The Journey Comes to an End

I can't believe this is my last blog post of the semester! It seems like just yesterday I was struggling to write my first post and navigate the Blogger website. This semester has flown by and to be honest, I'm going to miss my Social Media Marketing course!

Social Media Marketing is such a unique subject and it has been refreshing to have a course with material that is so relevant to my everyday life. Social media is a huge part of my life and it has been interesting to learn about how important it is becoming in the business world. It is essential in this day and age for a business to be up-to-date on the social media world.

I am happy to say that I will be leaving this course with much more knowledge about social media than I started with. We had twelve weeks of lecture, and I would like to pass along what I think is an important topic from each PowerPoint. Here it goes:

1. Personal Social Media- Social media is used by many, and it's not just your friends that are looking at your pages. Consider that everything you post is public and represents your personal brand!
2. Successful Social Media Page Equation:  Targeted Connections + Meaningful Content + Authentic Helpfulness = Business Benefits
3. When posting video content, you should always follow the AEIOU Rule: Authentic, Entertaining, Intimate, Offbeat, and Unusual
4. White Label Social Networks- Online service privately run by a corporation or nonprofit organization. It has many of the same characteristics as a public social network, but the key difference is that they are privately run by a corporation or nonprofit organization. 
5. Different Social Media Platforms- Prior to this course, I only associated social media with platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. There are many more platforms including webinars, discussion boards, forums, virtual worlds, social games, social news sites, and review sites.
6. There are standards of behavior that should be followed when a business uses social media. Virtual communities need norms/rules that dictate behavior so they can operate effectively. Many of these rules are unspoken (Never forget the Susan Boyle Album Party).
7. Engaging with your audience is critical on social media. There are five stages of listening and observing. Listen to: conversations about brand/company, what people say about competitors, what people say about the industry, the tone of the community, and different social media channels.
8. Social media marketing is different than the traditional marketing approach because it emphasizes audience contribution, two-way communication, and trust building. 
9. It takes time for companies to develop strong social media accounts. Social media marketing is not as immediately affective as traditional paid advertising, but it is often cheaper. It is best to do both of these at the same time.
10. It is critical to set goals when marketing on social media. Two goals for ALL social media are to humanize the brand and fill the top of the funnel, meaning that you should obtain quality leads and turn them into sales.
11. Measurement is necessary when using social media because it helps marketers assess their progress and see how well they are achieving their marketing goals and make necessary adjustments to improve.
12. The 10:4:1 Rule should always be followed when using social media. For every 15 posts on social media, 10 should be helpful content taken from other sources, 4 should be links to your blog posts, and 1 should be a link to one of your landing pages.

 Those twelve facts are just a small portion of what I learned this semester. All of the information was taken from my professor's PowerPoint slides. I would also like to thank my professor, Beth Lavallee for all of her hard work and dedication teaching our class this semester. Thanks for making our class interesting and educational for my peers and I :)

Well readers, that's it! Thank you to those of you who kept up with my blog this past semester. I will definitely take the blogging skills I learned with me, and I'm sure they will be extremely helpful if I ever need to blog in my future career!

     

Picture Source 

Social Media Spreads Heartbreaking Story

This week I wanted to talk about a young girl named Nina Poeta, a cheerleader from Connecticut whose heartbreaking story is all over social media. In November of 2013, Nina was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor that could not be surgically removed. By this summer, she was unable to walk or speak, and eventually lost her battle on November 1st, 2014 when she passed away. What makes Nina's story so unique is how public it became all thanks to social media.

Although I never met Nina, I know her older sister through mutual friends I go to school with. I became aware of her illness last March, when her sister began posting about it on her social media accounts. They began raising money through a Facebook page called "Poeta Strong" that was created to help support the Poeta family. The "Keep Calm and Nina Strong" slogan is all over social media.

On their Facebook page, there was a link posted for a "Go Fund Me" account in the Poeta's name, that had an original goal of raising $100,000 towards Nina's medical treatments. Through the sharing of this link all over social media, they were able to exceed their goal and raise a total of $100,430 over the past year. This is unbelievable and so amazing that through social media, they were able to raise an unbelievable amount of money for Nina and her family.



                      Nina's Fundraising Page                                       Poeta Strong Facebook Page



In addition to the Facebook page(s) that were dedicated towards Nina's cause, her story is all over Twitter and Instagram as well. I have been following her sister Cara since last winter when I met her, and she has become what I'd like to call "Instagram famous". She now has 4,565 followers and is receiving about 700 likes on her posts. Nina's Instagram account has 36,000 followers, and her boyfriend's account has 104,000 followers. These are outrageous numbers that show truly how much this story has spread on social media.

