Social media Influencers...

Influencers-

 

I think that in all honesty Influencers are the biggest factor in my decision-making process of whether or not I will purchase something.

I want to hear that someone I like, and respect enjoys the product, makes me feel like I can trust the product more and will be more likely to enjoy the product myself.

 

In my experiences shopping online this ideology has really helped me find things I will enjoy.

 

I think that the people I chose as influencers are a little different than the usual influencers like celebrities and people who have a lot of followers. I am looking more for someone who looks like me and has similar experiences as I have had.

 

As a company I know they are looking for someone with a lot of followers and power on social media. Someone who is a great influencer posts a lot and creates a lot of different content.

 

 

What do you notice about this type of marketing?

I think that using influencers as a marketing strategy is a unique opportunity to get to know your audience and get in touch with them in a personal way. Celebrities are a great investment and can give you allot of power with customers. But influencers offer a different way to show that a person like you can enjoy products and be a part of the brand.

What strategies are they employing?

The influencer from the story Zach King uses humor and charm to get people to like and follow him. Slap stick humor and lots of smiles make people feel like they are his friend while listening to what he has to say about products and items he uses.

The strategy is smart, Zach is not a celebrity and does not need a huge paycheck to talk to his followers.

What role do these influencers play in marketing?

Influencers have a unique place in marketing on social media. In the true essence of social media, it's about being social, talking about your experiences and how you react to them. They become a great tool and supplement to a larger campaign.  Story telling is becoming more and more the backbone to social media campaigns empowering users to share their story.

How does the use of marketing perspective impact the relationship between the company and consumer?

This whole exchange makes the relationship more intimate, which could be good for the company. Choosing the right influencer who represents the companies’ true beliefs and thoughts is a great way to get in touch with customers.

This can be bad if the influencer has a dark secret that is exposed, as the media is good at finding flaws. Or if the influencer intends to misuse their power and lead customers in the wrong way.

This is the VOICE

 Effectively Impacting the Consumer Through Digital Media

The Voice is one of today's favorite singing voice contests. With the original concept of doing "blind auditions" where the first audition is done on a stage with judges backs turned, they are unable to see the singer's physical appearance, until they choose to say they want them to be apart of their "team".

Alot of people like the The Voice because it takes away the vanity of the music industry and allows all singers, different shapes and sizes or even ages to participate and be apart of the contest.

• What was done successfully to meet the wants and needs of the target audience?
• How was the social and consumer experience addressed? Was this done successfully? Explain.
• How were the digital media followers handled?
• Is there something that could have been done differently to make that experience more efficient?

The Voice is such an innovative show, they meet the wants and needs of their target audience by creating new ways for the viewers to interact with the contestants.  The Voice app is brilliant in that you can create your own "team" much like fantasy football, you can choose singing contestants for your team and strategize about who will win each week and hope to move forward.

In the past, singing contest shows were pretty focused on getting viewers to call in and vote via telephone call.  Now with texting, tweeting and even voting on the app makes it so much easier for everyone to be able to vote and feel apart of the show.

The social and consumer experience through itunes is definately one way that The Voice creates a valuable experience for the viewers encouraging them to download the songs that the contestants are performing, and monetizing their experience as well. The show also encourages viewers to follow the individual singers, promoting their music and helping the consumer experience be different then other shows. 

The Voice has alot of social media accounts and manages the digital followers experience well with lots of posts that are engaging and interactive.

The Live show experience is unique from any other in that viewers and tweeting and re-tweeting the entire show for votes and promotion. The Facebook groups also promote and discuss the show, post videos and encourage everyone to like, follow and share.

Again, I think that the app is clever and pushes alot of users to the best experience because they feel almost an instant connectio to the community and how they can be apart of the "team".

Thinking about the efficiency of the experience, I think The Voice has done the best with integrating the audience into the show experience, as well as creating a role and space for the judges. In other contest type shows, I feel the judges role isn't very clear after perhaps the first few episodes, only chiming in after some performances to share thoughts, but not really counting toward anything. 

I think that the way the show does the voting on air takes a very long time. Carson Daly is the host and seems to have to fill alot of time, trying to talk and keep the viewers entertained while waiting for the transition of votes or the presentation of who will be picked. 

More recently The judges have started to rotate each season, Blake Shelton the long time judge on the show finished his final season and transitioning power house Reba McEntire as the new big country name on the show.  The new judges is a unique way to integrate new viewers from the person's huge horde of fans that will tune in and interact with the show.  Also the leading up to the new season, the unvailing of the new judges is a huge excitement builder for the social media advertising. 

