Welcome!

October 11, 2018October 11, 2018Leave a comment

Photo by Tyler Lastovich on Pexels.com

“The great thing about social media was how it gave a voice to voiceless people.” — Jon Ronson

Welcome to my blog! My name is Zakiyya Vincent. I am a graduating senior at Georgia State University studying Marketing. In addition to going to school full time, I also work at Oak Atlanta at the League as a Marketing Consultant. Once I graduate I would like to work in the entertainment or fashion industry. I have experience in both industries and really enjoy the fast paced environment. Listed below are some fun facts about myself!

Fun Facts About Me

I was born in Cairo, Egypt during the year 1992.
I played collegiate volleyball for three years at 3 different Colleges and Universities.
I am expecting a son February 28, 2019!
I managed several retail stores such as Aldo, BCBG Maxazria, and Bebe.
I was a bartender for 7 years.
I love to travel and plan on visiting each Continent, 4 down 3 to go!
I have 2 sisters and 2 brothers.
My zodiac sign is Capricorn!
I started my own business in 2014 selling jewelry.

Hype Post

October 11, 2018October 11, 2018Leave a comment

CutStory is a new tool used to customize videos and content on social networks. Using CutStory you are able to cut lengthy videos to shorter lengths and upload it to multiple social media networks from the app. Some popular social media networks that are listed on Cutstory with the standard video length requirement set as the default are Whatsapp, Facebook, and Instagram. With Instagram’s limitation on 24 hour stories, CutStory has provided a way for consumers to post to their stories any time they want. You can also save the video and its new lengths to your phone and upload the new videos to other networks that are not listed on the application like Snapchat. Cutstory also has a feature of developing slide shows using your pictures saved on your phone. The application is easy to use and is available on both Google Play and Apple Store. This application was designed for Instagram however, the feature of saving it to your phone allows you to use your new customized video on other popular social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. For an additional $1.99 you can even add music to the video! The application allows further customization by providing stickers, backgrounds, and signatures to your newly created content.

This application is a cool tool to have to share videos, photos, and memorable experiences to your friends, family, and social media platforms. With the several features provided, only your creativity is your limit! The CutStory platform can be used for personal and business purposes. After researching the application, I learned that it had a few bugs that were mentioned in the reviews, and have since then worked out these issues. The application is also mentioned is several different blogs like Socially Sorted and Gadget Hacks as the newest innovation for customizing video of any length for free.

CutStory is at the Trough of Disillusionment phase of the Gartner’s Hype Cycle. The application’s early adapters have fully investigated the new application and left their reviews and blogs which provided great feedback for CutStory to improve their application. Their is a total of 18,940 ratings provided on the Apple Store and the current rating is at a 4.8 out of 5. These numbers represent the activity beyond early adapters and the bug fixes represents suppliers consolidations and failures.

Guest Post

October 10, 2018October 11, 2018Leave a comment

Hey!

You know all those cool videos you’ve been editing on your phone? Blitter is the greatest platform for your creation. Post it on Twitter and risk it getting lost through millions of other tweets. Post it on Blitter and ensure your video gets the recognition it deserves! Blitter is an emerging social platform building off the Black Twitter network. The Black Twitter network may seem like such a niche market but for those that understand the community know how valuable their engagement is. Presenting your brand on a platform like Blitter can be the first step to building brand loyalty. I am a strong believer in brand loyalty being the most valuable thing for the success of your company. True success comes from keeping your company alive. Originally launched in February, Blitter quickly rose to the top of the trending section of Twitter. Blitter’s target audience is Black Twitter users. This includes both prominent and non-prominent black Twitter users. It was designed for the same network of people that were responsible for focusing the nation’s attention to the killing of Mike Brown in Ferguson and starting hashtag campaigns such as #BlackLivesMatter. It’s an app dedicated to creating a safe black space free of racist tweets and bots. It has a no-nonsense policy against any racism or sexism, which definitely drew users in and opened the door for customer engagement. I have taken a strong liking to the growing social platform and have dedicated an entire blog onto why I think Blitter is the best source for growing your business. I have built a following on several social media channels and served as a brand ambassador for local brands and now work with bigger clothing companies outside of my area. I have since taken the skills I’ve learned to help brands outside of fashion and streetwear with revamping their social presence. If you’re looking to add some spark to your general social network presence or are searching for some fine tuning for a campaign, head on over to my blog and give Blitter a chance so we can increase your customer engagement!

blitterisbetter.wordpress.com

UI/UX/IA

October 10, 2018October 11, 2018Leave a comment

Apple Store Preview

apple

The Apple Store Preview does a good job showcasing the application’s features and the user experience. Each picture informs the user with a detailed picture of how use the application. The colors the application uses are very similar to Instagram. This is a great way to capture Instagram users to their application.

