#necsocialfinal

In 2013, entrepreneurs Randy Goldberg and David Heath stumbled across a Facebook post that mentioned a serious need for socks at homeless shelters around the country. Sock are the #1 requested clothing item at homeless shelters. They decided to launch a sock company called Bombas. Bombas promoted for every pair of socks sold they would donate a pair to the homeless. Bombas has worked hard to develop a line of premium, high-tech, fashionable socks, between $12 and $18, that customers would want to buy.To date, more than ten million pairs have been donated. (Bombas About Us, n.d.)

Bombas is primarily involved in the clothing industry. Goldberg and Heath were made aware of the need for socks through a Facebook posting and continue to reach out via digital social media as well as radio and TV commercials. (Elizabeth Segran, 2017)

Randy Goldberg and David Heath used a mission-based model to stand out., pitched their one-for-one charitable business model on Shark Tank in 2014. (CNBC Make It, 2017) They went into the Tank seeking $200,000 in exchange for 5 percent equity. They ultimately accepted a $200k investment from FUBU founder Daymond John for 17.5 percent. Sales from the beginning were primarily online sales, Google, Amazon Prime, eBay, Bing (Bombas Socks, n.d.). The mission-based marketing is dependent on a cause that helps customers feel like they’re making a real impact. The mission based strategy was for every pair of socks sold, one pair will be donated to a person in need, and to bring awareness to homeless crisis that effects every community especially lager cities. /BOM-BAS/ derived from the Latin word for bumblebee. Bees live in a hive and work together to make their world a better place. They're small, but their combined actions have a big impact on the world.  That's why their mantra is bee better, and slogan “ Better socks, Better world, Bee better, hence the Bee symbol on all their socks.

Employees from the Bombas headquarters in New York had come to donate socks. While the brand sends thousands of socks to 750 organizations around the country, they occasionally drop them off in person. It’s a great way to bond as a team, Bombas also believes it’s really important to connect with the people we are serving as a company, because it reminds us about our mission. These interactions have helped Bombas better serve the homeless. It was through the feedback they received from the community that they decided to reengineer the socks they would donate to the homeless. While regular Bombas socks have a special seam that eliminates the bump at the toe, for added comfort, the donation socks have a reinforced seam to make them more durable. The socks are treated with anti-microbial technology, so they don’t need to be washed as frequently and deter fungus. Also, these donation socks only come in black, which is more stain resistant. (Elizabeth Segran, 2017)

Bombas is trying to pave the way for other companies to have in-person giving experiences. Bombas is uniquely equipped to do this, since it has built relationships with homeless shelters and the nonprofit sector. Many companies have time and funds set aside for employees to contribute to charitable causes. Bombas has been creating ways for other brands to dip their toe into the world of social good. Bombas created an event called “60K day,” which was based on the concept than on any given night, 60,000 people in New York end up at a homeless shelter. The plan was to bring individuals from 60 of New York’s hottest companies to visit a shelter and hand out 60,000 socks. The companies included were, Birchbox, Thinx, Kind, Casper, Classpass, Harry’s, Maple, and Spring, among more established brands like Gap, LinkedIn, Shake Shack, and Kenneth Cole.

Bombas launched another program called “Skip Day,” where it invites New York-based companies to take advantage of Summer Fridays and flexible summer hours to volunteer to serve the homeless community. Bombas makes it easy for individuals at companies to jump right into the work. Employees from different companies can gather and assemble bags of products that the homeless need to get through the hot summer months, such as cold bottles of water, ice pops, and wipes. They then go out into the streets to hand these out. These visits are also reinvigorating to employees, since it puts a face to the people they are trying to help with their business. It also gives meaning to their everyday tasks–like making spreadsheets and calling suppliers–when they return to the office.

Online ratings and reviews are as follows, Bombas Socks   with a 4.8 star rating. Google Express - Need Shoe Accessories. eBay (Bombas Socks, n.d.). Amazon Prime with an average star rating of 4.8, (Amazon Prime, n.d.).  Clothing at JCPenney , 4.6-star rating. (JC Penny, n.d.). rockemsocks.com, Shark Week Socks - Rock 'Em Socks (Sharks, n.d.). lululemon.com, lululemon Official Site . (Women's Socks, n.d.) hollisterco.com

Hollister Co.  (Shoes & Accessories, n.d.). findsimilar.com The Sock Accessories Outlet  (sock accessories, n.d.)

Facebook 317 K followers, reviews are 5 star ratings on glassdoor (Glassdoor, 1028) Twitter has 12.9 K followers, joined 2011, (Bombas Socks, n.d.), Instagram shows 64.9 K (Bombas Socks, n.d.), Pinterest has only 3,092.

