#bis315

Hello, my name is MaKenzie Sebastian and I am a fourth year student at Central Michigan University. I am currently working towards my Bachelors degree in Business Communications. I am still unsure of what exactly my future plans are,  but I hope to work somewhere in the project management field. With this blog I hope to further my communication skills by expressing my thoughts in a scholarly outlet; in addition to connecting with my fellow classmates through a new medium. 

Like any young adult in this day and age, I will admit that I am completely and utterly addicted to my phone. Although the internet is amazing, I wish I was born before the time of the internet, social media, smart phones, or even phones in general. Emma Rathbones article made me smile and envy everyone who actually got to live that life, with that lifestyle being the only thing anyone knew. I want to be able to be bored, and read a book, or spontaneously doodle an awful drawing or move somewhere new and be mysterious because theres no way for anyone to know anything about you unless you tell them. Instead, like Max Stossels mentioned, we are constantly in competition with each other, trying to prove something to the world, our followers, or maybe just ourselves?. Being a girl, I think social media effects us a lot more than men. I am constantly checking social media and looking at influencers or even other women and comparing myself to them, from their bodies to how they look, to the clothes on their back and even their lifestyles. Therefore, having the internet constantly available causes a lot of anxiety for a lot of people including myself, but its also a very great tool in order to find out anything you need to know at any time. Personally, the only time I can think of a time when I went awhile without the internet is either when I was grounded and got any devices taken away from me when I was younger, or camping on weekends. As I get older, I think I will be less absorbed in my phone, and spend my time more wisely. Overall, I think the internet is very useful and a great thing although I do wish I didn't grow up with it so I could live in a time where you can truly just enjoy the life thats in front of you.

Social Media Consulting can be very impactful at a personal professional level and at a business level. There are many important traits that a consultant should have, but there are a few which I believe to be very important. I think that having a sense of passion in your work is important. You can say this about any job, but it is super important for a social medial consultant as they could directly effect the business or you personally. The other aspect that is important would be an understanding of the industry or person in which they are representing. You don’t want someone who is unfamiliar with your work to represent you on social media.

Personally if I were to consult my own social media, I would have a few suggestions. First off, I would say to post your own original content. A majority of my Twitter is just retweets, not too often do I tweet something. This makes my Twitter seem not very serious and more of a pastime. The second point I would make would be to not retweet as much. Most people don’t care about the stuff I retweet. If I enjoy something, I retweet it. This is a bad habit that I need to work hard to change. Overall, my social media presence could use some work.

i’m new to tumblr; i use twitter more. my name is luciano and i am from southwest detroit. i am latino with both parents are from the state of michoacán. just south of the capital of mexico. I am fluent in both spanish and english.

career wise, plan a is to hopefully get in the film industry. i'd like to work for a movie company, like in marvel studio films and maybe edit videos or maybe eventually direct them. my plan b is to invest in other business around southwest detroit. or make jobs more accessible for undocumented folks. 

i'm blogging all this in hopes of networking more with students my age who also want to pursue the same career path, or at least my same mindset. 

when it comes to social media marketing, i feel like wendy’s twitter page takes the dub: https://twitter.com/Wendys

the way they reply to their customers is just realistic as heck. the sarcasm be on point. usually when it comes to customer service, you want to be respectful and wendy’s is respectful to their customers on and off twitter, but sometimes when you argue with them through twitter over a meal, they will correct you: https://twitter.com/Wendys/status/1298457317185380353?s=20

Photo source: 

Businesses are able to build their own online communities through social media that are able to be used for a number of purposes, such as gaining feedback from your products or other aspects of your business. These online communities are also very beneficial because the followers are able to connect with one another on their shared interest in the business. Effective principles regarding these online communities, as discussed in the book The Social Organization: How to Use Social Media to Tap the Collective Genius of Your Customers and Employees by Bradley and McDonald, include learning how they are and aren't suitable to be used. A great example of how businesses can utilize their online communities is with Electronic Arts, a gaming company that creates the extremely popular Sims games. When creating new content for The Sims 4, such as expansion or stuff packs, EA asks their online community to vote on a number of ideas that they’ve come up with in order to see what their consumers would want to see next. This is really useful so that they can get direct feedback and gain an understanding on what their audience wants, rather than only putting out content they’ve decided on alone.

Hootsuite Module 4

My name is Derek Kerner. I am entering my 5th year at CMU finishing up my double major in Finance and Accounting with a minor in Information Systems. Looking forward to my career aspirations, I plan on doing more with Finance than Accounting or IS. I hope to land a Financial Analyst job out of school and in a few years go back to school to pursue an MBA. I plan to use this blog as a way to keep updates on anything within my academic/professional career.

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 

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.