Freelancer Fanatic

The NBA Playoffs are finally here, and it has been anything but boring. With the first round underway, each series has a story of its own. The most interesting series thus far, in my opinion, has to be the Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs matchup. The Spurs were the clear and obvious favorites, but after last night, everyone's not too sure now. The series is tied 2-2 after Grizzlies' Marc Gasol's overtime game-winner tied the series last night. Grit. Grind. Gasol. Game. pic.twitter.com/PsrPHou8mn — Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 23, 2017 The heroic finish is just the beginning for the Grizzlies, who were down 0-2 until recently. Facing a legendary coach and team in the Spurs, the Grizz have proven themselves to be much more than just a 7th seed. This is how the playoffs bracket is looking as of this morning: Land of 10 Both the Portland Trailblazers and Indiana Pacers find themselves facing a sweep against top-seeds, but neither team has mad

Lately, it seems like every brand is running a social media campaign. They've become more and more recognizable across all industries. 78% of businesses now have dedicated teams for their social media; this is up from 67% in 2012. This goes to show that organizations are realizing the power of social media and what it can do as far as attracting customers. There is a flip side, however.  Webbiquity reports that 83% of customers have reported bad experiences with social media marketing. As a business owner, it's clear that using social media marketing to your advantage is crucial. It's all about knowing how to maximize the impact of your social media marketing campaigns. Below are a few tips that can help you along the process. 1. Set your campaign goals. The most important thing is realizing what you want accomplished with this campaign. Does your brand want to increase social media followers? Generate more buzz online? Accumulate more and more brand mentions?

Social media channels have become increasingly important when it comes to business and marketing. With the birth of social platforms, custom targeting of prospective customers has become easier than ever. But which platforms are the best for businesses to use? In order to create a successful strategy as far as marketing for your business, you need to know how each platform works. Here's a list of five social media channels that can your business can really benefit from. 1. Facebook With more than 1.87 billion users , Facebook continues to dominate among social media platforms. This is one that can fit just about any kind of business and is largely beneficial for them. From an advertising perspective, it seems to be the easiest to manage and allows for the best possible targeting. 2. Twitter The biggest (and best) thing about Twitter is the way things go viral. Using this platform will bring the ability for more people to see, share, and "retweet" your content

After losing by a buzzer-beater to Villanova last year, the University of North Carolina finally redeemed themselves by winning it all this year against Gonzaga. Though the game was sloppy and at times slow, it was enjoyable seeing the Tar Heels redeem themselves and win what they deserve after a heartbreaking loss last year. Mark Humphrey/Associated Press UNC's Joel Berry II led all scorers of the game with 22 points and 6 assists. He was crowned MVP of the game and had help from Justin Jackson (16 points) and Isaiah Hicks (13), while Nigel Williams-Goss paced the Bulldogs with 15 points as one of only two players in double digits for Gonzaga. Gonzaga hung around and even took a lead into halftime, yet the Tar Heels came out of the tunnel and stormed to an 8-0 run. Whatever adjustments head coach Roy Williams made came up big, as did the simple fact the Bulldogs weren't accustomed to banging down low with a team athletic and big enough to match. "I wanted to se

After a month filled with madness and broken brackets, the game we've all been waiting for is finally here: the National Championship. Monday night is looking to be a historic one yet again, as the repeat champs of the University of North Carolina look to defeat the top-seeded Gonzaga. Tipoff is scheduled for 9:20 p.m. ET in suburban Phoenix. Getty Images Gonzaga ended South Carolina’s Cinderella run in the 2017 NCAA Tournament with a 77-73 victory Saturday in the Final Four and North Carolina followed with a 77-76 win against Oregon. This is Gonzaga's first appearance in the NCAA National Championship in school history. North Carolina has won five NCAA championships, including two with Roy Williams as head coach (2005 and 2009). Though the Tar Heels seem to be the popular favorite right now, don't count out Gonzaga just yet: they did have an undefeated record of 29-0 through the first half of the season and were ranked No. 1 in the nation's polls and pla

Pinterest, Instagram, and Snapchat are just a few of the ever-growing social media outlets that focus on visual content, for the most part. There's a reason for that. Visual content is becoming more and more common and a primary focus. So how can marketers adapt to an increasingly visual social atmosphere? By implementing a strong visual branding strategy on social media. Your profile picture, your cover photos, your social posts - all social media content that is essential to visual social branding. There are a few key factors that can help your brand grow, such as consistent colors, fonts, imagery, and layouts. Great visuals on social media are insanely important because our brain is wired to read and understand images better and faster than words. Visual content also increases social engagement as well. According to a study by Socialbakers, images on Facebook constitute 93% of the most engaging posts compared with status updates, links, and even video. Social medi

