Content MarketingTechnology

Digital Branding: an Aggregate of Identity, Visibility & Credibility

Share:

In the era of consumerism, the concept and need for digital branding thrive on any and every omnichannel approach. It is the ability to consistently apply your brand's story to a consumer throughout the digital touch points (social media, web page, email, etc.) and drive your business's effectiveness. In addition,…

In the era of consumerism, the concept and need for digital branding thrive on any and every omnichannel approach. It is the ability to consistently apply your brand's story to a consumer throughout the digital touch points (social media, web page, email, etc.) and drive your business's effectiveness. In addition, it helps to cement top of the mind recall and desire to consume more content across your entire marketing funnel. Designing a sure shot digital branding strategy in marketing is not a walk in the park as it takes a good amount of research and time. But if it is done correctly, then it pays for the long-term for you and your brand.  New buying behaviours, media and technologies provide more ways of delivering engaging, consumer-centric brand experiences. Here's how you can translate your brand's story and values to all digital channels while interacting with the customers and create a fertile ground to grow relationships on: 

WHAT IS DIGITAL BRANDING?

Digital branding is designing and building your brand with a combination of digital marketing and internet branding. It focuses on providing value to target customers, inspiring loyalty and brand recognition. Digital branding allows you to communicate a value offering, i.e., a promise of value that will be appealing to your target customers. It's much bigger than the classical view of unique selling points (USP's.) This concept aims to increase the likelihood of a visitor making favourable purchase decisions. When a visitor understands your business, the opportunity for conversion increases. It is ingrained within all marketing channels through elements such as logo use cases, animation style choices, image formats, content tonality, graphic selections, colour palette, typeface, etc. - each component must be cohesive in terms of defining your brand and its message, feeding it into the customer’s mind. 

WHY DO WE NEED IT?

Digital marketing can give you leads and one-time buyers, but to make them your long-lasting loyal customers entirely depends on a solid branding strategy of your company or business. It facilitates intensifying the user experience by serving customers with relevant content across all channels they engage in every day and invite prospects into your brand experience. Strong branding will provide you with a competitive edge in the market. Enhanced credibility, ease of conversion and earned media will happen naturally with a smaller cost-per-conversion if your brand holds its weight in the market. In addition, developing a powerful, recognisable and relatable offering — which holds strong through all channels — will solidify brand trust and inspire customers to re-engage with you. 

HOW TO OPTIMISE DIGITAL BRANDING?

An online presence for a business acts as a powerful marketing and communication means. Consider some practices to leverage the best of digital branding to boost your business while also driving traffic and converting visitors into leads. Streamlining designs and maintaining brand consistency with limited templates and colour schemes that match or complement your logo is essential. Consequently, tailoring each design element to establish brand identity and visibility. Build long term relationships, customer loyalty and eventual profitability by value co-creation. Involve customers at different levels of corporate activities such as product development, communication, distribution to increase the value offered and enhance their relationship with your brand. Successful content marketing should also stimulate positive interest in your brand. It helps achieve that first point of brand awareness and use it to build trust, transforming one-time users into diehard fans. 

POPULAR DIGITAL BRANDING EXAMPLES

The overall aim should be to deliver an authentic and consistent total brand experience aligned with the brand's strategy, positioning and purpose by using the correct segmentation to communicate with your target consumer.
  • Build a brand proposition that differentiates the business in the eyes of the target consumer. For example, why do consumers increasingly prefer to buy from Amazon rather than other high street retailers?
  • Emotional positioning in the minds of target customers. Emotion is known to be the first driver of decision-making on a consumer's purchase journey. E.g. Coca-Cola (open happiness), Cadbury (moments of joy with loved ones), etc. 
  • Enhance digital capabilities by amplifying brand offerings to intrigue the target audience. E.g. Nike offers Nike+ Connect with a chip embedded in shoes that provides a record of activity and performance. 

HOW CAN WE LEVERAGE IT?

Every business can leverage digital branding to grow. You will need some tools to bring your customers to your website, engage them, convert them, and keep them happy along the way. You can achieve personalisation by creating a bond between brand & customer. Elevate the user experience to entice customers to come back time and time again. For example, 84% of Millennials report that UGC on brand websites influences what they purchase. You must cultivate conversations and create a user-brand relationship. Furthermore, run real-time dialogues by fulfilling customers' expectations of immediacy and connecting in ways that feel relevant to your audience. Finally, produce reflective content that utilises consistent and compelling visual language covering all channels, such as social media, emailers, etc., to establish a connection with target customers. It will improve your brand image by increasing transparency and obtain helpful information to enhance your products/services.

FINAL WORDS

There must always be a consistent and holistic approach in conveying your value to visitors across all marketing channels. Using the apt segmentation to communicate with your target consumer to build brand value and loyalty puts them at the centre of everything you do. Your overall intention should be to present a genuine, harmonious, and inclusive brand experience aligned with your brand's strategy, positioning and purpose. In addition, companies will benefit significantly if they choose to fine-tune their processes to respond to the ongoing changes caused by the internet and initiate changes that would be beneficial to their customers.

Subscribe to our weekly updates.



    Make a mark in the industry with us via digital transformation.

    Contact us
    Digital Marketing / Inbound Marketing

    Google’s Core Web Vitals – Are You on Top of This Big SEO update?

