Lindsey Huling's Blog

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Friday, September 17th, 2010 | Assignments for TLEP 4830

Brilliant Event Planning Blog

Strengths

• Large– Once you start really looking into the website you realize how much it has to offer you, not only is there a blog with people’s opinions, but there are also links to other areas of the website providing event planning information.
• Accessible– Brilliant Event Planning has used more than just a website to attract clients, it has a blog, a Facebook page and you are able to follow them on Twitter.
• Knowledgeable– The company of the blog seems to be very knowledgeable of event planning and everything that goes with it, planning, coordinating, executing, decorations, proposals, ect.
• Variety– Brilliant Event Planning offers a large variety of topics in its blogs. These topics can be easily viewed by clicking its subject on the right side of the screen under categories.
• Updated Regularly– Many websites or blogs are often great for a few weeks but then are soon left behind and forgotten about. This one seems to be updated regularly, usually at least once a week.
• Appeal– The website for the blog is very appealing to the eye. It is decorated with light colors and does not draw away from the man point of the blog, events.

Weaknesses

• Confusing– When I first entered the blog I almost immediately went to another page because I was unsure of the message the company was trying to get across and I didn’t what it was about.
• Cluttered-I like the layout of the blog for the most part but the pictures on it are extremely large, making the page cluttered in my opinion. I think it would be better if the company made the pictures smaller and then linked them to another page allowing guests to view larger pictures.
• Company Advertising- Since I found the blog through a search engine it took me directly to the blog page, leaving me unsure of who was in charge of the blog. With a name like Brilliant Event Planning I didn’t automatically think that was the name of the organization, therefore it took me a while to realize who ran the website. I think they should do more advertising on their home page of the blog so onlookers know exactly who the company is.
• Retention-Since the website is mainly dedicated to weddings and people only get married once (hopefully), the blog is only good for a ‘one time use’ per say. I think that if the blog were to equally cover weddings and other parties or events then more people would be drawn to the sight and company.
• Layout- The layout of the blog is nice in its colors and decorations but I don’t believe that it looks like blog. This could confuse some viewers, leaving them unsure of what type of site they are at and eventually turn them away

Opportunities

• Vendors- The blog offers a vast amount of vendors supporting the company behind the blog. This is good because customers will see these other vendors and then work with them, and vice versa.
• Advertising- I think that by having this blog the company, Brilliant Event Planning, is able to get many couples to plan their wedding through them. I think the blog allows them to be able to draw in more clients by way of the internet.
• Being Green- I noticed in only a few of their blog posts they spoke about reusing materials or donating left over centerpieces to hospitals and nursing homes. I think that with ‘being green’ currently a large trend, Brilliant Event Planning should dedicate some of their site to eco friendly possibilities.
• Making Money- From what I have seen this company is a large and successful one, with this said I feel they would be benefit from being able to sell advertising space on their blog.

Threats

• Lack of Interaction- Between email, blackberry’s and social networks it is hard these days to actually talk to someone in person. It could be that someday this blog will be used a main communication between the company and the client, causing for miscommunication and confusion.
• Isolation- Though the company is located in New York City, it does not mean that your cant have an event on a smaller budget. The way this blog looks, the organization seems to be isolating themselves to only large and over the top type weddings, which come with an over the top budget as well. With tough economic times I think it would be helpful for them to do more posts on cost saving events.
• Target- I understand that wedding plans are mainly made by the women but I think that if this blog had more articles and sections aimed towards men, that they would be more interested in making plans along with their fiancé.
• Difficult to Find- It took me a while to notice that on the side of the blog were the different categories of posts written, I thought at first they were just little advertisements and bad links. I think that the organizers of the blog should make the categories more noticeable to its viewers or they may leave the page like I had originally planned.
• Too Many Partnerships- This blog has over 25 links to other wedding blogs and vendor websites. While being in communication with others is great I think that Brilliant Event Planning should be careful because they do not want to lose too many clients to other competitors.