et to know the hilarious, hard-working, and creative individuals that make up the Creative Consulting family one blog at a time.

Hello readers, and welcome back to the blog! From all of us at Creative Consulting, we want to wish you a very happy new year! We hope that this year is one for growth, learning, positive changes, and exciting things for you and yours. While starting a new year can be overwhelming, we hope that you look at it with hope and walk towards it with an open heart and open mind. Also, don't forget all the goals, resolutions, and aspirations you have for 2021 were made to accomplish throughout the year. Don't try and tackle them all in January, believe me! By the time the 31st rolls around, you'll already be stressed, exhausted, and ready to abandon your goals. Part of making plans, aspirations, and goals is creating a strategy and a plan on how and when to accomplish them. Make sure to stick to that plan as much as you plan on sticking to achieving your goals. Do this with both your personal and professional goals, and you'll be heading towards a wonderful new year. We are here to help you accomplish all of your business goals for 2021, too! Looking to rebrand? Build a website? Have a logo designed? Create a social media play? Add blogs to your SEO? We are here to help you with all of this and more!

What better way to start a new year than introducing a brand new member of our team? While we ushered out 2020, we ushered in a brand new member of our team who arrived right on time and has been a perfect addition to our team. Summerville and beyond, it is my pleasure to introduce you to the one and only Madi Kirkwood! From one Maddie to another, it is my personal honor to write about and introduce you to her. From her very first day at the office, we could all tell this Summerville native was going to fit right into our crazy and creative team. Madi is still settling in, but she has put the first finishing touches on her office, has dove headfirst into her position and learning more about it, and is already coming up with incredible ideas to help move the company forward.

I do have to share my appreciation and admiration for my fellow Madi. A few weeks ago, a bunch of us were working at the conference table chatting and sharing ideas. Madi was working with me on these interview questions and having a hard time answering all of them. Talking about yourself is difficult, and letting someone (practically a stranger still at this point) write about you and share it all with the wide-open web is difficult and brave. I appreciate all of my fellow teammates for being such good sports and letting me share a peek into their lives. Madi and I share the love of Bullet Journaling and I admire her organization, her creativity, humor, and the dedication and hard work she has already given and shown in just the few short weeks she has been with the creative team. To jump right from graduation into a full-time job can be difficult, but to someone who has gone to school full time, worked, and had an internship all at the same time, this new time of transition for Madi will be a piece of cake. It is a joy to have her on the team, and I look forward to all the incredible things she is going to be doing for the company and all of our clients!

Name: Madi Kirkwood

How long have you been working at CC: Almost one month!

How did you hear about the positions: My professor from CSU sent me this way last month whenever the SEO Specialist position opened up, and I applied right away!

What do you do for CC: I am the Search Engine Optimization Specialist

What is your favorite part about working for CC: I love the team & how close everyone is here. A good team and communication are the backbone to any striving business, so I am extremely excited to continue to grow closer to everyone here!

What have you learned since you worked at CC: A better question is, what haven't I learned? I am continuously growing and learning more about how I can sharpen my skills and gain more knowledge every day!

What is your favorite part of your workday at CC: My favorite part of my workday is accomplishing a goal that I set prior to that day. It is incredibly encouraging to be able to succeed in the things I set for myself.

Favorite memory at CC so far: Any time I'm laughing with our team! I have loved being able to connect with my coworkers and learn about our shared humor!

Favorite Summerville Small Business (besides CC): Guerin's Pharmacy has held a place in my heart since I was in middle school. Memories of getting ice cream in the summertime or a cold glass of bottled Coca-Cola bring back amazing nostalgia.

What is your educational background: I graduated from Charleston Southern University in 2020 with my Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design & a minor in Business Administration in Marketing. I try to continue my education as much as possible because of my ever-changing field. I specialize in not only SEO, but I am also a branding and advertising designer!

What are your hobbies: I enjoy being crafty & doing digital illustration in my free time. I also like to play Indie style video games, going out in Charleston with my friends (socially distanced & masked up, of course!), and actively practicing self-care!

What is your favorite color: My most used color palette is a combination of shades of reds, blues, and yellows. I would say those are my favorite colors!

Interesting Facts about you: I am allergic to pineapple!

