Kitchen Surfing

This was a class project where my Partner and I decided to create a fictional cooking show where we show you how to make delicious pizza. This idea was derived from our passions for food. Since my partner was the head chef and main actor and I was the cooking show host. I was in charge of all the camera work. From shooting stationary shots, to getting different angles, and perspectives of the creation of the pizza. I also was in charge of editing a majority of the footage and making sure all the transitions were good. I chose the music from a royalty free library on the internet, and thought it was quite suitable for the purpose of the show.

This project was a lot of fun to create and really gave me an idea of the complete process of video production. From making sure all the audio levels and mics are working, to lighting, and having a shot list for different perspective was a great way to exercise my production skills.

Four things I've learned on the (social media) campaign trail

It's alive!

It feels like it has been a long time coming but in reality it has only been about eight weeks. Eight weeks since we began this social media project. And now, eight weeks on, we have a functioning website and five active social media channels. It's an accomplishment and something I'm proud of. I'm also grateful for my team. Without their enthusiasm and hard work this project would not be where it is today.

Here are some things that I've learned on this journey:

1) It takes time.

Or more specifically, it takes more time than you might expect it to. This is primarily in reference to social media. Everything from branding to following to posting, it all takes time so it is essential to use people's time efficiently to get the most out of that limited resource.

2) Wordpress can be a challenge.

Mostly in terms of customization. The system is largely designed so that people don't need to make significant changes to the design. Themes are designed with minimal customization in mind, layout and colour options aside. This need not be limited only to Wordpress. Drupal and Squarespace, and other CMS's have similar issues so it is important to know going in that the theme needs to be very close to what you or the client wants, else it can become a major headache.

3) Not everyone knows (insert social media platform X)

And that's totally fine, but it is crucial to not make assumptions about anyone's knowledge of a platform. Each service is different, has its own language and quirks, and users expect something specific from their chosen platform. This becomes even more important when working with others who may never have used social media, or may have never used that one in particular. Further, even being familiar with using, let's say Facebook, in your personal life is far different from using it as a business or cause. The interactions differ and it is important to not assume that someone might be comfortable on it just because they may have used it before.

4) Remember that it's about interaction

Which means that your audience may react to what you say or do and that they're going to expect a response if they do. How you deal with their reaction impacts not only their perception of you (or your brand), but also how others in your audience perceive you. If you react swiftly and positively, even to negative comments or problems, it shows that you are concerned and care about your product or service. Ignoring, or worse, denying or antagonizing can lead to mistrust among your audience, which may in turn make your message carry less weight among your perceived supporters.

And now, we begin the social media campaign and try and apply these lessons to make the most of it!

7 Steps for better SEO

1. Relevant keywords

The first step is to research related and relevant keywords and phrases that customers or website visitors would be searching for.

Example: if your your bike shop is in Vancouver BC, Vancouver bike shop would be an Important key-phrase.

Your main focus should be understanding your customers language that they might be using while searching for your company.


2. Optimize the content of your site

It is really important to create rich high-quality content when driving traffic to your site. In todays age, content is extremely critical for internet users and search engines.

Testimonials, customer reviews, and Q&A's are highly recommended, information about your staff is also very useful for users and SE.

Take full advantage of your contact page, for localized business it is said that other than the home page the contact page is second most important page. make sure to include:

• company name
• phone number 
• address
• embedded geo site map

The more content you have the better, making sure it is all valid and useful.

Once you have all your metadata and keywords in place,  now you can start looking for non related factors that will benefit your site.

3. Be consistent 

Inconsistency is a big no-no when it comes to SEO, Google and Bing both have a disliking for content of this nature as it can negatively effect your online presence.

Use the same details throughout your social media platforms, websites and local listings.

4. Legitimate and genuine reviews 

Ask customers who actively use your site for genuine reviews. When I say genuine reviews I don't necessarily mean positive, constructive criticism is highly recommended to benefit services. 

Give your  users several ways and options for commenting and reviewing.

5. Social profile optimization

To reach out to all potential customers its important to stay active on all social media platforms.

Make sure that all your social profiles are linking to each other and include your location and region, as well as your business name and a URL back to your website.

Listing your Facebook page as a local business will improve the chance of reaching the top listing in Facebook search.

6. Mobilize your site

There is over 1 million new users a day accessing the internet from their phone.

For customers in local regions mobile access is highly convenient for users on the go.

Be cautious of software like Flash and PDF that aren't fully supported on more popular devices.

7. Update and analyze results

Once you start working on your local SEO, its important to analyze your results. The best way to do this is to use tools to monitor and analyze.

First off is monitoring your selected keywords. A good tool to do so is AWR Cloud.

Moz Analytics is also a good source for monitoring rank.

Check your rank on a weekly basis and keep note of noticeable changes.

Once you have the previous tools i mentioned set up, now is time to use Google Analytics for a organic analysis of your website to monitor its improvement. 

So if your doing these steps properly you should be able to track and noticeably see an increase in traffic :)

ENJOY!

Leverage Social Media for Your Business

Social media provides the opportunity to build brand awareness, transmit messages to key audiences, and drive traffic to your website at a low cost.  Social media can offer big returns through more leads which promote increased sales and revenue.

There is a large variety of social media platforms existing on the internet, but not all of them are helpful for your company. Choosing the right platforms is very important for the effectiveness and efficiency of using social media sites. The statistic below shows the amount of active users and activities daily/monthly among different social media platforms.

#1 Facebook

• 1.35 billion monthly active users
• 864 million daily active users on average
• 703 million mobile daily active users on average
• 1.12 billion mobile monthly active users

#2 YouTube

• More than 1 billion unique users visit YouTube each month
• Over 6 billion hours of video are watched each month on YouTube — that's almost an hour for every person on Earth
• 100 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute

#3 Google+

• 359 million monthly active users
• 1.6 billion registered users

#4 Twitter

1. 284 million monthly active users
2. 500 million Tweets are sent per day

Ideally, social media sites should be updated on a daily basis to engage with your customers or clients.   Choose the best social media networks for your business, and then harness their unique audiences to leverage your business.

The use of social media networking for your business with enhance brand awareness and increase recognition in community.  Through daily use of these referral channels, you will communicate your brand message to key audiences which in turn will drive more leads to your website.