Week 16 Final Post

My view of social media has changed quite a bit in the fact that I can see what a resource it is for business. I did not think I was into social media so much before this class but I realize now how much I use it and rely on it. I noticed when I was speaking with someone in passing the other day and we spoke of current affairs, family etc, conversation seemed to revert back to social media in a way. So many times I have said or someone has said"I saw that on Facebook." So of course social media is important for business as we use it so much for information even if we do not realize it or on purpose.

I very much have a better understanding how to use social media to develop a business.  Even though I only had 32 likes on my page it was fun to watch it grow in that little bit. I realize there are many dynamics and strategies that can be used to promote, advertise, enhance and just get a business out to reach more people.I understand content, and business relations more through the use of social media as well.

I did find social media products and services that I will use in the future for my self or if I am working for someone else. This has helped me personally gain ideas of what I want to do not that I have my Real Estate Sales license and have an office to work at I am going to apply what I have learned into this business as so much of it relies on outreach and what better way then social media and integrating the sources.

Week 15 Facebook Analytics

My Facebook Analytics said it was processing and would get back to me later, I just think I did not have enough information. I was able to gain 32 likes which to be honest I was not sure I would be

able to.

It was neat to look at Claudia's data from her business and see how the data represents different information such as views, likes and followers. I understand how analyzing this data can be important for reaching out to customers, followers, etc. I see the importance of knowing the timing of when the posts reach the most, also would be good to watch over time for changes.

Week 15 Google Analytics

I can see how Google analytics is helpful when trying to analyze and determine market user data. I think most useful features to start would be the demographics and interests and maybe use that information for SEO or adwords to try to get views. Hopefully this would get some attention and interest in my services using the organic optimization. While my Google Analytics has no data at this time I think it will be fun at some point to watch this data and see how things progress.

Week 14 Creating Ads

I went through the motions of creating an add but since my page is of a fictitious business (for now) I did not pay for the advertising. I do see the benefits and I would also pay the $20 for the boot post to reach more people. I did notice from reading other classmates blogs and noticed on their facebooks that the advertising does help. The ads looked enticing and professional and has the hook, or "call to action."

I would rather get trial a little and see when the timing is appropriate and I do not want to be one of those businesses that is hard high pressure post after post of advertising. I think a little can go a long way if the quality and call to action is good, if it packs the punch and reaches a significant amount of people. Also I realize to consider the business budget at first I would experiment and then invest more into what gets the most positive response.

Week 13: Researching Advertising

My business has a very definitive target market of busy real estate agents, and I think there is a branch of that that I would also be targeting their clients or potential clients as my service markets the agents service. It seems that can be quite a range.

Where marketing for my services to agents I think the call to action approach would be important because the time is essence to catch leads and make sales, so if I can catch their attention and get to a point where I have numbers and success rates I think that would be important to put into my ad. Facebook in my case with the visual, relevance and call to action.  The Facebook boosts and the targeting ad approach would be good for my business. I think a good video for visual would be beneficial s well. I have to be able to reach people and get their attention and hold it long enough to convey the importance of my service. Also I think Facebook is good because it is more personal and that is important for my business and Facebook gives that chance to see what the market and clients/ potential clients needs are.

It surely must all be trial and error and with the ever so quick changing trends of social media it will be full time work just keeping up with what is the popular platform and how the demographics respond.  I don't want to say "oh that won't work", or be disappointed when something I think is surefire to reach clients and bombs. I also want to get prepared to what may work at what point may not always attain. I do think I should follow the model of visual, relevance and call to action.

Week 12, More Social Media tools

The four most essential social media sites that I think would be important to my business are google+, Yelp, LinkedIn, and Google Maps.

I think that google+ would be important for anyone as it seems like another good way to distribute and receive information. I like that it is linked right up to the google account and of course is good for SEO. I have it on my personal google but I have to admit I just do not use it that much but perhaps for business it would be better.

