Chapter 1 Reading

This week we started reading a new textbook called “Social Media for Strategic Communication”

by Karen Freberg. Our assigned reading was Chapter 1: Introduction to Social Media-An Art and Science.

One part of the textbook says “social media has matured and become a staple in our global

society”. I believe this to be true because so many people worldwide are connected to social

media. Brands need to have social media accounts so that they can interact with their target publics.

When brands have social media accounts they are expected to respond to dialogue and interact

with social media users who tag or talk about them. This is an instantaneous form of communication

and that is something that brands are still adapting to. Brands want to aim for positive interaction

with consumers in any media form but with social media there are so many factors to consider.

What platform do you use, what video or image do you include, what time do you post, what words

or language do you use in your post, who are you trying to connect with? Social media is a much

more personalized way of communicating a brand’s story to an audience.

One of the reasons why people love social media so much is because of how visual it can be.

Images and videos are used by everyone, from the average user, popular influencer, or company

to transport viewers into the eyes of the camera. Traditionally brands have communicated their

story through radio or television advertisements. Depending on what demographic a brand wants

to reach, it may not be wise to heavily invest in producing a television commercial. In some

demographics television ratings are declining because people are consuming media through

different avenues. A television ad is only good for a 30 or 60 second spot and it is easy to miss

it. Especially if a brand is trying to target Gen Z, they probably want to put more thought and

effort into utilizing social media to tell their story.

If a brand uses social media, they have the potential to be present on everyone’s feed. A brand’s

social media account can beam their message into the personal screens of social media users

no matter what the time of day. Brands may choose to include short videos in their accounts but

that is not the only way they can choose to communicate their message. They can include witty

captions, visually appealing photos, create posts that generate interaction and post links that

relate to the brand.

When I search for a brand I am not familiar with online I look for their website. If their website

is either nonexistent or not user-friendly, I will migrate over to social media platforms to see if

they have crucial information posted. I am much more likely to form an opinion and take my

business to a brand that has an online presence over one that does not. Social media is an

easy opportunity for brands to educate the public about their story and what they do. It does

not cost money to post on social media platforms and it is an effective way of getting exposure,

so why would brands not invest in social media?