The Beauty of Social Media

Beyond selling makeup and fragrance, Estée Lauder sets out to spread the message on social media that every woman can be beautiful.

The company uses social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, Youtube and Facebook to engage their target audience: women in their mid twenties to mid fifties.

Last year, Estée Lauder teamed up with lifestyle blogger, Emily Schuman of Cupcakes and Cashmere. Personally, I thought it was a great strategy for the brand because I feel historically Estée Lauder was perceived as being geared towards women in their mid thirties to mid fifties.

But Emily's following is as young late teens and women in their early twenties. That being said, she introduces the company to this younger demographic and it has increased their following on all social media outlets.

It shows in their sales. Last quarter, their sales were over $10 billion for the first time, making them the 4th largest beauty brand in the world, behind L'Oreal, P&G, and Unilever.

Estée Lauder Twitter

What I think has really helped the brand grow, is that Estée Lauder does more than just promote their products on these platforms. They offer beauty advice, tutorials and glimpses behind the scenes. A few weeks ago, Emily did a video tutorial on AM/PM skin care.

Overall, I'd say the brand is doing a great job promoting themselves and their products via social media. Recently, Estée Lauder has launched a #ModernMuse campaign on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to coincide with the release of their new fragrance, Modern Muse.

The company has engaged their followers by asking them to share what inspires them" using the hash tag #modernmuse.

Until next time,
Ashley

Every Man Is Not Everywhere

A great name, great product, and a great target audience is...well...GREAT!  Ideas always seem excellent on paper, but when the execution of a plan, or in this case a campaign falls dramatically short via the utilization of social media platforms it is time to walk back to the drawing board,  tail in-between your legs, and get it together...Every Man Jack.

Every Man Jack (EMJ) is a line of men's grooming products that give you the sense that they are upfront, straight forward, and lacking any gimmicks that their rivals in the market place dish out (cough, "I'm on a horse.", cough, Old Spice, cough, cough).  I will say that they are also lacking in the soc-med department when it comes to garnering followers and driving some viral presence online.

From what I've been able to gather about EMJ's presence in the social, digital spectrum is that its almost non-existent.  Going back to 2010 and as early as 2009 when their Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook accounts were establish you would think that in 2013 their numbers and creative content would be up to snuff with what is already out there.  EMJ is great, their products are excellent, but it appears that they are missing that sophistication that comes with embracing social media avenues.

Taking a look at Every Man Jack's YouTube page, ironically titled EMJBuzz, I lost the concept of the company being the straight shooter  that I portrayed them as earlier.  I see a lack a creative content and not only that, but the focus on establishing/ reinforcing their image is not clear.  Who are you EMJ?  What would you recommend they do about this; leave the YouTube scene entirely or actually put some elbow grease into making this channel work?

I would like to see more of a mesh between their social media accounts and incorporate their audience because as you can see below I've gathered original works from individuals who are showing love for the brand on their own time and dime.

 

Why are you not listening EMJ?

 

 Maybe not entirely within copyright regulations and a host of other red tape, but good on you Martin Torres for showing a little YouTube love for EMJ.

Works such as the one above is what I envision for the brand, and still do just from the name, Every Man Jack, to embody and promote.  Get it together...Man. 

Victoria's Secret's Social Media Is Sexy

Victoria's Secret was named #1 in the Top 500 retailers for their social media strategy in 2012 and is in the upper half of the top 50 for last month's numbers.

But how can such a company beat out stores like Amazon.com and Walmart? Well, here is how.

Victoria's Secret truly knows their target market. They not only know where their target market hangs out, but they know what attracts their target market.

Having a target market of young women, they were sure to choose social media that their audience would use.



They have a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube channel. All of which Victoria's Secret updates frequently.

Through these accounts, Victoria's Secret will integrate or promote one another. On one Facebook post on October 1st, Victoria's Secret added a link to their YouTube Channel . In the video they also talked about a hashtag, #VSFragrance, which is usually used on Twitter. This shows their connection between and use of all accounts.

They are also sure to get their audience involved. They ask questions, hold contests, and host events exclusively for their online followers.

Victoria's Secret also encourage customer interaction. They ask them frequent questions, respond to some customers, and even help them out.

Also, they always are adding new content and pictures that appeal not only to women, but to men too. I was showing my co-worker my powerpoint for class and he was very happy with the pictures I chose.



