Alexia Lanagan's Blogs

Welcome, this is my Tumblr blog page for my Social Media Communication class at CCRI.

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Social Media Ethics

There's always something trending within the social media industry, they either last or pass through quickly. As of this year, they are many trends currently rising such as being on TikTok, influencer marketing, social commerce, etc. As an influencer, following these trends comes by responsibility. Following the influencer code of ethics is very important to be successful on social media, even when following trends. As an example, I would be interested in joining the RISPCA’s social media team. Being an animal shelter/adopting agency, this company needs to follow certain ethics. Some of the current code of ethics you would have to follow would be being respectful, protecting confidential information, being truthful, properly sourcing, admitting mistakes and taking accountability, to name a few important ones.  

On the topic of companies, Apple has an extremely strong social media ethical code where they use proper ethical practices. I would also like to talk about a professional/celebrity that has good ethics online, Mr. Beast. Mr. Beast is a YouTuber with over 100 million subscribers. He is known for letting his subscribers play against each other for rewards, but some people don’t know most of the good things he does. For example, Mr. Beast has his two very own companies, Mr. Beast Burgers and Feastibles. He is a co-creator of Team Trees, a company that has planted over 20 million trees, and he has also helped a countless number of fundraisers. Overall, he likes to be interactive with his audience, which is something useful I would like to use going forward in the social media industry.  

There are a few concepts that I personally believe are important to adhere to when I practice online. Most were already named, but again, being responsible and truthful with my work is a huge one. When working online, I need to be responsible with whatever I’m doing. When viewing others online, I look for responsibility and the truth. I would also make sure I properly cite my sources when using others work, as not doing so is a huge problem. Also, making sure I am equal and fair to my audience as a whole is very important to me. One last thing is that I would make sure that I take accountability for my actions, as this will shape character and prove to others that I am trustworthy and responsible. I would completely avoid is not doing any of these. Building foundation is key, and ignoring these basic ethical codes would put you in a real bad position.  

Below are some of the core concepts that I will follow as a practicing social media professional. 

Tell the Truth 

Be responsible 

Keep confidential information private and protected 

Cite your sources 

Be critical 

Be equal 

Admit/Correct your mistakes 

A Code of Ethics for Social Media Influencers

Tl;Dr: I've created an Influencer Code of Ethics and I encourage you to use it, contribute to it, and share it with the world! In 2009 I was

What is new media?

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Social Media Metrics and the RISPCA

The Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RISPCA), is the oldest non-profit animal welfare organization in Rhode Island, and the third oldest in America. Founded in 1870, the RISPCA offers many services, from pet adoption and rehoming, to pet training and assistance programs.  

I chose this local non-profit organization because I have personally seen their work. We have recently adopted a Siberian Husky from the RISPCA, his name is Spirit and he was almost four years old when we got him. Spirit came from a horrific, abusive family, he was also the result of RISPCA’s animal cruelty services. Spirit was found extremely malnourished and fragile. He was then taken into the shelter, where they did their absolute best to get him healthy again. We already had a Siberian Husky; his name is Yukon and he was just over a year old at the time. So, when we first started the adoption process for Spirit, the RISPCA planned for us to make multiple appointments with Spirit, to be able to build trust and foundation with him. It took a long time for Spirit to get comfortable and to trust us, he barely had human contact before.  

The RISPCA has multiple social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. On these platforms, they share animals that are up for adoption and where they also communicate with the community. Each of these sites have their very own vanity metrics. First off, the RSPCA community communicates on Facebook through vanity metrics such as likes, comments, shares, also called engagement metrics. And it’s the same thing with its other social media platforms, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. These other platforms use vanity metrics such as views, followers, bounce rate, etc. The RISPCA, or any organization, can improve these metrics and turn it into useful information. For example, something an organization could keep in mind is that they will need to establish objectives in metrics (Who is the intended audience, what is the question being asked, what techniques will be used, etc.).  

Advanced metrics, channel metrics, and behavioral metrics are metrics used to evaluate social media initiatives and campaigns. For example, let's take a look at Facebook. Some advanced metrics used on Facebook are conversation reach, content reaction/response, share of community, etc. Facebook also uses channel metrics such as insights, video views, URL links, and even social referrals. And lastly, Facebook uses behavioral metrics. They use metrics such as click-through links, engagement rate, and conversation rate. And for the last one, I want to talk about another social media platform that the RISPCA uses, Instagram. Instagram, just like Facebook or any other platform, uses metrics. Firstly, Instagram has advanced metrics such as audience growth, conversation reach, content reaction/response, and even brand awareness. Secondly, they use channel metrics such as video views, impressions, URL links, etc. And finally, Instagram also uses behavioral metrics like impact actions, conversation rate, saves, etc. Something that is also worth mentioning is that Instagram has an “insights” section within your account that shows you profile views, profile saves, and how many accounts you have reached with your posts (Which fits under the “channel metrics” category). 

This non-profit organization is very important to me, because the dog that I have now is the kindest creature I have ever met, and Spirit never deserved what happened to him. I am very thankful for the RISPCA for rescuing him. Overall, the RISPCA’s social media platforms all use metrics such as advanced, channel, basic, and behavioral to measure how successful they are. I am very grateful for the audience gained and the impact on their business with these social media metrics, for I have adopted one of the most kind-hearted dogs. I hope the RISPCA keeps growing socially so they can continue the lifesaving that they are doing currently.  

By: Alexia Lanagan

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What is Social Media?

Social Media, we all use it in our world today. Online, we can communicate with others, share ideas and information and participate in social networking. As Karen Freberg explained in her textbook Social Media for Strategic Communication: “Social media has been defined, classified, and conceptualized in probably a million different ways. Wherever you go, there is a new term, definition, or way of looking at social media.” (Freberg, 2022, p. 7), social media is a broad term that is very prevalent. But to me, social media is much more than just a form of communication. It is a way to express feelings, to showcase art, to be involved within a community, and it can even be a career. Social media platforms can help build and promote your brand to gain customers or to even get brand deals. Social media has impacted many lives in various ways, including mine.

I characterize myself as a social media user because I am an avid user of several social media platforms. I definitely would not consider myself an influencer in any way, but I have fun and do enjoy posting on entertainment platforms such as TikTok and YouTube. I also use Facebook and Facebook Messenger where I communicate to my family members and where I share my recent experiences. To keep in touch with friends, I mainly use Snapchat and Instagram where I will find what they have been up to or even what they are doing at the moment. These social media apps help me and my close ones stay in contact and to pass on important news or information. 

Although social media is all fun and games, it does have a bad side. All of these apps I have previously mentioned can all have down sides to them. Cyberbullying is a huge problem that may be overlooked at times, especially in my case. Growing up being active on social media platforms, I was not fully aware of the harm people could cause on the internet. I will admit, I have been bullied online before. This has made me think twice before posting or sharing anything. Even though this was a horrible experience and I would not wish it upon anyone, I did learn a valuable lesson. People can be extremely disrespectful and rude towards others, so be careful of what you post online for everyone, or anyone, to see. 

As you may know, I am currently taking a course called Social Media Communications. As the class description entails, I will be learning about the growth of social media and its history. It’s still undecided, but I may want to have a career as a social media manager, where I will be the online presence of a company or brand. By knowing the history of social media, I will be able to follow trends so I am able to produce good content for the company. This is also a topic that may help me in the near future, and it really interests me as well since technology and social media are going to be even larger in our world's future. During my time in this course, I hope to learn and fully understand the fundamentals of social media. 

-Alexia Lanagan