CSIT155_F18_MeganS

Wrapping It Up Before the Holidays Final Thoughts Creating content for both MiraCosta and my own graphic design page was a positive, yet challenging experience. I think I look at it now as a resource for customer service versus having the freedom to post anything I want on social media platforms. There is a fine line between expressing yourself and cater to the needs of your customers.  However, I think curating content for another business was more natural than curating content for my graphic design page. Reflecting on what I have worked on during the class, I should have selected my Toastmaster page as my main Facebook page. The MiraCoasta page is managed by the Public Information Office at MiraCosta, which uses Hootsuite to schedule posts, I couldn't really apply what I learned in class, so creating a graphic design Facebook page was my plan B, but it still needs a lot of work. If I were to select the Toastmaster page instead, I think I could have seen an improvem...

Blogs that I commented on: Caitlyn Cimino Andrea Esquivel Leslie Montano

Reflecting & Looking Forward I enjoyed curating the content on my Facebook pages. At first, I was hesitant in creating a Facebook page for myself as a graphic designer because I haven't done work outside of school, but I through my job in MiraCosta College I can use my designs to curate content for my graphic design page. This class also provided many resources to be more engaging with other Facebook pages that I am also in charge of, like my Toastmasters' Facebook page.  All in all, I think I will use Facebook and Instagram first to integrate with my businesses. Facebook is a powerful tool to generate content and interact with followers. Instagram will be used to generate on the spot content, and you can easily track a hashtag if I have a campaign I want to see analyzed.  Once, I have a handled on those platforms, I will integrate Twitter and YouTube in the second phase of my social media strategy. I want to establish and research who will be the bigges...

Below are my insights for MiraCosta College and my graphic design facebook page. By comparing the both of them, I find it interesting that no matter how established a page is, insights take into consideration how the page is doing based on previous weeks.  Although MiraCosta College likes to have great engagement with its followers, many departments request post coming from MiraCosta, so sometimes that doesn't gather the perfect amount of engagement MiraCosta needs to maintain or increase its insights numbers. I think there's a great opportunity with my Graphic Design Facebook page and even the Toastmasters page because it will be aimed towards a specific target market. MiraCosta College Insights  NutMegGem Insights

It's in the Data After reading the lecture and researching examples of business that use Google Analytics, I think monitoring campaigns is vital. In Google Analytics, this campaigns can be found “Acquisition” →“All Traffic” → “Channels.”. With this types of reports, it indicates which campaigns bring in the most visits. For example, campaigns can be organic search and referrals. If these two campaigns bring in the most visits, I have to nourish that campaign to continue to be successful, so for organic searches being SEO friendly is a plus. As for referrals, it is likely that these users entering from there are possibly involved with me so I would like to personally thank that user, which would mean more involved research for that person and brings me to my next point.  Furthermore, I also think it is essential to know where are converting users coming from, precisely. To find this information, navigate to “Acquisition” → "All Traffic” → “Source/Medium...

Thoughts on Social Media Advertising I think developing an ad is a more thought out process. I never had to advertise on social media before, but it is important to know your audience well and be in tune with their interests. The screenshots below are for my graphic design and my Toastmaster page. I also took a screenshots of the most recent ad on the MiraCosta Page. It is was a good example to base on for advertising on social media. I think it targeted within reason.  My goal for my graphic design advertisement was to gain more engagement towards my page, and for the Toastmasters group, I want to seek more leads for the club The interest and age were important factors to create my advertisement.

Some of the tips and trick to make the best use of Facebook Ads: Targeted Location and other demographics like interest, behaviors, and connection help with the effective use of the ad. If you are graphic design savvy, create thought-out templates for Facebook Banner Ads. Knowing where your profile picture and call to action buttons block parts of the cover page will help in designing a strategic cover page for a current campaign. Be mindful of the different types of Facebook Ads. For example, MiraCosta College promotes the college's theatre season year-round. They strategically use video as the medium of the ad and pin it to the top of the post. This is ideal for this type of advertisement because of the unique timeline for this post. The shows changes as the season/school year proceeds.

