COM0014 – Blog #7: Personal Reflection

Throughout this course I have learned a lot about effectiveness of using social media in order to promote not only your products and services, but most importantly yourself. There are so many platforms and channels that it’s hard to decide which ones you should focus on. By learning how to understand and assess who would be most interested in your work you are able to find your target audience. Throughout your research you look into their demographics and their psychographics, and from there you can focus your sights on creating an image that would appeal to this type of audience and shape your communication styles.

image from brainyquotes.com

In this digital age that we live in it is easy to see that this is where we should be setting our sights. We need to be able to put ourselves out there and let our followers get to know us. Its not just about trying to promote and sell a product, its about creating a personal brand for ourselves that is consistent and aligns well with our main focus. In order to capture an audience’s attention, we need to be able to create a journey for them as they follow along on ours. By shaping our websites, posts, and blogs in a certain way we are able to tell a story; a story about ourselves, our journey, our struggles, and our achievements.

I still do not know where I am going or what I will choose as a second career but no matter what it is, there will always be digital communications. I will use it to tell the story of who I was, who I am and who I strive to be. By relaying my stories and experiences to my audience hopefully they will see the passion that I have for life and all the wonderful possibilities. Hopefully they will learn that it is never too late to start over again.

I will leave you with this last piece. This video is one of the first ones I watched at the beginning of the course. It has proven true.

Digital media from YouTube

COM0014 – Blog #6: Do People Know Your Story

In this article the author, John Jantsch, speaks about finding out the why and the how, when trying to articulate the backstory of your marketing journey. Asking yourself questions will unearth the most important information about yourself and your image or brand. One particular question stood out the most:

Image taken from Canva

“What challenges have I overcome to arrive at this point?”

Everyone has a different story to tell and no matter what it is, good or bad, there is always some kind of lesson we all learn. By sharing lessons, experiences, and stories you are humanizing yourself and going from being just a character on paper to a real voice. Facing challenges and overcoming obstacles is what makes us human. People want connections they want to know how you have gotten to this point in your life. Once you find your voice, people will begin to see your true self, your strengths, your hardships, what makes you tick. When you can put yourself on paper and really touch someone else with your words then you know you have done it right.

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did,

but people will never forget how you made them feel”

– Maya Angelou

References

IFORHER team. (2020, March 14). Inspiring Quotes To Make You Stronger & Happier. Retrieved from IFORHER: https://www.iforher.com/quotes/famous-people/top-32-maya-angelous-inspiring-quotes-to-make-you-a-stronger-happier-person/

COM0014 – Blog #5: Personal Brand

Before this course, I really had no idea what a blog was or its purpose. I sometimes find myself reading others work online and wonder what the point of it is, or what made them write about that particular subject. Now, I can say that’s its not really about what you are saying in your blog, but rather that is has relevance for your audience and your ‘brand’.

I would say that if I had to describe my own personal brand it would be on the more creative side. I would say that I am more about getting things done efficiently and making things look pretty. From little renovations around the house, to repurposing an old dresser. I could talk about paint colours for days, and arrange flowers for fun, and play around with my furniture at home to spiffy it up. I really just like to experiment and have fun.

One of my most favorite things to do though are planning parties and events!!! I LOVE decorating, making lists and shopping. So, what could be better suited for me!?! I’ve done surprise birthday parties for friends and family, children’s birthdays, helped with charity events and meticulously planned and executed a beautiful and memorable wedding ceremony and reception that our guests are still talking about years later. If I could do that for a living I would do it in a heartbeat, however, I need to focus on starting another career with benefits for my family, and a guaranteed pension. We can all dream though, and maybe I found my side job!

COM0014 – Blog #3: Target Audiences

In order to make a successful Business to Consumer transaction, you must highly engage in various Social Media platforms to gain a regular following and establish a professional and reliable presence. You want to create an identity all your own, a unique and branded market experience that speaks to customers. You’ll want to portray an atmosphere and a seamless shopping experience that would be just as memorable and creative as if they were to set foot into your business.

