Linked In is a social media platform used for business professionals.
I currently have a Linked In profile but I have not fully created my profile
yet. I am waiting until I have a clear goal for the platform before I decide to
use it to its full potential. I learned about Linked In from my social media class and am convinced of
its usefulness. When I graduate and decide on a goal for the platform I will
finish creating my profile and use it on a regular basis.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Multi-Generation
Today’s market is diverse in many different aspects. An
aspect that can prove to be difficult to sift through is age. In order to
understand a particular generation a person needs to learn the views that the
generation shares. Interviewing a person is one way to get to know their views
and how those views differ from the views of other generations. When implementing
a social media strategy it is important to understand what generations fall
under the target market in order for that strategy to work.
Different generations vary on their views of social media.
During my interview, I found out that the person I was interviewing had not yet
used social media because they hadn’t deemed it useful enough to use yet. If
they wanted to talk to someone, they would call them. The fact that there is an
“interaction” without face-to-face communication seemed unfriendly and
insincere in their view. Hearing each other’s’ voice, or seeing their face
established a more intimate and friendly interaction then simply reading
letters that someone typed without an investment in getting together to meet or
call one another. My generation views social media differently, because we can
see the sincerity in what someone typed and establish friendly interaction
without talking or meeting in person. Another view is the internet is used for
business. The person I interviewed is very active and views the internet as a
place to shop, email employees, or to pay bills. Leisure activities are done
with friends and family, away from the computer. This is very different from my
generation. About half of my interaction with friends is online. I use the
internet for both business and leisure activities. Whether it is video games, Skype,
Facebook, or email I use these outlets more than I do my cell phone for friend
and family interaction.
A challenge to social media strategies to market effectively
to the generation of the person I interviewed is that most of them do not use
social media as much as other generations. So the marketing has to be twice as
effective in order to justify using social media.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Social Media Empowering Customers
Social media empowers consumers by giving them a voice. If I am contemplating buying a new product I know nothing about, I ask people I trust about it… but if they do not know where could I turn? Before social media, the next natural step may have been the store, but now a person could just look up what people are commenting about the product using Facebook. This empowers customers to give nonbiased feedback on products they have used and receive the same feedback to use for products they wish to learn more about. For example, this camera already is generating feedback from customers.
Online/Offline Media
In the case study, Case Study: ROI
of Social Media Campaign for Sea World San Antonio – A Year Later*, Sea
World’s online/offline social media campaign was explored. They used both
online and offline activities. These activities proved successful by gaining
lots of attention for their new ride (Journey to Atlantis), increase their revenue,
calculate an ROI for their social media campaign, and they were about to gain valuable
experience.
They used both online and offline activities in their campaign. Offline,
they created an analysis of influential voices. This analysis found 22 coaster enthusiasts
and they later used this information to target them to be used to promote their
coaster. These enthusiasts used blogs and forums to discuss their passion of
coasters. In order to direct their passion of coasters towards Sea World’s new
ride, Sea World gave them special VIP access to the ride. This exclusive access
generated buzz and increased the ride’s awareness. Online, they created a
content rich website, deployed videos and photos (via YouTube, Flickr, Veoh),
and created online surveys for their customers. These online and offline
activities lead to their successful social media campaign.
-Sources
*http://overtonecomm.blogspot.com/2008/04/case-study-roi-of-social-media-campaign.html
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Marketing in Social Media
Marketing in Social Media
Marketing in social media can be very effective, but only if
an organization has a plan.
I believe this statement.
Some outlets would have an organization believe that social
media is 100 percent free. That benefiting from these sites and apps costs
absolutely nothing, but they are forgetting the most precious resource: time. Using these tools takes planning and implementation,
just like any other marketing strategy. Sites must be updated and traffic must
be tracked. Messages must be clearly understood.
Kimbarovsky suggests, in his article, that an organization
begins by outlining clear goals for their social media marketing efforts and
figuring out how they will measure success [1]. First thing’s first: a plan. There
needs to be a reason for wanting to get involved with social media, but if an
organization does not understand what their goals are they might not
understand, realistically, what social media can do for them. In the article, “Beware
Social Media Marketing Myths”, Marks mentions that it will be more beneficial
to focus on a few sites rather than overextend an organization and not be
fully updated on all of the social media sites/profiles used [2]. According to
this statement, it is very important to know just how deep into social media an
organization’s marketing strategy needs to go. If it only calls for a few
sites, then trying to fit them "all" in could be very costly in the end. In Lake’s
article, she suggests integrating social media with other marketing tools [3].
