Media Power

"The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses." Malcolm X might have said it best during the civil rights movement. 50 years ago he predicted power that continues to grow exponentially. In 2019 the power of media and now social media speaks and controls a population motivated by instant gratification.

Instant gratification is the idea the human nature desires instant experience and pleasure or emotion. In short when you want something you want it now. With the 5 to 7-inch black boxes carried in every persons pocket or purse instant gratification is at an all-time high, because it is attainable. At every moment of the day news and communication are available.



In a country built on freedom including speech and press. When that is taken away or the credibility of that freedom is compromised what do we have left? In a survey taken in September of 2019 mass media trust comes in at 41%. In a statement of the hypocrisy in the united states that number actually drops to 30% when you are talking about social media, but 68% of Americans say they still get their news from social media.

Media has been around since the beginning of civilization and it is not going anywhere, and as time progresses its power will continue to grow. The question remains, "with great power comes great responsibility" which will media become. Trust is a hard thing to gain while an easy thing to lose. Once lost it becomes near impossible to regain in the same capacity. In the United States the press and major news outlets have reached a pressing time (no pun intended). As power has been pushed through social media to the forefront of everyone's fingertips. How media will work to regain its status and dependability will determine which impact it will have. Media will remain the most powerful entity on earth, will its power be for good or for evil?

Reading About the World of Social Media

Reading textbooks has never been my favorite thing to do. Four months ago if you had told me my social media principles class was going to have a textbook I would have called you crazy, LET ALONE TWO! Now these aren't your standard hard-cover textbooks but that is not the point.

Reading both Guy Kawasaki's The Art of Social Media and Karen Freberg's Social Media for Strategic Communication I learned way more to social media then I think I bargained for. The world of social media is ever changing as Kawasaki and Freberg continuously remind their readers.

Throughout the semester I have actually enjoyed readings about the growth of social media and how to creatively and effectively use it. Much of the millennial population and generation X,Y, and Z all use social media and some even think they are proficient at it. However many only see it as a constant stream of cat videos and keeping people up to date with their lives. Both of these books dive deeper into how to use social media and its benefits in the professional world.

This will be my final assigned post to this blog. This class has given me quite a bit, and that includes over 40 blog posts that at some points I have no idea where I came up with these topics. I enjoyed some of the writing, there were also times when I wanted to take a week off and that would have cost me points so that couldn't very well happen.

Social media principles gave me a look into social media like I had never thought of before. As the professional world continues to adapt to social media and social media continues to change. I am glad I took this class and I am continuing to learn about what social media can bring to the professional world.

Social Media of The Summer

Everything changes with seasons. Social media is no different. There are key trends that take place as we transition to the summer months. Certain things change in use of social media and what the important aspects of social media are. Here are 4 key trends in social media to keep an eye out for this summer.

1. Mobile is everything, over 80% of media use comes from mobile devices.

2. Location takes over.

3. Visual content becomes even more important with 63% of social media includes visuals.

4. Spread out your coverage, more platforms become more widely used in the summer months.

Social Media Specialization

Social media has become such an integral part of society that branches have come off of it into forms of specialization. Platforms can be used in so many ways entertainment, sports, crisis communication, and journalism. Each specialization uses social media in different ways taking advantage of different tools in social media.

Entertainment:

• Regular updates 
• Strategic briefs 
• Influencer branding
• Graphics and visuals
• Videos
• Press releases

Sports:

• Game releases
• Game events
• Updates 
• Content and scheduling 
• Sponsorships 
• Graphics and visuals
• Videos
• Branding 
• Influencers

Crises:

• Crisis plans 
• Statements
• Exercises and training
• Backgrounds on key professionals
• Media monitoring and listening 
• Policies and guidelines
• Live video and news releases

Journalism:

• Stories
• Updates 
• Features
• Articles
• Exclusives
• Investigations
• Video

Social media is used in so many facets. It can effect so much of the life we live in so many different ways. These are a few ways that social media continues to grow and impact the world.

Measuring, Evaluating, Budgeting

Measuring and evaluating takes time. Resources to find measurements of data and analytics can not be scary. Creativity takes hold in all aspects of social media business. Without this input without insight there is not justification for actions on social media. To actively take advantage of measurements and evaluations here are some tips.

