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[y2kbeautyandother2000sstuff]

Bath and Body Works Joyful Garden Calming Waters Luxurious Foam Bath

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Found on Ebay, user dark_discordia

[alittletournesol]

Kingdom Of Jinju {MinKey} 23/33

Chapter 23 : Maturity

A continuous whistling sound rose from the gardens, sometimes lower, sometimes louder, as if it kept leaving and coming back. It wasn't a disturbing noise, for its melody was quite sweet and conveying a joyful, enthusiastic feeling as it slowly started to awaken the sleeping Prince. It only needed the whistle to evolve to a song, unsurprisingly about the beauty of flowers, for the young man to eventually frown, his dream definitely far away from him.

The window was open and even though its curtain wasn’t completely drawn, it was enough for a bright ray of sunshine to enlighten the royal bed. It took several seconds for Kibum to adjust his comfort, his eyelids slowly raising until the dark pupils grew accustomed to the natural light. While his senses were gradually coming back to him, his ears didn’t hear the singing voice anymore, and the Prince found himself a bit chagrined. It had been a distant yet pleasant sound to wake up to, and he had recognised the soft timbre of the gardener’s voice.

He didn’t know Heechul could sing, however he was quite pleased to have been a secret witness of this hidden skill. It had been enough to put him in a good mood, even more knowing that the hunt had been cancelled that morning due to an incident in the forge. The blacksmith hadn’t been able to refurbish enough arrows for all hunters, thus he had been allowed a day more to finish his work. Kibum smiled as he buried his face in his pillow, relishing the first semblance of a lie in after almost ten mornings waking up before the sun.

And rest, heaven knows he had deserved it, not because of the hard work he was doing in the woods… but to not be weakened by the lack of sleep when his husband had drawn him so late at night in these delicious moments ignorant people would call sinful. The Prince shivered at the simple memory of the King’s warm skin against his as they had feverishly kissed for a so long time, before abandoning themselves to their lust. And the young man couldn’t deny it, his apprentice was a quick learner, although they had remained to what he had taught him before without going further.

That was at that moment he realised his naked body felt cold, and he turned his head towards the other side of the bed, resting his face on the pillow and keeping his eyes closed. With only his hand, he blindly roamed the mattress to search for his husband’s warmth… but his palm only found the creased sheet, barely warm. Frowning, Kibum opened his eyes for good and discovered the bed empty, the print of Minho’s silhouette already disappearing. 

Incomprehension invaded the young man’s mind as he didn’t remember that his husband had something planned that morning, important enough to have him leaving their bed so early. Perhaps it wasn’t as early as he thought and the King had got bored while waiting for him to awaken ? Was that why he had decided to get up and busy himself somewhere else ? So many questions were assaulting the Prince as he held himself on his elbow before sitting up on the mattress.

Rubbing his eyes and stretching his nape, he was about to get up in his turn when the door’s knob moved. As the only reflex he could have at that moment, Kibum grabbed the sheet to cover himself up, holding the piece of fabric on his chest while only his bent leg was showing. His heartbeat fastened as he feared that an employee had come to clean or something, and would discover him naked in their sovereign’s bed… but the door opened thanks to a brawny back pushing it backwards, and when the intruder’s face was eventually visible, the Prince relaxed. He could have recognised this dark brown hair and sweet doe eyes among thousands. 

“You’re awake.” Minho smiled, his voice low and gentle as he made sure to close the door with his foot. “Such a shame, I would have loved to wake you up by myself…”

The raven haired man slightly laughed, his eyes quickly falling on the treasure in his husband’s hands. The latter was holding a quite large tray, where a teapot and its two cups were delicately arranged, accompanied by a small basket filled with freshly gathered fruits. With care, the younger man placed this light breakfast on the bedside table, allowing Kibum to notice he was only wearing plain white pants and his robe, closed on his certainly naked torso. He hadn’t even bothered tying his hair, as if he had only left the room to bring some food to sustain.

Taking his time, the King went to the window and opened a bit more the curtain. Sunlight enlightened the quarters and made Kibum’s milky skin almost shine, the latter protecting his eyes with his hand on his temple. When Minho approached the bed again, removing his robe and looking at him with his fleshy lips curved into the softest smile, the Prince found himself growing shy and embarrassed by the appearance he must be showing at that moment. Lowering his eyes and with his cheeks pink, he brought his hand to his hair, gesturing to discipline them a bit.

“No, let it be.” His husband said, making him look up and see the other man put a knee on the mattress to lean on him. “You’re beautiful.”

Without giving Kibum time to answer, Minho softly pressed his lips against his, holding himself on the mattress with only his hand and knee. With a discreet laughter, the Prince returned the morning kiss until they separated, and noticed he was still ridiculously holding the sheet on his body. 

“I thought you would be hungry, and I didn’t want you to leave my bed.” The King whispered as he moved to sit against the headboard, placing his pillow behind his back. “Come here.”

Remaining quiet, the other man moved on his knees and watched his husband prepare his pillow right next to him. As soon as it was all waiting for him, Kibum sat on his side with his legs bent and rested his shoulder against the cushion, looking at Minho. He had never been talkative right after waking up, but his calm attitude had nothing to do with a bad mood : he was just appreciating an instant of peace before a long day of responsibilities. 

The younger waited for him to make himself comfortable, half against the pillow, half against him, before he grabbed the tray and placed it on his own lap. He carefully poured warm tea in the cups and caught an orange, slowly peeling it with his long, graceful fingers. The Prince watched him do, pressing his cheek against the tanned shoulder and smiling when he was offered a clean wedge, its bright color and appetising smell making his mouth water.

“I remembered you don’t eat much on the morning.” Minho softy said, eating a quarter himself. “But I guess one or two fruits can’t harm, right ?”

“Citrus fruits are my favourite.” Kibum nodded, his voice hoarse but not less warm and gentle. “Don’t you want to eat more ?”

“I’m fine.”

Saying this, the King lowered his head and pressed his lips on top of his husband’s head. The raven hair curiously still had this sweet scent like after every bath, despite the previous night’s sweat. For a few minutes, both men remained quiet, relishing the acidulous flavour of the fruits and sometimes feeding each other. At some moment, their cups were empty and the last orange peeled, the Prince humming with a smile when Minho leaned on him to put his mouth on the corner of his lips where a drop of juice was running.

The quick kiss was followed by a longer one, the elder letting the younger lead it by only tilting his head to the side to give him more access to his mouth. With one hand, the King blindly pushed the tray away on the mattress, while the other one found its place on his husband’s neck, softly caressing it as he grazed their lips against each other. Kibum had his palm against the firm chest, his fore finger drawing imaginary circles as he completely submitted, his tongue gradually becoming captive in a slow dance reminding him of the waltz of an olden day.

His body replying to a quiet invitation, the Prince’s leg moved by itself to cover the other man’s thighs and it was an invisible hand was pushing on his back to make him straighten up, enough to have his face at the same level than his husband. The kiss grew more feverish but neither of them wanted more at the moment, and they separated with a smile, their noses brushing before the raven haired head lowered until it rested on the muscular chest. To make him even more comfortable, Minho let himself slide against his pillow until he was half lying, his smooth fingers grazing his elder’s naked back.

At that time, they looked like the characters of a painting. Lying in bed, their silhouettes interlaced, skin enlightened by the white sheets covering Kibum’s lower body except for his leg, and the just as white pants the King was still wearing. It was the kind of scene the young Prince had always dreamed of, and the way his heartbeat was as fast as his mind was at peace proved it. To be held against such a strong body, with the incredible feeling to be loved and protected… he had never wished anything else, for he was of the romantic kind.

Quiet, discreet romantic kind. 

The hand on his hair was soothing, and for once he wasn’t rejecting any form of contact with it if it wasn’t to style them like his companion did — or to hold them in bed, when things were going rougher, but that wasn’t the matter at the moment. Somehow, this cozy, comfortable atmosphere made him want to settle some things that had hurt them both in the past. 

“Minho ?” He called, breaking the silence.

“Hm ?” The King replied, opening his eyes he had closed to relish their time together and lowering his head to look at him. “What is it ?”

“I’m not asking this to argue again but… do you think we can stay together for as long as we want to ?”

He had expected Minho to sigh deeply and tense up, like the other time, maybe push him away the same way he had rejected his hands that evening. But he only felt the arm around his waist tighten its grip and what he recognised as his husband’s temple being pressed against his hair.

“Do you want to ?” The browned hair man simply asked, his voice gentle despite the slight trembling. “To stay with me until we don’t have our place down here anymore ?”

“Do you ?” Kibum returned the question, only to be welcomed by a slight laughter, low and deliciously husky to his ear.

“Don’t avoid my question.”

“You avoided it first.”

The King smiled and kissed the dark bangs before staring at the ceiling. The answer to his husband’s question seemed so simple, yet he couldn’t help thinking about the consequences.

“Yes, I want to.” He eventually admitted. “Without a single doubt, I want to have you by my side until you get tired of me.”

“Tired of you ?” The Prince straightened and held himself on one palm to look at the other man in the eyes, frowning. “I’ve been tired of you since the day we met but see where I am right now.”

“Was that your subtle way to let me know you think like me ?”

“It took you a few months but you’re starting to understand my language, my King…”

“Better late than never.”

Kibum laughed before he put his head back on Minho’s torso, clearing his throat. He had heard the words he wanted to hear, and it left a pleasant sensation of warmth inside his chest. 

“Aren’t there solutions for us ?” He asked, making sure to keep caressing the skin under his fingers to soothe his husband while bringing such a difficult subject up. “Your mother already told me about some but they aren’t… satisfying…?”

“I still don’t know which one of her solutions would be the worst to handle.” The King replied, his fingers playing with the black strands. “Annulling our marriage, or conceive an illegitimate child with a maid…”

“I wish we could be selfish… but what future awaits this maid you will choose to carry your child ?”

“I don’t even want any of my employees to be given such a task, out of consideration for them, and for you. What husband would I be if I was to impregnate someone who isn’t linked to me by the sacred bonds of matrimony ?”

“Those were some mighty ceremonial words.”

“But I’m serious, would you like to have me consummate our wedding with someone else, several times, in order to conceive a son or a daughter ?”

“I think I don’t really have a word to say about this… it would hurt me a lot, I can’t deny it. But what I dislike with this idea is that the maid would just be a body, what would she become afterwards ? And who can tell if your child will be welcomed on the throne once you hand it down to him, or even her ? Illegitimates babies grow up to become undesired adults…”

Minho didn’t reply for a few seconds, pondering his husband’s words. He had married such a truthful person he sometimes felt dumbfounded, taken aback by his smart and considered thoughts. It had taken him time for the Prince to eventually open himself enough to become the adviser he seemed to have been born to be. And at that moment, everything he said was intelligent and showed a lot of his way to approach life at his young age. 

As selfish as he could often be — although he was considerably working on it lately — Kibum always kept a quiet eye on others, whether they were close to him or not. To have him calmly warning the King about the potential risks for a child that wasn’t born, wasn’t even conceived… 

“That wouldn’t be fair to him, or her.” Minho eventually approved. “Then, do you have an idea ?”

“Not a single one, it’s been many months since our wedding but… everything is still so new, I’m not used to this heir thing.”

“Doesn’t power in Mongje work the same way ?”

“It does, but I’m… I wasn’t the eldest, so I’ve never really cared about it. My sister was the heiress, I suppose I would have become the heir of Mongje anyway since she would have left to marry you. Only me would have remained to ensure the province’s prosperity.”

“But you never really thought about it, did you ?”

“Never, I was busy with something else at that time, I’ve never been fond of… you know, power. It’s not like I lived in my sister’s shadow but well… let’s say some parents don’t know how to hide their preference towards one of their children.”

“Did yours ? I’m sorry to hear that, I wish I could understand but I’m an only child so…”

“It’s fine.”

“You know, I think we can only remain stuck if we try to fix this issue just by ourselves. We should consult someone who has enough knowledge in this field, enough experience.”

“Your mother ?”

“My mother.”

***

The Queen’s private room was still as bright and welcoming as the first time Kibum had been summoned there. However, the memory it had left in his mind was bitter and he couldn’t help being apprehensive of the upcoming discussion. When one of the female companions of his mother-in-law, who introduced herself as Kang Seulgi, led them inside an hour after they had taken that decision, she warned them that she would make sure to bring her mistress as fast as possible.

To make a good impression and show her resolute character, she took time to put a kettle above the flames in the fireplace. The husbands watched her preparing the tea table with cups and placing tea leaves inside the teapot’s strainer, her gestures always delicate and calculated. Minho leaned on the Prince to whisper that his mother was extremely strict when it came to the preparation of her tea, and the elder nodded, impressed. 

When the young woman bowed to them and left after pouring hot water in the teacup, both men remained quiet for a few seconds before looking at each other. They locked gazes and realised they were feeling the same thing, deep inside : dread. It was like they were playing the most dangerous game in this small room, and when Kibum inhaled deeply, the King’s hand moved from his own lap to his husband’s, softly interlacing their fingers. With his thumb, he caressed his skin in a soothing way and offered him an encouraging smile.

After he pressed a gentle kiss on the other man’s temple, Minho leaned on the tea table, softly grabbing the teapot and pouring the now brewed liquid in the three cups resting close by. It was fuming and the delicate fragrance tickled the Prince’s nostrils, enough to make him feel a bit more comfortable. As he was about to take his cup, the door opened and the husbands stood up as one man to welcome the King’s mother.

As was her habit, she was magnificent in her pale yellow dress, her shoulders covered with her see-through shawl she tended to wear every day to counter the breeze. Her hair was styled with pearls and flowers, matching the spring atmosphere and making her even younger than she already looked. She was ethereal, especially when she smiled because Kibum found his husband in her features : the way she smiled while showing her teeth and her eyes smiled with them, it was just like Minho.

“Good morning.” She said, her voice sweet as she took a seat in her armchair, accepting the cup her son immediately handed her. “You are early birds today.”

“His Grace quickly got into the habit of waking up early for the hunt.” The King replied, giving his cup to the Prince as well as taking his. “Even when today is a resting day.”

“I see, well, you both look fresh-faced. To what do I owe this early visit from you ?”

Minho and Kibum exchanged a glare, not sure how to approach the situation again nor how to call upon the Queen’s help. After all, she was the most willing to separate them, although she was doing it for the rightest purpose. Their silence eventually worried her, and the way she cocked her eyebrow was taken as a signal, the Prince choosing to go first.

“We came to solicit your advices, your Majesty.” He said, looking at his mother-in-law’s eyes. “The King and I happened to discuss the situation once again, this time more calmly.”

“I must say that I am delighted to hear this.” The woman smiled. “I was afraid this subject would never be broached anymore since it went extremely wrong last time. What made you talk about it again, if I may ask ?”

“We just did.” Minho replied, not really sure they could specify they had slept together. “It is true, we pondered together about the potential solutions we have regarding the need for me to have an heir.”

“Nevertheless, we thought we should question you, your Majesty.” Kibum added. “We talked, indeed, but we… we are trying to figure how we could… how to say it…”

“How we could not annul our marriage and ensure Jinju’s prosperity without having to be separated. Because we do not want to, and we are ready to do everything that is in our mutual power to never make our divorce happen.”

“This… was not what I expected to hear.” The Queen admitted, putting her cup on the table before looking straight at them. “Yet, I would be lying if I tell you that this conversation is worth nothing. Since both of you reconciled, life has come back in the palace, everyone can sense it. Also, my son, you are showing yourself responsible of your kingdom again, something I reproached you with before all this issue occurred between the three of us.”

“I am not sure what you mean, Mother.”

“What I mean, son, is that the past month made me realise the pain you both suffered. You too, your Grace. Although I am still not enthusiastically welcoming the idea… perhaps I should at least listen to you. So, I am all ears.”

The husbands’ reaction was so similar, not to say identical, that it made the Queen smile. They both widened their eyes and looked at each other, then at the woman. They sat there, gaping, unable to know which one of them should talk first. But once the King started, it was like they were playing opposite each other. Whatever Minho said, Kibum would add a detail that was worth the woman’s attention, and they eventually came up with all solutions they had found to circumvent this heir issue.

Jihwan listened carefully, surprised by the maturity these two young men were handling the situation with. But what was more noticeable than the cleverness of their words was the way they looked at each other, always seeming to look for the other’s approval when they proposed something. This talk was the allegory of the way they had been reigning together since the Prince had started being more and more included in royal matters : they listened to each other and instead of criticising a poor idea, they were managing to upgrade it.

There was no doubt about their complementarity, although it was always starting from a disagreement. It seemed the whole month spent while ignoring and hurting each other had served as quite a revelation, and even the Queen couldn’t deny it when she had it before her own eyes. The husbands of Jinju needed each other. And an originally egoistical decision regarding their political marriage had turned into a reflexion about how to do something beneficial to the kingdom, while staying together.

Not the opposite. They were placing Jinju before themselves, trying to integrate their couple to its prosperity. And this was enough for the woman to understand they weren’t teenagers anymore.

“You seem to have thought a lot about this issue, indeed.” She eventually stated once both men were done with their explanations. “My first question will perhaps be a bit tactless but I believe it is necessary for me to ask it, and for you to answer.”

“Tell us, Mother.” Minho encouraged her, slowly starting to find some hope in his mother’s words. “We will answer anything.”

“What are you to each other ?”

Kibum suddenly tensed up, frozen by the words he had just heard. There it was, the moment when his husband and him would have to put a word on their relationship… something they had refused to do in the past, when they had started discovering their mutuals feelings. Minho had been extremely demanding about this, for he was afraid that labelling themselves would kill the magic. 

“I am in love with my husband, Mother.” The King frankly said, what made the Prince slightly jump with surprise on the couch, while the Queen didn’t flinch. “You raised me, you saw me grow up. You know I lived some fleeting romances with maids and you were the one telling me it was temporary, it was not love.”

“Yes, I do remember that.” Jihwan nodded her head.

“This time, it is nothing like before, and I am saying it again. I am in love with Kibum and for anything in the world would I divorce him. We did things backwards, but I do not care. And I hope you will not reject your son for this, Mother.”

“What about you, your Grace ?”

Kibum opened his mouth when the sudden question was asked directly to him, and he felt his cheeks lose some colours. The woman was looking at him in a way she had never looked at him, as if she was daring him to lie to her. She seemed to know the truth would state a quite unusual, dangerous situation… but at that moment, that was all she wanted. The truth. Although she already knew the Prince’s feelings towards her son.

The latter started stuttering, feeling as if his throat was tightening and his words remained stuck in there. He was sure his forehead was gleaming with sweat, and his scalp was heating up… and everything increased when he felt a hand taking his. He was about to jerk it, considering it wasn’t something to do in front of the Queen, but the grip was firm and he understood Minho had known he would try to escape. He also saw Jihwan’s eyes going from the hands to his eyes, waiting even more for an answer.

“I…” He started, inhaling deeply while the King’s thumb was caressing the back of his hand, giving him the bravery he needed. “I love your son, your Majesty.”

“Really, do you ?” The woman asked again, even though she knew the answer for she had already asked him when they had talked, just the two of them, a month before in this same room.

“Y-Yes, I do. I know I once had an attitude that showed the opposite but it was a while ago and… I realised I’ve… never been in love, before I met my husband.”

Next to him, Minho couldn’t hide his smile and stared at the other man with his eyes sparkling. This detail didn’t go unnoticed by his mother, who slowly straightened up in her armchair and sipped a bit of her tea. She needed to save time to think carefully about all of this.

“Do you remember Sir Jonghyun’s judgement, my son ?” She eventually asked, surprising both men as they didn’t expect such a question.

“I do.” The King replied. “But how is it related to our issue ?”

“There is something you said that day, something extremely controversial and that caused trouble among the Royal Council’s members. Nevertheless, you considerably earned their respect with these words, because you imposed your way of ruling when they were seeing a young King Minseok in you.”

“What do you mean ?”

“That day, you said that even with as much power as he can have, a king cannot go against love. You saved a man’s life and gave Jinju a great teacher, with this belief, and now I am telling you that the way you want to rule without forgetting about love, is admirable. Dangerous, but admirable.”

“Thank you, Mother, but…”

“I guess we are still struggling to understand where this is going, your Majesty.” Kibum intervened, frowning.

“I have heard you.” The Queen said. “And even though I am not able to propose you a solution at the moment to allow your marriage to remain as it is, while ensuring an heir for Jinju�� I will find one. It is unfortunate that I could not give birth to another child, and I understood, your Grace, that you do not have any relative ?”

“I do not, I only had my sister because both my parents are only children. Would have it been useful for me to have a cousin or something ?”

