Final Post

Blogger

For a good portion of the semester I wrote a blog every week. It was always due by Wednesday at midnight. This made the blog consistent. The blog was the foundation for my other social media sites and housed all the links to them. I used this platform as a starting point for my business. It allowed me to establish what my business was about and where I wanted to go with it. I loved using blogger. It was my favorite media platform to use. It isn’t something that is as popular as Facebook and Twitter but I feel it is a great place for a business to start. It allows business to connect with their target market on a more personal level. I don’t know if I would use this form of social media for my business only because of the popularity of other avenues that work more efficiently.

Twitter https://twitter.com/SCreativeWords

I used twitter to connect followers to my blog, Facebook, and other interesting topics and articles. The times I tended to post tweets were during lunch time and in the evening. That is when most of my followers were using this form of social media. I tried to vary my tweets so they covered the EEI strategy. Making sure to keep them interesting and entertaining. I wanted to involve my followers, making them feel like they were a part of the business instead of just an outsider looking in. I tweeted 84 times, have 5 followers, and am following 14 others. As for my personal experience with Twitter, I did not enjoy this social media platform at all. I found it to be useless for my particular business. I do not feel Twitter would be a good fit for a creative writing business. I think it is the best for breaking news, sports updates, and other urgent types of information. I would not use this platform for my business or for personal use.

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/screativewords

I used Facebook to share creative thoughts, ideas, and inspiring words to the people that liked my businesses page. It allowed me to educate them about what my business did, the services that were offered, and connect with them on personal level. Facebook for a business is one of the best ways to communicate upcoming events, share stories, and educate customer about the services that are offered. I think I had a great deal of good posts, with my strongest being entertain and engage posts. Motivation was one of my main focuses, along with asking followers to share their writings and thoughts. I wanted to make followers feel like friends more than outsiders looking in. I definitely needed to work more on my inform posts. For me, this was the most difficult type of post to come up with.  My experience with Facebook was great! I personally love this social media platform not only for personal use for but professional use as well. Every business should have a Facebook page whether they are just starting out or they are well established. It is a free and easy way for companies to get their name out there for others to see.

HootSuite

HootSuite was used to manage Facebook and Twitter. I connected both of these sites to HootSuite.  I was able to schedule tweets and posts in advance which helped me manage my time when posting. My experience with this media platform was great! I loved being able to schedule posts and tweets in advance in order to save time. It was a life saver. I could not have gotten through the semester without the site! It was more than worth my time and I would recommend any business that uses social media utilize Hootsuite.

Pinterest

I love, love, love Pinterest! I used this platform to share different ideas, links, and pictures to my followers. My Pinterest was not just about writing, but about many different form of art. I created a category for motivational work, great writers throughout history, inspirational art, and one I called dark inspiration. Pinterest is not for every business. It can be a great way to link to other sites and share thoughts and ideas about what you want your business to reflect but it can also be pointless. This really depends on what you want for your individual company.

Niche Sites

A niche site that would work for my business would be writer.com. It is a site that allows writers to come together and share their ideas and writing with other creative and inspired people. A niche site is great once your business is established and has a following. Without a following, a niche site is useless.

Podcast

I used audacity to create the podcast. I made it to talk about a few main points on how to work through the fear of writing.  It was an interesting way to reach my audience and I feel, for my business, it was a very effective way to speak to them. My customer was a more creative person, enjoying art, reading, writing, and listening. I had a great experience doing a podcast. I had never done one before which made it slightly more difficult for me. If I were to use this platform more, I would have been able to understand it better and work out the glitches I ran into. Over all, I really enjoyed it though.

Vines and Videos

I used the Vine to create a short intro to my business. It gave customers a glimpse into what we have to offer. Along with this, I created a commercial. It gave a few main points that all writers should follow. It also introduced my business. This is a great way for customers to see me as the face of the company. I don’t really feel this is a good way for small businesses to reach their target market only because many of these people don’t watch these videos and vines.

