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Media Switch Up: LinkedIn

I’m going to be completely honest and also apologize in advance for any feelings I may hurt... I only have LinkedIn because my college professors told me I had to. I never post, I never congratulate people on new jobs or positions, and I don’t read what other people post. I think LinkedIn is a glorified online resume, so I treat it as such by logging on just to update my information when I start a new job or attend a new school.

But, now that I am only months away from FINALLY being done with school and needing a job (boo for adulting), I feel like it might be time for me to take it more seriously and try exploring some of the capabilities.

LinkedIn is where social meets business. It serves to connect professionals who want to collaborate, share insight and, most importantly for me, hire bright minds.  According to Omnicore, LinkedIn now has 3 million active job listings on the platform. With so much power and reach, LinkedIn certainly has to potential to make a difference for young professionals and job seeking graduates.

LinkedIn is very simply colored and professionally designed. Without an overbearing amount of advertising, it’s reserved for posts from the people you have connected with, as well as job recommendations, suggested pages to follow, and information you might find interesting or helpful. You can write your own articles, share photos, and link to pages and videos from outside sources, but it doesn’t allow you to post your own videos directly to the site. You have to post them to an outside platform such as YouTube or Vimeo, and then share it on your profile.

On the bar at the top of the page, you can view your messages and notifications, as well as your own profile, the people you have connected with, and potential jobs; however, the most interesting thing to me is the “Work” tab that’s full of tools for businesses looking to use LinkedIn to hire and establish a presence among other professionals and companies in their industry.

This menu will lead you to tools that help you find people who are qualified for jobs at your company, sales opportunities, training, advertising, and groups for discussion about industry topics. This is the first social media platform I have explored that caters to B2B users just as much as individuals.  

LinkedIn also has a global presence. According to Omnicore, After the US, India, Brazil, Great Britain and Canada has the highest number of Linkedin users. Demographically, users are 57% male and 44% female. Here are a few more user stats from Omnicore:

 Companies around the globe are taking advantage of all the free tools and connection opportunities available on this social platform. For example, Adobe is doing a great job designing their page to be user friendly, visually interesting, and showing information in a way that’s inviting.

However, what makes the Adobe profile so unique and well done is their use of Showcase Pages. According to KoMarketing, Showcase Pages are segmented pages linked from the main company page that allow B2B companies to promote specific products to better market to different audiences. With so many products made for users ranging from newspaper editors to advertisers, it was impossible to make a single, well-organized page. It’s critical to help these users navigate to the products and information that is important to them. KoMarketing’s Kristen Vaughn explains in her article, 8 Examples of B2B Businesses Managing Powerful LinkedIn Pages, “Adobe has created separate LinkedIn Showcase Pages to segment their products. Users can follow singular Showcase Pages without having to follow the business or their other pages, so Adobe can target updates more thoughtfully.”

Another company using LinkedIn tools well is Deloitte. According to Vaughn, “Deloitte’s careers tab is an excellent example of how B2B businesses should be taking advantage of the feature. Having a complete and detailed careers tab, like Deloitte’s, can be especially valuable for networking, recruiting and sharing more about your company culture and growth.”

The careers tab also cross-promotes to other sites.

Maybe LinkedIn, when utilized to its full capabilities, isn’t just a glorified online resume – it’s an invaluable business tool. I think it’s time I revamp my profile and begin making meaningful connections.

Here are a few great tips on how to make your profile eye-catching and memorable!

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Media Switch Up: Instagram

I remember when Instagram first hit the web and became popular. *Side Note: This is how I feel when I say things like that to youngsters like my 13 year old cousins...

It was my senior year of high school and, per usual, I was the last to learn about this cool, new social media site and the last to create a profile. Honestly, I wasn’t very impressed. It didn’t seem to offer something that couldn’t be done on Facebook, but I joined nonetheless because FOMO.

If you like food, traveling, and the occasional shameless selfie, follow me!

It wasn’t until I stumbled upon the Explore page that I really started to notice the entertainment value of this platform. Then, the more I learned about marketing in my undergrad courses, the more I started to understand how powerful Instagram could be for business.

The Explore page is tailored to individual users and features posts from all around the world that you may find interesting. Depending on what you view and “like,” you will see more content that fits your interests. For example, my Explore page is full of makeup tutorials, fitness, baking, celebrities, and fashion.

For others, it may include sports, animals, nature, DIY, parenting, or any other topic. This customization is a great tool for companies that create profiles because it helps direct their content to the right audience. For companies looking to target different groups of millennials, this is a great site to utilize.

