Author: Erin Bryan

In this day and age, social media plays a prevalent role in so many of our lives. Whether for work or play, I find myself scrolling through social media multiple times a day and constantly finding new content that I love. My personal favorite social platform is Instagram; I’m most active on it, and I love sharing pictures to update my friends and family on my life. Something I particularly like about Instagram is their story feature – though multiple social platforms have tried to re-create Snapchat’s story feature, I think Instagram does it best. I use it more often than I post pictures, and I use fun hacks like these to spruce up my stories and make them stand out. Additionally, I feel like Instagram has become a huge platform for brands – it now offers features to shop directly from brands’ profiles, so I would love to incorporate it in my work in the future.

Though Instagram has my heart, I also have a great time on Twitter. Recently creating a ‘professional’ Twitter account has definitely opened up more doors for me, as it has allowed me to connect with peers and professionals in the PR/Ad world and keep a strictly work-related image. Twitter user Madalyn Sklar hosts weekly chats under the hashtag #TwitterSmarter which is a great way to get involved with the community, and has given me a chance to network and learn more about Twitter marketing. Aside from that account, I also have my personal account that I’ve had for years. That account is used much more often and I’m able to share funny Tweets and interact with friends. I also love Twitter because it’s a great news source; I often find most breaking news on Twitter before I hear it anywhere else. It’s a relaxed community that I really enjoy! 

As a whole, I would definitely consider myself an active social media user. Having said so, I hope to continue to work with it on a professional level and become a social media manager for a small company or business. As new platforms prevent themselves (i.e. TikTok or Byte), I am eager to keep learning the algorithms and the best was to create content.

Whether or not we realize it, user experience (UX) plays a huge role in creating a successful online presence. User experience is exactly what it sounds like – what a user of any given platform (product, website, etc.) is experiencing. Through a presentation by Chris Morata, I was able to learn a bit more about what exactly pertains to UX, why it’s so important, and how we can create a great user experience. Chris is currently the VP of product at Qgiv, an online fundraising platform. Qgiv serves a variety of organizations and focuses on growing their donor bases; you can find more information on how they operate on their website. 

Chris ultimately believes that UX design is about solving problems, which is true – the ultimate UX is fool-proof and works well on all platforms. He also mentioned that great UX is built on empathy. Looking at it from a bigger picture, he notes that it focuses on what you are trying to get the user to do, and how you are going to go about getting them to do it. This is important to keep in mind when it comes to design. As a whole, we should focus on these specific areas of UX – visual design, form design, mobile design, and animation design. These elements work together to create a harmonious website that functions well on all platforms. Beginning with visual design, there are a few different points to focus on. Color and contrast are simple but important; color and contrast evoke emotion in design, and set the tone for your website/service. They can also draw in or push away attention. Contrast is used to plan decision making and readability, accessibility, such as colorblindness.  On the topic of color, negative space and white space are also important, as they assist with layout and composition, so incorporating the two are key. Aside from these elements, size and scale are key as well. Larger elements have more visual priority as they are bolder, so it’s important to balance these between elements. While using all of these, don’t remember to be consistent throughout the design!

As for form design, Chris mentioned that keeping things simple is the best practice. Trying to make things too fancy or over-the-top can interfere with accessibility. Going for a simple, clean layout is a smart tactic; an example of this would be single column form layouts as they are easy to scan. Additionally, remember to group related fields together to ensure continuity! Getting more specific, website labels should be short and to the point, and the best label position is directly on top of the field. This ensures easy access and is simple for the user to find. All of these elements should be able to transfer over to mobile devices, created a mobile friendly UX. When it comes to mobile design, we want to focus on responsive web design and apps. This article has extremely useful tips on the best practices to use when it comes to mobile UX, as well as pointers on what to expect. Lastly, for animation design, natural movement is the most important factor. It creates context, as animation should have purpose and be intentional.

What’s next for UX design? Chris believes that augmented reality, the measure app, conversational UI, wearables, and extended interfaces are all on the rise. Overall, user experience plays a part in our daily lives, as we are surrounded by it. A positive user experience is one we strive for, and Chris gave us some great information on how to achieve it!

