Week Nine - Personal Branding

Personal branding is a concept that not everyone spends enough time thinking about while using social media.  Social media is so prevalent in today’s society that it has become second nature to the millions of people that use it everyday.  With this level of integration into our lives, we have come to view sites like Facebook and Twitter as informal conversations.  This leads to problems when people post things that portray themselves in a negative light, and that is where the idea of personal branding comes into play.

I think it is always important to keep the concept of personal branding at the forefront of your mind when posting on social media sites.  Nowadays, the first thing potential employers do before they hire someone is put their name into Google and run a search.  This leads them to that person’s Facebook page and Twitter site, and any other social media site on which they are active.  The content that is present on these sites can make or break any chance of getting a job with that company.  It is crucial that young people realize that this change has occurred and react accordingly.  I tend to think that social media users don’t realize everything they write stays on the Internet forever.  I know it took me a while to change my posting habits!

I would like to think that I do a nice job of maintaining my personal brand across my social media world.  All of my “About Me” sections on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn read the same and inform people that I am a GA in Pacific’s athletic department working in the media relations office.  Further, I make it a point to never use foul language or post any photos that contain alcohol or other inappropriate things.  I post about a variety of things that reflect my interests in the hopes that whoever is looking at these sites sees that I am a well-rounded person with a variety of interests.

Week Seven - Magazine Research

I started my research for this week’s blog by Googling the phrase “best magazines on Twitter.”  It took me to a website that had found the 25 most-followed consumer magazines on the social networking site.  After going through a few of them, it is clear that there are different methods of operation for each magazine.

The most-followed magazine on Twitter was “People.”  They also had the best engagement with their followers.  They posed questions asking their followers to respond and would then retweet some of the best responses.  I also looked at “TIME” and “Sports Illustrated” and their feeds were very cookie-cutter in that they felt pre-programmed using TweetDeck or HootSuite.

I then proceeded to look at “People” on Facebook, to which they have 1.6 million “Likes.”  They use the same social media philosophy as on Twitter, asking their fans questions.  On average, their posts have between 50 and 300 comments, and a dialogue is created between their fans.  “Sports Illustrated” had less than 300,000 “Likes” and simply posted links to stories on their website, the same tactic that “TIME” uses.

It is clear that there are different tactics at work when comparing the two magazines.  “People” has figured out how to engage and listen to their fans, giving them a forum in which to share their opinions and interact with each other.  The same cannot be said for the other two magazines.  Their social media offerings feel very robotic and that they are only on those sites because society says they should be.

Social media should be a key component of a company’s PR and marketing strategy.  Using it effectively can grow a given brand by leaps and bounds.  Using it poorly, in contrast, can hurt a brand and give people a different feel towards that brand than perhaps they intended to generate.

Week Six - "The Social Network"

I found “The Social Network” to be a very engrossing film the first time I saw it, and the same can be said for when we watched it in class last week.  It is a well-written, well-acted film that chronicles the rise of Facebook from a website for Harvard students only to a worldwide, global phenomenon.  However, upon second viewing, I couldn’t help but wonder how much of what takes place in the movie took place in the actual development of the website.

To me, it is clear that Mark Zuckerberg used a lot of ideas from the Winklevoss’s “Harvard Connection” website in his creation of Facebook.  In its infancy, Facebook was available to just college students, as was the Harvard Connection.  Creating a profile, networking with your friends and posting photos were key ingredients in both sites.  I found it hard to believe Zuckerberg’s character did not use the Harvard Connection as a basis for what is now Facebook.

The way the character of Zuckerberg was written in the film made him unsympathetic, as well.  He appeared rude, short-tempered and difficult during the multiple trials he was involved in.  It made me want to side more with the other parties than with Zuckerberg.  He also came across that way during his time at Harvard.  He seemed bitter about being rejected by the school’s final clubs, even hinting at his partner, Eduardo Saverin, that his inclusion was due to a need for diversity.

Having said all of that, I still find it amazing that Facebook has become what it is today.  Growing from a small site on Harvard’s campus to having one billion users is absolutely ridiculous.  Perhaps the thing I am most impressed with is the simplicity of the idea.  People want to connect with their friends online.  They want to share photos and exchange information.  It almost seems like Zuckerberg knew what people wanted before we knew it.

Week Five - Energizing Customers

I thought that the discussion on energizing customers was an interesting section in this week’s reading. The figure on p. 132 in “Groundswell” is really telling, in my opinion. The fact that 73-percent of Americans trust reviews from family and friends over expert ratings, company websites and television and radio ads goes to show that the groundswell truly has taken effect.

For me personally, I would rather get insight into a restaurant or a movie from someone I know as opposed to a critic I’ve never met. I would go so far as to say that I prefer sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor, even if the reviews are written by people I do not directly know, over ads on television or reviews in newspapers. I think I tend to prefer these types of reviews because I know that the people that write them are not being compensated or asked to write certain things; they are simply sharing their experiences.

Of the three techniques given in the book on how to energize customers, the one I think is the most effective is to participate in and energize online communities of that specific brand’s enthusiasts.  Obviously, the technique that a company picks would vary on what they want to get out of their publics, but I believe that if a company actively participates in a discussion with its brand enthusiasts, it goes a long way for that brand’s image and reputation.

The Lego Ambassadors program was really effective for Lego in connecting with its brand enthusiasts and maintaining a pulse on what was going on in its online communities.  Clearly, making money was one of the company’s objectives, but the feedback on Lego’s products was arguably more important. Finding out what its actual customers felt about its products was very important to Lego, and should be to every company that values its customers.  Had I been one of these people, I would have really enjoyed the company reaching out to me and engaging me in what they were doing. I think this example really shows the groundswell in full effect.