It may take a while for visitors to return to Hawaii, but local product companies can bring Hawaii to them via e-commerce. To help those companies reach new customers online, local product accelerator ManaUp has partnered with baked-goods brand King’s Hawaiian to offer free workshops starting May 27.
“The economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic clearly demonstrates how important e-commerce is to our local businesses,” notes Mana Up cofounder Meli James. “That’s why we teamed up with King’s Hawaiian to offer a three-part virtual workshop on digital marketing which is open to local small businesses who are selling products online.”
“Mana Up companies who have invested in growing their e-commerce
businesses have fared much better during this unique time, and so we see it as a huge opportunity for growth for the entire product community,” she adds.
Companies are urged to sign up at houseofmanaup.com by May 26.
The series of workshops is intended to help companies that are currently selling products online, which can then implement tactics immediately. The workshop series will be led by Kauai-based Kahuna Marketing, a Kauai-based Google Premier Partner Agency.
Workshop sessions will be held from 2pm to 4pm from May 27-29 via Zoom. Attendees will also be eligible to win one of 10, six-week consulting engagements with Kahuna Marketing (valued at over $20,000). In addition, 10 consulting sessions will be provided to Mana Up’s upcoming cohort 5 to welcome them into the Mana Up ‘Ohana.
Workshop Schedule:
- May 27: Digital Advertising – A look at market trends and consumer behaviors impacting online retail. The workshop will discuss digital advertising tactics and strategies for growth.
- May 28: Organic Traffic – Explore ways to increase the volume of unpaid clicks to your website. The workshop will discuss the key pillars of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and how you can improve your Google search results rank.
- May 29: Paid Marketing – An introduction to the Google Ads platform discussing best practices for paid advertising campaigns, including Search Engine Marketing (SEM), YouTube video and banner advertising. The workshop will provide recommendations for testing paid campaigns if you are new to online advertising. For those already running Google ad campaigns, the workshop will provide tips to help you take your online marketing to the next level.
To cover the cost of the workshops and consulting sessions, Mana Up utilized proceeds from its House of Mana Up e-commerce site since the pandemic, which was generously matched by King’s Hawaiian.
About Mana Up
Founded in 2018, Mana Up is an initiative to expand economic opportunity, business infrastructure, and higher wage jobs in Hawaii. Its six-month accelerator program provides customized education and training to consumer product companies on how to scale globally through retail and e-commerce channels. Mana Up operates a retail business, House of Mana Up, to connect people to local brands. For more information, please visit manauphawaii.com or houseofmanaup.com.
About King’s Hawaiian
Founded 70 years ago in Hilo, Hawaii, by Robert R. Taira, King’s Hawaiian is a family-owned business that for three generations has been dedicated to providing irresistible, original recipe Hawaiian foods made with Aloha Spirit. The company makes the #1 branded dinner roll in the United States, along with other great foods including hamburger buns, hot dog buns, sandwich bread and more. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.KingsHawaiian.com, or find King’s Hawaiian on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.