How Businesses Can Use Short, Sweet & Visual Social Media Content

With so many forms of social media these days, it seems like businesses are having a tough time keeping up. It can be difficult for companies to find new and creative ways to connect with their customers. What if instead of spending money on expensive advertising and marketing campaigns, companies spent their time developing innovative strategies of staying connected with their customers by following the latest social media trends?

What even are the latest social media trends these days? Well, the Snapchat smartphone application sends a picture for 10 seconds to another follower before the photo self-destructs. The Vine app allows users to create and make a six second video clip. So how can these businesses really use social media marketing to their advantage?

First, these companies need to know their audience. If business have teenagers as their main demographic, they should know that certain media platforms (like Snapchat, Vine and Instagram) are becoming more popular among this age group. A Forbes article "Snapchat, Instagram and Vine For Social Media Marketing?" mentions several case studies about how a frozen yogurt shop, 16 Handles, became one of the first entities to use Snapchat as a form of marketing to reach out to teenagers who are a majority of their Facebook and Twitter fans.  Anyone who sends a picture via Snapchat of their frozen yogurt purchase were sent a 10 second coupon in return from 16 Handles. This disappearing content allows 16 Handles customers to become impulsive when it comes to redeeming a coupon on Snapchat. This demonstrates how loyal the customers are to the brand.

Second, these businesses need to find ways to make any images or videos they post personal to their consumers. Whether it be a discount incentive on Snapchat or a funny Vine video, there needs to be some sort of connection with their clients. Businesses can devise creative marketing strategies like a social media scavenger hunt and providing a winning discount prize for the best participating customer. These types of incentives will leave buyers wanting to engage with the company more often on different social media apps because they know the business always stays up to date on the latest trends. Social media apps like, Snapchat and Vine, are bridging a gap between corporations and their customers to get to know their clients' likes and dislikes about the brand on a more personal level. 


Creating short, sweet and visual social media content allows companies to really tap into their main demographics and connect with their customers on a much more individual level. This will build a brand loyalty from the customers that actively engage with them on social media. It would be easy for a  campaign to use an existing television commercial or magazine ad and incorporate an extra video clip, pictures or discounts on their Vine or Snapchat accounts. Fans would respond well to seeing behind the scenes footage from their favorite products or businesses.

Disappearing content seems to be a future trend for smartphone applications. I would not be surprised if the next latest and greatest social media app disappears information even faster or creates even shorter video clips. No matter what the next trend of the future is, I'm sure businesses will continue to utilize and try various social media apps to ensure they can build a closer connection with their customers.

7 Ways To Create A Killer Presentation

With fall term winding down, there tends to be a lot of stress running high around campus. There are copious amounts of work due such as papers, finals and probably the most stressful of all- presentations. When I was younger I used to get so excited over making a PowerPoint presentation for a class. I would include all the fixings such as fancy animations, bullet point after bullet point and pictures that have no relevance to the content of my presentation-pretty much I included everything that adds up to a horrible presentation. Reading Drake Baer's article "7 Ways To Give Presentations That People Actually Care About" taught me there are a variety of ways to get your audience involved and make them stay engaged in any presentation. Following these tips can help you create a meaningful presentation for your audience rather than them reading a poorly designed PowerPoint. 


1. Tailor the Talk to Your Audience
Make sure to customize your content around what your viewers are interested in. What expectations do they have? What type of humor will go over well? Is it a formal or informal audience? You can state various strategies and tactics to help your audience reach their goals. 

2. Don’t Sound Like a Robot
Don’t spit out a memorized speech full of unfamiliar scientific statics; instead be engaging with your listeners. Understand your topic fully so that you’ll be able to communicate the content clearly to the audience. Speak with them as if you are talking to your best friend. The viewers will understand your presentation better if they can comprehend what you are actually saying, instead of attempting to grasp complicated words and phrases.


3. Use Visuals
Illustrate a difficult point by showing graphics on your slide. Most people are visual learners, so having additional images or drawings will help your audience better understand the point you are trying to make. Even videos or interesting charts can help capture your audience’s attention throughout the presentation. 

4.  Find a Way to Tell a Story
Storytelling is one of the best ways to keep your viewers engaged in your topic. Make sure your story has a purpose, so the audience either learns a lesson or is persuaded to do something by the end of your presentation. Building suspense throughout your presentation will captive your spectators.

5. Don’t Write So Much On Your Slides
People can’t listen and read a lot of information at the same time. Make it easier for your viewers by providing more images and less text. They will be able to absorb and listen better to the information that you are saying instead of tuning you out while reading a block of text. 

6. Watch Yourself
Practice makes perfect. Be sure to rehearse over and over again. Each time you practice it can help you determine where you need to pause or slow down in your presentation. Recording yourself will also help you see the presentation from a viewer’s perspective. This can assist you to decide which section of your presentation needs better language to get your point across clearer.

