Stephanie De Souza CSIT 155

I have had a great experience in this class this semester!          My social media output for my business has been so different. The content has looked so much better and it looks more professional. That also means I have had different platforms that I have posted on because of this class. We have posted using this blog, twitter and the newsletter email chain which are things I have never done before which turned out to be great. All these new additions have made my advertising so much better.               This is also shown through the response I have been getting. Everything seems to be increasing. I have more likes, more people commenting, and more followers. My social media is much more alive then it was before.  Before there was no activity. I hadn't posted anything in a while and nothing seemed to be improving obviously. This class made everything go back to being up and running. Everything I learned has been so helpful.               My viewpoint overall of soci

Comments on my group: Donald Burks II Christopher Collins

           We are now reaching an end to this class but there is so much that I have learned that I will continue using. I think the topics that I found the most interesting included creating the newsletters and also creating lists. I really liked learning almost how to network or to strategize who you are following to your advantage. We made lists on twitter and another social media of different categories that involve our business somehow. I was able to stretch my brand further by coming up with ideas to get my community involved in my business. I was able to have more of a reach on my own community by following and posting things from my city's social media events pages. This even helped me out in the end as a way to demonstrate how to use products.            The other part I enjoyed learning about was making the newsletter. I think that is something that I found to be super convincing for me as a consumer. There is always a discount notice that has led me to the website. A bi

Professor Faulk's Data Analysis           For the month of November there are two days that stick out in the first couple charts. The 7th and the 11th of November are both days that seem to have no unfollows but around the 28th there seems to be the biggest rise in followers. I'm assuming this has to do with a post on one or all of those days that really got people's attention. Then on the 3rd there were a lot of shares. This must have been because of an event or a discount that led to this rise. There are many people reacting to the posts overall. Men from San Diego seems like the main population and demographic. The data is showing specific days which is extremely helpful because then you can see what you did that got people's attention and then repeat it.

 There are so many features on Google Analytics and so many different parts of your website that it keeps track of. I think a couple that would be very important for me to check consistently include the home page that just shows how much traffic your wesbite is getting. It shows which days and how many people have been looking. Another one is the demographics. It shows the age range and also more specfic information on what kind of people are interested in what I'm putting out. The last one I would check constantly is the behavior flow. This shows who are the people that are really interacting with the site. Google Analytics is a great tool!

These are the ads that I created for the week.           In all these posts it shows a different way of wearing the clothing. The most common issue with buying new clothes is how to wear it or where to wear it or what to wear it with. All these posts represent a different location and a different way to wear the clothes for both guys and girls. This is great because it is shown practically and gives an example. These are the posts that lead to the website and reach out to a much bigger population. If they like it at first glance then they will be led to the website where they can buy it.      Also on Instagram if gives me the option of creating my own target audience. My target audience involves people ranging from the age 13-25. It involves people in California that enjoy bonfires, sunglasses, fitness, sweaters, beaches, clothing and relaxing. These are the people I am trying to reach out to with these posts.

Ads             There are many different ways to advertise. Advertising can be through different social media's or just different websites. There are banner ads which are banners that appear at the top of websites or there are post ads on social media.  By post ads I mean they look like a regular post in your feed but it is an advertisement. It isn't someone you follow or anything like that. This type of advertising is great for my business(clothing brand).             Being able to post a picture for my business and it just automatically is added into a bunch of people's feeds can be super helpful. People want a visual of what the clothes would look like so being able to have a picture is super important. Also there is a way to boost the page. You can decide how much people you want to see it and what kind of population depending on how much you want to spend. The best part is it is not too expensive. Ads are good once a week. Any less would allow people to possibly f

Businesses and their Social Advertising           The first business I looked into was Soul Garments. Soul is still just starting up but it seems like the advertising is working. The instagram is very aesthetic and draws people in. There are around 300 followers and over 250 people are liking these posts so the majority of people are paying attention. The only problem is I don't see a link for a website anywhere. So even if it is doing well there is nowhere to go.                   Human Addict was another business I looked at. They are not doing so well on likes. There are 466 followers but the posts are only getting around 30 likes. The pictures do not look too professional so that must be what it is. The only problem is though I think they are not trying to look professional but more relatable. There is also a link to a blog which I think is helpful on the other hand.                   Then I looked at Antisocial Clothing Brand. The brand has a great following of 13K but

