CSIT 155 FA 20 GregB - Week 16 Wrapping it Up

When I first started thinking about taking this class I  discussed this with our owner and her response was that Social Media was primarily for connecting with old friends and would not offer much value. But now having taken and finished the class I realize that there is a huge impact on how a business can communicate with both existing customers and potential new ones and increase our companies brand. Durable Casters has to get with the program and think outside the box. This class was our first step in evolving. 

At the end of 2019 we had signed up for and planned on participating in at least 10 trade shows. The Covid pandemic caused all of these live events to be cancelled. Therefore, I had to develop a new strategy for reaching clients. The timing for me taking this class could not have been better. I now realize that the traditional ways of calling on customers has changed. And Durable Casters needs to adapt to keep up with the changing marketplace. We can still pass out and mail out catalogs but the biggest and best return will require a marketing strategy that uses Social Media.

By developing a Facebook page and signing up for Instagram I see the benefits. Several of my existing customers have reached out to me and complimented me and my company for trying to develop our brand online. There has been an impact. For example, one of our primary dealers in Orange County noticed my Facebook page and linked this with my Instagram post on our new Hi Temp Bakery Rack Wheels. We received an order based off this information.

I now understand that Social Media is not just about looking up old friends. Social Media has transformed us by allowing Durable to get in front of a target customer. 

With the use and development of LinkedIn we now change the way we communicate with potential customers. I have been able to expand our online presence and the days of handing our catalogs and business cards are a thing of the past.  We have danced around with this site for few years but now I understand how to use it.

I looked up some statistics and about half the world is on social media every day so its makes sense that we now incorporate this as part of a marketing strategy. I feel excited that I can convince our staff that we can build long term relationships with our customers. Once our clients become more aware of our brand I can utilize this to find new markets that we currently do not serve.

Durable does absolutely no business with the US Military and we plan on developing a strategy to penetrate this market segment. We know that buyers are online shopping and the next step is to profile a select group of casters that will be approved by the military.

Finally, for me personally, I will continue to learn about the various social platforms and explore ways to connect and stay relevant. I understand the evolution of social media and how it can help Durable Casters grow. The changes in technology are coming more rapidly everyday and for a guy that started out his career using a pager I have come along way. 

CSIT - 155 FA 20 - Greg B - Week 15 Marketing Plan

I plan to use and implement several of the social media sites that we learned about in class.

Facebook

As discussed in the text, Facebook is the number one social network in the world and up until the time I signed up to become a member my employer,  Durable Casters had never signed up or taken an active role in developing our brand through this site.

I now understand this is not just website for looking up and connecting with old friend but rather a marketing avenue to connect with others as friends and improve our company through the use of likes, connecting profiles, joining groups, and most importantly for our business using the Facebook, " pages ", to build our brand and engage both potential customers and existing customers.

Facebook can offer Durable a tremendous opportunity to spread our footprint and engage in enough content to promote likes that in return help us improve our name in the industry.

Currently, very few of my competitors use Facebook and they have not yet learned the advantages of using this platform as a marketing device. I am hoping they stay ignorant and ignore it. Because I plan to focus on this aspect of our business.

As discussed in earlier blog posts, our business model has changed due to the Covid crisis and customers and potential clients are using the internet to find casters for their applications. Which means we have to change and adapt.

Instagram

Instagram is my favorite social media site that we discussed this fall term. This is a free photo sharing site and the ability to share images is the best thing that I have found. I think our casters translate well through images and videos and I plan on using this to promote our capabilities. The text mentions that Instagram works best when you have something beautiful to share. I like the idea of promoting new casters, wheels, accessories, that my customers can see. Additionally, by using generic hashtags I think Durable can come up with categories that a customer can search and find using this site.

Instagram provides our caster company the following benefits:

More businesses are joining so this is a growing sector. Its easy to target my audience ( buyers and engineers ). Customers like the visual aspect. We can engage with customers and identify where they spend there time. Finally, its great for building our brand and building up user content.

LinkedIn

Before taking this class I though this platform was strictly for finding a new job. But I have learned there is much more that I can do with this site to improve our business.

Lead Generation: Though networking and keeping the company page up to date Durable USA can brand itself as an expert and help potential customers identify which caster or wheel to use.

Increased Exposure  - With a company page that is constantly updated this is a great way to gain attention for your business.

Credibility - One can show off a new product and through the " Recommendations Page " I can receive more referrals based on positive comments by past customers.

Accomplishments  - I can build up future clients and show off a bit by touting our products that others have purchased.  This is almost, like a testimonial that helps customers select our company and products rather then the competition.

We plan on hiring a full time digital marketer to help develop our social media strategy. This will become a monthly business strategy whereby we promote either a new product or a success story each week or maybe quarterly.

Calendar 1st Quarter for Social Media Marketing Plan - Durable Casters

2021 

January - Begin posting weekly pictures of our spring catalog on Instagram.

February -  Introduce Durable Casters in Facebook.

March  - Produce new company video of our new Canadian Factory located in Ontario. This will be posted in both Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

April  - Introduce new short promotional video on our Guatemala Factory/Distribution Center located in Mexico. This will be posted on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

May -  Create a new, branded, success story on both all three websites with a brief synopsis on how we solved a problem for our customers.

CSIT 155 - FA 20: GregB - Homework Week 14 Social

Durable USA

Part 1

My company is a manufacturer and distributor of industrial casters and wheels. In order to build our online presence and increase our maximum search engine optimization I think we could benefit by using the following metrics through Google Analytics.

1. How do we stack up against our competition? Fortunately most of our competitors still think the business model for the caster & wheel business is a traditional brick and mortar type of business. After taking this class I now realize we can expand the scope of our footprint by taking steps to increase our web identity. This does not mean setting up an online website whereby customers can order but rather engaging in a more dynamic marketing program that tells our story vs. the competition. We need to sell potential customers on our brand.

Facebook allows us to help identify some of these statistics to help examine our marketing program. One example, is measuring the amount of likes we receive. 

2. We can measure what regions are customers are located. This would help areas of growth opportunities. For example, should we target market food equipment manufacturers on the West Coast vs. the East Coast or South.

3. It would be useful knowing knowing whether customers are downloading our catalog or prints to distinguish buyers from shoppers.

4. Analyze which websites are sending us traffic or visitors. This information would help us focus on which search engines are helping us in referrals.

5. Our ranking on Google, which right now is very low.

6. Finding out what products our visitors are looking at. This would help us structure the particular casters to promote.

Finally, do our customers that engage on our website actually buy?  Difficult to measure but by using such a website as Facebook the more likes we have the better our chances for increasing sales.

Part II

I don't have anywhere near enough likes to process the data from Facebook but I will try to extrapolate using the data from Aztec as it applies to my business.

The Covid Pandemic has also affected our business in numerous ways with many unforeseeable results.  In the Spring we saw a huge spike in orders from customers that were trying to convert and use existing and most often idle machinery and utilize their workers to build equipment for Covid related applications. Ventilators,  respirators, IV Poles, you name it and we were shipping casters for these type of requirements. So for a few months it was all hands on deck and business was booming. Most of the requests came from either an existing customer or a referral. For example, I sold 80,000 2" casters for IV poles for the State of MI. I would summarize by stating our reach was extending to all sectors of the market all over North America. Even saw a boost in orders from Canada.

After the initial rush, things began to slow down and we hit a lull during late summer. By Fall, business started picking up again and has remained steady with several new projects in the pipeline. So the data would show two peaks and valley with a rise starting in late August.

Most of the reach was existing customers using our stock to fill hot orders.

