for a customer in the Seattle area last month. Alexandra joined the team in September 2002 as a substitute for Caroline Baron and taken care of accountancy. Although in relation to the remainder of Australia, WA is certainly a lengthy means to travel when you are investigating a destination for your next team building program. This advertising technique will hold for any kind of as well as every holiday-restricted event for the duration of Group Fortress 2's life. For groups to foster - with added worth - we must establish a generous spirit, worth the person, create group trust, interact freely, accept differences, and share successes. On protection, the group has actually done a lot to support the secondary that so harm them in 2008. This brings about the development of interpersonal relationships, which therefore creates team spirit. That's why it deserves to attempt a group growth program and also practise social skills.

This Story Behind team Will certainly Haunt You Forever!

If you hold your event at a place where there are ample activities to explore, you are visiting a lot of positive adjustments. The West Indies group needed to break institutional and also racial boundaries to be recognised, and that sought they had become the best group worldwide. There will certainly be lots of advantages associated with being part and also intending to remain a component of a successful group. View what occurs when the company begins having problems if you want to see how really wonderful a group actually is. While one staff member might be great at analytical abilities, the other might have the ability to look at as well as organize details as well as information systems salary - simply click the following web site, in a cohesive manner. In considering ways to be an effective team leader, remember your people are mosting likely to see exactly what you say, and also a lot more notably, just what you do. Every group is stood for in these competitions as well as the occasions are hung on different fields. They have a relatively ordinary group, however there is two gamers that make them the best 3 star team in the game. And also frankly the Jets needed to devote completely to being exactly what they are-- a negative group seeking a ground-up rebuild. Their team wished to bet ours, so we determined to proceed with the plan. On top of that, you will certainly develop a group that will certainly inspire, inspire, challenge each present and also various other the most effective assignments with each other. After yet one more period tainted by injuries as well as offseason back surgical procedure, limited end Rob Gronkowski has actually been a full individual in arranged group tasks. These types of companies with the top-down strategy to company will typically inform their down line the best ways to utilize and follow their system, but will certainly highlight the importance of synergy. It could be that since the group has actually dealt with the post, we won't hear of it again as well as the Seahawks will certainly take place to one more NFC West title.

Just what's So Fashionable Concerning group That Every person Went bananas Over It?

When assumptions of every employee are in advance and open, every staff member strives to execute at full blast for the good of the team. To get more information regarding ending up being a team leader browse through our website at or call Rick toll-free at 1-888-484-8326 X101. They earn a seed spot Tuesday night which determines which group they will play and also the moment they will certainly use Wednesday. These are for fun, to permit the members of the group to obtain to know each other and also come together as a group. A team goal is an end that the group aims to get to; it straight supports both the mission of the organization and the team's vision.

[lucasparkerco]

Why Focusing on SEO Alone Isn’t Enough

Andrea Lehr

3.4K

READS

“The only constant is change.”

As cliched as the phrase might be, it’s the perfect way to describe every marketer’s relationship with search engine optimization (SEO). Google’s algorithm is continually changing, which means that your SEO strategy is constantly evolving with it.

Luckily, Google’s webmaster guidelines clearly spell out what they’re looking for:

Make pages primarily for users, not for search engines.

Don’t deceive your users.

Avoid tricks intended to improve search engine rankings.

Think about what makes your website unique, valuable, or engaging. Make your website stand out from others in your field.

Note the first bullet point and its emphasis on people. Although your site should be incredibly enticing to search engines, technical SEO efforts can only go so far. Keywords can get you on the front page of Google and drive a ton of traffic, but if these visitors are not turning into leads, you’re ultimately wasting your time and money.

This post will explore why the most effective marketing teams aren’t putting all their eggs in one basket – because they know focusing on SEO alone isn’t enough.

SEOs Bring a Lot More to the Table Than Technical Skills

Before companies even begin to outline a digital marketing strategy, a lot of marketing teams are increasingly looking for well-rounded individuals who can combine an analytical understanding of SEO with the creativity required for engaging content (also known as a T-shaped marketer).

