Week 5 Part 2: 

Last semester one of my classes helped me analyze my target market, specifically for personal trainers in the fitness industry. The most ideal client would be a recently graduated college student that landed his/her first job and wants to start taking fitness more seriously. These individuals generally start wanting to start taking care of themselves better, especially in terms of their health. Although most people focused on fitness are the younger generation, there tends to be more girls that are health conscious. These clients temporarily use a personal trainer to learn more about the fitness world and living a healthy lifestyle and end up quitting after a few sessions. Students that have graduated and received a job will be more likely to be a stable client. 

Week 5 Post 1:

Quickly overlooking both choices, I have always been fond of gardening but haven't really done any since I was a child. I have however had many sandwiches and will continue to do so. I was intrigued to see a sandwich place that I haven't heard of and I was excited to see that they're in San Diego! After analyzing both websites, Subway and Hungry Bear Deli have a lot of similarities in terms of menu items and overall as a place to customize a sandwich.

I noticed that the Hungry Bear website was better overall compared to Subway because the website was more interactive and easier to navigate, even to read the content! The demographics of Subway include the younger generations which include anyone from 14-40, who generally know exactly what they want in the specific manner that they like. Although Hungry Bear follows Subway similarly, I believe that their demographics and psychographics are different that Subway. Hungry Bear caters to not only the younger generation but also the older. They have numerous menu sandwiches but also give you the freedom to customize your own. Their overall appearance isn't as bright and exciting as Subway which allows it to give off a more relaxed, home-made appearance.

The obvious difference between the websites is the contrast of color. Subway has a bright combination of green and yellow giving it a lively and exciting aura. Hungry Bear Deli has the bear as its logo and a more classic touch to the website. The subtle differences include the user experience on each of the websites. When visiting Subway, you kind of already know what you're searching for with less menu options than the Hungry Bear. This allows the Hungry Bear to give off a display of a wider variety of sandwiches that can cater to everyone's specific wants.

The conclusions I can draw about their audience by their website design is that Subway seems more mainstream following what most good websites do while Hungry Bear does that with a touch of a Local home-made/gourmet. The calls to action for both websites are similar in terms of urging/assuming you already want a sandwich with options of ordering within minutes. The overall tone and message of both websites are similar with a white calm background and an interactive website allowing users to browse and decide what they want.

Blog Week 4 Post 2:

https://alphaleteathletics.com/collections/accessories

I visit the Alphalete website pretty frequently just to browse and keep up with their new product. This website is very effect because firstly the homepage has extremely good quality photos with a moving slideshow of different photos. It is modern with a sleek aesthetic design which makes it so engaging. The specific principles of good design Alphalete uses is contrast, repetition, alignment, and ease of use. The contrast on this website is well displayed with the white text and a dark background, also a smaller text with big pictures allows the user to focus on the product they're trying to sell. The repetition is displayed with the homepage link and logo placed on a bar at the top of every page you visit in the website. The alignment is well displayed with no open spaced and instead high quality photos between the website links/text. Finally the ease of use is perfectly put to use with a bar that has all of the links including the homepage following your every click. 

The overall pleasing modern looking website makes me come back mainly also due to the ease of use. I always know where to go and how to navigate where I want to go in the website. I honestly don't think anything can be improved. I would switch up the theme or contrast of text because although it's not too bright of a background it could get boring if kept the same over years.

slickdeals.net

This website is effective not only due to the endless categories but also because it has a large cloud sourced forum. These members help you confirm if it's a real sale or even if there's a better deal out there. The specific principles of good design they include concept, repetition, and ease of use. The concept of this website is the foundation of why it's so effective. This website is basically almost a social platform except for finding deals for any item you can imagine. People including the moderators of the website post deals and people can also comment if they purchased it or found a cheaper price somewhere else. Repetition is very well displayed in this website because there are so many links with pictures but there's always the top navigation bar that makes it easier to search for all your items without getting lost or confused. The ease of use on this website is well shown with their great navigation bar. Although there's a lot of text and drop down menus there's also a search bar in case you don't feel like finding the category.

The main reason why I come back is because the concept is so great. You can always find insanely cheap deals on items you would normally be spending more on. Sometimes you wait a day and there are 100 more new items similar to the one you were searching for yesterday. The only thing I would improve on this website is not having the front page featured deals. Although this is better for marketing to help people notice what others are buying more of, however it is a little overwhelming for the users that first visit the website because there's so many pictures and text linking to another page.

Blog Week 4 Post 1

https://jamilin.com/

Looking at this website, I immediately noticed a potential problem for visitors. The most serious problem in my opinion is the fact that there is too much text going on. I didn't know what to look at and where to click, let alone read anything on the website. If someone was coming to the website for a specific reason, I feel like he/she would have a hard time finding whatever they were looking for. The 2nd potential problem is advertisements that keep popping up, unless you have some sort of ad blocker installed this would be an annoying website to browse. Finally another issue I had while browsing this website is the inability to easily find your way back to the home page. Every other time you click anywhere an ad pops up and sometimes the links don't even take you to the right page. You can easily get "lost" on this website. 

