ASSIGNMENT #1: Blog Post #4 – Out of the Box

AIRBNB

Airbnb is an application that is hard to believe its successful story. Airbnb had a rough start since the beginning and it went through at least three separated launches. As of May 2018, Airbnb was worth $38 billion, Forbes reports.

Airbnb operates an accommodation marketplace that allows people to list their available living spaces to be leased or rented by users looking for short-term lodging. As Airbnb doesn’t own any property, its growth purely depends on the number of host and visitors as both of them are charged a percentage of the booking cost. Airbnb like many other great applications is restricted by governmental legislation.

Hootsuite

Another social media application that is impressive and I find it useful is the Hootsuite. It helps you keep track and manage our social network channels. It enable us to monitor what people are saying about us or about our organization and brand and direct us to respond instantly. On Hootsuite I can manage my Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram and read news from different news channels in one place.

Hootsuite is a great tool for small business it allows to post a quick update to multiple Twitter accounts, Facebook profile and page, LinkedIn profile, company page! This feature is great if we want to post urgent messages. Also Hootsuite sends a weekly analytical report include the number of clicks to my website, number of likes and 3 of mentions. I believe social media applications will evolve faster in the near future.

 

References:

https://www.digitaltrends.com/home/what-is-airbnb/

https://iag.me/socialmedia/reviews/7-reasons-why-you-should-use-hootsuite/

 

ASSIGNMENT #1 Blog Post #3 – Professional Networking Now and in the Future

Developing professional network online and offline can be a challenge for most of us that’s why we need to plan it carefully. Clear networking strategy can unlock great opportunities. Here are some steps for developing a professional networking strategy online:

• First: Personal branding: Personal branding is the first step in online networking. We need t understand how we can promote and market our self, our skills and our experiences.
• Second: Join groups on Facebook and connected with people who has the same interest.
• Third: Build a professional LinkedIn account because usually when people wants to know more about you, your experiences and skills will search LinkedIn account.
• Fourth: Create posts that reflect who you are, what are you interested in and what would you like people to know about you.
• Follow on Instagram & Snapchat speakers and inspirational people.
• Fifth: Arrange for Events & Meetings gain your audiences trust and to supported by surrounding communities.

Since I’m interested in child care business, I will need to spend a significant time in building my network to gain family’s trust. I’ve already joined couple of groups on Facebook such as Riverside South Mom Group but I think I need to be more active and post on regular basis. I would like to be part in more events in my local community such as: public library, church activities and schools. And join professional networking group such as: The Women’s Business Network of Ottawa, New Entrepreneurs of Ottawa Networking (NEON), and Business Referral Networking groups in Ottawa.

Leave me a comment and let know what other things I can do to help me in building my professional networking.

 

References:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kathycaprino/2018/08/09/top-five-strategies-for-growing-and-leveraging-your-network-to-unlock-amazing-opportunities/#776f2c88dfb4

 https://www.meetup.com/topics/professional-networking/ca/on/ottawa/

https://brandyourself.com/definitive-guide-to-personal-branding

 

Blog Post #2 – Strong and Weak Organizations

In this post I will discuss social media strategy for a strong organization which is Emirates Airline and an organization that needs to adopt a social media strategy which is Farley Mowat Public School (FMPS).

Emirates Airline on social media

Emirates airline knows how to make social media work for its benefits. They have an impressive social media plan within their marketing strategy. Some of the marketing campaigns that had high echo across all social media: #BeingThere campaign which was transmitted on different social media platforms, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Below I will explain how Emirates Airline was able to grow awareness about their network, inspire travellers, and engage people with their social media channels.

#BeingThere campaign

Emirates Airline had chosen 7 Globalista (travel is their passion) to travel to different cities, capturing shots & videos and post it on the social media platforms. I will highlight 2 social media tools that have been used successfully in promoting for the campaign.

Facebook:

• Facebook was powerful at this campaign as it helped to reach higher targeted people and video view volumes and greater interaction.
• 120 Million people reached on Facebook
• Over 60 Million Video views on Facebook and YouTube

Twitter:

• Emirates partnered up with many traveller bloggers, who shared Emirates content with their followers allowing Emirates airline message to reach out for more people on Twitter.
• High amount of positive tweets on #beingthere @Emirates
• Globalistas posted daily tweets about their trip and engaged people by asking them where do you think our next trip will be?
• Varieties of contents were posted on twitter to encourage people who are passionate about travelling to like, comment and share.
• Over 50 Million impressions on Twitter

In my opinion Emirates #BeThere campaign was victorious in all standards, their Goals & visions were clear, the media efforts was appropriate to the targeted audience, and they have chosen multiple social media channels that go well with their campaign.

