MKTG 347- Week 9 - Hootsuite University

I recently just signed up at Hootsuite University and I have been exploring through the website to see what the website is all about. After exploring the website, I realize how useful this could be for any organization/company or even an individual to see what specifically they are posting on social media applications are effective or not. Hootsuite allows you to see the insights on your LinkedIn profile, Facebook page, Twitter account, and also allows you to view Google Analytics based of your specific website you want viewed.

The nice thing about Hootsuite is that you can check all of the information I listed above all within Hootsuite. This makes things efficient and easier to navigate through for the user on Hootsuite. Anybody who is pursuing a career within social media marketing would definitely benefit by using this website. This will help the individual see what is effective as far as the specific advertising they are using and what keywords are working to attract viewers for their website or page. I would definitely like to use my twitter and Facebook accounts on Hootsuite.

MKTG 347- Week 8 - Facebook Insights

I had no idea that Facebook Insights even existed. This is a great tool to use for anybody concerned about how their Facebook page is going and the types of viewers visiting the page.This gives the creator of the Facebook page a better understanding of how much of an impact their page is actually making and if people are actually visiting the page and find it effective. Facebook Insights lets you see the total likes and if its increasing or decreasing over the course of time, the potential amount of fans you can reach with your page, how many people are actively talking about your page, and a weekly reach. You can also sort your posts on Facebook Insights by all post types, posts, photos, links, videos, platform posts, and questions. This allows the creator of the page to view which type of posts are most effective and which are least effective and could use tweaks and minor adjustments.

I am very surprised Facebook has this tool, but I believe this could really help any organization using social media platforms to reach new potential customers. By using Facebook Insights, the company can find so much information from current customers and potential customers about their thoughts and reactions to specific moves the company makes. The company can also see the best way to reach their customers through Facebook by using different posts and seeing which one is most effective and which one is least effective. Any company using Facebook to reach their customers should definitely be using this to see how effective their page and posts are.

MKTG 347 - Week 6 - Facebook for Non-Profits

After visiting Facebook's for non-profits website, I have mixed feelings about the website. I thought the website in general was very easy to navigate and use. The website had many different tips for different situations for a non-profit organization using Facebook to get their name out to the people. The website had tips to getting started using Facebook, create more awareness, and to help influence the active supporters of the non-profits organization to help out more. I thought the tips could be very helpful for any new non-profits organization using Facebook because if anybody knows how to create awareness and attract more donors, it would be the company who created the website itself.

The reason I have mixed feelings about the website is mainly in large part due to what Dr. Kelsey mentioned in our LinkedIn discussion. It seems sketchy that Facebook would be showing mafioso-like tendencies. Charging non-profit organizations to run ads on their website seems a little strange in my opinion. These organizations are trying to help for the greater whole of society, not to collect money, hence, the "non-profit" name. Its good to know not all companies allow this to happen. Google is generous and lets the non-profit organizations on their website to run free advertisements. I think that is the ethical thing to do. These companies are trying to help and the last thing we want to do is charge these companies for trying to create awareness about a specific cause.

MKTG 348 - Week 14 - Overview of Class

With my last blog post for Marketing 348, I wanted to give an overview of the class and share my personal thoughts of the class. Overall, I really enjoyed this class. I would have never thought I would be taking a search engine optimization class, but I am thankful I did. I would have never known about all the job opportunities SEO has to offer for different businesses. Just about any business could use someone that is an expert in SEO. I also would have never known about how important SEO can be for a company and how it actually works as far as how specific search engine companies rank the websites. Before taking this class, I just assumed it was based on what website was clicked on the most or viewed the most, and part of that is true, but there is so much more to how each website is ranked on Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.

I would definitely recommend this class to anybody I know. I believe this class could not only be helpful for any business major, but I believe this class could be helpful for any major a student is pursuing. I think it is important to understand how SEO properly works, because if somebody plans on running a business one day, no matter what their major is, they should have a better idea of how SEO works and the impact it can create on a company positively. Now when I am searching specific websites on any search engine, I am constantly looking at the quality of content the website provides, how popular it is, and many other details that I have learned throughout this class. This was a great class and I am very happy I selected this course.

MKTG 348 - Week 13 - Most Popular Search Engine?

