Week 5 Post 2

The targetted audience members for people to listen to my band and come to shows are teenagers and college students so I would say ages 16-24. The high schoolers already seem to be inspired by us by looking at all of the positive comments. I feel like we are starting a movement because I've seen more girls forming bands! I follow a bunch of similar accounts on Instagram of the most loyal followers. I have an app called IG analyzer to show the statistics of who follows me back, unfollowers, recent followers, most loyal, profile viewers, and ghost followers. I unfollow the inactive ones and the ones not following me back. We use the Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter accounts to promote the upcoming shows. If we have a show at a professional venue, we usually have to go around and sell presales. So we have to do our best and market on social media. The local music scene is mostly a young audience of both genders. Once we release our first EP, we are going to upload it to Spotify and spread the word. I can't wait for all of the possibilities of where the band is going to progress.

Week 5 post 1

I've decided to look at the restaurant pairs since I don't have the need to buy diapers. I love food, so that was a no-brainer to investigate the websites. Chili's is a national Americanized family restaurant. People of all ages can eat there; the target audience would be males and females ages 3-70 years old. It isn't any specific audience. Chili's has a clean looking, user-friendly website. Their red pepper logo colors keep the theme going on there. Teri Cafe is a smaller restaurant chain because they only have 2 locations listed on their website both being in Oceanside. It has an indie design making it differ a lot compared to Chili's. I personally have not heard of Teri Cafe until now. Teri Cafe's website is less organized because there aren't as many things to view, the theme isn't as apparent, and the front page is way too long since they put their menu on it. I would say that Teri Cafe's target audience is less of an all-ages kind of deal because their menu and environment doesn't look as kid-friendly. I'm guessing their targets would be ages 15-60.  It is culturally different since it Japaneseanese ramen restaurant. They want to advertise their services to people interested in their food. They've probably done some online research on social media to see the people nearby interested in Asian cuisine.
Both restaurants' websites have the similar layouts and information posted such as the locations, menu, about, social media, and contact information. This gives the audience the basic idea of their provided culinary service.

Week 4 Part 2

1. Why are they effective? 
2. What specific principles of good design do they include and why?
3. What makes you come back again?
4. What could be improved?

The top 2 websites I always visit are forever21.com and amazon.com 

https://www.forever21.com 

Forever 21 is a successful store and not everyone is willing to drive out to the nearest mall to shop there. Currently they have a flashy header advertising their 80% off sale. It immediately grasped my attention to click on the offers. They show the newest arrivals, best sellers, and sales on the front. On top, it lists the department categories of what you are looking for. 

The web designers made the website eye appealing. They made a gif of the picture of the 80% off sale so it would be easy to look at. The colors match the theme, and the attractive models suit the alternative theme of clothing they sell. I am distracted from doing this assignment looking at the website. There isn't too much going, you will always see the clothes. The fonts match the theme. 

I always shop at Forever 21 online when I have the money. First of all, I like the products. They have good prices and are always having a sale which draws a lot of customers attention. I've been shopping there since middle school and I am 19. Even though some of the clothes' quality isn't the best, you have to evaluate the price and look at the online reviews. 

Most of the website is 100 percent; however, there are some advertisements popping up on the site which can be annoying. Also, not all of their clothes are my style, but I have a very picky taste. If they fixed that I would even more satisfied.

https://www.amazon.com 

Amazon is the top online shopping company. It has excellent deals and mostly has anything you can find. Amazon prime is a blessing! Free 2 day shipping is a miracle. On the home page, it shows items related to your previous orders making it tempting to view. 

First of all, they have an excellent theme, template, and layout. Their blue and yellow theme is perfectly indicated by that. This reveals Amazon's identity so that it is unique and original. They advertise great deals you are interested in. It is the idealistic professional web design they need. It is simple to access, the search bar on top is your best friend!

