My how time flies when you're having fun ::

Initially I signed up for this class to learn social media. I had every intention of helping my son and son-in-law with their businesses but that was too overwhelming. Instead I used a pretend business of my own to practice on and was so glad I did.

I discovered that Facebook is a wonderful tool for business. And I believe the analytics will help with planning. That said, I think the world of social media as a whole is in a constant state of flux. We have no way of knowing what the future for business online holds but the only constant is change and things are changing rapidly. From class I have learned that sophistication and polish are absolutely necessary, and our presentations should be consistent. We have been introduced to many social media platforms that have different strengths. Every business is unique and it’s our job to figure out which platforms would work best to support our particular business/industry.

“Time is of the essence” and I think we should all be putting forth the effort to do all that we can right now to make our online presence known. After the readings and attention I have been giving to online businesses and their social media presence, or not; I have come to the conclusion that social media must be a part of any marketing plan. I believe that people/businesses with only a static website will be missing the explosion of energy that the digital world provides, and will eventually be left behind.

I have had a lot of frustration trying to participate with class assignments. In spite of all that, I have learned a tremendous amount. Now I am trying to apply what I have learned to help my son and son-in-law. It will be fun, hopefully, and bring them into the digital world. And, BTW, their websites are now compatible with/for mobile! ☺

I’ve read several of my colleagues’ blog posts and I have enjoyed reading them as the semester has progressed. They have taught me a lot, thank you, and I wish you all much success in your endeavors. Also, I would like to say a special thank you to Prof Tracy, I so appreciated her time and patience.

This is an amazing, exciting time and I’m looking forward to using what I’ve learned and adding to my knowledge going forward!
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Week 14 :: More Social Strategy con't

Mine is a very small business and I would be doing all the work myself. I don’t have a huge advertising budget but done well, I think I could get by using the tools we have learned.

• The website, blog, and Facebook page should be well designed and complement one another.
• Complete an analysis on my target market; age, gender, socio-economic info, who they are and what do they enjoy, how and why do they use my products.
• Create a Facebook page; use Insights to monitor how well posts and campaigns are working, use that information to plan the marketing strategy.
• Create a Twitter account and connect to my Facebook page, I prefer the posts go from Facebook to Twitter.
• Create a YouTube account; I think this would be an invaluable tool for my business for passing on product knowledge and information.
• Create a LinkedIn account; connect with other business owners, and join communities.
• Create a blog; I would use this in conjunction with the Facebook page to keep contact with followers current, interesting and fun. Also, Google Analytics would help me determine who is looking at blog and website, their viewing patterns, how they found me, why they left the page. Another point I learned from Google Analytics is that your website MUST BE compatible with cell phones and tablets!
• Decide whether I have enough budget for online ads, if not, on the Facebook page I would develop campaigns or calls to action to visit the webpage. They can be written and set with future posting dates. 

I think I would spend an 8 hour day once a month planning the strategy. I would have to think about what I would advertise and/or comment on and when. I would start a calendar mapping out dates going forward. Then 2 - 4 hours per day implementing that strategy. As time goes by I would probably have a better idea how much time was actually spend on research, planning, analysis, and writing and could adjust my schedule. Facebook and the blog should be in sync. I would want to present a clear and professional image.

Part of the time would have to be spent analyzing the traffic to the blog and Facebook; the marketing plan would have to be fluid enough that it could be modified and updated.

I think I would start with a blog and Facebook post per week. I’m not certain I would try to push product every week. At the beginning of the month I would introduce a promotion and each of the following 3 weeks I could write about skincare or something fun and of current interest. The post could relate to the promotion in some way… I would have to play around with this and find out where I was getting the most response.

In addition to a website, I believe that Facebook, YouTube, and a blog would be a very good beginning for me. In the real world I am still learning and I think that would be enough for me initially. I know I’ve mentioned this already but I think the analytics and insights would be invaluable for the marketing plan going forward.
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Week 14 :: More Social Strategy

This class has been a challenge for me. I did not have any background with social media especially in the business arena. I had no idea that business could be promoted so many ways, and they’re all new and exciting. As I was exploring the internet looking at business like mine it became very apparent that social media is very dynamic.  Reading through the first few pages of the chapter on the entire customer experience I must agree, if I have a problem I want it solved. I understand that all employees are not trained in ‘Customer Service’ and I think that’s a mistake. Any employee that has the potential of coming into contact with a customer or client should be aware of what’s going on. We live in a world now where everything is almost instantaneous and we must be prepared to respond to people and meet their needs immediately.