As much as Victoria's Secret is online, they are offline too. Though they do send a lot of their promotions, sales, coupons, and information through email. They do send out coupons, sales, and catalogs through the mail.

They also have the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show on TV, and encourage people to write about it. Last year they had the largest number yet of people watching and talking about the fashion show.
______________________________________________

I think that Victoria's Secret social media strategy is really effective. They're so good; I can't think of a away that they can improve.

Like the oracle article "Managing the Social Media Marketing Mix" said, They are connecting all of their social media counter parts and creating a thread between all of them.

Plus they are using the four social media lenses. They are frequently updating their content, using the correct formality for their audience, they are funneling to specific channels,  and using the waterfall effect by connecting their channels.

Although I am not exactly sure if they are ranking their social media  lenses by subscription size, I'm sure that they are in some way and using it to their advantage.

Maybe that is something that they can work on, using their subscriptions to their advantage. I did notice that their Twitter uses twitter pics and they don't post their Instagram pictures to their tweets. So maybe they can use their larger subscription of Twitter followers and have them click on an Instagram link to promote more visits to their Instagram.



Other than that I think that Victoria's Secret is doing an amazing job with their social media strategy. I mean, after all, they were number 1! Let's hope they keep it up for this year.

Writing in Social Media...Etiquettes....

After searching for some etiquette tips writing in social media, there are TONS of rules and a lot of suggestions in social media writing. I learned a lot of things and also stuff that annoys people out there. Let's keep this simple.

  Here are some common etiquette tips that were mentioned:

• Do not use capitalized letters because it seems like a person is yelling at the audience. (Don't you hate it when you people do that?)

• Grammar (When people don't know how to use their...THEY'RE and THERE'S)

• Hashtah Happy people (This is when you see #dont#you#want#to#read#this#and#not#get#bored#letshashtageverywordinthesentence)

• Punctuations (This is just like the capitalization letters because it sounds like you are yelling at people!)

• People spamming everything they do (Do this and you will be fit, blah, blah, blah, all over your news feed) 

• Do not talk about religion, politics, or society • Don't tag people on pictures that they're not even in

New things I had learned researching this:

• Following everyone that added you

• Not responding back on your replies (Guilty as charged)

• Don't be too boring and always about business, have a little fun

• Social Media is NOT sales media

• Don't thank everyone that started to follow you (especially on Twitter)

• Don't talk about other things outside your subject

• Read directions

There are a lot more things in social media that I am learning more and more, having social media Etiquette could help get more followers and your professional career be recognized more.


  Source: Social Media Business Etiquettes

Being Me. Only Me. My Personal Brand.

I am an automotive professional who has 5 years experience in Media, Automotive Events, Press Fleet, and Automotive Testing.

 My objective: to work directly for an automotive manufacturer in Marketing, Events, or Operations Management, just as I have been working part-time contractor as an automotive test driver for Volkswagen Group in the Allendale, NJ facility. I am experienced in the following:

• Drive Activities - Ride & Drive Events for Consumers & Media 
• Buyer Engagements - Direct to Consumer Promotions/Events 
• Media Involvement - Press Events and Vehicle Deliveries 
• Event Logistics - Site Selection, Permits, Activation 
• Fleet Logistics - Media & Promotional Vehicle Management 
• Executive Transportation - Corporate, Media, Government, Private 
• Test Driving

My target audiences would be automotive manufacturers, automotive events, media, enthusiasts, and press fleet.

 Channels: Linkedin account which I use as my professional channel but will be opening a Twitter and Facebook account to broaden my horizons in social media.

Fashion or Something JUST like it

Have you ever heard that resume is just not enough? 

Branding and developing yourself is such a task in itself. Who you are, what you do, what makes you so different?

Everyone is capable of creating any type of blog, but one to promote yourself is a challenge in itself. So here it goes...

What comes to mind when you hear the words fashion or retail? Shopping? Luxury? 

I've been in the fashion retailing industry for the past eight years, and let me tell you it's not an easy ride.  The customer comes "first," or is always "right."

Those phrases are the rules, but there are "exceptions," to the rule. I kind of experienced some kind of quarter century crisis when choosing my career but, I've decided that fashion retailing is where I'd like to be.

I'm trying to create a engaging blog that will attract fashion retail professionals like me and as a bonus, possible future employers.

