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[kayrivy]

You did a great job of analyzing the company Bombas socks and giving a ton of information about the creators and what they have done for their company. I think we chose similar companies for our final reviews. Both of our companies have started from nothing and created a popular brand but haven’t taken the chance to try and go big yet. 

Bombas Socks

In 2013, entrepreneurs Randy Goldberg and David Heath stumbled across a Facebook post that mentioned a serious need for socks at homeless shelters around the country. Sock are the #1 requested clothing item at homeless shelters. They decided to launch a sock company called Bombas. Bombas promoted for every pair of socks sold they would donate a pair to the homeless. Bombas has worked hard to develop a line of premium, high-tech, fashionable socks, between $12 and $18, that customers would want to buy. To date, more than ten million pairs have been donated. (Bombas About Us, n.d.)

Bombas is primarily involved in the clothing industry. Goldberg and Heath were made aware of the need for socks through a Facebook posting and continue to reach out via digital social media as well as radio and TV commercials. (Elizabeth Segran, 2017)

Randy Goldberg and David Heath used a mission-based model to stand out., pitched their one-for-one charitable business model on Shark Tank in 2014. (CNBC Make It, 2017) They went into the Tank seeking $200,000 in exchange for 5 percent equity. They ultimately accepted a $200k investment from FUBU founder Daymond John for 17.5 percent. Sales from the beginning were primarily online sales, Google, Amazon Prime, eBay, Bing (Bombas Socks, n.d.). The mission-based marketing is dependent on a cause that helps customers feel like they’re making a real impact. The mission based strategy was for every pair of socks sold, one pair will be donated to a person in need, and to bring awareness to homeless crisis that effects every community especially lager cities. /BOM-BAS/ derived from the Latin word for bumblebee. Bees live in a hive and work together to make their world a better place. They’re small, but their combined actions have a big impact on the world.  That’s why their mantra is bee better, and slogan “ Better socks, Better world, Bee better, hence the Bee symbol on all their socks.

Employees from the Bombas headquarters in New York had come to donate socks. While the brand sends thousands of socks to 750 organizations around the country, they occasionally drop them off in person. It’s a great way to bond as a team, Bombas also believes it’s really important to connect with the people we are serving as a company, because it reminds us about our mission. These interactions have helped Bombas better serve the homeless. It was through the feedback they received from the community that they decided to reengineer the socks they would donate to the homeless. While regular Bombas socks have a special seam that eliminates the bump at the toe, for added comfort, the donation socks have a reinforced seam to make them more durable. The socks are treated with anti-microbial technology, so they don’t need to be washed as frequently and deter fungus. Also, these donation socks only come in black, which is more stain resistant. (Elizabeth Segran, 2017)

Bombas is trying to pave the way for other companies to have in-person giving experiences. Bombas is uniquely equipped to do this, since it has built relationships with homeless shelters and the nonprofit sector. Many companies have time and funds set aside for employees to contribute to charitable causes. Bombas has been creating ways for other brands to dip their toe into the world of social good. Bombas created an event called “60K day,” which was based on the concept than on any given night, 60,000 people in New York end up at a homeless shelter. The plan was to bring individuals from 60 of New York’s hottest companies to visit a shelter and hand out 60,000 socks. The companies included were, Birchbox, Thinx, Kind, Casper, Classpass, Harry’s, Maple, and Spring, among more established brands like Gap, LinkedIn, Shake Shack, and Kenneth Cole.

Bombas launched another program called “Skip Day,” where it invites New York-based companies to take advantage of Summer Fridays and flexible summer hours to volunteer to serve the homeless community. Bombas makes it easy for individuals at companies to jump right into the work. Employees from different companies can gather and assemble bags of products that the homeless need to get through the hot summer months, such as cold bottles of water, ice pops, and wipes. They then go out into the streets to hand these out. These visits are also reinvigorating to employees, since it puts a face to the people they are trying to help with their business. It also gives meaning to their everyday tasks–like making spreadsheets and calling suppliers–when they return to the office.

Online ratings and reviews are as follows, Bombas Socks   with a 4.8 star rating. Google Express - Need Shoe Accessories. eBay (Bombas Socks, n.d.). Amazon Prime with an average star rating of 4.8, (Amazon Prime, n.d.).  Clothing at JCPenney , 4.6-star rating. (JC Penny, n.d.). rockemsocks.com, Shark Week Socks - Rock ‘Em Socks (Sharks, n.d.). lululemon.com, lululemon Official Site . (Women’s Socks, n.d.) hollisterco.com

Hollister Co.  (Shoes & Accessories, n.d.). findsimilar.com The Sock Accessories Outlet  (sock accessories, n.d.)

