It’s a Beautiful Influence

I think we can all agree that social media is a crazy place in 2020. It seems that everyone has a cause to share and an opinion to spout. But, if you're building a brand on social media, are you listening to your audience? Are you answering their questions? Addressing issues they care about? Posting content that is relevant to them? Tune in to this episode to hear more about why this is important and how you can do better at listening to your audience. 

Doomscrolling? What is that? It's something we're guessing you've done a lot of in 2020. Basically, doomscrolling, or doom surfing, is constantly checking news and social media feeds to get the latest doom and gloom updates. Tune in to this episode to learn more about what it is, why it's bad for you, and how you can stop doing it!

Warning. This episode talks about some serious stuff that you might not want to hear. But please listen. It's important. You can help and you can make a difference. You can save children by being aware of what's going on and talking to others. 

Most people are aware that many local, small businesses have struggled a lot due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some states are almost fully open. Some are mostly shut down. And many are somewhere in between. Whatever the case of where you live, local, small businesses need your support now more than ever.

Tune in to this episode to learn about the importance of small business and how to find and support small businesses in your area.

Are you using video for your personal brand? We sure hope so! Video is more important than ever to building your personal brand. People are spending more and more time watching videos online and video is the most powerful way to connect with people online. Tune in to hear more about why video is so important and how you can get started (or get back to) using it.

Social media has made it incredibly easy to spread misinformation. We think it's important that people are able to figure out what information is actually misinformation. Once you know something is misinformation, you can help by not sharing it!  Tune into this episode to hear more. 

Just about every business is struggling in some way during the COVID-19 pandemic. And many small businesses have gone quiet with their social media. We’re here to tell you to speak up! Communicating with your current and potential clients on social media is more important than ever. So tune in to learn how you can use social media to help!

Many small businesses may be missing out on a great marketing opportunity - influencer marketing! That's right.  Small businesses can use influencers to get their brand exposure and drive sales. And they can afford it too! Tune into this episode to learn how!

How is your mindset these days? Even in the best of times, we all can struggle with having the right mindset. Now, in the midst of a global health crisis with serious economic troubles on top of it, almost everyone is struggling at some point. 

That's why we thought it would be amazing to speak with Frank Kitchen - the F.R.E.S.H. Mindset Expert. Frank is a motivational and mindset speaker and coach and a fundraiser.  Listen to this episode to hear Frank's tips for staying motivated and having a good mindset. 

To learn more about Frank, visit any of the following:

Social media - especially IG and YouTube - have made it easy for scammers to take people’s money! These scammers make it look like they have the life someone wants, and usually show stacks of money/screenshots of bank accounts/wire transfers, etc.  This can also include things like fitness or nutrition influencers selling plans, products, or services that don't actually deliver the results they promise and more. Tune into this episode to learn more about the types of scams that exist and how you can avoid getting scammed!

Many people give up too soon and don't achieve their goals and dreams. But YOU can do it! You just need to work on developing grit. And you need to be pursuing something you're passionate about. Tune into this episode to learn more about what grit is and how you can get it! 

Social media has changed the way we talk about politics and the way politicians campaign. With the 2020 Presidential election well underway, we discuss if and how social media will change the results. Tune in to learn more about it and to hear what you can do to avoid fake news and misinformation!

In this episode, we are joined by Digital Futurist Brian Fanzo. Brian is one of our favorite people on social media! He is real, raw, and loves to help people just press the damn button and get started! We talk about everything from having a niche versus not having a niche to what real influence is to why Twitter is his favorite platform and more. 

Brian Fanzo is a digital futurist keynote speaker who translates the trends of tomorrow to inspire change today. His customized and personalized programs showcase real-world stories and examples of forward-thinking people and businesses. He teaches companies of all sizes how to leverage technology in real-time in order to engage their customers at the right time. Brian has a gift for bringing people together online and offline. He has worked in 76 countries, highlighting his passion for change, collaboration, and technology.

This episode is not to be missed! Brian is full of energy and his passion for what he does and how he wants to help are amazing! You can find Brian in all the places, including:

Influencer marketing is growing quickly..but so are fake influencers and fake accounts! Consumers, wanna be influencers, and companies that hire influencers all need to be aware of fake influencers and fake accounts. Tune in to this episode to learn what fake influencers and fake accounts are and hear how to spot fake ones. 

