Week 5B

Target Market for Southern California Water District

Water Districts are monopolies; customers do not have a choice of where they buy their water from. Therefore, water districts do not seek out new customers, they attempt to educate and influence their existing customers in order to manage a natural resource. For this exercise, an ideal customer would support a water district in supply development (capital costs) and demand management (conservation).  Both of these issues are multi-year if not multi-decade efforts. The challenge for water districts is to engage customers during these long term slow moving efforts. I hope to utilize social media to educate and influence customers to support both water supply development and conservation projects and programs.

Week 5A

Tericafe

Tericafe has a simple and eye pleasing website. They promote the fact that they are locals that have been in business for a long time. Their website really is an invitation to come into the restaurant and eat. They provide the basic information like the menu and lunch/dinner specials and highlight that they make their own noodles.

It appears their target market is locals that want to eat at some place quick and affordable but definitely not “fast food”. Their call to action is to come to their restaurant and enjoy quality food; served quick, and at affordable prices. They use pictures of their food to inspire to viewer to eat at their place. Their brand is their food.

Chilis

On Chili’s website’s homepage there are pictures of food and an invitation to start your order immediately over the internet. Scroll down and you see pictures of food that you can buy for a party or game day. They highlight the bold favor of their food and show pictures of spices and flavorings.

Chili’s website promotes their restaurant as a piece of Americana. They describe briefly describe how they started the restaurant as a dream, where people could come and hang out and eat southwestern food in a fun atmosphere. From there they use pictures from each decade starting in the 1970’s that depict Chili’s growing and evolving with the times but still being true to their roots. Obviously Chili’s is selling an idea as well as their food. Their target audience is people who want bold spicy food either at home, at a party, or at a Chili’s restaurant where you can enjoy bold food in a fun atmosphere.

The differences that stands out to me is that Chili’s is selling an image/lifestyle along with their food. They obviously target sports fans with their advertising and food selections. Tericafe on the other hand is all about the food. I didn’t find any subtleties with the Tericafe. Chili’s on the other hand was definitely selling themselves as part of the fabric of American culture.

I don’t think that Tericafe spent a lot of time thinking about who their audience is when designing their website. Chili’s obviously did. They want sports fans to know that they are a go to restaurant for a good time, and can cater your party or sporting based event. Their customers likes spicy in your face type food and eating at Chili’s is more like an event then just going out to eat.

I’m sure there are a number of people who eat at both places. They are both affordable casual dining. People probably go to Chili’s when there is a game on and you want to have appetizers and beer and get a little rowdy. The same people may go to Tericafe when they just want a quick affordable meal, without all of the atmosphere.

Week 4B

Latimes.com

I visit the La Times website quite a bit. I go there because I believe they do a good job reporting the news, and they tend to cover subject matter I am interested in. So I visit them for their content. They do a good job of keeping their top stories accessible at the top of the page, and as you scroll down each section has clear headings such as Travel, or Entertainment. That being said they do try and cram too many stories with pictures and ads in each section. It would be better if they followed the same format as they do with their top stories, which are less cluttered and require you to click on them to get the details.

Amazon.com

I’m an Amazon Prime member so I use the website a lot. I use buy products, read eBooks, and use their streaming service. I really like how easy it is to navigate and search their website and that they post customers reviews. One thing I have noticed though, is that depending on what device you are using to access their website it changes how well you are able to navigate the website, which can be frustrating. I wish it was a uniform viewing experience. I can easily find movies on a kindle (an Amazon product) which I have trouble with using a desktop computer, and vice versa.

Week 4A

I left comments on:
Patrick Conahan's Blog
Irene Vasquez's Blog
Laura McIntire's Blog

Pennyjuice.com

This is possibly the worst website I have ever seen. It is so bad it doesn’t even seem like a “real” website to me, no credibility at all. The website lacks any real content, except to say that there is a drink for children called Pennyjuice and that you can buy some. Not even one picture of the product is on the website. The colors and the cartoon kids with the dilated eyes on the home page make me think Pennyjuice is L.S.D. for children. The website’s color scheme and imagery looks like it was designed for kids, however kids do not order the product, adults do, so that makes no sense.

To improve this website, the owner should just start over.  New color scheme, new layout, everything. The home page should include information and pictures and/or videos of the product itself without having to click a button. The nutritional content of Pennyjuice should be somewhere on the website. The navigation on the webpages should be easier.

Spotmetering.com

Spot Metering is a website that promotes the understanding of the exposure (spot meter) on a camera and a couple of photography how to books that further explain exposure. This website is a mess to look at. The homepage has multi sized and multi-colored fonts that are unattractive and make reading through the ponderous amount of material difficult. After reading through the website I can’t imagine what it would be like to try and read a book written by the person who created this website. This website does an awful job promoting the books that are for sale.