There are numerous things that can be improved on this website, the most significant variable that can help the user experience on this website would be less text. There is too much text everywhere and too many unnecessary links. The reduction of text will help make a more clear, concise overall website. I would also work on having less advertisements that will help with the maintaining of the user rather than losing the clicks because it would be annoying to browse through. Finally the most simple thing that could be improved is adding a home page or some method of returning to the home page without any confusion for any users. 

http://www.roverp6cars.com/

The most noticeable potential problem for visitors on this website would be similar to the previous website, too much text. Users/visitors of this website will feel overwhelmed and confused as to where or what to click on. The contrast of the text on the links aren't clear and easy to read so some visitors may have an issue on reading the text. The 3rd problem I would say is the fact that there are again a lot of unnecessary links that can be combined and put under a single link. Another potential problem is the moving text on the website which can be distracting to the user experience. 

The improvements on this website include the visual aspects and overall link/text on the homepage. They also do not have a homepage link. These improvements will help maintain a fun and easy user experience. I would change the font used and darken the background, if not change the color of the text to help improve the navigation for users. Finally the last and best improvement would be to make the text concise and combine a lot of the similar links which will make the website easier to navigate. 

http://artcenter.org/

This website is so simple yet engaging. They have a lot of useful text and entertaining pictures but not too much to confuse a new visitor to the website. The user experience of this website is phenomenal mainly because of how clear and easy it is to navigate. You can access the homepage from any link, and if you chose to click on any links they have, you already know where it's taking you. In my opinion this website made it easy to see any upcoming events which helps visitors see recent or in the future shows they would want to see.

Design, aesthetics, and branding impact my reaction and other users reactions by being engaging, pleasing to look at, and most importantly enticing. The design of this website is simple but has a good combination of the theme and colors that aren't dull. Aesthetics of this website provide a smooth, easy to navigate overall look. My reaction to this is surprising because I thought it would be a boring website to browse through. Branding impacts my reaction to this website by providing me a positive, happy theater connotation between browsing the website and the brand.

https://www.apple.com/

Apple's website is limited in text but has amazing clear pictures that immediately engage the visitor. They have a dark background with white text making it easy to read. Not only that but they also only have less than 10 links which makes the navigation of this website very easy. People can easily find what they're looking for without being confused by any unnecessary links. Apple even put a search bar in their website in case you don't immediately see what you came for. Finally this website is attractive to the eye, especially by having familiar visuals spread aesthetically through their page.

The design of this website makes my reaction very positive. It is so simple and has just the right amount of text and links. The theme and design of this page provides an overall very pleasing and aesthetic look to the website. My reaction to the aesthetics makes me want to spend more time browsing the website even though I have no need to. Finally the branding impacts my reaction by already expecting that this website had a lot of time and money put into it. Specifically if the website wasn't as nice and pleasing as I expected it to be considering it is Apple, I would have browsed their website and left disappointed. However it's Apple and you won't have to worry about that!

Week 3 Part 2

Business #1

1. BodyBuilding

2. https://www.bodybuilding.com/

3. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bodybuildingcom/

    Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/Bodybuildingcom/

    Twitter: https://twitter.com/bodybuildingcom

    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/bodybuildingcomvideo

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bodybuildingcom

4. All of the social media platforms posted on their website are well used and post actively, everyday.

5. Instagram: 09/08/2019

    Pinterest: 09/02/2019

    Twitter: 09/08/2019

    YouTube: 09/06/2019

    Facebook: 09/08/2019

6. BodyBuilding is definitely using their businesses social media extremely well. They constantly post new content on each of the social media sites which keeps the users of all platforms attentive and waiting for their next post. Their Instagram and YouTube seem like the two social media platforms they use most. 

Business #2

1. Gym Shark

2. https://www.gymshark.com/

3. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gymshark/

    Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/gymshark/

    Twitter: https://twitter.com/Gymshark

    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/GymSharkTV

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Gymshark/

4. Very active on all social media platforms with the largest following on Instagram. 

5. Instagram: 09/08/2019

    Pinterest: 09/01/2019

    Twitter: 09/08/2019

    YouTube: 09/05/2019

    Facebook: 09/04/2019

6. Gym Shark does use social media platforms effectively doing most of their sales from "influencers" on Instagram. They do post often on their other social media platforms but not compared to the attention they receive on Instagram. They don't have many subscribers on YouTube but have a dedicated follower base that purchase a lot of their gear through YouTube and Instagram.

Business #3

1. Alphalete Athletics

2. https://alphaleteathletics.com/

3. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alphalete/

    Twitter: https://twitter.com/alphalete

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alphaleteathletics

4. Most active on Instagram with every other day posting on other social media platforms.

5. Instagram: 09/08/2019

    Twitter: 09/06/2019

    Facebook: 09/06/2019

6. Alphalete Athletics uses social media platforms somewhat effectively due to the fact that they don't have a YouTube or a Pinterest. Although they still have a large following on Instagram, they can increase revenue if they had a YouTube channel. 

