Author: Josephine Butler

Free Advice Friday: Valentine’s Day Gift Guide

Josephine ButlerBlog, Free Advice, In Our Community, , , , , , 2 Comments on Free Advice Friday: Valentine’s Day Gift Guide

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, our intern Ashely Hurteau encourages you to shop local!

As Cupid prepares his arrows, it is time to think about the perfect gift for that special someone. With Valentine’s Day less than two weeks away, allow me to share our favorite (and local) gift ideas. Whether it’s for him or her, these gifts are guaranteed to leave your significant other love-struck.

Procrastination on Valentine’s Day always means one thing: a quick trip to Rite Aid. This year, plan ahead and stop by Escazu, one of our favorite local chocolate shops. From bean to delicacy, the chocolatiers at Escazu are passionate about making their melt-in-your-mouth chocolates with “care, attention and love.” A gift made with love exudes love, and that makes for a magical February 14th.

 

Does your leading lady long for a new purse, clutch or wallet? Don’t just make the right decision – make the best decision and support local designers. In our opinon, you can never have too many bags by Holly Aiken, a local Raleigh designer whose pieces are anything but ordinary. Your Valentine will carry your love not only in her heart, but also on her arm with a fabulous tote!

Become the envy of all your man’s friends by giving him the ultimate gift – a gift certificate to Tyler’s Taproom. With over 80 craft and specialty beers, Tyler’s Taproom is a man’s sanctuary. A simple gift card goes a long way because everyone knows, the way to a man’s heart if through his stomach!

Now it’s your turn. What local gifts are a must-have for you this Valentine’s Day season?

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More Monday: 40 Useful Updates for Your Brand’s Facebook Page

Josephine ButlerBlog, Social Media + Influencer Engagement, , , , , , 2 Comments on More Monday: 40 Useful Updates for Your Brand’s Facebook Page

Our intern and social media queen Margot Horgan stumbled upon an excellent article from PR Daily and just had to share!

One of our favorite updates: "Remember, congratulate, acknowledge"

Facebook and other social media outlets are a prime place for brands to connect with and engage its customers and biggest fans. We recently read this article from PR Daily suggesting new ways to connect with your audience on your brand’s Facebook page and wanted to share some of our favorites with you.

  • Highlight special offers and competition to your community. Often another Facebook page will stage a competition with some great prizes on offers relevant to your niche. No harm in re-sharing the link.
  • Stage a live Q&A on your wall with an industry expert. Giving people access to knowledge is always received well.
  • Aggregate fan posts. If you keep your wall “open,” you might want to republish comments and content shared by your community. This will not only make the publisher feel special, but also encourage more engagement.
  • Highlight relevant research. Sometimes, a research report may contain a couple of great nuggets of information for your community. Identify them and share them. This is a great example of adding value by making the access to content easier.
  • Caption contests. Find a funny/odd/weird picture that represents your industry and look for the next caption queen or king. People love to show off their creativity, and by crowning a weekly caption champion, you’ll get the community’s creative juices flowing.
  • Let your audience peek behind the curtain. Facebook pages are all about showing your company’s personality. Share staff pictures or a funny update. Don’t worry, there’s no harm in making your community laugh.
  • Share a simple solution to a problem. People are always interested in things that make their lives easier. It’s a winner, trust me.
  • Remember, congratulate, acknowledge. The world is an ever-changing place. Positive and negative events happen every day. If an event has a particular impact on you and your business, or even if it doesn’t but you are simply touched, post an update. It will show your human side.
  • Fill in the gap posts. Here’s an example. “In 2012, I’d like to _________.” Let the members of the community share their plans, thoughts comments and ideas with you. (We’ve had a lot of success with these on our own clients’ Facebook pages!)
  • Welcome new staff members or say goodbye to people leaving. In doing so, you let your audience peek behind the curtain. It also shows your appreciation for new and old team members.

What do you think? Have more suggestions to add to the list? We’re always looking for new and creative ways to engage with audiences via social media!

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Green Thought Thursday: Give What You’ve Got!

Josephine ButlerBlog, Sustainability, , , , 1 Comment on Green Thought Thursday: Give What You’ve Got!

This Green Thought Thursday, our intern Margot Horgan was feeling inspired by an article she saw in O, The Oprah Magazine.

We love Oprah because she's always got an idea up her sleeve (or two or three...)!

Whether you have excess time or money (or both) to spend, it’s easy to find new ways to add eco-friendly habits and products to your daily routine. The most recent edition of O, The Oprah Magazine features an easy-to-read diagram about how you can be more green—and save more green! Here’s the breakdown:

Do you want to invest in a one-time project?  Here’s a shortened list of the simple projects you can do at home depending on if you want to spend time or money:

Have some time for the environment? How much?
  • Five Minutes: Try resetting the schedule of your sprinkler system so you water your lawn in the early morning or late evening. As much as 30 percent of the water is lost to evaporation when you water in the daytime hours. By simply switching the time of day that you water, you can save around 126 gallons of water each week!
  • A Half Hour: Older toilets use as much as seven gallons of water with every flush, while less than a gallon would get the job done. Make your toilet more water conservative with this little trick. Fill a plastic bottle with water and a little bit of sand and submerge it in the tank for a DIY low flow toilet.
  • An Afternoon-Visit the U.S. Department of Energy’s website (energysavers.gov) and follow the step-by-step instructions on how to conduct a home energy assessment. Tasks such as lowing the hot water heater to 120 degrees can you save water, energy and dollars.

