Thank you for a great experience!

My viewpoint on social media has definitely changed in the past 15 weeks. I came into this class with an open mind on social media and put what i have known aside for a little until this class was done. This class has taught me a lot of stuff that i did not know now that i even thought about. It is insane how you can advertise your business so effectively through social media. I have effectively learned how to find and promote business throughout social media. I really cannot be more thankful for the experience that i had during the time period of this class. Being on social media during this class made that experience so much better and also easier. I will use everything that i have learned while being enrolled into this class to help myself and others who may need help promoting their business through social media. Once again i am very thankful that i got to be involved with the beta of this class. It is an excellent class for everyone. No matter if you own a business or not. I hope EVERYONE has a successful experience with their businesses. GOOD LUCK EVERYONE.

Thanks.

Kyle Donnelly :)

Variables

As a photography business, i think Tumblr,Instagram and Flickr would suit me the best for what i am trying to accomplish. Before i have even started my business, i used all three of these sites and i know them so well. For my number one site i would most definitely use Tumblr. The reason that would be my number one site is because for me, it seems like it is the best and easiest way to start growing your business. With your pictures being able to get hundreds of thousands of notes(reblogs and likes). The more notes that you get, the more it will attract customers to your business from all around the world. My second top site would be Instagram. Instagram is a great way to be able to share with your followers and be able to connect with them easily. Unlike Tumblr, Instagram is a lot more difficult to get out there because most likely the only people that will be liking your pictures or videos are people that follow you. Flickr would be the last site of my choice because it is the most outdated. For people to find your profile on Flickr is just not as simple as it is on the other two. Flickr seems like it is mainly for the photographers who have that deep passion for photography or for people who do it for a living.

I would love to be able to hosts contests for customers who are willing to pay for a photography class to learn the ins and outs of it. I could track peoples progress as they become more experienced and see who has the most developed pictures.

I would use these sites a lot because that is the way that i plan to get my business out there.

Tumblr - Everyday. Depending on when i have the most free time during my day to sit down and pick out with pictures i want to post and that have the most potential to become popular.

Instagram - I would use Instagram everyday since i can post right from my phone.

Flickr - I would only use Flickr on the weekends. I would have to pick out my best photos from what i have taken throughout the week and upload them. I would only pick out what i think would look the best because it is such a photography site.

More Social Strategy

Being a small business, I do not have the money to that would allow me to hire anybody to run my marketing strategies. I love being the only one that is currently involved in my business because if i make a mistake, i learn from that and do my absolute best to never make that mistake again. I do not see the need to hire anyone in the near future unless i absolutely need them. Although Facebook is the most popular social media outlet out right now, i just do not enjoy it. I will continue to update it and keep my followers posted on what is coming up and any promotions that are in the near future. I love running a blog and i will continue to do that. I love being able to post up some of the pictures that i take to keep people interested and for other people to see. I love using instagram. Instagram is a great social media outlet for photographers like myself. Being able to take pictures with my iPhone is great to keep my followers interested in my work just from my phone.

I post a lot on Instagram and i will continue to do that. For me, i think it is important to keep my followers updated and interested in what is going on with myself and also my business. With instagram i can use the hashtag feature to easily interact with my followers and also for contests. I plan to use Tumblr for my main website just because you can post up full pictures which is great for me. It also allows you to easily interact with your followers and is also easy to hold contests on.

There are other social media outlets that are great for a lot of businesses but i do not find them useful for my own. Twitter is a perfect example. Twitter does not do a whole lot for myself or for my business because it is not the best place to be able to share my pictures and a lot of people do not have it that would be interested in my type of work and even if i did have it, it would be the last thing on my list to check.

Google Analytics

1) Event Tracking - I think one of the best tools that i could use for my business would be the event tracker. The reason i think this would be the best tool that Google Analytics provides is because it would allow me to see the what the visitors like. Being able to see what the visitors like would benefit me because i could post more of what gets the most attention. Being able to interact and post what gets the most attention can give you the chance to really build your business. If there are people who really like what you are doing with your business, that may want them to share it with their friends or with people they know who will like it.

2) Goal Flow - Goal flow is another awesome tool because it allows you to see where they enter and where they leave. This would give me the chance to see where i can improve to make my site and also my work better. If they leave on a certain page, they may not like that page and that gives me the chance to improve on that certain work. Being able to navigate throughout my site is very important to me and when there is a site that is hard to navigate through, the whole experience is made up of just frustration. So being able to build a site that is very easy to navigate through means a whole lot to me and i hope the customers really appreciate that.

