Andrew DiCapo

Although my client has a good grasp on social media already, there will be challenges they face when implementing my recommendations. I think the first challenge that companies, including my client, face when implementing new strategies is accepting and trusting change. When my client already has an established social media presence that is working for them, it is hard to change from something that they are already comfortable with and trust that implementing these new practices will actually make a difference. Once they can accept and commit to the new recommendations, I believe they will do exceptionally well. Another piece of my recommendations that might arise as a challenge to my client is finding the right influencers and brand advocates who’s interests, and values align with my client and who are willing to dedicate time and energy in promoting my client. This might be a challenge because of the location of my client and their accessibility to the right kind of brand promoters. It also might act as a challenge to them because that means that my client must be able to trust these advocates with the reputation of their own brand, which can be hard to do.

Although there are many aspects to creating an attractive and successful online presence, content can really make or break a brand and set them apart from the rest. Content can take a brand from boring to exciting, from irrelevant to relatable, and from mediocre to stellar. Content can be expressed in many different ways through a brand’s social media. Oftentimes, content is created from images, videos, gifs, articles, captions, blogs, and other media outlets. However, at the heart of each piece of content development, lies the principles of the consumer. When creating content, the consumer’s values must always be at the center of the development; if the content isn’t reflecting what the consumer and potential consumer want to see and what they find attractive, then the content can be more negative to the brand than positive. Content must always be relevant, clear, attention-grabbing, and attractive. It is often best to brainstorm content and implement smaller content pieces first to evaluate how consumers react to it. Content should produce an emotion for the consumers that connects them to the brand, whether it be a feeling of loyalty, excitement, inspiration, or more. Content should also remain consistent from piece to piece. Inconsistent content can confuse, frustrate, and can distrust within the company’s perceived reputation. For example, when Reebok changed their logo content, they received a lot of negative feedback on how the change in content affected the brand recognition and overall image of the brand because it did not remain consistent with past content. Here is the original and redesigned logo:

Producing good content also means posting relevant content and knowing the difference between what’s appropriate and what’s not, when is good timing for content, and what the trends are and what they mean. For example, in 2014, DiGiorno, a popular frozen pizza brand, realized the twitter hashtag #WhyIStayed was trending and quite popular. So, before researching, the brand used the hashtag to tweet a clever tweet about pizza:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/digiornos-pizza-whyistayed-tweet_n_5790504

Little did they know that the hashtag was a serious hashtag intended for victims/survivors of domestic violence to tell their story and empower one another. This lack of relevance, poor timing, and failure to research trends made DiGiorno look heartless and careless. It also did not resonate well with followers or potential followers.

As you develop your brand’s online presence, it is also essential to establish an online community. An online community is a group of people with shared values and/or interests that communicate online for a purpose. In the case of a business, we want that online community to communicate together in means of celebration, excitement, and support about our brand and what we stand for. It is important to keep in mind who your online community is, who you want to target, and how your posts are reflecting content that they value and would like to see.

Although social media communities don’t tend to have a huge price tag upfront, they do require time to build, as they are made up of real people who are making real connections to a brand. Humanizing a brand is an effective approach to draw in a community since they will be able to relate to the brand, feel like they know the brand personally, and develop a trust with the brand overtime; thus, creating loyalty. Your building strategies should always revolve around the people you are trying to connect with, and a big part of community building is community collaboration. Community collaboration works by having a large group of people independently network to start conversations, engage communities, and develop new innovative ideas, leveraging a vast amount of energy and brainpower.

An example of this is when we first saw the power of collaboration with the advent of Linux when it opened its source-code and allowed software developers around the world to openly add and improve the core product. This collaboration increased the level of quality, innovation, and speed of the new feature. (https://www.forbes.com/sites/karlmoore/2011/09/15/from-social-networks-to-collaboration-networks-the-next-evolution-of-social-media-for-business/#457ffc806691)

Big Data is a topic that can be a bit controversial, from both a company’s and a consumer’s outlook. Although big data can prove to be beneficial, there are a lot of privacy risks that come with it. Companies need to keep in mind that their consumers are real people and not just sales numbers. I think companies need to have a moral sense too when evaluating the intrinsic value and the privacy of their customers; they should really take into consideration if the trust and privacy of their customers is worth the payout, and sometimes legal action, in the long-run. Companies should also be careful of where they are retrieving or selling consumer data; if it is affiliated with the black market, the company can be affected in a very serious, legal matter.