I believe the overall social media marketing strategy of Bombas, a buy-one, give-one brand is brilliant. Offering a high quality product with a 100 percent guarantee, and knowing your expense contributed to a worthy cause, but it was also about starting a broader involvement about homelessness, and providing a model for other companies to replicate about how to get involved with their communities. Other companies can use their own particular areas of strength to contribute in their own unique ways. Birchbox, for instance, has been donating boxes of beauty products–from shampoo to nail polish–to homeless women. Harry’s has been donating razors to people in need and funding charities that serve veterans. Shake Shack has been enlisting its staff to donate food to the hungry after work. These social media posts and activities spurred other less socially involved brands to consider how they can help.

Randy Goldberg and David Heath stumbling across a Facebook posting, passionate about working towards a great cause providing a top of the line quality product, and using one-for-one model pioneered by the shoe brand Toms, and using the power and full resources of social media. At this time, the only recommendation that I would recommend for more recognition towards their cause would be to advertise more on TV. But this type of advertising is a lot costlier than the power of the internet.

References  

(n.d.). Retrieved from Amazon Prime:  https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_3_6?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=bombas+socks&sprefix=bombas%2Caps%2C148&crid=17YMN

Bombas About Us. (n.d.). Retrieved from Bombas: https://bombas.com/pages/about-us

Bombas Socks. (n.d.). Retrieved from Bing:  https://www.bing.com/search?q=bombas+socks&qs=FT&pq=bombas&sc=8-6&cvid=A281E9CF60814D43AD63994E91F77A22&FORM=QBLH&sp=1

Bombas Socks. (n.d.). Retrieved from Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bombas/

Bombas socks. (n.d.). Retrieved from YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNr5Uh1qIeU

Bombas socks. (n.d.). Retrieved from YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG2MDlfz1yU&t=9s

Bombas socks. (n.d.). Retrieved from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRHMYB4f2iI

Bombas Socks. (n.d.). Retrieved from Twitter: https://twitter.com/bombas

Bombas Socks. (n.d.). Retrieved from eBay:  https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1311.R1.TR10.TRC0.A0.H0.Xbombas+.TRS0&_nkw=bombas+socks&_sacat=11

Bombas Socks. (n.d.). Retrieved from Amazon Prime:  https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_3_6?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=bombas+socks&sprefix=bombas%2Caps%2C148&crid=17YMN

CNBC Make It. (2017, June 7). Retrieved from ENTREPRENUERS:  https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/21/shark-tank-investor-daymond-john-won-big-with-bombas.html

Elizabeth Segran, P. (2017, July 27). Moving the  Needle. Retrieved from Fast Company:  https://www.fastcompany.com/40445016/how-one-sock-brand-is-helping-startups-step-up-their-social-good-game

Glassdoor.  (1028, October 30). Retrieved from Compant Ratings:  https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Bombas-Reviews-E1605933.htm

JC Penny.  (n.d.). Retrieved from Shop Departments:  https://www.jcpenney.com/g/women/N-bwo3x?pageType=X2H2&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=paid%20search&cid=paid%20

Leighton, M. (2018, September 19). Retrieved from  Business Insider: https://www.businessinsider.com/bombas-socks-review

Sharks.  (n.d.). Retrieved from Rock'em: https://rockemsocks.com/collections/sharks?gclid=Cj0KCQiArenfBRCoARIsAFc1FqeikZpZSurmyDJFVpZV29-6JLjeGuz4EjOdCdAYSsDjnK2zzU5-UX8aAjUhEA

Shoes & Accessories. (n.d.). Retrieved from hollister.com:  hollisterco.com  Visit Website Hollister Co.® - Cyber Monday Starts  Now_BMM_C&gclid=Cj0KCQiArenfBRCoARIsAFc1FqfC0_gFi2onusCvV2XAb7ednLpG8493

sock accessories. (n.d.). Retrieved from findsimilar.com: https://www.findsimilar.com/search?q=sock+accessories&cid=4146&campaignid=954831731&adgroup_id=44215909901&keyword=kwd-296541545240

