How much is your Following Worth?

Since Facebook went public, companies are now able to purchase advertising on this particular platform. These advertisements show up on the far right side of my newsfeed. What exactly is it that these companies are hoping to gain? Do they want me to go to their Facebook page? Do they want me to go to their website? Or do they want me to make a purchase? Apparently there are now 3 different ways that companies can purchase fan likes for their pages. These three are 1) cost per thousand impressions 2) cost per click or 3) cost per action. Respectively each option becomes more specific and ultimately more expensive. Each company has a different value for their fans. For Zara values one of their Facebook fans at $400 while Coca-Cola values their fans at $70. My question is where does the difference in value come from. Is it because Zaras fans are more likely to spend money at Zara? However, it is also pertinent that companies understand that not all of their fans are the same. Not all fans are "created equal." Some customers become fans of companies pages and are going to consistently make purchases, but other customers become fans simply because they have aspirations to make purchases but cannot afford to.

The ultimate question is it worth it for companies to purchase Facebook fans. Honestly, it all depends. Now that is the answer to most business questions, but it is very true. It is up to the company to decide at its core what it hopes to gain from its potential Facebook fans. If the company just wants to have engagement with their potential consumers then it would be very logical to make the purchase, but companies should not just throw away their money simply to increase their Facebook numbers. As social media platforms continue to develop, companies are going to have to seriously look at their budgets and be very strategic when allocating funds to the different platforms. These decisions cannot be made on a wim, but they must be strategic decisions that fall in line with the companies plans and goals for the future.

Vine oh Vine, where are you going

For those of you who don't know what Vine is, it is a mobile app that allows its users to create and post short video clips. These clips can be no longer than 6 seconds. It was created in June of 2012, and it has recently taken off on UGA's campus. Many of its users are sharing live clips of what is going on or funny things that occurred. It allows peoples followers to feel as though they are actually experiencing the clip that is being shared. Often times the clips don't make sense to "outsiders," but rarely to all social media posts ever make sense to everyone. My question is where is Vine going to go from here? Its users are rapidly growing, but is Vine just a phase or is it here to stay? If it is here to stay, how are businesses going to use this platform to their advantage? Will they post mini commercials? Will they share their in-store experiences? There are so many ways that companies could use this platform to their advantage, but it is going to take the "first-mover" to set the tone. 

Recently, the National Republican Congressional Committee released what is believed to be the first political attack ad on Vine. I believe that Vine has so much to offer potential users that it will continue to grow and become a "staple" social media tool for consumers and businesses. However, I personally hope that my Vine feed will not be taken over by political ads come future election times. 

Spring has Sprung, Baseball has Begun

Spring is finally here. What does that mean to so many people across the country? It’s baseball season! That means hot afternoons and warm nights at the ballpark with a hot dog and an ice cold beer. Surprisingly, with baseball season comes the hype on social media. It is quite humorous if you look at a college boys twitter posts. They are probably all about sports games or their favorite television shows. On opening day alone, almost every post on every social media platform was about opening day for baseball. It is unbelievable how many people connect with their favorite teams through these platforms, and especially since the majority of teams do not have any social campaigns. I think it is wierd how sports teams have to put very little effort in to having followers and engaging with their audience on social media, but companies such as Victorias Secret and Coca-Cola must have campaigns and strategies. Why is this? Personally, I believe it is because lots of sports fans are loyal to their teams and very passionate about their performance. These fans want to share their opinions for all to see. They feel a connection with their teams, and they use the different social platforms to proclaim their relationships. 

This week Mashable published an infographic that SilverPop created and some of the statistics are unbelievable. The Yankees have almost 8,000,000 fans, friends, and followers on all of their platforms. That is more than global companies such as Dunkin' Donuts. The two weeks prior to opening day each MLB team had an average of 175 tweets. This statistic surprises me that each team was able to average that many tweets considering their are so many teams. Since the season has just begun, I am going to try and pay close attention to the teams I follow and see what their interactions and engagements with their fans are like. 

Hashtag #Whatdoimean

I recently read an article about the origin of the hashtag and what the heck it means. Honestly, does anyone know what a hashtag is. How do we explain it? My mom has looked at my twitter before and has asked me what the 'pound sign' means. "Mom, I don't really know what to tell you." The hashtag can be used to emphasize sarcastic remarks, sentimental comments, or "inside" jokes. Recently companies have been using hashtags to create trends. These trends can show up on our newsfeed and can drive traffic to their twitter account. These companies also have the opportunity to purchase trends. Personally, I don't know if I agree with companies purchasing twitter trends. Twitter is meant for people to speak their mind in 140 characters or less. When companies purchase these trends they are almost interfering with the natural interaction on this platform.

If I put myself in the companies shoes, then purchasing twitter trends is extremely logical. It allows their company to get into the middle of the action and have significant conversations and engagements with their audience. With large events or new products being put out, companies can use these promoted hashtags and trends to direct the conversation. They are able to tell their audience where they are and what they are talking about. The most successful brands on twitter are constantly giving their audience something to talk about. I love when the brands I follow are constantly educating and entertaining me on twitter. It furthers my loyalty with them in the simplest way.

