Clutching My Pearls

Entrepreneurship | Fashion | Art

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Client Project Reflection

Coming into this class I had no idea the amount of  knowledge I would be able to soak up. Usually in college course the professor just feeds you information off slides and talks about information out of a textbook you would probably will never pick up again. This wasn’t the case for me at all. I have truly gained valuable and real life skills during my time in this course; all thanks to Professor Dimaria and this client project. Having real world experience and applying the concepts we have learned in real time has been very beneficial to my learning. As a result, I have retained a lot of information I will carry with me into my own personal life as well as in my career.

This client project as taught me a plethora of skills. It has taught me that the key to a successful social media account as a business for organization is collaboration. Having a social media account is not about just simply pushing your agenda, but tailoring that agenda to the wants and needs of your audience. I have learned that each social media platform has specific uses and should not be utilized in the same manner as all other social media platforms. Once you are able to understand this, you will start to get the most engagement from your audience if done correctly. On top of that, I have learned the importance of having clear goals and objectives as a business and organization. If you are able to know what your goals and objectives are when sharing content on social media, only then will you be able to fully analyze and assess what you are doing and what changes need to be made to reach those goals. Otherwise, you will continue to see the same results. The goals of your social media accounts should always be to seek engagement.

Aside from the knowledge I have gain, I was lucky enough to have fully been able to understand what my clients goals and objectives were. Which made it easy for me to make suggestions and steer them in the right direction. I also was able to present the materials in the way that was easy to understand. If given more time on this project, I would have like to actively assistance will implementing these changes with them. As someone who is a part of the organization, I saw lots of opportunity for improvement with social media. I would have also like to see the progress or improvement in their engagement over time when they implemented my suggestions. This would have given me some kind of reassurance that my suggestion were actually useful.

Overall, this experience has provided me with useful information not only on consulting, but social media as a whole. If you are equipped with the knowledge and skill sets that others do not possess, just about anyone can provide consultation. You just have to be wiling to continuously perfect your craft and stay up to date on the material you are giving consultation on to stay the expert in the particular field or topic. And most importantly, you have to remember to tailor each job specifically to the needs and wants of the client. Don’t try to push your own agenda.

[clutchingmypearlss]

For the past year, I have been working long and hard on one of the biggest fashion shows at Central Michigan University called Threads Fashion Show. Threads Fashion Show is a student ran fashion show that has been around for the past 21 years and every year it continuously grows with the help of the student body, faculty, and community. With attendance of 1,200 plus guest, Threads Fashion Show is one of the most anticipated events of the year and I had the wonderful opportunity to Producer this years fashion show.

With this years theme, I was determine to showcase not only the hard work of the student designers, but the beautiful student body. This years 21st Threads Fashion Show, Threads Fashion ID, was intended to encourage everyone to be confident in their identity and to showcase the emerging and ever-changing world of fashion; challenging the status quo of the fashion industry. We can no longer be oblivious to the lack of representation on all levels of identity in the fashion industry. Instead, we must bring those underrepresented groups to the forefront. And this year we did just that. From our diverse group of models form all shapes, sizes, ages, and races, Threads Fashion ID was able to break the norm. I am so happy and grateful to my team, designers, and models and all of the hard work they put into making this show possible. Because without you all there would be no show.

Threads Fashion Show is more than just a fashion show, and we are advocates for change.

[clutchingmypearlss]

Fyre Festival: A Scam in the Making

This was my first time ever hearing of this music festival scam and I have to say this is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of. You have to be really messed up in the head to have done something, so skimming on such a large scale; doing it two times in his life time with both Magnises and Fyre, Billy is a true con artist. But this couldn’t have been possible without the backing of social media. Yet again, it is a ruling factor in the way we make decision, sell dreams and lifestyles, construct our own desired reality, and essentially reach the public rather with truthful intent or not.