According to the Inc. article 21 Things Every Brand Should Know About Instagram, over half of all 18- to 29-year-olds in the U.S. are on Instagram, and the site has about 400 million active daily users. Many brands have taken advantage of this growing social media site with 48.8% of brands on Instagram. This number is expected to rise to 70.7% by the end of 2017.

Surprisingly, users don’t mind marketing and promotions, and 50% of people on Instagram follow at least one brand.

One example of a brand using Instagram to not only market their products, but create a unique experience is Nike. In 2013, Nike launched the Instagram campaign Nike PHOTOiD. The campaign called on users to post their own photos as inspiration for personalized Nike Sneakers.

This sparked engagement with followers, pushed traffic to the Nike website, and created a buzz across the web because they were doing something that had never been done before. Check out the video below! According to Skyword’s Keri Longacre, this was arguably one of the most successful campaigns to ever hit Instagram.

Since Instagram is purely visual with photo and video content, it has become popular among fashion bloggers and makeup artists. One makeup artist I follow, Tamanna Roashan, has seen her fame skyrocket since sharing her work and her business, Dress Your Face, on Instagram. 

She shares tutorials as well as photos of clients every day, highlighting the products and techniques she uses. Users who enjoy the posts and want to see more can follow the link in her bio to the Dress Your Face website where they can pay for a subscription to view more content and receive product boxes. She also uses Instagram for giveaways to engage with her followers and get them to comment and repost her content.

Through her utilization of Instagram, she has built a following of 2.6 million users and counting. She has also been able to expand her business services, create her own products, and work with celebrity clients.

Instagram is a fairly simple social media site to use that can play a big role in a digital strategy. Sharing colorful, unique content and calling on followers to engage with the brand is the key to making the most of this platform.

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Media Switch Up: YouTube

I pretty much grew up on YouTube. From music videos and comedy clips to full episodes of General Hospital (I was a strange 15 year old. Don’t judge me), I was always on the site and I could spend hours just browsing the content. I would start looking at something simple like a math tutorial and end up watching all two hours of the documentary, Zeitgeist. Side note: Seriously, conspiracy theories are awesome. If it’s not the government it’s got to be...

Anyway, over the years, the more dynamic Facebook became with video sharing and original content, the less I went to YouTube. Now, with embedded videos, hyperlinks, and live streaming on most social media sites I use, I rarely find myself on the site. This makes me wonder: Is YouTube really still as necessary as it used to be?

YouTube, like a lot of media sites, is dominated by millennials. Users between the ages of 25 and 34 generated a little over 40,000,000 views on the site in 2015; however, surprisingly to me, 35 – 44 and 45-54 year olds were not far behind. Here is a graphic by Digiday that shows the age breakdown in relation to generated views.

With teenagers and users in their early twenties trailing significantly behind, you can’t help but wonder if YouTube is losing relevance. The format of YouTube hasn’t changed much over the years. The homepage is still simple, featuring a left side panel with profile options, and a feed showing recently watched videos and suggestions.  

Though it may seem that this platform is falling behind, online video is more popular than ever, and YouTube is still the primary host. Internet video content is so popular that, according to Brandwatch, half of viewers under 32 will not subscribe to a pay-TV service by 2025. People are watching YouTube videos on the go, thanks to the simple to use app. According to Brandwatch, more than half of YouTube views come from mobile devices, and the average mobile viewing session lasts more than 40 minutes.

YouTube’s reach is also impressive and widespread. Brandwatch reports that you can navigate YouTube in a total of 76 different languages (covering 95% of the Internet population). With such a broad reach and, according to Statista, a user base of 180.7 million and counting, YouTube is still useful, relevant, and worth utilizing in business.

Companies like Blendtec have mastered the art of engaging video, and they are using YouTube to post the material, and then share it across their social media profiles. Their video campaign, “Will It Blend,” set out to demonstrate just how indestructible their blenders are by showing video host, Tom Dickson, blending everyday items like iPhones, silly putty, and glow sticks. Check out Will It Blend in the video below! The content was entertaining and popular, garnering over 2,000,000 views on YouTube alone.

