Scholarship Brunch Live Tweet

As some of you may know I recently went to the scholarship brunch. During this event I was live tweeting, and you can see those tweets here on my storify. Please be sure and check it out.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Social Media Marketing Chapter 2

Today I would like to discuss the new book we are reading in class, specifically Chapter 2. The book is titled "Social Media Marketing Workbook" by Jason McDonald. Chapter 2 is titled "Content Marketing."

With content marketing, your primary focus should be on your content. The first step you can take is identifying content that you can easily produce. To accomplish this, you must first inventory you and your company's skill set. Then you must ask yourself, "What type of content is easy for you, your company, and your customers to produce?" Will this be a short written post, a picture or maybe a video? This is for you and your consumers to decide.

To find out the rest of the steps you can take to improve your content marketing, be sure to check out Jason McDonald's book.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Homecoming Weekend

This weekend at Ohio Northern University (ONU) was homecoming weekend. So many events took place this weekend, some being the football game, homecoming dance, the parade and the scholarship brunch. My favorite part though had to have been the scholarship brunch. This is partially because they had orange bread there and that got me excited. But the most important part of this morning was getting to meet the couple that is supporting my journey here at ONU. I was the first recipient of the Toby Ratliff Baker Scholarship. Mrs. Baker is the former first lady of the university. I had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. & Dr. Baker at the scholarship brunch. Mrs. Baker is one of the nicest people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Before I left she and Dr. Baker told me that they wanted to keep in touch and updates on my journey here at ONU, and they said if I was ever having trouble I could contact them. I happily told them that I would love to keep in touch with them. Overall this was an amazing weekend and I cannot wait for next year.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Facebooks New Update

Facebook just got another new update! The new update is called the Reactions Store. This is a new update on Facebooks 'reactions', a tool that allows you to react to other people's posts using different emoji's. This feature has been playing a big role in Facebook since it came out nearly two years ago. With the new update, you can now select your reaction emoji's, some different types of reactions are baseball reactions, mustache reactions, Halloween reactions, and even various skin tone reactions.

Sadly, this new feature is not out yet, it is currently still in the testing stage. Also, it is unknown whether this will be a paid or free feature. Personally, I cannot wait for this new feature to arrive, though I will be very disappointed if I have to pay for it.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Social Media Marketing Chapter 1

Today I would like to discuss the new book we are reading in class, specifically Chapter 1. The book is titled "Social Media Marketing Workbook" by Jason McDonald. Chapter 1 is titled "Party On." The chapter is about how social media marketing is like throwing a party.

Invitations are like promotions. For a party you need to create an attendee list, and then send out invitations to your guest. In social media marketing, you must find your target audience and figure out how to get them to "attend" your social media page.

Entertainment is like content. When it comes to a party you need to know what your entertainment will be. Will you have a band, a magician, or just music? For social media marketing, you need to know why people will "hangout" on your page. Will your content be funny, fun, or informative?

Hosting is like on-going management. As the host of a party your job is to meet, greet, and make sure everything is okay. In social media marketing, you also need to be doing these tasks. You should be interacting with your guest and "kicking out" any rude guests. Your social media needs constant behind-the-scenes management, this is to ensure that everything is running smoothly.

So far, I have really enjoyed reading this book. If you want to learn more about how to improve your social media marketing skills, then this is the book for you.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Snapchat and Bitmojis

Last year Snapchat bought Bitmoji for $64 million. Since then, Bitmoji has become a huge part of what Snapchat is today. Just recently Snapchat has updated Bitmoji to where you can now interact with your Bitmoji as well as make them 3D. You can do this by first updating your Snapchat, then opening the app and turning it to the rear-facing camera. Next bring up your lenses menu; you will then see your 3D Bitmoji options pop up. After picking one, place it wherever you want. You can also walk alongside your Bitmoji.

Personally, I think this is cool because I love using Bitmoji when I am on Snapchat. I tried this new feature myself and I enjoyed it. I hope you will try it as well and enjoy it as much as I do.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Siblings Weekend

This weekend was Ohio Northern University's (ONU) "Siblings Weekend." My brother, mother and  best friend all made the four-hour drive to come see me. I was especially happy to see my best friend Monique; I have not seen her since the day before I left for ONU. She stayed the night in my room and we sat and talked until midnight. Nearly two hours after we went to bed, the fire alarm sounded. If I had not woken Monique up, she more than likely would have slept through the alarm. Luckily it was just a false alarm and we soon went back into the dorms.

While my brother was here, he was constantly mistaken for a college student, even though he is a freshman in high school. While at the Harvest and Herb Festival in Ada, Ohio, military recruiters thought he was a college student and tried to recruit him. He also met one of my professors who also thought he was a student here at ONU. It was a fun and interesting weekend with him here. Sadly the fun could not last forever; after we ate brunch on Affinity Lawn, they headed home. I cannot wait to see my family again when I head home in a few weeks for fall break.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

The Interview

This week I had the pleasure of interviewing my uncle about his job. His name is Ian Brown, he is a chief creative officer at 500 Degrees Studio. I asked him the following questions:

1. Where do you work, and what is your position?
2. What do you consider to be the most important part of your job?
3. What is the story behind you choosing this career?
4. What social media platform does your job use the most, if any?
5. What social media platform do you use the most?
6. What do you use that platform for?
7. What medium does your company use the most? (Paint, Pencil, graphic design)
8. What app or software do you use the most?
9. What do you look for when you hire people?
10. What problem in social media are you coming across the most?
11. What would you suggest to people wanting to go into this career?

