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Wherethereschaosistherecash?(TheAffectsofSocialMediaonJournalismandMarketing )
By:AdamAtwood
DeanWillNorton
Journalism599FullSummerSession2010
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OpeningAsoftheeditingofthispaperthePresidentoftheUnitedStatesofAmericahas4,615,578
followers on Twitter, CNN Breaking News has 3,201,053 followers, Lady Gaga has
5,051,745 followers and Coca-Cola has 60,560 followers. And there are now over 500
millionactiveusersonFacebookthataccumulateover500billion(yes,billion)minutesper
month. Let thesenumbers sink in for aminute and youwill understandwhy corporate
America,thenewsmediaandeverypoliticianinthecountryisclamoringtonotjustget
involvedwithsocialmediabuthowcantheyleverageitwithoutitbackfiring.Technology
createdsocialmediabutthepubliciscertainlydrivingthegrowthandconsumptionata
rateincomparabletoanyothermasscommunicationecosysteminhistory.Theadoption
rateandusagetypebetweenagegroupsisastoundingandmovesindifferentdirectionsalmostonamonthlybasis.Thequestionofthedayishowmanynewsocialmediaapps,
websites or widgets have you been exposed to by friends or family in just thepast 30
days?Theansweristhatyouprobablydontrememberbutitsbeenmorethanyoucanor
wanttokeepupwith.
Socialmediasgrowth isnot just changing theway the public consumesnews and how
marketers in return engage with them, it is changing the very fabric in which howwe
communicateasa society.Startwiththeyoungergeneration(16-34)ofFacebookerswho
careaboutthefunaspectofsocialmedia,thencomparethemtothenextgeneration(35-
49)ofTweeterswhousesocialmediaforbuildingbusinessandnetworkingandthelast
generation(50+)thatusetheblogospheretopromotetheirideasandcommunicatetothe
youngergenerationwhattheyhavelearnedinlife.Ifthedialogueischangingandtheusage
ofthatdialogueismixedbetweengenerations,thenthatmeanseverythingchangeswithit.
Fromhowthedialogueisstarted(Twitter,Facebook,YouTubeetc),howyouinteractwith
it(mobile,laptop,email,textetc)andwhatyoudowiththeinformation(Tweet,forward,
repostetc).Thebottomline,socialmediasgrowthisagoodthingandabadthing.
These audience numbers dont lie. They tell a story. From politics, entertainment,
journalismandcorporateAmerica,socialmediahasitsplace,followersandunspokenrules
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ofengagement.Thenumbersprovethatsocialmediasoriginalfoundationofescapingthe
noise, connecting with strangers, having a voice amongst thousands and finding
companionship inunfiltered communicationmight havebeen the heart and soul of the
phenomenon,butthegameischanging.Whowouldhavethoughtjusttenyearsagothat
you couldhave a one-on-one dialoguewith the President orslander one of the worlds
largestcorporatebrandsandhavemillionshearyouropinioninminutes?
Tofindsomethingcomparable,youhavetogoback500yearstotheprintingpress,thebirth
of mass mediaTechnology is shifting power away from the editors, the publishers, the
establishment,themediaelite.Nowitsthepeoplewhoaretakingcontrol.RupertMurdoch
Socialmediabeganassortofanovelty,oraplaygroundforthetechnologyadoptersand
the geeks of the Internet. But the game has changed forever and the sheer volume,
popularityandpowerofitisreshapingsocietyalltogether.Whydoestheaverageteenager
send5000textmessagespermonth?Remember,thenumbersdontlie.Consumersnow
have the luxury of mass communications. Its not just keeping in touch with grandma
anymore,itsaboutlookingoutyourwindowandseeingacarexplodeindowntownLos
Angelesandthentweetingaboutitwithalinktoyourblogwhichhasthevideoclipyou
shotwithyourcellphone.AllthisbeforeCNNgetsbackfromitscommercialTVbreak.
WhilethegrowthofsocialmediabeganwithsuchthingslikeAOL,Napster,Wikipediaand
themovieYouveGotMailtherealexplosiondevelopedwithfreeserviceslikeMySpace,
Facebook,WordpressandTwitter.Whereisthenextgrowthofsocialmedia?Andhowwill
newsoutletscontinuetoadapttothechallengesthatsocialmediapresentstojournalism.
