Darlin Garland

Who has two thumbs and is fully vaccinated? Looking forward to the possibilities this next month has to bring.

It may be just another Tuesday, but today is also 💚4/20💚 and I am excited to feature Braun IP Law, LLC in a special blog post talking about Cannabis Legal Challenges over on the website. 👩‍⚖️ 👉 https://darlingarland.com/ask-a-lawyer-cannabis-legal-challenges/

We're putting together an Ask a Lawyer series where we discuss the intersection of branding and intellectual property.

🍃Cannabis brands face a unique set of challenges when it comes to marketing their business. Whether it's a constant rotation of banned hashtags on Instagram or posts being removed for violating community guidelines on any platform, we've talked about these issues in the past.

In this first Ask a Lawyer post we’ll be discussing cannabis with Jeanette M. Braun, Esq. to put into perspective some of the legal issues surrounding cannabis. Enjoy!

Are we ever going to feel good about blowing candles out on the cake again? 🌬️🎂😷 It feels like we've perpetually been in March since I posted in 2020 about my birthday. I still sing the happy birthday song daily when washing my hands. Since it's been a year since I wrote a blog post, I figured now is as good a time as any to start up again! https://darlingarland.com/2021-spring-update-its-been-a-year/

In the last year, I have faced some life-changing challenges and worked with amazing people. There has been a lot of heartbreak for me lately, but I am hopeful, like many people are, that we are moving forward together. Alright, time for cupcakes! Happy birthday to all my March cohorts. ☘️ Cheers to a new year and the hope that spring brings.

One week away! 🗓 Join me next Sunday at MakerSpace Charlotte for my Marketing for Makers class. This year's winter workshop will cover important changes in social media, how to optimize your social media as a business, and other tips for success in 2021 with a focus on makers. Learn more or get your tickets in the link. Space is limited due to social distancing. 😷

Sharing this mural by for - a reminder we all need this year. Her lyrics from Don't Give Up seem to fit in with the determination we all need right now:

❤️Rest your head

🧡You worry too much

💛It's going to be alright

💚When times get rough

💙You can fall back on us

💜Don't give up

🤍Please don't give up

✌️

Got to chat with WFAE this weekend about The Carolina Mask Project and my efforts to coordinate the - listen in!

Health Care Workers Need Protective Masks. These Volunteers Are Helping. Crafters around the Charlotte area are getting involved in the fight against COVID-19 by fashioning homemade face masks and protective gear for local

Hey! So...with everything going on, I'm attempting to use my superpowers for good. Please help spread the word to Carolina artists & makers. Thanks!

Artists and makers! Let's discuss helping our local health providers by producing the PPE they need. Join Carolina Mask Makers if you're interested in getting in on the dialogue and helping with the production of these supplies.

📄It costs us nothing to help boost the signal right now, here's how to do it effectively.

👉If you are a business who needs someone to talk to, please reach out and I will be happy to share some ideas on how you can monetize or grow your online audience in a phone call.

🤗Share this post to help spread the word on how to increase reach for anyone affected by this situation.

4 Free Ways to Amplify Artists and Small Businesses on Social Media | darlin Garland Shop small. Support local. Buy Etsy or Amazon Handmade. We all know the drill, but on social media, you don’t have to spend a dime to support small businesses and increase their engagement and…

Questions about your ad account?

"Ads Manager is packed full of cool tools and features to get your ads up and running, so it may feel a little overwhelming when you first get set up.

But don’t worry, it’s designed for brands of every size and following, and you don’t need to have previous ad experience to set up a killer campaign for your business."

More info from Later in the link.

How to Use Facebook Ads Manager - Later Blog Facebook Ads Manager helps you connect with your audience, increase brand awareness, and drive sales. Here's how to post your first Facebook ad!

What are Facebook and Instagram doing about COVID-19?

