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[pearlblaylock]

Week 8

I gave my client (Karma Kat Cafe) multiple recommendations, however I feel there are two I feel they should really look into; collaborating with other businesses, influencers, and/or advocates, and hiring an employee that is in charge of all social media. 

Collaboration is key in social media. It opens opportunities for all sides that are apart of the “collab” because there is usually some type of deal being made (”I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” type of thing). If a supporter of Karma Kat Cafe see’s that they’re sponsoring a small business that makes cat food, that supporter is more likely to buy from that small business, and vice versa. It also can assist in building larger communities. (For example) if Karma Kat Cafe reaches out to an advocate and asks them to spread some word about the business for 5 free visits, that advocate will share with friends, family members and peers about what a cool business Karma Kat Cafe is. Thus, persuading more people to adopt, become a supporter, or give them a follow on social media. 

I also believe it is almost necessary for all businesses to have a designated employee that handles only social media. I say this because it so important that a business has functioning and interesting social media platforms in our current society. Karma Kat Cafe has told me that they do not have one person who runs social media, but instead they all take turns posting and responding to messages. This is not a poor method, however they have admitted that they have fallen behind in posting and sometimes their content looks a little cluttered because they don’t all use the same editing. If a social media consultant is hired, the majority of their issues related to social media could be resolved. 

I feel like they might struggle with collaborating because it is something they have never attempted before; I think reaching out to a local, small business to collab would be their best bet. I also feel like they could be successful in contacting a college student and asking if they could share some info about the cafe to some friends and peers. As for hiring a social media consultant, they have said in the past that they don’t have the funds. I recommended making an internship position for a social media manager so that they wouldn't necessarily have to pay the consultant, but they would also be benefitting a student. 

[pearlblaylock]

Week 7

In chapters 3 and 4 of the Hootsuite modules I learned how effective content is developed and produced; I also learned the best ways to share said content on social media platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and Twitter. 

Using a strong headline to grab users attention is extremely important and effective. Other key strategies to use include engaging with followers on the post, including visuals such as photos, videos, or graphs, and ending your post with a “call to action” (a reason to get users involved while also providing them a way to do so). 

When making a facebook post, the word count should be under 120; this is because users are less likely to pay attention to media that is long-winded, because of social medias fast-paced environment. Using Clear and simple language is also recommenced when making posts because this will allow users to have a good understanding of the post and it also creates potential for multiple audiences to understand the point the post is trying to display. 

Instagram has many content sharing strategies available; one of them is their carousel feature. This allows for multiple photos, videos, and graphic to be included in one compact post. Roughly 20% of all content shared should be promotional, while the rest tells the brands mission statement. 

Becoming a social organization is dependent on effective content development and sharing. If an organization has retained the concept of effective content, is organized, and their content strategy is aligned with their organization’s goals, they will be able to thrive over social media. Interacting with their audience and creating communities will help in the development of becoming a social organization.

[pearlblaylock]

Week 6

This week, we reviewed chapters 4 and 5 of “The Social Organization” - these chapters focused on how important it is for a business to gather an online community. Because using online advertising through social platforms is relatively new, it is important to know how to keep business media effective. 

My biggest takeaway from chapter 4 was the Six F Model of Attitudes Toward Social Media; this is because the six attitudes play such a key role in a businesses collaboration efforts. The “Six F’s” consist of: folly, fearful, flippant, formulating, forging, and fusing. Keeping all of these attitudes in mind while building a businesses social media platform will assist in the creation of building a strong online community. 

The “No, Go, Grow” model in chapter 5 was another that caught my eye. This model is used to determine if and how a community collaboration should move forward. “No”, meaning that this certain idea should no longer be entertained, because it is not benefiting the business at all, or in the right way/areas. “Go” suggests that the business may be doing something good, but extra efforts need to be made or the strategy should be used on different communities. Lastly, “Grow” is referring to the need of expansion - for example, a community has retired an idea, so it is now time to move onto bigger and better things. 

After completing module 4 of Hootsuite, I learned a lot about how online advertising can help build a community while also sending the message you are trying to relay to your following. I am unable to work with most of the principles in the module because my client does not have a budget set for a social media consultant, however I think there are ways to still accomplish advertising goals without having extra money set aside for it. I could see a business building the audience they are aiming for by following these methods. 

[pearlblaylock]

Week 5

After listening to Maciej Ceglowski's and reading “The Internets Original Sin”, I have realized that even though I have always thought that social media was free, I have been extremely wrong this whole time. Instead of paying for the product, I have come to find out that we are the products (a term I had been taught in a class last semester). 