Project Research Activity                MeetUp Groups is something great. I learned about this through my brother. He was looking for a way to get some extra French lessons and found MeetUp. It was a great way for people to get together and practice. This can also be super helpful when it comes to networking. If there is a small business group or anything to do with startup clothing lines then that would be a great opportunity to learn and share information. It is a platform for people to "meet up" and help each other or just hang out. Another popular one that I think is a great idea is streaming content but specifically podcasts. This is a great way to talk about your brand or share stuff from a blog or whatever it may be. This might not directly apply to my business but I could meet someone that talks about the foundations of my business like beach life and have them put an ad for me. These are both great forms of networking and simply spreading the word out and reachin

Online Tools             I use Google My Business as an online tool and that is definitely useful. It is a place that I can make or improve another website for my business. Also it helps me set up a new work email. It also gives me updates on how my business website is doing. It has many features that are helpful for an online business. Another tool that seems like it might be helpful is Nextiva. Nextiva is an online tool made for small businesses to be able to communicate with customers and colleagues better. My strategy would be to continue using Google My Business to keep up with how my website is doing and numbers of how many people are searching for it. Then I can start using Nextiva to better my communication with my customers. These two online tools would be helpful for my business.

Comments on Classmates Week 11 posts Luke Divinere Benjamin Karp Anthony pagatpatan Comments on Classmates Week 11 Posts Donald Burks II Alisa Detwiler Robert Eckhardt

Newsletters              Newsletter's can be sent weekly, monthly, quarterly, or even twice a year for certain businesses. For my business I think it would be good to have a newsletter sent out twice a month or once every two weeks. One of the posts of that month will be to announce new products. The other posts will be to advertise a big sale that will happen once a month possibly lasting a 3-7 days. On the email involving new products it might also include events occurring in the area or at least an image of a cool place. This is a way to encourage people to buy gear and also to wear and advertise their Shade Apparel for people to see. Everyone loves a good discount so I don't think that will take much information or persuasion. Both these ideas need to be made extremely visually appealing for customers to bite. In addition,  there will be a welcome and birthday email as well. This would be the overall schedule of my businesses newsletters.

Blog Categories            I would use five blog categories in my blog.            The first category I would create is the main one on clothes. This is all about showing off the new clothes that were just released. This also involves giving updates on when new gear is coming out. It also involves how the type of clothes will be perfect for whatever time of the year it is. The pictures would demonstrate the way to wear it on a night of going out or staying in. It is all about the product and getting it out there.           The second category I would include is the inspiration of the brand. This would involve different kinds of beach posts. Pictures including sunrises and sunsets and big waves and smooth waves. This helps remind everyone where the clothing style inspiration comes from. This would also include photography that I have found and followed on my other accounts. This would get other people as passionate about the ocean as I am involved in the support of my business.

Making Blogs Personal            Adding human interest to a post can appeal to people's emotions because it describes personal experiences. This uses the persuasion technique of pathos. It gets people emotionally connected and emotionally involved. For example, the commercials with the dog that you can adopt plays sad music and shows people talking about their feelings. Both factors make people feel extra compelled to adopt that dog. On the other hand, for my clothing business human interest would involve possibly posting a picture that reminds people of moment and makes people want to experience that moment. I could post a picture involving a group of friends all wearing different products, sitting around a bonfire that are all laughing and maybe singing. People would see this and want to experience that moment. That makes the brand seem like less of just another jacket or just another sale but rather clothing that will become a memory. A good time to use this technique is durin

Twitter Experience            Searching for other accounts that could possibly support my business twitter account was difficult. I searched  using the same words that I used for Instagram. I searched Instagram accounts using words like beach, bonfire, fitness, Carlsbad  and comfort clothing.  I definitely had to play around with all these different words. In the end  I found some cool accounts that involved the theme of my business or possibly will one day support my business.            One list I created was a beach life list. These were accounts that I found involving beautiful beach photograph that I can use to re-tweet. The business I am creating is meant to eventually include actual beachwear but for now it is still a bonfire brand. The other list I created was fitness list. The two members were both fitness accounts. My business also includes fitness clothes so in the future I could possibly get these accounts to advertise my brand. Both accounts could include a picture of

Businesses Using Visual Media and Results           The first clothing brand that I found using social media is a brand called Soul Garments. This brand has a website and is on Instagram. There are 391 followers. The brand appears to still be ideas that are being built up because there aren't too many posts. There are many instagram stories and highlights though. The latest post was in February but the most recent story was much more recent. The latest post got 240 likes which doesn't mean full engagement but that is a good amount. There are also comments on these posts. The stories seem to work very well though because the website looks active. I do think hashtags could also help improve this business. The factor of this instagram that is worth imitating is the stories look very cool, fresh and professional.                 I also found a small business called Human Addict. It appears to be based in France. There are 472 followers and they are following 612. This seems to