Another company that used YouTube as an integral part of a campaign was American Greetings. After realizing greeting card sales for Mother’s Day were at a low, the company decided to launch a campaign to press the importance of appreciating moms, and show how American Greetings could play a part in that special holiday. “World’s Toughest Job,” was a video showing people being interviewed for the job of operations director at Rethom (mother spelled backwards) Inc. Little did they know, the requirements were a lot more than they expected because they were duties that mothers tackle every single day. Watch the video below! This video was so powerful and widely viewed that the campaign went on to receive several awards, including a Grand Effie.

Utilizing YouTube successfully all comes down to one thing: content. “Understanding who is watching what at a really granular level is where the storytelling process starts,” said Mike Henry, CEO of Outrigger Media in the article The demographics of YouTube, in 5 charts. “You can always find these people and target them, but it’s a completely different value proposition if you can target them in the mindset they’re in with a message that fits.”

That is the key to hacking YouTube: target your audience with a message that fits. Be engaging, be different, and be creative. Video can be immensely powerful in a digital strategy. By using YouTube, the content can be easily accessible and shareable over many social media platforms, and companies would do well to take advantage of this. Who says YouTube is dead?

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Media Switch Up: Whatsapp

I have family scattered all over the globe. From India and England to the US and Africa, there are Patels in at least half a dozen time zones. Though we’re far apart, we’re a chatty group and we like to keep in touch. Since 2012, I’ve been using Whatsapp to message and call my family members.

***Fun Fact: India and South Africa are the top markets for WhatsApp. This isn’t surprising at all, to be honest. If you’ve ever spoken to an Indian person, you know we spend the first half of every conversation asking about everyone from your mom to your aunt’s husband’s cousin’s dog. And we spend at least ten minutes saying goodbye because we keep stopping to say things like, “You need to visit! Come for dinner! Spend the night!” and to shower each other in money, food, and gifts. Like I said, chatty, chatty people.***

Until recently, that seemed to be the only purpose of the app, and I never really expected it to become more. But, since Facebook bought Whatsapp in 2014, it’s being used in different ways by companies that understand its power and reach.

According to the Whatsapp website, the app has over 1 billion members (this number is just insane to me) in over 180 countries. Because it’s free, simple to use, and secure, it has become a major means of communication all over the world. The platform has grown from simple messaging to group texting, calling, video chats, and photo and document sharing.

Image courtesy of Tech Crunch 

The user demographic varies from country to country, but here are the age ranges of Whatsapp users in the United States, according to Statista:

With such a huge, global user base and multiple (FREE) ways to communicate, it was only a matter of time before companies found a way to use it to their advantage; however, using the app for business is tricky because it doesn’t allow for advertising. Founders and former Yahoo employees, Brian Acton and Jan Koum, didn’t want that to be part of their image. Instead, they opted to be known for safety and security. Jim Goetz, Partner, Sequoia Capital, explained to Business of Apps’ Anne Freier:

“When we first partnered with WhatsApp in January 2011, it had more than a dozen direct competitors, and all were supported by advertising. (In Botswana alone there were 16 social messaging apps). Jan and Brian ignored conventional wisdom. Rather than target users with ads – an approach they had grown to dislike during their time at Yahoo – they chose the opposite tack and charged a dollar for a product that is based on knowing as little about you as possible. WhatsApp does not collect personal information like your name, gender, address, or age. Registration is authenticated using a phone number, a significant innovation that eliminates the frustration of remembering a username and password. Once delivered, messages are deleted from WhatsApp’s servers.”

So, how do companies use Whatsapp without advertising? Simple: personalized communication. The app is great for direct messaging, sending images, e-brochures, and conducting customer service. This personalized way of communicating with customers all over the world helps create a relationship between consumers and brands.

A great example of a company that engaged with customers through Whatsapp is Absolute. When they released Absolute Unique Limited Edition in Argentina, they had to come up with a creative way to “talk” to customers, despite being a historically silent, speak-for-itself company. Check out the video below!

Another example comes from Clarks, the shoe retailer. According to Nikki Gilliland’s article, How brands are using WhatsApp for marketing, the company rolled out an interactive storytelling campaign in 2015 to promote its popular Desert Boot, using WhatsApp to connect customers with ‘key figures from subcultures of the past 65 years’. The campaign involved live-chatting with three characters with links to the Desert Boot and its place in history, taking users on a journey back to 1960s Paris, the Mod era, and the Reggae generation of Jamaica.

The goal was to target millennials and change their perception of the brand through relationship building and engagement. Clarks wanted to focus on providing an experience, rather than just a product. It was fun, it was engaging, and it was all done through Whatsapp.