    Share:

    Core Web Vitals are a hot topic in the SEO realm right now. They are a set of user-facing metrics, helping site owners measure the user experience on the web. Ranking higher on search engines is a continuous effort to ensure that your website has the best reasonable chance to…

    Core Web Vitals are a hot topic in the SEO realm right now. They are a set of user-facing metrics, helping site owners measure the user experience on the web. Ranking higher on search engines is a continuous effort to ensure that your website has the best reasonable chance to attract the largest amount of traffic and relevant visitors, and Core Web Vitals are the new top-notch metric.  Webmasters need not be performance gurus to understand the quality of experience they are delivering to their users. So let’s discuss and understand the different facets of page experience and how to optimise your site by improving these web vitals for an unbeatable UX this 2021: 

    Defining the Core Web Vitals 

    Core Web Vitals are a set of metrics that contain real-world user experience for loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability of your web page. The three Core Web Vitals are: 
    1. Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Time taken to render the largest element, typically an image, video, or perhaps a large block-level text element. This is crucial as it informs the reader that the URL is actually loading. 
    2. First Input Delay (FID): The time from when a user first interacts with your page to the time when the browser responds to that interaction. Scrolling and zooming don't count towards the measurement of your webpage FID score. 
    3. Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): CLS measures the visual stability, i.e., the sum total of all individual layout shift scores for every unexpected layout shift that transpires during the complete lifespan of the web page. 

    Why are the Web Vitals so important? 

    Google places importance on Page Experience for an overall positive UX. As a result, Core Web Vitals have become the most heavily weighted aspect of your Page Experience score. Webmasters now need to build a web ecosystem that users love, and the Core Web Vitals will become a key ranking factor. By improving these Web Vitals, you will be able to significantly reduce your bounce rate and get users to stay on your website longer. Optimising the quality of user experience is the key to the long-term success of any site. Whether you're a business owner, developer, or marketer, Web Vitals help you quantify the experience of your site and identify opportunities to improve. User experience is also an essential factor in SEO rankings. Unfortunately, a faster website with poor UX can still cost you conversions, fewer page views, and poor customer satisfaction. Improving Web Vitals helps you remedy that.

    How does the Google Algorithm Reward?

    Web pages that receive a score of 'good' for the Core Web Vitals deliver an aspirational level of user experience and might boost the page experience segment of ranking on the SERPs. Aside from the initial ranking boost that Google promises, the inclusion of badges and having your pages featured in Top stories will also significantly impact your Click-Through Rates (CTRs). As measured by Google in CRUX, optimising for these performance metrics will undoubtedly positively impact the user experience. It will further help increase session lengths, better satisfaction scores, increased conversion, and SEO traffic. Google believes that the Core Web Vitals are critical to all web experiences. As a result, it is committed to surfacing these metrics in all of its popular tools, helping you more easily diagnose & fix user experience issues.

    Optimising Core Web Vitals 

    Here are some suggested tricks to render your main content faster, respond more quickly to user interactions, and avoid sudden layout shifts to improve user experience: 
    • Adopt an image CDN to optimise your Largest Contentful Paint. An image pushed by an image CDN gets a string of properties in its URL, telling the browser how the image should behave.
    • The First Input Delay should improve noticeably as you adopt best practices like code-splitting and breaking up your Long Tasks. Move non-UI operations to a separate worker thread to cut down main thread blocking time.
    • Prevent Cumulative Layout Shift by adding the width & height for images in the CSS, adding some sort of low-resolution placeholder while the image loads, or reserving space for jumping ads and injected content.

    Actionable Tips You Should Know 

    Build a checklist of actionable items to prepare yourself for the inevitable rollout of these new ranking factors. Pro tip: When testing, focus on field data as it accurately reflects the real user experience of your site.  Turn to Lighthouse for some excellent tools built into Chrome, host and measure at web.dev and Page Speed Insights by Google to find the broad technical issues with your site. Keep the key templates of your web page mobile-friendly. The layout and usability of a website on mobile can make or break the user experience. Spot-checking individual pages help flagging issues. Optimise your server by upgrading your hosting plan, also use a recent version of PHP. Furthermore, preloading DNS queries helps minimise the delay between an asset being requested by the user and the display of that asset.

    Final Words

    Each of the Core Web Vitals renders a distinct facet of the user experience, is calculable in the field and reveals the real-world experience of a significant user-centric outcome. Keep in mind that content relevance is still considered necessary when it comes to rankings. A page with profoundly relevant content to a query could conceivably rank well even if it had a poor page experience signal.  Therefore, you must embrace any push to improve your site's performance and the ranking impact of these metrics that has undoubtedly created a significant buzz in the web performance and SEO communities.

    Subscribe to our weekly updates.



      Make a mark in the industry with us via digital transformation.

      Contact us
      Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

      Build and Grow: Top Of The Funnel Marketing Strategy

      Share:

      The very first stage of a customer's journey is the most crucial one for any business. Marketers plan to increase the number of prospects that enter the business pipeline and then push to trickle them down. Top Of The Funnel (TOFU) is where the prospects become aware of your brand…

      The very first stage of a customer's journey is the most crucial one for any business. Marketers plan to increase the number of prospects that enter the business pipeline and then push to trickle them down. Top Of The Funnel (TOFU) is where the prospects become aware of your brand and get ready to establish a connection with your brand.  Let's dive deeper into how you can tweak your TOFU marketing strategies effectively to create brand awareness and generate demand

      Understand your Marketing Funnel

      The marketing funnel is a mechanism that helps you visualise the path of a prospect, from an introduction (awareness) to a lead (consideration) to a client (conversion) and hopefully beyond (advocacy, loyalty & retention)! The marketing funnel provides measurability. It shows where you're losing customers to help pivot your strategy. You can predict sales volume through the funnel, improvise existing strategies and develop new ones. Funnels help in boosting conversion rate optimisation. Non-targeted visitors will be filtered out; the ones who stay are more likely to pay for your offerings or are going to engage more. By deploying checkpoints and scoring parameters, you can classify the levels for segmenting your funnel and customise subsequent outreach for maximum efficiency. 