I can only imagine that this story will continue to spread nationwide, as millions have already become aware. Nina's story is heartbreaking and tragic, but the support her and her family have received because of social media is absolutely amazing to me. So, I had to share it here.

Please keep the Poeta family in your prayers! 

Who Said There Was an Age Limit on Social Media?

While looking for a news article for one of my other courses, I stumbled upon an article that I knew I HAD to share on my blog this week. The article is from the Wall Street Journal, and it is called New York Native is a Social Media Darling at Age 105. 

This is a photo of Sophie in her home.

The article discusses a woman named Sophie Ferrara, who celebrated her 105th birthday this past October. She is well known throughout New York City for cheering on sports teams. In addition to her passion for sporting teams such as the Giants, Rangers, and Knicks, Sophie loves social media. Known as "Nana Sophie" to her thousands of followers, she joined Facebook and Twitter when she turned 100. She has about 3,000 people that follow her on Facebook and just over 1,000 followers on Twitter. Sophie is such a sensation because she is one of the oldest people using social media.

Whenever Sophie wants to post a video or picture on social media, she has one of her family members do it for her. Sophie has touched her thousands of followers with her kind-heart and upbeat personality. Her granddaughter said, "her thing is just be kind, do good and you'll never have to worry about anything."

The article also mentioned that Sophie's only birthday wish is to be able to continue meeting new friends through social media.  She wants to meet friends from all over the world, and "have a friend in every city and every country," according to her granddaughter.

I thought this article was worth sharing because it's not only related to social media, it's something many people can appreciate. I think it is adorable that this elderly woman is learning how to use social media and is so enthusiastic about it. Maybe Sophie's participation on social media sites will start a trend and cause more elderly people to create accounts and want to learn more about it.

As Sophie Ferrara proves to be true, there's definitely no age limit on social media!

To view the original article click here.

Sophie Ferrara

You Learn Something New Everyday

Hello readers! To be honest, I drew a blank when I was thinking of ideas for my post this week. Sometimes I feel that the topics relating to social media are repetitive, and I don't want to bore you all with things you've already heard about.

As a desperate attempt to find an intriguing topic to write this post about, I simply searched "social media" on Google. After scrolling down for a bit, something caught my eye. I found an article from Reader's Digest entitled "5 Weird Negative Effects of Social Media on Your Brain". I decided to click on it and see what it was all about.

This article, written by Damon Beres, isn't that recent but I found it to be very relatable and relevant. Five "weird negative effects" that social media has on your brain are listed out within the article, and I felt a little embarrassed that I agree with pretty much all of them!

1. It might make you spend more money

2. It alters your appetite 
-I can definitely relate to this one. Whenever my friends post pictures of their food on Instagram, I immediately start to crave that food. I even follow an Instagram account called "Best Foods" that posts pictures of food multiple times a day!

3. It messes with your ability to think independently
-Unfortunately I can see how this is true. I've definitely "liked" certain posts because I saw that so many of my friends were. I don't like to follow what other people are doing but this is something I think I was doing without even realizing!

4.It hurts your self-esteem
-I can't say that I've ever been genuinely upset if I didn't get a lot of likes on a photo, because I don't need other people liking my pictures to feel good about them. I usually post things because I like them. However, I definitely get excited when I DO get a lot of likes on a picture!

5. It can "butcher" real-life conversations
-Like technology in general, I think social media makes it harder to communicate in person. It's easier to say something when you aren't face-to-face. Luckily, I still feel comfortable talking to people in person, but I've met many people who have lots to say online but won't say a word in person.

I hope you guys found these facts interesting like I did. Social media really does affect us in weird ways! Just searching a few key terms on Google led to me finding this- you really do learn something new everyday :)

Photo Source

Social Media Fail by Red Cross

A few weeks ago in class, we discussed social media etiquette and standards of behavior for companies to follow. It's important for companies to not only be active on social media sites, but to make sure they are posting appropriately. Our professor showed us some social media "fails" from various companies. Some were quite inappropriate and offensive, but others had me laughing hysterically.

Many of the fails were on Twitter. In class, we discussed the specific etiquette for Twitter, and some of the tips are crucial for companies to follow:

• Don't over-hashtag your tweet
• Don't only discuss your company
• Don't send automatic direct messages to people that don't follow you
• Don't hijack another company's hashtag
• Don't stuff your tweets with keywords

In addition to all of these helpful tips our professor went over in class,it is very important that employees do not accidentally confuse their personal Twitter accounts with the company Twitter account. This can lead to some pretty awkward and unprofessional tweets being sent out.

I came across a pretty bad Twitter fail done by American Red Cross, and I thought this would be perfect to share this week on my blog. 