As a true San Francisco 49ers fan myself, I have personally watched the rise and fall of Colin Kaepernick's career. There was no greater time than when we were in the Super Bowl, battling it out and coming so close to winning it all after a historic halftime-blackout. This past season was not an easy one to watch unfold. The 49ers finished 2-14; yet Kaepernick started 11 games last season, completing 196 of his 331 passes for 2,241 yards, 16 touchdowns and four interceptions, and he added 69 runs for 468 yards and two touchdowns. He also did this with a team whose leading receiver (Jeremy Kerley) caught 64 passes for 667 yards and three touchdowns. However, Kaepernick has become famous for something much deeper than football: human rights. Kaepernick has recently been released from the 49ers, and has yet to hear from any other teams as far as being signed. Why? Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press Some say it has to do strictly with his talent in football. Is Colin Kaepe

Despite Mother’s Day being a few months away (May 14 th ), Pinterest is  getting a head start  by reminding marketers to plan their promotions ahead of time. According to Pinterest, 70% of US moms are active on the platform itself, spending an average of 124 minutes per month browsing the various Pins. This could come to your advantage when it comes to shopping for Mom. First off, Pinterest says that activity related to Mother’s Day starts early and is already rising as we speak. Pinterest says that, overall, more than 33 million Pinners have saved 252 million Mother’s Day related Pins – getting started early could help you get in on that jump in activity. They also say that brands should consider how their campaign is able to help in creating these “unique gifting experiences”. And as the actual day gets closer (as you could imagine) people tend to start looking for more last-minute gifts and purchases. They go on to say: "At that point, your strategy should highlight

There is almost always something new, something updated when it comes to social media. They constantly have updates for us, whether we like it or not. This time it's Facebook and Twitter. First, on Twitter's iOS app they're bringing out a change to the way timelines look on profiles. As you can see, they've added a new option for listing with 'Tweets and Replies' while changing the look along with it. This change is subtle, but it is different and brings more profile options for the app. What's interesting about this new addition, however, is that it gives Twitter a way to provide more tweet presentation options. For example, Twitter could add new tabs for live video only tweets or even a Moments only listing. Twitter’s also trying out a new format in the desktop notifications tab, shifting from the mobile style to a new format which includes a more prominent link to the original tweet. Most likely the reasoning behind this update is due to

It's the most wonderful time of the year – it's March Madness. With 64 teams lined up and ready to go, everyone is setting their brackets and picking their favorites to upset and favorites to win it all. Here's the match-ups for the first round: EAST Villanova (1) vs. Mount St. Mary’s (16) Wisconsin (8) vs. Virginia Tech (9) Virginia (5) vs. UNC Wilmington (12) Florida (4) vs. East Tennessee State (13) SMU (6) vs. USC (11) Baylor (3) vs. New Mexico State (14) South Carolina (7) vs. Marquette (10) Duke (2) vs. Troy (15) Youtube MIDWEST Kansas (1) vs. UC Davis (16) Miami (8) vs. Michigan State (9) Iowa State (5) vs. Nevada (12) Purdue (4) vs. Vermont (13) Creighton (6) vs. Rhode Island (11) Oregon (3) vs. Iona (14) Michigan (7) vs. Oklahoma State (10) Louisville (2) vs. Jacksonville State (15) SOUTH North Carolina (1) vs. Texas Southern (16) Arkansas (8) vs. Seton Hall (9) Minnesota (5) vs. Middle Tennessee (12) Butler (4) vs. Winthrop (13)

Snapchat started the trend of story-telling, creating 24-hour snaps that you share to the world. Instagram now has this feature as well. Well, Instagram has changed the game again. This time, you can post multiple photos within a single feed post. As in, you swipe right and see multiple pictures all under one post. Sure, Twitter and Facebook have similar features where you can post multiple pictures at once, but not quite like this. Instagram, unlike Facebook, Twitter, and so on, is a photo-based social media platform. Before, only advertisers could do such a thing on Instagram, leaving the rest of us to pick only the best picture (or two at the most) to represent our big event, birthday or holiday to keep from spamming (and annoying) our follower’s feeds. To use the feature, you need to tap the ‘Select Multiple’ option first on the bottom of the photo or video you want to upload. From there, you can select the content you want to include; they’ll be numbered in the order th

