Tuesday, November 26, 2019

week 13: Online advertising

As I was scrolling through social media (I personally only use Instagram occasionally) and looking for great examples of advertising that caught my eye, I started to notice a trend. The ads that caught my eye the most seemed to have some bright colors, a strong focus point and a title of some sort. simple but also eye catching. I also noticed that generally a video would often catch my eye but it seemed more so that the fast paced videos that changed scene and focus very quickly caught my eye more. I think i've somewhat trained myself to ignore most advertising for the most part but I would have to say ads that are very catchy but don't exactly relate to anything or show what they're advertising are the most annoying. It is a little pointless to have a quality ad and then leave people questioning what you're advertising.
As I was looking for similar businesses (barbershops) I noticed that there wasn't much for advertising from the local businesses. I think that is because owning a barbershop in the oceanside area or next to any military base, really, is a unique situation. The few barbershops that i could find some advertisements were more of a higher end barbershop that didn't necessarily cater to the built in clientele of the military base. 
I think the most effective advertising for a barbershop would most likely be social media. A well targeted ad on instagram would definitely be very effective since barbering is a very visual business and now customers can easily be drawn in by quality of work. Radio advertising could also be effective but the younger generation (if thats your target area) is starting to stray away from radio and using streaming audio. A slightly larger investment that would be very effective would definitely be a billboard. From a few quick searches of the San Diego area, billboards range from $2000-$5000 but can bring in an additional $5000 and up of revenue each month.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Week 12: Project research

I was having a little trouble finding additional tools that are related to barbering and owning a barber shop and then it occurred to me; i was currently using a great tool to search for many networking options.... Google! Google isn't exactly a tool like the others listed but i did use it to search for local networking social events, barber expos and local barbering courses. As a barber, it crucial that you stay up to date on your skills and the current trends in order to provide the best service for your customers and all that can be found on google.
Another interesting tool could definitely be a podcast. It has become very trendy to have a barbershop that is kind of manly and part of that atmosphere is great stories. A pod cast is a great way to share your barbershop stories and possibly attract new customers that like the style of the podcast.

Week 12: Using other online tools

As a barber and a barbershop owner, I feel yelp is a very useful tool that many people utilize when looking for a service based business. Ive fortunately had good luck with yelp at the barber shops i have worked at have received many great reviews but it is also very common for yelp to break new businesses just based off of a couple fluke bad interactions. As a barber shop owner and service provider, i will most definitely be utilizing yelp and will encourage my customers to leave yelp reviews.
Another great tool that I personally use is google business. I think recently I have been using it just as often as i use yelp to help me find a new business for my specific needs. Its very convenient because you can get the location, reviews and available services all in one.
I believe yelp and google business would probably be the most valuable but there may also be some value in a podcast or at the very least, be featured on a local podcast to help spread the word of available services and the potential benefits of them.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Week 9: Twitter

This was a difficult one for me because I have never used twitter and I do not foresee myself using twitter in the future but it was interesting to see how to navigate the new platform. As I was searching for relevant pages, I noticed that many of the pages i followed on facebook and instagram weren't on twitter and the few that were on there had much less followers and activity. I ended up following a few familiar brands and used their actual names to search for them directly as well as some random barbershops that I found by just searching the word "barbershop."
One of the pages i followed was 360 Jeezy. He is very well known for his how to videos on youtube as well as some funny videos that he makes. He has a massive following and is very helpful to follow as a barber. I also followed Wahl USA because most of my equipment is Wahl and i like to keep up with the latest barbering equipment on the market.
I also followed Elegance and they are somewhat of an industry leader in style and styling products and employ some of the best barbers at their studio.
I added a few of these pages to my lists as well as Reuzel USA as they are my favorite company for styling products. Having the lists makes it convenient to be able to organize your followers into groups and see exactly what you want to see whether it be new industry equipment or maybe what your local competition is up to and currently posting.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Week eight: Get Visual

Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and Pinterest fall into the top of the visual social media platforms. Of those four, I believe that Instagram would be the most beneficial to my business. Barbering is something that is very easy to display in a photo and instagram allows you to target your market while also displaying your work. Although it takes much more time, skills and effort, another great platform for barbers is YouTube. Many very successful barbers host how to channels that have hundreds of thousands of followers. Personally, I don't every plan to make my own YouTube channel but it is still a very effective outlet. With over 1 billion monthly active users on Instagram, it is a very good social media platform to display visual media.

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

Week Seven: Scheduled posts


For some scheduled content on my business page, I chose to go with some posts to promote our grand opening. I included a photo with each post to help catch the attention of my followers. I also added some promotions and a special event to help boost interest in the business. My last post was to remind my customers that we do appointments and that spots do fill up quickly so be sure to make them ahead of time to look good for the weekend!

