Megan's CSIT 155 - Fall 2022 Class Blog

I was pleasantly surprised when actively looking for ads on Facebook and IG. I usually try to ignore them! But as I was scrolling through my feed, I was actually given ads for things I'd like: photoshoots of my kids, tickets to Annie at the Civic Center, and a call for donations to a wildlife fund. They clearly targeted me well!  I would say all used imagery effectively, showcasing beautiful photos of the subjects either as single images or carousel. The CTAs were either "book now" or "donate now." When I clicked, it went to things like Ticketmaster or the nonprofit's donation page. On Instagram, it was pretty similar in what kinds of ads I got (probably because my IG and FB are linked). On Twitter, I was targeted for things like quizzes on places I've been to or links to tabloid magazines. I found the ads on Twitter to be more annoying in their content. I would say traditional advertising can be more effective depending on the audience's demographic...

I first commented on Encinitas Donuts . I thought her idea of a meetup collaboration with a coffee shop was a great idea. Maybe I could do the same with another parenting group or just another parent who wants to share ideas on what to do in N. County. I also loved her idea of going to a convention. I'm sure you get tons of contacts that way! Now Im going to look into parenting group conventions or other events.  From Carlos P's post , I learned you could start a podcast/audio library on Spotify! Maybe I will see what kinds of parenting podcasts are out there and maybe even find one based in SD. From Alexis , I learned about Hivebrite and did a little more of my own research into it.  From Sarah , I learned about LinkedIn courses! I think that could be really helpful for me, especially since I would love to learn more about podcasting and perhaps adding it as an element of my business. I really had no idea they had so many courses. Overall, it's very intere...

Since my business is community and collaboration-based, I found these sites very fun to research.  I first joined a few groups on LinkedIn: Conscious Parenting, Mindful Parenting, and San Diego 411. I'm interested to see how they play out and what messages come up on each group. I'll check back later this week. I also searched for some groups on MeetUp. I used to go to MeetUps in NYC when I had just moved there and was looking for friends. I did meet some nice people, though I also encountered a lot of odd men who just came to the MeetUps to meet women. So with MeetUp now, I would definitely be very selective in which groups I posted on or events I attended. I joined MomsNightOut so far. I didn't see too many parenting groups in there, so that could certainly be a good opportunity for me to create a couple MeetUp events for North County parents! In the same vein, I could try posting things on Eventbrite, since I often use that to find local events. I don't think Google ...

I posted a comment on these blogs: https://csit-155-fa22-kyam.blogspot.com/2022/11/week-11-part-marketing-with-twitter.html?sc=1667511503300#c7981480346906445551 https://amymather1621.blogspot.com/2022/11/week11a-marketing-with-tiktok.html?sc=1667570236784#c8260572848655440990 https://csit155-fa22-garzaa.blogspot.com/2022/11/week-11-part-marketing-with-twitter.html?sc=1667570561503#c8579585184313520250 I think my classmates found similar things to me--and chose similar platforms (Tik Tok and influencers). I also had the same thought as one classmate about Twitter... what's going to happen now that Elon is at the helm. They had a great point about staying on top of negative comments on Twitter. And I hadn't thought of Twitter Chat.   I also agreed with another classmate that a lot of  businesses just put the same content on TikTok that they do on Instagram reels or Facebook. I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing since people probably don't visit both; and even...

I decided to look at social influencers and Tik Tok, since I know the least about both of them. I think social influencers (though I really despise the term and tbh kind of the concept!!) could really help me grow my brand. For example, if I had the woman behind FamDiego sharing some of my content, it might be helpful. She mainly stays in actual San Diego, so I don't think it would be a conflict of interest or competition...but who knows! Anyway, worth a shot. I like the idea of having an influencer write a guest post and then share it on their site. So FamDiego could come to an event with me in North County, say, and then write about our experience together. Or just tag me in her post about the event perhaps? And I could do the same. For Tik Tok, I'm not sure how it would be too different from doing a Reel on instagram or Facebook..but maybe I could just post that content on Tik Tok as well. I know a lot of "mommy blogs" (also dislike that term haha) do little reels ...

My newsletter was created, and the test email was sent 10/31 The blogs I commented on were:  https://csit155-fa22-pabloc.blogspot.com/2022/10/week-10-part-researching-email-marketing.html?sc=1667167243616#c928085801511113002 https://csit155-fa22-mitulskis.blogspot.com/2022/10/week-10-part-researching-email-marketing.html?sc=1667167532055#c420628453099220429 I tried to comment on more but none were updated to week 10 except these so far.

I think with my goals for my business, it would be realistic to send a newsletter out monthly. Later, if I have more bandwidth, I think weekly would be ideal, so I could do a weekly roundup of upcoming events in North County. However, monthly could be ok for the time being to do a monthly roundup. My business could definitely use a calendar of events, plus a spotlight on an especially cool event I went to recently. There might also be a section for new products I love or new businesses I love.  One of the newsletters I read regularly (Cup of Jo) has a quote at the end, which I always enjoy. It's generally something fun and female-related. And the newsletter itself is a great summary of what was on the blog that week. It's super well done. I could also include a comic or cartoon by someone like Grace Ferris. Of course, I'd want to include my social icons and perhaps an incentive if people share the newsletter. I read Katie Couric's newsletter every morning, and she has p...