Expanding Social Media
What I have learned from the Campus Clipper is the importance of platforms and what users aim to see. For example, Twitter is very “link heavy”. Users who are popular (an abundance of followers) they post the most links. Twitter is all about sharing something interesting, not just randomly linking something you find. It is about finding genuine topics to ignite conversation, not just mentioning someone with an @ sign. What I found fascinating was that people who engaged more in conversation, aside from just links, actually had fewer followers. This shows that making a connection on Twitter with people around the world is key by standing out in some way. Due to the high volume of twitter, if one is an average person, they “compete” with others as far as popularity and how much people relate to tweets, etc. If interesting links are posted followed by new conversation, your following/popularity is then boosted, compared to trying to start a conversation out of nothing.
On the other hand, Facebook is more of a photo-sharing platform. Most people would think that statuses would be the most popular, but most are interested in the concept of photo sharing. Unlike Twitter or even Instagram, for example, Facebook allows you to post many photos at a time. It is not about “clouding” someone’s feed or annoying them; in fact, it is preferred over too many status updates. If one had the desire to update topics faster, then that is what Twitter is for. Also, a popular usage on Facebook would be sharing. People share photos, links to pages, etc. Also, an optimal time for sharing is around 4-6pm, right around when people leave from work and school. They may be on the way home scrolling through their news feed and may decide to share a topic they debated at work on the same day. People in school may want to share a video that was discussed in class with their other classmates or peers in other social groups.
Expanding into the more technical side, things such as Ad Words, Google Insights, and RSS feeds rung a bell for me. Some were easy to understand because I have done them before, and some, like Google Insights, helped me to see where companies I am interested in grab my attention through social media. I believe now it is Google trends, where the most searched about topics are recorded. It even measures the volume of people searching a specific thing locally. Also, with Twitter Advanced Search, one can search for keywords that people use, and then hashtags, dates, and places can be added. In addition, just with the Google Search Bar, one can type in something they think is the “buzz” and then Google automatically suggests other keywords that people might have searched. Usually those words have the highest amount of search results because they have many resources linked to them.
Finally, I learned about blogging and how, even though it isn’t what it used to be, it is kind of like “the new newspaper”. It is often read in the mornings between 9-11am, which is why that’s when the most optimal time to have them available is. It seems as if the majority of blog readers are working adults who are early to rise. As far as links go, it is optimal to post right after midnight so they can be ready for viewing in the morning. According to the study in the “Science of Marketing,” many users read blogs at least once a day, and even more than that. Overall, it was eye opening to expand on the different uses of platforms today in relation to searches, correlation between liking/linking, and the benefits companies can have from marking their product or resource correctly.
As regards to search engine optimization, it really is a strategy. Using applications such as Keyword Planner, as well as Google Analytics show how to best reach out to potential customers. On Keyword Planner, words are sorted out by the location, as well as the number of searches it receives per day. It takes time to perfect this craft, as companies often have to strategize and consistently watch the searches of consumers. When using html’s, Analytics and help with inserting key words into websites. Overall, these specifics are of paramount importance and contribute to the success of promoting companies and their values through social media.