Week 13 Part A: Online Advertising- Analysis of the Marketplace

 A sponsored post that I came across on Facebook was I love Skin Treatments in Escondido. They are all about skin care, mostly facials. What calls my attention is the machine they use to advertise skin tightness and rejuvenation. An actual video of a client getting the procedure done and the cost of it. Their call to action is for a limited time, the cost of this procedure will be $60 as opposed to $250. Normally they require a deposit but this time it's not necessary. It's a strategy to get new clients and turn them into members. Once I clicked on the link, it brought me to their calendar of availability for booking. It also showed pictures of results from members and ratings. Macorner Decor is another sponsored post that showed up on my Instagram. They are a home decor company that personalizes, fun, and meaningful merchandise. What caught my attention were the personalized Christmas ornaments. With the holidays coming up, what a great idea to give as gifts or to even decorate your tree with. I think they're call to action is personalization decor. Not just with ornaments, but with apparel, tumblers, and pillows and blankets. Definitely sentimental gifts. They do use imagery to promote their company which is effective. Once I saw their ad, I actually purchased two ornaments from them. One for our family and one for my husband and I as a 9-year wedding anniversary gift. I clicked on the link, and it brought me to their website. There are four tabs. Ornament, pillow, blanket, and tumbler. All are available for personalization. I feel like the ads were not annoying. I actually liked seeing them as they give me ideas for self-care and gifts. 

In comparison to traditional advertising versus social media, I would say that the skincare company would succeed in fashion/beauty magazines. The market for those who read that type of magazines are usually finding ways to refreshen their skin appearance. As for the personalized decoration company, I think they would also do well in magazines. At least there's imagery of the brand. For someone who is not computer savvy, traditional advertising would be best. Before my grandmother passed away, she would find things in the newspaper or magazine and circle or cut out and show them to me. Then I would have to get on my computer and do more research on what she found. 

I feel that some online advertisements are intrusive. I'm sure it's the algorithm on what I've visited on a page but did not have further interaction with it. I " liked" a friend's winery and a few days later, I'm noticing many bevmo and total wine and more ads on my feed. Weird. Funny thing is we aren't wine enthusiasts. 

Week 12 Part B: Business Specific Tools

 I commented on Alex's post and felt the drive he has for his business. I admire the determination to keep his customers happy. He mentioned about using yelp to stay engaged and if there were negative comments, he would take them as constructive criticism. He thrives on customer service quality. Also using live streaming with Instagram, TikTok, and twitch. All live streaming apps to keep that personal relationship with his consumers. 

Towa who is in my group, mentioned about using music sites to advertise his business. Soundcloud being one that you can stream music a person made for free. As for apple music, the only comparison is paying for it.

Max wrote about Meetups. He and I had a similar experience with finding dance classes. It's a great way to network from a business standpoint and meet people in the same industry as you. 

Pablo is the last person I commented on. LinkedIn is a great tool in recruiting employees through the " jobs" tab. Discussions boards about clothing-related topics and articles about everything. Similar business industry helping each other out with advice or tools to help be successful. 

In conclusion, not every business tool is going to work with some of my classmate's ideas. We all have different establishments and demographics/psychographics. Although, I did find it helpful, that LinkedIn is beyond then a job seeking site. Groups and articles are interesting to read about. I've only used LinkedIn for a year and now I'm constantly on it and reading about marketing stuff. Business trends along with luxury fashion brand discussion boards. 

Week 12 Part A: Using Business Specific Online Tools

Our business has always been part of the Encinitas community. The collaboration online tools I read upon was intriguing. Although. I did not find anything pertaining to my business on the Snack Nation website. I have my own personal LinkedIn account and did some research pertaining to the donut shop. The search groups I came across were, local Entrepeneur's, small business owners, and cake and donuts. The two groups basically explain what we already covered in class. Marketing ourselves and how we differentiate from our competitors. Creating content on social media that's eye opening, clean font, along with being consistent. 

I think Meet Up would be a great asset for us. For example, if there is a up and coming coffee business, we can collaborate with each other. From attending workshops or seminars in the same industry. They distribute their coffee to us along with them offering our donuts to their own customers.  According to my husband, this past September was the International Baking Industry Exposition at the Las Vegas Convention Center. We are already planning on attending next year and looking forward to it. 

