Social Media Monday: Instagram

Instagram: the social network that everyone’s heard of, but not everyone uses. It’s time to jump on the Instagram bandwagon! Instagram has risen in popularity in the last year, and trust me; it’s not going away anytime soon. Ready to learn how to use Instagram? Great! Let’s start with the basics:

 

What is it?
Instagram is a free app download that allows users to edit and share photos simultaneously across Facebook, Twitter, and FourSquare (in addition to Instagram!). Keep in mind that you must use a smartphone or tablet to access Instagram’s posting and editing features, but you can view a user’s profile on the web simply by going to instagram.com/username.

How do I create an account?
From your smartphone or tablet, navigate to your app store. Once you’re there, search “Instagram” and download the free app to your device. Next, click on the app and follow the instructions for signing up. Don’t forget to upload a picture and complete your bio!


How do I post a photo?
See that little blue camera icon at the bottom of your screen? Use that button to navigate to your camera app and take a photo. Want to post a photo that is saved in your photo archive? Simply click photo-capture button, then the Poloroid-photo button next to it. You can now select a photo from your photo gallery and post it directly to Instagram!

Once you have taken a photo or selected one from your gallery, it’s time to edit it. Use the filter icons that appear at the bottom of your screen to add fun colors to your photo, and play around with the tear-drop icon that allows you to bring your subject into focus while blurring out the background. See how fun this is? And you thought that Instagram wasn’t for you…!


How do I tag a photo?
Once you have finished editing your photo, click the arrow button at the top of your screen to navigate to the “details” page. This is where you put the finishing touches on your photo by adding a caption and hashtags. Yup, just like Twitter, make sure to use appropriate hashtags with each photo so that people who don’t follow you can find and like your photo (and maybe even become a new follower!). Select which social networks to share your photo on, and when you’re ready, post your photo using the check mark at the top of the screen. Congrats! You have posted your very first photo to Instagram!





How do I like a photo?
See a photo that you like? Click on it to expand the image and then double tap the photo. That’s it! So easy you could do it with your eyes closed (now raise your hand if you actually tried to like a photo with your eyes closed…).

How do I follow another user?
Using the search feature (it looks like a compass at the bottom of your screen) search for other users you would like to follow, click on their thumbnail to navigate to their profile, and then click the big blue “follow”.

Who should I follow?Market America, of course! Navigate to our page by using the search term “marketamerica”, and click follow. Once we have 500+ followers, we are going to do a fun giveaway, so make sure to tell all your friends to follow us, too!

Other great Instagram users you should follow are: @LorenRidinger, @JRRidinger, @AmberRidinger, @DuaneMcLaughlin, @AndrewJWeissman, @MotivesBeauty, @Lala, and @CarmeloAnthony.






Do you have any questions about using Instagram to share your photos and interact with other users? Post them in the comment section below and we will answer them!

Five Apps for Tax Season

It’s the most wonderful time of the year… not! Happy tax season, everyone! While we love to hate it, we have to face it. Per usual, we looked for the most effective ways to help you complete your taxes on time. Here are our favorite smart phone apps to help you with your taxes.

TurboTax Snap Tax: This app might be the easiest way to file taxes for people who don’t own a home, only have W-2, interest, or unemployment income, and earned less than $100K in 2012 (120K if married.) You can use the app to claim children and daycare expenses. Using this app is simple: take a picture of your W-2, complete a survey, and file your taxes either on the app or on the web. This app guarantees 100 percent accuracy. TurboTax Snap Tax is available for $24.99 per month.

 

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Tax Organizer: Tax Organizer is filing cabinet in your pocket. Tax Organizer allows you to take pictures and document all of your transactions and receipts for safe keeping so that you never lose anything important. You can send your receipts and documents to yourself or straight to your accountant. This app is free for 14 days and then costs $14.95 per month.

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iDonatedIt: How many times have you donated to charity, bought something at a benefit, or participated in a fundraiser and lost the receipts? Theses receipts seem impossible to keep up with and there’s no telling how much in deductions each act earned you by tax season. With iDonatedIt, you simply snap a picture of your receipt, document it, and save it for tax season. Easy as that- you never miss a deduction! iDonatedIt is available for $2.99 in the App store.

 

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IRS2Go: The next two apps are for your own benefit and knowledge. IRS2Go lets you follow the IRS and informs you of updates, breaking news, and deadlines. With this app, you can track your refund status and stay in the loop on anything that might affect your taxes and have quick and easy access to ask questions on any topic. IRS2Go keeps you in the know. IRS2Go is available for free.

 

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Dictionary of Tax Terms: Maybe this is your first run at doing your taxes alone. You’re feeling pretty good after getting the right software and apps and doing some research. You sit down with your forms and realize you’re not even sure how to spell IRS. That’s okay, there’s an app for that! Dictionary of Tax Terms is a full database of every term and piece of jargon you need to file your taxes and maximize the best outcome. This app is available for $1.99 for iPhones and Blackberries.

