Digital and Social Media
INTRODUCTION
Design & Press is a small, online brand and business that I created to sell custom designed greeting cards – wedding and graduation announcements, event invitations, holiday cards, and other assorted greetings!
I chose Design & Press as my senior project because I have been long wanting to start up my own business that both incorporates my love for typography and design, as well as showcases my skills in digital and social media, marketing, and business.
My dream career is one in digital and social media that allows me to use my skills in graphic design. I would love to manage and create content for a small business to help them grow. I have always been passionate about small and local businesses. Design & Press is one way I plan on working towards these goals. Having my own small business and managing its digital and social platforms will allow me to showcase the skills I have highlighted above.
I started Design & Press in July of 2020. Other than an Instagram account with a few posts, there was not much else to it. I knew I wanted to create Design & Press into something bigger and better, so I started working on it for my senior project in the fall of 2020.
The purpose behind my project was to strategize a plan of success for Design & Press. My goals were to create a style guide for the brand, a content calendar and content strategy for various social media platforms, and a concrete business model so that Design & Press could hit the ground running.
STYLE GUIDE
The style guide was the first step. I needed to create a consistent brand image and style with established logos and logo guidelines, typography, color scheme, image guidelines, and audience personas.
CONTENT STRATEGY
Creating a content strategy that I could use going forward through the rest of the year was an important part of this project. I planned for each and every post, as well as I have planned post topics and marketing strategies – such as collaborated giveaways with other brands – through the end of the year. Another part of this content strategy was to create a streamlined hashtag strategy for each social media platform. I researched similar brands to discover the hashtags they used, and then looked up each individual hashtag that I plan on using to see if it fits with my brand and will further my brand’s reach in a beneficial way!
SOCIAL PAGES AND ANALYTICS
Through solely organic posting on multiple social media platforms over the last couple of weeks of my project, I saw quite a bit of growth. I focused my efforts on Instagram and Facebook, but established a presence of Pinterest and Twitter to have as I move forward with this brand.
On Instagram, I gained over 50 followers and had an average engagement rate of 25%.
On Facebook, I gained 57 page likes and 63 page followers with an average engagement rate of 7%.
Twitter/Pinterest
I hope that by having set up a presence on Pinterest and Twitter that I will be able to succeed on these platforms as I move forward with Design & Press.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE PRODUCTS
Though my focus for this project was to create a strategized plan for Design & Press as a brand and business, I also created a few product mock-ups to help sell my services as I move forward. Here is a closer look at those products!
CONCLUSION
In a little over fifty hours, I was able to complete my goals for Design & Press. I now have good, solid bones for my own business and a portfolio piece to move me forward in my career. The work I have done on Design & Press for my senior project has established a way for me to continue even now that the project is over. I have product ideas to execute and content strategies planned. I am glad that I have been able to make this happen, and excited to see how Design & Press grows.
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Style
2. Social Media
Content Strategy
Social Media Pages
3. Products
Wedding Announcement
Holiday Cards
4. Time Log
