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Final Reflection

I have taken a lot from this class. I had to take an elective for my Information Systems minor and this class seemed the most appealing to me, and by far. I have always had mixed feelings about social media. I think that it can be a good thing, but most people, especially my age, misuse and overuse it.

One of the very first things that we did in this class, the social media experiment, was very beneficial to me. I always say to my friends that I want to get rid of social media completely, or just get a plain ole flip phone. The experiment really showed me how conditioned I am to being on social media throughout the day.

I am taking 21 credits and working 25-30 hours a week; so, the biggest thing for me is time. I am always complaining about being so busy and wanting to do all of these things, yet here I am wasting time on Instagram and Snapchat.

I do not always think that these things are a waste of time. Everything that we learned in this class with our client project and social media in business has showed me how beneficial it can be. In my case, however, I think that I will benefit more from being unplugged and not worrying about if people see what I am doing throughout the day.

I just recently deleted all of my non-professional social media accounts. I thank this class for opening my eye to when social media is useful and when it is misused. I am very glad that I chose to take this class, and now when I am in a business setting I will know how to use social media in the right way.

Becoming a Social Organization

Becoming a social organization has a lot to do with the principles of effective content development and sharing. A social organization is a pattern of relationships between and among individuals and social groups, according to wikipedia. The best way for me to describe it is as a little community where everyone plays their own part.

Sharing the right content can lead to a group becoming a strong, successful social organization. The messages that you put out will affect what comes back. It should all work together cohesively which will only tighten the knit and bring the organization closer. The closer the organization, the stronger it will be and the more apt everyone will be to want it to grow and succeed.

Just as members of any other community, everyone in the social organization should consider everyone else and work to help each other out. So, the content should be welcoming and considerate of all members. It should also engage members.

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.

alexbondy-blog

Social Organization and Content Development

The principles of developing effective content has a lot to do with catering to your target market and making your posts as effective for your audience. This directly relates to becoming a Social Organization. A Social Organization is all about becoming a community. To be a community, you want your social media page to be a gathering of people with similar interests and you want your posts to be valued by them. In order to create value for your specific customers, you would take note of who your customers are and post according to what they like. You won’t create a community of people around your company if you aren’t communicating to your customers in a way that will be easily received.

cassidyc-blog2

I agree that building a community is very important. Building on that, once you form a tight knit community, you can really being to engage with the members. A lot of what I have learning is that it is important to take it past having good content. There are many steps to it all. You need a good online persona and quality content that is specific to your target audience. You also need to interact with your target audience and make sure that they are as much a part of the community as anyone else.

cmsalbertcmu-blog

Developing & Sharing Effective Content on Social Media

In order to develop and share content that is effective on social media platforms, many factors must be taken into consideration. Hootsuite Academy defines many of these principles in their Social Media Training modules. While completing modules five and six, I noted aprinciples for developing and sharing content on social media, below are three that I chose to include in my client project.

Hook Your Audience With a Strong Headline

Hootsuite explains the importance of developing an enticing headline to “hook” your audience on social media. A headline that is interesting will engage the reader and make them want to continue reading and interacting with the content.

Incorporate Visuals When Possible

Visuals add depth and increase audience engagement. Hootsuite states that content including visuals generally performs higher than content that lacks imagery.

Follow the Rule of Thirds

This principle is the one that I found to be surprising, but I also recognized the value and importance of including this as a suggestion to my client. This idea states that less than 30% (or about 1/3) of content shared on social media should be “self-promotion.” This rule is often broken by many large-scale organizations on social media today. Hootsuite reiterates that social media should not be a place to simply broadcast content, but instead to engage and interact with your audience. An audience is less likely to engage with an organization that solely uses their social media channels to promote their organization.

All of the principles explained in Hootsuite are great rules to follow, however I found these three to be particularly important to the context of my client.

cassidyc-blog2

I like the three that you chose to focus on. They are all very important. Hooking your audience is the initial step and is important because if they are not hooked or drawn in to begin with then they will not see any of the content that you chose to share, no matter how great it is.