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Will you use your smartphone to do your taxes this season? What other apps have you found helpful?

Top Social Media Stories on the Web

Have you ever thought, “man, I wish I could stay on top of all the social media news and most recent developments,” but don’t have enough time to comb through all the information on the world wide web? You’re in luck! For today’s blog post, we scoured the internet for the best social media-related news and posts that are relevant to you.

Tweet to Buy

Last week, Twitter and American Express announced a new partnership that will allow Amex card holders to make purchases via Twitter. The program will begin with a variety of discounted products, all of which you can purchase by tweeting a specific hashtag. Is this the social shopping trend of the future? Read up on it here: Twitter and Amex Let You Pay With a Hashtag



Facebook Facts and Figures

Mobile and revenue were up for Facebook in the last quarter. Want to find out what else has been going on with the social network giant? Get 10 of the latest facts, figures and statistics about Facebook here: 10 of the Latest Facts, Figures, and Statistics About Facebook

The 3 “W”s of Social Media

Have you decided to start using social media more to grow your UnFranchise® business? Great! But before you dive right in, have you figured out what your three “W”s are? Here’s a great article to get you started: The 3 “W”s of Social Media

Image Sizing For Your Social Media Sites

Have you ever uploaded a photo to Facebook or Google+, only to find out that your image was the wrong size for the platform? No worries, we all have done it. Here’s a great social media image size cheat sheet so you never have to run into that problem again! How To Size Images on Social Media

What the Hashtag?

Still wondering what people use #Hashtags for on Twitter? You’re not alone! Check out this great article published last week on Social Media Today about hashtags and why this little symbol holds so much power. #Hashtag Power

TELL US: What would you like to see us feature in a future Social Media Monday post? Comment below!

Lumière de Vie is a Global Success!

Lumière de Vie has only been available for a couple of weeks, but it’s already a hit worldwide! We’ve received questions on the Lumière de Vie Facebook page about how to use the products and which ones work best together and in what order. Now your questions are answered! Here’s a closer look at this amazing new skincare line:

Lumière de Vie Volcanic Exfoliating Mask
Use: Detoxify and enhance skin’s glow and improve tone and radiance.
Application: 1 to 2 times per week as desired.






Lumière de Vie Illuminating Fading Fluid
Use: Instantly illuminates the skin while it minimizes the appearance of dark spots and reduces the appearance of redness.
Application: Apply to freshly cleaned skin twice daily.




Lumière de Vie Serum Concentrate
Use: Potent extracts promote healthy skin collagen for firmer-looking skin while reducing the appearance of fine lines.
Application: Apply twice daily after Illuminating Fading Fluid.





Lumière de Vie Intense Rejuvenation Crème
Use: Hydrate your skin with a formula to reduce appearance of lines, wrinkles and age spots as it improves radiance and firmness.
Application: Apply morning and night for optimal results, after the Serum Concentrate.



Lumière de Vie Eye Balm
Use: Helps to soothe and reduce the appearance of puffiness while conditioning and hydrating the delicate eye area.
Application: Using the applicator, sweep onto the eye area in the morning and night. Apply after the Rejuvenation Crème.



Have more questions about Lumière de Vie? Make sure to LIKE the Facebook page to stay up to date on product announcements, giveaways, and more!

“You Must Go Slow To Go Fast”: An UnFranchise® Owner Tells Her Story

The most precious jewel in Market America is our family – the thousands of individuals awakening to a new life. We do everything we can to provide the best tools, advice, and news to help you build your business. However, on some days, the only thing that makes any sense is the real life experience of someone that walked the same path to success and knows how the soles of your shoes feel.


Cindy Samuelson reached out to her team and to JR to share her story of how she started her life over and over… and over, until she learned that to harness freedom, she needed to “go slow to go fast.”

 

Cindy said she arrived home from Miami with a message ringing in her head. After 15 months in the Market America family, retraining herself to build a business based on product and not recruitment, she remembered something JR told her while coaching her: “Cindy, you must go slow in order to go fast.”

In previous companies, Cindy received an upfront Fast Start Money, which took her from zero to $27,000 in 17 months. Without that upfront cash at Market America, her royalties are much smaller and when she started, she wondered about the reality of any future success.

In 1994, she was earning $12,000 per month after six years with her first company. That Christmas the company filed for reorganization and failed to pay their distributors their December royalties. Crushed, she sought business elsewhere, earning $6,000 per month with the next company. That company based royalties on recruiting and she soon sold her business and moved to another company. She went from zero to $27,000 in 17 months. Another business based on recruiting, her royalties fell to $6,000 per month and she left.