For example, Fractl (my employer) and Moz scraped more than 75,000 job listings and found that the volume of “SEO job” listings peaked between 2011 and 2012.

The study also looked at the hiring landscape on a more granular level to identify the five most common titles for six search queries: “digital marketing,” “content marketing,” “SEO,” “social media marketing,” “PPC,” and “Google Analytics.”

Only one job title containing “SEO” cracked the top five while more generalist positions such as Digital Marketing Manager and Marketing Manager were much more prevalent — indicating that SEO knowledge is a desirable skill when paired with many other marketing competencies.

These insights indicate that more brands are looking at their search marketing efforts through a different lens.

Although a technical SEO strategy is necessary, Google also places weight on the quality of your content.

Alt Attributes Don’t Answer Questions; High-Value Content Does

Keep in mind that the technical aspects of SEO — URL structure, headers, alt attributes, etc. — shouldn’t be overlooked. In fact, the above study also revealed that job titles containing “SEO” were averaging more than $100,000 annually.

Clearly, companies want people who know what they’re doing. However, relevant alt text isn’t what convinces someone to stay on your site; quality content does.

The “quality content” debate isn’t anything new to most marketers, but the latest SearchMetrics Report on ranking factors offers a new approach by coining the term “holistic content.” According to the report, holistic content incorporates relevant keywords that are similar to your target keywords in order to answer search intent more completely.

In other words, additional keywords are used to provide more comprehensive content, and if “you write a very good, readable text with lots of high-quality content,” not only will you generate more shares but your site will “rank equally well with search engines for many different keywords at the same time.”

Quality requires you to look beyond an extensive keyword list, though. An easy way to ensure your on-site content is up to Google’s high standards is by actually looking for what would signal low-quality content.

Below are red flags that are in your control and easily managed:

Broken links: Crawl your site and make sure there aren’t any “404 errors.”

Inaccurate information: Any sources you link to should be credible, whether they are internal or external links.

Grammar and spelling errors: Spell check should be the last thing you use before you click “publish.”

Page load speed: Having a fast-loading site can help you rank higher.

Comprehensiveness: Your content should answer all questions related to a specific topic.

Quality content also plays a big role in your ability to generate backlinks – an authoritative backlink profile is a key ingredient Google looks at when determining rankings. Sites will link to your content so long as it provides value, and below are three ways to ensure it does:

Your content offers something unique and original: You’re likely sitting on a ton of internal data that no one else has access to — share it!

There are actionable tips throughout: Usually someone lands on your content because it provides answers to a particular problem. Make sure they leave with insights they can use once they’re done reading.

It can stand alone as an evergreen resource: This is the holy grail for content — think laterally so that you answer every question possible, but also make sure it’s presented in a way that’s easy to digest.

The biggest thing to keep in mind is that your content should provide answers to real questions. This is what gets others to link to your content — and the more backlinks you have, the more value Google will add.

The Web Is Inherently Social, Which Makes Social Shares Valuable

While mining backlinks, you’ll notice a lot of social shares pop up — and they shouldn’t be overlooked, particularly when you think about how the web works.

People go online to share ideas, maintain relationships, and build new audiences. These are inherent social characteristics, which is why an effective SEO strategy places a lot of value on social media.

SEO alone can’t get your content in front of a large audience, but the increase in traffic that comes from highly shareable content is something Google will reward.

So what are some ways social media and SEO interact?

Social Media Profiles Typically Rank High on Branded Queries

Although social share counts don’t have a direct impact on your site’s ranking (according to Google), social profiles are typically some of the top results when people search for brand names.

For example, when I look up “Adidas” in Google, their Twitter and Facebook profiles rank 4th and 7th respectively, while the sport brand’s most active social channels are highlighted in the sidebar:

Social channels make the experience of getting to know your brand more fun and engaging, but they also let Google know you’re the real deal.

Social Networks Are Search Engines, Too

Facebook gets 2 billion searches per day. That means that a lot of people are using sites other than Google to get answers.