There are many different search engines out there to choose from when looking for specific pieces of information online. Some of the search engines include Google, Bing, Yahoo, and many others. The question I had was which one is the most popular? And how much more popular is it compared to the other search engines? After doing research online and looking at several different websites, I found a website specifically that had the top ranked search engines under several different demographics. According to www.further.co.uk I was able to find information from a global perspective and the percentage of each search engine used for the year. From 2013-2015, Google has been the front runner and is at an enormous advantage compared to the other search engines out there. In 2013, Google was at 81% while the next highest percentage was at 8% and was listed as "other" in the category. In 2014, Google was at 82% while the next highest percentage was Bing at 7%. In 2015, Google was at 83% while the next highest percentage was Bing at 7% again. From the past few years, you can clearly see Google is the front runner and most likely will continue to be the front runner by a long shot for years to come.

Before conducting the necessary research to find out which search engine was used most globally, I had a confident feeling that Google was going to be ranked the highest. I did not however, think it was going to be as high of a percentage as it was compared to the other search engines. I think the other search engines are a good option to use as well, but Google has grown tremendously and their brand image is so much stronger compared to its competitors. After looking at the statistics, now I wonder what Bing, Yahoo, and other search engines react to such high numbers for Google compared to their search engine. What can they do to help increase their percentage of usage? It remains to be seen and I wonder what the percentages will be like ten years from now.

https://www.further.co.uk/blog/who-what-and-when-profiling-google-yahoo-and-bing-search-demographics/

MKTG 348 - Week 12 - Technology Creating Opportunity

If someone were to ask if a career within social media marketing or search engine optimization would be a wise choice twenty years ago, most people would laugh and say no. It is comical to think about how technology creates such an impact on so many different people. Because social media and technology in general were not nearly as far advanced as it is today, those two career opportunities were not as appealing to people. Now, with social media being very popular all over the world and technology continuing to advance each year, a career within social media marketing or search engine optimization has become increasingly more popular. There is so much opportunity to grow from a company standpoint if their social media marketing is effective and if they are using the correct keywords and good quality content for search engine optimization.

The two careers are becoming some of the most sought after positions within the business world. More and more companies are realizing how important it is to take advantage of these opportunities to increase awareness, business, and sales for their company. Twenty years ago, nobody would have thought this would be a great opportunity for businesses to take advantage of, but because technology is also becoming more and more advanced, the opportunity is there for the taking of businesses all around the world.

MKTG 348 - Week 11 - SEN

I have just recently signed up on searchenginenews.com and have been exploring the website to see what it is all about. The website includes so many features to help better a company and yourself in the SEO area. The website even includes articles about SEO and articles that are related to SEO. The website also includes Master Classes, which include an expert in a number of different industries that provide different types of strategies to become successful. There are even training courses to take on the website to become more of an expert in SEO.

Overall this website looks like it can be very beneficial to anyone interested in SEO. It also looks like a user friendly website that does not seem intimidating to the rookies of SEO. For someone like me who is not an expert in anyway with SEO, I will find this website very helpful. I hope to become more of an expert in SEO by using this website's training courses, reading articles, and seeing what the experts suggest in order to become successful in this area of work.

MKTG 348- Week 10 - SEO Details

Over spring break I was one of the unfortunate few who did not end up going on a trip somewhere warm and tropical. I was at home applying for jobs and going through several different interviews as I look for a job post-graduation. As I was looking at specific jobs and companies, I noticed I was using different keywords to find updated information on the company and the specific job title. I wanted to look for specific reviews about the job and how people in the past reviewed it and also about how people rated the specific company too. It is important to gather information on the title of the job and the company before going any further into the interviewing/applying process because you want to make sure it is a job you're going to enjoy doing and coming into work everyday.

All I could think about when I was typing in different keywords was how these websites were ranked on the search engine based off their quality content. I never would have put much thought into how the websites were ranked if I never took this class. Now, whenever I use search engines, all I can think about after I type in a keyword to find results is how were these websites ranked. It is something that I will continue to find interesting whenever I use any search engine to find specific information and results.

MKTG 348 - Week 9 - Google Analytic

Google Analytics is one of the top services that Google offers to the public. It is a service that tracks and records website traffic from the public. This was a service Google created and presented in 2005 and has continued to be a popular service many people use. This a great service to use by any company who is interested in seeing website traffic for their specific company website. This will help companies get a better understanding of how their website is compared to their competitors and to see what adjustments they need to make to help improve their content and their website as a whole. The Google Analytic service also does more than just track and record website traffic. You can also set up goals within the service and see how the company's conversion rates compare to the specific goals set by the company.

I think this is a great option for any company looking to improve their website and create more awareness about the company itself through a search engine. By using a service like this and creating more awareness to the public, this could be something that really helps improve sales and business as a whole. What is really interesting is that the service can track web tracking and also mobile tracking so the business can get an idea of how effective the website is through a mobile device and through the normal website.