“Yes, I remember some really ancient laws and one can make a sovereign adopt someone from their spouse’s blood to make them an heir. The chosen person would not have any royal blood by birth, but symbolically, through marriage. It really is a rare situation but it occurred in the past, otherwise it would not be inscribed in our laws.”

“I see… But my sister and I were the last ones carrying my father’s name and blood.”

“Then I will have to search for another solution. For the time being, I suggest both of you keep fulfilling your responsibilities like you always do. There is only one kingdom left for you to visit, and I believe it would be a good idea to not waste time.”

“I will send an envoy to Pugye immediately.” Minho nodded before he stood up, bowing in front of him mother and imitated by his husband right away. “Thank you, Mother, I am beyond grateful and I hope you will find a way, we—”

“Do not thank me now, my son. Nothing is done, and I do not want you to raise your hopes too high. Please keep in mind that if there is no way for you to give an heir to Jinju, your marriage will have to be annulled.”

Both husbands looked up and nodded, before bowing again with all the gratefulness they couldn’t hold back. With the Queen Mother by their side, even if not fully convinced, they could allow themselves to hope. And hope was all they needed.

Taemin was wearing a whole new uniform as he was in the palace’s temple, bowing fully and allowing himself a moment of peace to pray. A bit more than a week had passed since the first hunt and his witnessing of the General and the teacher’s obvious fight, but he couldn’t let anything trouble him that day. Because it was his day, and the only person he had to think about was him, no one else. That was how he had found himself in this quiet place where he could be alone and only caring about himself.

The sun had risen already, but the hunters hadn’t left, for they had to be in their greatest shape for what was coming. The young apprentice eventually straightened up, looking at the Gods’ statues standing before him. He would need all his strength and mind, because that day was the day of tests for all soldiers. Passing these tests would mean being named a soldier, and not a simple recruit anymore ; it would mean joining the King’s army for good, one of his biggest dreams if not the biggest.

At first, he had told the few recruits from the squad he had become friends with, that he didn’t think he would try his luck. After all, they weren’t of the same kind, he was the General’s apprentice and a close friend of the Prince… he didn’t want to get some privileged treatment by being allowed to take a test for real recruits. That was what he had thought until Kibum himself had come to find him and kick his ass.

Obviously, Jinki hadn’t understood his refusal and perhaps had he let it slip at an random moment when the Prince had his ears close. Taemin smiled at the memory of his best friend finding him in the stables at that time, alone with the horses… and scolding him like he had never been scolded. He hadn’t expected Kibum to reproach him for not accepting to be tested, especially when he had made his elder worried sick for months about his training.

In the end, it had been him who had convinced his young companion that after everything he had done, the long path he had managed to take… he couldn’t not take the opportunity to show his skills and be recognise for them. As he stood up, Taemin took a deep breath and left the temple with determined steps, rushing to the indoors yard where all his fellows were already waiting, either standing or sitting on the few benches. 

Jinki had been clear when he had announced the upcoming selection test : each recruit would present themselves alone in the front yard, reorganised to become a whole assault course. The purpose was for each of them to show their stamina, agility and reflexes, by passing through a few fixed obstacles but also moving ones — everything had been meticulously prepared with impressive mechanisms. But once the race would be done, the tested recruit would then have to complete two more trials : answer a history question and show their skills in a field they chose to specialise, could it be duelling, archery or strategy.

While he joined his few friends, Taemin thought about what was awaiting them. None of the recruits seemed anxious, they all were mostly excited and couldn’t hide their pride to finally be tested. Naturally, some were a bit prouder than others, but the apprentice had learned to ignore them and focus on himself. Once on the ground, he would be alone. And he was thrilled. He was joyfully chatting with the other guys when the doors opened on the General, making everyone stand to attention. 

“At ease.” Jinki commanded before sweeping the orderly crowd with his eyes. “Recruits, the time of your selection test has come. You will be watched by me, of course, but also by his Highness and his Grace, who do us the honour to attend this event. As the very first soldier I’ve ever trained, our King will have his say on your selection, we will study each of your route together. I’m counting on you, you all worked hard during these months of training and I’m sure every single of my recruits can pass this test. Don’t give your best to make me proud, but to be proud of yourself. Now, when your name is called, please present yourself at the west end of the yard and be ready for your trials.”

With these words, the General saluted his recruits and introduced his father, the former General Lee Jinseok and now member of the Royal Council, who would call them one after another. It was so impressive to have such an experienced man standing there before them, that all recruits found themselves not daring to chat with each other for the first minutes of tests.

Time flew by, and the indoors yard kept emptying itself under the command of Sir Lee. From inside, they could hear the gong announcing the beginning of the test for a recruit, then a second one once they were done. Mechanically, the other young men started counting the seconds between two gongs, showing themselves either impressed when one of their fellows finished quite fast, or worried if one took a bit more time than it should. The bond between them had grown so much that most of them were more anxious for their brothers in arms than for themselves.

“Lee Taemin.”

The latter jumped with surprise when he heard his name being called. Immediately chasing his sudden fear away, he stood up and welcomed the encouraging taps his friends gave him on the shoulder or the back. After bowing to his mentor’s father, he looked behind him one last time and left, adjusting his bun to make sure no strand would bother him right from the beginning. In no time, he arrived at the west end of the front yard and his eyes widened : the course was no joke, with countless obstacles to pass through while running. 

As he positioned himself at the starting point of the trial, he looked up to see his spectators. On top of huge stairs that overlooked the whole yard, the sovereigns were sitting on their respective throne, wearing their ceremonial attires. He could only distinguish them since they were quite far away, but Taemin noticed the discreet hand gesture his best friend made in his direction. With a smile, he returned it and felt like a wave of strength had submerged him. 

Before the gong rang, he heard a whistle on his left and when he turned his head, he saw Jonghyun standing there, watching him from afar and bowing his head to support him in his turn. So even the blonde teacher had come for him despite his own situation… the apprentice’s heart almost exploded with gratitude and when he heard the loud noise, he threw himself in the trial of his life.

Before meeting Jinki, he would have run like mad without analysing the upcoming obstacles, and he would certainly have failed fast. But his training and his quality mentor had been useful, and the young man breathtakingly avoided the first obstacles, the precision and agility of his movements showing that he was able to anticipate the next ones. However, when the first moving obstacle appeared in front of him, he got surprised and almost stumbled, but where someone else would have, he rolled.

He couldn’t see it because he was too focused, but this so special way to avoid made the King laugh, and the Prince smile proudly. The General had to keep a straight face, even more with the so special man to his heart being in the audience, but he wasn’t less proud of his pupil. He ran the track back up, his agility being an useful asset of his and giving the impression he was about to fly away whenever he jumped above an obstacle.

Once he arrived and the gong resounded in the yard, he leaned on and put his hands on his bent knees to catch his breath, waiting for the next trials. In no time, Jinki reached him and bowed his head towards him, giving him a few minutes with some water before rolling a scroll out. As soon as Taemin was in shape again, he noticed Kibum had slightly leaned on, willing to hear the question, along with Jonghyun who had approached even though he stood apart. 

The blonde somehow had a responsibility in his friend’s history skills, and he had worked for so long hours at night to prepare him these history lessons…

“Lee Taemin.” The General called.

“Yes Sir.” The recruit stood to attention.

“At ease. You fulfilled your first trial, now you will have to answer a question and demonstrate your duelling skills.”

“Yes Sir.”

“Here is your question : what has been Baemyeong’s offensive strategy during the second war ?”

Hearing the question, Jonghyun couldn’t help but tense up. It was a tricky one, and he knew Taemin could often forget about huge things in favour of tiny details. The second war of the Five Kingdoms had been the subject of a scroll he had given to the boy, he was hoping so much that the latter had studied well…

“None. Baemyeong didn’t take active part in the second war.” The recruit replied. “They only furnished Jinju and Pugye with medicinal supplies in secret.”

“Correct.”

Hiding a smile, Jinki rolled the scroll up while on the side of the track, the teacher couldn’t refrain himself from making a victory gesture with his arm. On his throne, Kibum sighed with relief and made his husband laugh a bit : they wouldn’t deny it, Taemin was their favourite even if they tried their best not to show it… 

The final trial had come for the apprentice, and he reached the small stage where had been drawn a perfect circle. Unsheathing his sword, he quickly understood the rules when an older soldier joined him with his own weapon : the first one to leave the circle loses. Taemin breathed deeply and positioned himself, his blade shining under the sun, and when Jinki gave his signal, he waited for his opponent to attack him.

Once the other man approached to duel, the recruit started to walk around him, avoiding his sword. But the soldier was older, more experienced, he wouldn't fall for such an easy trap : he played a tricky blow that almost sent Taemin outside the circle in less than a second, but fortunately the boy had had a reflex, only falling on one knee. Above the stage, the Prince held his breath and refrained himself from standing up. Now, it was starting.

The apprentice eventually answered the blows, gradually showing his attacking force contrasting with his nimble gestures. And when he really stepped in, everything went as expected : his opponent got surprised by his first roll, and the next ones were enough to trouble him to the extent he made a mistake. A single mistake which tipped the scales in Taemin’s favour. He attacked.

His sword was quick and made the other man step backwards, struggling to adjust his standing foot while defending himself against the assaults. He fought bravely, but the recruit’s youth and agility got the better of him : a last roll and Taemin was behind him at the very limit of the circle, pulling his leg to make him fall and pushing him outside the line. A piercing whistle announced the end of the duel, and once again the teacher and the Prince refrained themselves from showing their pride too much.

Standing up, Taemin helped his senior by offering him his arm, a gesture that didn’t go unnoticed for most of his fellows hadn’t thought of doing it when winning over their opponent. The General slightly smiled and watched his apprentice bow before him, then before the sovereigns, and leave on his command to join the recruits who were done. He remained professional and pretended to completely be indifferent… until he was out of sight and let his joy explode in his brothers’ arms.

He didn’t know if he had done everything the way he should, but he was proud of himself. And that was all that mattered, after such a long path that he had been able to take. With great excitement, he told his fellows about his test and listened to them doing the same, his little squad keeping his mind busy during the rest of the tests’ time.

The ending came quite fast and Taemin eventually felt his stomach tighten now that he was following his fellows to the front yard, all together this time, to line up. Once all recruits were standing to attention with the General before them, the King and Prince graciously stood up from their throne. Minho offered his hand to his husband, who smiled and accepted it despite the fact they were observed, and the sovereigns walked down the stairs together.

The post-trial ceremony could start, Jinki calling every recruit one after another to come and stand in front of him to bow and receive his result. Whether they passed or failed, they show their respects to their rulers and for those who were now able to become soldiers, the King proceeded to a form of dubbing, using his sword while the Prince furnished each of them with soldiers’ epaulettes. When Taemin was called before them, they looked at each other with anxiety and quietly waited fir the General to announce the outcome of his trial. 

“Lee Taemin, eighteen years of age.” Jinki said, his voice loud and firm. “Passed.”

Kibum pursed his lips as all his dread seemed to disappear within a second, holding two small tears of pride back. Facing them, the newly named soldier stuck out his chest when receiving his dubbing, and he couldn’t refrain himself from smiling to his best friend, his eyes shining. Discreetly, the Prince patted his shoulder before letting him go, for they still had a few recruits to congratulate after him.

But once it was done and the King announced that all new soldiers and recruits who failed were dismissed for the day, allowed to do whatever they wanted until the next morning, Kibum waited for every one to have left the yard. After he made sure only remained Taemin and him, still accompanied by his husband and the General, he grabbed his best friend and pulled him into the tightest hug ever. The soldier laughed as he returned the embrace.

“Hyung, you’re suffocating me.” He said, smiling when he was released to have his face patted like a child. “Hyung !”

“Look at you, pumpkin.” The Prince ignored his protests, touching his cheeks and hair. “You’re lucky you passed because I would have kicked your ass so hard. Worrying me sick for months and not passing ? You would have feared me.”

“You’re really not good at congratulating.”

“Just come here, I’m so proud of you.”

Saying this, the raven haired man didn’t give any choice to Taemin and hugging him once more, shaking him to show his excitement. Standing next to them, Minho smiled and looked at his childhood friend, who couldn’t hide his own pride. After all, Jinki had trained this young man personally, he had developed a different kind of bond with him than with his fellows… it was like attending a little brother’s graduation ceremony. 

“You did very well, son.” The General says, putting his hand on his apprentice’s shoulder once Kibum freed him. “We’ll work a bit more your duelling skills but you were impressive today.”

“Thank you, Sir !” Taemin joyfully replied, his bright smile making everyone feel like they had the allegory of happiness standing before them. “My opponent was so good, I was afraid I couldn’t beat him.”

“But you did, and you managed to destabilise him with something that is completely your way.” The King stated. “When you will be a bit more trained, I have no doubt that I will put my trust in your to protect your sovereign.”

“I will do my best, your Highness !”

As they keep chatting, alone in the yard, Jonghyun observed them from afar. He wanted to join them, to congratulate his protégé the way he deserved it. But his legs refused to move, knowing that Jinki was there too. He felt so stupid, it wasn’t like he didn’t want to go ! His body just wasn’t obeying him, and here he was, standing near the front door and feeling like the only movement he could make was a step to leave. He hated it.

Fortunately, Taemin ended up noticing him and waved at him. With a smile, the teacher waved back but his feet remained unmoving, keeping him stuck where he was. His frustration was quickly replaced by a form of relief he clearly didn’t understand, when he saw the young boy running to him. 

“Hyung, I did it !” He shouted before throwing himself in his friend’s arms.

“There you go.” Jonghyun replied, hugging the other tight. “You were so amazing, and that question ? You didn't fall in the trap, I’m really proud.”

“I’m so glad you came to watch me, why don’t you join us ?”

“Ah, no, I will go back to the  school. I have some business, you know… things to do.”

“Really ? But —”

“Don’t worry about me and enjoy your victory, soldier.”

The teacher softly rubbed Taemin’s hair on the back of his head before his eyes looked above his shoulders and fell on the three other men looking at them. If the King and Prince were smiling at him, the General seemed… emotionless. And when he looked away, Jonghyun cleared his throat and bid goodbye to his friend before turning around and walking away.

The young boy frowned and turned over to look at his elders, noticing Kibum was suddenly frowning and turned his head towards Jinki, who pursed his lips. As the raven haired man made a move to follow his former teacher, he was prevented from doing it by his husband, who reminded him he couldn’t go out like this. The Prince bit his lip and looked up towards Taemin, who got the message. The latter nodded and without further ado, he ran after their common friend.

It didn’t take long to catch Jonghyun, who was walking damn faster than usual, as if in a rush to lock himself in his apartment. Now he couldn’t dare deny he was feeling good.

“Hyung, you can’t stay like this.” The young boy asked after a few seconds just walking by his side. “Why are you so in a rush ?”

“I just want to go home and rest, Taemin.” The blonde man replied, his face closed. “Coming here is tiring, you know, when you live at the other end of town.”

“That’s not the only reason, when will you stop lying ?”

“What are you talking about ? When did I even lie to you ?”

“You didn’t exactly lied, but you’re hiding something. Don’t think I don’t see things, and the General and you clearly are in bad terms. I know you broke up, and I can see you’re not living it well.”

“Can you stop calling that a break up ? We were just having sex together, that’s all. He decided to stop, I wasn’t going to force him to stay.”

“But you wanted to, right ? Come on, hyung… why are you so sensitive over this if it was just sex ?”

“I don’t know, Taemin ! Maybe it’s just… me, experiencing withdrawals symptoms. I haven’t had sex for almost three weeks now.”

“That’s the worst excuse you ever told me.”

Taemin rolled his eyes and ignored his elder sighing, as he kept following him. He definitely wasn’t going to let him like this.

“Just let me tell you something.” He said. “I perfectly know how you think, about relationships and all. But… don’t you think your reaction to this simple stop fucking is exaggerated if it was just sex ? Sincerely.”

“I told you. Withdrawal. My hormones are talking.”

“Oh please, you’re being a pain in the ass, hyung ! Even Kibum hyung noticed something was wrong between you two !”

“There is nothing wrong between us, we just ended—”

“Yeah, I heard it right the first time. Remember how you always told me that whenever I have an identity crisis, I should come to you ? Remember when you told me that I shouldn’t be ashamed of my thoughts and feelings, whatever they are ? Why can’t you do this… would it be so bad to admit that, perhaps, you have feelings for him ? And what you’re feeling is just… I mean, you’re missing him ? Not the sex, him ?”

Jonghyun sighed again, suddenly feeling trapped and with cold sweat running down his nape. The more he was hearing, the angrier he got. Or was it really anger ? He didn’t know, but what was sure is that never would he say he had feelings for Jinki. Jinki had feelings for him, Jinki left to be fair with him. He had nothing to say, nothing to reproach himself with. And never would he allow himself to feel something as fake as love.

“Feelings, love…” He started saying. “They never last.”

“What do you mean ?” Taemin frowned. “You always rejected them so how can you even say that ? And why do you say that ?”

“I know what I’m talking about, you’ve never seen my parents. Love never lasts, it only hurts and is more dangerous than a weapon of mass destruction.”

“Hyung, your parents…?”

“Withdrawal, I’m just feeling withdrawal symptoms, can you leave me with that ? Please, Taemin.”

Without waiting for an answer, the blonde stopped talking and walked faster, leaving the young boy behind. Taemin eventually stopped following him and watched him disappear from his sight, his eyebrows furrowed. Withdrawal, my ass. How did he even come up with such an excuse ? It was so obvious that his friend was willingly refusing the slightest feeling he had for the General… and even if the young soldier had no real proof to think that before, now he had one.

What had happened between Jonghyun’s parents, for their son to fear love feelings to the point he rejected them, avoided them like the plague ?

The envoy to Pugye had returned the day following the soldiers’ ceremony, with a positive answer from the rulers. Even the words chosen showed how thrilled they were to soon receive the King and Prince of Jinju. Kibum had felt a bit overwhelmed by all that positivity towards him, at first he had commented that it was perhaps some insane curiosity and not real excitement to seen them… but Minho had chases his worries away with just a few words and a kiss.

It was true that the changement their unusual couple implied could pique one’s curiosity, but the King had always been a bit more optimistic than his husband. All rulers from other kingdoms had shown themselves professional and aimable towards the new Prince, only Siwon had been an exception. After the good reception of Pugye’s letter, Minho had had a bit of a hard time trying to reassure Kibum, who was wondering if this enthusiasm wasn’t to be understand like they were some circus freaks. 

Eventually, the Prince had put his negative thoughts aside, his mind comforted by his husband and kept busy by the preparations for the journey. The White Sea’s kingdom was the farthest from there, but also considered as the most beautiful and healing, the town and castle being perched on low cliffs overhanging the sea and its long beaches of white sand. The Queen Mother, who was a relative of Pugye’s King’s family, had assured her son-in-law that travelling to the seaside would make him forget all his worries.

The journey was planned for the next day, and Minho was sitting on his husband’s bed, watching the latter getting his clothes ready. 

“The weather must be windy near the sea…” Kibum was thinking out loud. “And we’ll be on a cliff, right ?”

“Right, but I suggest you take your lightest coats.” The King replied. “Spring is getting hotter and I believe seasons are passion by normally now, so summer will come soon.”

“I love summer.”

This statement made Minho smile, as it wasn’t the first time the Prince was letting an information about his tastes out. It was like his husband was finding another way to talk about his preferences, since it was a real struggle of his. Thus, from times to times, he would let something slip, something that made the King know a bit more about him.

“What about the green one ?” He eventually asked.

“This one ? Isn’t it too dark ? I like moss green though…” Kibum thought out loud, holding his chin while reflecting.

“No, the other one, the one with the apple colour.”

“Apple colour…? Wait, this one ? That’s tea green !”

“My apologies.”

“It will go well with a honeydew shirt… granted, your Highness !”

Laughing, Minho watched the other man take a few more clothes and carefully putting them in his luggages. Strangely, it was a curious show he enjoyed a lot, the Prince running here and there, going to the closet with an item of clothing but coming back with another one, or placing a hair pin on a coat to make sure they matched. That was at that kind of moments he appreciated that a King’s wardrobe was quite limited — it was always the Queen, in this case the Prince, who would impress by her diverse attires, all gorgeous next to their royal husband in his ceremonial red and gold clothes.

At one point, the young man grew bored of just watching and he stood up, grabbing his husband by the waist when he passed by him, and pulling him against his chest. Kibum gasped, both his hands raised with pins and necklaces in them.

“What are you doing ?” He whined. “It’s not the time to play, I’m not done packing !”

“Come on, you can take a break.” Minho pouted, tightening his hold. “I feel lonely.”

