By Alyssa Aldrich

Social media is a powerful tool. When used right, it can be effective in connecting very amazing people to other amazing people, businesses and organizations from around the world. People should use social media to heighten their existence, reflect their interesting projects and aspirations, to share something they find truly amazing, to inspire others. In a perfect world, social media would be used primarily as a source for inspiration. Unfortunately, however, although it has great potential to be an awesome window to the world, it is often cluttered with gossip, non-interesting, and non-inspiring garbage.

Below are a few things to consider and avoid doing when using social media.

Don’t Be Ignorant

• Using profanity and vulgarity in social media can make you appear aggressive or unintelligent. To present your thoughts in that manor can cause people to not take you seriously. (more…)

By Dawn Berryman

It’s a visual culture. We all know that. And, we’re a culture that thrives on instant gratification. How often do you find yourself scrolling down through your Facebook feed on your mobile phone? How fast are you scrolling? Are you reading all the status updates and text? Or, are you just stopping to read when something catches your eye? How often is that something an intriguing picture?

This is prime example number one of why you need to be using images in your marketing strategy. People love photos and they grab attention.

You also want to show off your goods. What better way than to show rather than tell? A picture is worth a thousand words right? When you’re struggling to come up with the perfect product description to make sure everyone really realizes what a must-have it is you might just be able to rely on a great photo. (more…)

By Holly Reisem Hanna

“What I am suggesting is that each of us turn from the negativism that permeates our society and look for the remarkable good among those with whom we associate, that we speak of one another’s virtues more than we speak of one another’s faults, that optimism replace pessimism, that our faith exceed our fears. When I was a young man and was prone to speak critically, my father would say: “Cynics do not contribute, skeptics do not create, doubters do not achieve.” – Gordon B. Hinckley

Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of attacks, criticism, and overall negativity on social media. In fact, last week after Angelina Jolie shed light on her preventive mastectomy, I saw some malicious updates that I couldn’t even believe were being said.

And don’t even get me started on when there’s an election or political issue being discussed, it’s like hate flows out of people’s fingertips to their keyboards. Of course there are the less heated, but very judgmental conversations which are still insulting. (more…)

By Dresden Engle

As I type this blog, the CSI TV theme song is going through my head — “Whooo are you? Ooh, Ooh, Ooh, Ooh. I really wanna know!”

When I go online to network or to learn more about a future client, I am surprised that I often cannot answer the “who are you?” question, even though I have spent a half hour devouring the person’s many social platforms. I read the “About” section on Facebook and the short bio on Twitter and Google+ accounts, and then scrolled through LinkedIn and his or her personal or business website.

The reason for my being in the dark is the lack of consistency in how businesspeople describe themselves and their businesses. Two of my current PR clients are top-rated social-media influencers on an international scale. I could learn quite a few things from them myself. And yet when I began working with them, a quick analysis revealed none of their many social media platforms were inconsistent with one another. (more…)

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your entrepreneurial journey.

I would describe myself as a serial entrepreneur. I have owned a few businesses as an adult but looking back, they were just hobbies. When we moved to Austin in 2009, I knew it was an opportunity to start over and reinvent myself as it were. I started taking more chances, trying new things, getting out into the community and meeting people. That is where the spark happened.

What did you do before launching your own business?

Ha! Everything! I was a Retirement Plans Specialist, Church Youth Secretary, Pre-K teacher…

How did you fund your business?

Initially it was the money I was making from blogging. Different advertisers, blogging campaigns, etc. I saved the money and bought my LLC. (more…)