While playing around with Twitter, I've found that this platform is unfit for my business. I was unable to find very many users that my business could benefit from while searching key words such as "lowriders", "classic cars", or "chicano". All key words used very often in content that fits my target market, therefore with no accounts that could relate to my business; no lists were made due to a shortage of prospects.
Brands like Traffic Jammer can thrive better through visual platforms, we are better off on platforms like Instagram or even Facebook to appeal to some of our older demographic. Our target market doesn't usually have Twitter accounts when you look at the psycho-graphics of it all, they're people who don't do complicated and people that would rather have an image to go off of rather than a few words. Twitter is a platform for conversation and news rather than conducting business.
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Sunday, October 13, 2019
Week Eight Get Visual Part Two
For my business I feel visual media will do it good because clothing is something people have to see. Customers want to see it on models and they want to be able to look at it and imagine how it'll look on them. Clothing brands do best when they have visual media because that's how you attract customers and there are many brands that have grown tremendously thanks to visual media.
Clothing brands like Bella Dona, with 252 thousand followers on Instagram shows how visual media has helped their business grow from just selling t-shirts to now having several different branches and an upcoming makeup line. They post nearly several times a day and their last post was posted 3 hours ago as i'm typing this. With the average number of likes being 2-4 thousand likes for pictures that include their merchandise, slogans with pastel colored backgrounds and events they will be attending. Their videos posted on Instagram are what get the most likes with 10-18 thousand likes, I feel they get more likes with videos because it shows a deeper glimpse of what their brand does and it's something many feel they can relate to. Their likes don't compare to the amount of followers they have,their comments are an average of 10-100, and no hashtags are used in any of their posts.
Another clothing brand that has grown form visual media is a brand many people know which is Supreme, with a whopping 13.3 million followers on Instagram. With each post getting an average of 100-30 thousand likes their use of visual media has grown their business as well. They post at least once or twice every day or couple days, not overloading their followers' feed with posts and I feel that kind of timing creates anticipation and more desire among their customers. Their last post was posted three days ago and compared to the number of followers they have the amount of likes on their posts is little. When you have 13 million followers you think you'd get more than a million likes, they also receive comments that are far less than the amount of likes they get and they hardly use any hashtags at all.
The next clothing brand that benefits from visual media is Agave Girl Boutique, who has 47.4 thousand followers on Instagram. Their average likes range from 3-5 hundred likes and they hit more than a thousand likes when they post their latest styles of huaraches or colorful floral Mexican shirts. Their last post was posted three hours ago and they post at least once or twice every one or two days; they are so far the only business that uses some hashtags like #agavegirlboutique,#huaraches, #agavegirl, or #artesinasmexicanas. Instagram has seem to work for this brand because there are easy links to their website and you can get their email and other contact information all in one space.
Srvntz is another clothing brand on Instagram with 43.4 thousand followers and their latest post was posted three hours ago. Their likes average about 5-9 hundred likes on an average post and videos get about 1-4 thousand likes. Their hashtags mainly consist of their own brand name #SRVNTZ and there is a link to their website for easy shopping. They receive 1-20 comments at a time and it is obvious their engagement is so little compared to the number of followers they have. Their posts are easy on the eyes and provide a glimpse of real life in LA, showcasing the people and their culture as well as their religious beliefs.
Lastly there is Xipi.Teca, another clothing brand with 17.8 thousand followers on Instagram. Their average number of likes ranges from 300-1,000 likes and their comments range from 5-30 on their average posts. They provide links and contact info in their bio, great aesthetics and Instagram has proven effective for their brand.
Clothing brands like Bella Dona, with 252 thousand followers on Instagram shows how visual media has helped their business grow from just selling t-shirts to now having several different branches and an upcoming makeup line. They post nearly several times a day and their last post was posted 3 hours ago as i'm typing this. With the average number of likes being 2-4 thousand likes for pictures that include their merchandise, slogans with pastel colored backgrounds and events they will be attending. Their videos posted on Instagram are what get the most likes with 10-18 thousand likes, I feel they get more likes with videos because it shows a deeper glimpse of what their brand does and it's something many feel they can relate to. Their likes don't compare to the amount of followers they have,their comments are an average of 10-100, and no hashtags are used in any of their posts.
Another clothing brand that has grown form visual media is a brand many people know which is Supreme, with a whopping 13.3 million followers on Instagram. With each post getting an average of 100-30 thousand likes their use of visual media has grown their business as well. They post at least once or twice every day or couple days, not overloading their followers' feed with posts and I feel that kind of timing creates anticipation and more desire among their customers. Their last post was posted three days ago and compared to the number of followers they have the amount of likes on their posts is little. When you have 13 million followers you think you'd get more than a million likes, they also receive comments that are far less than the amount of likes they get and they hardly use any hashtags at all.
The next clothing brand that benefits from visual media is Agave Girl Boutique, who has 47.4 thousand followers on Instagram. Their average likes range from 3-5 hundred likes and they hit more than a thousand likes when they post their latest styles of huaraches or colorful floral Mexican shirts. Their last post was posted three hours ago and they post at least once or twice every one or two days; they are so far the only business that uses some hashtags like #agavegirlboutique,#huaraches, #agavegirl, or #artesinasmexicanas. Instagram has seem to work for this brand because there are easy links to their website and you can get their email and other contact information all in one space.