Business #4

1. Men's Health

2. https://www.menshealth.com/

3. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/menshealthmag/

    Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/menshealthmag/

    Twitter: https://twitter.com/MensHealthMag

    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/MensHealthMag

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MensHealth

4. Active on most social media with a new post every other day. Most of the followers are on Facebook.

5. Instagram: 09/08/2019

    Pinterest: 09/03/2019

    Twitter: 09/08/2019

    YouTube: 09/05/2019

    Facebook: 09/08/2019

6. Men's Health has a massive follower base with over 8million on Facebook. This allows their reach to potential new customers or subscribers is endless. They have followers around the world and have used social media platforms very effectively to increase revenue and/or subscriptions.

Business #5

1. Live Strong

2.  https://www.livestrong.com/

3. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livestrong_com/

    Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/livestrongcom/

    Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIVESTRONG_COM

    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/livestrong/videos

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/livestrongcom

4. Very active on all social media platforms but don't have nearly as many followers on Instagram compared to the previous businesses. 

5. Instagram: 09/07/2019

    Pinterest: 09/07/2019

    Twitter: 09/08/2019

    YouTube: 09/05/2018

    Facebook: 09/08/2019

6. Live Strong doesn't have a lot of influence on Instagram, however they have a large following on Facebook and Pinterest. I also noticed that they haven't posted a YouTube video in a year now. I believe Live Strong has focused their efforts in the social media platforms that worked effectively for them, in other words Facebook and Pinterest.

Review

What I learned collectively from reviewing these 5 businesses and their social media sites was that there are a lot of small details involved. For example every social media platform has a specific algorithm where you can have the most reach on new or browsing people. Once those are mastered, the social media platform can be used effectively to increase the sales in specific departments just by creating a post about it. For example I noticed a lot of the Instagram pages had posts of discounts and sales that they were trying to basically get rid of product quickly. These flash sales actually can produce a lot of revenue from product that was sitting in a warehouse. 

The other main thing that I learned was that Pinterest is quite useful when it comes to finding new things to try and getting new ideas. A lot of the followers for one of the businesses was on Pinterest and they actually had extremely useful and creative ideas! I'm sure each business now knows what to post on what platform to receive the most likes while creating more sales. It was very intriguing to do a little research on these massive companies and see what they do on their social media platforms.

Week 3 Part 2

I commented on these:

https://dburkscsit155fa19.blogspot.com/

https://csit155-fa19-isabelf.blogspot.com/

https://csit155-fa19-apagatpatan.blogspot.com/

Week 3 Part 1: Blog Post 

Have you ever experienced difficulty communicating with a business?

Yes I have experienced difficulty communicating with a business in a few circumstances. I used to work in the Auto Industry, specifically buying and reselling cars, there were more than a few instances where communicating with the body shops or repair shops. Usually if we couldn't resolve the issue we'd have to drive to the physical shop location to get a hold of them. The main two communication issues we ran into were lack of communication and miscommunication. Every car we bought had specific issues that need to be fixed so when the shops wouldn't pay attention to every detail that was communicated to them in written, printed form. This would provide some delays in our ability to sell the car which slowed down business. Eventually we found out that if they don't answer or understand our situation we take it elsewhere, personally, to make sure the problem(s) get fixed. 

Does social media make it easier to get noticed or get your problem solved?

Yes to both. Social media definitely makes it easier to get noticed in terms of your online profile. Whether it be a business or a personal account they both give you the ability to get "noticed" overnight. Although this usually doesn't happen that often as people would like, the rate of growth is extremely high for most social media platforms, especially Twitter and Instagram. As far as problem solving I don't usually go to social media to get a problem solved but I've definitely used social media to help solve a problem. That being said I never intentionally went searching on social media but rather saw a post that was related to a problem I recently had. For example I was googling how much it would be to replace the front windshield in my car. Later that day I scrolled onto an ad on Instagram that was a service that would come to you and replace your windshield. Rather than going out of my way and spending a few hours solving my problem, I decided to spend a few more dollars to conveniently stay at home. 

Have you ever had a positive experience communicating with a business through social media?

Yes! I have a few posts of attending festivals on Instagram. I've been contacted by businesses to feature their products in return for receiving a free product. The only time I had a positive experience communicating with a business through social media was specifically Instagram where I received multiple free items I usually buy for attending a festival, but instead I didn't pay for them and all I had to was post a picture and actually wear them at the festival. They even surprised me by contacting me to reward me a pair of free tickets to a festival after I did everything they asked!

If it was your own business on social media, how would you respond to positive or negative comments?

If it was my own business on social media, positive comments will be responded to in an also positive manner. As far as negative comments, it really depends. If the comment is negative but more so a poorly worded criticism claim I would leave it and maybe even respond in order to switch it into a positive manner. Otherwise if they're just plain negative comments I would just delete them as to maintain a positive environment.