Facebook 317 K followers, reviews are 5 star ratings on glassdoor (Glassdoor, 1028) Twitter has 12.9 K followers, joined 2011, (Bombas Socks, n.d.), Instagram shows 64.9 K (Bombas Socks, n.d.), Pinterest has only 3,092.

I believe the overall social media marketing strategy of Bombas, a buy-one, give-one brand is brilliant. Offering a high quality product with a 100 percent guarantee, and knowing your expense contributed to a worthy cause, but it was also about starting a broader involvement about homelessness, and providing a model for other companies to replicate about how to get involved with their communities. Other companies can use their own particular areas of strength to contribute in their own unique ways. Birchbox, for instance, has been donating boxes of beauty products–from shampoo to nail polish–to homeless women. Harry’s has been donating razors to people in need and funding charities that serve veterans. Shake Shack has been enlisting its staff to donate food to the hungry after work. These social media posts and activities spurred other less socially involved brands to consider how they can help.

Randy Goldberg and David Heath stumbling across a Facebook posting, passionate about working towards a great cause providing a top of the line quality product, and using one-for-one model pioneered by the shoe brand Toms, and using the power and full resources of social media. At this time, the only recommendation that I would recommend for more recognition towards their cause would be to advertise more on TV. But this type of advertising is a lot costlier than the power of the internet.

References  

(n.d.). Retrieved from Amazon Prime:  https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_3_6?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=bombas+socks&sprefix=bombas%2Caps%2C148&crid=17YMN

Bombas About Us. (n.d.). Retrieved from Bombas: https://bombas.com/pages/about-us

Bombas Socks. (n.d.). Retrieved from Bing:  https://www.bing.com/search?q=bombas+socks&qs=FT&pq=bombas&sc=8-6&cvid=A281E9CF60814D43AD63994E91F77A22&FORM=QBLH&sp=1

Bombas Socks. (n.d.). Retrieved from Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bombas/

Bombas socks. (n.d.). Retrieved from YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNr5Uh1qIeU

Bombas socks. (n.d.). Retrieved from YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG2MDlfz1yU&t=9s

Bombas socks. (n.d.). Retrieved from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRHMYB4f2iI

Bombas Socks. (n.d.). Retrieved from Twitter: https://twitter.com/bombas

Bombas Socks. (n.d.). Retrieved from eBay:  https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1311.R1.TR10.TRC0.A0.H0.Xbombas+.TRS0&_nkw=bombas+socks&_sacat=11

Bombas Socks. (n.d.). Retrieved from Amazon Prime:  https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_3_6?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=bombas+socks&sprefix=bombas%2Caps%2C148&crid=17YMN

CNBC Make It. (2017, June 7). Retrieved from ENTREPRENUERS:  https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/21/shark-tank-investor-daymond-john-won-big-with-bombas.html

Elizabeth Segran, P. (2017, July 27). Moving the  Needle. Retrieved from Fast Company:  https://www.fastcompany.com/40445016/how-one-sock-brand-is-helping-startups-step-up-their-social-good-game

Glassdoor.  (1028, October 30). Retrieved from Compant Ratings:  https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Bombas-Reviews-E1605933.htm

JC Penny.  (n.d.). Retrieved from Shop Departments:  https://www.jcpenney.com/g/women/N-bwo3x?pageType=X2H2&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=paid%20search&cid=paid%20

Leighton, M. (2018, September 19). Retrieved from  Business Insider: https://www.businessinsider.com/bombas-socks-review

Sharks.  (n.d.). Retrieved from Rock'em: https://rockemsocks.com/collections/sharks?gclid=Cj0KCQiArenfBRCoARIsAFc1FqeikZpZSurmyDJFVpZV29-6JLjeGuz4EjOdCdAYSsDjnK2zzU5-UX8aAjUhEA

Shoes & Accessories. (n.d.). Retrieved from hollister.com:  hollisterco.com ▼ Visit Website Hollister Co.® - Cyber Monday Starts  Now_BMM_C&gclid=Cj0KCQiArenfBRCoARIsAFc1FqfC0_gFi2onusCvV2XAb7ednLpG8493

sock accessories. (n.d.). Retrieved from findsimilar.com: https://www.findsimilar.com/search?q=sock+accessories&cid=4146&campaignid=954831731&adgroup_id=44215909901&keyword=kwd-296541545240

