Flavory Avery

One of the most interesting things I learned over the past eight weeks about social media marketing campaigns is that they are most effective when they have a defined target audience, clear objectives of what needs to be accomplished, and multiple strategies or tactics so the brand can pivot and adjust as needed. All of this requires a lot of listening and planning. I would sum it up as intentional effort. Without that, marketing efforts can come across as bland, boring, and lazy. Customers appreciate being met where they are at with messages that are tailored to their unique preferences. A generic and one-size-fits-all approach ends up fitting very little to no one. The more value a brand can provide via cool content, the more followers it will attract and be able to engage with. To be perfectly honest I didn't care for the blogs on some level. At least this one. In the moment, it feels like a redundant chore. I'm a very sensitive person and don't like delving into my feel...

For the past two years I have honestly been a stress ball of anxiety, neuroticism, and woe. School has been a big commitment for me. I frequently compare it to a train you board and cannot hop off of once you've started, otherwise face major financial ruin...at least for me. There have still been times I desperately wished I could quit though! Times where I felt I had to sacrifice things that are pretty important to me in the moment for a long-held goal. This is my last semester before I graduate. Marketing 455 is one of my last classes. One of my last projects before I am done. If I'm being real, I probably won't turn it in until Sunday night. I try so hard not to procrastinate, but my life is extremely chaotic. As for right now, it's the way I function. Once it's done, it's done. I just have to buckle down and do it. My brain is so tired. My soul is so tired. This blog is more of an emotional rant than anything academic, and I'm not really sorry for that b...

In their article, "The Key to Social Media Success Within Organizations," authors Quy Huy and Andrew Shipilov argue that building emotional capital is absolutely essential for a social media initiative to be adopted internally. Emotional capital is the positive bond or connection that is developed between stakeholders and the organization. It consists of a few essential pillars such as authenticity, pride, attachment, and fun. I agree with the author's assertion that developing emotional capital is critical, because in today's digital age, social media has become an indispensable tool for companies to communicate and engage with their employees, customers, and other stakeholders. Though an increasing amount of communication happens online, conversations should maintain personal elements like being friendly and polite. After all, we are still humans and not quite robots. Absence of emotional capital can hinder the effectiveness of social media initiatives and actually ...

Crafting a social media campaign for my company Spiral Space Dance Studio has had its ups and downs. On one hand, the project is simple because of how passionate I am about it, but on the other hand, that passion can be a double-edged sword that makes me hyper critical of my ideas. The more significant and personal an assignment is, the more pressure there is to design it as best as possible. Something I have been enjoying during this process is delving into the bigger picture of why I’m doing this in the first place. Determining the true purpose of the campaign and developing a main overarching objective is a very important step. Then, breaking that down into measurable goals, which can be further segmented into specific tasks. As simple and straightforward as this process sounds, it actually requires a lot of insightful planning. Putting passion into words is the struggle, but in the end, it will hopefully resonate with others and benefit the company. So far, I know that the main thi...

The article "The Pepsi Refresh Project: A Thirst for Change" discusses PepsiCo's ambitious social media-driven campaign that aimed to foster positive change in local communities. Launched in 2010, the Pepsi Refresh Project was a departure from traditional advertising strategies, as it diverted millions of dollars from Super Bowl ads to fund community-driven initiatives. The project allowed individuals, non-profits, and organizations to submit their ideas for projects that would make a positive impact on society. These ideas were then open to public voting, and the ones with the most votes received funding from PepsiCo.  The initiative received widespread attention and participation, with a significant number of projects receiving financial support. However, it also faced criticism and skepticism, as some questioned the motives behind the campaign, suggesting it was merely a clever marketing ploy of an unhealthy beverage company trying to improve its brand image. The compa...

