A Brief Overview of Social Media UW PRSSA May 21, 2009 Jessica Randazza

2 *Source: Wikipedia.com What is Social Media? Online technologies and practices that people use to share opinions, insights, experiences, and perspectives with each other* Communication is no longer a one-way exchange It’s about conversations between consumers with and about your brand about the trends and content that you want to be associated with

3 Online conversations in social media leave footprints… As I communicate with the people and groups I care about, we share information and link to one another – in a way that can be mapped. Source: Briansolis.com

4 Source: Power Review Survey Who is Using Social Media? Traditional Media/Journalists More than 50% of journalists go to online communities to source stories 28% visit every day 33% of journalists say they use blogs as a way of uncovering breaking news or scandals 43% of journalists use blogs to research and reference facts Consumers: Teens to Seniors Nearly half of users are over the age of 30 More than 100 million blogs A new blog is created every second of the day 65% of blog readers read blogs to get an opinion Everyday, there are 3.5 billion fragmented, brand-related conversations happening across the internet* 65% of online shoppers always rely on consumer generated reviews before they buy*

5 Who is Using Social Media? Source: Forrester Research

6 Why is Social Media an Important Consideration? Creators of social media are becoming trusted media Influence from traditional media is waning Brand messages are competing with consumer opinion It’s more than another channel through which to deliver messages

7 Endless Opportunities Engage your audience Identify consumer movements Drive buzz or word-of-mouth to impact sales Focus group to bounce new product ideas off of Idea and content generation Find group of fans to spread brand gospel Dispel myths, inaccurate information or “cybersmear”

8 “Your brand is no stronger than your reputation – and will increasingly depend on what comes up when you are Googled” Allan Jenkins, editor of Observer Magazine

9 Glossary Aggregator: A web application which aggregates syndicated web content such as news headlines, blogs, podcasts, and vlogs in a single location for easy viewing. Also called: feed reader or news reader. (Ex: Newsgator, Google reader) Blog: Short for "Web Log," this term refers a Web site, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Many blogs are hosted by services that offer user-friendly templates and applications. “Vlog” refers to blogs that consist mainly of video entries. (Ex: Blogspot, Livejournal, Blogger) Feed: A web feed (or news feed) is a data format used for providing users with frequently updated content. Content distributors syndicate a web feed, thereby allowing users to subscribe to it. Making a collection of web feeds accessible in one spot is known as aggregation, which is performed by an Internet aggregator. A web feed is also sometimes referred to as a syndicated feed. Microblogging: a form of blogging that allows users to send brief text updates (say, 140 characters or fewer) or micromedia such as photos or audio clips and publish them. These messages can be submitted by a variety of means, including text messaging, instant messaging, , MP3 or the web. (Ex: Twitter) Podcast: a series of audio or video digital-media files which are distributed through web feeds. RSS: Stands for "RDF Site Summary," but is commonly referred to as "Really Simple Syndication." RSS is a method of providing web site content such as news stories or software updates in a standard XML format. RSS content can be accessed with an RSS-enabled web browser or other programs designed for retrieving RSS feeds. Social bookmarking: a method for internet users to store, organize, search, and manage bookmarks of web pages on the internet with the help of metadata. (Ex: Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon) Social network: a service that focuses on building online communities of people who share interests and activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others. Most social network services are web based and provide a variety of ways for users to interact, such as and instant messaging services. (Ex: Myspace, Facebook, LinkedIn) Video/Image sharing site: A hosting service that allows users to upload, maintain and share large quantities of video and/or image files. (Ex: YouTube, Flickr, Hulu)