I think this show made some great arrangements to survive during the pandemic and made alot of adjustments to make the show safer for contestants, judges and the audience. I really enjoy the live shows and the battles. The battles are tough to watch because typically a fan favorite goes home, the contestants are usually similar in style or personality or hold a similar spot and it is smart to let them perform to try to save themselves. 

Lastly the mobile app is the most effective tool I have seen with these shows. The fantasy football style team building and notifications that remind the user to vote, or download music or interact. Makes engaging in the show and with the community alot easier. 

What do you think is the best singing contest on TV?

Johnson, L. E. (2023, October 11). Here are the songs that have the highest success rate on “The voice.” Deseret News. https://www.deseret.com/2023/10/10/23911746/the-voice-blind-auditions-most-popular-songs/

The voice. The Shorty Awards. (n.d.). https://shortyawards.com/8th/the-voice-3

Social Media TODAY

 Discuss a day in your life using digital media and respond to the following questions:

• What sites and/or applications do you visit most often? Describe the sites and applications that you identify.
• Do you have positive or negative reactions when using certain types of digital media?
• Do you find that your needs are satisfied using one type of digital media over another?
• Do you receive emails from companies? If so, what types of email catch your attention? What do you look for?
• What do you notice about the use of digital media in marketing today? Explain.

  During a typical day I use a few different social media platforms. The one that I use the most is What Not, it is a selling platform that combines live video and chat with auctions. I use Facebook and Instagram and on occasion I use Snap chat to communicate with a few friends that are in other countries. Facebook is the best place for me to get updates on my friends, seeing their posts and what they are up to and look at their pictures etc.  Instagram is my favorite platform because of the lay out and ease of scrolling to see what I want. I enjoy the content and the easy way to like and comment.

I enjoy social media, I have a lot of different friends from all my life adventures, social media allows me to connect with them and keep in touch more easily.  At one point I did feel the effects of social media addiction and depression.

I think that social media allows you to create a persona that shows only the good things in life and can make others feel sad or jealous.  Comparison is hard, especially when you are not where you are in life and others seem to be going places that you hope you to be at.

I can see this as a very negative reaction and think a lot of people deal with this problem.

TikTok's resemblance to "meeting friends for adventures" and showcasing talents to the world through real-time updates and digital interactions highlights its appeal for users seeking immediate connection and entertainment. However, concerns around face-to-face interaction, privacy, and credibility certainly persist, which is always raising questions about the balance between online engagement and real-world authenticity.

I receive a lot of emails, I think that offering discounts and coupon codes are the best incentive to get my email address. I like fun titles and subject lines, there are companies I am loyal to that I check all the time and some that do not catch my attention that I end up deleting. I like bright colors and honestly, I am a sucker for click bait.

I have noticed that digital media is a huge part of marketing today. You cannot ignore social media and need to lean in to help customers find you. I think that we will have even more options and eventually will relate to everything we do. Things will be posted automatically, and you will have options to post pictures and videos to sites with even more ease. Overall I think digital media is a great way to get in touch with lots of different customers at a low cost.

Teaching together

Great Article about the Camp to School connection:
http://www.acacamps.org/campmag/1301/teaching-together
When asked what camp professionals could do to reach out to schools, Krahn’s answer is simple: “They just need to go visit.” He explains that the education community needs to know camps are interested in what they’re doing and want to be a part of the child’s complete development. Krahn is aware that this might be new territory for many camps but that camp professionals and school leaders alike must “get out of our comfort zones.” He insists that outdoor education opportunities contribute to “the blend of excellence that students need for true enrichment.”
But beyond just visiting with school leadership, it’s important to be prepared. “Any science teacher would love a camp professional to say: ‘Here’s what we hope kids get out of being at camp.’ Explain what students will learn: the beauty of nature, the complexity of the natural world, elements of the animal kingdom, outdoor living skills, and so on.” It’s also helpful to point out how these things align with state curriculum standards.
In many cases, persistence will also be a critical factor in building camp-school partnerships. Krahn remembers his experience with Camp El Tesoro, a Camp Fire First Texas camp located in Granbury, Texas. Trinity Valley now partners with El Tosoro for outdoor programming, but it took a couple years of continued interaction with one of Camp Fire First Texas’ executive leaders, Ann Sheets (also the ex officio member of ACA’s national board), to get Trinity Valley on board. “Don’t give up after the first two years!” says Krahn.
Ultimately, camp and school profession¬als are teachers who share the common goal of educating children and youth. “Teachers not only pass down wisdom, but show kids that we can all make the world a better place. Part of that is showing kids different viewpoints of the world and helping them find their passion — and develop the attitude of ‘I’m here to learn.’ As my father used to say: ‘Our job is not to lead the horse to water or to make it drink. It’s to make the horse thirsty.’”
“Some kids find greater successes outdoors than in the classroom. Accomplishments in the classroom are just a small part of intelligence,” says Krahn. “We see students rise to the occasion in outdoor opportunities that the classroom does not provide. There’s something remarkable in every child. Our job is to create opportunities for students to thrive. And for many, outdoor experiences are not only developmental, but fun — which is truly the best way to learn.”

