Chapter 6 Reading

Chapter 6 in our class book Social Media for Strategic Communication is called Strategic Planning for Social Media. We have discussed in class before how important it is to be strategic in running a social media account. There are many challenges to administrating a social media account and some of them are content creation, maintaining a consistent brand voice, and making a sound strategy that will move your account in the right direction.

When social media specialist Kevin Saghy spoke at a PRSSA meeting, he mentioned strategic planning. He has been with his current brand for about a year and a half now and he said he is finally starting to get results on his implementation of a new strategic plan. Strategy, whether it be in the form a board game like chess or running a campaign, takes time. Strategic planning as stated in the book is like a "road map" that guides the specialist and their actions in the plan.

I liked the book's mention of how a plan helps "the media professional follow a set of guidelines (like in Pirates of the Caribbean-you've got to stick to the code)". A plan should be formulated with care and have thought behind the actions that will be taken to run the campaign. But just like anything in life, plans can and will change. I have heard plenty of times in my classes that students my age will have to continue to adapt to technology to stay on top of the game. Strategic plans should be built with flexibility in mind. After all, Captain Barbossa says that the "(pirate) code is more what you'd call 'guidelines' than actual rules." Guidelines are meant to be followed, but they are not the end-all-be-all rules because there are not very many concrete rules in the social media landscape. It has rapidly changed, and will very much continue to rapidly change, over the years. One platform may be new and exciting this year but in five years it may be obsolete. So stick to the guidelines, but do not be afraid to branch out if necessary.

Irish Eyes

Hope your St. Patrick's Day weekend was festive and lucky! I spent part of my weekend preparing for the Symphonic Band's first concert of the season. Our concert was entitled, Irish Eyes, and was held on Sunday, March 17 (St. Patrick's Day!) at 4 p.m. at the Freed Center. Almost all of our songs had an Irish theme to celebrate the holiday. The name of our concert was taken from the popular song When Irish Eyes Are Smiling.

We had rehearsal for several hours on Saturday and about an hour and a half before the show on Sunday. I thought the concert would last at least an hour and half, maybe even two hours, because our songs seemed so long. The band had never played all of the songs from top to bottom in just one go like we would in a concert setting, so that is why I was so off on assuming how long it would take. Whenever we rehearsed a song, we would always go back and play through specific parts, so by the time we were finished with just one song thirty minutes may have passed.

The good news was that the concert only lasted a little over an hour! It went by much smoother than I thought it would and our director, Dr. Charles Bates, thought we sounded very good! It was reassuring that our time spent on these songs paid off with a great concert.

Later that night I had a Tau Beta Sigma meeting, which was the first meeting I attended that I was an official member at! I also wore my TBS pins to the concert so that was fun as well.

The Symphonic Band's next concert is on Sunday, April 28 in case if you are interested in coming!

My Thoughts Regarding the College Admissions Scandal and Bad PR

The FBI released a report last week documenting fraudulent college applications to big-name,

elite schools. Even though these applications were knowingly falsified by parents, coaches, and

faculty, admissions offices from top universities around the country such as Stanford, Georgetown,

and Yale still accepted the students.

As a first-year college student who has gone through the admissions process in the past year, this

scandal infuriates me to no end. I meticulously planned my entire high school career to focus on

preparing for college. I took the ACT multiple times, completed as many College Credit Plus courses

as I could, reserved college tours, applied for any scholarships I qualified for, navigated the FAFSA

and the Common App.

Then came the actual college decision process after all my applications were submitted. I was not

picky with sending applications as I applied and was accepted to nearly ten universities in Ohio,

both private and public, small Division III schools and one of the largest universities in the nation.

No matter how the university’s well-renowned faculty or how beautiful the campus was, finances

were going to make a major impact on my final decision. Last winter I waited anxiously for my

financial aid packages to arrive and one by one they trickled in the mail. I will never forget the gut-

wrenching excitement and fear that opening a financial aid letter brought. I will also never forget

feeling an elated shock after reading some letters and a glaring, numbing, reality check after others.

