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With Halloween right around the corner, it only seemed right to talk about how you can use social media to your advantage during the holidays. No matter the product or services you provide, holidays represent a big opportunity. Now, just because the bigger holidays such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, & Christmas are coming up does not mean you can count something as special as “National Chucky, the Notorious Killer Doll Day” out of the question (which just so happens to be October 25th  for those wondering). Point being, there is always a way for a business to fit its marketing for the holiday season.   

 Holiday posts can be some of the most valuable content that you can produce and with the right tools, it can be extremely easy. Some of these can include Adobe Spark or Canva to put out awesome looking posts without needing to hire a graphic designer. For starters, putting together a holiday calendar is crucial for your success to remind you of holidays. The key to these posts is keeping your audience in mind and this will bring the engagement that you are seeking.  

Many studies show that people are happier than average on holidays (shocker) which leads us to the next point that holiday posts have a strong emotional appeal. People really tend to be the happiest on Christmas, with Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve not far behind. Halloween seems to really be the kick off of the holidays approaching with the temperatures starting to decline, and companies using it to their marketing advantage making “spooky” type posts. Just because these are the major national holidays does not mean people are not happy throughout the year while celebrating not as well known events such as “national love your mom day” or “national love your dad day” (wait that might be called Mothers & Fathers Day?) Anyway, you get my point, people seem to be happier and more joyful around these days. A well-crafted holiday post can make people feel a part of something bigger, a sense of community, letting them know what really is important during these times.  

 

From a straight up marketing stand point, most people are out shopping during the holidays and when people are shopping whether it be for Halloween, or Christmas, a lot of people make impulse purchases based off emotion. When they see a holiday social media post that appeals to them in some sort of way, what was a promotion has now just turned into a future sale.  

Now, of course there are plenty of benefits that come from the holidays, but what about the bad? Keeping up with current events and trends plays an important role for social media posting because people are not going to care anymore. Something that was a big hit around Thanksgiving last year and everyone was posting it or making a meme about it and you try to do the same thing the following year, that’s a big thumb’s down. People are not going to engage with that, they are going to keep on scrolling because they have already seen enough of it. Losing engagement is the last thing that you want to happen, especially during this time of year.  

Use your social media to your advantage, not only the national holidays throughout the year, but the smaller scale ones as well. Halloween is the start of it all, as it is one of the most creative and fun times of the year. People want to be entertained, start ramping up your social media posts with holiday themed ideas and see your engagement increase!   

~Nick Grimaldi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When making your Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, or Vine account you never imagine that it would be possible to become famous. Every day people are earning money by posting photos on their Instagram’s. Companies pay large amounts to these social media “celebrities” advertise their products. People are making a living off posting a single photo holding a Coke bottle or a Dunkin Donut’s coffee. How did each of these people get this lifestyle, and can I sign up for it? Today I want to focus on one family that rose to fame over social media and continue as social media influencers today.

Cole LaBrant, a small-town boy from Troy, Alabama never imagined that his claim to fame would be the creation of a twerking group on Vine. In 2013 Dem White Boyz was formed, a group consisting of: Cole LaBrant, John Grice, and Baylor Barnes. Dem White Boyz took Vine by storm with their videos, quickly becoming a heartthrob for girls everywhere. I know I am not the only one who loved their videos. Check out this link to see some of their most popular vines. Dem White Boyz would later fizzle out but Cole managed to stay in the public eye. He began posting Vines with his younger siblings, Tate and Lily. Even after the ever so sad demise of Vine, Cole continued posting his videos on Instagram. He continues to post dance videos with his now daughter, Everleigh.

Savannah LaBrant, previously Soutas, rose to fame through Musical.ly (now known as TikTok). Savannah posted Musical.ly’s with her adorable daughter grabbing the hearts of people everywhere. She became the top ‘Muser’ on the app in 2016, beating out several other stars. Savannah has always been open about her faith and her love for Jesus. She received large amounts of backlash when falling pregnant with her daughter Everleigh, but she did not let this tear her down. Even after receiving backlash Savannah managed to reach a new group of fans. Since building a following Savannah has become a social media influencer. She advertises for several companies, some well known and some not. Savannah often posts photos with Everleigh modeling clothing for ModerneChild, Flexi Lexi Fitness, and Swirl Boutique. She has also posted pictures advertising products for companies such as Secret Deodorant, Target, and SugarBearHair.