Favorite Food: Anything that has to do with potatoes, they're the most versatile food & I am a sucker for some good mashed potatoes!

Favorite Restaurant in Charleston/Summerville: Honestly, nothing beats my grandma's cooking, but if I had to choose, Eva's on Main is a wonderful place to go for a homemade meal!

Favorite things to do in Charleston/Summerville: Going to the beach and going axe throwing are some of my favorite things to do!

I don't know about you, but after I interviewed Madi and read through this, I had the strangest urge to go axe throwing and grabbing my favorite potato dish! I know I say this after every introduction, but I love how much more I learn about each of them when I get to write about them!  I also enjoy how I can see each of my teammate's personalities shine through in how they answer. These blogs always make me smile, so I hope you are too! Cheers to January, Summerville! I look forward to another exciting year of bringing you the best Creative Consulting can give! Until next time Summerville, stay safe and stay caffeinated!

Get to know the hilarious, hard-working, and creative individuals that make up the Creative Consulting family one blog at a time.

Hello, Summerville! Welcome back to the blog writer's desk for a very special edition of the blog. This is our very last team member spotlight (for now) and one of the very last blogs of 2020. While our beautiful little town is aglow both day and night with holiday decorations, people (safely) shopping and enjoying their surroundings, and everyone getting excited for the holidays, I will be officially taking over this blog. That's right! The blog writer herself will be stepping out from behind the pen and you will get the chance to get to know her a little better! I thought it would only be fair since my wonderful teammates took the time to let me interview them. While the appeal of being the mysterious masked writer for Creative Consulting does have a nice ring to it, I do have a substantial amount of FOMO (fear of missing out), so I thought why not? Let's jump into this thing, shall we? 

Hello, everyone! My name is Maddie Casto and I am the blog writer for Creative Consulting! I was born in raised in Columbus, Ohio, and graduated from Wright State University with my BFA in Musical Theatre. I moved to New York City in 2012 with some of my best college friends, and we all dove into the world of the New York Performer; catering and auditioning. I didn't realize that once I settled into my very overpriced and tiny apartment that I would spend so much time in my polyester tuxedo and waking up at ungodly hours to stand in the line (in ALL weather) with everything I own to sing and act as best I could under two minutes for a bunch of strangers. Sometimes I'd have a great audition and a great catering shift, other days my audition bag would break in the middle of 8th avenue and a guest would "accidentally" splatter salsa down my all-white (oh yes, we had all white catering tuxedos too!) catering outfit in front of the high strung party planner. I was one of the lucky ones, though. I lived with some of the best people I've ever known, got to explore New York City like a local, and I did get to perform.

No one really tells you that once you get to New York that you'll be spending a lot of time moving away from it to go work while finding a (hopefully nice and clean) sublettor to fill your room and pay your rent while you're gone. Everything was worth it though, I've learned that more times than I can count. On top of multiple regional roles, I got to tour the United States with a children's show called "How I Became A Pirate", I got to perform in Las Vegas and Flordia with a jukebox musical called "The D*Word; Ditched, Dumped, Dating, and Divorced", I worked at one of most beautiful resorts in the United States singing some of my favorite music, and all along the way I continued to work and meet some incredible people while I was doing what I loved. At the end of my contract at said beautiful resort, I happened to send in my headshot and resume to a brand new theater in Charleston, SC for a brand new 1940s Musical called "Boogie Woogie Bugle Gals", and the rest is history. Thanks to this brand new theatre (34 West Theatre Company), Charleston became home before I even realized it. I was very lucky to do four shows with them back to back, hopping back and forth between New York City and Charleston between each one. Then, I met a redheaded chef, fell in love with him and his two very fat cats, and Charleston officially became home. I was in the middle of a wonderful artistic community, I loved this city, and I loved the person I was experiencing it with. I had grown up going to Myrtle Beach every year (don't hate - North Myrtle has a lot of charm!), but this was an introduction to a beautiful and bustling southern town that I didn't expect. I fell in love with so much, and fell in love hard. (Hello - can we talk about the food?!)

