Extended Week 7 Wrap Up

Hello Everyone,

I am sure everyone is looking forward to next semester but don’t forget that we still have work to do this week. If you have not checked yet, I have posted a short comment on each of your blog posts this week. We also have a couple of surveys to do and the final version of the storify paper. All of your storify posts look like they are well on their way to being completed and many of you have raised very interesting points. I liked that many of you related specific information in this class to your careers or other class experiences.

One thing I took away from reviewing all of your posts this week is that all of you learned a lot from this semester and most of you going into this course did not have a lot of prior experience with blogs. I am with you all on this. Before this class I had never been involved with blogs before, but after this class I am much more knowledgeable and much more confident about them. I hope all of you can say the same. I think by discussing all of this course content with each other over the last week we all learned a lot. The things you should take away from this discuss are that we all presented the content throughout the course in very different ways and all of us had unique experiences. This course exposed everyone to content they were not familiar with. The lesson I learned from this week’s project is that analyzing and measure content is just as important as generating it. You guys did great jobs writing all year and this project is an opportunity to analyze and measure whether or not you met your course long goals.

Another thing I found interesting is that there were several different takes on your analysis sections of this paper. Many of you chose to break this down by week and others by month. Some of you even broke it down into one chunk and averaged it out. Each individual person had a strategy to measure their analysis that made sense based on the metrics and time frame each person measured. Overall, all of these storify papers were very interesting and after reading all of them I think I have learned a few things from each of you to incorporate into my own paper.

Great job everyone and good luck on the rest of your assignments!

                                                                                                                                                                  

How I learned about social media!  Click Here!

COMI 610 Digital Paper

My story of how I started a blog and promoted it using social media

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   Background

   The best way to describe my social media experience during this course is to discuss the way I integrated my blog with social media sites. This particular class showed me how to integrated all of these different types of online media.  On my blog (Click here) I have discussed several social media related topics over the course of the last several weeks. Among these are posts about big data, social security issues, and the importance of communication. Through discussions with other students and many different articles I have learned a lot about not only social media, but also about myself. I never saw myself as someone who could be immersed in social media. Now that I have seen all the ways different sites can be integrated with one another I now understand the value both in my personal life and professional life more than ever.
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   Introduction

   My name is Ian Larson and I am a full time student in Marist College’s MA in Integrated Marketing Communications. I expect to graduate this summer. I received my BS in business administration from Marist College as well. I currently work in the buildings department at Mavis Tire. I schedule in house maintenance works and contract outside companies to complete repairs at all of our locations. I spend most of the time at my computer managing different requests, bills and schedules. This course helped me to understand how social media and other online applications can be used to help organize a lot of this information and connect me with more people outside my company. I have learned that often the most simple and easy to understand message is the one that gets across best to people. This has influenced the way I write my blog. I always try to keep the posts easy to read and understand to help encourage conversation. I hope to keep the conversations going after a post make sure that people are engaged by the topics.

   
   
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   Plans and Policies

   
   

   Strategy

   My social media strategy is to spread new ideas and encourage discussion about these ideas. I would like to write about and bring up topics that people will find interesting and want to talk about. I find that we all learn more when we discuss different aspects of a topic. This type of interaction always results in all the parties involved seeing sides of an argument that they may not have thought of themselves. Social media is an important part of people’s lives. Erik Qualman said “As human beings, we have the dichotomous psychological need to be individuals yet feel connected” (Qualman, 2013). This is very relevant because it shows that people have an innate desire to interact with each other. Part of my strategy is to fill this need and encourage conversation about topics that all of us can learn about. My course goal is to better understand how to use all of the different social media strategies I have learned in a professional setting.

   ·         I would like to better understand how to run a full social media campaign. This will enable me to have a very useful skill in any future career tracks I find myself on

   ·         Another goal is to learn more about the different types of social media and which mix is best for different demographics.

   
   

   Objectives/Goals

   My goal for my social media interactions is to ensure that I am able to communicate effectively with my readers. My goal is to post content that is easy to read and understand. This is important to be because it encourages conversation. These objectives are there to help guide me when writing my blog posts. When I am writing each posts my goal is to ensure that the reader will feel comfortable commenting on the topic.

   ·         My goal is to have my blog gain 8-10 unique visitors every week

   ·         My goal is to have at least 4 comments on my blog each with

   ·         Encourage people to continue to conversation beyond the first post they make

   
   

   Site Policy

   My blog includes a site policy to ensure that posters understand what is expected of them on the website. This is meant to guide the discussion by encouraging respect among the people posting.

