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Last Updated on March 21, 2022 by Rakesh Gupta Big Idea or Enduring Question: How to sign up for the product-specific developer orgs? Objectives: After reading this blog, you’ll be able to: Sign up for Financial Service Cloud developer org Sign up for Salesforce CPQ developer org Sign up for Tableau
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Last Updated on March 21, 2022 by Rakesh Gupta Big Idea or Enduring Question: How to track your organization daily maximum and the remaining allocation limits? Objectives: After reading this blog, you’ll be able to: Understand maximum and remaining allocated limit Track all limits in once place via REST API
The post Easiest Way to View Organization Daily Limits appeared first on Automation Champion.

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Numerous resources talk about how to keep remote employees engaged — and that’s hundreds more than there were before much of the global workforce went remote in 2020.In 2018, I shared a few of our People team initiatives focused on internal community-building, but a lot has changed in four years, and we have new activities on the horizon for 2022.In addition to the ever-evolving landscape of remote work in a time of a pandemic, we instituted a four-day workweek in 2020, which had an impact on the amount non-work things we wanted to ask of our team. We just switched from quarterly to monthly All Hands, which are recorded for anyone who cannot attend.Our team engagement scores, which I measure with a survey every six months, have decreased from the beginning of 2021. Decreasing engagement scores is something tied to many factors including team turnover, product direction, and external influences. One thing that has been highlighted in our surveys is the reduction in team-building events like casual Zoom hangouts, guest speakers, and in-person events.And we’re not alone. In our 2022 State of Remote Work, a small majority (52%) of folks who started working remotely due to COVID-19 say they feel less connected to their coworkersIn 2022, we’re diving back into more intentional team-building both asynchronously, synchronously, plus we’re planning the occasional in-person meetup where available. Here’s how we’re approaching all of these events and all of our current initiatives.Culture and connection: Who is responsible?Culture is a continual evolution at any company. While every team and individual contributes to the broader culture, the People team at Buffer is responsible for helping facilitate the processes and events for connection and engagement to thrive.Many other pieces feed into the larger, nebulous thing that is culture: values, company goals, events, internal communication, managers and so much more. That said, events and teammate connection are two of the main areas of focus for me going into 2022.Last year, the important but never-as-urgent work of team-building easily fell to the bottom of the list in the scheme of other projects.  Now, we’ve intentionally re-shifted a few of the larger roles within the People-Finance team to have more clear ownership. We hired a new teammate to focus completely on recruitment and hiring (hi, Janet!) and have optimized the existing strengths of our broader People-Finance team, to make my singular focus on culture and engagement.This was the first strategic decision we made to address our overall team engagement: someone has to be the designated “driver” of a more values-based culture of connection and engagement. Without clear ownership and burden on one or more individuals, the team can flounder.Remote workplace event philosophyIn 2022, we’re moving forward with initiatives of all categories: synchronous, asynchronous, in-person, and remote, plus, we’re getting more creative with how we hold those events and are looking to be as inclusive as possible of all timezones and personalities.We tend to approach projects with a mentality that there is no one-size-fits-all. Some of the things we try will work for some and not for others. Here’s how we break down event categories along with expectations are for attendance. Note: Our required events and timezone guidance are in flux as we experiment with different approaches.A screenshot of our internal event guidelinesBeing explicit about the attendance expectations helps to alleviate confusion and ensures we don’t ask too much of teammates — especially with a four-day workweek.Most of the initiatives we’re going to do in 2022 fall into the “extracurricular” category, as we have heard that most people can get their work done in four days, but that for about a quarter of the company, they regularly have to work a bit over the four days to get their work accomplished. We want to provide the opportunity to engage with the rest of the team, without adding additional work to their plates.The tried-and-true initiativesI’m the broken record when it comes to this: Pair calls and masterminds are invaluable. If teammates can make it work, we ask them to first give these a chance.Pair calls (casual, one-on-one chats)We love Donut for automating our rotating weekly one-on-one chats with a different teammate.Donut artificially creates those moments that would happen naturally if we were all located in the same office: You’d see someone in the hall, stop for 10-20 minutes, and catch up about life. Those moments don’t happen in a remote environment. You have to make them happen, and you have to create an expectation of team-wide participation.In the past few years, usage of this program has ebbed and flowed — and the general sentiment is that teammates love it but sometimes opt-out