Women’s Socks. (n.d.). Retrieved from lululemon:  https://shop.lululemon.com/c/women-socks/_/N-8nd?mnid=mn;en-US-JSON;women;accessories;socks

[kayrivy]

Pollo Tropical and Social Media Marketing

Pollo Tropical is a food chain restaurant store started in Miami, Florida. Pollo Tropical began as a family business in 1988, and it was founded by Jewish brothers Stuart and Larry Harris (not what most people expect).  Because of its name, people mistakenly assume they serve Mexican Food. The franchise is built upon the cuisines from the Caribbean. The main dishes include marinated and grilled chicken plus other meals like pork, shrimp, black beans and rice. The business has over 140 locations in the United States of America, and its corporate office is in Miami, Florida.  The firm was acquired from Carroll Restaurant Group in 2012, and it is now a subsidiary of Fiesta Restaurant Group.

Social media marketing is essential to the restaurant industry because the industry relies heavily on word-of-mouth advertising.  Most social media platforms are places where people share their opinions about likes and dislikes.  The most common platform for restaurant advertising in 2018 was social media and is utilized by 63% of restaurateurs (Tetreault & Beltis, 2018). When done correctly, social media marketing can increase sales through building relationships online with present and future customers. With authentic interactions with customers, social media marketing can also create brand advocacy and show company transparency to their customers.  In today’s world, customers prefer and expect social interaction from businesses. A company should have a social media marketing strategy to achieve success in social media marketing.  Profiles on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube are norms for platforms on social media. The use of social media in the restaurant industry is essential, and companies can increase their return on investment (ROI) if they follow a well-constructed social media marketing strategy.

Pollo Tropical on Social Media Platforms

The Pollo Tropical has extensive social media exposure. This assertion is hinged on the fact that the market is not only on Facebook but also Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. Additionally, the company has its own platform Pollo Tropical Television (PTTV) that relies upon the YouTube video generator to run customized advertisements on the various products on their platform. On YouTube, the company has over 2500 subscribers and 39 posted videos whereas, on Facebook, the official company page has around 181,746 likes with over 177,000. Additionally, on Twitter, the company has 6,749 followers with over 35,800 tweets. Similarly, the business has a following on Instagram with 7,917 followers. 

The company is most dependent on Facebook for their social media marketing. This claim stems from the fact that despite the high number of likes, Facebook offers a means for evaluating the quality of service being rendered by the business. Additionally, the effectiveness of this platform remains evident from the almost 582 recommendations. Moreover, the company boasts over 7,000 real opinions posted on its page. Furthermore, it remains imperative to indicate that the company relies mostly on Facebook as it also offers an automatic messaging service; this ensures that clients receive a real-time response (Müllern, 2011). 

The comparison between the social commerce on Facebook and Twitter reveals the massive disparity in the social media platforms. Additionally, whereas Twitter remains stringently controlled and regulated, Facebook offers a slightly interactive experience for the business. The social commerce features in Facebook remains more impressive compared to those of Twitter. The boosting of an account is possible on Facebook at affordable rates (Leung, Bai & Stahura, 2015). 

Social Commerce Strategy

 Pollo Tropical is utilizing several platforms in their social commerce strategy.  They have a company website that has good search engine optimization (SEO) as well as good on-site indicators.  The company has a mobile app on iOS and Android.  Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Pollo Tropical TV are the social media platforms that Pollo Tropical prefers to use.  The strategies Pollo Tropical utilizes to encourage social commerce sharing to help facilitate sales are share tools, recommendation indicators, reviews and ratings, reward system, and testimonials.  

Some of the ways Pollo Tropical encourages and facilitates influence and impressions are by posting coupon codes. 

Pollo Tropical engages people to enter contests.

They engage and encourage sales by celebrating national holidays.

Pollo Tropical posts on social media platforms and raises money for charities through sales such as breast cancer. 

Pollo Tropical also supports several charities to help  schools, local organizations, police, and firefighters.

Monetizing traffic flow from a business website or social media page highlights an effective social e-commerce campaign Around 50% of each day’s sales are directly impacted by social media marketing (Khan, 2014).  Pollo Tropical has created a legit and credible following online that not only posts the right content but creates engagement with the right audience. The company’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts are utilized for engagement and influence to create a relationship with its target market. YouTube has many user review videos that are positive as well as negative.  The Pollo TV channel shows videos of new products, “limited-time” product promotions, and sales promotions.  They provide the videos in English and Spanish languages.  While Pollo Tropical utilizes all these platforms, Facebook and Twitter see the most action by the company and customers.