   Link  http://ianlarson5.blogspot.com/p/site-policy.html

   
   

   "This class blog is meant to encourage discussion among class members about the topics that I have posted. This blog is designed to be interactive and comments are included. Comments should stay professional and respectful. I welcome feed back on any of my posts and would love to hear any differing opinions and questions in the form of posts to any of my posts. I will continue to check to ensure that any content that is posted is appropriate and meets the standards of what is expected of us in this course."
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   Social Media 610 Ian Larson: Site Policy

   

   BLOGSPOT
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   Activities

   
   

   Integrating both my pinterest and twitter was important for me. Integrating these two sites allowed me to help drive potential readers and commenters to the site. I tried to keep the posts on these sites interesting and use hashtags that were relevant to the discussion. Posting interesting things on other sites will help drive people to join this conversation on my blog. For example, on my post about big data I post this message on twitter. “Did you know that what YOU post online can predict the#FUTURE? Find out how YOU contribute to big data at Ianlarson5.blogspot.com #marist610” This was meant to be fun because part of what I talked about on the blog post was how big data can be used to predict future trends.

   
   

   Week 3

   Tweets

   "Join the conversation about social media as a tool for communication in marketing: http://ianlarson5.blogspot.com/2014/02/communications-is-at-center-of.html …"

   
   

   "Check out how communications is the key to successful strategic execution! Follow my blog at: ianlarson5.blogspot.com  pic.twitter.com/u6zMG0oySP"

   
   

   Week 4

   Tweets

   "Did you know that what YOU post online can predict the #FUTURE? Find out how YOU contribute to big data at Ianlarson5.blogspot.com  #marist610"

   
   

   "Still snowed in? Now's a great time to brush up on how your contributions to big data can affect marketing decisions! ianlarson5.blogspot.com"

   
   

   "Learn how #bigdata contributes to predictive #analytics & join the conversation atianlarson5.blogspot.com  #marist610  pic.twitter.com/owt0E6Dxbh"

   
   

   Week 6

   Tweets

   "Are your social media accounts secure? Find out at ianlarson5.blogspot.com !"

   
   

   Analysis

   
   

   Week 3

   4 Followers

   6 visits
   6 Unique Visits

   All views came from blogger itself

   
   

   Week 4

   4 Followers

   22 visits

   15 Unique visitors

   Views came from combination of twitter, pinterest and blogger

   
   

   Week 6

   17 visits

   10 Unique visitors

   Most visits came from twitter and pinterest

   
   

   Conclusion

   Thinking back on all of the work I have done over the past few weeks, it was a very good learning experience. Before starting this program I barely knew what a blog was, let alone being able to write one. I was able to meet most of the objectives I set for myself and I learned many new skills along the way. I feel that my social media activity outside of my blog helped drive people to the blog. Overall this helped me learn more about the content because of the conversations I engaged in on my blog.

   
   

   References

   Qualman, E. (2013). Socialnomics: how social media transforms the way we live and do business (Second ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons Inc.

Social media network security is the idea that you should utilize the privacy and security features of websites to ensure the privacy of sensitive information. This could be things like your social security number or even when you are going on vacation. Information like this can be used against you and social media network security policies are some of the best ways to reduce the risk of using these social websites.

Social media policy is a set of guidelines that can be used to help guide your social media use. This can be established by your workplace to set guidelines on what is and is not appropriate online. Some organizations like the NLRB review what is and is not appropriate for employers to monitor online (Stevens, 2012). This is important because you should know where the dividing lines between your online person life and professional life are so that you do not damage your professional life by posting inappropriate content.

• Make sure you do not post information that will damage your career.

Many people use social media to talk with friends, but that same language cannot be used to talk about work or discuss work topics. Users should set their privacy settings accordingly or simply make sure they do not have conversations publicly online that their workplace would find unacceptable. As a social media user you should set your profile so that only friends can review the posts and only post material that is non sensitive. One author said “the report also concluded that a social media policy that required employees to maintain the confidentiality of trade secrets and other confidential information was also lawful.” (Stevens, 2012). This quote shows that employees do not have the right to post anything they want on social media. Social media is a public forum and should be respected as one.