Previous to this assignment, I had never asked questions on Quora before, and only used the website in passing. After Sean Kernan’s presentation, I had a bit more insight on how the website operates and how I could use it to my benefit. Our client, Florida Ticket Firm, was the focus of this assignment. To brainstorm on the best way to help our client grow, I asked 3 questions: 1. ‘What would be the best way for a ticket firm to grow their clientele?’, 2. ‘What do clients look for in a ticketing firm?’, and 3. ‘What is the best way to get your service to stand apart from its competitors?’. I believe these 3 questions get to the root of the issue in gaining tractionto the Florida Ticket Firm Website and making it a number one choice.

To ensure I got quality responses, I made sure to send each question to the maximum 25 Quora users. I chose specific categories for each question so specialists in the area would be able to see them and provide valid responses. Question number one did not receive any responses, but questions #2 and #3 received a few insightful answers. For question #2, my goal was to find out what exactly clients look for in a ticket firm so we I am able to further find what changes Florida Ticket Firm should make to become the ideal ticket firm. I received one response, which was: “accuracy, speed, value, ease of use, ease of communication, expertise, systems integration, automation”. Though this answer was slightly vague, it does make good points. These are all things that I personally look for in a website, so it makes sense that they would be sought after qualities in a ticket firm. These would be something to take into account for Florida Ticket Firm’s UX. Question #3 received 4 responses, which were: 

1. “Do something different and delight your customers.”
2. “Provide good products for customer and you have to believe in the product in order to sell it. Don’t worry about competition but worry about what people are seeking and need first. If you keep this in mind and learn and work hard to get it, you are way ahead of other companies.”
3. “First, be in business while doing business. Uninterrupted time to hear, evaluate and help make decisions best fitting your client needs is ABSOLUTELY paramount. When your focus is divided, you may miss key details or worse, your clients may find your mental division off-putting. Lay aside ALL ELSE and focus on winning the client over with attention, knowledge, sincerity, concern and winning solutions. Second, follow up, whether you are making the deal, sealing it or seeing how satisfied your clients are with choices you’ve helped them make, services you’ve provided or goods you’ve brought to them. And finally, service what you sell and act as if you are staking your reputation on what you do, because you are. Disappointed clients rarely ever return or find you new ones. Satisfied clients sing your praises and help you forge a solid business.”
4. “‘Offer  a better service’ and ‘be customer focused’ is right but not actionable. The key is to understand your customers better than the competition. Mainly in four areas:

• What problems are they trying to solve (including the emotional component of these problems) – customer needs
• How are customers grouped based on these needs – segmentation. You may decide you want to focus on one segment while your competitors go after everyone
• What is the ‘total solution’ meaning how do people want to buy and what other things need to be in place for their problem to be solved – complete product
• How much are they willing to pay to solve the problem – problem validation and pricing.
• If you understand these four things, it will be clear what you can do to beat your competition.” 

All of these responses were extremely insightful and given from a business point of view. My personal favorite response was #3. It focused more on the client’s experience and feelings which is valuable because satisfied customers lead to them coming back as well as bringing in new ones. All of these responses can be used to improve Florida Ticket Firm as a whole and are aimed towards making them stand out against other ticketing firms. Overall, my experience with Quora was a helpful one.

This week’s presentation, given by content creator Sean Kernan, might have been my favorite so far. With us, he explored the topic of Quora, an American question-and-answer forum website founded in June of 2009. Quora is a website I’ve never actively sought out before, but rather a website I’ve stumbled across whilst looking for answers on Google. Upon visiting their website, you are prompted to make an account, which then allows you to follow different topics to personalize your feed. After learning a bit more about it, I’d definitely like to take the site into consideration more often and look at more of what it has to offer. 