7.  Allow the Talk to Get Beyond a One-Sided Conversation


Engage with your audience by listening and watching their reactions to see if they are confused by anything you are saying. This will help break any barriers and create a two-sided conversation. Get involved with your viewers by asking and answering questions for them.

Lululemon Founder Needs Help on Crisis Communication

Lululemon seems to be dealing with a lot of negative PR this year. In March, the company received backlash because they released yoga pants that were too sheer. In an interview for Bloomberg TV Lululemon's founder, Chip Wilson, blamed women's bodies as the reason to why the yoga pants were so sheer when he stated "some women's bodies don't actually work" for wearing Lululemon's yoga pants. This past Friday Wilson released a video on the company's Facebook page apologizing for what he said on Bloomberg TV. 

In the video, Wilson never actually apologized to all of the women he insulted, "I'm sad for the repercussions of my actions. I'm sad for the people at Lululemon who I care so much about, that have really had to face the brunt of my actions. I take responsibility for all that has occurred and the impact it has had on you. I'm sorry to have put you all through this...For all of you that have made Lululemon what it is today, I ask you to stay in a conversation that is above the fray. I ask you to prove that the culture you have built cannot be chipped away"-Chip Wilson. 

Ragan.com posted an article about whether or not Lululemon's apology video was a good idea. Wilson had the right idea of publishing an apology video right away to make up for his words that offended a large portion of women. The video starts off well as Wilson fights back tears making him seem genuinely sorry for what he said. However, the apology is to his employees and not to his customers. This is what makes his apology video a disaster. Wilson makes it apparent that he is sorry for his actions, but only because he was caught from the backlash of the media and his customers. 

Being in the public spotlight, it is extremely important when choosing your choice of words. Don't say anything that you think could be twisted or used against you. I'm sure Wilson's intention during the interview was not to call women fat, but the impact of his choice of words made people feel differently. It seemed as if he blamed women for the pants’ sheerness because some women can't fit into Lululemon's yoga pants due to their size.

There is also no point in posting an apology video to the public on Facebook when Wilson is only apologizing to his employees. He could have easily emailed out an apology letter or email to his employees. This video was poorly worded and could have used a lot of help from a crisis manager.  It would have been a more effective form of crisis communication if he apologized towards the customers he insulted. 

My advice for Lululemon is for the company to release a public apology statement about what their founder said on Bloomberg TV. I would then suggest that the company tries to find a new voice for the brand. This can build a positive relationship between Lululemon and its customers. A new voice for the company could perhaps be an athletic spokeswoman who is not necessarily a rail thin, but instead has a muscular shape. This example shows that Lululemon is making an active effort to include women of all sizes into their campaigns and future branding. 

Tips For Creating Infographics

For my J452 Strategic PR Communication class we needed to create an infographic for an assignment. I started thinking about what I wanted my topic to be about and I immediately thought of my interests. I really enjoy learning about the food and restaurant industry, so I thought what would be a better way to display information about restaurants than bringing awareness of how restaurants can utilize social media.

Infographics can be beneficial to a wide audience. People want information quickly and that’s what makes data visualizations so valuable. Infographics can convey complex information in a short amount of space. Bright colors and captivating visuals keep your audience engaged rather than a boring paragraph of text.

Here are some of the tips I learned when creating my Infographic:

·      Display More Visuals Than Text: One of the most difficult parts of making an infographic is trying to display a large amount of information in a small space. Visuals and symbols help your audience better understand what you are trying to say. It is must easier and faster for people to process pictures than a large block of text.

·    Remember You’re Telling A Story: Try organizing your data and visuals in a way that tells a story. It can be a narrative form such as a timeline or stating a problem and then listing what the solutions can be. Don’t make your viewer crazy trying to understand what your pictures mean.

·      Show Your Creativity: There are many different types of ways to display data through visuals. You can now move beyond a simple bar graph created on Microsoft Excel. Instead, use different shapes to display various types of statistics. On my infographic rather than using a simple pie chart I placed a pie chart inside of a plate because I am discussing a statistic about the amount of consumers using Facebook to search for restaurants.

·      Simple Is Better: Having white space on your page is not a bad thing. Less is definitely more when it comes to design. Having a minimalist theme will be easy on the eyes for your views. Using too many colors, crazy fonts and symbols can make your reader feel overwhelmed and not want to read your data visualization.

·      Get Inspired: If you are feeling hesitant about creating your first infographic, feel free to look online at other data visualizations that could inspire you.  There are also some great online resources such as The Noun Project or Font Squirrel that allow you to download free fonts and symbols.  

Can Procrastinating Actually Make You More Productive?