Like I've said, the related items viewed and deals recommended for you feature pushes you to look at them. The deals are amazing and sometimes even better there compared to an actual store selling a particular item you are looking for. My family and I are on Amazon almost every day. There is usually a package or 2 that comes once a day. It makes shopping a breeze!

I would say there does not need to be improvements on Amazon's website. It is perfect the way it is created. 

I posted on Stacy Brock's Blair Partecelli's, and Chad Mullen's blog.

Aesthetics, Design, and Branding Analysis part 1

The 2 websites that really impressed me and grasped my attention were:

• http://apple.com
•  https://www.toyota.com

Apple had really eye appealing designs showing all of their latest products on the homepage. Their header tabs on the top all listed links to their products. At the very bottom, it has all of the contact, help, account, and educational information. It is designed to have people willing to spend. Their font was eligible to read and the text was perfectly aligned. Obviously, they've hired the top web designers for this. Apple's audience launches pretty much anyone because they sell high-quality, necessary electronics. They've been around for years so the brand logo has been a good hit; anybody can distinguish the logo. 

Toyota has a simple and complex front page showing pictures of their latest designs. It is similarly designed like Apple's site. The pop-down headers are where you are able to find a car you are looking for and special deals. There's also a "find your nearest dealer" tab so you can enter your zip code and find it. When you scroll down to the very bottom, you can see their social media pages, contact and support information, careers, shopping tools, the about page, and help. The colors match the aesthetic of their brand. It is an easy website to access. Toyota has a strong marketing profile since they've been around for awhile. The site and social media pages make it easier for them to expand their targeted audience. 

There were problems with:

• https://www.riversideartcenter.org/classes-events/
• http://jamilin.com

Riverside art center didn't have much of a matching aesthetic with the brand. The font was somewhat difficult for me to read. The web designers made most of the fonts and pictures transparent so you can't see their purpose. Also, you can't see their logo! When you look closely, it has the color orange but at the bottom of the page, the green contrasted with it made it ugly. Overall, their website didn't look professional. 

Looking at Jami Lin's website stressed me out. There was too much going on. I can't tell what she's trying to get across because it is not clear. The top header click-ons were too extra. It looked like a business card. None of the colors matched because there was no apparent targeted audience or theme. 

I've commented on Stacy's, Anabella's, Dustin's, and Sujatha's blogs.

Social media consumer communications part 2

Killstar clothing

www.killstar.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/killstarco Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/killstar/

Instagram: 8 hours ago              

Facebook: 8 hours ago. Their Instagram and Facebook pages are synced together so the posts will be at the exact same time.

Killstar is a clothing company that sells alternative, punk rock, gothic, hipster clothing. They each make 2-4 posts on a daily basis. They want to keep customers updated with their latest releases and sales.

Dolls Kill clothing

www.dollskill.com An alternative and abstract female clothing line.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dollskill/

• Posted: 2 hours ago and makes 4 a day.

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

• Posted: 2 hours ago, posts 6-8 times a day.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/dollskill

• Posted: yesterday. They tweet 3 times a day. It’s active enough to keep the consumers updated.

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/dollskill/featured

• Last post: 2 months ago. It’s obviously not as active compared to the rest.

Snapchat: https://www.snapchat.com/add/dollskill

• Daily snapchat stories.

Overall, Dolls Kill mainly uses Facebook and Instagram because they are professionally looking social platforms for their business and it appeals their targeted audience.

Blink 182 (professional band)

www.blink182.com/  This top selling pop punk runs itself like a business. They are signed to Geffen Records. Their producers have staff members run their social media and websites.

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6FBDaR13swtiWwGhX1WQsP They post all of their tracks, albums, releases, etc. The last time Blink released their album California Deluxe edition.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blink182/ Last posted: 3 days ago. Updates audience with a weekly post

Twitter: https://twitter.com/blink182 Last post was 1 day ago. Makes around 1-3 tweets daily.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blink182 Last posted: February 9th. Makes a weekly post.

