Social Media Analytics (Week Seven Discussion)

“Social media analytics is the practice of gathering data from blogs and social media websites and analyzing that data to make business decisions” (Rouse, 2013).

Using metrics is beneficial in driving changes to an organization’s social media campaign. "Different networks have different metrics, as well as different methods of analyzing those metrics, however, there are three characteristics that can be determined for almost every network and can help identify areas in need of improvement" (Turner, 2013):

• page views generated

• following/reach

• sentiment

Week Seven Discussion Questions:

1) Why is it social media analytics important for your company or organization?

2) Do you feel that is it important to track your competitor’s social media activity? Why or why not?

3) Explain how each of the above mentioned characteristics can be measured and utilized to make business decisions and ultimately build a strong social media presence for your company or organization. 

References:

Rouse, M. (2013). What is social media analytics? - Definition from WhatIs.com. Retrieved October 11, 2015, from http://searchbusinessanalytics.techtarget.com/definition/social-media-analytics

Turner, J. (2013, November 17). An In-Depth Guide on Calculating the ROI of a Social Media Campaign. Retrieved October 11, 2015, from http://60secondmarketer.com/blog/2013/11/17/in-depth-guide-calculating-social-media-roi/

Social Media in the Workplace (Week Six Discussion)

1) Have you ever been disciplined for a work related social media post or do you know someone who has? Do you think it is justifiable for an employer to take action against an employee for a "rant."

Personally I have never been disciplined for a work related social media post. Since last year, I have seen many NFL players take to Twitter to rant about their teammates, coaches, and incidents within the league. For example, after Michael Sam was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in May he shared a celebratory kiss with his boyfriend and it was featured on ESPN. Later on, both former and current NFL stars took to Twitter to bash Sam. Some players got away with the rants, but others were disciplined. Don Jones, safety for the Miami Dolphins, tweeted “OMG” and “horrible” when ESPN aired Sam kissing his boyfriend. Joe Philbin, Miami Dolphins Head Coach stated, “We were disappointed to read Don’s tweets. They were inappropriate and unacceptable, and we regret the negative impact these comments had on such an important weekend for the NFL. We met with Don today about respect, discrimination and judgment. These comments are not consistent with the values and standards of our program.” I feel that in many cases it is justifiable for an employer to take action against and employee for a rant because ultimately the employee is a representation of the company or organization. 

2) In 2015 is it reasonable to expect that employees are on social media during the work day? Is this the new norm? If so, does this have a positive or negative effect on the work place? If not, how can an employer ever truly restrict this use?

While today’s technology continues to evolve, it is unreasonable to expect that employees are not on social media at all during the work day. I believe that the use of social media should not be permitted during work hours, but with mobile devices I don’t think that it will ever be truly possible to restrict this use. 

3) Do you think that social media helps or hurts a young person’s ability to have a professional job? 

I feel that having social media helps a young person’s ability to have a professional job. It allows the individual to network with others, create a personal brand, and acquire a following. 

4) Of the nine points listed by NLRB which one did you think was the most important and which one did you feel was the least important?

I feel that “Employers May Prohibit Employee Rants” is the most important point. “The NLRB has expressly ruled that employees may be disciplined or terminated for engaging in such public rants. Prohibiting this behavior in a social media policy does not violate the Act as long as it does not chill protected speech” (Halpern, 2015).

“Generic or Overly-Broad Courtesy Clauses Should be Avoided” seems to be the least important because I feel that it goes hand in hand with the point made about employers being able to prohibit employee rants. “Employers may encourage employees to refrain from making insulting remarks or engaging in hateful speech in social media. However, employers may not impose wholesale restrictions” (Halpern, 2015).
      
