I. What is the media industry?

The media industry can be defined as a varied collection of organisations that share the
production, publication and distribution of media texts. Examples of media organisations
include:

• BBC
• Disney
• News Corp
• Nintendo
• Marvel
• The Guardian
Media texts can be used to inform, entertain, or promote ideas or products.

Audiences can consume media texts in many different formatson a range of platforms.

‘Traditional media’ or ‘old media’ are the names given to the industries that existed before the
internet, like radio, print and television.
 There are also emerging formats and platforms for media texts that have developed since the
rise of the internet. They are called ‘new media’ and include:

• Websites
• Blogs
• Vlogs
• Online games
• Podcasts
• Apps
New media is on-demand content accessed via the internet through digital devices, such as
personal computers and smartphones.

New media texts can involve interactive elements such as audience engagement and feedback.

Technological advancement has allowed previously separate media industries to

develop media convergence.

Media convergence lets audiences use one platform to consume various types of media texts.

For example, on a smartphone, tablet, or laptop you can listen to the radio or download music,
surf the internet, watch videos, read newspapers and magazines, and participate in social
media.

Popular social media sites like Twitter and Facebook are drivers of media convergence as
they allow audiences to post links to a variety of media texts that they want to share.

The media industry means business

Organisations within the media industries produce content with the aim of making money
from our consumption. Exceptions to this would be public service broadcasters like the BBC.

However, all media organisations market and promote their content to develop and maintain
an audience.

Media organisations use branding to help establish a brand identity that audiences can invest
in and remain loyal to.

A brand identity will be built up over time.

It is reinforced with advertising campaigns and new products that represent the ethos of the
organisation.

A good example of this is Pixar who have developed a very recognisable style of animation.

Recent films like Inside Out and Finding Dory share many of the design elements of the
original Toy Story movie.

Audiences have come to associate the Pixar style of animation with their brand identity and
logo.
Most multinational media brands are easily recognisable by their logo, like the BBC blocks.

Sometimes a company will buy another smaller company partly to use their branding, such as
when Disney bought Pixar.

Media industry marketing and promotion

Media organisations market and promote media texts in various ways:

• Celebrity endorsement - actor interviews on chat shows just before a film release.
• Cross-media campaigns - advertising films on television, radio and the internet.
• Market research of audience likes and dislikes through surveys and consumer reviews.
• Competitive strategies - X Factor is scheduled at a different time than The Voice.

Media texts such as Hollywood films or tabloid newspapers are aimed at a mass market
audience.

Specialist content like Gardener’s World magazine target a specific niche audience.

Media consumption

Although mass and niche audiences differ in size, the way we consume media texts is very
much a personal experience.

We may be in a cinema with dozens of other people but our experience of the film we are
watching is unique to ourselves.

In the modern world we increasingly consume media texts alone in our individual private
spaces; on a home computer, tablet, personal music player or smartphone.

Although we consume media texts in this personalised way, our responses to media content
can be shared socially via word of mouth, internet forums and social media.

Media producers are always looking for ways to grab our attention and even try to influence
how we live our lives.

This makes the media a powerful force in the modern world.

Therefore, regulation is essential to ensure that the media operates within clear guidelines and
its ability to change the way we perceive the world, is kept in check.

An organisation can regulate itself internally (the magazine and newspaper industries do this),
or an external agency can independently regulate it (the British Board of Film Classification
regulates the film industry).
 II. TELEVISION

New technology has allowed television to become more innovative in its broadcasting
methods.

Many people now watch live TV or on-demand content on other devices such as computers,
tablets, smartphones, and smart TVs, via platforms such as:
 • BBC iPlayer

• ITV Player

• All 4

• Demand 5

• Sky Go

In 2016, BBC Three was moved to become an online only channel accessible via the internet.

Television content

Television programmes are made either by the television broadcasters themselves or by

independent production companies commissioned by the broadcaster.

They are produced in many genres, and these genres can also include sub-genres.

Genre Sub-genre examples

Entertainment Quiz Show, Game Show, Talk Show

Drama Soap Opera, Crime Drama, Period Drama

Comedy Sitcom, Sketch Show, Satire, Stand Up

Children’s Animation, Educational, Quiz Show, Drama

Factual Consumer Affairs, Documentaries, Reality TV

Sport Live Event, Highlights, Quiz Show

News Evening Bulletin, Business News, Weather

For commercial stations this helps attract more advertising revenue which helps fund new
content.

