14 Social Media Campaigns that Won't Cost Your Company A Dime in Advertising. Yes, Free.

14 of the Best Free Social Media Campaigns to Help you gain followers!

When Helene and I hosted last month's Total Social, I quickly learned how many of you manage all of the social media for your company. When I was Marketing Director for my former employer in Knoxville, a chain of salons across three states, I had an absolute ball coming up with the in-store and social media campaigns. That company franchised out to a large chain a few months ago, so today, I thought I would bring you some of those campaigns that were especially effective, so you can use them for your company! 

1. BINGO

Hands down the biggest and fastest way I was able to increase our "likes" was when I had the idea to play BINGO. The first two weeks was simply distribution of the bingo cards. Our clients could pick up their bingo boards IN-STORE. The bingo boards were free, the catch being you had to like us on Facebook to play. 

Anything you can do to utilize the clients you already have is the best because it is effective and free. 

Then after boards were distributed, I would call out a few bingo terms each day over the Facebook airwaves. For example, I would make a FB status, and call out the squares: Mystic Spray Tan, Bronze and Fusion UT Campus. If you had one of those squares, you got to cross it off your board. 

The first person to fill up the whole board won 6 months of free tanning. But to be honest, it could have been a t-shirt and people would have still played. SO EFFECTIVE! (spoiler alert: people go bonkers for t-shirts) 

Click here to see more of that promotion on Facebook!

2. Guess the Number 

I ran a “guess the number of bottles of lotion on the shelf” contest. I posted a picture of the lotion shelves at one of our salons, and our fans guessed the correct number to win a gift card. This promotion didn’t gain new followers, but it was still effective. Remember, the more people begin to interact with your status, the more people who will actually get to SEE your status!

Click here to see that campaign in action!

3. All You Gotta Do is Ask

This one was really effective, and painfully easy. All I did was ask them to click like, in exchange I awarded one lucky person a gift card. Remember, the more interactions, the more visibility on your client's news feeds! 

Click here to see that campaign in action! 

4. Elf (or whatever inanimate object you so choose) On the Shelf

When I first ran this campaign, I was downright giddy thinking how good of an idea I had just come up with. But it was actually a gigantic bust. Surprisingly. I think the issue was that the elf was at a store in Kentucky, and most of our fans were in Tennessee. I still would try this one again. 

Click here to see that campaign in action! 

5. Pick A Team, Any Team! 

I think one important thing to remember is to have fun. Just because you sell tanning, for instance, doesn't mean every status has to blah blah snore snore tanning facts over and over again. Have some fun with your clients. I asked them to tell me which college, NFL, NBA, MLB, etc... team they were rooting for, then switched it up based on the time of year. Everyone wants to brag on their teams, this one was a piece of cake! 

Click here to see that campaign in action! 

6. Holiday Promotions for Facebook Fans Only

I would post Facebook only (as opposed to in-store) flash sales. For example, my status would offer 15% off any lotion or 50% off a spray tan. I would then have my sales associates remind their in-store clients to like us on Facebook, and we could honor the posted special for them! 

The person would get their smart phone out, and immediately go like us on Facebook to get the offer. You do the math, we had 18 locations, saw around 250 clients per day, per location. I'm sure you can see how quickly those likes rack up by doing this strategy! 

Click here to see an example of that campaign in action! 

7. What am I tanning with?

I would ask our clients to guess what lotion I used that day. I only did the spray tan, but that is neither here nor there. I still picked a random lotion, then waited for the correct guess to roll in. 

This would be a fun one to adapt for a restaurant. Example: The first person to guess what entree I had for lunch today off insert your restaurant's name here menu, wins a voucher for that entree, free! 

Plus, this one gets your clients searching your website, looking up your menu and researching your company to make an educated guess! 

Click here to see an example of that campaign in action! 

8. Trivia Tuesday

Each Tuesday I would ask a trivia question about the history of our company, a question that required just blind guessing or even a question that could be easily answered by searching our website. 

Click here to see an example of that campaign in action! 

9. Take em' elsewhere  

Announce a contest on Facebook, that you have to actually enter via Instagram.  