One can infer likes are growing and we are engaging with many new clients. Some were from linkedin since we are posting more and on a more consistent basis. But the data does not lie and we have seen a spike in non traditional customers due to the buzz in the marketplace.

CSIT 155 - 1689 FA 20 GBurke - Week 13 Online Ads Part A & Part B

Part A

I am a car guy. Enjoy looking at all the new models. Currently, I am in the market for a new car and have been looking at cars online and specifically was looking at new SUV's. I liked the Toyota Brand ads that are on Facebook. The photos' show multiple photo's of various cars and videos of cars. I think these types of ads are effective in generating some enthusiasm for the models and brands. For someone in the market for a new car they draw you in and are both visually appealing and as mentioned the imagery of a new car is enticing.

The most effective car ads that encourage you to buy are the testimonials from everyday owners that endorse a particular model. It encourages brand loyalty when you read how happy an owner is with their car. I do read and take in consideration another car owners experience. I think a positive review is persuasive. For me, this is part of the process of purchasing. Getting feedback from owners.

I also like ads that Toyota has on Facebook showing their cars out on the highways. They are well done and relatable.

The ads that I find that are annoying are basically the same ones that I clicked on to see what they have to offer.

Both Omaha Steaks and Harry & David come to mind. I have ordered off both websites before for gifts but once the user looks at their ads they never stop coming. They relentless and bombard you with daily specials that I neither want or care about. I think they both go overboard with their tenacity and if fact probably turn off potential customers. Enough is enough.  

Traditionally, I would look at ads in magazines or newspapers. I can remember I even bought my first life insurance policy based on an ad in the San Diego Union. But those days are gone and everything is geared to social media.

Historically, traditional marketing, i.e. radio, tv, newsprint, magazines, is expensive and you need to commit to a long term plan and deal with budgets and costs.

I think Social Media is much more affordable. Basically, you need to spend your marketing dollars in a more strategic manner. For example. we use to send out tons of catalog at Durable to potential clients. This is expensive and also very difficult to measure a return. We never really were able to ascertain if this type of approach actually resulted in sales revenue.

Today, we can plan a strategic ad through a social media website and get instant feedback on whether we are generating any interest. The costs are cheaper and the results are much easier to define.

Reporting and analytics are easier to ascertain on Social Media websites like Facebook. Statistics can be updated in real time, with hard information. From there we can decide which ads to use or take down.

In conclusion, its much easier to market your products through Social Media and I can now target a specific market segment and avoid the uncertainty with our traditional, mass catalog mailer.

Part B  - Advertising

I have three ads all downloaded and posted both on my Instagram account and my blog. The objective to alert our customers about new products.

The first ad is our new hi - temp oven rack wheel. This wheel is for the baking industry.  Anyone that is involved in industrial baking i.e. bread, bagels, churros. etc. has to use racks that slide in an out of ovens. The ovens are industrial size and each rack holds up to 400 lbs. This first ad is targeted to that specific application. My target customer would include both Costco and Sam's Club. The call to action would be my email for the contact. I did consider adding a price but decided against that.

My second ad for our non marking bumpers. The bumpers are used on carts for both the protection of the cart and the particular application  -  office, restaurant, or the hospitality industry. The corner bumpers are especially useful and can be mounted on each corner of a cart for protection.

My ad details outlines the product offering with contact information.

   The final ad is our new Conductive Wheels. These are used in the electronic manufacturing industry.

   The wheels were designed to dissipate electrical currents. This is relatively new area of opportunities     with chip manufacturers like Intel as a target customer.  Enclosed are phone and website to stir some 

   potential quote activity which leads to sales.

CSIT - 155 - FA Greg B - Homework Week 12 Business Tools Online

 I am reviewing Yelp, a service called Blue Corona, and Twitter.

Yelp.

Yelp is a website that has become significant for influencing online comments for a particular business or to share information on an experience. It is one of the most popular social networking sites and features user generated content, that is based on your personal experience.

I frequently use this website to make many of my daily decisions. For example, where to eat, where to stay, what to visit, who to use. Its become part of my decision making process. I rely on the comments from others to help make my decisions. So Yelp has a tremendous amount of influence in generating revenue for a business. If the reviews are favorable ( from other users ) then I will usually go with their recommendations.  This online networking site is influencing customer behavior and thus something I need to consider for my company.

One uses Yelp by signing up, and creating a personal account. You create a profile and once signed up you are now part of the Yelp community and post reviews.

The major benefit that I can take away from using Yelp for my companies business is to have positive word of mouth reviews recommending Durable Casters for your caster needs. We don't have any reviews now on this site but I think it may help us.

The negative aspect would be if a customer had a bad experience and posted this. Could have adverse affects to our reputation and business. So it is important that you fulfill the clients experience in a positive manner. Many businesses currently suffer from people posting bad reviews. This can hurt you. Yelp uses a star type of review system. With 1 star a bad experience up to 5 stars which is excellent. It would be very important that your team, especially, the customer service team realize that they need to provide quality service. As mentioned, a negative review based on a bad review could convince others that are online and reading this information to avoid buying our casters.

My competition: I looked up several caster companies that I compete with and although several are listed on yelp none had any reviews. Not sure why but buying casters more often then not is a one time purchase. The products tend to last forever with some exceptions so this is not like say a restaurant or retail operation. Products are primarily sold wholesale. I may be able to take advantage of this fact if we decide to sign up.

From research on Yelp I found that 92% of Yelp visitors make a purchase after visiting this social network. 42% will make the purchase the same day they read your reviews. So this site has some major influence on your business.

The keys are the following: For Durable Casters to receive good, consistent reviews: Sign us as a company with our profile,  provide excellent customer service ( both on the phone and proper email etiquette) earn good ratings from customers, this is very important,  respond quickly to a negative review, and with ratings that increase with more stars enjoy more sales growth. After all we are a profit oriented company and the bottom line is to increase revenues.

Blue Corona

I found this Social Media Marketing Service by browsing the internet.

Blue Corona offers a number of service to help you market your company on the internet. What I found interesting was the Social Marketing program. They emphasize: Tracking, Test, Tweak, and Repeat. So they focus on a strategy that uses data to help achieve your sales goals.

Blue Corona will conduct a competitors analysis and check out why we may be losing out on customers. What is the competition offering that has increased their audience size. This would be very helpful. Next, help us Post and scheduling regular posts that monitor interaction and find out if customers our engaging with us.

Next, create data driven customized target campaign to help grow our brand.

Track our social campaigns which at this point are very limited.

Mange our social reputation and feedback and finally integrate these efforts through a social website like Facebook.

I think Blue Corona is hitting each aspect that would be important to Durable Casters. I liked all of their proposals and although their is a cost it may well be worth it.

Twitter

I decided to look at Twitter because its always on the news with the President tweeting and I really don't understand it. Why should I care about Twitter and can it help my business? It was my understanding that this is a strictly social network ( I was wrong again ) but after reading up on this site it does have an entire business element that may be useful.  There are over 275 million active users so I think this is something we need to get involved with. If there are that many users then there must be something of value to this.  I found that much like the other marketing sites you need a profile and a create a Twitter handle. Twitter recommends something short and easy to remember. Easy enough.

Twitter states that they are the number #1 platform for discovery. And that 53% of the people on Twitter are more likely to be the first to buy new products. So they have a very large following. And if the data is accurate this results in purchases.

By doing some research online I have found the that 80% of all Twitter users mention a brand in a tweet. Currently, Durable does not use Twitter but if this true then perhaps I need to sign us up. That is good exposure and excellent word of mouth advertising.  Much more effective then our traditional way of mailing out catalogs and brochures. The caster business is not exactly cutting edge.