With Twitter continuing to grow and other social platforms being created everyday, I am extremely excited to see where the hashtag takes us and if it means the same in a year or two.

Kids and their Ipads

Since my older brother and his wife just had a baby in January, I have already taken so much interest in not only my nephew, but in children as a whole. I read an article this week about all of the different apps for kids. These apps vary from both fun and entertaining to educational. It is amazing to me to hear my brother talk about his friends with kids and how they all have Ipads for them to use. That seems so ridiculous to me because I didn't have my own laptop until I was in college. However the more I think about it, the use of technology is second nature to my generation and younger. We all grew up using our parents desktops, and the kids of today are learning through Ipads. So many companies have become successful by developing apps to help kids learn how to read or to multiply. It has only been within the past 3 years that Ipads have become popular, so I can't imagine what the technology and educational resources will be like by the time I have kids of my own. The only thing that truly worries me with these kids is their safety. The internet can be extremely dangerous, and I worry of these kids getting scammed or taken advantage of. If these different platforms are able to offer the privacy and protection that each person deserves, then these platforms will continue to grow and be successful.

Spamming Away

Recently I read an article that Facebook has found a way to target their advertisements to our shopping habits off of the web. What happened to the days of being ad-free? When we could play on our social sites and not have to be bothered by all these advertisements. What has gotten even worse is the way companies are spamming away on our individual newsfeeds. They are finding any way to place themselves in our everyday lives in hopes of eventually getting another sale. This is not the way to make your followers or friends happy. Social platforms have so much potential for brands if they are used correctly, but more often than not brands are failing horribly.

In the professional world, slowly but surely the fortune 500 companies are adapting to the social world we live in. They are hiring social media specialists and creating a team to focus solely on their social strategy. These companies are successful; for example CNN, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Coca Cola. With a social media team in tact, strategies and plans are formed to attract the customer in a way that will create a relationship. I believe the best way to a consumer is to give them something they don't already have; knowledge about what you are offering. By giving them content that is intriguing, they will feel as though your brand has given them something they could not get anywhere else. There starts the loyal relationship. The fashion industry is what has grabbed my attention on social media. I am not what you would consider a "fashionista" but I believe that the different fashion brands I follow have made me much more knowledgeable. Particularly rent the runway has put out several pieces to help me in my current stage of life. If ever I have trouble picking shoes or accessories, their content always has the answers. Because they have offered something for me, I would definitely say I would vouch for their brand. If brands can produce valuable content, then social relationships will be much more powerful than ever before.

Being Who You are Meant to Be

Earlier this week one of my daily devotionals talked about being you and nobody else. We are all intended to be who God created us to be. We are not supposed to pretend to be something we are not. Specifically it talked about how we should not change ourselves so that others will accept us. If someone doesn't accept us then more than likely they were not intended to be in our lives. Each of us have our own brand. It is who we are. It is how we portray and define ourselves to others. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who change themselves for others. They want to be skinnier, or taller, or have bigger boobs. Too often people have a hard time accepting themselves. I believe a lot of it comes from the world we live in today. At least with girls, it is clearly misleading to constantly stare at pictures of actresses on the red carpets or models on the runway because these women make us think that we have to look like them. That is one of the most frustrating things about social media is that it leads us to constantly compare ourselves to others, and we are constantly criticizing ourselves. Part of me wonders if technology weren't what it is today if so many girls would still be getting plastic surgery or be facing eating disorders. However, social media is going nowhere; so I hope that brands targeting women will be very selective in their choice of spokespeople. The right celebrity can make or break a brand. These spokespeople are able to truly make the brand memorable and desirable when they are seen on different platforms using or talking about the products. When women's clothing stores use "real" looking celebrities to endorse the brand it encourages all the women seeing the ads, tweets, posts. etc. One of my favorites is Kate Hudson and Ann Taylor. Kate Hudson has been seen wearing different Ann Taylor outfits, and it makes me want to go to the store and buy that same outfit. If brands are strategic with their spokespeople and how social media is used, they have the ability to become unstoppable.

Awards Season: The Grammy's Have Arrived

It's that time of the year again. Awards Season. There is the People's Choice, Golden Globes, SAGS, the Grammy's, and the Academy Awards. I am sure that I forgot a few but those mentioned are the ones I pay attention to. What is it about the awards season that gets social media a buzz? The starts Instagrams blow up, which is always very entertaining to see what everyone is wearing. I rarely pay attention to the actual awards, but I always make sure to watch the pre-shows. The best part is the red carpet walks. Who is attending with who and who is wearing the best dress? Oh, and of course there will be several stars who show up on the Fashion Police. I think if I were to be in their shoes, it would be difficult to not only put myself out there on the red carpet, but you are putting yourself out there on every single social platform. This has the potential to be overly praised or harshly criticized and rejected.

While watching the pre-show I saw that Huffington post is doing a live poll of the best and worst dressed for this year. This is what social media has come to. Finding multiple ways for viewers to participate from their living room couches. For certain things I think this is a great idea, but for others I think it can be a little cruel. Obviously I will joke with my roommates about how ridiculous some people are dressed, but I personally have a hard time sharing that with the rest of the world.