I know that plenty of students are the first ones in their family to navigate the college admissions

process and that many had a harder time than I did. Yes, a lot of students work hard in high school

in the hopes that it will pay off for college. I know I am not the only one. There are so many students

out there who work honestly and rigorously to achieve their goals to reach college. It rubs salt in the

wound that some people, with the right resources and connections, can leapfrog all of what honest

students with integrity have to do to earn their way into college. For every student who had falsified

documents who was accepted, a student with much better credentials and work ethic was denied a

seat. That is disgraceful.

I was taught that if you work hard, it will pay off and good things will come your way. I never applied

to any elite, Ivy League schools, but I know what rejection in the form of a number on a financial aid

package feels like. cannot imagine the emotions rejection would bring if I felt my credentials were

worthy. I have experienced panic, disappointment and what felt like personal rejection from

universities in the form of a number on a financial aid package. At least I was accepted, but I was

hoping to afford my acceptance. I empathize with any students who were cheated of acceptance by

a college’s admissions system.

Bad press such as this scandal is not something that any brand wants circulating through the news.

The universities have lost some of their credibility and trust of the public. The sad fact is, these schools have had their names dragged in the mud before and have dealt with the fallout in the past. If a lesser-known school were to experience such an ordeal, it might not survive the consequences. These elite schools however are so storied, powerful, and prestigious that there will likely not be a lasting impact. The universities may have to pay fines, but the reality of the situation is that these schools have large reserves of money and will probably continue to perpetuate cheating in the admissions office. What can be put in place to stop this cheating from happening again?

Be Grateful for Every Moment

Spring Break has come and gone in the blink of an eye and now it is time to get back to school. I did not go anywhere on vacation during my Spring Break, instead I just went home and spent time with family. This was much needed and I am happy that I could relax at home.

During this time I reflected a bit on life and school. A few events happened that made me realize that I take things for granted every day. For example, I take for granted that I have my health. My grandparents had several appointments regarding different surgeries and that made me realize how much I do not appreciate my own health. Even though I am not their age and it may be easy for me to say that that age is far away, it still means I should enjoy my health while I have it.

I thought about those who are special to me besides just my health. I think I take for granted the time I have with my family and friends. Pets are included in my family. My dog was not feeling well this weekend and my family took him to the vet. He is on multiple pills every day to ease his anxiety, pain, and stop seizures. My puppy is ten and a half years old, and he will always be my puppy, no matter what his age is. This weekend was a reality check as to how much time I have left with him.

This break was important because it gave me time to reflect on what is important to me. I need to let go of the stresses of exams, homework, scheduling, etc. because it is all just a blip on the map. Sure, how I do in school and what I do in school will affect my future. But the most important thing is to have fun while I continue my college career and my life. My goal is to spend my time with those who are most important to me and use my time to do what I enjoy.

Polar Bear Day 2019

In honor of last Wednesday, February 27 being National Polar Bear Day, here is a polar bear themed blog post.

I love my choice to attend Ohio Northern University and I love our mascot as well. When I can do something to subtly show some school pride, I will most likely be interested. While sitting in classes or meetings, I was introduced to 4Ocean by listening to other students talk about it. 4Ocean makes bracelets made out of recycled materials like plastic, used for the string, and glass, used for the beads. The brand cleans one pound of trash out of the ocean for every bracelet they sell. They create special bracelets to benefit different creatures that live near or in the ocean. 4Ocean and their special bracelets are linked with another nonprofit group that focuses on conservation or helping that particular animal. 4Ocean is partnered with Polar Bear International and Carbonfund.org for the sale of the Polar Bear Bracelet. The price may seem a little expensive for such a small bracelet, but the brand seems responsible and has a mission and goals that I admire. So fellow Polar Bears, check out 4Ocean’s Polar Bear Bracelet if conservation is important to you and you like to show some
school pride! I have had mine for several months and I wear it almost every day.

This is a picture of the Polar Bear Bracelet from 4Ocean's website.

Wednesday, February 27 was National Polar Bear Day. This is a particularly important day for the

Ohio Northern University community because it celebrates our unique mascot. Not many colleges

have a polar bear as their mascot. One of the more high-profile schools that I can think of is

Bowdoin College. Bowdoin College is the home of transcendentalist writer Nathaniel Hawthorne

(thank you high school English courses for that tidbit of information). Bowdoin is a small school,

even smaller than ONU, located in Maine. I am sure students at Bowdoin have more than their

fair share of cold winter days in the Northeast so a polar bear is a fitting mascot for them.

