TODAY’S AGENDA A Few Words About Blogging A Primer on Social Media
TwitterFacebookFoursquareFlickrManaging Multiple Networks Incorporating Networks on Your Website
Open Lab for Assignment #1
OBJECTIVES Learn how blogging can be a helpful
personal and business development tool Explore a few specific social media
services Learn how these social media services
can help you network and advertise
BEFORE WE BEGIN As graphic designers in the 21st century,
we need to develop an awareness of the digital media and technologies available for sharing information
We may not have the technical skills to do coding or software developing, but having an basic, high-level understanding of the tools out there can be greatly beneficial
Today we’re going to look at some accessible media platforms that are in demand
WHAT IS A BLOG, ANYWAY? Short for web log, a blog is a webpage
where an individual or group of people can share “regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video”
-- as defined by Wikipedia
WHY BLOG? Seth Godin and Tom Peters on Blogging:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=livzJTIWlmY
WHY BLOG? (PERSONAL REASONS) It’s free It’s a good method to practice written
communicationThe ability to describe your reasoning, your
thought process, your methodology is valuable
It’s a way to share your interests and passions with others
It’s a gateway for possibilitiesNetworking with others in your field Job opportunities
WHY BLOG? (BUSINESS REASONS) It’s free* It’s a way to communicate with customers
Keep customers up-to-date with products In addition to or an alternative to newsletters
Engage customers in conversations Respond to comments left on your blog Have customers write about your business on their
own blogs
It’s an additional means to extend your brand identity Develop personality
It’s a way for large corporations to communicate internally
BLOG PLATFORMS - WORDPRESS Free and open source Register on Wordpress.com You can also install Wordpress on your
web server You can build your entire website using
WordpressWordpress is sometimes referred to as a
Content Management System (CMS)With plug-ins and add-ons, Wordpress can
be more than just a blog
BONUS: PORTFOLIO SITES POWERED BY WORDPRESS
http://portfolio.hauntedcathouse.org
http://hugsformonsters.com
http://thatfresh.com http://mikekus.com
BLOG PLATFORMS - TUMBLR Free Register at tumblr.com A microblogging platform, made for
short and quick entriesGood for “Single-serving” blogs
Tumblr can be used as a supplemental blog for a company’s brand
BLOG PLATFORMS - BLOGGER Free Register at blogger.com Have a Google account? You already
have a Blogger account. Since it belongs to Google, Blogger
users can easily utilize other Google tools (AdSense, Google Reader, etc)
A FEW TIPS FOR SUCCESS Create quality content
If your post isn’t something you’d be interested in reading, chances are no one else would either
This will come with thoughtfulness, time and practice
Be consistent Figure out a schedule and stick to it Having a few posts already prepared, ready to
publish can help Talk with and promote to your community
Figure out your target audience Engage and participate
WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA, ANYWAY? Social media is a phrase that’s tossed
around a lot, intertwined with Web 2.0 and the next biggest thing.
Social media is “media designed to be disseminated though social interaction”
--as defined by Wikipedia
Social media oftentimes involves user-generated content (video, audio, text and multimedia)
SOCIAL MEDIA REVOLUTION http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFZ0z
5Fm-Ng
SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNITIES (SOCIAL NETWORKS) Traditional advertising cannot be the
only way to reach customers these daysYou have to go where the customers are:
their social networking communities As designers, we may (and should) be
asked to design with these communities in mind
Let’s take a look at a couple of these communities
IS THIS WHAT TWITTER IS? Twouble with Twitters: SuperNews!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN2HAroA12w
WHAT IS TWITTER? A social
networking and microblogging service
Post status updates in 140 characters or less
Over 105 million registered users
TWINGO (TWITTER LINGO) Tweet – A status update on Twitter Retweet (RT) – Repeating someone else’s
tweet, usually attributing the source with an at-reply
At-Reply (@) – A status update directed at another user (@username)
Hash tag (#) – A way to organize updates for Twitter search engines
TWINGO (TWITTER LINGO) #FollowFriday – A tweet where you
recommend a person to follow, searchable because of the hash tag
Direct Message (DM) – A private message to a user you follow
Fail Whale – When Twitter goes down due to overload, a splash page with a whale appears
WAYS TWITTER IS USED Microblogging
Quick way to keep friends/family/acquaintances/random people in the know, a soapbox…
News FeedSports, local happenings, breaking news…
WAYS TWITTER IS USED Promotions
Coupons/deals, current and future events…
Classified Ads Job listings, recruitment…
WAYS TWITTER IS USED Organizing Events
Coordinating attendance, checking in…
Sharing KnowledgeSharing new content, forwarding good
links…
WAYS TWITTER IS USED Customer Service
Resolving issues, giving service updates…
ActivismEnvironmental issues, political issues,
economic issues…
HOW TO USE TWITTER EFFECTIVELY Follow people in your
field Keep up to date with the
movers and shakers Engage in conversation Cross-promote one
another Encourage people to