I don’t have a webpage but I have in the past. As I’m learning more about Facebook I’m beginning to think that the almost daily interaction using Facebook is much more engaging than a static website. All things considered, I think it will be a lot of practice, practice, practice with the skills we have learned and trying different strategies to see what will work. Going forward we will have to determine our best target markets, use insights and analytics to determine who is looking at the posts and which ones they are interacting with.

I would make a marketing plan and schedule the posts on Facebook. Back in the dark ages I worked in the purchasing department at Sears. We were planning promotions 9 - 12 months ahead. I think most business have cycles and the campaigns could be scheduled, Facebook makes that very easy. If I used a blog in addition to Facebook, the blog posts could be scheduled to coincide with the Facebook promotions. Both the Google and Facebook analytics could be used to see which promotions were working the best.

As I mentioned earlier YouTube is great as well. Everyone I know goes to YouTube to learn how to do something. For skin care it would be a great addition, almost like having the client with you while you’re training them to use the products or care for their skin. I may use email too but I’m not sure. I’m not a huge fan of email because I get too many.
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The four classmates I commented on were ~

Shelby Gomez

Craig Stevens

Kalyani Ghosh

Stephen Wilson

Week 13 :: Optimizing Yourself and the Company

Google Analytic Goals -
For my fictional business I would check -

• Keywords - to see how people were getting to the site, what words/phrases were they using to find the site
• Events - to see how many people were responding to the site
• Pages per visit - to see what people were looking at specifically when they were on the site and how much time they were spending
• Which browsers or devices they were using - in the readings it became clear that the website should be optimized for mobile devices
• Demographics & Interests might be interesting to collect more data on your visitors to be able to target the marketing specifically
• Visitor Behavior were the visitors new or returning, how long did they stay

There is a tremendous amount of information you can learn from the analysis. You could plan your advertising, product release, and information updates. If you’re getting into paid AdWords you can determine their usefulness. I haven’t had much business but I would think all these tools would make it much easier to laser focus your marketing.
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Week 12 :: Using Other Social Media Tools

Coupon Deal

As I've mentioned over the years I have been advised not to put product 'on sale.' Although I think I could offer free shipping for a period of time. Or I could put together a 'package'... actually I have done that. One for Mother's Day and a Spring Time promotion.There are other add-ons I could use. Different products like a make-up brush, a sugar scrub, or something else fun. Maybe I could have a 'Trivia Contest', something to engage people.

For a limited time, receive complimentary ...

LEARN MORE >> (when they 'click' they would be taken to a new page, see below)

Enjoy Complimentary
Samples with Any Order!

-or-

I could start a newsletter, or email promotion...

Sign Up Now For The Latest News
We'll Update you with
New Products, Promotions,
Exclusive Beauty Tips
and More!

(when they 'click' to sign up I can respond via email)

At one time I was thinking that maybe I could have a rewards program. Points or something for a certain dollar amount over a specified period of time.
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Week 12 :: Using Other Social Media Tools

I think I would open a Google+ account if Healthy Skin was a viable business. The Circles are a great idea for sorting your clients/fans/friends. People have different skin conditions/concerns/interests and I could sort that way. I could separate the men and women, or even adults and teenagers. Posting to focus on one group might be very helpful. I could join communities on different issues that I feel would be of interest to my clients or me. I’m not certain about Hangouts. If there were enough interest in a particular subject it might be fun to have an online discussion or information session. Being live and interactive could be fun.

LinkedIn would be great for my professional self. I am an aesthetician and I enjoy interacting with my colleagues. Additionally I might be able to use it as a vehicle to talk about my work/product.

Feedly looks interesting. I might be able to ultilize it for information that is interesting to my clients, the latest trends in fashion, hair and make-up. Perhaps what’s happening in the skincare field.

When I asked about GroupOn and livingsocial I came to the conclusion that it would not be a good fit for me. Long ago I learned that I shouldn’t discount the skincare produicts and with both GroupOn and livingsocial you must deeply discount the offer.
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Week 11 :: Advertising Online

Okay, here we go, ta-dah!