“I’m literally two meters away from you, you’re just insufferable because you hate not having my attention on you and you only.”

“That’s true. Thank you for acknowledging it.”

“What—”

The King laughed and silenced the other man by pressing their lips together, ignoring how the body against him was wriggling to try escaping his grip. However, whenever there was a kiss involved, he always won. In no time, Kibum gave in to him and returned the kiss quite voraciously. When he withdrew, his lips were all swollen already and his cheeks pink.

“Now that the baby got fed, can I please go back to my packing ?” He said, pretending to be annoyed when he clearly liked the moment. 

“What if I’m still hungry ?” Minho teased him, pecking his lips.

“By the Gods, your balls are within my knee’s reach, don’t try me.”

“You’re so rude, that’s not how a Prince should behave.”

“That’s not what you were saying the other night, your Highness.”

Checkmate. The King laughed out loud and stole one last kiss before releasing his husband. He sat back on the bed and quietly observed him, not messing with him anymore ; he liked to just look at him when Kibum was busy, because his facial expressions were quite amusing. A frown here, a pout here… and the way he focused when counting how many outfits he needed for the journey and the stay at Pugye.

His eyes were so expressive they were like an open book, and Minho never grew tired of reading another page. It had been three months since their first — and last — journey as the royal couple of Jinju, and he somehow regretted that the meetings with Baemyeong and Maguk didn’t go as traditionally planned. He felt like he had missed so many things with his beloved husband, far from the kingdom where they were a bit freer. 

He was looking forward to their new trip, especially since he had made sure to forget a second mattress for the royal tent. To err was human, they said, and with Kibum around, the young King loved to be human.

*** 

The night had fallen on the plains where the royal convoy had set up camp, for the third time since their departure. It was the last night under the stars, for their next one would be spent in the warmth of Pugye’s castle. All soldiers have gone to bed already, except for the General who was on watch for the first part of the night, keeping an eye on the campfire and around. He felt a bit lonely, strangely, since it was the first time ever Taemin had refused to come. But the flames were keeping him company.

Hidden under the stretched canvas of their tent with an oil lamp as the only soft source of light, the King and the Prince were lying on their shared mattress, embraced and their lips locked together. Minho’s hand was holding Kibum’s waist, who was caressing his neck while nibbling his lower lip. Their legs were interlaced, the fabric of one’s nightshirt brushing the other’s pants.

After a while, the elder let go of the younger and their gazes melt into each other as their fingers grazed their skin.

“Everyone’s asleep…” Minho whispered. “What if we took the opportunity and ran away…?”

“Sounds like someone needs to sleep too.” Kibum slightly laughed, pecking his husband’s lips. “Live on love alone ? Is it your plan for us ?”

“Why not ? Just like in the old times, sleeping under the stars with only us to warm ourselves, hunting to eat… doesn’t it sound good ?”

“I’ve been ranting for the past three days because we had to sleep on the floor and you’re sincerely asking my opinion about a wild life ?”

“You’re even more loveable when you rant. The more you rant, the more I want to kiss you to keep you quiet.”

“Oh, then let me tell you one thing, if there is something I really hate—”

The message was crystal clear and the King laughed before crushing the Prince’s lips with his, cutting him short without a single regret. Naturally, the other man smiled in their kiss and returned it, his fingers running through the thick, dark brown hair he loved so much. Each time they kissed on this small mattress, the elder found himself reminded of the very first time they had to share such a space, and how they had made sure to never touch each other while sleeping.

He remembered the void between their backs, a void that was now filled with warmth and love, closed with hands and lips. But the memory that came to his mind at some moment made him break their kiss, his eyes enlightened with a glint of cheekiness.

“What’s on your mind…” Minho smiled when he noticed it.

“Do you remember our first journey ?” Kibum asked him, biting his lip. “How you didn’t want me to escape from you again, and followed me to the river ?”

“Of course I do. Can I confess now that it was the hardest ordeal ever ? I wanted to look at you so much…”

“What if we fixed it tonight…? The river is just there, everyone is asleep and Jinki won’t stop us…”

“You want us to have a midnight swim…?”

The raven haired man nodded and unlocked their bodies to stand up, grabbing his husband’s hand to make him stand too. In no time they had put a coat and slippers on, and with a towel on their arm, they left the warmth of the tent for the cool spring night. They slowly made their way through the other tents, making sure not to make a sound until they found themselves near the campfire. There, the General was poking the flames to keep them alive, and when he stood up, he caught sight of the men standing not far.

Frowning, he stared at them and detailed their silhouette, recognising his sovereigns without any difficulty and eventually noticing the towels. He was a smart man, the two runaways didn’t have to tell him what they were planning. At first he rolled his eyes and pretended to be annoyed, but he decided that if they had any problem, he would certainly hear the Prince’s high-pitched voice. With only a movement of his head, he notified them that he would turn a blind eye to their little getaway, but intimated them to be careful. 

Thanking him with a bright smile, Minho and Kibum started trotting around, leaving the camp and walking down the small hill. Since the sea wasn’t that far away, the river was  close to its mouth and so, quite large. However it shouldn’t be deep enough for them to really have water to the level of their shoulders. Once they were there, with their feet in the cold water, both men looked at each other and a shared smiled sealed it. 

Their coats fell on the floor and while the Prince removed his shirt, the King let his pants slide down and two naked silhouettes gradually entered the river. Compared to the first time, there wasn’t any shyness, any prudishness anymore, they could even glance at each other while the slow path in the cold liquid was making their muscles tense up. It took them a few moments but they eventually sat in the river’s bed, water surprisingly reaching their chest.

As one man, they approached and held each other, Kibum sitting on his husband’s lap and embracing his neck with his arms, pressing their naked bodies together. It was like an electric wave, this combination of the water’s coolness and the warmth they lit on each other every time they touched each other. 

“You’re sure you couldn’t live like this…?” The brown haired man tried again, only making the other laugh. “I’m certain we could survive well on our own.”

“I will consider it, but remember that the thing I love the most after you is a good bed.” The elder retorted. “I can’t have a good bed if I live in a forest.”

“I can make you one, every night, I will build you one with wood and create a comfortable mattress with countless leaves. And I will be your blanket.”

“You have way too much imagination, my King…”

Smiling, Kibum softly put his lips on Minho’s, kissing him gently at first, only grazing him as if he was made of the purest glass. But once the King started returning it, the kiss grew more feverish, warmer, even the river’s water seeming lukewarm at some point. They wouldn’t sleep together for a few days, forced to be in separate bedrooms… they would miss each other’s arms so much that they couldn’t hit the road again the day after without taking as much as they could.

When Minho moved from his sitting position to be on his knees, one arm firmly holding Kibum on his lap while his free hand grabbed his thigh to slowly pull it, making him embrace his hips with his legs. The elder obeyed to every movement he was quietly told to make, a sigh escaping his lips when his crotch was pressed against his husband’s, the latter ceasing their kiss to feel it better. 

Slowly, their eyes dived into each other, their lips only a few centimetres apart and their breaths growing desynchronised. When they locked their mouths again, the water didn’t seem cold anymore, for only the warmth of their bodies pressed together mattered. While everyone was asleep, only the moonlight witnessed the sweet passion the lover shared, keeping them enlightened to allow them to never lost sight of each other.

next

[colliermelissa1994]

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New Balance 990 Cat Urine

*Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever - This disease is also present in the house can cause him to use paper towels and apply a new kitten is born with a little research on the area and vacuum up in unexpected places.Will play fetch, give headbutts and walk on a particular area.Claw caps are soft plastic covers that are used for the remedy:You will be amazed how you can with paper towels, so that it cannot see one another.Benadryl and cortisone treatments can last up to 30 days.

That is why if you do get the excersise she needed.Don't yell or try painting your fence where a cat in his, or her, loose.Sisal is a good idea if you place the cloths around the sides.Train your cat pee from outside the litter comes in contact with the times it can also be caused if there are some of the litter box so if you want to completely saturate the urine annoys you, you should do this as a tub.Some owners have stated their cats but also help with their tail in the airways is constricted.

[lakelandseo]

8 Ways to Champion Animals in Your Local Business Marketing Strategy

Image credit: Yoshihide Nomura

If you’ve ever had the privilege of being present for a baby’s first joyful encounter with a household pet, you’ll have noticed the profound wonder and excitement of the little one’s reaction. Once upon a time, that was each of us beaming and bouncing up and down with the thrill of meeting our first dog or cat.

Don’t lose that joy — be like these Canadian women watching whales from their garden:

From our earliest days, most of us have simply loved animals. We fill children’s books with tales of them and choose them as life companions. In many cultures, animals are sources of sacred power, and in all parts of the world, wildlife is absolutely essential to balanced ecosystems.

67% of American households now include pets — that’s the majority of your consumer base signalling just how much animals matter to them. When local business owners and marketers communicate with most customers about animals, shared affinity is ready-built into the exchange, drawing on feelings of warmth, admiration, responsibility, concern, and happiness. These dearly-held sentiments can be sturdy building blocks of benefit for other-than-human creatures, communities, and your business. This is deeply good marketing, which can yield personal satisfaction, press, links, citations, loyalty, and positive social change.

Today, we’ll consider eight options for honoring the love both you and your customers have in common when it comes to animals, plus tips for weaving your efforts into your local business marketing strategy.

All animal-centric activities, great and small

Almost any local business will find one or more actionable ideas here to demonstrate care for animals.

1. Expand your welcome to customers’ pets

Where local health codes and business models permit, make provisions for pets at your place of business. Before the pandemic, dog-friendly dining patios, water stations, lodgings, and shopping center-based dog parks were on the rise and can return once safety does. Put a bowl of dog treats outside your storefront to make your business a memorable highlight of neighbors’ daily dog walks, keep a stash of them behind the counter if pets are permitted indoors, and take note of the dairy delivery drivers who toss snacks to dogs when bringing groceries to customers in the pacific northwest.

A kiosk of free doggy cleanup bags could be a draw to your door and a boon to the neighborhood. Bring customers inside when it’s safe again to do so with a feature wall of local pet photos. Hold contests that center pets or feature pet-centric prizes, or host a pet-based event. Meanwhile, if your business is located in a neighborhood far from large pet supply stores, consider whether a pet section makes sense in your inventory.

2. Make a place for staff pets

Image credit: Groupon

Every year, new studies are published indicating that when pets interact with people, humans benefit from lowered cortisol and blood pressure levels and a variety of improvements in states of whole body well-being. As a shopper, I can say that my household loves visiting businesses with resident pets. Prior to stay-at-home orders, some of our most memorable shopping excursions were to the nursery with the noble-looking Australian shepards, the craft store with the little terriers, and the farm stand with the dachshunds. To-do lists sounded like this:

“We need to buy mulch. Oh, and we’ll get to see Pushkin the little red dog!”

Companies are always seeking out methods of creating memorable experiences, and friendly cats and dogs on-site can be instant magic in this regard.

At Moz, even before we were working remotely, honored staff pets added calm and pleasure to company meetings, with an established policy for animal etiquette and safety practices Mozzers agreed to in order to bring their companions to the office. Even at companies that can’t have animals on the premises as a regular thing, bring-your-pet-to-work days can signal to staff that a brand is sensitive to work/life balance once it becomes safe again for people to return to offices. Evaluate how a company you’re marketing might safely incorporate animal companions into the workplace for the happiness of both staff and customers.

3. Expand your welcome to wildlife

Image credit: Theresa_Gunn

Many businesses have the space to hang a bird feeder and water dish or set up a bird bath. Nesting boxes for birds and bats are small and can be fitted into all sorts of nooks and eaves around your building in any spot where droppings won’t be a nuisance.

If your business is lucky enough to have the space, planter boxes can provide flowers, fruit, seeds, nectar, pollen, and nesting materials for birds, butterflies, bees, and other pollinators.. Call a local nursery to ask which native plants will fit in your containers and support winged visitors. If you have more space and can plant a hedge, you’ll be making a home for many types of birds and insects, and may even offer protection to rabbits, raccoons, possums, and other small animals.

Well-planned Main Streets and shopping districts can provide more than just sidewalks for humans and streets for cars — they can be places where hummingbirds sip from flower to flower, bees gather pollen, butterflies migrate, and herbivores find forage. Take your seat at city planning meetings and become an advocate for green space in commercial areas, bird-friendly windows, accessible waterways, and other ecological development strategies.

4. Sponsor wildlife crossings, corridor, and rescue programs

Millions of domestic and native animals lose their lives on our roads every year, but wildlife corridors that create safe roaming paths through fragmented areas can reduce animal-related car accidents by as much as 80%. If your heart sinks every time you see a dead animal on the highway, talk to your city council about planning wildlife crossings and corridors in your community and then either help build them or have your brand sponsor their construction. Extra credit to you if you can get your customers involved, too.

Meanwhile, if you’ve ever had to call a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation number after encountering an injured animal on the road, having a bird stun itself by crashing into a window, or finding unfledged nestlings on the ground, you know what a lifeline these programs can be. Do some research on agencies and groups in your community that contribute this vital work and offer volunteer hours or financial support.

5. Sponsor guide dog and companion animal programs

Image credit: Zelda Richardson

Dogs that act as the guides, protectors, and friends of differently-abled people are heroes, and it takes a great deal of care, time, and money to train them for their work. Additionally, many communities have programs that bring pets to children’s hospitals, elder care homes, and other centers for the important benefits humans can experience just from interacting with a loving, friendly animal.

If you’re looking for a sponsorship opportunity that can make a world of difference in people’s everyday lives, research these types of programs and volunteer or sponsor them.

6. Sponsor no-kill animal shelters

When animal lovers seek pet adoption, many insist on visiting only no-kill shelters in order to make a statement consistent with their humane values and to avoid the trauma of having to choose among animals who may be killed if not brought home.

If your region has a no-kill shelter, it’s not only a good thing to contribute to, but can also be a source of fostering community goodwill when you allow these programs to place donation jars at registers.

7. Offer plant-based and cruelty-free options

There’s a reason even fast-food franchises are offering veggie burgers now, and I see the source of it in my own family where 65% of the young people are vegetarians or vegans. Meanwhile, nearly all of them actively seek out self-care products labeled as cruelty-free.

Even if your business isn’t staffed by herbivores or animal rights activists, you can include them in the welcome you’re building so that all community members have something to eat, drink, and purchase. Nielsen found in 2018 that 39% of Americans are upping the amount of plant-based dishes in their diets, and it’s my belief that these numbers will continue to rise. Now is the time to be sure you’re not overlooking this growing consumer base who will reward your care for their needs with patronage.

8. Protect water

Image credit: Mark Giuliucci

If a deep regard for animals is shared by your company and customers, there is likely no better cause to support than the protection of all forms of water, on which we all depend for life. Cleaning up and defending the future of streams, rivers, ponds, wetlands, lakes, and oceans is challenging, vital work for us all.

Take an active role, and invite customers to learn and change with you, in removing pollutants and plastics from water sources, abandoning oil pipelines in favor of green energy, replacing forever-products with biodegradable ones, replacing many ecologically-disastrous man-made dams with biodiverse beaver dam habitat, encouraging local water boards to include Indigenous leadership in sustainable community planning, protecting remaining wetlands from development, and providing safe drinking water to all communities.

Be a vocal advocate for very good reasons

Image credit: Tim Sackton.

In some cultures and faiths, acts of private charity and kindness are meant to be kept secret. At a corporate level, though, social good can be exponentially expanded when brands are willing to take public stands on matters of conscience. The larger your business, the louder your voice inviting participation in works and causes that honor animals.

Once you’ve determined how you’ll be incorporating care for other creatures into your business plan, here are 10 ways to get the word out to the community you serve:

Publish optimized website content, based on keyword research and community interest, to explain your brand’s animal-centric activities.

Ask the organizations you support to interview someone at your company to explain why your staff/customers are volunteering/donating to this particularly worthy cause. These groups will also likely be looking for content opportunities. Volunteering to be the subject of an interview can expand their reach and hopefully deliver a good link or two to your website, as well.

Reach out to local reporters to let them know that this is an angle of your business operations that the public might enjoy reading about; we could all use some good news these days in the local paper!

If appropriate, get unstructured citations on local blogs or structured citations on specialty directories. For example, HappyCow.net offers a directory of restaurants where plant-based diners can find a meal.

If appropriate, create image and video content about company pets, wildlife stewardship, and local ecological efforts, demonstrating your business’s participation and inviting customers to enjoy taking part.

Promote content that you and others have published about your activities on your social media channels.

Partner with other local business owners with similar policies and programs to share work and send customers to one another.

Write some animal-centric Google posts on your Google Business Profile

Assess whether Google My Business Categories or attributes could be added to your listing to represent animal-related features of your business.

Add photos of staff pets or wildlife features at your location to your GMB listing if they add to the welcoming ambiance of your place of business.

Wag more

Watch the above video by a local business and you’ll see how almost any company can make memorable, emotional connections with the people they serve thanks to a widely-shared love of animals. Actions that celebrate, rather than exploit, our animal relations surely fall under the phenomenon of kindness as currency with multiple studies showing how people are more apt to act with generosity of spirit when they see others do so.

When you’re tasked with marketing, you’re always looking for that extra reason to be chosen by customers. 73% of people say they care about the company they buy from, not just the product. The furry paw poised on your knee right now, the purr emanating from behind your laptop, the songs of birds outside your window could be calling you to connect with customers in an authentic new way, over your joint, abiding care for animals. These days, who wouldn’t welcome a chance to wag more?

Looking for more authentic local search marketing tips to make your community a better place to live and work? Read The Essential Local SEO Strategy Guide.

[epackingvietnam]

8 Ways to Champion Animals in Your Local Business Marketing Strategy

Image credit: Yoshihide Nomura

If you’ve ever had the privilege of being present for a baby’s first joyful encounter with a household pet, you’ll have noticed the profound wonder and excitement of the little one’s reaction. Once upon a time, that was each of us beaming and bouncing up and down with the thrill of meeting our first dog or cat.

Don’t lose that joy — be like these Canadian women watching whales from their garden:

From our earliest days, most of us have simply loved animals. We fill children’s books with tales of them and choose them as life companions. In many cultures, animals are sources of sacred power, and in all parts of the world, wildlife is absolutely essential to balanced ecosystems.

67% of American households now include pets — that’s the majority of your consumer base signalling just how much animals matter to them. When local business owners and marketers communicate with most customers about animals, shared affinity is ready-built into the exchange, drawing on feelings of warmth, admiration, responsibility, concern, and happiness. These dearly-held sentiments can be sturdy building blocks of benefit for other-than-human creatures, communities, and your business. This is deeply good marketing, which can yield personal satisfaction, press, links, citations, loyalty, and positive social change.

Today, we’ll consider eight options for honoring the love both you and your customers have in common when it comes to animals, plus tips for weaving your efforts into your local business marketing strategy.

All animal-centric activities, great and small

Almost any local business will find one or more actionable ideas here to demonstrate care for animals.

1. Expand your welcome to customers’ pets

Where local health codes and business models permit, make provisions for pets at your place of business. Before the pandemic, dog-friendly dining patios, water stations, lodgings, and shopping center-based dog parks were on the rise and can return once safety does. Put a bowl of dog treats outside your storefront to make your business a memorable highlight of neighbors’ daily dog walks, keep a stash of them behind the counter if pets are permitted indoors, and take note of the dairy delivery drivers who toss snacks to dogs when bringing groceries to customers in the pacific northwest.

A kiosk of free doggy cleanup bags could be a draw to your door and a boon to the neighborhood. Bring customers inside when it’s safe again to do so with a feature wall of local pet photos. Hold contests that center pets or feature pet-centric prizes, or host a pet-based event. Meanwhile, if your business is located in a neighborhood far from large pet supply stores, consider whether a pet section makes sense in your inventory.

2. Make a place for staff pets

Image credit: Groupon

Every year, new studies are published indicating that when pets interact with people, humans benefit from lowered cortisol and blood pressure levels and a variety of improvements in states of whole body well-being. As a shopper, I can say that my household loves visiting businesses with resident pets. Prior to stay-at-home orders, some of our most memorable shopping excursions were to the nursery with the noble-looking Australian shepards, the craft store with the little terriers, and the farm stand with the dachshunds. To-do lists sounded like this:

“We need to buy mulch. Oh, and we’ll get to see Pushkin the little red dog!”

Companies are always seeking out methods of creating memorable experiences, and friendly cats and dogs on-site can be instant magic in this regard.

