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Showing posts from 2018

Week17: Wrapping It Up

I've been a frequent user of social media for years now. For instance, does anyone remember the hype of Myspace before Facebook emerged? Social media has been around longer than we think! I believe these changes will continue to happen throughout the world of social media, and I think there's always going to be a new platform to emerge that will take over. Therefore, we'll continuously be keeping up with the next best and new thing in the world of social media. Throughout the semester, my use of social media changed within a business perspective. I'm a savvy user with Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. However, I haven't played around with the functions for advertising, promoting, and so fourth until this class. I loved learning about the uses of Facebook analytics, and learning about the useful tools of creating ads and promotions. Also, I like that Instagram and Facebook marketing can correlate back to each other, which I found to be convenient! I was able to t

Week16B - Responses

I've commented on these blogs this week:  Jesus Farias  Eva Whitburn Chade Montgomery

Week16 - Planning Future Strategy

This semester has been a learning curve! I'm appreciative for all of the tools that were shared throughout this class, and I'll be taking away a lot from this course. After using several different platforms throughout this course I've realized that Facebook and Instagram were the most effect platforms for my business. Since I'm representing a photography business, Facebook provides a solid foundation to help businesses build themselves from the ground up while Instagram creates a perfect showcase for photography! When it comes down to what I thought was the least effective, I would have to say Twitter. I found it difficult to reach my target markets throughout this platform, and it's difficult to display work when needed. After reading through the different strategy tools, I've found a few that I'll definitely begin to implement into my daily strategies with my business. When it comes to organizing I think having a dedicated e-mail for social media accou

Week13A - Online Advertising

I began my research by looking up the top 5 highest rated businesses throughout San Diego regarding photography. The top 5 surrounding businesses with the highest ratings were: True Photography: Instagram, Facebook, Yelp. Fangting Photography: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube. Stephy Wong Photography: Facebook, Yelp. Tiffany Allen Photography: Facebook, Instagram. Rachel McFarlin Photography: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest. I decided to take this approach, because I thought it'd be a great idea to see what my competition looks like in my surrounding area. This gave me an exact idea of what marketing works throughout the San Diego area. True photography, Fangting Photography, and Tiffany Allen Photography showed really high numbers with followers throughout their main platforms. Their main form of advertising was sharing their work, and the testimonials that they received from the work that they've done. This is the best way to draw in new customers whe

Week15B - Facebook Analytics

When I reviewed the Facebook analytics I viewed all numbers from the past 28 days. All of the numbers went down except for page likes and follows. The like and amount of follows on my page went up by 33 percent, while page view, reach, and post engagements fell drastically. Page views fell 52 percent, reach fell 38 percent, and post engagement fell 65 percent. The numbers represented showed me that posts fell short within the past month. Although numbers peaked when posts were made, the posts weren't consistent enough to increase percentages. Another interesting thing I noticed was most of the organic reach was from desktop users versus mobile, which is very surprising! As number continue to grow as marketing will become a key aspect within the company, Facebook analytics will be a very useful tool!

Week15A - SEO and Social Media

After reviewing the Google Analytics features I think these key features would benefit my business: Audience Reports Advertising Reports User Flow Reporting All of these features would help me see how users are engaging with my personal website. I would be able to decipher if the users are experiencing a natural flow within the site, and how well users are responding to the content being produced. This would display the amount of traffic my site is generating, and would allow me to adjust anything needed in order to increase numbers.

Week14 - Developing Online Advertising

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 I created three different ads for my photography website to help drive traffic, and to boost engagement. For my Facebook ad, I created a short video that promotes that new work has been added to the website, and the call to action I chose to use was "learn more." I decided to go this route, because I thought users would like to see more of the collection based off of the thumbnail picture being used. Also, I thought the "new" sticker on the top right corner was a good representation of the new collection. For my Instagram ad, I chose to promote a new piece of work that's been in the works for the past couple of years. My brother wrote a book, and there are excerpts of photography featured. It's currently in publishing, and I thought this post would help boost engagement as well as drive traffic onto the website. I chose to use "send message" as the call to action, so users were more enticed to engage with him.  I went the sa

Week13B - Analysis of the Marletplace

There are several different options when it comes to implementing ads throughout Facebook, however not all methods are best suited for every company. Some methods that would work specifically for my business would be using a slideshow/video to boost engagement, choosing a cohesive color scheme, displaying images targeted at my audience, and incorporating user generated content. These different methods would work really well for a freelance photography business, because these methods play well into photos being shared throughout all platforms. The only way I can think of advertising my freelance photography business would be to announce collections of photos to users. I could diversify my business by utilizing all platforms to demonstrate versatility when announcing these collections. I would try to reach out to my users three to five times a month when new collections are made. This would keep users up to date with content, and keeping up a consistent posting schedule would help spre

