Faces by Tamara.

com Strategic Communication Plan 1

Tamara Stinson Strategic Communication: Analysis & Theory- COMM 605 April 23, 2012

Faces by Tamara.com Strategic Communication Plan 2 I. Executive Summary: While most blogs track their influence via reach metrics like pageviews or uniques, Faces by Tamara.com has been quietly tending a metric that explains something more important depth. Faces by Tamara.com is one of thousands of beauty blogs in the blogosphere. How can I stand out? Compatibility. Similar values. Raw attraction. These are some of the factors that bring people together in lasting, loving relationships. One of the main goals of Faces by Tamara.com is to increase the number of loyal readers who visit the site. In order to measure the success of this strategic plan and the blog, I will set SMART goals and objectives. S.M.A.R.T. = Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely. Specific: Who: Tamara Stinson What: Increase site traffic to 10,000 page views a month. When: November 2012 Where: Faces by Tamara.com Why: So my blog looks more inviting to the brands I want to be working with. Measurable: Google analytics will be used to measure the sites growth. Attainable: Habermas Theory of Communicative Actions and Webers Theory on Legitimacy and Legitimation will be used as key communicative tactics to display truth, truthfulness, legitimation and charisma to reach and engage readers. Realistic: I will use an editorial calendar to organize posts and thoughts, to help track the most successful posts and to stay inspired. Timely: Increase monthly traffic by November 2012, grow audience engagement to 25 comments a post by August 2012 and reach out to prospective advertisers by December 2012. Other tactics will include YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, outreach to other bloggers advertising on other blogs, guest post, etc. While distributing content across the web is essential for attracting the interest of Internet passersby, courting these wanderers, massaging them into occasional visitors and finally gaining their affection as daily readers is far more important. This core audience borne of a compounding of word of mouth, search referrals, article recommendations and successive enjoyed visits that result in regular readership will drive premium advertising companies and products to the site.

Faces by Tamara.com Strategic Communication Plan 3 Faces by Tamara.com have not been updated since August 2011, this strategic plan will serve as a model of how to get back on track and accomplish the mentioned goals. II. Purpose: The purpose of this strategic communication plan is to gain more readers on www.facesbytamara.com. The stakeholder groups include women from ages 18-40. The goal of Faces by Tamara.com is to become one of the top blogs in its genre attracting women who are interested in beauty, hair, fashion and lifestyle. III. Challenges and Opportunity: Thousands of blogs are created daily. Topics ranging for any and everything including Faces by Tamara.coms market: Beauty and Fashion. Finding a niche in an oversaturated market is one of the biggest challenges for Faces by Tamara.com. One problem Faces by Tamara.com encounters is in order to be a successful blogger, you need to know your topic well enough that your writing offers something valuable and different to readers. Articles can inform, teach, warn, do a lot of things but as the author of Faces by Tamara.com I need to know my niche well enough to identify what stories will fill these roles for my readers. Habermas theory on intelligibility and legitimacy comes into play when creating and staying true to the interests of Faces by Tamara.com and its readers. As the author, I must learn all I can about the beauty and fashion industries, not just the brands and techniques that interest me. My readers come from diverse backgrounds; all races, ages and sizes. Educating myself of their needs while adding my own flare will make me more well rounded as a writer, blogger and industry leader. Blogging regularly and social media engagement has been a struggle for Faces by Tamara.com. Faces by Tamara.com pride itself on being innovative and informative. The women who read this blog think backwoods rhetoric about highly textured hair and mediocre makeup tutorials is antiquated and outdated. Faces by Tamara.com readers want to be stimulated through social media engagement, inspired by personal experiences and taught the latest and greatest makeup techniques on a regular basis. Webers theory on charisma is perfect for engaging readers and delivering articles in a fresh and dynamic way. A goal of Faces by Tamara.com is to collaborate with a variety of brands to reach target audience and deliver messages. With goals to reach hundreds of thousands of women a month, collaborations would offer outof-the-box delivery on content, style and glam in a way that many other sites do not.

