Week 16 | Post B

Let's wrap up the semester of learning about social media for businesses!

Over the past few months my business social media efforts have ticked up a bit and I've investigated some new content ideas (such as Throwback Thursday, workshop photos, and more).  I also looked into the less obvious methods of social media in blogging and email newsletters.  I've also gained some new followers outside of other students in the class, which always makes me happy.  One company whose glass I use (Oceanside Glasstile) actually followed me back on Instagram and shared one of my pieces in their story.  For someone running with some talented artists that was certainly a highlight brought about with some extra social media effort!  Unfortunately my interaction outside of likes remains a bit stale, so I'll have to put some more trial and error into figuring that out.

Going into this class I was already familiar and comfortable with the popular social media platforms, and I'm leaving it with a bit more knowledge about the business side of things.  I'm glad that I took this class alongside the intro to marketing class, as it helped me to understand what drives people to make the purchasing decisions they do and also how to better understand those groups of people.  That has helped me to refine my markets and clearly define my targets as other stained glass artists looking for good patterns as well as non-artists looking to purchase finished stained glass pieces.  By clearly defining and separating those groups I can market to them on social media more effectively.

In all of this my viewpoint of social media hasn't changed - I've always considered it a good way to keep up with the people and businesses that I care about.  I do have to admit that I've always been reserved on it though - I don't like "feeding the metrics" and being seen as a product and to then start looking at how to create ads to target my markets felt a little weird.  I try to not let onto Facebook too much about what I'm into, but it figures it out anyway.  But, there is that adage that if you aren't giving a company money then you ARE the product!  And that's social media :)

I feel that I have a better understanding of the different platforms for social media, as well as the more DIY approaches such as email marketing and blogging.  I feel like I better understand their strengths and weaknesses and how each caters to a different type of company.  I do, however, need to do more work into learning how to drive engagement and attracting new followers and business.  Over the past few months I've been watching the social media of successful business friends as well as that of the company I'm contracting for right now (we have a contractor handling social media in his spare time) and seeing what works and what doesn't.  I'm learning to pay attention to post content, timing, and photos/videos used to see what works.

For now I feel that continuing to use Facebook and Instagram for my business are the best strategy for the reasons I explained in my previous post.  However, that's not to say that I won't try new things in the future.  I think that developing an email newsletter would be a fun adventure when I "retire into" my business.  That taps into my love of teaching, career as a graphic designer, and can help build the stained glass pattern side of my business.  I could supplement this with a blog if I'm able to dream up enough content to keep it fresh.

While I've mentioned in a few of my blog posts that I've had to drastically scale back my stained glass business due to now having to run my nephew's Covid distance learning as well as work an honest work week in a VERY distracting home office, I'm hopeful that I'll be able to ramp it up again soon.  And, what better way to do that than with social media :)

Week 16 | Post A

At the end of this course it's now time to ponder how to move forward with my social media strategy for my stained glass company.  After the research of the past few months, it's clear that Facebook and Instagram are the best social media platforms for me to use.  My reasoning for this is as follows:

• Both platforms support images and short videos well.
• Facebook is favored by an older demographic, which constitutes most of the stained glass artists today who might be interested in my patterns.
• Instagram is favored by a younger demographic that may be interested in my more modern pieces and is also home to younger stained glass artists (who may be interested in my patterns), however some of the older demographic is migrating to Instagram.
• Instagram offers good reach for new followers by way of hashtags.

In the future, I might also investigate using ads on either platform.  Email distributions or a blog might also be something to explore in the future, but not until I have the content to support them.

As for my favorite platform - I feel that Instagram is the most effective because of its better organic reach, but I really dislike not being able to post from a computer like I can with Facebook (typing hashtags is annoying).  Facebook is wildly convenient to use, but it doesn't have the reach that Instagram does.

Ideally, if I were looking to transition into making stained glass full time I should be posting at least daily about works in progress, finished pics, tips, and more to draw that interest and to keep my metrics saying that I'm interesting and worth showing to potential new followers.  However, since this is a side hobby I don't want to overpromote - posting weekly about what I'm working on and my finished pieces should be a good start and then I can adjust from there.

My goal is to post weekly over the next month on Instagram and Facebook, on Monday afternoons (since I do most of my stained glass work on the weekends).  The actual posting takes only moments, but I'll need to plan about 4 hours each weekend to work up a new stained glass pattern, post it to Etsy, and then make an example of the piece to show on social media as well as to list for sale.  Right now I am not trying to grow my business due to my time available, but I would certainly be ok with more pattern sales since they do not require additional time.

Week 15

This week was a bit interesting on my page, as I had some new likes without any effort on my part!  However, I can't find out much information on these new likes - however I don't recognize them as being names of other students in the class.  I already had more than 30 likes, so I didn't seek out any new likes.

Overall, my Insights were about what I expected - low engagement, and low page views.  We all know what's going on right now and how it's affecting those who work full time and now have to deal with distance learning...and I just haven't been able to make much in the way of new content.  Still, I was happy to have some new likes.  In poking around the datasets it does appear that they are organic likes and my page is being suggested to Facebook users, so we'll take what we can get I suppose.

I did enjoy clicking through the various options to see different factors affecting my page, and appreciated that organic and paid elements are clearly separated (though I'm currently not doing any paid promotions).  I'm looking forward to demographic data being available soon though!

Week 14

This week I created three Facebook ads that promoted my business:

An ad targeting other stained glass crafters that promotes my patterns.  This ad would be effective because it targets the appropriate age group, the right interest, and also highlights a major selling point of my patterns (the commercial license).



An ad targeting those who like "fine art" that promotes my finished and custom pieces.  This ad would be effective because it targets those who like fine art (so people who appreciate the handmade nature of art) and points out some differentiating features of stained glass that make it an ideal gift.



And an ad promoting my business page as a place for inspiration and unique pieces - targeting those who like stained glass and mosaics.  This ad would be effective because it targets the right group, and appeals to both those looking for inspiration and handmade art pieces.

Given the current situation with the virus and needing to temporarily shut down the sale of custom pieces, I did not launch these ads.

When it comes to ads, the objective has to be clear.  An objective is a defined goal, as in "what do I want the end result of this effort to be?"  Am I trying to make sales?  Bring foot traffic in?  Increase awareness of my brand?  The strategy for each type of ad will change, as will your messaging for different target markets.  In my case, the best objective would be to promote the sale of finished pieces (either ready made or custom).  The reason for this is that there's a better market and profit margin in selling finished pieces.  Plus, finished pieces get more exposure in people's homes, which ultimately help passively advertise my business.

Week 13 | Post B

Facebook ads have become a major player in the social media marketing space, and for good reason.  Boasting billions of users, Facebook has an extensive market of targets, and even more personal data on them to help refine ad targeting.

Facebook offers a variety of ad formats available for business pages.  They describe them as follows:

Image: We recommend using images of your product or brand.
Video: Adding movement to your ads can make them more eye-catching in News Feed.
Carousel: Carousel ads showcase up to 10 images or videos in a single ad, each with its own link.
Instant Experience: Instant Experience is a fullscreen experience that opens after someone taps your ad on a mobile device. Create an Instant Experience to visually highlight your brand, products or services.
Collection: The collection format features multiple products and opens as an Instant Experience when someone interacts with it. Your customers can discover, browse and purchase products from their phones in a visual and immersive way.
And, they also offer boosting of existing posts, which appears to simply feed your post into the newsfeed of your set target demographics.