      Significance of Focusing on TOFU

      Marketers can assure that potential customers are in the pipeline by consistently generating new hits at the top of the funnel. TOFU content fits into the first three phases of the consumer decision-making process — need recognition, search for information and product evaluation. They are the essential steps in the decision process to convert consumers from leads to actual customers. Putting tactics for TOFU in your content marketing mix allows you to widen your prospect base and future proof demand. Creating TOFU conversion points (like bumper ads, infographics, webinars, blogs) immediately widens the audience pool, generating a dialogue between your brand and customer earlier in their journey. TOFU keeps new leads in the pipeline and offers the chance to nurture and guide them through the marketing funnel, so they become qualified for sales outreach. Saving the time of your sales team decreases the time taken to convert a lead and therefore brings you even more ROI. Content created for TOFU are also assets a sales team can link to.

      Upgrading TOFU Tactics

      The objective at the top of the funnel is to simply tickle your visitor and pique their interest just enough to engage further. There are several ways you can implement effective TOFU strategies. Predictive data analysis makes a marketer smarter, being able to identify your ideal customer profile on three levels- digital footprint, firmographics and tech stack. Automatically adapt the journey for each consumer along a predefined funnel based on their tendency to take the action you desire. Improve targeting precision by gaining access to visitors' social data and UGC, putting your brand's offering into a consumer perspective, which is great for building credibility. It is an effective way to harvest prospects relevant to your product/service. Data-driven content assets are a great format to build solid authority. Creating gated content will give you a more citable version to host on your site while also retaining the incentive for anonymous visitors to become leads. 

      Content Ideation for TOFU

      TOFU content helps quench a potential customer's thirst for knowledge by doing one simple thing well: Educate. It is the first touchpoint that sets the tone specifically in the 'awareness' stage of the buyer's journey. The most preferred way of finding TOFU content topics is to use Google Autosuggest. By speaking to the customer's pain point, you can optimise content to your buyer persona, and the search will aid in attracting leads you want.  Survey customers, find out what questions or issues your ideal customers have, notice trends in these questions, and collect ideas on creating the most helpful content for potential customers. Using Keyword Research tools, you can identify a lot more data around content topics with organic demands and how competitive those terms are to rank for.

      Measuring Success and Outcomes

      Key metrics for measuring the success of TOFU marketing provide you with actionable insights into how to identify and address issues that may be hindering prospects throughout the marketing funnel. 
      • Assessing owned media: Encompassing all social media platforms, brand PR and websites. Gathering stats (like reach, visits, opens) from these media to assess performance creates awareness for your brand. 
      • Assessing earned media: Measuring shares and RTs, unsolicited comments about the brand, etc., and monitoring influencers who share brand content as it matters "who" shares about your brand, not just that it is being shared.
      • Assessing paid media: Evaluate the performance of TOFU marketing efforts by measuring reach, frequency, CTR and CPC. Metrics like brand mentions can calculate the execution of 'word of mouth' efforts.

      Final Words

      Streamlining your TOFU marketing tactics throughout the funnel will cut costs while improving retention. By slowly getting acquainted with your audience and by providing value, you set your company up for long-term success and improved ROI across all marketing channels. For you and your marketing team, conversions begin at the top. When your TOFU marketing strategies speak to your target consumers' pain points and are enticing, then you have a dual weapon that is promised to increase your conversion rates!

      Subscribe to our weekly updates.



        Make a mark in the industry with us via digital transformation.

        Contact us
        Digital Marketing / Inbound Marketing

        HubSpot’s Pivotal New Addition: Operations Hub

        Share:

        HubSpot is a pioneer inbound marketing, sales and servicing platform. The product has built a reputation as an innovator and mainly focuses on being the leading CRM tool. More than 113,000 companies in over 120 countries worldwide rely on HubSpot to scale their business. HubSpot recently announced its highly anticipated,…

        HubSpot is a pioneer inbound marketing, sales and servicing platform. The product has built a reputation as an innovator and mainly focuses on being the leading CRM tool. More than 113,000 companies in over 120 countries worldwide rely on HubSpot to scale their business. HubSpot recently announced its highly anticipated, brand new Hub to accompany their existing Marketing, Sales and Service Hubs.  Here’s how integrating the newly launched Operations Hub will automate your business processes and take your customer experience to a whole new level:

        WHAT IS THIS NEW HUB ABOUT?

        Operations Hub gives you a unified toolset that connects your client’s applications, cleans their customer data, and automates your business processes as part of HubSpot's easy and powerful CRM platform. This Hub is designed to transform the role of operations professionals across businesses and empower them to take centre stage in helping their companies scale.  It further provides Operations teams with the tools and processes to support a unified effort throughout your company by breaking down silos, generating insights, automating manual processes and connecting each department for more efficient communications. With Operations Hub, assuring data quality isn't just easy; it's automatic. You will be able to declutter date properties, clean up country codes, polish up phone number fields, and in a matter of seconds!

        WHAT ALL CAN IT DO?

        Users can unify client data in a connected CRM platform, and ultimately, play an active role in shaping their company’s strategy. Technically, Operations Hub has three core features: Data Sync, Programmable Automation and Data Quality Automation. Let’s discuss these further.  Data Sync is to ‘align’ systems and teams. It packs all the punch of a custom-built connector, bidirectional sync, custom field mappings, filtering, historical syncing — in an easy, code-free package. Programmable Automation is needed to help teams ‘adapt’ and become more efficient. You can create custom automation actions for every business process — from territories to time management notifications to NPS — to keep your team efficient and your customers happy. Data Quality Management is applied to ‘adopt’ better business processes through automation. Data will be clean and under control automatically so that your Operations team can focus on sparking further growth instead of putting out data fires. 

        WAIT, THERE IS MORE MAGIC! 

        Research conducted by HubSpot explains that over 60% of operations professionals have to do duplicative work because of a lack of alignment between teams. Operations Hubs offer plenty of features that will surely excite other business teams as well. Workflow integrations can trigger actions in third-party systems like Slack messages, Zoom webinar invites, and dozens more, all through your HubSpot workflows. You can store and customise all the data you need to interact with your customers. Creating single-object, cross-object, or custom funnel reports to monitor the health of your business has never been easier! Additionally, your revenue operations can drive company growth by operationalising the UX lifecycle from Anonymous to Promoter. Seek balance and trade-offs, increase operational efficiency, velocity, profitability, and much more!

