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Implementation Challenges

Throughout this course, I have learned a lot about what a social organization is, how a company can build, develop, and maintain a social media objective, and finally gained real-world experience with a company on how to actually implement these findings. 

One of the challenges my client will have with implementing my recommendations is their understanding of social media. Social media constantly changes with new and emerging technologies every year, and even more frequently than that sometimes. They have an idea it seems of what social media is and what kinds of social media exist, however, they don’t seem to understand how to use it to receive the most value for the company and their audience. Social media initiates fail most frequently because organizations focus on the technologies instead of focusing on achieving a purpose through the collective behaviors the technologies make possible. I feel my client focuses only on the changing technologies, so they don’t feel comfortable using social media.

Another challenge my client will face is their understanding of mass collaboration. As I have mentioned in previous posts, my client only uses social media for personal advertisement or updating their hours day by day due to the snow storms we have been experiencing in Michigan. My client needs to develop its vision and goals for mass collaboration and social media use. This will ultimately help them have a better understanding of what mass collaboration is and how it will benefit them. 

The bottom line is they need to be willing to make changes, even in small steps to help their audience base grow. A lot of the suggestions provided from the Hootsuite modules are harder for them to implement, like advertising, because they are a nonprofit and don’t sell products or services. They provide free meals to the homeless or those in need in the community. If implemented correctly they could use advertisements in the future after successfully utilizing social media to reach a wider audience. While I have not actually been in contact with my client, they never answered or returned my calls and emails, they have changed their website during this time, which was very outdated and hard to use. Which was also my first recommendation in creating a more social organization for them.

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Developing and Sharing Content

There are four components of a content strategy: research and analysis of current content reception, the target audience identified by platform, a list of content-specific goals and objectives, and plans for distribution of content. 

Research is the key to understanding what content will resonate with your audience. Begin with your social media audit about the different platforms and content with the most engagement. Then use network specific tools like Facebook audience insight and Twitter analytics to identify audience demographic by network. Analyze previously posted content and find the ones succeeding on each channel. For my company, we found shared articles to have the highest engagement rate on Facebook. You can also reach out to audiences directly and find out what content they want to hear. Finally, you can also use your competitive analysis for inspiration. Target audience by platform was also something identified in our social media audit. Goals for content can be things like increasing follower count, reaching a new audience, or creating new content not yet used by your company. Distribution plans help you choose what to post where and how often. Content calendars can help with this. Content calendars are a constantly evolving document for all social media channels that support the goals and objectives of the company. You should ensure it is easily accessible for all who may need it and allow flexibility in your calendar as technology and content are always evolving. It is also important to separate by network, type of content, link to content, and description of the content. 

A company should also think about whether their content is curated or created. A good mix, as suggested by Hootsuite, is 60% curated and 40% created. Curated content is a great way to grow your audience and demonstrate your company as a trusted advisor in the industry. Curated content helps level out the self-promotional content and makes audience members feel like your company is relevant and up to date on topics and news. It is also important to continually reevaluate your writing style and content. Make sure you are capturing attention and accurately representing your company. Consider aggregating high-quality sources into one location that is easily accessible for your audience. 

Becoming a social organization will help with the development of your audience, promotion of your business, and value added to your company. Posting content that is relevant, valuable, and engaging will help build stronger relationships with your community. This helps generate more customers and in turn more brand ambassadors.

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Community Collaboration

In order to effectively build an online community, businesses need to first develop an effective vision statement. A vision statement articulates the belief of leadership in the importance and value of community- based collaboration, and identifies significant opportunities for a firm where such collaboration can add value by helping the organization move close to its goals. To develop an effective vision statement a business needs to understand when community collaboration is appropriate, where community collaboration is more likely to deliver value, the organizations goals and culture, and how community collaboration can be worked into the vision.

I also believe a business should have an in depth understanding of the “Six F” Model of Attitudes presented in the book, The Social Organization, which ties into the organizations culture and vision. These are the different attitudes employees and businesses have about social media. Folly attitudes consider social media a source of entertainment with insignificant or no business value. Fearful attitudes see social media as a threat to productivity, intellectual capital, privacy, management authority, or regulatory compliance. Flippant attitudes no longer fear social media, but they don’t take it seriously. Formulating attitudes recognize the value of community collaborations and the need to be more organized and strategic in its use. Forging attitudes people begin to integrate productive community collaboration into their daily work lives. Fixing attitudes treat community collaboration as an integral part of their work.

