Comms 3370 Extra Credit

Social Media in Public Relations was definitely a very valuable course. In today's society this course is essential to obtaining a certificate in Public Relations. I learned several concepts from this class that are very valuable and will be useful working in the Communications field.

I learned the value of posting in real time and what it means for Public Relations. Last Friday I went to a networking event and there was a photographer there. Not only was he taking pictures of the "who's who", he was posting pictures in real time directly from his digital camera. Because of this class, I understood how ingenious that is. David Meerman Scott wrote, "Speed and agility win the moment" (143). And since I have yet to see another photographer posting videos or pictures in real time, this photographer clearly has a leg up on his competition.

I also realized the value in blogs or blogging. Blogs are extremely helpful for monitoring what people are saying about you, your organization, and its products (84). It's imperative to know that people are discussing you or your company, whether the bloggers are putting your company in a negative or positive light. Business owners should monitor blogs on a regular basis and also have their PR staff blogging as well. Scott also wrote, "Organizations that do not have their own authentic and human blog voices are increasingly seen as suspect" (82).

I will say it would've been a good idea to have our own Twitter account. That way you become even more familiar with the process. Tweeting isn't the same as posting to Facebook and there's no other way to practice than to have your own account. I thought it was difficult at first. Our Twitter accounts could also be monitored on a weekly basis like our blogs.

Overall, I really enjoyed this class and found it very helpful. I would love to pass this book onto my supervisor for the internship I had last semester. At first he was reluctant to use Facebook and I helped him learn the value in posting pictures from events and how quickly you can reach out to your target demographic. My supervisor would find our textbook very useful.

Tourism Whistler and the Media Room of The Future

Tourism Whistler has a wonderful media room and their media releases are no exception. I read Get More Out of Thanksgiving and Weekday Wine. Both media releases are different from press releases for a two reasons.

The first reason is that the vernacular is different. Traditional press releases use more formal language. For example, there were dollar signs and the and/or symbol was also used in the media release Get More Out of Thanksgiving. 

Another reason that the media releases were different was because the hashtag was also used, and in the Weekday Wine media release, it listed events like a calendar or a schedule. A traditional press release is a news story; an article that a journalist would write. Very rarely do these articles include schedules. A news story simply reports the facts.

If I were a journalist I would love Tourism Whistler's media room. For one, the pictures are amazing. Also there was a YouTube video posted on the front page. The pictures were well placed and it was creative. The pictures paint a very distinct image for journalists or anyone visiting the media room.

Since there were also hashtags and posts from Twitter, it would make it easy for me to access what has already been published on Twitter. And if I'm signed into my Twitter account, all I have to do is clique on the links and they will take me directly to Tourism Whistler's Twitter page. The media room was also user friendly, there was a place for everything and every page was divided up so there was easy access.

Overall, Tourism Whistler had a wonderful media room. A journalist or anyone for that matter will love how simple and useful the media room is. Since the media releases are lighter and less formal, it's more laid back and casual.

Target and Their Buyer Personas

Target is a store that has been thriving for over twenty years. They are known for their "cheap chic" theme. Cheap chic means that their apparel and furniture are chic but affordable. However, I would have to say that their buyer personas are aimed at two specific groups.

The first buyer persona that Target represents is the everyday child or teenager. When you go into the store the first thing you see are the dollar bins, commonly referred to as "The One Spot." Overall The One Spot is filled with items such as pencils, erasers, candy and Hello Kitty apparel. Target has also done a wonderful job with children's clothes (for boys and girls). I would definitely make sure to use Facebook and Instagram to reach the everyday child or teenager. Instagram is geared more towards the younger generation so the everyday child or teenager would obviously go to Instagram to see what's new at Target.

The second buyer persona at Target is the hardworking mom. A hardworking mom could be a stay at home mom or a working mother. Either way you almost always see children in Target with their moms. Target does a good job with their dollar bins (which attract moms too) and the apparel that moms can wear to work, to the gym or to sleep. Target is also attracting moms with their baby clothes as well. I would also use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Google+ for the hardworking mom persona. These days, most people have a Gmail account which means they have unlimited access to YouTube and Google+. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are also the most popular social media channels to reach any persona in this day and age.

Overall, Target is already doing an excellent job reaching different people of all ages. Identifying their target personas or demographics couldn't hurt either. It's a progressive step in the right direction.

The Serial Podcast

I watched The Serial Podcast: Episode I--The Alibi. Adnan Syed allegedly murdered a young woman. The podcast was done by a woman that had been working on the case since 1999. And she asked a very interesting question (which got me intrigued). She asked, "How do you account for your time everyday?" It is extremely difficult to keep track of your steps, everything you did in a single day, and make no mistakes. Especially in 1999, there was no texting and other forms of technology to back you up and help you retrace your steps.

The video appealed to me because I have watched crime shows (Hill Street Blues, Law and Order, CSI) for years. This reminded me a lot of Law and Order and how often times people question or doubt whether the killer is indeed guilty. There were twelve podcasts total; they were all posted May 21, 2015.

Podcasting made sense for this show because it reminded me of the older radio shows. My grandparents would often talk about shows being read on the radio like The Shadow. Listening to the podcast reminded me of listening to the radio. I felt like I was tuning in just like they were in the 1940s.