The four businesses that are similar to MiraCosta Community College are other community College or local universities. The ones that I've selected that have strong social media presence are Mesa College, Clark State Community College, Middlesex Community College, and the University of San Diego. One of their advertising goals is to increase enrollment and donations for the school. MiraCosta has  Make It Happen  as their campaign. USD has "Become a Changemaker" as their campaign. There is always a catchphrase that colleges created as part of their advertising. These types of practices work because it doesn't seem like the community college are advertising themselves, but they are creating a story and trying to strike an emotion. Lately, I have seen advertising videos that are fun and engaging. As for images, many have fewer words on the ad and have a direct link when clicking the icon. Another thing that grabs my attention is the color scheme of an image...

Below are some of my research that I've gathered about podcasts and LinkedIn groups. Groups/Content on LinkedIn for Graphic Design: Designers Talk : Graphic, web, digital design and creative professionals group; This group is a creative space for design ideas and news in the industry. It welcomes all types of designers from web development to freelance. The 8 Biggest Graphic Design Trends That Will Dominate 2019 [Infographic] Researching content like current trends is very helpful for someone starting out in the graphic design industry. It helps graphic designers know what to focus on their creative space. The same goes for web developers. Currently, the design of websites with the current trends is competitive and consistently always changing. Podcast for Schools: University Affairs listed some university podcasts that took the scholarly works into powerful digital audio streams from real students sharing their experiences.  Sources: https://...

For MiraCosta College, I would implement streaming content like a podcast. As for my graphic design business, I would implement a LinkedIn profile. My personal LinkedIn fits the purpose for my graphic design business. Besides, MiraCosta is also on LinkedIn with a profile focusing on employment. I think streaming content like a podcast would benefit MiraCosta. The podcast can be used as an outlet for students. MiraCosta has a variety of students that can be a guest on the show to reflect their experience as a Spartan. This podcast can double as a marketing tool for prospective students as well. If MiraCosta College curates content based on admission dates, a podcast focusing on new students will help with enrollment rates, especially during the years when the rates are low.

Commented Blog Post: Caitlyn Cimino Mathew Ward

Newsletters are sent on a regular basis. I think it is almost on a daily basis I get emails newsletters. My promotion tab in my Gmail account is usually packed with all the newsletter and email promotions with the business that I like. Based on what I see in my inbox, the information that MiraCosta or my own business could use to generate interest content for followers are as follows: Arts & Events Section - how many students are interested in attending various arts and events at MiraCosta? For my business as a graphic designer, I could mention local events about graphic design MiraCosta Spotlight on students/ Graphic Designer of the month - This information will be produced on a monthly basis. I think MiraCosta should include a great feature story of a current student, alumnus, and faculty. For my business, I personally would select a cool graphic designer with a concentration on a particular visual medium. Highlighting a graphic designer each month will try in with t...

For the MiraCosta College, the type of categories I would include on blogs and reach the desired target audience consists of an events section, student spotlights, and news from the President. As a student, I already subscribe to newsletters and check any emails that are from MiraCosta College. As for my graphic designer one, I would include designers/designs that intrigue me or something noteworthy in the graphic design industry. One graphic designer did a 100-day challenge designing with only geometric shapes. He then posted his designs on Instagram and wrote a more in-depth blog about his journey. I think that would be interesting to post in a blog because as a graphic designer your work tends to develop the more that you practice.

It is funny that I'm writing a blog about blogging. The " Prologue"  to a Blog: Adding a human interest to a blog post can appeal to peoples emotions because the pathos of human is so intense. It is how we can relate to each other. I think adding a personal touch can work for many types of blogging or vlogging. Many of my friends on Facebook are life coaches or health coaches. They link a blog post on Facebook about how staying healthy can be a challenging thing. Recognizing and acknowledging that we are human is difficult to admit. Once you realize that you have a flaw, you are vulnerable, but being vulnerable allows people to sympathize with you. The opposite can be said if you are blogging on a company's website or social media accounts. Having fun and flare with the content of a blog can elevate the reader's experience, while still maintaining professionalism. 

