Get Your Face In The Digital Book

Social media has come a long way in only a little over a decade. I can still remember using my first platform, Myspace, to inform all of my high school friends about everything they probably already knew about me while making sure my profile layout and music were always the coolest. Back in those days, I recall being too young to even use social media, since I was under the age of 16 and not a college student — which you needed to be in order to log into Facebook with your college email address. I remember me and my best friend looking at the mysteries of Facebook with her older sister who was in college.

My how times have changed. I remember, almost, hating Facebook when it evolved from simply being, for kids of the 90s, a place for keeping in touch with your friends and personal networking to so much more. In came older family members, organizations and businesses. Insert blurred lines of personal and professionalism here. However, I can’t deny that social media platforms are great for both uses, especially for your business whether it’s a large or small company or you are an entrepreneur.

One struggle some businesses have is deciding which social media platform is perfect for them. There is no “perfect” conclusion for this. It all depends on your marketing audience, and be prepared, because your audience’s preferences could change at any time. With this being said, I’ll start off with one of the most practical social media platforms that can be used.

Facebook.

Everyone, I’m sure, has had some sort of love-hate relationship with Facebook. It’s like the mother of all platforms. You love it, then you hate it. You want to leave, but can’t bring yourself to actually cut all ties. You break-up with it for a while, but always come back.

Basically, every business should use this platform. It’s perfect for all ages. Even if your audience is mostly teenyboppers, who aren’t really flocking to this platform as much anymore by the way. There parents still are and would probably love to follow you because it makes it seem as if you are keeping them connected with their kids.

Because every one is using it, Facebook is a great way to get your business out there. Create a business page. Share information about your business, including important things like what your business is, location and hours of operation. Share your page with friends and associates, or other businesses, that you work with. Also encourage employees to like the company page and share with their friends and associates. Finally, promote your Facebook page yourself through other mediums that you use whether it be another social media platform, business cards, shopping bags or advertisements; let the world know that your page exists.

Post updates regularly that include what your business is doing, information about products (both new and old), all press releases that promote your business and any information that is related to your business. For example, if you are a store that sells shoes, it’s appropriate to share, on your page, an article from Nike or TOMS about a new shoe release. Post tons of photos! We are currently in a time where photo journalism is everything. Participate in popular hashtags that are appropriate for your business such as Throwback Thursday (#TBT), Flashback Friday (#FBF), Man Crush Monday (#MCM) or Outfit of the Day (#OOTD). Also, create your own hashtags. It could simply be the name of your business or something catchy to promote a sale or important information.

I also encourage you to post regularly. Develop a social media plan to decide when it’s best for you to reach your audience. Test this by posting at various times of the day. The time that receives the most traffic is the time you want to post the most. Decide how often you want to post. Bi-weekly, daily, several times a day? It’s all up to you and, of course, your audience. Please don’t flood your followers’ timelines several times a day if you aren’t receiving any type of, or very little, response. This is actually kind of annoying. Relax. Once you figure out your posting schedule, Facebook has made it easy for your to draft and que your future posts. This is, literally, one of the best features ever. Take advantage of it.

Getting your face in the digital book, that is Facebook, doesn’t have to be stressful. It’s a great way for you to share information as you also get to know and interact with your marketing audience. Don’t be afraid to respond to comments, both positive and negative; just do so in an appropriate manner.

So what are you waiting for? Grab an awesome social media manager and have fun promoting your brand!

Why You Need Social Media

Social media has been around for quite a while now, so if you are not using it for your brand, it’s a little shocking. Social media can be used both personally and professionally. Due to the fact that it is used by many people personally, some businesses don’t use it or have a fear of using it. Some use it simply because everyone else is using it, and they want to seem relevant. However, many businesses don’t realize the true value of using social media. In case you, or your co-workers, fall into this category, here is some insight that may get you a little more enthusiastic about using social media.

1. BUILD THE BRAND. The number one reason a business should be using social media is to strengthen their brand. Social media allows you to make yourself look good (or bad, so use it wisely). It gives you a chance to advertise, for free, to local, national and global customers. Using social media allows people to learn about you and share what you do with friends, which allows your brand to grow.
2. FREE. They say the best things in life are free,.and social media is free! It costs nothing to join a networking platform and tell others about your brand. Sure you may pay someone to manage your social media platforms for you (this is not mandatory), but you’re not paying for content to be posted or shared. One of the best things about social media is that there is no limit on the amount of times or ways that content can be shared. This could be an issue on a personal level, but it’s great for businesses to be aware of this.
3. EASY TO USE. Social media is simple. The sites are easy to use, and once you get the hang of one platform, the others become easier to understand and use. Also, if you need help getting the hang of things, there are plenty of people, like myself, that can help you create a plan of action.
4. IT’S PERSONAL. As I mentioned earlier, I think several businesses fear using social media because it is used both professionally and personally. Some people don’t understand how to differentiate the two — and yes, there is a difference. For your business, you want to go the professional route, obviously, and social media allows you to reach out to followers on a personal level. This is great because several of your followers are most likely following you from their personal accounts, and while they are using personal accounts, they want to interact personally. People seem to really like this. Social media lets you interact with customers on a new level in order to really assist them and make them like you more. Who doesn’t want to be liked more?
5. EVERYONE ELSE IS DOING IT. Peer pressure in other forms may not the best the decision, but when it comes to social media, like Nike, you should just do it. Do it because everyone else is doing it. That means all of your competition is doing it, and it they aren’t, then you should aim to beat them to it. You want to aim to be the best, and, in today’s world of business, social media can help you become the best.