        SO, WHO IS IT FOR?

        Operations teams reportedly spend 80% of their time putting out data and process fires and just 20% driving business strategy and improving the customer experience. Operations Hub makes it easy for any business with a weak operation infrastructure, data management and sync issues. Businesses that are unable to keep clean data as it’s stored within companies’ internal silos, which reduces efficiency and causes fractures in UX.  It is further helpful if your company has several manual processes for Operations teams to handle, leading to delays, dependencies and chances of human error. For instance, automating business processes from lead rotation & territory management to renewal & post-sale planning to keep teams efficient and customers happy. Moreover, if you need a natively connected tech stack, you can acquire a one-window platform to automate operational processes that allow HubSpot to integrate with third-party apps, tools, or softwares seamlessly.

        AND HOW ARE BUSINESSES USING IT?

        Using JavaScript or any Node.js library, you can create custom workflows or bot actions. These custom actions can be used to run SQL queries, make API calls, model objects, and anything else you can think of. There are several use cases for Operations Hub. Your business can create complex calculated lead score properties; manipulate and transform your property value, create a lead score using data and inputs from HubSpot and other systems, and then populate the value in a custom HubSpot property.  With Data Architecture, you can organise data, move data points across objects, and automate a sound reporting strategy framework. Advanced Workflow Automation takes your workflow automation to the next level by removing limitations of standard actions, with the new ‘custom code action' and ‘create a webhook action’ in workflows, along with custom-coded bot action in chat flows. 

        FINAL WORDS

        With this, we conclude our tour of the revolutionary Operations Hub. This new addition to HubSpot’s platform has a huge pot ential to deliver exceptional process automation and data management functionality. However, the most exciting bits are the customisable work and chatbot flow actions that open up endless possibilities.  Looking to foster alignment between operations teams, leadership teams, and your organisation’s tech stack? Consider adding Operations Hub into your mix. 

        Subscribe to our weekly updates.



          Make a mark in the industry with us via digital transformation.

          Contact us
          Generic

          Get to know how vaccination works!

          Share:

          LET’S CHECK OUT HOW VACCINES SLAY COVID! India has started one of the biggest vaccine drives around the world considering its large population, now we certainly have some common questions in mind about the vaccination process and the vaccines. We have heard rumours and a lot of information has been…

          LET’S CHECK OUT HOW VACCINES SLAY COVID!

          India has started one of the biggest vaccine drives around the world considering its large population, now we certainly have some common questions in mind about the vaccination process and the vaccines. We have heard rumours and a lot of information has been flowing in. But we need to only focus on the facts and the most important thing, GET VACCINATED! 

          OR

          “I’ll look for you, I’ll find you and I will vaccinate you.”

          Yes, one thing is very clear that we need vaccines. There is no doubt or question about the need to get vaccinated. Now the doubts about the efficacy and effectiveness of the vaccine are what has been making people hesitant about it. So before that, quick FYI, The dictionary meanings of these terms are different from the way they are used in scientific discourse. 

          Yes, efficacy and effectiveness are different terms here.

          Efficacy - the ability of something like a drug or a medical treatment to bring about the results that are wanted.

          Effectiveness - how well a particular treatment or drug works when people are using it, as opposed to how well it works under carefully controlled scientific testing conditions


          VACCINE COMPANY DOSES EFFICACY PRICE TYPE
          COVISHIELD AstraZeneca-Oxford University vaccine with Serum Institute of India (SII) 2(6 to 8 weeks apart) 71% Free in Govt. hospitals.Private - Rs.250 per dose Non-replicating viral vector
          COVAXIN Bharat Biotech with Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR). 2(4 weeks apart) 81% Free in Govt. hospitals.Private - Rs.250 per dose Inactive virus vaccine
          SPUTNIK V Russia's Gamelya Centerwith Dr.Reddy’s Laboratories in India 2(21 days apart) 91% Rs 995 per dose Cold-type virus

          There are some dissimilarities and benefits that peg the vaccines apart, but they work with the same objective in mind: to protect you from COVID-19. Covishield or the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab remains to be the popular choice, used in maximum countries. Covaxin, on the other hand, is now considered one of the most effective and tolerant vaccines against mutant strains.

          But, do the differences make one better than the other?

          Now all of this might be a little too much sci-fi for us to understand but the most basic way all the vaccines work is - after being vaccinated, the body starts to produce antibodies especially tailored to the coronavirus.

          This means that the immune system is primed to fight coronavirus when it encounters it for real.

          Your immune system after the vaccine - Grooooott!

          Subscribe to our weekly updates.



            Make a mark in the industry with us via digital transformation.

            Contact us
            Generic

            How Safe Are Vaccines & How To Get Your Slot?