Whatsapp doesn’t fit the “traditional” definition of social media. There’s no paid advertising, no posting and sharing, and users aren’t limited to 140 characters. Still, it connects people all over the world, allows for conversation, photo and video sharing, and now it’s connecting users to their favorite brands, and that sounds pretty social to me. Traditional? No. But, is it worth considering for brands looking to build relationships with global customers? I’d say so.

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Media Switch Up: Snapchat

I Snapchat even more than I text. It’s fun, it’s quick, it’s visual, and who doesn’t love those cute little Bitmojis that let you express yourself in cartoon form?

(Add me! I’m pretty funny.... well, I think I am)

Snapchat has been a more personal way for me to keep in touch with my friends and family. Rather than just texting, we can actually see what’s going on and feel like we are all together. I see photos and videos of my family having dinner together, my nieces and nephews growing, new puppies, big moves, and new jobs. This has been pretty important to me since I moved to D.C., because my family is in Louisiana and Mississippi. In just 10 seconds, I feel like I’m not so far away.

Recently, I have started to navigate the Snapchat Discover page, where major media outlets and brands post public stories. Content ranges from news, gossip, food, sports, and more. Outlets like Buzzfeed have even managed to make the content interactive by including quizzes and games. Surprisingly, this has become my main source of news as of late (plus I get my weekly horoscope. How else will I know when I’ll fall in love or how to budget my money?). The content is posted by legitimate sources and easy to consume pretty quickly. Here are just a few of 40+ Discover Stories posted to Snapchat every day.

Combining relevant news and entertainment with social media has made Snapchat wildly popular with Millennials and Generation Z. Here is a breakdown of the age ranges of Snapchat users by Statista

Because the content is so quick and personal, brands looking to target this demographic could certainly find success in utilizing Snapchat to engage with consumers. Below are some interesting facts about brand interaction with Snapchatters from Business Insider

73% of Snapchatters would open a snap from a brand they know, and nearly half would open a snap, even if it’s from a brand they aren’t familiar with. For companies trying to not only engage with current customers, but also gain new ones, this is good news. Of course, most companies don’t have the budget for a Discover Story; however, they can create Snap accounts and have “brand fans” add them via Snap Code or username. Businesses can then post stories for viewing, Snap individual followers, and begin building an even more personal relationship through engagement.

A great example of a company utilizing Snapchat is the popular candy brand, Sour Patch Kids. According to Lindsay Kolowich’s article, 14 of the Best Snapchats to Follow for Inspiration, the company found that their target demographic was becoming more and more active on Snapchat. So, they joined the social media platform in 2014 to engage with candy-loving teenagers. For the initial campaign, "Real-life Sour Patch Kid," the company teamed up with social media celebrity Logan Paul. He spent five days recording pranks around New York City, playing off the tagline, “First they’re sour, then they’re sweet.” He posted the stories to the Sour Patch Kids account, as the pranks went from "sour" to "sweet" throughout the week. Check out the video of their Snap stories below!

While some companies use Snapchat to engage through entertainment, brands like GrubHub have adopted a different strategy. According to Kolowich, “Rather than producing one-way content, GrubHub focuses on building out an active community by sending out Snapchat messages that require responses, like exclusive coupons, contests, giveaways, and promotional codes.” Here is an example of a GrubHub snap that was fun and successfully engaging for their Snap followers.

Snapchat is growing, easy to use, engaging, and basically free. For these reasons, I think it’s definitely worth trying for brands looking to engage with their target audience. To me, it will be interesting to see how Snapchat adapts to become even friendlier for business use, without overwhelming and annoying users with “advertisements.”  Until then...

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Media Switch Up: BuzzFeed

In case you can’t tell from my previous Tumblr posts, I LOVE Buzzfeed. I wish I could say I use it to follow politics, news, and other important things a twenty-something year old should probably care about, but that would be a lie. I read articles like You'll Only Understand These 28 Photos If You Went To Elementary School In The ‘90s, watch videos of drunk girls playing with puppies, and, of course, drool over Tasty videos (this recipe for strawberry cheesecake macarons is one I have been planning to try for a while now). 

While I’ve been familiar with Buzzfeed for quite a few years, I’ve never actually been to the website. Between following their various pages on Facebook and Instagram and viewing things people I’m friends with have shared, I’ve never felt the need to go to their site, or even download the app. For a lot of media outlets, this could be a bad thing; however, Buzzfeed understands the power of sharing and “viral” status when it comes to content. They have made an effort to share their content across the web to maximize their reach and readership, even if that means not focusing too heavily on site traffic. Below is a graphic from NAYTEV showing how Buzzfeed spreads content beyond their website.