Justasthenewsmediaworldisreelinginsocialmediaspower,soarethemarketersofthe
world.Whyisitthatsomeofthemostawardedadcampaignsinthelasttwoyearshavebeen consumer-generated campaigns? Marketers historically care about two things:
engagingtheiraudiences andretaining their attention. Those twofoundingprinciplesof
marketingarestillthebreadandbutterofmeasuringsuccess,butthemethodsofachieving
themarebecomingsoscatteredthatitshardtotellthedifferencebetweenmarketingand
evangelismthroughsocialmedia.
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From the marketing spend basis, Forrester Research is estimating that social media
spendingwillincreaseto$3.1billionby2014,withover$900millionbeingspentin2010.
This growth would be pacing at 34% per year faster than any other form of online
marketinganddoubletheaverageofanyotherformoftraditionalmarketing.
Therealityisthatmostbusinessesunderstandhowtolisten,whattomeasureandwhereto
engagebutarestrugglingtodefinethevalueofengagementandreputationinsocialspaces,
saidMichelleGoodall,EconsultancyssocialmediaandonlinePRconsultant.
HistoryofSocialMedia
Sowhat isthedefinitionofsocialmedia?WhilethetermisnotyetdefinedinWebsters
Dictionary,Wikipediadescribesitthisway:
Social media are media for social interaction, using highly accessible and scalable
publishing techniques. Social media use web-based technologies to transform and
broadcast media monologues into social media dialogues. They support the
democratizationof knowledgeand informationand transform people from content
consumers to content producers...that allow the creation and exchange of user-
generatedcontent.Socialmediautilizationisbelievedtobeadrivingforceindefining
thecurrentperiodastheAttentionAge.-Wikipedia
Sobasedonthisexplanationtheexamplesofsocialmediaarealmostendlessnowdays.
There is a theory that social media really began in the 1950s with phone phreaking.
Phreaking was when a group of people would hijack one or several phone lines and
communicatebackandforthforfree.Theprocessofcommunicatingbackandforthfreeof
chargeisalargeportionofwhatmakesupsocialmediatoday.Socialmediaatitsrootsis
aboutsocializingandinformationgathering.Thereisaninherentunderstandingthatwhen
youseekinformationthatisotherwisenotwidelypublishedthroughtraditionalchannels,
somerulesmayhavetobebroken inorder toobtain the informationyoudesire.Phone
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phreakingwasdefinitelybreakingtherules-itwasactuallyillegalbutitwasthefirstcase
wherepeoplewereexchanginginformationforfreewithnofilters.
Bythe1970sphreakinghaddevelopedintowhatiscalledBBSes(bulletinboardsystems).
BBSesweresmallserverspoweredbyhomecomputersattachedtoatelephonemodem.
These setups worked much like blogs and forums do today. You could engage in
community discussions,play onlinegames,upload/download files andtalkdirectlywith
the computer system. Im sureall ofusremember the 1983movie WarGameswhere
MatthewBrodericktalkedwiththeWOPRcomputersystemandnearlystartedWWIII.The
BBSes were definitely for the technology nerds that enjoyed hacking into computer
systemsandsettinguptheirownlittlecommunityofotherhackers.Duetothenatureof
howthesesystemswerecreated,theidentitiesoftheparticipantswerestrictlyconfidential
andpersonalinformationsharingwaskepttoaminimum.
Astheearly1990sarrivedandtheWorldWideWebbecameahouseholdphrase,websites
likeCompuserveandProdigywerelaunchedandsocialmediabecameamoremainstream.
As AOL entered themainstream market, so did the speed of the Internet, which truly
openedthedoorstoinformationsharing,connectingandthussocialmediawasborn.
TherealsocialmedianetworkingsitesbegantoappearwithsuchsiteslikeFriendsterand
MySpace. Thesewebsites really took social media to the next level, whichwere people
usingitineverydaylife.TheInternetwasnowbecomingthecommunicationvehiclethat
peopleusedinordertomakenewfriends,stayintouchwithfamilyandcollegebuddies,
and to research restaurants or vacation destinations. Consumers created thousands of
reasonstousesocialmedia,andcapitalismansweredtheirneedswithstart-upcompanies
popping up left and right. Individuals in college dorm rooms up to large softwarecompanieswere beginning to create socialmediawebsites thatanswered thequestions
whatifpeoplewantedtotalkaboutthis,orsharethat,orfillintheblank.Interestingly
enoughitwasthesmalloneortwomanshopsthatwereexplodingovernight.Thistellsyou
somethingaboutthephilosophyandperceptionthepublichadaboutusingsocialmedia.
