rdempsey66-blog

[rdempsey66-blog]

Implementing suggested Recommendations

Implementing a  social media strategy takes time and it is not overnight!  With help from different people and maybe even the hiring of a social media manager, will tremendously benefit your business.  Especially in todays day and age and the evolution of social media platforms, it is not the easiest thing to convert to this part of the business. The client that I choose for this project was Impact 100 Metro Detroit. I believe that hardest implementation is going to be just being consistent on all their different social media platforms.  I think one thing that they could really benefit from is a social media calendar, so they know what to post and when to post it.  This makes things a lot easier to keep things in line with the business strategy. 

Another challenge I think they might have is assigning someone responsibility to make these changes happen.  Whether someone internally takes responsibility or the hire of social media manager, someone has to be designated for this role.  Someone with this responsibility is very important to the company and there biggest challenge would to make posts that align with businesses or organization business strategy.  If the organization doesn't have excess money to spend on a social median manager, at minimum someone have to take full responsibility within the company or divide the role among several employees.  

I do believe the changes recommended are very achievable.  It would involve being really consistent with your posts, but I believe the results would pay dividends. 

[rdempsey66-blog]

Producing Effective Content on Social Media

In chapter 5 of the Hootsuite modules they talked about creating effective content for your business to put on their different social media platforms. The modules touched on how to get the most effective content for each of the social media platforms.  Theres a lot of research and analysis that goes into developing creative content that generates long term connections.  Another thing that talked about was reaching your target markets and developing your content around this.  These topics that they talked about could be valuable to anybody looking to create a bigger following for their business by creating quality content that will reach your ideal target market.  

Social media content for any business can be a big factor in whether or not the business is successful.  That is why having effective and quality content on your  social media platforms is big time.  It is in a way free advertising if you do it right.  Especially if you want to become a social organization it is important to follow the principals of effective social media content. Following these principals will allow your company to get high page views and high engagement rates with your pages.  This quality content results in people interacting with your social media pages because your are posting intriguing posts that makes your customers interact with you regularly.  Without this it is difficult to build a following and a online presence where customers interacting with the company because that results in opportunity for greater success. 

All the platforms are not the same and  not all content can be posted on any of the platforms. Some content fits better and makes more sense to post. One thing all your content should have is representing your mission or goals that your company has.  For example, if you have content that involves pictures, instagram is probably the best platform to use.  If you have a more professional post or want to target more of a professional audience, LinkedIn would probably be your best option for a post like that.  Twitter could be used for upcoming event and links. 

[rdempsey66-blog]

Big Data and the Issues That Come With it.

The topic of discussion for this week was on big data and what comes with the legal side of this thing they call “big data”. Big data is the concept that large data sets are being analyzed to recognize trends and patterns to see peoples interactions and behaviors.  This data is then used by different businesses for many different reasons.  They use this data to develop market strategies, what their target market is doing, what websites they're visiting, and many other ways this data is analyzed.  Big data gives everything more of a purpose and makes everything more efficient for the business.  With businesses getting involved with the selling and buying of this big data is being transparent with the their customers. With this side of the business comes risk for both sides.  For the customer you could have data being used that you are not aware of.  For the business they have a risk of losing a potential life long customer if they lose your trust. 

When making accounts on the internet, we have to keep in mind and be aware of these types of things.  Only put on the internet what you wouldn't mind anybody knowing.  Most of the data is usually grouped together with similar data and sold as a list. Although it is pretty much impossible to not put any of your personal information online but knowing exactly what is on there is important.  When you agree to the terms, you should take some time and read it through so that you know what exactly they have access to.

One risky thing that comes with this big data collection is that sometimes this data does get hacked into.  It is important that these companies and big data companies spend money on protecting peoples privacy. If companies get hacked, I think that they should be required upgrade their security, especially if their website holds peoples personal information.  

One thing that is important to keep in mind is that both businesses and consumers need to be aware of what big data is and what comes with it.  Businesses should be aware of what data would be useful and what data wouldn't.  Locating the target market can also make analyzing data easier so you know what data is valuable and what is not. This is important because businesses don't have time to waste looking at and analyzing data that can't be used to their benefits. Along with businesses, consumers need to be aware of what big data is as well. They need to know that their information is being collected and sold.  They also need to know what information it is. Not all businesses use it in a unethical way.  Most of the companies use it to see what the trends are so that they can capitalize on it and tailor their market campaigns and products around it.    

[rdempsey66-blog]

Junk News and Why it Spreads so Quickly on Social Media

After reading “Three reasons junk news spreads so quickly across social media” I had a better understanding on how and why this news can spread like a wild fire.  Three big reasons that they are able to do it because of algorithms, advertising, and exposure.  These three things are the blueprint to getting what you want to get out, out there.  

The first reason why they are able to spread so fast are because of algorithms. Algorithms, are what the different social media platforms use to get people to spend time on their platform more efficiently. These algorithms have been made literally for people to get the most out of the app while they are on it.  This is what keeps people coming back.  These algorithms make a ton of choices for us, so that we aren't spending a lot of time searching for what we need.  They personalize your interests and create a page with what interest you.  This can be problem when politics gets involved because it determines what news comes up and what news does not. 