Faces by Tamara.com Strategic Communication Plan 4 Broadening the reach of Faces by Tamara.com can offer opportunities in many arenas. The blog is also used to showcase my work as a freelance makeup artist. I have future plans of opening a boutique and this blog can be used to market myself to future customers and potential fashion house sales teams. I have seen bloggers become brand ambassadors and book authors. The possibilities are endless. My passion is beauty and fashion so thats what I write about but at the same time, engagement and growth with the most important asset in any organization: the people is imperative. IV. Analysis Mission: The mission of Faces by Tamara.com is to uplift women by sharing beauty news, tips and tricks; giving fashion ideas from my very own closet; and helping create and sense of confidence, independence and passion for life all while embracing being a woman. Affluent, multi-cultural, fashion forward women from all walks of life who covet all things hair, beauty and fashion related can visit this site for inspiration, information and a sense of community. The woman who read this blog is smart, educated and want products that work for her skin, hair texture and clothes that fit her style. Goals: 1) The goal of this strategic communication to increase traffic to www.facesbytamara.com. 2) Deliver readers with fresh quality content that is relevant to their lives on a weekly basis. 3) Deliver celebrity and professional interviews about the things my readers want insight on. 4) Increase the number of goggle friend connections and bloglovin followers. 5) Build a community of loyal and fully engaged followers. 6) Increase social media presence and followers. 7) Gain advertisement and product endorsement monies. 8) Become one of the top blogs in its genre. Values: I wanted one place to put all of my musings, projects and random skills + information I have acquired amongst the years in hopes to connect with like-minded spirits. With this blog I want to help uplift women by sharing beauty news, tips and tricks; giving fashion ideas from my very own closet; and helping create and sense of confidence, independence and passion for life all while embracing being a woman. The blog has evolved into a space in which I strive to deliver my readers with fresh quality content, that is relevant to their lives, with

Faces by Tamara.com Strategic Communication Plan 5 the end goal to ignite readers and foster positive growth! Faces By Tamara.Com will do this by creating a community that respects diversity, and celebrates creativity, balance and connectedness. In the two years of its existence, Faces by Tamara.com has gained over 200 faithful followers, 1000 YouTube subscribers, 360 twitter followers and 170 Facebook likes averaging about 400 monthly hits. In the past, Faces by Tamara.com engaged readers by delivering fresh content, makeup tips and tutorials and fashion inspiration. One of the major goals for this site is to increase daily hits and attract advertisers to the site. While Faces By Tamara.com has a nice reach, its not large enough to build a solid business. One of the main weaknesses of the site is that it has become stagnant. Lack of direction and knowledge about the business side of blogging resulted in fewer updates and less social media engagement. Faces by Tamara.com have not been updated since August 2011, this strategic plan will serve as a model of how to get back on track and accomplish the mentioned goals. I believe the best way to build the Faces by Tamara brand is to use Habermas Theory of Communicative Action and Webers Theory of Legitimacy and Legitimation. Webers theory on charisma grounds was established with existing readers and will help to attract new, fully engaged readers. To encourage a more pure charisma ground, I as the editor of Faces by Tamara.com, will have to be more engaging and personal. What sets blogs apart from a traditional publication like a magazine is they are more personable and relatable. The current state of the blog is not showcasing the charisma it once had. Traditional grounds are established on a belief system, Faces by Tamara.com readers are beauty and fashion enthusiasts who have similar interests to the content the blog provides. The legal- rational grounds and values of Faces by Tamara.com along with the traditional grounds of the blog will show advertisers and companies that positioning themselves with Faces By Tamara.com will be beneficial to their brands and/or products. To attract advertisers, I need to be the face of the audience they are trying to pursue, a representation for my readers. Habermas theory on intelligibility, truth and truthfulness will help develop a loyal and lasting relationship with my readers and help to attract new loyal readers. My ability to convey the message clearly through writing and v-logging will establish intelligibility. I will also need to establish intelligibility by staying current on new techniques, fashions and brands. This will help me to become more knowledgeable and help to provide current and relevant content. The truth is the content and tutorials I provide. Truthfulness comes with honestly and integrity. Honesty in the things I say gives readers ultimate value. No matter what Im talking about, my perspective and experience is unique, so complete honesty is a guaranteed way to present something brand-new to my readers.