Carry-On Mission Trip Packing

packing for haiti

I wanted to do a post on packing because I am always looking up different ways to pack via blogs, so I thought I’d share my own packing list and tips.

This particularly is about packing for a one-week mission trip in Haiti using carry-on bags. I packed two carry-on bags: one small rolling suitcase and one backpack.

The backpack

Inside my backpack I had:

• Passport
• Wallet (You know, for the obvious carrying of money and identification.)
• 2 Bibles (One in English and one in French — only because I rarely get to seriously use the French one.)
• Folder with a copy of my passport and our itinerary inside (Also good to store other papers/information that you may get on the trip.)
• Water bottle (32 oz.; similar to a Nalgene, but mine is a cute one from Victoria’s Secret.)
• Keen shoes (In a shoe bag to help keep dirt from getting all over my bag.)
• Camera
• Batteries
• iPhone (I made sure I had all of my favorite tunes along with a few episodes of Downton Abbey to watch at night.)
• Headphones
• Phone Charger
• Portable charger (This is a life-saver — bring it!)
• UNO card game
• Book (For my reading pleasure.)
• Crossword puzzles
• Hat
• Bandanna scarf
• Gum
• 3 Boxes of Ziploc sandwich bags (These can be used to pass out supplies/goods. Our team didn’t use them, but I has happy to leave them for others to use.)

The rolling suitcase

Inside my suitcase I packed:

• 6 T-shirts (Flat packed)
• 5 Skirts (Flat packed)
• 1 Undershirt/Tank top
• 10 pairs of undies (I’m always conscientious about having enough while traveling.)
• 4 Bras
• 2 pair of socks
• Pajamas: Long-sleeved t-shirt and leggings
• Light jacket (In case of rain or if I got cold on the plane)
• Swimwear
• Flip-flops for the shower
• Shower Caddy
• 1 Towel and 1 Washcloth (REI Camping/Travel towels that are thin for easy packing and dry quickly. There were towels provided for us, but I kind of like to use my own.)
• She Butter (Lemongrass scent to help with mosquitoes): Used for lotion, sunscreen and hair moisturizer
• Doedorant (Regular size)
• Travel-size baby powder
• Toothbrush (In a cover, of course.)
• Shea Moisture Lemongrass Soap bar (Lemongrass scent to help with mosquitoes; this soap is good for the body and the face; in a soap case, of course.)
• Hairbrush (Tangle Tamer for my natural, kinky tresses.)
• Headbands and bows (It’s okay to look cute!)
• Sleeping cap
• Travel pack of Clorox Wipes
•  TSA Liquids Baggie: Travel-size OFF Deep Woods bug spray with deet (2), toothpaste, Lysol and wrinkle release; I placed some of my own face moisturizer and peppermint oil (for my hair) that I had into travel containers; After Bite anti-itch cream
• 2 Twin sheet sets (Each team member brought one sheet set to take to the orphanages. I brought one set to sleep on, but there were clean sheets provided for us. I left my second set there to create more room in my bag for the trip home.)
• 2 Boxes of gallon-size Ziploc bags (We brought these to use to pass out food during our trip.)
• Crossbody purse (Great for when I wanted to carry light!)
• Snacks: 8 packs of Poptarts, 10 packs of fruit snacks, 12 Cliff Bars, butterscotch candy, 2 packs of Nunn electrolyte drink tabs (perfect for when you are tired of water or just need some electrolytes). Only a few snacks remained at the end of the trip, so this helped to save space in my bag on the way home.

Extra notes

On the journey over, I sported a skirt, an under shirt, our team t-shirt and TOMS shoes — comfy/cute travel wear. Also, I wore my bracelets and watch there so I wouldn’t have to pack them.

I, personally, prefer flat packing over rolling packing. In my opinion, flat packing takes up less room, helps your bag to be lighter and helps keep your clothes from getting wrinkled.

I pack my undergarments in a packing cube to help keep things organized in my bag. I’m the type to live out of my suitcase when I travel, so this helps.

Since I didn’t return with everything that I brought over, this left space for a few souvenirs.

I always bring a few plastic bags along to carry wet clothing, wet towels and/or shoes in during the trip home.

I didn’t have to pack everything in a carry-on, but I found it to be easier for this trip as well as for other trips I’ve taken in the past. I also, for some weird reason, am entertained at the thought of trying to figure out how to fit all of my stuff in small luggage, so it’s kind of like a game to me.

Hopefully this is helpful for all of you looking to carry-on.
Happy Travels.