I put this post up on my Business Facebook Page:

IMPROVING PEOPLE'S SKIN

Mother's Day Gift Set -

Begin the path to healthy, glowing skin... to repair and prevent the visible signs of aging!

Spring Time Promotion -

This trio of products is a must if you are concerned with the visible signs of aging!

Visit the website for free shipping this week!

www.HealthySkinDelMar.com

and this one on Twitter:

Mother's Day - the path to healthy, glowing skin, repair & prevent the visible signs of aging! www.HealthySkinDelMar.com  #MothersDayHealthySkin

I could generate different 'ads,' or notices at different times. I could even set them up in a que like we did for the Facebook Strategy in Week 6. In any event, I got them up and was able to put my 'website' (I do own the domaine name but the site is not live right now) link in both for followers to click on. Also, I put in a pretty cool hashtag in the Tweet!
And they were both FREE! So there you have it, that was the best that I could do given my level of understanding. :-)

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Week 11 :: Advertising Online

The blogs that I commented on were by -

Shelby Gomez, Hannah Jeon and Laurie Monahan

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Week 11 :: Advertising Online

Marketing with Facebook ads sounds like a great way to interact with the people that ‘like’ you and/or your business.

Targeting ‘Friends of Connections’ would be perfect for my online business.

For Location I would target people in the continental US.

Demographics would be dependent on what type of campaign I was running.

For instance, if it were for acne I’d use an age range of 13 years and above. Unfortunately acne is something that can effect everyone so it wouldn’t be gender specific.

Again, for acne, likes, relationship, language and education/work wouldn’t be part of the criteria. If the ad campaign were for men’s products, then I would change the criteria, as I would if it were for anti-aging products. Each ad would be crafted to fit the dynamic of the target group.

Also, as I have mentioned before, I personally like happy birthday greetings from businesses; and I would definitely use the ads as a chance to reach out to clients with a birthday surprise!

And I would be able to use the extra communication as a way to say thank you to clients and to share their stories.

LinkedIn probably wouldn’t be a good choice for me as I am not really business to business, but I’m sure Twitter could be utilized to connect with clients.

I think I would run the campaigns monthly, much more often than that would be overkill; more often than that and I think I would lose people.

I had the April Promotion on the Facebook page and added the Mother’s Day one.

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Week 10 :: My Colleagues

Hi!
I wrote comments for Craig Stevens, Shanti Ashbrook, and Paul Dal. I feel a lot of thought went into them.
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Week 10 :: Email Marketing

It is a common theme, the month of January is without a doubt, the month of the detox.

If you would like to recharge your skin after the holidays, these simple tips can help to get you a glowing complexion.

Healthy skin starts from within. Detox your diet, make sure you are drinking lots of fresh water and eating foods that are good for your skin such as walnuts, avocado, sweet potatoes, fresh leafy greens, blueberries, sustainably sourced wild fish and green tea. Lower the amount of sugar, processed foods and alcohol you are consuming.

To help you get the recommended water intake of around 8 cups a day, try adding a squeeze of lemon to give it a little extra flavor.

An easy way to incorporate greens and fresh vegetables into your diet daily is to have a large salad for lunch, using a simple dressing of extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice.

Relax. Yoga, meditation or even sitting quietly and reading are all great ways to help you wind down and lower those stress levels, so try and incorporate them into your daily routine.

Focus on healthy eating and lots of different activities to lift your spirits and rebalance your skin.
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Initially, I would do a monthly newsletter. The above example of the newsletter is for the month of January. I think it would begin as a “relationship building” email, each month would have a different theme, providing information I think would be of interest to the readers.

I like the idea of the “welcome” email once I have a mechanism in place for capturing the readers information. I also like the “birthday” email. I must admit that my family, especially my kids, have looked forward to those through the years. Originally we signed up by mailing our information to the company and waiting for a Happy Birthday postcard to be mailed to us, now it’s mostly online.

Although some small businesses still send postcards! Some of the themes I think would be of interest are sun protection, individual ingredients, ways to spice up your wardrobe, shaving tips for men, diet, anti-aging treatments, travel, yoga & wellness. The list could go on. We are all concerned about our looks, and most of us are aware that we must take care of ourselves. Do I appeal to people’s vanity? Maybe so, however, I feel everyone needs to be made aware of the things they can do to care for themselves.

Giving them information that is interesting and informative is the goal, hopefully they will appreciate it enough to support the site with their business.

