Be You.

Allie Brodzik Professional Blog

[albrodz-blog]

Reflection

Throughout the course of this class Hootsuite and the book The Social Organization has shown me valuable opportunities and acknowledgment in ways to start and fully infiltrate a business and its strategy.  This course has helped me learn everything to I needs to know about setting up a good social community and establishing methods to grow my business.  Fully understanding the principles of mass collaboration will give me insight in how to operate a business.  Also learning all the methods on how to properly use social media sites will help me interpret them into helping me expand and reach out of the community in my life.  This course has had a huge impact on how I want to expand my future and will better my knowledge down the road through my life experiences.

[zacharyhaywardcmu-blog]

Social Organizations and Effective Content

    It is very important that a social organization have an effective content strategy for a couple of reasons. The first being that as a social organization you want to make sure you are getting the best value out of your social media. The second being that your social media will be the face of your company to many people.

    Social media is a valuable tool for many organizations. It is a way to advertise for little to no cost to you. It also allows you to connect with your customers in ways in ways that are impossible without it. Social media allows you to create relationships with customers, which not only increases the chance that they come back to you but also increases the chance they cause other people to come to you. This also means that it can backfire in the same way. That is why it is very important that you are careful about what you post to social media.

    Social media being the face of your organization can either be a very good or bad thing. Since social media will be the face of your company to most what you post will dictate how they think of you. If what you post in controversial it might cause a portion of the population to avoid you. The other side of this however, is that this might cause a portion of the population to more fervent followers. What you post will dictate how people react so it is important you have a target demographic that you want to follow you.

[albrodz-blog]

Zach,

Great post. I think you covered some good material. I agree that it is very important to be careful what you are posting on social media and who is in charge of running it. Any time people are interested in a business, the first thing they do is google it. It is extremely important that whatever comes up in that google search is exactly what you want people to see.

-Allie

[cassidyc-blog2]

Effective Content

There are many ways to develop effective content. However, some ways of developing may be more appropriate than others in certain situations based off of what the target audience is. For example, my client is the Big Brothers Big Sisters RSO and content that they develop and share should be family friendly and child appropriate.

Once the target audience is developed and considered, content can be developed. The content should cater to that target audience and have an appropriate hook to draw the audience in. A good hook for Big Brothers Big Sisters RSO would be something with bright fun colors and fonts with an appropriate inviting message, or maybe a picture or video that could appeal to both the children and their parents. That could be a video of some of the kids in the program playing and having fun which would appeal to the child and be comforting and inviting to the parent.

Past the hook, the content that is developed and shared should be diverse. It should not all be promotion and it should not all be visuals. There needs to be a good mix. There also needs to be areas for audience engagement. As I stated earlier, this should all be catered to your target audience.

[albrodz-blog]

Cassidy,

Thanks for your post! I think that you covered some great points. I agree that knowing your target audience is absolutely key. You have to be aware of using the appropriate theme and vibe that you are getting across.

-Allie

[albrodz-blog]

Effective content in social media

Effective content is developed and shared throughout social media in a numerous of different ways.  First achieve your business objectives and brand recognition, make sure that all of the objectives in developing content through social media is relevant, valuable and educational.  This will make you become a trusted advisor for your viewers, so when you publish articles or blogs that pertain to your business you have the knowledge and creditability to gain the viewers attention and grow your community.   Publishing schedules and calendars pertaining to events is also a trusted way to develop good content.   Once you find out when viewers are most viewing your page, reading articles, blogs or just scrolling threw your site you can determine when you can post content on a daily schedule where the customer or viewer can see, gaining the most for your posts, pictures, articles or blogs.  Calendars of events helps the customer know exactly when certain dates are for special occasions, such as parties, events, or anything that is not on a daily or weekly occurrence.  Calendars will help viewers organize their schedules to make sure they can participate in events as such, also giving people from farther than just local communities to know about your events and create a bigger reach for your company.   Defining a strategy for your company that is fun, informative, inspirational, educational and positive will help you guide the content you create.  Aggregation, Distillation, Elevation, and Chronology are all good methods in developing high content strategy throughout social media.  Placing large bright images, interesting articles pertaining to your business, blog posts that are knowledgeable with value to your business, showing what your company is about and making it more interesting for the reader.  Surveys and ads for your company also help develop high content for your viewers and other non local party viewers.  Ads can be seen by a lot of viewers throughout the pages they view and sites they use gaining information to your business, creating them to venture to your site or scroll threw your pictures, picking up interest on what you have to offer.  Surveys lead a big way for social media, letting people how you how they feel throughout what they have scearched and gained knowledge for will only help your business in the long run.  Determining what content is good, or bad, which articles or blog posts people find valuable to your site or don’t get much attention.  All these things help you determine what your site or business attracts from the viewers interests, allowing you further pursue what your business should or should not publish.