This works great to grow your Instagram account! Gaining a fan on one platform is good, gaining a fan on 5 platforms is better! 

Oh, and always use hashtags. They are powerful. 

Click here to see an example of that campaign in action! 

10. Aces Wild

Every salon had a deck of cards behind the counter. IF THE CLIENT LIKED US ON FACEBOOK, they then were allowed to pick a card. Each card in the deck had a specific prize value. 

For example, drawing a Jack from the deck got them 10% off lotion, a King got them a free upgrade, a 2 got a lotion sample… etc etc… then if they drew an ace, they could pick ANY of the prizes available.

Only catch is they had to like us on FB….. sneaky, sneaky, huh?

Click here to see an example of that campaign in action! 

11. Pale legs contest

They had to upload a picture of either their pale legs or a friend's, and the person with the most likes on their photo, won. 

The intention was for them to tell their friends to vote for their picture on our wall. Their friends would then like our page and, voila! We got new followers! 

The photo topic could obviously be changed to fit any business! 

Click here to see an example of that campaign in action! 

12. Fusion olympics

This campaign took place during the Summer Olympics, but could be adapted for any major sports tournament!  

In-store, the client drew a nation out of a hat. They then had to... you guessed it... like us on Facebook. If the nation they picked won a medal that day, we announced the prize they won on FB, and gave them a redemption code.

Click here to see an example of that campaign in action! 

13. Trends by city  

We all want the hottest new beauty product that all of our friends have. So do a little sales research. Find out what the hotest selling products are by location, and make a graphic with the info you find! You're pushing a product, but it won't feel like that to the client. Two birds, one stone! 

Click here to see an example of that campaign in action! 

14. Share Share Share  

When in doubt, have them share your status for prizes. Just one single share, from one single client, makes your fan page visible to hundreds more than you had access to before. Simple and very effective. 

Click here to see an example of that campaign in action! 

Feel free to leave a comment with even more effective social media campaign ideas to add to the list!  --- Oh, and see you tomorrow for this month's #FavTotalSocial!!!

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The theme for July, which will take place this Thursday, July 17th is favorites with the hashtag #FavTotalSocial.  So Helene and I will see you on Thursday, ready to play favorites! For more #TotalSocial details, go here!

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Tips for Getting and Nailing an Interview: Choosing Your LinkedIn Profile Picture

You guys might think I'm crazy, but I started writing a general "LinkedIn Tips" post, then realized I could build an entire blog post addressing the Do's and Don'ts of choosing a profile picture! So I guess this series just keeps growing. For Part Three (of four, five, six... ?) I bring you, "The Do's and Don'ts of choosing a LinkedIn picture!" 80% are doing it wrong. And yes, I just made that number up.    Part One of this series can be found HERE Part Two of this series can be found HERE 
Do's and Don'ts: Choose the Right Picture This drives my mom bonkers, and I see her point. Profile pictures where you immediately think, "oh my gosh, what are they thinking by making that their image?", should not be used. Here are my do's and don'ts of choosing an image for your profile picture. Because, it matters. 
  Don't use a car selfie:  Maybe we can get rid of these across all social media?! Please? 

  Don't use a cropped out group photo: I see this one quite often. These can cause serious pixelation and just doesn't look professional. Plus, it is distracting when you can see even a sliver of someone else's face in your photo. 

   Don't be an egg I say "egg" because of twitter. I just call anyone without a picture, an egg.

  Don't be goofy  Yes, you're adorbs. But they can learn that about you later. For now, let them view you as a lean, mean, working hard, serious machine! 

  Don't include friends in your photo You're the star of this LinkedIn show, don't share the spotlight. 

  Don't include your boyfriend No, this is not my boyfriend. This is the naked cowboy in NYC. While this picture is freaking awesome, I'm aware, it doesn't belong anywhere near LinkedIn. Or your grandmother. 

  Which leads me to my next don't...   Don't use anything sexy or even remotely revealing If you would be embarrassed / feel awkward blowing it up, framing it and presenting it to your grandmother as a Christmas gift, don't use that picture.  