Farmer’s Market- Final assigment week 7

I have chosen farmers market for my final assignment in my blog post because my plan is to invest in my hometown Hinesville Ga. I have searched small business websites and Farmer’s Market is not listed. However, organic products are a growing industry but farmers are still competing with chain supermarket and convenience. With more people worrying about what they are putting in their body Farmer’s Market will make a strong come back. Farmer’s Market also "known as the Greenmarket" is one of the oldest organizations to direct marketing. Farmers Market is retail marketing selling homegrown foods directly by farmers to consumers. Social media is critical to Farmers Market because the vendors are meeting one or two times out of the month in my hometown.  Farmer's Market has a locator and Facebook page to announce the dates when and where they will be located with a locator so the consumers won't miss the market's  events. Without social media, the consumers would miss all the events Farmer's Market were having. Sadly that has happened to me on several occasions because I didn't have my hometown's Facebook page with the communities events. Farmers Market is a food industry that was replaced by brokers and chain supermarkets for high volumes of food production. “From this study, it was determined that 66,700 farmers serve 2,760,000 customers per week at farmers' markets. In addition, 19,000 farmers use farmers' markets as their sole marketing outlet. Farmers' markets reported retail sales of approximately $900 million. This represents 93 percent of total sales. Customers spent an average of $17.30 per week at farmers' markets (2002).” However, Farmer Market have been increasing sell in the past two years by cutting the middleman and sell directly to the consumers. The other reasons for the increase in profit are because more consumers are changing over to more plant-based diets. The vegetables and fruit market contains products with little or to none pesticides and herbicides which are known to cause health problems with daily use. Most importantly farmer is able to retain fruits and vegetable shelf life longer if the vendors are able to serve their community locally. Farmers Market uses social media to announce events online, show pictures of quality products, and prices of products. By displaying products highlights the freshness and show what is in season and show them a fresh take on an old classic by walking on a street than in a general store. However, blogs and widely used for markets that are most active with communities posting recipes, tips and events are used widely on Twitter and Facebook. The objective for the blog to give the consumers a chance to find a bargain and the products that will be sold at the marketing event. Farmers Market, a strategy is to get the community more involved so they block off a roadway within the community. They placed booths with vendors with all kinds vegetables, fruit, meats, music and art. Farmer’s Market has much potential for high sales rate due to buying at markets encourages attention to the surrounding area and ongoing activities by providing outlets for local products, farmers' markets help create distinction and uniqueness, which can increase pride and encourage visitors to return. “Utilising the framework of Conventions Theory, it assesses how producers and consumers coordinate their mutual expectations in order to circumvent the uniform standards of ‘conventionally’ produced food and create new production–consumption spaces.(2006)”

   In my opinion, the strategy that is being used in Hinesville Georgia is not advertised enough. I believe social media can have more impact on the vendor's sales using other social media website and use them consistently responding or blogging like the rest of the vendors in different Farmer’s Market districts. Sales are not often guaranteed for vendors and they can take a large financial burden if their product is not sold. The vendor has come up with selling more than one group of products but a variety of product can reduce financial burdens. However, the most effective financial success is when vendor come together to combine all products to keep the consumers motivated to buy more the products that are presented. “Research showed food value chains”, an innovative business model in which agricultural producers, processors, buyers, and other supply chain members form collaborative, transparent partnerships that intentionally attempt to combine financial success with social benefit”(2002).    

In the last two years, Farmer's Market has introduced more product of high-quality products such as handmade soap, oils, art, and music. Also, vendors create a relationship with their consumers to keep coming back. Most of their blogs are published in the town's newspapers to publish the quality of the vendor products the consumers love. Hinesville Farmers Market was given 4.6 stars out of 5 on Facebook. Twitter has over a hundred Farmer's Market listed with several states and communities but Hinesville Farmer Market is not listed on Twitter. However, Hinesville Farmers Market blog in showcased within the Liberty County of Commerce. New residents within the area use the site to find information about our town but it has not been updated since 2015 leaving the page with no rating.

Reference

Payne, T. (2002). US farmers markets, 2000: A study of emerging trends (pp. 1-40). US Department of Agriculture, Marketing and Regulatory Programs, Agricultural Marketing Service, Transportation and Marketing Programs, Marketing Services Branch.

Guthrie, J., Guthrie, A., Lawson, R., & Cameron, A. (2006). Farmers' markets: the small business counter-revolution in food production and retailing. British Food Journal, 108(7), 560-573.

Under Armour | #WEWILL

Under Armour Social Media Assessment

Introduction:

Under Armour is a performance apparel company founded in 1996 by Kevin Plank, a former University of Maryland football player. He had a plan to design and produce a t-shirt than could provide compression while wicking the perspiration off the body instead of absorbing it. He was tired of always having to change his cotton t-shirts during practices. He set out to find a solution to this problem of the shirt absorbing the moisture making the shirt uncomfortable. After extensive research, he designed a shirt with synthetic fabrics that kept the athlete cool, dry, and light in hot conditions.

All the players in the sports apparel industry attempt to saturate social media platforms with their products using famous personalities in their marketing. All major sports apparel companies have Twitter accounts, YouTube channels, Facebook pages, and Instagram accounts. They use these accounts to introduce new items, share fitness ideas, and promote their brand with their followers.

Overall social media use:

Being in the highly competitive sports performance apparel industry, Under Armour utilizes Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr as well as RSS feeds in its social media marketing strategy. Social media is important to their marketing strategy to get their product out to the consumers using the spokespeople who promote their brand. Under Armour is also building a fitness community with the acquisition of MapMyFitness and MyFitnessPal and the development of Connected Fitness and fitness devices like Healthbox.

Under Armour has loaded up its website with different Instagram account links to different product lines. This platform looks to be the primary social media platform used to reach the public. Instagram allows them to post photographs and videos that motivate people and promote the specific product line. They do utilize Twitter as a way to promote product launches to their large following. Under Armour promotes the use of mobile devices to compare prices, reaching out to users with promotions, and YouTube for research.  

