Social media has been a big impact in our lives today in not only communication, but also in the ways that people promote businesses as well as schools.

Some of these pro-social media businesses can be found right here with our fellow students, Take

junior Maya Goertemoeller, who uses her Instagram @monogramsbymaya to sell monograms to people around the Cincinnati area. Maya says that “social media is such a great way to promote your business because it's free, reaches hundreds of people, and allows people to see what you are selling anywhere and anytime.” Using her Instagram also allows her to post the designs she makes, so girls can direct message her if they want to buy.

Another example of this entrepreneurial use of social media is sophomore Bradlee Danko’s mom, who uses Instagram and Facebook to promote her lanyards that she makes herself. Both of them are for promotion, but they have different purposes. Bradlee says that “she uses Facebook because it is more mainstream and more likely that her business could be seen by parents and their friends, but she uses Instagram because it is easier for her to reach teenagers and younger children.”

Not only does social media promote products, it also promotes schools. Take SUA for example, which uses Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube to promote the school. However, promoting a high school to current and prospective students and reaching out to alumnae are two completely different modes. While one SUA account has to do with current and future Bulldog families still learning about SUA, another would be for students who already graduated interested in keeping up with what is happening at the campus of 1339 E. McMillan.

But because Saint Ursula is a nurturing, Catholic school, there are some social media apps they purposefully choose not to use for promoting the school and reaching out to alumnae. Mrs. Jill Cahill, SUA’s VP of Communication, says that “SUA has intentionally decided not to include Snapchat as an official school social media platform.” Snapchat is often on lists of the top ten most dangerous communication apps because it allows a user to send messages that theoretically vanish. Since the texts “disappear”, people, especially teens, may think it is okay to send unsuitable or hurtful messages, and SUA chooses not to be part of a medium that fosters such behavior.

69% of people in the world use social media. Such influence and connectivity make it easier for people to get their message or their product out to the world, whether they are student entrepreneurs, businesses, or schools.