during busier periods of work expectations. We ask all new teammates to participate in this program, especially for the first 90 days of their onboarding.For 2022, we put all teammates into our #people-pairs channel and allowed them to opt-out individually. Pair calls take 20 to 30 minutes and are meant to be very light-weight and yet, they add up over time in a really powerful way.Masterminds (deeper connections)Masterminds are meant to create a deep bond with a teammate you don’t work with directly, but hopefully have some things in common — it’s a space to share successes, failures, life events. Some matches work great, others might take some time. Some partnerships last well past tenure at Buffer!Teammates are welcome to opt-out any time of masterminds for any reason, but we’ve seen clear data to show that when mastermind pairings work, it works very well. Here’s some of the feedback we’ve received in the past:“I’ve found that opening up with my buddy has helped me open up with my managers.”“Talking to someone outside of my team is really valuable for me.”“I think it’s been really helpful to have a designated space to share and grow with another Bufferoo who isn’t my manager or someone on my team.”“A great opportunity to connect with teammates and dive deeper into conversations that might not happen in a typical pair call.”New cultural initiatives for 2022SynchronousBuffer TED talksOne of our first experiments for 2022 is monthly TED-style/lunch-and-learn talks from amongst our teammates! These will be 20-minutes long and then we’ll have 10-20 minutes of optional hanging out after. We might also bring in external speakers for these. Each talk will then be shared with a recording and a space for comments for the conversation to continue asynchronously. We hope to build out a huge library of teammate talks.Specific groupsSome of our most successful team initiatives have been around specific, special-interest groups with a clear topic. Whereas whenever we have broad, open-invitation events, we see a very poor turnout. Book clubs and side-project discussions are two groups that we’ll encourage even more this year. These are two of the most active Slack channels we have, so it’s clear where the most passionate teammate conversations are happening, and beneficial to move those to a Zoom call.Monthly All-HandsWe’re moving to monthly All-Hands (compared to our quarterly cadence last year), which allows for more frequent touch-points and chances to see teammates on Zoom. Some of the most popular features of All-Hands meetings include small-group breakouts and unique teammate speakers.We’re planning to invite more external speakers, especially to support our DEI goals and initiatives. We’ll share a lot more on this approach in future posts.AsynchronousSlack as our team water coolerSlack continues to be our virtual water cooler and we have seen great success with recurring prompts to spark conversation in that channel.Weekly Slack prompts (that we’ve tried before and will do again!)In our water cooler channel, we use Donut’s feature to send out regular questionsIn our gratitude channel, we might ask What are you grateful for today?In our books channel, we might ask What are you currently reading? What book has made the most impact on your life?In a self-improvement channel, we might ask What are you working on about yourself lately?Donut prompt in SlackFor November 2021, we tried out a daily gratitude prompt (inspired by Passion Planner’s 21-day gratitude challenge) and ended up with really great discussions over the days we posted this in November.Screenshot from the gratitude challengeInternal podcast episodesAnother asynchronous initiative we are leveraging this year: regular, internal podcast episodes. We’re launching this in a lightweight, quick way, simply recording some of the existing conversations that already happen every week. We might iterate on a more polished version in the future, but for now, we want to share the latest thoughts on our exec’s team’s mind or share a profile of a teammate.Quick questions with teammatesIn the same theme as using audio and other asynchronous formats, we’ve done weekly “Quick Question” video interviews with new teammates (and some longer-tenured teammates!) in our weekly company newsletter.Here’s a sample with Dave and Lexi from our Advocacy team!0:00/1×Here’s Lexi and Dave from Buffer’s advocacy team answering some quick questionsIn-PersonRegional meetupsWhile this is very much in the early stages, we are exploring the model of regionally-based meetups and encouraging local gatherings for our company in 2022. This is in place of a company-wide, one-location meetup, which we feel is still a bit too difficult and unpredictable given international travel considerations.We’ll share a lot more coming up as this takes shape, but it’s a piece of the larger engagement puzzle as we look ahead.Over to YouWhen it comes to keeping a team of nearly 90 teammates spread out across the globe connected and engaged, there isn’t one solution or one easy approach. It takes time, intentionality, and team accountability. What have you tried with your team, or which of these would you like to learn more about? Send us a tweet!

TikTok has shaken up the digital landscape — and its explosive growth over the past year suggests that it’s here to stay.
Although it’s an entertainment-first platform, TikTok is more than just Gen Z dance challenges.
We’re seeing more and more social impact and non-profit clients use TikTok to inform, educate, engage, advertise, and raise funds and awareness.
Here, let’s explore tips and best practices for nonprofits looking to leverage TikTok for growth.