Sean currently works as a full-time content creator for Quora, and has created a great amount of articles and other useful content over his years. He finds that it is a great way to make money on his own terms and he is currently generating around 6,000 views a day, whereas when he first started, he found readers to be uninterested with his writing. Something that stood out to me that Sean shared were his 2 aspects of content creating. The first aspect is crucial and the most important: what are you writing? Deciding the idea, topic, or subject of your writing is the main focus. Sean gave us the ‘fat race horse’ example; a fat, lethargic race horse won’t be very good competition in a horse race, just as a bad story won’t be good competition either. Having said so, it’s important to make sure your content on Quota isn’t just fluff and is actually an intriguing story, which is easier to find than you may think. Sean noted that he is always on the lookout for stories, and finds them everywhere. The second aspect of content creating is deciding if you will be niche or not. This is important for creating your brand – do you always want to write about a specific thing, or will you cover a broad range of topics? Sean stayed broad for his first year writing for Quora, but now does research and fact-based content.

Apart from the basics, we were able to learn a few tips and tricks to create strong writing for Quora and give the people what they want. One tip that I think is really important and I can personally relate to is ‘writing in small spaces’. The main goal of this tactic is to keep your readers’ attention span – this can be achieved by breaking up sentences, avoiding large and excessive words, and steering clear of fluff. Additionally, it’s essential to remember that your first sentence is always your most important! Seeing as it’s the first thing your readers will take in, it’s in charge of hooking them and sets them up for the rest of the content. Having said this, don’t forget to end with a powerful sentence; a strong start needs a strong finish! After posting, Sean mentions sticking to the golden metric – if he can’t convert 1 up-vote for every 40 views, he deletes the post. He’s followed this metric for almost a year, and it’s been a game changer.

Finally, Sean left us with a few pointers on what to avoid, and what to embrace. Staying drama free is key – sometimes drama can be enticing, but we’ll save that for the tabloids. When writing for Quora, avoiding politics, clickbait, and overwritten platform culture is the best route to take. As far as what works, he actually recommended embracing the cringe of the past, which I’ve never thought of before. Your old content, though it may make you wince, shows you how far you’ve come, and can even give you pointers on how to grow stronger.

Overall, Quora steadily on the rise, and I do hope more people come to find what it actually has to offer. The most important question remains: what does this mean for advertisers? Needless to say, content creators would be able to tie back any advertising to their posts, so I’m sure influencer marketing comes into play. Additionally, Quora has their own specific way to advertise. It comes in handy as people turn to Quora for reliable information, so advertising through Quora is a great way to be exposed in a legitimate light. This article gives powerful insight on how advertisers can use Quora to the best of their ability, and why digital advertisers need to get on the Quora train. I’m looking forward to further exploring the site and seeing what else it has in store.

During last week’s class, we received a visit from digital marketer Alex Rodriguez. Alex owns the digital marketing agency YMMY Marketing and through it, shares his passion of digital marketing by helping others achieve their goals. Alex was born in New York and grew up in the Dominica Republic where he began working at agencies and brands on the island before moving to Florida in 2000. His best-selling book, Digital Bacon, goes in depth on making your online presence work to the best of your ability. He also had the opportunity to do work in New York, which further helped him cultivate his profession.

In 2013, Alex was able to found his firm, YMMY Marketing, with an office in Downtown Tampa; It was nominated by Best of the Bay for the best marketing firm the same year. YMMY provides a wide range of services, all based around assisting clients in reaching their target and creating leads. They have a specific ‘recipe’ to ensure their clients become prime choices in the market, which consists of the following:

1. Based on reality: discovery phase
2. Aimed towards results: strategy phase
3. Creatively developed: production phase
4. Organized in propaganda: distribution phase
5. Numerically measured: analysis phase 

Their tactics don’t end here; YMMY’s about page shares more about what they can do to help grow your brand, as well as the option for a free online analysis. 