On the other side, consumers need to be informed and educated on how risky putting their information on the internet can be. I think consumers need to know that this information can be as private as medical records or as simple as website clicks; they need to be aware that no matter what website or search engine they are trusting this data with, it could become available to people, and strangers, whom they wouldn’t want to have it.

For this week, I read an article titled “Three reasons junk news spreads so quickly across social media” from the Oxford Internet Institute. The first reason the article talks about is algorithms. The Internet’s largest search engines and social media companies use algorithms to determine how news and content are consumed. These algorithms are coded to sort, filter, and deliver content in a manner that is designed to maximize the users’ engagement and time spent on the platform. The problem the article points out about algorithms is that it keeps the user in a bubble and only displays information that sides with their interests. That means a user won’t be able to see new perspectives that don’t align with their beliefs. Algorithms have made it extremely difficult for users to find information from diverse viewpoints.

The next reason junk news spreads so quickly is advertising. The articles dives into the fact that social media platforms are built on selling data it tracks of its users to companies. Those companies then use that data to target their advertisements on a specific group. This model rewards content that is designed to be outrageous or to generate curiosity in order to get users to visit their website. I have seen this clickbait content in my own personal experience using social media. I have sided with a political party and have seen content about that party to provoke me to click on their ad. The article claims that clickbait content has fueled the rise of exaggerated and inaccurate information being spread around social media platforms.

The third and last reason junk news spreads is exposure. Users have the option to choose what they want to follow, meaning that they only see what they want to see. Having this option gives the user control of their exposure, however, it leads to the user not seeing other content that would challenge their current perspectives. Since they do not see content that challenges their beliefs, they will only continue to see information that reinforces their beliefs. As a result, users will not get a balanced or accurate selection of information.

To combat the spread of junk news, or fake news, is that businesses and individuals should be aware of how social media companies operate. They solely profit off of our data and sell that to advertisement companies. If we limit our usage on social media, there is less data collection that can be sold to these companies. However, if you do not want to limit your social media interactions, try to take any information you see with a “grain of salt.” If you see an outrageous claim, instead of re-sharing it or clicking on it, you should immediately fact check that claim through an independent outlet. These methods will help reduce the spread of junk news.

Consultants are essential for any business to thrive. They are the ones who can address issues many cannot see. Some great qualities that a successful consultant should have are to see a post from every angle, social media intelligence, and creativity. These traits are needed for a social media consultant to succeed. It is important that a consultant should possess the skill of analyzing a post and be able to convey a message from it; whether that be from text or simply a picture. A consultant should also be able to adapt and keep up with current trends going on in the social media realm. Trends change daily in social media so it is important posts and other social media interactions are appropriate with the time. Knowing what posts work and don’t will also increase your brand’s reputation and get your message across easier. Most importantly, I think it’s important for consultants to possess honesty. You want a consultant to be direct and realistic about goals, posts, and ideas. “Sugar coating” a situation could result in a loss of performance for a company due to not implementing a solution faster.

The phrase “nothing is ever free” speaks volumes when it comes to our “free” social media apps and other applications on our smart phones. Our personal information is a secret gold mine to these apps that claim they are “free.” If you ever read the fine print in a user agreement, you would be amazed as to what you would find you are agreeing to. Most people, and I can say myself, have skipped reading the fine print and just accepted the agreement so we could access the app. You would see that in some user agreements there are clauses that give the app permission to manage your information that you input into their system. This is then sold to third party companies to be analyzed and recorded, enabling a massive collection of personal information called “big data.” Everything you have ever searched, where you are located, is no longer private information due to this “big data.” This is incredibly alarming because your private information is in the hands of strangers that can do whatever they want with it. This is especially dangerous because some companies, like Google, do not have a user agreement where you can see what they actually do with your data. However, they do keep track of our information and searches, but we do not know the extent of their collecting powers.

This past week, I had conducted an experiment where I studied the amount of times, I used my phone in a 10-hour period. Every time I looked at my phone to check social media or a text, I would make note of it. The results were astounding. Looking at the log I created, I discovered that I check my phone an average of 3.67 times every hour. That is checking my phone roughly every 16 minutes. I was absolutely shocked from these results and realized I need to make a change.

Analyzing my log records proved that I was spending an unhealthy amount of time on my phone. The time I spent looking at my phone could’ve been used more productively. Instead of checking, my phone I could’ve been socializing with friends or studying. I realized that it was time to take a real break from using my phone and “live in the now.” I decided to go “cold turkey” from my phone for a whole day. This meant I would cut out all social media, internet, and texting. I kept my phone near me just in case there was an emergency, but other than that I did not look at it.