Instead of telling big social media company’s what we like to look at, shop for, become inspired by, they just have to look into our likes, what we comment on, and what we’re searching for on the web. By creating algorithms and storing big data on our social media history, this allows businesses to flood our timelines with ads that we will more likely be drawn to. Sometimes I honestly feel like my phone is listening to me as crazy as that sounds; if I have a conversation about needing groceries for the week, I will get an ad for Meijer. Other times I will be talking about wanted to get out of the cold weather and Expedia will be on my Instagram feed. 

I think the concept of being able to personalize social media sounds really cool, however I think it can become dangerous and an abuse of power. 

[pearlblaylock]

Week 4: Blog Post 2

When discussing algorithms, I think they are honestly a bit dangerous and leave a lot of room for ignorance to build. The article we were given talks about how algorithms are almost too tailored to specific users, so that eventually the user is only seeing information they want to see on social platforms, regardless if the information is true or helpful to them or not. I think the idea or algorithms started off innocently, however companies are now using their power to abuse a users time. 

I think that advertising is less harmful compared to algorithms, except there is obviously some damage being done. Clickbait is just one of few strategies content creators use to lure people into clicking on their media. Through clickbait, consumers will constantly be searching for the “next big thing” and will never be truly satisfied with their findings, leading them into a never-ending cycle of digging for entertainment. 

I am definitely guilty to only exposing myself to news that I find relevant and important without reading further into things or exploring other opinions. This can become an issue because it makes it easy for individuals to become very “stuck in their ways” or stubborn when discussing or learning current events.

Businesses and individuals should be aware of what kind of information they share / search for because in the end it could end up doing more damage than good. I definitely think it’s important to expose yourself to all kinds of opinions and facts, and after educating yourself roundly you can then form your own opinion and beliefs. 

[pearlblaylock]

Week 4: Blog Post 1

A social media consultant carries many responsibilities; problem-solving, setting goals, and being able to answer absurd questions are just some things one would have to do to obtain the job. 

In my opinion, I think a social media consultant should be extremely organized to be able to sort through all tasks that have to be completed. I also think that time management is important when dealing with social platforms because media and relevant news/trends are constantly changing in todays society. Another trait I think a consultant should have is creativity; a consultant should know what kind of image a company is trying to create for themselves so the consultant can represent this image on social media platforms, and with creativity they will be able to produce this. 

If I was acting as a social media consultant, one of the things I would make sure to do would be posting frequently on multiple platforms. I think a company should shoot for 1-3 posts a day to grab their audiences attention. I would also make sure to be responsive and interactive with the companies following to show respect and interest towards potential customers. This could be done through answering direct messages, posting “polls” on stories, and also following users back. 

Regarding my own professional social media presence, I could be doing a lot more. Because I have just recently started thinking about making social media consulting my full time job, it would only be appropriate to have impressive platforms for myself. In the future, I would need to start posting much more frequently on all types of platforms. I also think that the use of hashtags would be a good use of free publicity, and finding a professional aesthetic for my platforms would convince more companies to work with me while also showing them what I am capable of through social media.

[pearlblaylock]

Week 3

After watching the Netflix documentary, “The Social Dilemma”, I realized that my phone basically knows everything about me, whether I want it to or not. In  some situations, I don’t even have the ability to choose which parts of my personal preferences are accessible to anyone other than me; this is due to big data and algorithms. 

Big data analysis is used by social media platforms to assist them in understanding online communities and what their interests and dislikes are. Big data tracks what kind of posts you like and the time you like them, what you’re searching in your browser, the amount of time spent on your phone, and even tracks what your conversation is like/what it is about. This allows your social media feed to be customized to you. The goal of an algorithms is similar, but it has a different job than big data. 

Algorithms are math equations that specify how relevant a social media post might be to a user; how likely you would be to like, comment, or share the post with a friend. Certain, and most, social media algorithms are designed to keep the social media user consistently stimulated, with the hope of keeping the user on the platform for as long as possible. Algorithms know who your closest friends are, who your significant other is, what celebrities you look up to, and use this to your disadvantage. Through this knowledge, algorithms will show you all of the social media posts you would deem relevant and important to keep you on a screen.

I definitely think these technologies can become abusive; I say this because the world is already so consumed in media, and with new tools like these it’ll only become easier for companies to keep us buried in our screens for their profit. I also think it’s dangerous because no person that has a cell phone really has any privacy at all. Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc. have so much information on their users - if anyone else got ahold of this information (home address, credit card info) it could put this user in extreme danger. 