Farley Mowat Public School (FMPS)

I believe Farley Mowat Public School can establish a professional presence that allows them to capitalize on this social space in many important ways. Facebook Page is an excellent opportunity for schools to supplement their web presence, although FMPS has a Facebook page but it’s not active.

If FMPS is consistent in keeping the information updated and accurate, students and families will likely come to rely on the Facebook Page as a resource to find information about what’s going on at the school.

Successful presence on social media provides an opportunity to showcase the unique culture of the school and promote the academic development of the students.

Also if the school is active on social media, it will be easier for community members to get involved and share their opinions on a variety of fronts.

First steps into the world of social media

• Understand the audience, where they are? What platform they use? What they like to read about. Most popular social media platforms are Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.
• How often to post and when
  • Facebook: school can post once or twice every weekday
  • Twitter: 2- 3 times a day
  • Instagram: 1 photo per day or many photos if there is an event or school trip.
• Timing: it is important to determine the best time to post. Most people are consistently checking in before they begin their day or after school/work.
• Well-constructed posts are essential to attract the audience’s attention and make them engaged.

References:

• “Emirates Be There Campaign.” Shorty Awards, http://shortyawards.com/8th/emirates-be-there-campaign
• Hersh, Fadi. “Emirates Airlines And Social Media Marketing.”Waterloo,19,June.2017, https://smbp.uwaterloo.ca/2017/06/emirates-case-study/
• “Be There with Emirates.” CREAM Inspiring Innovation , Havas Media, http://www.creamglobal.com/case-studies/latest/17798/37670/be-there-with-emirates/
• https://mashable.com/2011/04/26/facebook-for-schools/
• https://www.schoolwebmasters.com/Blog_Articles?entityid=233110

ASSIGNMENT #1 Blog Post #1 – Tools and Sources

Social media has changed our world, the way the we interact with each other, the way we communicate  and the way we serve our customers. There are several analytical tools online that can measure different metrics.

retrieved from:https://img.scoop.it

My first social media listening tools is Google Alerts, it is an easy and effective tool. It helped me remain up to date with the topics that interest me. I go back and change, delete or add topics that I would like to receive notification about every time. I receive alerts from different news channels and from some of my favourite blogs.

The social media listening tool that I use  is Hootsuite which I consider it a professional tool that helps me in my job as political media researcher. Hootsuite enables me to know the number of mentions, comments, retweets, likes and the topics that are shared on different platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

I use many social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, snapchat. Twitter is my favourite tool for news and updates, I follow hashtags and tweets for different news channels such as CNN, BBC and CBC, as well as couple of influencers in the field of human resources and human developments.

Blogs are another tool that interests me; I follow number of blogs that discuss parenting and the effective ways for dealing with kids to raise them in  healthy environment. My favourite blogs are Messy Motherhood and positive parenting solutions.

 

References:

Image from oop.it/q-W_YX3ic_j7E3p4tmLIToXXXL4j3HpexhjNOf_P3YmryPKwJ94QGRtDb3Sbc6KY

Face book:

Social media tools & sources https://wordpress.com/post/algonquincollegesocialmedia.wordpress.com/77763

Twitter:

Social media tools & sources

https://bit.ly/2W8Zz8N

 

COM00014 Blog 7 – Personal Reflection

We’ve learned in this course that storytelling is a great tool to capture audience’s attention and make them engaged if done accurately. Carolanne Mangles in her post Storytelling is the future of Content Marketing strategy in 2018

Wrote “The power of telling your audience a story is a technique that must not be overlooked, because when done correctly with strategic planning – knowing who your audience is, where they are and what story they want to know – will provide great engagement with your content and brand.“

Also we’ve learned how to create messages that are appropriate to the brand of an organization or individual and this is explained perfectly in Carolanne Mangles’ post, she gave an example about National Geographic while they are masters at engaging their followers on social media platforms following great techniques such as posting high quality, colourful and unique visual content, using interesting, unusual, shocking, or emotional engaging first sentence to grip the audience, and writing texts that are full of detail and rich with every description of the subject of the image, their reason for being there / why they are important and descriptions of their surroundings.

retrieved from:http://yoursmallbusinessgrowth.com

The story that I would share with others about the challenges that I had faced when I decided to move away from family, friends & places where I grew up and came to live in Ottawa, new city, new people, new environment, how I had to start to learn new language, and earn a new certificate to work and blend into society.