"30 Of the Most Epic Social Media Fails EVER"

As you can see, this tweet made the Red Cross look really bad. The employee who ran their Twitter page forgot to log out of the company account, and accidentally posted this inappropriate tweet referencing alcohol. This probably isn't something an organization like the Red Cross should ever post about, especially since their mission is to provide services to people in need!

It's important for companies to use social media sites, as long as they are posting appropriately! They need to be very careful what they are posting, because it can affect their reputation and image to potential and current customers. No one wants to see tweets about "getting slizzred" on the American Red Cross page!

Social Media is Making the World Less Social

Prince Ea, a rapper, has recently posted a video on his Facebook about the negative side of social media. His video has gone viral and has been viewed 24,748,657 times. After one of my Facebook friends shared a BuzzFeed article about the video, I decided to watch it myself. This video was very moving and definitely hit home for me, especially since I find myself addicted to technology and social media.

Can We Auto-Correct Humanity?

One part of the video that really got me was when he said that the touch screens we are using are actually making us "lose touch". There have been so many times that I am in a room full of people, yet catch myself staring down at my phone screen and not paying attention to the people physically near me.

He also called Facebook an "Anti-Social Network", and when you think about it, this couldn't be more true. Instead of getting out there and getting to know people in person, people hide behind their technology. There are so many people that I am "friends" with on Facebook that I probably wouldn't even say hi to if I walked by them.

Social media is actually hurting our society, and it is only going to get worse as time goes on. I think this is just the beginning of the "Generation of Media Over-stimulation" (as Prince Ea calls it in the video). I feel that my age group is so addicted to social media, and it wasn't even as popular when we were extremely young. I have cousins who are in third grade who use Snapchat regularly and are addicted to their iPhones. I can't imagine how bad these generations will be by the time they reach my age!

I hope you all got as much out of this video as I did! It makes me want to shut off my phone and enjoy the world around me. We don't realize how much we are missing out on when we're glued to our phones and other technology.

Photo 

What's this "Yik Yak" all About?

Yik Yak is a new social media platform where users can post anything they want, anonymously. I like to think of it as an "anonymous Twitter". This platform is known as "hyper-local", meaning that it will only show posts that are from users within 5 miles of you.

This new and popular app was created by two Furman University students, Tyler Droll and Brooks Buffington. In just three months, this app has become extremely popular and now has over 100,000 users. Over 15,000 "yaks" (or posts) are put up each day.

The app has become increasingly popular on college campuses, and I have actually downloaded it myself. I don't check it as frequently as I check Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, but if I am bored I'll scroll through. In my opinion, the app is used very immaturely. The majority of the posts I see are inappropriate and about sex, drugs, or alcohol. Some of the posts are funny though, especially if I know what the person is talking about or referring to.

http://www.netfamilynews.org/34982

On the right is a picture of the Yik Yak logo. The left picture is a screenshot from my phone of what the app looks like. This can also give you a glimpse of what types of things people "yak", and in this case it is people from the local area and WNE!






Yik Yak in a Negative Light 
There have been a few bullying issues already because of this app. Since posts are anonymous, it is very easy for people to post mean and nasty things. According to MassLive, "critics have compared it to the on-line equivalent of graffiti found in a bathroom stall".

In addition to bullying, people have even used Yik Yak to post threats. Just this week, there was a threat posted by someone in Ludlow (right near here!). Ludlow High School teamed up with the Ludlow Police Department to take action and arrest the individual.

Given all of this information, I do not think Yik Yak will ever become as popular of a social platform as Twitter or Facebook. It will most likely stay around and remain popular for a few more months, and then students will probably get bored with it and move on to the newest app. The bullying and threat issues will probably keep people from continuing to use this app as well.


Sources:
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2014/09/heres_a_question_what_the_heck.html

http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/19/yik-yak-is-an-anonymous-messaging-app-aimed-at-college-campuses/

LinkedIn for Dummies

Prior to my Social Media Marketing course, I knew very little about LinkedIn. When our professor asked us if we had a LinkedIn page, I was one of the only students who did not raise my hand! So, I figured it's time I hop on the bandwagon and see what this site is all about.

What is LinkedIn?

• LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking site
• Known as the world's largest professional network
• Over 300 million users
• Founded in December 2002, launched in May 2003
• Can be used for many different purposes
• Build your professional identity on the internet
• Connect with colleagues and former classmates
• Discover new business opportunities
• Get recent news and updates 
• It is important for people to be active on LinkedIn and make connections
• You never know where a job opportunity could arise!
• Visit the site here: LinkedIn

http://www.bbrmarketing.com/blog/a-new-look-for-linkedin-profile-pages/

This is an example of a sample LinkedIn profile. The layout of a LinkedIn profile reminds me a lot of Facebook, especially how your default photo is towards the top left of the page, with personal information to the right as well as below. Also similar to Facebook, the right side shows "people you may know", which allows you to connect with even more people. 