tweet about you Create tweets that can
be retweeted Create a hash tag for
your event Add a Tweet button to
your blog or website
FACEBOOK (FAN) PAGES Formerly known as Fan Pages, Pages can
be created for a business, product, brand, artist, etc.Convenient way to connect to users who are
interested in your businessProvides more search results for your
business
TIPS FOR PAGES Fill out all information in your profile Engage fans regularly
Post often, but not too often Tag fans in pictures and videos
Provide fans with unique content Video streams to special events Coupons and deals
Create a landing page Use the Facebook coding language FBML to set
up which tab loads first when users visit your page
Landing pages can include links to pages outside of Facebook
FACEBOOK LIKE BUTTON Effortless way for users
to show approval or interest in a post
Can be used anywhere, not just on Facebook Add a Like button to other
websites and blog posts Clicking on Like button will
create a post on the user’s Facebook page, linking back to your website
Code available from developers.facebook.com
FACEBOOK CONNECT Enable users to log
onto a website with a Facebook account Used million of times
a month streamlines a user
experience Code available from
developers.facebook.com Intermediate-
Advanced coding knowledge helpful
WHAT IS FOURSQUARE? A geo-location
application “Check in” at a
location using a mobile device
Leave “tips” about locations
Set up like a game Earn points and
unlock badges Gain status by
becoming a “mayor”
WHAT FOURSQUARE OFFERS TO USERS Way to share with
friends where you are
Get the inside scoop on a location
Get special offers from some locations
Game aspect encourages continued usage
HOW BUSINESSES CAN USE FOURSQUARE Add your business to
Foursquare Use customer tips as
feedback to build upon
Offer discounts to people who check in
Use Foursquare “personally” Check-in at locations
and leave tips Build credibility as a
Foursquare user
MANAGING MULTIPLE SOCIAL NETWORKS Being on multiple websites may be
beneficial but not necessarily practical Different customers use different social networks
However, be selective about where you are signing up Sign up for networks where you will actively
engage your customers Do you know where you are currently signed
up? Use the website http://namechk.com Having a single username across multiple
networks will make keeping track easier and will build consistency
MANAGING MULTIPLE SOCIAL NETWORKS
Visiting multiple websites can be time-consuming and cumbersome
Consider utilizing programs and services that allow you to log-in into multiple websitesTweetDeckHootSuite
TWEETDECK Desktop client, also
available for iPhone/iPad, Android phones
Update and manage Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Google Buzz, and Foursquare
Customize your experience with groups, saved searches, automatic updates
HOOTSUITE Desktop client, also
available for iPhone and Android phones
Update and manage Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Wordpress and Foursquare
Statistics, customized groups, saved searches, automatic updates
LANDING PAGES ON YOUR WEBSITE When drawing users
from other social networks onto your website, consider creating a special landing page. A subpage of your main
website Provide an enhanced
experience by tailoring the content of this subpage
Design the subpage based on your understanding of the users from the social network
MICROSITES Related to landing
pages, a microsite is a supplemental website, most often used for a campaign or special event from a larger organization Movie trailers often
have microsites Microsites have their
own URLs, sometimes their own branding
WHAT IS FLICKR? Online photo/video
sharing and management
Easy photo/video uploads
Enables users to set privacy and licensing settings
Enables users to tag location and topics
HOW BUSINESSES CAN USE FLICKR Useful for restaurants,
hotels, event venues, retail stores and advertising firms to showcase locations, products, etc.
Proper titles, tags and descriptions will allow users to find you, on Flickr and via search engines
Engage users in groups Enable users to use
photos with Creative Commons licenses
Encourage users to upload their own photos and tag them with your business name
INCORPORATING SOCIAL MEDIA ON YOUR WEBSITE (OR BLOG) Make it easy for visitors to share your
contentsharethis.com provides easy Tweet and Like
buttons (as well as other networks) for websites
INCORPORATING SOCIAL MEDIA ON YOUR WEBSITE (OR BLOG) Utilize widgets
provided by the networksa patch-work
solution, widgets might clash with the website
INCORPORATING SOCIAL MEDIA ON YOUR WEBSITE (OR BLOG) Build your
website with a content management systemuse a theme or
design specifically created to handle social media incorporation
OPEN LAB You have the remainder of the class to
work on Assignment #1. Have your notes and sketches ready to
show the instructor your progress. Did you write your concept paragraph
yet? Make sure to do that before the day is over.
Not working on your assignment? Participation points may be deducted.
Toward the end of class, be sure to scan or take pictures of your sketches to post to the class blog.
REMINDERS ABOUT POSTING Write in complete sentences, spell-
check and proof-read. Title your posts appropriately (follow the
naming convention given). Check off the appropriate categories. Post grading (starting today):
0.5 points for correct title0.5 points for correct categoriesUp to 4 points for content (well-written,
pictures included when assigned)