Select a social media influencer. Identify this person’s social media channel(s) and analyze her/his social media use according to the following criteria:
1) Social media platforms this person uses and the number of followers. Who are her/his target audience(s). What is (are) his/her overall goal(s). What is his/her personal brand?
2) Writing quality
3) Engagement
4) Consistency
5) Being Ethical
6) Strengths. (What is done very well?)
7) Weaknesses. (What can be done differently?)
8) Conclusion
Essay length: 500-550 words
Tips:
Who is a social media influencer?
According to the Digital Marketing institute, “A social media influencer is a user who has established credibility in a specific industry, has access to a huge audience and can persuade others to act based on their recommendations.”
Message goal and audience
It is counterproductive to create social media messages that do not have a specific goal. Message goals can include increasing personal brand awareness, creating a favorable perception of a person, and convincing the audience to buy a product. The goal can be identified by examining the content of messages. An influencer usually selects a social media platform that would be the most effective in accomplishing the message goal. Each social media tool has specific characteristics and audiences, which will affect whether the message goals are achieved. Audience are people at whom a message or campaign is aimed.
Writing quality
The goal of creating social media messages is not only to reach your audience, but also to achieve an intended effect. Proper grammar and punctuation are important in social media writing, as is accuracy. A careless error could undermine the credibility of your brand.
Similar to news writing, social media writing is straightforward. Because people are competing against countless other messages in the social media sphere, you do not have much time and space to capture the audience’s attention. This is especially the case with Twitter, with its current 280-character limit. You have to think carefully not only about what the message will say but how to say it in a concise manner that has the intended effect.
For more information on effective social media writing, take a look at this video with Nicholas Love, social media director at The Ohio State University.
Play Video
Engagement
More than many forms of communication, social media messages need to motivate the audience to engage with the content. Several strategies can encourage engagement, such as responding quickly to feedback from audience members, creating contests, and inviting the audience to respond to a question. Including photos and videos in social media posts substantially increases engagement, as does integrating trending topics. This requires careful consideration and research that will pay off if the trending hashtags are chosen wisely.
Consistency
The core message needs to be articulated across all social media platforms in a consistent way that conveys a unified voice. The message also needs to reflect the personal brand image; in other words, it should reinforce the brand “feel” or personality.
Being Ethical
The issue of ethics is important in communication. Creators of content should be ethical when carrying out various tasks. Using ethical reasoning demonstrates basic understanding of the influence of messages on audiences. Ethical communication also helps avoid dilemmas and compromising situations.
Criteria adapted from open textbook:
JASMINE ROBERTS (2016). Writing for Strategic Communication Industries. THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY, COLUMBUS.
