Category Archives: Social Media Lessons

Lesson 3: Social Media is Always Evolving

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subcribe feature on FacebookWhether we like it or not, social media is constantly evolving.  Although there are small changes happening on many social media platforms, the platform that is currently consuming headlines is Facebook.  As I am sure many of you have already noticed, Facebook has recently made some major changes in the way it’s social network functions.

Arguably the most influential change is the ability to “subscribe” to Facebook Users’ updates.  Not only can you now subscribe to people who you aren’t friends with, you can also choose what updates you are subscribed to from your friends.  In addition, there are more options concerning what you see in your news feed – you have the option to hide stories, change your subscription, or unsubscribe altogether.  You can read more about this feature here: Introducing the Subscribe Button.

What is more important about these changes is the implications it has on social media marketing.  Now users can still like your page, but choose not to see any of your updates in their news feed.  What does this mean?  You have to be even more diligent about what you’re posting, when you’re posting, and how often you are posting.  Here are some resources for learning how to go about posting to Facebook:

Moral of the story?  Make sure you stay up-to-date on the evolution of social media – and be aware of how it affects your social media marketing strategy.

Anything you’d like to add?  Share it in the comments!

Lesson 2: Facebook Etiquette

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As my senior year begins at Colorado State University, it is more evident than ever that everyone is gearing up for the all-important, yet alarmingly nerve-racking, job search. The next few months are filled with resume workshops, mock interviews, and networking events – but nobody is paying any attention to their online persona.

It should be stressed – your online persona a.k.a. social media must be polished just as much when embarking on a job search! Companies are no longer oblivious to the amount of information they can find out about a person on Facebook – and they know just about every college student has a Facebook page. What does this mean? Your future employer is checking you out online – looking at your pictures, reading comments, etc. – and if you have a whole album of your drinking photos or are chatting it up on your wall about how you played hooky last Friday, you better bet you won’t get that callback!

Wondering what to do now? Check out this great article, “Essential Social Media Etiquette for College Students: Six Tips.” This should get you started on revamping your Facebook page into something that represents you positively and professionally.

Do you have any more great Facebook tips you’d like to share?

Lesson 1: What is new media?

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In order to understand what new media is, one might wonder what is old media?  Well, what you might think of as old media is what we call traditional media – newspapers, magazines, and television.  If we are even more detailed, traditional media also might include radio, books, and all other print publications.  New media is the digitization of traditional forms of media, meaning pretty much everything that exists on your computer and the internet!  And these days new media exists on not only our computers, but our cell phones, electronic tablets, PDAs, music players, and every other electronic device we might own.

Some examples?  This blog. Wikipedia. The pages you like on Facebook. Online newsletter archives. The videos you favorite on YouTube. The photos you peruse on Flickr. And the list goes on and on.