Use regular language don't over complicate or make it harder to find the real basis of the numbers or research.

Budgeting and numbers are okay. Know that you get what you pay for and plan out what you are willing to pay for in the most effective way.

Limitations are to be expected and find the differences in the data. Restrictions hit every brand or business. Know your own and embrace them.

Be up to date on research and data metrics know when you are getting them and know how consistent they are.

Always keep learning. No matter the part of your brand or business always develop and learn.

Have goals. Have a checklist of what needs to be accomplished and know how you want to get there.

The One Show Uniting the Age Brackets

There are certain events that is seems everyone tunes into watch. The Super Bowl, The World Series, The Oscars, The Grammys to name a few. Notice how these all begin with The. Well I have a new one for you all The Game of Thrones.

Based on two novels written by George R.R. Martin and A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones both published in the mid 1990s. Game of Thrones the TV series that has taken off over the past 9 years is being dubbed the greatest TV show ever. With a well planned 2 year break between season 7 and the final season, 8 the series brought in an audience of over 17 million Sunday night. 

The following of Game of Thrones reaches age brackets that no other TV series has touched from ages 13-65 all being well represented. The spectacle that was the premier took the world by storm and by world I mean social media. 

HBO's twitter was hit over 800 thousand mentions. People used the #GOT over 600 thousand times. According to Talkwalker the show created over 1.5 million social media posts.

Game of Thrones conquered ratings as expected with the season premier. The largest conquest however may have been its social media take over.

Creating Content

As this piece of content is being written I sit here in week 11 of a 16 week semester. For one of my classes I was tasked with creating three pieces of content a week. My feeble inexperienced mind has begun to seriously struggle in the later weeks with what to write about. Enter chapter nine for this weeks reading. Based on, generating content. There are four key types of content on all forms of social media.

Written:
Often the first impression of a brand or company comes from writing. Writing tools are readily available it is good to write constantly on any ideas that come to mind. Connecting your ideas to your brand or your audience also adds to the ability of your writing.

Audio:
Audio is a powerful tool that connects to an audience. Podcasts have become increasingly more popular and with increasing audience for them their use has expanded. Interviews and talk shows are two audio mediums that have taken social media interest.

Visual:
Visual can take many forms. Reports, analytics, presentations, statistics all play a key role in grabbing attention and being keen content for a brand.

Graphic:
Perhaps the most popular of the options above graphic content is sexy. The key to graphic content is not losing sight of the whole picture. What do graphics achieve for a brand what do they give to an audience while they may grab attention sometimes they don't accomplish the intended needs.

Creating content is difficult. The keys behind content are what make it difficult. Using all of these forms adds to the diversity of a brand and its platforms. If a brand can lock down these and bring them all together into a constant diverse stream of content they are on their way to a well run social media campaign.

Social Media's Growth

Social media is ever changing. Part of why it is so popular is this ability. The idea that social media can be anything it is needed to be makes it a constant in society. With that being said since the beginning of social media in 1997 social media has become a vital part of today's society. I wanted to look into what is social media now.

Here are the top 8 uses of social media now

1. Staying connected


2. Sharing your thoughts


3. Showcasing talents and abilities


4. Marketing and promotional abilities


5. Brand awareness


6. Knowledge


7. Fastest news


8. Bringing people together

Social media will continue to change. Perhaps that is what makes it so necessary. It is what makes it so special and unique. The idea that a product can change so effortlessly just by the use of the user. This is what makes social media irreplaceable is the idea that the power is in the hand of the user. Social media of all platforms can become anything the audience wants it to be.

Social Media Personalities

Throughout social media there are people and personalities that make the social media realm go round. Influencers, creators, and ambassadors are major personalities that leverage a following and voice to increase their brand and the brand they work for.