Scheduling choices are an important factor in securing audiences for content and are based
on ratings research and audience demographics.
These techniques include:

Technique Description

Deliberately scheduling a show that differs to another channel's offering in the

same slot e.g. airing a cookery show when a rival channel is airing a live sports
Offensive
event. Offensive scheduling is when a channel is confident their programme will
gain higher ratings than a programme on a rival channel.

Defensive scheduling is when a channel recognises a rival channel's programme

Defensive
will gain higher ratings and schedules a programme of minority appeal instead.

Putting a new or less popular show on before an already popular show to attempt to
Pre-echo
gain viewers who have tuned in early.

Placing a new or less popular show after a popular show to retain viewers after the
Inheritance
previous programme has finished.

Putting a new show in between two popular shows in the hope that the viewers will
Hammocking
not change the channel.

Scheduling a show in the same time slot every day, such as when the BBC ran a
special week of Springwatch which went out at 8pm each night for one week.
Stripping
Another example would be reruns of an older show, as E4 did by showing old
episodes of The Big Bang Theory every weekday evening from 5pm.

Scheduling programmes of a similar genre one after the other on a particular

Zoning
channel to maintain an audience of fans of that genre.

Marketing

Television channels market themselves in a variety of ways:

• Trailers for specific programmes as well as general trailersexpressing the brand

identity of the channel and illustrating the overall range of its content.

• Official websites that give detailed, additional information about TV programmes

broadcast by the channel.
• Official social media accounts that promote the channel on YouTube, Twitter and
Facebook.

• Cross-platform advertising a TV show or TV channel in a magazine, on radio or

online. This also includes star actors appearing on talk shows prior to a new TV series
being broadcast.

• Channel idents.

• Merchandise from popular TV shows is also used to market channel content.

 III. Newspaper

Every day hundreds of different newspapers are published. The content and layout of each
newspaper reflects its target readership.

Types of newspaper

The content and layout of each newspaper reflect its target readership. The top 10 best selling
UK newspapers can be divided into two categories: Image led and Text led

Image led: Tabloids

Tabloids are image led, 'popular' newspapers and can be subdivided into two groups:'red tops'
and 'middle market' dailies.

The 'red tops' are The Sun, Daily Mirror and Daily Star and are so-called because they have
red mastheads.

The masthead is the large font title at the top of a newspaper front page containing the
newspaper's title.

The 'red tops' report on politics and international news but tend to include more celebrity
gossip and scandal.

They write short stories using simple language and they have more pictures than other
newspapers.

The 'middle market' dailies are the Daily Mail and the Daily Express.

The description 'middle market' refers to the target readership of these newspapers, which is
somewhere between the 'red tops' and the 'broadsheets'.

Text led: Broadsheets

Broadsheets are text led,'quality' newspapers. The top broadsheets are The Times, The
Telegraph, The Guardian.

The 'broadsheets' have a higher news content than the 'red tops', cost more to buy and have a
lower circulation. The style of writing differs from tabloids with longer sentences and
paragraphs, and more articles offering in-depth analysis.

Tabloids and broadsheets produce Sunday editions.

These tend to have supplements - additional sections - with a more specialised focus which
can include magazines on culture, lifestyle and finance.

Local newspapers are also published daily and weekly in all regions of the UK.
Newspaper language

Newspaper language includes the written copy, the pictures used, the size and font of the text
and how these elements are presented in the design layout.

Words

Copy is the name given to articles written by journalists.

When writing copy, the journalist must establish the importance of the story in the first few
sentences in order to hook the reader in and ensure they keep reading.

To do this, they must capture the key points of the story using as few words as possible.

Images

Photographs in a newspaper are chosen by a picture editor and these choices play a crucial
role in determining the look of a newspaper, especially the front page.

The choice of photograph also plays a key role in influencing our reading of the story.

Photographs include captions, which provide information on what is depicted in the image
and can emphasise the newspaper's editorial stance on the story.

Newspapers get their photographs from these main sources:

• A photographer goes to the scene of a story to get the best possible photographs.
Photographers can be staff photographers who work for the newspaper or freelancers
who sell their photographs to editors. Freelancers include what is known
as paparazzi photographers who provide photographs focusing on candid celebrity
moments which they sell to newspapers for the highest price.