Week 9 :: Addendum

Screen shot of my Google Analytics! I was finally successful!

Week 9 :: Blogging for Business ~ Getting Personal

If I were to start a blog for real, I would divide the posts into the following areas.

Acne - this is a real concern for many people, young & old, women & men

Anti-Aging - Again, this is a topic that most women, and men, are interested in

Skin Problems and Advice - education for the reader

Sun Protection Advice - this is a critical area everyone should understand

Other health & beauty subjects - because most women are interested in the latest trends, information about new products & sometimes it is just for fun!

It has been my experience that most everyone has one area about their skin that they would like help with. And because you can’t address all areas with each post, dedicating a post to a particular problem or focus would reach those who are especially interested. I could encourage people to contact me if they have questions. Overall, I’m thinking that most of the posts need to be lighthearted and fun or happy. I would want people to learn and be happy to have the information.

I have been thinking about being personal in a skincare discussion or blog post. Skincare is a very personal business. When I worked as an aesthetician I touched people, that’s intimate. And even though a blog is being read by someone maybe thousands of miles away I would still be dealing with an area that is very personal. Almost everyone I know is concerned about how they look and how they are presenting themselves to the world. I think these blog posts can be personal, stories that are about me, or a friend or a past client. I should be able to tell someone’s story as a means of sharing information and even feelings, without being too personal. Much of what I would be talking about is common to all of us. Everyone has feelings, and expressing care and concern and helping people solve their issues is personal. But not too personal.

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The blogs I commented on were, Matthew B., Caridad T., and John M. I read most of them and they were are nicely done!
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Week 9 :: Blogging for Business

Blogs should have personality; I believe you should engage your audience. I read the blogs I do because I enjoy them.

I think you have to add personality to a blog but not make it personal. Personality is going to make it interesting, and vibrant, and bring people back.

However, I think you have to draw the line at too being personal. I think you have to look at the purpose of your blog and take that into consideration.

Is it for information, sales, connecting with people? You are going to structure your blog to support your intention. For instance, you wouldn’t want to lose those people who might be offended if it’s too personal, however, there are businesses that are more intimate and you don’t want to lose the closeness you have with your readers, clients etc..

When there might be a fine line between adding personality and being too personal, I think it’s important to be thoughtful about what you are saying.

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Week 9 :: Blogging for Business con't

I've added Google Analytics, I think. When I checked this morning the instructions said that I would have to wait 24 hrs for any info. I took a couple of screen shots, the first one shows 'Google Analytics' and the second is the page where I added the Google Tracking ID number. I hope that's what you wanted. I will check early this evening to see if I have anything.

That's all for this morning, be back later...

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Week 9 :: Blogging for Business

Before I start writing about my 'business blog' I thought I would try to earn the extra credit 2 points!
First I added gadget 'My Blog List' and listed all my colleagues class blogs in no particular order.
That went pretty well so I added the Google Analytics. I am not certain how that will work but I will log on later and see if there is any information.
That's all for tonight. More later...
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Week 8 :: Get Visual

Wow, every week now there is something really new.

Admittedly I haven't taken Marketing classes and maybe my thinking is skewed and I'm missing an opportunity. Having said that, I'm selling a product that most people use, even if they're buying drugstore brands and Dove soap.

After looking at and reading through all of the material on the different platforms, I think I would use YouTube and Pinterest to promote my business.

YouTube::
I think YouTube would be great for teaching and demonstrating techniques and product choices. When anyone I know wants to learn something YouTube is the first place they go...

Pinterest::
I think it would be fun to use pictures with a small amount a text attached, like little mini webpages. Or, they could also be designed to mimic magazine ads. Maybe you could even run a little contest or something to keep people coming back. Or maybe, just maybe I could show pics of happy clients, with their permission of course.

Tumblr::
I don't think this would be a useful vehicle for my business. The examples seemed like diminutive websites, which for my needs would be redundant.

Instagram::
Photographs are a beautiful medium, they tell a story, but I couldn't see how it would be useful for my business.