Is TikTok right for your nonprofit?
Building a presence on a new social media platform can be a big undertaking. As with any platform, it’s essential to assess whether it’s a good fit for your organization, and whether it will help you meet your goals.
Before diving in, it’s important to ensure that your efforts go into spaces and platforms that your audience already uses.
First, make sure TikTok helps reach your organization’s target audience. Remember: over 50% of the apps’ users are under 32 years old, and over 41% of TikTok users are between the ages of 16 and 24, according to Qgiv.
You’ll also want to assess whether your organization can manage a TikTok channel. If you’re considering whether your organization has the capacity to build a TikTok presence, the first step is to ask — and trust — the person or team who manages your social media.
Another thing to consider is the way TikTok prioritizes raw, real, unedited, and people-first videos. On this platform, link posts or polished graphics and copy won’t cut it. Think about whether you have employees willing to make videos for the account, or if you have the budget to hire creators and influencers to build your presence.
Having an employee kick off your TikTok account is a great starting point, but it’s not the only way. TikTok’s creator marketplace is the platform’s official collaboration center that connects brands and creators to execute paid and reward-based campaigns. This is a great starting point for nonprofit’s that are new to TikTok.
8 Tips + Best Practices for Nonprofits on TikTok [+ Examples]
Once you’ve determined TikTok will help you reach your goals and target audience, and you’ve ensured you have the resources to manage the platform, it’s time to get into some tips that can help nonprofits move missions forward with quality TikTok content.
1. Creative is the primary factor for success.
Your content is everything on this platform. As noted above, polished photos and videos won’t cut it. You need a real person (whether that be an employee or creator from TikTok’s Creator Marketplace) to commit to making videos that have high-performing elements.
2. Use the principle of “entertainment-first”.
Remember that TikTok is an entertainment platform first and foremost.
The American Kennel Club (AKC) uses Facebook to share tips and articles about dog care — like this post featuring the best dog raincoats — to establish its place as an expert in dog welfare.
AKC’s TikTok, however, has a different goal: to engage audiences with cute dog videos. This TikTok post succeeded not by educating about dog care, but by showing off the incredibly cute Pekingese breed at a dog show.

@americankennelclub issa peke parade!
#thisisakc
#dogs
#pekingese
#dogshow
#showdog
#mop
#peke
#pekingeseoftiktok
#dogsoftiktok
#strut
♬ Baby Elephant Walk – Henry Mancini

3. Leverage talent to bring your videos to life.
More than one in three viral videos featured a person speaking within the first three seconds, according to a recent analysis of over 600 viral TikTok videos by SemRush. Featuring actual people in your video content is essential, and it gives your organization the chance to spotlight and uplift a diverse group of voices.
There are a few key places you can source talent from — for instance, consider inviting folks from different departments of your organization to create or star in content, or tap into the platform’s vast supply of creators.
The It Gets Better Project taps into a network of creators that they have established relationships with — like this video featuring Zoe Stoller — to create fun, informative content for their page.

@itgetsbetter It’s important when they’re NOT in the room, too! 🚪 @zoestoller
#itgetsbetter
#lgbtq
#lgbtqally
#ally
#pronounsmatter
♬ I Just Wanna Know – Luke Reeves

 
4. Stay ahead of trends and find inspiring creations from the Discover page.
Trends are constantly circulating on TikTok, and the best way to know which content, audio, hashtags, or concepts are going viral on the platform is to engage with the Discover page. Think of this page as the hub for the most popular content on the app. This space also includes featured placement for paid media.
On the Discover page, you’ll see a series of trending hashtags that you can click through. The set of videos that appear under each hashtag are videos that either started the trend or popular videos that are relevant to the trending hashtag.

It’s a good idea to use these examples as inspiration when developing new videos, but a TikTok strategy should not focus solely on reacting to viral trends.