The next big thing that makes a difference is advertising.  Advertising is one of the biggest things in any business, big or small.  It can be what makes or breaks a company.  Social media platforms sell information that they collect to companies and then with that information will tailor their marketing strategy around that data, so they know it will get in front of your eyes.  This had lead to a  problem with clickbait.  With clickbait comes false stories and stories that could part be true but there is a lie to get you to click on it.  I see this the most on twitter where retweets make it easy for stories to reach large volumes of people.   These stories are often misleading, but they get the buzz that they are looking for.  The last reason why junk news spreads so fast on social media is because of the exposure that it gets.  This is one where politics gets involved and it is important to get the information in front of the right people. This one plays a big roll in the realm of politics.  For me I try and keep my social platforms separate from politics.  With these algorithms and advertising it kind of makes it  really hard to keep them separate.           

[rdempsey66-blog]

Must have Qualities as a Social Media Consultant

 There are many qualities that would make up a good social media consultant.  There are some qualities that should be on everybody's list and some that could be up for debate depending on what the job entails.  For me, the most important quality to have would to be passionate about what you are doing.  Actually waking up and going to work and enjoying what you do.  This correlates directly in my opinion with the next important quality to have. 

The next import quality to have is to have proven results.  If they are passionate about social media they should have decent followings on their own social media platforms.  This includes how easily accessible your pages can be reached.  Most good social media consultants have very detailed bios and profiles, so that they can easily be found through google searches. 

One thing that I think a lot of people overlook not only as a social media consultant, but in general is the willingness to want to learn new things coming into the industry, whatever the industry is.  People get comfortable doing a task a certain way because they have been doing it that way for years and it is almost a routine. I think that it is more important as a social media consultant though because of fast things change.  New networks and apps are created just about everyday, so keeping up with what is trending is important for any business big or small.  A big advantage as a social media consultant is being an early adapter to the different apps and networks that are coming out.  The consultant has to align with the companies goals.  This goes for any position, not just a social media consultant.  If you do not think they are a good fit for the company and its goals, then it is probably not smart to hire them.  

If I were to consult myself and my social media presence, I would make one big change and I need to do it.  I need to be more consistent on posting on my business accounts.  I need to post on my Linkedin more because it is pretty much a twitter for your business life.  This will help me get my name out there more and give recruiters something to look at when they visit my page.  Another thing that I am going to continue to use is my Tumblr after this class.  I never really utilized this platform at all before, so seeing how it is used and how i can use it to my advantage, was a big eye opener.   

[rdempsey66-blog]

Data, Going Once, Going Twice, Sold

Most people have at least one social media platform account.  Whether it be facebook, twitter, instagram, snapchat, or whatever apps you may use, you probably have at least one of the above.  These apps have been some of the fastest growing apps in terms of users the world has ever seen. What people do not realize is what they are accepting when they accept the companies terms and policy. 

Data brokers collect a ton of information from various websites and create data from different angles and different filters and sell it all online to various outlets.  After watching the 60 minutes segment on Big data brokers, it really opened my eyes.  They will sell just about anything that they can get their hands on.  Information that you directly put in to their websites, or they can even sell things like your contact list, website history , and other data that isn't connected directly to their website.  One of the big companies Acxiom, said that they have information being sold on 200 million Americans.  This has to be concerning to most considering that is more than half of our population. 

This information is turned into many different lists and then sold to different companies that can find value in these lists that are being sold. These lists are often an additional revenue stream for companies and it is easy money for the company to make.  I do not think that there is a way to stop something that has gotten so big and is a norm in the business world now.  Making users more aware of what these companies are allowed to access and what they are selling is a start. 

In the article “The Internets original Sin” businesses are promised by investors that advertising will be more invasive, ubiquitous, and targeted and will collect more data about the users and their behaviors.  Advertising used to not be as important as it is today.  It is a necessity to any business, no matter the size.  It is not as cut and dry as it once was, there are a lot more components that go into advertising now making it a more complex facet of business.   

[rdempsey66-blog]

Limiting Social Media

I did part 1 of the social media assignment on Thursday, the 23rd of January.  This really opened my eyes to how much time I really spent on my phone on a daily basis.  I was on my phone for a total of almost 6 hours and spent some time watching TV as well which adds to the screen time.  When I actually went to look at how much screen time I used I was blown away by the time, so I wanted to see where I was spending this time.  Majority of the time spent on my phone was between two apps.  The apps that I use the most are twitter and snapchat.  Between these two apps I spend 3 hours a day on them.  This made me realize that I have to start making some changes.  Part 2 of the assignment really made me realize this first hand.