Providing links, surveys, coupons, or games could help with brand exposure and
customer relationships.
Success can come from well designed social media strategies, but only if an organization is willing to take to time to utilize them.
Here are some youtube videos that give tips about social marketing.
This video is a discussion panel about social media and its impact on the bottom line.
Source Cites:
Monday, May 28, 2012
NORTHWEST STUDY TOUR DAY 5
WASHINGTON GREEN SCHOOLS
Washington Green Schools works with
schools to make them more sustainable. They are a non-profit organization that
is supported by government agencies, individuals, businesses and foundations.
The schools they work with choose a category and the organization helps them
improve upon this category. Once the category that was chosen has been improved
upon, the organization then asks the school to try the other categories. They
also collect and organize the qualitative and quantitative data in order to compare the data gathered between school. Working with
schools is a way for the organization to teach the kids about sustainability
and hopefully those kids will be able to use this information at home.
NETWORK FOR BUSINESS INNOVATION AND
SUSTAINABILITY
Network for Business Innovation and
Sustainability believes that business is how to influence sustainability on a mass
level. The organization is a business friendly portal to help businesses become
more sustainable. Their method is to appeal to capitalists by focusing on how
sustainability can be profitable. They are also working with a company to
design an information system that can help with GRI reporting.
FUTUREWISE
SOURCES:
PICS:
wagreenschools.org
betterworldtelecom.com
growingedge.com
NORTHWEST STUDY TOUR DAY 4
EARTH SHARE
Earth Share works with businesses on
employee engagement, “green” project planning, donations to other non-profits,
educating about other non-profits, and supporting local and national non-profit
organizations. They focus on getting people excited about helping the
environment. In order to partner with Earth Share a non-profit organization
will need to be evaluated. Once a non-profit is partnered with Earth Share,
they will be available to be promoted to Earth Share’s business partners. Earth
Share’s model is to partner with businesses that are directly connected to
philanthropy and give their employees options to which organization they would
like to help. They ally businesses with non-profits that are committed to
sustainability.
SUSTAINABLE SEATTLE
Sustainable Seattle works with the
community to measure certain key indicators on the progress of sustainability.
They are a community based organization. Compiling all of the indicators they
create reports on the city’s indicators. The organization is working toward
measuring the city’s happiness instead of just focusing on economic measures.
They are currently working on measuring 9 domains of happiness. They use
surveys and other means of measurement in order to gauge the city’s overall
happiness. They also believe in citizens having equal access to the city’s
resources. Not only currently, but also future citizens. Increasing awareness
of sustainability is a way for them to increase sustainable practices and the
efficient use of resources. They attempt to reach people that are not generally
knowledgeable about sustainability.
ISLANDWOOD
Islandwood is a unique learning
experience that focuses on teaching kids about the environment. Touring the
facility is a wonderful way to really get an idea at the experience a child
would get learning in this type of environment. Most of the teaching happens
outside. The children pack a lunch and learn in the forest that surrounds the
school. They are taught about the plant life and how plants can play a major
role in some technologies. The students are taught about composting food,
recycling, and even how to take samples from the environment. The samples are
analyzed in the school and the students are taught about its significance.
MCKINSTRY INNOVATION CENTER
McKinstry Innovation Center is an
incubator for cutting edge sustainable companies. The campus houses emerging
green technology innovators to promote a creative environment. The new
companies are encouraged to engage with one another. The center also is home to
many events. Some of which are events that bring investors to the center. They
also house non-profit organizations as well. McKinstry does not own the
companies that are housed here. The companies that are allowed to stay here are
evaluated and are given an office if they pass the evaluation. Companies are
evaluated on their business plan and their growth potential.
SOURCES:
PICS:
nonprofitshoppingmall.com
green.autoblog.com
persimmonimages.com
xconomy.com
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