#dcom 280

[adventuresinwebcontent]

The Right and Social Media Post-Paris -11/14

Last night, there were a slew of ferocious bombings and attacks on Paris, France. The entire world has been grieving but it has also sparked a debate on social media regarding the status of Syrian refugees coming to America. Many politically right leaning Facebook and Twitter pages have a content strategy to either voice their opposition to refugees or to support war with the middle east. The pages’ voice is usually angry and belligerent. The content tends to be long, uneducated texts posts and ignorant photos with captions such as “We made peace with Japan in 1945. Time to make peace with Islam.” 

These people may be ignorant but they know how to run a social media strategy that capitalizes on fear and gets their point across. Many of these pages have been having successful campaign and have acquired many followers in support of a pro-war plight. This is just another example of the vast divide in the country as shown on social media.

[adventuresinwebcontent]

Square of Opposition-11/11

Square of Oppositions Records is a do-it-yourself, or DIY, punk and emo record label based out of the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. A former member of DIY emo band Snowing, the label is owned and run by Chris Reject, the label has a special brand of sarcasm and cockiness that make the brand truly what it is. A lot of the record label’s social media is run more like a personal blog than a business, with not only albums being put out posted but also political commentary, miscellaneous viral videos, and other random tomfoolery. His voice directly reflects the attitude of many of in the Eastern PA Punk DIY scene, which often very fun and juvenile. 

This record label has an interesting community and following that it has developed with it’s unique branding. Some of the things this record label accomplishes with so few resources are amazing, releasing 5 lps in the upcoming months. It would not be able to do these things without it’s internet marketing and unique brand.

[adventuresinwebcontent]

Time for Some Redecorating- 10/31

For my HTML site building class, we are currently working on a project where we have to select and redesign the website of a restaurant. I decided to go with Daisy Family Restaurant, a small one-location fast food establishment located in Wind Gap, PA. Lovingly known by locals as the Daisy Bar, the website definitely has potential to help with customers. While looking at the site, the content is slightly horrifying. A lot of the content looks somewhat uncomfortably placed and the imagery looks like clip art. There are no pictures of their food whatsoever, which is a major issue considering it is their main product. One of the pages is completely blank with the exception of a title and text is not used to it’s full potential, especially on the about page. They don’t seem to have a message or even a real brand for that matter, which could explain their popularity mostly being among the older crowd who have been going to the establishment for a long time. 

A content strategy could really benefit this company. By establishing messaging and their brand, they could potentially put helpful content on their site as well as attract new customers as opposed to customers who visit the seemingly outdated website and become weary about the establishment, especially since all the pictures are of empty parking lots and chairs.

[adventuresinwebcontent]

Cults Aren’t Always a Bad Thing - 10/22

Joe Heaney, a copywriter and “content expert, posted a post on his Tumblr titled, “5 tips on how to Build Brand Fans - And Keep Them.” The post details how building a fanbase, a group of loyal followers who care about what the brand is doing, is different from simply building an audience, or a group of people that has no emotional connection to your brand. Brands should want a fanbase, as fans are more likely to interact with the brand and help the brand reach their desired goals. The article dictates that you should study your fanbase, allow them room to not feel smothered, and give them what they want, while still retaining control of the brand’s image.

I think this is extremely important. A great example of this is Sheetz. Sheetz has a fanbase. Their followers care about them as company, so much so that they are willing to get into verbal altercations over why Sheetz is better than Wawa (I personally am neutral in this war). Their content on social media is fun, comical, and makes users care about them even more as a company. Sheetz brand has many of these followers that will go out of their way to go to Sheetz over other gas stations and it is more beneficial to their company than say just another Exxon is on the road. Exxon has an audience. Sheetz has a cult.

Article Source: http://joeheaney.tumblr.com/post/131675780898/5-tips-on-how-to-build-brand-fans-and-keep-them

[adventuresinwebcontent]

With this Article, Visitor Attraction Should Be A Breeze-10/21

“This is your one chance to get that visitor interested in what you and your business has to offer. Sad as that may seem it is unfortunately the truth.” The opening line of Darren Breeze’s article “How To Use SEO And Content Marketing To Keep Your Visitors” provides this possibly unsettling truth. The article reflects on how to attract and retain visitors to a site through content use and SEO. 