One thing many performers won't tell you or talk about is their time in-between shows. That's because it's not the most glamorous or mentally healthy time for a performer. Granted, if a period in between a show is your chance to see your family and friends or go on vacation, that's a totally different story. If you come off of a long contract, get a chance to settle in back at home, and a chance to recover, and still don't have your next show lined up? That's the danger zone. Your bank account starts getting low, your anxiety starts to get high, and you're curious if you'll ever work again. Many performers (not all - we are all very different and all have different paths) have what we call "survivor jobs" aka jobs that help pay the bills but aren't performing jobs. The best survivor jobs are the ones that you love and help ease that time in between shows. They are even better when you get to work with incredibly talented, hilarious, and kind people that inspire you and push you to be better. That's how Creative Consulting kind of fell into my lap - like many things in my life. All by chance, luck, and being in the right place at the right time.

I had been doing some social media work of my own ever since I moved to Charleston in 2015 (again by sheer luck!) and realized that it was not only artistically fulfilling, it was also something I could take with me anywhere. I could get a show tomorrow (well, maybe not TOMORROW, thanks pandemic!) and take my job with me. Ironically it was social media that lead me to Creative. They posted a job advertisement on Facebook, and I just figured why not? I applied, interviewed, and now a year and a half later here I am, part of the crazy and wonderful Creative family, still learning every day, still being creative, and incredibly thankful. 2020 was a doozy for performers, as you can imagine. While there are some performing opportunities out there, I personally don't feel safe about those opportunities right now. With family members and loved ones in those danger zone ages, being engaged to a chef who works at a very popular restaurant, and just being honestly a little afraid of this pandemic, I have chosen to put performing on hold until it's safe (for me) to do so. This is why Creative has been such a saving grace this year. I've been creatively fulfilled, I have a wonderful community of creatives around me and a job. These three things have been taken away from a lot of people due to the pandemic, and because of that, I count my blessings every day. 

So, that's me! Now when you visit the Creative offices and you hear someone who is (naturally) a very loud speaker and could potentially be caught singing a show tune or two, you have a better idea of whos behind it. This is also a big virtual hug to the Creative team, and to the whole arts community. You've inspired me with your perseverance and the fact that we are in this together. Since I owe my teammates the same kindness that they gave me - please find my questionnaire filled out below! 

Name: Maddie Casto 

How long have you been working at CC: 
About a year and a half. 

How did you hear about the positions: 
I happened to see a job posting on Facebook that they had put out looking for a content creator and blog writer. I filled out an application, and about a month later I had my first interview with Meg and Stephen. Like I mentioned in Rebekah's blog, I didn't think I was going to get the job, but looks like the universe had a different idea! 

What do you do for CC: 
I am the blog writer! 

What is your favorite part about working for CC: 
The incredible people I work with. They're hilarious, so creative, intelligent, passionate, and I love that my job is another unique creative outlet. In another life, I wanted to be a writer, and by chance, this job is letting me do that! 

What have you learned since you worked at CC: 
I would have to write an entire blog on this topic! I do feel that I learn something new every time I'm in the office. One of the great things about working for CC is that it is a collaborative learning environment.

What is your favorite part of your workday at CC: 
Working with this incredible team! Also, there is NOTHING like how it feels when you've finished writing your blogs for the month. 

Favorite memory at CC so far:
Right after I started working with CC, it was their 5 year birthday, and Meg and Stephen threw a huge birthday party with incredible food and invited clients and friends to help celebrate. Seeing that room full of people who loved and supporting the business and meeting the clients was such an exciting experience. However, there is a new great memory that I make almost every week - and I am so thankful for that. 

Favorite Summerville Small Business (besides CC): 
OH MAN - can I tell you, I love so many, but my new favorite obsession is the Cuban Gypsy Pantry. The FOOD! If you haven't tried it yet - GO NOW! 

What is your educational background: 
I graduated with a BFA in Acting with an emphasis in Musical Theatre. 

What are your hobbies: 
Journaling, reading, playing video games, spending way too much time with my cats, watching movies and TV

What is your favorite book, color, song, movie: 
Favorite Book: The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes, City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert/Where the Crawdad Sings by Delia Owens, and the ENTIRE The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher
Color: Red + Purple
Song: I have so so many. My dad was a radio DJ in the 70s and 80s and my mom introduced all the musical movies to me growing up. I feel like if I name just one, I'm betraying so many others! If There's A Rock Tie Me To by Snow Patrol is one of my all-time favorite pop songs - Roses Turn is one of my all-time favorite Musical Theater Songs. 
Favorite Movie: Basically anything with Tom Hanks in it or basically anything on TCM or AMC. 

