Week 9 Part A

After researching more about TikTok, and assuming it does not end up banned and gets bought by a US company so the data collection isn't an issue, I think it would be a great platform for my business to use.  The fact that TikTok has such a large active user base and that a video can go viral without having many followers makes it a great way for new/small businesses to get noticed and gain a following easier and faster than they can on other social platforms.

Another great aspect of TikTok I learned about is the ease of sharing videos across other platforms which can really increase the video's reach and expose the business to new audiences. Short form video content is really popular including YouTube shorts and Instagram stories/reels. And I have actually noticed many of the shorts I watch on YouTube are actually TikTok videos originally.

The videos my company would make would be mainly sneak peeks at new jewelry designs. Special order personalized requests would make great video content as well.  Other things that we can include in our videos would be an office tour, meet the team, packing and shipping orders, etc.  I enjoy watching videos like that myself from other brands.

I have had a TikTok account before, but it was just a personal one and I didn't create any content, just viewed content. I would be interested in creating a business account since it offers more than a personal account.

Week 8 Part B

For my business, I would choose to use Vlogs to show behind-the-scenes content such as the jewelry design and creation processes, custom/personalized orders, packing orders, etc.  I think our customers would appreciate seeing some more in-depth content like that and it could help to build trust in our products quality and value when you can see how it is made.

I think adding a personal touch to posts can be really beneficial to build connections with customers and utilizing user-generated content.  I wouldn't include a personal touch when posting about something serious or even just informative.

My favorite way I have seen other businesses use this technique to reach out to customers is by posting user generated content like videos of customers using their products. I have also seen a lot of vlog style content where businesses show their behind the scenes operations and I love watching stuff like that.

A business I can think of that cant/doesn’t use this style of posting includes doctors offices since they have a lot of rules and regulations to follow including privacy so they stick to more traditional methods.

Week 8 Part A

The hashtags I used were #DelilahsDesigns, #Handmade, #HandmadeJewelry, #ChildrensJewelry, #JewelryKnowledge, #GoldJewelry, & #Cupcake.  I had seen a couple of them before like the #handmadeJewelry one and the rest I just thought of based on the contents of my posts. I created one specific to my business, it’s #DelilahsDesigns.

I posted during the daytime hours, morning specifically as my target audience is younger children and their parents/caregivers so I think mornings would be most appropriate. And that way if they don’t see it right when it’s posted, they have a chance to see it sometime later in the day while scrolling.

In completing this exercise, I learned that there are so many different hashtag choices and creative ways to use them in addition to creating your own so the possibilities are endless. I realized hashtags are a great way to expose your business to new audiences and grow. It was interesting to research how other businesses use hashtags, how often they post, & when they post.

The classmates I commented on are: Austin’s Noodle, Sterling Pilates Studio, Sav’s Vintage Values, Broke Witch, My Fitness Revival, & A Life Worth Living

Week 7 Part B

The 5 companies I chose to research are Claire's, Alex and Ani, Tiny Blessings, In Season Jewelry, & Pip Pop Post.

Claire's has 1 million followers, they post daily and their last post was made 13 hours ago. The videos they post seem to get the most responses. They get anywhere from a couple hundred to a couple thousand likes per post, which I believe is low considering their 1 million follower count. Most of their posts average 10 or less comments per post.

Alex and Ani has 956 thousand followers, they post daily and their most recent post was 9 hours ago. On average they get 1-200 likes and about 10 or less comments per post, which is low compared to their amount of followers. However, 2 days ago they posted about a giveaway which currently has 947 likes and 2,163 comments.

Tiny Blessings has 20.5 thousand followers, they post a couple times a week with their most recent post being 13 hours ago. They average under 10 likes per post and 0 comments, which is low compared to their follower count and I noticed they have their like count hidden. 

Similarly to Tiny Blessings, In Season Jewelry has their like count hidden as well.  They average 5-10 likes per post and 0 comments, which is low in relation to their follower count. They have 26.5 thousand followers, they post almost daily and their most recent post was 15 hours ago. Their pinned post is a behind-the-scenes video showing their office and team, that has the most comments although some are from customers saying they haven't received their purchases, which doesn't look very good.  However, the company does reply to the customer comments and offers to help, which is good.

Pip Pop Post has the least followers at 86.9 thousand.  They post almost daily, which their most recent post being yesterday.  They range from receiving 20-200 likes and 10 or less comments per post, which is low for their follower count. Like Alex and Ani, they are having a giveaway as well and the post about that has gained the most likes and comments at 261 likes and 6 comments.

Instagram does seem to be working well for all of them and they are all using hashtags except the last two, In Season Jewelry and Pip Pop Post.  I only saw hashtags on one post from each of them.  I noticed the other companies seem to use on average 3 hashtags per post.  One being their own company name, one being something specific to the post, and one being something more vague like "earrings".  I have seen some other companies use more hashtags and it tends to look cluttered so I appreciated the simplicity and clean look of 3 hashtags. Of the ones that use hashtags, they all use them the same way at the end of the main caption.  When I looked up some of the hashtags used, the specific posts came up in the search results as well.

The one thing they are all doing that I know would benefit my company is consistently posting on a regular basis. Some hashtags I think would work well for my business are #DelilahsDesigns, #ChildrensJewelry, & #Handmade.

Week 6 Part B

I was not able to actually schedule these posts since I am unable to get into my Facebook still, but below are the posts I would have scheduled:

 

I believe these posts will engage my audience because they will showcase some of our jewelry pieces and have a call to action like announcing a discount sale.