Brands should expand their concept of SEO to extend beyond traditional search engines.

Remember – social channels actually can serve as the initial source of information about your brand.

Amplify Your Content With Paid Social After the Initial Launch

Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn all have paid amplification options that can help you reach larger audiences, and considering more than 75% of B2C marketers are using paid social, it’s definitely a tactic worth investing in on your best content since these platforms tend to be a bit of an echo chamber.

Both SEO and social both help to build your brand identity to naturally attract visitors.

However, what social does that SEO can’t do is get your content in front of a much larger audience organically — which indirectly generates more backlinks and referral traffic that will help you rank higher.

URLs Draw Attention, but CTAs and Automation Drive Conversions

If you decided to focus solely on the more technical SEO tactics we’ve looked at up to this point, you could generate more traffic (albeit not as successfully). However, more visitors means nothing if people aren’t converting, which is why you can’t forget about how the sales funnel impacts your inbound strategy.

You can think about the sales funnel as three steps:

Be Seen. This is where all of the tactics we discussed earlier come into play. More than 80 percent of consumers use a basic online search to find out more about a brand, and an SEO strategy that combines a mix of on- and off-site content is crucial to optimize your search rankings.

Build Trust. This is where quality content kicks in. Providing valuable on-site content is how you distinguish yourself as a thought leader in your industry (and generate emails if you gate it).

Convert Leads. Once you have the traffic and authority, you need content that is on brand and connects your business goals with the needs of your consumers.

SEO helps a lot with the first step, but engaging your audience is what pushes them further down the funnel.

One way to drive engagement is through CTAs, or calls to action. CTAs can range from entering an email address to making a purchase.

Regardless of what you want, the important part is that your CTA clearly tells someone what you want them to do. You’ll find a great example if you scroll down to the end of this post:

Another way to drive conversions is through automated email workflows.

Although blasting your subscriber list with the subject line “content marketing agency services” won’t help you rank any higher for that term, the email should include resources that your target audience will find useful — an essential element for any high-converting content.

There’s also a hidden bonus to email marketing.

A newsletter, for instance, can include widgets that allow readers to easily share content on their social channels. This can help drive the top-of-the-funnel awareness we looked at a bit earlier.

The regular email activity generated by automated workflows like newsletters is what encourages people to share your content with others. More shares means more people potentially seeing and engaging with your content, which improves the chances that your content will rank higher.

SEO Is Essential, But Ineffective in a Vacuum

Google’s algorithms are constantly changing. These changes are out of your control, which is why an effective marketing strategy shouldn’t focus solely on SEO.

You need to think of SEO as a companion to your social and content strategies.

Your ultimate goal should be to answer your audience’s most pressing questions through valuable content — and in return, they’ll reward you with more traffic.

Image Credits:

Featured Image: Pixabay Screenshots by Andrea Lehr. Taken May 2017.

https://www.searchenginejournal.com/seo-alone-isnt-enough/196867/

On – 16 May, 2017 By Andrea Lehr

from ANDLOCAL SEO Services https://andlocal.org/why-focusing-on-seo-alone-isnt-enough/ from ANDLOCAL https://andlocalorg.tumblr.com/post/161109713646

[adamstuckerma]

Why Focusing on SEO Alone Isn’t Enough

Andrea Lehr

3.4K

READS

“The only constant is change.”

As cliched as the phrase might be, it’s the perfect way to describe every marketer’s relationship with search engine optimization (SEO). Google’s algorithm is continually changing, which means that your SEO strategy is constantly evolving with it.

Luckily, Google’s webmaster guidelines clearly spell out what they’re looking for:

Make pages primarily for users, not for search engines.

Don’t deceive your users.

Avoid tricks intended to improve search engine rankings.

Think about what makes your website unique, valuable, or engaging. Make your website stand out from others in your field.

Note the first bullet point and its emphasis on people. Although your site should be incredibly enticing to search engines, technical SEO efforts can only go so far. Keywords can get you on the front page of Google and drive a ton of traffic, but if these visitors are not turning into leads, you’re ultimately wasting your time and money.

