Nancy's CSIT 155 - Fall 2021 Class Blog

Today I commented on the following blogs :  Sean Conti, Laura Dominguez, Andrew Estelle, and Kate Strong.

Use of social media to promote and maintain a business' brand is certainly a must in today's business world. It can definitely be a time consuming chore for those lacking social media acumen. This makes using social media management software an attractive component for a business' marketing arsenal. Most small business owners are constantly on the go. Keeping this in mind, I would seek out social media management software that offers a mobile app. The six social media management software platforms from Investopedia's article that offer a mobile app are: Sprout Social, Hootsuite, Zoho, Sendible, Buffer, and Social Pilot. Another important consideration is the cost to maintain the software. Sprout Social has a 30 day free offer with the lowest paid subscription at $89.00 a month. Hootsuite has a 30 day free offer with its lowest paid subscription at $49.00 a month. Zoho has a 15 day free offer with its lowest paid monthly subscription at $10.00 a month. Sendible has a 14 ...

I actually approached this assignment with much trepidation as I have zilch experience with advertising. For my ad preplanning I just followed the assignment directives to encourage people to visit my website and to like my Facebook page. Whenever I get an email or post that offers free shipping, I see if there's anything I'm interested in on that site. Keeping this in mind, I decided to add a seasonal Thanksgiving free shipping post too. My first ad follows the first rule of social media, which is to be likeable. It asks Fellow Flower Lovers to like my Facebook page. I created it using a picture from my own garden that I uploaded into Facebook's Ad creator. I was floored by how easy the ad creator is to use. My second ad is a seasonal Thanksgiving ad offering free shipping for orders placed on November 25, 2021. It's a one day offer that hopefully will generate a lot of sales in a short period of time. The ad, created with the Facebook Ad creator, features a recent pic...

Advertising that's likeable represents a true dichotomy to me since I find most ads to be annoying. Likeability is the goal for social media advertising nowadays. Likes that lead to an eventual sale is a successful strategy common for Facebook and Instagram ads.  Currently my Instagram feed is filled with sponsored ads blasting their "Holiday Sales" call to action to an excessive degree. The font is really large, sometimes pulsing, and overshadows the visual image. There's so much visual overstimulation this time of year, that I find less to be more effective. Parks Project had an ad in my Instagram feed that enticed me to click on their "view shop" link. The ad featured two nature lovers wearing Zion National Park long sleeve tees. I clicked on the "view shop" link which took me to their Facebook business shop. Scrolling through their products, I clicked on one which listed the price, a detailed description, a link to message Parks Project, and an...

Photo by  Nataliya Vaitkevich  from  Pexels First off, mea culpa! I did not apply my research for the 12 A blog post wholly and specifically to my chosen business. Apologies aside, I want to commend my fellow classmates for aligning their research thoughtfully with their chosen businesses. The blogs I commented on are: Sean Conti's, Andrew Estelle's, Kate Strong's, and Jinx Hu's. The use of TikTok to reach a target audience for their business was discussed by both Sean and Andrew. This is certainly a savvy use of a platform that is currently hot to appeal to a target audience and/or video loving audiences. Google for Business was discussed by Sean, Kate, and Jinx as a way to boost and solidify their business brand. Positive Google reviews will only help every type of business out there. Jinx also mentioned how helpful it is to have a business be located via Google Maps. I know that checking a new business' location on Maps is one of the first things I do. I frequent...

After reading Snack Nation's blog article "35 Best Online Collaboration Tools & Software Platforms For Business Teams That Are Irrefutably Awesome In 2021," I would like to share three sites from the article that stood out to me. Nectar is an employee recognition and rewards software that increases online collaboration within a business. Its feed is an efficient way for companies to recognize employees either through management or peer posts. Bonuses, awards, and challenges can also be posted through the program. Nectar connects with other tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and many global gift cards. It has a free version and a paid version that charges per active user. Public recognition and rewards are terrific motivators and certainly help with employee satisfaction and retention. FreeConferenceCall.com  is a free teleconferencing platform, with international capabilities, that has been around for 20 years. Users can teleconference via landline, mobile, or over an...

Photo by  Diego PH  on  Unsplash My classmates' posts opened my eyes to different ways and approaches to using LinkedIn, Twitter, and Social Media Influencers. Moving forward, I will keep their ideas and insights in mind when using these types of social media for business use. Sean Conti pointed out the variables found in Twitter a business can tap into such as news updates, immediate responses, and its vast number of users. He also pointed out that LinkedIn is a good platform with resources to help and foster a business. Andrew Estelle shared a number of terrific insights about Social Media Influencers. One in particular is their ability to connect emotionally with their followers. He also discussed the importance of analyzing the Influencer to determine if they are a good fit for your product or business. Kate Strong really knows LinkedIn's various features and their utilizations for use with her recruitment business. Her approach to post regularly about recruitment opp...

  When I think about marketing a business with Twitter, LinkedIn, Google for Business, or with a Social Influencer, I feel it's critical to take the time to think through all facets of the business first. My fictitious business of floral wall art is one in which I will be handling all aspects of it. Any marketing social media platform I use will be one that I can comfortably maintain and also complement my business. It's important to devise a strategy for using the platform in order to protect, promote, and preserve your brand. To me, using Twitter is like bodysurfing. Sometimes you catch a great ride, other times you eat sand, and there are times you don't catch a wave at all. You really need to put forethought into your use of Twitter before you start to use it especially for business marketing. It could be a profitable platform for my floral wall art business as my initial research revealed that a lot of people like to tweet pictures of their new floral wall art along wi...

Just finished my adventure with Mail Chimp. I commented on the following blog posts and wish them all the best with their Mail Chimp adventures: Sean Conti, Andrew Estelle, Katie Strong.