Surfing day

Spring Break at the Beach

This week is Spring Break 2017 and nothing is better than enjoying your weekend at the Beach. California has amazing beaches and one of them is ¨Del Mar beach¨. Saturday morning was the day for my second attempt to surf.

For all that don´t know about surfing, what you must know is that putting a wet suit on is a challenge. A wetsuit is usually made of foamed neoprene which provides thermal insulation and it is fitted very tight. 

 My first surfing day was a new experience. I didn't know how dangerous can be to surf. That day I swallowed water and the waves pushed me out where my surf board ended by one side and myself on the other. However, I told myself  I wanted to learn this sport as soon as I had health insurance. Lol

I know that learning new skills or a sport does not happen in one day. It requires time and practice. That day I just wanted to feel myself comfortable and paddling using the surfing board. I plan to go step by step . Thus, next step will be stand up. To be an unexpected surfing day, I had fun!

Flourless Crepes | Fit Recipes

Crepes with Egg Whites

 I like to follow a healthy lifestyle. So this recipe is a great option to snack between lunch and dinner. It is so easy and fast to prepare. Also contains all the nutrients recommended within a meal. Protein : Egg whites and protein powder; High fat : Peanut butter; Carbs: Fruits.
Here is the recipe:

You need :

+ 2 egg whites

+2 spoons of vanilla protein powder

+ 1 spoon of cinnamon

Preparation:

In a container you  mix the three ingredients until they become a dough. While doing that, you put coconut oil spray on the pan. You pour the dough on the pan until the crepe is cooked. You flip the crepe  to the other side. Prepare your plate ... for the filling the option is peanut butter.  On the top you can combine with red  fruits as strawberries and raspberries.

Voila! 

Get Visual in Social Media (Interior Design Industry Week: 8B)

Visual Content in social Media

Visual content is a powerful weapon when you want to persuade about a brand or a product. In the Interior Design Decoration is commonly used. People just don´t want to imagine how will look the color change of a wall, the accessories of their rooms or their new automatic blinds. They want to see it performing right away. Through images and videos this can be possible. 

On this post I want to give some examples of visual content in the Interior design industry

Houzz

This company uses its social media (Facebook and Instagram) to share images, videos and articles about interiors and new decoration trends. Also they post information related with current events. For example today that it is St. Patrick days they are posting pictures of green ambiances.

Houzz use social media platforms effectively. They use Twitter, Facebook, Google + and You Tube. On Facebook they have 2 millions followers and on Instagram  323 thousands followers. Some interesting fact it is the celebrity endorsement by Kristen Bell promoting its brand .

Houzz is mostly active on Facebook  posting 3 times per day. Last post was today.  While on Instagram they are not very active. They post on average once a week. 

The houzz website  www.houzz.com is pretty visual full of pictures.

Decorating Den interiors

DDI is a franchise company that uses effectively its social media platforms sharing visual content about images and videos. An interesting feature about its content is showing the before and after environment which they create.

They have social media account on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, you tube and Instagram. On Facebook they have 20 thousands followers, on Instagram  381 followers, on twitter 1,200 followers.  On Facebook they post everyday and on Instagram they post on average each 5 days. They have on average 8 comments per post. However when they post a visual article, the article is shared on average twice.

DIN Interiorismo 

DIN Interiorismo is a Mexican company with 26 years of experience in the Interior Design industry. They have Facebook, YouTube and Twitter accounts. 
 On Facebook they have 3,962 followers and  on twitter 4,716 followers.  On Facebook they post every 3 days and on twitter they post on average also every 3 days. They have at least one like per image. They don´t have comments in their post. However when they post a visual article, the article is shared.

This company can improve on the interaction of their social media platforms.  A recommendation is to open an Instagram account for the business. Nevertheless, a positive practice they apply is to promote social media platforms within others account.

Cache Architectural Covering

This company is a Mexican interior Design firm with 25 years of experience. They have visual content in its website about their products and suppliers. The only social media platform they use is Facebook. They have 14,606 followers. They post on average every 4 days and they receive on average 2 likes. Cache AC invest in Facebook advertisement and when they do they receive comments and shares.

Poem "A Life"

A life

A poem I wrote in 2010. Originally I wrote it in Spanish telling myself that life matters in every single way. When hard times come we are not aware of the blessings that we have. Everything that comes in life it's for a reason. No matter the reason, there is a learning experience that is coming through. So be grateful and blessed because you are here to make yourself stronger.

You can read this poem in its English version, which I translated for my webdesign project 3.  I must confess that I enjoy learning new skills about writing  and design.

Hope you enjoy it!

Get Visual in Social Media (Week 8A)

Get Visual

Nowadays It is common to use different social platforms for personal and business purposes. 

But do you know which one is right for your brand or business?

Let me tell you that most  people are visual. They like to be inspired by visual content like videos and pictures. Obviously there are some social media tools that accomplish this purpose more than others. Facebook was the first social media tool that share videos and pictures. However, new social media tools are becoming more popular to get the visual task done.  Instagram is a great social media platform  to share effective images. On the other hand YouTube has the best platform to share effectively videos.

In the  interior design industry being visual using social media can be an opportunity to engage with customers and showcase how your product  will look like. At the same time it increase the opportunity to close sales.  Sometimes customers don't know exactly what they want or what to expect of a brand or product. By giving visual content they can have a better understanding of the final  product.

For Polanco Decora, Facebook and Instagram are ideal social media platforms to get visual aids by sharing images, videos and articles that contain pictures. The Instagram account  has 370 followers. Images are posted on average every 2 days. The account has on average 7 likes per post. The common hashtags are:

 #interiordecoration #beautifulhouse 

#veracruzarchitects  #laminatesfloors  #blindsandcurtains  

#wallaccesories #wallpapers #polancodecoraveracruz #interiors. 

Some accounts that Polanco Decora follows are: @luxemagazine @housebeautiful , some local architects and customers. 

Instagram: @polanco_decora 

Facebook: Polanco decora mi vida

Week 7B: Facebook Scheduling

Facebook Scheduling

The last week I learned how to schedule post on Facebook. I believe this is a great tool to organize your time and prepare in advance. Today I scheduled 13 post for the next days from the day March 13th to March 19th, 2017.  Above you can see the screenshot of some future post. 

I visited the business pages I liked couple days ago to share some content on my Facebook pages. I really think it is interesting content because it contains videos, pictures and articles about interior design decoration. Also some positive thoughts.

I hope you like it! 

Visit my Facebook page :  Polanco decora mi vida

Facebook Comments

Patrick Conahan

Davina Croft

Ashely Enders

Week 7A: Facebook Business Pages

Facebook Business Pages

This week, I am choosing some Facebook pages that are related to the Interior Design Industry:

1. House Beautiful magazine

2. Decorating Den Interiors

3. Houzz

I chose this three pages because they are companies that promote the interior design decoration and have content that I can share with my Facebook friends. The magazine firm has good ideas and articles that post almost every hour in its page. The other two companies sell products and offer services of consulting and tips. 

4. Hunter Douglas

5.Terza

This two companies  are  my  suppliers. They are international companies that have many years in the interior design market. I sell their products and in their pages they promote and post about promotions, designs, architects, trends and their products.

6. Positive Thougts

7. Canaco Servytur Veracruz

I chose the positive thoughts page because I like to post positive messages considering my slogan ¨decora mi vida¨which means ¨decorating your life. I believe that when Polanco decorates houses, it is decorating the life of many people. Also the slogan of decorating lifes can be associated with creating positive emotions to Polanco Decora friends. 

The last business page is the chamber of commerce in Veracruz. Polanco Decora is member of this association and can benefit from the courses and information posted by this page.

In conclusion, all this business pages can help me to promote my Facebook page sharing some of their content, giving me an idea of their work to benchmark into my page.

