Week Seven: Twitter

Desperately Seeking Something....

I can tell that the advanced search function would be an extremely powerful tool for an existing business. Due to the fact that the business I am promoting is not really up and running yet, finding Twitter users that would benefit the business was a little challenging.  Finding potential customers or businesses for cross promotion wasn't a priority because the artists aren't quite ready to sell yet.

I ended up selecting two list categories that helped guide my search for users. I chose to title the lists Art and Inspiration and The Business End. I also added a third list titled Other Interests, just for fun.

I created the first list, Art and Inspiration, because finding other users that will help to develop the craft and style of the artisans is important. Ceramics is a relatively new media for them, and they are still learning. I found limited success using the advanced search using the keywords ceramics, ceramic art, pottery (all results came up as Pottery Barn), and clay.  I will need to continue to fine tune the key words for this list. However, using these keywords I was able to find Twitter user @ceramicsx - extreme glazing, which included some very interesting pieces and techniques. The other user I added to that list was one I found earlier in the week by checking the followers of other individuals that I follow.

The second business specific list I created is called The Business End and includes small business resources.  The key words I used to find connections were artisan start-up, small business help, and artisan business help.  Using these keywords I found the Indie Business Network (@INDIEbusiness) and Mashable Business (@mashbusiness).  I think these will be great resources, but I plan to continue looking.

Week Six: Intro to Facebook Strategy (Part 2)

Coming Soon....

I scheduled 3 posts for this week on Sunday.  The first posted Monday morning at 7am and the other two are scheduled for Wednesday and Friday at 7am.  

The first post I scheduled is a video of several master level ceramists.  I find the video very inspiring and thought our followers would as well.  Watching the beautiful works they create with apparent ease is amazing.  The video shows the artistic side of ceramic work in a gorgeous and compelling story.

The other two posts that I scheduled are of pieces that were created by the business owners.  I attempted to show a variety of their pieces so that the page followers can get to know the work that the artists do.  For future posts we plan to have a variety of articles and videos as well as continuing to showcase the pieces they create.

Week Six: Intro to Facebook Strategy (Part 1)

"He likes me... He likes me not..."

Finding pages that I wanted to like as my page was interesting.  I went to a few businesses that I know of and... (gasp) they didn't have Facebook pages (oh, the horror -don't they realize?).

I ultimately ended up looking through other companies' liked pages and looked for post commenters that I could like. To begin, I chose to like businesses that would provide and inform the business I am promoting. For example, I chose sites that provided inspiration as well as tips and techniques for artists that are still interested in developing their craft.

There are two pages I chose to add as featured likes, Mugshot Mondays and Ceramic Arts Daily. I chose Mugshot Mondays because it is a place where artists can share photos of their own work with a larger audience. The Mugshot Mondays page has over 1600 likes, so that's a lot more potential viewers than our current two.  I chose Ceramic Arts Daily due to the fact that it was, as they so purposefully describe it as, "a place for artists to display their work and to share ideas and perspectives about how their art and life interact to shape each other."

Since this is a new business, I thought the idea of finding companies that could further both the growth of the business and the development the artists was a sound one.

Week Four: Target Market *Update*

My Target Market *Revised*

So after much debate, deliberation and dragging of the proverbial feet, I have decided to promote a different business than I had previously planned on. The company that I was going to promote has an established social media presence run by someone who knows what he's doing. I don't want to gunk up the workings. So I have decided to work with a family member on a new business venture. It is a small (and brand new) ceramics business called So Glazed and Confused. I feel that because it is new and they have nothing but a domain name it would be more interesting and a better learning opportunity than tagging on to something that already works.

Our initial analysis of the target market includes:

Demographic Analysis:
Older men and women (55+)
Baby Boomers
Middle or upper-middle class

Psychographic Analysis:
Appreciate hand made art 
Liberals with eclectic tastes
Believes in supporting local artisans

Behavioral Analysis:
Enjoys collecting interesting items
Shops online
Attends street fairs