Social Media: Traditional Views

In this article on Social Media Today, Mike Frey discusses how traditional media created social media. This is a really different angle on the “traditional views” that I’m supposed to be talking about; however, I feel that it is an important topic to understand. When I refer to traditional media, I am talking about radio, television and newspaper. Social media may be interpreted as websites such as Facebook and Twitter.

In the article, Frey mentioned that “Prior to conglomeration there was a time that radio, television and print were local community outlets. At one time the big three were locally owned, and concentrated on local community. Now most decisions that are made for communities regarding their major media are made from thousands of miles away.” This means that now what the audience wants is out of the question, the decision is based on what corporate thinks the audience wants.

Conglomeration has played a big role in the social media boom. Social media provides a place where you get to choose. “We create our Facebook community to entertain and inform us. We choose whose tweets to follow to keep us updated on technology, news, inspiration and events. With social media you have no one to blame for the poor programming or not being entertained as it’s created by you.” This is what has drawn so many people to social media, the fact that they have a say in what they see and hear.

On the Utah State University campus, it is very rare to hear students talking about what they read in The New York Times, or what they saw on the news last night. Traditional media are hard to follow when you, the follower, do not feel like the stories have any value to you. If there was a way for traditional media to be linked up with social media, younger generations can be targeted easier. Instead of not knowing what is going on in the world, maybe you will step onto a college campus and hear a student say “When I was on Facebook last night, I read this article from The New York Times…”

So how is a company supposed to integrate social media with their traditional media? Tom Martin at The Social Media Examiner discusses this very topic in this article. When it comes to integrating social media with traditional media, not very many people are doing it correctly. Most people are asking how to integrate their media, while they should be asking how to think about integrating their media. How to think about integrating social media provides you with a framework, which then enables you to think on your own, instead of just trying to look for a solution right at the beginning.

There are six questions to ask when integrating media. In the article, these questions are geared towards social media and marketing; however, I feel that these six questions can go for any social media integration.

1.       What is the goal? It is important to look at the business goals first to really discover what is required and expected of the integration.

2.       Who is the audience? It is important to visualize your audience beyond their demographics, these characteristics may include what they look like or sound like, and who they are with when watching or listening to the traditional media.

3.       Where is the audience? This doesn’t just mean where they are physically, this question extends beyond that. Where your audience is emotionally is an important factor to consider.

4.       How can you connect with your audience? This means more than channels, you need to consider what will draw your audience to you, look at it from conversational perspective.

5.       How do you extend the conversation? “Once you’ve made that initial contact and gained permission to have an ongoing conversation, what do you plan to do next?”

6.       How can I get my audience to introduce me to others? Be sure to not skip this question. The recommendation from one individual to another is perhaps the most important part.

Integrating social media with traditional media is a smart move, and it should not just be a last minute choice. It needs to be well thought out, and I feel that this is what a lot of companies are forgetting. Integrating social media needs time to be planned and worked on, not just thrown together.

For full articles:

http://socialmediatoday.com/mike-frey/170938/how-traditional-media-created-social-media

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-integrate-social-media-with-traditional-media/

Social Media: Blogging

In the past five or six years, blogs have become one of the most popular ways to communicate on the internet. The blog world is a large network of individuals who come together to share stories, to ask for advice, and to give advice as well. There are many different types of blogs: fashion blogs, lifestyle blogs, “mommy” blogs, travel blogs, etc. Blogs aren’t just for individuals though; blogs are becoming more and more important for businesses today.

This Business Week article discusses blogs and how they can make or break your business. In 2005, there were almost 9 million blogs on the web, and 40,000 new ones were popping up each day. That was six years ago, and the blog world is still growing strong. Blogs represent power, to put it simply. In the article, they put into perspective just how powerful blogs have become by saying, “In the age of mass media, publications like ours print the news. Sources try to get quoted, but the decision is ours. Ditto with letters to the editor. Now instead of just speaking through us, they can blog. And if they master the ins and outs of this new art -- like how to get other bloggers to link to them -- they reach a huge audience.”

It is important for your business to be on its best behavior, because news in the blog world, especially bad news, travels fast. If somebody had a bad experience at a restaurant, their blog readers would hear about it. In January 2005, a 22-year-old employee of Google started blogging about his first days working for the company and mentioned that the health plan was “less generous” than Microsoft’s, and also blogged about Google’s free food. Two weeks later, this employee was fired. Google became “blogbusted” for overreacting. Even the way that a company handles itself on the inside may eventually end up on the blog world.

“Blog power simply doesn’t translate yet into big bucks. For now, it’s running mostly on people’s passion to communicate – especially in developing markets.” People like to feel like they are being listened to, like what they have to say is important. They like to know that people value their opinion, and the blog world is the perfect place to be heard.

If the public is already blogging about your company, why does your company need a blog? The answer to this question is talked about in this article on the Beanstalk. The point is discussed that everyone everywhere has a blog, which is one of the most compelling reasons for a company to have a blog. In today’s world, it is more uncommon for a business to not have a blog. The benefits of a business having a blog are discussed.

1.       Having a blog validates your company as “…being computer literate, technology savvy, thorough, and communicative.”

2.       A blog gives your company quick connections and an extended reach. A blog provides a place for your company to give quick updates that can include more than 140 characters, pictures, videos and whatever else you may need. “This business benefit is immediacy – of contact, information delivery and feedback, all crucially important to any business.”

3.       The blog world allows you to extend your network. The physical location of your business is important, but a blog allows you to be in one more place, and your blog can be indexed and listed in other blogs.

4.       Your company becomes more personal with customers and fans. A blog allows you to communicate with your followers, and the conversations that result can prove very beneficial when it comes to business dealings.

