Email Marketing

At my current job, we are starting to plan marketing goals for upcoming year. One thing we are really focusing on is email marketing which really interests me because it surprises me how often companies and organizations use emails to reach their audience. Currently, we email out monthly newsletters but are planning to start sending out Soaring Eagle Casino Concert previews to bring more visitors to the Mt. Pleasant area. Another reason email marketing interests me is because it is free and does not require money put behind it to reach big audiences. Similarly, it surprise me the popularity of email marketing because I feel that many people do not check their email besides for work/school related things. I know sometimes I will click on shopping deals sent to me through my email but very rarely. How effective do you find email marketing?

Sports Social Media

This past spring and summer, I was an intern for the Indoor Football League (IFL) working in their PR & Social Media department. I really enjoyed this internship and the experience it gave me because I want to continue to work in the sports industry post-graduation. One of my tasks in this internship was to retweet important plays for teams playing and update half time and final scores. One thing that fascinates me about sports social media compared to other industries is how often they post during games and throughout the day. Another reason it interests me is because even with the overflow of posts coming for sport teams, they keep a strong fan base with high engagements. Why do you think this is?

Cybersecurity

At my office, I attended a luncheon about cybersecurity presented by the CMU cyber club and put on by the Chamber of Commerce. I thought the luncheon was very interesting and one of the main takeaways from it was to not use your debit card if possible. According to the presentation, debit cards are the easiest cards to hack, and it is better to use a credit card because of the protection the credit card company has. I was very surprised to learn this as I use my debit card for everything and do not currently have a credit card at all. I chose this as my blog topic this week because I think it ties into what we have been talking about over the semester about security, consumer data, and big data. What are your thoughts on this?

The Social Organization Chapters 3-5

The Social Organization is about tips and strategies of turning mass collaboration on social media into business results. I found this week’s reading very interesting and very applicable to my job at the Mt. Pleasant CVB. The CVB runs two Facebook pages, one targeted towards visitors and the other one targeted towards locals. The reading from The Social Organization helped better my understanding of leveraging online communities. I think the CVB would benefit from finding a different voice that for their visitor versus local page. Similarly, since the content shared on both pages is different, the tone of the content should follow that. Another way I think my client/job can leverage online communities is creating partnerships with businesses and creating interactive social posts that make locals want to comment and engage in what is being posted. Additionally, I am recommending my client changes the hashtag they use on these pages because right now they are the same but because the pages audiences are different, I am recommending the hashtags change to change the overall tone of the message. Finally, I think my organization would benefit from creating a purpose statement for their community page because it can help define the purpose and build understanding about why the page exists.

Hootsuite Module 4/Client Step 4

I found Hootsuite Module 4 very interesting and applicable to my job and client. Both uses paid advertisements but do not really look at the insights and benefits of promoting the content once it has been promoted. A section I found particularly interesting was the LinkedIn paid advertisements because I am recommending a social media plan for LinkedIn. I also think it is interesting that LinkedIn is becoming a social network with paid advertisements because it is so different than other platforms.

Another recommendation from module 4 I am going to apply to client step 4 is finding the right audience to target. My client runs two Facebook pages, one targeted towards visitors and the other one targeted towards locals. Since the content posted on both pages is different, the audience that is being targeted changes. One suggestion I have for my client is to have a more localized approach when posting on this page by writing captions that sound like they would come from a local. Additionally, my client could benefit from featuring more localized stories on their local page and placing money behind these posts.  

Hootsuite Module 3 & Client Project

I already had completed the Hootsuite Module 3 for a previous social media class, but I do think a lot of what is talked about can be applied to this project.

The business that I am focusing on already has multiple business social media accounts but also runs a local Facebook page that promotes community pride. I have interned for this organization before but they do not really focus on this page so that is why I chose it for my project. The first thing I want to apply from the Hootsuite module is finding my organizations KPIs and making sure that is what is focused on when posting. I do think one thing my organization does well is having a branded hashtag that people in the area know.