Social commerce strategy:

Under Armour utilizes a social commerce strategy that targets 13 to 24 year –olds that encourages this base as well as other companies to provide feedback about the brand on social media. Using social media they introduced the “Ultimate Intern Program” that generated over 10,000 inquires and over 5,000 applicants on Facebook and Twitter. Two finalists were chosen to join their marketing team to share the companies brand messages and values using social media. This campaign alone helped to add over 120,000 new Facebook fans and over 4,000 Twitter followers increasing the total number of followers to over one million. Under Armour also utilizes Instagram to generate brand awareness of their different lines of apparel that encourages customers to share about the product in posts. The website and all social media platforms allow for the user to contribute their opinions about a product.

  Under Armour also utilizes business relationships within communities, college sports teams, professional sports teams, and individual athletes. They spread the message that if you want to achieve something big, you have to work for it and it will require hard work. By selecting athletes that are young and emerging in their prospective sports, Under Armour can reach their target demographics. Keeping with this target audience, they flood social media with their brand utilizing videos, tweeting about new merchandise, and sharing photographs of sports stars in their brand.

Data:

The Instagram post promoting the “Inspired By Misty Copeland Collection” targets women and generated a positive response from the comments and elicited over 18,000 likes. (https://www.instagram.com/p/BZRvnI7htvG/?taken-by=underarmour) The Under Armour Jordan Spieth President’s Cup golf shoe twitter photograph post generated buzz on whether the golf shoe will be made available to the public. There were a few responses of a political nature relating to the recent NFL protests.(https://twitter.com/UAGolf/status/913453535483875328) The Lindsey Vonn #UnlikeAny Twitter post video had 72 retweets and 234 likes after five days with a positive encouraging response from those who posted comments after viewing the video. (https://twitter.com/UnderArmour/status/913437655609700352) The Dwayne Johnson, The Rock, Instagram post received over 37,000 likes and all the comments were positive including people who were asking for this product line to be available in Canada and Abu Dhabi. (https://www.instagram.com/p/BVDdGyMBVyU/?taken-by=underarmour) The Tom Brady Facebook post on September 27th elicited a negative response from those who posted comments. The responses struck a political tone concerning the NFL protests and Under Armour’s support of the NFL. Most, if not all, of those that made comments were talking of boycotting Under Armour.

Assessment and recommendation:

Under Armour has worked to maximize their social media footprint targeting their chosen audience to promote their brand. They have utilized a plethora of social media platforms to extend their reach to their targeted customers including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube along with numerous fitness apps and RSS feeds. This approach adds to the cool factor to the brand.

I would recommend that Under Armour target the working class to increase their market share in the work clothing market category. This category has a huge untapped upside that could be dominated by the Under Armour product line. Blue collar workers (trades workers) including law enforcement officers and firemen will benefit from the performance line of apparel in their workplace. This is an area that Under Armour can extend the reach of their brand increasing sales and participation in research and reviews through social media. Under Armour needs to do some damage control over the recent political firestorm involving NFL protests and company political leanings. These can generate negative publicity that can hurt the company’s bottom line.

References:

https://www.underarmour.com/en-us https://brandongaille.com/20-sports-apparel-industry-sales-statistics-and-trends/                       https://www.inc.com/aj-agrawal/3-ways-technology-has-changed-the-sports-industry.html                                                  https://www.statista.com/topics/961/sporting-goods/          http://www.prweb.com/releases/sports_clothing_apparel/fitness_clothing/prweb8117767.htm                                                              https://www.scribd.com/doc/214502735/Under-Armour-Case-Study-analysis https://www.marketingweek.com/2016/05/04/how-under-armour-plans-to-become-the-worlds-biggest-sports-brand/ http://www.business2community.com/consumer-marketing/can-sporting-goods-retailers-athletic-apparel-marketers-engage-millennial-audience-01263049#ZO9pJjxz1qbJ0CAF.97                                        https://twitter.com/Nike                                                 https://twitter.com/UnderArmour                                 https://twitter.com/adidasUS                                                      https://twitter.com/PUMA                                                                    https://nrf.com/news/how-under-armour-and-warby-parker-win-social-media

#NECSOCIALFINAL

Young Living Essential Oils are 100% therapeutic grade oils.  Young Living sells many other products as well, but started with essential oils.  Most of their other products do contain essential oils in them.  Everything Young Living sells is clean and safe!  Meaning it is clean and safe for the environment, your body, your animals.  Being therapeutic grade means it is 100% blood from the plant.  It is distilled and has no fillers to make it cheaper.   Essential oils can help heal your body in a natural way, or keep you family healthy while germs are flying around during school time.  They can help clean your house in a natural way with out using a bunch of nasty chemicals.  

Young Living is in a MLM company.  Meaning it is a multilevel marketing company.  The impact of social media is huge for Young Living.  Every person that buys a kit and decides to sell Young Living heads straight towards social media.  It is the quickest way to let your friends and family know you started your own small business. 

Young Living has been an organization for over 20 years.  Gary and Mary Young Established Young Living in 1994.  They started with a small organic farm with the distillation process. Their first herbs grown were lavender, peppermint, Melissa and clary sage, in Utah and Idaho. Their vision was and still is “To bring Young Living Essential Oils to every home in the world.” (as cited in, Young Livings about, not dated) Young Livings Mission statement is “We honor our stewardship to champion nature's living energy, essential oils, by fostering a community of healing and discovery while inspiring individuals to wellness, purpose, and abundance.” (as cited in, Young Livings Mission Statement, not dated)

Young Living’s is a people-orientated culture.  A people orientated culture is value fairness, supportiveness, and respect for individual rights. These organizations truly live the mantra that “people are their greatest asset.” (as cited by; Tayla Bauers, Berrin Erdogan, not dated).  With People being their greatest asset, social media is peoples easiest way to communicate.  The employee is celebrated with ranks and rewards. When the employee is celebrated, they are respect and appreciate the business, and in turn they work harder.  The employee usually advances more rapidly because they feel appreciated.  A people orientated culture is a less stressful organization. With Young Living as you advance ranks you earn more money, and more prizes.  The Young Living team that supports you gives you even more encouragement.  If you are on the monthly oil plan you receive tons of free oils as well.  It allows you to try their products that you would never have thought about buying.  

As a Young Living distributor you get a “virtual office” account on www.youngliving.com.  As you use your virtual office it is a great way to keep in contact with your down line and know who has ordered and who needs to order.  From there you usually use Facebook messenger to keep in contact, due to the fact they can check it whenever it convenient them.   You can run your whole business online.  

On the Young Living twitter they have many different recipes,  one I am posting has many different reviews on it.  Everyone seems to love it.  (https://www.youngliving.com/blog/holy-guacamole/?utm_source=oso&utm_medium=tw&utm_campaign=guacamoleblogtwitter&utm_content=092917)   This is a beginners guide to meditating, not one person on their comments has one bad thing to say. (https://www.youngliving.com/blog/a-beginners-guide-to-meditation/?utm_source=oso&utm_medium=tw&utm_campaign=meditationblogtw&utm_content=092517)    Young living has posted about their seed to seal promise on YouTube.  Here is the link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLQuvo1hxpo).  There are many reviews on the bottom of that YouTube video!  

Needless to say if one goes on Young Livings Twitter account or Facebook account you will find nothing but positive feedback from Young Living. Young Living sends out a a foundation team to help with hurricane victims.  #younglivingfoundation .  On Facebook sometimes you can write reviews, Young Livings does not have a review section.   I found a nice review online through google. (http://guessingalltheway.com/2009/09/young-living-essential-oils-review/)  Here is a nice 3rd party unbias opinion of Young Living. (https://hotmlmcompanies.com/young-living-essential-oil-reviews/).  Not one product out there is going to have perfect reviews.  There are bad reviews for Young Living.   This YouTuber believes Young Living is a scam.  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CYDon4jhic)

Does a MLM business work?  Honestly it depends on how motivated the individual is that buys into it.  If one is neglectful of the business and expects it to grow, it will not grow on its own. You must be passionate about your business, and excited to share what you are selling. Social Media plays a huge part in how you share your Young Living business.  All it takes is a few pictures of diffusing, or a testimony on how the oil is helping you and you have people interested via social media.   Young Living thrive on their people to share about oils and other products to their friends and family.  People are their largest asset.  Gary Young started Young Living as a multi-level marketing business.  As Gary started small, he would travel to a different state each week and share the oils.(Young, 2015)  As the word got out, sales went up.  Gary has created an empire.  In 23 years, Young Livings has built headquarters in Australia, Europe, Canada, Japan, and Singapore.  The word has spread across the world without the use of commercials or advertisements!  Social Media has became a huge part of Young Living.  It has made it easier for people to join and spread the good word.  As the internet grew larger and larger so did Young Living.  

Multilevel marketing is a 16 billion dollar a year market.  People are realizing you can stay at home, and manage your own time.  There is no business drama that you get at the work place. If you fail, you failed because of your own faults. If your business isn’t not growing, it isn’t growing because you are not out there planting the seeds, and watering it.  You have a mentor, that you can listen to if you want. If you don’t listen to them you will probably fail.  Your mentor is in that position for a reason.  The only reason you fail is because of you, not anybody else.  The best part about a Young Living is that you can run the whole business off of social media.  Young Living is probably based 80% off of social media.  Many people like to go out and do classes.  I personally hate doing classes.  I have actually done a live class over Facebook, rather than sitting in front of a group of people you sit in front of your camera and teach oils!   

Young Living just started to created starter kits to accommodate every person.  You can buy a man kit or a baby kit, not just oils.  A few months ago that was my only complaint about Young Living.  Other wise I feel Young Living is doing an amazing job at what they do.  They wouldn’t have been in business for over 20 years if they hadn’t.  They keep us informed via social media the moment anything happens.  I know I can look on any source and find out what the promos are going to be for the month. They share recipes for food or hair mask ect to use oils in.  They do a great job via social media.  Going through Young Living I have learned so much about how important it is to use chemical free products.  I feel fortunate that it was brought into my life.  

For my final assignment I have chosen Lush cosmetics. Lush cosmetics has amazing products ranging from bath bombs to tooth paste. They are a company that offers all natural handmade products, vegan friendly and 100% against animal testing. They donate money to local charities in the community and help people from all walks of life all over the world.  

Introduction:

In the early 80’s Mark Constantine and Elizabeth Weir started a company by the name of Constantine & Weir. The company came up with many bath and beauty recipes and were sold to a supplier called “the body shop”. Eventually the body shop padi 11million pounds for the rights of Constantine & Wier’s recipes. With the body shop buying all the formulas Mark and Elizabeth could not open another shop for five years, so they started a mail order company names “Cosmetics to go. The company ended up being sold.

Mark and Elizabeth ended up partnering with Mo Constantine, Helen Ambrosen, Rowena Bird and Paul Greaves and started hand making cosmetic products up stairs and sell them downstairs in the shop. They had been buying fragrances from another company, but found out the perfumes were not always pure so Mark decided he would create the perfumes himself. The launched a competition to give the company a new name and one customer suggested LUSH, which is defined as being fresh, green, and verdant. The name stuck. In December 2010 Mark and Mo Constantine were awarded the OBE in the New Year’s Honours list, for services to the beauty industry.

Why is social media critical to what they do?

Lush Cosmetics is very active on all of their social media platforms. Social media is critical to what they do because that is where they do most of their marketing. They use all of their social media platforms to reach out to their fans and interact with everyone. Their Twitter alone has 325 thousand followers. They also take advantage of Youtube and Instagram because most of their products are known for how pretty they are with all their rainbow colors, so they use these platforms to show how pleasing to the eyes their products are.

What industry are they in?

Lush is part of the beauty industry. They make cosmetic products and self care products. The beauty and health industry is huge and Lush keeps on top of it by using social media accounts and interacting with their fans as much as possible.   

What are the norms/standards for social media use in that industry?

The norms and standards for social media in the beauty industry is to promote your products, but not interact very much with fans. Such as Neutrogena which is a company I do not personally use very often but know people who do use their products but they have 47.5 thousand followers on Twitter and retweet some tweets but it does not seem like they interact with their fans very much where as Lush will retweet or even like or reply to comments you have made to them.  I think that is a big thing Lush has over other companies in the health and beauty industry is they communicate and interact with people which makes the company feel like a small home town company even if it's a huge world wide company, they still take time to interact with their customers. They also follow a good amount of people back on social media which I always think is a nice touch.

Overall social media use:

From what I can tell Lush has been using social media for a while they have been using Twitter since July 2008, Lush first YouTube video was posted 10 years ago ( 2007) I could not find out how long they had been using LinkedIn or Facebook. I also could not figure out how long they had been using Instagram because I scrolled all the way back to October, 1, 2014 but they there was an error loading and I got frustrated and didn't re try. They show a lot of pictures of their products because they are ascetically pleasing. 

What platforms do they use?

Lush cosmetics have every social media account you can think of. They have Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin, Tumblr,  Pinterest, and they even have a snapchat!  So it is very safe to say if you want to connect with Lush on social media you can.

What platform do they use most?

I looks to me that the Lush Cosmetics company are very active on every social media platform. They interact with their fans on everything and post multiple posts, multiple times a day. Their instagram has 3.9 million followers, 1784 posts, and they follow 1,800 people. Their Twitter has 325 thousand followers, 250 thousand tweets, and they are following 5,678 people back.

What are their strategies and/or objectives?

Lush Cosmetics strategies and objectives are clear first and foremost of course they want you to be seeing, thinking about, and talking about their products which is why they mostly post product photos. Secondly and just as important they want to get the message out that people should fight against animal cruelty. I feel like they have a very good balance of both objectives on Twitter. Scrolling through their Twitter history it looks as if they have a photo of a product, talking about a new seasonal product, or posts about #Savebcbears and bill S-214 which will make animal testing banned in Canada, they also have human rights posts such as the Lush staff joining #WalkForReconciliation and a post thinking of Las Vegas victims. So i think their social media objectives are well rounded. They also have a product called charity pot where all the profit from the sales go to a charity or gets put back into the community and the money staying in your town.

Social commerce strategy:

Wail I was researching I came across this article http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/6-key-components-effective-social-commerce-strategy  I feel Lush uses a lot of these tactics in social media.