Interesting Facts: 
I am an only child, I've moved over 20 times in my life, my dad was a radio DJ in the 70s and 80s, I'm distantly related to Jacques Cousteau, I've met Rosemary Cloony's Brother (George Clooney's dad!)

Favorite Food: 
Asian and Mexican food! 

Favorite Restaurant in Charleston/Summerville: 
Cuban Gypsy Pantry, Chez Nous, Rutledge Kitchen, Chubby Fish, NICO, Raw 167, Jackrabbit Filly, EVO, Millers All Day, The Daily, Bucher and Bee, Edmunds Oas 

Favorite things to do in Charleston/Summerville: 
Shopping, try new restaurants, spending time at the beach, spending time with my little family, and finding new coffee shops! 

Thank you so much for coming on this journey with us - and here is to the continuation of learning more about our crafts, supporting one another, to a new year, and to working towards new and exciting things together as a community. Thank you for adopting me, Summerville, and for being so supportive of the company that has been so incredibly kind to me. Now that you know almost everything about me, back I go behind my pen! Until next time Summerville, find the silver lining in your life, and stay caffeinated!

Get to know the hilarious, hard-working, and creative individuals that make up the Creative Consulting family one blog at a time.

Hello, Summerville! Welcome back to the blog writer's desk! Our whole team hopes this blog finds you happy and well where ever you might be. I personally hope that you are relaxing somewhere comfortable, with a view from your favorite spot in your home, or sitting in one of your favorite places in our beautiful town of Summerville. Even though we've had a lot of rain recently, it's helping keep the grass greener longer - and have you been paying attention to the clouds when these storms roll in? There is always a set of silver linings with every season, and through this tumultuous year, I have personally been trying to find as many as possible. What have you been doing this week to find your silver linings? Sometimes it's hard to do that, I understand. When it's hard to do that in my personal life, I try to focus on the silver linings in my day to day work life. One of the biggest ones is that Creative Consulting has been such a constant through a year that you can't count on what might happen in a few minutes, let alone a few days. I have never been more thankful to work for a company that can be just as successful when we are working in the office as we are remote. Thanks to the wonders of Google Meetings, Email, and Hubspot (if you don't know what that is - it's an incredible tool for your company, so look it up!) we were able to adjust quickly to our first shut down. Once we were back in the office, it was like we had just seen one another the day before. That comes with working with such a great team. Being supportive, helpful, and available to one another has also made this year so successful. My silver lining this week is having the chance to go to work, work with such a great group of people, and continue the forward motion in the growth of Creative Consulting.

Welcome back as well to our second to last (gasp!) team feature. Thank you, dear readers, for following along with this journey. While I only have four more blogs left to write for Creative in what's left of 2020, I am excited to come up with my next blog series for 2021. Make sure to enjoy these last few blogs and check-in with what wonderful things will appear next year. I have already started to brainstorm, and I am getting so excited. This spotlight is very unique because I have the pleasure to introduce you to an amazing team member who virtually started the same day that I did. We were both originally hired to be content creators for all of the social media clients, the only difference between the two of us is that she had more social media clients while I had some social media clients and all of my blog clients. I look back and think about those first few weeks we spent together; helping train one another, our first few Monday morning team meetings, and our first Creative birthday. We might have been working together and for Creative for five or six weeks, and we were already helping set up Creative's 5-year birthday party. It was such a whirlwind; we were meeting people who had supported and cared for creative since the very beginning, meeting some of our clients face to face and the FOOD was amazing. That was my first true introduction to the incredible food and sweets that are made right here in Summerville, and even now almost a year and a half after that party, I still look back and crave the finger food and the personalized cookies we nibbled on that night. What is so special about this young woman, is that from the moment we started working with one another, we formed an instant friendship. We started as easy-going coworkers who loved having their desks right next to each other. Now, we have formed a deep bond and friendship that I wouldn't trade for the world.

