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Implementation Lecture

So far this semester we have learned a lot about creating and sustaining a social organization. There are many factors to consider when embarking on the journey to becoming a social organization. The Implementation Lecture cautioned against pitfalls in this journey and provided some words of wisdom.

Social organizations fail for a few main reasons. The first being that organizations focus on the technology itself and not creating purpose with that technology. Second, organizations lack knowledge of mass collaboration. Third, some organizations are not suited for mass collaboration. And lastly, executives and managers lack the confidence to assign purposes to communities and then allow those communities to develop. I think these pitfalls are mainly because the concept of a social organization and mass collaboration is relatively new. At least in the sense of the digital world that we have so recently entered into. I believe that organizations will continue learning and adapting as they continue to gain a better understanding of these concepts.

The lecture advises that businesses should want social media to go from being a task or a threat to being a tool or community. I agree with this idea. Social media can be used to bring people together and get information out to thousands of people. Being open to seeing the potential social media has for your business will help to create a shift in perspective. Additionally, organizations need to make sustainable approaches toward social media. They also need to work to align company vision and actions, on an individual and organizational level.

I think organizations’ approaches to social media have drastically changed since the early days of social media. With more time, organizations will gain a better understanding of the benefits of and how to use the concept of a social organization to their advantage.

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Hootsuite Module 6

The final Hootsuite Module addressed the ways businesses can promote their advertisements on various social media platforms. Social advertisements are able to reach large audiences. However, for these to be successful for an organization then they must establish goals and objectives for the social advertisements they create.

I found the portion Facebook, Instagram, and Google advertisements to be the most interesting. Facebook has a component called Instant Experience. This feature allows businesses to tailor and format their ads in a way that allows users to view it in the Facebook app. Another feature Facebook has is the Advertisement Manager. Businesses can monitor campaigns and individual ads in this space. 

Instagram advertisements are integrated with how Facebook advertisements are created. However, Instagram does have the option to promote posts within the app. Although the targeting and creative options are limited, this can be a useful resource for businesses. To make more creative, tailored, and targeted Instagram advertisements, businesses will need to link to Facebook and utilize the Instant Experience and Advertisement Manager features. 

Google has a vast advertising network. Google centers advertisements through search, display, and Youtube. When creating an add on Google, a business first must determine their campaign type. Which option a business chooses depends on what they wish to achieve from the campaign. I thought the Smart Campaign option was interesting. This option allows Google to auto manage the campaign after the business sets it up. I think this could be helpful in reducing the amount of time a business spends on one campaign. I also think the Display Campaign option has a lot of potential. Advertisements are targeted in several different spaces like Youtube, apps, and websites. It allows businesses to reach new audiences and keep their brand on people’s minds. I think this approach can help a business expand or even get a new business’ name out there. 

Social advertising is extremely important for a business. With the amount of content online ever-increasing, promoting advertisements can help to break through the noise online.

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Hootsuite Module 5

Hootsuite Module 5 went further in-depth with specific social media platforms and best practices. What I found to be most interesting were the recommendations involving Instagram. Instagram is my personal favorite social media, so learning more about it was nice.

Instagram’s algorithm is based on what you are most interested in and the timeliness of the post. Additionally, it is the leading social media for the discovery of new businesses and information. Instagram stories have been a recent addition and have proven to be a high engagement feature for businesses. Businesses typically use stories for announcements, takeovers, surveys/polls, and tutorials. There is also a live feature. Hootsuite emphasized that most people watch stories without sound, and to be cautious of this when creating content. 

The most popular Instagram posts include pictures of animals, food, and people. Something new I learned about is the “food setting” on cameras. I’m curious to test that out! They also encouraged making sure people’s faces are visible and using a striking background for photos. When taking photos on a smartphone there are several tips that Hootsuite provided. They recommended taking the photo oriented in the way you intend to use it. So if you want a portrait, then use portrait mode. They also suggested turning on gridlines to help with the rule of thirds and experimenting with angles. Most of all, Hootsuite talked about the importance of lighting. Lighting can really make or break a photo and its effectiveness, so this is something to be aware of when taking pictures.

For businesses, taking advantage of the quick reply, notification pause and filter, and profile keywords can be very helpful. Quick reply allows businesses to have FAQ answers saved to aid in quick responses to messages. Notification pause and filter can help to cut back on the number of notifications a business receives. Profile keywords are a great way to increase a business’s appearance in searches. 

For the client project, I’m going to provide some recommendations on how to leverage Instagram best. I think that the ERPsim Competition would benefit from having their own Instagram account, and these tips and tricks will be useful.