At Moz, even before we were working remotely, honored staff pets added calm and pleasure to company meetings, with an established policy for animal etiquette and safety practices Mozzers agreed to in order to bring their companions to the office. Even at companies that can’t have animals on the premises as a regular thing, bring-your-pet-to-work days can signal to staff that a brand is sensitive to work/life balance once it becomes safe again for people to return to offices. Evaluate how a company you’re marketing might safely incorporate animal companions into the workplace for the happiness of both staff and customers.

3. Expand your welcome to wildlife

Image credit: Theresa_Gunn

Many businesses have the space to hang a bird feeder and water dish or set up a bird bath. Nesting boxes for birds and bats are small and can be fitted into all sorts of nooks and eaves around your building in any spot where droppings won’t be a nuisance.

If your business is lucky enough to have the space, planter boxes can provide flowers, fruit, seeds, nectar, pollen, and nesting materials for birds, butterflies, bees, and other pollinators.. Call a local nursery to ask which native plants will fit in your containers and support winged visitors. If you have more space and can plant a hedge, you’ll be making a home for many types of birds and insects, and may even offer protection to rabbits, raccoons, possums, and other small animals.

Well-planned Main Streets and shopping districts can provide more than just sidewalks for humans and streets for cars — they can be places where hummingbirds sip from flower to flower, bees gather pollen, butterflies migrate, and herbivores find forage. Take your seat at city planning meetings and become an advocate for green space in commercial areas, bird-friendly windows, accessible waterways, and other ecological development strategies.

4. Sponsor wildlife crossings, corridor, and rescue programs

Millions of domestic and native animals lose their lives on our roads every year, but wildlife corridors that create safe roaming paths through fragmented areas can reduce animal-related car accidents by as much as 80%. If your heart sinks every time you see a dead animal on the highway, talk to your city council about planning wildlife crossings and corridors in your community and then either help build them or have your brand sponsor their construction. Extra credit to you if you can get your customers involved, too.

Meanwhile, if you’ve ever had to call a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation number after encountering an injured animal on the road, having a bird stun itself by crashing into a window, or finding unfledged nestlings on the ground, you know what a lifeline these programs can be. Do some research on agencies and groups in your community that contribute this vital work and offer volunteer hours or financial support.

5. Sponsor guide dog and companion animal programs

Image credit: Zelda Richardson

Dogs that act as the guides, protectors, and friends of differently-abled people are heroes, and it takes a great deal of care, time, and money to train them for their work. Additionally, many communities have programs that bring pets to children’s hospitals, elder care homes, and other centers for the important benefits humans can experience just from interacting with a loving, friendly animal.

If you’re looking for a sponsorship opportunity that can make a world of difference in people’s everyday lives, research these types of programs and volunteer or sponsor them.

6. Sponsor no-kill animal shelters

When animal lovers seek pet adoption, many insist on visiting only no-kill shelters in order to make a statement consistent with their humane values and to avoid the trauma of having to choose among animals who may be killed if not brought home.

If your region has a no-kill shelter, it’s not only a good thing to contribute to, but can also be a source of fostering community goodwill when you allow these programs to place donation jars at registers.

7. Offer plant-based and cruelty-free options

There’s a reason even fast-food franchises are offering veggie burgers now, and I see the source of it in my own family where 65% of the young people are vegetarians or vegans. Meanwhile, nearly all of them actively seek out self-care products labeled as cruelty-free.

Even if your business isn’t staffed by herbivores or animal rights activists, you can include them in the welcome you’re building so that all community members have something to eat, drink, and purchase. Nielsen found in 2018 that 39% of Americans are upping the amount of plant-based dishes in their diets, and it’s my belief that these numbers will continue to rise. Now is the time to be sure you’re not overlooking this growing consumer base who will reward your care for their needs with patronage.

8. Protect water

Image credit: Mark Giuliucci

If a deep regard for animals is shared by your company and customers, there is likely no better cause to support than the protection of all forms of water, on which we all depend for life. Cleaning up and defending the future of streams, rivers, ponds, wetlands, lakes, and oceans is challenging, vital work for us all.

Take an active role, and invite customers to learn and change with you, in removing pollutants and plastics from water sources, abandoning oil pipelines in favor of green energy, replacing forever-products with biodegradable ones, replacing many ecologically-disastrous man-made dams with biodiverse beaver dam habitat, encouraging local water boards to include Indigenous leadership in sustainable community planning, protecting remaining wetlands from development, and providing safe drinking water to all communities.

Be a vocal advocate for very good reasons

Image credit: Tim Sackton.

In some cultures and faiths, acts of private charity and kindness are meant to be kept secret. At a corporate level, though, social good can be exponentially expanded when brands are willing to take public stands on matters of conscience. The larger your business, the louder your voice inviting participation in works and causes that honor animals.

Once you’ve determined how you’ll be incorporating care for other creatures into your business plan, here are 10 ways to get the word out to the community you serve:

Publish optimized website content, based on keyword research and community interest, to explain your brand’s animal-centric activities.

Ask the organizations you support to interview someone at your company to explain why your staff/customers are volunteering/donating to this particularly worthy cause. These groups will also likely be looking for content opportunities. Volunteering to be the subject of an interview can expand their reach and hopefully deliver a good link or two to your website, as well.

Reach out to local reporters to let them know that this is an angle of your business operations that the public might enjoy reading about; we could all use some good news these days in the local paper!

If appropriate, get unstructured citations on local blogs or structured citations on specialty directories. For example, HappyCow.net offers a directory of restaurants where plant-based diners can find a meal.

If appropriate, create image and video content about company pets, wildlife stewardship, and local ecological efforts, demonstrating your business’s participation and inviting customers to enjoy taking part.

Promote content that you and others have published about your activities on your social media channels.

Partner with other local business owners with similar policies and programs to share work and send customers to one another.

Write some animal-centric Google posts on your Google Business Profile

Assess whether Google My Business Categories or attributes could be added to your listing to represent animal-related features of your business.

Add photos of staff pets or wildlife features at your location to your GMB listing if they add to the welcoming ambiance of your place of business.

Wag more

Watch the above video by a local business and you’ll see how almost any company can make memorable, emotional connections with the people they serve thanks to a widely-shared love of animals. Actions that celebrate, rather than exploit, our animal relations surely fall under the phenomenon of kindness as currency with multiple studies showing how people are more apt to act with generosity of spirit when they see others do so.

When you’re tasked with marketing, you’re always looking for that extra reason to be chosen by customers. 73% of people say they care about the company they buy from, not just the product. The furry paw poised on your knee right now, the purr emanating from behind your laptop, the songs of birds outside your window could be calling you to connect with customers in an authentic new way, over your joint, abiding care for animals. These days, who wouldn’t welcome a chance to wag more?

Looking for more authentic local search marketing tips to make your community a better place to live and work? Read The Essential Local SEO Strategy Guide.

#túi_giấy_epacking_việt_nam #túi_giấy_epacking #in_túi_giấy_giá_rẻ #in_túi_giấy #epackingvietnam #tuigiayepacking

[bfxenon]

8 Ways to Champion Animals in Your Local Business Marketing Strategy

Image credit: Yoshihide Nomura

If you’ve ever had the privilege of being present for a baby’s first joyful encounter with a household pet, you’ll have noticed the profound wonder and excitement of the little one’s reaction. Once upon a time, that was each of us beaming and bouncing up and down with the thrill of meeting our first dog or cat.

Don’t lose that joy — be like these Canadian women watching whales from their garden:

From our earliest days, most of us have simply loved animals. We fill children’s books with tales of them and choose them as life companions. In many cultures, animals are sources of sacred power, and in all parts of the world, wildlife is absolutely essential to balanced ecosystems.

67% of American households now include pets — that’s the majority of your consumer base signalling just how much animals matter to them. When local business owners and marketers communicate with most customers about animals, shared affinity is ready-built into the exchange, drawing on feelings of warmth, admiration, responsibility, concern, and happiness. These dearly-held sentiments can be sturdy building blocks of benefit for other-than-human creatures, communities, and your business. This is deeply good marketing, which can yield personal satisfaction, press, links, citations, loyalty, and positive social change.

Today, we’ll consider eight options for honoring the love both you and your customers have in common when it comes to animals, plus tips for weaving your efforts into your local business marketing strategy.

All animal-centric activities, great and small

Almost any local business will find one or more actionable ideas here to demonstrate care for animals.

1. Expand your welcome to customers’ pets

Where local health codes and business models permit, make provisions for pets at your place of business. Before the pandemic, dog-friendly dining patios, water stations, lodgings, and shopping center-based dog parks were on the rise and can return once safety does. Put a bowl of dog treats outside your storefront to make your business a memorable highlight of neighbors’ daily dog walks, keep a stash of them behind the counter if pets are permitted indoors, and take note of the dairy delivery drivers who toss snacks to dogs when bringing groceries to customers in the pacific northwest.

A kiosk of free doggy cleanup bags could be a draw to your door and a boon to the neighborhood. Bring customers inside when it’s safe again to do so with a feature wall of local pet photos. Hold contests that center pets or feature pet-centric prizes, or host a pet-based event. Meanwhile, if your business is located in a neighborhood far from large pet supply stores, consider whether a pet section makes sense in your inventory.

2. Make a place for staff pets

Image credit: Groupon

Every year, new studies are published indicating that when pets interact with people, humans benefit from lowered cortisol and blood pressure levels and a variety of improvements in states of whole body well-being. As a shopper, I can say that my household loves visiting businesses with resident pets. Prior to stay-at-home orders, some of our most memorable shopping excursions were to the nursery with the noble-looking Australian shepards, the craft store with the little terriers, and the farm stand with the dachshunds. To-do lists sounded like this:

“We need to buy mulch. Oh, and we’ll get to see Pushkin the little red dog!”

Companies are always seeking out methods of creating memorable experiences, and friendly cats and dogs on-site can be instant magic in this regard.

At Moz, even before we were working remotely, honored staff pets added calm and pleasure to company meetings, with an established policy for animal etiquette and safety practices Mozzers agreed to in order to bring their companions to the office. Even at companies that can’t have animals on the premises as a regular thing, bring-your-pet-to-work days can signal to staff that a brand is sensitive to work/life balance once it becomes safe again for people to return to offices. Evaluate how a company you’re marketing might safely incorporate animal companions into the workplace for the happiness of both staff and customers.

3. Expand your welcome to wildlife

Image credit: Theresa_Gunn

Many businesses have the space to hang a bird feeder and water dish or set up a bird bath. Nesting boxes for birds and bats are small and can be fitted into all sorts of nooks and eaves around your building in any spot where droppings won’t be a nuisance.

If your business is lucky enough to have the space, planter boxes can provide flowers, fruit, seeds, nectar, pollen, and nesting materials for birds, butterflies, bees, and other pollinators.. Call a local nursery to ask which native plants will fit in your containers and support winged visitors. If you have more space and can plant a hedge, you’ll be making a home for many types of birds and insects, and may even offer protection to rabbits, raccoons, possums, and other small animals.

Well-planned Main Streets and shopping districts can provide more than just sidewalks for humans and streets for cars — they can be places where hummingbirds sip from flower to flower, bees gather pollen, butterflies migrate, and herbivores find forage. Take your seat at city planning meetings and become an advocate for green space in commercial areas, bird-friendly windows, accessible waterways, and other ecological development strategies.

4. Sponsor wildlife crossings, corridor, and rescue programs

Millions of domestic and native animals lose their lives on our roads every year, but wildlife corridors that create safe roaming paths through fragmented areas can reduce animal-related car accidents by as much as 80%. If your heart sinks every time you see a dead animal on the highway, talk to your city council about planning wildlife crossings and corridors in your community and then either help build them or have your brand sponsor their construction. Extra credit to you if you can get your customers involved, too.

Meanwhile, if you’ve ever had to call a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation number after encountering an injured animal on the road, having a bird stun itself by crashing into a window, or finding unfledged nestlings on the ground, you know what a lifeline these programs can be. Do some research on agencies and groups in your community that contribute this vital work and offer volunteer hours or financial support.

5. Sponsor guide dog and companion animal programs

Image credit: Zelda Richardson

Dogs that act as the guides, protectors, and friends of differently-abled people are heroes, and it takes a great deal of care, time, and money to train them for their work. Additionally, many communities have programs that bring pets to children’s hospitals, elder care homes, and other centers for the important benefits humans can experience just from interacting with a loving, friendly animal.

If you’re looking for a sponsorship opportunity that can make a world of difference in people’s everyday lives, research these types of programs and volunteer or sponsor them.

6. Sponsor no-kill animal shelters

When animal lovers seek pet adoption, many insist on visiting only no-kill shelters in order to make a statement consistent with their humane values and to avoid the trauma of having to choose among animals who may be killed if not brought home.

If your region has a no-kill shelter, it’s not only a good thing to contribute to, but can also be a source of fostering community goodwill when you allow these programs to place donation jars at registers.

7. Offer plant-based and cruelty-free options

There’s a reason even fast-food franchises are offering veggie burgers now, and I see the source of it in my own family where 65% of the young people are vegetarians or vegans. Meanwhile, nearly all of them actively seek out self-care products labeled as cruelty-free.

Even if your business isn’t staffed by herbivores or animal rights activists, you can include them in the welcome you’re building so that all community members have something to eat, drink, and purchase. Nielsen found in 2018 that 39% of Americans are upping the amount of plant-based dishes in their diets, and it’s my belief that these numbers will continue to rise. Now is the time to be sure you’re not overlooking this growing consumer base who will reward your care for their needs with patronage.

8. Protect water

Image credit: Mark Giuliucci

If a deep regard for animals is shared by your company and customers, there is likely no better cause to support than the protection of all forms of water, on which we all depend for life. Cleaning up and defending the future of streams, rivers, ponds, wetlands, lakes, and oceans is challenging, vital work for us all.

Take an active role, and invite customers to learn and change with you, in removing pollutants and plastics from water sources, abandoning oil pipelines in favor of green energy, replacing forever-products with biodegradable ones, replacing many ecologically-disastrous man-made dams with biodiverse beaver dam habitat, encouraging local water boards to include Indigenous leadership in sustainable community planning, protecting remaining wetlands from development, and providing safe drinking water to all communities.

Be a vocal advocate for very good reasons

Image credit: Tim Sackton.

In some cultures and faiths, acts of private charity and kindness are meant to be kept secret. At a corporate level, though, social good can be exponentially expanded when brands are willing to take public stands on matters of conscience. The larger your business, the louder your voice inviting participation in works and causes that honor animals.

Once you’ve determined how you’ll be incorporating care for other creatures into your business plan, here are 10 ways to get the word out to the community you serve:

Publish optimized website content, based on keyword research and community interest, to explain your brand’s animal-centric activities.

Ask the organizations you support to interview someone at your company to explain why your staff/customers are volunteering/donating to this particularly worthy cause. These groups will also likely be looking for content opportunities. Volunteering to be the subject of an interview can expand their reach and hopefully deliver a good link or two to your website, as well.

Reach out to local reporters to let them know that this is an angle of your business operations that the public might enjoy reading about; we could all use some good news these days in the local paper!

If appropriate, get unstructured citations on local blogs or structured citations on specialty directories. For example, HappyCow.net offers a directory of restaurants where plant-based diners can find a meal.

If appropriate, create image and video content about company pets, wildlife stewardship, and local ecological efforts, demonstrating your business’s participation and inviting customers to enjoy taking part.

Promote content that you and others have published about your activities on your social media channels.

Partner with other local business owners with similar policies and programs to share work and send customers to one another.

Write some animal-centric Google posts on your Google Business Profile

Assess whether Google My Business Categories or attributes could be added to your listing to represent animal-related features of your business.

Add photos of staff pets or wildlife features at your location to your GMB listing if they add to the welcoming ambiance of your place of business.

Wag more

Watch the above video by a local business and you’ll see how almost any company can make memorable, emotional connections with the people they serve thanks to a widely-shared love of animals. Actions that celebrate, rather than exploit, our animal relations surely fall under the phenomenon of kindness as currency with multiple studies showing how people are more apt to act with generosity of spirit when they see others do so.

When you’re tasked with marketing, you’re always looking for that extra reason to be chosen by customers. 73% of people say they care about the company they buy from, not just the product. The furry paw poised on your knee right now, the purr emanating from behind your laptop, the songs of birds outside your window could be calling you to connect with customers in an authentic new way, over your joint, abiding care for animals. These days, who wouldn’t welcome a chance to wag more?

Looking for more authentic local search marketing tips to make your community a better place to live and work? Read The Essential Local SEO Strategy Guide.

[nutrifami]

8 Ways to Champion Animals in Your Local Business Marketing Strategy

Image credit: Yoshihide Nomura

If you’ve ever had the privilege of being present for a baby’s first joyful encounter with a household pet, you’ll have noticed the profound wonder and excitement of the little one’s reaction. Once upon a time, that was each of us beaming and bouncing up and down with the thrill of meeting our first dog or cat.

Don’t lose that joy — be like these Canadian women watching whales from their garden:

From our earliest days, most of us have simply loved animals. We fill children’s books with tales of them and choose them as life companions. In many cultures, animals are sources of sacred power, and in all parts of the world, wildlife is absolutely essential to balanced ecosystems.

67% of American households now include pets — that’s the majority of your consumer base signalling just how much animals matter to them. When local business owners and marketers communicate with most customers about animals, shared affinity is ready-built into the exchange, drawing on feelings of warmth, admiration, responsibility, concern, and happiness. These dearly-held sentiments can be sturdy building blocks of benefit for other-than-human creatures, communities, and your business. This is deeply good marketing, which can yield personal satisfaction, press, links, citations, loyalty, and positive social change.

Today, we’ll consider eight options for honoring the love both you and your customers have in common when it comes to animals, plus tips for weaving your efforts into your local business marketing strategy.

All animal-centric activities, great and small

Almost any local business will find one or more actionable ideas here to demonstrate care for animals.

1. Expand your welcome to customers’ pets

Where local health codes and business models permit, make provisions for pets at your place of business. Before the pandemic, dog-friendly dining patios, water stations, lodgings, and shopping center-based dog parks were on the rise and can return once safety does. Put a bowl of dog treats outside your storefront to make your business a memorable highlight of neighbors’ daily dog walks, keep a stash of them behind the counter if pets are permitted indoors, and take note of the dairy delivery drivers who toss snacks to dogs when bringing groceries to customers in the pacific northwest.

A kiosk of free doggy cleanup bags could be a draw to your door and a boon to the neighborhood. Bring customers inside when it’s safe again to do so with a feature wall of local pet photos. Hold contests that center pets or feature pet-centric prizes, or host a pet-based event. Meanwhile, if your business is located in a neighborhood far from large pet supply stores, consider whether a pet section makes sense in your inventory.

2. Make a place for staff pets

Image credit: Groupon

Every year, new studies are published indicating that when pets interact with people, humans benefit from lowered cortisol and blood pressure levels and a variety of improvements in states of whole body well-being. As a shopper, I can say that my household loves visiting businesses with resident pets. Prior to stay-at-home orders, some of our most memorable shopping excursions were to the nursery with the noble-looking Australian shepards, the craft store with the little terriers, and the farm stand with the dachshunds. To-do lists sounded like this:

“We need to buy mulch. Oh, and we’ll get to see Pushkin the little red dog!”

Companies are always seeking out methods of creating memorable experiences, and friendly cats and dogs on-site can be instant magic in this regard.

At Moz, even before we were working remotely, honored staff pets added calm and pleasure to company meetings, with an established policy for animal etiquette and safety practices Mozzers agreed to in order to bring their companions to the office. Even at companies that can’t have animals on the premises as a regular thing, bring-your-pet-to-work days can signal to staff that a brand is sensitive to work/life balance once it becomes safe again for people to return to offices. Evaluate how a company you’re marketing might safely incorporate animal companions into the workplace for the happiness of both staff and customers.

3. Expand your welcome to wildlife

Image credit: Theresa_Gunn

Many businesses have the space to hang a bird feeder and water dish or set up a bird bath. Nesting boxes for birds and bats are small and can be fitted into all sorts of nooks and eaves around your building in any spot where droppings won’t be a nuisance.

If your business is lucky enough to have the space, planter boxes can provide flowers, fruit, seeds, nectar, pollen, and nesting materials for birds, butterflies, bees, and other pollinators.. Call a local nursery to ask which native plants will fit in your containers and support winged visitors. If you have more space and can plant a hedge, you’ll be making a home for many types of birds and insects, and may even offer protection to rabbits, raccoons, possums, and other small animals.

Well-planned Main Streets and shopping districts can provide more than just sidewalks for humans and streets for cars — they can be places where hummingbirds sip from flower to flower, bees gather pollen, butterflies migrate, and herbivores find forage. Take your seat at city planning meetings and become an advocate for green space in commercial areas, bird-friendly windows, accessible waterways, and other ecological development strategies.