            Share:

            HOW SAFE ARE VACCINES?   In the backdrop of reports questioning the safety of the vaccines, the DCGI has said both Covishield and Covaxin are safe Covid-19 vaccines. DCGI VG Somani categorically said, “BOTH vaccines are 110 percent safe. Some side effects like mild fever, pain, and allergy are common…

            HOW SAFE ARE VACCINES?   In the backdrop of reports questioning the safety of the vaccines, the DCGI has said both Covishield and Covaxin are safe Covid-19 vaccines. DCGI VG Somani categorically said, “BOTH vaccines are 110 percent safe. Some side effects like mild fever, pain, and allergy are common for every vaccine. We will never approve anything if there is the slightest of safety concerns, Somani said.”     YES! Now go and get that shot. SIDE-EFFECTS AND TOLERANCE   Much like other vaccines in the offering, both Covaxin and Covishield carry reactogenic side effects. Most side effects are on the milder side- pain at the injection site, tenderness, fever, chills, nausea. Headache, abdominal pain, dizziness, tremors could also be seen in a few cases.  But heyy NO PAIN, NO GAIN. Or you can just ask your doctor for some meds. When can kids get their vaccine shots? The immune system in children could vary greatly depending on age. A 6-year-old will have a very different immunity than a 16-year-old. Medical trials for vaccines involving children usually undergo stricter protocols than involving adults. Some pharma companies have already started trials for these vaccines and we will soon have them.   NOW, WHO SHOULDN’T TAKE THE VACCINE?   Yes, the vaccine is SAFE! But there are scenarios where it is advised by the manufacturers or the doctors to not take a particular vaccine. So read this and make sure you take the right vaccine at the right time. HOW TO BOOK YOUR VACCINE SLOT? It’s pretty easy and convenient to register for your covid vaccine slot. Just head over to cowin.gov.in and book slots for yourself and your beneficiaries - follow the instructions:  
            1. Head over to the CoWIN website, and click on the option to register/sign in yourself.
            2. Put your mobile number and submit to get an OTP. On receiving the OTP, input it to verify.
            3. Now you can register four people for vaccination. Now, insert all the details — your name, gender, year of birth, and photo ID proof, and then click on register.
            4. Upon registering you will get the option to schedule an appointment. Next to the registered person’s name click on the option of schedule.
            5. Insert your pin code and it will display all the centers where vaccination is on in the pin code area inserted by you.
            6. You can then select the center, date, and time of vaccination and click to confirm. This way you can register yourself and your beneficiaries for the vaccination.
            There’s also a way to register using Aarogya Setu:
            1. Open the Aarogya Setu app and click on the CoWIN tab.
            2. Select the vaccination registration, and input your phone number, and submit to get an OTP.
            3. Insert the OTP and verify. This will navigate you to the page where registration for vaccination can be done.
            4. Follow the same steps as mentioned above for registering on the CoWIN platform.
              SOME CHEATS TO GET YOUR VACCINE SOONER Now due to a surge in covid vaccine appointments, you might not be able to find a slot according to your preferences but there’s a way around that - 
            • you can CLICK HERE to go to the website and put in your pin code, choose your area where you want to find a slot, and when next time a slot is open you will be notified on the mail or WhatsApp about the slot.
            • Some more websites like these are GetJab and Under45, which provide district-wise updates on vacant vaccine slots via mail and telegram channels.
            • You can also join telegram channels that might help you look for slots.
            • Paytm has also integrated a vaccine finder in its mobile application.
            • Vaccine slots are usually added between 6 PM and 11 PM every day. It is advised to keep a tab on the CoWin portal during that time. 
            Now, this also needs to be done fast as a lot of people might still be trying to book the same slot. So you might have to be the fastest finger first. But you will get vaccinated so keep trying.

            Subscribe to our weekly updates.



              Make a mark in the industry with us via digital transformation.

              Contact us
              Technology

              Stigma Around Covid + Physical & Mental Health

              Share:

              STIGMA AROUND COVID   REACH OUT! Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Be connected to your friends and family, seek their support if you need it. Be open to talk about anything with them. If you find yourself in a situation where you need more support then reach out…