Srvntz is another clothing brand on Instagram with 43.4 thousand followers and their latest post was posted three hours ago. Their likes average about 5-9 hundred likes on an average post and videos get about 1-4 thousand likes. Their hashtags mainly consist of their own brand name #SRVNTZ and there is a link to their website for easy shopping. They receive 1-20 comments at a time and it is obvious their engagement is so little compared to the number of followers they have. Their posts are easy on the eyes and provide a glimpse of real life in LA, showcasing the people and their culture as well as their religious beliefs.
Lastly there is Xipi.Teca, another clothing brand with 17.8 thousand followers on Instagram. Their average number of likes ranges from 300-1,000 likes and their comments range from 5-30 on their average posts. They provide links and contact info in their bio, great aesthetics and Instagram has proven effective for their brand.
Saturday, October 12, 2019
Week Eight Get Visual Part One
When comparing social media platforms, it can be easy to see from your own personal experiences which has the most use. Personally, I feel Instagram is perfect for the use of tangible goods as well advertising your services to the public. According to Sproutsocial.com (https://sproutsocial.com/insights/instagram-vs-facebook/) while Facebook has larger numbers of usage, Instagram's stats are far more impressive in terms of engagement. In their engagement studies they've calculated that Instagram's median engagement rates 1.60% compared to Facebook's 0.09% median engagement rate. Although most small businesses use Facebook to start getting the word of their business out to the public many are switching over to Instagram and staying on Instagram.
As for YouTube, they assume dominance on the web as the largest video streaming site as well as the second largest social media site after Facebook (https://mountaintopwebdesign.com/which-social-media-platforms-should-you-use-for-your-business-in-2019/). Businesses can benefit from YouTube by using it as a tool to demonstrate their product or give more information about their services. This gives customers a visual about what they are getting when buying a product or service. For example, I've watched Suavecito Pomade grow as a company ever since I first heard about their product; from a small pomade business that was still in the underground they are now sold in almost every barber shop. As you look through their YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/user/suavecitopomade) they post videos about how to use their products, what events they will be attending as well as fun to watch promotional videos. This is a great example of how utilizing YouTube as a way to market your products or services can grow your business.
Lastly, we have Snapchat; which is a great tool, but not every business can thrive through Snapchat alone (https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/9860-snapchat-for-business.html). I feel Snapchat is geared more towards personal use to instantly message, share pictures and videos to your close friends and family. Personally, I wouldn't use it for business because I feel it doesn't have the same effect as Instagram, Facebook or YouTube; I say this because you have to interact with your Snapchat "friends" on a more personal level and that can be time consuming. It is also geared towards a younger demographic (ages 12-24 being the average) so if your product isn't intended for a younger audience it is better to use other social media platforms (https://pulsemarketingagency.com/5-reasons-snapchat-for-business-blog/).
Overall, Instagram has my full attention when it comes to marketing my own business. in the future I don't plan on limiting myself to Instagram alone but it is the one I choose to start off with. It is my personal favorite because it is easy to navigate and I am able to get my point across. I don't have to spend a long time looking for a button to help me post content or basically go through a background check while trying to create a simple profile like I have to when using Facebook.
As for YouTube, they assume dominance on the web as the largest video streaming site as well as the second largest social media site after Facebook (https://mountaintopwebdesign.com/which-social-media-platforms-should-you-use-for-your-business-in-2019/). Businesses can benefit from YouTube by using it as a tool to demonstrate their product or give more information about their services. This gives customers a visual about what they are getting when buying a product or service. For example, I've watched Suavecito Pomade grow as a company ever since I first heard about their product; from a small pomade business that was still in the underground they are now sold in almost every barber shop. As you look through their YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/user/suavecitopomade) they post videos about how to use their products, what events they will be attending as well as fun to watch promotional videos. This is a great example of how utilizing YouTube as a way to market your products or services can grow your business.
Lastly, we have Snapchat; which is a great tool, but not every business can thrive through Snapchat alone (https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/9860-snapchat-for-business.html). I feel Snapchat is geared more towards personal use to instantly message, share pictures and videos to your close friends and family. Personally, I wouldn't use it for business because I feel it doesn't have the same effect as Instagram, Facebook or YouTube; I say this because you have to interact with your Snapchat "friends" on a more personal level and that can be time consuming. It is also geared towards a younger demographic (ages 12-24 being the average) so if your product isn't intended for a younger audience it is better to use other social media platforms (https://pulsemarketingagency.com/5-reasons-snapchat-for-business-blog/).
Overall, Instagram has my full attention when it comes to marketing my own business. in the future I don't plan on limiting myself to Instagram alone but it is the one I choose to start off with. It is my personal favorite because it is easy to navigate and I am able to get my point across. I don't have to spend a long time looking for a button to help me post content or basically go through a background check while trying to create a simple profile like I have to when using Facebook.