Coupon

For me, i think a coupon that would give my customers a free photoshoot would be great because it would allow them to see if they like what kind of work i did and maybe make them want to use me for future shoots down the road. A free photoshoot would not include all of the little things that would come with a paid photoshoot, but if they wanted those little things done, maybe we could work a coupon out for that as well. Photoshoots can be kind of awkward so getting to work with people and them wanting to come back would make it awesome for the both of use because we would be getting to know eachother and it would also benefit me to get to know what they like.

Using Other Social Media Tools

1) Google+   - I feel like i could integrate Google+ into my strategy and my business in an easy and a very effective way. Being able to share your photos with others and other photographers around the world is a way to be able to connect and also to expand your skill and knowledge with others. In photography, collaborations are pretty well known and respected with most photographers and fans of certain photographers as well. Being able to connect with other photographers around the world can be helpful because it can lead to those collaborations and that can help you attract and broaden your audience and following.

2) Linkedin - This is actually a very interesting site that seems to be fairly easy to use and very easy to help you grow and expand as a business and as a professional. It seems to me that it doesn't just help you grow your business and help you find jobs, but also lets you expand your knowledge from what other are posting and even allows you to be able to help them with things you know that they are looking to learn. Sites like these are awesome in my opinion because it allows you to interact with others that are in your specific field or fields that can relate to yours.

3) Yelp - With the two most important sites out of the way, yelp is my third pick to help me expand my business. It is hard to explain how and why it can help your business grow especially now as people have become skeptical about the reviews posted on there as there have been companies that pay people to write good reviews about them to help attract customers. But as a photographer, it would be very difficult for me to be able to pay someone to write a review about me because I do not make a lot of money at what i do and money is definitely not the reason i do it. It can help me grow if someone is looking for a professional photographer and there happens to be a great and honest review, they may get in contact with me.

4) Feedly - Feedly seems like a network that could potentially work out for me very well if I had a big enough following. Since people would have to follow you to be able to see your work. It has the characteristics of a network that can potentially help out a lot of businesses. It could help me out by being able to advertise my work on my blog and people following be wherever they go since it can be downloaded for your smartphone.

Online Advertising: Marketing on Social Media

Marketing on social media can be a huge success for your and your business. It is very crucial to put your words in the right order in able to get the bang for your buck while advertising. It can make it or break it. It is hard to get your product out to the world if you do not advertise. You want to make sure that you are giving your customers a product that they will want to come back for again or buy a new product that you come out with in the future. You should make your website easy to navigate around so your customers and future customers are not wondering around your site looking for what they need. Make it simple and easy to find products. Going the paid advertising route is also a great idea if you know how to do it properly. You do not just want to throw your money away for advertising that may not even work. Plan out your ads before you go through with them so you can get the best results from them. You should also be active with your customers. Get back to their emails ASAP. Your customers are your main priority because they will be the ones buying and using the products. You can even do giveaways of some of your products to your customers.

Blogs I Commented On

1) http://www.parydise.blogspot.com/

2) http://www.beckybeamer-csit155.blogspot.com/

3) http://jessicaipina.blogspot.com/

Online Advertising

A photography business is not the easiest to advertise because it is hard to generate enough money to be able to put out advertisements. Facebook advertising would be great for my business because there are so many people on Facebook and there is a good chance a substantial amount of people will see your page. I think placing a photography advertisement on facebook would be a great idea since there are a lot of people my age who do like photography and a lot of people who are trying to become models who might need their pictures taken so they can send them in. Facebook advertising would definitely be the way to go for me and by business because people take an interest in photography and there are a lot of those people on Facebook. As for Twitter, not as many people will see your Ad and its not as easy to be able to post what you want since you are limited to what you can say. Facebook would help me target those of all ages. Families that want to get family pictures, christmas cards, weddings, etc..

  

The Advertisement tags i chose were the most simplest ones targeting people who are just interested in photography. 

The second set i added words that would attract people who need a photographer for a certain event. 