Content and Sentiment Analysis

           Online ratings and reviews, as well as content and sentiment analysis, can uncover valuable information about a brand and how well the business is connecting and engaging with the market.  Companies can learn how people think or feel about their company and its products.  The video is an example of an online rating and review using the YouTube platform.

Pollo Tropical started re-branding in October 2017 and has been working to revamp their social media marketing strategy.  A content analysis was conducted using a program called Keyword Density Checker which analyzed the keyword density of Pollo Tropical’s website. Overall, the content analysis is good with 68 keywords and a website load time of .33 seconds. Below is the content analysis of Pollo Tropical.

Facebook Sentiment Analysis

Pollo Tropical is most dependent on Facebook to do social media marketing. The company relies mostly on Facebook as it also offers an automatic messaging service; this ensures that clients receive a real-time response (Mullern, 2014).  Sentiment analysis was conducted using a program called Likealyzer.  Some areas could use improvement.  Below is the sentiment analysis for Pollo Tropical’s Facebook account.

Twitter Sentiment Analysis

Twitter is a very useful tool in giving the Pollo Tropical brand a voice and a personality. Twitter says 1.6 billion unique visitors per month see tweets on third-party properties, which corresponds to 500 million tweets per day and around 200 billion tweets per year (Lake, 2018).  A well- managed Twitter account is crucial.  Sentiment analysis was conducted using a program called NCSU (North Carolina State University) Tweet Sentiment Visualization App.  Below is the sentiment analysis for Pollo Tropical’s Twitter account for the past seven days.

In this sentiment analysis, each tweet is shown as a circle positioned by sentiment, an estimate of the emotion contained in the tweet’s text. Unpleasant tweets are drawn as blue circles on the left, and pleasant tweets as green circles on the right. Sedate tweets are drawn as darker circles on the bottom, and active tweets as brighter circles on the top. In this chart, Pollo Tropical has a favorable sentiment.

In the tag cloud analysis, common words from the emotional regions Upset, Happy, Relaxed, and Unhappy are shown. Words that are more frequent are larger.

In the timeline analysis, tweets are drawn in a bar chart to show the number of tweets posted at different times. Pleasant tweets are shown in green on the top of the chart, and unpleasant tweets are shown in blue on the bottom.

Instagram Sentiment Analysis

Instagram is a global platform that allows brands to humanize their content, recruit new talent, showcase products, and inspire their audience. Instagram users provide a wealth of potential material for Pollo Tropical.  Sentiment analysis for Pollo Tropical was conducted, and the company was compared to its top competitor Moe’s Southwest Grill.  The program used is called Socialbakers.  Below is the sentiment analysis for its Instagram account.

Assessment and Recommendation

The primary goals of a social media campaign should include creating brand awareness, improving the quality of service, and creating walk-in person sales. When the analysis was conducted on Pollo Tropical’s Facebook page, it is evident that there are improvements to be made.  The Facebook profile scored 58% on the criteria field “Activity” and 44% on the criteria field “Response.”  It evident that Pollo Tropical should increase the number of posts per day to increase user engagement.  They should” like” more pages to encourage cross domain interest which would boost overall engagement.  Pollo Tropical scored low in response rate and response time.  The business should increase response rate as this is indicative of a responsive brand.  The company should improve on response time to user posts.  Facebook allows for real-time interaction, and users demand fast responses.  The Pollo Tropical Facebook platform should be re-strategized to enhance the performance of communication with users.   The Twitter account seems to be well maintained and running smoothly.  I would suggest keeping on top of response time and user interactions.  As for the Instagram account, the analysis compares the activity of Pollo Tropical competitor Moe’s Southwest Grill.  It is unfortunate that Pollo Tropical is categorized as a Sleeper.  It is evident that this platform needs attention and a social media marketing plan. Incorporating sponsored ads, partnering with influencers for a broader reach, collect user-submitted photos, create interactive branded hashtags, and posting at the right time are few ideas to help build awareness on Instagram. Most importantly, it is essential to use a metric tool to measure the results of each platform as Pollo Tropical implements its new strategy.

The basis of a strong social media campaign should be the creation of a stable consumer base and more sales.  Nudging the consumer to complete the purchase cycle remains an important step in monetizing social media marketing (Garner, 2017). Advertisements are programmed to trigger a client’s need or want for a service or good. Upon seeing the ads, clients start to consider buying from the page. Therefore, the primary objective of Pollo Tropical should be monetization of the likes and comments. The success of a social media campaign directly correlates to the number of units purchased; nonetheless, it remains imperative to note that social media platforms provide a community for buyers to engage (Wordstream, 2018).  In conclusion, it is suggested that Pollo Tropical revise the social media marketing plan for Facebook and Instagram for optimal brand awareness, quality customer service, improving the quality of service, and creating walk-in person sales.