Theydidntwant toput one stinkingpenny inthepocketofacorporation.Through the
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growth, people began to open up and not worry about sharing personal information,
matteroffact,themorepersonalinformationyousharedthemorefansandfriendsyou
wouldcollect.Itwasallaboutbeingrealandtransparent,sharingeverylittledetailabout
yourlife.Theshiftinconsumerbehaviorhadbegun,anditwouldneverreturntothedays
ofthetraditionalchannelsofcommunicating.
Consumersbehaviorshavealwaysshiftedwiththeadvancementsintechnologyandthe
loweringofgovernmentregulationsandcorporateinvolvement.Lookingathistory,people
havealways strived tohavea voice, and tobroaden the reachof that voice toasmany
peopleastheycan.Thisisalsothegoalofnewsmedia.Everythingfromthecreationofthe
printingpresstothetelephone,advancingthereachandfrequencyofcommunicationshas
alwaysbeenattheheartandsouloftheadvancements.TheInternetisinherentlyafree
space in which to communicate with very little oversight from the government and
corporate America. This free space has developed from small community forums to
internationalchatroomswithhundredsofnationalitiesbeingrepresented.Technological
advances enabledthemovementofsocialmedia,butconsumers themselvesarethe real
driversofthenextgenerationofsocialmediabreakthroughs.
JustlookathowFacebookwasstarted;itwascreatedin2004byacollegestudentoutof
hisdormroomatHarvardUniversity.Whowouldhavethoughtjustsixyearspriorthata
collegestudentwouldbe theCEOoftheworlds largestonline social networkwithover
500millionactiveusers?That is theentirepopulationof theUnitedStatesplusanother
150millionpeople.Iknowanyonecandothemathbutsayingit thatwaymakesmyeyes
pop.Howdoesacollegestudentseethefuture?Easy,hesawanopportunityforpeopleto
freely communicate in masses. By nature, humans want to connect, feel wanted and
respected.Socialmediahasgivenavoicetothosewhomightotherwisebeshyandtimidinreal life. Just likea goldsmith named Johannes Gutenberg in1440who created the first
printingpresswhichenabledmassdistribution(whattheyconsideredmass)ofliterature,
MarkZuckerbergwhocreatedtheworldsfirstreal-timemessageboard.Theprintingpress
changed the world, and so did the telephone, but social media is more than just a
catalystit is a change that is affecting everything from politics, technology and
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communication skills. The last partof that sentenceraises the big questionof is social
mediamakingusdumber.Thatsawholeotherpaper.
Belowisadiagramtoexplainhowsocialmediaisembeddedinalmosteveryaspectofdaily
communications.Whetheryouarecheckingheadlines,playingmusic,watchingvideosor
networking,youcanengageateverystep:
SocialMediacontinuestochangeJournalism
Thetalkingheadsofthemediaindustryhaveliterallytalkedthesubjectofhowwillthe
dailynewspapers financially survive themainstreamWeb 2.0 digital age and the social
mediarevolution?Thatentiresubjectmatteriswideenoughanddeepenoughthatitcan
be awholeseparatepaper, ifnot abook.The focusof thispaper isabout how issocial
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media affecting news organizations and how are journalists using social media and
adaptingittotheirreporting,research,engagementanddistributionpractices.
Journalismandsocialmediaactuallyhavealotincommon.Atthecoretheybothsymbolize
free speech, transparency of information, honesty and giving a voice to the person that
doesnthaveone.Therearemorecommonalitiesthantherearedifferences.Justbecause
someonetweetsaboutanewsworthystoryonhisorhertwitteraccountdoesntmakehim
orheraprofessionaljournalistbyanystretch.Journalistshaveacodeofethicsthatmust
befollowedandarigidprocessofnewsdeskpoliciesthatmustsubstantiateinformation.In
fact, journalism schools across the country are now teaching their students on how to
embracesocialmediaanduseitforthepowerthatitdeliversspeedtoinformationand
interactionwiththeiraudiences.Inthepast,journalistswouldsimplyreportonthefacts
aboutbreakingnewsandpublish theirarticlesasquicklyaspossible inthe dailies.The
largestchangeinthisprocessisthatreadersnowwanttoreacttothecontentwiththeir
ownopinionsandconsumethecontenthowtheyseefit.Thepeoplewantavoice,notjust
thejournalists.
