Stop or I'll Shoot!

Dani, 21; Degree student currently in their Third Year of Professional Studies (Creative Industries). This blog is to be used as a way of displaying progress in my studies, expand my business, and advertise my work. Thanks and enjoy! First Year - 2014/15 Summer - 2015 Second Year - 2015/16 Summer - 2016 Third Year - 2016/17: -> Creative Inquiry -> Industrial Business -> Journal -> Practical Project -> Research file -> Technical Training My Studyblr tag All photos featured on this blog are mine unless reblogged, part of Artist Research, or stated otherwise.

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Youtube’s Free-to-use libraries

Seeing as I plan to produce short films and animations in the future, these libraries are practically a godsend. They offer a wide range of genres and often have exactly what I’m looking for, which makes the sound design aspects of my projects a whole lot easer.

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Slogans

Summarise your business in 50 words or less; Bubblegum Indigo is a Youtube based company that produces short films and interactive videos. Audiences have the option to weave their own adventure either during the production process by attending livestreams and voting in polls, or after the product is uploaded, through ‘what would you do?’ annotation options.

Summarise your business in 15 words or less; Short interactive films uploaded to Youtube that puts the plot in the hands of the viewer

Summarise your business in 6 words or less; Where the viewer is in control

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05.04.2017

THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF SELF EMPLOYMENT (Guest lecture by Rachel Simpson, shoe designer)

Career process: Freelance -> Corporation (NEXT) -> Started her own business

Practical considerations: Where will you work from? : Started working from home, eventually saved to rent an office, gained enough business to afford a studio How will you find work? : Keep every contact! Tell friends and family - word of mouth is important Organising invoices & accountancy : Make sure you have a solid understanding about finances

STARTING A BUSINESS: PROS: > Freedom - you’re your own boss > Satisfaction - you enjoy your work > Flexibility - you decide your own hours > Income - there is the possibility of high earnings CONS: > Risks - an inconsistent income > Hard word - limited downtime > Motivation - must be self motivated > Stress - you’re in control of everything

The work - life balance is important, particularly if you’re working from home

FOR A CORPORATION: PROS: > Provides experience > Regular hours and incomes > Formal processes and systems > Group learning > Offers a social life away from the work environment CONS: > Less creative freedom > Feels more like hard work > Less ‘personal’ approach - mechanical > Need to stay motivated during allocated shifts

STARTING A COMPANY: - Legal entity: sole trader? Partnership? Limited company? - Preparation & Research: Is there a need for your product? Pricing? Competitor? - Be prepared to learn more skills; become a Jack of All Trades - Make mistakes and move on: You will make plenty of mistakes - learn from them! - Learn the art of delegation: You cannot do everything!

Protect your work - large companies like to 'borrow’ designs

When working with suppliers… ..maintain relationships ..come to a compromise ..act with confidence ..keep records ..be aware of risks

Being creative in a business environment; - realise your areas of weakness - realise your strengths - always ask questions - find space for creativity - appreciate your acomplishments

Use HMRC website to register your business You only get taxed based on what you earn (corporation tax)

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CONTENT MARKETING

Consider your FAQs; use them as a basis for content make infographs, write articles, create videos, etc.

Use monitoring apps to analyse the people who visit your website and social media

CONTENT MARKETING IS… creating interesting online products that direct your demographic back to your website ex. Buzzsumo, Soovel, Ubersuggest, etc.

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT IS… keeping customer details and staying in contact (usually email)

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29.03.2017

SMART Targets : What do you want to achieve in the next 12 months?

Specific | Measurable | Achievable | Realistic | Time-constrained

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Setting up a LinkedIn profile

Why? it’s good for job hunting, gathering leads, connecting with clients, networking in your industry, and it looks very professional.

1) Upload a professional profile picture First impressions count! It can be fun, remember to smile. Be inviting.

2) Make your headline stand out 120 characters to attract your target audiences attention; it’s a networking introduction, not a job title.

3) Fill out your summary with your biggest achievements The summary is one of the most important parts of the profile - show all of your best skills and qualities.

4) Add images / documents to your experience Adding media creates a visual portfolio alongside your CV and written profile

5) Optimise your keywords (SEO) Use keywords throughout to show up at the top of the search

6) Add relevant website links Up to 3 links can be added. Link your website and social media!

7) Customise your public LinkedIn URL It makes it easier to find on search engines, and shorter for business cards and memorability

8) Use the LinkedIn publisher feature Offers the capability to write short articles - gives more opportunity for people to find you.

9) Finish your profile in full Fill in every relevant section of the profile - it shows that you’re human, you’re relatable. People like to buy off of People.