This post will explore why the most effective marketing teams aren’t putting all their eggs in one basket – because they know focusing on SEO alone isn’t enough.

SEOs Bring a Lot More to the Table Than Technical Skills

Before companies even begin to outline a digital marketing strategy, a lot of marketing teams are increasingly looking for well-rounded individuals who can combine an analytical understanding of SEO with the creativity required for engaging content (also known as a T-shaped marketer).

For example, Fractl (my employer) and Moz scraped more than 75,000 job listings and found that the volume of “SEO job” listings peaked between 2011 and 2012.

The study also looked at the hiring landscape on a more granular level to identify the five most common titles for six search queries: “digital marketing,” “content marketing,” “SEO,” “social media marketing,” “PPC,” and “Google Analytics.”

Only one job title containing “SEO” cracked the top five while more generalist positions such as Digital Marketing Manager and Marketing Manager were much more prevalent — indicating that SEO knowledge is a desirable skill when paired with many other marketing competencies.

These insights indicate that more brands are looking at their search marketing efforts through a different lens.

Although a technical SEO strategy is necessary, Google also places weight on the quality of your content.

Alt Attributes Don’t Answer Questions; High-Value Content Does

Keep in mind that the technical aspects of SEO — URL structure, headers, alt attributes, etc. — shouldn’t be overlooked. In fact, the above study also revealed that job titles containing “SEO” were averaging more than $100,000 annually.

Clearly, companies want people who know what they’re doing. However, relevant alt text isn’t what convinces someone to stay on your site; quality content does.

The “quality content” debate isn’t anything new to most marketers, but the latest SearchMetrics Report on ranking factors offers a new approach by coining the term “holistic content.” According to the report, holistic content incorporates relevant keywords that are similar to your target keywords in order to answer search intent more completely.

In other words, additional keywords are used to provide more comprehensive content, and if “you write a very good, readable text with lots of high-quality content,” not only will you generate more shares but your site will “rank equally well with search engines for many different keywords at the same time.”

Quality requires you to look beyond an extensive keyword list, though. An easy way to ensure your on-site content is up to Google’s high standards is by actually looking for what would signal low-quality content.

Below are red flags that are in your control and easily managed:

Broken links: Crawl your site and make sure there aren’t any “404 errors.”

Inaccurate information: Any sources you link to should be credible, whether they are internal or external links.

Grammar and spelling errors: Spell check should be the last thing you use before you click “publish.”

Page load speed: Having a fast-loading site can help you rank higher.

Comprehensiveness: Your content should answer all questions related to a specific topic.

Quality content also plays a big role in your ability to generate backlinks – an authoritative backlink profile is a key ingredient Google looks at when determining rankings. Sites will link to your content so long as it provides value, and below are three ways to ensure it does:

Your content offers something unique and original: You’re likely sitting on a ton of internal data that no one else has access to — share it!

There are actionable tips throughout: Usually someone lands on your content because it provides answers to a particular problem. Make sure they leave with insights they can use once they’re done reading.

It can stand alone as an evergreen resource: This is the holy grail for content — think laterally so that you answer every question possible, but also make sure it’s presented in a way that’s easy to digest.

The biggest thing to keep in mind is that your content should provide answers to real questions. This is what gets others to link to your content — and the more backlinks you have, the more value Google will add.

The Web Is Inherently Social, Which Makes Social Shares Valuable

While mining backlinks, you’ll notice a lot of social shares pop up — and they shouldn’t be overlooked, particularly when you think about how the web works.

People go online to share ideas, maintain relationships, and build new audiences. These are inherent social characteristics, which is why an effective SEO strategy places a lot of value on social media.

SEO alone can’t get your content in front of a large audience, but the increase in traffic that comes from highly shareable content is something Google will reward.

So what are some ways social media and SEO interact?

Social Media Profiles Typically Rank High on Branded Queries

Although social share counts don’t have a direct impact on your site’s ranking (according to Google), social profiles are typically some of the top results when people search for brand names.