Nathaniel S. Butler/Getty Images Sunday night was a night full of dunks and lacking in defense, but entertainment nonetheless. The Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference 192-182 in the 2017 NBA All-Star Game at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.  Hometown hero Anthony Davis poured in an All-Star Game record 52 points to go with 10 rebounds, along with receiving the MVP honors for the night. This is for NOLA pic.twitter.com/e291PU5axI — Anthony Davis (@AntDavis23) February 20, 2017 Russell Westbrook put on a show as well, following behind Davis with 41 points, seven assists and five boards. All eyes were on him and Kevin Durant, understandably so, watching their every move and interaction throughout the game. We even saw a KD to Westbrook alley-oop, giving us flashbacks to when they played together in OKC, also known as the good ol' days. The Western Conference bench had some fun with the two after the link-up: We are all the western conference bench #

Sunday, February 19 – the day we've all been waiting for – is almost here. Set to be in New Orleans, this year's All-Star game is setting up to be a very interesting one, to say the least. From "beef" to defending champions, it's got it all. The East vs. West rivalry carries on, with some big (and new) names on the roster this year. NBA All-Star Starters Eastern Conference Position Player Team All-Star Appearance BC Kyrie Irving Cleveland Cavaliers 4th BC DeMar DeRozan Toronto Raptors 3rd FC LeBron James Cleveland Cavaliers 13th FC Giannis Antetokounmpo Milwaukee Bucks 1st FC Jimmy Butler Chicago Bulls 3rd Western Conference Position Player Team All-Star Appearance BC Stephen Curry Golden State Warriors 4th BC James Harden Houston Rockets 5th FC Kevin Durant Golden State Warriors 8th FC Kawhi Leonard San Antonio Spurs 2nd FC Anthony Davis New Orleans Pelicans 4th NBA All-Star Reserves Eastern Conference Position Player Team All-Sta

Mark Dalton Media Nowadays everyone is using either Snapchat, Instagram, or both. Two different social media platforms, yet very similar in some ways. "Stories" have been brought to life since Snapchat's existence and has very recently made an appearance Instagram. Which one is better for you and your content? The Difference Snapchat lets you share your content through a single track called a story, which is made up of 24 hours’ worth of image or video snaps that you’ve shared for others to see. Once a snap is 24 hours old, users can no longer view it unless you reshare it as it automatically deletes itself. Instagram, on the other hand, lets you share content through two tracks: the stories and the feed. Your feed is permanent and stays on your page collected with other pictures, whereas your stories only have a 24-hour life. By combining the permanency of your feed posts with the 24-hour duration of your stories, you can generate urgency while providing cons

Social media seems to be what everyone eats, sleeps, lives, and breathes nowadays. If you don't have at least a Facebook, it's almost as if you don't exist in the world. Twitter and Instagram have claimed their thrones, with Snapchat still up and coming; Not to mention Tumblr, LinkedIn, Youtube, Pinterest, and so on. With so many different social media platforms, it's almost impossible to choose which one is the "best." Personally, I love Twitter. I'd have to say it's my favorite social media outlet (with Instagram a close second). Why? Twitter gives me the ability to follow different accounts that cover a wide variety of topics that interest me. Hashtags allow me to follow topics without having some type of commitment to the topic, such as liking or following a page. It has an immediacy of breaking news and updates on developing stories almost faster than news outlets at times. Twitter is detailed. And who could forget the ease of follow

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images It's not about how Super Bowls start. It's about how they finish. Super Bowl LI started off with what could arguably be the most boring few hours of football in Super Bowl history. The Atlanta Falcons seemed to have the game in the bag. Quarterback Matt Ryan seemed to be doing everything right, whereas his opponent Tom Brady could not prevent getting sacked or missing wide-open receivers down the field. The lifeless Patriots were down 28-3 going into halftime. Lady Gaga was the only thing that seemed to give the game life. And then the Patriots happened. Granted, the first touchdown of the night coming from Tom Brady only came at the end of the third quarter and even then, the game didn't feel competitive in the slightest bit. But once that first score came, it was like taking candy from a baby for the Patriots. They went on a tear, defensively stopping the Falcons and then offensively, with Brady leading the way. Huge play after hug

