Lifestyle | Books | Writer | Nature | Creativity
People recognize your brand name only when you have made a profound presence of your brand in the industry. A logo design is one of the most important things while creating a brand’s identity and it is the first thing that the people notice of your brand. A logo design conveys the story of your brand and has to be immediately recognizable wherever the audience sees it.
Hello, I’m Anna Nuttall. A blogger based in London UK. I usually write about fashion and lifestyle. I’m never too far away from fashion! I’m always wandering in and out of fashion shops, I spend most of my evenings surfing all the designer’s fashion websites. I enjoy wandering around London and finding new boutique and curling up in a coffee house reading the latest vogue, I love trying out new makeup and
cosmetic and I’m a huge Lush user! My favourite designers are Anna Sui, Laura Lees and Betsy Johnson. Their styles really inspire me as they use bold bright colours blended together to create really beautiful clothes.
Everybody pretty much knows that social media is a really important strategy to gain and retain online audiences. Whether you have a blog or you’re selling an online product, social media is a must for your business. There are many platforms you can use depending on your type of business and the kind of audience you’re trying to attract. It can get very time consuming to post everyday. You also need to be very strategic what content you post depending on the platform you’re using. Below are some of my favorite free and simple social media tools you can use to boost your online presence today!
There are 317 million active users on Twitter therefore it’s still a very active online platform that’s not to be overlooked. Did you now there are 500 million tweets per day? (https://www.omnicoreagency.com/twitter-statistics/) That’s a lot right? Exactly. What this means is that you have to be very active on Twitter to be seen. Twitter feed is moving so fast that it’s pretty much impossible to see all the tweets. You would have to spend every waking minute on it. And forget about posting that much manually. That’s why you need Twitter automation tools to help you out. Two of my favorite tools for Twitter are Hootsuite and Tweetdeck.
Hootsuite
Hootsuite is a great social media tool for scheduling. You can connect up to 3 different social media accounts for free. If you need to connect more accounts you’ll need to upgrade to their paid Pro version. Right now the social media platforms you can add to Hootsuite are: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, LinkedIn, WordPress and YouTube. This platform is really easy to use once you have a look around and try a few things. Then it really becomes completely automated. You can set up different view streams in your ‘Dashboard’ to use as monitoring tools to keep track of various statistics:
Monitoring Tool
Scheduling Tool
Once you have the above Dashboard set up you can then proceed to using the Scheduling Tool to plan all your tweets in advance. This is a great tool and there is no maximum tweets limits, which is amazing for a free tool. Most other platforms set limits on how many posts you can schedule in advance but with Hootsuite the sky is the limit. This is especially handy when you’re planning to go on a vacation and you need to schedule posts for the entire time you’ll be away.
Analytics Tool
The free Hootsuite version gives you some basic Analytics such as your Twitter Overview which gives you your follower growth and most popular links. The other handy free analytic you can get is your Ow.ly click summary. Ow.ly is a great link shortener that you can use in Hootsuite’s Scheduler tool so you don’t end up with very long links. Did you know that people are more inclined to click on short links? This is why you should definitely be using Ow.ly link shortener.
Tweetdeck
If you’re only using Twitter you might as well use their own scheduling social media tool called Tweetdeck. This is a separate platform from Twitter but you’ll only need to log into it using your Twitter credentials. Similarly to Hootsuite it comes with a Dashboard where you can set up your own streams such as: Home (Tweets of people you follow), User (Your own tweets), Scheduled (Your scheduled tweets), Notifications (Likes, Re-tweets and Follows), Likes (Tweets you’ve liked), Search (Hashtag, keyword etc.), List, Collection, Activity, Mentions, Followers+, Messages, Trending.
Facebook Publisher
As with Twitter you can use Hootsuite to schedule your posts for Facebook. But if you only use Facebook and you have a Facebook page you can just use the scheduling tool that comes with Facebook. It’s super easy to use and all you have to do is to log in to your main Facebook account and go to your Page – Publishing Tools – Scheduled Posts – Create. Once you create your post you can schedule it to go out at a later date. There is no limit as to how many posts you can schedule in advance. One thing to keep in mind is Facebook picture sizes especially if you’re scheduling posts. If you’re writing a caption and attaching a picture keep in mind the ultimate size for the picture to display correctly is: 476 pixel (width) x 249 pixel (height).