Forbetterorworsetheworldischangingandthelistofsocialmediawebsites,toolsand
widgetscouldrunonforpages.Soitsabouttimethatnewsorganizationsstartseeingthis
as an opportunity instead of a threat. The traditional news days of just pumping out
contentandmaking itavailableto thepublic aredead,thepublicwantstochoosewhat
theyread,andmostwanttotakeitthenextlevel,whichistheywanttoactuallycontribute
contentandprovide theirownopinionsinmasses.Thequestionof how issocialmedia
affecting journalism is rather complex and there really isnt a straightforward one-
dimensionanswer.
Inordertounderstandhowsocialmediaisaffectingjournalism,youfirsthavetoresearch
howpeopleconsumetheirnewsandthenseewhattheiropinionsareofthenewsindustry
ingeneral.ThePewResearchCenterforthePeopleandthePresshasfoundthatpeopleare
lessconfidentthatnewsorganizationsarereportingfactualandunbiasednewscompared
toafewdecadesago.Accordingtotheirsurvey,29percentsaythemediareportsthefacts
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correctly, while 63 percent say the news stories are often inaccurate. Compare these
percentages to 1985, where 55 percent of people say the media reported the news
accuratelyandonly35percentsaidthenewswasinaccurate.Andtonosurprise60percent
ofconsumersfeelthatthemediahasbecomepoliticallybiasedontheirreporting.Justlook
atthedifferentpositionsthatCNNandFoxNewswillhaveontheexactsamestory.CNNis
consideredleftwingandliberalandFoxNewsisseenasrightwingandconservative.The
reportalsodescribeshowconsumerswilldependondifferentmediumsfordifferenttypes
ofnews.LargeTVnetworksand the Internet are the leaderswhen itcomes nationalor
international news, but local weeklies, dailies and news websites still have a strong
positionforin-depthlocalnews.Thisallmakessenseonthesurface,butwhenyoulook
into the details of how audiences are consuming news it causes news organizations to
restructuretheirbusinessinacertainwaytomeetthosedemands.
Itsalsonosurprisethatthe18-34yearoldagegrouphasexperiencedthelargestdecline
intraditionalmediausage.TheyareconsumersofgivemewhatIwantnowandIllverify
the facts later.That sameage groupmakesupthe baseof socialmedia usage, but not
necessarilythegrowthofsocialmedia.Socialmediasimpactistwo-fold,notonlyarethe
traditionalmediaoutletslosinggroundwiththeyoungeraudiences,butthefastestgrowing
agegroupthatisstartingtousesocialmediaonadailybasisisthe50+audiences.Thatage
groupisgrowingattwicethepaceastheyoungeraudiences.Andbothsetsofagegroups
saynewspapersneedtochangetostayrelevant,yetbothgroupsreporttheyarenotwilling
topaytoreadthesamecontentontheweb.Thereistherub!Thissituationisatthecruxof
the problem for news organizations across the globe. How do they stay relevant and
profitablewhennooneseemstobewillingtopayforcontentanymore?
Inorderfornewspapers(andothermediaoutlets)tostayrelevantandhopefullyprofitable
theymuststartdoingabetterjobofembracingsocialmediaandlearnhowtouseitasan
advantageandnotstopviewingitasathreat.Anymediaoutletthatstillviewsthenewsas
a one-way communication, and not a two-way engagement is sorely mistaken. Yes,
consumersdontwanttopayforcontentanymore,andtheywanttheirnewsindifferent
formats and they want the information at lightening speed. But social media is about
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listeningandinteractingaswell,whichisironicallythehistoricaldefinitionofjournalism.
The savior ofthe newsmedia industrymaywellbethehiring ofthe nextgenerationof
journalists,kidsoutofschool.Theagegroupstuckinthemiddleissortoflostintranslation
at themoment, but a good mix of young and the old school journalistsmight be the
answer.Onegroupcanimplementsuccessfulsocialmediaengagementstrategies,whilethe
oldermore followthebooktype businessmen innewsmedia canhelpstay the course
withethics.Somewhereinthatmixisthenewworldnews-reportingmodel.