Blogs i commented on

1) http://beckybeamer-csit155.blogspot.com/

2) http://deesocialmediajourney.blogspot.com/

3) http://loricargile.blogspot.com/

Newsletter

As a photography business, there is not really that much that i could possible include in a newsletter. Since i do not really have anything to sell, besides taking the photos, there is not a whole lot to give deals on. If i were to do a newsletter, i would include discounted prices for an individual, a couple, weddings, and so on. If i were to end up sending out a newsletter, i would send it out twice a year. The reason i would send it out twice a year is because i need to make a living myself. So if i were to send it out, i could possibly gain new customers and they can also tell their friends or family who are looking to get some pictures done about my business. Since there are not many things that i could offer from a newsletter, i do not think my customers would mind because it is photography.

Categories

Categories that would go perfectly with my blog would be photography, models, photoshoot, nature, lights, and buildings. These categories would help my business grow in the biggest way because they are categories that people search for to find good photography and also categories that they can also benefit from since they will be able to see your work and maybe even hire you for events and photoshoots. In photography, people being able to see your work before they hire you is key, just like everything else.

Blogs I left comments on:

1) http://www.parydise.blogspot.com/

2) http://ihadmorefunasakid.blogspot.com/

3) http://areyousocialwiththemedia.blogspot.com/

Google Analytics

Blogging for business

For me and my business, i think i can get very personal on my blog since my business is photography. In my opinion, photos have a lot of personality and that it was makes some of the greatest photos so great. When doing a photoshoot, personality comes in to play a huge role, and i think that is how it should be on your blog. When your customers can know some decent information about you or your business, they may even bring it upon their friends and family that they really like you and your business and advise them to check it out for yourself. It makes sense to add personality to your business whenever you feel comfortable adding it. In my opinion, you should never add it just to try and grow. If you want to get to know your customers and want them to get to know you, i think that is a great time to add it also.

How i found my twitter connections

Since i have been familiar with Twitter for quite some time, it was not difficult at all for me to be able to find the connections that i wanted to. And knowing them personally, i know what their Twitter names are and have for a while now. I did not have to play around with words to be able to find them, i just went and typed in their name. I ended up following the people that i know and that can help promote my business and be able to get the best result from those select people.

Similar Businesses

1. EvanThompson Photography. Even is using Tumblr to show some of his photos to interest people to hire him for jobs and photoshoots around the world. He responds to the questions that his fans and followers ask him through Tumblr which will attract more people because it shows that he cares about them. Without social media and the way that he uses it, he would not be in the place that he is without it and also without his technique.

2. Sean O'Donnell, SPObabbby. Sean also uses Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram to allow himself to post pictures that he takes for fun, business, and it allows him to connect with his fans. He doesn't only use it for business, but also uses it to be able to get in contact with some businesses he would like to work with, and they can also be able to connect with him. He is uses all three of these social media outlets very effectively and it has payed off for him.

Get Visual

In todays day and age it is hard to find a successful business without them being on social media. Since I am doing a photography business social media is definitely right for me to help me grow my business and to be able to show some of my work. For me, YouTube would be the least helpful for my business because it is not really a place that you can post pictures and that is what my business is all about. Instagram is a great platform for me because it is meant for pictures and it is a place that you can post very quickly and that can be very effective. It can also show your work in a very simple way. Tumblr is also a great platform for me because you can post full size pictures and they can be easily shared with people throughout the world. Unlike Instagram, people do not have to be following your profile to be able to see your pictures. People do not have to follow you on Instagram but it is very unlikely that they will see your pictures. Personally i do not use pintrest but i think it is a great platform for businesses. It is a place that a ton of people can see your brand and products. In my opinion Tumblr would be the most effective way to share my content and grow my business.

Activity Log

These certain events will engage my audience by getting my name and photography out there for other people or companies to hire me for their photo needs. A photoshoot with Click Model Management will help me reach out to other companies or have them reach out to me for business since i would have Click as a good reference. A photoshoot with Sean will help me grow and reach out to different types of audiences. Whether it is for modeling, acting, singing, or just if you want your pictures taken. And a christmas card with the Brooks brothers will help me grow my audience to families who want their family pictures taken for cards, or just their house.

Why i liked the pages i liked

The reason i liked the pages I did on my FaceBook page is because they all have one thing in common and that is being able to work for them and helping them out as they help me out. The pages that i liked i have either already worked for or i am in contact to be working with them in the near future and that is why i chose them. They will help grow my business because they all have a large fan base and not only is that good for me, but it is good for them to be able to share what we are working on for the future.

Difference between post reach and post engagement

Post Reach tells the user how many people have seen the post in their newsfeed.
Post Engagement tells you how many people are interacting with your content which means how many posts, likes, shares, comments, or clicks.