Billy McFarland was the true master mind of how to really sell a dream on social media. And because of  this documentary I learned 4 things:

The Power Of Influence Is Real: If you have the background and are in the public eye people will believe just about anything you promote, simply because you are who you are. This is evident when Kylie Jenner, Jarule, and the other social media influencers backed up Fyre Festival, yet they knew very little about the event or if it was even real. But, because they were public figures, the general people and surrounding peers were going to believe what ever they promoted. Which is truly a downfall when it come to being an influencer. You have got to know and be aware of the things you are supporting and standing behind, because it can be dangerous if you are someone people are looking to for truth and information. This was a mistake that the influencers who took on a job with McFarland should have been aware of, but weren’t.

FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) Is A Driving Force In Decisions: People are going to be that much more invested in an idea if they feel as though they are going to miss out on something that is promoted as prestige and the place to be or the thing to have. This was a technique that Billy was able to hound on when promoting Fyre Festival and Maginises. He knew what people wanted. And he knew that people always wanted what they couldn’t have, and if you were able to get it to them or act as f you could, they would do anything in their power to get it.

You Can Sell Just About Any Idea: If you utilize all the right marketing an advertising techniques that social media networks have to offer, you can just about sell any idea, even if it is not true. And Billy really proved this right in his actions. Creating a festival that was not real through one promotional video that wasn’t even real. But, because it spoke to the audience and sold this idea, this prestige lifestyle that everyone wants to be a part of, he was able to sell a lie. This was done through the help of influencers and every day people sharing it. The power of sharing, is not something to take lightly.

We Trust The Internet To Much: I can not stress this enough, that you can not believe everything that you see on the internet. Just because someone shares this idea or lifestyle doesn’t mean it is real. Yet, we are all aware of this, but we continue to put so much trust into the internet, just because it is throw in front of our faces through the internet, or because again we are secret wishing for a life that we want. For instance, a common phrase I always hear when people ask how do you know that , their response is always “ I seen it on the internet, “ Why is that? Why is it that we think that just because it is on the internet or the social media that it is real.

Although Billy McFarland played a huge role in the actions that took place, we have to point some figure at ourselves as well. We have to take accountability for the things in which we support, share, and choose to believe at the end of the day. After all we are a collaborative community and we look to each other for validation and reassurance. Billy was just able to take advantage of this knowledge and use it to his own advantage. We ultimately have the power and we have to understand that from a consumers perspective.

[clutchingmypearlss]

Cotton Influencer Kick-Off

Just this past week I had the pleasure of accompanying social media influencer Notorious Kia to dinner. Where she awaited to speak to students at Central Michigan University on how to become a social media influencer for the Cotton Inc. Influencer Kick-Off Event. And during my time with her I learned a number of things related to social media. Things in which I found to be very crucial to the success of any individual and any career, especially when marketing yourself to employers. Out of everything I learned there were 4 take aways I got from my conversation with this real- live expert in the field currently.

Everyone Should Have a Social Media: Social media has become such a huge component within our live and the job industry that is it almost always necessary to have a social media to get ahead in this world. If you want to progress within your job or seek to gain a job, having knowledge and skills in social media puts you that much more ahead of the game. In fact, employers will be that much more likely to hire your with this knowledge.

Brand Presence is Everything: Having a brand presence and showing personality on your social media allows for people to relate to you as a human being and individual. If you are bale to do this, specifically as someone wanted to advance as a influencer or even a model, it is almost highly suggested that you have a brand presence. People want to know who you are and the everyday things that you partake in. So don’t be afraid to showcase that, instead of boring selfies.  

Different Angles, More Views: As mentioned above, boring pictures are not something that engaging your audience, so it is important to be able to showcase the simplest scene or photo in a way that is creative and aesthetically pleasing to the eye. So don’t be afraid to experiment and take tons of photos from different angles and view points to bring variety to your organizations main page such as instagram. The visible photos that appear on the main page of a persons instagram are the most important one because it is what draws the customer or target audience to continuing scrolling. You have to be able to grab their attention within the first click of your page. People will just look at your page or follow it just because it is pretty, so make it aesthetically pleasing and cohesive as a brand.

