The Commandments

Social media rules and policies are something that every person should have set up. This is not a statement that I thought I would be saying until reading chapter ten. I felt that really only companies and large organizations should have social media policies in place. After talking and making our own policies, I think it’s important to set policies up for each social media site. This chapter really focuses on how to write policies that fit your personal accounts, and of course for a company.

One thing in the chapter really stood out to me, “Social media policies are living documents. This means once they are created they shouldn’t be put away and not look at again.” I think that this is so important because you have to follow those policies everyday. It’s so easy to have those policies in place to just have them but never go back to them. I’m making sure that I don’t do that with my policies. I know there are only a few visitors, and I don’t think people are losing sleep waiting for my blog to come out but I still want to follow them. I am hoping to maintain this blog and grow over my PR career with it, by having policies in place already it sets me up for success. Depending on how many people read my blog, the expectations are already in place for my readers.

Some companies have good social media polices and some do not have them at all. I think that this could really hurt a company’s online relationship with its customers. I found some very good examples of social media policies that are totally worth the read. This can be somewhat of a boring topic but thats where you can make it personal and fitting to who you are. Companies have to focus a little more on the serious side but can still make it their own. When we did our own polices, I tried to make them reflect who I was and what I expected.

Not that they are hard to find, but here is what I came up with:

I believe that communication is a staple for all people, and expressing your own opinion and thoughts is what makes us grow. You can share, learn, create, and connect through social media. While communicating can be an exciting experience, there are certain policies that need to be applied for a open, fun, and safe communication process.

Those following polices include:

Being Respectful To All: This is a place to be open and share your own personal thoughts and opinion on certain topics. With that said, you need to be respectful to yourself and others bloggers. The aspect of respect can shine through by knowing that your not the only one who matters. Be open and understanding for other peoples contributions. Not everyone is going to agree on every topic, but thats okay. To break it down simply, if you don’t have anything helpful or constructive to say, move on!

Don’t Be A Pirate: Words, one of the most powerful weapons has person has. With this said, choose your word choice carefully. There is NO SWEARING at any time. This also includes derogatory or any other offensive language that could be deemed offensive to others. Its simple, reread before you post.

Be Willing To Share: Everyones opinion matters and you should feel comfortable to share what you are thinking. I know that I would love to read them, as well as others. Rather it be a little or a lot, don’t be afraid. This blog is about growing and learning together, and I think its a journey we should share together.

Overall, this blog should be a positive and encouraging place blog. Share, learn, and explore. I ask that you show respect to everyone that comes to this blog, don’t use your words to offend someone else, and please share freely. If you break any of these golden rules, your comment will be removed and if you break them a second time, you will be blocked.

 

 

 

Walmart’s Fat Crisis

It is no secret that a crisis spreads like wildfire, and even more so that social media is heightened in todays world. Most of our news comes from an online source, rather it be a news media outlet, social media outlet, or an email. For this reason millions of people can become educated quickly on a companies crisis, and maybe even more the company does. As stated in the book by Dr. Luttrell, 50 percent of communications professionals believe that organizations are not adequately prepared for a crisis. Our favorite supermarket, Walmart is under fire for having “fat girl Halloween costumes” available this 2014 Halloween season.

http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/walmartcom-why-do-you-have-section-called-fat-girl-costumes-161025

Let me just start with, not only is this a crisis but a hot social topic too. Walmart fell very short on the barging shopping this time. First, I really don’t know where to start because I have so many different thoughts with this topic but yes those women are so fat, I’m surprised they fit on one page. (kidding) Really Walmart, fat girl costumes was the best you could come up with. Put aside from this outrageous concept was the way they handled it. This is an example of what not to do in crisis management, ever.

What I found so appalling was the fact that Walmart, themselves put this up on their site. This wasn’t a rude jokester just getting a good laugh. Thankfully Walmart did take down the fat girl part of their line but the apology was lagging in every way. The comments that came from a spokesperson that made an auto-saved answer. Walmart also ate a slice of humble pie saying, “This never should have been on our site,” a company spokesperson said. “It is unacceptable and we apologize.” The representative also said Wal-Mart was working to ensure that a goof up like this “would never happen again.” After the standard and heartless apology, they edited they site to say plus size costumes. I guess that will do.

Lets check over their crisis management plan with the five most important stages of crisis management stated in the book:

1. Prepare in advance

2. Isolate the incidence

3. Evaluate the impact

4. Mitigates the crisis

5. Learn from the crisis

After looking over this list, I am not to impressed with their action plan. This was overly insensitive for so many people and Walmart as a company acted like this was no big deal at all. I am personally not a large fan of Walmart but this was really the icing on the cake for me. I hope that Walmart can learn from this experience and think before they act. Crisis management can either help a company grow or break them. The effects can be lasting such as rise in media inquiries, flurry of comments on social media, drop in sales, and vulnerability of personal, societal, and economic conditions. Quick actions is the best practice to stay ahead of the crisis spiraling out of control.

http://manbitesdigital.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/crisis_management1.jpg

Tell Me You Saw That Photo!

http://technicalseo.blogspot.com/2012/11/top-document-sharing-sites-list.html.html

Right in the beginning of Chapter 7, Dr Luttrell says, “visual content allowing for companies to show, not tell, about their brands, business, and story. I really love this quote because this really sums up how pictures have added that visual pieces that most people need in order to be more informed, loyal, and active with a company. As i was thinking about pictures, it made me realize that they have both a positive and negative side, but yet this could be good either way. The evolution of pictures allows us to do things we were never capable of doing before.

Most people have heard the saying, a picture is worth a thousand words, and I truly believe that. In the modern day of social media, most companies have multiple outlets to reach their consumer. Most companies have Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn to share whats happening in the company or interact with customers. The new trend that is happening with companies is that they are picking up on social media sites that are only focused on pictures. The two main sites that companies use to connect on strictly a visual level is Instagram and Flickr, but lets not forget everyones favorite obsession Pinterest. Lets be honest here, most don’t want to admit it but we spend hours on either one of these sites or all of them. Not only is it for personal use but also but for companies as well. This is such an important tool for branding and making a personal impression on your consumer. These sites allow for customers to share things about the company and make a connection. These connections can be made from consumer to consumer about a product, consumer to company, or company to consumer.

Like all good things, there is a dark side. Photo sharing can have its ups and downs for both personal use and company use. But is there a clear argument about whats good and whats bad? As we have talked about in class, with praise comes criticism and that can shine through on photos. When photos are posted to a company site, they are mostly going to be something positive or innovative about whats happening in the company. Then again there are those few instances where trouble arises throughout a company and that could be posted on such sites as Instagram or Flickr. Some issues need to be brought to the surface, and pictures can help the situation or hinder it. All around though, I have come to the conclusion that pictures are one of the most important aspects for a company and an individual to connect.

http://imgfave.com/view/1558026

I think its truly amazing how much pictures effect a company, and how it has evolved over such a short period of time. I don’t even remember the dinosaur days of companies handing out brochures to people to get a better visual look at their company, for a wide variety of things. Seriously, now that I think about it, I don’t think I have ever received a brochure in my 20 years, have you? The magic of a photo is that anyone can take a moment in time, freeze it and use to their endless possibilities. Its a beautiful thing.

Introduction

My name is Lauren and I am a sophomore at Eastern. My major here at Eastern is Public Relations and marketing. I am excited to learn and explore the inner workings of poetry, fiction, and essays. I enjoy both reading and writing all types of works from various authors. My goal is to broaden my horizon on how to interpret poems and gain more knowledge on creative writing.