The second thing that you focused on, visuals, can also be a part of hooking your audience. You can use visuals as part of a tactic to hook the audience. Either way visuals are important. They spice things up and takes the content a step further. Also, some people just comprehend visuals better than text. Lastly, the rule of thirds is great because, like you, this one was not as apparent to me. You would assume a majority of content would be self-promotion, but when I really think about it that does not seem like something that would keep me interested. Engagement is very important!

Growing An Online Community

After completing the HootSuite/podium module 4, I learned a lot about growing and online community. I think that what I took from it most, in my own words, is that it is important to engage with other community members on a more real and comfortable level. For example, in the module it says that if you don't know something, don't pretend like you do or give an unconfident answer just because you feel like you should have all of the answers. It is important to be honest. What I mean is that it is important to treat the social media interaction like it is a real-life, genuine interaction. It is also very important to listen to the community members that you are engaging with. It should be a two-way conversation. These principles apply to my client, Big Brothers Big Sisters RSO. Once the RSO gets their persona and presence on social media larger, they can work on building their community through engaging with community members. People are going to feel more a part of a community if they feel they are being listened to and their ideas are being considered. All members of the community's ideas should be considered.

Community Building

After reading chapters 4 and five in the Social Organization and doing some further research, I have come up with some effective principles on online community building with social media. A great website that I found that solidifies the text I read is www.socialmediatoday.com. It breaks it down into 10 key guiding principles. What the over arching message to me seems to be is that members of communities need to work together cohesively rather than compete. Everyone has something to offer, big or small. Gathering everyone strengths can lead to great success within a community. Once a community has a vision, members can fill the positions that they best fit to achieve a common goal. Relationships are what sustain a community and therefore they should be worked on from both ends. It is important to encourage community members to engage. These principles hold true for any type of community, but particularly the online community and social media. Because it is over social media and not face to face, there needs to be more of an effort to hold value in community members lives.

alexbondy-blog

The Legal Side of Big Data

This video really brought the severity of hacking to light. The statistics on all the historical hacks are insanely prevalent and should be taken seriously as it can happen to any company. Businesses should be aware that they are just as open to being hacked as the next company. It has happened to huge corporations, and even the government. The government probably has the most protected servers out there, with the most experienced people there to keep their information protected, but hackers got through. Everyone is subject to hackers and should be aware of that. By acknowledging this they can try to make advancements in their technology before they’re hacked, instead of after the fact - which is what so many companies do. They should also be prepared with a plan of what to do in the case that they can’t prevent it.

Consumers should be aware of the sharing of their information once it gets on the internet. Before taking this class, I was never exposed to the truth of this. Consumers need to be educated on the lack of privacy you receive once your information is put on the internet. They should be aware that their information is very susceptible to being used for things they aren’t knowingly agreeing to - whether the information is shared, sold to third-parties, or hacked. They have to realize the risk of putting information on the internet.

It has to be hard to balance the opportunities and risks of using Big Data. This information could truly be necessary to the business, so they want to use Big Data. But by doing this, they put a lot of personal information at risk. I think they can try to balance it by only taking the information needed, and by putting a significant amount of effort into preventative measures against hackers.

cassidyc-blog2

The post that I made about the threats of big data is very similar to yours. It is interesting hearing the way you put it into words. I agree with your thoughts on how prevalent big data privacy concerns are in regards to hacking. Hacking occurs all of the time whether we realize it or not. Although it may not affect us individuals much when it happens to them on a smaller scale, the government and bigger businesses can really take a hurting from it.

As a consumer I agree that we need to be more careful with the information we put out there. It almost seems more convenient to just share that information rather than finding ways to get around it when so many sites ask for it. However, it is not worth the risk. I agree that I now know much more about the threats and I am much more cautious.

Just as with everything it is all about balance and moderation. Big data can be very beneficial, however as I stated in my post consumers and businesses alike have to be cautious with it and do things to prevent privacy issues.

ricoabro-blog

Successful Social Media Strategy

Social media is used in many different ways. To consumers, it is a way to connect and engage with their social network, but many businesses are hopping on-board the social media trend to market to and engage the consumer. The businesses most successful in social media, though different in their approach, generally have similarities in their execution strategies. To help identify these industry best practices, I will highlight one social media success story and discuss how the company creating the social media plan achieved their success.