5. Approach TikTok like a regular human — not a brand.
Establishing your organization’s identity or persona is critical when building a content strategy because this is the first step in attracting an engaged audience.
As noted earlier, Gen Z — a primary audience on this app — favors authenticity more than their millennial counterparts. Instead of trying to appeal to a massive audience, lean into your organization’s unique knowledge base and informative storytelling.
If you aren’t sure how to build a TikTok persona for your organization, start with your mission statement! From there, you can narrow down which content buckets you would like to focus on, and ultimately the type of videos you want to make.
AKC posted this video of a dog competing in an agility contest — and despite being filmed on a smartphone, the TikTok earned over 2 million views. Expensive equipment is not necessary to produce highly engaging content.
6. Use a story arc.
Videos should have a concise beginning, middle, and end. Consider mapping out key story fundamentals such as a hook, introduction, interesting turn, and final pay-off before executing a TikTok. Storyboarding can help to streamline the filming process, and it provides guidelines for those who are new at creating this sort of content.
In preparation for It Gets Better Project’s organic TikTok campaign promoting the “50 States. 50 Grants. 5000 Voices.” grant program, the Media Cause team developed a narrative structure and sample script to correspond with the campaign’s branded hashtag.
Mapping out a sample narrative arc and example script was important to illustrate how the overarching campaign would function on the platform. It also served as a useful tool to share with talent who would eventually participate in the creating content for the TikTok campaign.
Media Cause partnered with the TikTok team to gain feedback on the narrative arc and branded hashtag — and, as a result, It Gets Better Project’s campaign was featured on the TikTok Explore page.
7. Keep it concise (15-30 seconds), and get to the point.
Be sure to show your followers the lesson or purpose of the video within the first three seconds … That’s all the time you get before the average user swipes.
You can easily achieve a captivating introduction by using text on the screen, narration, or front-loading the video with the most salient information.
Consider, for instance, this Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC) TikTok video, which educates viewers on the infrastructure package in a mere 30 seconds: 

@nrdc.org
#stitch with @washingtonpost Andrew and his paper money can’t take historic climate action, but Congress can!
#roborockrun
#bonesday
#climateaction
#fyp
♬ original sound – NRDC

8. Inspire co-creation.
When crafting a content strategy, you don’t need to start from scratch. Leverage in-app tools to promote conversation and engagement with existing audiences that overlap with your own — this can be through TikTok’s duet, react, reply with video, and stitch features.
Inspire your audience to have a dialogue with your organization through the use of polls or Q&As. Also, community management is key on TikTok, so be sure to answer any questions you receive in your comments (or in the comment section of other viral TikToks).
Ultimately, TikTok is here to stay, and it provides the opportunity to connect with an audience you may not otherwise reach. As with any platform, it’s essential to assess whether it’s a good fit for your organization and goals.
Once you’ve determined whether a TikTok strategy will help your organization reach its desired audience and goals, embrace these tips to ensure success. Remember: Experimentation and creativity are key! The time and energy you invest in this platform to gain brand awareness could lead to audience loyalty and high-quality conversions.
Media Cause’s Patricia Camerota (Social Media Strategist) and Janine Guarino (Associate Social Director) contributed to this post. 

How consumers make purchasing decisions has changed greatly in just a few months. For instance, the pandemic has shifted some buyers more online.

In recent years, there has also been a push for more transparent and sustainable practices in brands. But what else is there? Well, that’s what we’re covering here.
In this article, you’ll learn some interesting statistics regarding consumer behavior that you should know in 2022 and what that means for your marketing strategy.
1. Consumers buy more online.
According to a 2022 GWI Commerce Report, there has been a 36% increase in the number of Americans doing most of their household or grocery shopping online.
During the 2021 holiday season, 46% of consumers shopped exclusively online according to a Jungle Scout report.
Why? The top reasons are lower prices, low-cost shipping, and convenience.
Back in 2020, NRF’s Winter 2020 Consumer View reported that 83% of shoppers say convenience while shopping is more important compared to five years ago. That was before the pandemic, so that percentage has likely increased.

Image Source
This shift has forced some brick-and-mortar stores to consider how to implement an ecommerce strategy, whether it’s launching their own online stores or partnering with third-party platforms.
There’s also a bigger need for a robust online presence. While this was always recommended for brands, nowadays, it’s vital for their long-term growth.
2. Reviews and user-generated content are more influential than ever.
Today, it seems like everyone is talking about influencer marketing.
When we surveyed over 1,000 global marketers in 2021, 61% of B2C marketers said they planned to increase their investment in influencer marketing, compared to only 44% in UGC.
However, some studies suggest that the opposite strategy may be more effective.

