Social Media Strategy April 30, 2010

Ironically, this is my last college paper. It is also the longest I have ever had to write.  It’s funny how things work out that way.  Here is an excerpt from my social media strategy for Sharpshooters Video Production.  I outlined the ways they can use Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Google Docs to enhance their business and create more revenue.

“Creating a YouTube or Vimeo channel for posting video in addition to the ones on Facebook can also help Sharpshooters Video enhance their business and customer experience.   The textbook, Journalism Next, suggests YouTube over a company website for video posting.  “These sites have much larger audiences and much more search engine visibility than your site, generally improving the chances for more viewers” (Briggs, 2010). By posting examples of video footage from different events, clients can get an idea of what kind of service and quality they will receive when they book a video crew.  It would also allow clients to compare Sharpshooters to other video companies.  Side-by-side comparison will show clients the professionalism and high quality of Sharpshooter DVDs, compared to other companies that might not be as advanced.  This will save the clients time and will help land new shows to film, especially weddings.  Sharpshooters may be diving back into the wedding pool this summer, and busy brides-to-be have a lot of things to worry about in the planning process.  If they are able to view clips of past weddings, they are more likely to go with Sharpshooters as their videographer.  In addition, viewers are also able to comment on the videos they watch.  This is a great marketing opportunity in itself.  Once people watch the video and see the positive feedback it received, they are more likely to feel confident in their choice to use Sharpshooters at their event.  By creating a video site, customers would be able to go online and view highlights from the past event.  After they see how great the video looks, they are more likely to buy it, which will boost revenue for the company.  A YouTube account could also be beneficial to new employees.  A recently hired-on employee would be able to go to the YouTube channel and watch past videos of events to see an example of how to shoot.  Sharpshooters does a picture-in-picture style of video with both a wide and close-up shot on the screen.  This allows customers to see the wide shot of a dance performance and a close-up shot of their child at the same time.  New employees can watch the videos and see how they need to shoot the up-close shot.  This could save time in the training process as well if they already have an idea of the angle they need to film at.  One of the best things about all of these social media sites is that they are great marketing tools for no cost.  Sharpshooters could advertise elsewhere, but by opening a Youtube account they are getting all the benefits for free.  Some advice that an article on Tlmarketing.net suggests is to always keep looking for newer tools on YouTube (Lindstrom, 2009).  To stay on top of the competition and to win over the client, Sharpshooters has to keep up with these new, emerging tools on Youtube.  Once the videos are posted and they start getting views, Sharpshooters will have a chance at gaining new clientele.”

With finals on the horizon and graduation pending, it’s nice to actually be done when you are done.

Paper Topic April 23, 2010

For the Social Media Plan paper in my social media class, I will be focusing on the company I currently work for, Sharpshooters Video Production.  It is a small business started 6 years ago by husband and wife, Chad and Becky Folts.  They have grown a lot in the past few years, and with the world of social media taking off, I believe they would benefit even more by having a social presence online.  They already have a Facebook page, but I will be discussing the things that they are doing well, as well as the things they can improve on.  They already have a large client following, but with the right social media plan, I think they will be able to gain more and more clients each year.

Now just to start writing the paper….

Job Search April 21, 2010

As graduation draws nearer, I am starting to realize how fast my life is about to change. I will be out of my comfort zone and out into the great unknown. As far as the job search goes, I am headed no where quick.  My goal to get into event planning has become a little more challenging than I imagined it would be. I’ve come to find that event planners and event companies are not likely to post their job openings on Craigslist or Yahoo. To get the job I want, and for anyone looking for a job in event planning, we need to network and put ourselves out there for the employers to see. If it means going to an ISES event, or simply emailing resumes to the different companies, the ball is in our court. We have to make the move ourselves, because employers are not going to come looking for us.

