I Thought I Knew Everything About Social Media…

Posted on by Brielle Brown

Before this class, I honestly thought of myself as a social media expert. I wondered, “what else is there to learn about social media that I don’t already know?” This class has taught me numerous strategies about how to create engaging media to gain attention as well as how to measure the strategies utilized.

I had a decent influence growth over throughout the course. I started my Twitter with 0 followers and gained 11 followers, therefore, this measures to 100% growth. As well as an overall Klout score of 22. 68.

I think what worked the best for me was using rich media. At the beginning of the class, I often used hashtags rather than adding pictures to go along with the tweets. I gained much more engagement if I used an emoji or picture rather than a simple hashtag. Furthermore, I realized that to maximize my engagement I needed to use a hashtag as well as rich media to reach various audiences. Specifically, on Twitter, I realized the importance of making your Tweet catchy with written content as well visually appealing to the reader. I often gained the most engagement with GIFs probably because they are moving on the screen which catches the eye a little more than still pictures. I gained the least engagement on this platform when I included hashtags in the replies rather than the original Tweet. As well as, when I didn’t include hashtags for time-sensitive content such as my tweet about Beyonce’s Coachella performance.

On Instagram, I started with 0 followers and gained 30 followers. I think what worked well on this platform was using multiple hashtags to reach many audiences. As well as, posting content about the upcoming season. For example, I posted many pictures about summer by using my Spring Break pictures. Those gained the most engagement and comments because of the hashtags used. I think what worked the least on this platform was my content choice for the re-post. My first Re-post was one from my mother, however, the content choice really did not engage many audiences. However, my second re-post was for ‘Cuse Basketball when we successfully entered with the NCAA. I think this happened because of the time timeliness of the tweet and the massive size of the Syracuse audience.

  1. Living in a Snow Globe

To execute this Tweet, I recognized that my audience was mostly my classmates and we all go to Syracuse. Then, I grabbed a few seconds from a Youtube clip and created a GIF before adding the caption and the class hashtag. This was my top-tweet for the course because it had an overall score 26 engagements, 162 media views and 1, 131 impressions. I think this tweet was successful because of the media used and that it captured the Syracuse Experience. At the time of the Tweet, classes had not been canceled due to snow in years. Furthermore, every student has experienced waking up to a snow storm and anxiously waiting for a class canceled email that never comes.

2. Black History Unknown Facts

To execute this Tweet, I thought of media covers that gained national coverage but did not discuss the history behind the image. More specifically, how often white women are praised for appearances that Black women are shamed for having. This tweet gained 363 impressions and 53 engagements. I think this was because of the timeliness of the tweet, which was during Black History Month, as well as the media used. The Kardashians are some of the biggest social media influences in this generation however, their images are often an appropriation of black culture that many millennials fail to recognize because of lack of education.

3. Who Actually Likes Standardized Testing?

To execute this Tweet, I simply found a GIF that captured my mood when I finished taking my LSAT and turning in my applications. Then I added any relevant hashtags that matched the caption. I gained 177 Impressions and 7 engagements. I think this tweet worked because of the humor in the GIF as well as the hashtag which catered to my audience. Most of my followers are students have had experiences with standardized testing and so they understood the feeling of finishing a long test.

4. Chic-Fil-A… In Cuse?!?

To execute this Tweet, I used the poll tool on Twitter and asked a question that was relevant to the Syracuse community. This Tweet gained 144 Impressions and 5 engagements. I think this Tweet was successful because it was relevant as the new Chic-Fil-A opened in Syracuse and many have a strong affinity for the restaurant. Furthermore, the Tweet was interactive and even if people have not gone to the Chic-Fil-A they were able to express that by engaging with the Tweet.

5. Greek Life At ‘Cuse

To execute this tweet, I took a picture in the Greek Office and related it to tagging. This tweet gained 112 impressions and 9 engagements. I think it could have been more successful if I included more hashtags such as #GoGreek and #Syracuse since there are so many individuals that are Greek on campus. However, because of the #NHsmc hashtag, it targeted those in the class who may relate to the tweet because they are Greek.

6. Zuckerberg Takes the Heat

To execute this tweet, as we watched the live stream of the trial in class I followed the hashtag on Twitter. There were many proposed solutions to the Cambridge problem including the Honest Ads Act which would force social media platforms to disclose who pays for political ads. I used the #HonestAdsAct to gain engagement as well as #Zuckerberg to add my thoughts on the trial. This tweet received 10 engagements and 183 impressions. I think the timeliness of the Tweet, as well as the opinion part, added in helped me gain the most engagement.

 

7. Spring Break Memories

To execute this Tweet, I grabbed a picture from my Spring Break memories and posted it to Twitter using the #Spring Break hashtag. This Tweet received 52 impressions and 9 engagements, I think it was gained the engagement that it did because of the quality of the picture. However, I think it could have gained more attention if I had utilized more hashtags and a caption that described what was going on in the picture.

8. Wakanda Forever

To execute this Tweet, I found images from Google that captured the spirit of Black Panther and then used the hashtag to gain engagement. I gained 122 impressions and 7 total engagements, I think this tweet gained engagement because the timeliness since the Black Panther movie was coming out. As well as the images that helped grab people attention. However, I think it could of reieved more engagement if I included Gifs of the signature Wakanda hand motion.

9. Waking Up To The Inevitable

To execute this Tweet, I used the video feature in the application and described waking up to snow, which shouldn’t be surprising after four years but it always is. This tweet received a total of 6 engagements and 84 impressions, I believe this happened because of the audience as well as the emojis. However, I may have received more engagement if I included #Syracuse or #SyracuseUniversity since that audience knows exactly what I’m talking about.

10. Is Facebook Still A Thing?

To execute this tweet, I published my blog post two and found a Gif that captured the question at hand. I relieved 155 impressions and 4 engagements on those post because millennials are in a space where we are not using Facebook as often as we used too. Furthermore, the Gif made it pop on the Twitter Feed which is why it may have gained more engagement.

As an emerging young media professional, what I have gained most from this course, is the ability to assess my content and its impact on the targeted audience. I have a greater appreciation for Twitter analytics and how to hold myself accountable to ensure I’m creating content that my audience relates too and enjoys. I feel like I learned the value of Twitter Analytics throughout the social media influence blog post because I was using that tool to assess the success of my Meme. Furthermore, I realized I underestimated the power of hashtags because millennials very rarely use them and if we do we only use them once. However, hashtags really allow you to reach broader audiences and gain more engagement with your followers and there are ways to make them less visible, such as moving them down on Instagram. Finally, I realized how little one word or one hashtag could change the engagement on a post, therefore, it is important to ensure that you are diligent in every post. You have to pay attention to the little details because the smallest issue, such as an emoji, could affect the engagement on a post.

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