Final Post

This class was very helpful because before I would just see social media as a place to go when I was bored, in an awkward situation, or to contact relatives and friends that live far away. I will definitely continue using my Facebook page and use the tools I learned to help me find more customers. This class helped me understand that social media is important for a business because is like handing out flyer or business cards, people can easily contact you on social media sites and they can also know more of a background of your business by reading your biography or looking at your pictures. I learned how to use important tools to make my business standout, attract more clients, and offer special promotions and coupons. I enjoyed this class and it wasn't as easy as I thought it will be because I was new to many of the tools we used I actually didn't knew some of the existed.
I'm ready for my 2 weeks off from school!

Hope everyone has a wonderful summer!!

Week 14

I learned a lot this semester like I never imagine myself having a blog. I thought I knew what social media was about but now I see that I didn't knew half the stuff I know now because I was just using social media to keep in touch with family and friends. One of my favorite social sites is Facebook because its easy to use and almost everyone uses Facebook. For now I will only use Facebook to promote my business because almost everyone has a Facebook account, once my business has more likes and I'm getting more customers I'll start using Insgram and Twitter and maybe YouTube, but I think that's about it because it's a local business and we want local customers because we wouldn't like to travel many miles just to do a detail.

An hour a day is enough time to spend on social media marketing because in that hour I can update information, create posts, and reply to people's comments. I the next month I will keep uploading photos of details before and after since I notice many people ask to see before and after pictures especially of dirty cars because they can actually tell the work we did. I currently don't have a budget for paid advertisement, if I do have a budget soon I might try it just to see if it actually helps bring clients to my business but is not really a service I would really pay for. I'm planning on doing some promotions like 15% off for fathers day and 15% off for first time customers. I'm planning on writing more than 3 posts a week, that way the people that like my page can see our work and maybe decide to give us a chance to detail their car. I will probably will start incorporating videos showing our work or of solutions to questions or problems related to detailing that customers might have.

classmate's blog posts feedbacks

Chloe Rudningen
Craig Stevens
Caridad Trujillo
Stephen Wilson

Week 14: More Social Strategy

It is not only about putting effort on you social media page is also about customer service, the more transparent you are to customer the more likely they will come to your business, recommend you to friends and like/follow you on social media. Listen to your costumers comments on social media, listen to customers complaints and respond to them, the whole team should be integrated and encourage social media everyone on your business should be aware of offers and promotions that way you can provide a better customer experience.

This semester we learned how to use many social media sites and how to promote our business in an efficient way that will work for every individual businesses we also learn how to attract more customers by posting promotions on our sites or sending newsletter with coupons and promotions. my favorite site to use will be Facebook because is easy to use and you can practically do anything on it and you don't necessarily have to pay for advertisement, some sites I thought weren't as important for my business will be Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr because I  felt like they didn't had an impact like Facebook did, since is a small local business if it was a retail business or a restaurant I would definitely consider using them. I don't consider necessary to pay for adds at google because like I already mention is a small local business some good tools I would use will be Yelp and Google Maps because they make it easier for customer to find and see reviews of my business. I enjoy Facebook the most because I felt that it was easier to interact with customers and see the impact of my pictures and posts, and it actually help me compare what kind of posts interest people the most.

This semester I learned a lot about the does and the don'ts of promoting a business.

Week 13

I notice that the number of visits was higher on May 3rd, I have 8 more page likes which is 17.8% more than last week, the post reach went up 3.8% more than last week, 45% of fans are women and 55% are men and the higher percentage of the fans are between the ages of 18-24 for both men and women, most the fans are from San Diego followed by Vista, Oceanside, and San Marcos, and most of our fans are online at 9pm.

Week 13: Optimizing Yourself and the Company

With Analytics you can track page views, engagements, and conversations. You can analyze Google to see how other sites are ranking, particularly your competitors. then figure out how to develop your own content that that will drive traffic your way. Organic SEO is a good practice that is about using quality information that reader will need and are interested in. I compare some of the analytics websites and Omniture seemed a little confusing, Hoot suite seems like a popular app used by famous brands and it offers a free trial  but Google Analytics seems like a tool I would use because its free for sites with up to 5 million pages per month and I am more familiar with the google applications.


 

Week 12 Coupon Deals

Like I said in past posts, coupons are a great way to attract new customers because we are always looking for the best offers and if we see a coupon we usually save it. 20% off coupon on any wash and detail will be a good coupon for my business other than that it will be to much free work. other businesses like restaurants can offer coupons for free appetizer or a free drink because they are small item but in some businesses you have to be careful because you can end up losing money.

