Don't Rush Things

I am a big advocate of our mental health coming first. If you're reading this, then there is a great chance you take your career and works seriously. Superman or Superwoman is a title many strong leaders bear by their colleagues ad constituents. Being a fearless opportunist is one of my strengths and weaknesses. Back in 2016, I realized I needed to start practicing what I preach. I removed myself from the workplace environment for almost three years and focused on a healthier mind. Yes, taking time off for health and wellness was incomparable. Yet, I stalled the process for decades because I was afraid of losing income, my clientele, respect from other Black people, and self-purpose. There is a ginormous negative stigma of laziness or gold-digging among women and my race and culture. At some point, I knew I needed to throw my hands up and have faith. The process began abruptly and unforgiving. However, by the end of my journey, I learned to trust myself more and know my worth. My judgment is the only opinion that matters to me - and hopefully for you too. All of this is to say that go at your own pace. "Now" will always come tomorrow and you do not always have to strike while the iron is hot. Don't rush yourself. Listen to body. Listen to your mind. Listen to your needs.

A Business' Crash Course in Social Media (Part One)

Understanding Facebook Business Page Lingo

Each year, about twice a year, I teach a social media marketing crash course in Philadelphia. For the last ten years I have seen at least 100 different Facebook business and personal page themes. The website and application updates are visual, loading time, and effective navigation.

For business owners, it can be frustrating keeping up with Facebook updates – especially once you are in a comfortable groove. The reality is more than half of U.S. small business owners do not specialize in marketing and branding. The thought of self-training is daunting, and outsourcing is overpriced.

To ease your pain, this article addresses common social media marketing verbiage or lingo used. I will also discuss frequently asked questions about Facebook business page feature. As a result, you will be able to understand the marketing terminology used by Facebook. This knowledge will allow to spend more time focusing on messaging and reviewing analytics.

Commons social media terms

Actions on Page:  The Actions on Page insight allows you to understand what people do when they are on your Page. The few actions that Facebook considered are clicking on “Get Directions”, clicking on your phone number, clicking on your website, and clicking on your action button.

Algorithm: an algorithm is a set of formulas developed for a computer to perform a certain function. This is important in the social sphere as the algorithm’s sites like Facebook and Google use are critical for developing content promotion strategies.

Avatar: An avatar is an image or username that stands for a person online, most often within forums and social networks.

Blog: Blog is a word created from two words: “web log.” Blogs are  supported by an individual or a business with regular entries of content on a specific topic, descriptions of events, or other resources such as graphics or video. "Blog" is  used as a verb, meaning to keep or add content to a blog.

Clickbait: Clickbait is a term to describe marketing or advertising material that employs a sensationalized headline to attract clicks. They rely heavily on the "curiosity gap" by creating just enough interest to provoke engagement.

Comment: A comment is a response or reaction to a blog post or message on a social network.

Crowdsourcing: Crowdsourcing, like outsourcing, refers to the act of asking for ideas or content from a group of people, typically in an online setting.

Engagement: Engagement is the interaction between people and brands on social networks. For example, on Facebook, engagement includes likes, comments and shares.

Engagement Rate: Engagement rate is a popular social media metric used to describe the amount of interaction -- likes, shares, comments -- a piece of content receives.

Facebook Group: Pages allow real organizations, businesses, celebrities and brands to communicate broadly with people who like them. Official representative creates and manage Facebook Groups. Facebook Groups supply a space for people to communicate about shared interests. Anyone can create a one or more Facebook Groups.

Facebook Stories:  Facebook Stories are short user-generated photo or video collections that can be uploaded to the user's Facebook.

Fan Page: A fan page (also referred to as a business or like page) is the only way for entities like businesses, organizations, celebrities, and political figures to represent themselves on Facebook. Unlike a personal Facebook profile, fan pages are visible to everybody on the Internet.

Fans: Fans is the term used to describe people who like your Facebook Page.

Follower: In a social media setting, a follower refers to a person who subscribes to your account to receive your updates.

Friends: Friends is the term used on Facebook to stand for the connections you make and the people you follow. These are individuals you consider to be friendly enough with you to see your Facebook profile and engage with you.

Geotag:  Geotags are directional coordinates that attach to a piece of content online. For example, Instagram users take photos and often use geotagging to highlight the location.

Hashtag: (on social media sites such as Twitter or Facebook) a word or phrase preceded by a hash or pound sign (#) and used to show messages on a specific topic.

Movies:  U.S. Facebook allows users to see which movies are playing nearby, available showtimes and a list of local theaters and their movie selections.

Social media:  a form of electronic communication (as websites for social networking and blogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages and other content (i.e. videos, photos).

