So much has happened in the last three years to me. I’ve still been active on social media. Just not really on here and that’s not necessarily a good thing but it was necessary. I’m going to try to be on here more. I have several new stories out or coming out. So, I’ll be updating things on here. If you’re around thank you for sticking around. If you’re new, welcome.
So, it has been some time since I posted to the blog. It has been a year since I posted, November 2020 to be exact. There is so much life that gets in the way. Covid-19 was one of the biggest things. You’d think since you have all that time, you’d have your stuff together, right? Nope. Not me, Covid quarantine made it hard for me to do much other than quarantine. Made through that, then getting used to going to work and pushing the fog from my brain to get back into writing. I love writing. I absolutely love it and it does feel good to be back at it.
By back at it I mean I finally found my groove and wrote outside my normal genre of romance and wrote a short piece for an anthology called Unbreakable Ink, called “Fly.” The anthology is packed with twenty-nine stories by twenty-nine authors! The absolute cool thing is that, that anthology is going to the moon, I mean literally, going to the moon on the MoonBox 2.0, which will contain the Lunar Codex’s Polaris Collection (including UnBreakable Ink). That really is something, to know that something I wrote is going to the moon.
Travel to the furthest reaches of space, traverse time, delve into the darkest parts of the mind and beyond in this collection of speculative fiction shorts.
Curated by Shebat Legion and presented by Indomitable Ink, Unbreakable Ink boasts twenty-nine stories and is the first installment in a series of anthologies designed to provoke the unbreakable imaginations in us all.
Amazon here: https://books2read.com/u/4EK21O
Page count: 261 pages
Publisher Indomitable Ink: https://www.facebook.com/IndomitableInkPublishing
Let me know if you read my story in the anthology and what you thought of it. As always Live in beauty!
One thing that is a known fact is that our social media landscape is constantly changing. Why is that? Well basically it’s because technology is constantly evolving which means that anything reliant on it must do the same or die out. People either love or hate social media but the fact is, it’s a resource that every day people use, and brands must follow suit or fall behind. Though there are those who may hate social media there are presently 3.80 billion people using social media worldwide since the beginning of 2020. I’m sure that with COVID-19 those numbers have continued to climb because of the quarantine and a lot of people staying home or working from home. 5.19 billion people use mobile phones globally with user numbers up by 124 million (2.4%) since the beginning of the year in 2019. The numbers below don’t lie, social media is here to stay.
I feel that the changes are due mainly to changes in human behavior but also because as I stated above technology is constantly changing and growing. The changes in human behavior come in the form of people wanting brands to be health conscious (fast food industry) … fast food brands are launching new products and drafting health-related communications strategies. Then there are the those who want brands to be socially conscious such as Ben & Jerry’s stand on racial justice. There are of course a myriad of issues that consumers wish brands to follow these two are just the tip of the iceberg.
There are a few trends that I feel will be up and coming in the future with social media (although there are many more, I’m sure these or the ones that I’ve focused on):
Continual growth of social media and its platforms.
Heightened privacy and security (huge boost in data management).
AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality). AR takes the real world and projects virtual, computer-generated augmentations to enhance the user’s experiences. VR a 3D dimensional computer-generated reality that users can explore as if they are in the real world.
Video’s will be used across most platforms (Cisco stated that by 2020, 75% of the mobile traffic will be video).
I think the future is definitely bright and fun with the addition of Augmented Reality along with Virtual reality being added into the mix because it will add to the consumer experience. Mixed and augmented reality, in particular, are proving effective in allowing consumers to engage with brands and interact with products like never before.
The question that companies need to be asking themselves according to TTEC, With these numbers continually growing, the question isn’t whether to embrace social media; it’s “How can I effectively leverage social networks to enhance the customer experience and gain valuable insight?” Indeed, that is the one thing that small and large businesses need to look at social media. How can they make it better for their consumers and how can I use the information gathered for the company’s benefit? Two questions I will leave you with is:
What trends do you see for social media as technology expands with consumers and businesses having to explore with it?
What brands do you follow on social media?
