CSIT155_S18:MarkB

Over the semester my understanding and use of social media has changed drastically.  I was somewhat familiar with Facebook and its capabilities, however only on a personal account level.  After getting into the business side, I was pleasantly surprised and excited to learn about the business capabilities, through the business page and the advertising opportunities.  In addition to Facebook, I learned about the other social media tools that will enhance my products and social media presence through the visual platforms.  Instagram and Pinterest I see as the best options for the visual platforms, but still see Facebook as the main hub. My viewpoint of social media has changed, and now realize that using it for personal use is one thing, but the opportunities for business are almost unlimited.  I thought that business use was a bit over the top and intrusive into the personal conversations on social media.  However, I have learned that most people are welcom...

Going back to the beginning of the year, I have tried out and experimented with and learned about various social media tools. I also learned about the importance and difference between bad and good design, researching competitors and defining target markets.  Beyond just adding posts and updates to social media and blogs and having an email campaign, I also was able to experiment and learn about purchased ads as well as boosting posts on Facebook.  I was able to set up Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Blogger and LinkedIn accounts to experiment and get familiar with each tool as well as learn the names of other useful social media channels. The best social media platforms that will integrate best into my type of business are the visual platforms.  Instagram, Pinterest and of course Facebook, but also because I am business to business, LinkedIn will also be useful.  I also plan on having a blog as well as an email campaign all integrated with my website.  Some of ...

After looking at my Facebook page Insights Data, I have to get familiar with the terminology and the significance of each activity name.  After some time I assume my familiarity will grow and the usefulness of each.  Looking through just the last week I can see some activity with a few page views, a reach of 5 and 35 post engagements which has gone down 85% since the following week.  This engagement looks like it went down because I did not have any posts this week.  I have 1 more page follower which is up 100%. Looking over the last 28 days looking back on all the data, it is obvious that when posts are made, that's when the engagement spikes up.  The biggest spike was on May 7th with my last post of 15% off of any custom logo sign.  It seems that this creates more interaction, although the reach is lower, the engagement and post clicks can be higher.  One post had high reach, but no clicks or reactions, and the lowest reach for the 15% off had high...

After viewing the Google Analytics page, I get overwhelmed with the technical information on all the features of the service.  I am not sure of what things I will need or not need until I start to use the features.  Going through them all, the data collection and management allows information about my data to be analyzed in a comprehensive view of customers and be customized to my needs.  The Data analysis and visualization can help me understand the reports and tools to see and understand customers from acquisition to purchase. The data activation section makes sense in that I have the ability to see demographic and interest data.  I can create audience lists based on information of age, gender and interests etc.  Also the Multi-Touch attribution that provides functionality to analyze the path to conversion across marketing touch points.  Also Predictive Analytics with smart lists and smart goals can tell me which users are most valuable to re-engage and...

An objective is something you want to attain, like a goal or target that you want to happen.  Some of the ads below will satisfy some of the objectives I have for my business.  Through my advertising, I want to regularly remind and create brand awareness, just letting business owners know that I make precision custom crafted business signs, using nice woods and other materials, and that the ordering process is one click away.  I will use photo imagery to lure the eyes in.  I also want people to view multiple products and show that there are different types of signs, and show those off visually using the carousel ad option on Facebook.  Through this I want to create traffic to the website so that people can view more of the product line.  On the website, they can get a quote or sign up for some offer by giving up their email. The next objective is to get some sort of engagement by offering a discount and having someone claim the discount by visiting the ...

Before making ads for Facebook and other social media, implementing good design, branding and aesthetics is necessary when developing all the parts of my brand visual components.  This all hinges on who my target audience is and how I will connect all my marketing tools, including, blog posts, tweets, website, posts and ads and how they will all work together.  Since I have several target markets for different products, each will have a tailored message and look for each outlet in my marketing mix.  With that in mind, I have researched some ads that I think will work well for my business. I really like the idea of Facebook ads and also very interested in LinkedIn for potential ads as well since my target market likely will be there.  Since Facebook is so familiar to me and so many billions of others, it will be my main interest.  Since they are also connected to Instagram, and ad purchases can also target Instagram I find this to me one of the best ad options....

