Bertha's CSIT 155 - Fall 2020 Class Blog

Post Reach vs. Post Engagement As I dive into social media for business (in my case, my fake tutoring business called Rad Math Tutoring), I created my first business page on Facebook. I'm in the early stages of developing the Rad Math brand, trying to attract viewership and contact to my Facebook page. These words represent two distinct concepts; in social media, the concepts are referred to as post reach and post engagement . Post reach covers the idea of viewership--how many unique people see the post. Post engagement covers the idea of contact--how many unique people are reacting to and interacting with the post through such things as clicks, likes, and shares. Knowing the difference between the concepts is important because one of them is more powerful in the overall success of marketing a business. To view an advertisement means little to me. For example, I can view  an insurance company's postcard throughout the entire process of slipping it into the recycling bin. If ...

My Business The business that I am creating for this course is Rad Math Tutoring . I would offer my services as a private math tutor, holding online sessions for students from middle school to college.    My Target Market The target market are middle school to college students and their parents. The parents for middle school and high school students are more important than reaching the students themselves, since they would be paying for the tutoring services for their children. That may also be true for the college students, but there is more independence and autonomy with that consumer. So it seems that I would be targeting middle age, middle income parents interested in their children's academic success. There would also be 18 - 25 year-old college students who are from middle-to-higher income families to also be able to afford private tutoring. At the college stage, the student most likely needs to be high achieving and self-motivated to seek out a tutor.  If I can ...

  Subway vs. Hungry Bear This week in our social media course, we were asked to examine the websites for two companies in the same field and compare each company's target market. I chose the two companies that sell sandwiches--Subway and Hungry Bear. My initial impression was, "This looks delicious!" Now I know to eat a full meal before completing my assignments for this course.  Subway is a larger company, and it reads in the website. The company provides the reader with a wealth of information offered across a variety of tabs. Hungry Bear is a small, local business based in Vista. Their website is still clean and has good design, but it is simpler than Subway's website. Subway is considered fast food, but the company is marketing to a consumer who wants a healthier lifestyle on a budget. There is a "responsibility" tab on the website, which implies that Subway is targeting a more socially and environmentally responsible consumer who cares about sustainable...

This week, I wasn't just thinking about developing a brand, I was discovering  my brand. I began with thinking about the type of business I would want in the future. My focus has always been centered around education, specifically math education. In my fictitious business (at least fictitious for now), I would like to market my services as an "online educator and creator of learning guides." I could imagine beginning my business as an online tutoring company, and then branching out into other roles for myself. I would love to make a collection of math tutorials, in the style of Khan Academy or Professor Leonard depending on the size of the operation. Professor Leonard is a one-person operation, while Khan Academy is a large non-profit organization. In addition to creating math tutorials, the company could branch out into creating review texts for students or subject-based short stories and fiction. With an idea of what I want to create, I now have to decide on a point of...

    " Well-Craphted" Websites In my social media course, we explored some of the key principles in successful website design this week. The acronym C.R.A.P.H.T.E.D. brings focus to the following design principles: Concept and contrast Repetition Alignment Proximity Hierarchy Typography Ease of use Depth of content Of the eight websites that were given to the class, I enjoyed visiting the California Center for the Arts, Escondido and HeadHunter Hairstyling  the most. Even though there were more than two well-designed websites, I appreciate the clarity and simplicity that these websites offer. Each has a clear concept. The California Center for the Arts focuses on promoting events. There is a clear hierarchy as the event listings have the bigger tiles on the homepage. There is a good contrast with a large eye-catching image at the top of the homepage. The principle of proximity is also well-executed. The "Find your center" icons are in one grouping and the "Feat...

I researched five businesses that related to math education in different forms. These are my findings listed below: ✶ Mathematical Association of America https://www.maa.org/ The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) is a national organization that focuses on pushing forward the understanding of mathematics. In their 2019 Impact Report, which was released on their website, the MAA had a total revenue of $11,813,365. The top five sources of income were development, grant and donor funded programs, math competitions, publications, and membership fees, in that order. They are a large organization whose members include math faculty at all levels of education, college students, and STEM professionals.  The MAA promotes their social media in a clear and easily accessible way on their website. The social media icons appears on a banner at the bottom of every page on their website.  In addition to the banner, there is a page on the site that connects the viewer to social media. Th...

O n the topic of communicating with businesses, two negative issues that I come across frequently are the difficulty in finding a business person that will take in my words (customer service rep, manager, etc.) and not feeling understood by that source. Some time ago, my family was trying to cut down on our cable bill. The cable rep was incredibly persistent, trying to hold on so firmly to every feature of the account that it turned into bullying. He insinuated that my family didn't make enough money if we couldn't afford cable, which I thought was  incredibly belittling. I tried to complain to two different people from that company about the experience, feeling that neither one understood why I had been offended by the interaction.  At the time, I didn't think of using soc ial media as a tool to verbally release my frustrations. I'm still not sure I would use it today since I'm a private person, but I'm beginning to see the power in it. Social media would have...