Let’s face it. Social Media has made it easier than before to become famous by going viral. Or at the very least to have your 15 seconds of fame as it were (or more if you’re lucky). When it comes to businesses wanting their brand to be seen by as many people as possible the quest for the keys to the magic kingdom. Viral marketing …is currently considered “holy grail” of digital marketing.
For me some of the most memorable campaigns out there were the ones that promoted LGBTQ lifestyles with the unifying hashtag of #LoveWins when it was made possible in 2015 for . I happen to find that as a romance author that I tend to agree that love is love and it doesn’t matter if a person is of another race or another gender. We love who we love and it is great to see campaigns with that kind of sentiment going viral. A lot of the big brands celebrated the fact that now in all fifty states same sex marriages are now legal. Which is how it should always have been but that is besides the point.
What are some of the characteristics of going viral, you ask? there are five that I’m going to mention and break them down.
Purposeful: Not just a random tweet or post that isn’t consistent with the brands history or message. Posting with purpose and intent and not just jumping on the bandwagon).
Shareable: so others can like, love, retweet, repost, and even share through word of mouth (organic reach).
Creative: Doing something no one else has done or if they have doing it in a way that it looks shiny and new.
Current: Up to date and with content that is modern and not old news. The #LoveWins content was an extremely exciting time for those in the community and well for most everyone. It was the hot topic and is still a hot topic.
Relevant: The content must be designed for your target audience if it isn’t you’ll miss the mark and we all know that bad publicity can also go viral and could be detrimental to a brand. Ask any brand that has been hurt by negative feedback from posting/tweeting something that wasn’t relevant or sensitive to the times. Such as the 2013 Hyundai ad trying to get people to buy their cars by having a guy doing self harm…hmmm…and how could they possibly think that would work?
What better way to tell your target audience that you care about them in more ways than just their dollars? You show them by promoting what matters to them. You’re creative like the Gap ad with play on words of being into equality because it is always in style. Which keeps you current and relevant all at the same time you’re posting for a purpose and that is to unify just as the mentos add did and all with beautiful images and a unifying hashtag of #lovewins. If you can get people to talk about your brand in a positive light you can most likely get them to share it and perhaps share it over and over again to go viral. I do happen to think that going viral is a luck of the draw kind of scenario but following steps that others have to do so can put you on a better path to doing so rather than just hoping and praying it will happen. And as far as that hashtag #LoveWins? It is still out there telling its truth…(I love a good hashtag as they cost nothing and can easily be used on social media platforms and is very shareable!
So tell me what is one of your favorite campaigns out in the wild that had a purpose, relevancy, was shareable, creative, and current? Hit me in the comments I for one love to see a positive campaign that is meant to help people and may even make them laugh, smile, or just feel warm inside. Hey in this time of COVID when the world feels a little crazy…we need lots of love to let the world know that #LoveisLove and love should always win.
Lays is a potato chip company first introduced in Canada in 1932 that makes a variety of potato chips and was bought by PepsiCo in 1965 and is under the Frito-Lays brand. Lay’s promises its consumers, “Wherever celebrations and good times happen, the LAY’S® brand will be there just as it has been for more than 75 years. With flavors almost as rich as our history, we have a chip or crisp flavor guaranteed to bring a smile on your face” (Frito-Lay North America, 2020). “Lay’s potato chips come in over 200 flavors” (Attride, 2020) according to, Tiana Attride. Pringles is an American stackable potato chip company founded in 1967 by Proctor & Gamble and then sold to Kellogg’s in 2012. Pringles has 162 flavors readily available in most markets. “Pringles comes in many different flavors but is best known for its original version” (Snack History, 2020).
Each company utilizes social media such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. Both companies also have user friendly websites in which a customer can easily find out how to buy their products, what new offerings they have along with videos with celebrity endorsements. They also both use humor to get their points across, as well as polls and visuals to garner engagement with consumers. Across the board on their social media platforms the companies are consistent in their messaging to win over new consumers and to keep their current consumers. Both companies run promotions on their websites that consumers can sign up for coupons, sweepstakes, and receive updates. Lays has PepsiCo Tasty Rewards while Pringles has Kellogg’s Family Rewards.