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V. Market Segmentation Public: Faces by Tamara.com users are disproportionately female, and they tend to be childless college graduates under the age of 35 who have incomes between $30,000 and $60,000 and browse from home. Search engines refer approximately 21% of visits to the site. We estimate that 69% of Faces by Tamara.com's visitors are in the US, Germany and UK where it has attained a traffic rank of 44,883. Visitors to the site view 4.3 unique pages each day on average. Challenges for reaching public: 1. Blogs arent the hot new thing anymore. Most categories are becoming oversaturated, and content is getting watered down. People are starting blogs left and right. This can make it harder for Faces by Tamara.com stand out. 2. Establishing credibility. Most beauty bloggers are not dermatologists, estheticians or licensed makeup artists, Faces by Tamara.com must establish credibility with it followers. 3. Monthly publications like fashion and beauty magazines can be competition as well. Values of the public: 1. Honesty: Readers want to be confident that Faces by Tamara.com is always authentic when reviewing products and passing along information. 2. Commitment: Faces by Tamara.com readers like well thought out and stimulating posts on a consistent basis. 3. Passion: Faces by Tamara.com readers are passionate about putting their best {face} forward in everything they do. They are passionate about makeup, hair and fashion while embracing what makes them unique. Media used to reach public: 1. Blogger 2. Youtube 3. Word-of-mouth 4. Twitter 5. Facebook 6. Tumblr 7. Instagram 8. Pinterest How the public makes decisions: 1. Brand Recognition: Readers tend to follow whats popular. The more engagement, re-tweets and conversation about the Faces by Tamara.com brand will warrant more followers.

Faces by Tamara.com Strategic Communication Plan 7 2. Personal Style: If the readers personal makeup and fashion style is similar to that of Faces by Tamara.com they will be likely become a loyal follower. 3. Truthfulness and Intelligibility: Readers tend to follow bloggers who display honesty and integrity with well-written and informative topics. Publics current perception and sentiment: Faces by Tamara.com was once known as a fun and resourceful fashion and beauty guide for women of all races, ages and sizes. Updating with inspirational stories and tips and tricks to help women conquer beauty and fashion dilemmas. Since September 2011, Faces by Tamara.com has failed to deliver fresh content to readers and has also failed to engage readers through YouTube and other social media outlets. Because of lack of participation from the editor, daily hits and the number of subscribers dropped.

VI. Suggested Strategies 1. Come up with a realistic schedule: Previously updating Faces by Tamara.com everyday was the goal but working full-time and being a graduate student made that nearly impossible. Post relevant and informative articles three times a week. This adds consistency so readers know when to come back. Google analytics show that Faces by Tamara.com gets the most hits on Mondays and Fridays. Updating on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays will give the readers fresh content when they visit most and it will give me, the editor, the weekend off to prepare articles for the coming week. Collect inspiration, information and ideas throughout the week and set aside a set time each weekend to put articles together. 2. Recruit Guest Bloggers: I cant do everything myself. Guest bloggers add a fresh perspective on topics my audience is interested in. Guest bloggers also add diversity to the blog. Find bloggers I like and respect who hold similar values as Faces by Tamara.com. Legitimacy, charisma, truth, truthfulness and intelligibility is also required of guest bloggers. Come up with a set day to display guest blogger articles (every second/fourth Friday, one Wednesday a month, etc). 3. Hone my craft: The more knowledge I have and the better I write, the more intelligibility I display. Educate myself on things all things fashion and beauty related. Study brands and how they work. Establishing legitimacy and intelligibility. Experiment with different writing styles and voices (lengths, formal, informal, different formats, different medias, different topics).

Faces by Tamara.com Strategic Communication Plan 8 This will help to get a feel for the style my readers prefer. This will help me think outside of the box as far as topics and how I present my work. Decreasing the chances of blogger burnout. Interview makeup and fashion gurus and writers to hone my craft and share with what I learned with my readers. Solicit feedback from readers. I blog for my readers so knowing whats they like, what they dont will help me to deliver the topics they want to see on Faces by Tamara.com. I can measure this by taking a poll, taking note on what posts receive the most hits and comments and asking via social media. 4. Engage: Social Media reigns supreme. Create conversations via Facebook and Twitter. This will add a sense of community. Conversations can be about anything beauty and fashion related, lifestyle or pop culture, etc. Provide links to new posts and updates via social media can increase traffic to the blog. Join conversations of other like-minded individuals, re-tweet, reply, etc) Purchase Facebook ads to increase following. Make my brand more visible on Facebook can increase the Face by Tamara.com community, market to loyal facebookers who may not find my page on their own and increase traffic to the site. Market to an audience who is interested in hair, makeup and fashion. Market to the audience who Google analytics reports is most likely to visit my site. Run the ad for a set time or until a certain amount of followers is reached. Facebook adds come at a cost but they pay off will be worth it. YouTube is where Faces by Tamara.com houses its largest following. It needs to be used more efficiently. Along with offering visual tutorial, YouTube can drive a huge amount of traffic to the blog and social media sites. YouTube will also be used to show more charisma. New tutorials should be uploaded to YouTube at least twice a month. Come up with a set day to display a new YouTube video (every second/fourth Friday, every other Wednesday, etc). Editing and uploading YouTube videos can take a decent amount of time. Scheduling a time when videos will be recorded and edited should be set. YouTube can also bring in revenue. Micro blog with Instagram and Tumblr. Use Instagram to photograph your world is a great way to engage readers while giving them a peak into your personal life.