In regards to content, the article suggests that users will first scan the site and look for something that might catch their eyes, such as images or general layout, to determine if the site is easy to understand. They will also focus on the introduction, which could be a deal breaker on whether they stay on the site or not. It recommends four tips to retain attention:  write an appealing headline; write a short, concise introduction; use sub headings that are attention grabbing; and vary content in lists.

When speaking on SEO, the article suggests that using long, unique keywords is helpful and makes it more likely that your site will appear in a search engine.

Despite a lack of commas and what looks like a lack of proof reading, this article contains good content that I agree with. Really though, while a lot of what this article talks about should be common sense and it’s really unfortunate that it’s not, but I digress. 

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9195479

[adventuresinwebcontent]

Hard Times are Certainly Not Hard as They Seem- 10/14

The Hard Times is a satire news site based around DYI punk culture. The site posts roughly one or two articles a day Monday through Friday. The articles are mainly making fun of various aspects of punk culture, such as jokes about controversial punk frontmen or articles related to being straight edge. Many of their articles, as well for article concepts and headlines, are crowdsourced. The writing is easy to read but occasionally contains scene jargon, without which some of the jokes wouldn’t make sense. The site also spreads its articles through various social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter. Traditionally just a satire site, the Hard Times has also started slightly commercializing themselves. The site also occasionally sponsors shows, as well as sells some merchandise and promotes one member’s podcast. These advertisements usually appear within articles, such as was the case in the article “Judge, Trial Show Turns Into Actual Court Hearing.” The site is popular among fans of punk and hardcore kids.

Whatever they are doing is obviously working. They seem to be increasing in popularity and have been able to work with bigger acts in their podcast. 

[adventuresinwebcontent]

3 Success Tips for Life in Marketing- 10/10

Today, I stumbled across a a graphic posted by Tumblr’s ad sales team. The GIF, generated by Elizabeth Crosta who is the VP of Public Affairs for American Express. The graphic lists “3 Success Tips for Brands on Tumblr,” which were as follows:

-”Be Authentic: Be true to who you are as a brand.”

This topic has already been covered a few times on this blog, specifically when covering Real Friends and Counterparts. Audiences pick up on authenticity like sharks do blood in the water. Therefore, it is important that when marketing a brand, the marketers are honest about the brand and its goals. I strongly stand behind this tip and agree with it.

-”Test and Learn. Don’t be afraid to try something new, learn from it and adapt”

So many brands are afraid to try new things because they might offend a certain groups but the honest truth of it is that you can please everyone. Also, it is my firm belief that people will get bored if you do the same thing forever. Maybe through testing you can find a new unique way of achieving audience interaction.

-”Be as meticulous about your images as you are about your words.” 

This one is a no brainer. If you wrote an elegant message but your image is a poorly edit image of a squirrel in a tuxedo, most people are not going to be impressed. 

While all of these are for tumblr, I think they apply to most marketing and content strategy in general. These tips are relevant to most things in the marketing world, including other social media sites as well as print based advertising. Follow these and you will be golden.

[adventuresinwebcontent]

Welcome to Night Vale: 10/2

Welcome to Night Vale is a bi-monthly podcast written by Joseph Fink and Jeffery Cranor. The podcast is set up to be like a radio show and follows the dystopian town of Night Vale and all the strange happenings that go in the town. While the podcast itself is pretty amazing, the content strategy is fantastic. They use their humorous take on dystopian society and establish a very strong brand with it. The language they use is probably roughly a fourth-grade level yet inclusive of humor that is shown on the show. Posts on social media are made roughly every day. There are generally two types of posts: posts advertising tours and products and posts with a some absurd blurb, similar to something that might be said on the show. Right now, they are really pushing the new Welcome to Night Vale novel, as well as their live shows. They have a pretty strong underground following, especially among youth and young adults. Many of their fans are part of “Tumblr culture.” 

Overall, Night Vale does a very good job at keeping their fans interested and in attracting new fans. Oh. And one more thing.

All hail the glow cloud. All hail.