Lays is running a campaign #SmileWithLays which is a promotion to showcase people who go above and beyond in their communities and by doing so they are featured on Lay’s social media as well as their smile being placed on bags of chips. This campaign is being used to showcase everyday people who make a difference in their community on the website it states, “Lay’s is celebrating people across the country who inspire smiles in their communities in extraordinary ways. From a man who inspired hundreds of teens to mow their neighbors’ lawns to a retired nurse who founded a food pantry, these people go above and beyond to share kindness and joy… Each Smile with Lay’s bag you buy helps us reach our goal of a $1 million donation to Operation Smile – a nonprofit that changes and saves lives one smile at a time” (Now This, 2020). This is a great way to get people interested in Lays products as well as to keep their current consumers and produce brand loyalty and make their brand personal to its consumers by participating in philanthropy.
Pringles has taken the approach to realizing that people have been in quarantine since the beginning of the year and that sports has had to change from public viewing to virtual enjoyment. The campaign is called #CrunchTimeCam in which they are asking their consumers to Tweet one of the below hashtags to receive exclusive behind the scenes content of their favorite team while they enjoy virtually. This gets consumers excited and starts engagement through user generated content since they can’t go to a game in person because of COVID-19.
One thing noted is that while Lays has more followers on most social media, Pringles has overtaken them with likes and followers on Facebook. This is where Pringles excels on social media in comparison to Lays. Whether it be Pringles or Lays that is your flavor of choice both companies seem to be doing a bang-up job to please their consumers. Do you have a favorite? Or do you like them equally? I personally like them both for different reasons. Lays because of nostalgia and taste. Pringles for something different.
References
Attride, T. (2020, July 21). 10 things you probably didn’t know about Lay’s potato chips. Insider. https://www.insider.com/lays-fun-facts-potato-chips-2018-11.
Frito-Lay North America. (2020). About Lays. Home. https://www.lays.com/about-us.
Frito-Lay North America. (2020). Company Story: FritoLay. Home. https://www.fritolay.com/about-frito-lay/company-story.
Lays. (2020). Lay’s. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/lays.
Lays. (2020). Lays. Login • Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/lays/.
Now This. (2020). Lays Smile Stories. Now This. https://nowthisnews.com/lays-smiles.
Pringles. (2020). Pringles. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/PringlesUS.
Pringles. (2020). Pringles. Twitter. https://twitter.com/Pringles.
Pringles. (2020). Pringles. Login • Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/pringlesus/.
Pringles. (2020). Pringles®: Home. Pringles® | Home. https://www.pringles.com/us/home.html.
Snack History. (2020). Pringles. Snack History. https://www.snackhistory.com/pringles.
A curse, a vision, and a secret.
With a flimsy piece of evidence and a Psychic vision, “Miss Butterfly”, crashes the Reyes Brother’s charity fundraiser hoping one of them believes in curses. She has a devastating secret and they may be her last chance to get answers.
Fearing the affliction haunting him is tied to the alluring woman roaming through his library, Dante agrees to help her, fighting the powerful attraction building between them.
Together they scour centuries’ worth of myths and legends, determined to find the truth. Neither is prepared when they discover their intense connection may be the key to breaking the curse.
Excerpt:
Perched on the second story walkway, overlooking the crowd piling into the oversized dining hall, Dante Reyes sighed, unsure how many more of these events his brother would force him to organize and attend before the end of the year. While he enjoyed supporting worthy causes, hopping from country to country for the last eight months was wearing him thin. Grateful to be back in one of their homes for an extended period, he watched the couples of Psychics and nulls filling his home, wondering how many of them were native to London. The city had changed so much in the ten years they’d been gone.
The air sizzled with building energy. Hoping the effervescent and happy vibe bouncing through the room soothed him for a few hours, Dante shut his eyes and breathed in to absorb and charge his body using the energy below.
Drake busted through the double doors behind him, breaking his concentration. “There you are.”
“Here I am,” he replied.
“Last one, okay?”
He glanced back and lifted his brow. “Do you mean it, brother?”