  For those of you who were anxiously awaiting a sexy example "don't" picture of me, I'm sorry to have disappointed all none of you. Stewie will have to do for now. 

Don't be invisible  Ok but, we still have no idea what you look like. You might as well be an egg.

  Don't show us your nose boogers  Can we just go ahead and say no selfies at all? This is your career for pete's sake, put in the effort and have someone take your photo. 

  Transitions for the win.... Don't pose with the pups or with the kiddos Yes, I know you love them. I love them. We all love them. Except for hiring managers. They don't love them. 

  Don't use old photos  Limited Too clothes are so last season. 

  Don't use wedding photos  Yes, you looked gorgeous. More gorgeous than any other day, ever. In the history of ever. But unless you're bragging about your MRS degree, professional is the name of the game.  

  Yes, I know this was the Kentucky Derby, but it looks a little bridal, right?  Also, no booze. But pretty much everyone knows that....

:::Now for the Do's:::

Do use professional photos if you have them. Do grab your iPhone, a friend and business attire, and go take your picture in a professional setting if you don't have any suitable images already. Again, this is your career here. Put in some effort.  Do use Groupon / LivingSocial. I often see headshot photography as the deal of the day.  Like this one! Do smile big and pretty

So what are your Do's and Don'ts of LinkedIn profile photos?  Do you agree or disagree with my choices?  Oh, and of course, come LinkIn with me! 
Oh, and I'll just leave this here. Because, America.  Thanks for the opportunity, Korked Bats. I look forward to hearing back from you in a timely manner. 

   

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Resume and Interview Tips {part 2}

So here I am today with the second post in a three-post series: Tips for Getting and Nailing an Interview! I talked all about crafting a cover letter that will stand out to a hiring manager in the last post. I can't believe how requested this post was, so I'm excited to bring it to you all today! 

As I mentioned in the last post, I'm not an expert, and there are plenty of people who may disagree with me, and that is ok! In fact, if you disagree with anything I'm about to discuss, feel free to let us all know by leaving a comment. The more informed we all are, with many different perspectives, the more successful we will be.

But what I do know is what has worked for me in the past. I also know what a hiring manager is looking for, because I was one for a few years! Now lets talk about resumes and interviews!

First: Let's talk RESUMES! 

This will be quick since I personally think most people are pretty informed on resume building. I really want to focus the majority of this post on interview tips.

Tip 1: Build a resume that looks the part 

I do graphic design and advertising, so when I was looking for work, my resume looked like a graphic designer's resume; bright, bold colors and visually eye catching. I can get away with a fun, upbeat resume. If you are applying with a law firm, you can't. You would need to be clean and sleek and elegantly simple with your resume. Your resume should not only showcase a list of your talents, but should reflect your desired position.

Tip 2: Have two different resumes. 

Not every job I applied for when I was job searching was for graphic design. So I had a simple, plain resume to use for more straight-laced positions I was applying.

Tip 3: Always (always always always always) keep it one page

Always.

Next: Interview Tips

Tip 1: Have a Proper Handshake

I have certain things I look for in a candidate and if I don't find those things, I will tune out the rest of the interview. The biggest and most important, that sets the tone of the whole interview, is the handshake...

Handshakes 101: If you don't shake my hand correctly, we are done. This goes to men and women. Just because I am a woman, doesn't mean guys should curtsy instead of shake my hand properly. I promise, it won't break into a billion pieces.

I don't want to see the following: using the tips of your fingers to squeeze the tips of my fingers, don't offer me a "pound-it!", don't shake with the LEFT hand, don't just place your hand in mine and not squeeze.

I assure you I am not the only one who thinks this way. Give a proper, full handshake with a hearty squeeze. If you don't, you WILL NOT get the job, I can guarantee that. GUARANTEE!

Tip 2: Tell a Story

When presented with a question, you should always try and answer that question with a story. For example, say the interviewer asked, "How would you deal with an angry or irate customer?" Respond with an actual time you had an angry customer, and you made the situation right for them. 

What I like to do is take every question the interviewer asks, and place the phrase, "Tell me a time when..." right before the question, so I consciously remember to tell that story. 