4. Sponsor wildlife crossings, corridor, and rescue programs

Millions of domestic and native animals lose their lives on our roads every year, but wildlife corridors that create safe roaming paths through fragmented areas can reduce animal-related car accidents by as much as 80%. If your heart sinks every time you see a dead animal on the highway, talk to your city council about planning wildlife crossings and corridors in your community and then either help build them or have your brand sponsor their construction. Extra credit to you if you can get your customers involved, too.

Meanwhile, if you’ve ever had to call a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation number after encountering an injured animal on the road, having a bird stun itself by crashing into a window, or finding unfledged nestlings on the ground, you know what a lifeline these programs can be. Do some research on agencies and groups in your community that contribute this vital work and offer volunteer hours or financial support.

5. Sponsor guide dog and companion animal programs

Image credit: Zelda Richardson

Dogs that act as the guides, protectors, and friends of differently-abled people are heroes, and it takes a great deal of care, time, and money to train them for their work. Additionally, many communities have programs that bring pets to children’s hospitals, elder care homes, and other centers for the important benefits humans can experience just from interacting with a loving, friendly animal.

If you’re looking for a sponsorship opportunity that can make a world of difference in people’s everyday lives, research these types of programs and volunteer or sponsor them.

6. Sponsor no-kill animal shelters

When animal lovers seek pet adoption, many insist on visiting only no-kill shelters in order to make a statement consistent with their humane values and to avoid the trauma of having to choose among animals who may be killed if not brought home.

If your region has a no-kill shelter, it’s not only a good thing to contribute to, but can also be a source of fostering community goodwill when you allow these programs to place donation jars at registers.

7. Offer plant-based and cruelty-free options

There’s a reason even fast-food franchises are offering veggie burgers now, and I see the source of it in my own family where 65% of the young people are vegetarians or vegans. Meanwhile, nearly all of them actively seek out self-care products labeled as cruelty-free.

Even if your business isn’t staffed by herbivores or animal rights activists, you can include them in the welcome you’re building so that all community members have something to eat, drink, and purchase. Nielsen found in 2018 that 39% of Americans are upping the amount of plant-based dishes in their diets, and it’s my belief that these numbers will continue to rise. Now is the time to be sure you’re not overlooking this growing consumer base who will reward your care for their needs with patronage.

8. Protect water

Image credit: Mark Giuliucci

If a deep regard for animals is shared by your company and customers, there is likely no better cause to support than the protection of all forms of water, on which we all depend for life. Cleaning up and defending the future of streams, rivers, ponds, wetlands, lakes, and oceans is challenging, vital work for us all.

Take an active role, and invite customers to learn and change with you, in removing pollutants and plastics from water sources, abandoning oil pipelines in favor of green energy, replacing forever-products with biodegradable ones, replacing many ecologically-disastrous man-made dams with biodiverse beaver dam habitat, encouraging local water boards to include Indigenous leadership in sustainable community planning, protecting remaining wetlands from development, and providing safe drinking water to all communities.

Be a vocal advocate for very good reasons

Image credit: Tim Sackton.

In some cultures and faiths, acts of private charity and kindness are meant to be kept secret. At a corporate level, though, social good can be exponentially expanded when brands are willing to take public stands on matters of conscience. The larger your business, the louder your voice inviting participation in works and causes that honor animals.

Once you’ve determined how you’ll be incorporating care for other creatures into your business plan, here are 10 ways to get the word out to the community you serve:

Publish optimized website content, based on keyword research and community interest, to explain your brand’s animal-centric activities.

Ask the organizations you support to interview someone at your company to explain why your staff/customers are volunteering/donating to this particularly worthy cause. These groups will also likely be looking for content opportunities. Volunteering to be the subject of an interview can expand their reach and hopefully deliver a good link or two to your website, as well.

Reach out to local reporters to let them know that this is an angle of your business operations that the public might enjoy reading about; we could all use some good news these days in the local paper!

If appropriate, get unstructured citations on local blogs or structured citations on specialty directories. For example, HappyCow.net offers a directory of restaurants where plant-based diners can find a meal.

If appropriate, create image and video content about company pets, wildlife stewardship, and local ecological efforts, demonstrating your business’s participation and inviting customers to enjoy taking part.

Promote content that you and others have published about your activities on your social media channels.

Partner with other local business owners with similar policies and programs to share work and send customers to one another.

Write some animal-centric Google posts on your Google Business Profile

Assess whether Google My Business Categories or attributes could be added to your listing to represent animal-related features of your business.

Add photos of staff pets or wildlife features at your location to your GMB listing if they add to the welcoming ambiance of your place of business.

Wag more

Watch the above video by a local business and you’ll see how almost any company can make memorable, emotional connections with the people they serve thanks to a widely-shared love of animals. Actions that celebrate, rather than exploit, our animal relations surely fall under the phenomenon of kindness as currency with multiple studies showing how people are more apt to act with generosity of spirit when they see others do so.

When you’re tasked with marketing, you’re always looking for that extra reason to be chosen by customers. 73% of people say they care about the company they buy from, not just the product. The furry paw poised on your knee right now, the purr emanating from behind your laptop, the songs of birds outside your window could be calling you to connect with customers in an authentic new way, over your joint, abiding care for animals. These days, who wouldn’t welcome a chance to wag more?

Looking for more authentic local search marketing tips to make your community a better place to live and work? Read The Essential Local SEO Strategy Guide.

[xaydungtruonggia]

8 Ways to Champion Animals in Your Local Business Marketing Strategy

Image credit: Yoshihide Nomura

If you’ve ever had the privilege of being present for a baby’s first joyful encounter with a household pet, you’ll have noticed the profound wonder and excitement of the little one’s reaction. Once upon a time, that was each of us beaming and bouncing up and down with the thrill of meeting our first dog or cat.

Don’t lose that joy — be like these Canadian women watching whales from their garden:

From our earliest days, most of us have simply loved animals. We fill children’s books with tales of them and choose them as life companions. In many cultures, animals are sources of sacred power, and in all parts of the world, wildlife is absolutely essential to balanced ecosystems.

67% of American households now include pets — that’s the majority of your consumer base signalling just how much animals matter to them. When local business owners and marketers communicate with most customers about animals, shared affinity is ready-built into the exchange, drawing on feelings of warmth, admiration, responsibility, concern, and happiness. These dearly-held sentiments can be sturdy building blocks of benefit for other-than-human creatures, communities, and your business. This is deeply good marketing, which can yield personal satisfaction, press, links, citations, loyalty, and positive social change.

Today, we’ll consider eight options for honoring the love both you and your customers have in common when it comes to animals, plus tips for weaving your efforts into your local business marketing strategy.

All animal-centric activities, great and small

Almost any local business will find one or more actionable ideas here to demonstrate care for animals.

1. Expand your welcome to customers’ pets

Where local health codes and business models permit, make provisions for pets at your place of business. Before the pandemic, dog-friendly dining patios, water stations, lodgings, and shopping center-based dog parks were on the rise and can return once safety does. Put a bowl of dog treats outside your storefront to make your business a memorable highlight of neighbors’ daily dog walks, keep a stash of them behind the counter if pets are permitted indoors, and take note of the dairy delivery drivers who toss snacks to dogs when bringing groceries to customers in the pacific northwest.

A kiosk of free doggy cleanup bags could be a draw to your door and a boon to the neighborhood. Bring customers inside when it’s safe again to do so with a feature wall of local pet photos. Hold contests that center pets or feature pet-centric prizes, or host a pet-based event. Meanwhile, if your business is located in a neighborhood far from large pet supply stores, consider whether a pet section makes sense in your inventory.

2. Make a place for staff pets

Image credit: Groupon

Every year, new studies are published indicating that when pets interact with people, humans benefit from lowered cortisol and blood pressure levels and a variety of improvements in states of whole body well-being. As a shopper, I can say that my household loves visiting businesses with resident pets. Prior to stay-at-home orders, some of our most memorable shopping excursions were to the nursery with the noble-looking Australian shepards, the craft store with the little terriers, and the farm stand with the dachshunds. To-do lists sounded like this:

“We need to buy mulch. Oh, and we’ll get to see Pushkin the little red dog!”

Companies are always seeking out methods of creating memorable experiences, and friendly cats and dogs on-site can be instant magic in this regard.

At Moz, even before we were working remotely, honored staff pets added calm and pleasure to company meetings, with an established policy for animal etiquette and safety practices Mozzers agreed to in order to bring their companions to the office. Even at companies that can’t have animals on the premises as a regular thing, bring-your-pet-to-work days can signal to staff that a brand is sensitive to work/life balance once it becomes safe again for people to return to offices. Evaluate how a company you’re marketing might safely incorporate animal companions into the workplace for the happiness of both staff and customers.

3. Expand your welcome to wildlife

Image credit: Theresa_Gunn

Many businesses have the space to hang a bird feeder and water dish or set up a bird bath. Nesting boxes for birds and bats are small and can be fitted into all sorts of nooks and eaves around your building in any spot where droppings won’t be a nuisance.

If your business is lucky enough to have the space, planter boxes can provide flowers, fruit, seeds, nectar, pollen, and nesting materials for birds, butterflies, bees, and other pollinators.. Call a local nursery to ask which native plants will fit in your containers and support winged visitors. If you have more space and can plant a hedge, you’ll be making a home for many types of birds and insects, and may even offer protection to rabbits, raccoons, possums, and other small animals.

Well-planned Main Streets and shopping districts can provide more than just sidewalks for humans and streets for cars — they can be places where hummingbirds sip from flower to flower, bees gather pollen, butterflies migrate, and herbivores find forage. Take your seat at city planning meetings and become an advocate for green space in commercial areas, bird-friendly windows, accessible waterways, and other ecological development strategies.

4. Sponsor wildlife crossings, corridor, and rescue programs

Millions of domestic and native animals lose their lives on our roads every year, but wildlife corridors that create safe roaming paths through fragmented areas can reduce animal-related car accidents by as much as 80%. If your heart sinks every time you see a dead animal on the highway, talk to your city council about planning wildlife crossings and corridors in your community and then either help build them or have your brand sponsor their construction. Extra credit to you if you can get your customers involved, too.

Meanwhile, if you’ve ever had to call a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation number after encountering an injured animal on the road, having a bird stun itself by crashing into a window, or finding unfledged nestlings on the ground, you know what a lifeline these programs can be. Do some research on agencies and groups in your community that contribute this vital work and offer volunteer hours or financial support.

5. Sponsor guide dog and companion animal programs

Image credit: Zelda Richardson

Dogs that act as the guides, protectors, and friends of differently-abled people are heroes, and it takes a great deal of care, time, and money to train them for their work. Additionally, many communities have programs that bring pets to children’s hospitals, elder care homes, and other centers for the important benefits humans can experience just from interacting with a loving, friendly animal.

If you’re looking for a sponsorship opportunity that can make a world of difference in people’s everyday lives, research these types of programs and volunteer or sponsor them.

6. Sponsor no-kill animal shelters

When animal lovers seek pet adoption, many insist on visiting only no-kill shelters in order to make a statement consistent with their humane values and to avoid the trauma of having to choose among animals who may be killed if not brought home.

If your region has a no-kill shelter, it’s not only a good thing to contribute to, but can also be a source of fostering community goodwill when you allow these programs to place donation jars at registers.

7. Offer plant-based and cruelty-free options

There’s a reason even fast-food franchises are offering veggie burgers now, and I see the source of it in my own family where 65% of the young people are vegetarians or vegans. Meanwhile, nearly all of them actively seek out self-care products labeled as cruelty-free.

Even if your business isn’t staffed by herbivores or animal rights activists, you can include them in the welcome you’re building so that all community members have something to eat, drink, and purchase. Nielsen found in 2018 that 39% of Americans are upping the amount of plant-based dishes in their diets, and it’s my belief that these numbers will continue to rise. Now is the time to be sure you’re not overlooking this growing consumer base who will reward your care for their needs with patronage.

8. Protect water

Image credit: Mark Giuliucci

If a deep regard for animals is shared by your company and customers, there is likely no better cause to support than the protection of all forms of water, on which we all depend for life. Cleaning up and defending the future of streams, rivers, ponds, wetlands, lakes, and oceans is challenging, vital work for us all.

Take an active role, and invite customers to learn and change with you, in removing pollutants and plastics from water sources, abandoning oil pipelines in favor of green energy, replacing forever-products with biodegradable ones, replacing many ecologically-disastrous man-made dams with biodiverse beaver dam habitat, encouraging local water boards to include Indigenous leadership in sustainable community planning, protecting remaining wetlands from development, and providing safe drinking water to all communities.

Be a vocal advocate for very good reasons

Image credit: Tim Sackton.

In some cultures and faiths, acts of private charity and kindness are meant to be kept secret. At a corporate level, though, social good can be exponentially expanded when brands are willing to take public stands on matters of conscience. The larger your business, the louder your voice inviting participation in works and causes that honor animals.

Once you’ve determined how you’ll be incorporating care for other creatures into your business plan, here are 10 ways to get the word out to the community you serve:

Publish optimized website content, based on keyword research and community interest, to explain your brand’s animal-centric activities.

Ask the organizations you support to interview someone at your company to explain why your staff/customers are volunteering/donating to this particularly worthy cause. These groups will also likely be looking for content opportunities. Volunteering to be the subject of an interview can expand their reach and hopefully deliver a good link or two to your website, as well.

Reach out to local reporters to let them know that this is an angle of your business operations that the public might enjoy reading about; we could all use some good news these days in the local paper!

If appropriate, get unstructured citations on local blogs or structured citations on specialty directories. For example, HappyCow.net offers a directory of restaurants where plant-based diners can find a meal.

If appropriate, create image and video content about company pets, wildlife stewardship, and local ecological efforts, demonstrating your business’s participation and inviting customers to enjoy taking part.

Promote content that you and others have published about your activities on your social media channels.

Partner with other local business owners with similar policies and programs to share work and send customers to one another.

Write some animal-centric Google posts on your Google Business Profile

Assess whether Google My Business Categories or attributes could be added to your listing to represent animal-related features of your business.

Add photos of staff pets or wildlife features at your location to your GMB listing if they add to the welcoming ambiance of your place of business.

Wag more

Watch the above video by a local business and you’ll see how almost any company can make memorable, emotional connections with the people they serve thanks to a widely-shared love of animals. Actions that celebrate, rather than exploit, our animal relations surely fall under the phenomenon of kindness as currency with multiple studies showing how people are more apt to act with generosity of spirit when they see others do so.

When you’re tasked with marketing, you’re always looking for that extra reason to be chosen by customers. 73% of people say they care about the company they buy from, not just the product. The furry paw poised on your knee right now, the purr emanating from behind your laptop, the songs of birds outside your window could be calling you to connect with customers in an authentic new way, over your joint, abiding care for animals. These days, who wouldn’t welcome a chance to wag more?

Looking for more authentic local search marketing tips to make your community a better place to live and work? Read The Essential Local SEO Strategy Guide.

[camerasieunhovn]

8 Ways to Champion Animals in Your Local Business Marketing Strategy

Image credit: Yoshihide Nomura

If you’ve ever had the privilege of being present for a baby’s first joyful encounter with a household pet, you’ll have noticed the profound wonder and excitement of the little one’s reaction. Once upon a time, that was each of us beaming and bouncing up and down with the thrill of meeting our first dog or cat.

Don’t lose that joy — be like these Canadian women watching whales from their garden:

From our earliest days, most of us have simply loved animals. We fill children’s books with tales of them and choose them as life companions. In many cultures, animals are sources of sacred power, and in all parts of the world, wildlife is absolutely essential to balanced ecosystems.

67% of American households now include pets — that’s the majority of your consumer base signalling just how much animals matter to them. When local business owners and marketers communicate with most customers about animals, shared affinity is ready-built into the exchange, drawing on feelings of warmth, admiration, responsibility, concern, and happiness. These dearly-held sentiments can be sturdy building blocks of benefit for other-than-human creatures, communities, and your business. This is deeply good marketing, which can yield personal satisfaction, press, links, citations, loyalty, and positive social change.

Today, we’ll consider eight options for honoring the love both you and your customers have in common when it comes to animals, plus tips for weaving your efforts into your local business marketing strategy.

All animal-centric activities, great and small

Almost any local business will find one or more actionable ideas here to demonstrate care for animals.

1. Expand your welcome to customers’ pets

Where local health codes and business models permit, make provisions for pets at your place of business. Before the pandemic, dog-friendly dining patios, water stations, lodgings, and shopping center-based dog parks were on the rise and can return once safety does. Put a bowl of dog treats outside your storefront to make your business a memorable highlight of neighbors’ daily dog walks, keep a stash of them behind the counter if pets are permitted indoors, and take note of the dairy delivery drivers who toss snacks to dogs when bringing groceries to customers in the pacific northwest.

A kiosk of free doggy cleanup bags could be a draw to your door and a boon to the neighborhood. Bring customers inside when it’s safe again to do so with a feature wall of local pet photos. Hold contests that center pets or feature pet-centric prizes, or host a pet-based event. Meanwhile, if your business is located in a neighborhood far from large pet supply stores, consider whether a pet section makes sense in your inventory.

2. Make a place for staff pets

Image credit: Groupon

Every year, new studies are published indicating that when pets interact with people, humans benefit from lowered cortisol and blood pressure levels and a variety of improvements in states of whole body well-being. As a shopper, I can say that my household loves visiting businesses with resident pets. Prior to stay-at-home orders, some of our most memorable shopping excursions were to the nursery with the noble-looking Australian shepards, the craft store with the little terriers, and the farm stand with the dachshunds. To-do lists sounded like this:

“We need to buy mulch. Oh, and we’ll get to see Pushkin the little red dog!”

Companies are always seeking out methods of creating memorable experiences, and friendly cats and dogs on-site can be instant magic in this regard.

At Moz, even before we were working remotely, honored staff pets added calm and pleasure to company meetings, with an established policy for animal etiquette and safety practices Mozzers agreed to in order to bring their companions to the office. Even at companies that can’t have animals on the premises as a regular thing, bring-your-pet-to-work days can signal to staff that a brand is sensitive to work/life balance once it becomes safe again for people to return to offices. Evaluate how a company you’re marketing might safely incorporate animal companions into the workplace for the happiness of both staff and customers.

3. Expand your welcome to wildlife

Image credit: Theresa_Gunn

Many businesses have the space to hang a bird feeder and water dish or set up a bird bath. Nesting boxes for birds and bats are small and can be fitted into all sorts of nooks and eaves around your building in any spot where droppings won’t be a nuisance.

If your business is lucky enough to have the space, planter boxes can provide flowers, fruit, seeds, nectar, pollen, and nesting materials for birds, butterflies, bees, and other pollinators.. Call a local nursery to ask which native plants will fit in your containers and support winged visitors. If you have more space and can plant a hedge, you’ll be making a home for many types of birds and insects, and may even offer protection to rabbits, raccoons, possums, and other small animals.

Well-planned Main Streets and shopping districts can provide more than just sidewalks for humans and streets for cars — they can be places where hummingbirds sip from flower to flower, bees gather pollen, butterflies migrate, and herbivores find forage. Take your seat at city planning meetings and become an advocate for green space in commercial areas, bird-friendly windows, accessible waterways, and other ecological development strategies.

4. Sponsor wildlife crossings, corridor, and rescue programs

Millions of domestic and native animals lose their lives on our roads every year, but wildlife corridors that create safe roaming paths through fragmented areas can reduce animal-related car accidents by as much as 80%. If your heart sinks every time you see a dead animal on the highway, talk to your city council about planning wildlife crossings and corridors in your community and then either help build them or have your brand sponsor their construction. Extra credit to you if you can get your customers involved, too.

Meanwhile, if you’ve ever had to call a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation number after encountering an injured animal on the road, having a bird stun itself by crashing into a window, or finding unfledged nestlings on the ground, you know what a lifeline these programs can be. Do some research on agencies and groups in your community that contribute this vital work and offer volunteer hours or financial support.

5. Sponsor guide dog and companion animal programs

Image credit: Zelda Richardson

Dogs that act as the guides, protectors, and friends of differently-abled people are heroes, and it takes a great deal of care, time, and money to train them for their work. Additionally, many communities have programs that bring pets to children’s hospitals, elder care homes, and other centers for the important benefits humans can experience just from interacting with a loving, friendly animal.

If you’re looking for a sponsorship opportunity that can make a world of difference in people’s everyday lives, research these types of programs and volunteer or sponsor them.

6. Sponsor no-kill animal shelters

When animal lovers seek pet adoption, many insist on visiting only no-kill shelters in order to make a statement consistent with their humane values and to avoid the trauma of having to choose among animals who may be killed if not brought home.

