Digital Media Success - Proceed with Caution

This is my last post for my Strategic Communications and Emerging Media Class. I have learned so much throughout the course of this last nine weeks. Our communication world has changed in regards to traditional media venues to now more electronic, digital and social media outlets.

In one of the articles I read during this class “Net Effect: The Past, Present & Future Impact of our Networks” by the FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler made a great point that we as communicators have a great privilege of being in the hinge moment of history to wrestle with the future of our networks and their effects on our commerce and culture. The concept of the changing world of communications is so overwhelming. However, the responsibility of this change is also just as enormous. There are so many facets to how we approach communications in today’s world. It is up to us as strategic communicators to be aware of all the pros and cons of our media channels.

Through social media and social networking sites (SNS), anyone has the opportunity to be a reporter and/or communicator. This unfortunately waters down the important stories and causes great margins for errors. It is our job to ensure that we continue to produce quality communications and not get pulled into the haste of getting the story out there without regard of ensuring the source and accuracy of information. Do not let these sites ruin the reputation of you or your company due to quick release. You should allow these sites to build your reputation by making them trusted and accurate. Give your readers or customers a reason to come back.

While there are risks involved in the new digital world, there is also a great deal of opportunity. As I stated before, the internet allows anyone with access to be a communicator. This allows for many opportunities for small business, start-up freelancers, and even beginner bloggers who want to get their name out there and build a reputation. The advantages of advertising a new business when you have a limited budget can be instrumental to your company. It also allows for many to be engaging and utilize untapped resources through crowdsourcing. This is a great way to get ideas, gain patrons and even get the word out about your business.

Always use the digital world with caution and reserve. As easy as it is to put your stamp out there, it is just as easy for someone to tear down your reputation. Build a strategy and not just a webpage or social media page. Make sure that your account for mishaps which can and will occur. And, always be prepared to answer the hard questions. Knowing your public and the capabilities of what you have at your fingertips can make or break your business and/or personal brand. Always be on guard and responsive and you will be successful in the digital world.

Our Social World is Changing - Are Our Children being Affected?

When I was growing up, my parents, grandparents and relatives were always telling me to keep in touch.  At that time, keeping in touch meant by phone (land line) or by mail. There was no way that I was going to spend my precious time sitting down and writing letter, or even calling someone unless I was making plans with a friend. My news worthiness involved the television and whatever I happen to pick up from school. And not to mention having to do research for a school project which involved dusting off those old encyclopedias or going to the local library. In any case, whether it was school work or just making sure your family knew you still existed, it was a major effort and could be very time consuming.

Technology today has changed all that through the internet, social media and networking. It has become as easy as a swipe of an app and you have checked in or updated relatives and friends on your immediate status. Many teenagers have become more and more dependent, obsessed or even addicted to these social networking sites. Mobile voice and text communication, Instant Messaging (IM), blogging, and social networking offer youth a variety of ways to connect with their friends, loved ones and even special interest groups. Typically, young people use these new media technologies to maintain existing friendships rather than start new ones.  MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube just to name a few, have become the source of communication for this now generation. Teenage girls seem to have taken to the blogospheres more so than boys. I really don’t fine this surprising due to the fact more girls keep a diary or journal of thoughts than do boys.  However, according to one of our readings this week, a study was conducted among teenage girls aged 17 to 21 who have been blogging for three or more years. It showed that girls use this avenue for self-expression and peer interaction. It also stated that you can see the progression of personality in these young teens. Over the years the context of their blogs changes as they convert from adolescents into adulthood.

I was troubled the other day when I received a phone call from a friend who follows this blog. She stated that a young girl in her daughter’s high school class had used YouTube to create a suicide message. This was a very sad and unexpected response as her pervious social media activities showed that she was a bright, happy teenager that posted pictures with friends and even maintained a “makeup channel” on YouTube. However, she decided to take to the same medium to capture her thoughts before she decided to end her life. The video was a heart-shattering look into her struggle with depression and anxiety. On her decision to commit suicide, she said, “I just don’t see how this is a bad idea,” and described it as the difference between deciding to jump from a burning building or staying in it and dying “a slow, excruciating death.”  “I’ve been like this for so long,” she said, “and there’s still a chance that the worst day might be coming.”