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22.03.2017

Finalising the details for business plan hand-in.

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The importance of Video

Video is more important than your think

Video is easy to spread through social media

Weave video into your business plan

Adding a video increases your chances of being seen by 53%

71% of marketeers say that video out performs all other mediums

Audiences are 10 times more likely to engage with video

Zappos had a 30% sale increase after their first promotional video

Positive psychology regarding video

Improves User Interface and User Experience

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09.03.2017

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08.03.2017

LOGOS

Circle = eternity, eyes, mouth, etc.

Circle w. dot = Sun, eye of the supreme

Cross = God and Heaven joining together

Rotated cross = negative, location, a kiss.

Triangle = birth-life-death, body-soul-spirit, wisdom (acc. to Pythagoras)

Square = Solidarity, matter, safety

What makes a good logo?

simplicity

memorable

strong visuals

easy to recognise from a distance

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02.03.2017 pt 2

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02.03.2017 pt 1

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22.02.2017

Feminism in Digital Culture

“Sounds familiar” - Fawcett “Ways of seeing” - John Berger

Jill Posner: 1980′s feminist art, subverting adverts

Academic thread;

Inspiration point

Develop an argument

Research

Investigate

Reference

Ask Staff

Analyse

Discuss quotes

Conclude

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21.02.2017

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08.02.2017

Business Plan

Look at your business plan like a painting - don’t start at the top, work a little on everything

Understanding your purchase processes;

Where do your clients begin researching?

What are their wants and needs?

What are the benefits of buying from you?

How do they buy?

Connecting with current customers;

Why did they buy from you?

Why do they continue to buy?

What makes an effective advert?

A consistent and noticeable colour theme

Good balance between images, text, and negative space

Pay attention to your target market

Includes a noticeable offer or deal

The layout is easy to read

Make the contact details clear

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01.02.2017

SOCIAL MEDIA FOR BUSINESS:

How can you use social media to attract clientele?

Consider; Facebook Twitter Instagram

Discussing social media strategy & how to get noticed; - The most important part of using social media platforms is producing content that attracts people

You need to understand demographics - you could win a trophy and get 3 likes, but an orange shaped like a butt gets 100s What will make them share/like your content?

- Benefits of social media - Goal setting - clear & achievable - Knowing your audience - What networks to take advantage of - What content will you produce for each network? - How will your account be engaging? How do you make people comment/share/reach out?

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BENEFITS

> Helpful if you have a limited budget > Communicate directly with your target market > Build relationships, trust and credibility > Easy to conduct market research > Reach customers/clients worldwide > Can obtain direct and immediate feedback from your Demographic or Partners

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GOAL SETTING

SPECIFIC Who, what, why? MEASURABLE Choose a specific # for growth ATTAINABLE Make sure it's realistic RELEVANT Is the content right for you/your customer? TIME-BOUND What is your deadline?

My Goals: > Figure out what I'm going to upload onto each account, and how frequent > Understand how to use social media and reach further locations

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Think BIG Define your Ultimate goal Act SMALL Identify the milestones that lead up to your goal Move QUICK Come up with a timeline for achieving each milestone

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PERSONAL GOALS

Ex. - Building your personal social media presence - Becoming a legitimate expert on social media advertising - Boosting your copyrighting skills - Getting better at Photoshop - Gaining new skills and experience

BUILDING AN AUDIENCE

Social Media Marketing Strategy comes in 4 steps

1. Preliminary Online Market Research > Who is your target audience? > What contents or trends are most appealing? > What percentage of your target audience is involved in social networking?

2. Ask current clients about their Social Media habits > Create a survey to understand your audience > Analyse the feedback to determine what works best, what reaches furthest

3. Determine which platform best reaches your target audience > What applications can you use to survey and analyse trends > Check stats on each of your posts - experiment with times, styles, etc.

4. Start Simply, Analyse the performance, Adapt & Refine > Start with a simple basic approach - test the waters, so to speak > Alter your strategy based on the response to previous posts

Get clients to take photos of your work (when you give it to them) and ask them to tag you = FREE MARKETING

PAID REACH = paying a social media location to spread your posts further

Recommend choosing one account to use the most - focus on one platform, and copy it to others

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CONTENT

Creating great visuals and media - instead of creating hundreds a month, make a handful of quality and reblog/repost it regularly Graphics make words more powerful - a tweet with an image is stronger than a tweet on its own Videos tend to lure in views - live video is good, you can connect with your viewers Articles contain a lot more details than tweets, and don't look as daunting as large facebook posts

CONTENT STRATEGY

+ the same content can appear on many platforms + schedule your posts for different times - be aware of timezones + create 'branded' social media graphics