For example, when I look up “Adidas” in Google, their Twitter and Facebook profiles rank 4th and 7th respectively, while the sport brand’s most active social channels are highlighted in the sidebar:

Social channels make the experience of getting to know your brand more fun and engaging, but they also let Google know you’re the real deal.

Social Networks Are Search Engines, Too

Facebook gets 2 billion searches per day. That means that a lot of people are using sites other than Google to get answers.

Brands should expand their concept of SEO to extend beyond traditional search engines.

Remember – social channels actually can serve as the initial source of information about your brand.

Amplify Your Content With Paid Social After the Initial Launch

Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn all have paid amplification options that can help you reach larger audiences, and considering more than 75% of B2C marketers are using paid social, it’s definitely a tactic worth investing in on your best content since these platforms tend to be a bit of an echo chamber.

Both SEO and social both help to build your brand identity to naturally attract visitors.

However, what social does that SEO can’t do is get your content in front of a much larger audience organically — which indirectly generates more backlinks and referral traffic that will help you rank higher.

URLs Draw Attention, but CTAs and Automation Drive Conversions

If you decided to focus solely on the more technical SEO tactics we’ve looked at up to this point, you could generate more traffic (albeit not as successfully). However, more visitors means nothing if people aren’t converting, which is why you can’t forget about how the sales funnel impacts your inbound strategy.

You can think about the sales funnel as three steps:

Be Seen. This is where all of the tactics we discussed earlier come into play. More than 80 percent of consumers use a basic online search to find out more about a brand, and an SEO strategy that combines a mix of on- and off-site content is crucial to optimize your search rankings.

Build Trust. This is where quality content kicks in. Providing valuable on-site content is how you distinguish yourself as a thought leader in your industry (and generate emails if you gate it).

Convert Leads. Once you have the traffic and authority, you need content that is on brand and connects your business goals with the needs of your consumers.

SEO helps a lot with the first step, but engaging your audience is what pushes them further down the funnel.

One way to drive engagement is through CTAs, or calls to action. CTAs can range from entering an email address to making a purchase.

Regardless of what you want, the important part is that your CTA clearly tells someone what you want them to do. You’ll find a great example if you scroll down to the end of this post:

Another way to drive conversions is through automated email workflows.

Although blasting your subscriber list with the subject line “content marketing agency services” won’t help you rank any higher for that term, the email should include resources that your target audience will find useful — an essential element for any high-converting content.

There’s also a hidden bonus to email marketing.

A newsletter, for instance, can include widgets that allow readers to easily share content on their social channels. This can help drive the top-of-the-funnel awareness we looked at a bit earlier.

The regular email activity generated by automated workflows like newsletters is what encourages people to share your content with others. More shares means more people potentially seeing and engaging with your content, which improves the chances that your content will rank higher.

SEO Is Essential, But Ineffective in a Vacuum

Google’s algorithms are constantly changing. These changes are out of your control, which is why an effective marketing strategy shouldn’t focus solely on SEO.

You need to think of SEO as a companion to your social and content strategies.

Your ultimate goal should be to answer your audience’s most pressing questions through valuable content — and in return, they’ll reward you with more traffic.

Image Credits:

Featured Image: Pixabay Screenshots by Andrea Lehr. Taken May 2017.

https://www.searchenginejournal.com/seo-alone-isnt-enough/196867/

On – 16 May, 2017 By Andrea Lehr

source https://andlocal.org/why-focusing-on-seo-alone-isnt-enough/ from ANDLOCAL http://andlocal.blogspot.com/2017/05/why-focusing-on-seo-alone-isnt-enough.html

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Why Focusing on SEO Alone Isn’t Enough

Andrea Lehr

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“The only constant is change.”

As cliched as the phrase might be, it’s the perfect way to describe every marketer’s relationship with search engine optimization (SEO). Google’s algorithm is continually changing, which means that your SEO strategy is constantly evolving with it.