Social media platform: a social media platform is a type of software of technology that enables users to build, integrate or help community, interaction and user-generated content. Blogs and wikis are both social media tools, while, Facebook, Wordpress and Wikispaces are social media platforms for people and companies to use to engage in blogging and creating wikis.

Tag:   You can tag a photo to show who is in the photo or post a status update and say who you're with. If you tag a friend or business like page in your status update, anyone who sees that update can click on the hyperlink (your friend's name or like page) and go to their profile.

User-generated content: the production of content by public rather than paid professionals and experts in the field. Also called “peer production”. User-generated content refers to materials such as blogs, daily news, encyclopedias and other references, product and movie reviews as well as articles on any subject. Editors, journalists, students generate content for school or work. Content creation is even a form of leisure, like journaling or personal blog post.

About the author:  DeAnn Cox is an E-Commerce Entrepreneur, Management, Development & Stewardship Specialist, and Founder of South Jersey Gay Pride. DeAnn enjoys owning and running own five companies. Each of her companies allows her to travel the world, make great friends, impressive networking, and plenty of business opportunities. She has over seventeen years of experience in fundraising, social media, market research and administration with a strong visual sense, excellent writing skills and ability to translate ideas and design concepts across all organizational levels. In her spare time, DeAnn enjoys working out, volunteering, video and board games, and spending time with her family.

FreedomVoice App Frozen: SOLUTION

Coaching Students How To Ask For Help

It’s true. Many students fail because they did not ask for help. Failure to ask for help results in poor academic performance, stronger challenges with future education, and lowered self-esteem. There are countless reasons why students don’t ask for help, but MileStone Academy educators have created several strategies to coach students how to ask for help. Wherefore, its student become stronger advocates of their learning styles. In order to find a solution, we must first and foremost answer the following three questions: Does the student know they need help? Why do students struggle to ask teachers for extra help? Has the teacher created a safe space to encourage their students to ask for help?

In this article we will discuss three techniques MileStone Academy use to coach students how to ask for help.

IMPROVE META-COGNITION 

Meta-cognition refers to a student’s awareness and ability to control their own thinking. Parents and teachers usually act as arbitrator for students. Students first need to know that they need help, and then they need to understand that they’ll be supported when they ask for it. This should begin as early as elementary school.

It is important for parents and teachers to allow students to self-monitor pre-and post-performance. Essentially, encourage self-awareness. For example, after a test or project, try asking open-ended questions. An open-ended question is a question that cannot be answered with a “yes” or “no” response. Open-ended questions allow respondents to include more information, including feelings, attitudes and understanding of the subject. Try using these open-ended questions after their next test or project:

Try using these open-ended questions after their next test or project:

• Can you tell me at least one thing that has helped you to be successful? What would you have done differently? How did you prepare for the __? 
• Which strategies do you want to try using more often? 
• How do you think you’re doing in _____? 
• How do you know, and have you confirmed this information with your teacher? 

Self-awareness should grow outside of school work, because it plays a valuable role in the progress of emotional and social situations. Writing down your thoughts, also known as, journaling allows people to observe their thoughts and feelings. This allows them to gain valuable self-knowledge. 

HELP ME, HELP YOU

When a student does not pass or do their best performance on a project or test, the first thing their parent and teacher asks is: Why didn’t you ask for extra help? Unfortunately, many students, at any age, struggle to ask teachers for extra help for various reasons. They may feel shame or embarrassment. For example, teachers often notice when a student is sitting in silence with a look of confusion and will call their name to encourage them to organize their thoughts or ask for help. Other students are independent and would rather try to fix the problem on their own. They may fear that asking for help shows weakness or failure in their personality, yet wise adults could tell them that asking for help is instead a sign of maturity and strength.

MileStone Academy helps students understand how they learn best and allow them to be advocates for their own learning by teaching them how to ask for help.

TWO WORDS: SAFE SPACE

Many people would agree that they would not ask for help if they thought someone would laugh at them. Therefore, students need to feel safe in order to be vulnerable and honest enough to ask for help. Team-building activities increase the sense of community in the classroom. Coach students by creating posters that reiterate classroom rules and values and hang inspiring quotes on the walls have been very successful at MileStone Academy.

Another awesome method for teachers to promote an open and affirming classroom is to: BE HONEST TOO. When a teacher makes a mistake, accidentally or on purpose, use this as an opportunity to talk about flaws and how to be strong in self-awareness. Plus, students enjoy catching their teacher making mistakes! 😋

Do you know a student who needs coaching on how to ask for help? Contact the Cox Firm to schedule your first or next consultation.