Blank Document for Jen

Reflection Post on Irfan Ahmad's "The Rise of the New LinkedIn (by The Numbers) [Infographic]" LinkedIn is becoming more and more popular, which is why millennials are encouraged to get connected and develop a professional brand. This increasingly important platform can be used for more than just a means for establishing a professional network. Currently, LinkedIn is primarily used for professional networking and most people just get on the site to post an updated resume, in hopes that there will be a job opening and that one of their connected peers will lead them to it. The platform is growing at a tremendous rate; it has gained 360 million users since 2011. As I have discussed in several of my blog posts, every social network is adding features in a fierce competition to stay relevant, including LinkedIn.  One of the most important things for users to recognize, though, is often forgotten. Developing a personal brand on a professional website is equall...

A Reflection on Color Psychology Irfan Ahmad's "40 Ways that Color Psychology Can Boost Your Website Conversions [Infographic]" dives into the importance of the colors used in marketing, specifically on websites. I found this post very interesting as it serves as a continuation to a conversation my classmates and I had in our Integrated Marketing class recently. The conversation extended beyond the color schemes found on websites, but, in effort to stay focused on Ahmad's article, I will focus on websites. Ahmad's figure suggests that colors are one of the most powerful ways to drive sales, should businesses use them correctly. Many of the facts found in Ahmad's article seemed predictable but the following were very surprising: When HEINZ changed the color of their ketchup from red to green as part of an experiment, they sold over  10 million  bottles in 7 months, leading to  $23 million in sales. The color red is considered "questionable...

Is LinkedIn Facing a Real Threat? Andrew Hutchison's Social Media Today article, "Facebook's Testing Out New Resume-Like Option, Similar to LinkedIn, discusses Facebook's new, bold move into the business scope. Could companies like Facebook and Bumble, with their new Bumble Bizz drive LinkedIn out of operation. LinkedIn currently has around 500 million professionals on their site, so the initial worry would be the millennial generation. How it Works: To Note: You have always been able to link your Facebook profile to a past job. Now, it allows you to develop more of an idea of what the job entailed with specific information. Because of the current data and massive user ship Facebook holds, they have huge potential to make the job search easier, not only for millennials but also older generations.  The Highlights: To Note: This will get a more specific, relatable job search going for every individual. Hutchison suggests that Facebook may...

Marketing thru Social Media - Is it Working?  My classes this semester have emphasized the importance of marketing in staying relevant in a competitive market. If companies don't centralize themselves around their marketing, they will fall short of their competitors; certain industries have/haven't figured this out. I did some research for a recent speech that I gave regarding social media in a typically traditional industry. I found that the increase in spending on marketing is being distributed to a variety of segments, one of which is social media. While most millennials agree that social media is essential for companies to keep up with, some people, usually in more traditional industries, disagree. I stumbled upon a mid-September article by Lucy Rendler-Kaplan on Social Media Today titled "Is Social Media a Good Thing or a Bad Thing?" This was actually a post in 2012 which was updated in 2015 and then again in September of 2017. I thought it was very inte...

I am taking a break from the description of various social media platforms to talk about another aspect of Marketing that has evolved in the last few years. A classmate of mine wrote a post on hashtags and how to effectively use them on social media to link like-minded consumers which led me to the idea of exploring how hashtags can be used in B2B Marketing as well. The #Hashtag has become increasingly popular since its launch on Twitter in 2007, and, if used appropriately, hashtags will drive revenue.  The word or phrase (written with no spaces, of course!) is an easy way to not only create engagement but also to better understand consumers and increase number of prospects. When you pick a hashtag, it must be relevant and useful. If too narrow or inappropriate, there will be no use; if you're too broad, there will be too much noise and you won't be able to filter the information to that which you are hoping to obtain.  One of the most effective ways to reach you...

Back to Facebook I feel the need to circle back for the day to review Facebook a little more. Two posts ago, I talked about Facebook and the ease at which marketers can advertise on the platform. I was scrolling through Social Media Today this morning, though, and found an article titled "Facebook Announces New Guidelines on Content Monetization and Advertising Censorship." To keep you all up to date, I figured I should provide the new insights and highlights that come directly from the article (http://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-networks/facebook-announces-new-guidelines-content-monetization-and-advertising-censorship).  What is Facebook : a social media platform that gives tools to marketers for content sharing Why they're changing advertising rules : "At Facebook, we take very seriously our responsibility to earn and maintain the trust of our advertiser partners - and give them the confidence they need to invest in us. Which is why today, we're intro...