Week Fifteen : Final Blog

Social Media has always been a bit daunting to me.  I didn't grow up with computers, in fact, when home computers first came out, I really didn't think it would be something that would stick around. Everyone used typewriters and home computers were really just glorified rolodexes and something to play games with.

With the introduction to the internet, all of a sudden, computers became indispensable.  I even spoke to my 80 year old mother one day and asked her what she was doing and she replied that she was looking up on Google the gestation period for a cat!

Before social media, emails seemed revolutionary.  We were able to communicate with family and friends whenever we wanted, for any length of time and it was pretty much instantaneous.  Receiving letters in the mail was a thing of the past.

I think Classmates.com was probably the first tiny glimpse into what social media was going to become.  You were able to find old classmates and then email them and catch up.

Facebook opened up a whole new world of interaction.  By the time I was able to grasp the whole Facebook concept, I was already behind.  My 14 year old niece started telling me about something called Instagram and then showing me pictures of hairstyles on Pinterest.  What were all these platforms? I also was reluctant to get a smart phone because I couldn't really see a purpose in it.  Why couldn't this information gathering wait until I was home in front of my computer?  Now I can hardly imagine not being able to check the traffic, weather, emails and send and receive text messages.

Since this class I've become an avid user of Instagram and follow interesting bloggers who post inspiring and interesting things as well as recipes and pictures of vacations.  I also follow a few friends to keep up with the new baby or the upcoming wedding.  I've started using Facebook consistently for my business, but I'm not seeing a lot of interaction with the customers.  It seems to currently be more about connecting with employees and stores that carry our product.  I hope that as time goes by more and more customers will reach out and connect.  I used Twitter a few times for the class, but don't really desire at this time to follow people "live".  I prefer to catch up on posts when I have the time to sign into Facebook or flip through Instagram, but for some reason Twitter seems like a lot of work. Pinterest is a platform that I really enjoy because of the fact that it is so visual.  I don't have a lot of time to spend getting lost in all the photos that are out there, but if I did, I know that almost anything can be found on it.

All in all, this class was extremely beneficial to me.  It changed my view on the purpose of promoting your business through social media and explained why it's important to be accessible to the public.  It also broke down for me the exact use and function of the different platforms and explained who they would benefit most.

Week Fourteen : Blog Comments

I commented on the following blogs:

Audra Najera
Don Steler
Angela Taylor
Maranda Carlton

Week Fourteen : More Social Strategies

For Tia's Bakery, any of the visual social medias seem to be the most appropriate.  I've enjoyed using Facebook the most, as well as Pinterest.  Although Twitter connects with Facebook, I find myself still just posting on Facebook, while avoiding Twitter.  Possibly it's the restriction in the number of characters.  Twitter also seems to put an extra pressure on me, making me feel like I have to do it more often or follow it more often, whereas Facebook is something that can be opened every other day or whenever you want really, and catching up is much easier.  

For daily use, Facebook also works well because of the scheduled posts that can be written ahead of time.  If I had more time to dedicate to social media, I feel Twitter would be more engaging and would allow me to touch other businesses directly.

I feel that Pinterest is an outlet that can be used much less frequently and the beauty of it, is that your pictures are there indefinitely.  You don't have to worry about people not being able to see your posts because they have to keep scrolling and scrolling.  Anyone can find you or your posts, no matter how long ago you put them, just by searching for the subject matter that you focused on. 

Going forward, I will continue with Facebook weekly posts and Pinterest weekly to monthly posts.  If I am able to get more time, I will definitely incorporate Twitter into my daily schedule.

Week Thirteen : FaceBook Analytics

FaceBook Analytics, the following were the results for the most recent week:

Page likes were up 16.7% from last week
8 new page likes up 166.7% from last week
Total Reach down 0.9% from last week
Post Reach up 41.9% from last week
People engaged 16.7% more from last week

Upon review, I've noticed that the most interaction and addition of people come from spotlighting employees.  They interact more with the post and they also bring their own followers who in turn like the page and posts.

Even with a call to action on each bakery item sold, we haven't raised any numbers in consumer followers.

Week Thirteen : Google Analytics for Business

There are a few features that Google Analytics offers that would benefit my company.  Knowing the audience and also tracing their path tracks the path that people take online to get to your website, as well as the device they use to visit the site.

By also showing what these people do when they get to your site, you get insight into what people are interested in and you can now tailor your site to reflect these preferences.  If you have a blog, you can also focus on these things, because it's what is showing as most interesting for the consumer at this moment.

Any of the ads that would reach your target audience would also benefit and drive customers to your site.  If Tia's Bakery ever decided to start selling baked goods online, all of these tools would really benefit the company in drawing in actual buyers.

Yelp & Google Plus Groups

Yelp

Tia's Bakery does have a Yelp review page, which is unusual in that most companies that sell exclusively through retail do not.  When Tia's Bakery first started in 2009, we did custom cake orders in addition to retail in addition to catering quite a few events.  Since we've moved exclusively to retail and also moved to Oceanside we haven't had any new reviews.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/tias-bakery-marina-del-rey    (old site)
http://www.yelp.com/biz/tias-bakery-oceanside   (new site)

I believe Yelp does have an impact for those that have store fronts.  I use it myself frequently to view what the majority of people think about a restaurant or bakery.  I don't think for my particular business it helps or hinders it, but it's just another place where I'm visible on the internet.

Google+ Groups

I researched "gluten" on Google+ Groups and found quite a few that would help get the word out about my business.  More than drive sales though, I think the purpose of being active on these groups would be to establish myself as an expert in the field.

Interacting, answering and asking questions and even starting a new group would be a good idea for me to do.

Week Twelve - Online Marketing Tools

For Tia's Bakery, four additional online marketing tools that might be beneficial would be:

Google +
Yelp
Linked In
Groupon

For my current marketing strategy, I think the one that would benefit most would be Linked In.  I could start a personal profile along with a business profile and begin to market myself as a gluten free dessert creator expert.  I could start groups, engage others in discussions and create a network of other specialty food creators.

I won't be creating a Google + account or Google Map location for my business since it has not store front.  I'm not sure how I was able to create a Yelp page, even though I had no store front at the time, but have always been available exclusively in retail locations.