Week 6B: Facebook Insights

Facebook Insights

This week I am writing about Facebook insights and what are some features and benefits that this social media platforms can offer to you.

First I want to explain the difference between Reach vs Engagement

Reach  

Reach is defined as the quantity of people that can see your post. This number will tell you how well your product or brand is known. Does not include an action of your followers or visitors. it is how many people your company or brand is reaching visually.

Engagement 

Engagement is defined as the quantity of people that interact with your page. It includes  likes, comments, shares and any interaction. The purpose of engagement is to create a relationship with your followers resulting in Brand loyalty.

This two terms can differ one from another or  can be related. For example, a brand Facebook account can have a high reach by having 1 million followers. But  low engagement because these followers don't interact (comment, share , etc) with the page frequently. On the other hand, the brand can have  low reach by having just 1000 followers. But high engagement because these followers constantly are commenting, liking your posts and sharing information. 

I mentioned that these terms also are related because one term can ignite to the other. For example, if more people can see your posts. the probability of people interacting with your page can also increase. An this number can grow if you reach your target market.  Inversely, if you have followers that like your post and share your post. These followers by doing so will make that their Facebook friends  see your post and  they might ended being your new follower or liking your post as well. 

Using Facebook insights is a powerful tool that will keep you inform about the statistics of your Facebook page. You will have more information about followers interaction. Also you can notice when is the best day and  time to post, on what content  you have greater reach, what posts were more popular, etc. Facebook insight will support you to take decisions in order to create quality content that reach, engage and satisfy your followers or even better your target market.

 Facebook insight tool is constantly updating  the data. Thus, it is important for you to keep tracking your page to have reliable and accurate information.

Blog Classmates

Davina Croft
Laura M

Work Smart, Not Hard!

Week 6A: FACEBOOK Account (Alternative Assignment)

My Polanco facebook Account

This week I want to tell you all about my Facebook account: "Polanco decora mi vida"

I started this account as a personal profile in march 2015. After a Year, Facebook noticed that I was using this account for business and it made me change it to a fan page account. Thus, this Facebook account is being manage through my personal account, but as a new one.

As I started like personal account , I had the opportunity to add some friends by sending them an invitation. Now the fan pages for business do not allow that. it is just the fans who can "like" your page. 

Today Polanco Company has two Polanco Facebook accounts: one is named "Polanco Decora" and the second is "Polanco decora mi vida". I manage the account " Polanco decora mi vida". Because on the first account we post about promotions, new products, interior design and decoration, on the second account I decided to post more about positive messages, greetings and humor. The purpose is to reaffirm the slogan " decora mi vida". The account has 876 friends and I post one picture everyday.  

Interior Design  facebook accounts Analysis 

Den interior design

This account is from an Interior designer that lives in Amsterdam, but She was born in Turin. She works as a freelance in her home/studio. The last post is made on February 22nd, 2017. She normally post every 4 days. The account has 350 friends. her Posts are attractive because of her work and creativity. Nevertheless, the posts need to be consistent and can be used more effectively. Also the cover picture does not convey the correct interior design message.

House Beautiful Magazine

This is a magazine company very known in the national and international industry about interior decoration. For that reason House beautiful magazine manage  all the trends of interior decoration and produce a lot of content. The last post was made Today. They post every hour. its account is very interactive. They engage close with the visitors and it have comments, likes and even shares. They have a good profile picture and cover picture. They have 7 millions friends.

Decoration Den Interiors

This is an american franchise firm of interior decoration. They have 20 thousands friends on Facebook. They post on average every 4 -5 days. They have  good content and they have presence in different social media platforms. However on Facebook they should have more posts. They have a profile picture and cover picture which is attractive.

Conclusion

It is important to have a good profile and cover picture. The recommendation is that at least one of them has to be the company logo or brand   you represent. Also  a smart action will be posting  more than one image a day by scheduling one week in advance (using the scheduling option provided by Facebook).