Procrastination-we've all been there. Maybe it's dreading writing that 12 page paper so you clean your room instead or having to run a bunch of errands, but you find yourself watching Toddlers and Tiaras for over two hours. No matter if it is productive or pointless procrastination there are many different forms of it. Fast Company wrote an article entitled "Why Procrastination Does Not Need a Cure-And Might Make You Even More Productive." This explains how prolonging particular activities is not always a bad thing. Believe it or not, postponing certain tasks can actually help you be more productive at times.

There are different types of procrastination. There are times where you don't want to do anything, do less important tasks first or start with the most important activity. Obviously, not wanting to do anything is a negative type of procrastination. This is in no way helping you be productive. A good type of procrastination is prolonging unimportant small errands, so you are able to accomplish large projects first. If you can focus all of your attention on completing the big task first you are more inclined to finish the smaller assignments because you feel as if you have accomplished a lot. This is a great way to trick your brain into getting all of the work done. You will be on a roll from finishing the smaller tasks that you'll be able to finally accomplish that long paper or study for your midterm. 

Procrastination can be beneficial or harmful depending on the situation. For example, watching TV to escape working on your research report is not an effective type of procrastination. Personally, I am an organizational freak. My desk is surrounded by various colored sticky notes that include times and dates of when certain tasks need to be finished. I always get so much satisfaction crossing off something that I have done on my to-do checklist. This gives me a drive to move on and complete my next assignment just as quickly. 

I tend to do a combination of accomplishing unimportant tasks first and doing priority tasks first depending on the urgency of when something is due. Usually, if I have a paper due tomorrow I will try to do smaller homework tasks first. This way when it comes time to work on my paper my mind will not be worrying about other things I need to get done. Then other times, I have a project that is so urgent that I know I won't be able to focus on my other tasks until this big assignment is finished first. 

Knowing how to procrastinate in an effective way will allow individuals to be more productive in the long run. Starting on large projects first can seem daunting and overwhelming, so working on smaller tasks can build up your confidence to finish that last big assignment. Strategizing your projects based on their urgency will help you create a meaningful to-do list making you believe there are important tasks that cannot be avoided. Understanding how and why you procrastinate can also help you learn how to effectively get things done. 

Learning how to balance procrastination in a good way and using time management skills are crucial for those wanting to pursue event planning careers. When coordinating an event it is imperative to plan out every step of the way and make different lists for what needs to be accomplished or ordered each week leading up to the event. Prioritizing tasks based on their importance and urgency can help people procrastinate in a good way that will allow them to still be productive. 

Do's and Don'ts of Writing a Cover Letter

Photo Courtesy of the DailyMuse

When beginning the job hunt process, there are two important components that will help you land an interview-your resume and cover letter. Your resume lists your accomplishments and skills while your cover letter shows your experiences and qualities that make you the right candidate for the job. The content you write on your cover letter will immediately show a potential employer whether or not you are a fitting candidate for the position based on your written abilities.

Recently, The DailyMuse posted an image of the "The Worst Cover Letter Ever Written." This is not an understatement. At first glance,  I thought that this individual attempted to stand out from the crowd by writing an original cover letter that would catch the attention of a potential employer who is shifting through a stack of applications. The second time I read this letter, I realized how arrogant and disrespectful this person came across. 

Here are some tips I've learned that would improve this cover letter! 

• Formatting- Your cover letter is the first impression that potential employers get of you, so it should be organized, well written and visually pleasing. An employer can tell you've taken the time to do some research on the company when you personalize a cover letter by including the correct address and interviewer's name. 
• Introduction- If you have ties to someone at the job you are applying for, be sure to drop their name. This shows right away that a reliable source believes you could be a great candidate for the job! In this section it is also important to illustrate that you are knowledgable about the company. Be sure to comment on how you've been following their latest project. 
•  Be Confident, Not Pompous- There is a huge difference between coming across as confident and arrogant. The letter above makes the writer seem way too reliant on his connections from college. Make sure to always be professional in your cover letter. Potential employers don't care if your frat brothers thought you were the "life of the party" what they will care about is how you would represent their company at all times. 
• Describe How Your Experiences Make You a Good Fit- You can display your confidence by writing out certain accomplishments you have made that align with the job description. This shows employers that you are experienced in certain areas that you know can help better the company. 
• Don't Trash Talk- Focus on your own strengths instead of other people's weaknesses. Writing a cover letter gives you a short amount of space to talk yourself up, so why waste space bad mouthing other applicants? Instead, emphasize how your experiences have prepared you for the job you are applying for.
• Proactive Concluding Paragraph- Rather than asking the employer to get back to you within a week make the initiative by letting them know you will contact them. A proactive sentence such as "I look forward to learning more about the position and will contact you this week to determine your availability" shows that you are organized and enthusiastic to begin the interviewing process. 
• Edit, Edit and Edit Again!- Not only is the letter above horrible to read because of the writer's conceited tone, but also it is filled with grammar mistakes. Since a cover letter demonstrates your writing abilities make sure to revise it several times. It also helps to have someone else edit your cover letter, sometimes they can find mistakes that you tend to overlook.  

