Austin Trpovski

As the course and the client project is coming to an end, I would like to share my thoughts on what might happen when my client takes on my recommendations. 

From the Implementation video from our Professor, I feel that 3 Feathers Contracting Company might have a slight issue with understanding that it is not about what kind of technology the company has, such as a drone to take eye catching photos or a fancy piece of lawn care equipment. Instead, it is about the success that those tools and technology can bring to the company. If the company does not know how to use the technology, it will not bring any success to their advertising or work. The company will need to be educated on how to correctly work the technology so it can hopefully become more successful by using it. 

It is important that 3 Feathers Contracting understands some basic things about advertising and starting a business on social media. The company must understand the principles of mass collaboration. Without the general knowledge, the company could fail with looking professional, high quality and even like a business at all.

It is okay to not have the advertising be perfect. Over time the company will become better and better with advertising and using social media. It is important that 3 Feathers Contracting keeps and open mind and is willing to try new things to be more successful. Things might be challenging and the company might not understand the tactics of social media advertising, but it is important to not give up and stick through the journey. 

I think that 3 Feathers Contracting’s biggest potential road block will be the inconsistency of posting on social media. This already is a challenge for the company as the posts are typically of jobs that the company does. When work gets slow, it will be important to plan out what is going to be posted to continue to be consistent in the content being posted. 

When a business wishes to begin advertising online it is important for the company to understand the effective ways to share content. When the company’s social media pages are just starting off, the follower count and interactions will be low. It is key to think positively about the journey and know that in time and by taking the right steps to advertise that the business social media pages will grow and be successful.

Starting off, when posting on Facebook or Instagram, it is important to write a strong headline or caption. By keeping things clear and simple, people will be able to follow along with ease. If the post is complicated to read and very lengthy, people will either begin reading the post and then stop or ignore the post completely. People’s attention spans are decreasing as different media comes out. By keeping posts interesting, effective, and easy to understand, the audience will have a simpler time interacting with your post. When creating the caption or post, take the time to brainstorm and switch words around before posting. Use different words than the previous post to keep things interesting. 

If a company uses a business Facebook and Instagram page, it is important to post on both platforms consistently. Each platform allows users to post and display content in similar but different ways. Instagram allows people to create more of a blog style profile by using photos. Facebook allows users to write more in the caption but still using a blog style profile. It is important to use eye catching photos, infographics and content when posting because it provides a great boost in engagement.  

It is also important to monitor the engagement from each post. Finding out what types of posts bring in better engagement will allow you to understand your audience’s interests. With that knowledge, you should post similar content to what is successful. On the other side, it is important to mix in content that the audience can engage in. For example, by including a post where viewers can answer or ask questions will first allow you to see who your audience is and second, will allow the business to interact back with the audience. This creates a sense of caring and passion that will add to the business’s personality and brand. 

When a business is posting on social media, it is important to end every post with a clear call to action. I have been working for 3 Feathers Contracting Company and have been working through the Client Project by analyzing and consulting the company’s advertising. 3 Feathers Contracting will end each post with something along the lines of, “Contact us today to schedule your free quote,” “Follow our social media pages,” and even “Call us today to discuss the details of your service.” By ending posts with a call to action, the audience will feel that the company is here to service all customers. 

Another key concept to effective advertising is to post content consistently and not release too many posts all at once on one specific platform. Space out the release of content. It is important to test out different posting times on each platform. Monitor the success of the posts at different times. When the company finds the general time that posts succeed, continue to post around the successful time. 

Lastly, it is important for the employees to share the company’s content on their own social media pages. In addition, it is important to write in the posts to share the content with family and friends. The company that I work for and have been consulting, I have encouraged that they add into each post “Please share with friends and family.” After reviewing the interactions and success of the posts, I am actually seeing more people interact and share the posts. Occasionally, people that share the posts will even add a small caption such as, “Great work,” or “This looks great.” 

