Week Three Blog Two

http://www.dollskill.com/

1. Why are they effective? 
2. What specific principles of good design do they include and why?
3. What makes you come back again?
4. What could be improved?

Dolls Kill's website is effective because it demonstrates a very eccentric, edgy clothing style and spins it into something chic and attractive. Their website's logo is in the corner, and the images are highly professional. The products and use of colors and imagery keeps me coming back. Their popularity on social media sites also spikes an interest in buyers. The only thing I would think that could be improved is their rices on certain products.

 http://mysticrelics.co/

I also visit mystic relics, as they sell very aesthetically pleasing crystals. Their logo is also very visible and the website is quite simple to navigate. The font is the same throughout and they have links to all of the different social media sites. They could, however, add more products. Their crystal prices are also a little expensive. 

Evaluation of Different Websites

The first website that I choose to analyse is headhunters hair styling, because there was a time I was thinking about opening my own hair salon and creating a aesthetically pleasing profile would be a necessity. When I first opened the page, I had noticed a large picture in which changes periodically every few seconds. The pictures were flattering, I just believe they could have been a bit smaller in size. The branding was clear, as the logo was the first thing I noticed which was a plus, but I think the services should have been shown more visibly. The second thing that I noticed that I think could have been improved was the quality of pictures they had for their team/hair stylists. Having a professional picture of yourself on the website shows that you are professional, and I don't believe this was shown through their website. Only a few of the stylists had their hair done nicely as well, which shows me that their services may not that great.

I also wanted to evaluate the family owned hotel because it was incredibly confusing to me. It's website link is exmouth, and I see no correlation to a family owned hotel and that name. Also, I could not find that location of the hotel's whereabouts. The font was different throughout, and the pictures of the hotel itself were not professional. When I clicked on Christmas break special, it was very busy and I could hardly even look at what it had to say. All around, I was give this website an F.

I wanted to evaluate Apple's website, as they clearly have been very successful. The first thing I noticed was all of the new products they have to offer ans then their logo in the top left corner. Everything is laid out in a concise order, and they have different forms of advertisement for all of the different types of learners. They have videos, blogs, press information, etc. Apple's website is not only aesthetically pleasing, it is very informative and precise.

The last website I wanted to evaluate was Toyota, a company in which is also very popular and well known. They logo is displayed on every page, and the website is easy to navigate around on. Their slogan is displayed, as well as professional images.The website displays where the closest Toyota location is to me, which makes it easy to purchase and convenient. The safety information as well as the certifications were also clearly displayed.

commented on Lauira and Kendall

Business Analysis

1. The business name
2. Their website url
3. The social media they are visibly using [links on their website]
4. Check the links and see if they look like they are well used or hardly used at all.
5. Add the date of the last post on each of their their social media 
6. Write several paragraphs explaining what you discovered from this exploration. Are these businesses using their social media well? Do they use some more than others?

1.The first business I wanted to observe is a small, local business in which creates visually pleasing headbands and other meditation type clothing. Thier business's name is Moondust Artifacts.

2.https://www.etsy.com/shop/MoondustArtifacts

3.Facebook and Instagram is used by this company.  https://www.facebook.com/MoondustArtifacts/?fref=ts     https://www.instagram.com/moondustartifacts/?hl=en

4. The Instagram and Facebook are visually appealing, but they are not used as frequently as they could be.

5. Facebook: September 12th, 2016 Instagram: 35 weeks ago

1. I also choose Third Eye Tapestries because this is another website I tend to be drawn in by. Also very visually appealing. 

2. http://thirdeyetapestries.com/

3. https://in.pinterest.com/3rdEyeTapestry/ https://www.instagram.com/thirdeyetapestries/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/ThirdEyeTapestries/?fref=ts

4. Each of these links are used very frequently, except thier Pinterest which only has 16 followers and has not posted for years.This business also has thousands of followers on each of their accounts.

5.Instagram: one day Facebook:Yesterday at 9:50pm Pinterest: 2014

1. Bichon Fur Kids

2.http://bichonfurkids.com/

3.https://www.facebook.com/bichonfurkids/?fref=ts  https://www.instagram.com/bichonfurkids/?hl=en

4. Facebook has 12,000 likes and users are very involved. Instagram no posts and a few followers.

5. Facebook: Yesterday 8:06pm Instagram: 56 followers; no posts

1. The word alive (a band but also in my opinion a business due to the advertisements and marketing they have done in order to become popular)

2. http://wearethewordalive.com/

3. https://www.facebook.com/thewordalive/ https://www.instagram.com/thewordalive/?hl=en

4. Almost 1,000,000 followers on social media sites, very visually appealing for their genre

5. Facebook: 10 hours ago Instagram: 4 hours ago

1. Peta2

2.http://www.peta2.com/

3. http://www.peta2.com/blog/ https://www.facebook.com/peta2/ https://www.instagram.com/peta2/?hl=en

4. Appeals to the eotional side of indivuduals as well as teenagers.

5. Blog: September 14th Facebook: 13 hours ago Instagram: 9 hours

So I decided to pick multiple different types of companies to analyze. I will first begin with the art companies, Moondust Artifiacts and Third Eye Tapestries, and move my way down to the two animal rescue organizations all of the way to the one band I wanted to analyze. 