[haleygincott]

Starbucks on Social Media

I follow Starbucks on Twitter and they are always interacting with their customers, promoting new products in tweets, and they have been in the news lately towards their increase of hiring veterans and refugees. Starbucks is always retweeting and talking with their customers over twitter. They are always responding with encouraging feedback. They advertise and put pictures up of their new and upcoming products. They pledged to hire 10,000 veterans and military spouses by 2018 and so far they have hired over 8,800. Starbucks recently pledged to hire 10,000 refugees over the next five years. 

I think Starbucks is a great company to follow on twitter. Starbucks posts to Twitter regularly and is always keeping the customers informed on new items on the menu. They also tweet plenty of photos and videos of their products and of the people that work in their stores. It makes you look at the company differently when you see a video of a veteran they hired and how well he has been doing his job. It’s different and nice to see. I believe these interactions with their customers online, is a positive image to the company and makes me want to buy more cups of coffee from Starbucks.

[albrodz-blog]

Haley, 

Great post! I really like how you incorporated the pictures from Starbucks’ Twitter feed to show examples of their social media presence. I think that Starbucks does a great job in being inclusive and accepting of everyone. I thought when all that controversy with the holiday cups happened it was absolutely ridiculous that people were making such a fuss over the cups being too closely related to Christmas and not the other Holidays. Sometimes people can find anything to argue over, lol. Thanks for your post. 

-Allie

[taylorrichey10-blog]

The Legal Side of Big Data

Big data is such a widely known term in today’s society. With this, companies should be aware that it is an issue and have ways to go about protecting customers and employees. Big data can be helpful for companies is many different aspects. The more data that a company can obtain the better for them, but a larger risk they become and their customers. Companies should have a strategic plan in order to keep their company safe. An unfortunate issue where the company could not keep their information safe was Target. A few years ago Target got hacked and lost a large amount of data and money. Target had to thousands to maybe millions of dollars to cover the damage they had done to their customers.

When it comes to the customers, they should be very careful on who they are doing business with and giving their information to. Normally you would think that a company as large as Target would have strong blocks and protection to this type of issue, which shows that you cannot be too careful. As a consumer this scares me because a company getting hacked is not something that you think about when doing business but is something that is growing in today’s society. 

Overall, companies should be aware of the potential threats and have ways to detect them, and fight them off. As for consumers, they should be cautious of who they are doing business with and what type of information they are giving out. 

[albrodz-blog]

Taylor, 

Thanks for your post. I completely agree that it is important to be aware of who you are giving your information out to. I thought it was crazy that this happened with such big and well known companies such as Target and Home Depot. It kind of makes me scared because I would think companies like these wouldn’t have these type of problems because they are so widely used. Hopefully we can figure out a way to help both the companies and the consumers. 

-Allie

[albrodz-blog]

Saucy Social Media

One company that I found had a very good social media presence was Taco Bell. Taco Bell shows a great social media presence because they first attract the viewers by the slogans and tweets with their saucy commentary such as “Time will heal the heart, but Taco Bell will make it heal faster”, “Breakfast War” because once they opened the breakfast menu line up they needed to attract the viewers so they offered a free biscuit on Cinco De Mayo to compete with McDonalds viewers. 