“Yes, okay, yes. Such a grumpy immortal you’ve become.”
“We are not immortal.” He grumbled, turned, and stared at the crowd, ignoring the decorative blue Colombina mask floating next to his face. Drake chuckled and Shifted it closer, honing the skill quicker than he had. Dante swiped the mask from the air and fixed it in place, aware the coloring drew attention to his eyes.
“Your best feature, my man. ‘Cuz your attitude is trash.”
“Forgive me for tiring of meaningless interludes with a string of overzealous participants.”
“Casual. Sex. It’s not that hard to say, and you know that’s not why I do this. Just a perk. Maybe if you didn’t talk like the stuffy old goat that you are people would stop calling you one.” He slapped a hand on Dante’s back.
To win a signed paperback and a gift card click here: http://www.jennnixon.com/giveaways/dantes-hope-giveaway/
About the author:
Twitter: @Jennnixon Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JennNixonAuthor/ Website: www.jennnixon.com
Featuring African American, Interracial, and/or Multicultural Romance novels available on Apple Books, Kobo, & Nook. Plus enter to win an Amazon Gift Card. http://www.blacklovebooks.com/summer-reading-2020 #blacklovebooks #summerreading #diverseromance #wideromance TWITTER READY POST SUMMER ROMANCE READING for every device. #Giveaway featuring African American, Interracial, and Multicultural romance novels. http://www.blacklovebooks.com/summer-reading-2020 @blacklovebooks #IARTG #pdf1 #bookdeals #booklovers #aaromance #irromance #multicultural #diversebooks #kindle #ibooks #kobo #nook
Greetings my friends. Sorry it has been so long since I’ve done an email. Almost 2 years to be exact. I’d moved to Texas in 2018. In Texas, I was teaching and trying to survive being a single parent of two teens in a state far from my home and family. I did survive a year and came back to California in June 2019. So much has happened since then. 2020 came in with all kind of crazy…such as #BlackLivesMatter, Quarantine because of Covid 19. I hope you all are faring well through the madness and finding some solace.
I know that life is crazy right now and I’m hoping in this time of quarantine you and yours are thriving and surviving. I know how much a good read can make the difference and was so glad to get back into the groove of writing. I have several stories coming out and wanted to share.
I have a Facebook Readers group where I have other authors stop by, there are games, giveaways at times and interaction daily! Come join us: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1114070102066354/
In other news I have started a natural products business! Quarantine will make you find ways to keep sane for sure. Besides writing this has been a wonderful experience and so much fun. Right now I have mainly homemade soap. Check me out. You can find me on Facebook under N.P. Naturals here: https://www.facebook.com/NPNaturalsOne
Some pictures of the some of the soaps
And now on to the book news!
After a bitter divorce three years earlier, Dyani Delacroix has focused all her energy on her job as a professor at the local university. So, when her star student, Caleb Tegner, begins to flunk out, she immediately calls him in for a meeting. The last thing she expects is to be the one taught a lesson when Caleb unleashes a passion she can’t resist.
Available July 9th, 2020 on preorder now!
Indelible scars and memories chase us like ghosts.
He was supposed to be coming home. But not like this, never like this. I’d always dreamed that one day Quinton Grayson would be mine. Now he’s back and we’re both dealing with paralyzing guilt. Does wanting him make sense when I have the responsibility to take care of my nephew? Quinton is holding back; dare I find out why?
When you’re on the sand you’re supposed to leave everything there. Unfortunately, I’ve brought it back to Arlington Heights and Lyric Scott’s doorstep. My body reveals all the scars for everyone to see, but the ones on my soul are graver. Will she even look my way? What can I possibly offer her other than to keep the promise I made to her brother, my best friend who I couldn’t bring back?
We’re a ready-made family now, how can I walk away? But how can I allow her to deal with the demons at my door?
Available August 7th, 2020 on preorder now!
Buy Links:
Book 2 (Undeniable Series)
She knows her heart is at risk
Professor Âine Reid has crushed on Darian Tisdale since college. She succumbed to his sexy charms more than once, but when he made it clear he only wanted friends with benefits, she friend-zoned him, no benefits on offer. Now co-workers up for the same tenure track promotion, Âine has more reason than ever to keep Darian at arm’s length. He tempts her like no other, but she values his friendship too much to take another risk with her heart.