I would also say that writing these podcasts all down would make sense too. It could make a good chapter book. The podcasts could also turn into a newspaper column as well, but I don't think it would make sense to turn these into press releases. The podcasts would lose their voice and the voice is essential to telling the story.

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All Pictures Have a Message

In order to stay relevant, any brand has to be active on social media. In modern day society this includes posting pictures. Today we will examine three brands and their pictures, and the messages they are sending to their audience.

To start, Marvel Comics posted a picture of their super heroine, The Scarlet Witch, to their Facebook Timeline. The picture is advertising that the super heroine's series will be out this December. Overall the picture was shared by 18 people and the picture was liked by 204 fans. One comment said, "That's not The Scarlet Witch I grew up with from The Avengers No. 16. Who's THIS woman?" The picture was seen but clearly the review was mixed. Marvel is sending a message to their audience to be prepared for her series; Marvel is keeping the audience updated on what's current.

Amazon has posted a picture on Facebook of a grey t shirt that has a cat on it shooting purple beams from his eyes. They're having a sweepstakes, you could win that t shirt or a gift card for $100 or something else all together if you commented below. You comment had to include the hashtags as well. One customer was very happy; she received a carpet scrubber "in less time than Amazon expected, you all are awesome!" Amazon was sending a message to their clientele that if they simply participated they would be rewarded. So far this garnered positive results for Amazon and their customers, which should be what every brand is set on.

Lastly, I looked at Dita Von Teese. She's known as the Queen of Neo Burlesque and is posting pictures of her shows, but also anything she's interested in. For example, she posted a picture of 15 Vintage Black Pin Up Models. In their day, famous pin ups included Bettie Page and Betty Grable. However, Dita Von Teese posted the picture and the link to this article so that Black Pin Ups would be remembered, by her followers and by Von Teese herself. Von Teese's message to her audience is that she's all inclusive; pin ups include all races the world over. Von Teese received a thank you comment and another comment that said, "I had no idea...these pics are over beautiful and talented women."
 http://bit.ly/1L1IQWq (Marvel)
http://amzn.to/1kzKmtD (Amazon)
http://blackgirllonghair.com/2015/08/14-unsung-vintage-black-pinup-models/

The Marvel of Marvel Comics

There are videos that are always trying to sell you something, no matter how hard they try to hide it. Variant Comics made a video called, "The Top 10 Facts You Never Knew About Marvel Comics," and the video is informative and intriguing.

This video listed interesting facts that the general public (or even the average X-Men fan) probably don't know about Marvel Comics. For example, there was a little boy who didn't want to wear his hearing aid. Marvel found out about this and created Blue Ear, a superhero who wears a hearing aid!

Also, most fans don't know about the Marvel/DC Mash Up. Characters were merged together from both DC and Marvel superheroes creating a new genre in the realm of comics. This video was not only intriguing but it wasn't long, gave interesting facts about Marvel and its history.

Surprisingly enough, the video didn't contain any information or facts about Stan Lee. For years, Stan Lee and Marvel have gone together in the same sentence. However, this is a good thing because it's unexpected and went outside of the norm. There is so much more to Marvel Comics than Stan Lee and the characters that he created.

The video generated 382,521 views on YouTube and is still thriving. Under the comments section on YouTube, there was a lot of debate going but the debate wasn't based on the video per say. The debate was sparked over which is better, DC or Marvel and which superheroes were better. Overall, I was even more interested in the history of Marvel Comics and the video made me think about more than just the superheroes. I never felt like this was an ad or that Marvel was trying to convince me to leave DC Comics in any way.

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DC and The World of Comics

One might say that a website geared towards comics would use too many pictures. Can that really be true, since the website is about comics, their characters and graphic novels? The website for Detective Comics (DC Comics) is a content rich website and is the best comic book website around.

Overall, the homepage is filled with information. Some info is about the comic book characters and some information that was posted are announcements. For example, I thought it was wonderful that DC posted which characters were celebrating 75 years (The Flash, Shazam!, The Joker and Lex Luthor), just to name a few. DC also posted upcoming comics and their release dates, along with movies (Justice League) and the highly anticipated Batman vs. Superman.

Their shopping tab was wonderful too. DC made a section for new arrivals and pre orders. DC also made a tab for news (fans, family and for press as well). The tabs made the website user friendly, which is always a plus. However, there were some things that I would change about the homepage.

For years, I've been coming to DC's homepage and it's always been dark. Their background color has always been slate/charcoal gray. I hope that DC will brighten up the page; maybe they could post The Flash in the background and make it scarlet (like The Scarlet Speedster). They could even have him running in the background! And since The Flash is 75 years old right now, it would be a good idea to highlight all the characters (protagonist and antagonist) celebrating 75 years and put them on a slide show in the background.

Or maybe DC could have the Justice League front and center. The JL is a huge part of DC Comics and is one of the reasons that Stan Lee created The Fantastic Four. Marvel needed a group to compete with the JL and Lee created The Fantastic Four to keep Marvel abreast of the trends. Overall, the DC Comics homepage is content rich and a website worth coming back to, time after time.