Dove also shows a engaged social media presence, because they play a big role in women’s beauty.  “Helping all women realize their personal beauty potential” attracts women to make them feel better about themselves and make the viewers feel like it could make a change to them.  #Choosebeautiful hashtag also originated when Dove made a video with two doors one labeling “Average” and the other labeled “Beautiful”.  This brought women from all cultures and diversities to choose what door they went threw, thus put an end to stop the placing of judgement they put on themselves.

Lastly Southwest Airlines executes a good social media presence by comparing the airline pages to the other companies with warm and inviting pictures and videos.  They showcased blogs on travel escapades and experiences of they actual employees which the slogan “Nuts about Southwest” to many viewers attention.  Also they answer the customers questions automatically with the employees name who answered it, thus giving the customer a better understanding of the company by allowing them not to feel like they are being answered by a robot, but yet an actual employee. This gives great accountability.  

All these engage in vibrant yet catchy content that attracts the viewers to experience paths they may want to embark on.

[albrodz-blog]

Legal Side of Big Data

Businesses should be aware of Big Data because people’s information can be tracked and hacked through people’s shopping credit cards which could lead to further information about them. In turn this is costing the businesses and the consumer a problem by trying to solve this problem and keep it from happening again. For example 740 million data records through target were hacked last year as well as 56 million Home Depot cards were hacked as discussed in the video. This puts a large strain on both parties because the customer is reluctant to buy these cards which makes the business lose money. 

The connivence factor definitely gets put into play with Big Data. It has become so easy for people to buy things online or subject their information to anyone due to the connivence of it. At the same time you are leaving yourself very vulnerable to potentially exposing your information. I think the best way to keep the balance is having an insurance option in case something happens.

[bardowskiholly-blog]

Social Media Consulting

Consulting is not a new term for myself. I have spent a good portion of my time in classes learning about consulting and what it has to offer. Through LMC, Logistics Management Council, I have been able to emerge myself into real consulting for companies. I also am working on consulting with real companies in a lot of my classes this semester. That being said, I don’t have any experience with social media consulting. In all honesty, I did not know there was social media consulting. I just believed that companies hired employees who solely worked on social media.

As with all types of consulting, I believe being creative is a key quality for social media consultants to have. The lecture explained that many companies are not aware of all of the problems or opportunities that are out there. Due to this, consultants need to be able to analyze what is currently going on and come up with a creative way to fix it. 

Social media consultants also need to be self-driven. They are hired in as a third-party to help a company fix their issues. They don’t have someone who is constantly holding their hand and telling them exactly what to do. Being self-driven and motivated will ensure that a project will get done in the right amount of time. 

Social media consultants also have to be able to think on their feet, be responsible, and have a good temperament. The latter comes into play when you have different types of clients. Some clients are going to be a lot more appreciative than others and a consultant has to be able to react accordingly.

Finally, a social media consultant has to have knowledge in the field. I think it would be beneficial for them to have held a social media position before they move into a consultant role. This would mean that they had real world experience and can see the situation from their clients viewpoint.

[albrodz-blog]

Hey Holly, 

Thanks for your post. I really liked your comment about having to be self driven. In order to have a job like this you have to be able to keep up and constantly check whats going on so you stay on task and don’t fall behind. I also completely agree that you have to be able to work with all types of people and be able to respond accordingly even if someone is giving you a hard time. 

[alexbondy-blog]

Professional Social Media Presence Plans

My only professional social media presence before this class is being present on LinkedIn.  I have an account, I have connected with friends, previous employers, professionals I have met at career fairs and conferences, and with people I have met through other people, and I have most of the profile filled out.  I would like a better professional photo for my page, and I would like to attach my resume onto it.  One thing I thought of is having references on that page, or something like a general letter of recommendation attached like the resumes are for people to access them if they would like to see that.  I am unsure about this thought though, because I’m not sure if that is an acceptable thing to have on your LinkedIn page?  Or if I should just wait to use those for an actual job application. Other than that, I just plan on continuing to update my page as I get more experience in the industry.  