Knowledge is Power: As learned over this course, knowing what works for each platform is important to the success of engagement and promotion of your organization or self. That means knowing what works on each social media network and what doesn’t. For instance,  sharing photos on instagram pages is best  rather than in the stories of instagram.

All in all, I have to say that the information and knowledge that I have gained during my time within this course has not been done in vain and I am appreciative to have had the opportunity to learn about the value of social media and how to utilize it within my own life. Social Media is continuously  advancing and will become more demanding as time persistence.

[clutchingmypearlss]

Growth Through Content Sharing

Currently I am in the process of writing up my Hootsuite Module 5 content for my client. This part of the client project is simply the collection of information gathered thus far from the other client submissions, but more specifically geared towards content coordination and implementation.

After giving my recommendations on ways to optimize their social media content and to help reach their goals and objectives through the resources given through several social media outlets, this planning stage of the content distribution will be a step in the right direction. Being aware of the tools and resources each platform offers to share content and preplan in an efficient and productive manner, will make it easier logistic wise for the small social media team they currently have. As well as, taking advantage of ways to advertise towards their desired audience so that they can gain more followers or promote more engagement in content shared.

I believe that this will definitely be an adjustment for my client, mostly because they are so use to just dishing out information instead of actually trying to engage their audience. This information given in this module will assistance them with more hands off ways to reach those goals and objective, but also open up their eyes to the effects that their post have on their audience; shining a little bit of light on some chance that may need to take place if they desire a certain outcome for their organizations social media.  

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Community Collaboration: Stronger Together

Chapters 3-5 of The Social Organization touches on the overall ideas of how to leverage your community provided to us in Hootsuite Module 4, only more broad. Specifically, it gives readers insight into why it’s so important to take hold of this opportunity to incorporate the community into your goals and objectives for the business and what you are missing out on when you don’t. Because they are usually an untouched resource or strategy when it comes to social media, some business are missing out on an opportunity for an competitive edge.

Some believe that there is no competition on social media and that it is an open network for simply sharing your business with the public. When it is the complete opposite. It’s not just about sharing you business with the online network, but about continuously expanding and growing your business value. And that starts with honing in on your online community. Who is talking abut your brand and how can we best utilize that individual to meet the goals and objectives of the business.  

Alongside that, it is important to have a clear vision for your community collaboration to better plan and brainstorm what this looks like and how will they be able to deliver this value to the organization or business through collaboration with one another. Understand when this collaboration is appropriate to avoid failure risk on social media also. In other words, know specifically where they can add value and what other task should be left up to the business to coordinate and implement. Community collaboration is usually useful for things such as getting information and wisdom directly from those affected. Good way to accumulate a diverse range of information. Community Collaboration is less suitable for challenges that require deep analysis. Where information should be provide by recognized experts instead.

Once you have identified your goals and objective and how a community collaboration can help in that process. Be sure to effectively manage that collaboration through careful planning and tracking to see what is working and what is not, to be able to assess, alter, and assist.

[clutchingmypearlss]

Leveraging Your Social Media Audience for Growth

It is easy to just simply create a social media profile and gain some followers, but it is much hard to grow and engage you audience if you are not offering something that interest them. This is something that I am slowly understand with this social media training. Specifically, in terms of my client, I have noticed a huge lack of engagement from current and new customers with their organization. With the research and analysis done on these social media platforms, it can be concluded that my client is in desperate need of a shift in engagement tactics to better engage their audience members. Whether that is adding a brand advocate program, leverage under utilized social media platform or reevaluating what the customer wants; something need to change in the way in which they are conducting their social media.

After, going through Hootsuite Module 4 I was personally able to better understand the steps that my client should be taking to see growth in engagement from their current customer base. I plan to utilize this knowledge to better assist them in leveraging their platforms through a series of steps or opportunities that are realistic and doable. It not a easy road and they may not see the growth instantly, but I am sure that if implement they will eventually get to where they want to me.

If you are personally interested in growing your business or own personal brand, here are few ways you can:

Building Advocacy Programs: By building advocacy programs such as employee and brand ambassador programs, you can better leverage their support and following base to reach a larger audience organically.