Social Media Measurments

Here we are today talking about how to measure our online social media activity. I measure our online       activity to make sure it actually makes sense! As a company, this is used to determine which channels           of social media are the most effective for building conversations and where exactly in the sales funnel           do social media actions happen. It also helps us to gain insight into the behavior of our community and           understand how this behavior relates to our business. To make sure I am reaching our target market, I           need an understanding of what they want and how they use the information provided. (The Social               Media Marketing Book) Gaining insight is huge, so I having been paying close attention to what you              are liking and posting!
The Facebook page has only two likes with two followers. On average posts reach 2-3 people. There is     about 17 page view per week. I had a few posts that did not get the of response I was looking for. My         most popular posts were the inspiring posts that spoke to people. This post had the most positive                 response:

I feel this was one of the most inspiring posts because it can be relevant in any ones life. Each person reading this will interpret it differently and it will speak to them in their own way. When a post generate emotion, it is more effective.
As for Twitter, I have a total of 84 tweets, with 5 followers, and I am following 14 others. The most popular tweets were the inspirational tweets. I have found over all people like posts and tweets that speak to them and they can relate to.
I personally found Social Report to be the best out of all the different social media analysis sites that were looked at. Social Report is a social network analytics solution that allows you to track your social network accounts just the same way you would track the performance of your websites.
 There is a 30 day free trail period which makes it great if you want to just try it out. But for only $39 a month you can manage up to 15 projects with unlimited users! It also allows you to get business reviews and post messages to your projects and accounts. (socialreport.com)

Ratings and Reviews!

Here's the thing, we want to hear from you and allow others to know how great you think we are! As a company, you, our customer, are number one to us! We want to be aware of how we are doing, your questions and concerns, or what we can improve on. Sashay Creative Words has joined writing.com to do just that! 

We have joined this site due to the over 1 million users that it currently has. To top it off, its free! We hope to see what you really think about us and recommend us to other creative creatures in your life! Let us know what you think at:

http://www.writing.com/?i=1

Commercial debut! Check it out!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5V8srGcBfM  

What Life's About

If there is one thing that is getting all of us through this long, cold winter it is our creative minds that keeping going no matter what. It is the beauty we see in everything in this world even when things are not as smooth and simple as they appear. Getting out of our own way to over come the fear of letting others see what we can do and create is what we are all about.
For all of you out there I am going to ask you to do one thing this week. Take a chance. Step out of the box you have trapped yourself in and write something new to you. This is going to make you feel uncomfortable, but do it. One you have done this, share it to our Facebook page to show how brave you really are in this world. Here's mine:

Where does your heart go, when there is no flow

Now the light dims, get ready for the show

When you hear that sound, the darkness begins to stir around

Don't be afraid of the demons living inside

They're apart of you when our worlds collide

With the darkest of hearts trying to break free

Let the curtain rise put on a show for me

Don't hide your heart just let it all out 

You were made for this, its what life's about

Speak to the crowd, the mic is on for you

The curtain lifts, the stage is yours

Words flow from your soul like magic on your lips

You just proved to the world, your heart didn't rip

Now the shows over, your heart is colder

All your demons gone, with heat and smolder

Take a bow, you finally made it out

Now the world knows, this is what life's about

Do you accept my challenge? Happy writing!

Spring is Coming

Spring has officially sprung! With all of the beauty in the world, there is nothing more inspiring than the site of buds pushing there way through the bare ground, the fresh green of the new leaves rustling in the wind, and the smell of fresh rain pounding against the ground. With all of this to look forward to and inspire us this year, we have decided to hold a writing contest to help put the spring in your step! We want it all! Poems, lyrics, and essays! 

We will have different categories for each topic. When you submit your creativity, specify which category you are submitting it to. Also, we are changing it up so that each submission has its own voice and personality. Your creation should be hand written and mailed to our office. 

Sashay Creative Words
1234 Main Street
Eau Claire, WI 54701

Submissions are due by May 1st. We want you to bare your heart and soul here! Show us what you're made of and we will be publishing the winner of each category in Volume One. The winners will also receive a Monblanc Black Meisterstuck 149 Fountain Pen worth $915. As a company, we want you all to succeed. So get your creative juices flowing and submit!!



 

Podcast

Here is a link to our podcast on Sound Cloud!! Check it out! It is on the fear of creative writing. We hope you enjoy.
https://soundcloud.com/sasha_marie_10/sashay-creative-words-podcast

Flow From the Heart

I have decided that today's blog is going to be inspirational and out of the ordinary from what I have been blogging. When it comes to writing, we sometimes need to take a step back and look at the world around us to be able to understand that writing words does not come from your hand but rather from your heart. Words can speak to us in ways that nothing else can. It gives meaning to things we otherwise would not be able to understand. These are the words that came to me today, motivating me to share them with all of you! I hope you enjoy them.

"I can see it in you eyes
Like the stars in the sky

We're better together baby

Come on now, don't lie

In an ever changing world of lies and deceit

Be real, stay true, that's all you'll ever need

Don't ever hold back

Don't let your flame die

Because baby for us, the stars a line

But your hearts aching, your head shaking

Is it too much, am I mistaken

How did we get this far

Only to come out with scars

We only have one life, one shot

To make it count, give it all you've got"

On a final thought, always write from the heart and everything will flow. Never be afraid of what others will say about your work because it is truly unique. 