Being a social organization and using the tactics of sharing content effectively will bring success to the company or organization over time. By being consist, posting quality content, using the statistics from each post and finding what works best for the company's advertising will bring in a larger audience and will allow the company’s name to get out to the public. Sticking through the tough or slow times and trusting the journey will make the company and mindset of advertising stronger. 

I am looking forward to using the knowledge I have gained from this course to bring some advertising tips to 3 Feathers Contracting Company. Below are some examples of the work and links to their social media pages and website. 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/3featherscontracting @3featherscontracting

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/3featherscontracting/ @3featherscontracting

Website: www.3featherscontracting.com

Since our world and society is active online and uses social media on a daily basis, it is important for companies and organizations to have a strong online presence. It is understandable that companies that are just starting off and are exploring the online world may not have a large following or lots of interactions. Despite the beginning of the journey, it is where the company goes and grows as the online social media journey continues.

It is important that a company that is starting off online is knowledgeable about the topic of their company. If the company is new, it is important to put your best foot forward and to show the public that the company is knowledgeable and knows what they are talking about. As a personal example, I work for a local contracting company called 3 Feathers Contracting Company. They are an up and coming company that is beginning their social media presence. It is very important to create posts that make sense and relate to the kind of company it is. Since 3 Feathers does landscaping, repairs and much more, it is important that the company sticks to its roots and makes the posts interesting, eye catching, and relatable. If the company were to create posts that use incorrect grammar and spelling, unattractive photos or even inconsistent posts, it could bring off the perception that the company does not really know what they are talking about or what they are doing. 

In addition, I think it is important for companies to remember that one size does not fit all. Just because a competitor is using every single social media platform under the sun, does not mean that 3 Feathers Contracting Company needs to use the same social media platforms. It is important to find the right way to effectively interact with the target audience. 3 Feathers used Facebook and Instagram. They also have a well designed website. Personally, I think that using Facebook is an effective way to interact with the audience. The audience is able to like and comment, share posts, and even follow the page for frequent updates. 

Lastly, it is important for new companies to remember that yes, it feels great to have a large following and lots of interactions, but is important to be putting out valuable information. By being consistent in the content that is being posted, yo are building your social media presence and personality. Be consistent and trust the process and great things will come from that. The followers, likes and shares will come in time, but sticking to the vision will bring a positive outcome.

These principles that I have discussed align right up with my client for the client project. As you could probably assume, 3 Feathers Contracting Company is the company that I will be consulting for the project. I chose these principles because I think as a small local company that is just starting off, it is easy to get carried away and want to do anything and everything to get the name out. While this is still a great mindset to have, it is important remember to be knowledgeable, use effective media tactics and to be consistent in the process.  Without those basic principles, that company might not make it past the first phase of discovery. The public wants to know that when they contact a company to service their property, that they are getting someone who knows what they are doing and can be reliable. In time, small companies will grow, but it is important to stick out the tough parts and keep on pushing forward towards growth.

Below is the information to the 3 Feathers Contracting Company social media pages. Check them out if you would like!

www.3featherscontracting.com

Facebook and Instagram: @3featherscontracting 

After watching and reviewing “The Legal Side of Big Data” lecture video, I have a better understanding of what is happening with the big data that companies are collecting each and every day.

Big data consists of large amounts of data that is collected and then analyzed to find out information about customers, clients, everyday people and society. The data that is collected is then used to find patterns and commonalities to help businesses and companies advertise and produce products more inline with what the public is seeking.  

Because the data that is being collected is generally things such as searches, followers, followings, likes, comments, shares, locations, names, significant dates, security questions and much more, the information can seem to some people as too personal. Because people may think that the information being collected is an invasion of privacy, it is important for companies to remember that the information needs to be confidential and protected. 