Engaging & Building Relationships: By consistently engaging with your audience through commenting, liking post, and connecting with people that align with your organizations mission you can build relationships and brand loyalty.

Keeping Track of Metrics: this allows you to see what is working and what is not working, so that you have the opportunity to assess and alter.

[clutchingmypearlss]

The Social Media Strategy Plan

The Social Media Strategy Plan was definitely the most in depth part of the client project thus far. And based off the Hootsuite Module this is also the most crucial step in the social media plan, which is way I took an extensive amount of time making sure I had all the necessary details and information to provide the best strategies for my client.

Prior to providing the strategy, I was tasked with doing a social media audit that require that I go  into detail of what the organizations current state is from the audience analysis, internal analysis, and competitor analysis. With this information this will be beneficial to providing the most effective strategies for the organization especially if the current state of their social media could use improvement.

I believe that the strategies that I have come up with will be very beneficial to improving the organizations social media, but most importantly the advertising and presence of the organization on a wider scale if done correctly. There is great potential for the organization to not only continue there well thought out bran and persona, but to bring a differently approach to the material they are sharing with their audience. I hope that after this is all done, that my client actually implements the plan.

My biggest take away from this part of the project is that it is important to start building these strategies to lay the ground work for the success of the organizations goals and objectives. Once these goals and objectives are identified then it makes it easier to come up with a game plan to reach them.

[clutchingmypearlss]

The Legal Side of Big Data

As an entrepreneurship major, I have consistently heard about the importance of a strong infrastructure of a business. Big Data is one of those components of the infrastructure that I think is important to not overlook. Reasons being that if you lack the security in handling your customers data this could not only  jeopardize trust between your company and customer, but time and money that you may or may not have.

With that being said, I believe that is it important for businesses to be aware of the security issues that could arise when you are creating your product or service. All of the information that you may collect over that time period has the potential to be disclosed if you don’t have the necessary steps in place to prevent that from happening.

Such as having a vendor and employee agreement in place to monitor who has access to what data, ensuring the security of where that data is stored, clarifying what happens to that data in the event of a sale, merger or bankruptcy, and having a strong privacy policy so that the court may honor that in a event of bankruptcy.

It is important for consumers to be aware of these potentially possibilities of their data being sold or hacked. Which is why it is important for them to know where and how their data is being use when they fill out information for different businesses, government information, and more. Overall, you can’t really monitor this information all that much as a consumer, but you can pick and choose what information you may provide or what companies you may trust with that information. While also knowing that it is a potential of being hack when you are sharing information.

The best way to balance the opportunities and threats presented by the development of big data is continuously being ahead of the hackers and those who may threaten the privacy of that data, by doing your due diligence as a business, protecting information through contracts, access, and constantly monitoring.

[clutchingmypearlss]

X-Ray Fashion

Did you know that we throw 60% of our clothes away within the year that it is made? Knowing this would you change the way in which you purchase clothing if you could actually experience all that goes into making the garments that you put on your back? Or would you alter the way in which you handle those garments? X-Ray Fashion is breaking the fashion marketing by providing customers with an immersive virtual reality experience. Taking you through the different stages of garment production: from cotton farm to sweatshop, and from catwalk to consumer purchase to afterlife of the garment.

X- Ray Fashion is a call to action to address the on-going impact that the 2.5 trillion dollar fashion industry has on our environment. By taking the consumer through this virtual reality experience it is their hope to educate and inform consumers of the importance of knowing just how much is put into making their garments, in hopes of influencing their purchasing decisions in the future.

Through this ming altering experience, consumers are able to walk through the lifespan of the garment construction through three senses: sound, touch, & sight. Hearing, feeling, seeing, and everything that is put into creating the garment brings a prospective this is important. You as the consumer are able to see the hardships that the people who are constructing your garments have to go through on a everyday basis.

I hope that i too am able to minimize or navigate my everyday shopping habits with caution and more awareness.

Check out this cool video for more information on what X-Ray Fashion is doing to help change the negative impact fashion has on the environment!