Hitting the Main Stream Market!!
We have made it to the big leagues! Sashay Creative Words s official on Facebook. We have made it to the in crowd and would love for you to like our page! We will be featuring inspiring quotes that feed the soul what it needs most, links to the latest and greatest offers we will be featuring, and innovative thoughts, ideas, and words from our employees and followers.
We want to hear from you, so like our page so we can get your feedback, ideas, and you get the chance the connect with great minds!

Something to warm up your winter!

Your topic this week is to promote/discuss ONE of your company's products or services. What is it, who is it for, what benefit is it to me, do you have a deal, etc.

  As spring approaches, we are pleased to announce the start up of our very first writing class! Every Wednesday from 7-9pm for eight weeks starting the first week of March, Sashay Creative Words will be enriching minds with the words of the most creative writers of our time. You will then be given a chance to compose your very own masterpieces as we explore how to put pen to paper and let your imagination flow.

Classes will be held at our place of business. This will allow creative minds to not only flow together but network as well. The cost of the class is $20 each session or $100 if you pay up front for all eight weeks.

For more information, contact Sasha Murphy at 715.123.4567 or e-mail sashaycreativewords@yahoo.com.

We look forward to seeing you!

Facebook Privacy

Facebook changes their privacy settings on a regular basis without telling its users. This means that our personal information is up for grabs and out there for anyone to see. There are many settings that can be changed on Facebook to help protect your information or expose it. The settings on what others can see can be changed to Public, Friends of Friends, Friends, or Just You. This allows you to control how others view you and your profile. Understanding Facebook privacy, how it works, and what your privacy settings are is one of the most important aspects of being a Facebook user.

 

My current privacy settings are set to friends only. But others can still see many of my posts and photos on my wall. I am a pretty open person when it comes to Facebook. I avoid posting photos that would get me in trouble at work or in a future job I may have. This is why I do not feel the need to hide things from Facebook. Having an open Facebook, to me, makes me look like I have nothing to hide.

 

I did make a few changes to my privacy settings but not many. Most of the changes I made were changing my settings from Public to Friends only. If you were to go onto my Facebook while not being my friend, it is still pretty Public.

It's official! Sashay Creative Words is on Twitter! We are expanding our social media base to be able to better reach all of you at a move efficient and effective rate.

Twitter is a form of Microblogging that limits the size of each post. The idea is similar to regular blogging except Twitter updates can only contain 140 characters. The thoughts, ideas, and activity is instant, allowing you to follow us in our everyday activities and promotions. We want to keep you updated and aware of what we do!

There are pros and cons to being on Twitter of course. First, it's easy, requires very little investment of time, and can increase buzz, sales, and consumer insight. It keeps our customers up-to-date! The down side of Sashay Creative Words being on Twitter is there is a chance we could get lost in the millions of tweets that are out there for you to look at.

Engage: Join us at the #WriteWithCreativity conference this Friday! Retweet for 50% off admission.

Entertain: Did you know, @StephenKing published Carrie in 1973 when he was only 26?

Inform: We are expanding! Follow @SCreativeWords to see our new location!

Creativity at it's finest!

It seems Jack Frost had touched our beautiful city more than usual with his icy fingers. to help heat things up in the northern region, Sashay Creative Words has created a challenge. We are challenging you to get your creative gears turning and write a short story, poem, or idea. Once you have done this, send it our way!
We are going to have you, our fans, select the top five best, most creative and imaginative works of art. These five will be featured in our monthly newsletter and put in a drawing to win 50% off a service of your choice at Sashay Creative Words and a $50 Starbucks gift card for all those late night of writing. All writing must be submitted by email by February 20th.

Hi all! My name is Sasha Murphy and I am the founder of Sashay Creative Words. We are a privately owned company that contracts out with small businesses in the norther region of the US. My business began in my home in Eau Claire, WI  as a way for local businesses to get the word out about what they have to offer in a creative, nontraditional way. After about a year, Sashay Creative Words was born.

I had officially named the business, made business cards, and created original marketing after only a year! The word started to spread about Sashay Creative Words to small businesses not only in my area but in surrounding cities as well. Currently, we have ten employees that specialize in different areas of creative writing for businesses all over the north west. Mainly, our focus is on small businesses or local businesses to help them spread the word about what they have to offer the community they are in.