It is my honor to introduce you to Rebekah McCubbins, the other half of the content creation team. Together with Kelsay, they make sure that hundreds of content posts go out every month. She is incredibly passionate about what she does, about her community, and her family and friends. I feel like every time Rebekah and I work together, she is teaching me about something incredibly important happening in the world, in pop culture, or telling me about an incredible recipe she made for her and her husband the other night. (I am still hoping to try her chickpea curry someday soon!). I love learning about new music, new artists, new companies, new restaurants from her. She is always five steps ahead of me in knowing the coolest and latest trends, and I am so thankful that she keeps me hip and cool. She is also just an incredible source of joy, putting the two of us together can be dangerous - especially during our Monday meetings. You get us going and we can interrupt and pause a meeting in a fit of giggles. I have loved working next to her from our very first days of work. A day hasn't gone by where she didn't ask or offer her support or help before she left for the day, checked in with how I was doing, or asked about what projects I am working on. Get yourself a co-worker who loves and cares as Rebekah does, and you'll understand how lucky you are once you do! Let's meet Rebekah, shall we?

How long have you been working at CC:
A little over a year!

How did you hear about the positions:
I stumbled across the position on Facebook and filled out the application. I didn't think I would get an interview, and I definitely didn't expect to get the position!

What do you do for CC:
I write social media content and manage the social media accounts for some of our clients.

What is your favorite part about working for CC:
Collaborating with the most talented people! Everyone here blows me away daily with their creativity.

What have you learned since you worked at CC:
It sounds cliché, but I feel like I learn something new every day. I think the biggest thing is that Stephen and Meg have been super transparent about the business side of CC, and that has allowed me to learn so much about business!

What is your favorite part of your workday at CC:
Any time that I get to collaborate with the amazing creatives I work with! Everyone here at CC is so sweet and so talented, and I love working with them.

Favorite memory at CC so far:
A little while after I started at CC, we hosted a 5th-anniversary party for the company. It was such a fun time! I got to know my still-new coworkers better and met some of the incredible business owners from around the Lowcountry.

Favorite Summerville Small Business (besides CC):
There are so many! I love the chai latte and baked goods at Coastal Coffee, the candles at ETC, and the macarons at Swank!

What is your educational background:
I majored in English and History and minored in Religion. I finished my Bachelor's degree at UofSC in 2019, and I plan to continue my education in English and get my doctorate in the future.

What are your hobbies:
Reading, Cooking, Embroidery, and Video Games!

What is your favorite book, color, song, movie:
Book: I've read so many that it's impossible to narrow it down to one, but a book I recently finished and loved is The Weight of This World by David Joy. It is a beautiful, haunting story that sheds a light on the reality of poverty in the South. I highly recommend his books!

Movie: V for Vendetta, The Princess Bride, and The Devil Wears Prada are all amazing, and I've recently become obsessed with Midsommar and The Day Shall Come!

Color: Pink!

Song: Right now I really love Water Me by Lizzo, but there are truly way too many I love!

Interesting Facts:
I was homeschooled all the way until I got to college.
I am currently working on a set of small embroideries of sushi.
I have strong opinions about practically everything, especially the Oxford comma.

Favorite Food:
Thai food, soul food, and sushi!

Favorite Restaurant in Charleston/Summerville:
I love Pad Thai 1. They're right around the corner from our office, they're so sweet, and the food is delicious. I also recently discovered Alicia's Soul Food, which makes the BEST mac and cheese I've ever tasted!

Favorite things to do in Charleston/Summerville:
Shop, eat, and spend time with family and friends!

Reading this interview, you can just feel Rebekah's kindness, good heart, and passion. Reading back through this, it was even more of a walk down memory lane. Ironically, she and I had very similar experiences with our applications and first interviews. We both applied on Facebook and didn't think we'd get an interview. With my background in performing, I am so used to sending in my resume and information and not hearing back, so that's kind of what I expected. Thankfully, Stephen and Meg had a much different plan for both of us. We were also both so convinced that we tanked our interviews, but Meg and Stephen had a different idea about that as well, thank goodness! I am so excited to see what other incredible things Rebekah is going to do with her time working with Creative and in every venture of her life. Spoiler alert, I have seen sneak previews of her sushi embroideries, and they will make you crave a California roll they're just so incredible! Many thanks to Rebekah for taking the time for letting me interview her, and for sharing these wonderful insights about her and her time with Creative. I have loved sharing this with all of you. Coming up in December, readers, you will get to read the last team feature (until new team members join us!), which will be the blog writer's interviewer herself! Until next time Summerville, find the silver lining in your life, and stay caffeinated!