[clutchingmypearlss]

SPRING BREAK PLANS

Never in a million years would I have thought that a black girl from Detroit, Michigan would live to see the outskirts of my city, not just nationally, but internationally. I have had the privilege of visiting four countries abroad during my time in college; all thanks to the support from family and my determined spirit.

In just a few short weeks I will be flying off to Seoul, Korea for Spring Break and I can not wait! Coming into my freshman year of college I vowed that I would travel abroad once a year and I have stuck to that vow every sense. I have always wanted to travel to Seoul, Korea for the fashion and for the food especially.

I’m not sure of exactly, what I want to do when I get there, but I know for sure that I will be eating a lot! The best part of traveling is the food and I will be taking full advantage of every opportunity to eat. Aside from eating I am hoping to visit a karaoke bar, some clothing stores and some museums.

Thanks to having a friend from Korea, I am luckily to have her family host me, so I don’t really have to worry too much about finances. Overall, I cannot wait to see my friend and have a good time exploring the city of Seoul. Stay tune for photos!

[clutchingmypearlss]

“Remember that strength lies in differences, not in similarities”

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Aesthetics. Consistency. Professionalism.

I have always been very conscious of the things that I post on my social media since I could remember. I believe that what you put out there is how you want others to portray you. With that being said, currently my professional social media presence is also, a part of my personal social media. Consistency is important to me, so I try to portray that on both ends.

Based of the knowledge I am acquiring already, I am solely focused on improving those platforms even more. I am currently making sure that all of my social media aesthetic are consistent with theme and branding to communicate to future employers who I am.  If you look on my blog, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and E-Portfolio, I have this consistent marble and mustard yellow theme that I try to keep. Not only that but, I keep or share things on my social media that are reflective of my career goals, morals, & ethics. My resume and other social media platforms are connected to majority of my social media profiles to direct them to my other platforms. Not only that, but I follow people or potential employers that I hope to work for in the future.

By the end of this semester I hope to have my LinkedIn completely updated, e-portfolio completed and to continue my blog gearing it towards my fashion, entrepreneurial, and artist career goals.

[clutchingmypearlss]

7 Qualities of a Good Social Media Consultant

As a social media consultant you will be task with tailoring your work to each individual case by case. Much like a doctor, your job is to offer the best care to your client based off their symptoms. With that being said there are important qualities that social media consultants should have to best handle their client.

A Reputation. It is important to have some kind of reputation or track record. Experience is key to offering the best advice. If you aren’t as experience then your knowledge and skillsets are limited as well.

Professionalism. Be should to not take on an employee attitude. You are the expert in the situation, so show that. It’s okay to get an idea on what the client wants, but ultimately you are the most knowledge and that’s why they hired you, for your feedback and evaluation, so stand your ground. Be confident.

Time Management. Understanding that not some assignments may take more or less time than the other. Once you are able to adjust your work schedule you will be able to provide high quality work.

Listening Skills. By listening to what the client wants and is lacking will help to assist you in providing a more tailored package or set of expertise depending on there situation. Listening to what they are saying and not saying.

Judgement. Have good judgement when providing feedback. Seek out advice from other experts in the field before making a solicited conclusion. You may be and expert in the field, but you didn’t get there all by yourself. If you are unsure of something seek out help.

Communication Skills. An consultant should be able to communicate what the client needs orally and verbally. Knowing how to layout  what you can and cannot do is crucial.

Continuous Learning. A good consultant will continuously expand their knowledge and expertise to progress in the field.  

[clutchingmypearlss]

Shifts in Business Models: Traditional Advertising to Digital Advertising

Imagine you are working for an advertising company. Instead of viciously searching, doing research and spending money to reach a specific target market without any confirmation on rather it’ll even reach them, you are handed direct information from the source with a click of a button; all gathered and ready to go in a nice little folder with their name in red, with their contact information, interest, frequent purchases, most visited websites, and more.  It would make life so much easier wouldn’t it? You would no longer have to go just the traditional route of advertising on brochures, or flyers, hoping that it will reach the right people. Instead, you can deliver the most tailored advertising directly to the source.