Another strategy I am going to use is the content calendar but making it different than the one used for business pages. I think that the page is lacking in that it matches the tone and voice of the business page to much when it should be more localized. Similarly, my organization can do more with paid, earned, and owned media because they do sponsor many local events but do not showcase them on the page the way they should being sponsors. Creating a more localized tone and showcasing the localism in Mt. Pleasant is the main focus for my organization.

I think that the development of this social media strategy is important to my organization because they are starting to plan for next year’s content, and this can help direct them in a new way. Similarly, I believe with a developed social media strategy, the organization will be able to determine insights and ROIs that might not have been available before.

The Legal Side of Big Data

I thought the video ‘The Legal Side of Big Data’ was very informative and interesting. One main takeaway for businesses is to know that their data can always be hacked despite the protection and firewalls put in place. I think that the video really emphasized this when talking about the Target hack or the government fingerprint hack because it shows that even the most protected organizations can be hacked.

I think the video highlighted what we have been talking about in class when it comes to consumers. When consumers enter their data into any app, website, etc. that data is being stored, sold, and duplicated. Similarly, even if something is deleted, the digital footprint of the consumer remains.

I think that we as consumers just need to be aware the type of information, we give to third party apps. For our banks and medical records, I think it is important these organizations are more transparent about what the data is used for and how that data is being stored and could ease the consumers worries. Obviously, anything can be hacked but it could put consumers at ease if they know how their data was being stored when it comes to medical and bank records.

I think another way to balance opportunities and threats with big data is for companies to be transparent and held responsible when data is breached. One thing that really stuck out to me in the video is that organizations have to respond and rebuild trust when a hack happens and I think one way to do that is by being held accountable for the data getting out.

Don't Worry Darling Publicity

For my blog post this week I wanted to focus on the new Harry Style’s movie Don’t Worry Darling. I chose to focus on this movie because of the negative social media buzz going around about the movie. This topic piqued my interest after having a conversation in one of my other classes. There were numerous scandals surrounding the film before it was even released and after being released Tik Tok has blown up with videos criticizing and talking about the movie in general. Similarly, a Tik Tok from one of the actors (Nick Kroll) playing off the drama saying he said, ‘they should start it.’ I think this whole topic is interesting and am wondering what have you heard about the movie, if anything? Are you interested in seeing this movie at all?

Relating Social Media to my Career

            After I graduate in December, I hope to have a career as a social media coordinator or content coordinator. I currently run social media accounts at my current job and run an Instagram account for a custom apparel company at CMU. I have thoroughly enjoyed learning new platforms of social media like Tumblr and LinkedIn. Similarly, I think I can apply our readings to my career like how to optimize my social media as my brand. I think I need to do better at promoting my accomplishments and work successes because right now I only update my positions but do not make a post about them or share them on any platform even though LinkedIn would be a good platform.

            After the stalking assignment we did in class, I realized how much information was accessible about me. I want to make sure everything out about me is positive and showcases me in the best light. I think one way I can improve my social media is taking off personal information like my phone number or address on my online resumes. It kind of made me uncomfortable that someone and anyone is able to find my phone number and where I live.

Social Media Prescence

My social media presence is good I believe but one thing I need to improve on is how often I update my social media whether that be Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn. A skill I want to get better at is my creativity because I find that I use a lot of templates instead of creating my own designs! Another skill I want to improve is my trendiness when it comes to social media. I am falling behind on how to create content on new apps like Tik Tok so I want to improve my skills on that platform. I In my above post I talked about the qualities I believe a social media consultant should have and in the work setting, I think I have applied all of these skills in my job at the Mt. Pleasant CVB because I look at data to see what posts and content gets the most interaction and I believe I will continue to use this skill.

Social Media Consultant Qualities

Some of the most important qualities I think a social media consultant should have is being organized, trendy, and creative. I think organization is an important trait to have when being a social media consultant because you will probably have to plan out content for your clients. Similarly, I think that being trendy and creative are an important trait to have because since our world is mostly digital, media consultants have to come up with new ideas to make their content stand out and be eye-catching. Another skill I think a social media consultant should have is listening because you have to listen to your potential audience and current audience.