Not saying that social media had anything to do with the tragedy of this young girl, but it does introduce the question, why did she feel compelled to utilize this venue to record her intentions?  I agree that it is appropriate for adults to question the possible effects of networked communication on youths’ cognitive and social development. When a young adolescent put their lives on display it opens a door to anyone who wants to comment on that person’s individuality. For those focused on the action of self-identity and display, online risks may arise from their willing, sometimes naïve, self-display of personal information to a wide circle of contacts, not all of whom are close friends.

 Children so badly want to be accepted, heard, included all while receiving instant gratification. These same teens that want to be engaged also want to be engaging. The route of communication and social experiences are now multi-dimensional and fast track. I can completely relate to those parents who struggle to keep up with the social impact of mass media and social networking. I have three teenagers who are all network savvy. I do feel that the expansion of SNS has increased not only social risks, but attention disorders as well. As I had stated in an earlier blog, when children are exposed to prolonged use of the internet or social media activity it can produce permanent changes in the brain structure and function due to the interactive, repetitive and addictive stimuli. When a developing brain consistently shifts from object to object without thorough evaluation or completion of one topic, it can increase the potential of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders (ADHD). While it has not been factual proven that internet activity and social networking is a cause for the rise in ADHD diagnosis in youth today, it also cannot be dismissed. A direct correlation is arguable that since social media has saturated our lifestyles, ADHD diagnoses have been on the rise.

However there is an advantage for those children/teenagers who may not be comfortable being part of a group. Through social networks they can now participate in groups that peak their interest, by simply logging in and being engaged. Through an expanded network, children tend to be more involved and not limited to social activities within their local community. Social networking and technology opens the door for many individuals to find other youth that share their same interest and goals which helps to foster their individual identities. Schools have successfully integrated social networking to help bridge the gaps and challenges they may have in offering certain academic activities or classes. Some classrooms have even joined forces with other classroom in an entirely different country to help with cultural diversity.

We know that social media, networking and technology are now part of our daily lives and will only continue to grow in its dominance of how we communicate. It is important that as parents we understand that children need to be socialized in a way that does not include internet activity. Parents should consider limiting social networking and technology in childhood to allow for proper brain development of social, emotional and behavioral skills. Encourage activities that support traditional media along with social media. When properly monitored, these activities can enhance our lives instead of hindering our children’s development and growth.

References

Davis, K. (2010). Coming of Age Online: The Developmental Underpinnings of Girls’ Blogs. Journal of Adolescent Research. doi:10.1177/0743558409350503

Huang, E. (2009). The Causes of Youths' Low News Consumption and Strategies for Making Youths Happy News Consumers. Convergence: The International Journal of Research Into New Media Technologies, 15, 105-122. doi:10.1177/1354856508097021

Livingstone, S. (2008). Taking risky opportunities in youthful content creation: teenagers' use of social networking sites for intimacy, privacy and self-expression. New Media & Society, 10, 393-411. doi:10.1177/1461444808089415

It's All About the Brand!

What does your brand say about you? One of the most important things you have going for you is ensuring that your brand is one that is recognizable and trusted. Who are you? What do you stand for? And, how are your perceived? Building a dynamic brand can help build an emotional connection between your business and in your personal and professional life. Connecting with customers, humanize yourself and/or your company can set you apart from the competition.

Your brand is how you're is perceived by consumers or the general public. It is want you should want people to know about you. Your brand can make your or break your  and apart from your competitors. Think of it like this. You may have many friends and or acquaintances, but only a few that you go to in certain situations. These are the ones that you trust and respect because of who they are and what they represent. They have branded themselves as a trusted confidante for whom you value their feedback, experience and company. Your personal brand is how you want to be perceived and known. People and either think rationally about you, your product or service, or they can think emotionally about it. A personal brand is the reputation and image that you intentionally create, manage and communicate about, in a way that an audience finds engaging.