MKTG 348 - Week 8 - SEO Jobs on the Rise

Search engine optimization jobs are on the rise recently compared to 2012. Not only are the jobs on the rise, but the salary for a search engine optimization job is increasing as well. According to www.conductor.com, there is an "18 percent growth in the number of search engine optimization jobs in the top 20 U.S. cities." (www.conductor.com) Anybody interested in any sort of SEO job should definitely look into further as the job is becoming more and more important to big companies and is increasing each year. The salary is also increasing as well and money is a very important key factor to any job situation.

I am very interested in the SEO field and want to continue learning more and more about SEO because I believe this a field I could succeed at and help improve a company and the awareness of the company on different search engines for future and potential customers to see. This class has created awareness of a potential career field I would have never thought I would be interested in and I am very thankful for that. The Hubspot practice exam has shown me that I need to continue to learn more about SEO and study further to develop a better knack for what SEO is all about.

http://www.conductor.com/blog/2015/03/seo-jobs-seo-salary-growth/

MKTG 348 - Week 7 - Mobile Devices Changing The Game of SEO

The search engine optimization game has significantly changed due to mobile devices and the creation of applications on smart phones. Search engine optimization is not necessarily all about the specific keywords a website will cram into their website, but rather including mobile applications. The CEO of Chimani believes because of the new movement in SEO the past decade, the more mobile content you have, the better you will be ranked in search results. Back in the day, it was just typing in a keyword and looking at the top ranked websites from that search, but since the past decade its more about mobile content and apps that will help increase your website's search rank. Many companies are taking notice of that and are adjusting the way they create their website. Even Google has had to change their style of ranking websites because of this new movement.

More than half of searches now come from a mobile device so it makes complete sense on why there is a shift in change for the search engine optimization results. Google is ranking the applications now based on how many users the app has and how much time the users are spending on that specific app. Companies are also wanting their clients/users to leave review comments, give ratings, and also share app content because Google also takes that into account when ranking.

MKTG 348 - Week 6 - Popular keywords

Google and many other search engines are used daily by billions of people throughout the world. They used for further research, questions on specific topics, or even locating specific searched documents. All are found on search engines using specific keywords. What I wanted to learn about was what were the most popular keyword searches for each specific search engine. Luckily anybody else wanting to know the same information can find out the answer by using several different options from each search engine provided. For example, Google has Google Trends, which allow you to look into Google's database of different searches to see what is popular among the keywords used to search and locate different information. Another example is Yahoo Buzz Log, which essentially is the same thing. Yahoo Buzz Log will show the top overall keyword searches and rank keyword searches as well.

It is interesting to see what some of the top searches were over the past few years. In 2010, Google had Ipads, Justin Bieber, Facebook, and Katy Perry all in their top ten popular keyword searches. For Bing in 2011, some of their top ten keyword searches consisted of the Casey Anthony trial, Xbox, Osama Bin Laden's death, Justin Bieber and the Iphone 5. In 2012, Yahoo had Kim Kardashian, Kate Upton, election, and Iphone 5 all in their top ten most popular searches for the year. Its very interesting to see as the years go by to see which searches remained in the top ten and what popular searches were added to the top ten. This made me think back about many things that occurred during those years.

MKTG 347 - Week 5 - LinkedIn utilization

I have just recently created a LinkedIn profile and I am still unfamiliar with a lot of the different tools and ways of utilizing LinkedIn. Now that I am finishing up my last semester in college and looking into specific jobs to apply for, I figured it was about time I finally create a LinkedIn profile to help brand myself in a professional and positive manner. What I did not realize when I first started creating the profile was how much information you can add to your profile. You can add things such as past jobs, community service/volunteer service, and many more information that will help improve your personal branding.

This article really helps people think of better ways to personal brand themselves and utilized LinkedIn in a more efficient and effective manner. LinkedIn is such a great way for businesses to recognize you and also for business to business marketing. Rocking your profile is the main focus on this LinkedIn article I read. In interesting fact I read was that you are 11 times more likely to be viewed on LinkedIn if you have a photo. The photo also needs to look professional too and cannot just be a random photo you find from Facebook or Instagram. Another interesting fact was that people viewing your profile increases by 13 times if you list your skills and experiences. These are facts I had no idea mattered so much when personal branding yourself.

MKTG 348 - Week 5 - SEO Impact

Google has been one of the premiere search engines used throughout the country and even throughout the world. Google has been making it easier for everybody to find information quicker and more efficient than ever before and they continue to figure out ways to improve their search engine to make things even easier for everybody. Google has been around since the late 90's and continues to impress individuals with multiple pages worth of links containing the information the individual searched for.