Buzzfeed’s heavy focus on sharing content across different social media platforms is a good strategy because of the target audience they are trying to engage. According to DigiDay, 56 percent of BuzzFeed visitors are between 18 and 34 years old, and 56 percent of all visitors to BuzzFeed are women. Keeping in mind that 88 percent of millennials get news from Facebook regularly (American Press Institute), Buzzfeed has taken to social media to engage with their young audience.

While they have put a lot of emphasis on social media, BuzzFeed maintains an interesting and diversified website. Just glancing at the homepage, readers can see content ranges from world news to celebrities to DIY.

This heavy mix of content would be overwhelming and irrelevant for more traditional media outlets but, because this wide array is what BuzzFeed is known for and readers have come to expect it, it’s fitting for their website. Content is often in the form of photos, videos, and listicles to make the material more engaging, share-friendly, and compatible to the target audience. While BuzzFeed is most famous for funny and entertaining videos, the site does adopt a serious note in reporting the news. Because of the target audience, articles are kept short and feature large photos to make the content less daunting to read. It’s surprising to me that the same audience that’s interested in “four ways to used boxed cake mix” can be just as interested in foreign affairs. BuzzFeed has clearly mastered how to make content appealing through layout and design in order to appeal to various millennial interests.

Many companies are beginning to realize the power of content and BuzzFeed, and they are opting to spend their time and money with the media giant in place of traditional advertising. Mondelez International is the company behind beloved brands like Cadbury, Chips Ahoy, Oreo, Ritz, Wheat Thins, and others around the world. In 2016, the company announced that it would steer away from traditional advertising, working with BuzzFeed to create more engaging content. Laura Henderson, the global head of content and media monetization at Mondelez International, said in this Campaign article, "Capturing audience attention is more difficult than ever. As audiences become more empowered to control their viewing experience, the old model of interruptive advertising is rapidly becoming irrelevant. This new approach will hold us to a higher standard of creating content that earns attention and is good enough to make money.” Using BuzzFeed’s Tasty videos, the company has shared products like Oreo and Triscuit through creative recipes.

Kia also worked with BuzzFeed to promote the Kia Forte, calling on some of the iconic characters BuzzFeed readers and viewers recognize. The Try Guys, four men who try anything from wearing women’s shoes for a whole day to getting a full body wax, drove the car while being distracted by each other and some pretty funny circumstances. This was to show how easy it is to become distracted while driving, as well as to showcase how quickly and smoothly the Forte reacted to being turned and stopped when something popped up. Check out the video below!

Companies have realized the power of engagement over traditional advertising. What better way to step into the world of content than with the content king that is BuzzFeed? For both brand and personal use, BuzzFeed gets an A+ from me.

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Media Switch Up: Pinterest

Looking at my Pinterest profile, anyone would think I’m planning a wedding, living in a mansion, raising kids, adopting dogs, and getting dressed in a closet full of cute clothes. Oh, and that I eat cauliflower pizza crust and work out seven days a week (this is the biggest lie of all). Here are a few of my boards, pretty honestly and openly named for what they are.

Aside from Pinning random things like this recipe for Unicorn Poop Meringues, Pinterest is where I get a lot of really great, creative ideas. I find things like Crockpot recipes, beauty tips, home hacks, and even a tattoo that I actually got (my parents still don’t know. Oops). Until recently, Pinterest was just a fun site I would scroll through in the middle of the night when I couldn’t sleep; but, the more aware I become of marketing and communications, the more I am starting to notice brands using the site, especially for content marketing.

I think I began to notice most around the holidays. I would scroll through my homepage looking at pumpkin recipes and Christmas gifts, and occasionally a Pillsbury sugar cookie dough ad would interrupt my feed; however, it wasn’t immediately obvious. Rather than pretty much shouting “HEY, BUY THIS!” the company opted for content such as “5 Holiday Cookie Crafts to Do with Your Kids.” Instead of pushing the product with advertising, Pillsbury opted to pull Pinners into the brand through engagement. This is the very core of content marketing. It’s not necessarily about selling the product, but rather sharing the feeling. By showing people how Pillsbury sugar cookie dough helps make memories, have fun, and spend time with kids, Pillsbury took steps in creating a personal relationship with each person who viewed the Pin. People wanted to buy the experience, not just the cookie dough. Target is another great example of a company that utilized Pinterest and content marketing during the holidays. Check out the video below!