When registering for an application, social media platform, service or website, people often have to put in a lot of information about themselves. This is the information that the company must make sure stays secured and untouchable by hackers, other companies and businesses. If there is an information leak from the application, service or whatever it may be, the public and users might not want to use the service anymore. They may fear that they risk being compromised. 

Because of this, it is valuable to the customer and public to remember that all things are possible in our ever changing and adapting world. The future is uncertain and while companies could be the most safe and secured, the possibility of leaking information still remains present. 

On the other hand, it is important for the company to be aware that if something unfortunate happens, like a security leak, that the reputation of the company could be in great jeopardy. How the company handles the situation is also a big part if rebuilding their reputation. 

There is a balance that can be made in order to protect the company from failure and protecting the customers from not knowing their information is being taken. By allowing and providing recognizable and clear guidelines and policies, the customer will hopefully bear in mind that their information is being collected and used as big data.  

According to the article from the Oxford Internet Institute, "Three reasons junk news spreads so quickly across social media" there are reasons why news and informations spreads in specific ways.  Media travels through algorithms, advertising and exposure.

Algorithms allow people and companies to present certain media to people. By following, sharing, liking and posting about specific things or topic, in return you will begin to see more and more information and posts relating to the topic.  I find that algorithms are helpful to media.  Without the use of them, we would be bombarded with such a large amount of media that we would not even have time to look through it all.  On the flip side, algorithms stop the opposite views and media from coming through.  This allows people to not even be exposed to certain things.  I have seen algorithms in action when I share something and then begin to see more and more ads, articles and pop ups relating to the initial post.  Although algorithms can sometimes be a little bit creepy in regards to being fed information based on what you read and share, they can be beneficial too.  I enjoy reading and learning more about topics without really having to do much digging to find information.  The topics will generally appear on my social media feed.

Advertising indeed assists in the spread of news and media.  As stated in the article, social media accounts are free to use because we are paying with our personal information.  By this happening, we are giving up our personal information to bigger companies to allow them to learn how to target the demographic.  This is beneficial to the companies, but also a little uneasy to many users of social media platforms.  I have experienced being a victim on “clickbait” in the past.  If there is an article with an interesting, emotion triggering title I will often click on it as I am interested.  Only when I begin to read the article, either the information does not match the title or it is not credible.  However, because I clicked on it, I have increased the reach and impressions on the article.  This then could assist the algorithms and I could begin to see more articles relating to the first topic I clicked on.

Exposure deals with what people see and share with their social media friend list.  As the article suggests, people will often share things on social media that align with their “pre-existing beliefs and deepening ideological differences between individuals and groups.”  I find this to be very true as I participate in sharing and reading things that align with my beliefs.  As the article also states, voters to not receive a balanced amount of media from both opinions.  This could possibly sway the votes.  I think that exposure is a positive and negative thing.  I enjoy that I am not being overwhelmed by things that do not align with my beliefs.  However, it seems that not seeing both sides of the media is not fair either.  This has the potential to give candidates an unfair advantage.  

I think that it is valuable to people and social media users to keep an open mind.  Dig deeper into your readings.  Expand your sources.  Broaden your outlook on topics.  Do not be closed minded.  It is important for people to be able to learn and understand both sides of the story in order to form a valid opinion on topics.  It is important for business to not show bias in their posts.  Be firm in what you stand for, but be open to allowing all people to participate in  your learning and reading from your pages.  