Since this class has helped us utilize a website like Tumblr for blogging, I will definitely continue blogging throughout my career.  My ultimate goal is to have my own Event Planning company.  So I would love to have a website for my company featuring a blog about different trends in the industry, about the specific things my company offers, or about the employees within it, and more.  I don’t know the exact specifics of that goal, but I just know it is a goal I wish to fulfill!

[albrodz-blog]

Hey Alex, 

I think it’s great that you already had a head start with your LinkedIn page. I also am not sure about your comment about the letters of recommendation. I don’t see why it would hurt to use a tool like that. I also think that it is awesome that you want to own an event planning company. I am also going into event management and want to do something down those lines. Blogging is a very great aspect to our field.

Thanks for your post!

[albrodz-blog]

Strategies to improve social media presence

Social media is extremely important to the business world in this day and age. Staying aware of your social media presence in the business world is crucial because most jobs now a day require some sort of social media knowledge. One way that I hope to better my professional social media presence is by clearly stating my goals and objectives. You have to be clear with what you want to achieve and what you can do. Also showing people your accomplishments is a great way to gain recognition if done in a tasteful way. 

Another way I hope to better my social media presence is being as engaging as possible. Simply replying and commenting with people is a great way to learn knew things. Another crucial aspect is making sure you do your research. It is important to read and study something that you are hoping to pursue so you know exactly what you are talking about. Lastly using LinkedIn and their recommendations that they give you. LinkedIn is such a great tool for keeping track of companies and gaining recognition. Personally that is what I really need to work on, keeping up with my LinkedIn by checking it regularly and providing valuable information for potential employers. 

[albrodz-blog]

Most important qualities of a social media consultant

There are many important qualities that a social media consultant must have. First a social media consultant must be very familiar with social media marketing. They have to know which social media outlets work best for each type of business. A lot of businesses would say that LinkedIn is their best asset where other businesses would say that Facebook is a better outlet for them. Knowing the how to use these sites to market a company is key. Another quality that a social media consultant has to have is the ability to keep up with change and the latest social media fads. Social media is always changing and people are always coming up with new ideas. It is very important to stay on your toes and be ready for what is new. Lastly another crucial quality of a social media consultant is being able to show you results. Most people can operate their own social media site and gain followers. But a social media consultant can not just be decent at social media. They have to know the odds and ends and be able to show for it. There is a lot more that goes into it then one might think. All in all a social media consultant must be on top of things and ready for the next big thing. 

[ricoabro-blog]

The Dangers of Big Data

Big data, or the storage and analysis of large and complex data sets, is changing the way that businesses today market their products. In the 60-Minutes segment, “The Data Brokers,” we learn how companies are taking data from the Internet and connecting it together to paint a larger picture; often capturing trends or similarities. What’s scary about this, is where the information comes from: the consumers, or us.

Big data essentially gathers personal information including, but not limited to consumer’s health, additions, and even financial information. Data brokers who gather this information then turn around and sell it to others. Because many consumers do not realize what is happening, it poses a huge threat to our personal privacy. Although some may argue that the information gathered by these data brokers is used for harmless marketing tactics, others disagree. I tend to side with the latter.

Just like many citizens in the European Union, I believe that big data poses a huge threat to our personal privacy rights. While I can agree that it has positive characteristics, I believe that it is too much of a potential threat if given to the wrong set of people.

What many people do not realize, is that some of the data gathered could easily fall into the hands of hackers or even companies that cross the ethical line. If given to the wrong person, sensitive data about someone’s financial history or health records could cause them serious harm. There is a reason why people ask for their personal records to remain confidential and I do not believe that companies should be able to gather and analyze this information for personal gain.

To limit harm caused by big data, both on a personal and societal level, I think the first thing that we need to do is to educate. Because the majority of people do not realize that this problem exists in the first place, they fall victim to the dangers. If we simply begin to inform others about big data and its potential threats, we can offer advice on how to limit potential threats. We might offer advice on how to lock down social media profiles to limit accessible information, give insight on how to limit the information/access that smartphone applications are able to gain, or simply inform peers about what big data is and why it could potentially be harmful and leave the choice up to them.

[zacharyhaywardcmu-blog]

Big data is scary due to the simple fact that I can’t know how much they know about me. 

[albrodz-blog]

I completely agree that if given to the wrong person it poses a huge threat to a lot of people. I think that it will only grow from here and more and more people will be able to access your information. It is extremely important to make sure that only select people have this access. 

[albrodz-blog]

Big Data

“Big Data” wasn’t really something I knew too much about, but after watching this segment i realized that “Big Data” is far more important to know.  Being able to have someone in third party sites retrieve your information and sell it could be very harmful to yourself and other people.  I understand that scrolling threw Facebook and shopping sites their is always someone trying to get your information, or when you fill out a survey threw a company you are pretty much putting yourself in the position for someone to know more about you, but what they can do with the information is what scares me.

After watching this 60 minute segment The Data Brokers I realized that their are more things that are being able to be seen threw the internet by third parties you had no idea existed. However some their were some points in the video that bothered me such as,  The Flashlight app isn't just an app it also tracks where you are. Things like this should be know to people, The dating website asking about marijuana usage and alcohol, are you a vegan?  Every since I was growing up always taught to be true to yourself and honest in situations like that with anyone and no harm could come to that, but companies finding out information like that could effect, yes also abuse use in the long run. Like they said in the video “Their is almost another stream of revenue which is more important to company then the person themselves.

The data that could be purchased by “Data Brokers” could be dangerous to so many people in so many ways.  Its not how its obtained, but yet who they may be selling it too.  Companies should be allowed to a certain point to grab information from you for marketing purposes but how far they should be able to go is another story.  Big data is moving at a much faster pace then most people would even imagine, but being able to regulate is not going to probable as people may wish.

[albrodz-blog]

This Spring I will be helping Hunters Ale House in Mount Pleasant, Michigan host events at Hunters, O’Kellys, and The Cabin of Mount Pleasant. I am very excited to see where this opportunity takes me! 

[albrodz-blog]

Social Media Experiment

This social media experiment was very interesting to try. Whether I like to admit it or not, my phone is a very large part of my everyday life. Whenever boredom strikes, it is hard not to use the phone to pass the time. Today I tried to use my phone a minimal amount and I did a pretty good job succeeding. I had to work, which was a good help because I don’t like to use my phone at work. The hard part is seeing Snapchats and Facebook posts pop up on my phone, and not answer them. One of my pet peeves is when I have a notification on any of my Apps on my phone. I think that opening the notifications whenever they pop up is one of the main reasons that I start browsing on social media. Another thing I realized is you can get a lot more things done when you aren’t constantly using your phone. Normally I would have sat in bed this morning for a decently long time, scrolling through my phone before my day started. Instead, today I got straight up and started my day, which was refreshing and gave me a much smoother morning. I also noticed that my mindset is not as clouded when I’m not using social media. From time to time, I catch myself thinking about other peoples lives instead of focusing on my own life. All in all, I think that social media is a great tool in so many ways but it also makes people disconnected from their lives. It has become such a habit for people to constantly check their phones, which makes it hard to stray away from that. I realized during this experiment that knowing what everyone is doing 24/7 is not the most important thing and focusing on your own life will get your farther and bring you much more happiness.

[albrodz-blog]

Social Media Log

Keeping track of my social media and phone use was very interesting and also showed me that I use my phone too much! Even though I spent a good portion of my day at work, I still found the time to check most of my social media outlets and keep up with what everyone was doing. I realized that I use Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram the most. I tried my hardest to be as accurate as possible when it came to logging in the amount of times I used my social media/texting but it was hard to keep track of! Sometimes when I am not doing anything I just aimlessly go on my phone and look at all my silly apps when there’s a million other things I could be doing. I realized that being on my phone has become such a habit and sometimes I don’t even realize that I’ve been on it for as long as I actually have.