The main goal as I understand it is to create a Twitter Marketing Strategy - Well ours would be simple. Promote the Durable Brand. We want new customers which equals more sales.

So Twitter much like Blue Corona and others helps you identify the competition, next audit your account ( review and critique the performance of your Tweets. Are we posting the right content, is the posting consistent.  Next, see if you can quantify a return on your investment.  ROI is important and necessary if we are going to devote our limited resources to this program.

Twitter also places emphasis on leads and are the leads turning into sales. After all that is the reason we would sign up and dedicate resources to tweeting.

Finally, this is not a one time shot in the dark.  To use Twitter effectively this process has to be given sufficient time to work. So we would need to stick to a strategy for at least a year and repeat our tweets to achieve our sales goals. 

In conclusion, Twitter looks like it would be good for reaching new customers and this is another effective,  marketing tool for increasing our sales. I am going to recommend we sign up for this.

CSIT - 155 - FA Greg B - Homework Week 11 Marketing & Using LinkedIn

I remember the first time I was introduced to LinkedIn. It was several years ago and I was meeting with a customer in Tempe, AZ and he asked me if I had joined LinkedIn and created a profile. I told him that I had no clue what he was talking about. My customer told me this was a new way of connecting with customers, competitors, and potential clients. I remember going back to my hotel that night and looking up their website to check it out. 

The next day I met with another customer which happened to be U - Haul which is also located in Tempe. In the course of our meeting I happened to ask the Purchasing Manager about LinkedIn and he had also joined up and was told by his boss that it was the latest, and greatest thing to do. Everyone was doing it and this was a great way to stay connected to everyone. So I followed the herd and joined the site.

That was all it took to convince me to sign up and check out the site. Heck if the buyer at U Haul said its good then I better get on board.  That night in my hotel room, I filled in my profile and being naturally suspicious refrained from posting too much information I wanted to see what this new networking platform was all about and what I could use it for.

As it turned out, not much. I did receive emails from recruiters looking for potential candidates for their open positions but other than that I did not see the value of signing up. After all, I already had a job and was not interested in leaving.

Soon I figured out that if I began surfing the search bar I could find information on companies that I wanted to set up as new customers. Ok, I finally, found some value in this and began to use this as a marketing/prospecting tool for chasing down new customers.

I mentioned this aspect to another dealer I had in the Bay area and they cautioned me about connecting with potential customers. I asked why and he told me that my competitors could see my contacts and reach out to them and use my information to lay claim to my clients. That was a reality check and since my by industry is small and filled with insidious, cutthroat competitors  I backed off on using LinkedIn for fear I was feeding my competitors.

So for the next several years I barely looked at my profile and was only mildly interested and really only looked at the site when I received a notification by email that someone was checking me out. 

However, within the last year when the Pandemic hit I was forced to change how I go about finding customers and staying in touch with potential customers that things began to change for me with regards to this site. I was forced to find a new way to stay connected I could no longer travel and see clients.

Today, I actually use LinkedIn.  Reasons Why: I have connected with former customers, and former employees. This had lead to some new sales. Which is a good thing. People move around and change jobs. So this is one way to keep in touch. If you actually make a new contact or resurrect an old one which leads to a deal then that is a success.  Next,  I participated in some networking events which are hosted online. Another good way to mingle and I don't even have to pick up the bar tab. Furthermore, I was attracting questions through the site from companies asking for some advice on products. Much like a consultant. So I found value in sharing this information.

Most people use this to look for a new job or in many cases fill out a job application through the site. This is now a common practice. And I get that is one of the primary functions for anyone joining.

But for me I use this to write messages ( I have the free version so not all contacts want unsolicited comments, if you pay $$$ you an get more access )  and stay in contact with both current customers and potential customers. I probably log on it at least twice a week.  For anyone considering this I would now recommend it and sign up and create a profile. You want to invite people to join your network and that way you can gather contacts and connect with other LinkedIn users. It is all about creating new opportunities and that is how you boost your profile.

CSIT 155 FA - GBurke - Week 10 Email Marketing

 Email Marketing

1. My company sends a monthly email promotion which is intended to both introduce customers to potential new products and also inform which industries may use these products. So at least 12 times a year we are either introducing something new or attempting to resurrect a new product launch.

We sell casters and wheels and I am in charge of growing our sales so everything we do to generate sales. Our customers are looking for new products to promote. Currently, our customer base is 60% distribution and 40% OEM. 

Most of the promotions of all our promotions are aimed specifically at our dealers that may be unaware of our newest products or we tend to recycle some existing products and we are trying to remind them and solicit new orders.

We try to balance the amount information we send out and with short email blasts that are attached at the bottom of our email signatures.

We are not sending out newsletters.  Personally, I receive a ton of random, unsolicited emails for business promotions and almost 95% of the time I hit the delete button. I just don't have the time or interest to read everything sent to me.

I can only think of a view such type of emails that I might open up and check out to see if there are any specials that might be interesting. I do read the emails from Omaha Steaks, and Harry & David to see if there are any food specials that may perk my interest. But both companies overwhelm you with daily emails so that can get annoying. 

2. The information that my business is trying to convey is specific and aimed at a certain target market segment. For example, we have identified the electronic rack and enclosure industry as a new growth sector. Many social networking companies are now investing in their own hardware services and we have provided casters casters for Facebook, Salesforce, and Google. So we created a mailer for these type of customers. The business machine caster listed below is an example.

I am enclosing a few other examples of some email signature promotions that we have used this year. With the Pandemic I have had to change our strategy for reaching customers. Only within the last month or so have I made any in-person sales calls. 

I sell casters and wheels which are used in an industrial applications. This is a niche market and I have found that most of my customers are interested in short, bullet point type of presentations.

Part 2.

I commented Palomar Sports, Julia's Deserts, and Jumping Jelly Bean. Some good ideas. I think the newsletter that Jumping Jelly Bean  wants to send out monthly is a great way to connect with your customers.

CSIT - 155 FA - GBurke Week 9 - Human Interest Stories - Blog, Vlogs

Blog Post 1.

 A good human interest story is an excellent way to improve your blog and compel others to read and follow you. To develop followers one needs to give them a reason to take notice. Adding a story which offers a personal touch helps you develop a theme and can have an impact on your readers. You need to draw them in and keep their attention.

There are several ways to add this type of story to your blog. First, you can recreate the heart of an event and document this to motivate your followers curiosity.  An example of this is many of todays automotive manufacturers attract customers by posting commercials of parents reflecting on their first attempt at driving then quickly fast forward as their kid is taking the car keys and leaving for the first time. This type of image is family oriented and followers are able to relate and connect through their own personal experiences. There is a sense of deja vu and anyone with a teenager can relate to that moment. Its both terrifying, rewarding, and somewhat sad that your child has moved on to the next phase of their life. But it also helps to convert customers that may be nostalgic, and that is why many companies use this type of storytelling marketing approach.

Personal interests stories should be simple yet relatable. It also helps if their authentic and entertaining. You don't want to bore your readers. 

Within my blog I would use a customers testimonial to authenticate my companies products and services. An excellent example of this just took place this week. We supply all the casters for the primary fabrication company that manufactures food equipment for all the McDonalds in the world. The main purchasing manager for this company sent a very lengthy, complimentary, email this week raving about our service, and telling our owner what a great job that I have done helping/supplying them through various projects. This was a great testimonial and was sent to my boss, the owner. Additionally, our customer has multiple locations in Asia and has recommended our company to all the various buyers for McDonalds in the Far East.  I would definitely use this type free advertising and incorporate as a an example to other prospective customers. It is authentic, interesting ( in my sector ) and tells a good story vs. just some facts that might say we have good pricing. This type of sales promotion is a good example of describing a personal experience.

