Jing Reflection

Hey folks,

After revisiting my Jing video from earlier in the semester, I have a better understanding on how exactly I am being marketed to. I believe that there are two main goals that social media websites and their affiliates aim to achieve and that is to make a financial gain and increase user activity. As I witnessed on my Jing video, both Facebook and Twitter featured several ads and pages that presented content akin to what I had include among my interests and what I have been continuously posting and tweeting about. Many of these pages are promotions that offer deals or specials in an attempt to make sales. In addition, there were many pages that appeared on my feeds that weren’t asking for anything, but a simple click to their video or page. I see this type of use as the kind that is directed towards entertaining users so that they continue to come back to such pages. These included posts from Funny Vines, a Facebook page that specializes in uploading comical 6-second clips, and one that has successfully grabbed my interest considering that I frequent this page almost on a daily basis.

Apart from the business side of social media, I was and still am constantly being marketed to in regards to my own personal relationships. Facebook and Twitter include likes, favorite, retweet and comment features in order to fuel supplementary interactions that take place on their own respective platforms. We are given the ability to discuss and share individuals’ photos, videos and personal statements and by doing so we are essentially judging others. Of course there is the good and bad kind of judgment, but one thing that is certain is that it leads to online interaction that in turn keeps users online.

Initially, my understanding regarding social media was very basic, as I didn’t make much of how social media sites operate. After studying and seeing social media from a different perspective, I’ve learned that these sites are basically meant to serve as virtual marketing platforms. Whereas Facebook and Instagram can market themselves within their own programs, other companies and organizations are constantly looking for ways to elevate their brand through advertisement, which social media brings a unique twist to. We don’t see social media the same way we see commercials and that’s what gives it its marketing power. With social media we are not only becoming more engaged with our surroundings and those that we interact with, we are also becoming more actively marketed to, and sometimes it can even happen subconsciously. There’s no secret that social media is a very mighty tool, especially when it’s used in the right manner. 

Matt

Final Reflection

Hey everyone,

Today's post concludes the series of social media roundups that we've been submitting on a weekly basis to keep you all updated on how the Chicago Bulls and two individuals who cover them have taken to Twitter to talk basketball, and embellish their own brands. In order to promote this blog, I myself have taken advantage of Twitter and Facebook in extended this blog for others to see. Although it's very quick, and simple to create a Facebook or Twitter account, maintain a successful brand and reputation can be a difficult process when not employing the appropriate techniques.

In social media, I believe that it is quality over quantity. Of course, you need to tweet in order for people to appreciate your tweets, however it's much easier to lose the interest of your followers than to build it up. One thing I've tried to stay away from on both my blog and my personal Twitter accounts is l.o.s. tweeting. L.o.s stands for "lack of substance' and it's the one thing you really don't want on social media. Essentially, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook are simply all platforms where its' users all compete in appealing to each other. Posts that are captivating, whether that be emotionally or comically are the ones that get more likes, retweets and favorites, and those that get more of those are the ones that get seen more often. Ultimately, if you have nothing to say you shouldn't not say anything at all, but you definitely should work on improving the content of your social media use. One thing I may have struggled with this year was taking the time to plan out effective tweets and posts beforehand; it can be a long process, but it is crucial to an individual's effectiveness.

At the end of the day social media is just another form of marketing and achieving success in this industry requires having a firm strategy and approach. The people that we see having success in this industry have likely spent years building up their reputations outside of social media. Regardless of if the ultimate goal is fame, economic gain or any other prize, the current social media environment is a mine that is continuously being dug out for like, favorites and the opportunity to prove who you are.

Weekly Roundup (4/11)

Hello Again,

This week, our three Bulls-related campaigns were pretty consistent with their social media use. Each of the three campaigns tweeted the kind of material that has branded themselves as who they are on social media. Let's begin with @Bulls_Jay.

I chose a typical tweet from @Bulls_Jay that I felt was very suitable for his account as opposed to others.