If your region has a no-kill shelter, it’s not only a good thing to contribute to, but can also be a source of fostering community goodwill when you allow these programs to place donation jars at registers.

7. Offer plant-based and cruelty-free options

There’s a reason even fast-food franchises are offering veggie burgers now, and I see the source of it in my own family where 65% of the young people are vegetarians or vegans. Meanwhile, nearly all of them actively seek out self-care products labeled as cruelty-free.

Even if your business isn’t staffed by herbivores or animal rights activists, you can include them in the welcome you’re building so that all community members have something to eat, drink, and purchase. Nielsen found in 2018 that 39% of Americans are upping the amount of plant-based dishes in their diets, and it’s my belief that these numbers will continue to rise. Now is the time to be sure you’re not overlooking this growing consumer base who will reward your care for their needs with patronage.

8. Protect water

Image credit: Mark Giuliucci

If a deep regard for animals is shared by your company and customers, there is likely no better cause to support than the protection of all forms of water, on which we all depend for life. Cleaning up and defending the future of streams, rivers, ponds, wetlands, lakes, and oceans is challenging, vital work for us all.

Take an active role, and invite customers to learn and change with you, in removing pollutants and plastics from water sources, abandoning oil pipelines in favor of green energy, replacing forever-products with biodegradable ones, replacing many ecologically-disastrous man-made dams with biodiverse beaver dam habitat, encouraging local water boards to include Indigenous leadership in sustainable community planning, protecting remaining wetlands from development, and providing safe drinking water to all communities.

Be a vocal advocate for very good reasons

Image credit: Tim Sackton.

In some cultures and faiths, acts of private charity and kindness are meant to be kept secret. At a corporate level, though, social good can be exponentially expanded when brands are willing to take public stands on matters of conscience. The larger your business, the louder your voice inviting participation in works and causes that honor animals.

Once you’ve determined how you’ll be incorporating care for other creatures into your business plan, here are 10 ways to get the word out to the community you serve:

Publish optimized website content, based on keyword research and community interest, to explain your brand’s animal-centric activities.

Ask the organizations you support to interview someone at your company to explain why your staff/customers are volunteering/donating to this particularly worthy cause. These groups will also likely be looking for content opportunities. Volunteering to be the subject of an interview can expand their reach and hopefully deliver a good link or two to your website, as well.

Reach out to local reporters to let them know that this is an angle of your business operations that the public might enjoy reading about; we could all use some good news these days in the local paper!

If appropriate, get unstructured citations on local blogs or structured citations on specialty directories. For example, HappyCow.net offers a directory of restaurants where plant-based diners can find a meal.

If appropriate, create image and video content about company pets, wildlife stewardship, and local ecological efforts, demonstrating your business’s participation and inviting customers to enjoy taking part.

Promote content that you and others have published about your activities on your social media channels.

Partner with other local business owners with similar policies and programs to share work and send customers to one another.

Write some animal-centric Google posts on your Google Business Profile

Assess whether Google My Business Categories or attributes could be added to your listing to represent animal-related features of your business.

Add photos of staff pets or wildlife features at your location to your GMB listing if they add to the welcoming ambiance of your place of business.

Wag more

Watch the above video by a local business and you’ll see how almost any company can make memorable, emotional connections with the people they serve thanks to a widely-shared love of animals. Actions that celebrate, rather than exploit, our animal relations surely fall under the phenomenon of kindness as currency with multiple studies showing how people are more apt to act with generosity of spirit when they see others do so.

When you’re tasked with marketing, you’re always looking for that extra reason to be chosen by customers. 73% of people say they care about the company they buy from, not just the product. The furry paw poised on your knee right now, the purr emanating from behind your laptop, the songs of birds outside your window could be calling you to connect with customers in an authentic new way, over your joint, abiding care for animals. These days, who wouldn’t welcome a chance to wag more?

Looking for more authentic local search marketing tips to make your community a better place to live and work? Read The Essential Local SEO Strategy Guide.

[ductrungnguyen87]

8 Ways to Champion Animals in Your Local Business Marketing Strategy

Image credit: Yoshihide Nomura

If you’ve ever had the privilege of being present for a baby’s first joyful encounter with a household pet, you’ll have noticed the profound wonder and excitement of the little one’s reaction. Once upon a time, that was each of us beaming and bouncing up and down with the thrill of meeting our first dog or cat.

Don’t lose that joy — be like these Canadian women watching whales from their garden:

From our earliest days, most of us have simply loved animals. We fill children’s books with tales of them and choose them as life companions. In many cultures, animals are sources of sacred power, and in all parts of the world, wildlife is absolutely essential to balanced ecosystems.

67% of American households now include pets — that’s the majority of your consumer base signalling just how much animals matter to them. When local business owners and marketers communicate with most customers about animals, shared affinity is ready-built into the exchange, drawing on feelings of warmth, admiration, responsibility, concern, and happiness. These dearly-held sentiments can be sturdy building blocks of benefit for other-than-human creatures, communities, and your business. This is deeply good marketing, which can yield personal satisfaction, press, links, citations, loyalty, and positive social change.

Today, we’ll consider eight options for honoring the love both you and your customers have in common when it comes to animals, plus tips for weaving your efforts into your local business marketing strategy.

All animal-centric activities, great and small

Almost any local business will find one or more actionable ideas here to demonstrate care for animals.

1. Expand your welcome to customers’ pets

Where local health codes and business models permit, make provisions for pets at your place of business. Before the pandemic, dog-friendly dining patios, water stations, lodgings, and shopping center-based dog parks were on the rise and can return once safety does. Put a bowl of dog treats outside your storefront to make your business a memorable highlight of neighbors’ daily dog walks, keep a stash of them behind the counter if pets are permitted indoors, and take note of the dairy delivery drivers who toss snacks to dogs when bringing groceries to customers in the pacific northwest.

A kiosk of free doggy cleanup bags could be a draw to your door and a boon to the neighborhood. Bring customers inside when it’s safe again to do so with a feature wall of local pet photos. Hold contests that center pets or feature pet-centric prizes, or host a pet-based event. Meanwhile, if your business is located in a neighborhood far from large pet supply stores, consider whether a pet section makes sense in your inventory.

2. Make a place for staff pets

Image credit: Groupon

Every year, new studies are published indicating that when pets interact with people, humans benefit from lowered cortisol and blood pressure levels and a variety of improvements in states of whole body well-being. As a shopper, I can say that my household loves visiting businesses with resident pets. Prior to stay-at-home orders, some of our most memorable shopping excursions were to the nursery with the noble-looking Australian shepards, the craft store with the little terriers, and the farm stand with the dachshunds. To-do lists sounded like this:

“We need to buy mulch. Oh, and we’ll get to see Pushkin the little red dog!”

Companies are always seeking out methods of creating memorable experiences, and friendly cats and dogs on-site can be instant magic in this regard.

At Moz, even before we were working remotely, honored staff pets added calm and pleasure to company meetings, with an established policy for animal etiquette and safety practices Mozzers agreed to in order to bring their companions to the office. Even at companies that can’t have animals on the premises as a regular thing, bring-your-pet-to-work days can signal to staff that a brand is sensitive to work/life balance once it becomes safe again for people to return to offices. Evaluate how a company you’re marketing might safely incorporate animal companions into the workplace for the happiness of both staff and customers.

3. Expand your welcome to wildlife

Image credit: Theresa_Gunn

Many businesses have the space to hang a bird feeder and water dish or set up a bird bath. Nesting boxes for birds and bats are small and can be fitted into all sorts of nooks and eaves around your building in any spot where droppings won’t be a nuisance.

If your business is lucky enough to have the space, planter boxes can provide flowers, fruit, seeds, nectar, pollen, and nesting materials for birds, butterflies, bees, and other pollinators.. Call a local nursery to ask which native plants will fit in your containers and support winged visitors. If you have more space and can plant a hedge, you’ll be making a home for many types of birds and insects, and may even offer protection to rabbits, raccoons, possums, and other small animals.

Well-planned Main Streets and shopping districts can provide more than just sidewalks for humans and streets for cars — they can be places where hummingbirds sip from flower to flower, bees gather pollen, butterflies migrate, and herbivores find forage. Take your seat at city planning meetings and become an advocate for green space in commercial areas, bird-friendly windows, accessible waterways, and other ecological development strategies.

4. Sponsor wildlife crossings, corridor, and rescue programs

Millions of domestic and native animals lose their lives on our roads every year, but wildlife corridors that create safe roaming paths through fragmented areas can reduce animal-related car accidents by as much as 80%. If your heart sinks every time you see a dead animal on the highway, talk to your city council about planning wildlife crossings and corridors in your community and then either help build them or have your brand sponsor their construction. Extra credit to you if you can get your customers involved, too.

Meanwhile, if you’ve ever had to call a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation number after encountering an injured animal on the road, having a bird stun itself by crashing into a window, or finding unfledged nestlings on the ground, you know what a lifeline these programs can be. Do some research on agencies and groups in your community that contribute this vital work and offer volunteer hours or financial support.

5. Sponsor guide dog and companion animal programs

Image credit: Zelda Richardson

Dogs that act as the guides, protectors, and friends of differently-abled people are heroes, and it takes a great deal of care, time, and money to train them for their work. Additionally, many communities have programs that bring pets to children’s hospitals, elder care homes, and other centers for the important benefits humans can experience just from interacting with a loving, friendly animal.

If you’re looking for a sponsorship opportunity that can make a world of difference in people’s everyday lives, research these types of programs and volunteer or sponsor them.

6. Sponsor no-kill animal shelters

When animal lovers seek pet adoption, many insist on visiting only no-kill shelters in order to make a statement consistent with their humane values and to avoid the trauma of having to choose among animals who may be killed if not brought home.

If your region has a no-kill shelter, it’s not only a good thing to contribute to, but can also be a source of fostering community goodwill when you allow these programs to place donation jars at registers.

7. Offer plant-based and cruelty-free options

There’s a reason even fast-food franchises are offering veggie burgers now, and I see the source of it in my own family where 65% of the young people are vegetarians or vegans. Meanwhile, nearly all of them actively seek out self-care products labeled as cruelty-free.

Even if your business isn’t staffed by herbivores or animal rights activists, you can include them in the welcome you’re building so that all community members have something to eat, drink, and purchase. Nielsen found in 2018 that 39% of Americans are upping the amount of plant-based dishes in their diets, and it’s my belief that these numbers will continue to rise. Now is the time to be sure you’re not overlooking this growing consumer base who will reward your care for their needs with patronage.

8. Protect water

Image credit: Mark Giuliucci

If a deep regard for animals is shared by your company and customers, there is likely no better cause to support than the protection of all forms of water, on which we all depend for life. Cleaning up and defending the future of streams, rivers, ponds, wetlands, lakes, and oceans is challenging, vital work for us all.

Take an active role, and invite customers to learn and change with you, in removing pollutants and plastics from water sources, abandoning oil pipelines in favor of green energy, replacing forever-products with biodegradable ones, replacing many ecologically-disastrous man-made dams with biodiverse beaver dam habitat, encouraging local water boards to include Indigenous leadership in sustainable community planning, protecting remaining wetlands from development, and providing safe drinking water to all communities.

Be a vocal advocate for very good reasons

Image credit: Tim Sackton.

In some cultures and faiths, acts of private charity and kindness are meant to be kept secret. At a corporate level, though, social good can be exponentially expanded when brands are willing to take public stands on matters of conscience. The larger your business, the louder your voice inviting participation in works and causes that honor animals.

Once you’ve determined how you’ll be incorporating care for other creatures into your business plan, here are 10 ways to get the word out to the community you serve:

Publish optimized website content, based on keyword research and community interest, to explain your brand’s animal-centric activities.

Ask the organizations you support to interview someone at your company to explain why your staff/customers are volunteering/donating to this particularly worthy cause. These groups will also likely be looking for content opportunities. Volunteering to be the subject of an interview can expand their reach and hopefully deliver a good link or two to your website, as well.

Reach out to local reporters to let them know that this is an angle of your business operations that the public might enjoy reading about; we could all use some good news these days in the local paper!

If appropriate, get unstructured citations on local blogs or structured citations on specialty directories. For example, HappyCow.net offers a directory of restaurants where plant-based diners can find a meal.

If appropriate, create image and video content about company pets, wildlife stewardship, and local ecological efforts, demonstrating your business’s participation and inviting customers to enjoy taking part.

Promote content that you and others have published about your activities on your social media channels.

Partner with other local business owners with similar policies and programs to share work and send customers to one another.

Write some animal-centric Google posts on your Google Business Profile

Assess whether Google My Business Categories or attributes could be added to your listing to represent animal-related features of your business.

Add photos of staff pets or wildlife features at your location to your GMB listing if they add to the welcoming ambiance of your place of business.

Wag more

Watch the above video by a local business and you’ll see how almost any company can make memorable, emotional connections with the people they serve thanks to a widely-shared love of animals. Actions that celebrate, rather than exploit, our animal relations surely fall under the phenomenon of kindness as currency with multiple studies showing how people are more apt to act with generosity of spirit when they see others do so.

When you’re tasked with marketing, you’re always looking for that extra reason to be chosen by customers. 73% of people say they care about the company they buy from, not just the product. The furry paw poised on your knee right now, the purr emanating from behind your laptop, the songs of birds outside your window could be calling you to connect with customers in an authentic new way, over your joint, abiding care for animals. These days, who wouldn’t welcome a chance to wag more?

Looking for more authentic local search marketing tips to make your community a better place to live and work? Read The Essential Local SEO Strategy Guide.

[gamebazu]

8 Ways to Champion Animals in Your Local Business Marketing Strategy

Image credit: Yoshihide Nomura

If you’ve ever had the privilege of being present for a baby’s first joyful encounter with a household pet, you’ll have noticed the profound wonder and excitement of the little one’s reaction. Once upon a time, that was each of us beaming and bouncing up and down with the thrill of meeting our first dog or cat.

Don’t lose that joy — be like these Canadian women watching whales from their garden:

From our earliest days, most of us have simply loved animals. We fill children’s books with tales of them and choose them as life companions. In many cultures, animals are sources of sacred power, and in all parts of the world, wildlife is absolutely essential to balanced ecosystems.

67% of American households now include pets — that’s the majority of your consumer base signalling just how much animals matter to them. When local business owners and marketers communicate with most customers about animals, shared affinity is ready-built into the exchange, drawing on feelings of warmth, admiration, responsibility, concern, and happiness. These dearly-held sentiments can be sturdy building blocks of benefit for other-than-human creatures, communities, and your business. This is deeply good marketing, which can yield personal satisfaction, press, links, citations, loyalty, and positive social change.

Today, we’ll consider eight options for honoring the love both you and your customers have in common when it comes to animals, plus tips for weaving your efforts into your local business marketing strategy.

All animal-centric activities, great and small

Almost any local business will find one or more actionable ideas here to demonstrate care for animals.

1. Expand your welcome to customers’ pets

Where local health codes and business models permit, make provisions for pets at your place of business. Before the pandemic, dog-friendly dining patios, water stations, lodgings, and shopping center-based dog parks were on the rise and can return once safety does. Put a bowl of dog treats outside your storefront to make your business a memorable highlight of neighbors’ daily dog walks, keep a stash of them behind the counter if pets are permitted indoors, and take note of the dairy delivery drivers who toss snacks to dogs when bringing groceries to customers in the pacific northwest.

A kiosk of free doggy cleanup bags could be a draw to your door and a boon to the neighborhood. Bring customers inside when it’s safe again to do so with a feature wall of local pet photos. Hold contests that center pets or feature pet-centric prizes, or host a pet-based event. Meanwhile, if your business is located in a neighborhood far from large pet supply stores, consider whether a pet section makes sense in your inventory.

2. Make a place for staff pets

Image credit: Groupon

Every year, new studies are published indicating that when pets interact with people, humans benefit from lowered cortisol and blood pressure levels and a variety of improvements in states of whole body well-being. As a shopper, I can say that my household loves visiting businesses with resident pets. Prior to stay-at-home orders, some of our most memorable shopping excursions were to the nursery with the noble-looking Australian shepards, the craft store with the little terriers, and the farm stand with the dachshunds. To-do lists sounded like this:

“We need to buy mulch. Oh, and we’ll get to see Pushkin the little red dog!”

Companies are always seeking out methods of creating memorable experiences, and friendly cats and dogs on-site can be instant magic in this regard.

At Moz, even before we were working remotely, honored staff pets added calm and pleasure to company meetings, with an established policy for animal etiquette and safety practices Mozzers agreed to in order to bring their companions to the office. Even at companies that can’t have animals on the premises as a regular thing, bring-your-pet-to-work days can signal to staff that a brand is sensitive to work/life balance once it becomes safe again for people to return to offices. Evaluate how a company you’re marketing might safely incorporate animal companions into the workplace for the happiness of both staff and customers.

3. Expand your welcome to wildlife

Image credit: Theresa_Gunn

Many businesses have the space to hang a bird feeder and water dish or set up a bird bath. Nesting boxes for birds and bats are small and can be fitted into all sorts of nooks and eaves around your building in any spot where droppings won’t be a nuisance.

If your business is lucky enough to have the space, planter boxes can provide flowers, fruit, seeds, nectar, pollen, and nesting materials for birds, butterflies, bees, and other pollinators.. Call a local nursery to ask which native plants will fit in your containers and support winged visitors. If you have more space and can plant a hedge, you’ll be making a home for many types of birds and insects, and may even offer protection to rabbits, raccoons, possums, and other small animals.

Well-planned Main Streets and shopping districts can provide more than just sidewalks for humans and streets for cars — they can be places where hummingbirds sip from flower to flower, bees gather pollen, butterflies migrate, and herbivores find forage. Take your seat at city planning meetings and become an advocate for green space in commercial areas, bird-friendly windows, accessible waterways, and other ecological development strategies.

4. Sponsor wildlife crossings, corridor, and rescue programs

Millions of domestic and native animals lose their lives on our roads every year, but wildlife corridors that create safe roaming paths through fragmented areas can reduce animal-related car accidents by as much as 80%. If your heart sinks every time you see a dead animal on the highway, talk to your city council about planning wildlife crossings and corridors in your community and then either help build them or have your brand sponsor their construction. Extra credit to you if you can get your customers involved, too.

Meanwhile, if you’ve ever had to call a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation number after encountering an injured animal on the road, having a bird stun itself by crashing into a window, or finding unfledged nestlings on the ground, you know what a lifeline these programs can be. Do some research on agencies and groups in your community that contribute this vital work and offer volunteer hours or financial support.

5. Sponsor guide dog and companion animal programs

Image credit: Zelda Richardson

Dogs that act as the guides, protectors, and friends of differently-abled people are heroes, and it takes a great deal of care, time, and money to train them for their work. Additionally, many communities have programs that bring pets to children’s hospitals, elder care homes, and other centers for the important benefits humans can experience just from interacting with a loving, friendly animal.

If you’re looking for a sponsorship opportunity that can make a world of difference in people’s everyday lives, research these types of programs and volunteer or sponsor them.

6. Sponsor no-kill animal shelters

When animal lovers seek pet adoption, many insist on visiting only no-kill shelters in order to make a statement consistent with their humane values and to avoid the trauma of having to choose among animals who may be killed if not brought home.

If your region has a no-kill shelter, it’s not only a good thing to contribute to, but can also be a source of fostering community goodwill when you allow these programs to place donation jars at registers.

7. Offer plant-based and cruelty-free options

There’s a reason even fast-food franchises are offering veggie burgers now, and I see the source of it in my own family where 65% of the young people are vegetarians or vegans. Meanwhile, nearly all of them actively seek out self-care products labeled as cruelty-free.

Even if your business isn’t staffed by herbivores or animal rights activists, you can include them in the welcome you’re building so that all community members have something to eat, drink, and purchase. Nielsen found in 2018 that 39% of Americans are upping the amount of plant-based dishes in their diets, and it’s my belief that these numbers will continue to rise. Now is the time to be sure you’re not overlooking this growing consumer base who will reward your care for their needs with patronage.

8. Protect water

Image credit: Mark Giuliucci

If a deep regard for animals is shared by your company and customers, there is likely no better cause to support than the protection of all forms of water, on which we all depend for life. Cleaning up and defending the future of streams, rivers, ponds, wetlands, lakes, and oceans is challenging, vital work for us all.

Take an active role, and invite customers to learn and change with you, in removing pollutants and plastics from water sources, abandoning oil pipelines in favor of green energy, replacing forever-products with biodegradable ones, replacing many ecologically-disastrous man-made dams with biodiverse beaver dam habitat, encouraging local water boards to include Indigenous leadership in sustainable community planning, protecting remaining wetlands from development, and providing safe drinking water to all communities.