Motivating staff... a running board of ideas

Being a SPARKLE HEALER:

This is not my original idea, I will say that first. I once went to this presentation at the Midstates camping conference a few years back and a Christy Dupin was presenting on this topic.

Staff Motivation is something that I am extremely passionate about, if you can't keep your staff happy how can you expect them to do the job? We ask these young people to do amazing things and hold each of them at such a high standard for very little pay how can we not take some time to recognize them and help them feel good about some of their accomplishments.


Some of my findings for general staff gifts or ideas to have a little fun and motivate:
Pinterest board: http://pinterest.com/pin/1477812348163501/
Overall, just a nice Blog, Free printables and cute ideas for signage and cards to give out
Kind over Matter: http://www.kindovermatter.com/2011/01/how-to-rock-kindness-at-your-day-job.html

A wonderful overall resource for RAK
Random acts of Kindness: http://www.randomactsofkindness.org/Resources/

A couple of ideas worth sharing:

 

"We had one girl sit on a chair in front of a white board while the others wrote a positive phrase about them.  They could not peek at what was being written and I plan to give them each of copy of this at our follow-up Sunday lesson. (I assure you "party girl" is not what it sounds like...she is far from it)"  http://thetomfarnsworthfamily.blogspot.com/2012/03/youth-activities.html

Adaptable Printables for grab and go gifts: http://www.overthebigmoon.com/teacher-appreciation-gift-tag/

http://www.jaseyscrazydaisy.com/

http://www.thedatingdivas.com/erika/quick-sweet-treats/

You know that you've been working at camp too long when...

You know that you’ve been working at Camp for too long when: You’re watching The Grey, and all you can think is: “that guy can start a fire in the middle of Alaska, during a blizzard with a Zippo…. But I can barely crank out a 1 match fire?”


You Know you've been working at Camp for too long when: Your watching the Hunger games and all you can think of is how amazing a hunger games theme week would be at camp!!

You know you’ve been working at camp for too long when: You are ready to eat spaghetti and you notice that you are all out of forks… You eye ball any utensil close by including a ladle, ice cream scoop, spatula and whisk… Thinking: “eh, I’ve eaten the same meal with worse,” before grabbing a spoon.

You know that you've been working at camp for too long when you can sing a song on command about any animal and just about anything.
 

You know you’ve been working at camp for too long when: You watch Camp Rock and you don’t worry about what song the Jo Bros are singing… but how nice their life jackets are and how you would never sit and paddle in a canoe while facing each other…

You know that you’ve been working at camp for too long when:

You notice when Marshmallows go on Sale

You know you’ve been working at camp

for too long when:

you watch The Grey, and all you can

think about is

“How the Heck did that guy not get

Hypothermia?? But It’s May, in

Wisconsin and I feel my nose freezing

off?”

 

You Know you've been working at camp for too long when: When you finish your meal at a restaraunt, you stack, scrape and sort your silver ware for the waitress.

You Know you've been working at camp for too long when: You leave Wal-mart, (because that's one of the only places you go on your time off) and you look for the big white van to take you home.

Happy People do things different..

Happy People just plain do things differently..

Hello all! Hope you are doing well and not to stressed out about the upcoming camp season… your fine! Seriously… your first step was taking the extra second to read our latest blog post J

In all my travels I have read and heard a lot of different things with how happy people live or how to make yourself happy.  I’ve searched far and wide and this list is the best top 15 tips that I have run into: 15 powerful things happy people do differently.

(http://www.purposefairy.com/4899/15-powerful-things-happy-people-do-differently/)

Okay, okay… I found it on Pinterest!! But you probably knew that already....

Anyway.....I once attended a training where I was told…. “Be Here, To Be Here!”  and of course the normal questions arose. What do you mean be here? I am here!  I'm sitting right in front of you....But are you really?? What have you thought about today? Are you taking in everything that is going on around you?? How many times did you lose track of what I was saying because you were talking to your best friend about the plans for this weekend? You know what I’m talking about ;)

This made me really think and From that day forth I made the commitment that camp was no longer a hobby for me or just a summer job, but something that I was going to show up to, with zeal and passion like I’ve never had before.  That I was not just gonna be “there” but be here… in the moment and take everything in. That I was gonna give each day my all, that camp would have every part of me:  "5. MEANING vs. AMBITION. They do the things they do because of the meaning it brings into their lives and because they get a sense of purpose by doing so. They understand that “Doing what you love is the cornerstone of having abundance in your life” like Wayne Dyer puts it, and they care more about living a life full of meaning rather than, what in our modern society we would call, living a successful life.