From class readings and research, I think that is it important for a social media consultant to have qualities such as communication skills, writing skills, technology skill, confidence and flexibility.  It is valuable to have communication skills as you will need to communicate to the business owner and possibly other companies such as advertising companies like Vistaprint or Valpak about potential advertising plans.  Being able to communicate your ideas in a fluent and professional way will help the bigger picture and plan come alive. Having the ability to write well is also a major quality to have.  Being the social media consultant for a company could include assisting in writing possible posts, ads and messages for the social media platforms.  If someone does not have good English and grammar knowledge, then looking professional becomes an issue.  I have noticed how important it is to look professional on social media.  If there is a company or organization that does not present themselves professionally on their page, I will often times not even look into the pages anymore.  Being able to have technical skill is valuable.  You need to be able to know how to work with social media platforms, use computer programs such as Microsoft Suite and other advertising programs.  Since social media is generally all done on either a mobile device or computer, not being able to use these things effectively and efficiently, causes slow downs and issues when you must meet deadlines or even get ideas across.  Being confident in yourself and your work is very important.  If you do not show a sense of confidence when presenting ideas, it makes it seem as if the idea will fail.  You must be confident in order to look and feel professional.  Lastly, I think it is valuable to be flexible.  There is a possibility that deadlines may be changed, ideas may change, and even the actual project may undergo changes.  These changes can happen quickly so it is important to be on your toes and expect anything. 

If I were a social media consultant for myself, I would have the strategy of using social media more.  My current presence on social media is not very much.  I would suggest using LinkedIn more.  This is a place to be professional and really showcase who I am to potential employers.  I also would suggest that if I am sharing articles to use credible sources.  If a potential employer is searching my social media pages and they find something that is not very credible and I made a statement, it might bring the idea that I do not put in the work to put out  truthful things.  I have come to realize the importance of credible sources in today’s world.  Whether it is political or not, the sources need to be credible and confident in their work.  I do not wish to share the wrong message or incorrect information from my social media pages.  In the future, I wish to strengthen my social media presence by being more active and diving deeper into who I follow.  I wish to follow influential accounts and people to expand my knowledge of things going on in the world and how to be successful.

Before this weeks lecture, articles and videos I really had never heard or learned about big data. Big data is a large data set that is collected by brokers, companies and other third parties. The data that these groups are collecting consist of a person’s trends, patterns, behaviors and other personal data. This data is tracked by what someone searches on the internet, what they follow on social media, what they share and like, what they purchase and more.

Despite how invading big data may sound, the data that is collected assists businesses and their advertising to help target groups of people better. On the flip side, big data can also be harmful. It can scare people away from using certain applications on their phones, shopping at certain places, using their GPS and much more. 

I feel that big data can be beneficial to businesses. I also feel that it is a scary thing that the world has developed. Big data is like stepping into someone else's shoes and knowing everything about them. It definitely has the potential to scare people and make them feel that their privacy is being violated. 

I think that in order to limit the harm of big data, businesses and applications need to make it very clear and up front in their terms and conditions on what they are collecting. I understand that most people do not sit and read the terms and conditions section when registering for something, but maybe there needs to be a separate page about information that is being collected. 

In "The Internet's Original Sin" and Maciej Ceglowski's discussion, it is obvious that internet business models must collect information and data in order to continue to work and survive. This relates to seeing advertisements on social media platforms. I will look something up on the internet such as a clothing store and then begin to see advertisements on my social media for that specific clothing store. This allows companies and businesses to advertise more and hopefully sell more or have a bigger reach. In addition, companies are able to make how they are advertising more personable to the potential customer.

For my social media experiment, I really wanted to test my limits.  I logged my social media and technology use yesterday.  Today, I wanted to see if I could go nearly the entire day until around dinner time not using my phone and not using my regular social media apps even on my computer.  I allowed myself to work on school work as that is an important responsibility, but nothing else.  I did not watch T.V. today.  The only thing I used my phone for this morning was to turn my alarm off at 8:00am.

The day has been a little bit challenging without using my phone. I had the day off of work today and all I really had to do was school work today.  At the beginning of the week, I envisioned my day off being me relaxing, watching movies, and probably being on my phone.  Having the day off and not using my phone could almost be for the better.  I have left my phone on the kitchen counter, left the ringer on incase of a phone call, but I truthfully have not used it once.  Shocking right! I am actually quite proud of myself.

