Social Media Mini-Course!Week 1

Dr. Bela Florenthal!William Paterson University

Outline

What is NOT Social Media and Why?!

What is Social Media and Why?!

Definitions and Characteristics of Social Media Channels!

SWOT Analysis!

SWOT Analysis of Social Media Channels

What is NOT Social Media (SM) and Why?!socrative.com room 287726

Q1. Can Emailing or a Texting be considered engagement in SM?!

A. Yes; B. No!

Q2. If yes, why? If not, why? !

Q3. Can a company website be considered SM channel?!

A. Yes; B. No!

Q4. Can a magazine website be considered SM channel?!

A. Yes; B. No!

Q5. If yes, why? If not, why?

What IS Social Media and Why? socrative.com room 287726

Q6. Name 5 SM channels (open/end)!

Q7. Write 3 key characteristics of SM channels (open/end)!

Q8. Write a definition of SM channels (open/end)

History of Social Media Channels!(Florenthal and Chao 2015)

The concept of social networking was established in 1950s. !

The first social networking site was SixDegrees.com and was launched in 1997.!

Enabled synchronous (e.g. private messages) and asynchronous (e.g., comments on a post) communication through one site.

Statistics of Usage!(Florenthal and Chao 2015; Florenthal et al. 2015 )

Individuals spend on average 5.5 hours on leading SM sites such as Twitter and Facebook !

LinkedIn users are predominantly 30 - 49 years old!

18 - 29 age group grew 8% between 2013 and 2014!

Instagram experienced the highest growth between 2013 and 2014

Users Ages between 18 -29 Years Old (2015)

%

0 22.5 45 67.5 90

34

53

37

87

FacebookTwitterInstagramPinterest

Statistics of Usage!(Florenthal et al. 2015 )

Social media drives approximately 31% of all referral traffic !

Women dominate Pinterest with 42% usage!

26% of Internet-connected adults use Instagram with 23% of those using Twitter

Active Users

Mill

ions

0 350 700 1050 1400

300

50.5

347

288

1,390

FacebookTwitterLinkedInPinterestInstagram

Definitions and Characteristics of SM Channels

Definition 1:!

“Web sites that allow people to “hang out” virtually, communicate with friends and family members, create and manage their online profiles and connect to favorite brands and businesses” (Florenthal 2015, p.18).!

Characteristics:!

Communicate and “Hang out” virtually - leaving public comments, expressing “likes,” and sending private messages!

Online profile - create, manage!

Connect (many-to-many)— other can view and access public profiles, build extensive social network

Definitions and Characteristics of SM Channels

Definition 2:!

“Social media can be described as a vehicle of content that is generated, modified, discussed, and shared by individuals and communities through highly interactive platforms that employ mobile and web-based technologies” (Florenthal and Chao 2015, p.43).!

Characteristics:!

Content - can be generated, modified, discussed, and shared!

Interactive platforms (vehicle) - through mobile and web-based technologies

SWOT AnalysisInternal Factors

External Factors

Support Activities

Primary Activities

Porter’s Value Chain can serve as a good model for identifying Strengths and Weaknesses of a Company

SWOT Analysis !Strengths & Weaknesses

SWOT Analysis !Opportunities & Threats

SWOT Analysis!In-class Activity

Divide into groups of 2. !

Instructor will assign a number to each group!

Each group is responsible to conduct an analysis on one aspect of the SWOT analysis as follows:!

Group 1 - Strengths of SM sites!

Group 2 - Weaknesses of SM sites!

Group 3 - Opportunities of SM sites!

Group 4 - Threats of SM sites!

You can use any resources that you have. Each group should come up with 3-4 points.!

Each group will present its findings to the class.

SWOT Analysis of Social Media!Strengths

Speed !

Speeds up communication and awareness!

Get out messages instantly and in “real time”!

Interaction!

Creates increased involvement!

Businesses receive instant feedback from consumers!

Peer-to-peer awareness!

Possibility to see interests of “friends” and “followers” (eWOM)!

Accessible and free!

Easy to access and require low technology skills and are free to use!

Technological possibilities!

Post vast amount of information and material (e.g., photos and videos)!

Use of mobile devices

SWOT Analysis of Social Media!Weaknesses

Low trust in the source!

Sources can be anonymous and unidentifiable !

Lack of control over accuracy of information!

No way to check the value, source, or dependability of content!

Absence of filter!

Everyone can post information!

No barriers to stop people from publishing whatever is on their mind!

Investment of time and effort!

Time and effort are required to stay up to date, creates pressure!

Intellectual property rights, privacy, and data protection!

Negative image of SM!

Associated with advertisement, spread of extreme views, and bulling!

Unfamiliarity - fear of the unknown

SWOT Analysis of Social Media!Opportunities

Reaching specific audiences!

Reaching young audience (e.g., Instagram)!

Reaching women (e.g., Pinterest)!

Crisis communication!

A large audience needs to receive rapidly critical information !

Advancement of communication technologies!

Creating applications for cell phones and tablets with SM features!

Community feeling!

Consumers with common interests congregate in online communities!

Ease of reaching large audiences

SWOT Analysis of Social Media!Threats

Fast changing environment!

SM channels can become obsolete quickly (e.g., Bebo)!

Overload of information!

Users become confused and information gets lost in the noise !

Hard to get the message through!

Preference for traditional media!

Using TV, radio, quality newspapers are sometimes more preferred by businesses to discriminate information!

Low interest!

Audiences choose their interests!

Can’t be forced to listen or attend!

Won’t spread information if it is not interesting enough!

Emotional reaction!

Low threshold to post negative opinions without thinking about consequences

Exit Quiz 1! socrative.com room 287726

Q1. Engagement in emails and texts is considered an engagement in social media (True/False).!

Q2. Which of the following SM sites is the leading one?!

A. Twitter!

B. Instagram!

C. LinkedIn!

D. Pinterest!

E. Facebook!

Q3. “Hang out” virtually means leaving public comments, expressing “likes,” and sending private messages (True/False).!

Q4. Negative image of SM is considered a Threat (True/False).!

Q5. Reaching specific audiences (e.g., young people, women) is considered _______________ of SM.!

A. A threat!

B. A strength!

C. An opportunity!

D. A weakness

References

Florenthal, Bela (2015), “Applying Uses and Gratifications Theory to Students’ LinkedIn Usage” Young Consumers, 16(1), 17-35.!

Florenthal, Bela and Mike Chen-ho Chao (2015), “Corporate Communicative Engagement in Microblogging: Cross-cultural Analysis of Weibo and Twitter,” in Maximizing Commerce and Marketing Strategies through Micro-Blogging, edited by Janée N. Burkhalter, and Natalie T. Wood, Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 40-66.!

Bela Florenthal, Giuliana Andreopoulos, John Malindretos, and Janine Jansen, “NextWaveWeb: How to Incorporate Social Media and E-Commerce into the Company’s Strategy,” A Case Study, under review at the Jacobs & Clevenger Case Writers’ Competition, Marketing EDGE Direct/Interactive Marketing Research Summit 2015, October 3-4, Boston, MA (May 2015).