1) Blogger Sidebar Widgets
I had used Blogger before and had embedded some widgets like my Twitter feed, but I had not done it with Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or YouTube. YouTube was very simple because I had the embed code on YouTube. The others (Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram), however were not as easy. I had to search, both the links that were provided, and my own research, in order to figure out how to get an embed code. Even when that was done, some of the widgets, like Instagram and YouTube, were too large for the sidebar. I then had to Google how to make them smaller to fit the sidebar. Some I was able to adjust in Blogger by changing the size in the embed code, and others I had to re-find the embed code. Had I know I could change size in blogger right away, it would have been easier. I feel like this is very useful that you can have many different items on your sidebar and personalize it as you choose.
2) Google Alerts Help Filter Articles
I had never used Google Alerts prior to taking this course and I really didn't know what they were and how they were used. I like how they went straight to my email so I didn't have to go and to the Google Alerts in order to find the articles. They came directly up in my email. I thought they were helpful because it automatically sorted through the articles and found the best and most relevant articles to my search terms for my SM4SC campaign. At first, I wasn't sure I was going to like Google Alerts because I thought they were restrictive but I realized that they allow for a more defined and easier search to find articles on specific topics.
3) Pictures On Posts Create Interaction
The goal of any post on social media is to get people to read and react or interact on social media. Posts with images do better for interactions that posts without pictures. This is because people's eyes are attracted to a post if there is a picture with words, rather than just words. It's important to post a picture whether it is a Facebook, Twitter or blog post. When a picture is added to a post, it makes it stand out more. I also learned that if you are posting a blog to Facebook, it is helpful to make the top, featured picture in the blog large, so that way it shows as a large picture on Facebook and sticks out to viewers more, rather than a thumbnail picture.
4) Thumbnails, No Pictures on YouTube
I learned that YouTube does not allow small, thumbnail pictures in the corners, only watermarks. I have a PC, not a Mac, so when I did my elevator pitch video, I had to use Movie Maker. MM does not allow for thumbnail pictures either in videos. I wanted to add pictures to my video to help illustrate what I was talking about. I was only able to put a Sacred Heart watermark and the type with the social media accounts, no images. I realize if I had a Mac it would have been better with IMovie or Adobe Premier. However, with the resources I have, I feel as though I did it the best way possible. When I was doing research to find out if I could post a picture, I had thought I could make the watermark as a picture that changed and was larger, however I could not.
5) LinkedIn Posting
I had my LinkedIn account before this course and would use it to connect with people who I knew. After reading the article about how to successfully use LinkedIn, I realized it is also important to post items on LinkedIn. Since then, I have posted both for this campaign and for myself. I posted to see if anyone knew of a job that might be a fit for me when I graduate and I also posted my elevator pitch video about my Social Media For Social Change Campaign. I post on many other social media platforms but I didn't think posting on LinkedIn would be effective. However, I have noticed that I have gotten multiple interactions on my recent posts. Hopefully, it will actually do its job and help me find a job upon graduation.
6) Social Networks = Relationships, Not Marketing
I use social networks and social media often. I use them for both personal and "professional" use. I can see how social networks are more about making relationships with people than they are about marketing your product/brand. I do and have done both. I promote my work, the work of others, and events going on. I have also met a lot of people who have both helped me some way in my "professional" life and also those who I have become good friends with who I first met through social media. An example of this is I met someone on social media who ran I online radio outlet. We started chatting about sports and I promoted for them over social media. As time went on, the company evolved and I ended up helping them out. I not only learned a lot, but I also built new relationships. I have become very friendly with a lot of the people and they are also trying to help me in my "career." It all started over a social network relationship.
7) Finding/Interacting On Organizational Pages From Organizational Page
One thing that I found difficult was trying to find and then remembering to "like" and comment on another organizational page from my organizational page rather than my personal page. I could have done it from my personal page but I wanted to keep everything for the campaign together and the same so I decided I would "like" and comment from my organizational page. Once I "liked" other organizational pages from my page, the way I would look at other pages is I would go to my page and scroll down to "pages liked by this page." Once I figured out I could do that, it was easier than searching in the search box on my personal account since I did not "like" the pages from my personal account. Once I was on another person's organizational page, I had to remember to change from "liking"/commenting as my personal page to my organizational page. It is easy to do, you just have to remember to change it before liking and/or commenting. I think it would make sense for Facebook to allow me to "Use Facebook as..." like it used to. That would mean I wouldn't likely have to go and find the other organizational pages from my page or remember to change which account/page I was "liking"/commenting from. I felt as though it made it more professional to "like" and comment from the organizational page rather than my personal.
8) Be Your Own Brand
Some people say it is narcissistic to promote yourself and your own work. I think it is important to promote yourself. You are you own brand, especially when you are not working for a major organization. Promote the work you do. Link to articles, post pictures and just inform people of what you are doing. This is easily done on social media. It is also helpful to promote yourself and your work across multiple social media platforms. Some of the your followers across the different platforms might be the same but some will be different so it is important to inform everyone. I also learned that it also helps if you keep your background information and profile pictures the same on the different platforms. This shows that it is the same brand and the synergy between the accounts so people will know to follow on all social media as some information might be different, or there might be more content on one account vs another, even though all of the important info will be shared on all platforms.
9) Social Media Success = Listening
In the course text, it say that people working at a company have to listen to their audience. Based on what the audience says, a company may need to make changes. This is not to say to let the customers run the business, but listen to what they want to see and hear which will make them interact with you and then take an action which is what you want all customers to do. If you are not using social media correctly, then you are losing customers you could possibly have. The customer is always right so if they tell you something, you should adjust. Also, make sure you are using the correct social media for the demographic that your company is targeting. Facebook is now being used by an older generation. If you are targeting a younger group, you may want to use Instagram or Snap Chat. As a sports journalist using social media, I need to listen to what people want covered and how they think I should best cover the sports, in terms of what way they will read and pay the most attention.
10) Scorecards are not only for sports
As a sports journalist, I need to use scorecards in order to keep track of the statistics and how the game is going. In order to measure the success of a company or a social media campaign, a scorecard is needed. This is called a "balanced scorecard." In terms of my SM4SC Campaign, it is a little different because I am just promoting and talking about sports and I am not a major corporation but there are still aspects of the balanced scorecard that can be valuable to me. Those aspects are the finances of items I need to do my job, how I can get better at my job and appeal better to the fans of the sports who want the coverage and how I can work well with the other sports journalists around me who are also trying to give the best coverage they possibly can. We normally talk about a balanced scorecard in a business course, but social media is so important to business' nowadays that the balanced scorecard is important for social media as well.
Overall, I knew a lot about social media coming in to this course, and used social media often, but this course taught me more and some things I did not know about. Most importantly, I learned better techniques for ways to use social media better as a professional and more effective ways to use social media.