Yelp of course is good for business because I know that anyone I am going to do business with or especially invest time and money I want a little honest feedback of their services. I have experience with Yelp and I know from that that many customers, or potential customers will use Yelp to find out what the community is saying about a business or service. Or people turn to Yelp when looking for services.

Linked in is good for my business professionally because people Link In with their professional profile and again use it for their research in getting to know the people behind the service or business. I have used it when job hunting even to see the people at a certain company and what their backgrounds are to see if I am a fit before I waste time applying. I see there are groups and professional networking with Linked In.

Of course Google maps is always good for location. I think it would also enhance the SEO. When I look for something I like that it pops up on Google maps and I can easily gps it and I like to see the establishment if it is a brick and mortar place. I think the whole bundle of google services is probably just a good idea, again for SEO and people are familiar and use google frequently.

Week 11 email marketing

In terms of email marketing and news letters I can see where it is a good way to keep a client or customer engaged and share information. It seems like there are many good ideas such as sharing ideas, events, sales, or any information related to the business. I think it could be a place to maybe add a coupon or discount code for products.

I think in my case with my business it would be a good strategy to share ideas and success rates that agents and clients have had by enabling my services. I  think some businesses that may have stock would want to share their stock options or when they will be sharing and for investment ideas.

I have many email newsletters that I have subscribed to when visiting a site or buying a product or service. I actually enjoy getting them especially if it was a good buying experience. I feel connected to the business that way and sometimes it serves as a reminder that I need that business for a product or service. The only ones I do not like is when I go to a site to browse or get information and I am locked into adding my email before entering the site. That does not work for me and it usually makes me leave the site. On the other hand if I am browsing and I am asked to join I usually will.

Week 10 (Cont)

The categories I seem to be thinking about breaking down the information into falls into basically two groups at this point so far. The groups are for Real Estate Agents and Real Estate home buyers or sellers. (Ok 3 groups) Most of my information though is geared towards providing service for agents and tips assisting them. As I lesrn and grow more I will be able to provide more detailed information into the main category which is targeted at agents, and the sub categories which is the agents clients whether it be buyers or sellers.

Google Analytics

This screenshot did not come out too clear but I added it Google Analytics.

Week 10 Blogging

Blogging seems like a great way to engage by adding human interest to a business page. I do feel the content may vary depending on the company, product or service that may be offered. I would think that when someone is offering a service that it would be appropriate to add a little personal touch to the blog. Or even with a product, for example I was looking at luggage companies and I was compelled to engage and found it interested that the company had a small blog with each employee on a trip somewhere using the luggage. It was personal as well as displaying the product. In my business in the service I offer I think the amount of personal blogging should be a limited amount and if it is relevant to the service only. When trying to get noticed blogging the appropriate content would be beneficial to any business when carefully done using the right SEO tactics. I also like the opportunity for the interaction, such as having guest bloggers or room for comments and questions as well.

Week 9 Twitter

This week adding Twitter was good for me as it forced me out of my shell a bit. To me Twitter has been a media outlet I do not understand and I never even looked at it before. I have to admit it was a bit overwhelming at first but now I am kinda getting it.

I created my lists and did a southern California real estate business list. I added agencies in one list and it made me realize that I should be looking at lenders and such as well. So in another list I added Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and also some investors as well. I also found someone that I am unfamiliar with but she had great information as just an individual. I scheduled some of the articles I found to post this week on my business Facebook page as well.

I also followed some local businesses as well as the city of Oceanside. What I discovered is that there was information on their twitter that was not on any other of their sites such as FB or their website.

So I have to say that Twitter is growing on me and I really do see the potential it has for business especially if people re-tweet for you and give you support. Another thing I liked about the City of Oceanside is that they engaged with me by thanking me for following them.