Here is the link to the podcast so you can hear his answers. https://kleach1.podbean.com/e/interview-1505230817/

Snapchat and Colleges

Snapchat is teaming up with college newspapers, at first Snapchat was against this move but now they have come around to the idea. They have officially announced that they will be expanding their Publisher Stories to include school publications. So far, they have only teamed up with the 4 following schools:

• ‘The Daily Californian’ from UC Berkeley
•  ‘The Battalion’ from Texas A&M
• ‘The Daily Orange’ from Syracuse
• ‘The Badger Herald’ from Wisconsin

Snapchat is distributing these stories through geofencing, that way only students physically located on campus can see the stories. Personally, I think this is a smart move for Snapchat, because I think this will get the college demographic to participate even more in Snapchat. I also think this will be great for the students at the college newspapers because they will be getting a lot of experience by doing these sorts of things. This is definitely a step in the right direction.

Until next time, 

Kaitlyn

My Weekend Home

This weekend I made the 4-hour drive back home. While I was there, I attended the Sternwheel Festival, where I was a contestant of the Queen Genevieve Pageant. Sadly, I did not win, though I do plan to try again next year. I had a great time at the festival with all the other contestants. I enjoyed touring all the boats and helping with the Little Miss and Mr. Pageant. My favorite part about this weekend was seeing my family and my dog. Before I left, I got to eat my favorite pizza with my grandmother for lunch. On the way back to Ohio Northern University (ONU), I stopped to interview my uncle for an assignment. Afterwards, I finally made it back to ONU.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Chapters 11&12

Today I would like to discuss Chapters 11 and 12 of the book we are reading in class. The book is titled "The Art of Social Media" by Guy Kawasaki and Peg Fitzpatrick.

Chapter 11 was titled "How to Optimize for Individual Platforms." This chapter gives several tips for different social media platforms. The following are subsections and their summaries for this chapter:

• "Tips for Facebook": Be sure to use Facebook's Page Insights. This provides you statistics to help you determine what is working for your account.
• "Tips for Google+": Your Google+ profile badge can be embedded into your blog or website. This can convince people to read your Google+ page.
• "Tips for Instagram": Use filters as much as possible to enhance images.
• "Tips for LinkedIn": Be sure to focus on core topics to establish thought leadership.
• "Tips for Pinterest": Use secret boards to collaborate with others on private projects.
• "Tips for SlideShare": This platform does not use audio, so others must interpret the message from the slides.
• "Tips for Twitter": Repeating tweets can increase the amount of clicks your tweets receive.
• "Tips for YouTube": Be sure to remind your audience of your posting schedule.

I found this chapter to be extremely helpful because it had so many tips for different social media platforms.

Chapter 12 was titled "How to Put Everything Together." This is the last chapter of the book, and only has three subsections. The following are the subsections and their summaries for this chapter:

• "Build the Foundation": Be sure to refresh all profiles, avatars and email signatures to make sure they all match.
• "Amass Your Digital Assets": Create an intro/outro clip that is 3 to 4 seconds long of the book cover to use with all other videos.
• "Go to Market": Be sure to share two curated posts, as opposed to created, per day per platform.

I deeply enjoyed reading this book throughout my class. If you want to learn the art of social media, be sure to check out this book.

Until next time,

Kaitlyn

My Gandparents Visit

This past weekend my grandparents came to visit me here on campus. They arrived here on campus Saturday evening and left on Sunday around 1. The first thing we did after they came in and saw my dorm room, was go out to eat. We ate at Red Lobster, there we ate good food and talked about all the things I missed at home. After we ate my grandmother took me shopping, she got me two pairs of pants and took me to get my nails done. After all that I took my grandmother back to her hotel and told them I would see them tomorrow.

The next day they came around noon to pick me up for lunch. We went to eat at I Hop, I was extremely happy because I love I Hop but we don't have one where I am from. After lunch they took me back to campus and we had to say our goodbyes. I was extremely sad to see them go, I love my grandparents so much and they have been with me my entire life helping every step of the way. I can't wait until I get to see them again.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

YouTube's New Look

Some of you may have noticed that YouTube got a new look. The first change you probably noticed was the change in the layout. The iconic red and white layout has now changed to just white. The biggest change to me though is in their logo. Their logo has changed from the iconic YouTube, to now feature the YouTube play button. But YouTube has done more than just change their look, they have added various updates in hopes to please their users. For example they have added various playback speeds, improved functionality, faster content and a new feature called dark theme. Dark theme is a new feature only available on the desktop version of YouTube. Dark theme is where the background is completely black, this is to offer a better viewing experience in low-light situations.

Personally, I am excited to explore these new changes that were much needed. I hope you guys will also check out all these new and interesting features.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn