Austin Zhang's CSIT 155 - Spring 2025 Class Blog

     As we reach the last week of the semester, I’ve been looking back on everything I’ve learned in this class, and I can honestly say it’s been a pretty valuable experience. Social media is constantly changing, and this class really helped me understand how important it is to keep up with those changes, especially if you’re running a business. Platforms like TikTok are blowing up, while others like Facebook are evolving to focus more on groups and ads. I’ve realized that it’s not enough to just be online as you have to be smart about how you show up.      Running my fictitious business, Austin’s Noodles, gave me a real reason to apply what we were learning. At the beginning of the semester, I was mostly planning on posting food pics and the occasional update on Instagram and Facebook. But as the weeks went on and we looked into how other businesses were using social media, I realized I needed to step it up. I started thinking and progressing into more eng...

One Month Social Media Content Plan for Austin’s Noodles: Business Goals: Increase brand visibility Boost engagement with customers Promote menu items, special offers, and potential collaborations Strengthen community connection through consistent posting Primary Platforms: Instagram:  Reels, stories, posts TikTok:  Short-form, trendy videos Facebook: Catchy c ontent, event promos,  posts Week 0: Planning and Prep (Days 1–3) Purpose: Set up the month for organized, stress-free posting. Day 1: Brainstorm content ideas and weekly themes Research trending sounds, remixes, and hashtags Time needed: 2-3 hours Day 2: Choose posting days and types of content Create a rough layout of the month Time needed: 2-3 hours Day 3: Gather visuals, write rough captions Schedule photo/video shoot days Time needed: 2 hours Week 1 (Days 4–10) Thursday: “Meet the Chef” Behind the scenes video Platforms: Instagram Reels, TikTok Time: 2.5 h...

Throughout this semester, I’ve learned a lot about how social media can really help shape a business. From creating a brand to figuring out which platforms work best, this class gave me the chance to try different tools and see what fits. For the (fictitious) business I created, "Austin’s Noodles", platforms like Instagram and TikTok stood out the most. Since food is so visual, these apps made it easy to grab people’s attention through photos, videos, and behind-the-scenes clips. Some tools we used in class that I’d definitely continue using include content calendars and hashtag research. Content calendars helped me stay organized and post regularly without rushing last minute.  Hashtag and keyword research was also really helpful for making sure my content actually reached the right audience, and to prevent garnering a "boosted" audience. Out of all the platforms, I had the most fun using TikTok. It felt the most casual and creative, and it gave me more freedom to ...

     I decided to check out the Instagram analytics for Austin’s Noodles to see how my posts have been performing. Looking at the numbers gave me a clearer idea of what’s working and what I can improve to boost engagement and attract more customers.      One thing I noticed right away is that our reach has not been doing too well, as I have not been posting regularly. However, the few posts that I have posted garnered some attention, which I think is thanks to better use of hashtags and posting at more active times. Posts with close-up shots of our food dishes performed the best, while I noticed that one post that contained AI seemed to have flopped.      When I looked at engagement, I saw that some posts were getting views but not many likes or comments. But when I posted something more engaging and creative, such as a fortune cookie concept, the comments increased. This showed me how small changes can help boost interaction and make my pag...

     One of the most useful features I would check regularly for my business is page views . Page views tell me how many times people are visiting my website, which helps me see if the content I’m putting out is getting attention. If the number of views is going up, I know something is working, whether it’s my SEO, social media, or could even be word-of-mouth. If it’s going down, I can look into what might be causing the drop. This is a basic but really helpful way to measure how visible and attractive my website is to people in the digital realm.      Another important feature I’d pay attention to is engagement . Engagement tells me if people are just clicking and leaving, or if they’re actually interacting with my content. That could mean liking posts, leaving comments, or sharing things on social media. It also includes how long they stay on a page, which shows if they’re really reading or watching something. If I notice that certain types of posts get m...

The posts of my classmates that I've commented on: Jose Luna : " Hey Jose, I really liked how you explained each tool based on how it could help your landscaping business. This made everything super easy to understand! Buffer is a great place to start, especially since it’s affordable and not too complicated. I also didn’t know much about Loomly before, but it seems helpful for planning out content, especially if you start working with someone else on marketing. I’m curious to hear how Buffer works out for you once you try it!" Coco Dry : " Hey Coco, I really enjoyed reading your breakdown of these tools, especially how you tied them into your content style for Coco Shuffles! It sounds like you put a lot of thought into matching the features to your actual workflow, which is amazing. I hadn’t heard much about Metricool either, but after seeing how much it offers for free, especially with platforms like TikTok and YouTube, I’m definitely interested in checking it out ...

This week I looked into social media management tools to find a better way to organize and schedule content. I focused on Hootsuite, Buffer, Later, and SocialBee to see what each offers for both free and paid plans.  Hootsuite is great, but its free version is very limited, and the paid plans start at $99/month, which is pretty expensive unless you're managing multiple clients or a large team.  Buffer stood out for its affordability as it allows three social accounts on the free plan and offers more features like analytics and engagement tools starting at just $6/month per channel. It would be a great fit for small businesses or personal brands. Later is more visual, making it a strong choice for social media apps like Instagram's content. The free plan only allows 10 posts per profile per month, and the paid version starts at $25/month, which adds helpful tools like hashtag suggestions and a media calendar.  SocialBee offers a lot of advanced scheduling features, includi...