Trying find similar businesses advertising was difficult to find.  I do remember the Office Sign Company was for a short while showing up on my feed on Facebook with ads for specific signs they made.  Another company that I cannot recall the name would show You Tube commercials almost every time I wanted to watch something.  They offered advice on how to mount a sign so that it can be moved if the business moved instead of sticking it to the wall.  I thought the advice may be handy for some business.  The video and narrator was a bit amateur which can be less effective.  Other than that I have not come across any competitor ads even while trying to look for them.  I found it to be difficult to find ads and advertising they use.  I will have to come back and add to this post if I come across more information on advertising. After reviewing ads from Facebook, Twitter and Instagram most or all of the ads had some sort of call to action.  Some...

Looking through LinkedIn and Google+ I find that groups and "communities" I Google+ are a great way to interact with likeminded people and business owners.  Using these features will be a must for my business, especially since I am a business to business, making other business contacts through groups can only help.  Of course I have to provide useful and relevant information and ideas, I am interested in looking for topics of interest that I can add my thoughts to.  Finding groups and making my own look easy on each of the mediums.  LinkedIn, with one click allows me to find groups that I may be interested in joining based on my interests.  It goes right to those groups without me having to go searching for them.  That is a good start, however I will spend some time finding others.  I would join my industry groups, but other groups that I think would be a target market, maybe to offer insight and useful information about signage and branding logos. ...

Additional online marketing tools I think that can benefit my business are LinkedIn and Google +.  I may also consider Yelp and Groupon, but as a business to business owner, the first two are more likely to be the best fit.  LinkedIn, as mentioned in the Get up to Speed with Online Marketing book by Jon Reed, states that LinkedIn is especially important for B2B businesses.  There I can make connections with other business people and owners.  This is my target audience so that medium will be a must for Mill Works.  Being right in the middle of networking for people that may be seeking my products is possibly the best social media forum even over Facebook and Twitter.  I will experimenting with all of them to see which one yields the best return. Google+ as mentioned on this website notes that it is good for B2B networking and is a bit more formal and professional than Facebook.  Another appeal is the keywords and search engine optimization on Google+ ...

Commented on the following: Maxim Carodonna: https://maximkcaradonna.blogspot.com/2018/04/week-11a-email-marketing.html?showComment=1524028978219#c941501778576293980 Jose Montiel: https://zenofmen.blogspot.com/2018/04/week-11-blog-post-1.html?showComment=1524029341731#c1290962910283466597 Chad Mullen: https://chadmullenphotography.blogspot.com/2018/04/week-11-email-marketing-part-1.html?showComment=1524029575777#c904802997183976503

While we know that exterior logo signs are necessary for a storefront, interior signage can be just as important.   Once customers are in your store or business, make the most of this opportunity to show your story, your brand and make a lasting impression.  Making your store location clear, and guiding customers to important places in your business can be done by showing your logo clean and clear.  Do you want to impress your customers?  Here are five reasons your business needs more signage. Grab Attention When you want to tell your customers something, or get them to look at your store, bring attention to a sale or special item, good old signage does the trick.  According to Intuit, people state that store signage ranks second to traditional media on where they will make a purchase Brand Recognition You have a logo, now show it off so that customers will remember it.  Especially when they are in your store, use that time to reinforc...

This month only! Mill Works would like to give back this month as a thank you for any purchase you make.  Take advantage of this sweet gift before the month of April ends!  Originally priced at $17 each your free business card holder holds approximately 25 business cards and your logo or name is laser engraved onto a solid piece of walnut wood.  It can be stained your desired color and coated for lasting protection.  When you call at 714-235-6141 or place your order online with any order this month, just mention this offer and your laser engraved logo card holder is on us.  Just provide the name or logo and we will send it out with your order, just to say thanks for being a loyal customer. 

My business Mill Works makes signs and displays for businesses, so my emails and newsletters will consist of topics that relate to businesses, branding, logos and signs that they may be interested in.  Other topics will consist of tips and suggestions for displaying signs, and ideas they can do with their logos and branding items.  Others will be special promotions or discounts, special announcement or news that I may have.  I would send newsletters and emails about once every 2 weeks.  While Mill Works produces custom products and not products that are frequently needed, I would also not send emails frequently as to be too bothersome.  I want to provide quality content to my customers and keep items coming in as good content comes available that provides useful information.   Possible ideas I think my customers would enjoy seeing are: Tips for hanging signage Places to hang signage Why Signage still matters Show your logo proudly Required sign...