Similar to a delicious meal, social media content is way easier to consume than produce. Careful what you eat though! Most of the personal time I spend on the internet is passive because of the sheer volume of things to explore and ways to entertain myself. Being a creator however has always been extremely intimidating, especially after having consumed so much content throughout the course of my life that I have developed a certain expectation or bias. Don't get me wrong, I still maintain a presence online, but it always feels forced. One of the biggest struggles for me as a young lady that grew up with the boom of internet culture is with my identity, and how I am perceived online. I try really hard to separate my ego and self-esteem from actual reality versus fake virtual reality, but it is extremely difficult as an artist who uses the platforms as portfolios to build credibility with greater audiences. Not to mention popular culture thrives on social media, so one can quickly fe...

Authors Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein provide fascinating insights into the modern phenomenon most young people with a cellphone wish would happen to them in their article "Two hearts in three-quarter time: How to waltz the social media/viral marketing dance." It begins with an explanation of a tried and true strategy: Word of Mouth marketing. Essentially this is telling people you know about products you've used, who may go on to heed your suggestion and tell others. Information, especially hot goss, can spread fast through the grapevine. An interesting point that is brought up about WoM is that it "is not a purely altruistic behavior: it offers advantages to the sender, as well as the receiver. For senders, WoM is an opportunity to help others and to improve their self-confidence in doing so. For receivers, it reduces decision-making time as well as risk." This means that people often receive a significant amount of value from hearing opinions of those i...

Like many other people my age, I spend a lot of time online browsing social media. In fact, its a daily, habitual occurrence that has become so normalize and routine that I hardly think about it. This year, according to Wong, "an estimated 4.9 billion people use social media across the world," and of those, "the average person spends about 145 minutes on social media every day (2023)." Needless to say, social media is a pretty big part of most people's lives for better or for worse. Often times both. To me, it is mindless entertainment. Keyword is mindless. It has unfortunately a become a place where my brain seeks serotonin from a quick laugh, or the occasional notification if I bother to post anything. Yes it is a place, located outside of reality but easily accessible in your pocket. A virtual reality if you will, but truth is, it's a timesuck vortex of fakeness. Sorry not sorry for the bitterness, I grew up with this technology and feel like I have seen ...

From my ultimate dream wedding, to classic pinup hairstyles, I have created a Pinterest board for many of my random various interests and inspirations. The app/website is a visual wonderland and treasure trove of unique, high-quality content. You can get lost in rabbit-holes endlessly scrolling entertaining pictures. Of all the social media apps I personally use, I'd have to say I enjoy my Pinterest feed the most because of how pleasurable it is. The pictures are curated based on things I like, such as tattoos, burlesque, art, etc. There is no one complaining or horrible news headlines. It's a positive online space that many use as an escape from reality, a leisurely way to pass the time, or as a place to organize projects and dreams.  Little did I know before this assignment that beyond the consumer experience, Pinterest is also a great platform for businesses and creators! According to Driver, companies can market their products or services in a visually compelling way throug...

"Back in my day..." says the relatively young 26 year old student, "Instagram used to be all about pictures!" Jokes aside, there is truth to that statement. When I was in high school, the platform was still new and full of potential. Back then, sharing felt more spontaneous and authentic because there wasn't the pressure of becoming a popular influencer, staying on top of the ever-changing algorithm, or being hit with ads every other post on the timeline. A lot has changed since then. People are spending a lot more time online. Decker states that, "Instagram sees over one billion active monthly users and 500 million daily Instagram Stories. It is the second most accessed network behind Facebook, and users browse for an average of 53 minutes per day (2022)."  With that much daily traffic to the site, it's no wonder advertisers want in on the action. The platform provides the perfect space to directly reach specific audiences and target them with per...

Of all the social media platforms around these days in 2023, the one I personally use the most is Facebook. Every morning I habitually check my phone for notifications, and typically spend too much time mindlessly scrolling the newsfeed laughing at silly memes or getting distracted by cute ads like these: They always get my attention with sparkly platform shoes, or funky bright colored alternative fashion. I try to resist for awhile, but after been shown the ad so many times I usually crack and look at the website to do a little browsing. Once I actually ended up purchasing from the company YRU from one of these ads because the promotion seemed liked a great deal for how expensive the boots normally are. As for the Shein ads, I'm always attracted to them but become instantly turned off once I see that they are from said brand. Shein is known for being cheap quality and made under poor working conditions in third world countries. I love the styles, but not enough to wait so long for...