My Business Social Media          Shade SMLS Apparel has an Instagram account. The instagram has 58 followers but also hasn't been that effective. I seem to be getting the reach with the different kinds of ads but not much engagement. The reason is simply because I don't post frequently and regularly. I think the look of the instagram is cool but I don't post much to engage with. Also I haven't used hashtags which I think would definitely improve that post engagement as well. In addition I only follow back people and friends. I don't follow any other businesses or anything. There is a lot my existing Instagram can improve on already. I'm looking forward to changing all of that! The instagram is @shade_smls_apparel

              These posts will engage my audience because it not only keeps people interested in the beach vibe but also it keeps up people with the community. I will post events of the Carlsbad community and also show how these events are a perfect opportunity to use the brands gear. It already gives people an idea on how to wear the clothing. All the clothing posts also are in cool locations so it encourages the viewers to be out and active. It gives the cutsomer an idea of where to wear the clothing as well. It is more than just advertisements which makes it worth paying attention to.

Pages I Liked 1. Carlsbad Magazine @cbadmag 2. Surf Swell Apparel @SurfSwellApparel 3.Skate & Surf Apparel @SkateSurfCo 4. Avoca Surf Apparel @avocasurfapparel 5.Surfer @surfer 6. Your North County @YourNorthCounty 7.Small Business Bonfire @smallbizbonfire           First I chose a couple websites that just talk about Carlsbad events. These events can be an opportunity to show how my clothing brand is the perfect outfit for the event. It is where this business began and most people in this area have this style.           I also liked many different brands that are similar to mine to get more likes and follows because if they like these other similar brands they can end up being interested in mine as well. Everyone with the style I am going for will also follow these other brands as well.          The last business I liked was small business bonfire which is helpful for me as I'm trying to build this small business. It is just information and tips on how to u

Post Reach vs. Engagement Post reach is the number of people that are seeing your content. For example, you can buy adds on Instagram and Facebook that say that you will reach 100 different people according to the demographic you are going for. It is the number of people and types of people that you have been able to advertise your product to. Post Engagement involves those people liking, commenting and overall being engaged in your business' social media. Post engagement is more of a relationship with a customer as opposed to just another eye.  Knowing the difference between these two things is important because that way you can tell who is genuinely interested. Post reach is the first step but you will know how successful your business is with post engagement. Anybody can randomly find what you are trying to sell but is there an interest or connection or anything like that that keeps them there? For example, anybody can drive past a car dealership and suddenly find all

Shade SMLS Target Market             Shade's Target Market will be for the younger population. This younger population includes teens to late 20's. This age range includes highschooler's to young professionals. The reason for that is because the brand includes hoodies. These days everyone wear's a lot of hoodies but the group of people that wear it the most include the skater boys in their teen years. Also during teen years there are many bonfires that take place. Everyone loves wearing a big hoodie to a bonfire. That applies to all the teens but the reason it goes all the way to late 20's is because throughout people's 20's they not only continue with this hoodie phase but also start putting more effort into their bodies. The brand also includes fitness clothing with a hip look to it because of the logo. In addition to all these factors, the target demographic is definitely people from anywhere close to a beach. The clothing is very geared towards the bea

Subway and Hungry Bear Deli's Target Market               Subway has a website that is meant for a younger demographic. It is not geared to male or female but for everybody. What I mean by younger population is males and females from the age 18 to early 30's. The reason I'd say this age range is because this is the group who is becoming more interested in doing things that are healthy for themselves and helpful for saving the planet. There was a tab on Subways website that was titled "Responsiblity." This then led to options to read about how subway is helping preserve the planet and helping promote well-being. In addition, this age range includes college students who are typically eating on a low budget. There is another tab that is called, "Rewards and Deals." Subway's website is demonstrating itself to be a company that helps the planet and keeps college students from spending too much money for lunch.          Hungry Bear Deli has a website t

www.guitarcenter.com www.etsy.com               The two websites I use quite often include guitar center and etsy. These are both very effective for their demographic they are going for. Guitar center is a site for all musicians. I am a musician. When I open up the website and see pictures of all these shiny guitars and new drum gear it just draws me in more. Etsy does the exact same thing. For anyone who is interested in random little gifts or personalized items they probably get led to this website. Then they see all these pictures of cute products that just drags them in to spend money. The primary reason both of these are effective is because both websites put their best foot forward on the homepage.             Both websites are also not a hassle. There are many colors and options of where to go but everything is easy to find. Both etsy and guitar center have a search bar at the top that allows you to see everything there is. On guitar center's website the search bar basi