To improve this site he needs to edit down the amount of text and make it uniform. Use one or maybe two colors for the font and the same with the font size. Also, when you click on the navigation it opens an entire new window, it would be better if the new page would be open in the same window. The homepage should make it crystal clear that it is selling books on the topic of film exposure.

Riversideartcenter.org

Riverside art center’s website straight away tells you who they are, what they do, and how to get involved right on their homepage.  I found the information provided on each page to be clear and informative. I really appreciated the simple and effective design of this website. Nothing fancy, just explains their purpose and highlights some of the artwork/ programs that they are involved with. When you first load the webpage a pop-up comes up asking if you want to join their newsletter. If I lived in this community, I would definitely sign up.

Apple.com

Looking at Apple’s website it is obvious that Apple understands branding and aesthetics. Their website color scheme is simple back and white just like most of their products. The website’s home page both gives the impression of glamor, and simplicity with a picture of the latest IPhone. Navigation is laid out simply across the top of the homepage. Each product line has its own page that has large attractive pictures of the products. If you want to know more there are “Learn More” links by every product that do not add clutter to the screen.

Apple’s website has been one that I have always appreciated. The thoughtful and attractive way they display their products make them appealing and approachable. The website gives the impression that their products are attractive and simple to use.

How a website looks directly relates to how I feel about a product or service that it is promoting. If a website is not intuitive enough for me to navigate easily, I assume the same will be for the product that it promotes. The look and feel of a website should be considered part of the brand, like Apple. The website and product appear to be one, working in concert. Meanwhile, a website like Spot metering make you feel like the books written by this guy are going to be as schizophrenic as the website is. His books could be great, but I will never know because of the impression his website left me with.

Week 3B

The five organizations I chose analyze are all based here in San Diego County. I work in local government, so I included a couple of government agencies on my list. I decided to look at each organization through the lens of Chapter 1 of Likable Media. So each, of these organizations would be one of the attendees at the “cocktail party” and I formed my opinion using that analogy.

San Diego County Water Authority (CWA)

URL: sdcwa.org

Social Media on Website:

Twitter - Last post February 11^th. On twitter CWA posts links to relevant water stories as well as information on programs and member agencies.

Facebook- Last post February 11^th. CWA posts legislative updates, stories about water history, information on programs and their member agencies.

YouTube – Last post 10 months ago. The CWA has numerous videos posted on their channel. Topics range from water supply information, history, water conservation, and educational landscape training videos.

The CWA invests pretty heavily in social media for a government agency, especially for one that is not a municipality. Their YouTube videos are high quality and educational. Their Twitter and Facebook posts are similar. The CWA is pushing a lot of water industry information mixed with local news, politics, and government programs every day. To me it is a bit much. I think at the cocktail party the CWA would be an interesting guy, but would want to talk too much about what interests him.

City of Vista

URL: Cityofvista.com

Social Media on Website:

Twitter – Last post February 10^th. City makes announcements of projects and events. Uses Twitter to alert area residents of issues, such as road closures and unplanned maintenance that can affect residents.

Facebook – Last post February 7^th, City highlights projects that are in progress or recently completed as well as community events. Also, citizens can post there comments or complaints on the City’s page.

YouTube- Last post over a year ago. Not much happening on the City’s YouTube channel. Just one video “Welcome to the City of Vista”.

Instagram- Last post February 10^th. City posts pictures of projects and events as well as interesting viewpoints like aerial shots of the City.

The City of Vista uses their social media platforms, with the exception of YouTube, extensively. Their twitter feed mirrors their Facebook, except on twitter they advise followers of things like road work and bussing issues. I found it easy to catch up with what is going on around Vista by visiting their Facebook/Twitter sites. Their Instagram provided some interesting photos, but nothing really exciting. I feel like the City’s social media goal is to keep their residents informed of the goings on around the City. There was very little political type of information. At the cocktail party I see the City as someone who keeps tabs on their neighbors, but doesn’t have a lot to say about anything outside their own neighborhood.

Project Design Consultants (PDC)

URL: projectdesign.com

Social Media on Website:

Twitter – Last post February 8^th. PDC tweets out information/updates on their projects, local government news, and re-tweets local government, local politicians, and community news.

Facebook Last Post February 8^th. PDC post the same info they do on Twitter, just with more detail.

LinkedIn – Last post 1month ago. Looks like PDC uses its LinkedIn account primarily for recruiting new employees.

PDC appears to use social media primarily for recruiting new employees. A large percentage of their posts deal with recruitment. Outside that they post about land use projects that they are or will be involved with. Unless I was looking for a job, I really can’t see a reason to visit their social media sites. I see PDC as the boring engineer at the party who might be able to get you a job.

Hunter Industries

URL: hunterindustries.com

Social Media on Website:

Twitter – Last post February 2^nd. Hunter uses Twitter to highlight its outreach and training as well as its products.

Facebook- Last post February 11^th. Hunter uses its Facebook page to highlight its manufacturing, employees, and outreach activities.