Reference

Garner, L. (2017, November 23). Three steps in implementing a social commerce strategy - We Are Social USA. Retrieved from https://wearesocial.com/us/blog/2017/11/three-steps-in-implementing-a-social-commerce-strategy

Khan, J. (2014, August 15). 6 Key Components of an Effective Social Commerce Strategy. Retrieved from https://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/6-key-components-effective-social-commerce-strategy

Lake, L. (2018, October 10). Twitter: A Valuable Marketing Tool? Retrieved November 24, 2018,from https://www.thebalancesmb.com/

Leung, X. Y., Bai, B., & Stahura, K. A. (2015). The marketing effectiveness of social media in the hotel industry: A comparison of Facebook and Twitter. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 39(2), 147-169.

Müllern, T. (2011). Facebook as a marketing channel. A study of ecommerce retailers’ Facebook page ambitious (Doctoral dissertation, Master Thesis. InternationellaHandelshögskolan, Jönköping, Sweden).

Tetreault, A., & Beltis, A. (2018, October 10). 60 Restaurant Industry Statistics for Restaurant Owners in 2019. Retrieved November 23, 2018, from https://pos.toasttab.com/

Wordstream. (2018). Social Media Marketing for Businesses | WordStream. Retrieved from https://www.wordstream.com/social-media-marketing

[kayrivy]

Final Project Week 7

Think of this as a professional report prepared by a social media consultant (you) for a professional client. The goal is to assess where the client is regarding their social media use and what they could be improving on or changing in their marketing focus.

(1.) I am introducing a company called DIFF Eyewear. DIFF Eyewear is a charitable eyewear company that prides themselves on the promise that for every pair of eyewear bought they will donate a pair of glasses to people in need. The norms for an eyewear or sunglasses company is usually pretty quiet and is not in your face about advertisement by any means. The standards for the eyewear industry usually reside in the contracts with sunglasses stores or with retail stores with a sunglass area. As far as advertisements go most people can find advertisements in the mall, in magazines, maybe on a billboard, or around the store they are in. Advertising for sunglasses isn’t usually seen on television or on the Internet for a specific brand. There are plenty of celebrities or higher-class citizens with expensive sunglasses that aren’t seen advertised, except for in magazines, and they rely on word of mouth or their product being seen on the people wearing them.  Those same high-end eyewear and sunglass companies are usually not just eyewear; they are a part of a clothing company or a company that offers other products.  The advertisements the high-end eyewear does use, in magazines or with their clothing lines, are paid advertisements. DIFF is an organization that is trying to be completely different than their competition. While there are new companies that are paying for advertising on social media sites, DIFF is trying to create their advertising through people. DIFF is probably paying some of their celebrity advertisers and social media influencers based on views and attention but they are hoping that with online reviews and tags and posts on social media that they will attract more attention because people are recording videos of them using the sunglasses and showing all the options they have. One thing that DIFF does that is already different from other eyewear companies is their charity influence, participation in the charity they are giving to, and the price for the quality of product. The major problem of sunglasses today is that they are expensive. Not only are the high-end sunglasses so expensive ($200-$600) that the average citizen would never pay for them but even the middle ground ($90-$200) sunglasses are still pricey. Companies like Dior, Prada, Gucci, Versace, Tiffany, etc., are the high-end sunglass that can run you over $600.00 for a pair of sunglasses. Ray-ban, Maui Jim, Costa Del Mar, and Oakley are popular, more reasonable, sunglasses that can still run up to $350.00. Online eyewear companies like DIFF try to appeal to the everyday customer that wants practical and durable, but still good quality, eyewear. (2.) DIFF’s social media history is through the roof. DIFF is a company that prides itself on the social media posts of celebrities and social influencers. There are a lot of posts on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter of DIFF’s sunglasses and eyewear. DIFF themselves use YouTube to post new product clips and advertisement videos. Instagram is the most used and most popular form of social media that DIFF uses with over 500,000 followers. Facebook is their next most popular and used social media platform with over 171,000 followers.  Their strategy to create more sales and awareness is using the power of social media with celebrities and social media influencers. Social media influencers are people with a lot of followers; they are the celebrities of social media. By using celebrities and influencers they are able to reach a ton of people just by posting one video and if they can post many pictures or do a collaboration with celebrities then they can get even more attention. The videos that are being posted are review videos; so not only do they show the product being used by famous people that they recognize, but they are also being told how amazing the product is and how great the cause is that they are contributing to. (3.) The social commerce strategy that DIFF (charitable eyewear) uses is the strategy of using celebrities to support social media interaction. They also get their consumers to tag them in pictures and post review videos to assist as well. DIFF uses their social media accounts to post sales and new products but they mostly let their influencers to do the outreach work. They encourage and facilitate influence and impressions by using celebrities that are well known and are aesthetically pleasing. Using celebrities who are already being noticed for the products they use are posting videos of the good things they think about DIFF eyewear that generates views and generates social commerce. Not only are they using celebrities to tell consumers what they think about DIFF’s products but they are also collaborating with DIFF to create their own “lines” of sunglasses. Khloe Kardashian, Jessie James Decker, Demi Lovato, and Becca Tilley have all collaborated to make their own version of DIFF sunglasses and beyond them they have the support of other celebrities like Kendall and Kylie Kardashian, Mario Lopez, Audriana Patridge, Joelle Fletcher, Scott Disik, and many other reality TV stars and social media influencers. All of these relationships are helpful for their brand but I think the critical relationships are with the collaborators and then second to that are all the celebrities that support and suggest DIFF eyewear. 