Super Bowl LI is looking to be one of the most historic Super Bowls yet. With the anticipated game of the year coming up in a few hours, the Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots are preparing for the game of their lives. Atlanta Falcons' quarterback, Matt Ryan, has recently been named the NFL MVP for the first time in his career, making the stakes higher than ever. According to Bleacher Report , no player who has won the regular-season award has also taken the Super Bowl award in the same season since Kurt Warner of the St. Louis Rams did it 17 years ago. Ryan's opponent, Tom Brady, has is included in this statistic, losing twice in the Super Bowl despite winning the MVP himself. This is also Ryan's first appearance in a Super Bowl, while this year will be Brady's sixth appearance. Brady's past Super Bowls have been widely controversial, however. From "spy gate" to "deflate gate", Brady and the Patriots have been labeled "

There is no denying that social media has changed the game when it comes to branding and marketing. According to HubSpot , social media marketing has a 100% higher lead-to-close rate than outbound marketing. At this point, not having an active social media as a marketing tool will absolutely kill you. You need  it in today's world. Here's why: You can respond to problems immediately. Customers will reach out to you and give you feedback, whether it's good or bad. If there’s a problem with your product or service, you'll want to know right away and with a social media platform, you’ll be the first to know when there are issues and will be able to fix them right away. Numerous studies have shown that consumers appreciate companies that respond to customer complaints. A strong social media presence also builds brand loyalty. Active social media profiles equals having more loyal customers. It's simple: when you’re actually interacting on social media with peop

There are always two sides to every story, right? This rings true when it comes to social media. Let's think about the pros, here. Social networks helps out businesses in a variety of ways. Radio, TV commercials and print ads have found themselves completely obsolete and demand for thousands of dollars. Yet, with social media, the businesses can connect with their targeted customers for free, only having to worry about energy and time. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other social networks have become so popular that it's become the best way for bloggers, article writers, etc. to communicate. As mentioned in this article on LinkedIn, these social networking sites have opened the opportunity for all the writers and bloggers to connect with their clients to share their expertise and articles. This will lead to their audiences sharing articles, blog or expertise in their social circle which further enhance your networks of the followers. Social media has helped make

Philadelphia has come alive since the arrival and presence of a particular man. That man is named Joel Embiid. As a native of Philadelphia myself, I can assure you of two things. One, Philly is filled with crazy people. Two, we love our sports teams. Hard. The Philadelphia 76ers are known for having a few rough years recently. As a season ticket holder for the Sixers, let me tell you personally, it hasn't been easy to watch. Last year, the Sixers ended with their worst record in history at 18-64. This year, they've already surpassed their total wins from last season and they haven't even reached the halfway mark of the NBA season. Embracing his nickname as "The Process", Embiid is not only being known for his dominance on the court and being the reason the Sixers have re-surged and come alive this year. It turns out he's a pretty funny guy, too. From trolling Donald Trump to telling the world he wants to get in the NBA All-Star game because he wa

Remember when Dez Bryant caught it, but didn't? He will have a chance to redeem himself this upcoming weekend as the Dallas Cowboys take on the Green Bay Packers. This game will make it the first playoff game between the Cowboys and Packers since January 2015, when Green Bay beat the Cowboys 26-21. Of course, "the catch" controversy involving Dez Bryant is the most memorable moment from that game and will probably be revisited a few times this week leading up to the big game. On the other hand, in the other NFC game, the Seahawks and Falcons will match-up in Atlanta in a rematch following a controversial game as well in Week 5 where the Seahawks won it 26-24. In that game, the Falcons left Seattle unhappy after a no-call on a possible pass interference against Julio Jones in the fourth quarter. The Seahawks-Falcons game is also a rematch of a wild playoff game from January 2013. In that game, the Falcons blew a 27-7 lead in the fourth quarter, letting the Seah

A new study shows that Facebook may actually be making us unhappy. It's odd to think that Facebook could possibly be making us unhappy, when most of us tend to go on it to pass time or entertain ourselves to do the opposite effect—to make up  happy . We all want to go on, look at pictures of our family members, see cute videos of puppies, etc. How could that possibly make us sad? The University of Michigan psychologist Ethan Kross, who conducted the study, argues that that’s exactly how it makes us feel. Over two weeks, Kross and his colleagues sent text messages to eighty-two Ann Arbor residents five times per day. The researchers wanted to know a couple things, such as how their subjects felt overall, how worried and lonely they were, how much they had used Facebook, and how often they had had direct interaction with others since the previous text message. Kross found that the more people used Facebook in the time between the two texts, the less happy they felt—and t