Blogging has many benefits, as long as you do it right. Every business needs to have a blog so that they can become more “real” to the outside world and to their customers. The feedback that can be received will be invaluable to the company. Both of these articles provided us (well, me at least), with some interesting things to think about.

For the full articles:

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_18/b3931001_mz001.htm

http://www.beanstalk-inc.com/articles/copywriting/why-blog.html

Social Media: Organizational Uses

Social media has the ability to make it, or break it for individuals when it comes to things such as getting a job, however, the issue I want to look at is how social media can affect an organization. The article Social Media for Social Change – Inside the Organization? the author takes a look at how social media can be used to develop organizational change movements. Social media has the ability to transform relationships, and can also help with project management, and it can also lead to an expanded network and finding sponsors. These are all aspects of social media that can lead to success within an organization.

These are not the only benefits of social media within an organization that are discussed in the article. Social Media Today points out that social media networks provides an opportunity for employees to voice changes that they think are necessary, including initiative changes. When it comes to social media, there are also negative aspects itself. The primary obstacle to using social media within an organization – especially a network that the organization owns – is that powerful members of the organization want to prevent employees from discussing change they can just change the rules of how the network may be used, and they can revoke user privileges.

While this article does make some excellent points, it fails to mention that employees may be connecting outside of the organization’s social media network. If rules are set in place to prevent employees from rallying for a change, it is possible that they will just do it on another social media website. Internal change is a big use of social media in an organization, but it can also be used for external changes as well.

How Nonprofits Use Social Media to Spark Change discusses how grassroots revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia were driven in part by messages on Twitter and Facebook. Although it would be great it only social media could be the only factor in making changes, you have to know how to pair it with other campaigns as well. The Invisible Children charity “…has used Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and its own video-rich Web site to organize hundreds of student rallies across America to oppose the use of child soldiers in northern Uganda.” It is important to realize just how much change can come from social media.

Social media provides a sense of a community where people can relate to others, and can learn of the good things that are happening around the world. Social media can be used to inspire others and bring about great change. While social media is such a powerful tool, there are so many different uses, and many people still do not know how to use social media properly to run successful campaigns. The article provided tips for social media campaigns, and the last one is the one that stuck out the most to me. It says to “Measure everything, but have a goal from the start.” I feel that this step is often forgotten, and if this action is taken, social media campaigns will become even more effective.

Whether social media brings about changes internally or externally, organizations need to realize how big of an impact social media has in today’s society. Nonprofit organizations can help spread their goal of what they are working for. If social media is used correctly, nonprofits can make changes to the world that we never knew was possible. Social media can help an organization get feedback about what they are doing right, and what they need to change.

I feel that organizations need to understand the importance of social media, and how they can benefit from using it correctly. In the event of a crisis, an organization would be able to reach out to their audience to clear the air, and to reassure them about what they are doing to fix the problem. Nonprofits can gain support by learning what people are interested in and being able to find a message that relates to them. The only problem with social media is that not everybody knows how to use it and they are afraid of change. However, from the articles discussed, we have learned that change can be a good thing.

To read the articles mentioned: Social Media for Social Change – Inside the Organization?

                                                                  How Nonprofits Use Social Media to Spark Change

Social Media: The Big Seven

In a world where the importance of an online presence is increasing, it is important to understand why and how social media have such a large impact on businesses. Just-Food discusses a recent study performed by eConsultancy which found that Twitter and other microblogging websites were the main focus for almost 70% of the companies that were surveyed; however, most companies also utilize a more straightforward method such as creating and maintaining an online profile. The same survey also measured the companies’ attitudes towards the return on investment from social media activities, with the most common result being an increase in direct traffic to the corporate websites.

Facebook and Twitter are perhaps the most popular social media websites among businesses. Over 60% of Fortune Global 100 companies had at least one Facebook page, and 77% had a Twitter account. Twitter is the most common social media website used to provide company news and updates, customer service, and to offer deals to companies. The ability to reach out to your customers, or followers, on a more personal level has the ability to bring more success to any business. The success will come once social media is being used correctly, and to its full potential.

Through social media websites, companies have the opportunity to learn more about their target audiences, which allows them to tailor their marketing strategies in a way that will make sense to their audience. Online advertising is slowly, but surely, overtaking television advertising. The ability to advertise online, even through social media, can increase a profit at any business. We are an online driven society; if we see a product that we want or need advertised online, we can go buy it online at that moment.

Now that we have seen the different numbers for companies using Facebook and Twitter, we need to understand that it is not a competition between the two social media websites. It is important for both sites to be utilized and understood.

Golden Technologies gives five reasons that we should use both Twitter and Facebook. The first reason being that there are different audiences on Facebook and Twitter; the same people do not use both websites. Younger people are on Facebook more frequently, while older people are more prominent on Twitter. When creating a social media plan, you need to define your target audience and whatever it may be, there will be a social media website to correspond.

The second reason given by Golden Technologies is that each website has different uses – Twitter is an excellent place to post links to great articles, give announcements and short updates, while Facebook lets you post photos, create events, and get into more detail. Third, you have the option to link the two accounts together to minimize the time spent online. Next, search engines like social media. “All things in online marketing eventually come back to search engine optimization.” Google and Bing watch what is going on with Twitter and Facebook, and both websites allow for tweets and pages to be indexed, which allows for more keywords to draw users into your business. Lastly, it is the next generation of marketing. Social media is free and easy to use. Even if you are still unsure about Facebook and Twitter, you might as well give it a try.

It is incredible how second-nature social media websites have become for younger people. It is important for everybody to understand how big of an impact Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr and blogs can have on a reputation for an individual, but especially for a business as well. As long as we are aware of our online reputations, great opportunities will arise.

To read the articles: Just-Food and Golden Technologies