The company that I chose to highlight is Dominos. Many consumers know Dominos for their pizza, but do they know that this company also has a winning social media strategy?

Dominos uses its social platforms as a way to engage with their customers. They don’t just broadcast specials or post pictures of their products, but instead they also provide several ways for their customers to take part. One way they recently did this was by allowing their customers to place orders through Twitter and Facebook.

Another great social media strategy implemented by Dominos occurred a couple of years ago. Dominos encouraged their customers to upload pictures of the pizza they purchased from Dominos. They did this to show that pizzas made in store can look just as good as the pizzas that are shown in Dominos advertisements.

These are two examples of how Dominos used social media to engage with its customers. By using tactics like these, businesses allow customers to contribute and have a higher chance of being successful in social media.

alexbondy-blog

I really like this example. Dominos definitely has a great social media strategy. Using these social media platforms to take orders is so unique to them, I don’t know of any other company with that capacity. I also like that their strategy seems to exclusively involve their customers. They don’t highlight celebrity endorsements, but instead use their customers as their marketers. They have them tweet pictures of their purchased pizzas to share with other prospective customers the quality of their product. This is a free of cost strategy that I am sure is very effective.

cassidyc-blog2

I like this example because it differs from mine. We both chose restaurants, however mine took a different route without approached it's social media following.

I chose Denny's which uses a more fun and humorous approach. They are not very professional with how they go about their posts. It is not to say that they are not appropriate, it is just more of a relaxed manner in which they go about communicating with their followers. Denny's followers are more of a younger crowd and therefore they communicate in a younger dialogue.

Dominos, however, seems to be reaching out through social media in a more serious manner. It is very smart for them to allow ordering through their social media sites. It is a great marketing tool and I'm sure has increased their sales.

"The Legal Side of Big Data"

After watching “The Legal Side of Big Data”, businesses should be aware of some things when using big data. Big data presents some challenges. One of the biggest in my opinion is privacy. When companies look at large pools of data they have to make attempts to protect the privacy of individuals. The best way to do this is through anonymization. This is not always as easy to do as it seems. It is only going to get more difficult, too. The Internet will continue to grow more people will have access to it. The privacy concept goes both ways. Businesses should be aware of it, as well as consumers. I think that the best way to balance the opportunities and threats presented by the development of big data is to just be educated and preventative. Businesses and consumers a like should be aware of the threats and take caution in order to not be affected by them.

Social Media Strategy

One company that I found that I think has developed and implemented a successful social media strategy is Denny's. A website that I found, adweek.com, highlights some of Denny's tactics. I like weird and I like to think that I have a good sense of humor, so that is probably why I am drawn to their social media strategy. Danny's doesn't have much of a filter when it comes to social media. The posts are silly and fun. With that said, the post resonate more with a younger audience. I think that this is good because the younger audience is more active and social media sites. Also, from my experience, Danny's does bring in a younger crowd. Especially during its late night hours. One of the funny or post that Denny's has shared on Twitter is provided on this website. www.adweek.com/digital/michael-patterson-10-brands-amazing-social-media/ I think that the fact that Denny's is so out there on social media is what is effective. It gets peoples attention.

zacharyhaywardcmu-blog

Social Media Consultant

The most important qualities for a social media consultant to have are charisma and the ability to be flexible. It is important for a consultant to be charismatic as their posts will be seen by many people. It is also important for a consultant to be flexible since the audience they have will change based on who they are consulting.

Charisma is an important quality to have if you are planning on becoming a social media consultant. Your goal is to have an audience agree with the message you are trying to share. If you come off as mean or rude then that might hinder your ability to attract people to who you are representing.

This is why being flexible is so important as well. The audience you are trying to sway will change based on who you are consulting. Being able to recognize and plan an approach to this change is an important part of being a social media consultant.

cmsalbertcmu-blog

Zach,

I agree that flexibility is an important quality for social media consultants to possess. A client’s current social media plan may need to be updated or changed as their audience changes the tone of conversation. It is impossible to control the content in which the client’s audience is publishing, so consultants must be able to adapt quickly to ensure that the brand they are representing is responding to the audience in a way that will improve or maintain their reputation.