Luckily, Google’s webmaster guidelines clearly spell out what they’re looking for:

Make pages primarily for users, not for search engines.

Don’t deceive your users.

Avoid tricks intended to improve search engine rankings.

Think about what makes your website unique, valuable, or engaging. Make your website stand out from others in your field.

Note the first bullet point and its emphasis on people. Although your site should be incredibly enticing to search engines, technical SEO efforts can only go so far. Keywords can get you on the front page of Google and drive a ton of traffic, but if these visitors are not turning into leads, you’re ultimately wasting your time and money.

This post will explore why the most effective marketing teams aren’t putting all their eggs in one basket – because they know focusing on SEO alone isn’t enough.

SEOs Bring a Lot More to the Table Than Technical Skills

Before companies even begin to outline a digital marketing strategy, a lot of marketing teams are increasingly looking for well-rounded individuals who can combine an analytical understanding of SEO with the creativity required for engaging content (also known as a T-shaped marketer).

For example, Fractl (my employer) and Moz scraped more than 75,000 job listings and found that the volume of “SEO job” listings peaked between 2011 and 2012.

The study also looked at the hiring landscape on a more granular level to identify the five most common titles for six search queries: “digital marketing,” “content marketing,” “SEO,” “social media marketing,” “PPC,” and “Google Analytics.”

Only one job title containing “SEO” cracked the top five while more generalist positions such as Digital Marketing Manager and Marketing Manager were much more prevalent — indicating that SEO knowledge is a desirable skill when paired with many other marketing competencies.

These insights indicate that more brands are looking at their search marketing efforts through a different lens.

Although a technical SEO strategy is necessary, Google also places weight on the quality of your content.

Alt Attributes Don’t Answer Questions; High-Value Content Does

Keep in mind that the technical aspects of SEO — URL structure, headers, alt attributes, etc. — shouldn’t be overlooked. In fact, the above study also revealed that job titles containing “SEO” were averaging more than $100,000 annually.

Clearly, companies want people who know what they’re doing. However, relevant alt text isn’t what convinces someone to stay on your site; quality content does.

The “quality content” debate isn’t anything new to most marketers, but the latest SearchMetrics Report on ranking factors offers a new approach by coining the term “holistic content.” According to the report, holistic content incorporates relevant keywords that are similar to your target keywords in order to answer search intent more completely.

In other words, additional keywords are used to provide more comprehensive content, and if “you write a very good, readable text with lots of high-quality content,” not only will you generate more shares but your site will “rank equally well with search engines for many different keywords at the same time.”

Quality requires you to look beyond an extensive keyword list, though. An easy way to ensure your on-site content is up to Google’s high standards is by actually looking for what would signal low-quality content.

Below are red flags that are in your control and easily managed:

Broken links: Crawl your site and make sure there aren’t any “404 errors.”

Inaccurate information: Any sources you link to should be credible, whether they are internal or external links.

Grammar and spelling errors: Spell check should be the last thing you use before you click “publish.”

Page load speed: Having a fast-loading site can help you rank higher.

Comprehensiveness: Your content should answer all questions related to a specific topic.

Quality content also plays a big role in your ability to generate backlinks – an authoritative backlink profile is a key ingredient Google looks at when determining rankings. Sites will link to your content so long as it provides value, and below are three ways to ensure it does:

Your content offers something unique and original: You’re likely sitting on a ton of internal data that no one else has access to — share it!

There are actionable tips throughout: Usually someone lands on your content because it provides answers to a particular problem. Make sure they leave with insights they can use once they’re done reading.

It can stand alone as an evergreen resource: This is the holy grail for content — think laterally so that you answer every question possible, but also make sure it’s presented in a way that’s easy to digest.

The biggest thing to keep in mind is that your content should provide answers to real questions. This is what gets others to link to your content — and the more backlinks you have, the more value Google will add.

The Web Is Inherently Social, Which Makes Social Shares Valuable

While mining backlinks, you’ll notice a lot of social shares pop up — and they shouldn’t be overlooked, particularly when you think about how the web works.