• Do not post information online that will tip off identity thieves

Every year people become victims of identity theft. This can damage your credit and impact your life in a very negative way. By not setting privacy settings correctly you can give a potential identity thief useful information, which can put you at risk. “Computer scientists and policy experts say that such seemingly innocuous bits of self-revelation can increasingly be collected and reassembled by computers to help create a picture of a person’s identity, sometimes down to the Social Security number.” (Lohr, 2010). This illustrates just how much people can find out about you online. You would not want a stranger to have this information, so you should configure your privacy settings to reflect this and not post this information online.

• Other users can post content about you that is harmful

Friends, family members and people you know can post information about you that other people can see. Even if you have your privacy settings set other people may post things about you that will not be affected by your personal privacy settings. If someone posts something that refers to your workplace or interests, that information can be seen by other people (Lohr, 2010). This suggests that simply setting your own privacy controls isn’t enough, you need to understand who your friends are and accept that what they post can affect you.

• Create passwords that are difficult to hack

This tip may seem obvious but not everyone does it. Some people come up with a couple passwords and just use those for every account they ever make. While this does make it easier to remember, it also makes it easier for someone else to figure out. One site suggests that you should choose complex passwords and use different ones for each site (Vogel, 2011). This will ensure that the passwords will be hard to guess and even if someone gets one, they do not suddenly have access to all of your accounts.

I can honestly say that before reading some of the content this week I did not know a lot of this about social media. I knew that social media posts were one way people could gain information about you, but I never thought about people you know could post that same content about you rendering all of your privacy settings useless. I also never know how much people could find out about you simply by viewing small pieces of information. After learning this, I feel more than ever that privacy and security should be a top concern for all people using social media.

Additionally I now have a better understand of what is and is not acceptable to post. It is important not to lose sight of the fact that social media is a public forum. You should not post things online that you would not be comfortable with a lot of people knowing. Please keep these tips and mind and next time you post something make sure you follow the guidelines.

Also Click Here to view FBI tips on how to best defend yourself on the web

References

Lohr, S. (2010, March 16). How Privacy Can Vanish Online, a Bit at a Time. The New York Times. Retrieved February 26, 2014, from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/17/technology/17privacy.html?_r=2&

Stevens, A. (2012, June 20). NLRB'S General Counsel Releases New Social Media Report Containing Much Needed Guidance on Lawful Social Media Policies | Haynes and Boone Blogs.NLRB'S General Counsel Releases New Social Media Report Containing Much Needed Guidance on Lawful Social Media Policies | Haynes and Boone Blogs. Retrieved February 26, 2014, from http://blogs.haynesboone.com/index.php/2012/06/firm/some/nlrbs-general-counsel-releases-new-social-media-report-containing-much-needed-guidance-on-lawful-social-media-policies/

Vogel, V. (2011, October 10). Social Networking Security. - Information Security Guide. Retrieved February 26, 2014, from https://wiki.internet2.edu/confluence/display

Big Data: The Future of Trend Analysis

What is "big data"?
Search engines might just be the key to identifying upcoming social trends. In Chapter 4 of Qualman's "Socialnomics", the idea of search engines as trend analysis tools is introduced (2013). When people use search engines and social sites, the data processed online is representative of user interests. This means that when internet users run a search on anything from diet regimens to celebrity gossip, the history of searched items holds information about trending data. The term big data refers to all digital content and items that people generate online. This means that big data includes all of the information that online users search for on search engines and social media sites (Qualman, 2013). 

What does big data have to do with marketing?

Companies can make use of the big data found within search engines to determine upcoming trends that represent the interests of people within a particular region. One example of a company successfully using big data to market a product is Pepsi-Cola’s marketing campaign with Britney Spears. Just before Spears reached stardom, Yahoo! found that searches for the name “Britney Spears” were indexing high and increasing. Yahoo! updated Pepsi about this online trend, and Pepsi was able to sign Spears to an inexpensive endorsement deal right before she achieved her superstar status (Qualman, 2013).

What can we learn from big data?

Search engines have even been able to use trending data to make predictions in the world of medicine and healthcare. Google even provides a service called “Google flu trends” because of the vast number of people who use search engines before seeing a doctor when they experience flu symptoms (Qualman, 2013). Google has been able to predict regional flu outbreaks weeks before the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. This means that search and social data can actually be used to help forecast and reduce the spread of disease! This truly demonstrates the powerful implications of the information stored on the web.

Are we using big data to its full potential?