            Choosing the ideal tools for your target audience is vital, by creating an online platform to market from, there is opportunity to meet the needs and wants of customers from both far and wide. By posting, blogging, or sharing on different sites it will create awareness and pull in people from different forums who may not have originally known about your service or products. Once you have their attention it will allow for you to get your messages across for potential sales and promotions, information, and opportunities.  Providing timely messages, updates and general awareness will encourage feedback from consumers and produce content that is engaging, with a call to action.

Here is a great link to check out tips to successfully navigate through the transactions necessary for your business to bring the customers in and continue to thrive:

5 Tips to Move From Transactional to Meaningful Customer Relationships (forbes.com)

COM0014 – Blog #2: Communication Styles

I’ve never had the opportunity to write a blog, and truthfully never really had the desire to. I felt it was just one of those things that people did to get their thoughts out, kind of like what writing does for some people, or for people who may be attention seekers. Now I see it can be a very good tool for communicating with your target audience. It creates a dialogue, that you use to engage readers into discussions, debates and promote a comfortable forum that people want to come back to again and again. This in turn can be used to promote your product and get your message out there. So, what are some key elements that are necessary to help launch a successful blog?

1.) Listening is key, you need to be relevant and informative about what you are talking        about. So, you really need to hear what people are saying and respond in a timely manner.

2.) You have to get your name out there. By posting on different types of social media, and by being consistent you can expand on your audience and give yourself more exposure.

3) Represent your true self and respect your audiences’ differences. Everybody has their own opinions, and sometimes you may not agree with them, but you have to allow for everybody to have their say, and sometimes call people out if they are being ignorant.

“I disapprove of what you say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.” – Evelyn Beatrice Hall

Hall, E. B. (1906). The Friends of Voltaire. London: Smith Elder & Co.
 

Starting a successful blog can seem daunting but with a little bit time, effort, and dedication you will begin to get a steady social media following. You can use this tool to promote yourself and  get your message out there.

COM0014 – Blog #1: What I did on my vacation

When I think back to my childhood, I have many fond memories of travelling around with my family on our summer vacations. Every Summer, map in hand and packed to the brim, we would all jump into our old red van and drive somewhere new and exciting. It was always so much fun to find out which campgrounds we would stay in along the way. I remember wishing and praying that at least one of them would have a swimming pool…and flush toilets! The suspense would mount the closer we got to each destination. My mom would always make sure that we could each choose one thing to do that interested us. We would all get so excited and ask a million questions in anticipation of all the adventures that were to come in the following days. Everything seemed so carefree and easy-breezy…my poor Mother.

Now, being a mother of three, the idea of cramming my family into an SUV with all our earthly possessions…because what if we needed that extra camping stove? Well, let’s just say it sounds less than appealing. I swore up and down I would never put myself or my family through all of that turmoil. Obviously, a lot had changed since then, like having mobile phones, GPS, air conditioning, automatic everything and actual legroom, but was it worth it?

As it turns out, old habits die hard. The last big trip I took with my husband and kids was to Nova Scotia a few years back. My husband brought our eldest daughter and son, who was a year old at the time, and they flew out to Halifax; the whole flight lasted less than 2 hours. Meanwhile, my other daughter and I had driven. We had begun our journey out East 2 days prior just so we could meet them at the airport when they landed. All of that hassle was supposed to have made our trip easier. Then we could have all the extras that make our life easier at home, like the playpen, highchair, stroller, baby swing, carrier, nightlights, stuffed animals, books and toys, you name it, it was in our SUV. So, in addition to driving in a jam-packed vehicle, we also paid for airfare, hotels, restaurants and, of course, our daytime activities. All of that work to make it easier on ourselves. When we got back, I told my mother about our “vacation,” she just laughed and shook her head. Maybe she had it right all those years ago…I hate it when that happens!!!

Here are a few great tips that you can hopefully use before you head out on your next family vacation:

How to Pack for a Family Vacation: Six Tips from a Big Family (thepointsguy.com)