1. Jason Patt ‏@Bulls_Jay  Apr 8

   My God, the Kirk/DJ pairing has a net rating of 12.0. The Kirk/Rose one from early in the year was -20.2. LOL

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   1:27 PM - 8 Apr 2014 · Details
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2. Trenton Jocz ‏@TrentonJocz  Apr 8

   @Bulls_Jay To be fair, Noah now and struggling Noah then are almost different players

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3. Jason Patt ‏@Bulls_Jay  Apr 8

   @TrentonJocz Rose also being terrible didn't help.

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4. Eddie ‏@eddie8374  Apr 8

   @Bulls_Jay I have heard knowledgeable basketball ppl whisper if DJ is a better PG than Rose. I think those ppl aren't that knowledgeable now

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5. Jason Patt ‏@Bulls_Jay  Apr 8

   @eddie8374 DJ probably would be a better PG RIGHT NOW if Rose were to come back and play. But healthy D-Rose? Come on, man.

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6. Eddie ‏@eddie8374  Apr 8

   @Bulls_Jay I know... I don't get Chicago sports fans some times.

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   From first glance you probably have no clue what to make of these numbers, but as you scroll down, you will notice that Jason Patt does indeed have followers that are intrigued by such a statistic. This is really what @Bulls_Jay's account is all about and he sticks to it. Through his tweets, we've learned that Jason is extremely knowledgeable regarding the game of basketball and we've also witnessed how his followers share the same passion. Although @Bulls_Jay's account is still relatively unknown on a larger scale, I can't deny that it hasn't been effective all year. Every day, Jason tweets about some sports related topic and he almost always has followers tweet him back providing their own opinion. Whether he is appealing to logos, pathos or ethos, Jason has proved that whatever he has to say is engaging and I amend him for that. Thus far, he stands in the right place and I would only encourage him to keep up the good social media work. 

   
   

   
   

   @Bulls_Jay isn't the only one who continued his success on social media this week, as ESPN's @NickFriedell also thrived with his Twitter use. When selecting a tweet to elaborate on for this week's reaction, all I had to do was click on Nick's page and I immediately saw a very appropriate one to use:

    

   Nick Friedell ‏@NickFriedell  Apr 10

   Once again, Bulls bring back guys who know Thibs' system and will work hard despite the fact neither will play important minutes.

   
   

   The Bulls signed two players this week, both of whom have been on the team before, and while many individuals including Jason Patt were puzzled by the motives of the moves, Nick Friedell automatically knew the reason why both players found themselves back in Chicago. See, it is important to know that Nick Friedell is always around the team. Not only does he travel with them on the road, but he often talks to the players at practice or in the locker room and he is very familiar with head coach, Tom Thibodeau. Therefore, it was a no brainer to Friedell on why Chicago ended up going with the two new signees and it was something that only he, among a few others could quickly discern. You now can see how Friedell demonstrates his reputation and worthiness and I believe it to be the reason his followers follow and respect him. He has continued to keep up with this "brand"- one of the major reasons why he has been successful on social media.

   
   

   Finally for this week, we have a tweet from the @ChicagoBulls which accurately captures why the organization have been inefficient on social media to date. The following tweet comes from their Monday night game against Milwaukee:

   
   

   Chicago Bulls ‏@chicagobulls  Apr 6

   Tony Snell!

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   If you weren't watching the game you would have no idea what to make of it and even if you were, you still might have been confused. Basically the person who tweets for the Bulls was exited by an average dunk by Bulls rookie, Tony Snell so he thought he would tweet his name in excitement. Tweets such as the one above are just too common of the @ChicagoBulls and it is really something that they need to improve on. It really is a big issue because it shows that they still don't know who their target audience should be, as they still think everyone is watching every game- something we know is not true. I understand people watch sports for exiting plays and the @ChicagoBulls do make sure to let us see such plays when they happen, but there are only so many slam-dunks and game-winning buzzer beaters to go around, so the @chicagobulls need to be more creative in order to draw and keep their fans attention. As I have said many times already, the Bulls goal should be to further expand their fan base, however they aren't taking the necessary steps to do so on social media. At the end of the day, people will still cheer for the Bulls; however, soon other teams pass them up and that is something no NBA team likes to see happen.

   
   

   
   

   That's it for this week, I look forward to everyone checking out the blog next Friday!