Monday, October 7, 2019

Week Seven: Engaging your customers

The businesses I chose to follow on my page were Knuckleheads barbershop, Hairstyles for men, Men's hairstyle trends, Barbers only magazine, Elegance USA, National Barbers Association, Barber clips and Wahl grooming. Many of the pages I chose to follow were to maintain my personal growth as a barber like the Men's hairstyle trends page. Its very important for myself or any other business that is involved with trends and styles to be current and know what their customers might like. I also chose to follow a few local businesses to show some support while also being able to see what they are (or are not) doing with their social media accounts. Lastly, I followed some of the big companies in the industry that are making the top equipment and grooming products to be able to provide my clients with the best and current products.
By following the pages, I can keep my business and personal work relevant and up to date and provide the best possible customer service and experience to every one of my clients.

Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Week Six

Facebook insights offers a lot of great features for people running a business page. it breaks down much of your information to alleviate wasting time on posts that your friends wont see. Two very important features of insights are post reach and post engagements. Post reach is the number of times your posts have crossed someones screen whether or not they actually saw the post. It the the actual potential for someone to see your posts. Post engagements breaks it down a little further by giving you the actual number of times someone has "engaged" your post reach by either liking, commenting or sharing your posts.
Its important to know the difference between these two because even though your posts may be reaching a large number of people, you could still have a very low engagement rate. If thats the case, you should consider looking into who you're targeting in your posts and adjust from there. You can use this information to see what time you post gets the most engagement, hashtags to use and keywords best suited for your clientele.
by utilizing the facebook insights you can be sure you're engaging the largest number of potential customers and thats very important especially when you're paying to promote your posts.

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Week four: Part one

The first website I visited was "Jami Lin's Passions" and the first thing I noticed was how cluttered the page was. My eyes seemed to wonder everywhere searching for something important to focus on. As my eyes wondered about the page, i noticed that there didn't seem to be a logo or any consistency on page. Even after spending a minute or so looking at the page, i still had trouble trying to figure out exactly what the webpage was for. Among the many things offered on the page, ironically, fung shui (arranging things in a specific way to create energy) consulting is offered.
The second page I viewed was the "MGBD Parts" page. This page was slightly more organized than Jami Lins page but it was still lacking organization. The alignment seemed to be off and as i looked at the page, it made my eyes wonder and the pictures around the text pulled me away from the information. Although the text they chose didn't seem like a bad choice, placing it on top of photos made it very difficult to read. The website was surprisingly fairly easy to navigate but as i did, i noticed that it lacked consistency. Many of the links were missing the logo or had a completely different look altogether.
After checking out the first two websites, I knew without a doubt that the apple and Toyota pages would be very well put together and aesthetically pleasing. I checked out the Apple page next and without surprise, it was very well designed, easy to navigate and very consistent. The apple logo is consistently at the top of every page and directly next to it has all the navigation links. The links are exactly what you'd expect and all the links stay fairly consistent in design. They used bold text and large photos to show off their new products and as you scroll down the page, you see the other products that aren't quite as new but still equally expensive.
Again, without surprise, the Toyota page was well put together and easy to navigate. There is a little more going on than the Apple page but after looking around for just a few seconds, you can easily navigate yourself around the page. Every link you click on has the same consistent layout with the Toyota logo at the top and the navigation links directly next to it. All the text is easy to read with the most important information being in bold at the top with large eye catching photos.
As i figured, multibillion dollar companies would have a very well designed and functioning website that leaves you satisfied and able to find exactly what you were looking for.

Monday, September 9, 2019

Week three: Part two

1. The Gentlemen's Den
2. https://gentlemensden.resurva.com/book
3. No links provided on their website but a quick google search brought up Instagram and Facebook
4. Their Instagram and Facebook are linked but it doesn't seem like they are active on facebook. they seem to very active on Instagram
5. 9/9/2019
6. It seem as though they don't use Facebook other than directly linking their instagram account to it. I follow them on Instagram and they are very active on there. They reply to comments, post on their story and post something almost every day.

1. SD barber supply
2. https://www.sdbarbersupply.com/
3. Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, Instagram and Youtube
4. Twitter, Pinterest and google+ link not active. March 8 was their last post on Facebook but previous to that they were very active. They have a Youtube account but no content on it. They are very active on Instagram with lots of posts and actively replying to comments.
5. Facebook: March 8. Instagram: 9/5/19
6. They definitely utilize Instagram the most and seem to be doing a good job. When they were updating Facebook, it seemed to be used well. The other platforms aren't active.

1. Wahl USA
2. www.wahlusa.com
3. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Youtube
4. Very active on all platforms
5. Facebook: 9/7/19 Twitter: 9/9/19 Instagram: 9/7/19 Youtube: 8/22/19
6. Wahl is a very large company and is very active on all social media platforms. They manage them very well and take the time to respond to individual comments, post new products and do how-to videos.

1. Mizutani
2. https://mizutaniscissors.com/
3. Facebook, Instagram and Youtube
4. They are somewhat active one facebook and seem to post about once a month. The instagram link takes you to their old instagram account and from there you can go to their new page. Their new page is very active with daily posts and user interaction. They are somewhat active on youtube and usually post a video once a month.
5. Facebook: 8/21/19 Instagram: 9/9/19 Youtube: 8/8/19
6. Mizutani focuses mainly on their instagram account where they are extremely active with sometimes multiple posts per day, user interaction and responding to many comments.