A business can also use a community collaboration strategy. This first begins with a purpose. Purpose provides the intelligence you need to choose wisely which collaboration possibility you should pursue, and it also drives all other strategy considerations. Businesses can use a portfolio management approach in making strategy and investment decisions on community collaboration efforts. The objective of portfolio management is to determine the optimal set, mix, and sequencing of community collaboration efforts to achieve your organization’s overall goals while honoring constraints imposed by management or external factors.

From the Hootsuite course I learned that business should encourage people to reach out to the company online, and they should do this is places that their audience hang out most. The company I am working with is Isabella Community Soup Kitchen. They could advertise about their different social media accounts around their building to let people know they are there. They could also provide some kind of Freebe for the first 100 people who like, follow, or share one of their posts or pages. This could be things like T-shirts, hats, key chains, ect… They could also create some kind of brand hashtag to create a conversation. This company could also engage with the social community more. Currently they are just using social media to update on events, and hours with the current weather we are experiencing in Michigan! They could create a poll for new event ideas or ask people about things they would like to see more of on their page. This company also doesn’t monitor or reach to things on their pages. They don’t engage with comments, shares, or likes. Which would help improve their social media following and value if they engaged more.

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Social Media Consultants

Like any profession, there are certain qualities one should possess to be able to excel and stand out above the rest. Being a social media consultant has a lot of responsibility to themselves, companies, and the customers being reached. Millions of people are viewing the content posted, shared, and liked by others every day. It’s important for social media consultants to post content that is easily accessible, relevant to customers and the companies, as well as accurate and valuable to them as well.

              Social Media Consultants should have a developed understanding of the industry of your company. They should understand who the biggest players are and who your main competitors are. They should also be able to adapt to the changing environment of technology. With the various generations using technology and how people are using the technology it is important to understand when things and where content is appropriate. The consultants should also know and have an understanding with your business goals and values. They should also have the ability to align with these values and show this through the social media accounts and platforms. Social media consultants should also have an in depth understanding of how social media works, how to navigate each platform, and how to use the different platforms to achieve the intended objective of your company.

              If I was acting as a social media consultant to myself, I would advise myself to take a look at my accounts through the eyes of the customers and intended audience. I would also suggest that I stay up to date on my accounts and make sure I post regularly enough for others to follow and have a better understanding of myself. I would also advise that I made a professional Facebook, or if I make my personal Facebook private that it shows what I would want others to know about me professionally. 

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Big Data

I think to obtain “big data” there needs to be some kind of invasion of privacy. I was always taught, and it was mentioned in Ceglowski’s talk and the article, “The Internet’s Original Sin,” that Americans were trained to think that everything is available on the internet and is obtainable. Personally, I don’t see an issue with my own personal information being collected. Sometimes ads are helpful for me and if they weren’t tailored for me I wouldn’t have the ones I do. 

From the 60 minutes video they interviewed the Federal Trade Commissioner and she said that all the information collected is linked to every individual and is being sold to marketing firms and other companies. I found it interesting about even retailors collecting information about their customers that the information was more valuable than the products they were even selling. This information makes sense though. If you ever have the chance to go to Culver’s, or any fast food or quick service restaurant and fill out the survey at the bottom of your receipt. This collects information about your visit. At the end, of the Culver’s survey anyway, you can say that this is your first time at a Culver’s, if you choose this it prompts you to enter information about your annual income, ethnicity, and age range. This information is collected to help better target our main guests as well as help emerging franchises find locations that would best suit our customer base. I think that while this information can be harmful it can also be useful. However, I think that websites that allowing sharing or viewing of the information we give, should better advertise the fact they are doing so. Like the OkCupid website that had it listed in their legal terms, but it took a while to find the legal terms on their website or from a third party.

 I like in Ceglowski’s talk he said that, “Fear is what drives the ability to forget things are online.” As I mentioned before I was taught to know that anything I post online can be tracked and found again. The story about the “Pink Files,” he also mentioned was interesting. Ceglowski said that we just can’t bring ourselves to delete the files. I think people feel the same way about pictures, posts, and comments. They don’t want to think about them right now, but they also don’t want to forget so we keep things, everything. In the article, “The Internet’s Sin,” the author talks about companies manipulating information for their own benefit, “Don Marti uses the same set of Facebook earning numbers to demonstrate that print newspapers make roughly four times as much money in advertising as Facebook does in the United States.” 