That's all for now... more later!
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Week 7 :: Twitter

OMG!
This week I am absolutely overwhelmed.
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I managed to create a Twitter Page but I don't get how to 'Tweet.'
I think I linked my Facebook page to the Twitter page but I'm not certain.
I am 'Following' a couple of people from our class. I will watch to see what happens.
Finally figured out the 'Lists' we were supposed to create, and I did!
Since I have no followers I randomly selected four people to follow and added them to the appropriate list.
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The first list is SD LOVES FASHION and the second is SD MOMS NIGHT OUT.
I felt those two categories would be appropriate for women who might be interested in skin care.
I chose the women to 'Follow' in the FASHION category because I felt their bio's sounded like women who have the interest and would spend the extra time on their skin
One of the two I chose for MOMS NIGHT OUT is a business in SD that is a daily deal site. I felt women with small children would appreciate that. The other is a woman with children, appears to be busy and might appreciate quality skin care.
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SD LOVES FASHION

@heathershannon

Organic Personal Chef/Cooking, Fitness, Soccer and Creativity are my PASSIONS! Motto: Make BIG PLANS...and work your butt off!

@CaleyAlyssa

Yogi & Holistic Health Coach. Oregon with a little SF/NYC/LA combo. CJ, birdie, wee-one, re-run, cales.

SD MOMS NIGHT OUT

@PlumDistrictSD 

Plum District is a daily deal site for savvy moms and their families with offers ranging from restaurant and spas, to kids and family activities and more.

@CaseyJane81 

Writer, feminist, activist, media & comms advisor, nomad, mother, wife, hopeless idealist & development junkie.

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I searched moms in San Diego,  massage therapists, Solana Beach, skin care, and others. I had to play around with the words and the order they were in to get people that I thought would be a good fit. My 'business' is e-ommerce and I could have gone with anyone in the US but chose to stay in the SD area. This is my home, I've worked here and have friends here and I thought, at first, it would be easier for me to get things going by word of mouth.
I can see where the lists would be a great tool to define a specific group of people to target; maybe for a promotion, or to notify them of special events, mine or any others they might be interested in. I think it's a good idea for me to be supportive of what they might be interested in on a day to day basis.
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Week 6 :: Intro to Facebook Strategy

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Thinking through the Facebook posts believe it would be a good thing to have a question for the fans to answer. Like Robin did with the photos of the succulents. That would engage them. Also, I could offer 'surprise' free shipping in a particular post, would that keep them coming back more often?  Or maybe offer a newsletter by email, you could capture their email address. After trying a few different approaches one could identify which strategy's get the most response.

I randomly chose posting times. When the blog has enough fans I will be able to analyze when the highest traffic times occur, that would tell me when I would schedule the posts.

On the first and third post I would have inserted a link to the webpage where the fan could get more information about the products.

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Featured Likes

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I spent a lot of time looking at skin care company's websites. Many of them did not have any likes, or just likes with businesses or individuals already using their products. The few that did feature likes were very similar to the ones I picked.

I selected my featured likes because of my interests. I think for the most part women, or men, who are willing to spend the extra money on their skin care have some of the same sensibilities.

Websites ::

I chose these websites because I thought they would have information that clients would appreciate. I am especially concerned about skin cancer, and it’s important for people to learn more about it. The Skincare Foundation provides lots of good information.

Skin Cancer Foundation - Skin cancer prevention

Fab over forty - Women over 40 beauty, skincare, fashion, fitness and lifestyle

Everyday Health - Always Choose Well

Magazines ::

I chose these three magazines because women love up to the minute beauty and fashion info. They also feature beauty products; I put the March selection from the O Magazine on my Facebook page.

Marie Claire - for younger women

O, The Oprah Magazine - for women of all ages

W - for women interested in fashion, celebrities, art, parties, and beauty

If this were an up and running business I would contact massage therapists or personal trainers, for example, businesses that deal with people regarding their health and/or wellness. If they do not offer skin care or skin care products they would be perfect for some type of reciprocity arrangement.

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Week 5 :: Facebook Page Insights

Facebook Page Insights

Reach measures how many people have seen your post.

Engagement measures how many people responded to or interacted with that post.

Knowing the difference between the two will tell you about your audience, or customers.

The following is a list I compiled from readings on the internet.

- Create content on your posts with your customer in mind,
   what’s most important to them and what would they like
   to share with their friends?

- Include images that connect to your customer.

- Ask questions of your fans and/or solicit feedback, engage them.

- Reward participation/engagement on your posts; maybe contests or give-aways.

Analyzing what people are responding to will tell you what interests your audience, and what you should be doing more of. It will help you determine the effectiveness of your posts and the strategy you are using.

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