Rhetoric of Social Media
This course examined the professional use of various social media. Through readings, primary and secondary research, and discussion, students assessed and critiqued how social media are effective (or not), how they function rhetorically, and whether they achieve their purposes. In addition to analysis, students participated in a semester-long Twitter discussion, developed and delivered a team-teaching day, created a promotional video, and developed a social media campaign for a company of their choice.
Social Media Campaign
Summary: For ten weeks of the semester, I was responsible for tracking a company of my choosing's various social media accounts. Each week I had to analyze the different accounts' success and compare their posts with those of larger, more successful companies. For this project, I chose to analyze the clothing startup, Outline Ohio (OLOH) because it originally started in my hometown. At the end of the semester, I developed a comprehensive social media proposal, that if implemented, would significantly improve the companies' social media following.
Reflection: This project was one of my all-time favorites throughout the RPW program. While still challenging, it was exciting to track a company's social media accounts, and determine ways in which they could ultimately improve their posts. As someone who was not previously very active on social media, I learned about the importance of a consistent posting schedule, the use of Google Analytics, and an active voice when developing written posts. By the end of the semester, I found myself sad thinking about how I no longer needed to check in with Outline Ohio each week to measure their post quality. While I still check in from time to time, I am glad I had this experience, as I am now well-versed in the art of social media posts, and am confident I could successfully run a company/organization's various social media accounts.
The top button on the right links to the website I created to house everything that was encompassed by this project. The website includes the following:
-A brief bio about the company
-The ten weekly reviews I wrote, which describe the pros and cons of Outline Ohio's various weekly posts, in comparison with their much larger competitor, Homage's, posts
-My final social media proposal, which describes key ways in which OLOH could significantly improve their posts and further increase audience engagement.
The bottom button on the right links directly to a static version of the comprehensive social media campaign proposal I wrote in response to Outline Ohio's various online accounts.
Screenshot from the Home Page of the analysis website I created for Outline Ohio's various social media accounts.
Promotional Video
Summary: In Rhetoric of Social Media, I was tasked with creating a promotional video for the company whose social media I tracked for ten weeks. While creating the video, I had to keep the following digital design elements in mind: branding, persuasion, flow, visual appeal, and creativity.
Reflection: The video on the right was created using iMovie and stills from various Outline Ohio social media posts. The greatest challenge I faced while creating this video was that I did not have access to the company's employees to use for video purposes. Therefore, I was tasked with finding high quality images that effectively conveyed Outline Ohio's brand.
In addition to lacking access to Outline Ohio's employees, I also lacked access to their clothing. I do not own any Ohio Outline apparel, and was not able to secure any to capture live footage.
Another challenge I encountered was when I attempted to create an animated collage. In my original plans, I had wanted to use photos of different people wearing Outline Ohio's clothing from different areas across Ohio. I would then have these photos appear on the screen one-by-one, and would ultimately fit into the outline of the state of Ohio. After playing around with several of iMovie's features and various iPhone apps, I was unsuccessful at creating this vision. In an attempt to include a similar visual, the final project shows images of different brand ambassadors modeling Outline Ohio's clothing next to a moving image of the outline of the state of Ohio.
Although I faced many challenges during the creation of this promotional video, I am happy with the final outcome. This project taught me the importance of video editing, timing, and the limitations of iMovie.