The Theory Of Uses and Gratifications: Why Use Social Media?

Wouldn't it be nice if we knew why people use social media?  Well we can!

The theory of Uses and Gratifications is a theory that helps to explain this.   The theory seeks to explain why users "use" social media and what "gratification" they receive from using it.  It speculates that people use new media in order to satiate social or psychological needs.


For example, many users of Facebook have found this site as a Mecca for interpersonal relationships.  I can recall my first uses for Facebook were to find existing friends of mine as well as seek out older friends I had lost touch with. The gratification of my usage was the reconnection of friendships through a new medium.

This theory isn't just about Facebook though.  It can be used to discover the reasons why people decide to use any social media site.  Twitter, for example, has a variety of uses for its users to receive gratification. 

Specificity is important when looking into the uses for social media.  To say that someone is using social media for a broad use (e.g. to find friends) isn't enough.  It's better to find a precise usage, like if a person where to want to find pictures of dogs on Instagram; but not just any dog.  They want to find a "#crazydog" pic.

This theory can be useful when building the presence of a company on Social Media.  It helps tailor posts to the specific needs of your audience.  My capstone project, for instance, should use social media to target the uses for the intended audience of Brother's Pizza.

When a customer is browsing the internet to find a pizza place to eat, I have to think of what their uses could be.  "I want to find a pizza place where I can go watch a football game."  or "I'm looking for a place to hang out with my friends and eat some pizza." are some possible uses that my audiences may have.  It's my job to make sure those uses are gratified through Brother's social media and that users are likely to search and find Brother's in order to satisfy their needs they have.


Source:

Sundar, S. S., & Limperos, A. M. (2013). Uses and Grats 2.0: New Gratifications for     New Media. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. 57(4), 504-525.

Photo by: Andy Melton
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2348/2247781640_e97f87a211_z.jpg

Social Media from an Integrated Marketing and Compliance Perspective

       Social Media can be a very powerful tool for marketing strategies.  As of the past few years, it has almost been a necessity for any business, band, celebrity, etc. that wants to get their foot in the door of this trendy new avenue in hopes to gain the attention of its users (practically EVERYONE these days).   With any powerful tool however, there can also be downsides and risks involved.  Professional PR practitioners should be aware of how to correctly use social media to their advantage.

There are several considerations to be made when professionals are considering to begin to use social media:

Goals-

     This is a very crucial thing to consider. What are you trying to accomplish with social media? Answering this question will help tailor results to your liking.  For example, given the goal that you have set, what is the best social media outlet to carry out this goal?  The biggest social media sites (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for example) are all very unique and different in their delivery methods.  Determining which of these outlets will help complete your goals and reach your targeted audience most efficiently will help in the long run.

Strategy-

     Having a content strategy in place is important when considering how your audience will perceive your organization and react to you.  The biggest difference between traditional, static Web presence and social media, is that social media offers interaction between professionals and their audiences.  This way, an organization can better adjust to customer needs; perfect for branding and further audience analysis/targeting.  Keeping consistency in your content will keep audiences attentive for longer as well.  Avoid posting things that are less thoughtful or unimportant.  This will help cut down on over-posting.  But you also want to avoid not posting at all.

Tools-

     Think about the tools you have at your disposal.  As mentioned before,  choosing the correct avenue for your organization will give you the best results.  For example, while Facebook and Twitter are both social media outlets, they offer different things for your audience. An organization needs to tailor to their audience's needs as best they can.  Considering who uses the different outlets will help to better target an audience.

Risks-

     There can always be risks associated with using each social media.  It's possible that the audience you intended to target, was in fact not targeted at all through the outlet(s) chosen.  For example, Instagram can be a powerful social media tool, but is an outlet dedicated to image sharing the best option for every organization?  Something else to consider is your overall presence on social media.  Be sure not to associate yourself with anything on the Web that won't clash well with your intended audience.

     These considerations are important when beginning to create a social media presence for your organization.  A thoughtful process and strategy is the best way to ensure that social media is a tool for your success rather than a disaster.



Source:

Schlinke, J., & Crain, S. (2013). Social Media from an Integrated Marketing and Compliance Perspective. Journal Of Financial Service Professionals, 67(2), 85-92.

Statement of Intent: Capstone Project

For my capstone project, I intend to complete a multimedia PR campaign for my band, Strike Out Kid.  This project will mainly focus on Public Relations, Marketing and Advertising skills; some areas I am interested in pursuing for a career. 

My band is planning on releasing our first full-length album in the spring.  For this album to hopefully make more of an impact and reach a wider audience,  I plan to create a larger presence on our social media outlets with the use of advertising.  Posts on our social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) will help to foster attention from our fans and potential fans and create excitement about our upcoming release.  To kickoff the release of our new album, we intend to host a local show.  To plan this event and get people excited, I will use social media to get more people to attend.

Our last EP.  Like this album cover, our new release will be photographed and edited by us.

I'm also considering the creation of a band website through the use of a Tumblr account.  Formatting similar to a Tumblr blog are used often as websites by bigger bands withing my band's genre. This could be successful in exposing my band to a completely new social media outlet.

Along with PR work, I will also be spending a considerable amount of time recording out band's album with our guitarist, Levi.  He and I are responsible for all of the sound design for our music.  Levi uses Pro Tools software to record, mix and master bands and other musicians in his studio.

In all, this project should boost my band's presence in the social media world.  The bigger the presence, the more likely we are to gain attention from new and old fan bases.  There is also a potential for our band to get signed to a record label.   That is ultimately our goal for this album release.

Work such as this is done professionally every day for many famous bands.  A career working in PR for musicians is something I am very interested in pursuing.  It is a necessity for success in the music industry today.  I hope to create that same success for my band by using Public Relations skills.