Since we do have a store front, google maps has already established our location. Google business would not be a utilized platform compared to yelp. However, things may change when we take over. For now, yelp is what we are currently using. Overall rating, we have 27 reviews. My husband has some ideas to making the donut shop more up to date along with many changes in the future. It's difficult trying to change the mindset of a business owner of 35 years. They're mentality is, " if it's not broken, then why fix it."

Week 11 Part B: Marketing with other Social Media

 The following classmates that I commented on their blogs are Max, Amy, and Emmanuel. Two of my classmates chose TikTok. Both agreed how big the network is in terms of users, influencers, along with promoting businesses. A group member and I have in common is that TikTok was a great app to entertain ourselves during the pandemic lockdown 2 years ago. When businesses were closed, they relied on social media marketing to stay afloat, in which TikTok surpassed the defining moment of hardship.

Another classmate researched LinkedIn. We both see eye to eye as it being a professional social network and less business promoting. Comparatively, we both utilize LinkedIn for potential career opportunities and making connections with ideal companies. One topic that I was not aware of is that you can use LinkedIn to organize offline events. Good to know.

In conclusion I feel that any social media platform will be prominent when it comes to promoting business, networking, and all the great things it does now. It will only advance as the years come even with a new owner of a specific social media platform. Not only is it progressing, but it is sustainable. I really enjoyed this assignment. It definitely made me go in depth about each digital marketing organization.

Week 11 Part A: Marketing with Twitter, TikTok, Google for Business, LinkedIn, and more

 Another digital marketing platform I chose is twitter for business. With Elon Musk taking over, I'm curious to see what changes he makes for improvement on the app. Meanwhile, twitter would be conveniently best for us. We take pride on the images we post on Instagram which can link to our twitter account. In week 8 of class, we learned about hashtags while posting on social media. It coincides with the platforms we already use and kind of mastered it. 

With twitter we understand that it can be impactful or can come with some negative feedback from unhappy customers. For us we would rectify the issue before it escalates worse. We like to keep the integrity of our shop and address any conflict with unhappy consumers. Although, we do have a solid client base, we still want to expand. Trying to keep our reputation afloat we need to make sure all are satisfied in product and service. Anyone can send us direct message via twitter if they want to be confidential. 

For twitter I would collaborate with other businesses and add @ mention to tag one another. Special events such as, the Del Mar Fair or street markets we can shoot a tweet letting everyone know that we will be there. Easy and quick way of communicating to our followers. 

In the link that was provided for twitter it mentioned about limitations on posting videos. 2-minute videos would be ideal. We definitely don't have a problem with that and think that's great. I would not want to over saturate my content of posting long videos. The option of adding a graphic interchange format (GIF) is pretty neat. I think it gives our business a sense of humor. There was one of Homer Simpson passing out with a donut in his mouth because he was full. I thought was pretty funny.

For us to be successful in the twitter platform we would need to be tweeting consistently and joining twitter chat. Coexisting with the hashtags we already use and inputting it into a chat with our business and what we have to offer. Twitter chat would be a great source of networking and potentially gain more followers.

Week 10 Part B: Developing a ENewsletter

 I commented on Megan, Pablo, and Sarah,

Week 10 Part A: Researching Email Marketing

 Being in the food and service industry for over 35 years, email marketing would be another add on to drive more business for us. Ideally, we would email monthly or during major holidays and local events, to spread awareness of what we have to offer and our location. 

The information we can use in a newsletter would be special orders for any occasion.  Last year we had a client who requested 100 dozen Sufganiyot (jelly donuts) for Hanukkah. Another year, we had Scripps Encinitas Hospital asking for 12 dozen donuts for their holiday party. We also offer boba in 20 different flavors and among other items. During the holidays, schools, churches, and companies will have their gatherings prior to the actual celebration day.  This weekend Halloween donuts was our special. Encinitas Unified School District is returning back from fall break and Halloween just so happens to be this Monday, a few orders have been inquired. 

A few newsletters I'm currently subscribed to is Young Living Essential Oils. I partake in these during the colder months. I usually look for promotions for holiday items and stocking stuffers. Also, how I can help boost our immune system the natural way. Another one I look forward to is my son's elementary school newsletter, Wildcat Weekly.  These are sent every week which I don't mind. All the upcoming events and lunch menu is very informative for our family. This week is Red Ribbon Week. Every student and staff member are encouraged to participate each theme of the day. 

I just signed up for our competitor's newsletter, VG Donut and Bakery.  Once I receive a newsletter from them, I will definitely keep the class updated.