• Photographs provided by members of the public.

• Photographs from news agencies such as Reuters and the Press Association. Photo
agencies are also used, such as Getty Images or Corbis - which are particulary useful
for historical images.

Headlines

A great headline is essential for a successful newspaper as it attracts a potential buyer's

attention and helps the newspaper stand out from its competitors.

Tabloid headlines

Tabloid headlines tend to be large and catchy and often use puns, rhyme,
abbreviation, alliteration, even invented spellings.

Broadsheet headlines

A broadsheet will use headlines which are longer and more serious.
Layout

When all the copy is written and the pictures for the story have been chosen, the layout must
be decided upon.

A sub-editor is responsible for editing copy, looking at the grammar and style of the writing
as well as the layout of a newspaper.

Where does news come from?

News stories can be sourced via international news agencies such as the Associated Press and
Reuters, but many newspaper stories come from press releases or press conferences.

Trusted confidential contacts are often used by journalists to get information, this might be
about a person involved in a story or inside information about industries or organisations.

Anyone can be a potential source of information from a taxi driver to a company boss.

What is 'news value'?

Newspapers select stories on their value for attracting readers. A newspaper's news agenda
will reflect the style, ethos and ideology of the newspaper.

The people responsible for deciding on the news agenda are called Gatekeepers, they are
usually the newspaper owner, the editor or senior journalists.

Media researchers Galtung and Ruge identified a number of factors that help stories make the
headlines. Here are some of the most significant factors they pinpointed:
Factor Effect

Important breaking news such as a terror attack is reported with immediacy.

Recency Breaking news is very competitive with newspapers keen to be the first to
report things as they happen.

The bigger the story, the more people it affects. A bomb with many casualties
Size
is more news worthy than a hoax bomb alert.

Continuity An ongoing news event like war will continue to be reported on.

Simple stories which are easy to explain (huge lottery wins, celebrity deaths,
Simplicity road accidents) will be preferred to those which are more complex (foreign
wars, economic stories, long-term court cases).

In the UK a story about the American president or an American social issue

Elite nations or
is more likely to be reported on than a story about less influential countries
people
and their leaders.

An anti-war demonstration is likely to be eventful so journalists will cover

Predictability the event. This means that it will be reported on, even if it passes off
peacefully.

Something out of the ordinary has more news value than something that
Unexpectedness
happens every day.

Negativity Bad news is more likely to make the headlines than good news.

A story about a celebrity or a heroic member of the general public will have a
Personality
human interest angle.

Meaningfulness How close to home is the story, is there a local connection?

Marketing and distribution

Newspapers are marketed to encourage reader loyalty, attract new readers and
increase subscriptions.

They use different techniques to achieve this:

Marketing Description

A newspaper price will attract a target audience and define the paper's identity.
Price For example, The Sun, a 'red top' image led newspaper sells for around 40p,
whereas a 'quality', text led newspaper like The Times sells for roughly £1.20.

Newspapers - from tabloid to broadsheet - often offer free giveaways such as

Promotional
CDs, DVDs, posters and booklets, as well as discount deals on various products,
offers
from holidays to shopping vouchers.

Newspapers advertise on television, radio, magazines and social media channels.

Cross-
platform

Newspapers offer subscriptions which means that, for a monthly or annual fee,
the subscriber can have the newspaper delivered every day it is published. With
Subscription
subscriptions there is often the incentive to join a 'Readers' Club', which offers
exclusive content and promotional offers to those who are members.

Newspapers sponsor events to encourage reader engagement and raise brand

awareness. This could be an evening concert or a reading by a famous writer.
Sponsorship
Newspapers also sponsor events that are organised by other companies - an
example of this is The Guardian sponsoring the Glastonbury Festival.

Partnership Increasingly newspapers are partnering with other organisations to market

marketing themselves, including when The Times partnered with Pizza Express.
Circulation and readership

A newspaper's circulation is the number of copies that are distributed to newsagents and news
stands on an average day. These numbers are recorded by the Audit Bureau of Circulations
(ABC)

The ABC's membership comes from various media organisations, traders, advertisers, and
agencies that provide statistics to calculate research data.

