Venus Trapped in Mars || Dallas

17 July 2014

#FavTotalSocial

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It's #FavTotalSocial time with me and Helene! My original plan was to repost my favorite blog post I had ever written. But I changed my mind, because, I'm a girl and that's what we do.

Side note: I started to make an X chromosome joke just then. But I had to google to confirm which chromosome it was that women had because I was busy doodling "Mrs. Sarah DiCaprio" and "Sarah hearts Ashton" the day we talked about that in Mr. Steven's 6th grade science class. I then learned it was the X chromosome that we have, and the website I was reading said the X chromosome comes with a larger user manual than the Y chromosome. I laughed and laughed and laughed at that subtle gender joke. Get it science, you're one funny kid. Sorry I never paid more attention to you in middle school, especially since I bet you're filthy stinking rich now.

So instead, today I bring you "Sarah's Favorite Things!"

You get a car, and you get a car, and you get a car!!!!!!!

Totally playing, you just get to read my answers to this random favorite things quiz. It was the first thing to pop up when I googled "favorite things quiz". I know, I really put in all of the efforts. You're welcome.

Favorite pet I ever had

Gee Neyland. Honorable Mention: Veenie.

Favorite car I’ve owned

Very first car, red mustang. I wouldn't want it back, but it will stand as the sentimental favorite.

Favorite meal out, ever

Melting pot. Give me all the cheese and lobster.

Oh, and of course when I go out to see my boyfriend.

Favorite food I’ve cooked

You're a funny little quiz. I like you.

Favorite food from childhood

Pizza.

Favorite movie of all time

Devil Wears Prada. Across the Universe (go ahead, laugh, I don't care).

Favorite book of all time

The Berenstain Bears: Report Card Trouble

well, or...

The Berenstain Bears: Learn About Strangers.

Please don't make me choose.

Favorite item category to go shopping for with a girlfriend

Martinis

Favorite day out – what, where, with whom

Tailgate, Vols game, Neyland Stadium, 104,000 of my closest friends.

Favorite color

Yellow. Look around and you will see...

Favorite artist

Vincent "huh, what did you just say?" Van Gogh... or.... Miranda Lambert.

I'm not totally clear on the meaning of the question.

Favorite song

Lil Boosie - Wipe Me Down

Favorite paid entertainment I’ve ever seen

Tennessee vs Kentucky. November 24, 2007. Lexington, Ky. 4 Overtimes. BIG ORANGE WINS to make it to SEC Championship.

Favorite hobby activity that makes me get lost for hours

Blogging. No really, I love it.

Favorite skill (past or current)

I can do an incredibly accurate baby cry. Only a handful of people have seen/witnessed it. But it is real, just ask Magen.

Favorite advice I’ve ever been given

"Girls are treacherous. Watch your back." - my dad

Favorite advice I’ve ever given

Never do zumba without following a two-drink minimum policy

Favorite year of the best birthday I ever had… and why

21. Because, 21. I'd include a picture, but we are this far into questions on the post and I haven't used a single image. I get uncomfortable sticking things where they don't belong. *go ahead and insert (no pun intended) the joke here that you know you are dying to make*

Favorite natural wonder I’ve ever seen

Neyland on game day

Favorite close call I’ve ever had

When I was on the L in Chicago, leaving a night game (followed by a night party) in Wrigleyville and the train stopped for an hour for maintenance. No bathrooms. I somehow didn't pee my pants. But if you look up the definition of close call in the dictionary, you'll see my face from that night.

Ok, fine. Here is a picture....

Sheesh, red-eyed pictures. That's so 2009.

My favorite flower – purchased

The kind of flower that is shaped in the form of a ticket, with a barcode on the back and a seat, row and section number decorated on the front. Those are really beautiful.

My favorite flower or plant – personally grown

This one. Tree/flower... same thing.

My favorite hair day ever?

This day. I'm of course not kidding.

The most favorite gift I’ve ever gotten – what and from whom?

When I got to meet Chipper Jones and Chipper Jones' sweater all in the same day.

Favorite unusual pet I’ve ever had

Betta Fish. It was a ritual to gift one to another sister in the sorority. They couldn't be kept with any other fish because they will fight to the death. Odd ritual, no? Yay Pi Phi!

Favorite outdoor smell

Warning track dirt

Favorite Saturday night ever?

Well, just go to this post and build your own answer to that question.

My favorite non-relative adult growing up

Carl Winslow from Family Matters

Favorite TV rerun I could watch 50 times?

Sex and the City. Not Carrie Diaries. I repeat, not Carrie Diaries.

Favorite item no one knows I own?

Confetti shooter. Well, on second thought, I'm sure that isn't too shocking to hear.

Favorite competent activity I do?

Badminton

Favorite food item I can never run out of?

Lean cuisines. But not the ones that require stirring halfway though. Those are bs.

The favorite picture I’ve ever taken?

Ahh yes, my nightlife.

Favorite secret I still safeguard? (don’t reveal it!)

Now my head hurts.

On that, I'm out!

I can't wait to read all of your favorites, so come linkup with me and Helene! And if you want to take my questions (errr, their questions) and write your own favorites post, free to do so!

Don't forget to also link up on Insta // Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest

by using the hashtag #FavTotalSocial

16 July 2014

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!