Keeping People Safe and Informed About the Coronavirus - About Facebook

When asking someone to represent your brand as an ambassador, affiliate or if you send out PR items, remember to remind them to disclose their connection with you! Endorsements include payments, exchange of goods, or family connections with your brand. This endorsement must be mentioned at the very beginning of the caption or repeatedly throughout the video. Make it clear that you have requested this when working with anyone representing your brand.

From the FTC:
"But to get a better idea of the FTC’s allegations against Teami, let’s go back to April 2018 when FTC staff wrote to Teami about endorsements for their products that influencers had posted on Instagram. The letter reminded Teami that material connections between endorsers and advertisers (including payments) should be clearly and conspicuously disclosed. And by “clear and conspicuous,” FTC staff stated that disclosures should use unambiguous language that consumers would easily notice and understand. The letter also said that because consumers viewing posts on Instagram typically see only the first few lines unless they click “more,” endorsers should disclose any material connection above the “more” link."

New letters have been sent out to influencers in connection to the Teami weight loss tea promotions and this is a good case study of what not to do when you solicit shoutouts for your brand. (Shown)

Read more: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/blogs/business-blog/2020/03/ftcs-teami-case-spilling-tea-about-influencers-advertisers

Some business law for social media from Ian Corzine via Youtube. This is important information for businesses, no matter what platform you're posting on.

5 POWERFUL Legal Tips That Will PROTECT Your Channel Hey Creator! In this video, I give you 5 CRUCIAL legal tips to ⚔️PROTECT⚔️ your YouTube channel and make 💰MONEY💰 with your online business. These tips includ...

A new press release this month from the FTC states that: "The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comment on whether to make changes to its Endorsement Guides as part of the agency’s systematic review of all current FTC rules and guides." They will be taking comments for the next 60 days and are seeking to hold businesses accountable over influencers for promotional deals. It is recommended that even if you are not an influencer, that you read over the Endorsement guide as it covers regulations related to topics like reviews or testimonials in addition to the advertising disclosures required in advertising. Links available in the release.

Press Releases for February 2020 The official website of the Federal Trade Commission, protecting America’s consumers for over 100 years.

Excellent Instagram tips and deconstruction of different features to help you with post planning and brand strategy.

How To Grow On Instagram In 2020 (New Updates) | Phil Pallen Phil deconstructs digital marketing and social media to empower leaders, corporations, employees, and entrepreneu...

Who can relate? 💕 Last week I completed a challenging job. I was hesitant to take the gig because there was no way to guarantee whether I could help them with their issue and was scared to let them down. Past failures tried to haunt me while I worked through the process. There was a lot of fear of failure I had to push through to keep a clear head. I was thrilled to overcome the hurdles and did a happy dance when I discovered it had worked. 💃 Now, I am grateful for the experience I gained and how good it felt to help them succeed. 👉 What do you do to push past that mental block that tries to remind you of your failures? .

Feeling accomplished. This was a challenge for sure! Go follow this fabulous Charlotte nonprofit and I look forward to seeing more of what Empower for Hope has to offer.

Follow your heart, but use your head. Social media can be deceiving. What looks good, may not be good for you!

If you were to approach my booth at a show and wanted to participate in my giveaway, would you be willing to give me three friend's emails to enter? Comment with your thoughts below.

It is so common to see giveaways created by businesses without any disclaimers. Also, even if you put "no purchase necessary", asking users to tag friends to enter may be what's called a non-monetary consideration. This turns your sweepstakes giveaway into a lottery - which is illegal in the states. I've learned that randomly selected winners are illegal in Canada. Make sure to include "void where prohibited" to help with the rejection of those who are not eligible.

My suggestions are as follows:
Pick a theme for your giveaway and ask users to comment with an answer to a question like their favorite character or movie. Start a discussion!

Consult a lawyer to write a reusable legal disclaimer.

Instead of requiring users to tag a friend to enter, ask them to tag a friend who would also want to win without making it necessary to participate.