I'd like to have bigger online presence through my blog, Linked In and Klout.  I hope to be able to measure my success through these platforms.

Until our next post ... -Thea

Location, Location, Location!!

"Think of social media as real estate."

Any business owner can tell you that one of the keys to their success or possibly failure as a business was their location in relation to their potential customers.  It's a rather simple concept.  The more travelers on a road, the more customers a business will have.

Now that the Internet has made our world a smaller one, these physical highways are now cyber highways known as social media blogs.  These blogs are traveled every day by millions of "users" from all across the globe.

Businesses have the same marketing concerns as the physical realm, but with a slightly different twist:
-  Are they positioned at the right locations (are they utilizing social media blogs most commonly traveled)?
-  Does their store front and store sign appear clear and visible (are their ad banners the correct size, proper content, and positioned well for users to notice them)? 
-  Are their signs advertising the current in-store sale placed close enough to the street (are their current promotions linked to the proper key search words for users to stumble across)?

As hopeful marketing and business gurus, we must become masters of this new age of business real estate.  Social media is the location of the majority of the world's consumers, and a business can access them from a single computer.  With that being said a class blog is perfect for us to familiarize ourselves as becoming creators of social buzz/interest instead of simply getting caught up in it.

I will refer to myself as the guy in class who said he hates social media, but I also said I understand the importance of it now and even more in the near future.  I plan to create my brand and utilize our class blog to promote myself and my future career goals.  I have also begun my advancement into this area by creating accounts in most of the top social media blogs (which has been painful), and I am doing my best to check mashable (my blog of choice) every day.

My phone loves the extra attention.

Intro to Blogging: Kean University New Blog Spot

Blogging for class is a great opportunity for us to practice our skills in social media writing. The content in our blog can create presence online by publicizing our opinions, research, and personal stories.

Some people may not know that blogs have become one of the biggest and most important tool in social media. Mainly because it is the quickest way to share news on the web.

Our KU blog has the potential to grab some web traffic in hopes of getting the public to read our entries. I hope to gain some knowledge on how to properly intrigue some audience to read the content and learn something from it.

My personal brand throughout these blogs will be to promote myself as a digital marketing specialist that specializes in the topic of Beauty.

My obsession for cosmetics and skin products have led me to follow Scandalous Beauty by Erin J. Bailey. My passion is to help African American women become more aware of products that best suits our radiant brown complexion.

Scandalous Beauty by Erin is a great blog that I've followed for two years. It covers product reviews and recommendations that are geared toward the black female population.

Our class blog will make a great example to other college students who are looking to blog as well. Sharing our words and connecting to others is a big step we are taking into out new journey as social media writers.

Blogging: Essential To Your Brand and Your Future

Why Blog For Class? 

Contemporary Issues in Marketing Social Media. This is the name of our course, and yet we are questioned as to why we should have this blog?

It seems pretty self explanatory, but maybe a closer look at the title and a simple break down will create meaning as to the necessity of this blog.

"Contemporary" is a word that means that something is happening now, in the present. It is important to stay on top of everything current. Currency shows credibility, professionalism, and youthfulness.


"Issues." Problems, questions, comments, concerns? All of these are things that must be addressed and shared.

If an issue isn't resolved then people are left unsatisfied. Troubleshooting, answers, feedback, and explanations are the only way that we, as people, can feel a level of contentment.

"Marketing" is the action or business of promoting and selling a product or service. That is what we're doing with ourselves, this course, and our major.

"Social Media" is a platform that people use to interact with one another. Usually free or cheap, it can be anything from writing to pictures to video. Social media helps to create an audience and following with sharing and commenting.

So what is that all together?

With this blog we will be able to keep up with the times. Our research, findings, and questions can all be addressed on this one space, that is free.

 We will also be able to give answers, encouragement, and constructive criticism to one another. This will create a comfortable and professional environment where we will be willing to share ideas and thoughts.

Sharing and interacting with one another is a part of marketing. We can also market ourselves as well as other brands on this blog with the internet audience and each other.

Creating contacts with one another is a great way to network and market oneself. And obviously, this blog is a social media platform.

All in all, we will cover all areas of the course by using this blog.



In short terms, Why blog?

• timely, quick to update
• create/promote interaction
• cheap, web presence
• contacts, networking, extend brand

                                                                                            

What Do I Hope to Get Out of This Blog?