Crocodile Hunter Parody April 12, 2010

This is just a fun video me and my brother made over the weekend. It’s a parody of Steve Irwin, the crocodile hunter. Ignore my laughter in the background… my brother is a character. Enjoy!

Texas Wedding Day Slideshow April 2, 2010

Here are some pictures from a recent event that I planned.

more about "Texas Wedding Day", posted with vodpod

The Future of Social Media March 25, 2010

In the most simple sense, the future of social media is all around us.  It’s in all of us. The younger generation has grown up with Facebooks and Twitters, whereas my age group was just introduced to this phenomenon not too long ago.  In a few years, I can see children as young as 7 or 8 with some kind of social networking site.  Facebook used to be just for college students. I remember actually waiting around to get my email account for Texas State just so I could get on Facebook. Now, everyone can use it. Twitter started off as a way to let people know what you are up to.  Now it’s being used for job searching, and networking.  I don’t doubt that something will be coming along soon that will blow Facebook out of the water, i’m just not sure what that thing is. Facebook will most likely come to a point where it will start losing some of it’s followers, just as Myspace did. I always hear rumors of having to pay for Facebook soon. Whether or not that happens, I believe it will cause a lot of people to turn away.  The hard core users will still be there, but paying a monthly fee probably won’t appeal to most. 

I also see a lot more sites like Facebook and Twitter popping up.   Will they take those two over? Maybe, but I think they would have to be really REALLY good and unique.

Internet Video March 17, 2010

When I was watching the internet video, I was very interested in hearing about how Ebay and Amazon got so big.  Both are websites that I use (not often, but occasionally) and never really took the time to think about how they came about.  However, I can see why Ebay took off  a little sooner than Amazon did. The idea of Ebay is a lot more unique. An online bid and buy place where people can attempt to sell of anything. To me, Amazon is just a huge online store. Amazon also had a harder time earning any profit for a while, and when they did, it was on accident.  Although both are awesome. The future is bright for both of these companies since they have such a huge following. I really can’t think of a website that will top what they have done.  

Another website that seems to rival these two is Craigslist. It’s not so much an online trading website like Ebay, or a store like Amazon, it’s more of a garage sale mixed with a classified newspaper ad. But just as Ebay and Amazon has done, Craigslist has also taken off and become very succesful.

What interested me was learning about how our credit card information is kept safe. I buy things online and don’t really take the time to think about how they are keeping my information from sneaking off into the wrong hands.  For people like me that don’t understand complicated computer terms, the padlock and box example was really nice.

The future of business is online. Any respectible company atleast has a website, and many are offering services online. We can now even order pizza online through most pizza places. If there have been any companies that are holding out and have not entered the online world, they are far behind and need to get in the group as fast as possible.

Here is an interesting video I found that shows how much of a variety of things you can find on Ebay:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x49msn_what-do-people-buy-on-ebay-top-10-c_business

iPhone App February 26, 2010

For my social media class we had to come up with an iPhone App. I thought for awhile about what would be useful to me, when I finally join the rest of the world and get my iPhone. What I came up with was an iPhone App that can tell you where your belongings are ie. car keys, wallet, glasses, whatever you lose the most.

The phone will be connected to a RDIF sensor, and you will attach the tiny sensors to your objects. When you download the app, you’ll have to provide your mailing address so they sensors can be sent to you. Then, once you hook up the sensor to the phone, you can pick what you want to find and it will come up with arrows on the screen to point you in the direction of the object. Of course, i’m sure this is a long way from happening but it’s something I would find useful everyday.

Event Planning February 19, 2010

For the class that I am in that required us to make a blog, the prof encouraged us to make this blog about something that we are interested in.  I sat in class and asked myself, “Well… what ARE you interested in?” Movies, sure. Music, yeah. Things that everybody likes. But being as that I plan on making my career in event planning, I decided to make the majority of my blogs about just that, planning events. I’m no professional by any means. This will just be my ideas and opinion about current trends and eventually, something more professional will come out of this.