For this week’s post, we were asked to watch an interview of MIT professor Sherry Turkle and read Emma Rathbone’s article, “Before the Internet.” The interview of Sherry Turkle was very intriguing. She addressed problems that mobile phones and social media have created on our lives. Misuse and overindulgence of our mobile phones is increasing throughout the world. It has programmed us to continually check for updates, and if we don’t check, we experience the “fear of missing out” or “FOMO” phenomenon. Mobile phones and social media can be beneficial to connect, network, and share ideas with people all over the world. According to Sherry, trying to communicate with each other in person is increasingly difficult. The reason why is due to interruptions caused by their phones. It is hard to have a deep conversation with someone when their phone keeps notifying them of a new text message or social media notification. There is a real concern that we, humanity, are losing touch with reality. Every time I go out, I always see people with their friends. Instead of talking to them in person and interacting with each other, they are all looking at their phones. When social media platforms were first beginning to be used, people had a good balance of social media interaction and would acknowledge reality. Social media and reality have now, essentially, merged.

Having constant access to the Internet has been a gift and a curse. It is amazing to look up anything that you want and find an answer instantly using a smartphone. However, since all of us are connected on social media, it starts to become a bit depressing. A major observation I have seen is that everyone on social media feels like they have to compete with each other. They have to prove to the world that their lives are “interesting.” So instead of actually “living in the moment,” people are continuously trying to find opportunities that will make them look interesting on social media. It is difficult to enjoy social media when all I see is people trying to “one up” another.

Emma Rathbone’s article talks about the time when the Internet was not a necessity and how simple life was. The last time I didn’t have access to the Internet for a significant amount of time was when I was a young child. I remember how easy life was not having to worry about other people and what they were up to. I didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything because I couldn’t see what people were posting. If I was bored, I would go outside or actually do something instead of constantly scrolling for new content on my phone. However, I do think social media can be beneficial if people would cut back on their usage, just how Sherry Turkle suggests. Overindulgence is a real thing when it comes to social media. It can be easy to fall into the habit of constantly checking your phone. But if you limit that, you won’t feel the need to post about your life or worry about what others think about you online.

Before the Internet:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/06/26/before-the-internet

Sherry Turkle Interview:

Hello everyone,

My name is Andrew DiCapo and I am a senior at Central Michigan University pursuing a BSBA degree with a major in Business Information Systems. I am from a small town in Northern Michigan where my high school graduating class had only 55 people. I enjoy being with friends, traveling, being outdoors, and watching football. I am a big participant in fantasy football. My goal in life is to obtain a bachelor’s degree which I should receive this May and land a job where I can be successful, which I currently have two job offers that seem like good foundations for this goal. Thereafter, I would like to pursue a MBA or a master’s of information systems degree. I decided on attending CMU after recieving offers from several other universities. After touring CMU’s campus, I fell in love with the atmosphere. CMU gives off a small town vibe despite being the 4th largest university (student population wise) in Michigan. It also helped that CMU is very close to my hometown.

When I first started going to CMU, I was pursuing a major in marketing. However, after meeting an individual (who eventually became my girlfriend) that was an information systems major, I decided to make the switch my sophomore year. She convinced me that I would have more opportunities being an IS major than a marketing one. And she was absolutely right. I always knew I wanted to work for a large scale corporation and being an IS major has definitely given me an advantage. With technology breakthroughs and advancements daily, businesses are looking for job candidates that have experience with technology. The IS major gives me crucial technological experience while still teaching me the important aspects of business.

For a class I am currently taking, BIS 315, I am required to learn the ins and outs of social media platforms. I will be honest and say that I have never used Tumblr in my life, but I am excited that this class gives me the opportunity to utilize it. My expectations for this class is to learn how to be marketable on social media to employers. I want to learn how to attract business’ into learning more about me and wanting them to give me an interview. I believe this class will give me that opportunity.

I have been a participant of social media since I was 12 or 13 years old. I have seen many companies utilize social media that returned success to them. One company, in particular and a past employer of mine, is Jimmy John’s.

Jimmy John’s does an amazing job of getting user participation through it’s social media accounts. Their social media team is genius in their replies to users and their understandings of current trends. Most of Jimmy John’s posts are meant to be funny but there are also posts that are meant to get to know their customers better. There are numerous posts where customers have had disappointing experiences with them and Jimmy John’s is quick to apologize and offer an explanation to why. I believe the fact that Jimmy John’s is able to use current trends in a post to create humor and the fact that the account is quick to reply to its customers all create a formula for success. They are also fantastic at interacting with other companies on social media.

I have highlighted some of my favorite posts from the Jimmy John’s account below: