Hashtags in Social Media Slidecast

Drafting my Slidecast

When you need an image for a project of some sort, the first thing you probably do is search the web. 

Unfortunately, not all images found within the depths of the internet are permitted for reuse. Not citing images when using them or searching for images that are labeled for reuse can result in legal action against you. 

There are a couple different ways to avoid any situation like this- 

ORIGINALS: This is the easiest way to utilize images. This includes anything that you can come up with yourself from your own ideas and thoughts. If you create it yourself, you're definitely permitted to use it.

CREATIVE COMMONS: This website is a great tool. You can search different websites, such as Google Images, for resources that are labeled okay for reuse. This allows you to find images you need and still use them fairly.

Using Creative Commons, I found three images that I am thinking about using in my slidecast. 

UPDATE: I created my slidecast on hashtags and their effect on the social media presence of a company.

Slidecasts

Slidecasts are a great tool for a business. They incorporate the presentation of a PowerPoint with the convenience of a podcast, forming a convenient presentation that requires nothing except online access. These slidecasts are unique in the sense that they are a presentation without the face-to-face presentation aspect.

Example slidecast:
http://www.slideshare.net/TheMotleyFool/5-fast-growing-fast-casual-restaurant-chains?related=2

This slide-cast is showing five casual chain restaurants that are growing quickly and expanding in the US.

This slide-cast nicely uses photos and minimal words to get their information across. Minimal text allows for the audience to remain focused and not have to comprehend text while also trying to take in the photo.

Throughout this slidecast, the text is kept in a consistent format. While the first photo makes it hard to tell, all slides have the text in a light blue rounded textbook with the black text centered. In a slide-cast, consistency is key.

CRAP is an acronym standing for contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity. This acronym relates to visual design, and can directly connect to slide-casts and presentations. For example, the contrast of the text box on the first photo is not good. The contrast on the rest of the slides is perfect, allowing for the text and photo both to be visible. The consistency of the text boxes aligns with repetition, keeping the presentation fluid. Alignment is another important aspect of visual design. In this slide-cast, everything is centered to the middle of the text box and slide.

Copyright Comment: The image in my slide was actually created by me using shapes and text-boxes within Google Slides. I did, however, use other's ideas for the graphics through googling the rhetorical appeals. Because I created this graphic on my own, there is no fair use or copyright issues within my slide.

In the single slide that I created, I attempted to incorporate these same things. The CRAP acronym, as well as basic PowerPoint knowledge and skills come in handy when creating slides and eventually slidecasts (or other forms of presentation). The black text contrasts well against the blue background, while the centered text and graphic takes care of the alignment aspect.

Nest Report Team Analysis

TO: Dr. Lance Cummings

FROM: SL Group 3

DATE: October 14th, 2015

SUBJECT: Team Analysis

Members

1. Hannah Faircloth
2. Adam Lesniak   
3. Kendal Wallis
   
   

Roles
Team Captain: Hannah Faircloth

Time Keeper: Adam Lesniak

Editor/Submitter: Kendal Wallis

Strengths

Hannah’s Strengths:

• Organization
• Hannah enjoys formatting documents, making plans, and working around due dates. Being a perfectionist, she likes thing to be in order and kept up with. This helps her team to work hard together and ensures a positive outcome.
  
• Leadership
• Hannah likes stepping up to ensure work gets done and is distributed equally among team members. She is good about checking in with other team members to check on progress made on the group assignment and making sure all work is getting done.

Adam’s Strengths:

• Flexibility
• Adam is willing to go with the flow and work where he is needed. He has an open mind and is willing to arrange his schedule in a way that accommodates the schedules and working styles of other group members.
  
• Time Management
• Adam is good at working within specific parameters, and his anxiousness renders him perpetually aware of encroaching deadlines. He has an open schedule and is prepared to work with other members of the group to ensure the workload is distributed evenly and completed in a timely fashion.

Kendal’s Strengths:

• Organization
• Kendal keeps up with all assignments and due dates in a very detailed agenda.  She enjoys proofreading and editing which will aid in being an effective editor to the group.  She also keeps detailed records of our assignments and progress which will help the group stay on track.
  
• Communication
• Communication is key to a team working together efficiently.  Kendal likes to touch base with everyone regularly to make sure they are all on the same page and that she fully understands what the group is accomplishing as a whole.

Weaknesses

Hannah’s Weaknesses:

• Flexibility
• As a manager at a local business and an early college student serving as the class president, Hannah has trouble finding time in her schedule to sit down and collaborate.
  
• Time Management
• While Hannah likes everything organized and set up in a specific way, she has a lot on her plate currently and does not always use time wisely to complete tasks. Some things take a little longer than they should due to this.

Adam’s Weaknesses:

• Organization
• Adam works best under the direction of a strong leader who can keep the group on track and in synch.
  
• Leadership
• Adam is quite shy, and though he is hardworking and flexible, he often has difficulties when placed in a position that requires him to give orders and make firm decisions.

Kendal’s Weaknesses:

• Flexibility
• As a full time student and part time intern, making time to meet with the group is difficult.  It would be beneficial to Kendal if someone else was responsible for team scheduling.
  

• Independence
• Sometimes Kendal has a tendency to work ahead on projects instead of taking time to collaborate with the group.

Collaboration
We plan on using an iPhone group message as our main form of communication to remind each other of assignment due dates and to make plans to meet in person. While the online environment is definitely helpful in working together when our schedules conflict, for the majority of this project we plan on meeting up on campus to work together and knock assignments out. We hope to maintain a supportive climate and assign responsibilities equally so that we can maintain an effective team.

Nest: Research Question

I am interested in the #livewhereyoulove hashtag, and how it could help Nest Realty become even bigger and better. 

With the hashtag, I wonder how Nest could compare to other companies who might also use that hashtag? In addition, I am curious as to if the pros of social media and hashtags outweigh the possible cons, including being overpowered by other companies?

This post, for example, was listed under the #livewhereyoulove hashtag on Facebook. This is a different real estate company, advertising the same way Nest Realty is. While it may not be in the same area, this proves that other companies would be battling for the fame within the hashtag. 

In addition to this, http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2014/02/hashtags-social-media-content/ has an article up about hashtags and using them in social media content. This article shows that while hashtags can be useful, the one downside to them is that they can be difficult to read. One major point from this article is that "hashtags present a fantastic opportunity for content marketers to identify social media conversations relevant to their business and get their content in front of the right people."

This is a very important aspect of advertisement. It allows discussion to be linked under one central location, and lets people come together and connect with something in common- your hashtag, your business. And this means potential clients!

Nest Realty: Social Media

I decided to look into Nest Realty's Facebook page because Ryan Crecelius, our connection to Nest, mentioned that Facebook was the most utilized form of social media.

One major thing I looked at was the quantity of posts versus the quality of posts. Mr. Crecelius mentioned that Nest has an old school philosophy of customer service, ensuring a good experience all around. He also mentioned that social media wise, less is better. Nest Realty uses a quality versus quantity approach to their social media ads, posting about things that get potential client's attention, rather than many posts that they will all just scroll past.

This Facebook post is an example that I like a lot. The hashtag #livewhereyoulove is a major plus in social media in my opinion, as I think it could really help blow up the company. This post is also definitely an example of quality versus quantity, showing off the area of Wilmington. This makes sense, as Nest is a realty company, that it would promote the area they are trying to sell in. 

Nest Realty: Ethos

Nest Realty is a realty company here in Wilmington based on old-fashioned principles of customer service and satisfaction, as well as a modern perspective of society and means of communication and advertisement. I am currently utilizing Nest Realty's website in order to analyze the ethos portrayed.

Ethos is a rhetorical appeal which refers to someone's credibility. Through their easily accessible website and organized layout, it is easy to assume the company's ethos will be shown through. Across the top of the page, the tabs are labeled. For example, under the Agents tag, there is a picture of each realty agent. This allows potential clients to see who they're working with and put a face to a name, which may help reassure them they are in good hands.

Another major reflection of ethos is the description below the immediate screen you see-

Wilmington's New Breed of Broker

Nest Realty is a full-service real estate brokerage specializing in residential, farm, and estate properties. We bring together top agents, cutting-edge technology, and unparalleled service to help clients throughout Wilmington buy and sell real estate — and enjoy themselves every step along the way

This lets you know that Nest is a serious company dedicated to bringing you the services and results you want.

Connecting Rhetorical Appeals and Social Media

Research Question: How do the rhetorical appeals, ethos/logos/pathos, influence an audience and their viewpoint on a company? How do these appeals connect to one another to further influence the audience? How might the rhetorical appeals influence the popularity of social media and social media posts? Does this increase advertisement on social media?

I am continuing to look at how the rhetorical appeals, ethos/logos/pathos, influence an audience. After reading other research blogs, I am interested in the idea of social media and the popularity of it. Do the rhetorical appeals have any influence on this at all? 

Research for MP2

Research Question: How do the rhetorical appeals, ethos/logos/pathos, influence an audience and their viewpoint on a company? How do these appeals connect to one another to further influence the audience?

These sources all link together to explain how important these appeals are to company advertisement, especially because of the concepts of emotional appeals as well as credibility. Creating an emotional connection with the audience makes them remember your name and more likely call them to action purchasing your product/service or whatever else you may be advertising. The credibility aspect gives a foundation to your company name. It allows them to validate that your company isn't fake and money stealing. This makes pathos, logos, and ethos extremely important to the advertising world. 

Primary source-

Stevanovich, M. (n.d.). Rhetorical Analysis of Successful Brands in Social Media Discourse. Retrieved September 22, 2015, from http://web02.gonzaga.edu/comltheses/proquestftp/Stevanovich_gonzaga_0736M_10216.pdf

Secondary scholarly source- 

Higgins, C. (n.d.). Ethos, logos, pathos: Strategies of persuasion in social/environmental reports. Accounting Forum. Retrieved September 22, 2015.

Source of choice-

The Peterson Perspective. (n.d.). Retrieved September 22, 2015, from https://sites.psu.edu/mallorypeterson25/2012/11/29/rhetoric-in-social-media/