Get to know the hilarious, hard-working, and creative individuals that make up the Creative Consulting family one blog at a time.

Welcome back to another team member spotlight, Summerville! We hope you've been doing well, and are slowly getting settled into the school year. Even though this school year does look different for many of our friends and family members, there are still a lot of things happening that make this time of year special. Pumpkin and apple-flavored goodies are showing up in all of our favorite Summerville businesses, the smell of fresh school supplies greets us where ever we go, and the chill of 80 degrees is a wonderful reminder that fall is right around the corner!

This week we will be featuring our second Creative Consulting team member, Stephen Slappey. I've had the pleasure of working with Stephen for over a year now, and I am thrilled to share his interview with you. As a creative being who has lead a very different career path than many of my 9-5 friends, coming into a business like Creative Consulting was an interesting transition for me. As an independent contractor, musical theater actor and singer (spoiler for my spotlight!), and writer, I haven't had the greatest luck when it comes to a normal 9-5 schedule or experience. I have waited tables, catered, and paid my dues in retail. Working with a company that does work on a 9-5 schedule was a big change for me, and even though I still work on my own schedule, it's taught me quite a bit.

A lot of this education is thanks to Stephen. I've not met someone so passionate about learning more about the people he's talking to, even if he will only have one conversation with that individual. I've not met someone so inspired to learn more about his industry and to apply it right away. I have personally watched him single handily turn a meeting from a difficult situation into an atmosphere of joy in a matter of minutes. He always puts others first and is dedicated to the growth of his company and to his friends, family, and co-workers. Also, his excitement over learning new things, the latest update in his favorite videogames, and life, in general, is refreshing. He can be a goofball and strictly professional in one sentence, and I still don't know how he does it.

He was also very kind to take the time to sit down with me and answer these questions so that you can get to know the other half of the Creative Consulting founding team and owners. Meg and he make an amazing team. Working for them has been the easiest thing I've ever done. It's rewarding, it continues to teach me, and pushes me in all the right ways. I'm proud to be a part of their team, and I'm thrilled for you to learn more about Stephen!

Name:
Stephen Slappey

How long have you been working at CC:
Around six years.

How did you hear about the positions:
I invented it.

What do you do for CC:
Marketing, planning, management, customer relations, pricing, and sales.

What is your favorite part about working for CC:
The ability to help set people on the right path.

What have you learned since you worked at CC:
Too many things to count.

What is your favorite part of your workday at CC:
Teaching our clients.

Favorite memory at CC so far:
When I was able to help one of our long-standing clients avoid a $10,000 scam.

Favorite Summerville Small Business (besides CC):
Coastal Coffee!

What is your education background:
Marketing, Graphic Design, and Computer Science.

What are your hobbies:
Board games and games in general, reading, learning, spending time with people, deep conversations.

What is your favorite book, color, song, movie:
Book: Marvels Civil War
Color: Orange
Song: Too many to count
Movie: Marvel Avengers

Interesting Facts:
CC is just the beginning. There is so much coming for everyone to see.

Favorite Food:
Anything Asian!

Favorite Restaurant in Charleston/Summerville:
One specific one doesn't come to mind. Anywhere I can make a memory with the people I'm with.

Favorite things to do in Charleston/Summerville:
Be with the people I love

Make sure you are following Creative Consulting on all of our social media platforms. Stephen has recently started a new vlog series discussing everything you want to know about business, social media, and more. If there is something more you want to know, reach out and tell him! His love for learning more about the industry is equally matched with his love of teaching. So make sure to give Stephen a shout out on his new videos and to watch all of them. I guarantee that you'll learn at least three new things every time you watch! Until next time Summerville, stay safe and be well. Take a moment to enjoy the things that make fall in the Lowcountry special. Things might be tough, but you and your coffee are strong enough to take on anything!