-Chelsea

cassidyc-blog2

Zach,

I like the word that you used, charisma. It kind of goes along with one of the qualities that I gave. I said that a consultant should have good social skills. It all goes hand-in-hand with charisma and being outgoing and being able to communicate well with others.

Flexibility is a good one, too. It also August hand-in-hand with being able to talk to people in reading your audience.

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.

alexbondy-blog

I think you have a great idea in mind when it comes to improving your professional social media presence. Having set goals and objectives is a very helpful thing. Plain using social media in general for business is useful, but using it for a purpose is going to be much more beneficial. I also think engagement on social media is very beneficial. It helps customers feel heard, and like you said it helps us to learn. I hope you do increase your LinkedIn usage because it really is a great professional website to utilize.

cassidyc-blog2

I think that it is very important to state your goals and objectives as you have stated in your response. That allows professionals to know exactly what you are trying to do what you want out of your site being viewed by them. It is the best way to keep things clear.

Showing your accomplishments as a good one, too. Showing your accomplishments will allow people to know what you're capable of and where your mindset is with whatever you are trying to achieve with your professional site.

Plans and Strategies

The plans and strategies that I have to improve my professional social media presence are focusing on those qualities that I stated in my last post. I am already very creative and social, so I can use those strengths to really boost my profiles. I have always been very good at art. I will use those skills to create an appealing profile to look at from viewers. I am very outgoing as well and I know how to communicate with people. I will use that strength in designing my profile in order to communicate the best way that I can through the sites. There are definitely more things that I can do. I can use what I am learning in this class. I have already learned a lot of tips and tricks that I can use to be more effective.

Social Media Consultant

In my view, the most important qualities for a social media consultant to have are creativeness, good social skills, and good leadership skills. As the video stated, creativeness is very important. Having a creative mind will help to come up with ideas that will interest viewers. It also generates more ideas, and more out-of-the-box ideas. Also, since social media sites are being viewed with eyes, creativeness is like an art. Creating a good looking intriguing page is an artform, therefore it is important to be creative. Good social skills are important for obvious reasons. Social media is all about being social and interacting with others through technology. Having good social skills will only help to communicate with these viewers. Leadership skills are important because in order to consult anybody you have to be a good leader and a servant leader. It is not about telling the clients want to do and how to do it it is about helping them to improve and working as a team.

Internet Business Models on Surveillance and Data Gathering

Maciej Ceglowski spoke about how much of individuals data is saved when they use the Internet. Obviously people know that some of their data is going to be stored; however, I do not believe that they know how much of their information is stored. I myself have began to notice sayings that I did not before. For example I did not realize that the items that I look up to buy on Amazon sometimes pop up as ads through my Facebook and Instagram. Obviously I realized that the cats were there but not that it was because of the data of mine from Amazon being stored and used across the Internet. Dad is storing can become a threat if it is over used. Personally, it scares me that the Internet, a technological nonhuman thing, knows so much about me and my interests. After reading “The Internet’s Original Sin”, the things that I just described above were confirmed to me. The Internet is even smart enough to post advertisements for individuals to see on items that they almost bought but did not buy. Something that this makes me think of that was not discussed in either the talk or the reading are the devices that can listen to you and do things for you without a computer. For example, Alexis is a device similar to Siri that can listen to the consumer and answer questions as well as order things for the user. This makes me question when these devices are listening. Obviously they are listening when they are supposed to be, such as when they are called on by the user. However, I question if they are listening at other times and collecting data from users. Regardless, individuals should be more cautious and aware of the data that is out there about them.

Big Data

Big data includes extremely large data sets that can be analyzed to reveal patterns or trends. It is especially relating to human behavior in human interactions. There becomes an issue with privacy in regards to big data because of data breaches. Consumers must be wary about the information that they provided on the Internet.

Big data is such a powerful tool because it allows us to look at large populations and make generalizations. This can be very beneficial in many aspects. Although, it can be difficult to work with at times because it is too much information to handle. Another downside is that it can sometimes be abused by individuals who are trying to hack others.

On the personal level, individuals can protect themselves from the dangers of big data by being more cautious with the information that they provided over the Internet. On societal levels, the threat of egregious privacy violations grow.

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