I would like to end this post with a reiteration of Ceglowski’s mentioned steps for more limitation on the invasion of privacy for all, not just Americans, because I believe they would work well if implemented correctly. Limit what can be collected and how it is stored. Limit how long the information can be kept. Let users opt out. Privacy policies include a clause that things can change at any time. People need the right to download their own information. Right to delete personal information. Mechanism also needs to be included for letting people opt into letting everything be used, sold, and stored. rity48 \

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Social Media Log and Experiment

Social Media Log:

I checked my phone 4 times before getting out of bed, just for the time. I made a conscious choice not to check social media while in bed. I had my first Face to Face conversation in the morning with no technology used. I left my phone at home, on accident and went to the grocery store. I checked out in a normal line and talked with the employee working the register. If you count the register, scanner, and credit card machine technology did interrupt the conversation. I also took my car in for some work and talked to an employee there as well. There was also a computer being used by the employee to look up my information. I had another Face to face with a friend when we went to work out together. We did not use any technology, besides some workout equipment (treadmill, bikes), while we talked. The other face to face conversations I had were later in the evening. We did use our phones to choose songs.

Overall, I spent 15 minutes texting. I checked my phone 34 times over the course of the day. I sent 7 text messages, spent an hour and a half on Facebook, and had 7 Face to face conversations and only one did not involve technology of any kind. 

The day was not a normal day for me. I accidentally left my phone at home which skewed my results of the log. I probably would have checked my phone more at the store. I also went to take my car to the shop which is not something I usually do. I am also trying to not use my phone as much as I normally do, so I made a conscious decision to not use my phone in bed and I also used a cookbook for dinner instead of looking up recipes. Overall, it was still interesting to see how much I check my phone in a 24 hour period and how long I spend on Facebook sometimes. I am excited to see how tomorrow will go when I go without social media for 24 hours!

Experiment:

I am choosing to eliminate as much technology as possible for 24 hours. I am expecting to feel lost, anxious, stressed, eventually peaceful and relaxed. I have planned ahead with things I want and need to do, as well as chosen to make things from a cookbook instead of scrolling through my phone. The only way I am using my cell phone is for work, my mom, or an emergency.

When I first started the day I was immediately getting messages about work, which is not normal. While laying in bed I subconsciously checked social media. I checked my notifications, scrolled through two posts and then realized what I was doing and immediately logged out! I then went to the gym and used my phone to listen to music only while I ran instead of the whole time. While I was there I again had work calls and messages. I then had to go to the library to print some things off for work. I was finally able to not use my phone for anything when I got home. I felt lost at first, I planned things I wanted to do, but I just felt scatterbrained about it all. When I finally got started there was no stopping. I finished everything I wanted to do around my apartment within 4 hours, which would normally take all day. So I played with my cat, went through my fridge, picked up a book I have been meaning to read forever, and gave myself a spa day. I realized how much time free time I have. Any other day I would say I just didn’t have time for anything. But I had more than enough time to do everything I wanted and more. I didn’t plan on work contacting me so much which kind of threw off my whole morning and not using my phone. I realize how much I rely on technology for almost everything I do. I used a dishwasher, washer, and dryer, my car, an old AM/FM radio, a bike at the gym, and a blender. These are all different types of technology and I wouldn’t have been able to do anything I did today without them all. I also rely on technology for work. I am a general manager and live over an hour away from my location. If someone needs something they are going to call or text me over a period of time because I can’t just come in and help them right away. I wanted to also find other ways to fall asleep besides watching videos or using my phone. I’m still on the hunt if anyone has any ideas! 

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Sherry Turkle Interview and Emma Rathbone Article

I first want to mention the video Bill Moyers shows in the interview with Sherry Turkle. I thought this was a very interesting video that completely describes what it’s like today with cell phones. Recently I went to dinner with some coworkers and they were both on their phones the whole time. The waitresses were making jokes with me about it. I also like Sherry’s idea about learning how to be alone or we will only know how to be lonely. I think today so many people feel lonely because they feel disconnected from the world and when people aren’t there, they don’t know what to do. I am also intrigued by her comments about the seduction technology has over us to know what the next message, comment, or post is going to be to us. I know that I am addicted to technology. I use it for almost everything I do. I literally cannot say no, like the children she has in her class. Sherry also mentions about placing her phone on the table while they have a conversation, that Bill would feel that she was waiting to be interrupted. I think that is a very interesting thing to point out. I myself do things like this and have also experienced the feeling that someone wasn’t mentally present in conversations because they are using their phone or waiting to use it. I think the idea of using technology to perfect conversations is also an interesting thing to bring up. The fact that face to face conversations are out of our control that we cannot determine what we are going to say ahead of time, is a very interesting thing. We are doing that right now with these blog posts. I am retyping sentences making sure they sound right, that nothing I say makes me sound illiterate or ignorant. I’m using autocorrect for when I type to fast or am distracted while I type to make sure the spelling and grammar is also right. I don’t think about things like this and it’s shocking to hear it put into words. I remember when the Pew Research article was published, and my high school started the kick on bullying among friends and social media. I joined our anti-bullying club and learned that a lot of bullying that happens comes from friends, seen as jokes from the person saying them but felt hurtful to the receiver. The receiver would then reach out to social media to have an outlet with new and different friends and when they bully us we feel rejected by everyone. Which is probably what led the 12-year-old girl from Florida to commit suicide.