 

Savannah and Cole would later meet and take the world by storm with their cute family videos and photos. They are both very open about their religion and love for Jesus, but this did not stop the controversy when an otherwise “innocent” Cole announced his relationship with Savannah. Relationship issues aside the couple were clearly in love and people everywhere loved them together. Maybe it was the relationship Cole quickly developed with Everleigh, or maybe it was their beautiful family photos, either way, they gained the love of people everywhere. The family has become successful by posting vlogs on their YouTube channel as well as sponsored advertisements.

 

Since gaining a large and loyal following the LaBrant family are now able to market towards people everywhere. Cole and Savannah wrote a book on how they met and how their relationship developed. The LaBrant family uses their social media following to market their own products. Savannah often posts pictures of her and Everleigh, showcasing items from her clothing line. Both their book and clothing line have seen a great amount of success through social media marketing.

 

-Kaylee Earp

Miquela Sousa, more popularly known by her handle as @lilmiquela did it. 1.5 million Instagram followers later and still no known pulse. Odd, right? Apparently not in today’s “influencer” market. An influencer (thank you Claira’s Monday blog) is someone who gets paid to promote a brand, typically due to their extensive following.

At first glance trust me, it’s ok to do a double take. Lil Miquela is perplexing to the eye. She’s a computer-generated 19-year-old Brazilian-American model who is often mistaken for any other living, breathing Instagram star—and the best part is that nobody really knows who the magic behind the account is. In recent posts, she has been sporting brands like Baauer and Ugg, been hanging with the Olsen twins, and even been encouraging the citizens of United States of America to vote. Lil Miquela has a voice and people are listening. To a “girl” who even refers to her own self as a robot, WHY do we keep engaging?

Influence marketing is becoming imperative for branding products and Lil Miquela is a stellar example of how anyone can gain a following large enough to lead them to the land of influencers. We want to be her. We want to know what she does, what she wears, where she gets her pepperoni pizza. Everything. And often times our own brand choices and perspectives end up reflecting Lil Miquela’s own. But how did she get here?

Going from zero to hero takes a plan and whoever is behind Lil Miquela’s persona had a lot to consider before taking on this project. In order to become famous on Instagram, it is crucial to tell a story—a unique personality is key (think Kardashians). According to Caroline Forsey, who researched 14 people that gained stardom simply by their social accounts, some tips to consider when trying to make yourself competitive are to set an aesthetic tone from the beginning and stay consistent, quality is what keeps followers coming back, and engagement is literally everything. If your followers feel like they know you, whether you exist or not, they will gain trust and want to be like you. Integrated Marketing Communication is essentially optimizing the communication of a message and Lil Miquela has created a picturesque platform to fascinate over, leading us to question the reality of our own lives along the way.

Good luck and don’t forget me when you’re out there on a private jet eating KFC with Tana Mongeau 😉

-Blaine Blackburn

Social Media is a large part of everyone’s daily lives. Twitter, specifically, has roughly 336 million users (statista.com 2018), so it makes sense that companies would use this site to interact with their customers. Almost every company has a twitter to do this, but some companies are better at it than others. Twitter is a great place for companies to form their brand identity because of the freedom of the platform.  Certain companies stand out because of a few things; one of these is their timeliness. They talk about things that are happening now and that would only be relevant to the consumer during a certain time period.

These are examples of timeliness on twitter from Charmin and Taco Bell. Both posts are fall and Halloween related which only happen during a certain time. If these posts had been posted in the middle of summer, people would have been confused, and they would not have been as effective.  The brands use humor in their posts to indirectly communicate with their consumers in a unique way, defining their brand identity.

