Lesson 3: Social Media is Always Evolving

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 1: What is new media?

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.