There are many scheduling tools for Instagram including the above-mentioned Hootsuite but my favorite tool is called Planoly.
Planoly
The reason why I love this scheduling social media tool is because it’s really visual and it allows you to plan how your feed will look in advance. Yes I know Instagram is supposed to be all about spontaneous posts but to be real many accounts esp. the really big ones plan and organize their feeds. So why shouldn’t you? Why not try to compete or at least keep up with the big guys? The free plan lets you upload 30 images per month so that’s pretty much 1 picture per day for a whole month. Another great thing about Planoly is that they do have a desktop version so you can plan your Insta feed right on your laptop. It always helps to see the pictures up close.
Plan
In the Planoly Dashboard you can easily view your Instagram posts via the different tabs such as: Unscheduled, Scheduled and All tabs.
Drafts
Create a brand new grid and preview how all the posts will look like. Here you can also write all you post’s captions with relevant hashtags. What a time saver that is!
Discover
Planoly lets you search and discover new accounts based on user names and hashtags. And you get to see all of their beautiful pictures.
Analyze
Here you can see your Instagram stats such as: Followers, Likes received, Comments received, your Top 5 Liked posts and your Top 5 most commented on posts. Please note that the free account limits you on how many analytics you can see so you might need to upgrade to a paid plan to see more stats.
While there are no free social media tools to schedule pins for Pinterest there are some free tools you can use to boost it. Most scheduling platforms will either offer you a free trial or a number of free pins. Once you run out of the trial you need to upgrade to a paid version.
Pinterest Group Boards
But if you want to boost how many people see your pins and re-pin your stuff join Pinterest Group Boards. Any group is free to join and you can easily find groups by going to Facebook and searching for either blogging groups or Pinterest groups. Once you join one of the Facebook groups (or many as it is suggested to join at least 10+) ask the owner to be added to their Pinterest Group Board.
They usually ask you to follow them and their Group Board first. And then you should send them your Pinterest user name or e-mail associated with Pinterest. Once you accept the request to join the group you’ll be able to post your pins directly to the group for all members to see. Note, you need to follow the group guidelines on what to post and how many posts you’re allowed to pin to the group per day. And voila, many other people who wouldn’t otherwise stumble upon your pins will now be able to view your pins.
Tailwind Tribes
Another option is to sign up for Tailwind Tribes. This is a free service offered by Tailwind. Once you join a tribe you’d be able to post your pins for free. All the members will be able to see your pins. The only downside is if you want to re-pin anything from the Tribe you will need to use Tailwind’s Scheduling Tool. And as mentioned above you only get the first 100 pins for free. After that, you’ll need to pay to use the Scheduling Tool. Check out this helpful post (http://prettyfitfoodie.com/2017/01/06/tailwind-pinterest-tribes/) about why it’s a good idea to join Tailwind Tribes.
So I really hope you find the above tips helpful. There are so many free social media tools available out there. This is just a fraction of what’s out there. I believe these tools can do wonders for you. When you’re ready to take things to the next level you’ can always upgrade to a paid version.
Thank you Kasia for Guest blogging with us!
Bio
Kasia Mikolajczak is a savvy Digital Media Strategist and the Owner, Content
Creator and Webmaster of The Savvy Dreamer (https://thesavvydreamer.com), a healthy lifestyle blog where she shares her social media/blogging and lifestyle tips, recipes, travel, fashion and beauty picks.
Social Media links:
TW: https://twitter.com/@KasiaMikola
FB: https://www.facebook.com/thesavvydreamer
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/thesavvydreamer
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/thesavvydreamer
YouTube: http://bit.ly/savvydreamerchannel
Bloglovin: https://www.bloglovin.com/@thesavvydreamer
Google +: http://bit.ly/thesavvydreamergoogle
I have a BA in Clinical Psychology and have worked in the mental health field ever since. I’ve always had a passion for helping people and it seemed to be the path that I was meant to go on. I have worked in two mental health facilities and two substance abuse facilities. One was in and the other was out patient. I have also done in home work with kids and adults with developmental disabilities.