After 15 months of hard work and team building at Market America, she attended World Conference in Miami and talked about her insecurity with Jerry Siciliano award winner, Jacki Blasko.

“Jacki knew me! Yes. Based on my long career, Jacki knew me through a previous company! In April 1994, she joined the company that failed to pay December royalties. She, too, was crushed when it failed! While I went on to other recruiting driven companies, Jacki went to MA. 18 years later, I’ve had to rebuild several times. Jacki hasn’t. Read that again.”

Jacki asked Cindy how she was doing. Not so good, Cindy thought. She was earning significantly less than ever before.

“I’ve earned an accumulated $22,980,” Cindy told Jacki. “Averaged out over 15 months, that’s $1,641 per month. My earnings for the last four weeks are $2,700.”
Jacki said “Cindy, that’s incredible! In my first year I earned $12,600. In my second year, $98,000. In my third, $187,000. From there, I’m now in the multi-million dollar club! Cindy, at 22,000 you’re doing great!”

What did this show Cindy?

“This year’s Miami event reinforced the fact that in 1994, Jacki Blasko picked the right company and I didn’t. This year’s event taught me that businesses based on recruiting instead of selling product don’t last long term. This year’s event taught me that one must go slow in order to go fast!”

What an incredible testimonial. The faith is in your feet and Cindy is walking proof! Have you felt as skeptical as Cindy did? What gave you the faith to keep moving?

Using the New UnFranchise® Mobile

On Day three of MAWC 2013, Steve Ashley unveiled the revolution of business freedom, UnFranchise® Mobile, available now in U.S., Canada, and Mexico, allowing all distributors to take their business with them everywhere they go with the use of any cell phone with a mobile browser. 

 

The new UnFranchise® Mobile platform is not an application, but instead an optimized mobile website, accessible from any phone that has a mobile browser. Whether you’re tech savvy or old school, the new optimized site is created for easy to use business at the click of a button.

Here’s how it looks:


The home screen displays every access point you need for your UnFranchise® website in a clean, linear model with options to toggle to other points such as sales reports, shopping, and check out.



When you log in to UnFranchise®, you are brought to the home screen which allows you to personalize your site to your preferred language in English, Chinese, or Spanish.



After personalizing your settings, you can set it as a shortcut on your desktop for quick and easy access. Even though the website is not a true application, you can access it just the same.



Product search is simple with the option for quick order entry, category and store, or keyword.



Product pages are as prominent, clear, and detailed as they appear when you search for them on SHOP.COM, including links to related products….



….With simple and easy checkout from your checking account or credit card that calculates BV and IBV for you.



UnFranchise® Mobile even gives you the ability to submit your Form 1000 easily and securely.



UnFranchise® Mobile also includes features such as the ability to run reports, calculate sales volume, access news and announcements, customize system and personal alerts, access to a corporate directory with the ability to call and email distributor services from the app – everything you need to do business on road!

So far the only thing UnFranchise® Mobile does not allow is the ability to sign up a new distributor, but according to Steve and his team at MAWC 2013, the innovations are under construction as we speak!

Are you using the new UnFranchise® Mobile yet? Do you have any questions about it that we can answer?

Thousands ready to put light, life into their skin with Lumière de Vie

The next generation of skincare is here.
Lumière de Vie, the highly-anticipated skincare line from beauty and fashion expert Amber Ridinger, was launched today at Market America 2013 World Conference in Miami. This new brand, which is available exclusively at MotivesCosmetics.com and SHOP.COM, is aimed at helping and preventing skin issues for individuals of all ages and skin types

According to Amber:

We’ve all had our products for a week or two, but then they stop working. That was the biggest struggle for us – to find something that constantly worked.

The skincare line features five amazing products:

• Lumière de Vie Volcanic Exfoliating Mask, a potent volcanic mask formulated to detoxify, enhance skin’s glow and dramatically improve tone and radiance.
• Lumière de Vie Serum Concentrate, utilizing nature and science with potent brighteners, powerful antioxidants and the power of the sea to reducing the appearance of fine lines and support your skin’s natural healing process.
• Lumière de Vie Intense Rejuvenation Crème, a super hydrating intensive repair treatment developed for chronically stressed skin and designed to work with the skin’s renewal process.
• Lumière de Vie Illuminating Fading Fluid, a powerful formula that instantly illuminates the skin while minimizing the appearance of dark spots and reduces the appearance of redness.
• Lumière de Vie Eye Balm, an intensive eye balm to help soothe and reduce the appearance of puffiness while deeply conditioning and hydrating the delicate eye area.

MAWC2013 attendees check out the new skincare line, Lumière de Vie

Plus, Amber and Loren announced that they will give away a complete set of this new skincare line for fans of the new Lumière de Vie Facebook page. Just click HERE to enter by Saturday night and you can win the entire collection.

So what are you waiting for? Put life and light into your skin with Lumière de Vie!