8/27/18

How would you define digital content? What are some examples? How is it used, and who creates it?

     Digital content can be defined as any media that is consumed on an electronic device including devices that have a screen, speaker, or any kind of feedback will allow consumption of that content. Digital content can be anything, especially when it comes to the internet, from the basic newspaper website like USAtoday to a movie streaming service like Netflix. This content is not just there to be viewed, most of it has a purpose.

     Advertising and marketing make up a huge portion of the media that is served within all digital content. If something is placed on the internet there is some form of gain to be had by the creator. Users who consume the content not only partake, but are given the tools to create and contribute to the content that they are consuming. Websites like Facebook are founded on the content generation of their users. The user’s info makes up the website and they continue to provide the content until they stop using the site. Advertisements are added to this loop and thus the content is now producing a profit for the site creator. Not all digital content is monetary focused, but even then getting access to that content may require you to pass through places that host content that does monetize whether hidden or otherwise.

8/29/18

Share one example of content marketing from a company and discuss how it uses at least 5 of the 21 ways to appease its audience. (Uncertain if it’s content marketing? Take a look at “75 Examples to Spark Your Content Marketing Creativity” for similar examples).

     The fast food restaurant Wendy’s has a social media campaign on twitter that has been really successful in the past few years. Their twitter account can be described as “savage” and often times “calls out” other competitors or even their own customers on their ideas and opinions. This sense of unprofessionalism from their account is relatable to the younger audience who is often the viewer of their twitter account. This campaign is founded around #7 Social Media the choice of targeting their audience through social media is a great choice as there are few people who are not on some kind of social media. #4 targeted language and phrases are a big part of this strategy as they are able to use the language of the youth to directly target them for these advertisements. #5 The content of the tweets is often about their food or in some way shocking which can keep the audiences attention. #6 Interaction is very prominent in this strategy as they are using the tweets of their users which also allows for direct communication at any time with Wendy’s. #16 the Attention Grabber is the sassy outrageous things that they can say in their tweets. Nobody really expects a professional company to say the things that Wendy’s does, so when they do they get allot of attention. Often times when a company attempts this type of interaction with their audience it can come off as tasteless and uninformed. Often phrased as, “Hello, my fellow youths see how I am super cool and just like you!” Wendy’s however has mostly avoided this pitfall so they must have a very well thought out marketing department behind them.

9/5/18

Submit to your course participant page two websites you would consider yourself an ideal audience for. Briefly analyze the ways each website and its content are designed to meet your expectations and needs in terms of usability.

     The two websites that I would consider myself an ideal audience for are YouTube and Reddit. Both sites are created for media and information distribution so they are optimized for organization and navigation. I use an AD blocker so this description will not include the AD boxes and other AD locations that may interfere with my description.

     Starting with YouTube upon entering the site its goals are presented obviously. They want you watch videos, so they place several recommendations with various categories in the center of the page in a scrolling fashion. The top middle of the page has the search box that defines itself with the word “Search” and the magnifying glass icon. To the right of the search bar is either the log in or user information if you already logged in. This upper right location for login options is common across most sites on the web so its placement is optimal. On the left of the screen there are navigation tabs that contain things like “Home, Trending, Subscriptions, and Originals.” Further down on the left there is a scrolling box that contains all of your subscriptions for easy access. This layout works really well because it limits the amount that the user has to think. Each thing is in its own location, the main search tool is at the top of the page, the video options are in the center, other navigations and options are off to the side so they do not interfere visually with the main focus.

     Reddit also has an intentional layout. I will be describing Old Reddit not the new social website trash that they made it into. The Old Reddit site setup has all of the main content listed in the center of the page. The Navigation tabs are across the top similar to several other websites at the very top there is a list of popular Reddits to directly link too. To the right is the sign in and other user information. When visiting a Subreddit these aspects mostly stay the same except that the login information adapts to the Subreddits navigation/rules page that contains useful information. Reddits layout at first glance seems intimidating, but after a small amount of use the user will begin to understand navigation locations and why they are placed the way that they are. Most of the page is the actual Reddit posts, so even if the user is confused about the small things around the edges the main thing that they came there for is easily accessed.

9/19/18

Write a brief description of three marketing personas who would read your blog.

     Lacking the diagnostic data that is usually used to create the personas for the site I will be solely relying on assumptions and expectation. Starting with the site itself assuming that my blog is the planned one from the previous class the topic would be Inline Skating. Inline skating is a niche topic that has a very specific audience. I will use 2 male personas and 1 female persona for this exercise. Kurt, Scott, and Jill will be the names of my personas.

Kurt Johnson:

Kurt is a 23 year old management intern who has inline skating as his hobby. Kurt sought out my site to find more locations to skate as his usual locations have become stale. He also browses through the info page to keep updated on the sport. Kurt wants to easily find what he is looking for and is unwilling to dig for it. As he is searching for new locations and interested in the provided info, he may be a potential repeat customer.

Scott Rider:

Scott is the father of his ten year old son Tommy who just got his first pair of skates. Scott was browsing the internet for skating tutorials and found my blog. Scott will be a frequent visitor during the learning process, but he must likely will not be a permanent viewer.

Jill Doe:

Jill is 26 years years old and owns her own skate shop. She is visiting my site to get good locations to recommend to her customers. She is uninterested in the tutorial and info section and she may only be a one time visitor.

10/1/18

Find a quiz and analyze it in relation to the site’s presumed marketing strategy. One paragraph (100 words) posted to eLearning. 

Site: BuzzFeed.com

Quiz: Everyone Has A Pizza That Matches Their Personality — Here’s Yours

Link: https://www.buzzfeed.com/raechilling/what-kind-of-pizza-are-you-2×863?origin=fil-pe

BuzzFeed has an enormous selection of personality and other types of quizzes. Their quizzes tend to include celebrities, food, Disney, trivia, and several others to target every interest possible to get as many people as they can to answer their quizzes. One of such quizzes is “Everyone Has A Pizza That Matches Their Personality — Here’s Yours” this quiz focuses on most peoples common interest, food and more specifically pizza. The quiz uses a personality quiz setup by asking about things you like and somehow relating them to the type of pizza that you would eat. This quiz targets BuzzFeed’s audience with its simplicity and ability to be addictive. They give a button to retake the quiz directly on the end screen to encourage people to take them multiple times. At the same time there are advertisements for other quizzes on the side bar that could enable the audience to perpetually take quizzes during their down time.

10/15/18

Link to one example of Gif or Meme marketing; what is its relation to the site’s marketing strategy; is it successful (100 words)?

Wendy’s Memer Ad:

McDonald’s Meme Reddit Ad:

McDonald’s and Wendy’s have tried to use memes in their marketing for the past few years. The first example that I can remember is the “Memer” ad by Wendy’s. A more current example is the McDonald’s Bad Luck Bryan memes on Reddit. These ads intend to target younger audiences who use these memes, however they often just come across as the classic, “Hello fellow kids” CEO who wants to be cool to get more money. These ads are not successful as the youth that they try to target are actively turned off by how forced the topics are or the fact that they are trying to exploit their precious memes.