Best Practices in Social Media

By Gianfranco, Darius, Joseph, Corey,& Annabelle

Mobile MediaSmartphones & Tablets

“New Forms of Sociability”

Reinforce or work against traditional communication

Pos: Face To Face with network ties & Connecting People

Neg: May emphasize “social divisions” through member boundaries

“the combination of interests, habits, and social connections that identify that person”

How people express themselves online

Seeking to engage

Newspapers, Magazines, & JournalismLive Tweets

Story Links to drive website traffic

Photography

Engage

Search for Ideas

Monitor Government Operations

Cultivate personal brands of star journalists

Respond to criticism of coverage

Promote Events

Clarify wrong information

Convergence opportunities in real time (Audio,Video, Streaming)

Thank Fans & Answer Questions

Radio & Mobile AppsPodcast created competition for radio

Itunes

Spotify & Pandora

Changing to meet new habits

Rivet Radio News Chicago

Allowed listeners to categorize their news

Given the ability to pause, skip, and rewind.

On Demand

Good: faster news , Bad: Is the source credible?

TV, Branding & Live from the SceneTaking viewers behind the scenes to add a more interactive

environment

Helps drive audience traffic

Computer-mediated communication

Identity (branding)

Interaction (two way)

Community branding (online)

Top Media Sites on Social MediaMost people would agree that Facebook and Twitter are the most

popular

The Huffington Post more than 1 Million likes on Facebook

Traditional and new media always competing for user activity

BloggingBlogging has been used in many ways to promote ideas and brands

Blogging takes on many different forms; twitter, tumblr etc.

Blogs adhere to different standards based on site

Helps consumers in long run

User empowerment

Blogs for PR & Social MediaBlogging and micro-blogging developed from early Internet discussion boards. The principle is the same in that online publishing gives authors exposure to a global audience.

Creating, developing and maintaining a blog are important best practice steps for anyone launching a career or seeking to further develop awareness.

Helpful ToolsSocial media users typically spend a lot of time in an array of spaces.

Great need for planning, strategies and development of best practices that cultivate efficient use of new tools.

Social media dashboards offer content managers an opportunity to synthesize the most relevant and important data in real time.

Social network can be explored in terms of who is near the center of it. We may want to track hashtags, audience size, mentions or linked websites.

Helpful ToolsThe sheer size of global social media present information and data management challenges

1.Content duplication

2.Content access

3.Timeliness of content

4.Relevance of content to a particular platform and discussion, and efficiency within large networks.

Getting Ahead of the Social Media PackSocial media best practices require users to go beyond attracting followers and fans, and it can be argued that the quality of interaction is much more important than the numbers over time.

Garst (2013) identifies a formula for success, which includes avoiding common mistakes. She prefers offering social media tips, repeating motivational quotes, answering questions and general conversation over selling.

Garst agrees with most successful social media practitioners who lead with valuable content.

PerilsTrust for anything considered an advertisement is extremely low

Hashtag campaigns may be hijacked

Social media consumes time and expenses

Problematic to enter social media sites without clear plans, strategic goals, objectives, and tactics.

It, Collaboration, Virtual Teams, & Other Trends

IT (Information Technology) offers new ways to explore technical capabilities, best practices, and learning through use of shared mental models and other perspectives.

Collaboration happens when groups work toward common purposes

Collaborative communication within social media seeks to foster mutual understanding through coorientation

As individuals seek agreement and understanding, there may be perceived performance, financial, physical, convenience, social, and/or psychological risks that deter group success.

Coorientation within a team would allow leaders to measure whether or not the group can accurately predict orientations of other group members

Social media communications for older and new media are becoming products of mobile media platforms and apps. The development and refinement of best practices requires team collaboration and constant learning about new tools and ideas.

Discussion Questions: Strategies & Tactics.1. How do mobile media devices and mobile-friendly platforms impact social media

communication? What are the major changes and trends?

2. How do newspapers, radio and television journalists need to change to adapt to a social media environment? What are the potential rewards and risks?

3. What role may collaboration and teamwork play in improving the quality of social media and refining best practices?