The End is Here…

This semester is coming to a close and now that I reflect back on it, I’ve come to realize how much I have learned about social media!

One of the main things I had to do was build up my personal learning network! This project encouraged me to take my learning outside of class and learn about the world of social media on my own.

As I developed my personal learning network, I added experts that specifically provided information that helped me develop my training session for the Foundation for the Education of Young Women Alumnae Network. The PLN helped me stay continuously updated with information from experts that pertained to Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

It was such beneficial too because I learned things about social media that I did not know before. Some of those things were learning how twitter works and receiving advice from individuals such as Kim Morrison, a marketing and social media specialist. I learned about the importance of lists and how to engage your audience.

Kim Morrison Two

Even though the semester is over, I definitely see myself building a personal learning network for a different project. Since I now know what a PLN entails and how to effectively create one, I will definitely be continuing my network outside of school.

You might be wondering how I’m going to do this? Well to be specific, I’m interested in working in the non-profit sector. As my years here at St. Edward’s University continue and I develop my work experience through internships, I’ll be adding experts in my job field-which is Social Work-to my personal learning network. My PLN will help me stay updated on what is going on in my career field and skills needed to be successful!

Also, a project I’m super excited about is one with an individual that wants to create a clothing line that is specifically targeting a particular audience. One way I now know how to help them effectively is by creating a PLN for them. It is their first time creating a clothing line, and having a PLN will definitely be beneficial to them!

Lastly, having to work with a real world client was a crucial part in actually putting into play my PLN. I saw how effective my PLN actually was and it helped make the research process a lot easier when it came down to finding material that my client needed. Having to build a workshop with a team was a great learning experience. It gave us all the opportunity to bounce off ideas one another, and I definitely learned things that I wouldn’t have otherwise!

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Optimization, Dashboards, and Engagement with Twitter!

As I have stated in my previous blog posts, I have focused on Twitter for the past three weeks. This will be the last post that focuses on Twitter.

I found a useful site that breaks down how to effectively use Twitter whether you are an individual or company. If you are looking to specifically learn how to use Twitter for personal use-definitely check out this site – 1st web designer. In this particular post I will focus on how to effectively use Twitter through a company perspective.

Three of the tips by 1st web designer that stood out to me were optimization, making use of dashboards, and engagement.

  1. Optimization is defined as “an act, process, or methodology of making something as fully perfect, functional, or effective as possible.” Optimization and tweets go hand in hand. Why? Because you only have 140 characters to get your message across to your target audience! This is a tip that my client will highly benefit from. A particular source that allows me to optimize my tweets is Bitly.  Bitly shortens URLs, which will be a good resource for my client to use! Also, Bitly can track a links performance. My client wishes to share information such as scholarship, internship, and job opportunities to their alumni network. This involves posting various link sources to their tweets. My client can benefit from a site like this because they can keep track of how often their audience actually clicks and uses the information they share on Twitter. Remember optimization is key.
  2. Make use of dashboards: As my client begins to grow their use of various social media outlets, they will need to  make use of dashbaords. Dashboards make it easier to manage all of the profiles you have at one time, instead of having to individually pay attention to each one at a time. A good source is HootSuite. HootSuite, as stated on their site, “enhances your social media management.”
  3. Engage: Engagement is something that I hope my client makes their priority. By engaging your audience, it personalizes your brand and I believe brings more traffic to your social media outlets. With Twitter, you can do this by replying to someone, retweeting, and direct messaging. Engagement is key; simply relying on content that you post is not enough.

 

I hope these three tips help some of you all as they have helped me! Remember to check out Bitly, HootSuite, and 1st Web Designer!

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Twitter!

Alright, so now we are back to the Twitter conversation I started off previously!

I never imagined how effective and amazing Twitter is until now. It is an incredible social media outlet that I often overlooked and feel that others might too. However, reading up on all the features Twitter has and how to effectively use them all is something entirely different for me. All in all-Twitter is pretty cool!

While on my Twitter search, I read up on an article by Mashable.com. Mashable is “a leading source for news, information, and resources for the Connected Generation.” Definitely take the time to read up on some of their content; it’s super helpful and easy to read!

This particular article focused on how helpful Twitter can be for those in the Public Relations field, but I still found a way to connect it to my client, the Foundation for the Education of Young Women.

“The PR Pro’s Guide to Twitter” listed the top 5 things Twitter users should do and take advantage of, however I only focused on a couple!

