Rachael's Strategic Branding and Social Media Journal

[rachaelsbsmblog]

Social Media’s Role in the Vegas Shooting

When Steven Paddock opened fire on October 1, 2017 at the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada, he left  58 people dead and 546 injured making the event one of the deadliest shooting in modern US History. This was an issue of national security which required law enforcement to exercise a great deal of secrecy when receiving information. Traditional media like the New York Times and Fox News utilized investigative reporting to extract these secrets and formulated their reports using logos and ethos respectively to make them as factual as possible. This was done in effort to combat the heavy speculation and false information that filled social media- driven primarily by the public’s thirst for information.

Because of the lack of information as the news was so new, social media users began searching for anything that possessed new information to share on social media without questioning its validity. Within the first 24 hours of the shooting, the gunman was wrongly.

People then, being informed by these news stories, took to social media to 1) find more news, 2) share the news and 3) share their feelings towards the news. In this case, within the first 24 hours after the shooting, social media was flooded with emotional reactions. From celebrities expressing their sympathies over the “tragedy” to family members of victims posting their heartfelt goodbyes, coupled with pictures of the victims.

Because of the lack of information as the news was so new, social media users began searching for anything that possessed new information to share on social media without questioning its validity. Within the first 24 hours of the shooting, the gunman was wrongly identified as a muslim, a liberal, and a far-right-anti-Trump activist by fake news websites. In fact, these stories became so popular that one article made into the “trending topics” page on Facebook and another appeared at the top of the Google’s search results pinning a man named Geary Danley as the shooter. This article remained there there for several hours.

Fake news found on Facebook

When events such as this mass shooting occurs, it is the responsibility of the media to report the most accurate information to dispel rumors and false information that spreads rapidly on social media. Responsibility of information falls directly in the hands of these news outlets.

[rachaelsbsmblog]

Malcolm Gladwell and Media Part 2- Explaining the SunnyCo Scandal

Malcolm Gladwell’s “Tipping Point” piqued my interest so I decided to write a second post about it. 

Background

In an attempt to analyze the way fads and trends flare up and die down, Malcom Gladwell devised  the concept of the Tipping Point- the idea that there is''one dramatic moment in an epidemic when everything can change all at once.” He proposed that social change has some of the same characteristics as, a medical epidemic. An idea may reach a tipping point by way of any of the “Three Rules of Epidemics” that can transform the idea from flop to furor in a short space of time. These are: 1) The Law of Few, 2) The Stickiness Factor and 3) The Power of Context.

Using Gladwell to explain an Instagram post that went viral

A more recent scenario that can be explained by Gladwell’s principles is the SunnyCo Swimsuit fiasco that went viral in early May. SunnyCo Clothing was started in early 2017 by a group of students from the University of Arizona.

SunnyCo Logo 

However, no boutique has ever gone viral by doing so. The giveaway quickly blew up, gathering more than 300 thousand likes and skyrocketing their account to over 750 thousand followers – from the mere 7 thousand they had originally. So what made this giveaway different? Why did it gain so much traction? 

After reading Gladwell, one can assume that it was the “Power of Context, or specifically the “Magic Number: 150” that caused it. Somewhere in their original seven thousand followers was a group of 150 of just the right people that reposted the giveaway which opened the gateway to its success. In that group, there could have been social media influencers like makeup artists, college campus reps, fashion blogs, etc. We will never know for sure who they are but we see what 150 people of of 7 thousand can do.

[rachaelsbsmblog]

5 Tips for Managing a Social Media Crisis

Social media is instant which means, big mistakes can happen in real time and blow up big time. That being said, accidents happen and how you deal with it is extremely crucial in the salvaging of your company’s reputation. Here are some critical tips that can help your company in a social media crisis

Stick with the Source

In a Social Media crisis, it is important that you first address it on the social media platform that it happened on, before any other. That way you have the potential to reach everyone that saw the original screw up. For example: if it happened on Twitter, deal with it on Twitter first, then you can extend the message to other platforms for optimum coverage. 

Delete 

Get rid of the original post to curb the spread of the slip up. It will minimize the impact and cut down on potential views. This may also help in avoiding legal investigations. This step is the first step in beginning to repair the reputation of the company- separating the company from the mistake. 

Apologize 

Never underestimate the power of a simple apology. It shows that you acknowledge that the company was wrong. Keep it brief and to the point to avoid any more speculation. Save the explanation for the press release.

Act Quicky

The faster you act, the faster problem will be solved and forgotten about. If you don’t respond to the crisis in a timely fashion, the audience might think that your company is neglectful and irresponsible which will only add to your problems. For the first 24 hours after the crisis, all eyes are on you in anticipation of this response. 

