COM0014: Blog #7 – Make it Personal

One thing that this course has truly instilled in me through this course, is the power of storytelling and the value of adding a personal touch to your communication strategy.

There’s a reason that storytelling has been a continuous from of communication across generations.Whether you’re writing on behalf of a company, you own your own company or are just writing for yourself, telling a story with a clear meaning allows for better delivery and is more engaging for your audience. Making connections with your audience(s) is important, as it will help to ensure they feel something for your brand, product or service.

In a time where we all feel so disconnected from one another, establishing a sense of feeling or a connection will help to elevate communication with your audience.

COM0014: Blog #6 – My Story

I would have to say that my greatest achievement to date is attending university. With tireless work and multiple jobs, I put myself through university and graduated with an Honours, Bachelor of Art and a Business Certificate. and was free of my student debt a year post grad.

As a first generation university student, I had no idea what to expect when I enrolled. Like any high school senior who’s exploring their options, I took a tour of the campus at McMaster University and completely fell in love. Unlike some of my peers, I truly had no clue what to expect when I arrived since the entire experience was new to my family as well. After navigating my way through the application process, and accepting my offer, I was on my way to being a Marauder.

Like most University students, I had many setbacks that I had to navigate throughout my post-secondary education. Due to the hefty price tag of attending University and the harsh reality that I was paying tuition (and other associated expenses) on my own, I deferred my acceptance and took a year off school to work.

A full year later, I was ready to get started. My experience as a first year student was overwhelming. Between trying to stay on top of my classes and working it was exhausting. Although my university careers wasn’t all fun and games, it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done.

What was your university experience like?

COM0014: Blog #5 – My Personal Brand

Wow. Talking about myself has never been easy, especially since the onset of the pandemic. Throughout the past year, I find myself asking who I am, and what makes me, me. I would say that my Personal Brand is evloving as I learn more about what my passions, interests and values are.

https://www.startupguys.net/5-reasons-why-building-a-personal-brand-is-more-important-than-a-business-brand/

What are some personal qualities or characteristics that set you apart from your competitors?

I would say that my ability to be flexible and adapt to changes is truly what helps me stand out. Besides that, I’m friendly, approachable and always striving to see the bigger picture.

What have you done lately to make yourself stand out?

I may be boasting, but one of my superiors actually acknowledged that I went above and beyond for my job the past few months (wow, did that feel good!). In this specific instance, I was being pretty diligent about answering customer service emails outside of the work day. I knew that this wasn’t an expectation of me or the role, however, I knew that I would be delivering the best customer service experience if all questions were answered in a timely manner.

What would your colleagues say is your best trait?

I would say that my best trait is that I’m reliable. If I need to be somewhere, or get a project completed they can trust that I’ll take care of it.

What do you do that you are most proud of?

This is easy! Honestly, the thing I’m most proud of is my relationships with my family and friends. I think if this past year has demonstrated anything, it’s that we should truly value the people that we love. Specifically, I’m the most proud of my ability to stay in touch with those individuals, and having connections that span many years.

COMM0014: Blog #4 – Aerie Conducts Business with the Consumer in Mind.

This week we were tasked to find an example of a Business-to-Consumer (B2C) organization that is engaging with their audience online. For this assignment I chose to examine Aerie by American Eagle.

I think that the biggest advantage to Aerie’s consumer strategy showcases real life women using their products in everyday life (creating a sense of relateability). Through their #AerieReal campaign strategy, the company strives to promote body positivity, diversity, inclusivity and even, activism. Moreover, Aerie is often ahead of the current trends both in appearal and lifestyles.

Additionally, Aerie is also very engaged with it’s audience online. When scrolling through various like/comments I could see that Aerie frequently responded/liked remarks made by potential customers. This engagement was especially apparently if there was a dissatisfied comment left online.

Moreover, Aerie is accessible on various social channels/outlets. Each channel has regualar postings and all posts often have an engaging picture/video, captions are often short & sweet and often provide a call to action and direction to complete a sale.

Aerie can currently be found online at:

• Instagram
• Website
• Mobile App
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Spotify
• YouTube

In short, I think that Aerie does a great job about knowing who they want to buy their product and ensuring that their presence online brings it’s consumers a sense of purpose. As a fan of the brand myself, I would fully recommend their products to others.