Week 12

I would definitely use Yelp for my business. I usually look up on yelp for reviews to places and to check the hours places open or close it also helps me locate a business that I haven't been too before, so I think it is a very useful tool. Google maps is also a great tool because you can access Google maps from your phone, tablet, or computer, and its a good way to find a place in case you get lost and its actually works really fast at finding your location. Both of this tools will help my business be more noticeable or easier to find because people usually look at this places to find local businesses. I also like using places because it usually makes it easier for me to find places that I've never been before like restaurants and it shows me how many starts they have and how expensive they are.

Week 11

How to use posts without using money

 

 

If you don't want to spend any money on your posts is a good idea to use something that will catch people attention. On Facebook is easy to post something that can catch people attention because you can write I think unlimited amount of words, on Twitter you have to write something with a limited amount of words. It's also a good idea to add a colorful picture to your posts, I put an example of a post without using money on the last week blog (week 11) .

Week 11

I would probably use post as a call of action to make people visit my page because I'm kind of low on budget but once in a while it will be a good idea to pay Facebook to advertise my post and show the post to people that have been researching on auto detailing because some of them might be interested on getting a detail and will check out my page. Facebook gives you the option to promote your page as an specific post or to send them off Facebook. I would do it as an specific post and just put a link to my website on the page for people that would like to visit the website, I think this is a better idea because I hate clicking on links that take me to another website especially when I'm using my phone.

The first one is an example of a paid advertisement I chose cities that aren't to far away I was going to add cities all the way to San Diego but lets be realistic the chances of someone  driving more than 30 minutes to get their car detailed are kind of low so I stayed in North County and that way we wont have to spend so much gas going all the way over there either. I realized I forgot Escondido.

The last advertisement is free advertisement, I added a bright red car because bright colors attract more attention and I talk about an interesting toping. I have the option to add a YouTube video or a link to our website. 

 

Week 10 Email Marketing

I would ask customers for their birthday when they sign up that way I can send a coupon to use in our business a good coupon for someone's birthday could be a free wash because who doesn't want a free wash. This will attract more people to sign up and send newsletters every once in a while like twice a year. I can also send an email inviting customers to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for a 20% off coupon that they can use on their next detail.


Responded to:

Stephen Wilson
Craig Stevens
Karl Kalinin

Week 9 Blogging for Business: Categories

 I would post on my blog vehicles, boats, and RV's since is a detailing business. I think my blog would probably attract more males than females because they usually love their cars more than we do. I've notice that some business post about their family working on their business or just simply at their business location,  I actually think that is a great idea because it shows the public that they have a good relation with their family, they are family orientated, and that they don't stop spending time with they family just because of their business. I think that by using that technique in my blog I will attack more female audience and customers.

It seems a little easier to write and post pictures of a regular work day than having to think of something to write and it will have a personal touch without being to personal.

Week 9 Blogging for Business

If you are the face of the business you can add some personality to your post, you can add personal opinions, the story behind your business, how did you started your business and how is your business different from other similar businesses . If you're blogging from someone else it doesn't distinct the personality behind it so its not a good idea to be personal in that case.

Week 8

Pacific Auto Detail is business similar to mine, they are using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube to promote their business. On YouTube they show videos of how to restore foggy head lights and how to clean interiors. On Twitter they post about special offers and discounts, on instagram they show pictures of how their business looks, repairs, and final details, and Facebook includes the everything from the other accounts.

Lee's Auto Detail has a Google + account, YouTube, and Facebook. This place looks like they just started to use social media because there are no posts on their YouTube account and Google + account their Facebook page says they joined October, 15, 2011 which means they had this page for a while but haven't really used it.

Week 8 Get Visual

Its hard to think how will I use this platforms for my business. Compared to all the platforms I found YouTube seems like a useful platform because I can post videos of how we are working on a car, the before and after, and demonstrate the products we use.  On Instagram I can show short videos of my work, before and after, and announce special promotions we have. Tumblr is another great way to promote my business because I can personalize my blog and ad cool images and videos of our work but not everyone goes on Tumblr and I really wouldn't consider Pinterest as a first choice just because I don't think it would cause a great impact to my business. It wouldn't be a bad idea to have an account on all this places because it would attract more customers.  

Week 7 Twitter

To find connections I had to use a few different terms, the first term I used was auto and it showed me auto related stuff like auto clubs, car dealers, and auto parts stores. I search for San Diego, Oceanside, and Vista as well to help me look for local business. I started following the reader, I love Vista, the San Diego UT, Vista farmer Market, Visit Oceanside, The Auto Trader, CBS 8, and San Diego Auto Show.  I choose this places because I think local businesses are a good way to promote a business and people that follow the San Diego Auto Show are people that love cars and they can be potential customers.

I crated a personal and business list and it will help me keep track of customer and businesses that I follow.

I had trouble connecting Twitter with Facebook because I already had Twitter and didn't wanted to use my personal Twitter as my business. I try using the link posted on the homework assignment but it said the page no longer existed.