Recover

Use the newfound popularity to your company’s advantage by highlighting the good that the company has done on their social media. Bump up your company’s philanthropy work and publicize it, give out freebees etc. This will allow for more opportunities for the company to be know for something else other than the mistake. 

[rachaelsbsmblog]

Social Media and Malcolm Gladwell

Going viral refers to some sort of internet content becoming extremely popular within a relatively short period of time. Things go viral every day on the internet. Malcolm Gladwell suggested that an idea can hit a “tipping point” where it spirals in popularity in his book “Tipping Point”. 

In an attempt to analyze the way things go viral and trends flare up and die down, Gladwell devised  the concept of the Tipping Point- the idea that there is''one dramatic moment in an epidemic when everything can change all at once.” He proposed that social change has some of the same characteristics as, a medical epidemic. An idea may reach a tipping point by way of any of the “Three Rules of Epidemics” that can transform the idea from flop to furor in a short space of time. These are: 1) The Law of Few, 2) The Stickiness Factor and 3) The Power of Context In this post, I’ll be talking about the Law of Few. 

Gladwell’s Law of Few is probably the easiest way for any idea to reach its tipping point these days. It is the intervention of a number of influential types of people that result in an idea’s success. In this modern time, we see this most commonly through celebrity involvement. Kim Kardashian discovered the brand Balmain by chance on a trip to Paris. She fell in love with their pieces. So much so that she connected with the designer, bought more pieces and wore them frequently. Now Balmain is an international high-fashion brand that shares the runways with brands like Chanel and Hermès, just because she wore a few of their pieces on the red carpet (because she genuinely liked it). According to Gladwell's principle, in this scenario Ms.Kardashian is a maven-an influential individual that’s always credible. Because of their celebrity status, she and her sisters are the mavens of many fashion and makeup trends that make up pop culture today. The fact that they use the product, whether sponsored or unsponsored generates tremendous buzz.

.

[rachaelsbsmblog]

5 Things I  Learned From Going Live

On October 30th I used the “Go Live” feature on Instagram for the first time as per an assignment for a Social Media Marketing class. The goal was for the students to become familiar with the feature of going live and its usefulness in social media marketing. I do believe it is a good tool to utilize in social media strategies because it is the opposite of curation- which is what social media actually is. Its very real, unedited and personal. That being said, here are some things I learned that may help you in your next live endeavor

1) Tell us the time

My professor was supposed to look at all the live streams of all the students in her class within an extended period of time. The likelihood of her actually catching all of them was very low. 

Suggestion: Tell your audience the date and time that you’ll be going live prior to so that they can plan ahead and they don’t miss it. You can do this by announcing it in a post a few days before 

2) Wifi is your best friend and worst enemy

On the day that I went live, I had to try three times. The wifi was overloaded and it kicked me out twice. Thank goodness it was’t during the live otherwise I would have had to start over. 

Suggestion: Test the wifi beforehand so that you are sure it is reliable. If You have to use data, make sure you have at least 3 bars of reception to ensure a constant live stream

3) Noisy is a no no

In the live stream, I was expected to speak a bit and interact with someone. I went live at a concert so it was difficult to speak and be heard so I did all the talking bits outside the actual concert hall and just streamed a bit of the concert after

Suggestion: Consider your task and your location. If you need to speak you may need to allocate a quiet location to do so

4) Be wary of your surroundings

At the concert, I made sure there was space between myself and the other students just so that I didn’t get anything inappropriate or weird in the background of the live stream

Suggestion: The best thing to do to avoid this sort of thing is to stand close to a wall or distance yourself from others when you’re speaking. 

5) Have fun with it

A mistake that I made was that I seemed a little too serious in the stream and lets be honest, serious = boring. I was at a concert and it didn’t seem like I was having too much fun.  

Suggestion: You have to engage and be mindful of your mood. Remember the purpose of the live is bring your audience into the event virtually. Yo are essentially their host. Have fun with it otherwise your audience will not 

[rachaelsbsmblog]

Social Media and the Echo Chamber

The term “echo chamber” refers to a situation where certain ideas, beliefs or data  are reinforced being through repetition in a certain area. It produces an environment that does not allow for the free movement of alternative or competing ideas or concepts.

Echo chambers are being formed all over on social media. How? Social-media users tend to develop strong and well-defined communities around the news sources they support. Social media allows them to make connections with like-minded people regardless of the geographic distance between them. In other words, like attracts like. 