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Client Project & Hootsuite Module 4

When working towards growing your social media community it is good to start with the question “how do I engage followers that might derive value from my online community?” Hootsuite Module 4 says that it is better to have a small and dedicated followership than a large one that doesn’t relate to your content. To create this followership you must reach out to those that may be interested, and even provide incentives. Influencers can also be a possibility of increasing your online community. Establish relationships with other organizations, individuals, or influencers that share similar values for support.

To encourage active participation your organization needs to create a space that allows these conversations to occur. You must be willing to engage with your followers. Conversations can surround a variety of things including shared content, customer support, negative feedback, or proactive engagement. 

I think this part of the Hootsuite Module is very applicable to my client, the ERPsim Competition. Building online relationships with interested students will help to change their perspective of the competition. I also think it would be valuable to have testimonials from students that competed in previous years. Those that are interested will be able to identify with these testimonials. Therefore, sparking interest or questions about ERPsim. Additionally, providing incentives to follow and compete would be valuable. The EPRsim Competition needs to create a space for these conversations to occur. A platform like Twitter or Instagram would allow for communication to answer questions, gain interest early, and share relevant content related to SAP and ERPsim. 

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The Social Organization Ch 3-5

Chapter 3 of ‘The Social Organization’ discusses the process of becoming a social organization. This process will help to increase the probability, impact, and repeatability of success. A key component to the process is developing an organizational vision for what the company wants community collaboration to look like. This includes understanding when collaboration is important, how it can deliver value, and how it connects with the organization’s goals. After determining all of this an organization is ready to develop an organizational strategy. The chapter recommends continuing to refine the company’s purpose and guide community collaboration. I think that the chapter provides a lot of valuable insight into creating community collaboration for organizations. It’s important that an organization understands itself and how this type of collaboration can be beneficial. After this deeper organization reflection, then it can begin to implement collaboration channels.

Chapter 4 expanded further on the concepts of appropriateness and value contribution from community collaboration. It also broke down attitudes toward social media in the “Six F” model. I found this to be very interesting. Every organization has an attitude toward social media. They can be classified as folly, fearful, flippant, formulating, forging, or fusing. Based on the attitude the company will have to craft their vision and change their attitudes if they wish to create community collaboration. 

Chapter 5 talked about the “No, Go, Grow” model and the power of purpose. The “No, Go, Grow” model is a process for deciding if a community collaboration effort should move forward. If the purpose of a collaborative proposal isn’t clear or desirable, it is a no. If it is clear and desirable, it moves to the go stage. If a collaborative proposal doesn’t make it to the grassroots phase, then it goes to the grow stage for further development or future use. Purpose can be very powerful in guiding an organization towards its goals. A purpose needs to be magnetic to draw people in, align with business goals, have low risk, be measurable, and allow for evolution. With a strong purpose and following the strategies outlined in chapters 3, 4, and 5 of ‘The Social Organization’, an organization can be on the right track to becoming a social organization. 

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Hootsuite Module 3

When developing a social media plan for a company there are multiple steps and factors to consider. The key to successful social media is creating a unified social media strategy that complements the company’s marketing plan. When developing a social media plan a company should conduct a social media audit, specify goals, and develop a budget and tactics.

It is important for businesses to conduct a social media audit regularly. This is to understand trends, evaluate the competition, and develop strategies. There are three parts to an audit: audience analysis, internal audit, and competition audit. Understanding all three components can help businesses see who they’re reaching and where new customers can be found. Audits also help to decide what social media channels your business should shut down, establish, or where resources should be allocated.

To maintain consistency from platform to platform a business needs to establish a brand persona and voice. This will be the guide for content creation and real-time engagement. It is especially important when an organization has a team working to create content. Teams should create a list of adjectives to describe the company. They also should create a document to define the brand voice. The list of adjectives and brand voice document can be utilized by individuals to help them in content creation.

Budgeting is also essential in social media. When creating a pitch focusing on return on investment and value of the plan will help in selling ideas. Businesses also need to consider what tools, software, contracts, or equipment they may need to execute the plan. Hootsuite also recommended asking for an experiment fund. This is because trends in social media shift so rapidly. With an experiment fund, it would allow social media teams to quickly adapt and stay up to date on trends. Most of all it is important to stay flexible and proactive when allocating resources and creating a social media plan.