I did part 2 of the assignment on the following day.   I decided to just take the whole day off of social media and was taken back by how it affected me.  The first thing that I realized was how more productive I was.  I was able to get most of my homework done on Friday during the day which was big for me because I had a busy weekend.  Another thing that I was surprised by was that I was able to finish my homework a lot faster than it normally would take me for him much I got done.  I did homework for about 5-6 hours on Friday and was more productive than I have ever been when doing homework.  

I am definitely going to  make some changes to limit distractions and fix some habits.  The first step for me is to not have my phone when I am doing homework. Friday helped me realize a lot and how much we truly are distracted from our cell phones.  If nothing is done right now I feel like the habit can and will get worse. This assignment made it almost impossible not to acknowledge how much we use our phones and how it can be looked at as a problem. 

[rdempsey66-blog]

Fear Of Missing  Out

How Social Media Impacts are Daily Life 

Before the internet people had to find things to do besides go on their phone to keep in touch with friends and other people like celebrities.  Kids would go outside and play with their friends and be creative.  Whether it was simply going out and just playing backyard sports or building a tree house.  Those were normal things for kids to do when I was growing up.  Before the internet if you wanted to know something, you had minimal ways to find out.  You would have to read a book, ask someone who hopefully knew the answer, or had to teach it yourself.  Now anything you want to know or learn can be found on the internet.  Without the internet it forced people to get out of their comfort zone and meet knew people.  Thats not the only thing it did, it also developed many communication habits that kids today might not be exposed to because of cell phones and social media.  

Now you can not even go out to eat without taking a picture or video of what you are eating and posting it on one of the social medias stories. “The phone eats first”.  It has gotten to the point when i go out to eat with my whole family my grandpa made a rule that there is no cell phones at the table.  Not all of us agreed, but one thing it allowed us to do was actually catch up with the family members that we don't always see on a regular basis.  There is a stat that anybody isn't further than 3 feet away from their phone at any given time on average.  This means at any given point on average your phone is no more than 3 feet away from you.  When I read this, it really dawned on me how true that stat was.  If you are at work, in class, out to eat, odds are high that you check your phone multiple times during these times. It has got to the norm that when you get a notification, you check it, no matter what you are doing.  This is a interruption to whatever it is you are doing.  You could be having a full on conversation and checking your phone at the same time and that is normal now a days, where some might find it rude. As much as it can be a bad thing to use social media too much, there are ways that you can use it to benefit your life. This is one of the reasons that i took this class.  I took this class to see what and how I can use social media to benefit my work life. 

With social media there is no boring part to life. If you are eating and the and the conversation stops, at least one person pulls out their phone, if somebody doesn't already have theirs out.  It gives you something to do at all times. This is where the balance of social media comes in. If you only use social media for free time, I think that's a good balance.  Of course, Im not saying to be on social media for 8 hours.  hen it becomes a problem is when it is taking up valuable time that should be used doing something  productive.  When its taking up time at work or being used instead of doing homework, is when it gets to be too much. I do think in todays age you have to know how to use social media to your advantage. 

[rdempsey66-blog]

Introductory

My name is Ryan Dempsey and I am currently a Senior at CMU, pursuing a degree in Business management, with a focus in Marketing and Sales.  Growing up I played hockey my entire life and was a big part of my life for a lot of years.  I spent just about every day of my life in a hockey rink 9 months out of the year.  It is something that really shaped who I am today.  With being so busy with hockey it helped me with time management and work ethic because getting homework and getting good grades took a little extra effort.  Late nights after practice, getting home late and just wanting to go to bed, but my homework had to get done.  A couple other things that I enjoy doing are hanging out with friends, going to the gym, watch sports, and reading a good book.   

Growing up I always wanted to be a lawyer and go to law school. Then I got to college and things changed.  I originally was going to major in Political Science, but after taking a few classes my freshman year i realized that it wasn't something that I would enjoy for the next couple of years.  Thats when I realized that I need to major in something else because I could still go to law school if I wanted. I always had a business mindset so going for a Business management degree suited me and would later help create some opportunity for me.  This past summer I interned at Ally bank downtown.  It was an unbelievable experience and made me realize that was something I could see myself succeeding in. I am going back this summer for a second internship in a different department, where I will be working in their remarketing department under SmartAuction. After this summer I am hoping to land a full time position to start my career after I graduate. 

One thing that I hope to accomplish during this blog is learning as much as possible about the different topics that we discuss and expanding my business vocabulary. Through this blog  hope to see how social media has an impact on this class alone and how it can translate to the real world.  I have never done a blog before so this is a new experience in its own. 

Ally has a very strong presence on social Media from a couple different segments. They have Ally bank, Ally racing, Ally Auto, and a couple other accounts on websites such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. They haven't always had a strong social media presence, but with new management inlacing a new CMO a couple years ago switched the direction on the way they were marketing. They got a lot stronger in social media and other media outlets like commercials and other ways.  Having a strong social media presence I think can only benefit your company.  People spend a lot of time on their phones and a lot of the time is spent on the different social media outlets.  Below I have attached some of Ally’s social media handles. 

Twitter- @ally

@allyracing

@Allyauto

@allyfinancial