Pinterest is divided into 32 categories, with topics ranging from Humor and Science to Celebs and DIY. As Pinners explore these categories, click Pins, and re-Pin items, their homepage becomes customized to their interests. Because content is so tailored to the individual, it’s relatively easy for companies to get their content to the right audience. The real challenge is creating engaging content that immediately draws people in.

According to Omnicore, Pinterest users are 81% female, and a majority of active Pinners are below the age of 40. Surprisingly, millennials use Pinterest just as much as they use Instagram.  Keeping this demographic in mind, note that, according to Forbes, only 1% of millennials surveyed said that a compelling advertisement would make them trust a brand more, and 62% of millennials say that if a brand engages with them on social networks, they are more likely to become a loyal customer. Successful Pinterest content, even when generated by companies with products and services to sell, isn’t directly about selling things. Kevin Knight, a member of Pinterest’s creative strategy team, offers a few tips on how to make Pins that build awareness in the video below.

Brands like Target and Pillsbury have built a relationship with consumers through Pinterest, and they have certainly gained on their bottom line, as well. In fact, Omnicore reports that 87% of Pinners have purchased a product because of Pinterest, and 72% of Pinners use Pinterest to decide what to buy offline. With such heavy influence and users with a wide range of interests, Pinterest is a social media platform companies would do well to utilize.

As a Pinterest fanatic with nearly 2,500 Pins, I can definitely say I’m willing to engage with any brand that takes the time to engage with me.  

Here are a few fun facts about Pinterest!

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Media Switch Up: Facebook

I’ve been using Facebook since statuses were required to start with the word “is” (ex. Tejal Patel is totally not wanting to go to skool tmrw. Ugh!). In the 10 years that I have been using this platform, my grammar has improved dramatically, but I still really only use Facebook to share funny photos and take quizzes like, “Can We Guess Your Taste In Men ONLY From Your Taste In Cheese?” But, I recently joined an online flexible dieting program called Avatar Nutrition, and began using Facebook in a completely different way.

When you initially sign up for the program, the first thing the company sends is a direct link to join the private Facebook group, Avatar Family Official, to connect you with other members around the world. This is the first private Facebook group I have ever been a part of. It has shown me how companies can use Facebook to create a very personal experience for members and customers, even if they’re strictly online.

The people using this private Facebook group are Avatar members, so they’re familiar with the program and the core purpose of flexible dieting. The users range from competitive body builders to people like me who are simply looking to get healthy and feel good (it’s swimsuit season, after all). With over 14,000 members, there are both men and women from ages 18 – 60 in the group, posting from countries like the US, Taiwan, Mexico, England, and Canada. With such broad characteristics, it seems this group wasn’t targeted by demographics, but by psychographics – they have a mutual interest in health and fitness. This is really interesting to me because it’s not very often that I see such a diverse group advocating for the same product or service. As someone who has a degree in marketing and also minored in business management, I was always taught to segment by demographics first. But, by honing in on what people like, dislike, and how they feel rather than their race, age, location, or income, it’s possible to cultivate an extremely passionate group that will encourage each other and advocate for your brand.

***While Avatar Nutrition is a great example, private Facebook groups will vary depending on the company, industry, and purpose of the group. Different companies can use private Facebook groups to engage with customers, employees, and even shareholders. Features include photo/video sharing, joining events, writing posts, commenting, sharing your mood by emoji, and seeing a list of other members in the group. Because private groups are joined by invitation only, I will continue using Avatar as an example because I have access to it and all the features associated with it. Still, I have to be clear that this is only one of many uses for private groups.

From being a part of the Avatar group, I’ve learned that private Facebook groups can be a great tool for companies because they 1) create a sense of family/unity 2) encourage brand loyalty 3) make people feel exclusive and special. People in the Avatar group are able to post questions, funny videos, and progress photos to get advice and share encouragement with other members.

The group members build relationships and spread brand loyalty and pride in being an Avatar member because people, especially millennials, tend to trust their family and friends when it comes to making product/service decisions. According to the AdWeek article, Marketing to Millennials and the Necessity of Social Brand Advocacy, “Only 3 percent of Millennials look to traditional media – television, magazines, and newspapers. They look to blogs, what their friends say on social media about a brand, and other sources where they find an authentic look at a product or a brand. What others are saying about your brand defines it and is 8 to 10 times more powerful than your ads or content.” This can be invaluable for a company, particularly one that is online based, because it builds a personal relationship that is difficult to establish without face-to-face contact. Constant posting from members keeps content fresh and relevant in order to keep people engaged, and the social media team at Avatar simply has to monitor the content to make sure it follows the page rules (no discouraging other members, posting inappropriate content, etc.).