When creating a content plan social media teams need to consider a few additional factors. They must know their target audience, have established goals for the campaign, solidified the brand voice, and determined distribution channels and tactics. All of these combined helps the team to create a plan that has the best chance of achieving the goals and reaching the correct audience.

There is a lot of planning and preparation that goes into developing social media sites and campaigns for businesses. It takes time and patience. There will be adjustments that need to be made along the way. However, starting off with a well thought out approach will help teams navigate any obstacles that may arise. 

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The Legal Side of Big Data

“The Legal Side of Big Data” provided me with further insight into what businesses and consumers should be aware of in regard to big data. 

What should businesses be aware of when using big data?

Businesses should be aware of how vulnerable the data they have is. They also need to understand the importance of protecting this information from hackers. Data needs to be treated with the same care as trade secrets. Businesses need to know they have to stay a step ahead of hackers. To do this, conducting regular risk assessments for insight is critical. Additionally, businesses need to be aware of the effects on their organization if the data is leaked. 

What should consumers be aware of?

Consumers need to be aware of the vastness of the data they create. Most people don’t realize how simple actions on the internet or their smartphone contribute to big data. With this, consumers should be aware of who can see the data they create. They should also be aware of the deception of deleting items. When an item is deleted, it may still be stored in the cloud or other hidden locations. 

What is the best way to balance the opportunities and threats presented by the development of big data?

There are several ways to balance the threats and opportunities of big data. First, companies need to take preventative measures to protect this information. They need to maintain secure data housing spaces and develop strong privacy policies. After this businesses need to ensure that the information is being policed and checked regularly for security. Another factor that may be overlooked is employee access to information. If employees or vendors have access to sensitive data then they need to be held to a confidentiality contract. 

With the usage and generation of big data only increasing, it is becoming more important for businesses and consumers to protect themselves. It is important that companies and customers alike remain educated and take preventative actions to keep their private information secure. 

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Messaging Matters

The article Messaging Matters: How to Attract Your Ideal Customers by Michael Stelzner provided me with some new insight on tailoring a business to a specific audience. Jeffrey Shaw is a brand message consultant. In his time as a consultant, he has developed five keys to understanding your ideal customer. These are perspective, familiarity, style, pricing psychology, and words. He recommends that they should be evaluated in that order. All five components can be incorporated into a business’s social media sites, website, and other marketing materials. 

Perspective. Jeffrey encourages business owners to understand how their ideal customers understand the world. He recommends personally taking a step into the life of your customers. He shared his experience visiting a high-end department store to better understand the way his photography clients view themselves in the world. Next is familiarity. People like what is familiar to them. Recognizing the culture of the businesses your customers are already purchasing from is essential. What are they drawn to? Incorporating the elements of those other businesses into your own image can help draw in the customers you’re looking for. 

Style, in Jeffery’s opinion, is the decision-maker for most customers. Style is what stops people in their tracks and makes them think that the product is made for them. This is how your business stands out in a sea of advertisements. Pricing psychology is all about understanding how your customer sees themselves and their financial situation. If you are targeting a wealthy market then discounts aren’t going to catch their eye. Upgrade options are. For middle class and lower-income customers discounts and cost-conscious approaches are more effective.

Lastly, words. This is all about saying the right thing. You now have a deeper understanding of your ideal customer. The way they view themselves, their style, and what draws them in. Now you’re able to create a message that catches your customer’s eye. 

Creating an image and messaging for your business requires a lot of planning and research. It seems simple, and I thought it was. However, in a world where we are innodated with information daily, businesses have to stand out. That’s a lot more complicated than it seems. Understanding how your customer thinks and creating messaging tailored to that will help your business draw in their intended customers. 

Check out the article for more information. It’s a good read!

https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/messaging-matters-how-to-attract-ideal-customers-jeffrey-shaw/

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Client  Project

Working on the Client Project has helped me to become more aware and knowledgable about the power of social media. I worked with promoting and covering the ERPsim competition. Through this experience, I have been able to critically analyze the target audience and how best to reach them. After understanding the audience and understanding what the client was looking for, I was able to develop a plan. Combining my existing knowledge and the client’s vision, I felt confident in the content I created the day of the ERPsim event. I learned that it is good to have a plan, but at a live event, that plan can change quickly. I had mapped out times and ideas for what I wanted to post, but I didn’t stick to it as closely as I thought I would. I enjoyed being able to trust my instincts when capturing what I thought were significant moments.

