Week 14 Blog One

Krystal Koven does not have 30 page likes, but because I didn't want to receive a zero for this portion, I will examine my band Eridia's analytics. My band has not really been too active recently, as we do not have any gigs lined up until January.

My band's reach went up 12%, my band's engagement went down 22%, and there were no actions on our page for the past few weeks. (wow, I really need to start advertising us a bit more efficiently) It looks like previously, our posts have reached up to 157 people. I would hope to extend this number to at least 400. We have a total of 602 page likes and only 32 video views.

I am glad I decide to analyze my band, as we clearly have some work to do! As far as Krystal Koven goes, I will make it a point to reach 50 followers by the end of the month so I can analyze my stats correctly.

Week 15 Final Blog

Overall, I would say I have a much stronger grasp on social media for my particular company. I worked for an animal rescue and managed their social media, which deemed much different than my current way of going out social media. I found for each brand or company, the platform of choice will change drastically. I have learned how to create advertisements, how to get a larger post reach, the demographics of my company, how to do a scheduled post, and the analytics of my company. This has really helped me tremendously, as the entrance project for the school I am transferring to (FIDM for apparel industry design) expects me to complete all of what we learned in this class so I will easily be able to apply what I learned to my future. 
I would like to further look into creating an Etsy as I had mentioned before, and then eventually a legitimate website to add to my social media platforms. I also want to create a Groupon ad as well as further develop my Twitter. I haven't looked into Tumblr as much, however, I feel this might also benefit my brand since Tumblr is all about aesthetics.

My view of Instagram has changed, as it has been a fantastic platform for my company. I have over 200 followers and am able to follow individuals based off of the way they fit into my particular demographics for my brand. What I found was particularly useful was going to individuals pages that were similar to my own such as Dolls Kill or Crystal Tribe, and following the individuals that followed these accounts. I made sure to follow individuals that actually liked pictures on these accounts opposed to just ghost followers. I have much to learn when it comes to Instagram, but I feel like I have a good grasp for just beginning. 

My viewpoint of Facebook advertising has changed, but currently not for the better. I didn't appreciate the fact that I cannot follow individuals, I can only invite them to like my page through my own Facebook. This practically forces me to have to pay for advertising in order to extent my post reach. What I did find helpful with Facebook is the analytics page, as it showed my page most metrics, who's engaged, and how many individuals have been reached. 

I feel like this class gave me a much better understanding of my own business and the social media platforms used for each. Because of this class, I ended up getting my first purchase for a custom order halter top and hope to get at least three more purchases this month. I am super excited and feel comfortable launching my business and creating a name for Krystal Koven.

Week 15 Blog One

I have found the best platform for my particular business was Instagram, as I have over 200 followers now opposed to my 25 on Facebook. Facebook,however, has more areas to advertise professionally and allows you to view your analytics which will deem very helpful in the future. The worst platform in my opinion is Twitter, but then again, I haven't ever had a Twitter previously so learning how to use it was a little more tricky. 

I believe Facebook as well as Instagram are good to use every day for different reasons. Facebook allows me to post status's, advertisements, or tag others in certain posts. There is much flexibility with this platform, but it is harder to get individuals to like your page without paying for post reaches. Instagram is a great tool for visual products, but doesn't allow for as much professional advertising. I found that the majority of companies similar to my own start out on Instagram and Etsy, and then grow from there. 

As far as keeping people intrigued and interested, I believe each social media platform should be used daily. For advertising platforms, maybe using Groupon occasionally would be okay to use occasionally.

To test how much I have grown, Facebook would be a strategic tool because it calculates everything for you. I will also be looking into other strategic ways to calculate data of growth. I looked up easy ways to calculate for yourself the amount of individuals engaged on Instagram and found that if you divide the number of likes and comments by your followers, you will have a good idea. I also have an app that allows me to see who isn't following me back versus who is, so I can better decide who my demographics are. 