Saturday, October 5, 2019
Week Seven Engaging Your Customers Blog Post Number One
This week after looking at everyone's business pages, I chose to like Leather and Lilacs, Scalawag's Barbershop Social Club, Shade Apparel, Clipper Junkies Barbershop,Katharyn's Kollections, Money Mailer of Encinitas- La Jolla, and Silver of Taxco. I chose these pages because I feel we can all benefit off each other.
Traffic Jammer is an apparel company who's target market are families in the lowrider scene and a third of our target market are men. I feel Traffic Jammer could benefit off of barber shops like Sacalawag's Barbershop Social Club and Clipper Junkies because their target markets are mainly only men. Therefore we can gain customers through their establishments and they can gain more clientele through our clothing brand.
For clothing/jewelry brands like Silver of Taxco, Leather and Lilacs, Shade Apparel, and Katharyn's Kollections, by liking their pages our brand can also pop up in the suggested accounts box. We can gain customers by being connected to these accounts and vice versa, being in the same category we can all be seen just by liking each other's posts. By sharing their posts and getting their pages to share mine we can all gain potential customers.
Lastly, we have Money Mailer of Encinitas- La Jolla which is a marketing and advertising company. I feel Traffic Jammer can benefit from this company just as any other company would, they would help us advertise our company and we'd like, share, and promote their company.
Traffic Jammer is an apparel company who's target market are families in the lowrider scene and a third of our target market are men. I feel Traffic Jammer could benefit off of barber shops like Sacalawag's Barbershop Social Club and Clipper Junkies because their target markets are mainly only men. Therefore we can gain customers through their establishments and they can gain more clientele through our clothing brand.
For clothing/jewelry brands like Silver of Taxco, Leather and Lilacs, Shade Apparel, and Katharyn's Kollections, by liking their pages our brand can also pop up in the suggested accounts box. We can gain customers by being connected to these accounts and vice versa, being in the same category we can all be seen just by liking each other's posts. By sharing their posts and getting their pages to share mine we can all gain potential customers.
Lastly, we have Money Mailer of Encinitas- La Jolla which is a marketing and advertising company. I feel Traffic Jammer can benefit from this company just as any other company would, they would help us advertise our company and we'd like, share, and promote their company.
Saturday, September 28, 2019
Week Six Post Reach and Post Engagement
Post reach is the amount of people who actually saw your post, but post engagement holds a heavier meaning in terms of how many people took action because of your post. There are three different kinds of reach, organic, viral and paid according to Commercial Web Services (https://www.commercialwebservices.com/blog/2017/06/20/crash-course-impressions-reach-and-engagement/). Organic reach being the number of times users saw your page without it being promoted in their news feed, viral reach is when users see your post because other users like, comment, or share that piece of content. Lastly, we have paid reach where users pay to have their page promoted and the more money you pay the more it will be seen. I feel paid reach is more common in larger companies whereas smaller businesses rely on organic and viral reach to get their pages seen. Viral reach has become the internet's word of mouth; now that people are spending more time on the internet they share the post rather than speaking to each other in person about what they saw
Post reach is only the tip of the iceberg because you can make two decisions after seeing a post, you can do nothing or engage in what you saw. Having a high reach doesn't always result in high post engagement; engaging in a post means liking a post, clicking on a link or sharing the content with others. People will look at your page but not many are willing to go any further than a glance, what you post and when can largely effect your numbers. While reading "9 Reasons Why Your Facebook Post Engagement is Low",
( https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/9-reasons-why-your-facebook-post-engagement-low-anil-batra )
timing can affect who sees your content. In the article they talk about how you can most effectively reach your target audience by timing when they are the most active. From personal experience I noticed when I post too late at night or too early in the morning, I get the least amount of likes because most of my followers are active between 12-2pm. Posting too much or too little can also affect post engagement because if you post too little nobody will see any of your posts, posting too much will result in your followers will feel overwhelmed and simply scrolling past your posts in their feed.
Facebook Insights can help businesses better serve their customers by providing demographics used to find a target market. Allowing a business view the age, gender, relationships status, and lifestyle can help to narrow down who their audience is. For those who have more women followers who are between the ages of 18- 25 and who love cats can use that information to then create posts that appeal to women who fit that description. The more their post appeals to their followers, engagement is created and then the business grows through viral reach. With Facebook Insights businesses can also track when and how often their target audience log onto Facebook so they can better time their posts. Insights is a tool to better help businesses track data that will give them the opportunity to maximize their reach and engagement. Having this feature on my own social media account has opened my eyes to how my account impacts others. It creates this bit of anxiety in me because you will notice when your account has low impact on your followers; it creates a learning experience and makes you ask yourself "how can I be better?". This is the mindset that entrepreneurs, both beginning and experienced have; the question of how you can do better, what can be better will always be asked and Facebook Insights makes that question a little easier to answer.
Post reach is only the tip of the iceberg because you can make two decisions after seeing a post, you can do nothing or engage in what you saw. Having a high reach doesn't always result in high post engagement; engaging in a post means liking a post, clicking on a link or sharing the content with others. People will look at your page but not many are willing to go any further than a glance, what you post and when can largely effect your numbers. While reading "9 Reasons Why Your Facebook Post Engagement is Low",
( https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/9-reasons-why-your-facebook-post-engagement-low-anil-batra )
timing can affect who sees your content. In the article they talk about how you can most effectively reach your target audience by timing when they are the most active. From personal experience I noticed when I post too late at night or too early in the morning, I get the least amount of likes because most of my followers are active between 12-2pm. Posting too much or too little can also affect post engagement because if you post too little nobody will see any of your posts, posting too much will result in your followers will feel overwhelmed and simply scrolling past your posts in their feed.
