The Basics for Having Fun and Finding Work

Hello Everybody,

It's been a while since I've blogged last but here I am again! This semester I will be covering Social Media Marketing, Web Analytics and covering the book What Color is Your Parachute? 2016. The material I will be covering for Social Media Marketing and Web Analytics are part of CASAMarketing by Todd Kelsey at Benedictine University. So let's start at the beginning, shall we?

Social Media Marketing (MKTG 347)
Chapter 1 - The Basics for Having Fun and Finding Work

"You don't need to learn all of it. No one can. The thing to do is to focus on trying some of the tools and skills out and going from there."

Social Media Marketing can come off as intimidating. There are so many different sites out there and they all work in different ways. So we're going to focus first on the basics to help get you set and going in the right direction. First when thinking about social media marketing you should keep in mind ROI (Return on Investment). You need to get a general idea of the type of impact you are making with your social media. Is it worth the money that you put into it? You need to clarify if your organization is B2B (business to business) or B2C (Business to Consumers). This will help you make social media decisions along the way.

Social Media is a great way to engage your audience. The goal is to create some type of post whether it be advertisement, articles, or promotions that other people will share, spreading your reach. Just remember that social media is also great for listening to your customers, it's a good way to fix problems before they spread. You also need to monitor your social media to see how it's coming along. There are a lot of different programs in order to do this. Some are expensive and in dept such as Radien6 and others are free such as socialmention.com. When posting for your organization keep in mind if its B2B or B2C. If your organization is more B2B than your posts can be more professional and lengthy and in dept. You'll probably focus more so on LinkedIn than say Pintrest.

Just remember when dealing with social media things are constantly changing. While Facebook, Twitter and Youtube have a pretty strong standing. Things such as Instagram, Pintrest, Vine, and Snapchat are a little less stable. So make sure to keep on your toes and stay flexible.

Until next time,
Caitlin