Week 2 Post 2: Five Businesses

CleanTech Energy Solutions, Inc.

https://www.go-cleantech.com/

Small local solar energy business located in Oceanside, CA 

Facebook:  1/29/20 - 6,755 followers

Twitter: 2/17/20 - 0 followers

Instagram: 2/14/20 - 115 followers 

It seems like CleanTech Energy Solutions, Inc. uses all their social media platforms quite often posting pictures of finished projects. 

Sunrun Inc. 

https://www.sunrun.com/

Large solar energy business based in San Francisco, CA

Facebook: 2/14/20 - 36,936 followers 

Instagram: 2/14/20 - 8,776 followers 

Twitter: 2/14/20 - 47,600 followers 

YouTube: 10 months ago - 3,650 subscribers 

LinkedIn: 2/13/20 - 39,072 followers 

Sunrun Inc. has many active social media platforms and seems to engage a lot with its customers and followers. 

Tesla, Inc. 

https://www.tesla.com/

Large electric vehicle and solar energy business based in Palo Alto, CA

Pinterest: 28 followers 

LinkedIn: 2/13/20 - 5,632,501 followers 

Instagram: 11/23/19 - 7,200,000 followers 

YouTube: 2 months ago - 1,230,000 followers 

Twitter: 2/15/20 - 4,800,000 followers 

Tesla Inc. has a huge audience all over the world. They have a huge following and seem very dedicated to their goals which could be why people really like them. 

Belching Beaver Brewery Tavern and Grill 

https://belchingbeaver.com/

Local brewery business located in Vista, CA 

Facebook: 2/18/20 - 26,420 followers 

Twitter: 2/18/20 - 958 followers 

Belching Beaver Brewery Tavern and Grill might not have the biggest following but they are very active with what they post about. 

Walmart Inc.

https://www.walmart.com/

Multinational retail corporation based in Bentoville, AR

Facebook: 2/18/20 - 32,848,631 followers 

LinkedIn: 2/18/20 - 2,089,733 followers 

Pinterest: 646,246 followers 

Instagram: 2/18/20 - 2,200,000 followers 

Twitter: 2/18/20 - 1,000,000 followers 

Walmart Inc. might have lots of followers but that does not stop them from engaging with them and posting daily. 

After evaluating different business's social media platforms, I realized an amount of useful information. For example, you don't need a huge following for people to be engaged in your business. People love a business that interacts with their customers and looks for ways to improve their products or services. Having a huge following is just a plus but it doesn't always define the success in a business. 

I also found out that posting and being active on social media platforms helps increase the amount of attention towards your company. It's okay to post once a day but posting too much can cause customers to lose interest fast. You don't want to overwhelm your customers with content every single hour. It's sometimes best to focus on the quality of your content to ensure that more people become engaged rather than distant themselves. 

Social media is very important for businesses nowadays because it could be used as a marketing tool. Most people in today's world do all their shopping online and only purchase things that catch their attention on a post. It's important for a business to know their customers and what they find interesting so that they can share it with others. Social media has the power to create a well-known and successful business if  used in the right way. 

Week 2 Post 1: Communication

As a customer I've never really had trouble reaching out to a company. I've only had to reach out once but I had a great experience doing so. I once ordered a shirt from an online website and they sent me the wrong one. I emailed the company and they replied the next morning saying I could keep the wrong shirt and that they would send me the correct one asap. This was excellent customer service in my opinion.

Social media could make it easier for companies to notice you because of the amount of attention you could create regarding your situation. Companies don't want bad reputations and will address an issue before the public learns about it. In a way social media could negatively affect a company if a situation is not handled properly and it causes customers to view the company differently. I'm sure there are employees regularly checking social media posts from the company to ensure that customers are happy.

If I review a product or business, I make sure to tell the truth. My goal is to be as honest as possible in hope of helping others decide what to purchase. If I like a product/service I would make sure to explain why it's great. On the other hand, if I dislike a product/service I would make sure to explain what I disliked and what they can do to improve it.

If it were my own business, I would take different approaches for positive and negative comments. For positive comments, I would thank the person for choosing my business and hope to do business in the future. If the business received negative comments, I would figure out why the person is upset and try to figure out whether there's anything in my control that I could do to help. Not everyone is going to like your product or service but you can try to understand why they do not like it and figure something out to help improve it.

Blogs I commented on:
Daniela Chavez
Cristina Gonzalez

Week 1 Post 2: Intro to Social Media

In my opinion, I think social media platforms such as Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube seem geared more towards personal use. Most social media apps people use on their phone nowadays are for entertainment purposes. The ones listed above are almost always used for personal use only. People find these platforms as a way to express themselves and show what's going on in their life.

I feel as if social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Yelp, and Pinterest are more realistic for businesses to use. These platforms help customers look for what they are looking for. Most of the time you might come acorss things you might not be looking for. However, these platforms make it easier to narrow down on what you exactly need. Reviews play an important role in business's today as they inform other customers on who they should go to or try out.

I could see Pinterest, Facebook, and possibly Instagram being social media platforms that could be used for both business and personal use. Pinterest could be used for personal searches or photos that someone might like. On the other hand, someone could also create an account for their business on Facebook and Instagram. In all honesty, almost every social media platform could be used for one or the other depending on how you use it.

Blogs commented on:
Daniela Chavez
Cristina Gonzalez
Moises Reynoso

Week 1 Post 1: My Template

The reason I chose this theme was because road trips have always played an important part in my life. Traveling to different countries can be pretty expensive for most college students but taking road trips with friends is quite fun and inexpensive. In the past year, I've gone to San Francisco and Washington state with my friends. Although it might not seem like much, those road trips were something I will never forget. Staying in different places you've never been to can give you a sense of excitement.

The background picture of my blog includes a picture of a road. To me, this symbolizes not knowing what's ahead in life and having to get out of your comfort zone to experience something new. This is how I feel about road trips and being on the road in places I've never been to. That's why they're so important to me because they give me the opportunity to explore a new city or country. I suggest more people take road trips because they are able to clear your mind from anything you might be struggling with. 

I plan on being able to travel to many more states and countries in the near future. I haven't had the time as I've been working a lot more lately but I'm eager to finally be back the road. I enjoy the hikes, food, and other activities new places have to offer. It's all about just getting of your comfort zone and exploring someplace new.