3 Reasons You Should Be Using Hootsuite

In the past few years, social media management has gone from another task on the HR departments to do list to something so important that it needs its own team focusing on generating content. Thankfully, because of the rise in importance in social media management, there have been several websites and apps created to make managing all of the social media accounts easier. This evening, I am going to discuss Hootsuite, one of the more notable social media management sites, and why having a Hootsuite account is worth while.

1. Hootsuite teaches you about social media. Yes, you heard right, it teaches you how to use social media. They currently have 6 free social marketing courses that anyone can enroll in and if you become a Hootsuite Pro member you can gain full access to Hootsuite University, which offers courses about social media best practices and how to expand your online reach to more potential customers.

2. Hootsuite is a Twitter lifesaver. Hootsuite Publisher is a fantastic source to find content that matches your brand voice and serves as a great guide for when you should post to get the most engagement from your audience. My favorite feature on Publisher has to be the content calendar though, it allows you to create a content calendar that can automatically release tweets throughout the day.

3. Hootsuite Streams makes social media monitoring so much easier. The streams function is makes monitoring multiple accounts and multiple platforms a breeze. The tabs option allows you to go back and forth between the live feeds of each platform within seconds. The streams also allow you to monitor trending tweets on specific keywords to see what kind of voice does well for that topic. 

Hootsuite is a great resource to use for your social media platforms and I hope that if you decide to use this site that it helps achieve your social media goals. Please feel free to leave any social media management suggestions in the comments. See you guys next week!

Social Media and PR

Hi people of the internet! Welcome to this week’s social media topic post. This week we are focusing on Social Media and Public Relations. Social media can be a blessing for companies who are looking for affordable brand to consumer to consumer communication. Companies can take advantage of the real time marketing (RTM) capabilities that come with social media platforms like Twitter and Snapchat. However, social media can be a curse for companies whenever there is some sort of company scandal, thanks to RTM. This post is focused on how to use social media to maintain good public relations with your audience during times of crisis and how to take trend jack the companies in crisis.

If you’re worried about social media blowing up about any potential scandals with your company, then you need to acknowledge the crisis to avoid a PR disaster like Chipotle’s. Another important thing to do is to not go quiet on social media. In Fact this part is so important to remember that I have decided to repeat this and put it in bold: Don’t Go Silent on Social Media. A time of crisis is not a time for silence. If your company is in distress due to some scandal, then make sure to post live updates on your company’s social media platforms about what is being done to remedy the situation that is occurring.

If you are fortunate enough that one of your competitor’s is the focus of a major scandal and not your company, then congratulations, you have just been presented with an amazing opportunity, trend jacking. Some of you may hold strong feelings against being trend jackers, but trend jacking allows dissatisfied customers to explore other options to fulfill their needs. There are many ways that you can go about doing this, one example would be, if your competitor just had a scandal involving a breach of security, then now is the time to post what your company does to keep your consumers’ information safe. You should present this information while this topic is trending on social media, because it is important to give out this information while the topic is still relevant.

Sports and Social Media

With athletic events like the Super Bowl and NCAA Football Championship being among the most viewed content across the United States and among the most talked about content, it makes sense that companies try to use social media to advertise their content during sporting events. Social media has also been a great way to gain the attention of fans and potential students for the universities that participate in major sporting events. Social media has never been more important in sports.

It is almost expected of corporations to use real time marketing via social media for advertising since @oreo got the ball rolling during the Super Bowl several years ago. After their quick response to the Super Bowl power outage became a national phenomenon, every major brand decided that they needed to have their social media teams working the Super Bowl. This year, after every major play, companies like KFC would tie in what just happened with their product promotions. Everyone is trying to make sure they don’t get left behind in sporting event advertising via social media.

Corporations aren’t the only ones using social media to their advantage, university teams that are participating in these sporting events have also begun to use real time marketing to promote their schools. One university team who really stands out on social media is Clemson, who use platforms like Vine, Snapchat, and Twitter to gain more interest for their school. During the NCAA Football Championship this past year, Clemson utilized their social media accounts to increase the focus on their game by posting every play that was happening in real time and creating a sense of community with #ALLIN. They also kept their audiences engaged by asking them questions and to tweet support for their team. They have also recognized the fans on social media by thanking them time and again. This helped the University of Clemson capture the attention of prospective students and helped them show how grateful they were to their fan base.

Tying social media campaigns to sporting events can increase audience participation and create unique opportunities to advertise products. If used correctly, it can make your brand a national phenomenon and increase your fandom. I can’t wait to see what innovative posts will be posted during the next major sporting event: NCAA Basketball Finals.

3 Tips to Help You Survive the Stress of Midterm Week

Since it is the middle of the semester for most universities and midterms are about to be in full swing, I have decided to focus this week’s blog post on how to handle stress during your crazy school weeks. I will say before going further in this post that I am using tips that have helped me deal with stress and that these tips may not work with everyone. If you are truly experiencing severe stress and/or depression, then please speak with your campus counseling services or doctor for help with managing stress and/or depression.

1. Exercise: I know that many of you guys feel that there is no time during you busy week to exercise, but you should make time. When you exercise, your body releases endorphins, which make your body feel better and reduce your stress levels. Exercising also helps when you are dealing with writer’s block because physical activity can help give you that surge of inspiration you need. If you don’t know what exercises you have time for, I suggest searching the BeFit channel on YouTube for an activity that works for you.

2. Give Yourself a Brain Break Between Study Sessions: Even, if it is just watching a funny video on YouTube or drinking a cup of herbal tea, doing something that relaxes you will make midterms bearable. Taking a breather will also allow you to come back to work with a fresh perspective that may help you solve a problem you are stuck on.