Influencer
A person or persons who are skilled and passionate in knowing how to communicate, engage, and create dialogue in the right way for the right reasons.
-Large Audience
-Paid Endorsements
-Access to brand and events
-The brand controls the relationship
-One-way Commitment
-Disclose agreement and identity

Creators
Similar to influencers but they tend to create more content while giving insights and strategy to their associated brands.
-Leverage opportunities for creativity
-Paid endorsements
-Partnership
-Creators are in control of creative execution
-Two-way commitment
-Disclose name or under nickname

Ambassadors
Working to promote your brand and and work but in their own personal interests effects. Leveraging loyalty to a brand as their currency. Loyal customers, alumni, current students, or fans all count as ambassadors.
-Leverage loyalty and commitment
-Exclusive access
-Ambassadors control their involvement
-Two-way commitment
-Disclose identity and connection

How many influencers do you follow on social media? What is the real stream of content on your pages and feeds?

These personalities have become so good that they barely have to work to do their job as they already have the following they need.

How to Find Brand Voice in Writing

Before a brand can take off and even begin its digital presence and marketing it needs voice. The ability to connect and be unique. This can be broken down platform by platform or audience by audience. Making each writing style unique and different depending on the intended audience or goals. 

1. Give your brand a personality and stick to it

2. Find attributes you want to stay away from

3. Determine the attitude you want your audience to have towards you based on how and what you share platform by platform

4. How do you want people to feel about your content

5. What is in it for your audience what are their benefits from connecting with you

6. Who are the audiences you want to focus on and key into

7. Know your competitors including how they communicate and what their voice is

8. What are your goals

9. Does everything you post have a goal or purpose reflect on your content right now and where it is and should be

10. How do you want your audiences to respond to your content

These 10 key steps can help drive your content and writing and where it should go into the future. The ability to review and look at the content already being managed can have a lasting impact on all of your existing audiences.

The ONU Social Media Workshop 2019

Ohio Northerns 4th annual social media workshop. With attendance up to around 100 including working professionals, students, and professors this is an opportunity to learn about multiple facets of social media. With the day beginning at 10 with a presentation from Amanda Todorovich and the Cleveland Clinic knowledge was being shared from the onset. The day was set into five blocks each with two presentation in the blocks giving attendees freedom to choose where they wanted to be each block. 

Topics included a wide array of diverse social media uses and plans. In block one I attended "From Typewriter to Twitter: How the Dublin Irish Festival Grew From a Tennis Court to Nearly 40 Acres" Centering their presentation around the growth of social media through the development of their festival. They talked about the partnerships they had formed as well as how important publicity is in everything they did as a small budgeted operation. 

As the day continued I attended Professor Dan Farkas's presentation on multimedia in social media. Farkas who is a professor at Ohio State on strategic communication and public relations and multimedia preached that multimedia on social media is not longer a luxury but instead a necessity.

Both of these presentations stuck with me as they covered the future of social media. Continuing with how to grow. Social media changes daily if not hourly and both of these topics pushed how important it is to grow a brand and use the tools at you disposal to take advantage of that. 

Social Media the Fastest Newspaper Ever

The first newspaper was printed in 1566 in Venice. The first english newspaper appeared in 1621 in London. News has been an integral part of society ever since. Today however newspapers are fighting to stay relevant.

News now comes from the world of social media. Every form of social media has seen growth in the use of their platform to acquire news. Upwards of 50 to 70 percent of people are using their social media sights to reach real time news that newspapers are often late to now. On facebook about two thirds of users, use the site to get news throughout the day.

Social media users have issued in a new wave. Users on any platform that provides news have dropped their newspaper usage down to single digit percentages. Newspapers have worked to combat this swing by creating their own apps or even social media pages.

News comes out much faster through social media channels. With live witnesses often displaying the events in real time. More and more content on live news events is displayed social media platforms have developed trending content. Allowing users to see the news in real time when ever and where ever they choose.

As society progresses and ages newspapers will have to continue to work to find ways to stay relevant. Whether through social media or in the standard paper edition newspapers must find new ways to catch the eyes of readers to stay afloat.

Social Media Strategy

Social media has become a major part of communication in society. As social media can be used to connect with friends stay in the know on news and share experiences. It can also be used to expand your brand and reach.

Most only see the benefits of social media in the personal setting. What is overlooked is the fact that professionally social media can be a resume, and a communicator. LinkedIn has even added to their profile pages a place where links can be posted to blogs and other social media sites.

With an ever-expanding market, businesses continue to buy into the social media realm. Content creation and posts along with a steady stream of connection and communication on social media has become a key to marketing and advertising.

Brands and cooperation's are working to take advantage of every opportunity given on a platforms. Planning and strategic design and content have become their own works of art.
As social media will continue to expand so will the strategies needed to capitalize on all the opportunities each platform brings. The strategies needed will be key to the future of communication and business.

What Makes Popularity

Through all platforms of social media there is some form of popularity. Followers, friends, and connections are all forms of the same thing. People in your audience. Reaching an audience is a gone of social media. The question is what is the major measure of popularity in social media.

Reaching out and getting large numbers of friends or followers has become quite easy in today's society. Most people will accept requests because they are adding to their audience as well. Is it really a connection or an audience member however if they never react to your posts.

On Facebook a more connective social media platform users average around 400 friends. The same study found that the actual number of people you will interact with no matter how many "friends" you add will stay the same.

Instagram users have been researched and 70% of users have fewer than 1,000 followers. 16% have between 1,000 and 10,000 followers. 6% have between 10,000- 50,000 . While the numbers may say certain things. The key behind these numbers is interactions. Studies have shown that 70% of posts to instagram are not seen by main audiences.

Thus creating the question is popularity more about the quality or quantity of the audience. Interactions become more important than the pure numbers of seen.

Monitoring and Listening to Social Media

Research into social media has become a major tool in marketing and advertising to be able to identify audiences. There are two main ways to do this. Monitoring and listening. Each have their own benefits and each are a bit different.

When monitoring analytics become a key factor in the research. Tools have been created to make a systematic and sustainable program to range your success. Listening is finding feedback from the audiences. Comments, questions, concerns all tie into listening to an audience.

Here are the top five benefits to monitoring and listening to your audience:
-Finding what key words, hashtags, phrases, accounts, and user help to reach and impact the audience.
-Identifying which accounts, websites, blogs, and other external links strengthen word-of-mouth traffic.
-Following trends.
-Identifying the growth of your brand through various platforms and outreach.
-Finding overall following data when audiences are active when they respond and when they want to be contacted.

Being able to read an audience and use it to your advantage in the business world of marketing and advertising has become a key to success. Using these benefits of monitoring gives businesses a needed edge in finding the right ways to reach their audiences.

Top 5 Keys to a Personal Brand

A personal brand is a key tool to expanding business. Freberg dives into a key of personal brand as being real to yourself and authentic. She stresses that being able to have a consistent and clear message on your platforms adds to the reputability of your brand. She list six keys to success.

1. Don't be fake
There may be temptations to try and stretch from yourself stay true to your personality and brand. Be unique and memorable in how you post and market to your audience. The idea of being an influencer may have a strong appeal but being true to you gives you a stronger impact on your true audience.

2. Don't buy followers or use bots
The appearance of looking famous or influential can have its draws. The drawbacks however far outweigh the few benefits. People are not dumb and if the interactions with your outreach does not resemble your following force you risk your reputation in social media.

3.Stand by your opinions
Believe in yourself and your own judgement. Don't tell your audience to support something for you to disappear in the near future. Be a resource and generous in informing your audience of your opinions and what you believe.

4. Focus on quality of engagement not quantity
Focus on the connection. The ability for your audience to feel a personal connection to you is the goal. Value each member of your connection and each feedback you get back.

5. Understand the connection of virtual to offline brand
Your media brand is only as good as your offline brand. Be true to yourself in what you promote in all platforms but more importantly in the real world.

In building and maintaining a personal brand in both the virtual and offline world be true to who you are. Build in in your own way with you own opinions and hard work. This is the only way to become the influencer you can be.

Live Tweeting is a Lot of Work

Tweeting throughout the game becomes quite consuming and difficult. Basketball runs at a quick pace. Following the action and being able to quickly upload the action without missing something is near impossible. A sporting event adds to the difficulty having to know players and the numbers of who is making the action. The aspect of live tweeting completely changed the experience of going to a sporting event. 

For all of the people in the world who work in social media and whose job it is to live tweet events kudos to you. The next class assignment we were given was to attend and event around campus and live tweet from beginning to end of it. I chose the Ohio Northern Men's Basketball game. This also happened to be senior day for the team.

If you'd like to see the tweets the transpired feel free to look at my Twitter; TrevorMcC_11 or use the hashtag SMspring 19.  

Social Media Strategy

As the semester continues we have transitioned to a new book. Social Media for Strategic Communication written by Karen Freberg. Published in this year Freberg expands on the development of social media and how it can be used for communication and marketing throughout the business and personal world.

Throughout the early stages of her book she tries to impress upon her readers that the balance can be struck to make social media a valuable asset. Social media she explains is an extension of your community. The ability to balance the need to create new entertaining and informative content while also being personal enough to feel a connection. Freberg stresses that every user is different. With different motivations and uses for social media. The key however is still to find the balance between those motivations and uses along with personal connection. 

Her first major tip is that social media is keen on first impressions. Whether it's through profile pictures or bios there is a need to stand out and be remembered. 

Tip two you don't have to be on every form of social media. Users need to realize the audiences they hope to reach and work to narrow down which platform gives them the most effective reach. Identify the relationships you have already created and the goals of moving forward with those. 

Tip three create content that works towards the goals you have set forward. Innovation is a key for creating traffic to pages. Finding ways to be new and creative in what profiles consist of helps with standing out and being remembered.

Social medias balance has become a new tool in business that organizations are working to perfect. The ability to connect while also getting important messages across when optimized correctly can help bring major benefits to a company. Expanding the reach of the company along with touching new members of the audience.

Social Media an Ever Developing Platform

Social media has become a continuously developing tool. Taking shape over the past decade platforms have become tools for business, communication, and marketing. Self proclaimed gurus shower the globe but in reality as social media continues to develop it changes everyday. Specialist work to stay on top of what is new but most would admit it changes all too frequently to be an expert. In the final chapter Guy Kawasaki gives a few brief tips in a final chapter of his book.

His top tips for the most used platforms:

For Facebook the biggest thing he looks to inform readers on is that not all viewers see everything you post. The "news feed" does not show everything posted in a day. Facebooks argument is that it does not want users to be overwhelmed with posts. Your job is to make your posts worth Facebook's "news feed" worthy this is caused by interaction. Use your posts to grab peoples attention. Give people reasons to interact with your posts and profile.

For Instagram while it is a somewhat restricted form of social media it can still be extremely powerful. Keep it short and interesting attention grabbing and informative. Make sure to add hashtags and other easy ways to look back and identify your post and business.

For Twitter be bold and grab attention. Add graphics to stand out. Make sure you understand who can see which tweets and how they are affected by addressing. Understand the keys to twitter and how you can interact with others using mentions and tags along with retweets and replies.

Social media is a new age tool. It's ability to effect society is immeasurable. How it can be used is still developing as more and more functions are added each day. These few tips from In every form we are all still learning as it is still evolving.

Connection?

Living in an era of connectivity. Social media along with other electronic advancements have made it seem like the globe is shrinking. The ability to talk to a friend spending a semester in Europe at the touch of a button baffles me. Living in this age adds a lot to society and what has become the perceived norm.

Communication is at an all time high but it takes many forms. Snapchat allows you to see people minute by minute of their life. Facebook connects friends from years and years back allowing you to stay connected in people's lives no matter the distance or time. Twitter gives hot takes and news faster than ever before. All of these factors have changed communications and connectivity and public relations for the foreseeable future. Everything is faster.

The importance put on communication on continuous level adds to already increasingly stressful situations. Teenage relationships both platonic and not have come to rely on the sense of constant communication and over analyzation on all social media platforms.

In a 2014 research survey done  it was reported that 45% of millennials reported social media had a major impact on their relationships. Advice about relationships may seem like common sense but the top advice given is.

1. Prioritize time without media: Spend time with them while being disconnected and away from the hustle and bustle of technology.

2. Check in before you post: Always communicate with your partner let them know about your sharing especially when it comes to details about you and your partner.

3. A golden rule, if you wouldn't say it or show it in person don't do it on media.

4. Don't Snoop/Trust them

Social media has its benefits and its downfalls. When properly used it gives us connections that in the past would never have been able to be made. When used poorly it adds to it adds on to an already stressful and hectic world we live it.