  • Find Your Next Job

–          One way my client can use Twitter to their advantage is by retweeting and connecting their alumni to businesses that are hiring! Their focus is to enrich their alumnae network by being an active support system. One thing we are focusing on is their content, and by providing access to these job postings, their alumni can definitely benefit from them AND my client’s page outreach will increase significantly!

–          Here’s an example of a job posting I found on Twitter just by looking up the hashtag #jobs and #hiring!

twitter jobs

  • Offer a Behind-the Scenes Glimpse

–          Mashable also focused on offering your audience (or followers in this case) some experiences that can help “strengthen your own network and help humanize the brand you represent.”

–          I definitely feel that my client does an exceptional job with the “humanizing the brand” aspect. Their social media interns provide a very friendly and sincere environment for the alumni to share their own stories, opinions, and updates! However, I think the foundation should start providing an ACTUAL behind-the scenes glimpse to what they do! I’d like to encourage them to post about fundraisers, scholarships, and what is going on in their office headquarters. It’ll definitely show the hard work they put in, in order to provide such an amazing experience for their alumni and sister schools.

 

Twitter, you’re amazing!

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Women In Public Relations

This week I stumbled upon a blog that was founded on an amazing purpose!

Women In PR is “a vital resource for public relations professionals. Women IN PR empowers women to reach their full potential by promoting their professional growth and inspiring them to share their successes in the rapidly changing world of public relations.”

I know in my previous blog post I promised to talk about Twitter and how to effectively use its features. However, that cannot be the case this week! I would like to take the opportunity to elaborate on how valuable I think Women In PR is and its similarity with my client, the Foundation for the Education of Young Women!

I think it is very powerful to have a network of women who can allow each other to grow in their profession. This is similar to what my client is doing with their alumnae network. With various sister schools scattered all around Texas, the foundation likes to encourage and nurture a connection among the alumnae after their graduation. As I have mentioned in previous blog posts, alumnae post about their accomplishments such as graduating from college, a new job/internship, and other goals. They also support each other by posting content such as scholarships and opportunities that they have come across.

It is enriching to have a community that does such a thing because it inspires, motivates, and provides a constant support system for someone who is growing as they face the real world. Women In PR definitely reminded me of the foundation and its building blocks of encouraging young women to be leaders in their communities and to pursue a higher education.

Women in PR takes it a step further and has a network of women in the public relations field.

As a college student exploring the public relations and advertising track here at St. Edward’s University, I think it is very important to start looking for such networks that will help me advance in my career!

–          –      –

I read up on “Three Things PR Pros Should Do To Get The Most Out of Social Media” as published by Women In PR. They focused on three ways to take advantage of social media:

  1. “The art of maintaining relevancy is easy if content stays timely.”
  2. Building connections with journalists, “who are vital to a PR campaign’s success,” on Twitter by retweeting their status updates or stories.
  3. “Monitoring popular social media outlets to see what is trending, gaining popularity, and sparking conversations on the internet.”

As of this moment, I believe I am on the right track based off of these tips provided by Women In PR.

For those interested, Women In PR is having a Summit in Illinois. Definitely worth checking out!

WOMEN PR SUMMIT

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Here comes Twitter!

The next sequence of blog posts will focus around Twitter and how to effectively use its features.

My client requested information surrounding Twitter (how to: use it, engage their target audience.)

As I have worked on my personal learning network, I have come across some substantial information regarding Twitter. One specific marketing and social media specialist that I enjoy following is @MorrisonSMedia also known as Kim Morrison! Her tweets are very short, concise, to the point, and helpful. Such as these:

Kim Morrison

 

In my client’s specific case, I have drawn upon tips such as the ones listed above and below.

Kim Morrison Two

 

I have recently brought up the idea to my client of publishing their Twitter handle on all of their print and media material. Material such as their website, Facebook, school handouts/pamphlets, email signatures, etc. Hopefully it is something that they consider as I find it being one of the easiest and simple ways to spread your name to your target audience without much effort!

Kim Morrison mentions sharing valuable resources with your target audience, and my client specifically wants to post up scholarship/internship resources. Such tweets can become long and at times overlooked. I’ve drawn upon Morrison’s other tips on “spacing out your tweets, replies, and retweets. In my opinion, in order for my client to have an effective twitter account that actively engages their audience, they should follow this tip. Focusing specifically on only posting information on scholarship/internships will eventually cause their audience to become uninterested in their content. However, if they actively hold a conversation with their audience, maybe even holding a Q&A once a week regarding college info, advice from alumnae, we can create an engaging environment!