Week 12B: Project Research Activity

As i searched through LinkedIn, I came across several groups regarding photography. The leading group in the search bar was, Photography. This group has over 2 million users, and this group takes part in discussing everything and anything photography! This would help greatly for my business, because it acts as an open forum for any question I'll have regarding photography - including business within photography. I also came across a group called, Photography Marketing and Business Network. This group has over 20,000 users, and it's a group where all photographers can gather to discuss photography business, and encourages everyone to share new ideas regarding marketing for companies. Lastly, I found a photography group based on photography for real estate. This forum is open for users to discuss real estate photography techniques, and any job offers that are available in the area. After doing this research I found that LinkedIn is more helpful and useful than I thought it was! I

Week 12A: Using Other Social Media

After reading the assigned lecture, I found that LinkedIn and Google+ could help the growth within my business. My brother already has a LinkedIn set up for his photography business, which I linked within our class discussion board. This platform helps photographers connect with each other, and it helps to see who's in your area as competition. It's also helpful to see what certain companies are looking for if looking for a freelancing position in the area. Businesses throughout the platform will post exactly what they're looking for under specific titles, and this could be used as a research tool to see what skills are being looked for. Also, I thought Google+ could be a great platform to use as well! I'm not really familiar with Google+, so I found a lot of the given information to be very useful! The development of circles, communities, and hangouts make the platform great for business! It really helps reach your target market all in place.

Week 11B: Email Marketing Feedback

I commented on these three student's blogs for feedback: 1. Olivia Cruz 2. Vicki Mowery 3. Taylor Bantle

Week 11A: Newsletter

My business, Dune Stewart Photography, could utilize newsletters to promote business and events. I believe my users would be interested in seeing information regarding new photo collections, or events that will be intended where new work will be produced. When I begin to think outside of the box, I could attempt to partner with small businesses that work in framing. When blasting out newsletters I could promote new photo collections while promoting a partner company that could be involved with the product. I've seen several companies do this, and this could be very beneficial. Also, I favored the "welcome email" tactic. I think this shows subscribers how to navigate a business' page, and it allows them to explore the features they're drawn to. This is also another opportunity to add all social cues into the footer of welcome email, so they're intrigued to view the business on other platforms as well. This will help gain reach throughout all areas of the busi

Week10B: Categories

When building a blog site, it's very important to choose categories and key words that correlate back to the content that's been created. The categories I would select for my blog would be: City Palm Springs, CA San Diego. CA Temecula, CA Portland, OR State California Oregon Photography Real Estate Photography Wedding Photography Music Photography Portraits When users are navigating through my blog posts, they'll be able to search these categories and find all posts relevant to what they're looking for. In order to help the business grow, using these categories/key words would assist with SEO. This would create a user friendly experience, and would help our site reach potential new customers! Commented on these blog posts: Mathew Ward Caitlyn Cimino Vicki Mowery

Week10A: Blogging For Business

The potential blog posts have are huge! It allows you to connect to users through platforms online on a personal level, when and if needed. In reality, there are always stories to tell and there is always going to be someone who can relate to it. The structure of your content is powerful, and it should be used wisely. When creating a blog post, I believe it's okay to share personal experiences. Personal experiences help bring your company to life, and it helps connect to your customers on another level. As stated in Likeable Social Media , "When you hear the story of how a company was born, or you hear a story about the impact an organization has had on a customer's life, or about the unique experience of a group's staff member or partner, you feel an emotional connection with that company." Users love hearing stories, and they feel that it helps humanize the brands that they already love. The only instance it wouldn't make sense to add a personal touch to

Week 9: Sharing Your Thoughts in 140 Words or Less

I decided to use these search words to find my connections: photography, real estate photography, and wedding photography. I chose all key words that would resemble my business right off the bat, so I would receive the results I was looking for. By using these key words I was able to find real estate agencies in the area, and I was able to find local photographers. Also, I did a separate search focusing on photographers who are well known throughout Twitter's social media platform. I was able to find quite a few photographers who share the same interest by using the search menu this way, and am now following them! The two lists that I created were called real estate photography, and photography. I created the real estate photography to categorize all realtors and agencies I'm following. This will help me go directly into this part of my business when needed. My photography list was created for free lance photographers that I could possible connect with to help promote my busi

Week 8B: Visual Social Media

The main goal for my business is to land free-lancing positions out in the field. Therefore, I chose to use well-known photographers that have similar work. 1. Annie Leibovitz uses Facebook, and Twitter.  On Facebook, she has 743,790 followers. She hardly posts on this platform, and mostly uses it for promoting events. Her last post was about 7 hours ago promoting a signing of a book she released for her new series. The amount of comments received fluctuate immensely ranging from 50-1200 comments. On Twitter, she has 117.5k followers. She hasn't made a post since 2014. 2. Elizabeth Messina uses Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter. On Facebook, she has 16,964 followers. She posts a few times a month, and her most recent post was about 5 hours ago, A majority of the posts are promoting her work. She receives an average of 40 likes on her posts, and few comments. On Instagram, she has 206k followers. She has 1,996 posts, and her most recent post was about 6 hours ago. Sh

