Why Blog?

When I first started taking this class, I realized that Social Media Marketing and Blogging went hand in hand, but I honestly never realized the value in either.  When a company chooses to Blog, they open themselves up to market that they may not have had before.  A company can receive valuable feedback by holding open discussions with their customers, or use blogging as a way to explain away negative publicity.  A company can use blogging as a way to enhance their image, or test new ideas.  

In todays technology focused world, blogging is an important part of the Social Media Marketing Plan, and a valuable asset in the Marketing Plan as a whole. 

If I made any recommendations to photographers looking to gain business from blogging it would be as follows: 

1). Be creative with content - use blogging as a way to showcase your abilities 

2). Keep the posts short - blogs need to be easy to read to keep people from getting distracted 

3). Link your blog to all your other Social Media platforms, and your company's website - the more people that get to your blog, the better! 

With that said, I hope you all enjoyed my blog over the past three months.  Thank you for reading, and make sure to check back next week.  I'm going to give my blog an overhaul and focus more on my photographs. 

xzw

xoxo 

Christina 

Carol-Ann Photography

I have chosen to discuss the Facebook Fan Page Carol-Ann Photography.  The link can be found here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Carol-Ann-Photography/14538925351

   Carol-Ann is a local Vancouver photographer, and one of my closest friends.  Carol-Ann photographs everything from weddings and babies, to boudoir and rescue dogs!  She is active in the community and has a great fan following.
   Carol-Ann uses her Fan Page to show case photographs in order to obtain new clients and show off her works to existing clients.  She shows "sneak peaks" for sessions that she has done, but is not finished editing.  This proves very effective in keeping her future and existing clients excited, and interested.
   Carol-Ann integrates her blog with her Facebook Fan Page and updates both almost daily.
For its intended purpose, Carol-Ann utelises Facebook in the best ways.  She holds photo contests where contestants and voters must "like" a photograph.  Whoever has the most "likes" at the end of a given session will win.  She links her Facebook Fan Page with her website for easy access.
   If I were to suggest anything to Carol-Ann, I would recommend she use the discussion board more frequently.  I'm sure that she could get some ideas and feedback from clients by posting questions about new images and ideas.


Tell me, what do you think of Carol-Ann's Facebook Page?  Do you think that there are any ways that she could improve?

"Because It Counts"

Canon Canada has recently come out with a new print and broadcast campaign called "Because It Counts".  This campaign is designed to be "by Canadians, for Canadians".
It is important for Canon to connect with its Canadian customers, and the best way to do so is through their new campaign. Most Canadians are familiar with Canon as a great photography company, but not so many are aware of their line of medical imaging and office equipment.    Canon will use their new campaign to showcase all the product lines in a context that appeals them to Canadian users.

http://www.canon.ca/inetCA/newsroom?m=getPress&pid=1924

Achievement

Good Evening Everyone,

Today we were asked to blog about how companies in our industry are using social media to achieve their marketing goals.  I chose to look at the social media utilized by camera companies.  I assume that the general goal that these companies have is to sell cameras and equipment.
The first company I started with is Canon, and the first place I looked was Facebook.  I was really disappointed with Canon.  First, I had a hard time picking which one of many was Canons actual site, so I had to go to the website. Canon does not have an obvious link to FB or Twitter on their site, so i'm left guessing as to which FB site is Canon.  I chose http://www.facebook.com/canoncameramsia?sk=info. I am suprised that Canon is not advertising their new T3I DSL EOS on this site.  The page is dedicated to Malaysian users, and the contests are all for Asia.
The site seems dedicated to photography challenges, which is great.  Over 140,000 people "like" this site.  the Canon marketing team initiates contact with the users, and responds to any questions that people have, which is also good.
The second site I tried was Nikon. Nikon also does not have an obvious post for FB or Twitter on their website.  I did however have a much easier time distinguishing which FB page belonged to Nikon.  At the bottom of the FB page for Nikon, they list their Twitter address, so I was able to find that easier as well.
I like that Nikon displays their product line on their FB page.  They do not appear to interact with their customers via FB, but they do appear to engage with their customers on Twitter (although not necessarily interact with them).
My general opinion for both companies is that they are doing a poor job using social media to their advantage.  I think they should outline their products better online, and have customers leave feedback about the cameras.  Both companies should link their social media to their actual websites for easy access.  They should post updates regularly and engage their audience better.  When someone comments "how much is this?" perhaps they could offer suggested companies (such as Best Buy) to contact for pricing information.

Christina Chiasson - Project 365

Top 10 Pictures

#1 - My best buddy, HarleQuinn

#2 - A random palm tree at a random beach in Hawaii 

#3 - Who doesn't love a good snow day?  This picture was taken  at a little park near Production Way in Burnaby. 

#4 - A Church in Quebec City.  It looks nice, but it is FREEZING! 

#5 - A dirt road on the way to camping North of Edmonton.  The camping trip looked fairly dim, but turned out pretty good. 

 #6 - The clouds overlooking Okanagan Lake , Kelowna  

 #7 - Water flowing at the power damn near Buntzen Lake and the Indian Arm. 

 #8 - A sunny summer day at Buntzen Lake.  My favorite spot to walk the dogs. 

 #9 - A lighthouse and setting sun in Hawaii.  Hawaii is the most photogenic place on the planet!

#10 - Pemberton Festival.  There was a band playing that shot hundreds of balloons into the air.  It was perfect with the mountains in the background. 

Top 10 Pictures

My Job in Technicolour!

Digg It Location

http://digg.com/story/r/How_to_Take_Good_Pictures_For_a_Blog
http://digg.com/story/r/project365_a_picture_a_day

It's been DUG!

Today was not difficult, but definately a learning experience.  We were asked to Digg and article.  Easy enough.  What's not so easy, is figuring out how to post this onto my blog. It went something like this.
1.  Set up user name / account
2. Add to blog
3. How do you add to blog?
4. Oh NO!  Now i've got ads on my blog
5. Great, I've got Digg on my blog
6. Wait, my Digg account and my blog account aren't the same email address
7.  Open a new Digg account
8. Post Digg account to Blog

I chose this article because it is written by someone who is also doing the Project 365.  He gives some good advice on how to find great pictures, and some advice on not getting discouraged when your photos don't turn out exactly how you want them to. The article also gives an overview on what the project is, and some alternatives if you feel like taking a daily picture might be too much work.  I liked the idea of Project 52, where you take a photo a week, rather than one a day.

I'm really excited about this weeks blogging post.  It has forced me to go out and look at other blogs related to photography, blogging photography, and Project 365.  I just found another great article on taking pictures that are designed specifically for blogs.  I think that over the rest of this class, I will try to use these techniques more.  I have DUGG this article as well.

Day 35; Dogs

In dedication to my weekly assignment of blogging about the dog sled massacre at Whistler, I have chosen to post a picture of my beautiful dog Harley Quinn.  I rescued Harley from Taiwan, where she was on death row.  People thought it was strange how I could bring a dog from another country, sight unseen, and choose to provide her a home.  To me, it was a no brainer!  She is perfect, and i'm so glad I could rescue her from a country where she was not wanted.  Since I got Harley, I have also provided a home to another dog, Buddha.  Buddha is a long haired weiner dog, and ended up at my house after a friend of mine was unable to care for her. Despite the fact that I already had one dog, how could I say no to providing a home to a dog who was familiar with me, my home, and Harley, when the alternative would be for her to end up at the SPCA?  As i'm writing this post, I have my two furry best friends snuggled up on either side of me.
It sickens me to think that the dogs in Whistler, a mere two hour drive from here, did not have the same chance. I know many people who would have volunteered a home to at least one of the dogs.  Also, i'm extremely enraged at the man that killed the dogs.  Despite the fact that killing the dogs is legal, I don't think that any job would be worth the sacrifice.  Had he gone to the media, I think that someone else would have offered him a job.  Had he gone to the police, I think that those dogs would have a home.

It is time that the laws change.  We MUST make it so that the slaughter, and mistreatment of dogs is ILLEGAL.  There are many rallies going on right now, including one tomorrow at Ambleside Park in North Vancouver.  I urge each of you to speak up for the ethical treatment of animals!

Day 30; what a DISASTER!

Although this photo seemed to turn out, very few of the rest of them did.  Today, Jamie and I hiked in the grueling heat and jungle to a waterfall that we could jump off of.  I brought my two cameras.  The awesome Canon, and the not so awesome Fujifilm XP.  Don't get me wrong, the Fujifilm is great for taking underwater pictures, but thats about it!  Not only did it ruin (or maybe I ruined) almost all my pictures of this waterfall; but it also broke!  It will take photos, but the display doesn't work.  I can't switch settings or anything.  I'm looking forward to getting home and returning it.  Anyways, this is the one picture that was moderately salvageable.

More Project 365

Project 365 - Day 29!

Since this is a blog about my project three hundred sixty five, I think i'll share some of my photos with you!  This is my photo from yesterday.  Since I'm in Hawaii right now, it's still only 10:00 pm on the 31st, despite that it says its February 1st.

Social Media Personality?

First i'd like to say, until this moment, I never knew that I had a social media personality.  However, upon reflection of my past habits, I think that I can say that I am a Lurker.  I tend to go online a lot to read and learn, but not necessarily interact.  I never had a myspace page, and haven't gone on a chat since ICQ.  However, this personality trait seems to disappear the moment I log on to Facebook.  With Facebook I tend to be a Friend.  I always comment on my friends pictures, and statuses.  Since I am so busy through the week, I use Facebook as a means of communication with my friends, rather than face to face or over the phone.

The website I think is most similar to me in personality; www.nationalgeographic.com; it's filled with information and beautiful pictures!  I also LOVE www.people.com, it too is filled with information and pictures... just the useless bored at work kind.