My Experience with LinkedIn

I decided to create a LinkedIn profile. I'm going to begin searching for jobs and internships in the near future, so why wait? 

Creating my profile was simple and easy. The site seems to be very user-friendly. It asked me basic questions, such as my zip code, education, and work experience. Next, it asked what my "skills and expertise" were. You type in a skill and then a list of skills shows up below that you can choose from. I was unsure of how many skills I should put, but I went with Marketing Communications (because it's my major), leadership, organization skills, and Microsoft office Skills. It also asked some questions that I simply skipped over because they didn't apply to me. For instance, I skipped over the "choose industry" question. I don't think this really applies to me yet, as I am unsure of the specific career path I want to choose. 

Right now, it rated my profile strength as "beginner". There are many more things I can add to my profile, but for now I wanted to just get a glimpse on how the site works. 

LinkedIn seems like a great website. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a job or trying to make connections with different people or organizations. It reminds me of an online resume! I can definitely see myself using LinkedIn on a more serious level as I begin to search for jobs down the road. 

http://www.brandwatch.com/2012/03/9254/

Facebook Has No Age Limit

This weekend, I have made some realizations about Facebook, and I'm starting to think that it isn't what it used to be. I have grown out of my extreme "Facebook phase" that I once found myself in, and I don't use it nearly as much as I used to.  I would say that in high school I was at my peak of using Facebook, checking it multiple times a day. Now, I spend more of my time on Twitter and Instagram. One realization I made was that Facebook is full of "older" adults.

I try to post pictures periodically to let my friends and extended family know what I've been up to. This morning I posted a bunch of pictures of my friends and I at the Luke Bryan concert we attended (which was AMAZING if I must add). Almost all of the comments and "likes" I got on the pictures were from my relatives- all of whom are around my parents age! It also seems like anytime I put up pictures and tag my friends in them, I get a comment or like from their mom, aunt, grandparent, and practically the whole family. Facebook is full of the "older" generation of people now (Sorry Mom!). Back in 2008 when I joined Facebook, it was full of kids my age. Now, I have tons of Facebook friends who are my parents' age and older!

http://www.felicityfields.com/numbers-facebook-worth-time/

Facebook and Business

• Facebook is one of the most popular social networking sites for companies to use.
• It is important for companies to use their Facebook page to effectively reach out to their target market
• According to our class textbook, "Facebook is the Internet".
• People spend so much time on Facebook that they end up using it to search for almost anything. They are spending less time on search engine websites like Google, and more time on social networking sites like Facebook. 
• More than 80% of Americans between 13 and 24 are on Facebook, and over half of these users are active everyday (According to research from The Social Habit). 

Since the average age of Facebook users is moving more towards middle aged and older people, businesses may need to reevaluate if Facebook is really the site for them. Companies that are trying to reach out to teens may want to think about using other sites, like Twitter or Instagram. Facebook may have been the most effective site for some businesses to use in the past, but this might not be the case anymore. Like we've discussed in class, social media is a field that is constantly changing. New technology and apps are coming out everyday. Who knows- Facebook might be replaced by something even better one day!

Overall, in my point of view Facebook is now full of parents and grandparents. Now that the tables have turned, it seems like parents are more likely to be on Facebook than their kids! Despite what it used to be, these days Facebook has no age limit. 

http://gossipgenie.com/old-people-on-facebook/ 

Social Media Spreads Information Like Wildfire

For my Social Media Marketing Class, I have to create a weekly blog post regarding any topic we have discussed in class. Believe it or not, this is my first time ever writing a blog post! So, bare with me as I learn how this whole blog world works.

In class, we discussed that social media and tradition media differ because of the following:

• Quality
• Reach                                                    
• Frequency
• Usability
• Permanence
• Immediacy

Social Media has become the fastest way of communicating information to millions of people- FAST! It spreads information immediately.

I have worked part-time at Big Y World Class Market since I was 16. As a cashier, I never really knew much about how the company uses social media to advertise. This summer, however, I got a glimpse of how Big Y uses Facebook and I was very impressed with the results it had on one particular sale.

This photo was posted to the Big Y Facebook page on August 15th- and the sale was a huge success. I happened to be working the day of this sale, and the store was busy until the moment it closed. Once this deal was posted online, people began seeing it and telling all of their friends. Customers had to come in and give the cashier the promotional code that they could only find from seeing the Facebook advertisement. 

The sale was extremely successful and brought lots of business to the store that day. It showed how the internet is one of the best, fastest ways to reach your customers. All it takes is a simple Facebook post to reach many customers.

This example from my work shows how effective Facebook posts can be to advertise to your consumers. If you want to get word out fast, post it onto your Facebook page. Social media spreads information like wildfire!