Additionally, the Hootsuite Modules have given me further insight into the features of each social media platform. I haven’t used the information in my client project yet, but I still find it interesting. I didn’t know about all the capabilities of seeing how competitors or similar companies are using their social media or seeing what your target audience has been viewing. I also thought it was interesting that Instagram profiles aren’t as customizable for business as Twitter or Facebook are. I’m looking forward to continuing learning about the unique features of each social media platform.

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Professional Social Media Presence

Something I have yet to dive into is creating a professional social media presence for myself. So far I have created a LinkedIn and the Tumblr and Twitter for this class. I update my LinkedIn profile at least once a semester. At the beginning of this school year, I had set a goal to post on my LinkedIn at least once a week. I would share something or post an update on my professional experiences. I decided to become super active, connecting with new people, reaching out to companies, messaging individuals that worked at those companies, etc. I stuck with it for about a month and then stopped. In all honesty, I didn’t see any results from it and I was creating more work for myself. Even on my personal social media, I don’t post that often. I don’t want to or feel the need to. I know that LinkedIn is a valuable tool for job searching and getting my name out there, but it’s not something I want to keep up with.

What will I do with my professional social media in the future? After this class is over I’m going to delete my professional Twitter. I think I will keep my Tumblr account and possibly use it again. As for LinkedIn, I plan to update it from time to time. If I was really interested in increasing my presence I would stick to posting weekly. I would plan in advance what content I wanted to share. Possibly post about making Dean’s List, updates on the RSOs I’m in, or writing about a topic that interests me. I would continue connecting with companies and individuals I’m interested in working for. I could even link my professional Tumblr to my LinkedIn to share my blog posts. For right now my focus is on other things, but if I decide to increase my professional social media presence I will use the strategies I’ve learned from this course.

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Social Media Consultant

I think there are many qualities that make a good social media consultant. It all depends on what you’re looking for. In my opinion, an important quality is being able to combine creativity with strategy. Clients may not always understand the power of social media. It’s the consultant’s role to understand this. Also, clients will want unique content associated with their organization, and this falls on the consultant to come up with. Being able to combine both the creative and strategic side of social media would set a consultant apart from the rest.

Another important quality is understanding. Good consultants must be able to listen to and understand their client’s needs. After recognizing the client’s needs, the consultant should be able to see opportunities and capitalize upon those. Lastly, I think communication skills are essential. Social media consultants are communicating across many platforms. Not only do they communicate through social media on a large scale, but also in individual conversations with the client. Being able to clearly and effectively convey their ideas in all areas is crucial to success as a consultant. 

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Internet Business Models

After listening to Maciej Ceglowski’s talk and reading “The Internet’s Original Sin,” I have a slightly better understanding of the effects of internet business models. This business model influences surveillance and data gathering on the internet. 

Silicon Valley companies have centralized power over the internet. These companies have discovered how to provide an online experience using only their products. With so much information right at their fingertips, they have the opportunity to “spy” on us.

The industry is based on advertising and investor storytime. Investor storytime, according to Ceglowski, is driving the need for more information to make stronger advertisements. To better tailor ads to individuals, browsing history and other data is gathered. As the algorithm gets better, more data is collected, and ads become more specific. This becomes a main source of revenue for many companies, and that’s how the system continues. “The Internet’s Original Sin” brings up how advertising was the “default mode of supporting the internet.” With it being so deeply ingrained into the system, it will be hard to alter or limit the data collection. 

Ceglowski brings up the point of how programmers are trained to keep everything. The fear of losing information has spiraled into keeping absolutely everything that has been put on the internet. I think this majorly influences the data gathering that companies do. Another reason for data gathering is that we don’t have a good idea of what to do with all this information and we don’t know when we might need it. It’s kind of like when you’re cleaning out your closet and you find an item that you haven’t seen in years. You should probably get rid of it, but you never know when you’ll need it again, so you keep it. I believe this is how companies like Google and Facebook view data gathering.

Since these companies have so much influence over the information collected, they are the ones to decide what is done with it. At this point in time, they’ve chosen to use the data for surveillance and advertisements. This is something we as consumers have become used to. We either don’t know it’s happening, we don’t care, or we can’t stop it. I personally don’t like the idea of my every move, in the digital and physical world, being monitored. Something needs to change, and soon.

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Information Privacy

A hot topic over the last few years has been information privacy. As we are becoming more active online, our privacy becomes less and less. Most people don’t realize that every click of the mouse and every Google search is tracked and the information stored somewhere. Big Data can be utilized as a powerful tool for organizations, but there are many dangers as well. Big Data allows companies to understand their customer’s interests and needs. It also creates more opportunities to improve customer engagement and satisfaction. Additionally, organizations are provided with more information and resources that help them identify and improve areas of weakness. 