Also, hashtags can be your best friend or worst enemy when it comes to embedding them in your tweets! Overusing hashtags such as this…

HASHTAG SPAM

 

…can be a bit overwhelming and obnoxious to those who view your posts! Jon Loomer provides some helpful information regarding hashtags on his website, a must read!

In a conversation with my client, the use of hashtags was brought up and from what I understood, it seemed like they would only hashtag their name. We can take this a step forward and increase a response by relating to certain trending events of the day that can be applicable to their audience. Some that we discussed were #flashbackfriday, #throwbackthursday, and many more. However, I have thought about letting them create their own trendy, catchy, and clever hashtags that they can assign to specific days of the week that will create engagement on their social media networks!

There are many many MANY ways one can use Twitter, and as I learn with the coming days, I will post more information!

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Chapman…continued!

Last week I analyzed some advice from Ian David Chapman and how it applies to my client, the Foundation for the Education of Young Women!

This week we will continue to talk about how my client can continue to further develop their use of Facebook through some of the advice that Chapman provides on his blog.

As mentioned before my client tries to recruit all High School seniors who will be alumnae the following year from their chain of sister schools in order to welcome them to the growing network of alumnae on Facebook.

One of my favorite steps is #6) “Turn Your Group Launch Into An Event” which I analyzed last week. A step that works perfectly with this step #9) “Advertise Your Group”!  Chapman states that at the event you hold for your Facebook Group, you should have “some posters and give out flyers.”

My client can definitely take this step in many directions. One of them includes doing exactly what Chapman states-have posters and give out flyers! At the events that my client holds for their seniors, they should definitely include the Facebook icon on their banners, pamphlets, gifts, etc. It’ll not only spike the curiosity of their target audience but it will also prove to be an effective technique to start spreading the word of their group without much work!

Besides these events, my client has many sister schools in Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Lubbock, Fort Worth, and Houston, Texas! At these schools, the staff and administrators can work with my client and post visuals around the school that show the Facebook Group Icon and link. My client also strives to create an effective use of LinkedIn and Twitter for their alumnae, so they can also include those icons in media used around the schools.

Another step that Chapman mentions that I believe works well with my client is step #7) “Include an Irresistible Offer” which he states as “offering an incentive for people to join.”

My client has discussed of possibly doing such a thing but did not really know where to go with this idea. I believe that this will create a much greater turn out on the Facebook Group-more visits, clicks, likes! Having a contest where something can be given to the most active group member, or the alumnae that provides the most helpful scholarship link or advice can bring a lot of activity and participation to the page!

Chapman’s advice regarding Facebook is very helpful and effective as I keep working on this project. Next week, I will begin to analyze other areas of social media that my client has requested help in!

Twitter…here we come!

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Some advice from Chapman!

This week we will continue to talk about how my client, the Foundation for the Education of Young Women, can continue to further develop their use of Facebook!

As I searched the web for some useful Facebook Group advice, I came across a particular blog run by a man named Ian David Chapman. In a particular post he talks about the “10 Steps To Make Your Facebook Group Go Viral.” which peaked my interest because one of the problems my client is facing is trying to recruit all of their potential Facebook members in the beginning of the Fall season each year.

Some of the steps I came across, I found applicable to my client’s situation.

Step 4) As stated by Chapman which is “Target Your Initial Members” is very fitting. He basically goes on to state that “you need to choose people who are dynamic on Facebook…” and “people who have huge followings…” Each Fall my client attempts to recruit all High School seniors who will be alumnae the following year from their chain of sister schools in order to welcome them to the growing network of alumnae. However, they mentioned that it is difficult for them because despite having certain page administrators, that were previous alumnae, invite the new alumnae to the page, the new alumnae still do not join the Facebook Group.

I realized a solution to their problem.

Each year, they should add a college freshman onto their team of page administrators and have them specifically assigned to recruit the High School seniors for that year. This way they will have a greater connection with that senior since they just graduated from the same High School. Therefore it creates a much more welcoming environment and a greater turn out of members will join the Facebook Group!

Another favorite “step” stated by Chapman is Step 6) which states “Turn Your Group Launch Into An Event.” Here he states, “By turning your group launch into an event you automatically stand out and get noticed.” I have a close connection with my client because I am an alumnae from their chain of sister schools! In order for them to get a greater response from their High School Seniors, they can definitely use this step to an advantage.