YouTube – Last post February 8^th. Hunter uses YouTube to highlight its product line as well as how to videos for the use and maintenance of their irrigation products.

Hunter uses its social media to promote and explain its irrigation products. I felt like their social media posts had two objectives, one to promote themselves and their products, but also to help their sales reps or irrigation contractors. I know if I was selling their products I would find their social media posts helpful. Nothing really exciting or novel going on, but it seems like they have a plan with what they are doing with their posts. If Hunter was at the party he would be the shrewd salesman who would be able to steer social conversations to sales pitches.

Mother Earth Brewery

URL: motherearthbrewco.com

Social Media on Website:

Twitter – Last post February 3^rd. On Twitter, Mother Earth documents outreach events, brewery operations, and get togethers at their taproom.

Facebook – Last post February 11^th. Mother Earth announces new beers, and documents their brewing processes on their Facebook.

Instagram – Last post February 6^th. Their Instagram page has lots of brewery related videos and pictures as well as some videos submitted by the public that contain their products.

Mother Earth’s social media posts mostly revolve around them producing beer and promoting beer related events in San Diego, and recently Idaho (guess they just opened a brewery there). It was easy for me to get a snapshot of what was going on in their world by visiting their social media pages. Not a whole lot of two way interaction going on but Mother Earth’s postings did give me the sense of being part of their “community”. Well let’s face it, if you are having a party, it would be nice to have the brewery show up and I think everyone at the party would find them fun and interesting.

I thought that with the exception of the consulting firm PDC, each one of these organizations were making good use of their social media platforms. In my one visit to PDC’s social media sites I learned all I was going to. I could see myself in the future visiting all of the others because there was information on each of their social media sites that I found interesting. Each definitely had their own unique take on what they wanted to do with their social media messaging. The CWA wants to keep the community informed of all of their programs, political views, and water industry news. Meanwhile, the City of Vista wants you tom know the pothole has been fixed by your house.

Week 3A

I can’t imagine anyone not having difficulty communicating with a business at some point. Whether it be that the business is closed; not responding to phone calls or letters, or unhelpful employees, we all have had this experience at one time or another.

I really think that this is where social media can really help bridge the gap between customers and business.  Nothing can be more irritating than having to wait on the phone or in line for a simple issue. Using social media, you can send a quick message, which the business can then address.  This can happen after hours or when it is convenient.

Businesses can be more customer friendly and efficient by allowing customers to use social media to communicate.  Customers can place orders; ask questions, and address problems without having to get on the phone, or stopping by in person.  Additionally, you can easily share images to help both sides communicate if appropriate.

Last year I had a problem with my internet service with Cox Cable. I called their customer service line and waited for 20 minutes only to have them send me to the “tech department” which promptly hung up on me. This happened three times in a row. The customer service phone reps refused to listen to me when I said that there was a problem with the tech department phone line. So, I got on their chat app on their website, and was able to get the issue addressed in less than 5 minutes, after over an hour on the phone going nowhere. Much better!

If I had a business on social media I would try and be consistent with how I dealt with comments. I think it is much easier to deal with positive comments than negative, maybe say nothing or quick thanks.  

On the negative side, I would correct any incorrect information that may have been posted via social media. People have opinions, and they express them on social media, I don’t think it is wise to engage customers in matters of opinion. I would be conscience that when I am engaging customers that I am not undermining my business’ image by seeming petty or hostile to customer feedback.

I left comments on these blogs:

Madison Burns
Patrick Conahan
Irene Vasquez

Week 2A

Social Media Platform for Personal Use

To me Nextdoor seems to be the social media platform that is most geared for personal use. The platform is designed to be used by private individuals rather than business use. If you are unfamiliar with Nextdoor, it functions like a community bulletin board. Users can post information on a newsfeed that can be viewed only by other users in their local Nextdoor “neighborhood”.  For example, lost cats and dogs are common posts, or inquiring about police activity. Nextdoor promotes users sharing helpful information about local businesses, but forbids businesses to announce events or make unsolicited posts in main newsfeed for the neighborhood. I think that Nextdoor's policy regarding business use of its platform really sets it aside from other forms of social media. Its one of the few forms of social media I regularly use.

 

Social Media Platform for Business Use

Which social media platforms work for a particular business would depend quite a bit on the business itself.  If you work in the graphic design field, then the platforms you may use may be different from say an automotive repair shop.  I think a business would have to look at the type of content they can create and the audience they are trying to reach then pick out the appropriate platform(s).

 
Really, I’m taking this class to have a better answer questions like this.  What social media platforms work best in a particular situation, how best to use them etc. So to answer this question today, it seems that using Facebook and Twitter are the most popular, so I assume that is because they can easily be used by a large number of businesses.

Blogs Commented on:

Madison Burns
Michael Fangella
Andrew Sterk