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25.01.2017

Research into IPA and RAR membership for advertising

GETTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: - Networking events are a necessary evil; you need to be social, but it can get you clients and associates - Go in, take stock of who’s who. Choose the right people to talk to! You have the right to be picky - Recommendations are crazy important; a large percentage of work comes from recommendations of previous clients or associates of the client - The person already has a good opinion of you, so half the battle is already won - However, don’t feel obliged to accept any recommended clients - Social Media is an easy way to expand your business, form associates, research your clients/competitors - Tenders; Public sector have to have the best value for money, so use large detailed documents to find the right people - They’ll tell you specifically what they are looking for, and you can apply. No need to talk to people. - However, a lot of them are fixed, and all are very thick - Research how to win Tenders first - the language used is very complex and a little confusing - At some point in freelancing & business building, you’re going to have to Cold Call people - You’ll need to develop a thick skin; people will call you some awful things - Pitches are way more important / useful than you think. You may do part of the work for free, but it can help you get the part - You’re relying on the person you are pitching to liking your work. - Always try and do something to get a little control on your side, but don’t go too far else you risk them cutting you off

For every step of the process, you need a strategy.

“Its not what you say, it’s the way you say it!” by Michael Parker

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Looking at aims, platforms, SEO, design, Function, User Experience, Mobile response, customer ‘journey’ (ie, how they got there, what they did),

AIMS: Putting together a basic website containing an up to date Portfolio and a blog of at least 40 posts. If either of these are missing, it could result in a fail. Demonstrate brand consistency Your website should > look good > be easy to use > have regular content > be regularly updated Look at your demographic, and design your website for them

Your PORTFOLIO is about showing your PERSONALITY, CAPABILITIES, & SERVICES Try to include an Email List, a Call to Action, and a Blog

You should never be more than 3 clicks away from contacting someone via your website

Share aspects about your personality : People buy people first, then they buy the product - be relatable and interesting

SHow your capabilities through your portfolio and any experimental work - keep it updated, and make sure it fits with the web design Shows how you approach a brief - why would clients want to hire you? Demonstrate your SKILL, your MINDSET, your COSTS, and your TIMING.

What, specifically, can you offer your customers? Make clear and concise sections about what your products and services are, and what it costs the client

STEPS: get a DOMAIN NAME - decide on a company name, and then research it before you decide to buy it. Who else has that name, or something similar? check out all other social media accounts you would be using with said name Make sure you buy the domain yourself (don’t ask a friend) and keep a note of your username & password WEB HOSTING is how your website is visible online via survers some websites do this for you already - weebly? CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM is how you change the details of your website, such as images and text make sure you have the right CMS for your type of business SEARCH ENGINE OPTOMISATION is the words picked up from your website that allows people to find you through search engines try to think like a browser / potential client - what would someone else search to try and find you? Looks at your URL, Header1 and Header2 - be clear and concise research into Backlinks continue writing a BLOG even after the course has finished writing articles aka content marketing can be used as an extra way of advertising - its easier to share the link to the article than the actual product ANALYTICS is how you see who comes to your site, how old are they, what is your gender, what is there general location, what time did they attend, and what websites they’ve visited before / after If you use analytics, be sure to include a pop-up that mentions you use Cookies Use the results from analytics to improve your site; did the visiter only stay there a minute and click nothing?

Platform suggestion: > Tumblr, apparently > Squarespace > WordPress > Sitey > Weebly > Shopify

Website building vs Blogging? Squarespace Sitey and Wordpress are harder to use than tumblr, but gives a more professional look

DESIGN:

HOMEPAGE brings the first impression - be clean, organised, don’t crowd or confuse the client. If you sell an item, display an image on screen Keep a consistent brand identity - don’t overdo it. Keep it simple, but make it attractive. Use quality images, and think through the text before you upload it Analyse your customers potential journey - not all customers use a computer! Phones and Tablets are becoming more common

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18.01.2017

Employment vs. Self Employed

Employment

PROS:

Financial stability

Job security

Employee rights

Clear career ladder and opportunities

Employer investments

CONS:

Capped pay / position

Set hours

Working with people you don’t like / respect

Restricts creativity

Limited opportunity for new learning

Poor motivation

Workplace politics

Self Employed

PROS:

Potential for good wages

Flexible hours

Potential tax benefits

Choose who you work with / for

Creative freedom

Personal direction

Broader skillset

CONS:

Unpredictable finances

No employee rights: sick pay, insurance, union, holidays, maternal, etc.

Personal management

Lack of guidance

Possible bad debtors / clients