Can he prove that he’s changed?
Darian knows he hurt Âine long ago. He wants to prove that he’s now ready for more and to take their friendship to the next, more permanent and sexy level. He thinks she feels the same except when she signs up for a dating site, Darian knows he has his work cut out for him. He’s all in for the challenge except there’s the career making promotion they are both up for.
Can their friendship and sizzling chemistry combust to create a win-win for them both?
Available September 14, 2020 on preorder now!
Buy Links:
Orkut was a social media networking site launched in 2004 owned and operated by Google and named after its creator Orkut Büyükkökten a Google employee created that ended in 2014. The social media platforms purpose was for its users to be able to find communities. As stated by L. Meghan Mahoney and Tang Tang, “Community is a natural necessity for humans” (Mahoney & Tang, 2017 ). With that being said we can see why social media has become a hit and is addicting, is because its users want to find places where the feel they belong, where they can communicate with other users of like minds. Social media works because it allows consumers/users to communicate with each other as well as with the platform rather than the business or platform talking “with a mass audience with a single media message” (Mahoney & Tang, 2017). By giving users the ability to communicate on social media it allows them to share their experiences and stories.
Orkut was a user-friendly platform which made it easy for users to join and move through the site to join communities. It allowed its users to:
Rate other users on how sexy, cool and trustworthy they found each other
Privacy concerns for its users was high
Users could search for classmates and friends
Communities that users could join online schools, workplaces, and residential street groups
Allowed direct communication with others, recommend products and services to their friends with ease
Combine technology and culture (Mahoney & Tang, 2019).
Orkut was a leading social media site in Brazil. Because outdoor advertising is banned in Brazil there was a wave online marketing. According to Loren Baker there are several reasons Orkut was a hit in Brazil. Those reasons consisted of:
Brazilians are just very community-oriented.
Orkut is easy to pronounce in Portuguese making it easy to remember.
Users can prequalify the friends they make.
Mobility ease of use.
Competition, awards, fan citations, friendship offerings (Baker, 2009).
Being able to attract others in the community that had the same connections which built a strong community of “150,000 communities” (Mahoney & Tang, 2019). Orkut was a trailblazer in showing how to utilize social networking. In being one of the firsts, Orkut lost their advantage through:
Novelty wearing off.
Technology changing (growing) and not following the changes.
Stopped meeting the needs of their target audience.
Functionality problems with the website (Mahoney & Tang, 2019).
Competition such as Facebook used better coding and grew faster.
In order to continue to be a leader in social media a platform must keep up with technological advances as well as the needs of their target audience. Although the interface was user friendly, the issue of slow loading graphics, outdated coding, and something as simple as the homepage being the users profile versus, “…Facebook and Twitter both are different, because the home page is about other people. As soon as you log in, you see what others are doing” (Bhasin, 2018). Plain and simply put, Orkut fell short because they did not keep up with technology or their users needs. In this fast-paced world, a company must keep up with the newest tech to stay relevant and to keep their users attention. One thing I would suggest to Orkut which has rebranded to “Hello Network,” under the same website www.orkut.com and launched in India in 2018, is that they must research their competition, ask their users for feedback to find out what they want, and to use better coding. According to Dutta Moupiya, Orkut stated, “This app is built specifically for the new mobile-generation seeking to bring people together around their interests to create positive, meaningful, authentic connections” (Moupiya, 2018). One can hope that Orkut Büyükkökten has learned from the mistakes made with Orkut and that their Hello app will bring him much success and their users what they need and want.
What are the issues that you find with the platforms you use?
Bhasin, H. (2018, March 09). 7 marketing lessons from Orkut – orkut marketing lessons. Retrieved December 20, 2019, from https://www.marketing91.com/7-marketing-lessons-orkut/
Mahoney, L. M., & Tang, T. (2017). Strategic social media: From marketing to social change. Chichester, United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell.