Influence of Surveillance and Data Gathering

I enjoyed watching the video and reading the article “The Internet’s Original Sin.” One thing that stood out to me in the article was the talk about pop-up ads and how advertisements continue to drive the internet business model. Similarly, the quote “We’re addicted to ‘big data’ not because it’s effective now, but because we need it to tell better stories;” stood out to me because I think it enforces the idea of targeted advertisements and why surveillance and big data is needed. The video ‘The Internet with a Human Face’ touched on this idea as well but talked about how we as consumers hate advertisements, yet I feel like now we are so used to them they almost do not bother us.

Big Data & Limiting It

Big data is the storage and analysis of large and complex data sets. Big data is considered a powerful tool because it tracks and categorizes things about us. The 60 Minutes video touched on this idea a bit when it discussed how data companies can find your addictions, likes, health information just based off of what you do on the internet or what applications you download. The dangers of big data are a lot of people do not know to what extent is being collected and the type of information these companies can get about us. One thing in particular that stood out to me in the video was how Angry Birds was being used to track users’ geolocations.

I think despite regulations and legislation, big data will continue to be collected but I think one way to limit the harm from big data is making the privacy section of a policy at the top of the first page instead of having it woven into the last page, last section. Similarly, I think people should know what type of data they are collecting and the purpose of it.

Social Media Assignment Log

For my social media log assignment, I decided to look at how long I spend on certain applications. I observed my social media usage on Wednesday and was not surprised to see high usage on Instagram and Facebook because I worked that morning. Similarly, I use both for my part-time job and working as a campus manager for SouthbySea! My most used app was text messaging though. For Thursday, I tried to limit my time on texting, Instagram, and Facebook. Throughout the day it was hard to not be on those applications but was able to cut my usage down a ton. I enjoyed not being on phone and just being able to enjoy life. Additionally, my best friend surprised me Thursday so not being on my phone was a lot easier for me since we were catching up.

Social Media Opinion

I really enjoyed watching these videos! I liked how both Louis and Turkle had the same opinions but presented them in different ways. One thing that stuck out to me that was discussed in both videos was the idea of cell phones and technology fill the void people feel when they are alone. I found this very point very interesting, and I agree with it to some extent. Similarly, I liked how Turkle discussed the idea of we are living unless we are posting about our lives. I thought this point was interesting and instantly reminded me of the phrase ‘pics or it didn’t happen.’

Working in the social media industry I believe that social media influences my life all the time. I am constantly trying to stay up to date on what is trendy and what will get the most engagement. In my free time, I use social media to stay up to date on my friends and family. A positive about social media is that it can connect us to people all over the world.  

Clay Shirky - How Social Media Can Make History TED Talk Response

I found this TED Talk very interesting despite it being a few years old. One point discussed in the video that stood out to me is the idea that consumers of media are now producers of media. I thought this was a very interesting idea and it makes sense because humans consume media through devices, but we also produce media when posting.

Additionally, I thought it was interesting that the video discussed how every media is right next door to each other. I think that this point reinforces the importance of social media because you have to stand out as person or business since everyone else is also using those platforms. Similarly, it also makes content creation more competitive because you constantly have to stand out from your competition through designs, captions, etc.

Get to Know Me

Hi everyone! I am a Jordan, an senior at Central Michigan University studying Integrative Public Relations and Sports Management.

At CMU, I am in a sorority and a Campus Manager for the custom apparel company SouthBySea. Outside of CMU, I have interned with both the Mt. Pleasant Area Visitors Bureau and the Indoor Football League.

After college, I am hoping to continue working at the Mt. Pleasant Visitors Bureau for a few years or branching out and working with a sports team or another league before eventually working for the NFL.

In my blogs, I hope that people will learn new things and be able to relate to what I write.