The irony here is that most of the time they get both, success and meaning, just because they choose to focus on doing the things they love the most and they always pursue their heart desires. They are not motivated by money; they want to make a difference in the lives of those around them and in the world."(http://www.purposefairy.com/4899/15-powerful-things-happy-people-do-differently/)

Well as it turns out, “Be here, to Be here” is also on the list of 15 powerful things happy people do differently:  "13. PRESENCE/ ENGAGEMENT vs. DISENGAGEMENT. They know how to live in the present moment, appreciating what they have and where they are, while still having big dreams about the future."(http://www.purposefairy.com/4899/15-powerful-things-happy-people-do-differently/)

“When you are present, you can allow the mind to be as it is without getting entangled in it. The mind in itself is a wonderful tool. Dysfunction sets in when you seek your self in it and mistake it for who you are.” Eckhart Tolle

Who knew? This whole time I’ve been one step closer to my life’s ultimate goal of being happy??

I love this concept for a possible theme for staff training… not the obvious hula skirts and pirate costume theme but a more abstract idea that we can continue to talk about the entire week. Maybe a Chapel theme or a Scout's own. Words of wisdom would also be a nice tie in.

Mostly because not only do I want my staff to be happy, but in reading this list I felt a majority of these items are qualities that I want in the ideal staff member, that if we can inspire them to be happier, we would get the quality staff our campers deserve. J

Here’s some more examples straight from the list:

Rule #1:

“LOVE vs. FEAR. Well, I can tell you for sure that those people who are really happy, FEAR less and LOVE a lot more. They see each moment, each challenge, each person as an opportunity to discover more about themselves and the world around them.” (http://www.purposefairy.com/4899/15-powerful-things-happy-people-do-differently/)

WOW, what camp director doesn’t want a staff that can take each problem that arises and turn it into a simple step in to discovering who they really are as a person??  That each issue that arises will be viewed as a milestone? I want in! Where do I get them?  So we are creating young, inspire, role models… BINGO!!

Rule #6:

“ PRAISING vs. CRITICIZING. Happy people would probably agree with Carl’s Jung theory on resistance: “What you resist not only persists, but will grow in size”. They don’t criticize the absence of the behavior they want to reinforce, but rather, every time the behavior is present, even if it’s not that often, they know that by praising the person and the behavior, they will actually reinforce the positive behavior.” (http://www.purposefairy.com/4899/15-powerful-things-happy-people-do-differently/)

(Information about Mr. Carl Jung: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Jung)

Okay, believe it or not…. Campers are not always going to “behave” I know, I know…. It’s hard to believe that these munchkins are not the angelic creatures their parents believe them to be.

This skill, Praising rather than criticizing is Something that we all need to work on, talking to each other and encouraging the behaviors that we would like to see or that we are happy with, a common first year staff issue. Realizing that it is not always about what the camper is doing wrong, but how the camper is trying to do things right.  This skill takes a little more effort; it’s easy to see how the person is continuously not turning in their paperwork all the time.  But when they do it and you give them a hundred grand bar with a note that says “that’s a million!” The staff member can’t help but remember something about it.  Staff motivations can help you have an amazing summer.. that blog is later to come :)

This brings me to one of my all time favorite staff training concepts: Becoming a SPARKLE healer vs. a SPARKLE stealer. That's right, you heard me... SPARKLE.....You may notice by now that at camp  you sometimes have bad days, Hey…. We all can’t be amazing 365 days a year.
And as a result, the whole community is impacted. 

 If you notice that someone is having a particularly bad day, that their camp SPARKLE may be running a little low,  think about how you can make their day better. It's that simple....At camp it’s everyone’s bad day when one of us is a little off. Trying to help each other can make not only your co-workers day better, but in the end it might just make your day better too. A very easy concept that when practiced, can change the entire environment at any camp.

Teaching staff that “camp time” already goes fast enough, that slowing down and considering each angle before proceeding... Processing all the information can not only make them happier, it makes camp alot more fun!

Overall, Happy staff = Happy Campers, and that is why we are all here after all.

Please share your thoughts, we’d love to hear what you think J

MAKE SURE YOU....Check out the list for yourself: http://www.purposefairy.com/4899/15-powerful-things-happy-people-do-differently/