Week 8 Get Visual

I signed up for Instagram, long over due anyways because I do not have a personal one, I only have Facebook. I have only used Facebook as well. Once I set up my business for Instagram I found it interesting and easy to navigate. At this time phase of my business I do not have content to add but I will figure that out as time goes on. I think it will be important down the road when I become a real estate sales agent to connect with potential clients and add pictures of property as well as it will be fun to post clients in their new home(with their permission of course)

My goal is also at some point to use YouTube, I do see where agents do videos of homes and I personally like that better as it gives a good look and saves time as I do not want to waste my time or a clients for example if it were me I would look for a house with a yard that suites my dog. I can watch the video and get an idea if there is a suitable yard. Well anyway it is in the works!

At this time I do not see Twitter as useful just yet, maybe later on when I build a personal network it will, same goes for Pinterest and Snapchat.

I posted a picture and scheduled three posts to span over the next three days. The articles are information I think would be informative and engaging to real estate agents. There are clickable links within some of the posts as well. One article in particular is why social media is important for real estate agents.

Week 7

• 
  
  
• Real Estate Media Network
• Real Estate Service · Media/News Company · Photographer
• 

  Remarkable Real Estate Media

  Advertising/Marketing
• 

  H&H Real Estate Media Inc.

  Real Estate Service · Web Designer · Marketing Consultant
• 

  Southern California Real Estate

  Business & Economy Website
• 

  Southern California Realty Group

  Real Estate Agent · Region
• 

  MCC Social Media Class

  Education
• 

  Social Media For Real Estate Agents

  Real Estate Agent
• 

  MyOutDesk, LLC.

  Real Estate Service · Company

I carefully chose these businesses based on what I would like to learn. A few of them are pretty established with many likes and some are more new with less likes. I also chose a couple of agency's and realtors as well as media managers/marketing services. I just want to get a feel of how other businesses are doing things. I do not want to copy them but just to get ideas and concepts for my own business.  Thank you everyone who liked my page!!

Week 6: Facebook Post Reach and Post Engagement

Post Reach is the number of people who saw your activity and posts reached on Facebook. Engagement is the number in which a page gets activity such as likes, comments and shares.

know the difference between reach and engagement is important because because it post reach defines how many people are viewing your activity and gets you seen by potential customers. Engagement may be a step better because once potential customers have seen your page they are now engaging which is where they can make informed decisions about the service or product offered. Knowing this again can help in knowing what is working to bring in potential customers.

Facebook Insights is useful for businesses because it give numbers and data to gage what is working and getting the positive results to get the customers.

Week 5 Post 2 Open House Media Management

Open House Media Management is a business that is going to help real estate agents and brokers manage their social media, and web based needs. This will involve keeping social media and other platforms current with postings and valid information., photos etc.

The demographics will vary because agents come in all ages, gender, sizes educational background and ethnicity. I think what will be manageable will be to chose a certain area, such in my case to start I will choose North County San Diego. It will be easy to meet with potential clients and find out what the individual needs are. I have spoke already with agents and brokers about their needs. The ones I have already spoken with all share a common need. They do not have enough time to be tied down to the computer when they are busy with clients or spending time on documents or in meetings. However they do like the idea of having a nice website and using social media for business.

I have looked to see what competitors are doing and what I am finding so far is that it is an online service that costs a monthly maintenance fee, so it still involves the client to take the time to sit and sift through and upload and things like that. So my service will consult and do all of that for them, and determine the best platforms to use etc.

I think there is another layer to this service I want to provide because not only am I looking at my target market but I will also have to establish the clients target market as well.

As we are learning in this class and when I think of things in the perspective as if I were a client, the agents and offices that stick out with me. I want to do business with are the ones who have the most and best media information and updated sites. Those are the ones who draw me in and get my attention.

I think the clients, and the clients clients, are going to be motivated people with decent incomes because if people are looking to buy they have some kind of stability and/or credit. I think income bracket  is key to my target market These will be hard working and reliable people with most likely higher standards in either case. These are people who can afford to service a need. I think all of us are people who are going to be excited about things strive for progression.