I think that fashion retailers can truly benefit from awards season and the use of social media. These retailers could use the awards shows to engage with their customers on what the different starts wore. If a certain style is extremely favorable, the retailers could use that to their benefit. I have already seen that with local retailers and stars everyday wear. Specifically the Red Dress Boutique has shown pictures of famous women wearing different trends and then placed those pictures next to in-store items that are identical to the stars outfits. The more that different business and brands do this they are truly connecting and engaging with their audience. Personally, I am much more likely to go buy something from a store when they show me that my favorite actress was spotted wearing it. The brands are taking content that is already out there and giving it to their audience to see and interact with.

Hopefully tonight I won't see anything to horrible that I allow myself to publicly criticize! But until next time I hope you all stay out of social media trouble.

Super Bowl Sunday: a Game for the Boys and Halftime for the Girls

Super Bowl Sunday is all the hype from January up until February when it happens. The grocery and party stores have massive sales and promos and the large national companies are preparing their commercials. Tonight I watched the Super Bowl with two of my roomates and we had a casual night in. Instead of going to a typical super bowl party, we simply picked up take-out from various restaurants and watched the game in the comfort of our own home. Since the Falcons were not in the game, none of us really cared about the game or who won. What we did care about was Beyonce's Half-Time performance and the reunion of Destiny's Child. I actually find it funny that tonight's game held one purpose for the boys and another purpose entirely for the girls. Obviously the boys cared about the game, but the girls cared about the performances and the commercials. Just take a look on twitter, facebook, and instagram and you will see the proof to my statements. All of my girl friends went twitter crazy during half-time. One of my personal favorite facebook statuses was about the reunion of Destiny's Child and how anyone under the age of 17 would have had no idea who the two girls performing with Beyonce were. I sometimes forget about the different generation gaps and how those younger than my group of friends grew up with different pop singers and boy band collections. However there are those certain artists that everyone no matter their age can relate to or enjoys listening to. One group in particular would be the Rolling Stones. The Stones have been around since my parents were young yet we are able to share the enjoyment of watching them perform live together.

Although I may be able to enjoy certain music with my parents, there are other things we do not similarly share. On nights like tonight my parents probably have no idea who many tweets or facebook statuses are updated. If they weren't watching the game, they would not find out nearly as quickly about what is occurring. The social media world allows my generation in particular and those immersed in social media to be in constant communication. Social media allows us to constantly know if something is happening even if we aren't watching it. Most of the time you can have all of the details of a particular event without even watching it because of your friends posts on twitter. This can be a good and a bad thing. At times it can be very comical but at others it can become overwhelming and annoying. On nights where I am able to enjoy the performance I think social media makes it more entertaining, but if I had to be studying tonight and wasn't able to see Beyonce, I believe that social media would have further made me feel excluded. I don't believe that it is meant to feel this way, but people are always going to feel left out when they are not able to partake in the fun. In my case, whenever I am really stressed out about school, I try to remove myself from social media entirely so that I am not distracted and so I don't lower my mood even further. Social media is capable of being extremely entertaining but it is also capable of being the biggest distractor when trying to be productive. I guess that is why I am lucky that this semester I am taking a social media class. Technically, I am doing school work if I procrastinate by playing on facebook and twitter. Now if only I could convince my parents that.

Social Media Can Wreck Your Heart

After sitting down with my laptop multiple times attempting to write my first blog entry, I was constantly unable to find the ideas or the words to write. However I was just browsing on facebook and came across a blog entry from CRU at the University of Alabama. The blog post was about how social media can wreck our hearts. The post really struck me as something that I had never contemplated before. Today in my life I can't remember how many times a day I am on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest. Through social media everyone's lives appear to be so perfect. The pictures and updates portray everyone happy and spending time with friends and boyfriends. It is almost as though we constantly forget  to look past the pictures. These pictures don't tell us the whole story. They solely give us a glimpse into someone's life, but this glimpse is what they portray their lives to be as. In social media we don't see people alone, depressed, and facing extreme hardships. We only see what they want us to see. Social media has further allowed people to hide themselves from reality, and it becomes much harder to help those who need it. The only way I keep in touch with some of my high school friends is through social media. I rarely talk to them, but I occasionally look at their different pages to see if they are still with their boyfriends or just to make sure they are still alive. However, until now I had never thought about the fact that the pictures I was looking at did not depict reality. For all I knew someone could have cancer or have had a friend who committed suicide, but through most social media, I would never know.

Social media marketing uses these different tools to promote their own agendas, and as consumers we must be very conscious of who we are. Social media places so much in front of us constantly. We are constantly seeing the newest fashion trends or the new fad diet, and we must be careful not to become envious of material things we don't have. It is too easy for us to lose sight of ourselves and what we do have. We become ungrateful and selfish. I am not saying that seeing the newest trends is bad, but we cannot let them take over our lives. I like being able to look up cute purses or boots, but I can't let myself become obsessed. These are simply materials that do not define who I am. Social media marketing has so much potential to reach my generation, but companies must carefully plan their strategies and tactics. The companies can put their campaigns out there, but it is up to the consumers to engage with it.