One could argue that Ada, Ohio is not as frigid as Brunswick, Maine and that Bowdoin College is

more deserving of the polar bear mascot than Ohio Northern University. These are the current

weather conditions of both places.

Brunswick, Maine has a temperature of 26 degrees Fahrenheit with a wind chill of 22.

Currently the temperature in Ada, Ohio is 15 degrees and the wind chill makes it feel like -2.

Happy Spring Break to all Polar Bears, hope you are someplace warmer than the Tundra!

Chapter 5 Reading

There are a lot more elements to social media than just the casual user who posts pictures from

an important event like graduation. As I learned previously in this social media course, if a brand,

company, or influencer uses social media accounts then there is much more to just content

creation. Content creation by itself is a big enough monster to tackle already because posts need

to be tailored to each platform and target audience while still maintaining a constant brand voice.

But once all of the content is on a platform, where does a brand go from there?

Brands need to be able to analyze their posts and gain information that they can use to interpret

how effective their social media strategies are. As someone who currently uses social media in a

recreational and not a professional way, I had a vague idea that research and analytics existed in

social media but not to the extent that it truly does. All of the numbers and data are necessary to

justify a brand’s online social media campaign. Professionals who work in social media need to

be able to know how to get the right data, but they also need to know what to do with the numbers

once they have access to them. If I was a person who worked on a brand’s social media account I

would want to know how to show my bosses how effective my plan was. I would want to know how

to justify the importance of my job and show them how my strategy was implemented and how it

performed.

As a public relations major one of my mandatory core courses is CAMS 3001: Communication

Research Methods. I am interested to see what this class will entail because my professor told

me they are working on social media research. I do not have much experience with research so

I do not know if I will like it or not, but at least I will soon get the opportunity to get exposed to it.

There is also a social media minor available to ONU students of any major or college. I am not

sure if I will pursue that avenue but I think that there is certainly importance to what you can learn

from taking social media courses.

Weekend of Performances

How did you spend your weekend? I spent mine mostly at performances! On Saturday morning,

my mom and I went to go see my cousin perform in her high school musical. She was an Ancestor

in The Addams Family. I have seen The Addams Family musical be performed by a high school

before and I really enjoyed it, but that was several years ago so I was looking forward to watching

it again. The cast was really talented and all of the main characters were strong singers. If you

know next to nothing about musicals, I would recommend you check out The Addams Family if

you ever have a chance. It has a fun plot and plenty of jokes that are targeted to a more mature

audience, yet it is still appropriate for teens to perform.

I was really proud of my cousin because I know she put a lot of hard work, time, and effort into

being a part of this production. As someone who has been involved in productions before, I

understand how much it takes to make the show the best final product it can be. I am happy

she enjoyed herself and she plans on being in the musical again next year.

On Sunday, I went to the 13th International Play Festival at Ohio Northern University. The play this

year was Hayavadana, which drew from old Sanskrit stories. The plot was about two best friends

who were so close they were like brothers, but they both fall for the same girl. I will not spoil the

plot but it was certainly an entertaining story.

I was not expecting to know most of the cast in Hayavadana. Many of the performers were

freshman musical theater majors and several of them are in my Modern 1 dance class. I also

knew a few older musical theater majors from my Tap 1 dance class I took last semester. The

play was even more enjoyable because the students who were involved in it.

Lastly, on Sunday night I attended the Symphony Concert. Several of my friends and now Tau

Beta Sigma sisters play in the Symphony so I went to support them. The Symphony played

Antonin Dvorak’s New World Symphony. It was fun to listen to that piece because the marching

band played an excerpt of it for our halftime show last season.

Hans Utter played the sitar, a traditional Indian instrument, with the Symphony for several songs. He

played during intermission as well. The ONU Gospel Choir also performed during the concert and

they sang a few songs while the Symphony provided backing music.

Overall it was a weekend well spent. I love to go to performing arts productions because I like

to support the arts. I enjoy watching live productions and listening to live music, plus I think it

is important to support your friends and family in their passions.