Week 8A: Get Visual

The business I'm focusing on has two existing accounts. Dune Stewart Photography has an account with Facebook and Instagram. Occasionally, Twitter is utilized, however it's through a personal account versus a sole business account. I decided to focus on this business for the semester to help my brother promote his work through social media. On Facebook there are currently 120 followers, and it's been a decent start for the business. The page was originally created to help promote art work versus gaining a customer base. However, things have shifted recently. Since things have shifted, we're hoping to gain free lancing work from the changes made on the Facebook page. It's now structured from a business perspective, and the scheduled posts will help build consistency on this platform. On Instagram, there are currently 366 followers. This account was created for the original posts of photographs which would then be shared to Facebook. This would help with consistency

Week 7B: Scheduled Posts

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I've created three posts to follow up my post from today for the next three days. The first post is an aerial view of a mansion shot in Dallas, OR. My brother did a shoot of this house for Virtuance Real Estate Photography. This video will draw in other real estate companies as drones are an acquired skill as of late. The second post will be an article posted by Vortex Magazine highlighting his work at one of the concerts he did a photoshoot for. This will highlight his skill for music photography, and could help draw in other magazines. Lastly, the last post relates back to the first scheduled post. It's a photograph versus a video of the house in Dallas, OR. He wants to touch on his skills for real estate photography to draw in business from other companies.

Week 7A: Facebook Pages

The seven business I chose to like on Facebook were:  Brooke Shaden Photography Gregory Crewdson Virtuance Real Estate Photography Basil Vargas Photography Wolf Mercury Photography Andrew Kearns Vortex Music Magazine All of the photographers chosen were ones that have inspired my brother up to this point in his career. Each photographer has their own story, and they've built on that to help them succeed. For example, Brooke Shaden Photography is ran by Brooke Shaden. She's sought out to "find the beauty in darkness." This is seen throughout all of her work, and that's something my brother aspire to achieve in his career in the future. Virtuance Real Estate Photography and Vortex Music Magazine are current employers. I thought liking their page would open up other revenues to business' similar to them, and hopefully would make his page accessible to them as well.

Week 6: Facebook Business Page

Define the difference between post reach and post engagement: Post reach is one of the most important key point indicators for marketing throughout Facebook. The term "reach" is a representation of the people who have seen your content within a certain amount of time. Therefore, every post created by a business page will reach "x" amount of viewers. Post engagement is performed when users perform actions on your business page. It can also be defined by post clicks, likes, comments, etc.  However, these different kinds of engagement are analyzed separately. Absolute engagement are the hard numbers represented while combining active and passive engagement. Why is knowing the difference important? It's important knowing the difference between the two, because they're both used for different purposes. Post engagement determines what a business' post reach is going to be. They are co-dependent with one another. Business' need post reach in order t

Week 5B: Defining Your Target Market

The target market for my business I'll be working with is going to be people in need of a professional photographer. My brother has extensive experience with wedding photography, and real estate photography. With his wide range of experience with shooting, he's opened up several avenues for himself as a freelancer. He has yet to find a niche with his talent since he's enjoyed all of the endeavors he's set himself towards. Real Estate Photography Realtors, Real estate companies All ages County based - Currently in Portland, OR. Fixed rate per household Wedding Photography Engaged couples All ages County based - Currently in Portland, OR. $2500 + budget

Week 5A: Defining Your Target Market

Armstrong Garden Centers is a family driven business that has evolved over the century. They have expanded into 49 locations, and have become the largest independent garden retail company in the United States. Also, they have been an employee owned company since 1989. Armstrong Garden Centers caters to anyone in need of garden services. They provide landscape installation and design, home consultations, classes, and a personal shopping experience. Financing is also another option when shopping with Armstrong Garden Centers, and they pride themselves on their locally grown products. This company would be geared towards those who want to support their local communities, and those who have strong family values.  Myrtle Creek is a botanical garden and nursery! They provide a garden experience, and house a cafe for guests to experience farm to table eating. The garden and nursery sit on a historic site, so they provide historic farm tours by appointment. Throughout the estate guests