   
   

   Matt

   
   

Weekly Roundup (4/4)

Hey everyone,

As the NBA season nears its' end, most NBA teams are scrambling to put themselves in good position for the playoffs; however, the Chicago Bulls are nearly locked into the 3rd seed with only 4 games remaining. This week, feedback and analysis on Twitter has been primarily focused on the postseason and our three social media campaigns found themselves talking about several matters of the court.

Let's begin with @Bulls_Jay,

As baseball season got underway this week, sports fans in Chicago showed excitement for the hometown Cubs. This excitement quickly dwindled once Cubs fans including Jason Patt realized that they are rooting for the...well, Cubs.

Jason Patt ‏@Bulls_Jay  Apr 2

The Cubs are just sad. Wow.

Although Jason Patt is mainly a Bulls fan, as his Twitter account mainly emphasizes on Bulls related matters, that doesn't mean he is unaware about other Chicago sports teams.

As with most Bulls fans, Jason Patt also wants the Cubs to do well this season; surley, there are individuals who only care about the Chicago Bulls, but these folks are the minority. Chicago is a sports town, where all its' teams have a considerable fan base. If anything, Jason Patt's Cubs-related tweets only boost his reputation as a knowledgeable Chicago sports fan rather than just a Bulls fan. Jason knows that he has a lot of followers who are crazy about the Bulls, but he also knows that many of them are like him and love the Cubs as well. With a Twitter handle of @Bulls_Jay, one would expect a focus on the Bulls, but this doesn't restrict Jason to only cover the team. In fact, I would encourage him to continue to expand his focal point when appropriate; it is beneficial towards his brand.

Even @NickFriedell had a lot to say about the Chicago Cubs this week; however, there was one particular tweet from Friedell that I especially appreciated and it is something I have noticed to become a pattern.

Nick Friedell ‏@NickFriedell  Apr 3

Yet another delay at the airport -- if you've got a question send it this way ...

Friedell, who is always on the fly keeping up with the Bulls has made it a tradition to answer questions from his followers whenever he is delayed at the airport. Although most of these questions tend to be about the Bulls, many pertain to other Chicago sports matters and some are even about Friedell's personal life, from which he has shared several stories on Twitter. As an official beat-writer for the Chicago Bulls, this is what Friedell needs to be doing. Fans know that Friedell has an inside-look on the team's activities and as a result, he receives a lot of questions from his curious followers. This type of interaction with his followers is healthy for his reputation and is also just cool to read. There is no denying that Friedell is a very knowledgeable person, and he wouldn't ask his followers for questions if he knew that he wasn't, just as his followers wouldn't ask him if they didn't think he had the answers. I definitely appreciate Friedell's Q/A sessions and I encourage him to keep up his effective use of social media. 

Lastly, I noticed a tweet from the @ChicagoBulls, which I thought was interesting, but could have been conveyed better. This tweet from the organization was not related to basketball, but it is surrounding an important issue that all Chicagoans are concerned about nonetheless.

Chicago Bulls ‏@chicagobulls  Apr 1

Special thanks to @YG_Chicago’s B.A.M. (Becoming a Man) program for being part of our 1st Violence Prevention Night: http://bit.ly/1litrrd 

As some of you may know, there is a crime and gang problem within the city. Although most of the violence tends to happen in one general area of the city, it does affect the entire city as a whole and many prominent Chicago organizations like the Bulls are attempting to take action. The fact that the Bulls are taking strides in helping the city's at-risk youth is admirable, but it is also something that they should let there fans know. One short tweet among there plethora of bland Bulls tweets will not be easily discovered or distinguish. If the Bulls were to upload a photo or even a video of one of these sessions and comment on the mission, it would not only appeal to pathos, it would also appeal to ethos, and bolster the team's worthiness as an organization that truly cares about its' city's people. The NBA as league lets its' fans know that they are working with the community through its' NBA Cares campaign and it would be smart for the Bulls to do the same. At the end of the day, basketball really does come second and for the Chicago Bulls to have a role in changing an child's life for the better is truly remarkable and something that could greatly supplement their image.

That's all I have for you guys today, peep the blog next week for some more intriguing feedback.

Matt