"A failure to plan is a plan to fail." I heard this warning a long time ago, and it has always haunted me. I'm a pretty spontaneous and admittedly sometimes-lazy person, so making concrete plans has never been thrilling for me. Something about the commitment, even if it's to something beneficial, is stressful because it feels constricting. Time is a precious currency that I often try to keep to myself. However, as the above quote states: plans, goals, and targets, along with their risks, are necessary for success. In order to gain momentum, there has to be an initial push in a specific and advantageous direction.  Setting S.M.A.R.T. objectives is the best way to accomplish this! This technique helps businesses and individuals move beyond a vague goal to develop a clear framework of expectations, actions, and deadlines. T he first letter in the acronym stands for "Specific." There are many paths one can take to accomplish a goal, and many different outcomes. ...

When creating a marketing plan for a business, it is imperative to hone in on the target market, or, specific type of people you imagine buying the product or service. Focusing on the details of the customers allows businesses to create a niche for themselves, whereas casting a wide, vague net increases prospects at the expense of increasing competition. This second approach can end up costing the business more resources, as efforts may be wasted on people not within the typical parameters of the product or service. For example, marketing tampon products to men or neon hair dye to old ladies. One tool marketers can use to define their target market is through geographic segmentation. This divides the audience based on their location, which can be be broken down by nation, state, county, city, and even zip code (Eaton, n.d.). Small and local businesses such as Spiral Space Dance Studio, the business I am opening, can benefit greatly from  marketing specifically to potential customer...

?             ?               ?                ?                   ?                 ?               ?   If you couldn't guess, GUESS is the topic of my blog this week. It is an international clothing brand that has recently come under fire for profiting off designs used without consent from world renown graffiti artist Banksy. GUESS operates 1,500 retail stores in the Americas, Europe and Asia. It was initially established in 1981 by the Marciano brothers as a jeans company, but has successfully expanded into a lifestyle brand overtime by combining the legendary glamour of  Hollywood with inspiration from natural French chic style. GUESS advertising has become iconic from utilizing a sexy, spirited, Americana black and white ...

 A Sticky Situation  In June 2020, amid the national reckoning over racism that followed the death of George Floyd, The Quaker Oats Company, a subsidiary of PepsiCo, Inc., announced its plans to change the name of its nationally recognized brand Aunt Jemima, as well as remover her imagery from its packaging. Both symbols have been part of the brand's history and legacy for over 130 years, however, Kristin Kroepfl, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Quaker Foods North America states "we recognize Aunt Jemima's origins are based on a racial stereotype. While work has been done over the years to update the brand in a manner intended to be appropriate and respectful, we realize those changes are not enough. As we work to make progress toward racial equality through several initiatives, we also must take a hard look at our portfolio of brands and ensure they reflect our values and meet our consumers' expectations (The Quaker Oats Company, 2020)."  Before the r...

How does the market research you have done so far support your chosen organization’s objectives? Ford Motor Company states that their purpose is "to help build a better world, where every person is free to move and pursue their dreams  (Ford, n.d.) ." The company also believes "in the power of creating a world with fewer obstacles and limits, where people have the freedom to build a better life  (Ford, n.d.) ." The research being conducted on whether or not a pink paint option should be offered for the 2022 Mustang supports these objectives by providing customers more freedom to express themselves. Not everyone in the world wants to drive a neutral colored car. Some people like to reject societal norms and stand out. Part of being free and pursuing one's dreams is being able to boldly define one's self as an individual. People come in all shapes, colors, and sizes, and so should the cars they drive. By launching mystic magenta, customers will be empowered wi...