Building a feeling of exclusivity is powerful because it adds to perceived value. People feel special and believe they’re receiving something no one else has. According to an interview with Suzi Nelson, Community Manager for Digital Marketer, in the Inc. article How to Leverage the Brand-Building Power of Private Facebook Groups, "Having some sort of qualification for admittance to the group naturally builds a stronger community - people feel like they are a part of a special club. You will have to have to turn people away, you will have to have uncomfortable conversations with applicants who don't meet the access guidelines, and you will have to be consistent with your requirements. You'll also need a system in place to remove those who no longer meet your qualifications of membership."

Avatar seized a big opportunity by creating the private Facebook group and allowing members to interact with each other. Of course, not every strategy works for everyone, but building a private, online community could be a great tool for a company or small business willing to give it a try. While a general page is open for anyone to scroll through, comment, or post on, a private group can provide an opportunity to more closely engaged with your “fans,” while better understanding what they like and dislike about your product, service, or brand. You could almost call it a “social media focus group.”

Overall, I have really enjoyed being part of a private Facebook group, and I’ve even been brave enough to post a few times. It’s engaging, interesting, fresh, relevant, and helpful. That a 10/10 from me.

Enjoy this quick tutorial on how to create a private Facebook group, plus this funny video I shared with the Avatar family!

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Media Switch Up: WordPress

When I was in undergrad, I created a WordPress account for a Digital Marketing class I was taking. Because it was for class credit, I posted regularly, but I don’t think I actually put much thought into what I was writing. I was overwhelmed with school and work, and posting to my WordPress blog was more of an obligation than something I wanted to do. The semester ended, I made an A in the class, and I never looked at the blog again.

Now that I’m going back to WordPress and really taking a look at the layout and features, I’m wishing I would have given it a chance, rather than just posting for class and logging out. Like most of the social media sites I use, there’s plenty of content about beauty, food, politics, and other topics people in their teens to mid-20s are interested in; but, what makes the blogging feature of this site different is how personal it is.

There are people on WordPress sharing their stories about love, loss, their careers, raising children, and other topics that aren’t always found on social media sites like Facebook. People are on WordPress telling their most intimate thoughts and feelings, letting their blogs become their journals. The community of bloggers on WordPress is interesting because most of them aren’t expecting their posts to go viral or for anyone to even read them at all – they post for themselves. They post simply to write about things they are interested in. Those who aren’t sharing their personal feelings are sharing their passions = food, photography, music, sewing, creative writing, and even refurbishing furniture. They post photos, videos, and links to make their posts more interesting.

There aren’t many large companies with a presence on WordPress, and with good reason. Blogging in general is limited when it comes to interacting with people. You can read others’ posts, comment, reblog (people also have the option to turn this feature off if they don’t want their content shared), and that’s pretty much it. I think blogging on WordPress was designed with individual users in mind, rather than business/advertising opportunities. For example, a law firm probably doesn’t need a WordPress blog. It’s unlikely that the firm will have much to say about their work (you can’t discuss cases. I think it’s a legal thing), and any other general information about their services will be on Google; however, an individual lawyer can make use of a blog. They can talk about their experiences, opinions about legislation, and views on cases in the media. The blog isn’t a good idea for the business as a whole, but it is a good idea for the individual lawyer.

But, rather than using the site for blogging, millions of businesses use WordPress as a website for their product or service because of how easy it is to use and how cost effective it is. According to Torque Magazine, among the top one million websites in the world, the lion’s share of those powered by WordPress are related to business. Businesses can design their own functioning websites without hiring and paying outside help, and they can keep these sites updated on their own. This is a very powerful business and communication tool. People look to the internet for information, entertainment, shopping, and even medical advice these days (note: WebMD will tell you that you have cancer 9/10 times, so maybe you should stick to asking a physician for medical expertise. The internet isn’t for everything). For a business to communicate to the public not only their products and services, but their purpose and values, a web presence is a must. WordPress is giving smaller businesses without the funds to pay for professional website design a way to create their own sites. Is it as fancy as getting a professional to do it? No, probably not. But,its functional and serves its purpose.