Tip 3: Ask the interviewer questions (they will love it.)

Come prepared with some questions for your interviewer. For example, at the end of the interview, the interviewer always will ask you if you have any questions. 

"Um, I don't think so!" Well, that's all well and good, but what if instead you had a few questions prepared regarding the available position or the company culture. 

Maybe ask, "What is the top priority for the person in this position?" Or, "What qualities does it take for a person to be successful in this company?"

Make sure your questions are intelligent and thoughtful. DO NOT ASK about how soon you can take off for vacation time, for example.  

Tip 4: Know the company you are interviewing with

You've got to do your research. Maybe this was wrong of me, but I would sometimes simply ask, "Tell me what you know about our company?" The answers I received from this question really told me who took the time to research our company, and who didn't. 

Don't just research the company, research the whole industry. Find out who their competitors are, find out what their competitors are doing well, and what their competitors are falling short on. The more you know about the company for which you are interviewing, the better you can answer the interviewer's questions, and the better you can ask informed questions at the end of the interview. 

For part 3, feel free to LinkIn with me, because I'll be back to talk all about LinkedIn tips!
And feel free to ask me any questions you have, if there are enough, maybe I can even do a part 4 for you guys!

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They Told Me I Couldn't

When I saw this quote on Pinterest, I started to reach for the re-pin button to add it to Sarah Written All Over It, as I so often do on pretty quotes like this one. But I stopped, mid mouse drag, and stared at it a bit longer. 

I always pin the get it guuurrrlll type quotes, very much like this one. You know the quotes that go something like, "Dear Self, Be Awesome Today" or the quote that goes, "Remember the Person You Thought You Couldn't Live Without, Well Look at You, Livin and Shit!" or that quote like, "You Musn't Be Afraid to Dream a Little Bigger Darling..."you know, those quotes. 

So naturally, my first instinct was to eat this pin right up. But I didn't repin because I stopped and realized, no one has ever told me I couldn't do something. Since the day I was born I've been told there is nothing I can't do. In fact, many things weren't even a matter of can or can't in my household. Take college for instance, it wasn't an option, I was going to college.

I wanted to start Social&Chic and do freelance work for my old company in Tennessee when I moved to Texas. No one told me I couldn't. No one told me that was impossible. Heck, no one even told me you can't move to Texas! The more common response was, "Whoa that'll be awesome! I'd love to help and send business your way!"

I've made many, and I mean many, major changes in my life since college. Probably safe to say I've made more than the vast majority of 27 year olds in this country. At no point, and I mean none, did anyone tell me I'd fail. Or tell me I couldn't do that. Or tell me I was crazy. I've received nothing but love and support with all of my endeavors, no matter how crazy they were! I'd say the only person who ever holds me back, tells me I'm going to fail... is myself!

Sure I've been given constructive criticism. And it hurt to hear those things. But guess what was behind that criticism, love and support! Love and support and good intentions, intentions of helping me reach whatever goal it was I had set for myself.

Maybe the person who made this quote misunderstood someone's constructive criticism and needs a tougher skin? Or maybe the person who made this quote has toxic people in their life and really needs to re-evaluate the people they are associating with. I sure as heck know that if someone were to ever, and I mean ever, tell me I couldn't do something... well I would laugh so hard and say, "Don't let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya!"

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Tips For Getting and Nailing an Interview: Writing a Cover Letter

There are some do's and don'ts of excelling in an interview. Over the years I have gotten most of the jobs I have interviewed for, well except for that one in college I was severely hungover for, clearly didn't get that one. I also used to conduct interviews on a weekly basis for my job back in Tennessee, so I know what that person interviewing you is looking for! So here I am today with the first post in a three-post series: Tips for getting and nailing an interview. 

Be sure to Customize Your Cover Letter For The Position! 

1. If you are applying via Linked In, you can see who posted the position. USE that person's name and title. This is not the place to be lazy. Sunday morning after Fireball is the place to be lazy, not job searching. If you are using Monster or Indeed, go to the company's website and see if you can find the name of a hiring manager in the human resource department. Address it to someone so you avoid the dreaded 'To whom it may concern...'