From Forbes: “The jury is still out on whether advertisers will widely adopt shoppable ads,” said eMarketer principal analyst Debra Aho Williamson. They see Instagram helping with brand awareness, “but many more purchases are still taking place outside of Instagram rather than within it.”

Instagram Is Reaching Upper Limit Of U.S. User Growth, So Expect Even More Ways To Insta-Shop The social media platform's U.S. user growth slowed to single digits for the first time, according to analysis from eMarketer.

Who wants to go get coffee and donuts in January? ☕️ "Every Monday this month Krispy Kreme is holding a “Mini Monday Break” from 4pm-7pm where you can snag one [of the new minis] for free."

Get a Free Krispy Kreme Mini Every Monday in January This month you can score a free treat for surviving Monday at the office, in the form of a miniature doughnut from Krispy Kreme.

You might be able to access your DMs on Instagram.com soon. 📧 It's been nice to manage via the Facebook Business Manager webspace, but this might be more user friendly.

Instagram offers access to DMs on the web Instagram's DM support is a limited test, at least for now.

So many changes coming on Instagram. Join me on January 4th for my Instagram Marketing in 2020 workshop to discuss this and more updates and trends for next year.

Combatting Misinformation on Instagram - About Facebook We’re expanding our fact-checking program globally.

Gobble gobble up your Early Bird tickets for my Winter Workshop at NoDa Brewing Company, details inside...sale ends Monday. https://mailchi.mp/5ed49ed52889/cozy-on-up-to-my-instagram-marketing-in-2020-workshop-in-january-seating-is-crazy-limited

My suggestion? Make passwords that include three words. For instance: coastercalendarcomputer. I also strongly recommend LastPass for storing your passwords and safely sharing your information when you collaborate. (Please don't email passwords!) Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

The Guy Who Invented Those Annoying Password Rules Now Regrets Wasting Your Time We’ve all been forced to do it: create a password with at least so many characters, so many numbers, so many special characters, and maybe an uppercase letter. Guess what? The guy who invented these standards nearly 15 years ago now admits that they’re basically useless. He is also very sorry.

Some words to internet by from Joseph Gordon-Levitt at TED.
👇👇👇
What do you do to find your flow? How do you avoid giving in to craving attention and focus on paying attention? Advice welcome in the comments.

How craving attention makes you less creative | Joseph Gordon-Levitt Joseph Gordon-Levitt has gotten more than his fair share of attention from his acting career. But as social media exploded over the past decade, he got addic...

Have you ever been shadowbanned? Excellent tips on how to keep your Instagram account from being throttled from Ian Corzine, the Social Media Lawyer, over on Youtube. Learn about the history of the shadowban and some insight on how using bots, posting too frequently, or using other people's content can harm your engagement.

Instagram SHADOWBAN Secret 😳Lawyer Uncovers Why Your Instagram Likes Are ⬇️Dropping ⬇️ What is the INSTAGRAM SHADOWBAN? That’s what today’s video is all about! -- The shadowban of Instagram. I, Ian Corzine, Your Social Media Lawyer, examine the...

The secret to happiness is freedom... And the secret to freedom is courage. -Thucydides 🙌

Happy National Entrepreneurs Day my courageous friends!

If you are a small business owner or sole proprietor, you know just how hard it can be to carve your own path. It feels never-ending. Especially this time of year.

Today's blog post is all about the entrepreneurial spirit. Thanks for reading and sharing with your friends.

A Brief Shoutout to the Unconventional Entrepreneur | darlin Garland What is an entrepreneur? The third Tuesday of November is National Entrepreneurs Day.

Good evening Facebook friends! Curious about how to improve your Instagram marketing next year? Learn how you can attend my Instagram Marketing in 2020 Winter Workshop in January at NoDa Brewing Company in my latest blog post.

Learn the Instagram Secrets to Success in 2020 | darlin Garland Jumpstart Your Instagram Marketing This year has been eventful on Instagram. Early in 2019, Instagram announced new appeals features. This new feature has