So So Happy Study

Autum Bredmose

So-So Happy is a company that was started in 1999 and donates 10% of its profits to various charities. They offer clothing

So So Happy’s Twitter Presence

With almost 2,000 tweets and almost 5,000 followers, So So Happy has a large twitter base. They post many pictures and re-tweets. They know how to use Twitter to its fullest.

They try to tweet about every day.

Squishable’s Facebook Presence

So So Happy has almost 400,000 likes. They have contests, share photos, and write individuals back. They have a VERY strong Facebook presence

YouTube Presence

They also have a small YouTube following. They have 84 videos and 1,350 subscribers. The videos consist of  news about products and other cutesy videos aimed at teens and pre-teens.

Tumblr

They have a small Tumblr presence. They don’t update this platform as much as the others, but there are quite a few re-pins from their page.

Links Out

When you look at a product you can see there are several options they use to get their product out there. You can ‘Tweet’, ‘Like’, and ‘Send’ the product in a message.

They have a great social media button bar. Here are the links out are nicely displayed for users to click.

Summary

So So Happy has a growing base. I see them using Facebook and Twitter to reach their audience. 

Squishable Study

Autum Bredmose

I chose the Squisable industry. They were created by two people in 2007. They have grown in these five years and their online presence is quite large.

Squishable’s Twitter Presence

We can see that Squishable has almot 5,000 tweets. With almost 4,000 followers you can see that this company has a strong presence on Twitter. They use twitter to post about their products and get their customers involved.

Not only do the post but they quite frequently tweet back to people. This makes the company seem very human.

Squishable’s Facebook Presence

Squishable knows how to use Facebook to its full advantage. They constantly have caption contests and engaging contests. With over half-a-million likes, they know what they are doing.

Here you can see their interaction with their audience.  They let the customer feel like they are the ones making choices in the product, and they are helping make vital choices.

YouTube Presence

Youtube is not their strongest social media platform, but they do have almost 50,000 view, which is quite an achievement for a relatively small company.

Pinterest Presence

Again this isn’t their strongest platform, but they do have a small following on Pinterest. I imagine that this platform will grow as Pinterest grows.

Links Out

On the main squishable page they have links out that users can go to. They also have a mailing list you can sign up for as well. In the above screenshot you can see that they are highlighting their main platform for connecting with users (Facebook).

On their product page you also have the option to ‘Like’ the individual product.

Summary

Squishable has a huge, growing online presence. If they keep going the direction they are going now, it will be much larger. 

Twitter: Week 11

My Twitter:

https://twitter.com/Autum55828791

My Rankings:

Pepsi

Pepsi uses Twitter to show great deals and it is effective.

Nikon

Nikon posts a lot, but they always post deals and tips

Squishable

They use Twitter to get their customers involved. It's great marketing

Guidelines:

I think the guidelines pretty much fall under every other guideline we have discussed in this class thus far. Don't tweet anything that would offend people, don't use crass language, and use common sense. Like I said the guidelines are the same.

Twitter is better for some organizations. I think some companies don't want to regale people with long winded posts. Since there is a character limit on twitter, they can only post so much. The Squishable company utilizes all their social media platforms well, but they get more people interested by little tidbits on Twitter.

The social media sites I chose were: DeviantArt, Livejournal, and Pinterest

Deviantart:

Deviantart allows users to share their artwork with others. This is a great niche community. You can also sell your items. They offer deals on the items they sell. You can also purchase a premium membership that allows more options.

Livejounral:

Livejournal is a website that allows to write journal entries. This is a wonderful way to publish your thoughts and let loved ones know what is going on in your life. Livejournal offers premium services to users and they sell adspace.

Pinterest:

Pinterest really is the mother of all awesome things. I use pinterest to post ideas for parties, recipes, home improvemet, and pretty much anything that sparks my interest. It's a wonderful way to organize thoughts and ideas. I don't see too much marketing content, but it does have the option where users can look up gifts on mostly Etsy.Com. 

Week 8

My Video






Video 1

GREAT Coca Cola Video!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqT_dPApj9U

This was really cool! I like that they are implying that coca-cola can make people happy. These people will always remember that day and that it was coca-cola who helped them feel that way. I also thought it was really cool watching. It made me think.. "wow coca cola is a cool company" You can see that they are brightening the students day!


Video 2

Secret Deodorant
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBvr3hsdyCM&list=SP752687C36CACA483&index=3&feature=plcp

This video is funny and brings attention to the product.

Video 3
Meow Mix
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00M7CojclWM
Meow mix shares its videos online for many people to enjoy. The commercials are cute and clever. It's a good social media marketing plan any way you look at it.