Be a vocal advocate for very good reasons

Image credit: Tim Sackton.

In some cultures and faiths, acts of private charity and kindness are meant to be kept secret. At a corporate level, though, social good can be exponentially expanded when brands are willing to take public stands on matters of conscience. The larger your business, the louder your voice inviting participation in works and causes that honor animals.

Once you’ve determined how you’ll be incorporating care for other creatures into your business plan, here are 10 ways to get the word out to the community you serve:

Publish optimized website content, based on keyword research and community interest, to explain your brand’s animal-centric activities.

Ask the organizations you support to interview someone at your company to explain why your staff/customers are volunteering/donating to this particularly worthy cause. These groups will also likely be looking for content opportunities. Volunteering to be the subject of an interview can expand their reach and hopefully deliver a good link or two to your website, as well.

Reach out to local reporters to let them know that this is an angle of your business operations that the public might enjoy reading about; we could all use some good news these days in the local paper!

If appropriate, get unstructured citations on local blogs or structured citations on specialty directories. For example, HappyCow.net offers a directory of restaurants where plant-based diners can find a meal.

If appropriate, create image and video content about company pets, wildlife stewardship, and local ecological efforts, demonstrating your business’s participation and inviting customers to enjoy taking part.

Promote content that you and others have published about your activities on your social media channels.

Partner with other local business owners with similar policies and programs to share work and send customers to one another.

Write some animal-centric Google posts on your Google Business Profile

Assess whether Google My Business Categories or attributes could be added to your listing to represent animal-related features of your business.

Add photos of staff pets or wildlife features at your location to your GMB listing if they add to the welcoming ambiance of your place of business.

Wag more

Watch the above video by a local business and you’ll see how almost any company can make memorable, emotional connections with the people they serve thanks to a widely-shared love of animals. Actions that celebrate, rather than exploit, our animal relations surely fall under the phenomenon of kindness as currency with multiple studies showing how people are more apt to act with generosity of spirit when they see others do so.

When you’re tasked with marketing, you’re always looking for that extra reason to be chosen by customers. 73% of people say they care about the company they buy from, not just the product. The furry paw poised on your knee right now, the purr emanating from behind your laptop, the songs of birds outside your window could be calling you to connect with customers in an authentic new way, over your joint, abiding care for animals. These days, who wouldn’t welcome a chance to wag more?

Looking for more authentic local search marketing tips to make your community a better place to live and work? Read The Essential Local SEO Strategy Guide.

https://ift.tt/3yOo3ri

[y2kbeautyandother2000sstuff]

BBW Joyful Gardens Calming Waters Fragrant Body Mist

2003

Found on Ebay, user  teresatexeira5ka7

[kjt-lawyers]

8 Ways to Champion Animals in Your Local Business Marketing Strategy

Image credit: Yoshihide Nomura

If you’ve ever had the privilege of being present for a baby’s first joyful encounter with a household pet, you’ll have noticed the profound wonder and excitement of the little one’s reaction. Once upon a time, that was each of us beaming and bouncing up and down with the thrill of meeting our first dog or cat.

Don’t lose that joy — be like these Canadian women watching whales from their garden:

From our earliest days, most of us have simply loved animals. We fill children’s books with tales of them and choose them as life companions. In many cultures, animals are sources of sacred power, and in all parts of the world, wildlife is absolutely essential to balanced ecosystems.

67% of American households now include pets — that’s the majority of your consumer base signalling just how much animals matter to them. When local business owners and marketers communicate with most customers about animals, shared affinity is ready-built into the exchange, drawing on feelings of warmth, admiration, responsibility, concern, and happiness. These dearly-held sentiments can be sturdy building blocks of benefit for other-than-human creatures, communities, and your business. This is deeply good marketing, which can yield personal satisfaction, press, links, citations, loyalty, and positive social change.

Today, we’ll consider eight options for honoring the love both you and your customers have in common when it comes to animals, plus tips for weaving your efforts into your local business marketing strategy.

All animal-centric activities, great and small

Almost any local business will find one or more actionable ideas here to demonstrate care for animals.

1. Expand your welcome to customers’ pets

Where local health codes and business models permit, make provisions for pets at your place of business. Before the pandemic, dog-friendly dining patios, water stations, lodgings, and shopping center-based dog parks were on the rise and can return once safety does. Put a bowl of dog treats outside your storefront to make your business a memorable highlight of neighbors’ daily dog walks, keep a stash of them behind the counter if pets are permitted indoors, and take note of the dairy delivery drivers who toss snacks to dogs when bringing groceries to customers in the pacific northwest.

A kiosk of free doggy cleanup bags could be a draw to your door and a boon to the neighborhood. Bring customers inside when it’s safe again to do so with a feature wall of local pet photos. Hold contests that center pets or feature pet-centric prizes, or host a pet-based event. Meanwhile, if your business is located in a neighborhood far from large pet supply stores, consider whether a pet section makes sense in your inventory.

2. Make a place for staff pets

Image credit: Groupon

Every year, new studies are published indicating that when pets interact with people, humans benefit from lowered cortisol and blood pressure levels and a variety of improvements in states of whole body well-being. As a shopper, I can say that my household loves visiting businesses with resident pets. Prior to stay-at-home orders, some of our most memorable shopping excursions were to the nursery with the noble-looking Australian shepards, the craft store with the little terriers, and the farm stand with the dachshunds. To-do lists sounded like this:

“We need to buy mulch. Oh, and we’ll get to see Pushkin the little red dog!”

Companies are always seeking out methods of creating memorable experiences, and friendly cats and dogs on-site can be instant magic in this regard.

At Moz, even before we were working remotely, honored staff pets added calm and pleasure to company meetings, with an established policy for animal etiquette and safety practices Mozzers agreed to in order to bring their companions to the office. Even at companies that can’t have animals on the premises as a regular thing, bring-your-pet-to-work days can signal to staff that a brand is sensitive to work/life balance once it becomes safe again for people to return to offices. Evaluate how a company you’re marketing might safely incorporate animal companions into the workplace for the happiness of both staff and customers.

3. Expand your welcome to wildlife

Image credit: Theresa_Gunn

Many businesses have the space to hang a bird feeder and water dish or set up a bird bath. Nesting boxes for birds and bats are small and can be fitted into all sorts of nooks and eaves around your building in any spot where droppings won’t be a nuisance.

If your business is lucky enough to have the space, planter boxes can provide flowers, fruit, seeds, nectar, pollen, and nesting materials for birds, butterflies, bees, and other pollinators.. Call a local nursery to ask which native plants will fit in your containers and support winged visitors. If you have more space and can plant a hedge, you’ll be making a home for many types of birds and insects, and may even offer protection to rabbits, raccoons, possums, and other small animals.

Well-planned Main Streets and shopping districts can provide more than just sidewalks for humans and streets for cars — they can be places where hummingbirds sip from flower to flower, bees gather pollen, butterflies migrate, and herbivores find forage. Take your seat at city planning meetings and become an advocate for green space in commercial areas, bird-friendly windows, accessible waterways, and other ecological development strategies.

4. Sponsor wildlife crossings, corridor, and rescue programs

Millions of domestic and native animals lose their lives on our roads every year, but wildlife corridors that create safe roaming paths through fragmented areas can reduce animal-related car accidents by as much as 80%. If your heart sinks every time you see a dead animal on the highway, talk to your city council about planning wildlife crossings and corridors in your community and then either help build them or have your brand sponsor their construction. Extra credit to you if you can get your customers involved, too.

Meanwhile, if you’ve ever had to call a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation number after encountering an injured animal on the road, having a bird stun itself by crashing into a window, or finding unfledged nestlings on the ground, you know what a lifeline these programs can be. Do some research on agencies and groups in your community that contribute this vital work and offer volunteer hours or financial support.

5. Sponsor guide dog and companion animal programs

Image credit: Zelda Richardson

Dogs that act as the guides, protectors, and friends of differently-abled people are heroes, and it takes a great deal of care, time, and money to train them for their work. Additionally, many communities have programs that bring pets to children’s hospitals, elder care homes, and other centers for the important benefits humans can experience just from interacting with a loving, friendly animal.

If you’re looking for a sponsorship opportunity that can make a world of difference in people’s everyday lives, research these types of programs and volunteer or sponsor them.

6. Sponsor no-kill animal shelters

When animal lovers seek pet adoption, many insist on visiting only no-kill shelters in order to make a statement consistent with their humane values and to avoid the trauma of having to choose among animals who may be killed if not brought home.

If your region has a no-kill shelter, it’s not only a good thing to contribute to, but can also be a source of fostering community goodwill when you allow these programs to place donation jars at registers.

7. Offer plant-based and cruelty-free options

There’s a reason even fast-food franchises are offering veggie burgers now, and I see the source of it in my own family where 65% of the young people are vegetarians or vegans. Meanwhile, nearly all of them actively seek out self-care products labeled as cruelty-free.

Even if your business isn’t staffed by herbivores or animal rights activists, you can include them in the welcome you’re building so that all community members have something to eat, drink, and purchase. Nielsen found in 2018 that 39% of Americans are upping the amount of plant-based dishes in their diets, and it’s my belief that these numbers will continue to rise. Now is the time to be sure you’re not overlooking this growing consumer base who will reward your care for their needs with patronage.

8. Protect water

Image credit: Mark Giuliucci

If a deep regard for animals is shared by your company and customers, there is likely no better cause to support than the protection of all forms of water, on which we all depend for life. Cleaning up and defending the future of streams, rivers, ponds, wetlands, lakes, and oceans is challenging, vital work for us all.

Take an active role, and invite customers to learn and change with you, in removing pollutants and plastics from water sources, abandoning oil pipelines in favor of green energy, replacing forever-products with biodegradable ones, replacing many ecologically-disastrous man-made dams with biodiverse beaver dam habitat, encouraging local water boards to include Indigenous leadership in sustainable community planning, protecting remaining wetlands from development, and providing safe drinking water to all communities.

Be a vocal advocate for very good reasons

Image credit: Tim Sackton.

In some cultures and faiths, acts of private charity and kindness are meant to be kept secret. At a corporate level, though, social good can be exponentially expanded when brands are willing to take public stands on matters of conscience. The larger your business, the louder your voice inviting participation in works and causes that honor animals.

Once you’ve determined how you’ll be incorporating care for other creatures into your business plan, here are 10 ways to get the word out to the community you serve:

Publish optimized website content, based on keyword research and community interest, to explain your brand’s animal-centric activities.

Ask the organizations you support to interview someone at your company to explain why your staff/customers are volunteering/donating to this particularly worthy cause. These groups will also likely be looking for content opportunities. Volunteering to be the subject of an interview can expand their reach and hopefully deliver a good link or two to your website, as well.

Reach out to local reporters to let them know that this is an angle of your business operations that the public might enjoy reading about; we could all use some good news these days in the local paper!

If appropriate, get unstructured citations on local blogs or structured citations on specialty directories. For example, HappyCow.net offers a directory of restaurants where plant-based diners can find a meal.

If appropriate, create image and video content about company pets, wildlife stewardship, and local ecological efforts, demonstrating your business’s participation and inviting customers to enjoy taking part.

Promote content that you and others have published about your activities on your social media channels.

Partner with other local business owners with similar policies and programs to share work and send customers to one another.

Write some animal-centric Google posts on your Google Business Profile

Assess whether Google My Business Categories or attributes could be added to your listing to represent animal-related features of your business.

Add photos of staff pets or wildlife features at your location to your GMB listing if they add to the welcoming ambiance of your place of business.

Wag more

Watch the above video by a local business and you’ll see how almost any company can make memorable, emotional connections with the people they serve thanks to a widely-shared love of animals. Actions that celebrate, rather than exploit, our animal relations surely fall under the phenomenon of kindness as currency with multiple studies showing how people are more apt to act with generosity of spirit when they see others do so.

When you’re tasked with marketing, you’re always looking for that extra reason to be chosen by customers. 73% of people say they care about the company they buy from, not just the product. The furry paw poised on your knee right now, the purr emanating from behind your laptop, the songs of birds outside your window could be calling you to connect with customers in an authentic new way, over your joint, abiding care for animals. These days, who wouldn’t welcome a chance to wag more?

Looking for more authentic local search marketing tips to make your community a better place to live and work? Read The Essential Local SEO Strategy Guide.

[noithatotoaz]

8 Ways to Champion Animals in Your Local Business Marketing Strategy

Image credit: Yoshihide Nomura

If you’ve ever had the privilege of being present for a baby’s first joyful encounter with a household pet, you’ll have noticed the profound wonder and excitement of the little one’s reaction. Once upon a time, that was each of us beaming and bouncing up and down with the thrill of meeting our first dog or cat.

Don’t lose that joy — be like these Canadian women watching whales from their garden:

From our earliest days, most of us have simply loved animals. We fill children’s books with tales of them and choose them as life companions. In many cultures, animals are sources of sacred power, and in all parts of the world, wildlife is absolutely essential to balanced ecosystems.

67% of American households now include pets — that’s the majority of your consumer base signalling just how much animals matter to them. When local business owners and marketers communicate with most customers about animals, shared affinity is ready-built into the exchange, drawing on feelings of warmth, admiration, responsibility, concern, and happiness. These dearly-held sentiments can be sturdy building blocks of benefit for other-than-human creatures, communities, and your business. This is deeply good marketing, which can yield personal satisfaction, press, links, citations, loyalty, and positive social change.

Today, we’ll consider eight options for honoring the love both you and your customers have in common when it comes to animals, plus tips for weaving your efforts into your local business marketing strategy.

All animal-centric activities, great and small

Almost any local business will find one or more actionable ideas here to demonstrate care for animals.

1. Expand your welcome to customers’ pets

Where local health codes and business models permit, make provisions for pets at your place of business. Before the pandemic, dog-friendly dining patios, water stations, lodgings, and shopping center-based dog parks were on the rise and can return once safety does. Put a bowl of dog treats outside your storefront to make your business a memorable highlight of neighbors’ daily dog walks, keep a stash of them behind the counter if pets are permitted indoors, and take note of the dairy delivery drivers who toss snacks to dogs when bringing groceries to customers in the pacific northwest.

A kiosk of free doggy cleanup bags could be a draw to your door and a boon to the neighborhood. Bring customers inside when it’s safe again to do so with a feature wall of local pet photos. Hold contests that center pets or feature pet-centric prizes, or host a pet-based event. Meanwhile, if your business is located in a neighborhood far from large pet supply stores, consider whether a pet section makes sense in your inventory.

2. Make a place for staff pets

Image credit: Groupon

Every year, new studies are published indicating that when pets interact with people, humans benefit from lowered cortisol and blood pressure levels and a variety of improvements in states of whole body well-being. As a shopper, I can say that my household loves visiting businesses with resident pets. Prior to stay-at-home orders, some of our most memorable shopping excursions were to the nursery with the noble-looking Australian shepards, the craft store with the little terriers, and the farm stand with the dachshunds. To-do lists sounded like this:

“We need to buy mulch. Oh, and we’ll get to see Pushkin the little red dog!”

Companies are always seeking out methods of creating memorable experiences, and friendly cats and dogs on-site can be instant magic in this regard.

At Moz, even before we were working remotely, honored staff pets added calm and pleasure to company meetings, with an established policy for animal etiquette and safety practices Mozzers agreed to in order to bring their companions to the office. Even at companies that can’t have animals on the premises as a regular thing, bring-your-pet-to-work days can signal to staff that a brand is sensitive to work/life balance once it becomes safe again for people to return to offices. Evaluate how a company you’re marketing might safely incorporate animal companions into the workplace for the happiness of both staff and customers.

3. Expand your welcome to wildlife

Image credit: Theresa_Gunn

Many businesses have the space to hang a bird feeder and water dish or set up a bird bath. Nesting boxes for birds and bats are small and can be fitted into all sorts of nooks and eaves around your building in any spot where droppings won’t be a nuisance.

If your business is lucky enough to have the space, planter boxes can provide flowers, fruit, seeds, nectar, pollen, and nesting materials for birds, butterflies, bees, and other pollinators.. Call a local nursery to ask which native plants will fit in your containers and support winged visitors. If you have more space and can plant a hedge, you’ll be making a home for many types of birds and insects, and may even offer protection to rabbits, raccoons, possums, and other small animals.

Well-planned Main Streets and shopping districts can provide more than just sidewalks for humans and streets for cars — they can be places where hummingbirds sip from flower to flower, bees gather pollen, butterflies migrate, and herbivores find forage. Take your seat at city planning meetings and become an advocate for green space in commercial areas, bird-friendly windows, accessible waterways, and other ecological development strategies.

4. Sponsor wildlife crossings, corridor, and rescue programs

Millions of domestic and native animals lose their lives on our roads every year, but wildlife corridors that create safe roaming paths through fragmented areas can reduce animal-related car accidents by as much as 80%. If your heart sinks every time you see a dead animal on the highway, talk to your city council about planning wildlife crossings and corridors in your community and then either help build them or have your brand sponsor their construction. Extra credit to you if you can get your customers involved, too.

Meanwhile, if you’ve ever had to call a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation number after encountering an injured animal on the road, having a bird stun itself by crashing into a window, or finding unfledged nestlings on the ground, you know what a lifeline these programs can be. Do some research on agencies and groups in your community that contribute this vital work and offer volunteer hours or financial support.

5. Sponsor guide dog and companion animal programs

Image credit: Zelda Richardson

Dogs that act as the guides, protectors, and friends of differently-abled people are heroes, and it takes a great deal of care, time, and money to train them for their work. Additionally, many communities have programs that bring pets to children’s hospitals, elder care homes, and other centers for the important benefits humans can experience just from interacting with a loving, friendly animal.

If you’re looking for a sponsorship opportunity that can make a world of difference in people’s everyday lives, research these types of programs and volunteer or sponsor them.

6. Sponsor no-kill animal shelters

When animal lovers seek pet adoption, many insist on visiting only no-kill shelters in order to make a statement consistent with their humane values and to avoid the trauma of having to choose among animals who may be killed if not brought home.

If your region has a no-kill shelter, it’s not only a good thing to contribute to, but can also be a source of fostering community goodwill when you allow these programs to place donation jars at registers.

7. Offer plant-based and cruelty-free options

There’s a reason even fast-food franchises are offering veggie burgers now, and I see the source of it in my own family where 65% of the young people are vegetarians or vegans. Meanwhile, nearly all of them actively seek out self-care products labeled as cruelty-free.

Even if your business isn’t staffed by herbivores or animal rights activists, you can include them in the welcome you’re building so that all community members have something to eat, drink, and purchase. Nielsen found in 2018 that 39% of Americans are upping the amount of plant-based dishes in their diets, and it’s my belief that these numbers will continue to rise. Now is the time to be sure you’re not overlooking this growing consumer base who will reward your care for their needs with patronage.

8. Protect water

Image credit: Mark Giuliucci

If a deep regard for animals is shared by your company and customers, there is likely no better cause to support than the protection of all forms of water, on which we all depend for life. Cleaning up and defending the future of streams, rivers, ponds, wetlands, lakes, and oceans is challenging, vital work for us all.

Take an active role, and invite customers to learn and change with you, in removing pollutants and plastics from water sources, abandoning oil pipelines in favor of green energy, replacing forever-products with biodegradable ones, replacing many ecologically-disastrous man-made dams with biodiverse beaver dam habitat, encouraging local water boards to include Indigenous leadership in sustainable community planning, protecting remaining wetlands from development, and providing safe drinking water to all communities.

Be a vocal advocate for very good reasons

Image credit: Tim Sackton.

In some cultures and faiths, acts of private charity and kindness are meant to be kept secret. At a corporate level, though, social good can be exponentially expanded when brands are willing to take public stands on matters of conscience. The larger your business, the louder your voice inviting participation in works and causes that honor animals.

Once you’ve determined how you’ll be incorporating care for other creatures into your business plan, here are 10 ways to get the word out to the community you serve:

Publish optimized website content, based on keyword research and community interest, to explain your brand’s animal-centric activities.

Ask the organizations you support to interview someone at your company to explain why your staff/customers are volunteering/donating to this particularly worthy cause. These groups will also likely be looking for content opportunities. Volunteering to be the subject of an interview can expand their reach and hopefully deliver a good link or two to your website, as well.

Reach out to local reporters to let them know that this is an angle of your business operations that the public might enjoy reading about; we could all use some good news these days in the local paper!

If appropriate, get unstructured citations on local blogs or structured citations on specialty directories. For example, HappyCow.net offers a directory of restaurants where plant-based diners can find a meal.