How do they encourage and facilitate influence and impressions?

Lush encourages and facilitates their ideas of helping others and being kind to animals by the use of social media and they way they create their products they are very open about everything they do and you can even go on tours of their factories. Every product is handmade by someone so no two products are exactly alike.

The create engagement through their content and interact with their fans. But most of all Lush relies on word of mouth, i would have never stopped in to the Lush store at the mall if I didn't have a friend tell me how much she loved their bath bombs. I tell people all the time how much I love Lush products and bubble bombs and have turned multiple people on to Lush. In fact even in this class Frances is now wanting to try Lush which I’m super excited for her to try. Word of mouth is so important to a company! They also have user generated videos with reviews of how much they love their products and their favorite ones. There landing page has everything laid out on it and is very easy to use and navigate.

Are there critical relationships with any groups or individuals?

Lush cosmetics has partnered with SO many charities, foundations, and people it's unreal.  I will link a page so you can see all of them but some of my personal favorites they have partnered up with are: Redefining Refuge which is a non profit service that helps sexually exploited and trafficked girls,FaunAccion which educates and empowers animal rights activists, and Missouri Prairie Foundation which conserves prairies and promote native plants in communities for future generations. Here is a link to the rest! https://www.lushusa.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Lush-Site/en_US/CharityPot-Partners#sz=15&start=0&pid=partners&sort=new&type=all

Data:

Lush cosmetics has good reviews as a company in general and on individual products. I use a site called influenster quite often. It is a website where you try different products and leave reviews. Lush received 4.73 out of 5 stars based on 12,256 Reviews. https://www.influenster.com/reviews/lush-cosmetics

There are a lot of youtube videos giving reviews. Here is a video of one of my favorite Youtubers talking about her top Lush products: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gN6GAlJdzc

Here is a link to a buzzfeed article top lush products: https://www.buzzfeed.com/sallykaplan/im-a-lush-for-lush?utm_term=.riz33nVnb#.towvv8n89

Here is a link for Lush’s top products which all have reviews and stars. http://www.lushusa.com/best-sellers/

Here is a link for reviews on total beauty: http://www.totalbeauty.com/reviews/brands/lush

Assessment and recommendation:

All and all I think Lush cosmetics has it all they are a well rounded company on and off of social media. They give back to the community and interact with their fans and customers. They are a very “glass door” company you can visit their factory and see how everything is handmade. They also tell you where your money is going when you buy products such as the charity pot products. They have a huge following on all social media platforms and are on every social media platform available. I think it is very interesting they are on snap chat, which most companies are not so that sets them apart.

I don’t really have much advice for them they are doing amazing as a company on and off of social media they have partnered with a lot of groups and foundations and I feel like anyone who knows much about Lush knows they are trying to make the world better and spread their message of kindness for everything.

References:

Lush wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lush_(company)

Lush Twitter: https://twitter.com/lushcosmetics

Lush Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lushcosmetics/

Lush Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/5229458

Lush Tumblr: http://lushcosmetics.tumblr.com/

Lush Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/Lushcosmetics/videos

Influencer Lush review: https://www.influenster.com/reviews/lush-cosmetics

One of my favorite Youtubers talking about her top Lush products: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gN6GAlJdzc

Buzzfeed article top lush products: https://www.buzzfeed.com/sallykaplan/im-a-lush-for-lush?utm_term=.riz33nVnb#.towvv8n89

Lush’s top products reviews and stars. http://www.lushusa.com/best-sellers/

Total beauty review: http://www.totalbeauty.com/reviews/brands/lush

Lush mission statements: http://www.lushusa.com/Stories-Article?cid=article_we-believe-statement

Information on Lush charity pot: http://www.lushusa.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Lush-Site/en_US/Charities-Show

Lush landing page: http://www.lushusa.com/

References: 1) https://growthhackers.com/growth-studies/uber

2)http://www.socialannex.com/blog/2016/01/28/ubers-marketing-strategy-in-7-steps/

3) http://www.jeffbullas.com/2015/11/25/uber-targeted-social-media-strategies/

4)https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2016-08-18/uber-s-first-self-driving-fleet-arrives-in-pittsburgh-this-month-is06r7on  

5) Video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bszvEIMVsIc&index=5&list=PLmVTG4mAK7nyRJieUysxG-ivhC1JB5M1l&t=2s

6) Video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hf_Y6KrFWms

7) Photo: http://pin.it/TiV0Oby

8) Quote: http://pin.it/b2rfv6G

9) Link: https://www.uber.com/fare-estimate/?referrer=gclid%3DCPGwo4Kn39MCFUfPMgodQOQDkA%26mat_click_id%3Df4bc90cafd386411bc24c9c4270bcf32-20170508-7336%26mat_tracking_id%3DCPGwo4Kn39MCFUfPMgodQOQDkA

The company I chose for my final assignment was a company called True Citrus. The company specializes in unsweetened and sweetened products that contain crystallized lemon, lime, orange, or grapefruit. The company also produces a line of salt free seasonings. Social media is important to this company because they do not advertise often. I have never seen a commercial on television for this particular company. I find that they use the internet as their focus for advertising. I am a fan of their Facebook page. I see that they regularly engage their customers by posting fun facts and usage tips about their products. Recently they have posted a few videos that help show customers various ways their products can be used.