For my business, I feel that an image or image carousel ad would work best, as stained glass is a very visual art and relies heavily on that connection between the piece and the purchaser.  Or, when considering my other target market of stained glass pattern purchasers, perhaps a video ad showing a time lapse construction of one of my patterns would help to get their interest.  We artists love to see works in progress and this could help to show that my patterns are accessible to all levels.  Or, if I were to ever have a studio and ran children's mosaic classes, I could show a time lapse of a group of kids constructing their projects (with appropriate model releases, of course).  Perhaps if I had a piece that I was proud of and wasn't having luck selling a boosted post would do the trick.

As for frequency of posts, I think that I would need to tinker with that and figure out what works, both for my finished stained glass buyers and pattern buyers.  I would start with ads once a week and check the response and adjust from there.  But!  It's important to not overdo it because then you're asking for more work than you can take on!  It'd be safer to market patterns more frequently, which is a nice bonus because if they are purchased through my Etsy site they require basically zero effort on my part, so there's no worries of overdoing it.

However, there's a factor to consider here - stained glass as an art caters towards an older demographic that isn't always tech or social media savvy or willing to purchase things online.  Because of that I would certainly start my marketing small and find where my sweet spot is.  However, I could certainly market my more modern finished pieces more aggressively since they cater to a younger demographic.

Ads are most effective when they're simple, memorable, and include a call to action, and Facebook ads are no exception.  My ads would likely do best when they're of a finished piece that's tastefully lit and beautiful.  In essence, I'd let it do the talking and let my copy support the image with something simple like "Bring the light in your home alive with custom stained glass from Shellebelle Designs."  Or, for my pattern buying market, "Unique, impressive, and accessible stained glass patterns for all levels - all with commercial licenses for resale."

Week 13 | Post A

Our assignment this week was to find sponsored posts, and fortunately Facebook and Instagram delivered:







In these examples we have Martha Stewart selling us digital assistant compatibility with AT&T service, new beds, and M&Ms.  I have to admit though, I loathe being "sold to" on social media.  I feel it's intrusive (like someone leaving a junk flyer under your windshield wiper) and as it is I don't "like" things on Facebook or Instagram in an effort to interrupt the metrics.  I'm sure it's not effective though, haha.  I'm on social media to keep up with friends and businesses I care about, not buy things, so I generally find all ads annoying, especially when they repeat.  I should also note that the AT&T ad was served up because a friend of mine likes them.  I don't follow them nor any cable/cell providers on Facebook.

In these ads, however, we have a variety of things to consider.  The AT&T ad caught my eye because I happen to like Martha Stewart so even though her face is cropped she's still recognizable.  And, she's not known as a tech-forward celebrity so it works on the premise that the digital assistant feature of AT&T services is so easy that she can do it.  The call to action is to enroll in AT&Ts services and use their digital assistant integration.

The Tempur-Pedic ad caught my attention because I am a huge fan of comfy mattresses, and their call to action is to take advantage of their sale.  However, their mattresses have always seemed overpriced to me.

And finally I do enjoy M&Ms now and then, and this animated Instagram story (which was slotted between my friends' stories) wants me to swipe up to buy M&Ms.  It featured bright colors, movement, and prominent placement of their logo which should be ubiquitous at this point.

Advertising has had a huge shift in the past decade or so since social media has ramped up.  Previously, advertising was an intensive process that took hand work, setting type, shooting to film and more.  It'd take weeks to prepare an ad and there were notable names in advertising whose work is still studied.  Now, with the digital revolution bringing computer-based design ads can be prepared and either ready for press or deployed within hours.  And social media has that ad in front of audiences within minutes.

Print media is, unfortunately, dying.  It is expensive, not agile, and suffering from declining readership due to the internet.  Many ad formats have converted to digital methods, such as billboards, environmental ads, and pay per click ads.  Radio and TV ads are also suffering due to the increasing popularity of streaming services such as Spotify and Hulu that offer ad-free subscriptions.  I don't think I've even listened to the radio in years because of Spotify Premium and following my favorite bands on Facebook so I can know when they have new music out.  And, Hulu seems to play the same three ads over and over (I'm cheap and have the ad-served plan).

These digital methods are finding much more success than print ads now, and social media ads add another layer of customizability in that they can be served based on an incredible dataset of user metrics.  This agility offers much more targeted reach to the types of people most likely to buy, and therefore offers businesses more bang for their ad buck.  I don't think it'll go away anytime soon.

Week 12 | Post B

I opted to create a Pinterest account for my business, despite the fact that I despise the platform :)  In reviewing options for additional social media for my business, Yelp seemed to be a good fit but I'm not exactly "open" right now.  Quarantine, homeschooling, and dealing with 4 huge orders due by November has me pretty locked down in more ways than one, and Yelp would just invite problems plus would open the opportunity for bad reviews when I turn down work.  Plus, as a home based business I'm not comfortable blindly casting personal contact details to the world.

So, Pinterest it is.  I've resisted because about 10 years ago I ran a little craft blog and encountered a lot of theft of my photos and ideas on Pinterest, and had a deluge of people demanding free patterns from me (WHY?).  I've considered it my little devil, lol.  However, I've found it helpful for little bits of ideas for cakes here and there, and have actually found that a good portion of my Etsy traffic comes from Pinterest.  So, in a way it's redeeming itself by driving a bit of business.  We'll see how it goes.

I also signed up for a Meetup account - this can do two things for me:

• Connect me with other stained glass artists to help me build my skills and potentially market my patterns
• Connect me with people who appreciate art and may be interested in purchasing a finished piece.

Plus, it looks kind of fun!  I'll see if this little introvert can get brave and actually go to something.

Week 12 | Post A

Many businesses find social media to be a huge boost to their marketing efforts, and additional tools can help boost these efforts.  Resources like LinkedIn, Yelp, Travel Advisor, and Google Maps can help to share more information about your business as well as give potential customers a glimpse into what they can expect when they do business with you.

When it comes to my stained glass business, a resource like Yelp would be a good fit because stained glass pieces are often a large investment and require a lot of interaction with a customer.  People want to be sure about spending that kind of money, and to build that trust they will want to hear from previous customers.  This can help them identify if my product meets their quality, customization, and aesthetic standards.  And, if I have the personality that they think they could work with.  I have certainly evaluated Yelp listings of businesses I've researched before and have generally found it fairly reliable, but as with any platform, it does have its flaws.

While my stained glass business is currently shut down due to homeschooling during the pandemic, when it's back open I could build up a Yelp presence by asking previous customers to give me a review and see where it goes from there.

If my business had a storefront a Google Maps listing would also be helpful, but not mandatory (but for now my business is run from my home so I don't want to advertise where I live).  Google Maps listings tend to favor more spur of the moment "find a gas station near me" type searches.  Stained glass purchasers are generally more willing to drive a distance and plan their trips to your location, but still, getting your name out there in whatever ways you can is helpful!

Week 11 | Post A

I have to say, email marketing efforts at previous jobs have not been a fun experience for me.  But, perhaps working with this platform with my own business would net a better result!