(4.) 

https://youtu.be/pX1_hUDPOWMhttps://youtu.be/6Ei2uMR-XO0

https://www.facebook.com/AkinsLaur/videos/vb.1181035255272783/1588341007875537/?type=2&theater

https://www.facebook.com/themeaganrigney/videos/vb.292281914158198/466923920455351/?type=2&theater

https://www.amazon.com/Diff-Eyewear-Designer-Square-Sunglasses/dp/B075VD2MWK/ref=pd_cp_309_3?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=ef4dc990-a9ca-4945-ae0b-f8d549198ed6&pf_rd_r=EE455JKTT9A7BFDZKC45&pd_rd_wg=Chhdy&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&pd_rd_w=OTrf3&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pd_rd_r=966514c7-f129-11e8-bd66-f7675945ae46&pd_rd_i=B075VD2MWK&psc=1&refRID=EE455JKTT9A7BFDZKC45

The reviews I am seeing all over the internet is the positives of DIFF charitable eyewear. Consumers are loving the price point and loving the quality of sunglasses they are getting. They are comparing DIFF to companies like Ray-Ban. (5.) I think DIFF charitable eyewear has got social media marketing down. I think the way they are using social media influencers, reality TV stars, and celebrities to advertise their products and facilitate e-commerce is above any other eyewear brand. The thing that DIFF is constantly winning over other companies is the quality for the price. Most of the reviews I am seeing online are people comparing them to their Ray-bans and other expensive sunglasses that are over two times more expensive. People seem to love their glasses but some people are also frustrated with some of the designs because they are two big or not able to be adjusted enough. Those bad reviews are very few among the good reviews. DIFF has done a great job of getting the right people involved to get their company the right attention and I think they need to move into the stores that the rest of the sunglasses are in like sunglass hut and other popular sunglass stores. I did research that DIFF eyewear is being sold at boutiques and department stores like Dillards which I think it is another great move on their part because once again they are advertising their product in the places that their normal consumers would shop. 

References:

http://www.greenecoservices.com/100-eyewear-companies-that-give-back/

https://www.sunglasshut.com/us/womens-sunglasses/4/68/18?pageType=women

https://www.instagram.com/diffeyewear/?hl=en

https://www.facebook.com/diffeyewear/

https://twitter.com/diffeyewear

https://youtu.be/SydHRNSzwVM

https://youtu.be/vCfKiG95gK4

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5EZQf4L1JHm9k5sNBetRjw

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bqc2sHznNtV/

@necsocialmedia

[kayrivy]

Week 6: 1st Post

Do you think Facebook and other social media platforms had a hand in the outcome of the presidential election? Why?

