favorite marketing tips and hacks

Friday Favorites: Using Social Media for Good

This week, we want to highlight using social media for good. It’s more than just connecting with friends. You can use social media to spread the word of amazing projects and raise awareness of causes that matter to you and your small business.

Rachel’s Favorite Video

At Suite 4, we are always looking for ways to do GOOD in the world. I believe it’s contagious. So, instead of sharing a video on the subject of marketing, I want to tell you about a special project we are supporting: My 14-year-old daughter, Pruette, is launching a campaign to raise money for Charity Water. Charity Water is a group of dedicated people on a mission is to bring clean and safe drinking water to every person in the world. 1 out of 9 people across the globe are without it.

So, Pruette will be setting off next week with my husband as her chaperone. She plans to bike the entire length of the Oregon Coast (over 300 miles), and her goal is to raise enough money to build one well in a developing nation. Watch the video below. If you feel inspired to donate to her cause, please visit her gofundme page.

Audrey’s Favorite Blog

I found this blog quite a while back, but it’s one of my favorites. I actually have it pinned on my favorites tab on my computer so I can revisit it easily. Social Media Examiner posted a blog on How to Optimize Social Media Images. It presents some basic but very need-to-know information about the best image format for your social media posts. It gives you the dimensions and everything! This is so useful when you’re working with social media as a small business. Like the cliche saying, “A picture’s worth a thousand words,” we can communicate a lot through our social media images. That being said, these images should be optimized to catch your audience’s attention. You can do this by learning what formats work better depending on the social media platform you’re using. Now go ahead, read, learn and post pictures!

Chase’s Favorite App

If people in your company are forced to text and email each other as their only mode of communication, Slack can be used to make communicating simple. Slack is an instant messaging app that allows users to easily send messages and files to each other using different channels. Slack can also be integrated with many other sites and services, such as Twitter, to give you notifications when your profile is mentioned. You can learn more about Slack by visiting their website and watching their introduction video.

Devon’s Favorite Inspiration

How much of your day do you spend on your phone? It’s ok, we’re all attached. Whether you use your smartphone for work, games, or only out of necessity, there’s no denying it makes life a lot easier. My phone is a multi-purpose tool, full of lists, emails and time wasters. Because of this, I’m constantly on the lookout for new app suggestions that can help me save money, be more productive, and better organized. That’s why I found this article from Buffer so interesting. They asked 22 marketers to share screenshots of their home screens. By doing this, we can see what apps are deemed most important. There’s definitely a mix of work and fun on everyone’s screens. What was most intriguing, though, was the different apps everyone used to accomplish the same task. There were various email management and internal messaging apps. It’s also an unorthodox, yet very telling, way to get a glimpse into someone’s life.

iPhone home screen iPhone home screen

 

As you can see from my own iPhone’s first two pages, I like to stay organized. I keep all of my work apps in a folder next to my “fun” apps on the home screen.

What does your home screen look like? How are you using social media for good? Tell us in the comments!