When analyzing Moondust Artififacts and Third Eye Tapestries, it is important to mention that Moondust Aritfiacts is a new company who is local to Encinitas. I was interested in their company as I came across them at a local yoga studio selling their products. They spin the conventional headband into something a bit more eccentric and their own, which I admire. Their advertising skills could be enhanced, as they do not check their Instagram (I had messaged them previously images of my headband on and never got a response, until I tried their Facebook) They also do not have a website, only an etsy. Third Eye Tapestries on the other hand, have multiple social media sites that they check on a daily basis and have a very professional website. 

I wanted to anaylze a couple of animal rescues, as my field of work is with nonprofits currently. When I went on both Bichon Fur Kids website as well as Peta2, they both had very professional images used, as well as an extensive board of directors. Peta2 is known for pulling at the heart strings and giving useful information for vegans which is appealing. They also do protests as well as petitions that you can sing up for by a click of a button via text. Bichon Fur Kids checks their website by the hour and looks very orderly. 

The last marketing I wanted to analyze may come to a surprise since I picked a popular screamo band, but as an individual who is currently in a band, the form of marketing oddly corresponds with the way my nonprfit goes about business. They check their website and update it very frequently, and had a very clear way to contact them. Professional images were displayed as well as videos and gigs.

I analyzed Kendall Holmes post, and she had also mentioned that her organization does not get much publicity on Twitter. My organization also does not, so I will have to look into the ways to build awareness on these forms of social media. 

 I also analyzed Mathew Truss's post, and he had mentioned he pays attention to detail when it comes to the imagery on a website opposed to the information listed. I could not agree more with his comment, as I have mentioned above that when individuals used imagery, their business's were much more efficient. 

Week Two: Blog Post One

Have you ever experienced difficulty communicating with a business? 
Does social media make it easier to get noticed or get your problem solved?  Have you ever had a positive experience communicating with a business through social media?  If it was your own business on social media, how would you respond to positive or negative comments?Describe what made your experience negative or positive. Break content into paragraphs. 


        One of the worst experience I have had communicating with a business would be with cox communications. About three months ago, I was about to move out for my first time into a town home with three other individuals.None of us wanted cable because we have Netflix and other movie sources, so I called cox to ask for the best deal for only internet. When I called, their servers purposefully tried to pursued me to sign up for their bundle deal and made it sound like it was the cheapest option for internet. Their servers manipulated a naive 20 year old into paying much more than I had to. When I went to reverse the bundle into something less expensive, they made it virtually impossible until my parental had to take over. When business's have ulterior motives, it is very difficult to look at that company in a positive light.

        Social media does make it easier to get recognized, although one must put the effort into growing their social media of choice into an empire before much recognition will come. I have actually seen companies that have little followers and choose not to buy their product or donate to their organization for this reason. Social media will either break or make a company, so much emphasis should be put in creating a strong foundation for these platforms.

         To be 100 percent honest, I have not communicated with many business's through social media sites, and the ones I had did not contact me back. My band Eridia however, has booked plenty of gigs through social media and has been scouted for shows by different agents through Facebook.

         I feel as though constructive feedback is critical for any company, so having individuals comment on what needs improvement for my own organization would be helpful. If the individual was commenting on my animal rescue organization in a positive or negative way, I would ask them to volunteer for  my company. I actually had an individual tell me that the bio's for the animals on t=my webpage weren't laid out properly, so I had her volunteer and fix the issue.

Which Social Media Sites are Proficient for Business Purposes

To answer the question of which social media site is most suited for business versus pleasure seems highly due to which type of company an individual owns. For a animal rescue nonprofit organization, Facebook would be more suited than Instagram, as there are more opportunities to post events/posts on Facebook that would grab the media's attention. But for lets say a festival clothing line, whose main crowd are individuals that are eccentric and visionary, Instagram may be a more suited platform of advertisement.

The social media platform I personally haven't had much experience with on a business level would be Twitter, as I do not really know how professional one can sound on that site. Pinterest and Tumblr are two other social media platforms that I have not seen much use for in regards to business, although Pinterest may be superb for a visionary profession.

I decided to choose the template labeled picture window because of the use of imagery. As a manager of my animal rescue organization's social media page, I find it important to make sure to use imagery in order to grasp the reader's attention. Getting individual's to view the information on your page or in this case blog is just as important as how efficient the information on your page is, so paying attention to this detail is key.

When our class gets into online marketing, I will make sure to personalize the images displayed in the background of my template to further suit my blog. Although I have not yet studied the world of blogging, I am excited to learn more about the positive qualities they can bring to online marketing.