Chatrooms and Instant Messanger dominated the early years of the internet and created some incredible connections. They also created some very dark and dangerous moments. With Facebook constantly evolving and the need for a connection with others becoming more important, are we seeing the rebirth of a safer forum space online?

Remember the very first time you joined Facebook? You were able to connect with your friends and family members as you were heading off to college, staying in touch with friends at the moment, or reconnection with friends and relatives you might not have seen in over thirty years. Facebook, despite its sometimes challenging marketing systems and the roadblocks it places on small businesses, can be an amazing tool. Through the pandemic, we have seen this even more so. While we were at home we were able to see the news, see our friends, shared truths, shared things that made us laugh, and shared things we believe in. There is a reason why Facebook is such a successful platform and why Mark Zuckerburg has become the businessman he is today. From its humble beginnings in 2004 when we were all friends with Tom Anderson (please look that up if you don't remember) to now employing over 48,000 people, the way Zuckerburg intended communities and gathers to appear has evolved into something much different than planned. In this blog, we will be discussing how Facebook groups could be bringing back the culture of forums, and if this is a positive thing or not.

Groups are something that has become such an integral part of Facebook, to not be included in one is strange. According to The Atlantic, more than 400 million Facebook users are involved in a group of some kind. This popularity has lead Mark Zuckerburg, the creator and founder of Facebook, to start focusing entirely on Facebook groups. His goal, reports The Atlantic, is to create a small network of communities that would be the equivalent of a "living room" letting you interact with anyone you want on the popular platform safely and privately. But, there is more to Facebook than just your traditional Facebook groups. There is also another very popular platform on Facebook, similar to groups, that is dominating its servers. This is called the tag group. You will see these tag groups appear as bold catchphrases or sayings that are tagged in the comments of any picture, post, or video on Facebook. These tag groups can be about or linked to any catchphrase, saying, or any idea possible. Once you join them, a tag group is similar to a subculture. It can be used in a positive way to combat ugliness found on Facebook and can bring you together with likeminded individuals. You can thank these tag groups for supplying you with tons of random memes, strongly opinionated posts, and videos from strangers that you might love seeing on your feed - or not! Facebook is home to thousands of these tag groups. Some view them as a great place to safely share your option, while others are now viewing them as new ways to be a bully, according to Intellectual Takeout.

Although you might not be a huge fan of some of the content that appears on your page when you purposefully or even accidentally join a tag group when you find one that's perfect, you find a welcomed escape from the internet world around you. You are seeing what you want to see, and you're able to share and talk about your options with other liked minded individuals, more often than not, in a very safe way. Does this ring a bell to you? Sounds like the early days of chat rooms and forums! You can use these groups to your advantage, tagging them in the comments of a post so those in your tag group can see it, providing a laugh or support from another group member to prove a point. According to The Atlantic, these tag groups offer a sense of comfort and can allow you to meet like-minded people in a safe zone, getting rid of the bad reputation that chat rooms carry when it comes to meeting people. They allow you to take comfort in knowing the bonds you're creating are with individuals who share a core understanding because you both go looking for the same things. It's what brought you to this group. Chat rooms are open ground for anyone to walk in and take advantage of someone because the only thing they have in common is the chat room they both logged into.

It looks like, even though the platform is very successful, Facebook is not connecting to the popularity of these tag groups. They aren't as supported as users might suspect them to be, especially since so many of the platform users are now apart of tag groups. Facebook has recently gone after meme tag groups for too much activity, making groups impossible to find or even deleting them. With such a huge part of the Facebook world being edited, affected, and changed - what could this mean for those who love these groups and have depended on them during the pandemic? We are also interested to see if these tag groups are going to be recognized as regular groups are if their popularity continues.

There is still another side to the tag group. As good as they might sound, you might want to take them with a grain of salt. As much as we love a great tag group that supports equal rights, funny animal pictures, and positive quotes to get your day started, there are just as many tag groups that support some very questionable, hateful, and potentially violent ideals as well. It's connecting people who believe in anything and everything. Could this be a positive thing? Is that why Facebook is wanting to create their own versions of groups and tame the rampant growth of tag groups? It looks like the future will be the one to decide that! What do you think? Do you feel that tag groups are harmless, annoying, or something that needs to be paid attention to? Comment below and let us know what you think!