Blogs I commented on. Sujatha Nanduri https://myblogspotforsocialmedia.blogspot.com/2018/04/week-10-post-1.html Nick Vitalie - https://niccos520.blogspot.com/2018/04/week-10-post-1a.html?showComment=1523420892048#c2380535616469505272 Michele Wojcik

Categories I am interested in making for my business blog will help keep my blog posts organized and useful for targeting certain audiences.  I would first start a recent project or design category to organize my posts for new projects we complete that I think have good design that can be shown off.  Another would be for sign industry news and info that I can post and share things that followers and target audiences could be interested in, offering them useful information about sign laws and uses for signage to boost sales and customer interest.  Another will be special promotions for times I would like to offer something such as a discount, free items or any other promo to entice users to take advantage of.  Next I would like to have a recent news on any newsworthy stories about the business.  Another will be tips for those looking to get tips and ways to install, clean, setup or uses for signage and the other branding products I will offer. By staying organiz...

I will be wearing a lot of hats while starting my business making laser and handcrafted signs and displays.  While making these items, I will also be putting in time for blogging, social media and other marketing.  Since I am the face of the brand and not working for a corporation with a script, being personal I believe will work out in my favor.  I do not plan on talking all about my personal life, but I will put in my personal opinions and character a bit to take away the one direction communication tactic and try to encourage a conversation.  While speaking at a more personal level, readers can get familiar with who I am and the culture of the business.  Making them comfortable and at ease so that they can approach my business with more confidence.  Building trust and talking like an expert can help them take the next step. When I am personal, I can not only talk about industry information, but perhaps other things that are going on at the shop, tha...

After some time searching Twitter for users that could benefit my business, I came across some keywords that can take me directly to some customer leads as well as some industry news that I can share with followers.  After some thought, I decided that my business would benefit from new businesses that would be opening their business doors soon.  Signs and displays are something that new business owners need to open their place.  After some word fine tuning, I yielded a huge list of people posting the key words "Grand opening coming soon".  This list showed me a long list of people and businesses opening businesses in the near future.  I may make comments on their tweets to introduce my business.  Since restaurants are another more specific market, I chose the words, "My restaurant is opening" which again gave back a decent list of potential customers who were opening restaurants.  This was a nationwide search, since I can ship my products.  I also...

Below are a list of some similar companies that use visual support to market their products.  Making signs and various other business related branding products, visuals are a must and pretty much are the selling point in this business.  Some images do not even need words, just comments from followers. Tinkering Monkey in Berkley, California is a sign shop that makes signage and logo signs for businesses similar to the product offerings I will provide.  They are the closest in similarity to the business model I am interested in pursuing when business gets underway.  They use a lot of visual support throughout their website.  Their site has an Instagram feed that shows images of projects, and they receive comments from followers.  They post those images on Facebook and Instagram almost everyday and use Pinterest to post similar images but less often.  Twitter is less often but they utilize imagery in almost every tweet.  They average about 10 like...

My business, Mill Works makes a visual product that businesses will use to attract attention to their brand, logos or for directional aid.  A visual platform to promote my products are absolutely necessary to build my brand and create awareness for my products.  After reviewing the most popular visual networks, I see no reason to leave any of them out as I can have tentacles reaching out into each one to capture the most recognition.  Out of the 8 platforms, I see Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest being to most effective.  However,  I will not discredit the others and will engage on the others to see which ones work and the ones that don't.   Facebook is a no brainer, there are so many users and I already have a network of users that I can tap right into.  With Instagram, I see no better way to posting my visual signs and I believe that will be the number one way to share my business is through photos of my work.  Again, Pinterest is another ...

I scheduled three posts to my Facebook Mill Works page.  Each have a specific message that I thought would be useful to potential followers to my website.  The first post is about the California Alcoholic Beverage Control and how they require special and specific signage for any retail businesses that sell alcoholic beverages.  Failure to have these signs can result in having the alcohol license revoked.  Since one of Mill Works target markets is restaurants and retailers, some useful information involving signage, which Mill Works makes, may be something of interest. The second post is about a new product line, that I do not have at the moment, but when I start the business I plan on offering soon after.  The post shows an image of a Café A-frame sign which I am targeting towards restaurants, food markets and salons.  By featuring a photo, and a link to the easels page, a link will take them directly to the page on the website that offers more informa...