Let's take a deep look

In my last blog post, I spoke about the importance of  making your best "first" impression online. People will judge one's post based on the content ,aesthetics, music and more. This can be tricky but it is important to have it right. Knowing your audience is key in order to hit the "money" on this one.I want to go further and elaborate what it takes to make that great first impression and see how other people have done it.

Claire, who is a kindergarten teacher in Seoul, South Korea by trade is also a blogger on the side. As you can see with the image above she has captivated her viewer with a scenic picture that takes up almost the whole screen. The image is clean and sleek and gives you an image in your head about what she will be speaking about. "She uses Moka to great effect. The theme offers the option of adding a splashy post slider to the homepage, enticing visitors to click on Claire’s striking landscape images and read her posts, while still maintaining the easy navigation and streamlined look of a fixed front page "(Huberman,2014). You can figure out how to go through her page without feeling intimidated or overwhelmed by her website page. 

Alexandra's blog opens up with an introduction and and is has a straightforward and clean look for her blog. Having her biography listed on the side made it easy or the reader to get to know her. Her blog is personable and relatable in having people feel like they know who she is.  "The focus here is on her content, and her homepage is a distraction-free zone — visitors will only find an author’s portrait, along with a short bio tucked into a Text Widget in the sidebar. "(Huberman, 2014). 

It is important to portray who you are and be transparent with your audience.  These bloggers have done so in their works. Displaying authenticity and a successful media following because of it.

Reference

Huberman, B. (2014, February 12). Make a Great First Impression with a Homepage. Retrieved from 

       https://en.blog.wordpress.com/2014/02/12/static-homepage/

Keeping it Real

    When someone meets you for the first time, you want to give your best impression. When it comes to social media it can be the same thing. It is important to give your best impression. It could be with the aesthetics of your webpage and attracting your website visitors when the first see your website.  It is the idea that people are attracted to what they see. 

      People use videos, layouts, gifts, music and more to make it more appealing to the audience that they are trying to cater to. It is important to have your own photos that display your style and your lens of thinking. It is important to show your style of things of how things are done. It is also critical to express your passion in means that are personal and relatable. You don't want to be deemed as not genuine. "Share newsworthy information related to your brand that interests the community, keeping community members updated about the brand’s activities "(Breakenridge,2016). It is good to consider what information you are displaying. When posting have a balance of sharing personal information and comical, useful and interesting. 

       This will all be around who you are talking to. The sad truth is that only 44% of businesses have created buyer personas. Knowing your buyer is essential to making strategic decisions regarding sales and marketing. Ask yourself who will be viewing your social media and who will care about what you  share. Then, start crafting a social media plan that focuses directly on those individuals, teams, or businesses. If your audience feels  like you know them well enough, they’ll be more inclined to find out who you are.(Segal,2016). Knowing your audience and who you are targeting is key to having a successful, blog or following on your social media channels. 

References

Breakenridge, D. (2012). Social media and public relations: eight new practices for the PR professional. Upper Saddle River, NJ: FT Press.

Segal, S. (2016, September 15). 7 Habits to Make Your Brand More Authentic on Social Media. Retrieved from https://www.oktopost.com/blog/7-habits-make-brand-authentic-on-social-media/

Keeping it Short and Sweet

In the power of social media, it is nearly impossible to not mention speed. With that being said, most social media users do not have span over a few minutes to be generous but more than 60 seconds preferably. The motto the shorter the better is best in this case.  How long should a video should be? The answer is stated on NewWeb.Com states  "Truth is, there are two answers for this question 1.As short as possible 2.It depends. Obviously, both are right. we are in an era in which attention spans are getting shorter as we’re flooded with all sorts of content; text ads, Buzzfeed lists, photos, banners and more videos." (Hornung,2016). 

Image& Video From (NewsWeb)    & Buzzfeed.com/Tasty

 Buzzfeed has swept the nation and the world with their Tasty videos. Creating meals before our eyes in 15 or 30 second clips. Making it look so easy, attainable and engaging. It is important to be able to spread and share your message quickly to your followers and keep them engaged.  They now have Tasty video versions in Brazil, Japan, England, and other parts of the world creating dishes that you can make from another part of your world right in your kitchen. Buzzfeed has maximized and learned the meaning of creating and keeping everyone connected through the power of the internet. "Identify what topics of interest drive the influencers in these communities and how focusing on the critical issues work to your benefit "(Breakenridge, 102). Buzzfeed has learned to connect with millennials, those who don't connect well with cook or want to advance their cooking skills, and those who have a busy lifestyle and need quick meals on the go. Buzzfeed has led the way to this innovation of speedy videos and has sweeping the internet by storm. 
References

Breakenridge, D. (2012). Social media and public relations: eight new practices for 

     the PR professional. Upper Saddle River, NJ: FT Press.

Hornung, Y. (2016, March 10). The Optimal Length For Video Marketing Content. Retrieved from 
     https://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2014/05/02/optimal-length-video-marketing-content-short-possible/#.tnw_P2HPVC7d

How do you create an engaged audience?

        It is important to know who the audience that you are trying to engage is. You can truly gain access to anyone via social media but to truly grab the attention of those is to research your audience. What is the demographic of your current audience? Is that demographic the same for the target audience that you want to attain? These are important measures to be aware of and make note of.

       Creating a plan and knowing the proper tools is imperative to know the important ways to know how to reach your audiences. Many local businesses claim their business page on Yelp and that can be a great way to get a local business the attention that they may need in the community. Having a strategic plan, for a social media campaign is imperative. "After you have determined this overarching set of goals, then it will be easier to determine [which] metrics make the most sense. "| (Breakenridge, 2012). For example, having a hashtag or promoting a account or company for a like or a follow could give an individual an entry into a contest.  This can create major productivity.

         The ice bucket challenge that was done a few years back that truly went viral was a huge success. “Using our media intelligence platform, we see that the ice bucket challenge was mentioned 170,000 times in news media in the second half of 2014. Slacktivism was mentioned in conjunction with it 3,000 times. Though this number represents a small portion of total mentions, it nonetheless reveals a trending association.” (Vance, 2017). It was a low touch but high engagement. It didn’t require much except water, ice, some clothes you didn’t mind getting wet in, water bucket and camera to capture it all. This contest stole the hearts of millions and even got many celebrities not only to participate but to donate. This social media video campaign brought awareness to ALS and brought in tons of money that has been contributing to finding a cure.  The organization had a clear goal and mission and it was accomplished!

References

Breakenridge, D. (2012). Social media and public relations: eight new practices for the PR

professional. Upper Saddle River, NJ: FT Press.

Vance, J. (2017, February 22). Social Media and PR: Insights from the Ice Bucket 

        Challenge on Creating Lasting Impact — Meltwater. Retrieved from      

        https://www.meltwater.com/blog/social-media-and-pr-insights-from-the-ice-

        bucket-challenge-on-creating-lasting-impact/