Have some money to invest? How much?

  • $: Every year, the average American household receives 1.5 trees worth of junk mail! For just $1 you can register to block junk mail at dmachoice.org.
  •   $$: Even when electronics are switched off, if they are plugged into the wall, they are likely still using energy. What is known as phantom power can account for up to 10 percent of your electricity bill. By using special surge protectors (like Belkin’s Conserve Valet), you can cut back on your energy consumption. These nifty devices will automatically cut power to devices when they are not in use.
  • $$$: As much as 30 percent of your home’s heating and cooling energy is wasted because of windows. By investing in new blinds, you decrease the amount of energy lost and money lost.

These are just a few tips on you can a more eco-friendly 2012. Thinking about trying any of these?

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Whaddaya Think: Is 2012 the Year of the Twitter Election?

Josephine ButlerBlog, Social Media + Influencer Engagement, , , , 2 Comments on Whaddaya Think: Is 2012 the Year of the Twitter Election?

We’d like to welcome our new intern Margot Horgan, a social media queen, to the scene. She’s kicking things off by starting a debate, if you will, on whether or not 2012 will be the Year of the Twitter Election. We encourage you to share your thoughts.

An example of a Twitter infographic from the S.C. Republican Debate.

As the dominance of networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook continues to grow, we are beginning to see the deliberate infusion of social media into the current political campaigns and primaries.

Both former press secretary Robert Gibbs and Twitter have already dubbed 2012 the Year of the Twitter Election. And, with the extensive use of Twitter and hashtags during the South Carolina Republican Debate, it seems that social networking will indeed play a large role in this election season.

During last week’s debate, viewers were encouraged to participate in the conversation by submitting questions via Twitter and by using the hashtags #answer and #dodge to rate how well the candidates answered each question.

Nearly 8,000 people used these hashtags to weigh in, providing real-time audience sentiment to each of the candidates’ answers within 15 to 30 seconds. From this data, we get awesome infographic timelines depicting the audience’s reaction to candidate responses.

Not only that, but debate commentators could the use the minute-by-minute Twitter data to bolster the need for more thorough responses from candidates.

So whaddya think, everybody? At the South Carolina debate, candidates were forced to answer to the live commentators and audience members and viewers tweeting from home. How else will social media impact the 2012 elections? Is it really the Year of the Twitter Election?

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Free Advice Friday: The Dos and Don’ts of Social Media Etiquette

Josephine ButlerBlog, Free Advice, Social Media + Influencer Engagement, , , , , , , 2 Comments on Free Advice Friday: The Dos and Don’ts of Social Media Etiquette

Our intern Ashely Hurteau shares her thoughts (and sense of humor) on social media etiquette. 

If you are a member of the social media world (and my guess is that if you’re reading this, you are), then you’ve seen it, too. You’ve also cringed with second-hand embarrassment. This atrocity that I speak of is the lack of etiquette that is all too present in social media.

From overly dramatic status updates to inappropriate photos, it seems as though manners and grace are not taken into consideration when posting on the Internet. Real Simple magazine and their readers agree.

After polling 945 readers, Real Simple homed in on the top ‘social DISgraces’ as voted on by their readers. Allow me to share some of these, along with some helpful tips to avoid making the same mistakes.

  • Save the vague, disconcerting status updates (i.e. “Jennifer wonders whether it has all been worth it.”) and personal problems for your real friends, not your 856 social media friends. You will not receive the advice you seek, and according to Real Simple readers, it is the most annoying type of post there is – even more annoying than chronic complaining!
  • When you’re friend requesting, make sure you keep it to just that – your friends. Randomly asking someone to be your friend is one of the top-ranking annoyances on Facebook. A good tip: if you are trying to reconnect with an old friend or acquaintance, send a message along with the request to serve as a refresher and avoid being labeled a creep.
  • When tagging photos of others or yourself, have some respect. No one wants to see anyone three sheets to the wind or too much PDA. Think before you tag, and if there is any question, ask those individuals in the picture whether they would like it tagged or not.
  • The number one sin that is committed on Facebook and Twitter? In my opinion, it’s foul language. My friends on Facebook include teachers, family and co-workers. The idea that one of my friends could drop the F-bomb on a comment or my wall for my boss to see is mortifying.

Social media is designed to put you, your company or product out there for the masses to see. Do it with dignity, and remember, if you would not want your grandmother to see it, you probably should not post it!

What do you think? Please feel free to share some of your ideas – the more advice, the better!

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