Journalismisaboutlistening,soifyouarentlisteningtopeoplewhoaretalkingthenyouare
notdoingyourjob.MonicaGuzman,seatlepi.com
Consumers are beginning to see this take place with media outlets integrating their
FacebookandTwitterpresenceintotheirdailybroadcastsandreporting.Theintegration
process seemsclumsy atbest inmost situationsbecause it ispainfullyobvious that the
majorityofthemediastillseessocialmediaasanecessaryevilatthispoint.So,insteadof
just turning theirheads and ignoringit, themedia istryingeverythingthatcantoshow
theiraudiencesthattheyareactivelyinvolvedwithsocialmediaandwanttoengagewith
theiraudiencesbeyondthetraditionalnewsvehicles.Atruesocialjournalistunderstands
thestrategyofthisengagementprocesswiththeaudiences,andthosearethejournalistsof
thefuture.Itcouldbesaidthatsocialnetworksareinawaythenewformoftheeditorial
pageofanewspaper,butunfiltered.Theoverwhelmingquestionfornewsorganizationsis
howdoweengagewithouraudienceswhenweknowtheydonttrustusandtheyknow
weneedthem?
The historical objective of the media is to create a dedicated audience that desires the
content that they publish, and socialmedias objective is to create a community wherepeople can connect and collaborate. Thosewho are using social media correctly dont
create and publish content but they generate conversations, which in turn creates
communities.Thisembracingofthecommunitystrategyhasbecomethestatusquoonline
andservesasoneofthemainreasonspeopleevenusetheInternetonadailybasis.Simply
put, consumers dont want to be fed information anymore, they want to share it and
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interactwithit.Theywantengagementwithcontent,peopleandoverallcommunity.They
dontwantone-waycommunications.
Peopleexpect tobe listenedtowhentheyhaveknowledgeandraisequestions.Theywant
newsthatconnectswiththeirlivesandinterests.Theywantcontrolovertheirinformation.
Andtheywantconnectiontheygivetheirtrusttothosetheyengagewithpeoplewho
talkwiththem,listenandmaintainarelationshipMichaelSkoler,NiemanReports
Journalism must become a partnership with consumers, and the sooner the media
embracesthisnewwayofjournalismthebetterthechancethatmostoutletswillsurvive.
MediaisnolongereasilydescribedasTV,magazinesandnewspapersanymore.Theactual
people have become the media in a way. Technology has empowered people to post
massive amounts ofcontent (text, video, podcast,photos etc) on the Internetwith very
little costs involved. But, consumers are not held to the same reporting standards as
journalist,sojournalistmustlearnhowtoengagewiththeiraudiencesinordertocontrol
the accuracy of their reporting and stay above the fray. Social media is the key to this
engagement.Forinstance,manyreportersareusingtheirpersonalFacebookpagestopost
updatesonarticlestheyarewriting.Thisgivestheirfansanopportunitytoengagewiththe
reporterastheyarewritingtheirarticlesandtoperhapsevenbecomeasource.Bydoing
thisjournalistsarenotjustgatheringinsightsfromothersbuttheyareabletofine-tune
theirwritingandinvolvetheiraudiences.Journalismisnolongeravoiceofone,butavoice
ofthepeople.
Otherareasofsocialmediathatarehavingimpactsonjournalismaresocialbookmarking
websites likeDigg.com, users can vote and comment ondifferent news stories, and the
storiesthatreceivethemostvotesarefeaturedonthehomepage.Digg.comisanexcellentexampleof howsocialmedia isactuallyhelpingjournalists.A journalistspopularitycan
literally explode overnight if their article is ranked on the homepage as one of the
audiences favorites. This website and other social bookmarking widgets/toolbars are
examplesofhowajournalistcanexpandtheiraudiencethroughsocialmedia.Increasing
thepopularityofajournalistcanbeadouble-edgedswordthough.Professionalbloggers
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makealotofmoneynowdays.Andwereseeinganincreaseinmoonlightingjournalists
whoworkbydayasareporterbutgohomeandmakealivingbyblogging.Itsafairlyeasy
concept.Allsomeonehastodoisstartcreatingcontentthatpeopleareinterestedin,grow
youraudiencebynetworkingandtheninvolvetheaudiencesbylettingtheminteractwith
thecontent.Andthiscanallbedoneforfreenowdayswiththefreebloggingplatforms.
AskajournalistormediaorganizationiftheythinkTwitterishelpingorhurtingthemandI
thinkthe answerwouldbeadefinitemaybe. After reading through two dozen industry
blogsandnewswebsitesontheTwittersubject,itseemsitisanevensplitinthethree
differentdirections.ThefirstsidesaysTwitteroffersthegreatestchallengeandthreatthat
journalism and the media has ever faced, the second side says Twitter has drastically
helpedtheminhowtheyengagewiththeiraudienceswithfactfindingandstoryresearch,
andthethirdsaysTwitterisafadandwillpass.Ithinkthefirstsideisright.Twitterisa
threat if news organizationsdont take it seriously and put real thought into how they
adapt,anditisthegreatestchallengebecauseithassomuchpotentialandpossibilities.For
ajournalist,Twitterisbestdescribedasaliving,breathingtipsheetforfindingstoryleads,
checkingfacts and findingsources.Twitterhas proven itself asa realnews sourcewith
examples like theFt.Hoodshooting,theIranianelectionprotestsandthe2008Mumbai
terroristattacks.Inallthreecases,peopleweretweetingaboutwhatwashappeningbefore
themediacouldgetthestoryonair.EventhoughTwitterwasfirsttobreakthenewsthe
realreportingonthestoriesdidnthappenuntilthelargenewsorganizationsgotinvolved.
Peoplewerejusttweetingincoherentdribble,rumorsandassumptions.Itwaslikeacrowd
runningoutofMovieTheaterandyellingaboutwhattheywitnessedinthedark.Therewas
panicintheairandnorealfactualnewswasbeingreported,justspeculationfueledbyfear
andbiasedopinions.
ItisapositiveforjournalistandthenewsmediathatpeoplejumponTwitterandstart
runningtheirmouthsbeforesubstantiatedanyofthefactsabouttheirsubjectmatter?This
allowstruejournalisttostep-inandtakeovertheshowbytweetingabouttherealfacts
and providing validated information that has been properly researched through the
appropriate channels of the news desk. That is real journalism; see a story, research a
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story,findtheresources,researchtheresources,getallanglesandthenverifyeverything
before publishing the story. After all, in the end, people do want the truth. But at the
beginning,theyjustwanttheheadlinesofwhatishappeningontheground.Thesituation
ofwidespreadtweetingonbreakingnewsisseenasanopportunityforjournalisttoshine
andshowtheirTwitterfollowershowarealstoryshouldbeconstructedandpublished.It
doesntmatterthemediumthatisusedtodisseminateanewsstory,whatdoesmatterare
thetiming,accuracyandengagementofthestorywiththeaudience.Journalistshouldnot
fearthespeedandexpansionofTweetsaboutbreakingnews;insteadtheyshoulduseitto
their advantage to widen the differences between consumer frenzy and professional
reporting.
Therearenumerousethicalconsiderationsthathavedevelopedoverthelastfewyearson
the shift toward journalists increased use of social media. The most widely discussed
ethicalissuesarearoundajournalistspersonalandprofessionalusageofsocialmediaand
social networking sites. Journalists know better than anyone that they must verify
commentsbeforepostingthem.Theethicalquestioncomesintoplaywhenyouhavetoask
whenisajournalistpostingacommentfromapersonalperspectiveandwhenasareporter
thatrepresentsanewsorganization?Manyprofessionalsagreewhilejournalistscanpost
theirownopinionsifdesired,theymustkeeptheirnewsorganizationsinmind,andthe
same values that apply to traditionalmedia also apply to social media. For journalists,
transparencyisoneofthemostimportantvalues.Thatmeansajournalistcantactasan
individual, which means any public comment can be turned around and potentially
embarrassthenewsroomscredibility.Becauseofthisethicsdilemmaalmosteverymajor
newsorganization(andcorporation)hasdevelopedsocialmediabylawsandethicpolicies
thatmustbefollowedbyallemployees.Traditionalmediaisdyingtoharnessthepowerof
socialmediaandthemassivenetworksthatexist,buttheymustalsoapproachthispowerwithgreatrespectandresponsibilityorelseitwillbackfireonthemwithafinalblow.
Overall,theAmericanpublicstillbelieveswatchdogjournalismisanimportantaspectof
theirnewsconsumption,butironicallymanyAmericansdontbelievethemainstreamnews
mediabecauseofthenatureinwhicheverythingis communicatedandre-communicated.