I think it would be unwise to add a human interest story that may reveal too personal details, or subjects involving religion, and perhaps politics. I know there out there but I think readers are more interested in subject matter that is interesting and are entertaining.

I did some research online and many of the marketing geniuses that write blogs emphasize stories that are simple and add clarity. You want to bond with your reader. Not bore them with facts. Many of the better human interests stories strive to win the readers attention and inspire some type of action. Although, readers like drama too much of it will turn them off. Better to keep it personal and in conjunction with whatever your particular theme is.

Blog Post 2

Types of Categories:

Since we sell casters and wheels for every industry I would start out with the following: Casters for the Light Duty Market - Load Rating 50lbs. - 500lbs. Casters are picked for their specific applications based on a number of factors but the load rating or weight carried by the cart is the most common format to start with when choosing a caster or wheel. Next, Medium Duty Casters - Load Rating 500lbs. - 1,500 lbs. per caster. Finally, Heavy Duty Casters - Load Rating 1,500lbs. - 10,000 lbs. This is a very generalized strategy but would help a potential follower or customer narrow their choice.

Next, I would use specific categories for certain industries to help lead the customer to make the right choice. Examples, Furniture Industry, Food Equipment, Restaurant Equipment, Hospital, Manufacturing, Light Fabrication, Aerospace, Automobile Manufacturing, and Hospitality.

Each is a category that a potential follower or buyer can identify with and then select the specific caster or wheel that falls within that category. Makes it easier to choose and helps narrow down the selection.

Finally, I would have a sub category called Quantity Needed. That would help identify whether this is something that I need to pursue or a homeowner, maybe a  hobbyist looking for something something that they could find at a local hardware store. If more then 50 casters are needed then this is a potential good deal.

Instagram Screencapture: 

I have attached casters that include a stock order for Lowe's, a caster used on Lab. equipment, and wheel and casters used internally by Home Depot.

Comments;

I reviewed Palomar Athletics, Alternate Health Service, and Jumping Jelly Bean. All were well written and stressed the human element is what attracts new followers. Potential new customers want to be entertained. Also, the importance of testimonials for attracting a potential new customer. Finally, a point was made that you do not want to get too emotional. Make it interesting and uplifting.

Everything that I read was very well done.

CSIT - 155 FA - GBurke - Homework Week 8 - Instagram Hashtags

Week 8 - Instagram Hashtags

Part 1

For this assignment I did some research on four of my direct competitors that manufacture in the United States.  Additionally, I chose one indirect competitor that imports their own line of private label casters from China. Grainger is one of the largest industrial suppliers in the world and they now import casters and wheels and have made an impact in my industry.  Going to start off with Grainger.

Grainger 

Out of the five companies that I reviewed it appears that Grainger is the most active participant in Instagram. Which is bad news since they have the largest footprint in North America and now are actively engaged in selling casters and wheels. 

In looking at their Instagram posts Grainger offers a wide variety of visuals to keep their customers up to date with their products and their message.  Grainger promotes the image as providing products for all industries and all applications. So they definitely have a strategy and are telling a story that resonates with customers.

Their hashtags are catchy titles that attract their customers to their posts. For example,  #GraingerEverydayHeroes, #GraingerKnowhow, and #GraingerforThe Ones. A rather effective hash tag is #GraingerKeepStock. This is relevant for customers that need to be reminded they can obtain products in a timely fashion.

They have several videos listed and this is an effective way to relate on their products are used and this also leads to success stories which they are sharing.

Grainger has 7,216 followers with 604 posts and 88 followers. So out of the group I have reviewed they are by far the most active on Instagram.

Most of their content is related to how they solve problems and offer solutions and there are numerous success stories listed that details the Grainger expertise.

Additionally, they are effective in listing pictures of products that are related to Covid. This is timely and attracts followers that may be interested in their safety related products.

Grainger has many personal stores listed and they call them Everyday Heroes so they are up to date on telling their followers about First Responders that may also be using Grainger as their supplier. I think this is an excellent idea and probably drives sales.

Their highest content related related responses are the posts regarding Small Businesses, and they have made a decision to capture the attention of small business owners. This list includes list a number of likes but on every post that reviewed the likes were four times as many as the traditional picture of a product. Which means stories and pictures that connect with the small business owner is effective.

The last post was 2 days ago and is a reminder to restock your go to items. This ties into their website which is one of the best in the industry and makes ordering online so convenient. Just point and click.

To Improve they may consider a hashtag with a map of all their locations in North America. Maybe add some contact information. 

Overall, I think their Instagram posts are very effective and I am glad they have so many products that their caster program gets lost in the marketing scheme. If they just concentrated on casters & wheels we could be in trouble.

RWM Casters

RWM is caster manufacturer that makes the majority of their casters and wheels in a factory in North Carolina. They are an older, US caster manufacturer that recently let go of their entire outside salesforce and in now trying to upgrade and sell their products  by utilizing the internet and technology.

Their Instagram posts are particularly weak and they are not very active.

They only had 37 posts, with 151 followers, and 8 following. So it looks like they are in the beginning stages of this new marketing philosophy. 

Hashtags seem to be all same which states: rwmcasters and then have various pictures with some special products that they have built and sold along with some quality pictures showcasing their manufacturing capabilities. Not a lot of detail and not real effective.  For a company that is now promoting their social media they have not spent much time and effort on this part of Instagram.

Their most recent post was on March 18 of this year and this was a promotion for the Modex Material Equipment Show which is one of our industries largest annual conventions. Looks like it was posted at the time the Covid Pandemic was hitting the USA. So they may have placed everything on hold.

They only list a few pictures and most of these are photo's that show their factory in Gastonia, NC long with some pictures of testing equipment.

If they are serious about taking the next steps to promote their products and the company I would revaluate what message they are trying to convey. If I was in charge I would create a 3 - 5 minute video and highlight the advantages of their company and products. Many customers want USA made casters and this is increasing due to the backlash with Covid and China's perceived negligence in allowing this to spread to the USA.

A #USA Made would be an effective message. I would definitely emphasize American made products. There is a certain segment in business that supports domestic manufacturing. RWM only has 8 followers and I am happy about that. I am glad that I looked at this because one of my customer is following them which probably means their buying from them. I need to check on this.

In order to improve their presence they need to be more active and start upgrading their posts and pictures. Maybe they could be more interactive and have a contest for customers that post the most likes. Another suggestion would be to improve their Biography and develop more of a story on their history and why they are located in North Carolina.

Tente Casters

Tente is one of the largest caster manufacturers in the world. The Corporate Office is located in Germany and they have a large manufacturing center located in Kentucky. They offer a wide variety of products but specialize in products for the medical industry. Specifically, bed casters for hospitals and medical bariatric manufacturing.

Tente has 45 posts, and 136 followers, with 211 following. For such a large, diverse, company they do not put much emphasis on posting for Instragram.

Most of their Hashtags are representative of buzz words used in my industry. #castors, #wheels, #manufacturing, #supply, #material handling, and #maintenance. These are words synonymous with the caster business so they do a good job with this aspect of Instagram.

Additionally, they specialize in casters and wheels for the furniture industry and they have several pictures detailing some products used on this type of equipment. A typical like response would be 23 likes.