Week 5 Post 1

For this assignment I chose

http://www.econobum.com/homepg.php and http://www.justcheapdiapers.com/

I believe the demographics in this target market vary between the two companies,The econobum diapers I think are geared more for an established family with larger incomes and the just cheap diapers seem more like for anyone or families on a tight budget.

I think the age target is pretty wide as also grandparents could be part of this target market as well as young parents and all ages in between.

I think the econbum targets an educated market because there is a lot of information about the diapers and honestly even though they are diapers they can be complex, especially being non disposable, I would think that a more educated person would have concerns  in their call to action such as environmental and health reasons for using the eeconbum diapers. On the other hand with the just cheap diapers, all those concerns are out the window and the call to action is to get the cheap diapers.

As far as ethnicity I think all can be considered with either diapers. Although the just cheap diapers are Philippines based they do not seem to target just Philippine people.

For both diaper companies gender target is mostly women but certainly men could be consumers as well.

I think the econbum may consider psycographics more as they seemed to invest more marketing towards certain values, ,again based on their call to action about the landfill waste with disposable diapers. The cheap diapers one seems to have just one basic gear and that is the cheap diaper factor.

It seems like there could be a cross over but it would depend on the money and education factor. Although someone may value conserving the landfill but may not have the money for the econbum diapers. Or vice versa someone may have money and not know or care about the landfill.

Week 4 Part 2

https://www.orbitz.com/

I visit and use https://www.orbitz.com/ when I want to look for deals on travel. My opinion is they cover the C.R.A.F.T.E.D attributes. The site is pleasant to look at with soft colors, easy to navigate and organized in order with hierarchy. I like that they include lots of description and real live reviews of the hotels and services. They are catching with deals to click on but not annoying pops up that you have to click on to move forward, such as email sign ups or.

Even if I do not use Orbitz for my reservations I always go to them first because they will have the most information and usually the best deals in what I am looking for in travel. They will also often compare with others. Also I can save my trips I am looking at and come back later to modify before purchasing  on their site.

I looked through it again to see if I would change anything and honestly I could not think of anything off hand.

I also visit https://www.overstock.com/ often. I use them for online shopping. Although they are not they best looking aesthetically, they are not unpleasant in any way. There are a lot of items on the site but the organization is well done that it is not too overwhelming or stimulating. The search is nice to narrow down what I am look for and easy to sort through everything easy enough that I do not get lost like I feel I do on Amazon. I like them more than Amazon actually. They are always my first go to site for shopping online.

I am not sure what I would change, I use this site often and I have never had any problems.

Week 4: Aesthetics, Design & Branding

http://www.pennyjuice.com/htmlversion/home.htm

Penny Juice' website to me has many problems. Three right away is that it is outdated, it is too bright and hard to look at as the information is all crunched together. It is way too much. Most of the links are not clickable, especially important is the locations and contact email none of which work. The information is also vague.

I think it would help Penny Juice to update their website by addressing their target market by having some  social media connections. Some photos of the juice product would be helpful too. Personally  I liked that they had reviews but that did not seem enough, also seemed so outdated. I would like to know more about where the juice concentrate comes from exactly. I think they also need better navigation, it was hard to click through their pages and if I were a customer I would lose interest pretty quick. It seems like addressing these issue would sell the product better and build trust with customers. Having such vague information also makes me think they are not a real company, especially being it is something I never heard of before.

http://www.arngren.net/

Arngren is way too much information with no aesthetics  and way too confusing. The site in my opinion has none of the C.R.A.F.T.E.D attributes at all. It is horrible to look at. I tried adding items to a cart and it was very confusing. I even translated the site and that did not help. I had to click off of it to do the assignment because it was making my head spin.