Week4B: Websites Visited Frequently

The two websites that I visit frequently are youtube.com, and pinterest.com. Youtube.com has been a successful site for years, and it continues to grow. It's an effective site, because it gives businesses and people the opportunity to market themselves. Personally, I watch a lot of make up related videos on Youtube. There are countless numbers of people who have become successful due to the possibilities Youtube provides. Throughout the years, Youtube has developed a clean design. They've always stuck with solid colors, and red is a popular marketing color. The navigation throughout the site is clear, and it allows you to customize your channels anyway you wish to have them displayed. I've always come back as a user, because it's catered to my needs and continues to improve. The next step I believe they could take in improving is making the thumbnails less cluttered when viewing different videos from channel to channel. However, that's me just being picky. I th

Week 4A: Aesthetics, Design, and Branding

Site #1 : http://gatesnfences.com/ - Three potential problems for visitors : The design of the website in it's entirety is extremely busy! In my opinion, it's difficult to pinpoint what the company's name is, and what their company is all about. Also, when visiting Gates N Fences website, it's hard to navigate and find the services needed. Lastly, the text throughout the entire website is hard to read, so visitors would have a real difficult time making out any of the text.  - What could be improved on these websites and why would these improvements help ? A layout for the site would help immensely. There's a lack of organization, and a layout would help gather content. They also need to update their typography so that it's legible for visitors. This would draw in more traffic through their site. The ease of use needs to be taken into consideration. It's difficult to locate links needed, and visitors need to scroll through a lot of content in order

Week 3 - Part 2: Communication Between Business and Customer

Business 1: Bread and Cie https://www.breadandcie.com/ Bread and Cie are visibly using Twitter, Facebook, Google plus, Foursquare, Instagram, and Yelp. Twitter: ( February 27, 2016 ) The company was very active in 2016, but years following had little to no posts at all. Facebook: ( September 6, 2018 ) The company is very active on facebook! They post a lot of videos, content, and photos. It seems to be an easier access for customers to engage with them through this platform. Google plus: ( Not available ) This link opened up as an error page. Foursquare: ( Not available ) This platform was used years ago, and doesn't appear to be active year to date. It seems dated, and out of use. Instagram: ( September 6, 2018 ) Bread and Cie have a large following on Instagram with 4,979 followers! They post frequently, and communicate with their customers through their posts. Yelp: ( August 17, 2018 ) There are over 1,000 reviews for this bakery on Yelp! I didn't notice any repl

Week 3: Part 1 - Communication Between Business and Customer

Amongst everyone, I'm sure we've all encountered bad experiences with businesses at one point or another. Personally, I just went through a bad experience with one of my favorite clothing stores. I was in Anthropologie exchanging a top I bought online, and was expecting a simple exchange. The top I exchanged was to be delivered to my home, and the shipping was stated to be a maximum of 10 days. To put this story in a nutshell, the top never arrived due to an incorrect adjustment, and no shipping address was added tot he completed order. On top of that, it took eight phone calls to customer service on different occasions to solve the problem. As I'm in retail myself, I personally couldn't believe how many mistakes were made on the order. However, I know patience is key! If I would've made this public on social media I'm almost certain I would've received a response from the company. It's so important for companies to hear out their customers. As Likeab

Week 2B: Responses

This week I made comments on a few classmate's blogs: 1. Michaella Ellis 2. Eva Whitburn 3. Karla Putts

Week 2A: Overview of Social Media

I believe Instagram is geared most towards personal use. Out of all of the social media platforms, I personally find myself using this platform the most. When users are on Instagram they are posting pictures, watching videos, direct messaging other users, uploading stories, etc. Instagram is intended to be seen visually, and it creates a highlight reel of others personal lives. Also, users post videos of things they’re doing in the moment. This allows everyone to keep in touch with their followers throughout their day to day lives. As for social media platforms for business, I believe LinkedIn seems most suitable. Most businesses can be found on this platform, and most users can interact with them! There are constant updates within the world of business, and there are constant job updates being listed. Although this isn’t the perfect platform for small businesses, I believe it’s growing as the rest of social media and it has potential to get there. However, the social media platfor

Week1B: Blogs Commented On

This week I have commented on three classmates blogs: 1. Megan Smith 2. Chade Montgomery 3. Mario Panousos

Week 1A- Class Preparation

I decided to choose this template for a few reasons. When it comes to design, I've always taken a liking towards a full screen background and a nearly transparent opacity with a content container. I also like the color scheme of the layout. Although it can appear to be busy from the repetitive print, it still has a clean body within the blog. The image chosen also caught my eye as it reminded me of textures I work with everyday. Although I'm trying to step away from retail, my love for apparel will always be a part of me.  I thought this template summed up my side of my personality that has the eye for design, and I felt it would have a charming impact towards my viewers. I'm in favor towards the rustic/farmhouse design aspect, and I believed this entire design captured that. I felt it was some what simple, but not so simple that it's forgettable. I believe this ending statement could describe me as well, so it's very fitting! UPDATE: I went back and fourth