Facebook Insights can help businesses better serve their customers by providing demographics used to find a target market. Allowing a business view the age, gender, relationships status, and lifestyle can help to narrow down who their audience is. For those who have more women followers who are between the ages of 18- 25 and who love cats can use that information to then create posts that appeal to women who fit that description. The more their post appeals to their followers, engagement is created and then the business grows through viral reach. With Facebook Insights businesses can also track when and how often their target audience log onto Facebook so they can better time their posts. Insights is a tool to better help businesses track data that will give them the opportunity to maximize their reach and engagement. Having this feature on my own social media account has opened my eyes to how my account impacts others. It creates this bit of anxiety in me because you will notice when your account has low impact on your followers; it creates a learning experience and makes you ask yourself "how can I be better?". This is the mindset that entrepreneurs, both beginning and experienced have; the question of how you can do better, what can be better will always be asked and Facebook Insights makes that question a little easier to answer.
Thursday, September 19, 2019
Week Five Part Two
The business I'd like to promote is a clothing brand called Traffic Jammer Apparel, a brand my fiance and I are working to start soon. This is a brand with our target market being anyone and everyone in the lowrider community, we live and breathe lowriding and we want to make our mark in a community that we grew up in. From children to the long time lowriders we have something for everybody and we want to deliver the best quality products at the best price..
My target market are usually middle class, blue collar people; our clothing brand's price ranges from $25-35 so it is something we all can afford. It doesn't mater who you are everyone loves convenience, we plan on selling our clothing at car shows and swapmeets because that's where our target market is. Car shows will be the places we must sell at because that is where we will make the most business when we start up. After starting our Instagram account and eventually a website for online shopping so getting our products will be a breeze. Our target market isn't a complicated bunch of people, we are families, we value our unity and pride in our culture and we want to represent these values with our clothing line
Week Five Part One
After browsing the Armstrong Garden Centers and Myrtle Creek websites I found many things that I liked about both and many things they can learn off each other. I would like to start off with what I liked about the Armstrong Garden Centers is how colorful, interactive and well organized it is. I think it's perfect design to put the adds and new arrivals center stage, that way customers know whats new and what is on sale which will make customers want to buy their products. The website is bright, modern and fresh. The way they organized the lawn and garden tips, DIYs and job opportunities, with eye catching pictures and clear legible text are straightforward and engaging. At the top there are lists with their products, stores and store hours, classes, events and garden advice; overall I feel this is a well put together website with very few unmet needs.
The target market for the Armstrong Garden Centers range from men and women in their mid 20s to their late 60s. Usually targeting homeowners because gardening usually starts in the home, since they offer landscaping lay outs and advice for those looking to spruce up their homes.
The Myrtle Creek website is cute and rustic, it gives us that family owned, hidden in the hills kind of vibes. It is well organized and has everything you need to know right at the top; their location and store hours right at the top clear for you to see. Their website is more relaxed and isn't so in your face compared to Armstrong Gardens website, at the bottom is a great list of all their social media sites which is one thing they have that Armstrong Gardens website doesn't. While Myrtle Creeks website is well organized and is pleasant to look at there is an unmet need present in one of its categories, there is a section called Cafe Bloom and when you click on it there are few pictures of the food they serve but no further information such as operating hours or their menu.
Their target market is families, this farm style nursery has something for everyone with family events, a cafe, and gardening tips for gardeners and garden enthusiasts.Overall Armstrong Garden Centers is geared more towards home improvement and homeowners, it is a larger company with multiple stores across the state. Myrtle Creek is geared towards families it offers more than just plants and plant products compared to Armstrong Garden Centers; it is more of a place families go to enjoy the day.
The target market for the Armstrong Garden Centers range from men and women in their mid 20s to their late 60s. Usually targeting homeowners because gardening usually starts in the home, since they offer landscaping lay outs and advice for those looking to spruce up their homes.
The Myrtle Creek website is cute and rustic, it gives us that family owned, hidden in the hills kind of vibes. It is well organized and has everything you need to know right at the top; their location and store hours right at the top clear for you to see. Their website is more relaxed and isn't so in your face compared to Armstrong Gardens website, at the bottom is a great list of all their social media sites which is one thing they have that Armstrong Gardens website doesn't. While Myrtle Creeks website is well organized and is pleasant to look at there is an unmet need present in one of its categories, there is a section called Cafe Bloom and when you click on it there are few pictures of the food they serve but no further information such as operating hours or their menu.
Their target market is families, this farm style nursery has something for everyone with family events, a cafe, and gardening tips for gardeners and garden enthusiasts.Overall Armstrong Garden Centers is geared more towards home improvement and homeowners, it is a larger company with multiple stores across the state. Myrtle Creek is geared towards families it offers more than just plants and plant products compared to Armstrong Garden Centers; it is more of a place families go to enjoy the day.
