Week # 14

Blog Post: After reading the text book assignment, write a blog post in response to this assignment:  

Review what you have covered in class this semester and the work you have done using the various social media platforms.

- Which ones integrate best with the type of business you have created?

- Which have you enjoyed using the most? The enthusiasm or lack there of for a type of media is often shared along with the posts we write. This class gave you an opportunity to experiment with a variety of them. Now you can focus in on what seems the most effective ones to use. 

- Which work best on a daily use pattern?

- Which can you still use effectively on a much less frequent time schedule?

The material we have covered in class has been quite extensive for Social Media. I feel like I've learned quite a bit. I hope to use this new information to create accounts for clients needing a manager for their online presence.

We learned how to set up a blog template and discussed the best ways of communicating with a business. I don't see how a business can survive without at least a Facebook page. Blogging has been the biggest part of this class. I have to admit, I hated it at first because I'm simply not used to writing on line for in depth discussion. I knew I needed this however because I will have to do this in the near future. It's getting a little easier. In time I'm sure it will be a piece of cake.

Commenting on our classmates blogs was also a little challenging mainly because of time in the school schedule. I realized this semester that you can meet your deadlines when you know each day when they are. If you don't check your schedule, your going to miss something... That will be huge when trying to balance several accounts.

We learned how to define our target market by looking at other peoples websites and we observed the differences between the sites that were provided to us.

We learned about using creating a Facebook page for a business. In doing this again I would do it a little differently. I opened my new business page under my personal email address. In the future I will create an email account (probably gmail) specifically for social media. 

For facebook we learned that it is important to go out and find businesses that would benefit from our business and to "like" those pages. I found that to be interesting. So many businesses are not on social media yet. Hmm potential clients? Possibly. We learned how to put a professional post together and to schedule several future posts. This will be valuable for managing client accounts. 

We learned about Twitter and built a landing for that account that matched our Facebook page. I finally learned how to "tweet". I also learned why a hashtag is used. It appears to "tag" other accounts using the same phrase. By adding the hashtag to your content, you are saying “Hey, I want to chime in on this discussion.” Others interested in that topic will see your content.

Constant contact was the email marketing company we used to learn about. I was already familiar with this company from my previous business. I like this company. I will use them again.

That  social media platforms that I will use after taking this class will consist of Facebook, Twitter, Blogging, Constant Contact Google Maps and Instagram or Pintrest. I think that tying these platforms all together will cover a full gamut of social media. I'm a little unsure about Instagram and Pintrest but a lot of people seem to post images so I imagine it keeps you in the loop. Oh yeah an occasional You Tube video may come into play as well. Video testimonials might be a good idea.

Daily use would definitely be Facebook and Twitter. I will probably schedule posts for at least two weeks in advance. And have my clients check the account twice daily to make sure they don't miss any questions or important comments. The blogging will probably be done 1-2 times a month, depending on the content found or provided and the events surrounding the blog.