Senior year is full of events specifically geared FOR SENIORS! Signing day, graduation, homecoming and various other events that the sister schools have. At these events, my client should advertise the Facebook Group and their other social media outlets. It will create a “hype” that will encourage their potential members to become a part of this growing network that they strive will be effective for a long period of time!

I will continue to analyze some of Chapman’s steps during this week in a follow up post!

Remember, please stop by and visit IanDavidChapman.com. I have got to admit, the content on that blog is exceptional and a good example for me to follow as a beginner “blogger!”

 

 

 

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Using Facebook On a Mobile Device

In this week’s blog post, I decided to analyze the way my client, the Foundation for the Education of Young Women, uses the social media outlet…Facebook in relation to mobile users!

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, my client is aiming to learn how to use Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to their fullest potential. In their particular case, they use Facebook Group to reach out to their various school alumnae from Texas in order to keep them connected to one another.

Using Facebook on a Mobile Device: The content that is shared on the Facebook Group page by the social media interns should be taken a look at closely. Smartphone devices are very popular and the way some of the content is displayed on them can look differently on a desktop computer. I personally do not own a smartphone, but all of my friends and almost everyone around me does! So paying attention to this rather important detail will bring out a greater response to the way my client’s audience responds to certain posts they publish.

The Flurry Blog provided some interesting facts and figures as I did some research for what smartphone mobile users used the most on their devices.

 

If it isn’t obvious to us all, mobile use will continue to grow each year in terms of social apps. Facebook is known to be one of the most popular social networking apps and as we can see from these figures, social networking is the second most frequently used thing on mobile devices.

I took a closer look at the content that is shared and posted on the Facebook Group on behalf of my client’s social media interns and various alumnae. Many posts include image posts, link shares, the use of hashtags, and video content (TED talks, Youtube videos, etc.) to name a few. Some of the content is shared “via mobile device” while in others it is not stated.

In order to help my client, I will propose that they ask their Facebook Group audience through a poll of some sort if they tend to use their mobile devices more often when accessing the Group page. With this information I hope to better inform and help my client reach their potential when my group presents our workshop in the Spring!

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How social media maintains connections

I would like to say that I am fairly new to this “blogging” world. I’m pretty sure that the popular, Tumblr, does not count as “blogging” and to be honest, I hardly ever used Tumblr in the first place.

What exactly defines blogging? I don’t really know, but that is why I’m currently taking the Social Media for Public Relations course at St. Edward’s University. I am a Communications major and at the moment I don’t have a specific track that I have chosen to dedicate my studies to. By track I mean an area of specialization and in my case I have four options to choose from: Interpersonal and Organizational Communication, Public Relations and Advertising Communication, Media Arts and Broadcast Journalism Communication, or Rhetorical and Cultural Studies Communication.

I decided to embark on this journey of immersing myself in social media because I have been a Social Media Intern for the Foundation for Education of Young Women for about five months now. I basically help maintain a connection between alumnae from several sister-schools around the state of Texas through social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

In this particular blog post, I would like to focus on how social media maintains connections with friends, family, classmates, colleagues, etc. Why? Because my team members and I are currently working with our client, the Foundation for the Education of Young Women. They specifically asked us to help them in the areas of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. They would like to know how to effectively use these social media platforms to their advantage and how to maximize a response from the alumnae that visit their social media outlets. As I mentioned before, they have an alumnae network that they maintain and their main purpose is to keep the alumnae interacting with each other through these various forms of social media.

When I initially started working with this organization, it took me some time to step back and realize that they were using social media to their advantage, not just as a simple account that they registered for and expected to use because everyone else has an account. These various forms of social media have become crucial when it comes to maintaining relationships with others. In this case, their alumnae-their oldest class being the graduating class of 2009 has been able to create a connection with other classes, the youngest being the class of 2014. In our client’s case, they maintain a relationship through posting images of what is currently going on in their lives, scholarship links, job/internship opportunities, and simple statuses of how they are doing.

It is rather interesting at how different organizations take on an approach to these various forms of social media. I honestly admire when social media is used in a positive light rather than a negative. I’m very excited to be working with this organization and hope to provide sufficient support and aid in order for them to reach the goals they wish to achieve.

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn…here goes to an extensive beginning of research and figuring out how you work!

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