I do believe that Facebook and other social media platforms had a hand in the outcome of the presidential election; but there is more to it than that. Just like the tv stations stream advertisements and commercials during election time so did Facebook and other social media. The only difference between the two is that the ads on the television are exaggerated truths or partial truths and the things that are being spread on social media are mostly just peoples opinions or  false statements made by random citizens. People will see these statements and posts on social media and take them as truth and form opinions that are completely false. Some of these opinions that are posted end up going viral and so people believe, even more, that they are true. The reason that these social media sites even made an impact on the presidential election is because the majority of the population of the United States is on social media. Everyone these days has a phone or a computer and is plugged in, in some way, to the internet so everyone that has access can see these viral posts and these false accusations or false statements. In the article from Pew Research it shows how much more social media and mobile advertising spending went up from 2010 to  2016, which means that the people who can go viral and reach a bunch of people on the internet can generate income and it doesn’t matter if what they are saying is true or false which also causes a huge problem. People take bits and pieces and spread false statements because of the way they interpret things or they just blatantly slander and make false statements. 

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/06/15/state-of-the-news-media-2016-key-takeaways/

https://www.rawstory.com/2016/11/voting-for-trump-would-dishonor-god-gop-electoral-college-member-resigns-to-avoid-backing-trump/

https://twitter.com/SoulFlyTry/status/803332871327023104

[kayrivy]

Week 6: 2nd Post

1. Does this journalist appeal to you because you are a digital immigrant or a digital native? Why?

This journalist appeals to the part of me that feels a little bit more like a digital native. The first time I saw this journalist was online and I have heard most of her news stories and opinions on the internet and social media. While I never grew up with all the connection that kids have now I feel like I picked up on things easily and I can use the internet and social media as a tool just as easily as a digital native.

2. Include the number of followers the journalist has on Twitter. Based on the number of followers, do you think the journalist has a lot of online influence? Do you think the journalist is savvy on social media? If so, why? If not, why?

Tomi Lahren has 1.25 million followers on Twitter alone and over 4 million followers on Facebook. I think she has a ton of online influence. However I don’t think she is the most savvy on social media but she uses her social media in the right way. A lot of her video clips go viral because she is so blunt and honest about her opinions. But I think she uses her social media realistically like most digital immigrants use it. We use it to speak our mind and say how we feel but I have seen other, more savvy, online users be more productive and network better than Tomi Lahren does. But she is also working on a tv news show where she also gets plenty of recognition. But she uses her social media more personally that other professional journalists.

3. Does this journalist help market their news organization online?

Yes she is constantly tagging and retweeting news stories on Fox News and telling her followers to tune in when she will be reporting a news story.

[kayrivy]

Week 5

There was a viral challenge that came to my attention and has been around for several years now. It’s called the ‘22 push up challenge’ or the ‘22 a day challenge’ the objective of this challenge is to raise awareness and honor veterans of the armed forces of the United States. The reason for this challenge is the statistic that on average there are 22 veterans who take their own life everyday because of lack of resources, funding, and awareness to get them the help that could save their lives. This statistic was taken from the Department of Veteran Affairs 2012 Suicide data report. A Marine veteran named Andrew K. Nguyen who also started many other veteran organizations created the original campaign named “#22KILL”. The goal of this whole challenge was to raise awareness of veteran suicide but also of mental health issues like PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), traumatic brain injuries, and the difficulty and stress some veterans experience as they transition from military to civilian life. Other goals of 22Kill is to recruit Veteran Advocates and support partnered organizations that focus on veteran empowerment, mental health treatment, and other services for veterans and their families.

The push up challenge started in 2011 and really flared in 2012 and 2013 when the news was spreading about the surprising amount of suicides every day by veterans. It was similar to the “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge” because every time someone would post of video of them doing the push up challenge they were nominating other people to participate. In 2016 there was a huge surge in popularity with the 22 Push up challenge because it hit celebrities and the views and awareness soared. The Rock, Chris Pratt, Kevin Heart, John Krasinski, Scott Eastwood, Jason Statham, Chris Evans, and J.J. Watt all posted videos of their participation in the challenge and the millions of views started rolling in once again.

 The original post that sent views and posts soaring was a video that was posted in 2014 of Julie Hersh, President of Hersh Foundation and author of Struck By Living, heard about the challenge and posted a video of her doing pushups in a skirt and boots. Her son poked fun at her when she was doing the push ups saying that they didn’t count because she did not have the right form while doing the push ups. These comments gained attention and spurred comical comments from people all over. Because of this comical outpour Julie Hersh decided to take advantage and help the cause by making it public that she would donate $100 for every video posted of them doing 22 push ups.  She ended up donating $100,000 dollars to the #22KILL challenge campaign that Julie Hersh ended up becoming the catalyst for. Beyond what she and her son started they pushed the limits of how much awareness they could spread by challenging people to the goal of 22 million push-ups for the cause by creating a chain reaction of challenging others.

