Skip to main content

Week 17: Wrapping it Up

Man, what a semester it has been. It seems like it was last week that I was sitting down at my computer trying to understand exactly what this course would be like. It was my first time ever doing online courses like this and was something I really had to get used to. I was excited though, to be learning about social media for business since I had just started my own business several months prior. I definitely knew that I needed some help navigating through it to understand the real importance and how to implement it within my own work.

Since beginning the course, my use of social media has definitely changed and I'm finding better ways to engage my audience. I have really seen Facebook to be much more successful in generating revenue compared to Instagram which has been better for interaction and brand recognition. Knowing this has helped me to prioritize the type of content I'm using on each platform. My target audience also differs from each platform and each demands different content as well. 

Aside from the valuable information I have learned I have also been able to approach social media with more confidence. I no longer shy away from it out of fear that I don't know what I'm doing, or I won't be successful, or it's too much work. I've been able to change my perspective and it is something entirely more manageable because I was forced to sign on and go through the features and put them to use. 

I have seen more interaction on my pages and I have received a lot of recognition from people in town who say they follow me on Instagram or have seen my ads on Facebook. The feedback I get is all positive and has been great for business. That has to be the best outcome of it all. I was actually approached by one of the marketing managers on Camp Pendleton where I sell my cookies, and she said she loved my Instagram. She said it was real and that the authenticity shows. I felt proud that even though my platforms are not the most professional or well managed, that I was recognized and that people enjoy it.

I really can't wait to continue growing my fan base on these platforms and see what it does for business. I love that I can use Instagram to take polls and get real life, real time feedback from my audience regarding my products. I can directly ask them through posts or stories their opinions on new products, what their favorites are, and what they want more of. Instagram and Facebook make it so easy to connect directly with my customers and audience, it's really a huge mistake for a business not to be utilizing it for all it's worth. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 9 Part A

Depending on the type of business you have, your blog, social media, website, etc. will be specific to such, making it different from another type of business' blog.  However, regardless of what type of business you have, adding elements of personal touch in your blog can really work well to capture your audience. The goal of advertising and blogging is to connect with your audience. And how do you make connection? You use emotion, humor, relatable content, this all helps to get the person to remember you and hopefully become a customer. No matter your business, you can always find a way to add a personal touch. It may not connect with everyone, but you'll gain a few new followers or customers with the extra effort. I really believe there is always room to add a personal touch in a post no matter the topic or the business. Of course you want to get to the underlying point, which is "Buy my product or service." which I really don't think you can be successful at wi
3 comments
Read more

Week 9 Part B Using Categories

Categories on a blog are a great way to group together different posts in order for readers to more easily find what they are looking for. They help to organize your blog site into broad groups which can then be broken down further into sub categories. I think this is a great idea to keep the page looking clean and easily navigable. Having these categories also helps to make sure your posts are staying relevant to your industry. Since my business is cookies I would have a category for Flavors. Perhaps I would use this category to discuss new recipes, customer favorites, holiday and seasonal flavors etc. Another category could be Local Events where I would discuss the events our company would be attending or which farmers markets we would be selling. I could also use this category for posts to talk about other businesses in the area.  Because my business was started with a family recipe, I like to keep my business with a "close to home" feel. For this reason I could have a thi
1 comment
Read more

Week 13 Part B Developing Online Advertising

These were three different ads that I paid to have run on Facebook. I actually have never looked at the analytics for these ads until now and I find it super interesting. There is so much useful information to be found and now that I know I can use this for future ads. Now that I'm starting to get a better handle on the labor side of my business, I have a lot more time to dedicate to social media and advertising.  These ads that I made before I really didn't put too much thought into so they may not have been the most effective. However, the first ad did reach quite a lot of people and that is ultimately what got me started with my business. Because of the Facebook ad running all the time, I ended up getting too many orders that I couldn't keep up on my own and had to move my business out of my home and into a commercial kitchen.  The ads are simple; "Fresh baked cookies made to order and delivered. Order now." A very simple call-to-action that works. My main cust
1 comment
Read more