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TheyfeelcorporateAmerica,politiciansorTVratingshaveovertakenaccuratejournalism,
andinmanyinstances,especiallytheyoungerpopulation,areadoptingonlineandsocial
media,althoughnotcompletelydesertingthemainstreamnewsorganizations.Socialmedia
networking sites like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter offer skeptical audiences the
opportunity to consume news straight from the eyewitnesses. Instead of relying on a
reporterto speakwithsomeoneata news-breakingevent, audiences can reachout and
speaktoeyewitnessesthemselvesviasocialmedia.
Socialmediahasaffectedjournalismonamacroandmicrolevelinjustthelastthreeyears,
and itwill continue to affect it in the nearand long-term future.Whilemany business,
distributionandoperationalaspectsofthenewsmediaindustryhaschangedsince2008,
social mediahas madepopular three main topics of discussion around journalism:will
localnewsstayinprintformatandhowimportantisthatmovingforward;thetrustfactor
withthelargenationalmediaorganizationsandthefinalandmostdifficultisthemannerin
whichnewsiscreatedanddistributedusingsocialmedia.Thesmartjournalist,nomatterif
theyarerightoutofschoolorhavebeenintheindustry30years,arestartingtousesocial
mediainnewwaysandbeginningtoseethelightattheendofthetunnel.Socialmediacan
beapowerfultoolwhenusedproperly,andhasthepotentialtoreallypropeljournalismto
thenextlevel,whichisprobablymobilejournalism.
The major contributor to the publics negative opinion on journalismwas the speed at
whichsocialmediawaslaunchingandbecomingpopularovernight.But,socialmediahas
shownthevalueoflocalnewsorganizationsaswellastheadvantagesthenewtoolscan
bringsmallmediaorganizations. Finally,socialmediahasgiven journalistsnewways to
report, find sources, validate information and most importantly engage with a larger
audience.Thiscreatesaverytemptingoptionformorejournaliststobecomeindependent.
Therearehundredsofotherquestionstoraiseaboutthefutureofjournalism,butthebasic
premise of journalism will never go away: You witness an event and report a factual
representationof thatevent.Nomatterwhatnewformsofdistributingthatstorymight
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develop,thetruthofastorywillneverdie.Afterall,freedomofspeechisthemostpowerful
ofallrightswehave.
MarketingHasChangedForeverBasedonthehistoryofmass-communication,whenanewtechnologyisintroducedthat
changes the entire dynamics of what influences consumer buying decisions and how
companiesdelivertheirmarketingmessage,theysimplycannotaffordtherevenuetostay
unresponsiveandstaleincalculatingnewstrategiestomeetnewbusinessobjectives.The
factisconsumersareusingsocialmediatogatherinformationfromeachotherinsteadof
frommarketers. How can a company effectively deliver theirmarketingmessagewhen
their target audienceprefers to get their information from a friend orpeer? Instead of
focusingon the influence and control ofmessages, organizations should concentrateon
interacting and engaging these influential groups inorder to earn their trust and build
valuefortheirbrand.
Organizations have been forced to follow the masses into social networks, blogging
communities,forums,usergroups,andvideosharingportals.Theydothisforengagement
and hopefully retention. These initiatives can bechallengingacross the board: they are
timeconsuming,costly,andcouldpotentiallytarnishtheirbrandimageiftheydonthavea
solidstrategyinplacetoeffectivelycarryoutthemarketingbutnotdisturbtheconsumers
atthesametime.
National brands have realized that they need help humanizing their story and make it
meaningfulandrelevanttothisnewgenerationofconsumersthatdemandit.Inorderto
survive,theymust incorporatesocialmediaalongwithnewstrategies,newphilosophies,
andhireyoungcreativemindswhoknowthesocialmediaenvironmentinsideandoutnot
becausetheyreadaboutitbutbecausetheyarelivingit.Literally,theyliveonline.