Reference: 

Halpern, S. (2015). When is Your Company's Social Media Policy an Unfair Labor Practice? Recent NLRB Decisions Offer Long-Awaited Guidance for Employers. Retrieved October 6, 2015, from http://www.natlawreview.com/article/when-your-company-s-social-media-policy-unfair-labor-practice-recent-nlrb-decisions-

Club Fit Summer Basketball Leagues (Week Four Discussion)

This summer, I worked at Club Fit in Jefferson Valley, New York as the Assistant Director of Basketball Operations. My job is to coordinate all aspects of Club Fit’s summer basketball leagues for men, women, and children. Last summer, Club Fit was unable to host the summer leagues. In previous years, the leagues were booming and competitive, especially the men’s league which included 15 teams. In the spring, Club Fit made the decision to bring back the summer basketball leagues, but this was not an easy task. With the summer leagues’ starting date only weeks away, no teams had signed up. In the past, Club Fit would advertise the basketball summer leagues through monthly newsletters sent out during the fall and winter months. This way by the spring, there would already be multiple teams signed up for each league. Since Club Fit made the decision in the spring to bring back the basketball summer leagues, we were scrambling to find people interested in putting together their own teams and playing summer league basketball. 

In order to find people interested in Club Fit’s summer basketball leagues, we had to determine who would have a specific interest in this organization. Luckily, we still had contact information on file of those who played summer league basketball at Club Fit in years past. For the purpose of this discussion post, I will refer to this group of men as the “veterans.”

The Veterans: 

• between the ages of 30-55

• have played in the summer league in years past

• “weekend warriors”

• less active on social media

• heard about the summer league through monthly newsletters and word of mouth

Most people that we contacted said that since they did not think Club Fit would be having a summer league this year, they had already committed to playing in a basketball summer league elsewhere. Fortunately, we were able to find two people from previous years who agreed to put their own teams together and join the league. Still, two teams are certainly not enough for a full league. This is where we had to determine another persona that would be interested in playing summer league basketball. On Sunday mornings, there is a group of young men who play pick-up basketball at Club Fit. I immediately thought of them and asked if they would like to put teams together and play in the league. For the purpose of this discussion post, I will refer to these young men as the “rookies” because they have never played in the Club Fit basketball league before and they are also younger than the men who have traditionally played in this league. 

The Rookies:

• between the ages of 18-30

• younger than men who traditionally play in the summer league

• have never played in the summer league

• play basketball on the weekends 

• active on social media

Among the rookies, they were able to form two more teams. We combined the veteran and the rookie teams to form one league. This summer we had a total of only four teams in one men’s league. We once had three different leagues including the men’s league with 15 teams, but late advertising and poor planning hurt our chances of having a big summer league program.  In preparation for next summer, it is critical that we, as an organization, develop a goal for the Club Fit basketball summer league. “For most corporations, the most important goal is profitable revenue growth. In newer companies and those built around emerging technologies, this usually means generating new customers, but in mature businesses, the management team may need to be more focused on keeping the customers that they already have” (Scott, 2013). One important step we need to take is that we need to advertise the leagues earlier. This will ensure that we will have players returning from last year, and also have new players sign up. One thing I noticed about Club Fit’s social media pages is that the organization is not very active. I believe that if we were to advertise the basketball summer leagues on Club Fit’s Facebook page, more people, especially the rookies would notice and sign up to play. I feel that it is beneficial to use social media platforms such as Facebook to reach this younger demographic. For the older men playing in the league, Club Fit could continue to advertise the basketball summer league in its monthly newsletters that are sent through the mail. Again, sending them out earlier in the fall and winter would allow people more time to join the league. 

With two different personas and proper planned advertising through social media outlets and weekly newsletters, I believe that we can have a more successful summer league basketball program at Club Fit. 

Reference:

Scott. "How the Web Has Changed the Rules of Marketing and PR."The New Rules of Marketing and PR. 4th ed. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2013. 13,15,16,18,22. Print.

Social Listening (Week Three Discussion)

This week, we were asked to discuss a scenario in which social listening and engagement helped a company build their brand through marketing communications. One company that does an excellent job employing social listening tactics and generating consumer engagement is ESPN.