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The description on the Apple Store Preview clearly exemplifies what the application can do while also marketing the Instagram account associated with the application, @CutStoryApp. The features listed under the description informs the user of an unlimited time frame to post to your Instagram story instead of the limited 24 hour provided which is a great characteristics to many Instagram users.

Instagram User Experience

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CutStory can do a better job showcasing content on their Instagram page. The pictures and videos do not follow any particular format ad do utilize hash tags. Increasing the usage of hash tags can drive more traffic to their Instagram page, which in return, will bring more customers to their application. CutStory has to be well developed on Instagram because that it the major social media platform associated with their application. A lot of their post targets users in other countries, however they should also focus on America as well. They repost users that have used their application in their newer post, but they should also incorporate tutorials on how to use their features. CutStory should also post to their Instagram several times a day to maximize their exposure.

Application Experience

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The application is straight to the point and very user friendly. After requesting access to your photo library, the application has a link for pictures and a link for videos. After you select the appropriate icon you can start creating your masterpiece! The application allows you to easily adjust the layout of the video, add stickers, music, text, and background by using small icons below your image. Once your finished editing you can easily download it to your phone and while still using the application post it to Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp. If you have Apple Music you can easily transfer music to the newly edited video, however if you do not have Apple Music their is a small fee of $1.99 that is needed to upload music to your customized video.

Audience Analysis

October 10, 2018October 11, 2018Leave a comment

”Social media is reducing social barriers. It connects people on the strength of human values, not identities.” Narendra Modi

target

The users that are frequently associated with Instagram are the target audience for CutStory. These are the consumers that will frequently use the application to post videos to their Instagram and other social media platforms. According to Business Insider’s, over 90% of the 150 million people on Instagram are under the age of 35, which makes it an attractive platform for many apparel, entertainment, and media brands focused on the 18- to 34-year-old age bracket. Now that Instagram has begun testing ads, it’s a good time to dig deeper into its audience. Though it’s owned by Facebook, Instagram is a mobile app with distinct demographics.

CutStory created an Instagram account to help target their attended audience. Their Instagram has 9.651 users and their content is used to capture more users. In their Instagram bio, they inform their followers of their free application that is used for both Google and Apple stores. The link is also posted in the bio. Their Instagram page also demonstrates examples of how the application works and provides videos that were created using the application. CutStory is actively communicating with other countries by providing post in Spanish and using social media platforms that are compatible with social media sites over seas. This is a great way for CutStory to expand their application and reach an international demographic.

Cutstory does not have a website, however they are actively communicating with their users through the Apple Store. Many users that left unfavorable reviews received a message from CutStory informing them on how to fix the problem or if they have fixed a bug. This creates brand loyalty and ensures their users are happy using their application.

In addition to using their Instagram account and actively communicating with their users on the Apple Store, CutStory is also featured in several different blogs many of which have even posted tutorial videos on YouTube. This helps generate new users while informing their current users. These are all great ways for CutStory to target their audience because their all being used on social media platforms where majority of their users are located. However, CutStory can further their progress by utilizing Facebook and Twitter as well.

Competition

October 10, 2018October 11, 2018Leave a comment

There are several applications similar to CutStory, however none have the user friendly software that CutStory offers. CutStory offers features that none of their competition has like the default video lengths provided by the several different social media platforms compatible with their application. They also have the most social media platforms associated with their application.

Storeo is an application that is also used to customize video lengths. The application is used to make videos longer than the default fifteen seconds provided by Instagram stories. The application was first developed in March of 2017. Since then the application has undergone six updates with the latest being July of 2018. Each update fixed bugs and established new and innovated features like stickers and enhanced backgrounds. However, Storeo still lacks the user capacity that CutStory and InShop has. The application does not provide the same features that CutStorty provides in regards to backgrounds, stickers, and signatures. CutStory also has a competitive advantage by allowing consumers to edit their videos to any length. Storeo distinguishing features is that it allows videos over fifteen seconds to play a seamless video that looks like one continuous piece of content. This feature is popular among users that frequently go over the limited fifteen seconds provided by Instagram. Their user activity is very low compared to CutStory. Their are only 459 ratings provided on the Apple Store and the application’s rating is a 4.7 out of 5.

InShot App is another competitor for CutStory. InShot app allows consumers to edit their video while also adding similar features of CutStory like the music, stickers, and signatures. The applications also adds video effects and is compatible with social networking platforms like Instagram and YouTube. The application was developed in June of 2017 since the application has had twenty five updates with the latest being September of 2018. The updates created new features like music, filters, transitions, and themed stickers. This application is CutStory’s biggest competition because they have similar features and a large amount of users that used the application. InShop application has several users. Their is a total of 218,500 reviews on the Apple Store. InShot has a rating of 4.8 out of 5 similar to CutStory.