With big companies having seemingly easy access, it raises the concern of abusing this information. Personal information is at risk of being sold or leaked. This information is stored for an indefinite amount of time and could be used in any way an organization wants. Having so much of our information stored somewhere creates an increased risk of hacks or major problems if one of the systems crashes.

I feel that there needs to be some restrictions placed on the storage and usage of Big Data. The amount of time certain information can be stored should be limited. People’s information should not be allowed to be kept forever. In his talk, Maciej Ceglowski mentioned how only a few organizations hold most of the data. There needs to be a way to limit their access to some of this. It’s dangerous for a few organizations to hold so much information and power over individuals and society. I also believe that companies need to be more transparent on the information they are tracking. Terms and conditions agreements technically do this, but not always in the clearest or best way.  

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Social Media Log

In the last six months, I have been very intentional about limiting my phone and social media usage. I’ve turned off notifications for most of my apps and have set daily social media time limits. This small change has allowed for my days to feel less chaotic, and it’s amazing. I hadn’t realized how burnt out I became by having to keep up with everyone’s posts and messages.

For the first part of the social media assignment tracking my social media usage was interesting. I was on my phone for just over three hours out of the day, social media consisting of about 45 minutes of that. How? I have no idea! Three hours of my day were spent on what? That was only a few days ago, but I have no clue what I did or was looking at during that time. 

In the second part of the assignment, I decided to shut my phone off for 12 hours. Honestly, it was great. I was able to focus on my work and I ended the day feeling like I had accomplished a lot. I was able to spend time with a friend without being distracted by notifications. After that experience, I made it a goal to take at least one day a month to shut my phone off and take that time completely for myself. 

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Social Media’s Influence

After recently watching Sherry Turkle and Louis C.K.’s thoughts on social media and the internet, I began to do some more reflecting on the topic. I think social media has a much stronger grip on our lives than we realize. I find that myself and many of my peers can’t do anything without first consulting the internet. Whether that’s for directions, weather, or what to wear, we always look something up. I personally have found that this reliance on the internet and social media greatly affects my belief in my own abilities and my perception of what my life “should look like.” 

We forget to take intentional time with loved ones, and even when we spend quality time together there’s always phones around as a distraction. If we get bored during a conversation or during the day, we check our phone. This really takes away from our interpersonal relationships. For example, on-campus I am a Resident Assistant. Most of my residents are first-year students. Something we strive to teach our residents is the importance of and how to have face to face conversations. I may sound “old-fashioned” but I think communication skills are something my age group is seriously lacking in, in part to our dependence on social media. 

Social media isn’t inherently bad, it’s how we use it. If we allow it to take over our lives, relationships, and perception of ourselves, then it is bad. On the other hand, if we use it as a tool and to stay connected, then it can be good. We should begin to challenge ourselves to live in the moment and not feel quite so dependent on social media and the internet. Easier said than done though. 

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Clay Shirky TED Talk

In Clay Shirky’s TED Talk, “How Social Media Can Make History,” Clay discussed social media in a way I’ve never heard before. He talked about how it has created a space for people to connect and groups to form. We all know this, but the way he explained it helped me to realize it even more.

Communication has changed drastically over time, from the printing press to telephones, from TVs to social media. Clay said that with each communication innovation it allowed people to easier and more widely communicate. However, people were still not able to mass communicate and get responses from everyone they sent the message to. That is, not until social media. In this new age of communication, everyone can receive and distribute content. Everyone’s voice has the space to be heard.

Clay also brought up the fact that we find out about events so much faster now. Within minutes the world knew about a massive earthquake in China. In a matter of a few hours or days, thousands of people rallied together to raise money for those affected. Twenty years ago that would not have been possible. Often, we dwell on the negatives of social media but there are lots of positives too. It is a space for people to connect because of interests, passions, or causes they’re supporting.  

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Introduction

Hello, my name is Lindsay McLaughlin. I am a senior at Central Michigan University studying General Business Administration: Applied Business Communications. On-campus, I have been very involved. I currently work in the Admissions Office as the coordinator for the tour guide program, I am an RA in Herrig and am President of Society of Women in Business.

I am still unsure as to what exactly I would like to do after graduation. Presently, I’m planning on attending grad school for a master’s in Arts Administration. I would like to work in the theatre in some way - either in marketing or performance. 

For this blog, I would like to practice communicating my ideas on a new platform. I’m also hoping to better understand the importance and influence social media has.