Another way brands stand out on twitter is the relevance of their tweets. They know the appropriate time to interact with consumers and the appropriate thing to say. Brands interact with consumers directly in humorous ways to draw attention to their company while creating an atmosphere on twitter where consumers feel close to their favorite companies. Consumers feel as if they are part of the brand and marketing because brands are humanizing themselves to become more relatable.

These are examples of interactions between consumers and brands. Taco Bell found a humorous tweet about a couple who loves taco bell. The original tweet did not even @ Taco Bell, but the company was still able to find this indirect mention and respond to it humorously. It’s a simple response, but got people’s attention. This tweet got a lot of engagement because of the humor of the original tweet and because of the acknowledgment Twitter gave it. Wendy’s found a direct mention where a consumer got a Moana shaped chicken nugget. They took more of a dry humor approach by simply saying “you’re welcome”. These brands took these chances to respond to consumers appropriately according to their brand identity. They were timely and relevant responses that brought attention to their company.

Brands use twitter as a platform define who they are and what they are about. It is a comfortable and free place to interact with consumers and bring humor in a different way to their advertising. They can define their voice and their brand personality easily through conversations with their consumers. Social media has become a large part of all of our lives but along with this has changed company advertising forever.

– Lauren Delavigne

Today, everyone knows of social media “influencers.” On Instagram, they have that big letter K or M next to their number of followers or maybe even the little blue circle with a check to signify they’re kind of a big deal. They have lots of followers, often team up with people sporting matching letters and checks and many follow posts with “#ad” or “#sponsored.” When you see that hashtag, it usually means those influencers are getting paid to promote whatever brand they are showcasing. In case you still don’t know what I am talking about:

These are all examples of influencer marketing which is becoming a huge asset for billions of brands around the world. According to Quora, 94% of brands said working with influencers was a success. It is undeniably true that social media plays an incredibly large role in our lives. In fact, the number of social media users worldwide in 2018 is 3.196 billion, up 13 percent year-on-year (Global Digital Report 2018). So why wouldn’t companies be using these social media mavens to market? People follow influencers for a reason. They actually care what these social media leaders think and do—and it shows. Teagen West explains, “84% of consumers make a purchase after reading about a product or service on a blog – that’s almost 9 in 10 people (scrunch.com).” Influencers have authority and the ability to impact so many people. They not only have a lot of people watching them, but have built trusted relationships with their followers and know how to engage the public on a personal level. A consumer review survey by BrightLocal found 88% of consumers are trusting online peer reviews more than traditional advertising which makes sense when you think about it. Wouldn’t you trust what your friends are saying to buy over what a brand is saying?

Many of you may think the idea of influencers is new but I hate to break it to you, influencers have been around for a long time. While the marketing sense of influencer is definitely newer, the word itself dates all the way back to the 1660s, when Henry More referred to ‘The head and influencer of the whole Church’ (Oxford Dictionary). Celebrities have long been used in campaigns and advertisements but social media allows people just like you and me to reach others and build a following, eventually becoming celebrities in their own right. Social media is rapidly growing so you can bet influence marketing will also grow as companies realize its power.

-Claira Carnevale

 

It was a long four weeks after being out of school due to Hurricane Florence. At first I was thinking we might be out for a week but then once Florence got closer and closer I started to really take it more seriously. We see natural disasters happening on the news in various places but we never think they’d actually happen in our back yard. It has been a tough transition getting back into school mode, I would say for most of us, but with the help of this blog post I think it will ease the pain. I realize that we all have our own way of staying organized but these are just a few tips to take with you.

 

Start fresh

            That’s right. It’s time to clear your mind of what we thought was our Fall semester’s due dates. Until Flo happened.

If you haven’t already threw out your planner, it might be best to get your beer pong arm ready and SINK IT in the trash can. I know, especially us ladies have spent at least $10 on our planners for the year but it is not worth keeping at this point. It will only stress you out even more considering you will have to scribble out what’s irrelevant at this point. For the men that never carry planners, that is okay. I realize that if you open a planner in class you might get starred down by a few of your classmates. A solution to this would be to use the Reminders App that comes on your IPhone. That way you can still maintain your manly imagine while staying up to date. Be sure to check your revised calendar’s and get planning!

