Small Group Management

Social Media Coordinator

What is the project supposed to achieve?
Social Media is so important in many respects. First, in creating a "brand" for Visions. I have to work with PR as well as the rest of the class to determine an appropriate voice and personality of our brand, and then use that for all future posts/tweets/instagrams, etc,. When I met with Beth, she emphasized how important it was to not just keep sharing, over and over, "come to visions," but to create a brand that people want to follow online. This involves sharing other things that may interest our audience base. For instance, though unrelated to Visions entirely, Free People (a clothing store I follow online) has created a brand that doesn't just revolve around the clothes they sell. They have a blog where they post DIY projects, new art that they're inspired by, etc,. all working towards the same goal of creating their image and brand. While we are not a clothing store, obviously, I think this a good example of what it takes to create a cohesive image, and it's what I'd like to do with Visions social media this year.

Secondly, obviously, to get the word out––about the event itself, fundraising projects, etc,. Ultimately, I want to spread awareness about Visions. I want people talking about it, attending the event, and spreading the word like wildfire.

Are the results straight-forward?
Sort of. I have a clear goal of reaching 1000 likes on facebook, though have yet to set a twitter/instagram goal, as those have smaller followings and are sort of secondary. The goals will be similar, however, in that I want to reach a certain amount of followers. However, that only serves as quantitative results. And I think the most important would be the qualitative results. In that sense, the results are not so straight-forward. How do you measure creating an idea in someone's head? That's what I have to do––what we all have to do. What associations with Visions do we want people to make? Those associations are the most important results, in my opinion.

Are deliverables easily measured?
"likes," followers, etc,. but also attendance at events we promote. So for the most part, yes.

How much effort is required?
I can't even....so much. so. much. If we want to have a successful social media campaign, we need to be active on facebook, twitter, instragram, Beth suggests Vine, etc,. We need to keep up with all of it on a frequent, regular basis, and the posts can't mimic each other. When we are working to promote an event, etc,. obviously they should all be talking about it, but we need to create a reason to follow us on multiple accounts. Perhaps instagram is a bit more informal and laid back, etc,. to keep public interest. They need to differ from each other in interesting ways, though with a coherent voice throughout. An assistant would be much appreciated!

How many people or skills are needed?
In determining a coherent voice and brand, that's where PR, and really the whole class come in. In terms of keeping up with our social media sites, I'd say me and another person. (see above plea for assistant)

How complex is the project?
Complex, but exciting. There are just so many more levels to social media than I even thought. We're essentially creating a personality--a character––that has to be interesting, informative, creative, witty, relevant, etc,.