Week 14 - Ads

I chose a FaceBook ad for Go With Your Gut to get more likes. It shows the cover of my book and I have over 300 friends so maybe it will help with engagement. My objective is page likes to grow my community. I know I have to start posting on a regular basis with relevant content so hopefully, this ad will garner some attention and grow my community.

For my Catholic, faith-based, Twitter account, @AboutJesusMary for brand awareness. I posted a question and hopefully, because of the ad people will start to follow me.

I am trying to create an ad on FaceBook for a closed group called Catholicism is Cool. Not sure if I can't because it is a closed group.

Week 6 - Post B - Alternate Assignment

For my FaceBook assignment, I chose higher profile people and the first one is Tony Robbins. I'm pretty sure he has a team managing his site. He has over 53,000 followers. It is jam-packed with every tool FaceBook offers. An Instant Messenger popped up right away and started asking me a series of questions. All of his past and upcoming events are listed and they are posting multiple times a day. They have personality quizzes one can take to probably identify which one of his programs would be the best fit.

I need to visualize how I want to play in my business, certainly not on that scale but, happy to do podcasts and perhaps a TV show again.

Zig Ziglar was another choice. My Dad gave me one of Zig's earliest books, See You At The Top, and I have it to this day. He has passed away but, I think his son has taken the helm. They have 4.7 million friends and countless posts, videos, and Zig's quotes. I don't see any call to actions but, they have videos talking about webcasts so they seem pretty current. I especially like the faith-based quotes and I should incorporate more of that on my site.

Brene Brown is another self-help speaker. She has over 1,500,000 followers. Her site is awkward to go through but, when I did scroll down I liked some of the quotes she posted and seeing some videos.
There are multiple photos of her above the fold which lead to her different projects. It would have been better to be more static and not so many places to click and end up elsewhere.

Week 13 - Post A - Advertising Examples

I chose a few authors to see how they are using their social media platforms to soft sell or a blatant sell.

Candice Kumai - She uses Twitter on a regular basis. She posts many clips of her on TV and others about her books and food and wellness programs. She uses photos, videos, quotes, and every several posts she has a call to action using words such as "Flash Sale". She has a large following so I'm guessing this type of engaging with her fans she is getting sales. I do like the images she uses with a nice photo and just a bit of text. Maybe she read the .PDF's for class this week!

Bob Pacilio - Bob utilizes Facebook. He wrote a book about Moonlight Beach so his photos are of the views. He also takes photos of the bookstores on 101 in Encinitas who carry his book. He is not shy about using a call to action, urgency, and low supply of his books to make the last few sales. Very clever and unashamed about constantly making an offer to his followers. He even asks his tribe to place orders so he can buy another round of books from the publisher.

Jesse Gardner - HeySoul.com. I met Jesse at a neighborhood "marketplace" and learned of her "Soul boxes". She names them such as "Calm" and sources products to create an inspired calm gift box. Her Twitter is outdated but, her Facebook has more activity. She posts images with quotes and wise sayings and has the sale prices for her different boxes underneath. Actually, very smart. I don't feel sold just interested to find out what might be in the latest themed box.

When I am on Facebook, a lot of ads will pop up on the side of the page. Images with only the name of the company at the bottom are intriguing to me. I remember I saw a pair of pumps at Nordstrom's that I liked. Every time since when I would go on FaceBook an ad for those shoes popped up. Kind of creepy. Must admit I eventually bought the shoes. I think major companies do fairly subtle ads like that whereas my speaker/podcast/course creator friends are much pushier. Also, there are a lot of Realtors who blanket FaceBook with a picture of themselves and their listings. That is annoying. I'm a Realtor but, I'm not looking to buy a house. Maybe, they could push it out through the Audience Insights.

With the various advertising available I am probably more so exposed to it through radio, then TV. Online ads are easy to skip over and there is so much reading to be done. If an ad is attractive and not in my face like a simple graphic with a nice looking product and a "suggestion" to buy, I'll pay attention.

Week 12 - Post B: Project Research

I chose BingeNetworks.TV which is a distribution platform for creators to submit their podcast and video content. The site boasts links to over 50 venues such as Roku, Apple TV, Sony, etc... It works best for videos though plenty of podcasts are on the site as well. Even though it is a distribution site and they need content to become more noticeable and attract viewers, the creator of the content still need to market their brand. They also offer monetization of the content. I'm on Reinvention Radio and Beyond 8 Figures as a co-host.

In the early days of MeetUp Groups my mom entrepreneur business was a founding member for MeetUp. Was very popular and I see many MeetUp Groups are still around town in a variety of topics. In my newer venture MeetUp would be a great way to connect with our tribe as face-to-face is about the best organic approach that can grow a business through engagement.
https://www.meetup.com/cities/us/ca/encinitas/writing/

Week 12 - Post 1 - Integrating Online Marketing Tools

Since I have three separate businesses, I utilize a variety of tools that best suits them. I have been the reluctant social media participant but, these assignments have helped me gauge which social media options I feel most comfortable using. A friend of mine teaches a streaming academy and always advises that one figure out "where they want to play and with whom". His version of which social media sites resonate with you and is that where your tribe can be found.

For real estate sales, I use my website and Facebook, though not enough. I use my Mailchimp list to promote real estate and my vacation rental properties. I utilize LinkedIn for my profile of what I do and my background but I don't engage with anyone or write articles. I have a presence on Twitter as well and I'm finding that I like it. I am not originating many posts, just replying or retweeting posts.

With that said, I'm going to take another look at my profile on LinkedIn and choose what I want to be known for. Difficult wearing three hats and standing out. I find people get to know me in one category and then find I have two more that are interesting so there is a crossover. The crossover happens when I'm working with buyers or seller's of property and they google me and see that I have vacation rental properties and vice versa. I have sold homes to my guests which is great! They also see that I've been in media and am an author. So I just realized my website, though fairly static, and my MailChimp database and newsletter are my greatest tools and have kept me going. But, I am still going to integrate a more consistent use of Twitter and LinkedIn moving forward.

Week 11 - Post B - Classmate's Blogs I Commented On

https://csit155-sp19-adrianam.blogspot.com/

https://csit155-sp19apoynter.blogspot.com/2019/04/wk-11-email-marketing.html

https://csit155-sp19-durhamd.blogspot.com/

Week 11: Post A - Newsletter Frequency

When I send a newsletter to my lists, I have decided it is a good idea to let them know who I am and the various ways my business operates. The majority of my list is from my vacation rental inquiries and guests. When I send a newsletter I receive approximately a 50% open rate and I attribute that to the fact they have all either spoken with me or experienced my rental. Also, I sell vacations. I put in the newsletters a bit about the local real estate market, a podcast of mine, and something that is happening in Encinitas that might be interesting to them. So far, with each newsletter, I get a booking and someone responds just to say hi, which I consider a success.

I am on a variety of newsletter lists and I most often see a story that leads to a sale. Once, the majority of their content has been dispensed it seems to be regurgitated with another call to action.
I find that I like to scrub my emails to delete the ones that just want to focus on shallow content and expensive calls to action.

There are newsletters I receive that do offer tips and solid information and if they have a huge list they may slip in advertising that makes their newsletter cumbersome.