              STIGMA AROUND COVID   REACH OUT! Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Be connected to your friends and family, seek their support if you need it. Be open to talk about anything with them. If you find yourself in a situation where you need more support then reach out to a mental health provider, talking groups, and find a space where you can put your feelings forward.  From online psychosocial support to mental health services, APSWP has formed a list of experienced mental health professionals from all across the country. In addition to clearing misconceptions about COVID-19 to helping people navigate through self-isolation, these experts are also providing specialized help in various mental health issues. You can access the contact details of the professionals here. This article might also be helpful, Visit Here.                         STIGMA AROUND COVID A major challenge around infectious diseases like HIV, Ebola, Swine flu, has been dealing with the deep-seated stigma around affected populations. As the covid-19 turned into a pandemic people were understandably frightened and concerned. Anxiety caused by lockdowns, many unknowns around COVID-19, and fear of being infected has given rise to stigma in local communities, leading to prejudices against people and social isolation.
              • Cases have been reported of people affected with COVID-19 as well as healthcare workers, sanitary workers and police who are in the frontline for management of the outbreak, facing discrimination on account of heightened fear and misinformation about infection. 
              • Even those who have recovered from COVID-19 face such discrimination.
              • Certain communities and areas are being labeled purely based on false reports floating on social media
              People need to understand that COVID-19 is a highly contagious disease that spreads fast and can infect any one of us, we can protect ourselves through social distancing, washing our hands regularly and following coughing etiquettes.   The important thing is that the disease is curable and most people will recover from it. Remember, Doori COVID se banaye, Jisko COVID tha hai usse nahi :)   HOW CAN STIGMA AFFECT? The anxiety and concern of being discriminated against covid can lead to:
              • People worrying about being shunned and less likely to get tested or seek medical care, increasing infection risks for them and others.
              • This undermines efforts to test for and treat disease.
              • Discourage them from adopting healthy behaviors
              • It can make people feel isolated and even abandoned. This can result in the social isolation of groups of people in fear of getting covid.
              • Stigmatized groups may often be deprived of the resources they need to care for themselves and their families during a pandemic.
              All of these factors have a negative impact on the mental well-being of anyone. They may feel depressed, hurt and angry. There is an urgent need to counter such prejudices and rise as a community that is empowered with health literacy and responds appropriately to this adversity. To fight stigma, educate yourself and people around you about covid. It helps dispel harmful stereotypes.
              • Keep your facts in check from reputable sources
              • Don’t forward any messages on social media before checking the authenticity
              • Speak up and correct people if they are misinformed 
              • Show support for the frontline workers and help them whenever possible
              • Share positive stories of those who have recovered from COVID-19.
              Remember, everyone is in this together. The COVID-19 pandemic will be over sooner if fears and rumors are replaced by facts, proper action and a show of support for one another. This will not only make your environment positive but will also make your mental health strong. Mental Well-being + Physical Well-being = The Best Of You! But, focusing on mental well-being alone isn’t enough. What we need is a holistic approach, and this is where physical well-being comes into play. Exercising is one of the best ways to combat stress & anxiety. The benefits are strongest when you exercise regularly. People who exercise regularly are less likely to experience anxiety than those who don’t exercise. But first, let me make an excuse More often than not, we get super creative with our excuses to not exercise: “It’s 7:01! Ugh, will definitely begin at 8.” (Of course we know that’s not gonna happen!) “My mom’s sister’s husband’s sister lost her phone today, I must console her.” (How about consoling your future self?) “Let me just watch this one last episode!” (Are you sure “last episode” is a thing for you?) It’s time to ‘binge on’ physical fitness now! Enter: Fitness Apps! To put your fitness motivation on turbo-boost, you can go for apps like Strava, Cult.fit, Fitify among others. What’s even better, is to tag your friends along your fitness journey and make it more fun!  The best part about it all? You can choose your type of exercise- dance to your favourite tunes, go all in on push-ups, or walk- it’s all up to you.  The idea is to Burn Calories!!  And the benefits of exercising are just amazing! Stress hormones: Exercise lowers your body’s stress hormones — such as cortisol — in the long run. It also helps release endorphins, which are chemicals that improve your mood and act as natural painkillers. Sleep: Exercise can also improve your sleep quality, which can be negatively affected by stress and anxiety. Confidence: While hair flipping counts as a major confidence activity, it’s not the only one. When you exercise regularly, you may feel more competent and confident in your body, which in turn promotes mental wellbeing. Strengthens Heart: If your heart is weak from listening to Arijit Singh’s songs and missing your ex, you must definitely exercise. Go ahead and flex a healthy heart, the strongest muscle in your body! Chasing this idea, few #ARManions have also started a fitness revolution of sorts, and guess what, this turned out to be a one of a kind fitness movement where from a ‘few’ it has gone to almost the entire organization! ARManions are making sure that a minimum 30 mins of workout becomes a part of their daily routine. Not only, it is helping in staying fit, but is bringing the entire organisation together as people are motivating each other to go for that one last rep! ;) When Hobby becomes a Habit! They say you can learn a skill in 21 days and which can turn it into a hobby and when a hobby becomes a habit, results are simply amazing! This month, three of our fellow Armanions stood shining (with sweat) and got rewarded for their incredible workout experiences. Kudos to Tapan KharbandaSakshi ChawlaKartik Pande - winners of this month for their consistency and discipline towards fitness!                     You guys truly are an inspiration to everyone!   Now who wouldn’t want to be a part of this awesome gang? We would love to welcome more members to join the initiative and there is only one mandate: EXERCISE So, time to burn some calories. Even if it's for a few minutes, make sure you do it with all your dedication. (Yes, with the same amount of dedication you put into binge-watching your fav. TV series) Stay home, stay healthy, stay happy and STAY TUNED for more updates… :D

              Subscribe to our weekly updates.



                Make a mark in the industry with us via digital transformation.

                Contact us
                Generic

                THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT: HOW SMALL CHANGES LEAD TO BIG PROGRESS

                Share:

                HOW WE CAN TRY TO MAKE THE BEST OF THIS SITUATION   With the COVID-19 (china virus - pun intended) situation continuing to evolve, it’s difficult to feel grounded. While dealing with these disruptions in our daily lives, we need to work extra hard to manage our emotions well. Expect…