Other Twitter Accounts The accounts that are similar to the MiraCosta College's Twitter page are the other local community college in San Diego. The four that I selected are Mesa College, Grossmont College, Palomar College, and Cuyamaca College. While all four colleges tweak some their post from Facebook to match the requirements for Twitter posting, only Cuyamaca college doesn't add anything dynamic like a photo. MiraCosta College has been tweeting back and forth to the President of the college, which shows dimension and demonstrates conversation.  Cover Photo San Diego Mesa College : I love their cover page. It is a high-quality photo showing a diverse group of students.  Grossmont College : They have a decent photo showing their campus. It doesn't tell a story of their student life. Palomar College : This college shows a "P" on a hillside. It doesn't relate back to students. Maybe if you attend Palomar, you would know why, but it can be...

Higher Education Institutions need visual support for their social media outlets. Take a look at  The Stars of College Social Media , this site ranks how well universities use social media to engage alumni, prospective students, current students, and alumni. The top-ranked was Harvard University. Aside from its Ivy League prestige, Harvard University's social media outlets have over 5 million followers. Also its Facebook , Instagram , and Twitter   "reflect the expansive interests of current students, alumni, and faculty, showcasing the achievements of Nobel laureate professors and the aspirations of recent graduates." So what can be gained by this social media savvy Ivy League school? I think the biggest takeaway is the genuine content and conversations that the school highlights. Let's be real, not all of us are not going to Harvard University, but we can generate great content from current students at MiraCosta to inspire  prospective students to join in on th...

MiraCosta College currently uses Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and SnapChat. It has 12,500 followers on Facebook, 2438 followers on Instagram, 3125 followers on Twitter, and 316 followers on YouTube. Considering this is the leading social media accounts for MiraCosta, there must be a balanced representation of what MiraCosta has to offer and how to strategically promote events, classes, and information. To maintain consistency, MiraCosta almost always includes #miracostacollege for its main hashtag.  As far as connecting with businesses, MiraCosta could connect more with local non-profits and local businesses in the San Elijo, Oceanside, and Carlsbad areas. We are currently vamping the YouTube Channel content due to its influence among viewers. Mesa College, a local community college, has a robust YouTube presence, so in order for MiraCosta to stay current on trends, it needs to add more content to YouTube. 

The MiraCosta Facebook page uses Hootsuite to schedule a post on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram so I will be using the Facebook scheduling tool for my graphic design page and the toastmaster club that I am involved with to demonstrate. Below are the screenshots of Hootsuite and the Facebook activity post. MiraCosta College's Hootsuite Post Scheduler: NutMegGem' Post: I think this post is effective because it is a good balance between showing my personality and providing a resource. PMCU Breakers Post: This post is meant to simply inspire people who are interested in public speaking or want to improve with their speaking and leadership skills.

4ImPrint: MiraCosta College uses this business plenty of times to create promotional giveaways, aka "swag."  Local Theatres: Moonlight and North Coast Rep: MiraCosta College has an excellent theatre program with many students winning acting competition having a connection to local theatres might help students get better connected Lifestyle Magazines: The Oside Oceanside Lifestyle Magazine great for sharing content and if any Spartans are featured it will be great to tag them on a post Other local colleges: Palomar College Cal State San Marcos keep up with the competition and see what content the nearest university that most students transfer to Volunteer Orgs:  Armed Services YMCA Camp Pendleton MiraCosta College has a well developed Child Development program and the YMCA Camp Pendleton is a huge resource for students. Also, it is a great military connection.

What is the difference between post reach and post engagement? The difference between post reach and post engagement is post reach is the unique number of people who saw a specific post in their news feed, while engagement is how people interact with the post by either liking or commenting.  Why is knowing the difference important? Knowing the difference is important for a business because a business can access what types of post entertaining and engaging to their fans. Also, a business should reach to their target market demographics instead of a vast number of people.  How can a business use Facebook Insights to better serve their customers? For a business starting out on Facebook, Facebook Insights helps them measure numerically how effective their post is to their target market. It helps them adjust where needed to showcase their business while engaging fans of the business and in time gain new customers/fans because they are friends of fans.