Week 6: Intro to Facebook Strategy

The first post is telling followers that we will be posting photos of our work soon since not everyone has had the chance to see our work.

The second post is a promotion for our clients and new customer. Sometimes people are looking for a detail that wont cost too much, this gives the customer the opportunity to see our work and if they like it the customer will come back. Its a good way to attract new customers.

People doesn't like to spend a long time waiting for their car to get detail, that way if we come to the customer they don't have to wait their car will get detail while they are at work or watching a movie at home.

Week 6 Intro to Facebook Strategy

Auto Detail TV because it says it has the latest in detail information, like on new products.

Club de Detail because it seems like a popular place for detailing stuff and even though the page is in Spanish I could get some videos and information from there to put on my page, it wont be much help for my husband since he doesn't speak Spanish but I can translate.

Car Lovers because everyone that likes cars worries about having a clean car. Since is a local business and I can't sell anything online I had trouble finding pages to like because I cant seem to find many pages related to autos around the area.

The San Diego Reader because is a local magazine and many people reads it, I think is a good way to promote my business

Lozano Performance I choose this page because the owner of the business is a friend of ours and since is an auto related business maybe he can help us promoting our business and we could do the same.

Vista Auto Body and mechanic - local business and it's auto related

SAE Motor Sports- local business and it's auto related

Week Five: Facebook Page Components

Post Reach includes the total reach, the number of people that saw your post, the likes, comments, shares and the negative stuff like hides, report as spam, and unlike. it also shows how did you reach all this people if it was organic meaning you didn't had to pay or it was paid,
Post engagement includes how people interacted with the page like the comments, shared and posts clicks .
It is important to know the difference because if people are liking your page but are not interacting you are not really reaching your goal to get more customers or more people to know your business.

Week 3 Identifying and using good design

The design on the G Force Race Car website is pretty good they show their products and services but I notice it doesn’t have a link to any social media website and that could be a big mistake because like the book says you have to spend 20 percent of the time on the website and 80 percent on social media. I would just add the links to the social media pages to this website and if they don’t have a Facebook page I would recommend getting one.  

Weld Tec shows their products on their website but that’s about it and the company history, it doesn’t have a link to social media or pages li FAQ, search, pricings, or shop. I would put the pricing of the items because some people like me like to compare prices online.

The ford Website is really complete as you get to the website it shows you links to the social media, locate your own dealer, support, and it’s very interactive with the customers.

The Toyota website has built your own car, pricing, find a dealer and it has links to the social media pages.

Week 2 Communication: Business & Consumer

Have you ever experienced difficulty communicating with a business?

I’ve had difficulty communicating with a business over the phone and I’m sure everyone has had this problem as well. Trying to talk to a customer service agent is not something I enjoy doing, often they let you waiting for almost an hour to answer a two minute question and sometime either they don’t hear you or you can’t understand them.

 Would social media have made it easier to get noticed or get your problem solved?

  Social media has made it a little easier because now they have people working online and they will answer to your questions via chat. There is also this new thing that when you are not satisfy with a product or service you can hashtag it with something bad and some companies track those bad reviews and do something to fix the problem.

Have you ever had a positive experience communicating with a business through social media? 

I wish more companies would use social media as a way to provide a better customer service but some companies that offer services online don’t use this resources. Sometimes I believe for the benefit of the company because a customer service agent over the phone doesn’t answer all your questions but via chat it’s different because they can’t use the excuse that they didn’t hear you like they do over the phone. I haven’t really has any negative experiences communicating with a business through social media because they usually reply to emails really quick and answer any questions and concerns that the customer has.  I’ve also found some businesses thanks to the help of social media. Social media makes it easy to find a product or service.

Week 1 Personal or Business Social Media

social networks like Facebook. Twitter and Instagram can all be for personal use or for business, we may think that they are just useful for personal use but they make it easy for anyone to start and promote their business.

Week 1 Introduction

Hi I'm Cindy I'm 23 years old I'm taking this class to learn how to promote my business in the future. I just had a little girl January 25th she came a few weeks early on the day of our baby shower, I had to have a C-section so right now I'm still in some pain and my little girl didn't get to come home with me because of an infection, she had to stay 10 days in the hospital. I can't wait to have her here at home!
About me I enjoy hiking, working out, being outdoors, doing remodeling projects at home and just stay home and watch movies. I'm trying to get my AA in Kinesiology  and transferring, I'm almost done at MiraCosta but this semester I dint had any luck getting the classes I needed especially because I wanted to take all my classes online but it gave me the chance to take some different kind of classes.

I chose this template because it was the first one to caught my eye and I ended up really liking it. I'm really new to this so I had no idea what I was doing at first, I've never used blogger before.