Assignment: Howard 29-41 and Gillen 40-58
Chapter 3 of Professor Howard's book Design to Thrive focuses on why companies should invest their time and effort into social networks and online communities. What are the ultimate benefits? There are ten reasons explained why social networks and online communities are a good thing; any company should be able to relate to at least one, but probably more.
The two things that I found most interesting include the idea that online communities can "enhance and sustain intellectual capital" and "increase creativity and cross-fertilization." I think I already knew this, in a way, because I am part of a few online communities that focus on certain topics in which everyone contributes their own knowledge and input. If this concept is true for college students blogging about their interests (like fashion, books, fitness, crafts, etc.), why wouldn't it be true for a company? Also, I love the idea that Professor Howard makes about the "multiplicity of perspectives" which help bring out new angles and eliminate errors. Companies have been doing this forever through traditional brainstorming, which usually took longer and required people to be sitting in a room together. However, if people are in an online community, they can post what they think as soon as they think of it. For example, I'm on the yearbook staff and we have just recently adapted the use of Google documents for collaboration between the editors, writers, and photographers. Everyone can view the document and instantly update on ideas and progress for stories, which relieves stress and increases efficiency.
Ear to the Ground, Chapter 3 of Secrets of Social Media Marketing, is all about the different tools that marketers should be using in order to create an effective campaign geared toward the company's desired audience. Gillin gives good advice to "think like the customer while searching" and "get creative with search terms." I personally like the point Gillin makes about hierarchies on social media sites. While every user is "created equal," there are obviously those who have greater influence than others. For instance, users who have a wide fan base or a large amount of followers are obviously ones to take into consideration.
I enjoyed watching the videos about YouTube's history because it never fails to amaze me that a website that is more popular than CNN was started by three guys in a garage less than ten years ago. Stories like this one, as well as the story of Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg, are truly inspiring and give people the motivation to fulfill their dreams. Consequently, there is a very big similarity between YouTube, Facebook, and many other social network websites. They rely on people. The idea of community on these sites is immense and without people logging on daily and posting their ideas, pictures, and so much more, there would be no social media and no Web 2.0. As in the video ("A History of YouTube"), when Google paid over a billion dollars for YouTube, they were actually buying the people.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Week Two
Assignment: Gillen 21-39, 95-117 and Howard 1-27
Chapter 2 of Paul Gillin's Secrets of Social Media Marketing is all about making smart decisions regarding social media in order to fully benefit a company.
Marketers need to keep in mind several factors when picking a social media network for their company. First, always know what point the company is trying to make. Next, balancing "ease of use, simplicity in deployment, and functionality" is always a vital part of starting a campaign. As marketers become more familiar with how to use their chosen tool, they can make their website more complex. Another thing to remember is that just because social media is new and very popular, there are still many ways that conventional marketing is better. For example, if a company is targeting an audience that is over 50 years old, it would not be very smart to focus on an internet campaign.
This chapter also discusses the importance of customer satisfaction and feedback over the internet. In today's world, it is much easier for customers to post opinions of a company's product or service, both positive and negative. For example, websites like consumerist.com, angieslist.com, and servicemagic.com allow people to write about their own experiences with local businesses. It doesn't take very many bad reviews on one of these websites to really damage a firm's reputation. The last two things that really stood out in this chapter are to “relax and listen." Many corporations do a terrible job of dealing with crises because they take themselves too seriously. Also, companies need to listen to customers because when they get online to talk about a product or service, it's generally because they want to be heard.
Chapter 6, titled “Customer Conversations” begins by describing the way social networks and brand marketing have conflicted because social networks have always been about connecting with other people, not an institution.
There are so many categories of social networks that can anyone can easily find one to be a part of. From general purpose sites like Facebook to recommendation engines like StumbleUpon, it is very easy for a person to be a part of several online communities. Many of the social networks have many similarities that attract people. For example, almost all sites allow users to have a personal space or profile page and connections to other people they know (i.e. friends or followers).
From professional to personal, the internet has made it so much easier to contact others and maintain relationships. Social networking sites like LinkedIn has allowed people to search for jobs more easily than ever before with direct links to employers while also displaying connections of everyone from college professors to past and present colleagues. Many universities also have websites similar to this where current students and alumni can search for jobs by employers who are interested in hiring students from that particular school. For example, Clemson’s JobLink.
Chapter 2 of Paul Gillin's Secrets of Social Media Marketing is all about making smart decisions regarding social media in order to fully benefit a company.
Marketers need to keep in mind several factors when picking a social media network for their company. First, always know what point the company is trying to make. Next, balancing "ease of use, simplicity in deployment, and functionality" is always a vital part of starting a campaign. As marketers become more familiar with how to use their chosen tool, they can make their website more complex. Another thing to remember is that just because social media is new and very popular, there are still many ways that conventional marketing is better. For example, if a company is targeting an audience that is over 50 years old, it would not be very smart to focus on an internet campaign.
This chapter also discusses the importance of customer satisfaction and feedback over the internet. In today's world, it is much easier for customers to post opinions of a company's product or service, both positive and negative. For example, websites like consumerist.com, angieslist.com, and servicemagic.com allow people to write about their own experiences with local businesses. It doesn't take very many bad reviews on one of these websites to really damage a firm's reputation. The last two things that really stood out in this chapter are to “relax and listen." Many corporations do a terrible job of dealing with crises because they take themselves too seriously. Also, companies need to listen to customers because when they get online to talk about a product or service, it's generally because they want to be heard.
Chapter 6, titled “Customer Conversations” begins by describing the way social networks and brand marketing have conflicted because social networks have always been about connecting with other people, not an institution.
There are so many categories of social networks that can anyone can easily find one to be a part of. From general purpose sites like Facebook to recommendation engines like StumbleUpon, it is very easy for a person to be a part of several online communities. Many of the social networks have many similarities that attract people. For example, almost all sites allow users to have a personal space or profile page and connections to other people they know (i.e. friends or followers).
From professional to personal, the internet has made it so much easier to contact others and maintain relationships. Social networking sites like LinkedIn has allowed people to search for jobs more easily than ever before with direct links to employers while also displaying connections of everyone from college professors to past and present colleagues. Many universities also have websites similar to this where current students and alumni can search for jobs by employers who are interested in hiring students from that particular school. For example, Clemson’s JobLink.
In Professor Howard's book, Design to Thrive, he introduces the most popular types of online groups and the four elements that are vital to long-term success on the internet, also known as RIBS. Contrary to many people's beliefs, it isn't the technology that keeps a social network going, but the "design of the community and the core principles" behind it.
Chapter 2 compares social networks and online communities, which many people probably consider synonymous. Before building an online group, a person must decide between a social network and an online community, depending on the audience and the long term goal of the site. Professor Howard clearly explains all of the similarities and differences anyone would need to know before beginning this sort of venture.
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