Blink-182 is most active on Twitter. The listeners use Spotify (since Spotify is connected to Facebook) to listen to their music unlimitedly.

Vans

https://www.vans.com Shows 5 social media platforms they use.

Facebook: Posted 4 hours ago. They make an average of a daily post.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/VANS_66 Posted 9 hours ago. Vans makes around

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/VansShoes66 They posted 3 days ago. Vans uploads around 2-3 youtube videos weekly. The videos are promotions of professional skaters using their products.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vans/ Posted 4 hours ago, same exact posts on Facebook. Their accounts are synced.

Tumblr: http://vans.tumblr.com Last posted 4 hours ago, they make reblogs/ posts a few times a day.

Vans uses their social media platforms almost equally. It helps them market their brand to         customers. It is successful and it keeps the audience interested.

Soma San Diego- music venue

Somasandiego.com Shows 3 social media platforms

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/somasd/ Last posted: 1 hour ago. Makes 3 posts daily about upcoming shows

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SOMAsd Last post: 11 hours ago. Makes around 2-3 posts       almost everyday

Instagram: Instagram.com/somasd Last posted: 3 days ago. Soma makes a random amount of posts but has made 6 posts.

Soma is one of the few all ages mom and pop concert venue. I personally know the staff and owners, and they run the business by themselves. They have to market their business on social media to help grabs people's attention about their upcoming shows. They mainly use Facebook and Twitter based off of the higher amounts of viewers. It is difficult making money at an all age venue because they don’t serve alcohol which helps venues make profits. Also, less younger people attend concerts and a lot of times people over 21 don’t want to go to a venue that doesn’t allow alcohol. Soma has recently got its alcohol license and only serves it during mainstage shows. They just serve the beverages behind side stage.

From doing some researching, each business/ service are on at least 3 social media sites. It’s almost a necessity for them to have out there because so many people are on social media. The main accounts each company uses are on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram due to the popularity of these sites.

However, some people aren’t on social media, so it’s important to have an eye appealing website. Social media basically reposts pictures of what they advertise. It is the modern way of advertising and is taking over old traditional methods. Everything is converting to internet based websites. Shopping online is very popular and is almost as good as physically going into the store and seeing the products in person. On the internet, you can not do that, but it allows you to not leave your house.

The digital age is beneficial for every business because anyone with internet can see a company’s website and social media pages.

Responding to customers

A business should have a good technical support and response team if a consumer has questions. There have been numerous times where I have been on the phone with technical support and was put on hold for a long time. By the time they were available they didn’t help a lot. I’ve been able to figure out answers by looking it up online or reading a manual. A lot of times, businesses, services, etc… receive thousands of emails a day and that’s why it is hard for them to get back. For example, I have emailed multiple music venues for booking and it takes them awhile to get back or they never do. It is easier to directly message their social media accounts because there are people running and managing the accounts more often. You’ve just got to be patient. The venue SOMA in San Diego right next to the Sports Arena has direct messaged us about playing shows their multiple times. They also like our posts! A few popular companies followed or liked my posts on Instagram. I feel happier and contained because it feels like they personally care about their customers.

I treat my band like a business to try and gain a networking. The goal is for us to make it far enough to earn a living. We try to respond as much as possible to other users messages and comments. We are very encouraged by the positive comments, but obviously a little hurt over the negative ones. I personally try to be as nice as possible just like being business professional. If I was managing my own business, I would personally message them and ask the user if there is anything I could do to negotiate. You have to make it more about the customer than yourself.

My band got featured in a post on the Hard Time News. Our guitarist was wearing a shirt of theirs and they promoted the sale and our band. People we personally know commented negative things. We didn’t say anything because they were hateful comments directed to her individually. We just remained as calm as possible. However, some of our friends replied in defense. It was quite interesting. There’s always going to be negativity in this world, but you will and grow professionally from those experiences.

I've commented on Justin's, Stacy's and Irene's blogs.