People like myself or any user of the web are essentially handing this information over to advertising companies when they sign up for Facebook, use Google, or even Snapchat. As a means of getting that much more ahead in the industry, advertising companies are freely utilizing the information you are providing on your social media without your knowledge what so ever, and that information never goes away after it is used either. Going from a business model of advertising products through commercials, flyers, and or billboards, companies have began to steer away from this business model due to the opportunities presented over the web; profiting more than ever.

[clutchingmypearlss]

Big Data: Your Data for Sale

With every click, message shared, card swiped, and address shared, you run the risk of your privacy being violated. Most importantly, you runt the risk of that very information being sold to third parties for whatever purpose without your knowledge. And the crazy part about it is that all that data or “Big Data” shared could be sitting in a folder with you name on it; a track record of all of your purchases, places visited, text messages sent, and or every website ever visited. And NEWS FLASH you are the culprit who has given it all up all that information without even realizing it.

Before learning about Big Data and information privacy, it never crossed my mind that the very information I could be exchanging over social media or even my current location on GPS could be monitored right now at this moment without my knowledge. It wasn’t something you necessarily thought about because it was the Internet. The Internet is the next best thing of communicating and we as users should be open to the idea that the information shared over social media could potentially be shared or tracked. But is it actually okay? Should we be asking ourselves where this information is being sent to or how it is being used? Well I think I should be aware of this information. And it’s not okay.

The fact that this big data is being used and sold to a third party without our knowledge or say of how that information is being used is unfair and unethical. What people don’t know is that this very information sold could be used to track when and what time you get home, where you live, stores you visit, or used to predict the next flu outbreak. Although it may have some perks to it, it is important for us to have a say in this. The internet was not meant to be used for advertising schemes or for whatever use for third parties. It was meant to communicate faster and to connect. So why should that have to come at a expense of our privacy?

Knowing what I know now, to limit the abuse of this big data, I think on a personal level i could limit the amount of information I share online and pay more attention to the permission I give others when it comes to signing up for a new app, or hitting that accept button; reading the fine print. On a societal level I think it is imperative for us to start demanding more action to be taken on who and what information can be sold to third parties, not this general view that it could potentially be sold or shared with a third party. Who are those third parties and what are they using that information for? It shouldn’t be the norm of the web anymore.

[clutchingmypearlss]

Unplugged: A Break for the Better

I didn’t really realize how much time I spent in front of a screen until now. After taking the time to log my social media usage over a one day span, I came to see the tremendous lack of everyday human interaction. Besides socializing during lunch time and participating during class, that was the most interaction I had with people on a daily basis. This was not something that sat well to me at all. Why was it that I was spending so much time in front of a screen and not actually talking to people, let alone setting aside some time to sit in my own thoughts; to be open, attentive, and vulnerable with boredom.

For my experiment I decided to cut out listening to Spotify for 24 hours. Seeing that I couldn’t necessarily cut out all social media in terms of utilizing outlook and text for business and work purposes, I chose to focus on this idea of being alone for a moment. With that, during the times that I wasn’t at work or class, I chose to put my phone away and not listen to music like I usually do. What I noticed from doing this is that my awareness of others increased and I smiled more.

Before I would walk to class or to work listening to my music avoiding all eye contact. This wasn’t the case for me during this experiment though. I not only was able to enjoy the beauty of the outdoors, and to sit in my own thoughts, but I was able to take the time to smile at others passing by and to look straight instead of down at my phone as I search for songs to listen to.  

On top of cutting out Spotify, I chose to also take a 30 minute break from my screen to see what interactions I could have with real people in real time. To my liking I was able to talk to about 3 or 4 people in a 2 hour time span without the use of my social media or phone in hand. This was nice and it also helped make the time go by faster. Usually when I am engaged in my phone, I am constantly checking the time and anticipating business text from people.

I hope that I can continue to become more aware and active in my efforts to disassociate myself from my technology to take the time to enjoy life for what it is and to live in the moment because that is the most stress free and growth worthy opportunity you can create for yourself.