I don’t think there is a specific solution to any one of these issues, mainly because we’re already in so deep. However, I do think there are definitely some ways to pry yourself away from your phone. Setting time limits on social media platforms is a great start. I also think that looking for new hobbies other sources of entertainment would get you to be more active in the real world, compared to the world of Instagram. I believe my new goal is to spend less time with my phone and more time interacting with friends to control how much information big data can gather from me. 

[pearlblaylock]

Week 2: Blog 2, Social Media Experiment

When I completed my social media long and screen time usage for part one of this assignment I was really surprised to see how much time I had actually spend in front of a screen. I don’t really ever post anything of my own on social media so I thought my total usages would be a lot lower than the average person, but I was wrong. 

I decided include things like Google Chrome, Blackboard, my CMICH email, and Microsoft Word into my log because I thought I spent the majority of my screen time on things like homework and taking notes during class, but compared to my social media usage the time was roughly the same (4 hours on laptop for school, 4 hours on the phone). 

After logging myself I realized there wasn't much I could do about time spent on my laptop for school work because they were things I had to do like homework, take notes, and answer emails (and I even had a lower amount of homework to do compared to a normal day), so I decided to remove myself from certain media platforms for a day. When doing this I chose not to interfere with my Snapchat usages because this is how I communicate with my friends, especially friends who don’t attend CMU. However, I did decide to delete Instagram and TikTok from my phone for the day and the results of my screen time for the day were shocking. 

When I recorded my log during day 1, I spent about 3 hours total on social media. After I had made some changes, I only spent 50 minutes total on social media. I also decided to log my TV time in day one, which came out to be roughly 1 hour and 20 minutes. During day 2, I cut out all TV time and decided to read a book before bed instead of watching Netflix; this reduced another kind of screen time entirely. All in all, reduced my screen time to about 1 hour and 30 minutes, compared to day 1 which logged in as 4 hours and 30 minutes. 

This experience has helped me realize I really do need to separate myself from my phone more than I thought, and that my day will be more productive if I endure less screen time. I was actually in a more positive mindset during day 2 of the experiment and I think it was because I was living in the moment instead of living through my phone.

[pearlblaylock]

Week 2: Blog 1

I know that social media heavily influences me and my way of life. I use social media to stay updated on my friends and family, I share my own personal experiences, and I also find myself using the internet to look up certain facts or statistics based on whatever conversation I’m having, either with someone else or just in my own head. I use the internet a lot, honestly maybe too much.

 I can’t lie and say that I don’t enjoy having the internet accessible whenever I want; I love being able to know anything any given time just by typing a question into googles search engine. However, just because I like it so much, I don’t believe it benefits me as much as I think it does in specific situations. 

There are situations where I find myself desperately needing the internet, but I don’t have access to it. This has happened in class when I have a quick question about the material we’re going over and don’t feel like raising my hand. It’s also frustrating to not have access to it in the middle of a discussion with someone and you’re trying to prove them wrong. Sometimes my phone is dead, sometimes there is no WIFI, and sometimes I just don’t have my phone on me at all. Every time I catch myself in one of these situations, I honestly get a little disappointed with myself. I feel this way because I realize that I am so dependent on my phone telling me facts that I should probably already know myself. 

Something I would like to do to be more intentional with my usage of technology is to stop using my phone (social media platforms) while in a social settings. Sometimes when I feel awkward or shy while socializing I find myself on Snapchat, Instagram, etc. I feel like this hinders my ability to converse with others and “be in the moment”. Instead, I should be using social media on my downtime when I am alone or don’t have anything else to do. 

[pearlblaylock]

Week 1: Intro

Hi BIS315! My name is Pearl Blaylock, I am a sophomore at CMU, and I am majoring in Entrepreneurship and minoring in sustainability. I am from Waterford, Michigan, which is roughly 30 minutes NW of Detroit. My goal after graduating is to help small business owners start their own business. I am interested in doing their “dirty work” such as social media, licensing, advertising, etc. 

Chapters 1-3 in the book were circling the fact that social media has to stay relevant, up-to-date, and trendy. Teva is a company I find to be extremely impressive on social media because they follow all of these unspoken rules. Their brand revolves around being eco friendly while also trendy; Teva’s Instagram has a fresh and humble feel to it which helps them obtain their earthy and stylish image. 

Teva’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teva/