When pondering a newsletter for my stained glass business, I think it best to do a monthly newsletter.  However, early on in the process I would need to sort my contacts into "other artists" and "purchasers" because each would be after different information.  Other artists, of course, would be other stained glass artists and purchasers would be people who've purchased my work and would not typically be a glass artist themselves.  Content in my newsletter could be broken up as follows:

Other artists:

• Product reviews - other artists would be interested to hear about new tools and materials to see if they'd be of use in their crafting
• Tips - other artists like learning new techniques and ways to make their work better
• Pattern highlight - simple marketing of my patterns
• Artist highlight - a highlight on other artists who are doing interesting things in glass

Purchasers

• Tips on care and display of stained glass - this would be helpful for purchasers because they would be able to better enjoy their purchases
• Sale notices - who doesn't like a sale?!
• Work in progress updates - sharing information on what's on the workbench to keep purchasers engaged.
• Artist highlight - a highlight on other artists who are doing interesting things in glass

I have to admit that I rarely sign up for newsletters.  I just don't have time to sift though so many emails.  However, I do get a couple for things that I really do care about, and I'm interested in their stories of what's going on in their world.  Plus, I do take advantage of sales promotions if I have a need for that item!

Week 10 | Post B

For a stained glass blog I would produce/source content to fit in the following categories:

• Product releases/reviews
• Tips
• News
• Pattern resources
• Artist spotlight

This content runs the gamut of the content that other stained glass artists look for.  They want to know if new tools and materials are worth it (stained glass gear is expensive!), they want knowledge to help their projects come together faster, they want to know more about what's going on in stained glass, new ideas for projects, and to see what other glass artists are up to.

Organizing my content in this way would help my business to grow because it would be a great, free resource to drive traffic to my website which would hopefully drive sales.  Given that the content would be specific to other stained glass artists, it's likely that they'd only purchase my patterns, not finished pieces (that's a different target market and set of SEO...).  If the blog features content that other artists find valuable then they will return, knowing that they can have questions answered and also discover new materials and tools there.  If my content makes their crafting more enjoyable, they will return.  And, depending on the product vendor, there might be opportunities to be a kickback in exchange for me promoting their product.  Or, I could even set up a small storefront to take advantage of interested buyers (who've just read a blog post) and sell said products right on the site.

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Other blogs commented on:

• Christine Vanderpool
• Elizabeth Spiering
• Janda Slade

Week 10 | Post A

When it comes to pondering the question of adding a personal touch to a business blog post, I say that it's always appropriate!  Why?  Because people (and potential buyers) like to know the face behind what they're reading.  This, especially when there's interaction with other blog readers, helps to drive a sense of community and belonging, which can help customers to feel like they're a part of a brand.  This appeals to their emotions by making them feel as though they are actively contributing to the success of the product/brand/post.

In addition to the community benefits to adding a personal touch, adding that personal touch also does the following:

• Alerts customers to a potential issue with a product.  A beauty product made the blog author break out in hives?  I want to know!
• Finds new ways to use the product.  By not sticking to the script and being honest in their experience, a blog writer can share something neat that they discovered about a product.
• Share a tip.  Suppose a food blogger is reviewing a recipe and knows a shortcut that ensures perfect results.  By sharing that personal info they can help their readers to achieve their goal of tasty food, and everyone comes away having had a better experience.

By adding a personal touch to posts, bloggers are able to be more engaged, informative, and interesting to their audiences.

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My posts for the week:

Week 9 | Post B

This week I made three posts to my Instagram:

For my hashtags I tried dropping my business name from them, and keeping the list of tags short:

• Post 1: Thursday, 12:30pm | #stainedglass #artglass #glassart #glassartist #throwbackthursday #roots #crafterintraining
• Post 2: Friday, 6pm | #stainedglass #artglass #glassart #repair #stainedglassrepair #fail #shippingfail #stainedglassfail
• Post 3: Sunday, 5pm | #stainedglass #stainedglasscraft #mosaics #studio #workshop #organized #glassartist #glasscraft #artglass

These posts are based on my research for my previous post this week - using a few keywords other artists used to describe stained glass as well as other ones to round out the descriptions.  In addition, I fine tuned my hashtags for each post with ones like #thorwbackthursday and #shippingfail that aren't necessarily specific to stained glass, but were relevant to my posts.

As you can see, my Throwback Thursday post did the best (slightly), likely because it was posted at a higher traffic time.  My Friday night post did ok too, surprisingly.  It's been my experience that posts over weekends often fall flat.  This was proven with my Sunday post getting zero traction, even though it was about a solution to a very common stained glass problem (how to store scraps).  It's also the only one that didn't include a picture of an actual stained glass work, and those really do seem to do better.

It seems as though posting during the week gets the most traction, as well as including a finished work in the post.  In my case, I think that timing and content had more to do with the success of the post than the keywords, though I do not discount their use.

Week 9 | Post A

When it comes to marketing visually, nothing shines in the spotlight like stained glass.  Stained glass as an art form relies on the visual dancing of light to make its point.  Stained glass does not thrive in darkness, and because of this the photo-based platform of Instagram works extremely well for it.

For this assignment I'll be evaluating the following four stained glass businesses, found through Instagram's Discover feature (so these aren't businesses that I already follow).

• Wavehavenglass
• Sarahbrueckwilliams
• culottacreations
• theglassbucket

In reviewing these accounts, it appears that Instagram is working well for them.  Though there's a wide range of follower numbers (173 to 13k), all of the businesses' posts get engagement, largely by likes.  Many posts also get comments, but not nearly as many as the likes.  In evaluating their hashtags, many are using the strategy of using base "stained glass" hashtags such as #stainedglass, #artglass, and more, and then using additional hashtags to describe the stained glass work they're posting.  However, none of the accounts use excessive hashtags - most use no more than 10-15 hashtags per post.  The most heavily followed accounts seem to be able to get by with less (likely due to Instagram's metrics showing more popular pages).

For my account I've been using a base hashtag structure of
#shellebelledesigns #shellebelledesignsstainedglass #stainedglass #stainedglasspanel #stainedglasscraft #artglass #glassart #handmade #crafter and then adding Etsy-specific tags if applicable, plus more tags about the content of the piece such as #cat, #nightlight, #beach, and more.  However, my hashtags might not be quite right since I don't get the nice engagement that these other examples do.  Perhaps I should take more of a SEO approach and move the most important hashtags to the front?  And drop hashtags about my business?  I'll have to try it.

These accounts also post nearly daily, with a gap of a day or two here and there.  This frequent posting, I've found, really helps your content to be seen by others (the hard part is coming up with that much content when you aren't a full time glass artist!).  In fact, this frequent and recent posting is probably why I was directed to these accounts through the Discover feature in the first place.  In the past when I've had time I've been able to create more and post more often, and there was a noticeable uptick in engagement.  I think that's the real trick to Instagram - frequent posting of engaging content.

When it comes to what kind of content gets the most attention, it's largely the tasteful styled photos of finished stained glass pieces that get the likes.  Photos about the artists' "life" get less likes.  However, some of the artists do post videos of their process and assembly, which get impressive view numbers (probably because artists love to learn tricks from each other).

Week 8 | Post B

My group:

Patricia Rabito - Patty's Gluten Free

Sandra Sanchez - El Cubano Food Truck

Miguel Velasco - Baja Tacos & Cantina

Unfortunately, my remaining group members have not provided their Instagram links at the time of writing.

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When it comes to how different businesses use Instagram the myriad of uses can be categorized within the following categories:

• Portfolio
• Products/Promotion
• Informative
• Customer Outreach

For portfolio business users, like me, Instagram is used to showcase created works.  For my stained glass business I share photos of my completed works, which almost always have a buyer already in place.  However, I can cross over into products when I advertise a finished piece or pattern to sell.  Another example of a portfolio use could be a dancer showing off their skills in the hopes of being recruited for a performance.

For product business users, such as a makeup company, Instagram can be used to show off the gamut of their product selection.  Here, care would be taken with regards to photography to show models at their most beautiful so that potential customers are inspired to want that look.  Or, a car company could use Instagram to show the capabilities of a new model through photos and videos, or even advertise special financing offers.