Sherry mentions an ad on Facebook about a dinner, it made me think about a challenge I have seen where you go out to dinner with a group of people and everyone places their phones in the middle of the table and the first one to reach for their device had to buy dinner for everyone else. I think it’s funny that those are the kinds of challenges we have today. When I was younger, we had challenges like who could last the longest in jump rope or who could run the fastest. Just how Emma Rathbone mentions in her article, we would draw, read, make fake ID cards for thing. I used to make fake computers with paper and crayons, and they would contain all the information I needed to help solve a crime or be the perfect spy. I think social media has a large impact on my life. I use it every day multiple times a day. I rarely ever post anything I just like to watch the videos or see what’s going on in other people’s lives. I rely on the internet for almost everything I do. I look up videos on how to do things, recipes for new foods I might want to make, workout videos, new diets, even a calendar to track my work and school life. I can think of one specific time I didn’t have access to any technology. There was a day a few semesters ago where I didn’t bring my laptop because I didn’t feel I needed it that day at school, I also forgot my Fitbit watch and my phone. I literally had no technology, aside from lab computers, which I couldn’t use because of other classes anyway, all day. At first, I was stressed, I didn’t know what time it was all day, I was worried I would be late for classes or a group might text me about something I needed for class. After a while, though I started noticing things. I knew when certain students walked by that it was time for me to go to my next class. I noticed how nice of a day it was outside while I was trying to write in my planner. I noticed more bulletin boards, outfits, and even how everyone else was using technology to get through everything that day. It became peaceful to not have my email, blackboard, and work all messaging me at the same time. After it became a goal to try to use my phone and other technology less. I have yet to reach that goal, but I am feeling optimistic about this year!

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Hello! I am Nikki Watson. I am a senior graduating in May with Major in General Business Management and a Minor in Information Systems! I am from Trenton Michigan and have been residing in Mount Pleasant for about 3 years now. I have two younger sisters. one attending a trade school in Ohio to be a veterinary technician, the other is a freshman in high school. We grew up doing things as a family and around movies. Naturally, outside of work and school I love to spend time with my family and friends, cooking, watching movies, and I love exploring nature parking!

I originally wanted to be a Math teacher in secondary education and decided that wasn’t for me after two semesters. I wanted to help people but I wasn’t sure how. I started working for Culver’s in 2014 in high school. I have since worked at 2 other Culver’s and am now the General Manager of the Culver’s in Owosso. My goal after school is to continue with Culver’s and eventually start my own Franchise with them. 

With this blog I hope to be able to network with others who are excited about learning and coaching others. I would also like to be able to share our thoughts and experiences to help strengthen our skills. 

A company I believe is exemplary with its use of social media is DOVE. 

The release of their new #GirlCollective in October of last year, as part of their Self Esteem Project, sparked a new discussion about empowering women and helping women realize their beauty potential. 

Below are the links to their different social media accounts

Twitter

Facebook

Pinterest

Instagram

YouTube

With regards to the six principles covered in Chapter 2 of the textbook, The Social Organization, by Anthony Bradley and Mark McDonald, DOVE does an exceptional job covering them all. 

Participation and Independence:  Through their different pictures on Instagram they show pictures, videos, and comments from and about women and children from all over the world and their stories of self love and growth.  They encourage other to share in the comments their own experiences as well. 

Collective and Persistence: Dove is trying to make the world a more beautiful place. In their twitter account you can find their inclusiveness and more about their partners. In a specific tweet Dove thanked Kellie Brown for her commitment to end online bullying. Even The New York Times got involved in the conversation. 

Transparency: Dove also has a YouTube account that shows interviews with women and children who share their personal stores about using Dove and finding their confidence. Their YouTube channel has upwards of 150 different videos with over 136,000 subscribers. 

Emergence: Their latest campaign #GirlCollective as mentioned before is part of the Self Esteem Project. This campaign was started in October of last year and followed the #Raisethebeautybar and #LikeaGirl campaigns. The previous campaigns sparked the conversation about stereotypes around beauty and what it means to be beautiful. Leading to the newest campaign. 

What do you think the next conversation will be?