Arnget should really break down the items and aesthetically organize. The site looks like a cheap magazine and it does not seem to me to feel trust worthy. I thought some of the items seemed pretty cool to order but I would not buy from them as it does not feel trustworthy due to the chaos of the site. If they broke it down and made it look nice I would feel more comfortable ordering. It seems they have a little effort in navigation but when I click the nav bar to the item page the item comes up with too much. For eample I click scooter and jeeps and vehicles come on the page. If the broke it up it would be better and cleaner. Some of the items are categorized but it is too much information on one page.

https://www.riversideartcenter.org/

Riverside Arts is well done I think because it is aesthetically pleasing t o look at. I think the slide shows of the art and community activities is very pleasing and engaging. The responsive design with the drop down hamburger menu is excellent for navigating. It is very clean and the soft colors are pleasant. I think it has all the C.R.A.F.T.E.D attributes. The site seems up to date and well managed. I think it is a very lovely website and I enjoyed visiting it.

https://www.nps.gov/index.htm

National Park Service is also well done. They too have the drop down navigation and hamburger menu with the responsive design. Everything is updated and pleasing to look at. Tons of information organized appropriately for what a visitor is looking for from visiting, taking classes, or getting involved. Contact information is easy to find as well as social media links. Another very pleasant website to visit.


This week I commented on:

Deanna's blog

Joshua's blog

Jennifer's blog

3 HOURS Relaxing Music with Water Sounds Meditation

Please enjoy some relaxing music while reading my blog :)

Week 3 Business List part 1

The business type I have chosen is massage therapy. I am in the process of going full on out on my own. I am building my personal website and this is the perfect assignment for me right now.

Massage Envy, they did not have links on their site or if they did they were not easy to find because I didn't find any. I went directly to Facebook and found the local ME branches. I just clicked on the Vista one, it is closest to me.

The date on ME's last post was 7 hours ago. It looks like they just started using social media because the only had about 23 or 24 likes. They had a link on their FB for Pinterest and that seems to be all they have.

I do not think they are using social media too much yet and I am very surprised. They did have their own comments section on their own website and had mostly good comments. I was surprised to see they posted a negative one to, so that shows a little honesty to me.

San Diego Massage and Spa The only had clickable links to Yelp. They had links to FB and it did not work.

Their website is a WIX and it looks like they have not upgraded to one that is not advertising. They must have SEO though because they came up on a search I never knew of them.The website did look nice and if I had ti guess I think they are a newer business and things are still in progress.

What We Think We Were Doing....

What We Really Do...

Massage Green, they also did not have and social media links, or again if they did I did not find them.I went to Facebook and found the San Marcos branch, and I have also been a customer there.

MG's last post date was May 19th.. They have almost 1500 likes..

I did notice when I googled MG they had Yelp reviews. They do not seem to be usuing social media too much which to me is a surprise and I also think they should because they do not ever seem super busy. Also they offer so many services and specials I would think they would want to get that information out there.

Elements Massage they do not have links either on their site , maybe it is the norm for these chain type of massage places I do not know why.. They do have an FB and I know the chain is pretty new and they only had 52 likes and about 270 check ins. They had their own blog on their website with a post as recent at Sep 7th. Their Fb is pretty recent as well, not sure why they don't have links.

Karma Spa Same thing, no links but they have a FB with about 1000 likes and over 1000 check ins. They had recent posts on FB and I thought were informative and of quality. They too have their own blog on their site. I do not know much about Karma Spa, I have seen it in Carlsbad and it looks nice. 

I am very surprised that none of these businesses have links to any social media on their sites. They are obviously using social media but not to promote business I guess. I would think they would want to extend all resources as they all could use more traffic.When I build my website I will  link a FB at least and most likely a yelp, and take it from there. If I were a larger business I would have someone do the twitter and Instagram thing too. The more the better I would think..

Week 3 Comments

This week I commented on:

 Izik

Krong

Felipe

Janet

Thank you!!