Informative business uses of Instagram could be a city sharing information about summer youth programs, new restaurants in town, or even information about street parking during snow season (something I often see friends on the East Coast chatting about come November).

Businesses that work via customer outreach are businesses whose products are largely sold to an established fanbase.  By using customer outreach they cultivate that fanbase, keep them interested, and also slip products in here and there.  TV chef Ina Garten is actually doing this right now - she has the fanbase in place, but she is cultivating her relationship with them by creating pantry recipes and sharing them (since it's difficult for quarantined people to shop/plan meals right now).  She is also asking her followers to tell her what they have on hand and don't know what to do with - and she whips up easy and achievable meals with those ingredients.  This outreach makes those fans feel heard and in response get usable information from someone they respect.

Week 8 | Post A Alternate Assignment

As my stained glass Instagram profile has been running for a few years now, I've opted to complete the alternate assignment this week.

My business uses both Facebook and Instagram for social media and Instagram is hands down the more effective platform for me.  I think that this is due to a few things:

• Facebook severely limits how many of your followers see your business posts unless you pay up.  Also, they take user engagement into consideration when feeding content to newsfeeds - if a follower (who has taken the time to Like your page!) doesn't like or comment on your posts Facebook will assume that they're not interested in the page anymore and won't show as much content from that page.  This is really a disappointing tactic, as not all users want to engage with posts but many do still want to see them.  And it also negatively affects small businesses that don't have the budget or reason to run ads.  Instagram on the other hand shows ALL posts to ALL followers.
• Instagram is more image-driven, which works extremely well for stained glass.  The focus is on the aesthetics of the image with little visual clutter, whereas on Facebook the images get lost in the mire of content a bit.
• It's easier to gain organic followers on Instagram by way of hashtags.  Yes, Facebook has hashtags but they aren't used to the extent that Instagram uses them.  It's easy to wander on Instagram and find new people who make stained glass, peruse their content, and decide to follow or not.  I get one or two new followers on Instagram every month simply by hashtagging.  I don't have this luck on Facebook.

Currently, my Instagram profile has 128 followers and I am following 72 people (largely other stained glass creators, a few friends, and several stained glass supply manufacturers/retailers).

I post whenever I have a new piece to show off, perhaps 2-3 times a month (though I wish I could be finishing and photographing creations constantly!).  I'm conscious of the "grid" on Instagram so I'm careful to take attractive pictures that are cohesive and interesting.  Any works in progress or silly pictures go into my stories where they will be seen, but will not affect my aesthetics.

Currently, I have a "base" set of hashtags on every post:

#shellebelledesigns #shellebelledesignsstainedglass #stainedglass #artglass #glassart #stainedglassartist #stainedglasspanel

And then, depending on the type of project or product I'm selling, I'll add some of the following:

#etsy #etsyshop #stainedglasspatterns #stainedglasspatternsforsale #nightlight #lantern #pattern

Following that, I'll add hashtags that are specific to what the creation is of, such as:

#cat #dog #moon #sugarskull #pineapple #lemon #dragonfly and so on.  Basically, I work to define my content from all angles so that I can tap into as many organic searches as possible.  It seems to do ok, though I've had my best results when I'm posting several times a week.

I also see some traffic from my Instagram into my Etsy storefront, so something is working to a small degree.  I do also enjoy the little group of other artists I follow!

Week 7 | Post B

This week I prepared three scheduled posts for my stained glass Facebook page.  They are:

• A picture of a recent piece of mine, using new techniques that I'm working on (and have been posting about).  This post will go live on Monday morning.
• A post about a sale I'm running on my Etsy page to celebrate my business's 5th birthday next month.  A link to my Etsy page is also included.  This post goes live on Wednesday morning.
• A post that links to a YouTube video about how art glass is made.  This post goes live Thursday evening, based on Facebook's recommended time for when my followers are most active.

I crafted these posts with the mindset of providing a variety of content for my followers.  I'm noticing more and more that I appreciate that in a page so it's worth trying for myself.  Here, I show off some of my recent work (what I sell), which satisfies the art side of my followers and perhaps even gives some of them ideas.  For those that don't create stained glass, it's something pretty to look at and maybe purchase.  Then, I post about how to get what I sell cheaper, and who doesn't love a sale?!  This also has the bonus of driving traffic to my Etsy page which will boost my SEO over there too.  And on top of that, the sale is for my cheapest, lowest effort items (digital patterns) so I don't have to worry about the stress of an influx of orders.  In fact, it'd be nice if I did get an influx!  And my last post caters to my followers' curiosity and teaches them something they didn't know, and likely have never thought about.  This shows them the hand work that goes into just the basic supplies that us stained glass artists use, and also helps to add value to the art (and ultimately help justify its cost).

I am hopeful that by presenting a variety of content to my followers that I'll get better engagement and also teach them something along the way.

Week 7 | Post A

This week I liked the following businesses as my page:

Stained Glass by Mary - I hadn't heard of this page before, but it came up with a Facebook search for "stained glass".  While Mary's style is a bit more traditional than my preference, I love that she posts frequently and engages with her audience.  And, she's amassed 13k followers in a little over a year!  That's amazing!  According to her posts she recently switched to running her stained glass business full time and I truly admire artists that can do that.  I don't even know her but I'm cheering her on from afar!  By liking this page I hope to be able to get daily doses of inspiration and perhaps little insights into how to pull an income from stained glass, as I'd like to retire into it some day.

Beveldine Stained Glass - This is another artist page I wasn't familiar with, but this business appears to specialize in stained glass restorations.  I've done a few repairs (mostly on my own pieces that I broke in finishing) so the posts here offer an interesting view on techniques that I could certainly improve on and offer as a service.  Plus, the company posts fairly frequently so that's always a plus!

Stained Glass Association of America - I have to admit, I'd never heard of the Stained Glass Association of America, which is odd because I feel like it would have come up in my stained glass group (my glass mosaic group talks about its associated trade group constantly).  But, this showed up in my Facebook search so I took a look.  Fortunately, this looks like my kind of page!  They post frequently, and post a variety of content that keeps the page fresh and interesting.  It's a range of showcasing work, advertising works that the public can go see, how stained glass has played a roll in peoples' lives, and more.  All interesting, informative content that I look forward to browsing and possibly using as interesting "sharable" content on my page.

Stained Glass News - Fortunately, I have heard of this publication from my stained glass group.  Some of the group's members are even featured on occasion!  This page is especially interesting to me because instead of flouncy articles about ancient stained glass, this dives into the functional aspect of it with tutorials, product reviews, and news on up and coming artists.  It'd be neat to get my patterns or pieces featured in it and get more traffic to my social media and Etsy in response.

Bullseye Glass Co. - Due to necessity, I've started working with more Bullseye glass lately (I wrote about my the difficulties my favorite manufacturer - Spectrum - is having in a recent post).  While I can't say I love working with it, the glass is genuinely beautiful and has great "personality".  By liking this page I hope to learn more about their products and perhaps even pick up some tips along the way.  Using a variety of glass in my work also helps to make the work I post more interesting.  I could also start tagging the company whose glass I used (if I could manage to keep track of what's what) and perhaps even get a shoutout on social media!

Youghiogheny Glass - Youghiogheny Glass is another glass manufacturer whose products I've started using due to Spectrum's troubles.  And like Bullseye, their glass has its own feel too!  While their page is a little sparse on variety of content, they do seem to post frequently so I feel like I can actually learn something by following them.  I could take the same approach to tagging the manufacturer here and perhaps get a shoutout.