Super Bowl is the single biggest television event in America. Not only do the two best NFL teams face off for the Lombardi Trophy, but the halftime show is also just as high-profile, and then there are the commercials - which are often a bigger talking point than what happens on the field. Social media has given everyone who wants it the opportunity to talk about all of these things and more...and many people end up going viral just by sharing their opinion on this event. Tune into this episode to hear our thoughts about social media and Super Bowl 54!

Have you heard of TikTok? Have you downloaded the app and checked it out? TikTok has blown up in the last year and it's still growing very quickly. But a lot of people don't know much about it, and many have concerns about the safety of TikTok! Tune into this episode to learn more about these concerns and what you can do about them.

In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Ai  Addyson-Zhang who is a college professor turned entrepreneur. She talks about how social media transformed her life and why she wants to change education as we know it.

Ai is the creator of Classroom Without Walls, an alternative school for entrepreneurship. She is a thought leader in alternative education and founded Classroom Without Walls because she believes the best education happens outside the classroom.  Ai's list of credentials is long, including being an Adobe Education Leader and a HubSpot Academy Instructor. She has also been featured in Forbes, Inside Higher Education,  and Pearson Education, among others. Ai hosts a weekly live streaming show, in which she interviews leading social media and digital marketers such as Seth Godin. 

We promise you don't want to miss the energy and passion in this episode or miss hearing Ai's story of how she has used and is using social media to make a big impact!

Are our current culture and the trends on social media glamorizing obesity and making it something to aspire to be? We are all about accepting people as they are and for who they are, but are we as a culture going too far? Tune into this episode to hear our thoughts on this issue as well as what we can do to use our influence in a beautiful way and promote positive change on social media. 

What does influence mean in 2020? Do you have influence? Why do you want to have influence? Tune into this episode to learn more! 

If you're posting on Instagram, then you need to know how to tag other accounts...the right way! Tagging people or brands that are in your posts or stories can help build relationships, your network, and can even help you become a brand rep/ambassador or influencer. Tune in to this episode to learn more about using tags on Instagram the right way. 

Also, this is our last episode of Season 1! Thank you to everyone who listened, shared, and reviewed us in 2019! We're thankful for all of you! If you haven't left us a rating a review yet, we would greatly appreciate it if you did. Stay tuned for January 2020, when we will launch with Season 2...and a new direction for the podcast!

You've started building a personal brand but you don't feel like you're getting anywhere...we've been there! Don't give up yet! It takes time and persistence. In this episode, we talk about how to keep going with your personal brand. 

Almost everyone struggles with constantly coming up with new ideas for content. But building a strong personal brand requires you to create and share a lot of content. We're here to help! Listen to this episode to learn more about how to create content from scratch and create content that your audience wants to consume!

Do you struggle with knowing what to do every day to be more successful? Is your personal brand not growing how you'd hoped? Are you not achieving your goals? Then tune in to this episode and learn about the little things you can (and should) do every day to achieve success!

Repeat after us. Social media is not reality! Social media is not reality.

Social media has become a huge part of our lives and it can really hurt our self-image. Social media mostly shows the highlights of people's lives and can seriously alter our perception of reality. Social media isn't going away and it can be difficult and impractical to avoid social media completely. Instead, you can learn to live more in reality while still being a part of social media. Tune into this episode to learn how!

2020 will be here before you know it! A new year and a new DECADE! Are you excited? Be sure to finish this year strong, but it's also time to start planning for 2020. Think about how your 2019 went...what were your successes and failures? Did you accomplish what you wanted to with your personal brand and on social media? It's time to reflect, celebrate, learn, and then revise your goals and plans to smash your goals in 2020!

College is fun. Social media is fun. But are you making some serious mistakes on social media that can affect your personal brand and your future? Yes, you should be yourself on social media and build an authentic personal brand. But we want to make sure you're not making some common mistakes that a lot of college students make. Tune in to learn more about avoiding the bad stuff and doing more of the good stuff!

A lot of people have an online business and a lot of people have an in-person business, but not all these businesses do both. Both types of businesses can benefit from doing both, so in this episode, we talk about the benefits of taking your business from online to in-person and how to do it! 

We love social media just as much as anyone else. But social media can cause problems too. In this episode, we talk about how to take care of yourself when using (or not using) social media so that you can enjoy it without causing problems. Tune in to find out more about some steps you can take today towards social media self-care!