I left my last job in February 2017. The leadership in the facility that I was working in was awful. I loved my job as a Chemical Dependency Technician, but I couldn’t stay. I was working a schedule I hated and I was tired all the time. I wasn’t seeing my kids or husband much and at one point, he decided that he was done watching me struggle. I left and haven’t worked since.
While sitting at home as a stay home mom again for the second time in less than 2 years, I started thinking of how I could make this a permanent thing. I have a couple of health conditions that may make it difficult in the future to hold down a full time job and I wanted to still be able to make money, do something I liked and help people. That’s when I discovered life coaching.
I started doing all kinds of research and that was it. I decided to open Brave Wings Coaching. It seems to fit everything I wanted. I’m working on my own time. If I am not feeling well, I can work at my own pace. I have contacted friends to help me build up a webpage, a new service and other small details. I do not have clients yet, and that seems to be my biggest issues.
I have consulted with the SBA and two very nice men have become my consultants in helping me come up with marketing ideas to fix that issue, as that is the main idea for opening a business! I’m working on these ideas daily and am hoping to see results soon. I have written and typed out a business plan, created a Facebook business page and a few other social media things that I am hoping to build my business.
I am learning more daily and am enjoying the challenge that this brings. I know I can help people in the ways I am hoping to. I am mainly focused on helping those in transition, meaning in the middle of life changes, but that doesn’t mean that they have to be in crisis to see me. I am also ready to help those who need extra help in setting goals and being held accountable for making them come to fruition.
Meet Wrae
Twitter: thinkingzebra82
Facebook: www.facebook.com/makinggoalschanginglives
LinkedIn: Wrae Sanders
Google+: Wrae Sanders
Email: wraemsanders@gmail.com
Thank you for guest blogging with The Elysian Geek!
If you’re the kind of girl who loves adventure and travelling then you have surely faced the stress of packing for your trips and then of course there’s the age old question; what should I wear? So here are some of the most awesome outfits for any adventure of yours. Happy travelling!
Choosing the right airport outfit is surely a tricky task. You definitely want to be comfortable during your flight but a little effort will help you do this in style. Who knows, you might meet your favourite celebrity at the airport and you wouldn’t want to look like a mess in that selfie!
So here’s our suggestion, wear something which allows you lots of room to breathe such as skirts, maxis or boyfriend jeans with a tank top. The point is to keep the outfit simple but accessorize it to make it look effortlessly chic. Wear either flat shoes or heels that are comfortable to walk in such as wedges or low heel pumps.
Travelling by train is an epic experience, whether it’s a part of your Europe trip or any other place in the world, trains can leave life long memories with you but not if you’re wearing the wrong clothes. So for trips via trains, we recommend that you wear the trending tunics. They’re light and comfortable and you can easily layer them in case it gets too cold or simplify them in case of hot weather. When it comes to the right shoes to wear with tunics, strappy sandals and sneakers are definitely the top picks. You can even give the same tunic different looks by wearing them with shorts, jeans, skirts or jackets. This will also help you avoid carrying any unnecessary luggage.
You meet so many new people on road trips and with some of them, you might have an everlasting relationship. This is why, it’s important to look presentable on a road trip, since you never know when you’re going to have the best day of your life. Every girl loves leggings because of their comfort and the sophistication they add to any outfit, moreover, they can be easily worn in every season. That’s why outfits with leggings are our chosen look for road trips. Wear them with your favourite ballet flats for the most fun and comfortable road trip of your life!
Travelling on bicycle means that you’re in for a sporty look. But how about breaking the stereotypes and stepping away from active wear for a change? If you want to look stylish while biking then go for a nice pair of skinny jeans with a nice top. If the weather is chilly then a matching handbag and blazer would be the perfect combination. For the shoes, in case of summers, a pair of white sandals would look spectacular and for winters you can go with any pumps you like.
So whether you’re travelling for work, vacation or just exploring the world, these looks will work wonders as they’ll make you look stylish, without causing any sort of inconvenience.
Zoona lives and breathes fashion in the colorful and culturally rich city of Lahore, Pakistan. She has been working as a full-time freelance writer since 2012 and over the years she has been lucky enough to accumulate a wealth of knowledge and experience. She has written for a number of different publications and on a range of subjects but she particularly likes to focus her work around fashion, beauty, lifestyle and health. When she’s not writing, she loves to read, travel, bake and just have fun with her family and friends