Using this blog I hope to get all of the aforementioned things. I especially hope to share my personal brand and create contacts within our group as well as the internet audience.

To build my brand I can share my thoughts and ideas that I have with my colleagues in blog posts and comments.

One idea I have is: can we get some color on this page? It's so blah. I feel we need to do something to make our website stand out more, don't you?

Maybe I'll speak of it when I do my presentation on blogger.

I can also create a dialogue that allows others to get to know me as well as what I want to do. I can share here what I am currently doing and working on right now if I wish. Which, I believe I shall. 

I am a writer for SALT blog, where I blog about anything to do with college and saving money. Before, I was a fashion blogger for the site, but now I write about a few different things.

Currently, I'm working on writing about going to community college, where I first started off, and transferring to a four year school. 

I am also the editor-in-chief for Her Campus Kean, an online magazine geared towards women. Her Campus specifically is a website where campuses from all over the country are aggregated on this one website and we can share stories, trends, and ideas about our campuses. It's a great way to get some of your writing out there and published.

I have a few other things that I write for, but I'm sure that will be revealed as my time with the class goes on.

I recommend that we all learn about one another and share our experiences so that we can create a fun and interactive environment, as well as a professional one.

Follow me on Twitter @BLynneB and let me know that we're in class together, that way I'll be sure to follow you back!

                                                                                           

Blogs I Will Be Following

I just realized that Google Reader no longer exists! How sad is that? Now I will have to learn how to do RSS feed in another way. 

But anyways, I'll have to find some new blogs to follow.

One I'm going to follow is The Budget Babe, so that I can learn about college fashion on a budget. It will be a great resource for HC Kean and the SALT blog.

I also will be following a similar site called College Fashion. Both are great sites that I recommend for anyone who is interested in young adult fashion. They used to be on my Reader until Google got rid of it.

I can't wait to read everyone else's and learn about each person's interest. 

Until Next Time! 

Keep The Conversation Going, You Keep The Masses Talking

     If there is one thing that a conversation entails it is definitely dialogue, an exchange of ideas, if you will.  Depending on the content and the interpretation of that dialogue by, in this case when referring to a blog, the audience will the conversation continue outside where it originated.  This should be a priority and a healthy practice to adopt, creating a blog for not only within the social marketing world, but for all businesses and organizations alike with a key focus on informing, educating, and sharing.

     In the case of our KU Cougar Blog (is this still up for reconsideration?) I am looking forward to taking in, sharing, and educating one another through this venue as well as others that may come across this blog to pretty much keep the conversation going and keeping the masses talking.

    

Who? What? Where? Why Blog?

Technology practically runs our lives.  



Where would I be without my iPhone, iPod, Blackberry, Laptop, or E-mail? Completely lost!



I have adapted to being so tech-savvy so quickly, that I would feel lost without technology. 

Have I adapted to this Social Media Bandwagon? 

As I see it my options are to join in on all the fun be joining every social networking site there is from four square to linked in, 

....or should I just sitting back and watch it all happen?  

I know everyone follows different forums or blogs because we are interested in what celebrities are wearing, the new diet trend, or what trend is coming next? 

What ever it may be, each person has their own way of being passionate about something and finding ways to keep up with the latest news. 

I believe it is important to have a blog for the following reasons:

• Blogs in a class setting are a portal of a little community that is open to the public and can foster each individuals thoughts.
• To familiarize ourselves with the format of how a blog works.
• A way to learn about one another a little better by being capable of seeing someone else's point of view or even passion for a certain topic/issue.
• Blogging is a low cost efficient way to hold class discussions on different topics outside of class.

By using this blog weekly, I hope to gain a better understanding of how a blog is formatted and used for creating my own personal brand.  I hope to build my own brand through a blog and figure out the kind of traits I'd like to portray as well as, find what really makes my brand different from everyone else's.  

This is a way for me to learn how to spread my social network branches not only in a closed setting but, for the public as well.  I hope to integrate this new way of social media into my future career. 

A blog that I follow regularly is called high snobiety. It's a daily online lifestyle magazine that covers mostly street wear fashion, sneakers, street art, toys and lifestyle. 

I'm interested in seeing what's trending in fashion and what will be out in each season.  Every article is about something that is going out right now and changes everyday. 

The site has a wide variety of topics that are always up to date. If you're interested in fashion, sneakers, music or art this is something you should definitely check out! 

Until the next post... xoxo, Thealynn