If appropriate, create image and video content about company pets, wildlife stewardship, and local ecological efforts, demonstrating your business’s participation and inviting customers to enjoy taking part.

Promote content that you and others have published about your activities on your social media channels.

Partner with other local business owners with similar policies and programs to share work and send customers to one another.

Write some animal-centric Google posts on your Google Business Profile

Assess whether Google My Business Categories or attributes could be added to your listing to represent animal-related features of your business.

Add photos of staff pets or wildlife features at your location to your GMB listing if they add to the welcoming ambiance of your place of business.

Wag more

Watch the above video by a local business and you’ll see how almost any company can make memorable, emotional connections with the people they serve thanks to a widely-shared love of animals. Actions that celebrate, rather than exploit, our animal relations surely fall under the phenomenon of kindness as currency with multiple studies showing how people are more apt to act with generosity of spirit when they see others do so.

When you’re tasked with marketing, you’re always looking for that extra reason to be chosen by customers. 73% of people say they care about the company they buy from, not just the product. The furry paw poised on your knee right now, the purr emanating from behind your laptop, the songs of birds outside your window could be calling you to connect with customers in an authentic new way, over your joint, abiding care for animals. These days, who wouldn’t welcome a chance to wag more?

Looking for more authentic local search marketing tips to make your community a better place to live and work? Read The Essential Local SEO Strategy Guide.

[thanhtuandoan89]

8 Ways to Champion Animals in Your Local Business Marketing Strategy

Image credit: Yoshihide Nomura

If you’ve ever had the privilege of being present for a baby’s first joyful encounter with a household pet, you’ll have noticed the profound wonder and excitement of the little one’s reaction. Once upon a time, that was each of us beaming and bouncing up and down with the thrill of meeting our first dog or cat.

Don’t lose that joy — be like these Canadian women watching whales from their garden:

From our earliest days, most of us have simply loved animals. We fill children’s books with tales of them and choose them as life companions. In many cultures, animals are sources of sacred power, and in all parts of the world, wildlife is absolutely essential to balanced ecosystems.

67% of American households now include pets — that’s the majority of your consumer base signalling just how much animals matter to them. When local business owners and marketers communicate with most customers about animals, shared affinity is ready-built into the exchange, drawing on feelings of warmth, admiration, responsibility, concern, and happiness. These dearly-held sentiments can be sturdy building blocks of benefit for other-than-human creatures, communities, and your business. This is deeply good marketing, which can yield personal satisfaction, press, links, citations, loyalty, and positive social change.

Today, we’ll consider eight options for honoring the love both you and your customers have in common when it comes to animals, plus tips for weaving your efforts into your local business marketing strategy.

All animal-centric activities, great and small

Almost any local business will find one or more actionable ideas here to demonstrate care for animals.

1. Expand your welcome to customers’ pets

Where local health codes and business models permit, make provisions for pets at your place of business. Before the pandemic, dog-friendly dining patios, water stations, lodgings, and shopping center-based dog parks were on the rise and can return once safety does. Put a bowl of dog treats outside your storefront to make your business a memorable highlight of neighbors’ daily dog walks, keep a stash of them behind the counter if pets are permitted indoors, and take note of the dairy delivery drivers who toss snacks to dogs when bringing groceries to customers in the pacific northwest.

A kiosk of free doggy cleanup bags could be a draw to your door and a boon to the neighborhood. Bring customers inside when it’s safe again to do so with a feature wall of local pet photos. Hold contests that center pets or feature pet-centric prizes, or host a pet-based event. Meanwhile, if your business is located in a neighborhood far from large pet supply stores, consider whether a pet section makes sense in your inventory.

2. Make a place for staff pets

Image credit: Groupon

Every year, new studies are published indicating that when pets interact with people, humans benefit from lowered cortisol and blood pressure levels and a variety of improvements in states of whole body well-being. As a shopper, I can say that my household loves visiting businesses with resident pets. Prior to stay-at-home orders, some of our most memorable shopping excursions were to the nursery with the noble-looking Australian shepards, the craft store with the little terriers, and the farm stand with the dachshunds. To-do lists sounded like this:

“We need to buy mulch. Oh, and we’ll get to see Pushkin the little red dog!”

Companies are always seeking out methods of creating memorable experiences, and friendly cats and dogs on-site can be instant magic in this regard.

At Moz, even before we were working remotely, honored staff pets added calm and pleasure to company meetings, with an established policy for animal etiquette and safety practices Mozzers agreed to in order to bring their companions to the office. Even at companies that can’t have animals on the premises as a regular thing, bring-your-pet-to-work days can signal to staff that a brand is sensitive to work/life balance once it becomes safe again for people to return to offices. Evaluate how a company you’re marketing might safely incorporate animal companions into the workplace for the happiness of both staff and customers.

3. Expand your welcome to wildlife

Image credit: Theresa_Gunn

Many businesses have the space to hang a bird feeder and water dish or set up a bird bath. Nesting boxes for birds and bats are small and can be fitted into all sorts of nooks and eaves around your building in any spot where droppings won’t be a nuisance.

If your business is lucky enough to have the space, planter boxes can provide flowers, fruit, seeds, nectar, pollen, and nesting materials for birds, butterflies, bees, and other pollinators.. Call a local nursery to ask which native plants will fit in your containers and support winged visitors. If you have more space and can plant a hedge, you’ll be making a home for many types of birds and insects, and may even offer protection to rabbits, raccoons, possums, and other small animals.

Well-planned Main Streets and shopping districts can provide more than just sidewalks for humans and streets for cars — they can be places where hummingbirds sip from flower to flower, bees gather pollen, butterflies migrate, and herbivores find forage. Take your seat at city planning meetings and become an advocate for green space in commercial areas, bird-friendly windows, accessible waterways, and other ecological development strategies.

4. Sponsor wildlife crossings, corridor, and rescue programs

Millions of domestic and native animals lose their lives on our roads every year, but wildlife corridors that create safe roaming paths through fragmented areas can reduce animal-related car accidents by as much as 80%. If your heart sinks every time you see a dead animal on the highway, talk to your city council about planning wildlife crossings and corridors in your community and then either help build them or have your brand sponsor their construction. Extra credit to you if you can get your customers involved, too.

Meanwhile, if you’ve ever had to call a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation number after encountering an injured animal on the road, having a bird stun itself by crashing into a window, or finding unfledged nestlings on the ground, you know what a lifeline these programs can be. Do some research on agencies and groups in your community that contribute this vital work and offer volunteer hours or financial support.

5. Sponsor guide dog and companion animal programs

Image credit: Zelda Richardson

Dogs that act as the guides, protectors, and friends of differently-abled people are heroes, and it takes a great deal of care, time, and money to train them for their work. Additionally, many communities have programs that bring pets to children’s hospitals, elder care homes, and other centers for the important benefits humans can experience just from interacting with a loving, friendly animal.

If you’re looking for a sponsorship opportunity that can make a world of difference in people’s everyday lives, research these types of programs and volunteer or sponsor them.

6. Sponsor no-kill animal shelters

When animal lovers seek pet adoption, many insist on visiting only no-kill shelters in order to make a statement consistent with their humane values and to avoid the trauma of having to choose among animals who may be killed if not brought home.

If your region has a no-kill shelter, it’s not only a good thing to contribute to, but can also be a source of fostering community goodwill when you allow these programs to place donation jars at registers.

7. Offer plant-based and cruelty-free options

There’s a reason even fast-food franchises are offering veggie burgers now, and I see the source of it in my own family where 65% of the young people are vegetarians or vegans. Meanwhile, nearly all of them actively seek out self-care products labeled as cruelty-free.

Even if your business isn’t staffed by herbivores or animal rights activists, you can include them in the welcome you’re building so that all community members have something to eat, drink, and purchase. Nielsen found in 2018 that 39% of Americans are upping the amount of plant-based dishes in their diets, and it’s my belief that these numbers will continue to rise. Now is the time to be sure you’re not overlooking this growing consumer base who will reward your care for their needs with patronage.

8. Protect water

Image credit: Mark Giuliucci

If a deep regard for animals is shared by your company and customers, there is likely no better cause to support than the protection of all forms of water, on which we all depend for life. Cleaning up and defending the future of streams, rivers, ponds, wetlands, lakes, and oceans is challenging, vital work for us all.

Take an active role, and invite customers to learn and change with you, in removing pollutants and plastics from water sources, abandoning oil pipelines in favor of green energy, replacing forever-products with biodegradable ones, replacing many ecologically-disastrous man-made dams with biodiverse beaver dam habitat, encouraging local water boards to include Indigenous leadership in sustainable community planning, protecting remaining wetlands from development, and providing safe drinking water to all communities.

Be a vocal advocate for very good reasons

Image credit: Tim Sackton.

In some cultures and faiths, acts of private charity and kindness are meant to be kept secret. At a corporate level, though, social good can be exponentially expanded when brands are willing to take public stands on matters of conscience. The larger your business, the louder your voice inviting participation in works and causes that honor animals.

Once you’ve determined how you’ll be incorporating care for other creatures into your business plan, here are 10 ways to get the word out to the community you serve:

Publish optimized website content, based on keyword research and community interest, to explain your brand’s animal-centric activities.

Ask the organizations you support to interview someone at your company to explain why your staff/customers are volunteering/donating to this particularly worthy cause. These groups will also likely be looking for content opportunities. Volunteering to be the subject of an interview can expand their reach and hopefully deliver a good link or two to your website, as well.

Reach out to local reporters to let them know that this is an angle of your business operations that the public might enjoy reading about; we could all use some good news these days in the local paper!

If appropriate, get unstructured citations on local blogs or structured citations on specialty directories. For example, HappyCow.net offers a directory of restaurants where plant-based diners can find a meal.

If appropriate, create image and video content about company pets, wildlife stewardship, and local ecological efforts, demonstrating your business’s participation and inviting customers to enjoy taking part.

Promote content that you and others have published about your activities on your social media channels.

Partner with other local business owners with similar policies and programs to share work and send customers to one another.

Write some animal-centric Google posts on your Google Business Profile

Assess whether Google My Business Categories or attributes could be added to your listing to represent animal-related features of your business.

Add photos of staff pets or wildlife features at your location to your GMB listing if they add to the welcoming ambiance of your place of business.

Wag more

Watch the above video by a local business and you’ll see how almost any company can make memorable, emotional connections with the people they serve thanks to a widely-shared love of animals. Actions that celebrate, rather than exploit, our animal relations surely fall under the phenomenon of kindness as currency with multiple studies showing how people are more apt to act with generosity of spirit when they see others do so.

When you’re tasked with marketing, you’re always looking for that extra reason to be chosen by customers. 73% of people say they care about the company they buy from, not just the product. The furry paw poised on your knee right now, the purr emanating from behind your laptop, the songs of birds outside your window could be calling you to connect with customers in an authentic new way, over your joint, abiding care for animals. These days, who wouldn’t welcome a chance to wag more?

Looking for more authentic local search marketing tips to make your community a better place to live and work? Read The Essential Local SEO Strategy Guide.

[drummcarpentry]

8 Ways to Champion Animals in Your Local Business Marketing Strategy

Image credit: Yoshihide Nomura

If you’ve ever had the privilege of being present for a baby’s first joyful encounter with a household pet, you’ll have noticed the profound wonder and excitement of the little one’s reaction. Once upon a time, that was each of us beaming and bouncing up and down with the thrill of meeting our first dog or cat.

Don’t lose that joy — be like these Canadian women watching whales from their garden:

From our earliest days, most of us have simply loved animals. We fill children’s books with tales of them and choose them as life companions. In many cultures, animals are sources of sacred power, and in all parts of the world, wildlife is absolutely essential to balanced ecosystems.

67% of American households now include pets — that’s the majority of your consumer base signalling just how much animals matter to them. When local business owners and marketers communicate with most customers about animals, shared affinity is ready-built into the exchange, drawing on feelings of warmth, admiration, responsibility, concern, and happiness. These dearly-held sentiments can be sturdy building blocks of benefit for other-than-human creatures, communities, and your business. This is deeply good marketing, which can yield personal satisfaction, press, links, citations, loyalty, and positive social change.

Today, we’ll consider eight options for honoring the love both you and your customers have in common when it comes to animals, plus tips for weaving your efforts into your local business marketing strategy.

All animal-centric activities, great and small

Almost any local business will find one or more actionable ideas here to demonstrate care for animals.

1. Expand your welcome to customers’ pets

Where local health codes and business models permit, make provisions for pets at your place of business. Before the pandemic, dog-friendly dining patios, water stations, lodgings, and shopping center-based dog parks were on the rise and can return once safety does. Put a bowl of dog treats outside your storefront to make your business a memorable highlight of neighbors’ daily dog walks, keep a stash of them behind the counter if pets are permitted indoors, and take note of the dairy delivery drivers who toss snacks to dogs when bringing groceries to customers in the pacific northwest.

A kiosk of free doggy cleanup bags could be a draw to your door and a boon to the neighborhood. Bring customers inside when it’s safe again to do so with a feature wall of local pet photos. Hold contests that center pets or feature pet-centric prizes, or host a pet-based event. Meanwhile, if your business is located in a neighborhood far from large pet supply stores, consider whether a pet section makes sense in your inventory.

2. Make a place for staff pets

Image credit: Groupon

Every year, new studies are published indicating that when pets interact with people, humans benefit from lowered cortisol and blood pressure levels and a variety of improvements in states of whole body well-being. As a shopper, I can say that my household loves visiting businesses with resident pets. Prior to stay-at-home orders, some of our most memorable shopping excursions were to the nursery with the noble-looking Australian shepards, the craft store with the little terriers, and the farm stand with the dachshunds. To-do lists sounded like this:

“We need to buy mulch. Oh, and we’ll get to see Pushkin the little red dog!”

Companies are always seeking out methods of creating memorable experiences, and friendly cats and dogs on-site can be instant magic in this regard.

At Moz, even before we were working remotely, honored staff pets added calm and pleasure to company meetings, with an established policy for animal etiquette and safety practices Mozzers agreed to in order to bring their companions to the office. Even at companies that can’t have animals on the premises as a regular thing, bring-your-pet-to-work days can signal to staff that a brand is sensitive to work/life balance once it becomes safe again for people to return to offices. Evaluate how a company you’re marketing might safely incorporate animal companions into the workplace for the happiness of both staff and customers.

3. Expand your welcome to wildlife

Image credit: Theresa_Gunn

Many businesses have the space to hang a bird feeder and water dish or set up a bird bath. Nesting boxes for birds and bats are small and can be fitted into all sorts of nooks and eaves around your building in any spot where droppings won’t be a nuisance.

If your business is lucky enough to have the space, planter boxes can provide flowers, fruit, seeds, nectar, pollen, and nesting materials for birds, butterflies, bees, and other pollinators.. Call a local nursery to ask which native plants will fit in your containers and support winged visitors. If you have more space and can plant a hedge, you’ll be making a home for many types of birds and insects, and may even offer protection to rabbits, raccoons, possums, and other small animals.

Well-planned Main Streets and shopping districts can provide more than just sidewalks for humans and streets for cars — they can be places where hummingbirds sip from flower to flower, bees gather pollen, butterflies migrate, and herbivores find forage. Take your seat at city planning meetings and become an advocate for green space in commercial areas, bird-friendly windows, accessible waterways, and other ecological development strategies.

4. Sponsor wildlife crossings, corridor, and rescue programs

Millions of domestic and native animals lose their lives on our roads every year, but wildlife corridors that create safe roaming paths through fragmented areas can reduce animal-related car accidents by as much as 80%. If your heart sinks every time you see a dead animal on the highway, talk to your city council about planning wildlife crossings and corridors in your community and then either help build them or have your brand sponsor their construction. Extra credit to you if you can get your customers involved, too.

Meanwhile, if you’ve ever had to call a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation number after encountering an injured animal on the road, having a bird stun itself by crashing into a window, or finding unfledged nestlings on the ground, you know what a lifeline these programs can be. Do some research on agencies and groups in your community that contribute this vital work and offer volunteer hours or financial support.

5. Sponsor guide dog and companion animal programs

Image credit: Zelda Richardson

Dogs that act as the guides, protectors, and friends of differently-abled people are heroes, and it takes a great deal of care, time, and money to train them for their work. Additionally, many communities have programs that bring pets to children’s hospitals, elder care homes, and other centers for the important benefits humans can experience just from interacting with a loving, friendly animal.

If you’re looking for a sponsorship opportunity that can make a world of difference in people’s everyday lives, research these types of programs and volunteer or sponsor them.

6. Sponsor no-kill animal shelters

When animal lovers seek pet adoption, many insist on visiting only no-kill shelters in order to make a statement consistent with their humane values and to avoid the trauma of having to choose among animals who may be killed if not brought home.

If your region has a no-kill shelter, it’s not only a good thing to contribute to, but can also be a source of fostering community goodwill when you allow these programs to place donation jars at registers.

7. Offer plant-based and cruelty-free options

There’s a reason even fast-food franchises are offering veggie burgers now, and I see the source of it in my own family where 65% of the young people are vegetarians or vegans. Meanwhile, nearly all of them actively seek out self-care products labeled as cruelty-free.

Even if your business isn’t staffed by herbivores or animal rights activists, you can include them in the welcome you’re building so that all community members have something to eat, drink, and purchase. Nielsen found in 2018 that 39% of Americans are upping the amount of plant-based dishes in their diets, and it’s my belief that these numbers will continue to rise. Now is the time to be sure you’re not overlooking this growing consumer base who will reward your care for their needs with patronage.

8. Protect water

Image credit: Mark Giuliucci

If a deep regard for animals is shared by your company and customers, there is likely no better cause to support than the protection of all forms of water, on which we all depend for life. Cleaning up and defending the future of streams, rivers, ponds, wetlands, lakes, and oceans is challenging, vital work for us all.

Take an active role, and invite customers to learn and change with you, in removing pollutants and plastics from water sources, abandoning oil pipelines in favor of green energy, replacing forever-products with biodegradable ones, replacing many ecologically-disastrous man-made dams with biodiverse beaver dam habitat, encouraging local water boards to include Indigenous leadership in sustainable community planning, protecting remaining wetlands from development, and providing safe drinking water to all communities.

Be a vocal advocate for very good reasons

Image credit: Tim Sackton.

In some cultures and faiths, acts of private charity and kindness are meant to be kept secret. At a corporate level, though, social good can be exponentially expanded when brands are willing to take public stands on matters of conscience. The larger your business, the louder your voice inviting participation in works and causes that honor animals.

Once you’ve determined how you’ll be incorporating care for other creatures into your business plan, here are 10 ways to get the word out to the community you serve:

Publish optimized website content, based on keyword research and community interest, to explain your brand’s animal-centric activities.

Ask the organizations you support to interview someone at your company to explain why your staff/customers are volunteering/donating to this particularly worthy cause. These groups will also likely be looking for content opportunities. Volunteering to be the subject of an interview can expand their reach and hopefully deliver a good link or two to your website, as well.

Reach out to local reporters to let them know that this is an angle of your business operations that the public might enjoy reading about; we could all use some good news these days in the local paper!

If appropriate, get unstructured citations on local blogs or structured citations on specialty directories. For example, HappyCow.net offers a directory of restaurants where plant-based diners can find a meal.

If appropriate, create image and video content about company pets, wildlife stewardship, and local ecological efforts, demonstrating your business’s participation and inviting customers to enjoy taking part.

Promote content that you and others have published about your activities on your social media channels.

Partner with other local business owners with similar policies and programs to share work and send customers to one another.

Write some animal-centric Google posts on your Google Business Profile

Assess whether Google My Business Categories or attributes could be added to your listing to represent animal-related features of your business.

Add photos of staff pets or wildlife features at your location to your GMB listing if they add to the welcoming ambiance of your place of business.

Wag more

Watch the above video by a local business and you’ll see how almost any company can make memorable, emotional connections with the people they serve thanks to a widely-shared love of animals. Actions that celebrate, rather than exploit, our animal relations surely fall under the phenomenon of kindness as currency with multiple studies showing how people are more apt to act with generosity of spirit when they see others do so.

When you’re tasked with marketing, you’re always looking for that extra reason to be chosen by customers. 73% of people say they care about the company they buy from, not just the product. The furry paw poised on your knee right now, the purr emanating from behind your laptop, the songs of birds outside your window could be calling you to connect with customers in an authentic new way, over your joint, abiding care for animals. These days, who wouldn’t welcome a chance to wag more?

Looking for more authentic local search marketing tips to make your community a better place to live and work? Read The Essential Local SEO Strategy Guide.