Surfing Madonna Oceans Project - Funny enough, the Surfing Madonna was the spark that got me into stained glass.  I'd been toying with the idea that glass art sounded interesting and my grandparents had taken a few classes, but I didn't really know where to start.  And then when the Surfing Madonna showed up, technically as vandalism, it was a curious juxtaposition of illegal and beautiful.  Though this piece is a mosaic, it still explored glass in an interesting way, plus I appreciated its quirky take on the Virgen de Guadalupe and I support its message of conservation and caring for the Earth.  This piece will always be special to me.  Perhaps if this project ran a craft fair I could participate and drum up more traffic to my social media.

Week 6 | Post B

When evaluating the success of a Facebook page there's many factors to consider - two of them being post reach and post engagement.  According to Social Media Examiner, post reach is "is the number of unique people who saw your content".  This isn't to say the number of followers who saw your content - instead it's the actual number of Facebook users who saw your post via a share, Facebook showing that one of their friends engaged with the post, or even just showing up in their feed because they follow the page.  And, not only that, there's different types of reach too.  Social Media Examiner lists them as post, page, organic, viral and paid and emphasizes that Facebook runs on post reach, and as a consequence, so does your business page.

The other major player mentioned - post engagement - is where Facebook users actually interact with your post somehow.  This is by liking, sharing, or commenting on your post.  This tells Facebook that the post was interesting enough for that user to stop scrolling and interact, and therefore other users might feel the same way.  The most a post is interacted with, the better its chances of being shown to more users.

It's important to understand the difference between post reach and post metrics because one represents your content simply being there, and the other represents your content being good enough for users to want something to do with.  As marketers, we should always strive to get the highest engagement possible with high quality postings.

My page happens to have its insights enabled, so I can take a look at how I can use them to better serve my customers.  In my case, I already know that my page struggles due to infrequent posting.  It's simply life and not being able to develop the physical content to share.  However, when I do post at least some people see it:

Looking at my results, my post about me working with a different style of art glass making (bottom of the list) resulted in a noticeable uptick in reach activity.  Though, I must chuckle when one post click and two likes is an "uptick".  However, this tells me that switching up my content and styles, as well as varying my photography styles has a result.

I can also use my metrics to determine the best time for posting, who my audience is, and track any new likes and page follows after posts to really dial in my content.  I'm hopeful that I can get the hang of understanding all of this!

Facebook Pages I Followed and Commented On:

Patty's Gluten Free (Patricia Rabito)
El Cubano (Sandra Sanchez)
Baja Tacos & Cantina (Miguel Velasco)

Week 6 Alternate Assignment

As I have an established Facebook page for my business, Shellebelle Designs Stained Glass, I've chosen to complete the alternate assignment this week.  As part of it I've prepared a small practice page - Pifinity.

But back to my Shellebelle Designs page... this page is actually one of four that I run for my business.  Since my business is a bit of a hodgepodge I've separated out its content by topic into pages so that I don't annoy people away with irrelevant posts (i.e. fans of my custom cakes really don't care to hear about my vinyl diecutting).  This is good and bad; while it does help me dial my content in more tightly my followers are spread across multiple pages and it's difficult to coax them into liking all of my pages.  But at the same time, at least I know the likes are genuine.

I started my stained glass page on April 28, 2015, shortly after I legally formed my business.  My main business page existed long before that, but got cleaned up as I refined all of my content into their own pages.  Right from the get go I was using my stained glass business page to promote my products and share my work, as I was 3 years into my stained glass hobby at that point and had work and patterns to show.  It was also around this time that I relaunched my Etsy page and was using Facebook to help promote that.  At first my posting was slow, and now I share something about once a month.  I wish I could post more, but I struggle to find the time to make new pieces and develop new patterns now.  When I do post I maybe get a few likes because Facebook serves my posts to so few people.  It's pretty dismal - but my posts do get some attention on Instagram.  As of today, the page has 75 followers.

Other businesses in my industry are Spectrum Glass by Oceanside Glass & Tile, Don Myers Stained Glass, and Ocean Stained Glass.  Let's look at their social media...

Spectrum Glass by Oceanside Glass & Tile
Admittedly, this company is in a transition phase right now, having bought up Spectrum Glass a few years ago and moved art glass production to Mexico to address stricter EPA standards.  It's been a rough start for them, especially since they've not been well-received by the glass art community, and it shows on their Facebook page.  Despite 13.5k likes, their posts get very little engagement.  Plus, they don't post as often as they used to.  Last summer they were posting several times a week - neat videos, new products, information on the transition, and more - which I found interesting and informative, especially since Spectrum glass is my favorite to work with.  However, come fall their social media efforts tapered way off and they rarely post anymore.  I also noticed by checking their website that their marketing specialist is no longer there (there's probably a correlation here).  Needless to say, their posts aren't as interesting and engaging as they used to be, and in fact when I checked their page I noticed two posts that hadn't even been served up in my timeline from today.  Granted, I'm a firm don't feed the metrics Facebook user and I never like any post from any source, and only post comments when I have something to say.  I know Facebook takes this as me not being interested in the page, which is discouraging.  Their photos (including cover photo) are all well formatted and loaded correctly, I just wish there were more.

If I had to make a suggestion for how to improve the page I'd suggest that they post more.  I loved their production and product videos, styled pictures of new products, and helpful updates.  In fact, last spring the company put out the call for glass artists to send in pictures of their work to be featured (with attribution) on their page.  I sent in several of my pieces with the hope that Spectrum's platform could help get me exposure, but nothing ever happened with that.  That was disappointing me to me as someone who enjoys seeing the work of others as well as using their product.

Don Myers Stained Glass
Don Myers is a big name in the local stained glass scene.  His page has 80 likes and was created in October of 2010.  Unfortunately, this is another page that has gone stale - its last post is from 2017.  And if you scroll a bit further you see a bit more active posting, but it's just memes.  I want to see his work!  The imagery on the page is otherwise set up properly, though their cover photo does clip off a bit (likely due to Facebook constantly messing with its size).  There are no calls to action.  This page could be greatly improved by posting more and by sharing photos of their actual product.  His speciality is architectural glass, which is a field I don't work in but I certainly appreciate and would love to see more of.

Ocean Stained Glass
Ocean Stained Glass is a new shop for me, but I was happy to see that their nearly 500 followers are getting more interesting content than the other two pages are sharing.  Here, they post about once a month and do a good job sharing inspiring photos to encourage their target market to get their creative juices flowing.  However, their cover photo could use some work.  It's of a stained glass work, but zoomed in too closely to tell what it's of and it's poorly lit.  I suppose they were trying to show off the glass itself, but they don't accomplish that well.  Plus, the picture is a bit fuzzy and I see a break in one of the pieces of glass (breaks are our absolute nemesis).  It's unfortunately not a good look, and could be improved with a clearer photo that either showcases more interesting glass or a more identifiable section of a work.  They do feature a call to action with a post about inventory and gift certificates, but at first glance I thought it was a student work post.  They do, however, encourage action with a Send Message button enabled on the page.

I think this page could be improved by posting more, especially about what products they have on hand.  Trips to glass stores are a bit of a production, so knowing ahead of time what products they carry would help encourage me to make the trip up to Dana Point to visit them.