Week 7

Part 1

1.https://www.facebook.com/squishabledotcom
This is the most effective use of social media marketing that I could find on my like pages. They engage their readers.You feel like you have a hand in making decisions WITH the company. It's really neat. They do contests, fun videos, share rough drawings of their products, and many other engaging, yet non-intrusive posts.

2.https://www.facebook.com/TheAnimalRescueSiteStore
This is the second most effective business I could find. They offer great deals. They have fun marketings strategies that like Squishable, engage the customers. They do have a tendency to over post.




3.https://www.facebook.com/LivingDeadDolls
This is the third most effective business I could find. They post well. The only problem I find, is that they tend to post weird things that have nothing to do with their products.


Google + and Facebook Comparison

According to these two websites:

http://mashable.com/2012/08/08/small-business-google-plus/
http://smallbusiness.foxbusiness.com/technology-web/2011/12/02/why-and-how-your-business-should-use-google/

I know a lot about facebook, but not much about Google +, so I did a bit of research. According to people ( I know you didn't want personal opinions, but I feel it's relevant) They say you shouldn't use google + because noone uses it. From a business standpoint, many researches say you should use it. Since google is one of the most popular search engines, it easily catalogues the places on google. You are more likely to find Blogger entries first than any other blogging platform because it does belong to google. The same can be said about a business on Google +. If you can get your business out there, you should use all the options available!

Like Google +, Facebook offers great SMM opportunities. I think the major difference between Google + and Facebook is the user base. I don't know anyone who uses Google +. I am not saying that everyone I know makes up the majority, but you would think someone would use it. You hear people talking about Facebook, not Google +. That in and of itself is something.

Week 6

Classmate's Blog

I chose this blog to review http://sirk7101.wordpress.com/

Post Number 1 (http://sirk7101.wordpress.com/2012/09/09/blog-3/)

I think this person gave a fine idea how to achieve social media marketing. They had good examples and easy explanations.

Post Number 2 (http://sirk7101.wordpress.com/2012/08/31/blog-1/)

They gave a very good detailed description on what social media marketing is.

Social Media Blog

I chose this blog as my focus for the social media marketing blog (http://www.scottmonty.com/)

Post Number 1 (http://www.scottmonty.com/2012/07/5-customer-centric-tips-for-small.html)

I really love these infographic posts for information. This post gives some tips for small businesses to utilize in marketing.  Here they are:

1. Get their email. And make sure you give them a reason to sign up.
2. Ask for reviews. Over 20% of reviews have local intent.
3. Give back. Find a local cause that you can get behind.
4. Change it up. Rotate your message or your creative.
5. Learn from your customers. They're smarter than you are about what they want.

Via:MinePress.com

These are normal marketing tips, but I think that businesses could use these tactics in social media marketing.

Post Number 2 (http://www.scottmonty.com/2012/04/if-titanic-had-twitter.html)

I thought this was one of the coolest posts I have ever seen. It's about what it would have been like if twitter was available to those who were sailing on the Titanic. It's cool to see how social media has shaped how we communicate  It's awesome to see how it would have been used.

3 Business Blogs

This is a blog I design for. It's not a business, but it is utilized by many people for product information

http://www.awesomesaucebookclub.com/

This blog is very effective in reviewing books and giving information to potential purchasers of novels.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

This is also not a business but is very useful at bringing news to the masses.

http://www.giantbomb.com/

This is similar to awesomesauce.com, only for games. They have reviews, videos, and a blog. They review games and also sell adspace.

Week #4 Assignment #4

Slide ShareSource:

 http://www.slideshare.net/stevelatham/social-media-strategy-spur-interactive

This presentation pretty much goes along with the presentations posted. The same general techniques are used for a good social media marketing strategy. In all the items reviewed, the planning has a pretty straightforward format.

Changes I would make to the Project Marketing Plan Format

I've read through the project several times and I honestly can't really see three things  that I would change. I think that in the project you address all of the things a company would look for in a good social media marketing plan.

You address the need to identify the audience and their needs.

You address the need for company goals.

You address similar business market research.

You address choosing the proper medium.

The only thing I would suggest in the project is the need to discuss with the client about realistic goals and how these goals will be achieved. A client may go into social media marketing thinking that all their business dreams are going to come true. I believe that there has to be a sense of grounding that needs to come along with the goal setting. That would protect that client and yourself from any unmet expectations.

Is it a good idea for an instructor to solicit changes to an assignment from his students?

I think it's a fantastic idea. I love the idea that we are learning together in some way. It's like you are admitting that this is new class and we can learn from each other. It's almost like you aren't implementing a system of hierarchy in the process. In some ways it's a lot like social media. You have many people offering advice and you are actually listening. It's a very cool idea.