 References:

https://www.smartinsights.com/content-management/content-marketing-strategy/storytelling-content-marketing-strategy/

image :http://yoursmallbusinessgrowth.com/3-ways-personal-reflection-can-help-you-grow-your-business/

COM00014 Blog #6: My Personal Story

My personal story which I would like to share started 6 years ago, when my husband and I took the decision that we need to find a place that we could call home. We have decided to move to Ottawa, we had some friends and family who were living there and they encouraged us to move to Ottawa as it’s quite, reserved, multicultural and family oriented city.

It was a tough decision to move away from family, friends & places where I grew up, and the toughest thing was, when I agreed to move with my 2 little boys by myself and let my husband to go back to Dubai for few years to continue supporting the family financially until I settle down and find a job.

My husband stayed with us for 3 months, we rented a house, bought a car, registered the boys at school… and out of the sudden I felt all by myself in the new city, in a new house and a new environment. I remember how lonely I was, scared, and depressed. I cried & prayed for several nights. After months of sleepless nights, I started to see the beauty of the city, I remember it was fall; the weather was wonderful and the color of the tress was stunning, and what I was amazed about, how people are friendly, well-mannered and courteous. At that time, we settled down nicely, the boys started school, I signed up for French classes and I met many people who were new in Ottawa as well and we became good friends.

Now after 6 years, my husband, I and my 3 boys are living in this amazing city, in a place that made us feel home and made we appreciate living in a safe and happy.

What about you, have you been in such situation where you had to leave everything behind and start a new chapter of your life?

Personal Brand

I was born and raised in Dubai, an advanced, luxurious, and the multicultural city that shaped my feelings and personality. Living in Dubai made me proud of my Identity as a Muslim woman who is wearing veil, speaks Arabic and English fluently, and believes in diversity and multiculturalism.

It gave me the skills and the strength to move and live in another city that shares almost the same values which is Ottawa Ontario in Canada.

In Ottawa, I easily built relationships with many people who speak different languages, have different backgrounds, religions, and skin colors. Living in two different cities: one in the east and another in the west played a critical role in defining my values and who I am. This is one of my characteristic that sets me apart from others

Another characteristic is, I like to be perceived by others as highly educated person who is always learning something new. I have finished my Master degree in Human Resources Management, studied French language and now I’m pursuing a social media certificate. I’m also a reader interested in reading books about human development and emotional intelligence.

Retrieved from:http://www.mongolia-travel-and-tours.com/horseback-horse-riding-tours-mongolia.html

 

I am an athlete, which is my third characteristic that makes me different from others. I enjoy different type of sports and every year I add a new sport to my list. When I was younger, I‘ve been always one of the top 3 winners in Bing Bong (Table Tennis), swimming and running races. I played Karate for 10 years and I have the brown belt. Since two years I’ve started learning Back horse riding and my next sport is learning kickboxing.

Voluntarism is my last characteristic. I learned voluntarism here in Ottawa. I found joyfulness in engaging with people from different places and contributing to the community I Live in. Right now I’m volunteering with Blood Canada and in the future I would like to volunteer with Food Bank here in Ottawa.

 

Reference:

http://www.mongolia-travel-and-tours.com/horseback-horse-riding-tours-mongolia.html

B2C-Emirates Airline

retrieved from Emirates.com

Emirates Airlines

Emirates Airlines are one of the leading airlines in the world. Its a brand to youth, innovation and adventures. In order to reinforce this image, the airlines are engaging proactively with its customers 24/7 by developing a high quality campaigns resulting in a strong presence on social media platforms.

Emirates Airline on social media

Emirates airlines know how to make social media work for its benefits. Some of the marketing campaigns that had high echo across all social media: #BeingThere campaign which was transmitted on different social media platforms, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Below I will explain how Emirates Airlines were able to grow awareness about their network, inspire travellers, and engage people with their social media channels.

#BeingThere campaign

Emirates Airlines had chosen 7 Globalista (travel is their passion) to travel to different cities, capturing shots & videos and post it on the social media platforms.

I will highlight 2 social media tools that have been used successfully in promoting for the campaign.

Facebook:

• Facebook was powerful at this campaign as it helped to reach higher targeted people and video view volumes and greater interaction.
• 120 Million people reached on Facebook
• Over 60 Million Video views on Facebook and YouTube

Twitter:

• Emirates partnered up with many traveller bloggers, who shared Emirates content with their followers allowing Emirates airline message to reach out for more people on Twitter.

• High amount of positive tweets on #beingthere @Emirates
• Globalista posted daily tweets about their trip and engaged people by asking them where do you think our next trip will be?

• Varieties of contents were posted on twitter to encourage people who are passionate about travelling to like, comment and share.
• Over 50 Million impressions on Twitter

 

In my opinion Emirates #BeThere campaign was victorious in all standards, their Goals & visions were clear, the media efforts was appropriate to the targeted audience, and they have chosen multiple social media channels that go well with their campaign.