            The first website I looked at was Jami Lin's Passions. This website was very intense when I opened it up. There were many different colors. It definitely makes you have to blink when you open it up. All the colors of the words and tabs are different. All the shapes and sizes are different. It just looks very intense to start off with. The second issue I noticed with this website was that you have no idea what it is for. There are words that have nothing to do with each other next to each other. It is just a page with many random words on it all put together as if there is some common theme which there doesn't seem to be. Lastly, there is no uniformity to this website. If you press on a tab or a link to the next page it takes to you a place that looks like a completely different website. Something that could be improved is making the purpose of the website clear right at the beginning on the homepage. As of now it is just colorful and confusing with many different co

                                         Businesses and Their Use of Social Media 1.Guitar Center https://www.guitarcenter.com Social media Platforms and Date of Latest Post : Facebook(09/4), Twitter(09/4), Youtube (08/28) and Instagram(09/4) All these platforms post at very least weekly if not daily.            Guitar Center is doing a great job of staying updated and relevant. As mentioned above all platforms post at the minimum of once a week. All the pictures look great and make me interested in seeing what's new. There are also a lot of posts that involve discounts going on which makes me even more tempted to go look at more on the website. Looking at the media I can see something new everyday on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Then I can go to Youtube and see a video on how to use products and how they sound every week. 2. Studio West https://www.studiowest.com Social media Platforms and Date of Latest Post : Facebook(08/27), Twitter(Sep. 12, 2018), Instagram

          Sometimes in a consumer and business relationship there can be positive and negative experiences.            First there can be difficulties communicating to a business as a consumer. In my own experience I have been in a couple negative or simply inconvenient situations. One of those involved the process of trying to return something through amazon. I had been trying to buy a good snowboarding jacket from amazon and it's difficult to find the right one because you can't try it on and don't know how it feels. I ended up buying a jacket that was too thin for snow weather. Then ofcourse I decide to return it and use the money refunded to buy another one.  Then I had to fill out a return form and specify why I was returning it. At this point everything was working fine and I set up the jacket to return and returned it expecting to get a refund. Online it said I would get a refund when amazon recieves the jacket. I then recieved a notification saying that Amazon

I commented on Luke Divinere, Angelina Draper and Hannah Cliff's posts on social media's uses.

          Certain forms of social media are geared towards personal use rather than anything else. In my opinion, these include Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter. Instagram and Facebook are both a format geared toward personal use because it involves certain aspect that automatically associate it with friends and family. Since these two forms of media came out it was all about following your friends, hence the name friends on facebook, so you can keep up with each other and comment on other people's posts. Social media's use in the past and now is a way to have a social gathering virtually in my opinion. Everyone updates eachother on their lives through pictures,comments and videos. Snapchat is also definitely geared towards personal use. This is because the format of snapchat involves pictures being deleted right away. If this social media had a purpose for something else like business it simply wouldn't make sense. If a business owner is trying to sell a product t

I commented on these three blogs and these were the comments that I made. Luciano Divinere.    https://lukedcsit155-fa19cfaulk.blogspot.com I really like this design! This definitely seems to go along with your snowboarding style. Also I totally agree with you when you say the other options have definitely more of a mom feel to them. This design is young, clean and modern. The layout just seems very easily navigable and makes me want to read more. Great job! Angelina Draper.  https://csit155-f19-angelina.blogspot.com This is awesome! I love the look you were going for and I think you accomplished that. It definitely looks like a very bright and light earthy style. I also love the idea of keeping it plain so there is more focus on pictures. Overall I think it just looks more clean so I love it. Great job! Robert Eckhart.    https://csit155-fa19reckhardt.blogspot.com I think everything you planned out seems to work great! I am definitely going to sta

 The blog template I used was chosen for a reason.           One of those reasons is because it involves the color blue and the water. I am in love with both of those aspects. I am a born and raised California girl so anything that resembles the beach is something I am already in love with. Blue also happens to be my favorite color. As the writer of this blog I feel like the template should be helpful insight on what kind of person I am. A lover of the water and an often beach-goer is a big part of my life. In addition to that I enjoy the colors and how it is not too dark or not too bright. It drew my attention in a subtle way rather than maybe blinding the eye immediately with a yellow or pink or something of that nature. The blue and the water is my favorite choice.           The other factor for choosing this blog template is that when people think of the beach most of the time it is a relaxing image. To dive a little deeper, besides being a typical California girl, I look at t