People go online to share ideas, maintain relationships, and build new audiences. These are inherent social characteristics, which is why an effective SEO strategy places a lot of value on social media.

SEO alone can’t get your content in front of a large audience, but the increase in traffic that comes from highly shareable content is something Google will reward.

So what are some ways social media and SEO interact?

Social Media Profiles Typically Rank High on Branded Queries

Although social share counts don’t have a direct impact on your site’s ranking (according to Google), social profiles are typically some of the top results when people search for brand names.

For example, when I look up “Adidas” in Google, their Twitter and Facebook profiles rank 4th and 7th respectively, while the sport brand’s most active social channels are highlighted in the sidebar:

Social channels make the experience of getting to know your brand more fun and engaging, but they also let Google know you’re the real deal.

Social Networks Are Search Engines, Too

Facebook gets 2 billion searches per day. That means that a lot of people are using sites other than Google to get answers.

Brands should expand their concept of SEO to extend beyond traditional search engines.

Remember – social channels actually can serve as the initial source of information about your brand.

Amplify Your Content With Paid Social After the Initial Launch

Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn all have paid amplification options that can help you reach larger audiences, and considering more than 75% of B2C marketers are using paid social, it’s definitely a tactic worth investing in on your best content since these platforms tend to be a bit of an echo chamber.

Both SEO and social both help to build your brand identity to naturally attract visitors.

However, what social does that SEO can’t do is get your content in front of a much larger audience organically — which indirectly generates more backlinks and referral traffic that will help you rank higher.

URLs Draw Attention, but CTAs and Automation Drive Conversions

If you decided to focus solely on the more technical SEO tactics we’ve looked at up to this point, you could generate more traffic (albeit not as successfully). However, more visitors means nothing if people aren’t converting, which is why you can’t forget about how the sales funnel impacts your inbound strategy.

You can think about the sales funnel as three steps:

Be Seen. This is where all of the tactics we discussed earlier come into play. More than 80 percent of consumers use a basic online search to find out more about a brand, and an SEO strategy that combines a mix of on- and off-site content is crucial to optimize your search rankings.

Build Trust. This is where quality content kicks in. Providing valuable on-site content is how you distinguish yourself as a thought leader in your industry (and generate emails if you gate it).

Convert Leads. Once you have the traffic and authority, you need content that is on brand and connects your business goals with the needs of your consumers.

SEO helps a lot with the first step, but engaging your audience is what pushes them further down the funnel.

One way to drive engagement is through CTAs, or calls to action. CTAs can range from entering an email address to making a purchase.

Regardless of what you want, the important part is that your CTA clearly tells someone what you want them to do. You’ll find a great example if you scroll down to the end of this post:

Another way to drive conversions is through automated email workflows.

Although blasting your subscriber list with the subject line “content marketing agency services” won’t help you rank any higher for that term, the email should include resources that your target audience will find useful — an essential element for any high-converting content.

There’s also a hidden bonus to email marketing.

A newsletter, for instance, can include widgets that allow readers to easily share content on their social channels. This can help drive the top-of-the-funnel awareness we looked at a bit earlier.

The regular email activity generated by automated workflows like newsletters is what encourages people to share your content with others. More shares means more people potentially seeing and engaging with your content, which improves the chances that your content will rank higher.

SEO Is Essential, But Ineffective in a Vacuum

Google’s algorithms are constantly changing. These changes are out of your control, which is why an effective marketing strategy shouldn’t focus solely on SEO.

You need to think of SEO as a companion to your social and content strategies.

Your ultimate goal should be to answer your audience’s most pressing questions through valuable content — and in return, they’ll reward you with more traffic.

Image Credits:

Featured Image: Pixabay Screenshots by Andrea Lehr. Taken May 2017.

https://www.searchenginejournal.com/seo-alone-isnt-enough/196867/

On – 16 May, 2017 By Andrea Lehr

from ANDLOCAL SEO Services https://andlocal.org/why-focusing-on-seo-alone-isnt-enough/