3. Meditate: No, I am not asking you to sit cross legged and to say “Ohm!” for an hour straight, although if that helps you relieve stress, then go for it. I’m talking about practicing mindfulness, which is where you focus on the current moment you are in. To do it, you need to close your eyes and focus on maintaining deep breaths. Then you need to focus on trying to relax each part of your body one section at a time. Doing this only takes about ten minutes, but if you want to do more a more in depth version of meditation, then download Pacifica (available on iOS and Android), which will walk you through step by step.

I hope this tips will help you survive your midterms. If you have any questions or comments for me, then you can post them in the comments or tweet me, my Twitter handle is @JoieBieger. Stay tuned next week for tips on how to make your resume rock.
What kind of things do you do to make stress more bearable?

Photo and Content Creation

There are many important aspects that require your focus on social media, but the two I intend to focus on during this post are content creation and the use of photos/other imagery. Content creation is important because it is the creation of the message you are going to send out. The use of images like photos, videos, and GIFs are important because they capture your reader’s attention. This post will focus on tips and tricks to improve your content and image use.

When you are trying to develop content that interests your audience, it is important to do your research. Find out what kind of posts get the most likes, retweets, and comments from your demographic. Check to see what time this posts were published, so you can figure out the ideal time to post your content. Then brainstorm ways to incorporate the blending of your unique digital voice with the tone of the most popular posts for your demographic. It should get you more likes and retweets.

         Image incorporation can be a little trickier because you have to figure out what kind of images will help send your message, as well as how to access or create these images. If you would like to incorporate a GIF into your posts, then I recommend you use a website like Giphy, because you can find free GIFs that range from something like this:

To something like this:

If you would like to include stock images, then one of my favorite sites to use is Free Images, because it gives you access to thousands of images that are free for public use.

If creating your own digital content is more your style, then I recommend downloading an app like VSCO (available on Android and iOS) so that you can improve the image quality that you record with your phone.

         I hope you found these tips helpful. Now go forth and generate your own content. Don’t forget to leave a note in the comments if you have any suggestions about the post or digital content creation.

5 Tips for How to Save Money While Shopping

         

Being a broke college student can be hard sometimes, especially when you like to shop. But if you shop smart, then you can still enjoy buying the things you love without breaking the bank. Here are 7 tips about how to shop smart:

1. Use Your Student Discounts: If you like to shop at places like TopShop or on Amazon, then as a student you get a discount. TopShop gives you a 10% discount off and Amazon gives you a 6-month free trial to Amazon Prime, which will be half off after your trial expires. To see a list of other student discounts, click this link: http://www.giftcardgranny.com/blog/student-discounts/ . If you attend the University of Louisville check out this link for more discounts in the Louisville area: http://louisville.edu/hr/gptw/discounts/entertainmentdiscounts
   
2.   Use Membership Cards: Whether it be your Kroger card for groceries or your Ulta card for makeup, most stores offer membership cards that give you rewards for shopping there. These rewards can include anything from money off your next fill up or even little gifts for your birthday. If you shop at a store regularly and don’t know if that store offers a rewards card just ask an associate, they can help you set up an account.
   
3. Explore Thrift Shops In Your Area: If you’re obsessed with shopping for clothes like me, then you know that buying new clothes all the time can get expensive. But, there is an alternative that isn’t as bad as Macklemore made it out to be, your local thrift shops. Consignment shops hold unique and interesting pieces for a much cheaper price than in department stores.
   
4. Go “Shopping” In Your Relatives’ Closets: If you have any older siblings, parents, or grandparents that have clothes your size or a similar fashion taste, then see if you can raid their closet. You can find great things that are actually vintage and that have some sentimental value.
   
5. Cut Back: If you use all of these suggestions and you are still spending too much money, then you may need to cut back on your spending. It may be no fun, but when you cut back to mostly necessities, you will save so much money.

I hope these tips help you save money and still enjoy your shopping experiences. If you have any other tips or you would like to comment on, then please post them below. Check back next week for tips on how to deal with stress while in school.

A Healthy Meal For When You Have No Time

It can be hard to eat healthy in college for many different reasons. But whether you think you can’t eat healthy because you think you can’t afford healthy foods you like to eat or you think that you have no time to make healthy foods, healthy eating is still necessary if you want to feel healthy in college. That is why this week I am centering this post on a healthy recipe that tastes good and is affordable: Zucchini Noodle Fettuccini. Zucchini Noodle Fettuccini is a meal that takes under thirty minutes to prepare, gives you some much needed servings of vegetables, and won’t break the bank.

Here’s is what you will need to prepare your Fettuccini:

•  Spiralizer (You can find one like this for $8 on Amazon)
  
•  2 Zucchinis
• 1 medium Swiss Cheese Wedge (Sliced)
•  2 Tea Spoons of Parmesan (Shredded)
• 1.5 Cups of Low Fat Sour Cream
• Skillet to Cook the Pasta in

Now that you know what supplies you need, it’s time for the easy cooking process.

1.  Twist the zucchini through the spiralizer to make the zucchini noodles.
2. Put the zucchini in the skillet and cook at a medium heat for 4 minutes.
3. Mix in the parmesan, Swiss cheese, and sour cream into the skillet with the zucchini noodles.
4. Cook at medium heat while stirring occasionally until all the cheese is melted and becomes a sauce-like consistency.

That’s literally all there is to it and you are ready to eat in less than 30 minutes. If you have any tips or other recipes you would like to share please leave some comments, I would love to know about what you do for quick healthy meals. Check back next week for 6 tips on how to save money when shopping and another featured recipe next month.