We promised more information on the importance and joys of adding Facebook Stories to your workflow, and so we are going to deliver!

Hello again, sweet Summerville! Welcome back. We hope you and yours are staying safe and healthy. Keep washing those hands and practicing social distancing! If you have the chance, we also encourage you to support local businesses as much as you can right now. So many of the staples we love that are Summerville through and through need your love and support. Get carry out, pick up some coffee, and visit your favorite local artist's websites or Etsy pages! Every little bit helps right now, and we encourage you to pay it forward. If you'd like some recommendations about some of our favorite local businesses, please don't hesitate to reach out to us! We have been enjoying our fair share of our favorite Summerville things thanks to delivery and pickup!

Now, let's jump back into some work. Our last blog kicked off our blog series discussing the importance of Facebook Stories. We just had so much to share - we couldn't limit it to just one post!  Even though we are all smartly practicing social distancing, one of the many ways we can all stay connected is social media. We can stay close and remain in contact with as many people as our hearts desire thanks to social media. This is why it is so important. You can remind your audience that you're still here, you still care about how they're doing and that you and your company will still be here when all of this is finally over

YOUR CUSTOMERS; THEIR NEEDS
We've touched on the topic of customer experience and service multiple times throughout our blogs in the last few months. The importance placed upon it needs to become one of your top priorities. Good customer service is one of the top digital trends for 2020. How to listen and connect with your clients needs to evolve and grow over time. We love being heard, and we all love when our opinion is valued and listened to. Stories, videos, and going live on Facebook gives your client an in-person opportunity to give and voice their opinions. It opens up the floor to more of your followers to join in on the conversation and to agree and disagree with their peer's needs or opinions in a safe and productive environment. Take what your followers say to heart. If they aren't opinions or needs that you feel are in your companies best interest, that's ok. But acknowledging them means a lot to your customers. You can create images and stories to hype up announcements, new products, sales, and exciting events they can all attend - either online or hopefully soon, in person. When you go live on Facebook, you can see the comments your follows are making in real-time and you can physically respond to them. What an instant connection! You can answer questions, solve issues, express gratitude, and connect with your audience in real-time. This frees up time that you would be spending answering these questions and concerns via email or phone call, allowing you to get back to work.

ANOTHER CHANNEL
Being consistent is an excellent tool in branding and leading a successful company. Being consistent creates a subconscious connection between you and your clients and a sense of safety and trust that they can depend on. But, that doesn't mean that everything you post has to be the same. This can draw more of your follows to check out other platforms that you run your social media on, and is another tool you can use to get your customers excited. For example, you might only make announcements about new products, deals, and giveaways on your Facebook stories. But, you hint on all of your social media platforms that to view and learn about these announcements you have to view it on Facebook stories. This can then bring your Instagram or other platform's audience to your Facebook page and vice versa. This is a great way to cross-promote your social media platforms and to keep up traffic to all of your pages. Also, different audiences prefer different types of social media platforms. When creating any story, tailor them to the platform and the audience that prefers it. Not only are you speaking to your audience through your Facebook videos, but you are also speaking to a very specific group and demographic.

IT'S ALL IN THE TIMING
Just like Instagram, Facebook Stories live right at the top of your followers' Facebook feeds. They are the first thing that pops up once the app is loaded on their phone or computers. Staying at the top of their page and in their minds' eyes is very important and effective for your business. This is very similar to putting in the much needed time for SEO and getting your company in the top few results in Google searches. This is why you need real and in the moment, not perfect, videos. The more honest they are and the more you draw in your audience, your stories will remain in a consistent spot in their feeds.

Are you getting excited about the potential Facebook stories can bring to you and your company? We hope so. Even if you're still a bit skeptical, now is a great time to try out the many features Facebook stories can give you. Have fun, be bold, and be honest. Your audience, customers, and fans love and support you for a reason. Let that reason shine through your posts! Don't let your audience forget about you, and don't forget about them. We hope you're doing well, Summerville. We miss seeing you and look forward to enjoying our town together very soon. Stay safe, stay smart, and stay home!