It is clear that big data holds significant information regarding what consumers feel is interesting or important. One would think that companies would be continually utilizing this information to direct their marketing efforts, right? Interestingly, Google has only processed 1% of available big data. According to Qualman, “big data is unstructured and the key is trying to put structure around it so we can make predictions” (2013). Imagine the possibilities for companies if trending data were processed to its fullest extent! 

References
Qualman, E. (2013). What We Can Learn From Politics. Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business (2. ed., pp. 50-71). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

"Communications is at the Center of Everything"

Communication as an Overall Strategy

Argenti, Howell and Beck’s article explains how important effective communication is in any organization (2005). I agree with the idea that effective communication is important because in order to implement any successful strategy, one must communicate it to others involved. A FedEx CEO explained that “communications is at the center of everything. You can’t execute if you can’t communicate about it” (Argenti, Howell and Beck, 2005). FedEx handled the layoffs of many of its workers by offering severance packages and providing a clear channel of communication to employees to make a bad situation a little less painful (Argenti, Howell and Beck, 2005.) The FedEx story is a good example of why I agree so strongly with the characterization of communication that this article puts forth. Effective communications can improve the image of a company to its employees and in turn to the rest of its publics. 

Applications of Communication in Marketing and Advertising

Effective communication requires understanding what type of media will be most suitable to send messages to the targeted audience.  Creating a positive brand image and brand awareness are among the things that marketing can do with effective communication strategies (Hill, 2014). Advertising has similar applications because advertisers focus on ways their ads are communicated effectively. JC Penny’s downturn under CEO Ron Johnson is a good example of the result of poor communication (Mahoney, 2013). Under Johnson, the company gave a message of inconsistency to its target audience by re-instituting sales and cancelled promotions the company had previously done away with (Mahoney, 2013). This is exactly the kind of confusing, inconsistent communication that is detrimental to an organization’s strategy. When it comes to marketing and advertising, strong communication is the key to successful execution (Argenti, Howell and Beck, 2005).

Social Media as a Strategy

Social Media plays an important role in a company’s overall strategy. A company can use many different social media channels to help align the message their company sends to its audience. Social media can be used to deliver almost any type of message to consumers and reach specific groups depending on what audience a company wishes to reach. According to Fast Company, the 55-64 age group is the fastest growing group on Twitter and the 45-54

age group shows the fastest growth on Facebook and Google+ (Cooper, 2013). This data illustrates why it is important for a company to know its audience to help determine which social media channels to use. Fast Company also explains that 80% of users prefer to connect with brands via Facebook (Cooper, 2013). This is a big indicator that social media can play a significant role in an organization’s communication with its audience. To see “10 Surprising Social Media Statistics That Will Make You Rethink Your Social Strategy” click here.

Aligning Communication, Social Media, and Marketing

In order for a company to enhance its strategic positioning, it is clear that traditional advertising and marketing roles can improve through effective communication. Knowing one’s audience is crucial in determining how social media technology can serve as a key to heightened communication. Social media provides companies with the opportunity to understand and target specific audiences to make marketing more effective than ever before. 

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References

Argenti, Howell, & Beck. (2005). The strategic communication imperative.. MIT Sloan Management Review. Retrieved from https://www.dartmouth.edu/~opa/communicators/fall08/reading/Sloan_MIT_Strat_Comm_Imp.pdf

Cooper, B. (2013). 10 Surprising Social Media Statistics That Will Make You Rethink Your Social Strategy | Fast Company | Business + Innovation. Fast Company. Retrieved from http://www.fastcompany.com/3021749/work-smart/10-surprising-social-media-statistics-that-will-make-you-rethink-your-social-stra

Hill, B. (2014). The Importance of Marketing & Communication. Small Business. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-marketing-communication-3573.html

Mahoney, S. (2013). Johnson's Downfall At JCP: 'Misunderstood Advertising'. MediaPost Publications. Retrieved from http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/197658/johnsons-downfall-at-jcp-misunderstood-advertis.html

About Me

Hi Everyone,

My name is Ian Larson and I work in the corporate office of Mavis Tire and reside in Garrison, NY. I work in the new store development and facilities department as an office contact for stores that are currently being built and stores that need repairs. Most of my days are spent on the phone with vendors or contractors. I graduated with a BS in Business administration from Marist College in 2012 and I am excited to continue my education here. I look forward to meeting all of you and wish you luck in this class and the rest of your classes.
 

Ian Larson