Moupiya, D. (2018, April 11). New alternative to facebook, Orkut founder Launches hello app in India. Retrieved December 20, 2019, from https://www.techgenyz.com/2018/04/11/orkut-founder-launches-hello-app-india/
In America we have a lot of different apps to do a plethora of different things. Such as Facebook where you can share pictures, stories, comment on other users’ pictures and stories, as well as buy and sell things. There is also Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, and Twitter to name a few more apps that we use consistently to share our world. In China, however they aren’t allowed to use outside apps as they are banned. They have Weixin (pronounced “way-shin”) which is also called WeChat. Weixin was founded in 2011 by Tencent and has quickly become the main social media platform that “allows its users to send messages, share news, and pictures via their mobile phone” (Mahoney & Tang, 2017) I find myself fascinated by the thought of having just one app that would take care of all my needs versus having to use several apps that clog up my cell phone and if I’m honest can be a time suck.
Reading the case study about Weixin, I have found out that the application is not only a “combination of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and eBay” (Mahoney & Tang, 2017), it is also user friendly. One would think with so much packed into an app that it would be hard to navigate because of complexity. Mahoney and Tang state, “Weixin allows its users to record messages by simply holding on one button and talking, which saves the trouble of typing Chinese characters on the phone” (Mahoney & Tang, 2017). To have such ease when trying to get a message out makes the app a dream application. There is also the fact that when news is being read on the application it doesn’t send the reader to an outside website the reader is linked directly to the URL within the app! Oh, how glorious that would be to have that function within the apps we currently use. Shannon Liao from The Verge says, “WeChat has 902 million daily users, and about 38 billion messages are sent on the platform every day. Last year, Tencent added mini-apps to WeChat, creating an app store of sorts: inside WeChat, you can play games, pay bills, find local hangouts, book doctor appointments, file police reports, hail taxis, hold video conferences, and access bank services. State-run media and government agencies also have official WeChat accounts, where they can directly communicate with users” (Liao, 2018). For instance, when I use Facebook a lot of the time the app will send me to the news website and completely take me out of Facebook. A true annoyance to be sure, because if I’m, using Facebook I want to use Facebook and not be redirected somewhere else.
It’s amazing that this one application has so many functions that are just helpful in everyday life. If this type of app came to America we would not need, Lyft, Uber, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, various news applications, banking apps and a whole lot more applications would become defunct. I honestly don’t see this happening here or perhaps anywhere else because that would most likely mean those other platforms would be out of business. There is also the fact that this app is a state-run application and as we know most of us don’t want the government in our business let alone in our applications. Tencent also pays attention to what their consumers want and need by adding campaigns that speak to those needs. One campaign in particular which had their users responding was their 2014 “Qiang Hongbao” campaign (Red Envelope), this campaign allowed for users to link their bank accounts to a Weixin account and send and receive virtual red envelopes. Mahoney and Tang say, “Red envelope is a traditional Chinese culture that includes a monetary gift that Chinese people give to their family and friends during holidays” (Mahoney & Tang, 2017).
China seriously has one app that rules their world and I find it fascinating. Ge Wang, Wei Zhang, and Runxi Zeng state, “In China specifically, socializing on WeChat has become an indispensable part of users’ everyday lives, and WeChat is the most important social media application for maintaining users’ online interpersonal relationships” (Wang, Zhang, & Zeng, 2019). What do you think? Would you like an app that did all those things this app can do? This application is part of China’s daily life because it involves all the things that they need to get through their day. Do you think such an application would be successful here in America? I’d like to think so, however as I stated before I think that other platforms would find some reason to not want it as it would interrupt our free enterprise.
References
Liao, S. (2018, February 01). How WeChat came to rule China. Retrieved December 07, 2019, from https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/1/16721230/wechat-china-app-mini-programs-messaging-electronic-id-system
Mahoney, L. M., & Tang, T. (2017). Strategic social media: From marketing to social change. Chichester, United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell.
Wang, G., Zhang, W., & Zeng, R. (2019). WeChat use intensity and social support: The moderating effect of motivators for wechat use. Computers in Human Behavior, 91, 244-251. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2018.10.010