Through Alex’s presentation I took away a lot of valuable information, but something that stood out to me the most was the ‘6 phases’ ideal, which Alex explained was key to understand before the launch of an online idea/presence. The recipe begins with awareness, which I believe is the most important step. Without making your desired audience aware of your presence, it is impossible to move forward. Next is interest – getting your audience interested can be done in various ways, so it’s important to play around with this aspect and see what works best. Next is engagement; having your audience be aware isn’t enough – having them engage and interact with the brand heightens chances of more interest down the road. Moving on, we have expectation. What is it that you are looking to gain from this presence? Our final steps are action and referral; action moves the gears into motion and launches what you have been planning. Referrals are key to keep attention on your brand! This article shares a similar 6 stage process of marketing which is very valuable for beginners to follow along.

Overall, Alex Rodriguez gave quite an insightful presentation and allowed us to see how he slowly worked his way up to owning his own marketing firm, as well as a bit of what takes place within it.

During last week’s lecture, we were able to have digital marketing and social media specialist Jenni Mullins join us for a presentation. Jenni owns Moxie Digital, a digital marketing service, and is able to assist clients in building their online presence through her company. She gave us a bit of a backstory on how she came up with the name; her late grandmother used to lovingly tell her she had a lot of “moxie” so, naturally, she wanted to incorporate it into her work. Her website goes more in depth on the services that Moxie Digital provides, as well as the option of a free SEO consultation. Through her presentation, I was able to learn a bit more about what exactly her field of work entails and I was able to piece together why exactly it’s important as an advertiser. 

The first and most valuable piece of information I learned is the importance of replication when it comes to creating content. When content creation is successful and well-received, the creators often replicate it; an example of this would be the Toy Story franchise. Seeing as the first Toy Story movie took off, the director decided to make it into 3 more movies, one of which was just released this year and created huge buzz. Toy Story has also been used to create video games, toys, book, etc. It’s important for advertisers to keep this in mind when creating any type of content; based on the reception, advertisers should be able to replicate that original piece of content and expand it into something more. 

Another vital piece of information I learned was the content marketing process. Though there are various ways to go about content marketing, there is a process that can assist in making things easier. The first step is to create a plan – how are you going to go about creating your content? The next vital step is defining your audience; defining an audience is crucial when it comes to content creation, because every audience reacts differently to different types of content. For example, if your audience consists of 50-60 year-olds who don’t like social media, you don’t want to try to reach them through sponsored Instagram posts! The next step is to figure out what story you want to share – this is your main focus. Your story is your driving point and will give your audience the information they need. Up next, you need to decide what channel your content is on. Will it be a TV commercial? A PPC ad? You decide! Finally, how you will measure the content must be decided; there are various ways to go about this. This article gives a few helpful tips on how to enhance your content marketing to receive higher engagement rates, which is important to do after content is created! Overall, this process is important to advertisers as it will give them a base plan to follow when marketing content.

 Finally, a third topic covered by Jenni was types of content – this is more vast than I originally thought! When I think of digital content, the first things that pop in my mind are ads, social media posts, and videos. We covered a few more types of content that don’t usually come to mind. The first one that was somewhat new to me was case studies/testimonials. When it comes to these, evergreen content is key; evergreen content are things that can be re-used and shared all of them time, not just seasonally. Another type of content would be in-person events; this actually has quite the large range, spanning from live video feeds to live tweeting. Though many might not think so, e-newsletters are still used regularly. They can be used in the form of auto-responders, offers, newsletters, statistics and more. There are a much larger range of content types then what I covered, but these are just a few that were somewhat new to me. 

 Overall, Jenni’s presentation was quite insightful and gave me a peek into the world of digital content marketing! Through her company, she is able to help clients take their digital marketing platforms to the next level and optimize interaction and sales. I’m glad to have been able to learn a bit more about how exactly this is done and what kinds of content clients are looking for!