2. Spoiler- every single cover letter I sent out when applying for jobs before I moved to Dallas had this same paragraph. They all were my perfect hybird blah blah blah positions. But I changed the name of the position each time and tailored that last sentence based on if it was a social media position, graphic design, marketing etc.

3. Get your brag on. Make the most out of the experience that you do have. I was able to turn one job into two. I worked for Fusion as an Area Sales Manager then moved to Marketing Director. It was the same company, but easily two different positions on a resume. Use these two paragraphs for numbers, accomplishments, duties, awards.... anything bragging about yourself!

4. Don't be a robot! You are a person right? You have a life outside of work right? Companies want to hire well rounded individuals. Tell a bit about yourself and what you like to do in your spare time. Obviously, don't talk about getting drunk and hooking up in clubs. Talk about playing in sports leagues, talk about blogging, talk about sorority offices you held in college, talk about reading, writing and arithmetic.

5. Close and thank them for your time. Most importantly, be honest. I wasn't living in Dallas at the time. I wanted them to know that I would need to relocate and need time before I could move.I was applying for social media and graphic design positions. I had work on the internet I was proud of so I directed them to that work!

What tips for crafting your cover letter would you add?

For the second post in this series go here!

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Dream Jobs

This morning I was so rudely awoken by an alarm clock that was not supposed to be going off. I mean, it was Saturday after all. Why was my alarm going off? Rude ticket, alarm clock, sir. Then about 5 seconds later, I remembered it was Tuesday and slowly began to regain control of my basic motor functions. 

I know what left me so confused when I woke up this morning. I had a dream last night that totally sparked an onset of questions in my mind. One of those dreams where you continue to think about what it meant for hours on into your day.

I dreamt that I was just chatting with a friend as two tall modelesque girls walked by. I was talking quite passionately about Zoey Deschanel and the show The New Girl.  

Now, the funny thing about dreams is that you are usually left with a good enough chunk of memory to retell the dream, but not enough to have an explanation for the dream. I've seen a handful of episodes of The New Girl, and while yes I did enjoy it and crushed hard on Nick from the show, I'm really not a very passionate fan, or at least not as passionate as I was in the dream. 

Anyway, so these girls walk by and stop dead in their tracks to listen to me gush about The New Girl; what I would change about the show, what I love about the show, facts about the characters... yada yada yada. 

As it turns out, they are the producers of the show (in my dream of course, I have no idea who the producers are in real life) and they are so impressed with my knowledge and passion they offer me the EXECUTIVE PRODUCER position for The New Girl, right there on the spot. I would get to meet my girl Zoey, fall in love with Nick from the show... I was being offered my dream job of all dream jobs (pun intended I guess). 

Now, Executive Producer for The New Girl in real life is not my dream job. But in my dream, it was my dream (job). 

 The girls then told me that the position would pay $20,000. 

At this point, my dream is channeling awake life as I'm employed with my same real life company and I make much more than $20,000. I tell the girls to take their job and shove it. I am worth much more and that is a ridiculous salary that I will not accept. It would be difficult to even live off $20,000, especially in LA where I'm sure the show is filmed. I got a bit diva on them, the same way I did with the scalper man this weekend. 

I had just turned down my dream's dream job. Because of money. 

So I've been thinking all morning about this dream of mine. Literally and figuratively. What if you were presented with a dream job, one that wouldn't feel like work at all. Your life would feel like a party every single day because it was THAT FUN to go to work each morning. But there is a catch: you could make way more money doing something else, something that doesn't feel like a party every single day. 

What do you do?

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When Life Hands You Pounds You Don't Need

I stepped on the scale Monday morning and I saw a number that I had never seen before in my life. Actually, if you subtracted 10 from the number showing on my scale, I'd never seen that number before either. What have I done? 30 pounds. I've gained 30 pounds since I moved to Dallas. Ok, so that confession didn't feel very good at all. 

When I saw that number staring back at me I hit the bathroom floor in tears. What have I done?! 