For the next month, I would like to get up to 500 followers on Instagram and at least 50 on Facebook. I will create 3 new styles of halters and three new crystal wraps, and sketch out a new design for bottoms. I will post one Groupon ad offering 10% off of my featured product, and create one post reaching ad on Facebook. I would like to expand my Twitter following, as I haven't used this platform much at all. This month, once I create 5 products, my ultimate goal this month is to create an Etsy so individuals do not have to go directly through me in order to purchase products. I would like to set up a photo shoot and use two other models other than myself so that my product looks more legitimate

Week 13 Blog One

         The displayed images are my personal designs that I advertised on Facebook as well as Instagram. I also created a sponsored ad on Facebook that was meant to attract a larger crowd. I decided to pay $1.00 a day to reach a larger crowd. This ad promotes my company by linking to my blog and Instagram, plus provides my slogan and a call to action. 

         I was able to get my Instagram followers up to 150, and did so by following multiple brands and individuals similar to my own. The demographics for my company are between the ages of 17-25 and females. My followers come from all different locations, however, the majority are spiritually inclined or festival inclined. I have a large following in the hoop community, (the hula hoop flow art, I highly recommend looking  into the practice if you do not know what is) and most of these individuals tend to like my pictures and ads.

          For my next step to innovate my brand further, I would like to create more inventory and designs, then create an Etsy so individuals do not have to inbox me in order to purchase a product. I will create an advertisement that showcases my collection on Etsy in order to gain exposure. 

Week 10 Comments

I commented on Sheeri Moore, Sophia Ludyjan, and Skylar Hunter's blogs

Week 12 Blog Two

I decided to look into the different banner ads available on Facebook, as I am very interested in potentially utilizing this feature. I came across a series of different advertising forms for Facebook, and of all of them, these are the few favorites I had. 

The typical, simple photo ad: I enjoyed this form of advertising as it is simple and cost effective. It is visual, and has a solid call to action. For my company, I may put a picture of my product and then add a call to action during the holiday season that offers 15%off for Christmas purchases. I will allot 50 dollars for this type of advertising and if it earns recognition, I will continue to add more. 

The right hand column ad is another that I prefer, because it isn't as invasive as the photo ad, but is still seen. As long as the advertised product is relevant and has a call to action, it can be successful. If my ad popped up on the side of an eccentric clothing brand's website, it could deem very beneficiary for my product. As long as my brand comes up with an efficient target audience, this type of advertising will be useful. Because my company is just starting, I would only allot  50 dollars for this type of advertising. 

When it comes to Twitter, I am not all too familiar with all its features. I am more of a visual person, so Twitter doesn't seem to be the most efficient for my company on a surface level. However, when I looked into Twitter advertising, I learned it is actually much more similar to Facebook advertising than I had assumed. You can add a target audience, create new website tags, and set a budget to get more clientele. I will definitely allot 25-50 dollars for this type of advertising, and have similar deals as my Facebook ads. 

On a side note, I was interested by the fact that more people seem to be reached on Instagram opposed to Facebook by boosted posts. I will definitely make sure to boost one of my ads once I come up with a decent pitch. 

Week 12 Blog One

The first business I found that was similar to my own was Spirit Nectar. I follow them on Instagram and decided to take a look at their Facebook as well. The first thing I noticed was their shop now button as well as beautiful imagery. This company creates customized crystal art and has a unique niche in the market. Another two companies similar are Dolls Kill and Alien Clothing. I think in this case, focusing on social media and traditional advertising is essential since they are larger companies. Dolls Kill and Alien Clothing sell eccentric clothing and targets the audience I am interested in for my brand. When I went on their Facebook's, I noticed either a bunch of color, or black and white images. Their websites also follows the same guidelines. Channeled Creations and  is yet another brand similar to my own. They are a small jewelry company that creates a unique twist on crystals. The first thing I noticed on this account was their links to their other social media accounts and website. Each of these companies list a shop now button as their call to action. All follow the same protocol for attracting an audience and each is very successful. 

For companies that focus on aesthetics, I believe social media is a great way to market your product. Traditional advertising such as Newsletters, ads, etc. are effective, but for companies that are trendy and need imagery are more successful with mediums such as Facebook and Instagram.