You should always ensure to keep a brand fresh, relevant and competitive. While the product may not change, the market does. You do not want your brand to fade away. Always keep it in the forefront of your consumers. When you reinvent, you keep it fresh and noticeable. As Rory Sutherland presented in his Ted Talk about advertising and perception, you can reinvent the way your brand is perceived without actually reinventing the brand. Making something new simply by changing the way consumers perceive it. You can amplify the brand image with a complementing logo, slogan or tagline. This brings recognition and personality with just a glance. For example, what do you think about when you see those “Golden Arches”, or that “Swoosh” (you know what I mean and I did not even need to give you the brand name)? That is brand recognition. Just a glance at a logo and you know exactly what that product is and you emotional connection to it. In today’s world of social media and information overload, companies have to be even more creative and on top of their game. The market is ever changing and even if your business was a big fish in a small pond, now the small fish have a way of nibbling away at you. The playing field has shifted and small business can get in on the game a lot easier than in the past.

With new technology including the internet, mobile phones and tablets, people now want content along with the branding that moves beyond fancy slogans and eye catching logos. When you leverage the power of content, you can elevate your audience to a level of informed knowledge about your product. Using more content will attract and retain the attention of your targeted audience therefore enhancing your brand to a level of interest that readers will share and think is compelling. For example, if someone were to go to your Facebook, Twitter, maybe even your personal blog, what would it say about you? How do you represent yourself? The information gathered through all types of media can increase your brand or even diminish it. Take Paula Dean for example. She has worked years and years to become a public icon in cooking and southern hospitality. All it took was one comment that was stated under oath to destroy her brand. That comment spread through the media and internet waves so fast, that what took years to build was destroyed in a matter of weeks. This was because the public perception of Paula now was that she had racial ideals. When you give the market something to talk about, it can either elevate your brand, or destroy it. Try at every opportunity to put a positive perception and utilizing content that the social media channels will see as engaging. Just be aware, this venue moves at a rapid pace and as easy as your brand recognition can climb, it can also be fall. Your social branding strategies always need to be part of a whole well rounded public relations strategy that will help build strength and repair any weaknesses that my become part of your brand perception.

Utilizing social media marketing to increase your brand allows you, your business or organization to engage and converse with your consumers in a way that is meaningful. You must conduct your branding and social media presence in a skillful way in order to build viability and not be considered over promotional. In a sense, this avenue of marketing opens your brand up to crowdsourcing. You need to ensure that all comments (positive and negative) get a response. The biggest pitfall to avoid is unresponsiveness or deleting negative comments. Everything has flaws, and your will build your brand strength by acknowledging the good and the bad. If you engage them in a persuasive manner, then you can more than likely gain their confidence and respect and maybe swing the odds in your favor. Remember that then internet has made the stages of brand loyalty move much quicker. A person can go from neutral to satisfied to dissatisfied in a matter of minutes.

Remember, your brand is what drives you and your product. Your marketing strategy is what drives your brand. Make sure your strategies are smart, well thought out and content driven. Social media is making consumers better informed and less predictable. Be innovative and keep your brand alive and in the forefront. Make a statement that will stick and set you apart from the competitors. Utilize all avenues, and be aware of each avenue that could bring the wrong message about you. Always remember that in order to keep your brand (personal or professional) ahead of the game, you should not be afraid of change. Stay fresh, focused and informative.

 

 

References

Fundamentals of Personal Branding - Business Insider. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/fundamentals-of-personal-branding-2012-10#!HWUME

 

Sorenson, L. (2012, March 8). How To Keep Your Brand Fresh, Relevant, And Buzzworthy. Retrieved from http://www.starbrandstudio.com/how-to-keep-your-brand-fresh-relevant-and-buzzworthy/

 

Turpin, D. (2014, April 29). Retrieved from www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140429125444-3458678-warning-three-temptations-that-can-seriously-damage-your-brand