In the spirit of the holidays and the season of giving, we have an inspiring story from Rebecca Hastings, the owner of hugabox a business that creates care packages with a purpose. Keep reading to see how she got started in business, how she uses social media to support the fight against childhood cancer, and how other small businesses can give back to their communities and the causes important to them.
Meet hugabox, a small business with a big heart
Rebecca Hastings is the CEO and Founder of hugabox, a thoughtful business with a cause close to her heart. Hugabox is a warmhearted business that creates and sends care packages to those who could use a hug, like college students who can't make it home for the holidays. They also specialize in care packages for those coping with cancer.
“We started our care package business a year after our daughter passed away from Ewing Sarcoma Cancer in 2015. The outpouring of support our daughter received during her four years living with cancer was significant, and we never forgot.”
Rebecca found a way to honor her daughter’s memory by helping others and making a difference for those affected by cancer and supporting continued research.
“Now, through our hugabox care package business, we help other families provide love and support to their loved ones. With each purchase, we give back to cancer research centers across the United States designated for Sarcoma Cancer Research. Over the years, we have donated over $100,000.”
The role of giving for hugabox
It’s clear that giving is the main motivation for hugabox, so we asked how they give back and how other businesses can incorporate giving.
“hugabox is very different than many other for-profit businesses. We give 90% of our proceeds to 7 sarcoma cancer research centers across the United States. We encourage all businesses to consider giving back. Giving back fosters goodwill.”
Rebecca also had advice for other businesses on how it can help you connect better with your community and get started with giving.
“Regularly giving will get you noticed with the people working and volunteering at the organizations you support. They will be grateful and will want to thank you. It’s typical for a recipient to show appreciation by patronizing your business. They may also refer friends and family to your business.”
How Ripl helped Rebecca bring her social media marketing to life
Cheerful faces, bright colors, and engaging videos make up hugabox’s eye-catching social media feeds, where Rebecca posts regularly to keep her customers up-to-date.
“Before using Ripl, we were posting one promotional photo a day. Looking back, the photos we posted lacked a certain sophistication. I remember the first time I observed a post using Ripl. I was fascinated by the aesthetically pleasing movement of the post and I wanted to know how they did it.”
Ripl’s templates make it easy for Rebecca to keep a consistent and cohesive feed.
“I’ve been using Ripl almost every day for the past four years. By changing
most of our posts to animated posts, I’ve been able to increase viewership from double digits to in the hundreds.”
Rebecca’s advice for other small business owners using social media to reach their customers
Taking a look at the hugabox’s social media accounts, it’s clear that Rebecca knows a thing or two about using social media to reach her audience. She breaks down her advice into three actionable steps:
Make your posts visually pleasing, and add text to your posts.
Try to think of ways to keep your followers on your site for longer periods of time. An animated post helps you reach this goal.
Try to increase ways to interact with your followers. Create excitement, encourage comments and reply to those comments right away.
A hugabox makes the perfect holiday gift. Celebrate the season and support a good cause by placing an order on their website. Make sure to follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest too.
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