Maxed Out

Instagram is an established social media platform that impacts much of the world. Founded in 2010 by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, Instagram has gained a total of almost one and a half billion users. Most of its users are female and are younger than thirty years of age. Businesses struggled in the early stages of Instagram to properly use their features to their advantage. The user interface was not as technologically advanced to get potential customers to the online store. Today, Instagram has made it relatively easy to convert these potential customers into consistent buyers from these stores. There is currently 71% of companies in the United States who use Instagram in some form for their business. Users on Instagram enjoy being able to follow their favorite businesses as it shows in the statistics. Approximately 90% of all Instagram users follow some sort of business through the social platform.  In order to use Instagram to your advantage, a business will need to create a bu...

The community of polar bears here at Ohio Northern should feel excitement going into these final two weeks before our fall break. We are exactly nine school days away from a long awaited four day break where we all can replenish our academic energy. I have enjoyed our first five weeks on campus but am thrilled to be able to head back to Nashville and enjoy a few days of the southern fall weather. We still have nine school days which means we have not escaped mid-term exams just yet. To be honest, I am unsure when all of mine will be. The only major assignment I have remaining is a paper due next Friday, which makes me thankful to be taking a lighter load of classes this semester. I hope most of my peers get to have a great fall break and enjoy the time at home. My fall break will be filled with fun activities while my family travels together to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. We will take a few days to explore the Great Smoky Mountains which is famous for the morning fog the mountains produce. ...

This week is all about Facebook and how to use it effectively. Facebook was created by Mark Zuckerberg in February 2004. It now has over two billion users on the platform which makes this an important resource for businesses. The first step to utilize Facebook is to create a profile on the platform. Similar to LinkedIn, the profile picture is one of the most important features of your profile. This can help increase the amount of people who see your profile. A company must make sure to convey their values and mission through their image. Once finished finding the best photo, companies should add a brief description of what their purpose is. They can finish their profile by adding key information such as contact numbers, locations, and hours.  Business owners should also get used to using Facebook's many business features. One key feature is Meta Business Suite which is a place where companies can see an overview of their analytics. It offers tools such as the ability to create ads,...

The weekends in Ada have progressively gotten more eventful and fun. This week the tundra was filled with parents and siblings of students for Ohio Northern' s annual Parent and Sibling Day. Unfortunately, my family was unable to come up and join in on the fun event. That did not stop me from enjoying some of the festivities such as the festival on Main Street. There were pop-up stores lined all the way down Main Street and they were a lot of fun to check out. I did not end of getting anything from these stores, but I can see the importance these stores had on the residents of Ada. I was able to gain a bigger appreciation of Ada as I was able to see much of the community join together for this festival.  I also enjoyed the weekend as I was able to reconnect with many friends and family from Nashville. I spent much of the day hearing about my friends' adventures at Ole Miss and University of Tennessee, and I shared my vastly different experience here. I also was able to speak to...

This week I was able to explore my ability to host a podcast show. The amount of creativity needed to create a quality podcast allowed me to respect the people who make a living out of them. They are not as easy as simply recording yourself and posting it, despite how much the public thinks it so. I enjoyed being able to call a connection of mine who I have known from Nashville, Tennessee. She has many years of experience with social media and devoted her college years to studying it. Her name is Rosalyn Wells and she was thrilled to be a part of this. The amount of prep that goes into the show before we even began is something I did not expect. I went into this project thinking there would be a small outline and then you would just talk for five minutes. I realized that if you were to create a quality product, then you need to spend as much time needed to get it right. The outline and collaboration with Rosalyn was humbling as she was able to teach me over the effects of social media ...

Nothing eventful has been occurring on the tundra as of late, but a lot is happening in the outside world. Arguably the biggest global event is the death of England's Queen Elizabeth II which occurred this past Thursday. She reigned through several key global eras such as World War II, Cold War, and Vietnam. Although she may not be a major part of American culture, this event still holds value in the world as the last monarchy is eliminated.  In America, we are blessed to experience another great season of college football. We are currently headed into week three of the season, and have already been given two weeks of phenomenal games. In week one, Notre Dame vs Ohio State was the game of the week and it did not disappoint. The offenses for both of these teams stalled out for most of the game, but Ohio State came out on top with a few great drives toward the end of the game. My favorite team is the Penn State Nittany Lions and they have not disappointed either so far this season. T...

 We are already onto chapter three of our online textbook and this chapter pertained to social media marketing strategies. Companies have seen the increased use of social media and have developed several different marketing strategies through the use of this tool. When companies first enter the social media world, there brand enters a world of endless possibilities. Their first post could damage their brand if they use this tool incorrectly. This is where the importance of having a marketing strategy is displayed.  Step one for companies is to identify their target market. Companies also need to grab key details over their target market to understand which social media platform is needed for each demographic. For some companies, such as SlimJim, they find more success promoting on TikTok as more adolescents are on this platform. Once companies find out their customer personas, they can move to step two. Step two is important as it is conducting a social media audit. Similar to...

The tundra was filled with several activities this past weekend. We were lucky to receive mildly warm weather for Ohio Northern's first football game against Alma. Men's soccer also filled this past weekend's schedule with two big games in which they went 1-1 in. I unfortunately was dealt a rough group of cards as I was sick from this past Thursday through Saturday. I was lucky enough to participate being a ball boy for the Sunday men's soccer game against North Park. Throughout this game, we received a plentiful and steady amount of rain which made this game a fun memory to look back on. This week kicks off our third academic week and many classes have began to increase their workload. The university is continuing to get busier with class work, athletic events, and club outings. It is a great sight to see the tundra and many other places on campus begin to become busier as the weeks go by. It will not be long until we lose this gift and we all head back home for winter...