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Week Four Assignment: The Impact of Design, Aesthetics, and Branding
First of all, I love the topic of aesthetics and the psychology of consumers. I love to observe what makes customers excited about a product and I love to observe how companies make an efficient approach to attracting customers. I feel this is essential for the survival of a brand, it's what gets the customers attention and what gets customers buying. Like bees looking for the biggest, brightest flower in the field; bees are like consumers, they see the flower and it looks good to them,so they dive in.
I've mentioned this brand in previous blogs and I am going to bring this brand up again, the best example of how design and aesthetics affect who buys their product is Bella Dona LA. I don't have any intentions on promoting this brand in any of my blogs, but I do feel they are so popular because of their aesthetics. Breaking down again on what this company is, it is a clothing brand. This clothing brand focuses mainly on the lowrider culture and Chicanx (non gender conforming Mexican Americans for those who are unfamiliar with term) themed clothing. In all of their Instagram posts the aesthetic highlights everyday life in the "hood", showing pictures of brown women modeling in front of a lowrider,eating out with friends or having a day at the beach.The color schemes presented are bright and usually filled with pastel colors like baby blue or a rosy pink with dashes of gold. Often their posts tend to bring back older traditions of Chicano culture and fashion and this appeals to many who find their work familiar because this is how many of us grew up as Chicanos. From personal experience I was attracted to this brand because I noticed how my lifestyle was so similar to the lifestyle being presented. It also attracts those who are barely finding out about Chicano culture and they fall in love with it. For example this brand sells worldwide and many people from Japan buy their clothing because Chicano culture in Japan is becoming a booming trend. Aesthetics are the reason trends start up and become all the rage, people love how it looks and they want to look like that too.
The topic of aesthetics always amazes me because I feel sometimes it can be problematic when you look deeper into it. Of course the colors and the quality of the picture or webpage can grab a persons attention, but is the product good? This is where we almost become like slaves to the machine because we are so attracted to the looks of things; we often don't take second thought to where these things come from, how they are made and who makes them. There are many great examples to this and I feel like the Supreme brand fits perfectly into this subject. Now I don't mean to bash at anyone persons' view to this brand but to me it is way too expensive for what it is. A simple white t-shirt from this brand with its logo is $75, I can get the exact same thing made at a small whole in the wall t-shirt stand for literally a third of that price. It's expensive but still people buy it, and why do we buy it? We buy it because of the aesthetics; it's simple, it's clean, it's trendy and the logo looks cool, therefore it is a successful clothing company all thanks to its aesthetics.
Overall, painting a pretty picture for people can cause us to feel a wide spectrum of emotions. People often don't think about the origins or the quality of a product,but they'll buy it because it came in a pretty package. It causes us to impulse buy, follow the trends, and it has the power to categorize people, or send out a message to certain audiences. It is in our nature to want pretty things;when picking fruit we always choose the one that may be the biggest, the brightest or the best looking because we believe it'll be the tastiest. Utilizing the power of aesthetics and proper branding can bring a business great success if used wisely.
I've mentioned this brand in previous blogs and I am going to bring this brand up again, the best example of how design and aesthetics affect who buys their product is Bella Dona LA. I don't have any intentions on promoting this brand in any of my blogs, but I do feel they are so popular because of their aesthetics. Breaking down again on what this company is, it is a clothing brand. This clothing brand focuses mainly on the lowrider culture and Chicanx (non gender conforming Mexican Americans for those who are unfamiliar with term) themed clothing. In all of their Instagram posts the aesthetic highlights everyday life in the "hood", showing pictures of brown women modeling in front of a lowrider,eating out with friends or having a day at the beach.The color schemes presented are bright and usually filled with pastel colors like baby blue or a rosy pink with dashes of gold. Often their posts tend to bring back older traditions of Chicano culture and fashion and this appeals to many who find their work familiar because this is how many of us grew up as Chicanos. From personal experience I was attracted to this brand because I noticed how my lifestyle was so similar to the lifestyle being presented. It also attracts those who are barely finding out about Chicano culture and they fall in love with it. For example this brand sells worldwide and many people from Japan buy their clothing because Chicano culture in Japan is becoming a booming trend. Aesthetics are the reason trends start up and become all the rage, people love how it looks and they want to look like that too.
The topic of aesthetics always amazes me because I feel sometimes it can be problematic when you look deeper into it. Of course the colors and the quality of the picture or webpage can grab a persons attention, but is the product good? This is where we almost become like slaves to the machine because we are so attracted to the looks of things; we often don't take second thought to where these things come from, how they are made and who makes them. There are many great examples to this and I feel like the Supreme brand fits perfectly into this subject. Now I don't mean to bash at anyone persons' view to this brand but to me it is way too expensive for what it is. A simple white t-shirt from this brand with its logo is $75, I can get the exact same thing made at a small whole in the wall t-shirt stand for literally a third of that price. It's expensive but still people buy it, and why do we buy it? We buy it because of the aesthetics; it's simple, it's clean, it's trendy and the logo looks cool, therefore it is a successful clothing company all thanks to its aesthetics.