 

Set deadlines

Now that you have fresh pages be sure to write down any due dates at least a couple weeks in advance. By having everything noted early it will limit your stress and you can get work done early since you are aware of what you have to do. Have plans to go to a NC State football game but have 1,000 things you have to do before the weekend? No problem. Your planner is already 3 weeks up to date and that just shaved off hours of figuring out what you have to do before you can leave for the game on Friday!

 

Take some time for yourself

           Yes, you should put the books down if you have been studying for a couple hours and get some exercise. It can be something as simple as running. Even if you absolutely can’t stand running at least go for a walk to get the blood circulating. Or do some yoga. Anything that involves moving will pump up your endorphins. According to Mayo Clinic, “Regular exercise can increase self-confidence, it can relax you, and it can lower the symptoms associated with mild depression and anxiety”.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/exercise-and-stress/art-20044469

 

Utilize what UNCW has to offer

Don’t freak out it’s not too late!

UNCW offers a variety of learning tools that are there for us when we need them. The writing center is a great place on campus to get help with school work. It doesn’t matter if you are a freshman or a senior it is included in your tuition so you might as well get as much use out of it while you are still a Seahawk.

 

Communication is key

            Lastly, as Communication Studies major’s we all know that communication is key when you are in college. As sad as it is to say, Wilmington went through a tragedy. Hurricane Florence was no joke and it is still taking some time for families to get back on their feet. If you are going through a hard time from Flo, email your professors. Set up a time to talk with them during their office hours and they will help you figure out a way for you to still get the education that you need.

-Katie Woodard

Have you ever noticed how much influence images have over our minds?

Just a couple days before Hurricane Florence struck the east coast, NASA released an image of a satellite view of the hurricane. After seeing the photo, I returned home, only to find myself glued to the TV. Never before had I watched the Weather Channel more religiously. Seeing that photo made it real to me that this was not just another hurricane. Fear began to creep in as I awaited anxiously to see the aftermath of the storm.  I did not know what to expect, but something in me knew it was not going to be good.

Images play both positive and negative roles in our perspective. Seeing the gigantic category four hurricane come straight for Wilmington conveyed differing messages to locals, UNCW students, and more. While students brought home items from college, others tried to take whatever valuables they could. Homeowners did not know whether to stay or to leave with what they could.

But there’s another side to images. Images only speak volume to what actually occurs within society. While volunteering with post cleanup, my roommate captured this photo of me. I did not notice how high the water had risen until I looked back on this image. We had torn down over eight feet of drywall over an hour and a half period of time.  In a world of visuals, this gave me perspective. If I had been in the room during the hurricane, I would be underwater, which is crazy to imagine!

Looking back over my time during the hurricane, I realized how selfish my thought process was. All I wanted to do was get back to normal. I wanted to be back in Wilmington, enjoying my senior year with my friends. It was not until I came back, that my thought process changed. What I saw was devastation and heartbreak. I was able to see the why UNCW had shut down for so long, how tired and worn our neighbors were from debris cleanup and more. Most importantly, I saw a need for community. While written messages were helpful, images gave a much clear visual.

While we were out of school, I volunteered with Samaritans Purse. Our main objective was house clean up, taking down dry wall and general yard clean up. Walking down streets and seeing piles of neighbors belongings made me count my blessings but also offered a sense of hope. The image below speaks power to the rest of the world. It communicates the need for people of all ages to help. More important, it is a call for college age students. As the next generation, we have influence over how the world operates. Workers were surprised to see college aged students volunteer their time, however, they were grateful for the support.

So go out. Serve in your community, Seahawks. In times like these, we need to show the world we are capable of more! Media coverage may have gone away but that does not stop the fact that the Wilmington area needs to come together as a community. You never know what the person beside you is going through.

While the worlds tells us it is a messed up place, we have influence! We have images and messages of hope and community to share with the rest of the world! Together, we can change that perspective. Changing our external communication starts with an internal change in our communication habits. If we tell our self there is something better, then we believe we can accomplish anything we put our minds to.

-Andrew Williams