                HOW WE CAN TRY TO MAKE THE BEST OF THIS SITUATION   With the COVID-19 (china virus - pun intended) situation continuing to evolve, it’s difficult to feel grounded. While dealing with these disruptions in our daily lives, we need to work extra hard to manage our emotions well. Expect to have a lot of mixed feelings, as we are unable to engage with people in our regular activities, like going to the gym, stopping at the bakery, or watching our kids’ sports games. This loss of regular contact could be isolating and can be draining. And as we prepare for the weeks, and possibly months, of social distancing ahead of us, here are some suggestions for taking care of yourself. You can also look at this resource based on ‘Peggy Swarbrick’s Model of Wellness’. You don’t need to attend to ALL domains at once or all proposed activities. Instead, you can choose those activities that most appeal to you and make whatever small changes are within your control.  PDF TO ADDED - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1k-Qm4Rp-JzFWuzVRYGryvzomjVO0FTGh/view   Even small changes can be compelling! They can induce feelings of positivity, personal control, and a sense of agency – and small changes can add up to something impactful.   BREAKTHROUGH THE ISOLATION AND REACH OUT TO FAMILY AND FRIENDS It is incredible how much more connected you feel to people when you can see their faces, so making an effort to schedule video chats, even if you’ve never connected with someone via video before, can make a big difference. Let’s take the time to investigate! Explore different apps for connecting with friends via video or Schedule family video calls. There are a lot of apps that let you start a fun activity during the video calls to keep it engaging and have fun with your loved ones.  So start exploring those funny face filters, challenges, and games with your friends. Try these out: Marco Polo, Houseparty, Bunch, Squad. PARTY abhi baaki hai” BE INFORMED ABOUT COVID-19 When things are unknown and vague we might feel uneasy and scared of the things. But educating yourself about covid will help you go through the whole situation easily while keeping a sense of calm. So go through important information from reputable websites like WHO and the Indian Govt. websites for accurate updates and helpful resources. BUT DON’T OVERLOAD YOURSELF WITH INFORMATION   READ WHAT’S NECESSARY, AND NOT NEGATIVE NEWS! FOCUS ON THINGS YOU CAN DO AND NOT ON WHAT YOU  CAN’T DO Now that you have the knowledge and information to best take care of yourself and your loved ones during covid you have done more than enough. Just take care of yourself, be vigilant about sanitizing, eat healthy, create a routine and space for your work from home. These things will help your mind focus on the things that you can control and not on things like the spread of the virus or your region’s social distancing restrictions.  A poem about what we can and cannot do -  poet Jane Hirshfield,  “Today, When I Could Do Nothing.” Find comfort in the actions that you can take. PHYSICAL HEALTH=MENTAL HEALTH   Balance is important in our daily lives, and we ensure the balance between our mind and body by taking care of our physical health by including some light exercises and a healthy diet in our daily routine. Plus, there are many online free or trial workout classes and yoga classes by gyms and influencers, like - Strava fitness, CULT.Fit, home workout videos on youtube, Nike app, etc so join them and get started with some healthy habits. There’s also a group lead by Abhishek Punia which is related to strava fitness and many people who are associated with it are keeping themselves motivated by completing and sharing their fitness goals daily.   NOTHING TOO EXTREME THOUGH! PSYDUCK! STRESS IS A BAD SIGN! What could stress lead to? Well, if you have physical pain like a headache or a sore neck - the solution might be to reduce that stress. People often carry their stress in their body and this is a bad thing as these aches or pains are indications of your stress load. It’s time to deal with the stress by letting it go and making more space for relaxation and physical activity. DON’T BE A PSYDUCK! Just do anything to help you relax, there’s a lot to do, LIKE - 
                • Video call your family and friends
                • Listen to music
                • Dance wildly to the tune with your family or friends on a video call
                • Play games - from ludo to monopoly to Call of duty or FIFA, Whatever you like
                • Binge-watch those shows you like (27th May, FRIENDS Re-union, Don’t Forget) :P
                • Watch Stand-ups. Some personal recs are - Abhinav Bassi, Abhishek Upmanyu (Han bhai swaad agaye), Biswa Kalyan Rath, Kenny Sebastin, Gaurav Kapoor.
                • Listen to some podcasts
                • Start new hobbies - gardening, reading, painting, cooking - and a lot more
                • Learn a new skill
                Just choose anything you like and it will help you get through all of this.  OR you can just FOLLOW CHIPPY!

                Subscribe to our weekly updates.



                  Make a mark in the industry with us via digital transformation.

                  Contact us
                  Generic

                  PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE – Post-Covid

                  Share:

                  PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE   SOMETIMES ‘TOO CHEESY’ IS GOOD! The swiss cheese is not edible, but it can save lives. In the ongoing conversation about how to defeat the coronavirus, experts have made reference to the “Swiss cheese model” of pandemic defense.   Multiple layers of protection imagined…

                  PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE   SOMETIMES ‘TOO CHEESY’ IS GOOD! The swiss cheese is not edible, but it can save lives. In the ongoing conversation about how to defeat the coronavirus, experts have made reference to the “Swiss cheese model” of pandemic defense.   Multiple layers of protection imagined as cheese slices, block the spread of the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. No one layer is perfect; each has holes, and when the holes align, the risk of infection increases. But several layers combined — social distancing, plus masks, plus hand-washing, plus testing and tracing, plus ventilation, plus government messaging — significantly reduce the overall risk. Vaccination will add one more protective layer.    With all these layers you’ve created an impenetrable barrier, and you really can quench the transmission of the virus.    But it requires all of those things, not just one of those things.   CHEESY? Nope.    Let’s also talk about some of those post covid recovery meals and exercises that you need to do to get back in the game!   WHAT TO EAT? Is there a supplement to boost immunity?   Yes and No We are bombarded with a lot of advertisements saying "Take this supplement to boost your immunity!"  So, what's a person to do? There's a lot of buzz right now about ways to boost immunity to fight COVID-19. But there is no one superfood, supplement, or “magic bullet” that will render you impervious to viruses and respiratory infections.  You are in it for the long game. Especially during an outbreak, a short-term healthy eating plan isn't enough to reduce your risk. A sustained, long-game approach to building immunity makes more sense. There is a wide variety of food that you need to include in your diet. This will give your body proper nutrition to recover from fatigue and weakness.    Try to eat the rainbow – So, 5 to 6 servings a day of different colored fruits and vegetables. Each color provides unique nutrients and immune-supporting antioxidants. Eat legumes such as beans, lentils, and peanuts to get more fiber and minerals. Try to get one serving a day. Make yourself an Edible rainbow-like these: Swap white grains - (rice, flour, pasta) and cereals (sugars) for whole-grain options, such as oats, whole wheat bread, quinoa, and brown rice. A little less Meaty - Have meat just once a day or less. Have fish or leaner options, like chicken or turkey.   DRINK! DRINK! - WATER of Course - Drink eight to 10 glasses of water daily.  NOW LET’S BURN’EM CALORIES JUST KIDDING! Take it a little easy. For your body especially. You need some exercises to keep that ❤️ healthy for nice beats, and those lungs clean so that Rawbert can’t take that oxygen away. (If you know, you know)   PDF TO BE ADDED - link to the pdf - https://we.tl/t-exLYXTwfau

                  Subscribe to our weekly updates.



                    Make a mark in the industry with us via digital transformation.

                    Contact us
                    Generic

                    Post Covid Recovery

                    Share:

                    Let’s start on a POSITIVE note! We are all in this together and we will get through this together! - A true ARManion Some of us are still not sleeping well, sanitisers are making our hands dry, and our brains are foggy from reading too much about covid-19. It is…

                    Let’s start on a POSITIVE note!

                    We are all in this together and we will get through this together! - A true ARManion

                    Some of us are still not sleeping well, sanitisers are making our hands dry, and our brains are foggy from reading too much about covid-19. It is okay to feel overwhelmed but it's also important to pause for a moment and collect your thoughts.