1. Thrashin Supply
2. https://www.thrashinsupply.com/
3. No social media links on their website but they do have a facebook, instagram and youtube.
4. They are not very active on Facebook and sometimes go months without posting. Their last video on youtube was just over a year ago. They are however very active on instagram posting daily and frequently interacting with customers through comments and replies.
5. Facebook: 6/17/19 youtube: 9/2/18 instagram: 9/9/19
6. They are fairly inactive on facebook and youtube but manage their instagram very well and have a lot of customer interaction and great customer service.

After doing this research, it appears that most companies use a broad range of social media platforms but the favorite seems to be instagram. I think instagram seems to be the platform of choice due to the ease of use, no character limit and easy to display products. Personally, I prefer to use instagram as well due to the fact that its easy for me to display my work (haircuts) as well as interacting with clients when they comment on my posts.


This week i commented on the blogs of Brady, Burks II and Cliff

Week three: Part one

I can't specifically recall a time that i have had a difficult time communicating with a business but I can definitely think of times that have been positive. Recently, I saw an ad on Instagram for foot pegs for my Harley. They definitely nailed their market on their ads. The company is Crossthread Cycle and I ended up purchasing multiple items from them.
I sent a direct message on Instagram to ask them if they did package deals. I was looking for front and rear pegs, shift lever and brake lever. They responded very quickly and gave me a 15% discount for purchasing them as a package. I received the package within a few days and got some free stickers!
As a business owner, I believe social media is very important and responding to positive comments is important but responding (and offering a solution) to negative comments is much more important. I feel the positive comments speak for themself and is free advertising for your company. The negative comments can spread like wildfire especially if there are multiple and not fixed. I believe a simple comment with an explanation and a solution can be a huge, and even positive thing for you. A company with superior customer service will definitely be my first choice to go to when purchasing something new. 

Monday, September 2, 2019

Week two: Part two

For the week two responses, I commented on the blogs of Christina, Donald and Hannah.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Week two: Part one

When I think of social media, I consider Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter (honorable mention: Pinterest) to be the main platforms. Out of those platforms some seem to be catered more specifically to personal use and some more so to business.
When I think of a social media platform specifically for personal use, the first one that comes to mind would be Snapchat. Outside of purchasing adds on snapchat, the platform isn't set up very well for a business account. Im not personally familiar with twitter but from what I have learned about it, it does seem like it is catered mostly towards personal use.
Instagram has about 500 million users and is very popular for both business and personal use. Today, almost any business you can think of probably has a Instagram account. Instagram has an actual business account feature that provides cool features for businesses with the option to pay for promotion. Although Instagram is picture based, there isn't a limit to the amount of text you can add to your photos.
Facebook is still considered to the the social media platform leader with about 2.4 billion users. Facebook has many great features for business users that make it the ideal social media platform for both personal and business use. Facebook is text, photo and video based posts and also has an option to to instantly repost or share posts.
I use Facebook and Instagram but I am rarely on Facebook. My facebook is strictly for personal use and mainly to keep in touch with family. In the future, I do plan on starting a facebook page and investing money in Facebook ads for my barbershop. I use my Instagram strictly for my barber photos and plan on maintaining it and making it a business account in the future for my barbershop.

Friday, August 23, 2019

Week one: Part two

https://csit155-fa19mroth.blogspot.com/2019/08/i-decided-to-use-this-theme-because-its.html?showComment=1566602807513#c2472665199465556940

https://katchinupwithkatesaxecsit155fa19cf.blogspot.com/2019/08/katchin-up-with-kate.html?showComment=1566602984236#c5993346238377573107

https://csit155-fa19-lindsayw.blogspot.com/2019/08/post-1-starting-my-blog.html?showComment=1566603284803#c5843190658099237325

Week one: Theme choice explanation

I'll admit, my experience with blogging is extremely limited (none actually) so it took me some time searching the web to figure out what I was doing. I chose the travel theme based off the title alone because I really enjoy traveling and it was really the only one that stuck out to me. The theme is very simple and easy to navigate, which I enjoy because i'm trying to figure this all out and it makes it much easier for me.
I am taking this class because I am currently a barber and we rely a lot on social media, especially instagram to help promote our work and gain new clientele. I currently have an instagram that is just for my barbering photos and facebook that I really use. Even though i don't use it often, I feel fairly comfortable using social media but i hope this class will give me some tips and tricks to help promote my work a little more efficiently.
Like I said before, i really enjoy traveling. Almost every weekend I jump on my motorcycle and try to make it to a new restaurant, bar, hike, swimming hole, lake or even a new road that i haven't been to before. Any time i get a long weekend or more, i try to travel to a new location and i feel a blog like this could be a great way for me to share my experiences.