After reading about Google in a Huffington Post, I also found out that Google has helped with your brain function as well. Gary Small, a professor from UCLA who studies the aging brain conducted a test with 24 subjects. 12 people who use search engines often and 12 who do not. He gave them all an MRI while they used Google and found an increase in brain activity. He was able to see an increase in activity in many different regions of the brain. Most of the regions were located in the decision making and complex reasoning and vision parts of the brain. He also noticed that the individuals who use search engines more often had twice as much brain activity than the individuals who rarely used search engines. Its amazing to see how Google can make such an impact to our brains without us even knowing about it.

MKTG 347 - Week 4 - Facebook Demographics

I was curious to figure out what the demographics of Facebook were lately. I have been hearing lately that Facebook is becoming more and more popular for adults around the age of 50. I have noticed an increase of people around that age around my hometown and wanted to see if this is something that is trending across the country. My parents have recently entered the Facebook world and now I have noticed that many of their friends around the neighborhood, along with friends they grew up with from their hometowns are creating Facebook accounts as well.

I searched "Facebook demographics" on Google and was able to find a website that had some interesting information regarding Facebook's recent demographics. According to pewinternet.org, "Fully 72% of online American adults use Facebook." I would have thought the percent would be lower because I had no idea so many adults were on Facebook now. The website goes into more detail with specific are groups: 82% of adults ages 18-29 use Facebook, 79% of ages 30-49, and 64% of ages 50-64. After reading those numbers, it makes a lot more sense to me why my parents and their friends are all creating Facebook accounts and entering the world of social media.

MKTG 347 - Week 4 - WCIYP/Social Media Marketing Chapter 3

Job-hunting can be stressful and nerve-wracking because there is so much pressure on you to impress the employer in order for them to potentially hire you. Job-hunting can be a whole job itself. Many hours of preparation are required in order to land the specific job each person is looking for. Whether it is practicing what you're going to say in front of the mirror, researching specific information on the company you are interviewing for, gathering information on the owner or CEO of the company, all of those options take time and rehearsal in order to feel mentally prepared for the interview.

What I really enjoyed reading about was the fact that we as the person being interviewed do not need to feel powerless when interacting with the employer interviewing us. The employer has more power than us during the interview process, but that does not mean you as the interviewee do not need to feel powerless. When the company wants to hire you, the final decision from there comes down to the interviewee, not the interviewer. Both books made great points that I did not really think about at first. I am currently going through the interview process myself and this made me feel a lot better about the upcoming interviews I have.

MKTG 348 - Week 4 - Buyer Persona

This past week we learned about buyer personas and we were able to choose three different buyer personas for our website for the class (rgbexchange) and explain a little bit of information of each buyer persona. I chose three different generational age groups: the baby boomers, generation X, and generation Z. I thought those three generational age groups would be a good choice because each group is completely different than the next and its interesting to see how each generational age group functions on a daily basis.

I found generation Z to be more technologically advanced and have shorter attention spans than the baby boomers. This could possibly be due to the fact that technology is becoming more and more apart of our everyday lives for the younger age groups. The baby boomers never had to deal with smart phones, social media, or tablets when they were around the age of the generational age group of generation Z. Generation X is right in the middle of those two generations and its also interesting to see how they interact on a daily basis. Some are like generation Z and some are like the baby boomers.

MKTG 347 - Week 3 - Chapter 2

Chapter two talks about how in today's world and with technology far more advanced, Google has essentially became the new "resume" for companies to look at when looking to hire future employees.  Its funny to think about how several years ago employers looked at only the resume that the individual applying for the job created. The employer had to base his decision off of the resume and the interview. Now, they have people searching their social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media to see how the applicant is on a daily basis and away from work. This can benefit some applicants, but also really hurt the chances of being hired of other applicants.

I was happy that the chapter also had tips on how to build your "Google Resume". The four steps to helping you build your "Google Resume" are: Edit, Fill, Expand, and Add. Each step had a detailed explanation of what that meant and gave examples of how to do each step. Edit for example, consisted of getting rid of posts with bad grammar, inappropriate, or anything that would have the employer thinking "maybe this isn't the guy for us.".