The last post was in 2019 so they are not active. I would assume this is due to the covid crisis and using Instagram is not a priority.

The content that includes pictures of casters for medical equipment received the most likes.

If I were advising them I would include a regular hash tag with an emphasis on products that are used on ventilators and other covid related medical devices. This is their strength and what customers associate with the Tente brand.  They have a few of these products listed but very little activity.

Furthermore, since they have a large share of the international market I would probably post pictures of their other manufacturing locations and perhaps follow up with a post and pictures of their field offices. This is a benefit that they could leverage and help promote sales. For example, hashtag tente casters worldwide with a map. Maybe they could add some more filters and make their pictures more attractive.

Because they are worldwide they do have an email contact for the United Kingdom which is a good idea. I did find a related post called Tente North America but this looks like an afterthought with almost no activity. Perhaps, the business is so strong they don't need to work on this aspect of marketing.

Blickle Casters

Blickle is the largest caster manufacturer and distributor in the world. Blickle is a privately owned German Caster Conglomerate with factories and sales offices located in almost every country. Global sales are estimated at $300 million. They are privately owned and are making a big push in the North American market.

Blickle USA has 403 posts, 385 followers, and 105 following.

The last post was three days ago and most of their post showcase a particular product with periodic pictures of new products. They do have some attractive pictures that demonstrate the different colors that are offered urethane wheels.

Typical Hashtags include #blickle solutions, and #blcikle aviation @ case study. Blickle has taken a more solutions provider type of story and they tie this into whatever product group that may be used for this application.

They are creating a branded hash tag with solutions and I find this both effective and persuasive.

Blickle has a number of likes and comments and they are doing a good job of using industry specific hash tags. This is a well thought out strategy and the management appears to be promoting not only the brand but their expertise in solving problems out in the marketplace.

They have posted some videos that are also a great way to tell their manufacturing story and both likes and views are posted.

Areas that could generate more interest would be to start a conversation and request some feedback from their followers. Perhaps tie this into a promotion for the best response. But overall, out of my caster competitors Blickle USA has the best plan of action and they incorporate products with solutions.

Caster Concepts

This is another small, manufacturer of Heavy Duty Caster locate in Michigan. Caster Concepts specializes in casters for Aerospace and related industries.

The post that they are the leader in industrial caster and wheel solutions for virtually every industry.  

However, Instagram does not seem to be part of their marketing program. They have zero posts, 75 followers, and 119 following.

Last post was 6 days ago and it is a picture promoting @GirlsWhoCode. Most of their posts are related to promoting social causes and include Hashtags like #Teamwork, and #CasterCares, and #Because we care.

Not much related to their business more emphasis on people and community service. I went back through all their posts and they all relate to this cause called Caster Cares. They do give back to the community and are trying to help those less fortunate.

All the posts are related to helping others and this is great but nothing associated with the manufacturing or production of casters and wheels.

I would hire someone to help develop a marketing program with picture and videos of the various products and maybe some videos on how the manufacturing process. They really have no business plan regarding what they actually make and sell as it relates to Instagram.

Caster Concepts does not post often and the content is not related to their company. But rather the social programs that the owner seems to be interested in. They have small business attitude and do not show any signs of growing.

Hashtags that may show improvement include:#heavy casters, and #casters for Aerospace. They need to be more focused on their core strengths.

Part II

Hashtags 

I posted Hashtags that revolved around specific products that I thought would generate some activity. I took pictures of some new products like our new bakery wheel for oven racks. Some comments were complimentary on the look of our wheels. I tried to take pictures of products that are specific to my business.

Additionally, I drove to our West Coast Distribution Center in Santa Fe Springs, and made a short video which shows are DC Warehouse and the assembly area. I find videos to be the most effective way to promote my products ( casters & wheels ) and I think customers get more value out of checking out our capabilities by watching a short video. The key is to make it interesting and quick.

I am going to try and create an industry specific hashtag that promotes our Durable Brand. I plan to post a new video this week showing how we assemble a caster. A teaching video.

I did some research and some of the articles stressed keeping the message fresh and not to be boring. So this is no easy task when your business is selling something that most people have no clue about. It is a challenge.

It would be great if I can build a brand and become somewhat of an influencer for my industry. I have been doing this now for a number of years and there seems to be no one really identifiable with my industry.  I do enjoy Instagram and have learned that the power of images can boost your profile and your business.

.

CSIT 155 - FA20 GBurke - Week 7 Get Visual

 Part 1 Student Review:

Jumping Kelly Bean

I thought her Instagram was relevant to her theme which is gaming. She posted some nice pictures which included her with headphones and participating in a gaming event. She is is on Twitch and this is an online gaming format posted competitions. She is doing good with all the pictures which help identify her brand.

Heather Williams - Homelifestyle.com

I like Heathers Instagram. Looks very clean, with warm rustic pictures. Reminds me of the couple that had the home decorating show and own Magnolia Farms. Definitely, stylish and I would follow her to see how this grows. I like the story telling format. Good job.

Part 2 Company Reviews:

I picked three of the largest athletic shoe manufacturers to see how they promote their brands on Instagram.

Nike

Nike is considered the largest brand in the world. They have the 4th largest following on Instagram. They publish posts at least once a week and they utilize very, high quality imagery and produce professionally constructed videos.

They stay consistent by highlighting sport athletes and teams aligning the brand and their content with the community that follows them.

Under Armour

They engage their customers through using powerful images. The use hashtags for calls to actions. This generate shares and likes. They try and stay consistent by the promotion of imagery reflecting images of winning and success. The image is one of success and they try and stay consistent.

New Balance

New Balance follows a social content theme. 

Their strategy is threefold:

First, introduce the public to the brand.

Second, provide tools, information, inspiration, and encouragement. They are educating their customer base and want to personally connect with their followers. 

Finally, they celebrate sports achievements. They like to give a shot out to winners and follow this through their Facebook page.

Some of their best posts include details on behind the scene videos demonstrating how their shoes are made.

CSIT - 155 - FA20 - GregB Week 6 Part 2

Here is my screenshot. I tried this twice because on my first was a little difficult to read.

For my first post I chose a picture of our Brass Casters because this is specified to the higher end luxury hotels and usually at this time of the year they are updating their equipment and spending money from their budget that has been allocated for maintenance. If they don't spend the money then typically they will have less dollars in next years maintenance budget/plans.  This year is an anomaly with the Covid Crisis so it remains to be seen how much will be ordered. The casters are used on Bellman Carts and have a one year warranty for materials and defects.

For my second post this relates to our expanded offering of stainless steel casters and these are used in a variety of industries. I plan on targeting the biotech industry which is booming right now with numerous companies competing to come up with a vaccine for Covid. All of them use stainless fixtures which rust when washed down in clean room environment. Casters come in a variety of sizes and are excellent for wash down applications.

Finally, for my third post, I wrote a very generalized proclamation stating that we offer and stock more types and sizes of casters then any other company in North America.

CSIT - 155 - FA20 - GregB Week #6 Facebook Strategy - Part 1

7 Like Businesses

I chose 5 competitors and two large ends users that purchase from my company.

Competitor #1  - Caster Concepts

This is a small competitor based in MI that sells products to the Aerospace and Automotive Industries. I chose them because we recently started supplying them components and I hope to expand this aspect of our business. They are not considered a dealer but more of a competitor that happens to buy from us. We have relatively, friendly, relationship and I expect to sell them more of our products throughout 2020 into 2021.

Competitor #2  -RWM Casters

Very similar situation. RWM buys some special products and resales them as part of their product offering. Currently, purchase about $10,000 a year and we are always open to supplying them more product. I listed them so I can keep track and see if they are offering anything new.