Living in Knoxville and working out 3 or more days per week, to now living in Dallas and have been to the gym a total of 3 TIMES. Not 3 times per week, just 3 times. Moving to a new city all by yourself is not easy. Making friends is insanely difficult. I don't want to say I've been depressed since I moved to Dallas, that isn't the case, but there have been times where I've been so sad it hurts. I tell myself, "I don't have anyone here to impress, who cares if I order this large stuffed crust pizza all for myself?" 

I won't say that I turn to food for comfort, I don't think that is accurate. I turn to food for entertainment. I turn to shopping for entertainment. I turn to a bottle of wine and take out for entertainment when I don't have Friday night plans. Saturday night plans. Sunday night plans. Monday night plans... you get the picture. 

The point of this post is not for people to start thinking I'm depressed. I'm fine! I love Dallas and I'm slowly but surely making new friends. Thank God for blog land sending me Helene! I'm just missing my best friend in Knoxville, Lisa who was always my gym buddy forcing me to go to the gym with her. I'm missing my sorority sisters and roommates being across the hall. Why is there no match.com for friendships? Riddle me that? 

I know I'm getting off topic, but you guys said you wanted more of my "face" and I want to do this post right, even if no one reads it. For the first time on this blog, I truly feel like I'm writing a post for no one else but myself.  I want to do a weight loss post. I want to find motivation to lose weight. I've lost my motivation mojo. 

I'm not changing to a weight loss blog. I'm not going to blog about qunioa. You won't see any recipes for skinny lasagna on here. I won't be posting pictures of the treadmill readout, nor will I be offering tips on the proper form for a lunge. What I am going to do though is start posting monthly progress reports on various Sundays. Maybe even a linkup if anyone would want to join! I know myself, I won't stick to it on my own, but I will stick to it if I put it out there. I will stick to it if I know that everyone in blog land knows I'm trying to lose weight. I'm way too competitive, publicly failing at something is a personal form of embarrassment up there with peeing in your pants on the first day of school. 

Last night I went to a weight watchers meeting. I wanted to ask the teacher if I could leave early the minute I stepped in the class because it was all old people discussing the number of points in cranberry sauce. How is this relevant to me? Where was J.Hud? It would be so cool if weight watchers did age based meetings *suggestion cup!*. I don't have the same temptations that a 73 year old woman has. I travel for work with all men, I party, I drink, I get hungover sometimes and want to eat all the things. Just the thought of Cranberry sauce makes me wanna vom. I think weight watchers, the program itself will work and I'm pumped to get started, but the meetings, I just don't know about these meetings. I had to think of something more motivating....

Here is how I am going to accomplish my weight loss goals by combining my love of shopping and my desire to be skinny! I'm not an expert, I'm not pretending to be an expert. I'm just a girl with a blog, photoshop skills and a sense of what works and what doesn't work for me. 

Step One: Admit your Weaknesses

My name is Sarah and I'm addicted to eating, drinking and spending money.

Step Two: You are now officially on a shopping freeze.

(Excluded from MY shopping freeze are the following items: bills, booze, small ticket entertainment like going to the movies, dining out, grocery store, anything the pups need, misc supplies) 

So anything else (i.e. clothes, purses, sports tickets) you can't buy, you gotta earn it! 

Step Three: Make yourself a wish list. These are items you really want and these items will be your reward for when you accomplish different milestone goals. 

Step Four: You are going to start saving for items on your wish list! Each time you accomplish a task on your list, you drop the appropriate dollar amount in the piggy bank. You can either use an actual piggy bank, or if you don't ever have cash, like me, you can use the Smarty Pig app.

So now you need to determine how much expendable income you have and can dedicate. I'm not Dave Ramsey, I'm not going to recommend dollar amounts for your budget, but what I will do is show you what my point system looks like!

Step Four: Determine what your goals are. Each time you hit one of those goals, you can use the money in the piggy bank to purchase something off your wish list!

My first 5 goals for the 5 items on my wish list:

10 Pounds Lost

12 straight weeks at the gym (Tracked via Four Square)

10% body weight lost

7 straight days without a single cheat meal

15% body weight lost

Has anyone else hit the wall, like me?
 Do you want to play along?

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