Overall, WordPress is one of the most dynamic sites I’ve seen. Not only is it great for personal use through blogging, but it’s convenient and useful for millions of businesses around the world using it as a content management system to build a website.

[dcommtejal]

Media Switch Up: MySpace

I remember being 12 years old in 2006, hearing everyone talk about posting pictures and song lyrics on MySpace. I was barely allowed to have an email address at that age (protective parents. I hated it then, but I thank them now), so all I could do was listen and try not to think about all the fun I was missing. By the time I got the courage to create my first social media account without my parents’ permission, Facebook was the new thing.

MySpace became lame pretty quickly, so I never felt the need to make one after Facebook took off. Still, there were always those conversations like, “OMG do you remember when Rachel was my top friend on MySpace?” that I could never be a part of. Now, here I am at 23 years old and still curious about the social media site I never got to experience, as well as why Rachel was Jessica’s top friend when they clearly hated each other.

MySpace hasn’t grown in popularity since 2006, but it does still have a user base. According to the Wall Street Journal, 50 million people still visit MySpace each month. MySpace users also generated over 300 million video views in November [2015], earning the site 16th place on comScore’s Video Metrix ranking.

Looking at MySpace today, it almost seems like Pinterest. The popularity of Facebook obviously forced them to change direction. The home page shows music, celebrities, videos, featured items, and even gives users the option to find people they are interested in, friends or famous, and follow them. I am an avid Pinterest user, so this format is rather comfortable to me. Despite being an older site without much press or growth, it is surprisingly sleek and appealingly designed.

What separates MySpace users from Pinterest and Facebook is that they all seem to have content to share. They are photographers, bloggers, models, musicians, and artists. This leads me to wonder if MySpace isn’t so much about the people anymore – it’s about the things the people do. MySpace is about showcasing talents and passions, rather than just photos, song lyrics, and top friends.

Looking at the celebrity users, big names like Sam Smith, Florida Georgia Line, and Avicii are featured on the first page. For the user base and their interests, this makes sense. These are all musicians with songs, stories, and inspiration to share. MySpace could be a tool for a company to use in their digital communications, but it depends heavily on their product or service. If the company sells medical supplies, MySpace isn’t worth their time and energy because their target audience doesn’t use the site. But, if the company is selling makeup, MySpace could be useful for posting video tutorials on how to use the products, photos of models wearing the makeup, or even recruiting a popular beauty blogger on MySpace to do it for them.

Overall, it seems like MySpace has transitioned from a Facebook-esque social media site to more of a creative outlet. The layout is nice, the usability is simple and, despite the lack in popularity, there is fresh and interesting content.

After all these years, I see the appeal. Who knows? Maybe I’ll finally create an account.

[dcommtejal]

Media Switch Up: Reddit

Most of the social media sites I use have content generated by people I know – Facebook friends, people I follow on Twitter and Instagram, boards I follow on Pinterest, etc. Unlike the sites I am used to, Reddit seems to be a compilation of random content generated by people around the world, not just my own friends and family. It was a bit overwhelming at first glance, especially when I navigated to the “new” tab where posts weren’t categorized in any way except by time.

The community that uses this site is interesting because the topics and perspectives vary so widely. Some posts address celebrity gossip, politics, and humor while others are more personal such as health questions, art projects, and music covers. While this broad range of topics can be tough to navigate, it is certainly easy to say that there is something for everyone.

Reddit seems to be frequented most by younger internet users – teenagers and people in their early twenties. They post videos, questions, comments, personal stories, and funny photos, and they tend to engage a lot with other users, which speaks to that particular group’s interests when it comes to the internet in general; however, when navigating to the “hot” tab, there are some posts from companies and news sites sharing their top headlines. Still, there are very few. When thinking about the digital media landscape and how it relates to business, Reddit does not come to the top of my mind. Businesses and professionals are probably not on this site because quickly shifting content and the user demographic is a stretch for most companies – they are not likely to reach their audience successfully or quickly, so they are better off committing to sites like Twitter and Facebook.

The format and design of Reddit reminded me of what most websites looked like in the late 90’s and early 2000’s – very bare, basic, and to the point. It is interesting to me that a social media site without many “bells and whistles” appeals to such a young demographic. Most websites these days are striving for more. Live streaming capabilities, sharing, retweeting, photo editing, and group messaging are what other social media sites are utilizing. Instead, Reddit displays posts in what is essentially a plain white, HTML format.

Overall, Reddit is an interesting site with a variety of topics for exploration. With constant posting from users around the world, the content is endless and ever changing.