Overall, painting a pretty picture for people can cause us to feel a wide spectrum of emotions. People often don't think about the origins or the quality of a product,but they'll buy it because it came in a pretty package. It causes us to impulse buy, follow the trends, and it has the power to categorize people, or send out a message to certain audiences. It is in our nature to want pretty things;when picking fruit we always choose the one that may be the biggest, the brightest or the best looking because we believe it'll be the tastiest. Utilizing the power of aesthetics and proper branding can bring a business great success if used wisely.
Thursday, September 5, 2019
Week Three Part Two
The first business I choose to write about is Suavecito Pomade (https://www.suavecito.com)
https://www.facebook.com/SuavecitoPomade latest post on September 3, 2019
https://twitter.com/suavecitopomade latest post on September 3, 2019
https://www.instagram.com/suavecitopomade/ latest post on September 5, 2019
https://www.youtube.com/user/suavecitopomade latest post on September 5, 2019
I feel this company uses their social medias fairly well, they utilize each platform as a way to effectively advertise their products. Suavecito pomade also promotes events they will be attending and selling their products as well as reposts of other people using their product. Its the most rounded usage or each platform in terms of aesthetics, promotion, and customer engagement.
Another company I find using their social media as a way to get their brand out is BellaDonaLa ( https://bella-dona.com/ )
https://twitter.com/belladonala latest post published April 27,2018
https://www.facebook.com/Bella-Do%C3%B1a-949503555078321/ latest post published December 10, 2018
https://www.instagram.com/belladonala/ latest post published September 5, 2019
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUGiuaOr37H-14XbIilyEtQ latest post published March 14, 2019
Bella Dona LA is an apparel company that mainly gets its customers from Instagram, they rely mostly on the aesthetics of a post and that I believe is what attracts people. Each and every one of their posts are filled with complimenting or monochromatic color schemes with hints of gold that are easy on the eyes. Many catch phrases and slogans are also used in many solid pastel color posts and apparel from rhinestone tube tops to airbrushed t shirts.
Glitter Heels (https://glitterheels.com/) is also another choice of mine because I feel their posts are a great example of keeping posts straight to the point of things
https://www.facebook.com/glitterheels latest post published January 22, 2018
https://twitter.com/glitterheels1 latest post published May 31, 2019
https://www.instagram.com/tiffanysglitterheels/ latest post published September 4, 2019
Glitter Heels is a self explanatory name with a single target market, pole dancers and pole dance enthusiasts. Each post keeps it straight and to the point, two feet modeling a pair of their latest style of glitter heels with a solid color backgrounds in order to keep the the heels the focal point of their posts. It's easy, It's simple and it gets its point across quite nicely. With thousands of likes and hundreds of comments this heel company's tactics have proved effective attracting customers with simple posts.
A local business I'd like to shed some light on is Northern Pine Brewing ( https://northernpinebrewing.com )
https://www.facebook.com/npbrewing/ latest post published May 4, 2019
https://twitter.com/pinebeers latest post published August 25, 2019
https://www.instagram.com/northernpinebrewing/ latest post published September 5, 2019
This Oceanside based brewery is a husband and wife owned business that is also most active on Instagram. Their content consists of earth tones and pictures of the owners in the brewery having a good time doing what they love. This brings a homey and inviting feel that reels customers in because of their laid back atmosphere.
The fifth business I'd like to share is Agave Girl Boutique (https://agavegirlboutique.com/)
https://www.facebook.com/AgaveGirlBoutique/ latest post published August 15, 2019
https://www.instagram.com/agave_girl_boutique/ latest post published September 5, 2019
Agave Girl Boutique is an apparel company that imports goods from Mexico, their main sources of goods come from Jalisco, Oaxaca, the Yucatan, and Chiapas. They're mostly active on Instagram and promote their brand on a daily basis. This brand uses social media to showcase their merchandise, as well as events they will be selling their products.
Overall, each of these five businesses make use of Instagram the most; four out of five use only Instagram even though they have other social media accounts. Suavecito Pomade is the company that makes the most use of each social media platform by staying active on each listed. Their content being well rounded as far as product reviews, demonstrations, videos, remaining active in events, and advertising their product. Instagram has been again proven the winner for the best social media to use for business. Each company makes use of aesthetics to reel customers in by keeping color palettes and visuals fun and stimulating.
https://www.facebook.com/SuavecitoPomade latest post on September 3, 2019
https://twitter.com/suavecitopomade latest post on September 3, 2019
https://www.instagram.com/suavecitopomade/ latest post on September 5, 2019
https://www.youtube.com/user/suavecitopomade latest post on September 5, 2019
I feel this company uses their social medias fairly well, they utilize each platform as a way to effectively advertise their products. Suavecito pomade also promotes events they will be attending and selling their products as well as reposts of other people using their product. Its the most rounded usage or each platform in terms of aesthetics, promotion, and customer engagement.
Another company I find using their social media as a way to get their brand out is BellaDonaLa ( https://bella-dona.com/ )
https://twitter.com/belladonala latest post published April 27,2018
https://www.facebook.com/Bella-Do%C3%B1a-949503555078321/ latest post published December 10, 2018
https://www.instagram.com/belladonala/ latest post published September 5, 2019
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUGiuaOr37H-14XbIilyEtQ latest post published March 14, 2019
Bella Dona LA is an apparel company that mainly gets its customers from Instagram, they rely mostly on the aesthetics of a post and that I believe is what attracts people. Each and every one of their posts are filled with complimenting or monochromatic color schemes with hints of gold that are easy on the eyes. Many catch phrases and slogans are also used in many solid pastel color posts and apparel from rhinestone tube tops to airbrushed t shirts.