Competitor #3  -Darnell Rose Casters

Darnell Casters is a long time customer that buys over $100,000 a year from us and uses several wheels which are components and they resell these items as part of the marketing mix.

Competitor# 4 - Hamilton Casters & Wheels

Hamilton Casters is based in OH and we recently started private labeling products for them under their name. They have bought consistently from us for the last decade and are more focused in purchasing more items from us.

Competitor#5 - Trio Pines Casters

Trio Pines Casters is one of my largest competitors. They import product from both Korea and China. I go toe to toe with them in the marketplace and listed them so I can keep track and see if they are promoting any new products.

Boeing Aerospace - #6 

Historically, Boeing has purchased a significant amount of our products which are used on dollies and equipment. Every time Boeing introduces a new Airplane they have budgeted for all new tooling fixtures and they would spend lavishly on all new casters and wheels. However, with all their current production problems Boeing is now struggling and have cut their purchasing down to less then 5% of what they had been buying. I listed them to keep track of any new developments.

Costco - #7

I sell Costco all their casters and wheels which are used on all the mobile equipment that are used in stores throughout the world. This is a rather large account for my company and I need to keep in constant contact with this customer to see they are producing any new equipment. They use our casters and wheels on their shopping carts, platform carts, and all portable equipment within the store. Business has been growing at a rate of 15% a year and I expect this to continue in 2021. Costco is expanding into Asia and we expect this market segment to grow despite the on-going Covid Crisis.

CSIT -155 - FA20 - Greg B - Week 5 Marketing Facebook

Question #1  

A post reach is the number of people that have seen your content on your Facebook page within a specific time period.

A post reach is the number of people who saw a certain post of your Facebook page.

Which means for every page posted, you can see the number of people you actually reached.

It is a statistic used to determine the number of people who have viewed your content.

A post engagement will include all the actions that people have take regarding your ads that you may be running. A post engagement includes such actions like commenting or sharing and ad, viewing one's photo's, or actually clicking on a link.

Question #2

This is important because the actual engagement can boost one's posts, it can help promote your page to others, can actually result in someone claiming your offer on your page. And finally, this helps raise your attendance at an event or your page.

The goal is to increase viewers comments on your page and you want users to value your page and the posts.

Question #3

 A business can you insights to help deliver your marketing message. This is tool used to help target your customers. A business can use such metrics as : demographics, age, purchasing behavior, geography, all are tangible and measured.

One you have accumulated these statistics you can structure your marketing campaign by using this  data.

One example would be to find out what a persons interest is by measuring the total actions on a page. You can measure how many users clicked on get directions to find your business, the website button, the phone number, and the action button. You can further break down this metric by classifying your target audience by age, gender, county, and the area where they reside. This is an important tool and one I plan on exploring for my own employer.

Facebook

I looked at Jumpingkellybean and thought it was clean and I liked the color scheme that was used. Looks like she is into gaming and this is a very hot market.

CSIT - 155 FA - Greg B - Week 4 Homework

For the first part of this assignment I chose to review the two Nurseries.

Armstrong Gardens - 

Armstrong Gardens is an upscale Nursery with over 31 locations vs. Rancho Vista Nursery which has just one location. They are well know and well established and highlight this fact on their website in bright red colors. 130 years in business. The website is both colorful and informative. I like how they display pictures of their flowers and their website layout is well thought out.

Armstrong caters to a wide a customer based. They have individual homeowners that are buying plants, shrubs, flowers, for their landscaping needs. This includes walk in customers and those that are shopping online and looking for more services.

So through their website Armstrong markets their products to homeowners through several methods:

The first is the Armstrong Advantage. Buy signing up for this paid service a customer receives exclusive discounts, pre sales notices, private classes, and the participant becomes part of a private membership group. This would be an example of a call to action by having customers join this service and with the perks create a revenue stream. The more members, the more sales.

Next, Armstrong targets the professional landscaper by offering special wholesale prices to landscapers and gardeners that are in the business of designing and maintaining both residential and commercial property. They attract this type of consumer by advertising a lifetime warranty. Thus, another example of call to action. To make things easier, the customer can order everything online and Armstrong will arrange the will call.

However, there best marketing program they offer on their website is the professional services.

Armstrong has gone beyond the norm of a plant nursery and figured out they can make way more money engaging in professional services to support their customers. This is how they distinguish themselves as a high end luxury horticulture business. They offer free consultations and will design, install, and perform contractor services. They will personally pick up the plants ( personal shopper ) and for a fee do all the work.

By providing this professional advice and services on their web site they have opened a larger target market and figured out how to use the 131 years of knowledge to make more profit.

Rancho Vista Nursery -

Rancho Vista Nursery takes a much different approach and has a much more narrower customer base.

This is a single nursery that specializes in succulents and cactus. I do like the appeal of their farmhouse type of website. Gives off a rustic feel and their message is specific and direct. They offer rare, exotic, succulents and are considered a specialty grower. So if the consumer is looking for this specific type of product then their website presents this in an easy format to follow.

Additionally, this nursery is specific in their customer base. They are primarily engaged in attracting resellers. So their customer base is primarily the contractors performing the work for the end user.

They have a new covid schedule which is under the what's new category. 

Rancho's target demographics are resellers and they advertise that they did the work for the succulent gardens at Disneyland.

I think there best call to action would be the pictures of the cactus and succulents on their website with verbiage that their plants are no only beautiful but drought tolerant. Emphasizing drought tolerant in bold indicates that they know their customers are facing drought like conditions and this is a great catch phrase to help sell their plants. Anyone with a yard can relate on how to save money on their water bill.

The psychographics that there succulent plants are great for the worlds most hostile environments is a good usage of attention getting buzzwords. I think they probably help them sell their products.

Visually, the web site is calming and has a nice rural evoking image. They do list both Facebook and Instagram as social media references.

They do grow year around which is helpful and offer free customers.

Overall, I thought this was a good website and definitely targets a specific buyer.

Part II

I am going to try and help my company expand their social media presence. Currently, I run business development but we really suck in this area and need help.

I work for a sole proprietor that owns Durable Superior USA.

We manufacture and distribute casters and wheels. These products are used on equipment in every facet of industry that you can imagine. From the office chair your sitting on to moving airplane parts. We offer a very diverse, and complete line of products. About 50% of the business is wholesale.

We are just under $60 million in sales and aiming to increase our gross sales to $100 million within the next 5 years. So we have great expectations and much of this is on my shoulders.

Business had been excellent with annual 12% growth until the Covid hit around March. Then things slowed down with some peaks and valleys since then. Things are starting to stabilize but its also an election year and this has added to a tremendous amount of uncertainty in our industry.

Typically, I would target both buyers, design engineers, maintenance buyers, and owners of caster distributorships to both promote and spec my casters on their equipment. Historically, this was done in person.

Now with the Covid we need to sharpen our marketing skills and come up with some new ways to attract and expand the customer base. There are a number of competitors and we are all vying to gain new business.

The only social media outlet we are using us LinkedIn and our message is both weak and inconsistent.

So will see if I can come up with some new ideas to help.

FA20 CSIT - 155 GregB - Week #3 Homework Developing Your Brand

 I am going to try and help my company develop a Logo that will tell customers exactly what we do and the specific products that we manufacture. My thought was creating a picture of our main product and highlight this in either white or black and have a red back ground to help illustrate our products. I like the color of red and this conveys strength.

Our products are marketed to both OEM and Industrial MRO markets and I would like the colors to indicate strength and offer a professional looking appearance.