Businesses can benefit from these features by telling who is interested in their business. They can better their customers by seeing that they have commented on their post and be able to answer whatever questions that their customers might have.

Two Websites I Use Frequently

1.http://www.m3post.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=64
   
    . Effective because it is easy to navigate around the site and easy to find what you need, especially because of the search bar.
    . The design is very simple for a forum. Some forums can get very confusing and complicated.
    . I come back because it is something i am very interested in. Forum members are awesome.
    . I think they could add a new design but keep the effectiveness.

2.http://rastaclat.com/

    . It is effective because it is easy to find what you want. Being able to sort through dates and certain categories, you will find what you want very quick.
    . The design is simple and very clean.
    . I come back to this site because it is a great product and i love purchasing from them.
    . A thing that can be improved is the way you sort out the products.

Week Three: Aesthetics, Design & Branding

www.ford.com - Problems
1. Homepage is very crowded and bombards you with pictures and text. Hard to navigate around
2. Loads slow when you click on some of the links due to the fact that there is so much that needs to be loaded.
3. Text is small and hard to see on some of the pages.
This website could easily be improved by focusing on having separate pages for separate vehicles instead of having them crowded on the first page.

http://swagelok.com/ - Problems
1. Text is very small throughout the whole website
2. No place on contact
3. Some of the links on the website could definitely be bigger due to the fact that you cannot see them and no name of the link shows when you hover over it
They could definitely improve the text for the writing and also the text for the links. You really do not have an idea what you are clicking on.

www.toyota.com - Good Website
1. Very good size text and very simple design
2. Easy to navigate around and be able to find out the information you need to quick
3. Pictures were clearly marked with the most important information you need to know
The way you can navigate in ease through the website is key to someone who wants to get on and get off right are they find the information that they need instead of looking for minutes trying just to get there.

www.apple.com - Good Website
1. Beautiful mix of colors and easy navigation links
2. Videos on the products that you are looking at and detailed descriptions
3. Easy to find and contact apple directly through a chat or by email or phone.
Design is very key to apples website since they are a company that is looked at very highly. The simplicity to the website is incredible and the colors make the website beautiful.

Five examples of business websites and the social media they are using

1.http://www.symbolicmotors.com/

Bottom left corner of the page, FaceBook, Twitter, YouTube, Blogger, Ebay, Instagram, Tumblr

2.http://www.rastaclat.com

Bottom of the page, FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram, Mailing List

3.http://www.activerideshop.com/

3/4 of the way down on the right side of the page, FaceBook, Twitter, Tumblr, YouTube

4. http://www.alexanderwang.com/

Bottom right corner of the page, Facebook, Twitter, Mailing List

5.http://www.ysl.com/

Link on left side of the page, FaceBook, Twitter, YouTube

Communicating with businesses

Communicating with a business is not always easy. If the business you are trying to communicate with is well known, you can just imagine how many emails they are getting daily. Having multiple ways to contact a business is always helpful. Social media would definitely make it easier to get noticed and it would also make resolving problems much faster in my personal opinion. I have had multiple successful experiences connecting with a business through social media. I sent numerous emails to the company that I was trying to contact but they would always take forever to respond and to be honest it gets very frustrating. I finally took the social media route to get in contact with them and they got back to me within a few hours. There are of course going to be some positive and negatives from the social media aspect, but most of my experiences thus far have been very positive and it has made connecting with business a lot easier.

What's the best social media website?

In my social media experience there are definitely website that are geared towards business and also some that are geared towards personal use. I would have to say that Facebook is geared towards personal use. If i had to chose which social media network i would say is the best for business it would either be Instagram or Twitter. I say instagram because you can post pictures almost instantly and advertise your new products that are coming out. I would also say Twitter due to the fact that you can interact with and respond to customers very quickly and that makes for a lot of help and questions that need to be answered quickly, and also for other customers that may have had the same question.

Template Choice

As i was looking for a template to use for my blog, i didn't really come across any that just really stood out to me. I'm more of a simple person when it comes to looks for websites and also for blogs. When they get too complicated everything starts to look cramped together and that it just the look that I am personally not going for. Simplicity is the key to brilliance for me. When you are able to navigate around your blog and others simply, that makes everything much better and of course faster. When you are searching for a link on a blog and you cannot find it, you may get frustrated and just leave that blog and this is something you don't want as a blog operator.