Glitter Heels (https://glitterheels.com/) is also another choice of mine because I feel their posts are a great example of keeping posts straight to the point of things
https://www.facebook.com/glitterheels latest post published January 22, 2018
https://twitter.com/glitterheels1 latest post published May 31, 2019
https://www.instagram.com/tiffanysglitterheels/ latest post published September 4, 2019
Glitter Heels is a self explanatory name with a single target market, pole dancers and pole dance enthusiasts. Each post keeps it straight and to the point, two feet modeling a pair of their latest style of glitter heels with a solid color backgrounds in order to keep the the heels the focal point of their posts. It's easy, It's simple and it gets its point across quite nicely. With thousands of likes and hundreds of comments this heel company's tactics have proved effective attracting customers with simple posts.
A local business I'd like to shed some light on is Northern Pine Brewing ( https://northernpinebrewing.com )
https://www.facebook.com/npbrewing/ latest post published May 4, 2019
https://twitter.com/pinebeers latest post published August 25, 2019
https://www.instagram.com/northernpinebrewing/ latest post published September 5, 2019
This Oceanside based brewery is a husband and wife owned business that is also most active on Instagram. Their content consists of earth tones and pictures of the owners in the brewery having a good time doing what they love. This brings a homey and inviting feel that reels customers in because of their laid back atmosphere.
The fifth business I'd like to share is Agave Girl Boutique (https://agavegirlboutique.com/)
https://www.facebook.com/AgaveGirlBoutique/ latest post published August 15, 2019
https://www.instagram.com/agave_girl_boutique/ latest post published September 5, 2019
Agave Girl Boutique is an apparel company that imports goods from Mexico, their main sources of goods come from Jalisco, Oaxaca, the Yucatan, and Chiapas. They're mostly active on Instagram and promote their brand on a daily basis. This brand uses social media to showcase their merchandise, as well as events they will be selling their products.
Overall, each of these five businesses make use of Instagram the most; four out of five use only Instagram even though they have other social media accounts. Suavecito Pomade is the company that makes the most use of each social media platform by staying active on each listed. Their content being well rounded as far as product reviews, demonstrations, videos, remaining active in events, and advertising their product. Instagram has been again proven the winner for the best social media to use for business. Each company makes use of aesthetics to reel customers in by keeping color palettes and visuals fun and stimulating.
Week Three Part One: Communications Between Businesses and Consumers
Personally, I haven't had much experience with trying to communicate with a business through social media. Although I have had an experience where I did order something online and I had to email the company due to an error. I'm sure many of you are familiar with Suavecito Pomade, years ago I wanted to buy some of its product from their website and after weeks of waiting I never received my order in the mail. I had to do something about it, so instead of waiting longer I emailed the company and they emailed me back right away apologizing for the error. A couple of days later I received my package with a few extra goodies and a card that apologized again for the inconvenience and that they hope I enjoy the free extra products they sent me. Overall, this was a great experience when it came to customer service but emails are more direct and somewhat easier to sort; social media on the other hand, varies when responding to customers.
When having a business account on social media platforms, receiving customer feedback is a lot easier than it was before social media. Looking in the comments of your latest post can lead you to tons of feedback from customers whether it's good or bad; although it is easier to get feedback on social media it can become harder to respond to it all. Depending on how big your business is, you could have more than 1,000 followers and answering every single one of them can be difficult. A way that could help with responding to millions of customers on social media can be a simple post that responds to the questions most asked, it isn't very personal but it gets the job done.
If it was my own business with both negative and positive comments I'd respond in several different ways. To all the simply positive comments, I would either write a "thank you for your support" to each comment if there wasn't that many. If it was in large quantities of comments I'd use the appreciation post method for all my followers to see. Now when it comes to negative comments, I really don't have a certain way that I would respond. Handling negative comments constructively can improve your business; they could bring out the flaws that need fixing or they can help you find a way to make your product or service better. Other than that, negative comments would really just be tossed to the side there's no time to dwell on negative comments when running a business.
Monday, September 2, 2019
Week 1 Part 2 overview of social media
While reading chapter two of Dave Kerpen's book Likeable Social Media, I came to the conclusion that Facebook and Twitter are geared towards personal use. It is obvious that these social media powerhouses intend their users to post personal content due to the information it asks for. Facebook wants to know where you work, who your friends are, where you live, how old you are and your interests; this information we have provided helps Facebook partake in what is described in the book as hypertargeting. Twitter, being a conversation platform can be described as for more personal. People every day tweet about whatever is on their mind and may seem unconventional for businesses because its focus is on words rather than pictures.
I would like to throw in some thoughts about Instagram due to it being created by Facebook; I believe Instagram is best suited for business, however if anyone is aware of its algorithm that limits the amount of content from small business accounts that gets seen by their followers. I found this interesting because it is a tactic used by the company to promote personal, rather than business related usage thus making it harder for small businesses to gain followers or target an audience. I believe Instagram is best suited for business usage because Instagram due to its growing popularity, it relies totally on pictures, so more people are attracted to the aesthetics of the post which gains more followers and lastly it is easier to use.