Week 5 Post 2 | My Company

My business, Shellebelle Designs Stained Glass (SDSG) markets to two groups: stained glass crafters and people who wish to buy completed stained glass works.  For the purpose of this post I’ll explain them separately:

Stained Glass Crafters

SDSG targets fellow stained glass artisans for the purpose of selling stained glass patterns that they can use to create their own panels.  They are often middle income, middle age and above, and moderately tech savvy.  They are all creative types and both male and female.  SDSG has a goal of expanding into a younger age bracket (Millennials and above) to take advantage of new interest in traditional arts there.

Completed Stained Glass Work Buyers

SDSG also targets consumers who wish to buy finished stained glass by way of offering completed, ready to ship pieces, and custom pieces.  These buyers are typically high middle income and comfortable with tech.  This market has an appreciation for handcrafts and values their bespoke nature, but may or may not be creative themselves.  Both men and women are marketed to.  SDSG has a goal of increasing awareness of its finished stained glass offerings among non-stained glass crafters.

Week 5 Post 1 | Target Markets

Let's talk about target markets!  As a succulent addict fanatic, I am excited to write about Amstrong Garden Centers and Rancho Vista Nursery in this post.  While I'm familiar with Armstrong, Rancho Vista Nursery has definitely won me over with their awesome weekend succulent farmstand.  They have some unique plants that I've not seen elsewhere (plus a very sweet little dog that likes pets).

Before moving into analyzing their pages, I know that Rancho Vista Nursery is an independent wholesale-only nursery (with the exception of the weekend farmstand) and Armstrong is a chain that accepts all customers.  Because of this, both companies will market their product differently - the market for one is industry professionals looking for good prices, bulk availability, and a good selection of core plant species.  The other market is homeowners - some with a green thumb, some not - looking for "pretty", affordable, and easy to get home and care for.  Right off the bat this difference in markets is apparent between the two websites.  Armstrong has a fresh, lively website that immediately calls you to action with their landscape design service.  For an individual consumer who perhaps doesn't quite know where to start with their yard renovation, this is an excellent strategy to connect with those "I don't know what to do..." customers and call them to action.  Rancho Vista has a much more basic website - while it is tastefully designed it is limited to critical information only.  Because their market is landscape professionals who already know what they're looking for, there's no need to list exhaustive details about their inventory and its care.  It's also likely that they've built numerous relationships with local landscapers so all business is quickly handled over the phone.  In fact, their market probably barely even visits their website if at all.

Rancho Vista's site only has two pages that I can find - one for the main company and another with basic details about the farmstand.  Armstrong, on the other hand, has an extensive listing of pages that cover their products and services - from professional installation to "Pink Peace" roses.  All written information is clear and is written for an audience that doesn't have expert-level knowledge of horticulture.  Plus, there's a product listing with clear pictures of each item to help home gardeners locate their desired item.  Further information offers education by way of a blog, videos, and available classes.  A lot of time (and money) was clearly spent to make Armstrong's site convey the message that they're the go-to nursery for the home gardener and they're ready and willing to help you make your yard beautiful.  Their overall tone is friendly and reassuring, while Rancho Vista's site doesn't do that - simply because it doesn't need to.  Rancho Vista's site is more to the point without being rude.  Their message is roughly "if you have a resale license you'll find everything you need in person."

While non-industry consumers can't shop at Rancho Vista, Rancho Vista's industry folk certainly can shop at Armstrong.  They probably wouldn't look at the website either.  However, in all likelihood industry folk probably do get some measure of an industry discount at Armstrong, though Armstrong and Rancho Vista specialize in different kinds of plants.

The differences between these two websites are great examples of how to market to different demographics and their knowledge of the product.  There's no need to hash out information consumers already know ad nauseam, but there are huge benefits to catering to consumers who don't know what end is up when it comes to gardening.

Week 4 Post 2 | My Website Critques

After my last post about what websites were doing wrong, I'd like to talk about two websites that do things right.  The concept of "right" can be summed up with only two definitions; it's aesthetically pleasing and it's easy to use.  These two websites do these two things well, and enjoy the benefits of good traffic that comes and stays a while.

YouTube
Everyone knows YouTube, and while it's well stocked with cat videos and how to's, YouTube is actually very thoughtfully designed.  Upon loading, visitors are greeted with two rows of recommended/subscribed videos in the center of the screen.  The eye immediately goes to this area - and that's a smart move on the part of the YouTube designers.  By putting the content that you're most likely to engage with front and center, you're more likely to click.  They add more value to these recommended videos by including clear uploader-provided titles and timestamps right along the video and also having them autoplay for a few seconds if you mouse over.  This can help users make quick judgements about if they want to watch the video or not.  Then, as the user scrolls down a bit more (below the fold), they are greeted with a single row of newsworthy videos.  Then, below that, it's back to the recommended videos.  All of the videos are arranged into a neat grid based on your screen size (or a single column on mobile) - making a colorful, graphical repeat as you scroll.

As an accessory to the visuals of the videos, users have very fast access to custom searches by way of a persistent top search bar.  This search bar is easy to use, and has a keyword match function as the user types to help narrow down what videos to search for.  This search has a side effect of sometimes autofilling suggestions that the user may not have thought of, leading to interesting explorations through YouTube.  Account maintenance, playlists, and quick links to subscribed channels are easily available though a left side navigation bar on the home page.  The overall design is simple, with a clean grid layout and simple typography that utilizes excellent typography to clearly highlight what information is important.

The user experience is also enhanced for video watching - with the availability of several view modes users can choose how they prefer to watch, and additional functionality tucked away under various easy to find buttons controls playback speed, captions, and translations.

As for improvements, YouTube would benefit from not forcing certain playback features on users, such as the autoplay feature.  As many times as I've disabled it, it still sneaks back to enabled and that's not always what I want.  Its user metrics for recommendations could also use a little tinkering, as over and over again it recommends the same videos I'm not interested in or videos that I've already watched.

All of this user-centered design and ability to customize the experience helps YouTube to deliver an excellent experience for its visitors - regardless of if they're there to find something specific or just to waste time.

Zillow

Real estate site Zillow also does an excellent job in user design as well.  Upon first loading the site, visitors are greeted with a peaceful, stylish photo of a home that changes on occasion to keep things fresh.  Today, that photo is a dusk photo of a peaceful Cape Cod style beach bungalow - immediately making the visitor ponder summer nights at the shore around a cozy fire and s'mores.  The photo effectively gets users thinking of the possibilities in their real estate searching and ultimate purchase (if they get that far).  A search box is prominently placed over the photo to encourage users to get started in their search.  The site features little more above the fold aside from some basic navigational elements.  Below the fold Zillow provides information on how they work as well as links to mortgage information - helpful additions to users who are just beginning a real estate purchase and may not quite know where to start.

Upon performing a search, users are taken to a clean, grid-designed result that features a prominent map search feature as well as individual real estate listings organized into several rows.  The listings also feature quick information with an eye to typography - it's easy to get their address, price, and status, as well as know if there's additional sales features available like a 3D tour.  It's easy to adjust the map, search parameters, and click into listings to get more information.  Helpful flyouts provide more information on moused-over areas so users can get quick info to help them decide whether to click into something or not.

Zillow works much like YouTube in that it lets the content create the visual interest.  There's very little decoration or design to the site other than its strong, easy to navigate layout.  One downfall of the site, though, is that its blue color for branding is somewhat harsh on my screen.  I feel like it competes for visual attention with the other important elements on the page, and that is a bit distracting.  I also find that the overlay-style real estate listings require more scrolling than I'd like - making them into their own page like Redfin does allows for more columns in the design, and therefore more content up higher.

