Week 8 Assignment, Part 2

For my (fictional) future business, I had to think hard about the right businesses to research. The business I am planning will be equal parts motorcycle repair shop, pub, maker space and motorcycle apparel sales. Finding others out there that are doing the same thing took a bit of time. Some of the businesses below have more than one element of my vision while others focus on just a single aspect of what I want to do. Take a look at what I was able to find. Maybe you'll be as surprised as I was after reading this!

The first business I found is a very recent find. The name of the business is The Vintage Monkey. They have a website located here. They use Facebook, Instagram and YouTube to help promote their company. It is the business most like what I want to build Motorbike Obsessions into. They are a motorcycle restoration shop, event venue, destination location and vintage motorcycle exhibit. If you click the link I gave, you'll see that their website is a visual feast. The have a very well designed website that uses excellent photography to promote all they do. They have over 5,000 followers with over 900 posts to their Instagram. Their Instagram uses the same exceptional pictures they have for their website and every single post seems to easily get over 100 likes. They don't seem to get many comments. From what I gathered the Instagram account is just to get people to notice their business as they don't seem to include much info with their posts. All of their efforts seem to be very successful. As a business that started as a motorcycle shop, but has expanded into an event venue, their use of pictures really help to promote their location. My takeaway is to take some time to learn how to take better pictures. My photography is limited to using the most recent iOS update to my iPhone SE. If I tried just a bit harder to use my DSLR camera, I could really make my blog photos and Instagram pics pop.

Another new-to-me business is Malle London. Makers of high end luggage, apparel and adventure accessories as they state on their website. Their Instagram looks very successful from the ratio of followers to number of posts with almost 16,000 followers with only 878 posts. The 'like' count on their pictures vary from a few dozen to over a thousand. They have very artistic pictures that depict a sexy, fashionable motorcycle lifestyle with the luggage they sell all the while making motorcycling seem much more James Bond than I have experienced. Not very many comments from their followers, but their posts look to be information regarding their line of products. Other social media they use are Facebook and Twitter. Weirdly enough their Twitter doesn't use any pictures at all. One really cool thing they do in addition to great photography is use videos to promote events they put on and introduce new product lines. The videos I saw were very well produced and pulled me into wanting to know more about the company. My business won't be as posh as this company, but I could use their website as a good example.

One thing I want to include in my business is the ability to hold workshops and motorcycle repair learning events, I found a business focused on that function. It is a local California business named Gearhead Workshops. In this case they don't use too much in the way of visual social media. They have a website and a Facebook page. The website is informative and gives a potential customer all that is needed to visit their location, but only uses a few pictures. Their Facebook page uses the same picture repeatedly to advertise events. The pictures on their website are well done and look great. The website is laid out very nicely and I am interested in visiting them. I feel like they are missing out on Instagram in this instance. They don't seem to post on Facebook very often and only have a few hundred followers. If this business were to get shots of people doing all of the cool things they advertise, I think they'd get a lot more activity at their location. For them to be successful they have to get people through their doors since they are offering a service instead of products. Showing potential customers all of the cool things they do through Instagram pictures could really help to drive in more traffic.

The last company I used for this week's assignment was See See Motor Coffee Company. They are a combination motorcycle apparel store, coffee shop and event promotion company. I have been following them for a while now on Instagram. They are an example of what I imagine my company will be. Their website and social media outlets are at the level I think I would be able to manage. Unlike The Vintage Monkey and Malle London, See See is a bit more down to earth compared to those other companies that seem very high end. They have two shops, one in Portland, OR and the other in Reno, NV. They have two Instagram accounts (I'm not sure why). One has 43,000 followers and 2,700 posts. The other has 55,000 followers and 4,000 posts. Each post seems to generate a few comments. Their website is a modern site with decent use of product pictures and fun videos to help promote both their apparel line and the fun, slightly frivolous nature of the company. Unlike Malle London that has a very serious, upscale look, See See promotes a t-shirt and jeans vibe and that vibe comes through in their pictures, videos and Instagram stories. Based on the number of followers, likes and comments I'd say they are completely connecting with the type of potential customers they want to attract. What I can take from their use of social media is that you have to be true to yourself first and foremeost.

That is all folks. Another good, thought provoking assignment that will ultimately help me in my future business endeavors. As long as I take time out for good photography, plan my pictures to show my products and services in the right setting and be true to myself with what type of business I am, I shouldn't have any problems making money hand over fist thanks to my command of online social media!