Faces by Tamara.com Strategic Communication Plan 9 Tumblr will be used to showcase the best photos and inspiration that may not fit onto your main blog. Its also a good way to let readers know what inspires the person behind the blog. 5. Participate on other blogs: Guest blogging and commenting on other sites can drives readers back to your site. Guest posting simultaneously provides means for direct marketing relationship building and can drive tons of traffic to the site. Find a website or blog (a more popular blog would be best) with similar interests and audience to Faces by Tamara.com. Submit an article to one website a month until traffic continues to flow consistently to my site. Comment on other sites. Commenting is a building block of blogging. Comments are easily one of the best ways to network and promote my own blog. Comments help with building blogs of community, blog growth, outreach and relationships. Comment on blogs that comment on yours, diversify reading lists and find new blogs to comment on and follow. Set a commenting goal. Each week comment on a set number of blogs, old and new. 6. Contact Advertisers: Make money to keep the blog going. Google AdSense is probably the easiest way to bring revenue to the site. Contact companies to send products for review and host giveaways on the site. Blog readers love insight on new products and free stuff. Pitching to companies can be a daunting task, be persistent. 7. Become more personal: My voice and narrative is unique. Build upon that. Paint a picture. Readers love the story behind the story. The content may be great, but readers really love was how bloggers delve into their personal lives and shared the personality behind the blog. My story is compelling and somewhat harrowing. Share it. Be funny VII. Conclusion Every great blog post starts with a pearl of wisdom. Think of a clever lesson, unique story or interesting insight and share it with the world. Its what people need to hear. Chip and Dan Heath broke down the anatomy of an idea in their 2007 book, Made to Stick: Simple: Before an idea will become successful, it needs to be boiled down to a core meaning. What are you trying to get across, and why is it important? At the end of the day, what is the driving force behind your blog?

Faces by Tamara.com Strategic Communication Plan 10 Unexpected: Make connections between unexpected things. People like novelty, because its new and fresh. So try making comparisons between unrelated topics, like blogging and music for example. Concrete: Ideas become tangible when you use concrete examples. You can make a post stand out by using real-life examples that everyone knows. Your idea immediately becomes clear in the minds of readers. Credible: Before people will spread an idea, they need to believe in it. You can use external research, vivid details, or a see for yourself test to lend some credibility to each post. Emotional: People dont care about something until theyre emotionally connected. The goal is to get them to buy into your post by appealing to their self interest, or using a common association to their identity. For example, every blogger one day wants to make money and have thousands of subscribers, right?! Stories: Stories are one of the best ways to package ideas. You can make the narrative compelling enough so people are sucked in immediately. Some of the best stories involve a hero triumphing over evil, or explaining how to solve a problem in a unique way. One recommendation for the future of Faces by Tamara.com is to continue building a community that will become a full platform for the reader to be able to share beauty and fashions stories and experiences. Essentially an online forum- - a safe place to vent, and express concerns and frustrations with beauty myths, fashion trends and life. A place that motivates, educates and inspires one another through creating forum topics and blog posts. Another recommendation is to tie the blog to a bigger goal. What far-reaching vision can I use to inspire people to join me in my mission? Can I align my blog with a bigger movement that is out there? Can I create my own far-reaching vision that aligns with my passions with other goals? The answer is yes! I have dreams of opening my own boutique, or maybe I can launch a cosmetic line. The sky is the limit and Faces by Tamara.com is a great platform for making my dreams come true.

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References Burkart, R., (2009). On Habermas: Understanding and public relations. In Fredriksson, M., Ihlen, O., & Ruler, B. (Eds.). (2009). Public relations and social theory: Key figures and concepts. (pp. 141-165). New York, NY: Routledge. Heath, C., & Heath, D. (2007). Made to stick: Why some ideas survive and others die. New York: Random House. Solis, B. (2010). Engage: The complete guide for brands and businesses to build, cultivate and measure success in the new web. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Waeraas, A., (2009). On Weber: Legitimacy and legitimation in public relations. In Fredriksson, M., Ihlen, O., & Ruler, B. (Eds.). (2009). Public relations and social theory: Key figures and concepts. (pp. 301-322). New York, NY: Routledge.