 

References:

1. “Emirates Be There Campaign.” Shorty Awards, http://shortyawards.com/8th/emirates-be-there-campaign

2. Hersh, Fadi. “Emirates Airlines And Social Media Marketing.”Waterloo,19,June.2017, https://smbp.uwaterloo.ca/2017/06/emirates-case-study/

3. “Be There with Emirates.” CREAM Inspiring Innovation , Havas Media, http://www.creamglobal.com/case-studies/latest/17798/37670/be-there-with-emirates/

4. picture: https://binged.it/2yjRUKD

Analyzing your Audience

There are different methods to analyzing our audience on social media as mentioned in lesson #4; below are guidelines that I have used to analyze the audience for motherhood and parenting blog.

Analyzing the audience:

• Identify the target audience: Who the audience are? Where are they communicating? What are they discussing? For example, my blog is about motherhood and parenting, my targeted audience are parents, psychologist and educators. After identifying my audience, I have set a Google alert to notify me when articles are being posted that contain keywords such as: children and parenting, raising children, how to be a great mom. On twitter I followed influencers in my area of interest, these influencers post on regular basis. On Facebook I have chosen to join Facebook pages that has a high number of members to learn what type of topics that engage them and who are the active members on these pages. On Instagram i have kept my eye on the most active hashtags that discusses childhood & family topics. Implanting this detailed research guided me to have a great understanding what are the topics that interest people to talk about it in my blog.
• Understanding the industry: using specific keywords search related to childhood & family in Twitter search, Google alert, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram helped me to understand clearly my industry, how tough it is? What topics engaged followers more than others? This understanding played a great role in the way I choose my contents.
• Learn about my competitor: by doing quick search on the same social media tools mentioned above, I was able to identify my competitors, how they are perceived by their audience and what tools they are using. This step was very beneficial as I was able to determine my competitor’s weaknesses in order to use it for my advantage.

Successful online campaign:

#worldstoughestjob: A campaign that went viral in 2014, when a American Greetings Card store and Mullen made an uplifting video ad for Mother’s Day that offered a fake job. They posted it online, printed it in newspapers, and then held real interviews with a dozen unsuspecting people looking to take the position of Director of Operations. What made this job so interesting? Unlimited hours, no breaks, no time off, and no pay were just a few of the crazy requirements for the job. By the end of the video, the interviewees realize the job they are applying for is what many people feel is the most important job – being a Mom. In the last few seconds of the video, it reaches out to the audience saying, “This Mother’s Day, you might want to make her a card.” Steps For Viral Campaign Success: #WorldsToughestJob Videos (2014, June 12). Retrieved from http://www.pagemodo.com/blog/3-steps-viral-campaign-success-worldstoughestjob-videos/

 

References:

https://blog.hootsuite.com/how-to-create-a-social-media-marketing-plan/

http://ccol.algonquincollege.com/com0014/lesson-3/lesson-content/\

http://www.pagemodo.com/blog/3-steps-viral-campaign-success-worldstoughestjob-videos/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_3941651401&feature=iv&src_vid=MWcJZ210AaM&v=NDmHcTLdKGk

Blog 2: How to stand out

(Image via Bronco Round Up)

 

This week, I learned that writing is a great way to express feelings and in order to engage people with our stories, our writing style should hook the reader and make them excited to come back to the blog and even leave a comment or a like.

In the past, I used to think that I’m not a good writer and that’s why making a phone call has been easier for me than sending an E-mail. However, since I have written many blogs I feel more confident and I realized that being a good writer is not as difficult as I thought as long as I follow the right steps to reach out. The first step is to define my gaol, which means I should understand what I need the the reader to do; for example if I’m writing in my blog, my expected action from thereader could be to click “like”, leave a comment, or even share my blog. Second step, I need to understand clearly who my audience are and how to interest them to stick around. Third step is my writing should be clear and concise and this comes only if I have a clear understanding for the topic and I have the ability to simplify my thoughts, discuss, and engage with my audience. Fourth step is using active voice instead of passive voice. There are different points of view about writing in passive or active voice. Some advice that writing in a passive voice is more professional , While others advice writing in active tone is clearer and make readers more interacted. Personally, I’m interested in reading topics written in active voice and this is what I prefer while writing my blogs. Finally, Checking spelling and grammar is very important while writing an article or a blog. Reading a piece with many spelling and grammar mistakes show lack of credibility and professionalism.

 

Referances:

https://inspiredm.com/persuasive-writing/