MKTG 347- Week 3 - Facebook Page Creation

This week in class we were required to make a Facebook page and then post it in the LinkedIn group discussion all the classmates are apart of. I decided to make my Facebook page about the Chicago Bulls. I am a huge fan of the NBA and more specifically, the Chicago Bulls. I have been a fan for as long as I can remember. I have been through the good and the bad with the Bulls. Unfortunately I was too young to see the glory days of Michael Jordan and those successful Chicago Bulls teams. I was lucky enough to see the Bulls draft Derrick Rose and watch him become the youngest MVP in NBA history though. I also witnessed one of the more tragic injuries an athlete can suffer, a torn ACL. It was a nightmare I will never forget when I watched Derrick Rose tear his ACL on TV. I continue to this day though as being a diehard Chicago Bulls fan and I figured what better page to create on Facebook than to create a Chicago Bulls Fan page that contained the latest news, updates and rumors for the Bulls.

I never realized how simple it was to make a page on Facebook. When I first read the assignment on LinkedIn, I thought this was going to be something very difficult to create and also being a very long process, but it actually ended up being something very simple and I would definitely use it again when I think of another page to create.

https://www.facebook.com/chicagobullsnation/?skip_nax_wizard=true

MKTG348 - Week 3 - rgbexchange/social media post

I have posted my specific article on www.rgbexchange.org to two social media websites. I have posted my article to Facebook and LinkedIn. These are two very common social media websites and I am hoping that my friends from both websites will take a look at my article in order to raise the popularity of the rgbexchange website. I have a lot more friends on Facebook since I have had that for years now compared to my recently created LinkedIn account, so I am hoping the Facebook post is somewhat effective because I am not so sure how effective the LinkedIn post will be for me personally.

Part of the assignment also required us to think of a few ways to help improve our article. I believe my article could use a little more content. Right now, the article is rather broad or vague, and I would like to have it more detailed and include specifics of some of the tips and ideas that the fundraising idea website (fundly.com) provides. They had some very good ideas on the website and they deserve the credit and recognition instead of just summarizing it like the way I did on my article. I also believe I should add more detail in why I chose military and veteran fundraising. There are many different fundraisers that all deserve to be promoted, but I chose military and fundraising and I should explain why I chose that specific type over the other types. http://www.rgbexchange.org/nonprofits/fundraising/fundly-com-overview

MKTG 348 - Week 2 - Fundraiser selection

This past week we were to find a fundraiser idea website of our choice. I chose a website that was easy to find, had a good variety of fundraisers and creative ideas and tips for each one. I chose fundly.com. More specifically, when I went into the website I chose the military and veteran fundraising ideas and tips because I truly believe you can never have too many fundraisers for the men and women risking their lives for their country and all the veterans who have served for our country. They need to be appreciated and I even believe they should be even more appreciated than the credit we already give them.

One of the cool ideas the website had was to detail your cause. It seems so simple, but if you think about it, many fundraisers don't have a specific and detailed cause. So for the military and veterans specific ideas fundly.com had, they provided examples such as helping the surviving family members of a fallen soldier, cover additional medical expenses of a wounded soldier, supporting soldiers dealing with emotional trauma from their past tours, train service dogs to help soldiers with PTSD, and provide career assistance and job placement for veterans. All these ideas were a lot more specific compared to just fundraising for the military which would help differentiate from other military fundraiser groups.

MKTG 347 - Week 2 - WCIYP

After reading chapter one, I have already learned many things about social media marketing. Me before reading chapter one, sounds a lot like the "hype" person talking about social media marketing. I knew the general basics about social media marketing, but I never really knew the details about it and how much more advanced it really has become. The one thing that I found the most important about chapter one and social media marketing in general is the ROI. It makes total sense why ROI is so important when dealing with social media marketing. If the company isn't getting enough out of the specific social media marketing tactic the company takes, then why pursue that same option and not try something different? Company's need to pay closer attention to ROI when dealing with social media marketing, otherwise it could end up being a loss in financials.

After reading the basics about social media marketing, I now feel already a lot more comfortable and familiar with this type of marketing. Beforehand, I used to think the main way of having social media work was just simple word of mouth tactic, but there is so much more to social media marketing than that and I look forward to learning even more about it.

Week 1 - MKTG 348 - Keyword Search

Last week, the class worked on an in-class activity that involved keyword searches. We learned in class how the keyword searches worked and how important it is to have good quality content in your website in order to be ranked higher in the keyword searches on search engine websites. It makes a lot of a sense after hearing Professor Kelsey explain that to the class, but it amazes me that such small details can really make a difference from having your website be ranked on the first page of the search engine website or being ranked on a third or even fourth page. What is also interesting about searching specific websites using keyword searches is the fact that you can find the same website using several different keyword searches. I assume that must mean that the specific website you are looking for using different keyword searches must have really good quality of content on their web pages in order to be ranked on the top page of the search engine website under several different keyword searches. That also shows how much time the company or individual must put into their webpages. That could make or break many customers from actually viewing your specific webpage versus the competitors too.