                    Taking care of yourself is important so you are equipped to help your family through this time.

                    We are here to talk about how you can help yourself and your family during these difficult times to recover mentally and physically. We won’t say it’s going to be easy but we can make it happen by our willingness to move forward and #StayPositive.

                    A FEW FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO MENTAL HEALTH DIFFICULTIES DURING PANDEMIC (CHINA VIRUS)

                    • Loneliness and Isolation during quarantine.  
                    • Financial problems due to long medical bills  
                    • Difficulty working due to fatigue or loss of focus.  
                    • Grief due to the loss of a family member or close friends.  
                    • Disruption to routines and anchors caused by lockdowns and restrictions  

                    How can you overcome them?

                    1. Be Patient: The key here is to pull yourself together and stay strong mentally! Take each day as it comes with patience and just as Dory said...
                    2. OTTs to the rescue: If you are home quarantined and isolated, boredom can strike very quickly. Use this time to watch all those binge-worthy shows/movies you always wanted to watch, but make sure you rest more!
                    1. Talk to your friends/family/peers: Communication is key! Stay connected with your loved ones virtually and keep checking on them every now and then. The sense of togetherness will give a massive boost to your mental health. 

                    Hum Saath Saath hain cues in

                    1. Workplace-related stress: You need to build resilience and manage job stress. Identify things that cause stress and work together with co-workers, supervisors to identify solutions. Increase your sense of control by developing a consistent daily routine when possible — ideally, one that is similar to your schedule before the pandemic.
                    1. Seek social support: “Empathy” is the key here. Losing someone can be devastating and not something one should go through on their own. You will find it helpful to work with a peer-support group, either in person or online. 

                    HOW TO GET BACK ON FEET AND GET BETTER, POST-COVID?

                    First and Foremost REST!

                    Yes, we know you’ve had to rest a lot but you need more, in between daily tasks your body needs enough opportunity to recover. Get enough sleep because that will speed up the recovery procedure. Focus on healing.

                    Focus on alarming signals

                    Monitor your symptoms closely by checking blood pressure, sugar levels, etc on a regular basis and monitoring them. If you notice a pestering headache or fatigue, check with your physician.

                    Take your time 

                    Give yourself some time to slowly adjust to your old routine, taking one day at a time. Don’t exert yourself by doing too much work. Keep it slow and take rest at regular intervals so that you give your body ample time to adjust back to its normal routine.

                    Take a nutritious diet 

                    The most common practice to lead a healthy life that we all know but don’t follow is to better our diet. Include high protein and fibers in your diet with eggs cause sunday ho ya monday roz khao Anday, at least 1 fruit a day, nutritious veggies, and safe poultry to compensate for the lost appetite.

                    Avoid binging on junk foods for a while.

                    Healthy Gut, Healthy Mind!

                    Some exercise for your brain 

                    Exercising your brain is what’s going to help you gradually get back your concentration levels on track. Invest some time in solving puzzles, memory games, and activities that make you think harder. A little KBC might help. haainnnn!!!!

                    After Brain comes Muscles 

                    Gradually including light exercises in your everyday schedule will make you both physically and mentally healthy. Walking, light yoga, breathing exercises, etc. will help you gain strength and endurance back.

                    Just make sure you exercise in a socially distanced environment and open areas.     

                    Follow this link for more information on exercises and how to take care of your heart and lungs: Click here

                    HOW LONG DOES ONE NEED TO RECOVER AND WHEN TO TAKE A VACCINE POST COVID?

                    Now, the big question which everyone is asking. 

                    When and which vaccine should I take?

                    The answer is rather simple. Have a look:

                    For people who have contracted the disease after the first dose

                    • It is advised to wait for at least two to six weeks to take your second dose post-recovery. 

                    For people who have contracted the disease and have not got the first dose

                    • You should wait 90 days as there are already antibodies in the immune system, which means you will not be able to develop a robust immune response to the vaccine.

                    But when you are ready for the vaccine you would have already seen your friends, relatives, or acquaintances receiving their COVID vaccine, but you have also heard of side effects such as fever, body aches, headaches, and more. While the side effects may sound scary, it does not mean that you have to suffer through them to a full extent. There’s always a doctor who will give medicines and multivitamins to cope with this, so don’t be afraid and

                     “chal beta vaccine le le ree”. 

                    So if you are ready to roll and get your jab let’s find you a slot by clicking here.

                    Which Vaccine should you go for? COVAXIN or COVISHIELD

                    Well, in the present context, it is safe to say that ‘Jo mile wo lagwa lo’ 

                    As per the leading medical portals and doctors, both vaccines are equally safe when it comes to building immunity. There’s however a slight difference in their efficacy rates which is actually marginal. 

                    (Note: Please check with your physician if you or any of your family members have any underlying body conditions which can pose complications before going for the vaccination)

                    Both will have their fair share of side effects which you will experience like fever, body pain, malaise, fatigue to name a few. These effects can last up to 24-48 hours ideally but can vary depending on body type.

                    You can read the below PDFs or watch the video to get details about the vaccines: 

                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JBu8s-3fCw

                    https://www.seruminstitute.com/pdf/covishield_fact_sheet.pdf

                    When can kids get their vaccine shots?

                    The immune system in children could vary greatly depending on age. A 6-year-old will have a very different immunity than a 16-year-old. Medical trials for vaccines involving children usually undergo stricter protocols than involving adults. Some pharma companies have already started trials for these vaccines and we will soon have them.

                    ** Check out these links from WHO and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for more insights.

                    https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public

                    https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/support-for-rehabilitation-self-management-after-covid-19-related-illness

                    https://www.mohfw.gov.in/

                    Subscribe to our weekly updates.



                      Make a mark in the industry with us via digital transformation.

                      Contact us