Upon first hearing that we would be visiting Bake More Pies, I was confused; before doing a bit of research, I assumed it was a bakery of some sort. In actuality, Bake More Pies is a digital marketing agency based in Tampa, Florida. The relevance of their name comes from the ideal that markets and budgets are ‘slices of the pie’ that people have to fight over; at this agency, their goal is to create a win-win solution and ‘bake more’ instead. Potential clients can learn more about their story here. Through visiting the office and getting to hear an insightful presentation, we were able to learn a bit more about what exactly goes on in a digital marketing agency, and what each job entails. The presentation was given by Cordes Owen (CEO & founder), Mike Cura (VP), Hailey Plunkett Owen (director of account services), Nikki Neukomm (digital media buying specialist) and their two adorable dogs Pepper and Mia.

Something that really stood out to me was each presenter taking the time to explain what exactly their daily tasks are within their job. Looking at it from a bigger picture, a lot of people may think that working at a digital marketing agency is just creating social media posts and ads, but it’s so much more than that. Bake More Pies has a pretty large range of the services they offer to their clients from more common things like social media management and copywriting, to more technical aspects like web design/development and AI. I found it really interesting that the agency does it all, as some agencies specialize in a specific area. By doing so, they are able to give their clients the ultimate experience in taking their brand and sales to the next level. Their website digs a little deeper into their services and how they can assist their clients with their desired needs.

Aside from learning about the workplace environment and duties, Mike Cura also briefly touched on what digital marketing agencies look for in applicants and how specifically to have a good interview at Bake More Pies. He even gave tips on what not to include on your resume, such as your GPA if it is under 3.5. Digital media buying specialist Nikki Neukomm shared with us how she started as an intern at Bake More Pies and actually did not have the best interview. Through dedication and working hard with client Prayer Bowls, Nikki was able to secure a job that she loves at Bake More Pies.

We were given the opportunity to tour the studio, which took my understanding of the agency to the next level. I was surprised to see that the seemingly-small studio was actually quite large, and had a separate room for each given service, such as a room for audio recording/podcasts and a room for video recording. My personal favorite room was the greenroom, where clients are able to relax in or use as a wardrobe/makeup room. Cordes Owen noted that many musicians visiting have used the room to decompress or prepare for performances.

Overall, I had a great experience visiting Bake More Pies! I’m glad to have gotten a bit more insight on what actually goes on in a digital marketing firm, and will definitely take all the information into consideration on what exactly I’d like to do in the future.

As we all know, the world of digital marketing is as prevalent as ever and only growing from here. As it grows stronger, more traditional forms of marketing are becoming less common and being replaced with their digital counterparts; personally, I welcome this change with open arms. Having said so, digital marketing comes in many different forms. Before we get into the specifics, we’ll cover the basics – what exactly isdigital marketing? Essentially, digital marketing is exactly what is ours like – advertising or marketing done through digital channels. This article goes more in depth on the specifics and even gives great examples to get anyone adjusted into the digital world.

There are numerous ways to be a part of the digital marketing world, which we’ll get into later, but the most important topic is why it’s worth investing in. As mentioned before, it is currently a digital age and traditional marketing is taking a kneel. This transition has allowed brands to reach completely new audiences, and easily reach specific targets. Two ways that have proven to be extremely popular and successful are social media marketing and influencer marketing. These two avenues use various popular social platforms (Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, etc.) to reach promote their brands in niche ways. These two ways tie into each other, as influencer marketing uses to same approach in a more refined way. Brands are able to reach out to a given influencer that they believe matches their brands persona, and promote the product to their impressionable audience. As potential buyers, we all like hearing others opinions, whether it be a positive review or a rant. Influencer marketing takes this ideal and uses it to its advantage, giving influencers to share brands in a personal way, connecting to their audience on a level that is more than just advertising.

Additionally, digital marketing is a great way to reach potential buyers in a spot where they spend so much of their time. According to oberlo.com, which is filled with interesting social media statistic, 90.4% of Millennials, 77.5% of Gen X, and 48.2% of Baby Boomers are active social media users. Having said so, this lets us know that there is a huge market of potential buyers waiting to be reached. Digital marketing is almost necessary in being able to reach a targeted audience. Through various platforms, brands are able to promote themselves to a certain audience that they know would be interested in their product or service through data they have collected. This gives digital marketing a leg up, as data is much easier to collect digitally than through other methods such as mail surveys.