All in all, there are some heavy hitters in the online real estate market and while they use similar features, one way they can differentiate is in design.  Zillow achieves this easily with a heavy emphasis on featuring imagery in a way that helps them to do the talking.

Week 4 Post 1 | Website Critiques

This week we're looking at websites and asking ourselves "What are they doing well?  How could they improve?  And where do they just need to start over?"  Despite the internet maturing to where it is now, admittedly not everyone is a web designer or knows the principles of web design.  And yet, some do it extremely well.  Here's a small collection of thoughts on four websites:

The Bad
Jami Lin's Passions - This website caught my attention because I immediately didn't know where my attention should go.  There's quite a few concerns with this website design, namely with hierarchy of content, navigation, "tone", and typography.  The site's hierarchy struggles because there's no focus; all of the text is smashed together into a narrow column (I'm guessing this site is from the 1024x768 days), roughly all the same size, and there's little imagery to direct us quickly to what things are.  In addition, all of the content seems in conflict with each other.  One area talks about Feng Shui, another real estate, then chakras, then its owner, and then anti-aging products.  What is this site selling?  The most eye catching element is the top header, but it's wild and garish in and of itself.  Its navigation also struggles - I count at least three separate menus.and am not sure which one would take me where I want to go.  And, the astonishing thing is that for as much content is on the front page there's...even more pages with even more content.

My major concern with this site is that it deals with traditional beliefs of thought that have to do with inner peace, peace within an environment, and balance.  A business should convey their tone by way of their website, and no part of this site brings me "peace".  It's cluttered, spastic in thought, and uses garish colors.  If nothing else, it makes me worry that I'm going to get a computer virus from the assorted ads.  The typography is also a struggle because it is all consistent - there's very little in the way of headers to distinguish sections of copy.  I feel like every section is shouting for attention all at once.

This site also has major SEO issues (keyword stuffing, image-based text in the most important places, unclear navigation and headers, duplicate text, and more).

How could this be fixed?  The first task would be to refine all of the content.  All of the content needs to be consolidated into sections of thought.  I would imagine that if you really picked this site apart you'd find that a lot of the text repeats and could be simplified significantly.  Then, all but the most important information needs to be organized into pages under one menu.  The next step would be to sort out the website design to fit the product it's selling.  A website theme with a more simple layout and lots of white space would help to bring peace to the site, as would nice images of Feng Shui in use.  Information about blog posts and more "train of thought" information could be neatly placed at the bottom of the page where it's still easily findable, but not screaming for attention.

Gates N Fences - This website also has some major struggles.  Like the previous site, it struggles from trying to say too much at once with poor typography and hierarchy.  The design is also especially problematic, and the methods they used to counteract it only make it worse.

By placing every single thing they want to say about the business right on the front page I don't even know where to start reading.  The key with web design is getting your point across in mere seconds, and I have to admit it took me more than a moment to even figure out what this company does.  There is no hierarchy to what they're trying to say - everything is coming at me all at once.  Plus, the text is all too small to read.  There's no change in typography to help emphasize points or separate content.  Even links use the default blue color when that's easily changed in the site CSS.  The website navigation also needs to be refined - it's another case of cramming in whatever they could think up as "possibly being important".  It also takes a lot of scrolling to view it all, and likely important sections are getting lost to the SEO because they reside below the page fold (the viewable area when first loading the site).  Much of this menu could be refined into a 2-3 level menu that simplifies information into sections so that certain customers know where to find content, and others can find other content.

The design of the site is also troublesome with a repeating pattern in the background and nothing to isolate page elements from it.  To counteract this, they simply dropped all text onto gray backgrounds that clash and all images sit on white backgrounds.  There are also major SEO issues on this site too - keyword stuffing, lack of headlines, lack of focus, and more.

To fix this site I would suggest starting by refining the content more carefully.  What products do they sell?  Make those navigation headers.  What would they say about their company if they only had three seconds to say it?  Make that the most apparent text when the site loads.  And then I'd build out a much better layout that better isolates the page elements from the background (such as on a white background).  This helps the text and imagery to pop better.  The typography could also be spruced up with better headlines and font sizes.  Then, I'd suggest moving all subtopics under their appropriate menu as flyouts to help clear the clutter.  And, given that this company focuses on a very visual product, get some of those pretty pictures front and center.  Let potential customers see your capabilities without saying a word.


The Good
In contrast, there are some excellent websites out there too!

Toyota - The Toyota website shines by being focused without fluff, much like their vehicles.  Immediately I am presented with hierarchy - the four links at the bottom of the screen to build a vehicle, find a dealer, and more.  Were I in the market for a Toyota that's certainly information I'd be looking for.  Then, an animation loads and loops to keep visual interest, plus offers enticement to travel to another part of the site to view a commercial.  This is an excellent teaser that doesn't compete with the rest of the site.  And then, I notice the navigation waiting patiently at the top of the screen for any additional needs I may have.  A little more scrolling reveals easy links to specific vehicles below the fold - indicated with a picture of the vehicle.  This helps to solidify recognition of the vehicles, and satisfies the visitors that only know what a car looks like and not necessarily its name.  The design aesthetic is clean and with a minimal palette, and the color red indicating things that I can do.

Toyota's careful design of their site leaves me feeling like I can easily figure out where to go to find the information I want.  I happen to be a bit of a car nerd so I'm already familiar with all of their products and where they sit in the market, but this site is exceptionally digestible to those who perhaps aren't as savvy.  Those visitors could shop by car category, price, and more easily.  The entire site is clear and pragmatic, which is what I would expect from Toyota.

National Park Service - The NPS website is another example of an extremely well done site.  Immediately I am greeted with their highlighted story on African American Heritage with a clear link of how to get to it.  Below it in hierarchy sits three more highlighted stories, each also supported with clear imagery that conveys the message of the story.  And then, my eye notices the drop down selector for parks within the system.  Perhaps I came to this site looking for information on a specific park, but I was also gifted with other learning opportunities too.  Scrolling below the fold reveals more highlighted stories and sections of the website that I may visit, all with clean, clear typography and earthy colors.  I haven't visited many national parks, but it is certainly on my bucket list.  Showing me beautiful pictures of the outdoors is something that certainly gets me excited to continue digging through the site.  Expanding the navigation reveals many more subcategories that help visitors find what they're looking for.  And then, it collapses out of the way.

The simple design of the site leaves me pondering the simplicity of the outdoors.  I also appreciated how easy it was to find information in the first place - either through menus or the search box.  The design leaves me feeling like I can quickly find exactly what I'm looking for, with some bonus information along the way if I want it too.

Week 3A: Blog Postings

This week I commented on the posts of Patricia Rabito, Sandra Sanchez, and Miguel Velasco.