We go to market in 4 separate ways.

We sell large customer direct, we sell through industrial distributors, we sell through catalog houses, and finally, we sell through companies that market strictly through the internet. This is a growing sector for us and it is important that we convey a look that attracts the attention of our customers.

Our typical customer is a purchasing agent. Traditionally, this was someone we would reach out to and visit. Now, with the restrictions due to Covid we are having to reinvent our marketing to reach customers through the internet. And I can tell you this is not easily accomplished.

So my goal is to come up with a flashy log and brand identification that conveys our expertise and services.

I would like to use a large font, with something eye catching. I have numerous competitors and definitely looking for a look that helps us stand out.

The competition is tough and since there is a push to buy American this could change how our customers view our company. We import and our subject to the tariffs that are affecting China.

So I need to sharpen our marketing tools to make sure we stay relevant and necessary. 

CSIT - 155 FA 20 - G. Burke Homework Part A - Aesthetics

The first two websites that I am reviewing are the Gates & Fences and then Toyota's website.

Part I.

Gates & Fences

This website has a lot going on here and it seems like they have crammed as much information as possible on their web page. I found  it very difficult to follow.

Concept:  I felt that there is way too much information on their web page and made it difficult to read. They should have put a few less pictures on their website and this would have made it much easier to read. I ma not sure a customer would take the time to read about all their information to determine the type of gate that they were shopping for.

Contrast: The color scheme is very difficult to read. The top of their web site is in Bold Black Letters with a green background which is ok but this does not compliment the borders which are in white lettering with a red background. I found it very annoying and difficult to read.  The difficulty of deciphering all the information is a major problem.

Repetition: I am not sure what their logo is. The page is unclear due to the small type and all of the pictures of the various gates they have listed.

Alignment:  This is probably the worst part of their web page. The borders have way too much information and although it lists everything they can produce and the various options, and controls, I think most customers would find this overwhelming and click to find an easier page to read. 5 found the page layout with the margins difficult to read and their too many headings so this is another problem area.

Proximity: The type is way to small and too close together. Their message gets lost due to the abundance of information that they are cramming on the web page. The final problem is size of the font and the volume of script. Just too much information.

Hierarchy: Gates and Fences does not present a clear message on what they are promoting. They profile entry gates but this idea gets lost in the minutia. 

Typography: Small print makes it difficult to read.

Ease of Use: The web page is has too much data and the reader ahs not idea where to start looking for their gate they want to buy. Does not seem to follow any logical sequence.

Navigation: Not sure where the starting point to this would be. I found it cluttered and too much work to read. As a customer I would pass on this web page.

Content: Gates and Fences has put as much content as possible on this page. As mentioned, its too much information. It looks like they dumped their entire catalog page and this would turn off most consumers.

I would give this web page a C - and tell them to hire a professional to clean up their page and focus on their message.

Toyota's web page

The message is much easier to understand and there is flow to what Toyota is trying to convey.

Concept: Looks well thought out and has categories that are easy to understand and navigate. Not sure if you need all the features they are promoting. That may be to much information. They have a featured vehicle portion that may be unnecessary. But overall much cleaner web page.

Contrast: I like the white back ground with picture of the vehicles and content organized. Looks appealing.

Repetition: The Toyota logo is prominently displayed and the web page divides up the various sub headings in a logical concept. 

Alignment: This was easy to follow. If anything they may have too many sub headings that could cause the reader to lose interest. Most buyers access their website looking for a new car. But the website is easy to look at.

Proximity: Their may be too many groupings for all their various categories. Although, easy to read and navigate as a car buyer I may lose interest in their Community Feature. I personally do not care about how their handling the Covid Crisis. So I would eliminate this.

Hierarchy:  This is eye catching and the most important feature for the Toyota site. The View Offers is the category that attracts car buyers.

Typography: The print is easy to understand and organized.

Ease of Use: Easy to read and follows a logical sequence. Although, some of the other content like how Toyota is dealing with Covid may be unnecessary.

Navigation:Toyota's web site was easy to navigate and very clear and concise.

Content: The Toyota web page is the appropriate in length. The picture of their cars that they are marketing convey the message that they make a quality product and are very big on the latest technology. 

Overall Toyota is at least a B maybe higher based on ease of use.

Part II.

Penny Juice

This website was easy to read. The color contrast using the yellow background helped with the contrast and highlighted the various flavors that the company is trying to market.

The concept was simple by incorporating a Penny for their logo this was easy to navigate and relate to. I thought the repetition with the penny was good and the name is catchy.

Both the alignment and content were laid out in a nice, simple design. Easy to follow and the message is that their juice is designated for childcare centers. 

The design was basic yet professional. Very straightforward approach.

I feel the web site design with the picture of various fruits floating in water would capture the attention of a childcare or preschool for ordering their products. Not too complicated and yet they used colors that are warm and inviting. 

Very simplistic design but you understand their message.

Apple

You would expect Apple to shine and they do not disappoint.

Very clean looking web page with excellent color content to highlight their brand.

The I PAD Pro is highlighted with contrasting colors and this demonstrates the importance of using contrasting colors with excellent pictures.

Apple has contrasted the various images with simplistic yet artistic colors and make it both easy to read and scroll the sub categories. The various categories are in white and this works well with the black at the top of their web page.

Apple does not have a lot of clutter. The products are clean and the black and blue background color contrast works.

Easy to read and easy to operate. Ease of use is made easier by the sub headings at the top of the web page. So the viewer has it all laid out for them to choose which category of products they are searching for.

Very professionally done with a clear image on what they are trying to promote. They apples products are distinctive for their designs and the web page is a reflection of their artistic talents.

The Apple brand is portrayed as slick, modern looking and functional and I like the way they also use the contrasting black and  white hierarchy.

Overall this is the best web site I have seen so far. Very classy and well done.

CSIT 155 FA 20 - Greg B - Homework Post 2

For this assignment I am analyzing the Top 5 Biggest Fast Food Chain Restaurants.

Subway

www.subway.com

Subway is a privately held restaurant franchisor that sells submarine sandwich's and salads.

The business started in 1965 when Fred De Luca borrowed $1,000 from a friend to start the very first subway in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Today Subway has more locations than any other fast food restaurant chain including McDonalds.

There are over 42,998 Global locations and 25,90 are located in the USA. Total investment in a subway franchise costs anywhere between $150,000 to $350,000 depending on the location. Their core products are submarine sandwich's. Subway spends over $500,000 a year in advertising.  Subway is considered the fastest growing fast food chain with a market penetration in 112 countries.

What is their marketing plan for Social Media? Subway utilizes three primary methods for Social Media. They are Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Within Facebook, which is their primary media target they have 24,232,949 likes and 21,267,170 followers. I checked all three websites and the last post for both Facebook and Twitter was to promote Labor Day. 

Additionally, on Facebook they post jobs, promo's, video's, how to order, specials, and where the nearest store is located.

Subway although not a huge user of social media does encourage conversations among its followers and does promote conversations revolving around their food and a healthy lifestyle.

On Twitter they have 2.3 million followers and have a new promo featuring the Coach of the New England Patriots touting the benefits of eating their food and a having a healthy lifestyle. I thought this was an interesting use of a well know sport celebrity. Especially, since Coach Bill Belichick is well know as someone that is extremely non - media friendly and hardly ever says anything when dealing with the media. However, he is a winning Super Bowl Coach and they must have thought he will convert customers to the brand.

Conclusion:

Subway utilizes 3 approaches to Social Media with Facebook and Twitter the leading forums.

