Week 16 Part A: Developing Your Marketing Strategy

Early on in this class we were asked to research other businesses similar to ours or in our business' field and their use of social media. I remember being really surprised at DKNG, an extremely successful LA creative studio, and their use of Pinterest. Now I realize that their extensive posts on Pinterest came from their own personal enjoyment of that social media platform. A point well taken is that social media for your business doesn't have to be entirely business. It's ok to be yourself.

Blogger - I have used Blogger before and I remember when setting up my blog to use elements, pictures, fonts, and colors that I could live with for the duration of the class. I also made a conscious effort to add a new photo to each post for engagement value. I didn't want my blog to just be writing. While my business is a floral wall art photography business, writing a blog about flowers is something I am highly interested in pursuing. I did a little research on flower photography blogs and there was only one flower photographer who wrote more about flowers than photography. My goal is to connect with fellow flower lovers. I am planning on adding a subscription widget to my blog in an effort to gain a loyal following. I'm planning on posting one post a month on either a featured flower or a seasonal flower. All pictures will be taken by me. Accompanying the picture will be flower facts, history, and uses. I plan on posting to the blog once a month.

I did consider producing a newsletter, but I found Mail Chimp to be a bit clunky, time consuming, and was unable to produce the product I hoped to create. I also feel I could spread out some of the elements found in a newsletter in Facebook and Instagram posts. A slice of information appears to be more effective than a deluge when dealing with social media.

Facebook - My Facebook business page is something I would continue to maintain simply because of its possible reach, features, and Insights available on the platform. I would first give my page a makeover though. I would replace the page cover photo and add more to my story. I would probably post once a week and would try to make my posts engaging with surveys and shares.

Instagram - I also plan on continuing my Instagram Business. It's easy to use and provides a lot of opportunity for localized reach. I find that I am still picking up followers on this page and at times am following them back. I often times like the flower pictures that just show up in my feed too. I plan on posting once a week too as that is a doable goal for me. I'm thinking about posting about local flower finds and events.

While I created a fake website for my floral wall art business through Google Drive, making it an actual business is beyond my capabilities at this time. I will probably try to sell work through a print on demand site like fineartamerica. With time and experience I may try to sell via Merch by Amazon. No matter which platform I am selling through, I will always need to maintain social media marketing strategies.