ESPN’s Sports Nation website includes polls, chats, trivia, and more. For example, today’s ESPN “Poll Center” question posted on its website is:

“Which of these 0-1 teams do you have the most confidence in this season?”

A) Colts

B) Eagles

C) Ravens

D) Seahawks

E) Steelers

I selected choice D, the Seattle Seahawks. From here, I can hit the “Discuss” button under the poll results and validate my selection or engage in conversation with fans. There are also several other questions posted daily. These poll results are often featured on ESPN’s Sports Center television show. 

This social listening strategy allows consumers to feel that their opinions are heard. “If and when customers or prospects acknowledge that you’re listening, you immediately strengthen your relationship with them” (Kerpen, 2011). I believe that ESPN’s polls are especially useful in building the brand, increasing brand awareness, and encouraging consumer engagement.

References:

Kerpen, D. (2011). Likeable social media: How to delight your customers, create an irresistible brand, and be generally amazing on facebook (& other social networks). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Sports Nation Polls. (2015, September 17). Retrieved September 17, 2015, from http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/polls

Out with the Old, in with the New

In The New Rules of Marketing & Public Relations, David Meerman Scott explains how the web has significantly altered the practices of both marketing and public relations. He lists “The Old Rules of Marketing” and “The Old Rules of Public Relations,” then offers “The New Rules of Marketing and Public Relations.” Scott argues, “Before the web, organizations had only two significant options for attracting attention: Buy expensive advertising or get third party ink from the media. But the web has changed the rules...Organizations that understand the New Rules of Marketing and PR develop relationships directly with consumers…” (Scott, p.15). I agree with Scott’s proposal because I believe that the internet truly has transformed Marketing and Public Relations. More specifically, social media has transformed the way that companies and organizations communicate with consumers. “Blogs, online video, news releases, and other forms of web content let organizations communicate directly with buyers" (Scott, p. 21).

Old Rules of Marketing:

• “Advertising was one-way; company to consumer" (Scott, p.18).

This rule should be discarded because with the web, companies and organizations are able to communicate with the audience through various social media platforms and have two-way conversations. With this increased engagement, consumers will feel a stronger connection to the company or organization.

• “Advertising needed to appeal to the masses” (Scott, p.18).

I feel that this rule should also be discarded because I think it is more important for an advertisement to appeal to the target audience rather than the masses.

Old Rules of Public Relations:

• “The only way to get ink and airtime was through the media” (Scott, p. 22).

This rule should be thrown away because different social media channels including blogs, online video, and e-books allow companies and organizations to release news and information directly.

• “Advertising and PR were separate disciplines run by different people with separate goals, strategies, and measurement criteria” (Scott, p.22).

I believe that this rule should be discarded because with the web and various social media channels, it is important for both advertising and public relations to work closely with each other. Today, these two departments go hand in hand to communicate effectively and offer the best consumer experience possible. 

Reference:

Scott. "How the Web Has Changed the Rules of Marketing and PR."The New Rules of Marketing and PR. 4th ed. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2013. 13,15,16,18,22. Print.

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog!

My name is Tori. I am a red-shirt senior on the Marist College women's basketball team. During my freshman year, I attended Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee where I also played basketball. While I loved Nashville, I decided to transfer to Marist. Being from Westchester, New York, I love that I am closer to home and that my family and friends are able to attend more games. In December 2015, I graduated with a degree in Communications and a concentration in Sports Broadcasting. I also minored in Psychology. In the future, I would love to become a sports broadcaster or sideline reporter. Basketball is definitely my favorite sport, but I also love watching football and baseball. I am a huge New York Giants and New York Yankees fan!

During the summer, I work at Club Fit in Jefferson Valley, New York as the Assistant Director of Basketball Operations. Other work experience includes an internship with K104's Woodman in the Morning Show. This was an incredible opportunity because I was given air-time and asked to read the sports news which I enjoyed. 

I will be using this blog to share my ideas, reading responses, and class discussions for COM610.

It is nice to meet you all and I look forward to collaborating with you throughout the semester.

Tori