I have been pretty productive today.  I have completed nearly all of my school work.  I think that is what I am most happy about.  I do not have much time during the week to complete school work or other tasks as my work schedule is usually jam packed.  It was refreshing to complete my work without being distracted.  I have cleaned up around my house and even enjoyed some time outside.  

As I write this post, I am devoted to continue not using my phone until at least 6:00pm. That is about one hour from now and that will mean I had a 10 hour disconnect. I think that I can do it.  I most likely will continue doing some type of disconnect on my days off to ensure that I get things done.  Will you try doing a technology disconnect? 

After watching “We’ve Been Sneaking Into Your Brains” and reading “Before the Internet,” I have really realized that our days are impacted so much by technology.  I especially realized this after reading the short article.  It made me think about when I was a young kid who did not use the internet often and would spend my whole entire days outside, playing basketball, and being with my friends and family.  As I have grown up, I see that technology and the internet have taken over the world, but also provide the world with so many valuable things.  

Social media has definitely influenced my life.  Although I find that I do not post on social media often, I enjoy seeing other people’s posts, shares, and photos of their life.  It helps be keep “in the know” of those around me.  I will often send funny things to friends or send friends things that remind me of them.  Social media is a great way to stay connected with people you might not get to see everyday.  

I think that because we have a little computer right it our pocket, it makes things sometimes much easier.  If someone needs an answer to something, you can Google it.  If someone needs directions somewhere, you can use your maps app.  If someone wants to know the weather, you can use the weather app.  In Max Stossel's presentation, he stated that we are carrying a flashlight, a stopwatch, a calculator, and a camera right in our pockets.  Everything is so accessible.  On the flip side, I think that because everything is so accessible, people don’t really learn and remember things.  For example, doing math problems.  I would much rather pull out my calculator on my phone than work out the problem in my head.  Is this a bad thing or am I just using my resources?

I usually spend some time in the summer up north.  During this time I barely have service so it makes it very easy to not be on my phone.  I don't mind not being on my phone when I am up there.  It is a breath of fresh air and a little break or disconnect from the real world.  All that matters is that I am having a great time with the people I am with and that I am making memories.  I look forward to those times because I get to be with the ones I love without anyone being distracted by their phones.  

I would like to start to not use my phone as a way to unwind after my long days at work.  Although it is nice to catch up with the world around me, I think that I would be able to unwind and relax easier if I sat outside or simply just closed my eyes.  I also think that it would be valuable to not reach for my phone first thing when I wake up.  Instead, if I really wanted to use my phone in the morning, I could spend a few minutes while I eat my breakfast catching up on social media.  I also would like to work on not using my phone while I am out at a restaurant or having a meal with others.  I need to be present during those times and have meaningful conversations.  

I do not feel that I am overly addicted to using my phone or checking social media.  However, I do feel that there is always room for improvement.  I am looking forward to implementing some of the new tactics to become more present and not be so dependent on social media into my day to day life. 

My name is Austin Trpovski. I am in my fourth year at Central Michigan University and am studying Business Administration. I live in Chesterfield, Michigan when I am not up at school in Mount Pleasant. I have always been interested in the business and finance world. I enjoy learning about successful companies and their journeys. All throughout my education I have really liked math and working with numbers. What I like most about math is that there is always an end result with a definite answer. A career goal of mine would to become a Financial Analyst. I know that it would take a great amount of focus and concentration to learn everything I would need to know, but nothing is going to stand in my way. I would like to be able to learn more about social media and broaden my horizons when it comes to blogging. I have never really been the type of person to blog, but I am willing to give it my best shot. I am looking forward to reading and learning more about businesses, professionals and their success.  

A company that I think does very well on social media is Wendy’s. Their tweets, Instagram posts, and Facebook posts all use humor. The company interacts with customers, other social media users, and even other restaurants. They respond and engage with people on their pages. In addition, they post ads for their menu items and business as a whole. Wendy’s is taking full advantage of social media platforms and strategies.