Week 3 Communication-Business and Consumer Part 1

I have experienced communication issues on social media with a business that I purchased a Groupon 90 min massage from. They were a local business in Carlsbad. I tried for over two weeks leaving phone messages with this particular business, or when I would call it would say the voicemail is full. They had no website or email to correspond with. I finally gave up and was able to get a refund with Groupon. I noticed this business was getting reviews on Yelp and Groupon from other customers stating the same problem. I did not take to Yelp or any other social media to blast them but I thought about it.

I have personally had a positive experience using social media. Being a massage therapist myself I have received good comments and reviews on both Facebook and Yelp. I always respond with a thank you in return. If I were to receive a  complaint.. first I would be mortified... then I would gather myself together. Next of course I would respond to try my best to communicate back to this unhappy client to get the issue resolved. I would reach out to them using the platform in hopes first of to satisfy the complaint and to show other potential customer that I am attentive. I believe people tend to realize that things happen where every single customer will not be satisfied. Also I think that the effort put forth to resolve it would show good character on my part. Because of the resolution, or attempt to resolve, a potential customer may still choose  to do business despite the complaint or negative review.

Blogs I commented on this week are:

Click on name to be directed to:



Cody H

Jennifer L

Jasmin V


*clickable name links  idea is courtesy of Jennifer L :)

Week 2: Social Media Use

Week 2: The social media I think are geared for personal use are Snap Chat, Facebook and Twitter. The reason I think this is based on just my personal experience and observations. For example Facebook and Snap Chat seem long term especially FB in my opinion, because people post pretty much everything on FB from eating, drinking, family events, photos, locations and pretty much anything. You can follow your personal likes in music, food, news or pretty much anyone or thing. For example I am in a few groups private and public. The private ones are from school and alumni. There are church ones and I follow the Red Wolf Coalition as well as my dog breed group which is the Catahoula. Many people are not as familiar with Catahoulas so I love sharing pictures and information with people all over that have this breed which is the Louisiana state dog. So I follow a couple of groups from there as well. 
I would not even know my family if it were not for FB, seriously I do not live near them and FB is great for staying in touch. I personally like FB because it is a little slower to me and has more substance to it than snap chat. Of course everything happens on Facebook and doesn't stay on FB, oh the drama, lol... I see the appeal in Snap Chat when you are on the go a lot and just want to snap and share and keep it clean like that. Twitter I have not figured out yet, so I do not see the appeal. I guess since our country is ran off Twitter I should figure it out, lol. Just kidding and I will not get political, that is one thing I do not care to partake in on social media at all. To me what it comes down is I can see the extension of socializing through these media outlets and how it does keep a person in a social loop even if not physically in person.

For business I would think Facebook would be good because it is easy to follow a business and get information. The business can reach out to many with promos and ads. I notice often if one of my friends like something it may show up on my feed. For me if I am looking for the latest information on a place or event I will most likely turn to FB or friends who may in turn refer to a FB page. I think some of the other platforms may be fun for just little tid bits of information such as Instagram or Snapchat. It would seem though that FB would more of a hook and allow for more interaction and links to the business website.

I think it is a good idea to keep the business and social media use separate. I would say if you have a bakery and you post a photo of your family at the bakery or your dog or something on your business site is ok so that customers can get a feel of who the people behind the business is. On the other hand I would not suggest a photo of yourself in a speedo sipping Long Islands on your business site, lol. All in all  I would think to  limit the personal and business interaction on the social media. 

Week 1: Let the blogging begin

Hi everyone! I enjoyed creating a blog for the first time ever! just as much as creating, I enjoyed reading everyone's bogs.
I think I read everyone's blog in the class and I commented on Poetry's,, Deanna's, Isik's and Ashley's from our group.
Can't wait to see what week 2 has in store for us.

Hello everyone!

I chose this background because I absolutely love Hummingbirds. I like the colors and I think that a Hummingbird theme can go well with my blog. I may even blog about Hummingbirds since I like them so much. I am having a blast with this blog thing as it is new to me.

I can not wait to see how blogging goes for everyone... Happy blogging!!!