According to a 2021 Stackla report, UGC is 8.7 times more impactful than influencer content and 6.6 times more than branded content.
In fact, when it comes to sourcing gift ideas on social media, the Jungle Scout revealed that 56% of consumers are influenced by posts shared by friends and family – more than branded content and ads.
From a marketing perspective, this is a signal to brands that consumers want to hear more from other buyers. Consider implementing this into your social strategy by sharing customer reviews and promoting UGC through giveaways and other promotional tactics.
While it’s a great brand discovery tool, it also works well to reel in consumers at the consideration stage of the buyer’s journey.
3. Consumers seek personalization.
According to the Stackla report, 70 percent of consumers say it’s important for brands to offer a personalized experience – up from 67 percent in 2019.
HubSpot Blog Research from 2021 revealed that 53% of marketers leverage message personalization in their email marketing strategy. Of that percentage, 72% say it’s been one of the most effective tactics, more than subscriber segmentation, email automation, and dynamic content.
However, there are many more ways to personalize a user’s experience beyond personalization tokens – from product recommendations and usage recaps (think Spotify’s annual “UnWrapped” campaign) to smart content and 360 customer views.
With so many channels to reach audiences, marketers have a wealth of options when it comes to personalization. It’s just a matter of narrowing down the ones that offer the best ROI.

4. Gen Z leads the charge in social buying.
In May 2021, eMarketer found that Gen Zers are more likely to engage in social commerce than older generations.
Their report revealed that roughly 56% of consumers between 18 and 24 years old and 47.5% of 14- to 17-year olds have made at least one purchase on a social platform.
These figures are considerably higher than other generations, with only a third of consumers between 45 to 65 years of age making at least one purchase on social media in the year.
Which platforms is Gen Z mostly on? TikTok and Instagram.
A 2022 GWI Gen Z report found that 46% of Gen Zers use TikTok to find information about products and brands while 69% use Instagram.
This is likely because Instagram has slowly transitioned to an ecommerce platform with advanced shopping tools while TikTok has kept its focus as a short-form video platform.
So, what are Gen Z buyers looking for? On social media, the GWI report found that most are looking for content that’s:

Lighthearted and funny
Inspirational
Informational and helpful

As for their purchasing journey, the number one way Gen Z discovers and researches products is through vlogs (video blogs), according to the GWI report. Once they’ve made a purchase, they become most loyal to brands that offer access to exclusive content or services.
So, if your target audience includes Gen Z, your social media presence will be more important than ever.
5. Brands can benefit from an omnichannel approach.
In a March 2020 eMarketer study of how U.S. adults preferred that brands communicate with them, email came out on top alongside TV advertising. Social media posts came in third and text messages next.​​
Image Source
What this data suggests is that a single-channel strategy is not enough to attract and retain consumers.
Their attention is being pulled in many different directions and if your brand isn’t present, you may quickly be forgotten.
Now, this isn’t to say that every brand should be utilizing every single channel out there. Because after all, not every channel will offer a positive return on investment. What we are suggesting is consistently leveraging a mix of one to three channels while staying updated on how your audience is responding.
Some channels may work well during specific stages in the buyer’s journey and some may work only for a time. Listening to your data is the best way to know which channels are worth your time and effort.
6. Shoppers expect BNPL options.
Buy-now-pay-later is a payment service that allows customers to spread out their purchase payments into interest-free installments.
The topic started rising in popularity around mid-year in 2020 but peaked in September 2021, according to Google Trends.
In 2020, Paypal launched its own payment installment plan and during the 2021 Black Friday, they had a nearly 400% increase in BNPL transactions year-over-year.
Although one CNBC report found that only 7% of shoppers planned to use BNPL this past holiday season, experts expect that figure to double or triple in 2022.
It’s particularly popular with Gen Z – a population that is only now starting to join the workforce. The 2022 GWI report found that one in five Gen Z shoppers in the Asia-Pacific region used a BNPL service in the last month.
Payment is often not something marketers think about when advertising a brand’s products and/or services. However, this data suggests it may be helpful to highlight this as it’s becoming a stronger purchasing consideration for consumers.
7. There’s more demand for sustainable brands.
In 2019, the Harvard Business Review reported that sustainable products are five times more successful in average sales growth compared to brands that aren’t marketed as such. Today, that trend continues to grow.

A Global Sustainability Study 2021 report found that one third of consumers are willing to pay a premium for sustainable products.
In fact, 61% of Gen Z say they pay more for eco-friendly products than those that aren’t, according to the GWI report. Specifically, online shoppers are looking for:

The use of natural, organic materials
Recycled or recyclable items
Brands in which part of the proceeds go to eco-friendly causes
No harmful chemicals
Durability

Many brands may offer one or more of these but fail to advertise them. However, this is what can help set you apart from the competition, as sustainability becomes a growing purchasing factor for consumers.
Now that you know what’s influencing consumer behavior, you can begin to craft a marketing strategy that appeals to your audience’s most pressing needs.