Capstone Project Progress

So far, my PR campaign for Brother's Pizza in Martinsburg is going very well.  Since the reboot of their Facebook page and the creation of their Twitter and Instagram accounts, I have noticed an steady increase in business overall.  Within the last three weeks,  I am responsible for gaining 82 likes on the Brother's Facebook page, 95 followers on Twitter, and 67 followers on Instagram. 


Before I began working on social media and PR for Brother's Pizza, they didn't have much of a social media presence at all.  Their Facebook page was pretty vacant, with about two or three posts total. A Twitter and Instagram account for Brother's were nonexistent.  Since I have become the manager of these accounts, there have been weekly, regular postings on all three sites.

Brother's Pizza also didn't have much in the way of promotions and events.  Some of the promotions that did exist didn't get much attention, and no one seemed to be interested in planning and running events.   One event that had been held a couple times was a Valentine's Day Dinner where customers could get a Heart-Shaped Pizza and Brother's would donate $1 to the American Heart Association.

I decided to hold the Valentine's event again this year.  Overall, it was successful!  Having reflected on it, the event could have been a bit more organized.  There wasn't a unified price for the pizzas so much as customers were given the option to have their pizzas heart-shaped.  By the end of the event, we sold 10 Heart-Shaped Pizzas.  Also, each customer who ordered one, ordered other menu items.

I am planning on creating several more events and promotions for the restaurant within the next few months, including a Pizza of the Month promotion, an Open Mic Night, and possibly a Pizza Eating Contest.  So far, I have made good progress with my capstone project.

A working version of a table-top flyer I created to promote Brother's new social media campaign

Do You Know Why You Use Social Media?

While the theory of Uses and Gratifications helps to provide a better understanding of why people are drawn to social media, it's not always spot on.  Many users, if asked, can provide almost knee-jerk responses to their habitual uses for Facebook, Twitter and the like.  What this theory sometimes overlooks is that people aren't always fully aware of what purposes they use social media for.

Lots of people who use social media may not always be aware of some of the reasons they use social media.  For example, if a couple breaks up and the two begin stalking each other on social media, it's likely that they wouldn't admit to using it for that purpose. Other less extreme examples would be subconscious uses that users may overlook, like periodically checking a certain twitter account.

Those studying this theory are left with this drawback.  Aside from becoming invasive, it's difficult to conduct perfect research for this theory.  The easiest way to gather information is through surveying users or self reports.

As with many psychological theory, variables such as this exist.  Even though some of our uses and gratifications may be subconscious, they're still as important as the ones we're aware of.  Sometimes users are unaware that they are even using social media for a specific purpose until they are questioned about it or really have to think about their usage.




Source:
Jimenez, A.G., Maria C., & Carmen P. (2012). A vision of uses and gratifications applied to the study of Internet use by adolescents. Comunicación y Sociedad.  25 (2), 231-254.

Common Uses and Gratifications In Social Media

     Everyone who uses social media, uses it for a reason.  Whether it's a quest for knowledge or a way to pass time when you're bored, users are still drawn to social media.  There is a plethora of uses and gratifications that draw a user to any specific social media, but here are several broad examples:

• Social Interaction
• Information Seeking
• Pass Time
• Entertainment
• Relaxation
• Communicatory Utility
• Convenience Utility
• Expression of Opinion
• Information Sharing
• Surveillance/ Knowledge of Others

     Of those who are active on social media, most can say that they've used social media for at least one or more of the examples from the list.  I personally can recall using social media for every one of these uses and gratifications since I started using social media with Myspace a few years ago. 

     The theory of Uses and Gratifications is undeniably directly related to social media.  Understanding why a user wants to use social media provides a better understanding of how to effectively use it.  In terms of my capstone project, I must differentiate the uses and gratifications that followers of Brother's Pizza look for.

     Not only must the uses and gratifications be taken into account; in order to effectively run social media for a business, their operators must also differentiate the uses for each social media.

     For example, the reason a follower would use Instagram could be much different than why a user visits their Facebook profile.  Discovering the most common uses and gratifications for each social media can help to tailor your posts to better suit the audiences' needs. 


Source:

Whiting, A., & Williams, D. (2013). Why People Use Social Media: A Uses and Gratifications Approach.  Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal.  16 (4), 362-369.