Facebook is the most accommodating to long opinionated posts, is the largest creator of echo chambers of all social media outlets. The authors saw that active Facebook users were more likely to interact with a limited number of news sources. Additionally, the more active a community was, the more self-segregated and polarized it was.

[rachaelsbsmblog]

Netflix and the Future of Cable

Netflix’s subscriber base continues to grow rapidly while cable continues to lose hundreds of thousands of viewers every quarter as more customers are turning to online screening providers like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu.

A standard cable bill for a household is approximately $80 a month which excludes internet while a Netflix subscription costs around $8 a month. Before, gaining access to good shows and movies meant paying for an expensive cable package. Now, lots of great shows have made their way into the realm of online streaming- so much so that people prefer watching it online as opposed to on television.

Social media comes into play because it adds an interactive feature to television consumption by providing an immediate online platform for people to voice their opinions and connect with people who share the same views as they do.

[rachaelsbsmblog]

Marketing and Social Media

With the growth of social media in the past few years, it has now become one of the most powerful marketing/advertising tools in the spectrum. Companies now hire specialists to do online marketing because it has proven to be THAT effective. It has also changed the nature of companies’ Public Relations but having their PR professionals incorporate material tailored to a company’s online presence. 

Social media marketing can help with many things when ic comes to growing your business. It can increase website traffic, raise brand awareness, strengthen brand identity and increase positive brand association. One of the most important aspects is that it can improve communication and interaction with key audiences and foster loyalty in consumers. 

This is where strategic goals come in. Through proper content curation and planning, all of the above can be achieved. Social media and PR specialists use keyword research and competitive research to generate creative content that will appeal to their audience.

Expanding your business across several social media platforms can help strengthen your brand image as well. This is because each Social Media platform is unique in user demographics and primary content. For example: Facebook can be used for more written information like PSA’s and events, twitter used for quick updates, Instagram used for flashy graphics and photos and all of this ties in to the strengthening of the brand’s image 

[rachaelsbsmblog]

Social Media and Hurricane Irma

Over the past week and a half, I witnessed the true potential of social media. This realization came in the wake of the big, bad Hurricane Irma. From about two weeks ago, I saw mentions of Hurricane Irma pop up on my social media platforms. People were saying things like: “Why aren’t Floridians freaking out about this?” and “Irma isn’t going to hit us”. That couldn’t be further from wrong and people made sure to note that on social media as well.

Social media proved to be one of the biggest communication tools during this crises. On the days leading up to the arrival of Irma, patrons were posting places where gas and water was available and places where they were not. This must have saved a lot of people a lot of time and aided in getting residents more prepared, faster.

During the hurricane, people (myself included) frequented the local news channels’ Facebook pages to keep updated on the happenings of Irma. People were using Snapchat to document where power outages occurred and filming footage of the actual storm. Facebook and instagram were used to notify family and acquaintances of the safety and whereabouts of individuals during the hurricane to keep them updated.

This shows the sheer power of social media as a tool during times of crises It highlights its usefulness and importance.

[rachaelsbsmblog]

Social Media Transformed Millennials

Our smartphones have become an appendage to us millennials. Spend 10 minutes on a college campus and you’ll quickly realize this. Our phones are almost always touching our bodies. Whether it’s in our palms, our pockets or our purses-its always present. 

There’s also the infamous arm extension- a universally acknowledged symbol of smartphone use. Taking a photo (selfie or otherwise), searching for signal, video chatting, even following a GPS. It is so accepted that we do not even notice how silly we look while doing this. 

These actions described above can be partly accounted for by the growth in popularity of social media platforms in past few years. We seem to have developed a collective mindset that if it’s not on social media, did it really happen? Brands can (and have been) taking advantage of this notion and have been doing so with great success. 

More and more brands are using social media to reach heir audience and for most brands, their audience is the largest on social media. People turn to the Facebook page of their favorite news channel to be updated on the latest local happenings more than they turn on their television. 

To be continued.. 

[rachaelsbsmblog]

Social Capital

This week in class we discussed social capital. This is one of the concepts that you understand as a millennial but never knew there was a name for. It is human nature to connect with people based on similar interests, it happens all the time. In fact I'd bet that a good 90% of millennial relationships stared because of a mutual like.

Social capital is the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society. These relationships enables that society to function effectively. With the invention and growth of social media, the social capital of an individual has the potential to expand on a larger scale.

We can now be connected to people who share a common interests from anywhere around the world. Through this expansion, there are no limits to what members of that community can learn.

The best part about this is that, it's all harnessed by the internet which means that there is no specific meeting place, no time, and no regulations. Connections can be made in seconds and the knowledge you can acquire is endless