Traditionalmarketingincludesathree-phasecustomercyclecalledacquisition,retention,
and growth.Web 2.0 (soon tobe3.0) alongwith varying aspects of social networking,
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social media, and branding have created a new standard for how organizations deliver
theirmarketingmessagetotheircustomers.Themarketingstrategiesthatweshouldfocus
on in todays dynamic landscape should attract, engage and extend. To acquire loyal
customers,youneedtoattracttheminawaythatmakesthemfeelapartoftheprocess.In
order to retain customers, you need to engage them through quality content and other
interactivetoolsandsocialmedia.Lastly,togrowcertainsegmentsofyouronlinebusiness
youneedtobeabletoextendyourreachandcontentacrossmultipleplatformsutilizing
socialmediatoolsandstrategies.Over1.2billionpeoplearenowcruisingtheinternetona
dailybasisinteractingwithoneanother,sharingideas,concerns,andutilizingsocialmedia
as theirpreferredmedium in which todoso.One question that confrontsmarketers is
whathappenswhenacustomerorprospectivecustomerleavestheirwebsite?Willthey
comebackandvisitlateronthatday?Howaboutnextmonth?Willtheytelltheirfriendsor
familyabouttheirwebsite?Isthereawaythatcompanycanhavemorecontroloverthese
outcomes? The answer is yes and no. Companies can control things, but control goes
againsttheverynatureofsocialmediaingeneral.
Thetruthaboutsocialmediaisthatitcandeeplyaffectacompanysbrandandreputation.
Brands that choose to use social media as another channel through which to force
advertisingmessagesthroughwillundoubtedlymissthemarkwithsocialmedia.Inorder
totrulybenefitfromsocialmedia,organizationscannotjustbespectators.Theonlyoption
istobecomeaparticipantandparticipate.Advertiserswanttobeinfrontoflargecrowds,
evenifthecrowdsseemunruly.
With the hugeexplosionofsocialmedia, anewdisciplinehas beencreatedcalled social
influencemarketing.SocialInfluenceMarketing(SIM)istheartofintegratingsocialmedia
throughout the entire lifecycle ofamarketing campaign. SIM isassociatedmore closelywithconsumerbehaviorthanit iswithsocialmedia.SomespeculatethatSIMmayhavea
strongerimpactonpurchasing behaviorthan brand anddirect responsemarketing.The
followingstatisticmakesaprettystrongstatementinregardstosocialinfluencemarketing
andwhereitisheaded.ArecentJupiterResearchreportshowedthathalfofalladvertisers
8/9/2019 Journ599 Paper_07.28.10
17/17
17
allocatedlessthan15%oftheironlinebudgetonsocialmarketing.Incontrast,thesame
marketersplantoincreasetheirmarketingbudgetsby25%overthenextyear.
SIMisverybroadindefinitionbutembodiesmanysocialtacticssuchasintegratingarating
systemforproducts/services,brandmonitoringinitiatives,ensuringthatallofyourdigital
content isportable andconducting research tounderstandhowpeer influence livesand
developsalongeverystageofthemarketingfunnel.
It is apparent thatthe futureofonlinemarketing is conversation.MicrosoftsCEOSteve
Ballmersummeditupbestwhenhesaid,
Itsgoingtobeharderandhardertoteaseapartwhatscommunicationsandwhatsmedia
becauseifIsayImwatchingagolfmatchandatthesametimeIseeTigerWoodsgolfball,I
takemyclicker,itpointsatit,itfiguresoutthatitisaNikeElite,itsaysDoyouwanttoorder
a dozen of these balls for you and your friends? Advertising, commerce, community and
contentallkindofblend.Itsgoingtobeextremelyimportantfororganizationstohavethe
technologytoeffectivelyreachandengagetheirtargetaudiencethroughsocialmedia.Itwill
beevenmoreimportantfororganizationsthatdohaveasocialmediamarketingstrategyto
driveresultsandtestwhichsolutionsworkbest.Socialmediaisstillevolving;itstandstobe
the cornerstone for how organizations and consumers interact with each other moving
forward.Inthenearfuture,thenewsloganmaywellbe,Associalmediagoes,sogoes
yourbusiness.
Conclusion
Socialmediahaschangedtheveryfabricofourlives.Ithasbecomeinterwoveninsociety
tothepointthatit isdifficult toevennotice itanymore.Marketersand journalistsalike
havedoneabetter job in2010ofadoptingthe artofsocialmedia, but theystillhave
troubleapplyingitandnavigatingthrougharealstrategy.Atfirsteveryonewasjusttrying
to jump into social media because of pressure, but now that things are becoming
normalizeditseemseveryoneisstartingtoputtheirpantsononelegatatime.
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