All in all, brands should invest in digital marketing because it’s the most efficient way in reaching a target audience and promoting in a personal way. Digital media gives us a way to connect, share, and promote in a community setting and can be a great way to step up any brand’s promotional game. 

Bundling and unbundling are terms I was previously familiar with, but wasn’t too sure on the purpose or meaning. Essentially, bundling is the act of increasing the value in multiple products by combining or bundling them into one larger offer. Unbundling is this act reversed – taking a larger offer and turning into multiple products/offers. Either way, these acts are used to heighten value and make new opportunities out of already existing ones.

Taking a closer look at bundling, there are multiple ways to go about increasing value. A commonly used (and obvious) tactic is to include multiple offers or products within a bundle, making it worth much more. An example would be a car service including a car wash, wax and vacuum with an oil change; a customer is likely to pick this bundle over a competitor’s service that includes only the oil change for a similar price. As for unbundling, it is also a great deal that can lead to increased profit. Using the car service example again, a customer may not want multiple services, so splitting a bundle up and selling the services separately will appeal to customers looking for a specific service. This article goes into depth on real life examples in which companies must decide whether to bundle or unbundle, which helps us to further understand. 

In an interview with tech luminaries Jim Barksdale and Marc Andreessen, they explore the true technique behind bundling and unbundling and how to profit well from it. They explain how the digital age is beginning to take over, which is quite clear, and that bundling and unbundling is simpler digitally now; this is where I believe advertising comes in. Bundles are a great chance to advertise something in a light that makes it appear more valuable. Purchasing a music album from iTunes would be an example; this way, you get the chance to purchase multiple songs in a package, rather than purchasing each song individually which would end up being more expensive. Advertisers use bundling to make customers feel that they are receiving greater value for spending a bit more. Since every customer is not alike, sometimes advertisers may use unbundling to appeal to an audience instead. If a product or offer is initially sold as a package, eventually unbundling can be an ideal deal for customers not interested in the full package.

Overall, bundling and unbundling play a large role in advertising and increasing value to appeal to different customers. With these two tactics, advertisers are able to take something small and increase it, or do the opposite for the same effect.

Whether or not you’re familiar with the term, the ZMOT is a part of our daily lives and effects our purchasing habits regularly. The ZMOT, which stands for the zero moment of truth, is described by Think with Googleas “the moment in the buying process when the consumer researches a product prior to purchase.” I know this moment all too well, as I rarely make large purchases without doing extensive research first. Even for something small like a pair of jeans, I like to read various reviews first to ensure I know what I’m getting into. This Think with Google article goes more into depth on why exactly ZMOT is so important in this day and age, and also helped me to get a better understanding of how it truly affects both buyers and brands.

Using a more specific life example, drivers all over use ZMOT when it comes to choosing the best traffic ticket firm for themselves depending on the situation and its severity. Florida Ticket Firm is a traffic ticket and criminal defense law firm based in Fort Lauderdale and Tampa. Needless to say, when dealing with legal troubles, there are many factors for potential clients to take into account and think about before deciding the route they want to take or who they want representing them.

From the point of view of a potential Florida Ticket Firm client, I’d want to start with the very basics – what is Florida Ticket Firm all about? Their website has an extensive list of the types of tickets they can handle, injuries, other criminal offences, traffic laws, and other vital information. Potential buyers should begin by analyzing their own situation and deciding which service exactly they are in need of, whether it be a speeding ticket or texting while driving. The website even includes free ticket evaluation if a potential client needs clarification on what their ticket entails. Florida Ticket Firm then explains how their lawyers can help, ensuring the potential buyer that they are in the right place. The included website information contains the essential information necessary for one to decide whether or not they would like to follow through with the service. Following this, a potential client has the option to end the ZMOT and complete their purchase after speaking with a representative over the phone or online.

Overall, the ZMOT effects people in all walks of life, for minor issues like which box of cereal to buy, or larger issues like which ticket firm should dispute your speeding ticket!