               True Citrus advertises their products as an alternative to sugary beverages like soda to juice. They offer a variety of unsweetened products like plain lemon, lime, orange, and grapefruit. They also offer a line of sweetened products like lemonades and limeades. True Citrus regularly engages their customers with posts on Facebook, Twitter, and via email. They send out emails with inspirational messages every Friday. True Citrus also posts on social media almost daily. They are committed to staying connected to their customers.

               True Citrus uses Twitter and Facebook as their core ways to communicate with their customers. Recently in honor of Cinco de Mayo they posted a video describing how to use their products to make a terrific guacamole. They regularly use both Twitter and Facebook to advertise their current promotions available for their online store. They also use both social media platforms to answer any questions that customers may have.

               True Citrus focuses on engaging their customers through Twitter. The company posts something on Twitter almost daily. Their objective is to let their customer’s know that their product can be used for more than just drinking. The post daily to let you know that you can also cook and bake with their products. The company also uses their social media accounts to let people know that their products are a healthy option for families and individuals that are active and want to stay hydrated. Since True Citrus does not advertise, they use social media as their venue to keep their customers informed.

               True Citrus has an online store which is www.truelemonstore.com. They use both of their social media accounts to advertise when they are having sales. They offer promotions like 40 or 50% off of your entire order each month. Since they are such a small company they offer steep discounts in order to drive trial. The company figures by offering low prices on their products they are more likely to have people try out products they may not be able to find locally. They encourage impressions by asking their customers questions in their posts. When the customers see the posts that ask questions, they may feel more compelled to interact with the company.

True Citrus is also interacting with a lot of marathons nationwide. They are participating by providing events with samples of their products. The events that True Citrus shares samples with will share their social media information, which encourages people to learn more about the company and their products. The company also has plans to work a company called Feeding America. True Citrus has pledged to donate a million meals to our nations needy within a year. They encourage customers to donate by promoting on their packaging and by using social media. They want to encourage customers to purchase their products, by showing that each purchase will give back in some way.

Customers post reviews about this company on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. On Youtube there was a post that shared a review about finding this product in a local Dollar Tree. The customer mentions that the product helped her to drink more water. The video has almost 1300 views. You can view it by clicking the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1onwRS2keI&t=28s

Customers often posts pictures of themselves using the products. Here are two examples you can view by clicking the following links:

https://twitter.com/KatrinJarvis/status/859436714145845249

https://twitter.com/Inureyezicntsee/status/857768264528777216

Customers also posts reviews of this product on Facebook. You can view to reviews by clicking the following links:

https://www.facebook.com/candy.wigney/activity/10210638379973226

https://www.facebook.com/lora.huffman.52/activity/1671278632900414

Overall I think that this company is very in tunes with the usage of social media. The company works hard to keeps its customers engaged. They interact with their customers almost daily. They recently launched a contest called the “True Love My Life Sweepstakes”. They are asking people to post pictures of themselves enjoying their life both with and without the use of the True Citrus Brand of products. The top prize is one years’ worth of groceries and of course some True Citrus products. The company hopes to have people incorporate their brand into daily activities. They want to be known as a company that is a great and natural alternative to chemically flavored products like Crystal Light.

I would suggest that the company work on advertising more. They need to let more potential customers know that their product exists. They also need to work on where they place their products in the store. It is easy to find their sweetened products on the powdered drink mix aisle. Many customers seem confused about where to find their unsweetened products in retail stores like Walmart. The company places their unsweetened products on the baking aisle. I think that the unsweetened products should be placed on the juice aisle or in the produce section. Customers are more likely to pick up the unsweetened lemon and lime packets if they were in the juice aisle next to the bottles of juice concentrate. The company should also focus on more sampling. They should mail out samples and continue to provide samples to various events.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfalcJbuHWs&t=12s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TGJdLEKtG8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE1oVOl6lIQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-zDOKW86LI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K_EcUGm4i8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBhHhojMhgg

https://www.facebook.com/pg/TheTrueLemon/reviews/

https://www.truelemon.com/about-us/

https://www.truelemon.com/about-us/faq/

https://www.amazon.com/True-Lemon-Crystallized-Pack-2-82/dp/B002NSE684

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC_mOsT-sLg

Walt Disney Animation Studios has a wonderful presence on social media. Not only do they break down the barrier between the audience and the studio, but they bring an experience to their audience that stays with them long after they have seen the films. Their films are more than films - they are a way of life. It’s no wonder that I’m who I am - I grew up watching these classic films.