Their approach is to sell the healthy lifestyle. I did some research and their three main goals is to promote 1. Fresh Food. 2. Their Food is Cost Effective. 3. They host social events to promote the brand.

They have invested heavily in hiring 150 employees to help them spread their digital image and promote content friendly technology and develop a digital strategy to compete with McDonalds and other large competitors in this market sector.

They also spend a great deal of time on Social Media promoting special deals on their combination sandwich offerings. 

A special emphasis is now on promoting the Subway special app. for Android, Apple, and Paypal.  They new emphasis especially with the covid crisis is to promote online ordering. 

I found their Social Media policy effective especially with their special sandwich promo's. They have great pictures of their products even though they rarely look like this when you actually buy their food.

McDonalds

www.mcdonalds.com

McDonalds was founded by two brothers in San Bernardino, CA in 1940. In 1955 Roy Kroc joined their business and eventually purchased this from the two brothers. They now have a Global Headquarters located in Chicago.

McDonalds is an international corporation with locations in over 100 countries. There core business is selling hamburgers and French fries. 

Their revenue comes from rent, royalties, and fees paid by the franchises. In 2018 McDonalds was considered the second largest employer in the world.

In 2018 McDonalds reported earnings of $5.9 million with an annual revenue of $21 billion.

With  regards to Social Media, McDonalds is not a major player in this sector. They use the following to spread their message: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Within Facebook they have 80,559,330 likes and 80,588,789 followers. They do not have that many posts listed on Facebook and only post company messages maybe 5 times a month. Their last message on Facebook included shout out to their employees this past Labor Day for 9 - 4.

Twitter is also figures heavily in their social message with 253 tweets with 8,525 following and 168.9 followers. I am assuming this is in the millions.  I still don't know enough about Twitter to read to much into this other than they mimic many of the same messages on Twitter that are used on their Facebook page. Wishing a happy labor day to their employees and all workers.

Conclusion:

McDonald's does not rely that much on Social Media. They update fewer than 5 times a month. So very little activity. When they do promote something it usually involves their healthy food alternatives. Additionally, they promote social content with regards to the issues of the day. i.e. BLA

They are one of the most mentioned social media non - technology companies and seem to have placed emphasis on listening to their customers feedback. The text states a good company listens to its customers and that seems to be the primary emphasis for McDonalds.

For example, they received complaints on both Facebook and Twitter from customers complaining about running out of Szechuan Sauce for their chicken and this was tied in to a marketing program with their Partner Disney to promote the ne movie "Mulan." 

My impression of them is that they do listen to customers but most of their social media is tied to marketing new products.

Starbucks

www.starbucks.com

Starbucks is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. They are the largest coffeehouse chain and operates over 30,000 locations in over 70 countries.

Their core products are hot and cold drinks, whole bean coffee, tea, snacks, and they are heavily involved in seasonal promotional specials like the Fall classic, Pumpkin Spice Latte.

Started in 1971 and sold the company in the 1980's to Howard Schultz. Whose inspiration was the taken from expresso type drinks that he discovered while travelling in Italy.

Starbucks is heavily involved in various Social Media platforms and the once constant message is selling their brand.

Starbucks in heavily involved with the following social media platforms:

Facebook.  They have 36,724,491 people liking this with 35,562,942 people following them. Their last post on Facebook was last month and they have announced they are pausing advertising on all social platforms which include Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Starbucks has pause advertising because they are discussing internally with their media partners to prevent the promotion of hate speech. Seems they have decided to join the politically correct movement and reexamine whether they want to partner with companies that may be viewed as fomenting prejudice.

On Twitter they have 93.6 million following and 11 million followers. As mentioned they have suspended all promotions with their last tweet dated on 8 - 25.

Conclusion:

Historically, Starbuck has invested heavily in promoting their brand on various social media websites. Their Corporate directives has been to publish Quality Content and use bold colors in their photos to promote whatever item that has been selected that month. They don't post a lot but are vivid in the images that are used.

They tend to use Creative Captions that makes their posts easier to read. Posts are very clean.

They value their customers more then anything and communicate content by responding to their customers posts and comments.

Finally, they have a large target market and try and identify this with catching drink names to attract new customers.

Out of all the companies I have looked at they seem to be on the cutting edge of Social Media.  Starbucks is perhaps the biggest name to promote their brand and incorporate this into a lifestyle.

Dunkin Donuts or Dunkin

www.dunkindonuts.com

Founded in 1950 the chain was acquired by Baskin Robbins in 1990 and has been rebranding its image as a beverage led company. Today they are the worlds leader in baked goods, which include donuts, bagels, coffee, and donut holes.

Dunkin has 11,300 locations throughout the world and 8,500 located in the USA. They are one of the most recognized companies with their current slogan that " America Runs on Dunkin".

Their marketing efforts led to a name change in 2018 and they are now called , "Dunkin".  The name change was the result of a shift in rebranding to a beverage trend company. Based on consumer research that customers are more health conscious and buying less donuts they have aligned their image to reflect that change in market behavior.

Facebook  - They have 15,743,975 likes and 15,676,323 followers. The company is 68 years old so they are constantly creating new promotional tools to engage new customers. They do place an emphasis n customer feedback.

Twitter - They have 54.2 million following and 1.2 million followers. They also use Snapchat and KIK.

There is cross sharing across these marketing channels and they have employed new emoji keyboards to allow their customers to comment on their favorite products.

The last tweet I read was from 9 - 2 and it was involving a new ice drink.

Conclusion:

Sharing channel specific content is their primary emphasis and they have a social media team in place to achieve those results.

They are content oriented and use Facebook to promote video's and show behind the scenes stories that their customers would be interested in.

Their future emphasis is on messaging apps and conversational content with their customer base. Dunkin seems to be on the cutting edge for social media and they place a heavy emphasis on connecting with a younger demographic.  

Pizza Hut

www.pizzahut.com

Pizza Hut is an American restaurant chain and international franchise which was founded in 1958 in Kansas. The company is know for its Italian Food, primarily, pizza and pasta. Today they have over 18,703 restaurants worldwide. Now owned by Yum Brands and have a great international presence.

As of 2015 they have 1,903 restaurants in China and is considered China's largest and most successful foreign casual dining chain.

Facebook -  Pizza relies heavily on promotions through social media and this is especially true with Facebook. They have 32,032,679 likes and 8,016,748 visits. Their most recent post was on 9 - 8 and they are promoting reading by marketing children's books. There is a big emphasis on education, and improving their customers lives with their " Our Book It " program where a parent can enroll their kid to help read.

Twitter  - Pizza Hut has 85.5K following and 1.6 million followers. Their last tweet was on 9 - 7 to promote a picture of a pizza and the three day Labor Day weekend.  A special emphasis on content involves high quality photo's of their pizzas and the ease for online ordering. So they have reacted to the Covid crisis by using an app to order your food.

Conclusion:

Pizza Hut uses three primary ways to connect with their customers through social media. The major emphasis is on both Facebook and Twitter. They also have YouTube listed on their website and have videos demonstrating how to order online and all the various promotions. So they are engaged with their customers.

The companies strategy is promote social media to build value and return on investment.

They have active Listening Keys to create value. They track user during new product launches to help gain feedback.

Pizza Hut utilizes customer feedback to help align promotions with specific target markets.

Another use of their data is to help identify what their competition is doing and that in theory helps identify customer threats and how to head them off.

Finally, they target customers who specifically purchase rather than a broad email blast and hoping you receive an order. So this is target specific and driven by their marketing department. 

Overall they seem to be well in tune with their customers and have an aggressive social media strategy.