As I mentioned in my first post, I am currently working on planning Texas State’s first bridal show.  I was very fortunate to be put in this position, and very lucky to have found the Student Event Planners Association.  A girl named Aubri announced in my Media Law class that she had founded a group on campus that would focus on event planning. It was like a lightbulb went off in my head. Prior to that day, I was very wishy washy about what I wanted to do after graduation. So, I went to the first meeting and was very excited and eager to get involved since it was my last year in school.  I interviewed for a position on the Texas Wedding Day planning committee, and was selected. At first, the process didn’t seem hard at all. Find vendors, get them to come, and advertise the event. Simple enough.

Yeah right. One of the hardest tasks of the planning wasn’t finding vendors, it was finding vendors that were willing to come. We have met our goal, and even have people asking to attend. We have to turn them away since we are full of course, but it’s a good feeling knowing that there is more interest.

I was put in charge of promotions for the event. Basically, getting the community to attend. We could have all the vendors in the world, but it means nothing if no one shows up. So right now our main focus is advertising. Flyers, newspaper ads, quad days at school. The whole deal.

Now the event is 3 days away and things are starting to pick up. With a whole list of things left to do, I am learning a very valuable lesson about how to stay organized, and that is to write everything down. Everything. If not, things will slip your mind and get lost along the way. We have been planning this event since September and I am so excited to see how it works out.

The rest of my blogs will have my planning advice, ideas etc that i’ve had. For this first blog, I just had to give a little publicity to Texas Wedding Day :]

Jobs vs. Gates February 12, 2010

This blog will be a class assignment about Mac vs. PC, Jobs vs Gates and so on. Let me first say that I really have no preference in computers.  I have grown up with a PC, and own a PC as my current laptop.  However, I am contemplating switching over to Mac after I have the $1000 plus dollars to spend. That would of course require a job, so I am assuming it will be sometime after graduation. I’ve used Macs many times before, and never had a problem with it. I know some people are very serious about their computers. There are plenty of people who swear by a Mac and hate PC’s and vise versa. I am in limbo on the subject.

When it comes to Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, I definitely see both differences and similarities. Gates came from a line of successful businessmen while Jobs was adopted. Both were very smart at an early age, and started their companies at a time when normal people would have been just starting college.  It amazes me that society puts so much emphasis on getting a college degree (which is very important these days, yes) but two of the most powerful businesses in the world are owned and run by college dropouts. Both also had their sidekick in the process of starting these companies. Gates had Paul Allen, while Jobs had Steve Wozniak. I bet neither could have done the work without the help from their partners.  I do see a difference in their lifestyles though. Gates stepped down as CEO and now it seems that Microsoft has kind of gone under the blanket. Yes, they still have the most popular operating system but I don’t see anything from them that compares to what Apple comes out with. When Jobs was no longer CEO of Apple, the company took a turn for the worse. But as soon as Jobs came back, we got society changing inventions like the iPod, iPhone and new versions of the Mac computer.  

Both businesses seem to be doing well, Apple especially. I will be curious to see how the new iPad sells. I’m having a hard time figuring out what it will be useful for. We will still need our phones, and still need our computers. I guess the iPad would be good for people who travel a lot and are on planes for a long time. It seems that Microsoft has been in more legal trouble than Apple. Microsoft was sued for anti-trust laws, winning both times.  The first was a battle between Apple, Microsoft and their operating system. Microsoft licensed the system that Apple wouldn’t, and Apple sued. I’m sure that was dumb on Apple’s part. The second time was when Gates stepped down from being CEO. Both companies have had their ups and downs, but ultimately still remain superior in the computer world.

With that being said, I am becoming more and more excited about owning a Mac soon and can’t wait to compare my experiences with Microsoft and Mac. The fact that most of my teachers are Mac users could have influenced me to switch over just a little :]

Time for sleep. I have a long weekend of work ahead of me. Goodnight world.