With Facebook being the most used social media platform in the world it is made to work for both business and social purposes. Next comes Instagram, used for both business and social purposes and is exceptional at operating on both sides of the spectrum of home and business. Linkedin is used mainly for business purposes because it is a resume site, and businesses use it to find new employees to add on their team as well put their thoughts about their industry. Other social media accounts that are big on usage but more suited for personal use are Snapchat and Twitter. Twitter, during the last four years has been a hub for political conversation and has been a primary source for us to get the latest news on Donald Trump's latest blunder. Lastly we have Snapchat, this social media app takes us to a more personal level of communication. We can add people we know and send pictures to them and only them, as well as posting a public story for all our friends to see.
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Why I Chose This Template
Hello everyone, as you can see my template is a soft cherry blossom pink; while hummingbirds and plants are silhouettes presented in a darker shade of pink. I have chosen this template for a number of reasons, but the first reason is simple. I did chose this one because it stood out to me the most due to the previews of the templates being small and hard to see. After I got to see the detail in the template, I appreciated the calming effect it had on me considering pink is known to have calming psychological effects on the brain. The monochromatic background with a complimenting baby blue added in the middle is the perfect combination of style, and creativity while remaining subtle.
My third reason for sticking with this template is the hummingbirds, these tiny, fast flying flashes of emerald green and magenta are special to me. They are special to me for a number of reasons and one is heavily influenced by my culture. I am Mexican and I've been reading about the history of Mexico ever since I was in elementary school. Learning about the rich cultures of our indigenous peoples has been a subject I made sure I knew almost everything about; the Aztec empire has been the one I've read most about and hummingbirds were of great significance in Aztec society. One of their main deities was Huitzilopotchli, the god of the sun and war, (weet-zee-lo-potch-lee) who's name translates to "blue hummingbird on the left". Hummingbirds were also believed to be the reincarnations of fallen warriors and when they died became a part of the sun.
As for my fourth reason for choosing this template, hummingbirds are again the reason I've chosen to stick with this template. It is not a reason motivated by culture, but by my spiritual beliefs. I believe in being connected to Mother Nature and that all animals are sacred in a sense that they help to guide us in life. I believe to have four spirit guides in my life and a hummingbird is one of them; I see them everywhere I go on a daily basis. Hummingbirds are here to help us to enjoy the little things in life, as well as keeping ourselves in the present moment. They also symbolize love, happiness, endurance, perseverance, resilience and flexibility which I feel are all positive influences to have in any space whether it be online or in the physical world.
My fifth and final reason for sticking to this template is again because of the hummingbirds. In high school, my boyfriend was walking me to my art class and all of a sudden he saw a hummingbird hovering next to a bush filled with flowers. Knowing how much I love hummingbirds he pointed at the bush to show me but forgot what they were called and he just yelled out "it's a flying jalapeno!!". I looked at him confused, but then I saw the hummingbird and just laughed at the fact that they do look like flying jalapenos because they're small, slightly curved and green. Now every time I see a hummingbird I can't help but smile and laugh a little, but who can resist a smile when coming across such a beautiful and sophisticated bird ?
My third reason for sticking with this template is the hummingbirds, these tiny, fast flying flashes of emerald green and magenta are special to me. They are special to me for a number of reasons and one is heavily influenced by my culture. I am Mexican and I've been reading about the history of Mexico ever since I was in elementary school. Learning about the rich cultures of our indigenous peoples has been a subject I made sure I knew almost everything about; the Aztec empire has been the one I've read most about and hummingbirds were of great significance in Aztec society. One of their main deities was Huitzilopotchli, the god of the sun and war, (weet-zee-lo-potch-lee) who's name translates to "blue hummingbird on the left". Hummingbirds were also believed to be the reincarnations of fallen warriors and when they died became a part of the sun.
As for my fourth reason for choosing this template, hummingbirds are again the reason I've chosen to stick with this template. It is not a reason motivated by culture, but by my spiritual beliefs. I believe in being connected to Mother Nature and that all animals are sacred in a sense that they help to guide us in life. I believe to have four spirit guides in my life and a hummingbird is one of them; I see them everywhere I go on a daily basis. Hummingbirds are here to help us to enjoy the little things in life, as well as keeping ourselves in the present moment. They also symbolize love, happiness, endurance, perseverance, resilience and flexibility which I feel are all positive influences to have in any space whether it be online or in the physical world.
My fifth and final reason for sticking to this template is again because of the hummingbirds. In high school, my boyfriend was walking me to my art class and all of a sudden he saw a hummingbird hovering next to a bush filled with flowers. Knowing how much I love hummingbirds he pointed at the bush to show me but forgot what they were called and he just yelled out "it's a flying jalapeno!!". I looked at him confused, but then I saw the hummingbird and just laughed at the fact that they do look like flying jalapenos because they're small, slightly curved and green. Now every time I see a hummingbird I can't help but smile and laugh a little, but who can resist a smile when coming across such a beautiful and sophisticated bird ?
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