Since the viral sensation in 2012-2016 the yearly suicide rate has been steadily going down from about 8,050 veteran suicides a year to about 7,300. While that is not the drastic change everyone would wish to see there is a difference being made. According to the department of veteran affairs they have recognized that veterans who seek help through the VA and other veteran resources have had much lower suicide rates than veterans who don’t seek help.

“The report includes suicide rates from 2005 to 2015 for both Veteran and non-Veteran populations segmented by age, race and gender, and analyzes Veteran rates based on service branch and era, suicide method and suicide risk factors. These data inform the ongoing work of VA and its partners to prevent suicide and expand the network of support for Veterans.

“Suicide remains a top clinical priority,” said Acting VA Secretary Mr. Peter O’Rourke. “One life lost to suicide is one too many. Suicide is a serious public health concern in the Veteran population and across all communities nationwide. These data offer important insights to help VA to build effective networks of support, communication and care that reach Veterans where they live and thrive.” This is a quote directly from the VA.gov which offers a ton of information and statistics for educational and social purposes but also has all the information that veterans need to get in touch with help anonymously or privately or publicly.

https://activeheroes.org/22pushups/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/22_Pushup_Challenge

https://www.cnn.com/2016/08/19/health/what-is-22-pushup-challenge-trnd/index.html

https://hccvet.org

https://www.va.gov/opa/docs/suicide-data-report-2012-final.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA9JiFLpfkc

[kayrivy]

Week 4

Websites and social media users and often thrown in a circle when it comes to seeing ads. I know I am not the only one that sees ads that are similar to the same things that I have searched for on Google. Not too long ago my friend was having issues with her homeowners insurance and just to help her out I did some research on different insurance companies. Ever since those searches I have had constant ads from Allstate all over any webpage I visit. I understood why because of this post we were doing and because we were learning about SMO (Social Media Optimization) which focuses on earning organic links to content that is used by SEO (Search Engine Optimization or Optimizers) who keep companies and organizations to stay afloat in “a growing sea of content” (Tuten & Solomon 230). I went to Allstates website that was very well organized and easy to navigate it seemed to me. There were many tabs of specific things you could do or people you could contact. Right off the bat I can say that I think there website lacks visual attraction. It is a pretty bland site with not much color variation or anything like that. 

I understand that they are trying to keep it simple and they do have good and easy to access links but I think they could be doing something better with their website visually. The ads that I was seeing pop up on other websites I was on were more visually appealing because there were videos on a loop that had information and pictures on it. It just seemed more interactive and enticing than their webpage. 

The ad on the right hand side was the one I am talking about that grabbed my attention because it was going through almost a slideshow of information. I have also seen ads like these on social media like facebook, twitter, and instagram. 

[kayrivy]

Week 3

https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2015/08/marriott-influencer-marketing/

The link I posted is an article about Marriott’s success in user participation and sharing to increase their marketing. The outreach is super simple but it works so well. Social media can blow up someones marketing and outreach by getting the right amount of followers and people being influenced by someone. Marriott chose a travel vlogger named Jack Harries who created short films while he was traveling to specifically endorse Marriotts hotels. Jack Harries has over 4 million subscribers on YouTube and he travels to places all over the world. Marriott is also using interactive social media accounts to get their followers to choose destinations for someone to travel to so they can watch their videos while they travel. They keep their followers interested, interacting, and it’s all user friendly. It’s keeping them interested and interacting because not only is it showing Marriott locations all over the world but there are a lot of people who wish they could travel the world and so it keeps people interested by showing them these videos of people traveling. Marriott is using Snapchat, YouTube, and a Live TV series to reach more people. 

Live TV series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6gu4rAtFo4#action=share

Jack Harries Vlog: 

https://www.youtube.com/user/JacksGap

[kayrivy]

One of my favorite things...hiking the island of Oahu! When I first moved to island I knew there was a ton of outdoor activities, one being the hikes, and I was immediately looking for what hikes I could do as soon as possible. I looked to social media to help me find the popular hikes, the ones with the best views, the most scenic hikes, and the closest ones to the water. Social media helped tremendously, it was so easy to find people posting about the hikes they had done and the pictures that had from it. This was one of my favorite hikes, it’s called the pink pillbox hike. There are these war bunkers all over the island and there are always hikes up to them. It was on the west side of the island and right by the water. My friends on the island would always make it a point to hike once a week and so we all hiked up this mountain with our kids. 3 moms and 6 kids and we made up to this beautiful view. I give all the thanks of finding this view to people posting on social media or else I never would have found it.