Resources:

1. https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/aerie-unretouched-ads-photos_n_4618139
2. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/22/aerie-is-a-standout-with-body-positive-ads-and-real-models.html#:~:text=Aerie%20continues%20to%20promote%20its,promote%20Aerie%20on%20their%20platforms.

COMM0014: Blog #3 Target Audience

In a previous life, I worked for the student union events department at the university I attended. In this role, I was responsible for the marketing and promotion of all events hosted by this department. These kinds of events ranged to Welcome Week concerts, to guest speakers to, Drag Bingo and club nights. It was essentially my job to build awareness and get students to come out to participate. So, how did I do it?

An important place to start was to understand who I was trying to attract attention from. In this situation, I found it was easier for me to be relateable with the content I posted since it was like speaking to my peers online.

Audience Characteristics:

• Young Adult (18-22 years old)
• Student
• Low Income
• Active online and with social media
• Willingness to try new things
• Various interests and cultures.

I knew that posting information to social media was a no-brainer. Content that I posted there always had to be visually appealing (including an image), clear and concise. As a student, we know that we often don’t devote a lot of time to reading the entirety of a caption ; so creating a first sentence/line that hooked them was important. Another thing I did was to pay attention to trends on social media and create posts that followed suit.

How do you connect with your target audience?

COMM0014: Blog #2 – The Moral of the Story

This week we focused on learning the basics of storytelling, and the characteristics that contribute to a successful story.

The end of the story is the best part, so why save it until the end?

Don’t! In this digital age, attention spans are pretty short. If interest is created about your piece through your headline, don’t waste it by starting out with a bunch of fluff and useless information. The opening paragraph of your story should include the most important information. From there you (as the storyteller) can add the less important and more detailed information – this form of organization gives the moral of your story a better chance at being told. Moreover, ensure your story has direction. Keep in mind what you want the end result to be as this will help your story stay on track.

How you communicate is important.

As the storyteller it’s your job to make sure your content is engaging for your audience and provides them with a sense of value. Your story should be clear and concise, free of grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors. It’s also important to have an active voice in your story, don’t be passive as this is often less interesting and unclear for your audience. Lastly, don’t be afraid to revise! You may not tell our story perfectly the first time, but it will get better.

One thing was abundantly clear from this week’s lessons – no matter what happens, storytelling and communication are here to stay.

Do you have any tips and tricks for your personal storytelling style? I’d love to hear them – leave a comment below.

COMM0014: Blog #1 – Out West is Best.

With the promise of a new year, I’ve been thinking about the first place I’d like to visit for travel as soon as it’s safe. Coincidentally, this destination is also the last place I visited before travel essentially ceased.

I love exploring out west. One of my oldest friends moved to Calgary, Alberta a few years ago and it’s been my goal to visit as much as possible ever since.

My last trip out West was in May of 2019. This trip was particularly special because we decided to take a road trip and visit Kelowna, British Columbia instead of just spending all of our time in Banff, Alberta.

The drive from Calgary to Kelowna is approximately seven hours and it covers some of the most picturesque views I’ve ever seen. So, like any good road trip we packed the car with our things, snacks, some tunes and hit the road.

Fast forward seven hours and we arrived at our Airbnb. Kelowna is GORGEOUS (and very warm) so we were immediately smitten with our destination. While in town, our only goals were to spend our mornings hiking and our afternoons hitting the local wineries (ps. if you love wine, put Kelowna on your must-visit list).

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We immediately found a local winery that we loved called The Hatch. This winery was within walking distance to our Airbnb so it was a perfect place to accommodate our tipsy travels home. As the wine newbie, I had no idea what to expect from a winery; but I have to say the friendly staff and the tasty wine at The Hatch converted me completely. I even considered moving to Kelowna to work at The Hatch for the summer because I loved it so much!

After a full weekend (literally, my stomach was always full) of hiking, wine tasting and soaking up the sun we made our way back to Calgary. Shortly after our return, it was time for me to head back to Ontario and return to everyday life. I’m grateful to have a friend that’s willing to adventure and truly appreciate any time that we’re able to see each other. Until the next adventure!

I’d love to know more about your last vacation, feel free to leave me a comment down below with the last place you visited and why it was special.