Week 3 Post 2 | Stained Glass + Social Media

As I will be focusing on the social media for my stained glass business this semester, I’ve researched the social media habits of a variety of companies within the stained glass market.  For reference, the term “art glass” refers to manufactured decorative glass intended to be cut further and assembled into glass works.  The term “glass art” refers to any art created from glass, such as stained glass, kiln-fired fused glass, blown glass, or lampwork pieces.  My list of companies is as follows:

Kokomo Opalescent Glass

https://www.kog.com/

Kokomo Opalescent Glass, based in Kokomo, IN, is a leading manufacturer of art glass and is a medium size international company.  They utilize Facebook and Twitter for their social media, and I also found their unadvertised channel on YouTube.  However, their social media links on their website point to the platforms themselves – not their business pages – leading me to have to search for them.  A simple oversight that is surely hurting them from a SEO standpoint!  Their social media metrics are as follows:

Social Platform	Date of Last Post	Average Posts/Day in 2020	Number of Followers
Facebook	February 6, 2020	2.05	15,731
Twitter	February 3, 2020	.2	860
YouTube	September 6, 2016	0	146

As you can see, they are focusing their SEO labor where it matters, which is Facebook.  However, in scrolling through their posts from this year most of them were simply event pages for classes they were putting on.  As a follower from a more than a thousand miles away, posts about classes don't do much for me.  And, clearly not for others either as the posts that were not geographically limiting had much higher engagement.  Their Twitter account is fairly quiet as well, and their YouTube efforts are dead.  I find the last one a bit disappointing because the process of making art glass is actually pretty neat to watch - they could certainly drum up interest in the company by posting neat videos about their product!  However, I think what's at play here is their target market.  Stained glass crafting is predominately done by retirement-age people, and they don't really hang out on Twitter or YouTube.  But everyone has a grandma on Facebook.  If Kokomo had to choose one platform to focus on I agree, Facebook is it.

Delphi Glass

https://www.delphiglass.com/

Delphi Art Glass is a leading vendor of art glass and supplies for making stained glass panels.  They are a Lansing, MI – based medium size international company that has a local storefront (that also offers classes) and a robust online sales business.  They utilize a variety of social media platforms for their business (easily found on their webpage); Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube.  Their social media metrics are as follows:

Social Platform	Date of Last Post	Average Posts/Day in 2020	Number of Followers
Facebook	February 4, 2020	.28	28,133
Twitter	June 30, 2019	0	1,530
Instagram	February 4, 2020	.15	6,992
Pinterest	dates not listed	dates not listed	2.5 million "monthly viewers"
YouTube	October 24, 2019	0	19,200

Delphi has similar metrics to Kokomo, and I think for the same reason of their target market being more on Facebook than anywhere else.  I did notice, however, that their Instagram posts got much more engagement than on Facebook, and perhaps that's because the platform forces them to focus on sharing quality photos of finished works instead of sales notifications and the like.  Their YouTube channel could be much better utilized as well, as I have most certainly turned to YouTube for a technique tutorial or to better understand a new product.  YouTube videos cross post to Facebook very nicely, and this would in turn drive engagement and interest in their product (especially if they were showing off new glass!).

Blue Dolphin Stained Glass

http://www.bluedolphinglass.com/

Blue Dolphin Stained Glass is a San Diego-based “mom and pop” art glass and stained glass supplies store that also offers classes on-site.  They do not ship products and are a small, local business with only about five employees that I’ve seen.  They utilize Facebook for their social media promotion and their page is not advertised on their website.  Their social media metrics are as follows:

Social Platform	Date of Last Post	Average Posts/Day in 2020	Number of Followers
Facebook	December 25, 2019	0	140

There is not much going on here, unfortunately.  And, in scrolling through their posts it's mostly "business-y" type content.  No pictures of students' works, profiles on their employees, or showcasing new products.  The biggest advantage to their store is being able to select your pieces of glass (they are each unique!) and it would do them well to showcase that, plus you get the satisfaction of supporting a small business.  And, I'm sad to say, the last few times I've made the 40 minute trek down to the store I've not been able to find what I'm looking for and have had to turn to Delphi and wait a week for it to arrive.

Holdman Studios

https://www.holdmanstudios.com/

Holdman Studios is a Lehi, UT based glass art production studio that specializes in manufacturing and restoring stained glass.  They are a medium-size international company and are well known for manufacturing the stained glass panels used in the construction of Mormon temples.  They utilize a variety of social media platforms for their business promotion, such as Behance, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook, which are all easily found on their website. Their social media metrics are as follows:

Social Platform	Date of Last Post	Average Posts/Day in 2020	Number of Followers
Behance	February 8, 2017	0	n/a
Instagram	February 6, 2019	.07	2,903
Pinterest	dates not listed	dates not listed	66,700 "monthly viewers"
LinkedIn	n/a	0	55 connections
Twitter	February 3, 2020	.21	172
Facebook	February 3, 2020	.21	6,541

Unlike the other businesses I've listed, Holdman does a good job of mixing up their social media content.  There's news articles, photos of installations, pieces in progress, and finished works.  This keeps their social media interesting and engaging, despite not posting very often.  In fact, they have pretty good engagement compared to the other companies (especially on Instagram) despite having only a fraction of the followers.  The thing about artists is that we like to see the work of others and appreciate it (and hit Like), and finally a stained glass company is giving us that!

The Season of Glass

No website

The Season of Glass is a business owned and run by sole proprietor Heidi Weghorst Stanhope in New Hampshire.  She sells her pieces through a local gallery and an Etsy page that ships worldwide.  She does not have a website - I only know about her because she followed my Instagram and I was impressed by her work and followed her back.  I was only able to find an Instagram and Facebook page for her business.  Her social media metrics are as follows:

Platform	Date of Last Post	Average Posts/Day in 2020	Number of Followers
Instagram	February 8, 2017	.5	1,933
Facebook	February 6, 2020	.57	127

In comparing her social media efforts, her Facebook page is much more interesting in content, but it gets hardly any engagement.  Her Instagram does decently though, and it features lovely photography that shows off her skill (I will nerd out for a second here and say that her lead work - the shiny parts - is legit).  I actually asked her for simple advice once and she kindly responded with a helpful suggestion quickly, which was a good effort on her end.

Thoughts

In all, I feel that most of these businesses could be doing social media "better".  And by better I mean posting either more often, or posting a greater variety of content.  Or, they could be taking advantage of what video would do for their sales and run with it.  I feel that many of them are just slapping up ho-hum content and not getting any traction and saying "oh well".  Or, another issue could be one that plagues all small businesses on Facebook - the fact that unless you give the mighty Facebook money they won't serve your content to your followers.  This is a really discouraging tactic of theirs and it frustrates me to no end.  I don't want to run ads - my products sell just fine when people see them.  Plus, plenty of my business followers are my actual friends who just want to see what I make because I don't post every last thing to my personal wall.  It's interesting comparing the same posts between Instagram and Facebook - the Instagram posts always do better.  That's likely because they're served properly, and on top of that a lot of new content can be browsed easily - and that makes for better engagement and more followers.

Of the grouping, I feel that Holdman Studios and The Season of Glass are having the best results with social media despite not posting constantly.  Both post a good variety of interesting content as well as eye-pleasing pictures.  As I mentioned before, the key to keeping artists as followers is to give them inspiration.  You can do this by posting about work in progress (Holdman), or even new ways to use stained glass (The Season of Glass).  Heidi's work has got me looking closely to inspect her lead work and dissecting how she makes her glass orchids because I kind of want to try one myself.  She also doesn't do the traditional "church window" stained glass style and I try to work in more modern styles too.  And Holdman tells a good story.  The rest of the bunch just post about sales and closures and classes.  Nothing to inspire me as their target market, or engage me into their production process.  Kokomo and Delphi would definitely benefit from short videos showcasing their products, but I recognize there's a big time and cost commitment to making those videos look good.

The additional issue of this all is that stained glass crafters as a market are pretty small.  A majority of them are Baby Boomer age and older, while there's us young crafters taking new approaches to the ancient art.  I do not personally know anyone else who makes stained glass, and it's not really an art that you casually ease into.  It's expensive - you're either all in or not.  And with such a small market, a majority of which is traditionally limited in their participation with social media, it's hard to market.  This isn't a Nike-level fanbase and these are quite often small companies that don't have the budget for serious social media professionals or slick videography.  Honestly, it's a tough market, and I've seen it myself.