How to Choose a Venue

The venue had a huge impact on attendance for the softball

tournament I planned for my sorority.  

Last year, I was VP Philanthropy for my sorority. In the past our philanthropic softball tournaments did not receive the participation it deserved. All of the funds raised went to a good cause, so why did it seem like every year our chapter struggled to get other people to come to the event? At last, I found the answer-the venue.

Venues have a huge influence on your client's budget, attendance and overall performance. There is a lot of pressure to pick the perfect place to host an event for your client. Choosing a facility tends to be a hit or miss. If there is a low budget for a conference this might create a negative atmosphere. Employees might be frustrated by technical problems due to a lack of equipment that the client could not afford causing the employees to not enjoy the event.

Julius Solaris wrote an article about How Event Planners Choose Venues. This article included research from the Journal of Convention and Event Tourism on how event planners are directly influenced by the choices other individuals and organizations make. There are two major influences that affect an event coordinator's decision when choosing a venue.

The first major impact is if the venue received good reviews in the past. Event planners rely heavily on word of mouth when it comes to selecting a venue. Listening to online event planning blogs, reviews or articles in magazines will sway their decision of whether to book the venue or not. Event pros trust online reviews as if they heard the information directly from their best friend.

The strongest influence on choosing a facility is the meeting room information. It is mind boggling that the meeting room information is more important to professionals than the cost of a venue, food service, attractions, exhibit space and tech support all together! Event planners want to make sure they are keeping their clients happy, so if they can find a venue with a meeting room that delivers all bells and whistles their client wants there is a great chance the planner will book it ASAP! Meeting rooms are important to clients, especially if the facility offers packages for using audio, visuals or any other technology for corporate meetings.

After learning that people did not like to attend our chapter's softball tournament because the venue's location was far away from campus, I decided to find a facility closer to campus. This small adjustment turned out to be a huge success for our philanthropy. We increased both our attendance and profits from the previous year! Listening to customers and venue reviews are great ways to ensure that choosing a fantastic venue will turn your event into a home run!

The Visual Social Media Trend

Infographic courtesy of Socially Sorted

Every now and then as I scroll through my newsfeed I tend to come across that random Facebook friend who insists on posting what seems like a long miserable novel as their status. Below that post, one of my sorority sisters shares a funny Youtube link that ends up getting multiple shares and over 50 likes. Why is it that photos and videos get more attention online than any text updates?

Social media is moving away from having a word count limit or posting lengthy emotional Facebook posts. Now users are relying on images and videos to promote their latest adventure on social media sites. An INC article, Want to Boost Your Social Media Following? Get Visual, mentions "Facebook’s top brand pages, videos are shared 12 times more often than text and links, and photos receive twice as many likes as text updates. ”

Trends have changed from writing a 1,000 blog post to being limited to 140 character tweet. Now social media trends are getting rid of text all together and posting visual content instead. Images can tell a story without using any words at all. These visuals make it easier for viewers to understand the content that the user wants to express. Pictures and videos are much easier to get a point across than a page full of text. 

I would much rather look at an image for five seconds than spend five minutes reading a lengthy article. Even when I am browsing online trying to find an article to use for a class assignment, I am usually able to get the gist of an article just by looking at a caption of a picture instead of wasting my time reading the article. Visuals allow people to understand a lot of information without having to read any words at all.

With the growth of social media platforms like Vine, Instagram, Snapchat and Pinterest, it is apparent that users are more likely to share and view photos and videos on social networking applications. These visuals make a viewer feel more emotionally connected to their friends. This is because the viewer can actually see from the perspective of their friend how fun their vacation to Hawaii is or how well that soufflé recipe from Pinterest turned out just by looking through their friend's pictures on Instagram. 

Visuals on social media sites will continue to grow in the future. Images and pictures  can translate a message much more effectively than text. This is probably why Instagram has become so much more popular than Facebook. Pictures are able to tell a more descriptive story than a 140 word character limit on Twitter can. 

Various brands and businesses are even utilizing professional photographers to shoot HD pictures and videos that can be edited and posted onto various social media sites like Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr and the company's blog. These businesses want to utilize visuals to engage their customers into buying their new ice cream flavor or this season's latest fashion trend. 

Even writing this blog post, I feel it is ironic that I am writing a lengthy paragraph full of words when I could be describing my point of view through several pictures or an Infographic to keep my viewers engaged. I think I'll start taking my own advice by using more images and videos on my blog to captivate my viewers.