The National Readership Survey (NRS) provides audience research to newspapers and
potential advertisers on estimated readership numbers, which can often be quite different
from circulation numbers.

A newspaper's readership is the newspaper's total circulation multiplied by the average

number of people who read each copy. For example, various family members may read the
same copy of a newspaper. This 'pass-along' rate is generally thought to be about 2.5 readers
per publication.

This relationship between readership and circulation is known as readers-per-copy.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/zps4qty/revision/5

IV. Advertising
Advertising can be presented in many forms; from TV adverts, to radio jingles, to internet pop
ups and billboards.

The Different Types of Advertising Methods Available to You

Advertising has evolved into a vastly complex form of communication, with literally
thousands of different ways for a business to get a message to the consumer. Today's
advertisers have a vast array of choices at their disposal.

The internet alone provides many of these, with the advent of branded viral videos, banners,
advertorials, sponsored websites, branded chat rooms and so much more.

Here are a few examples of what's available for your media arsenal:

Online Advertising (aka Digital)

If you see an advertisement via the internet, then it is classified as online advertising. In fact,
there are ads on this very page, and most other websites you visit, as they are the primary
revenue driver for the internet. Another avenue of online advertising is native
advertising, which is the digital variation of the old print advertorials and sponsored content.
There are many digital marketing strategies including placing ads on popular websites and
social media sites.

Google Adwords and Adsense

AdWords from Google allows companies to bid on the placement of an ad on Google's search
engine results page. By using keywords or common search terms, searches that are related to
the business and their products and services appear in the search results. For example, a
company that advertises insurance will show up in any search queries for insurance products.
The business pays Google if the ad is clicked on, which is why it's called a cost per
click basis.
Google AdSense allows a company to host ads on their website from Google to generate
revenue for the site. For businesses looking to advertise, they can enroll in Adsense and
Google, through its algorithms, will match the ad to various websites with related content or
search parameters. As a result, companies can reach larger audiences through Google's
placement of advertisements. Google places advertisements on other websites to produce
clicks and website traffic.

LinkedIn Advertising

Companies can create a business page and post content, videos, products offerings on their
page as a way of reaching the millions of LinkedIn users. A LinkedIn page can be an
extension of a company's website and drive traffic to the site through links in the content.
Also, employees of the company can establish LinkedIn pages with similar content that
contain links to the company's website and product offerings.

Companies can also place ads on LinkedIn that can be targeted to particular traits or
demographics of LinkedIn users. For example, if a business wanted to advertise to people that
worked in the field of accounting, an ad can be placed that only targets LinkedIn users that
work in the accounting industry or have an accounting degree. With LinkedIn, many members
belong to groups. Ads can be targeted to a specific group like a cryptocurrency group or a
technology group.

Other social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, offer similar programs like the ones
outlined from Google and LinkedIn. With digital advertising, it's important to research and
target the specific audience that'll likely buy a company's product or service before placing an
ad.

From ads on Facebook and Snapchat to partnerships with BuzzFeed and Reddit, the fastest,
easiest way to reach millions of potential customers is online.

Cell Phone & Mobile Advertising

A dominating force in digital advertising is through mobile devices such as cell phones, iPads,
Kindles, and other portable electronic devices with internet connectivity. Current trends in
mobile advertising involve major use of social media such as Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat,
LinkedIn, and Facebook. Mobile advertising is similar to online advertising and is
increasingly gaining importance as a method of reaching new customers.

Print Advertising

Once a huge driver of sales, print is taking a back seat to the many digital forms of advertising
now available to marketers. However, if there is one thing that's certain about advertising, it's
that being different is good. And when consumers tire of digital ads, a return to printed pieces
and the tactile feeling and permanence they provide is definitely in the cards. Typically, print
can be split into three subcategories:
 1. Periodical Advertising

2. If it's in a magazine, a newspaper, or anything else that comes out at regular intervals,
then it's periodical advertising (aka a print ad). For decades, print ads were the gold
standard for advertisers and their clients. To grab the center spread of a big magazine
or the back cover of a newspaper meant millions of people saw the message.

3. Brochures, Leaflets, Flyers, Handouts, and Point-of-Sale Advertising

4. Although some of these media can be placed within the pages of newspapers and
magazines, they are treated as a separate entity, usually because they have less chance
of being seen. From something that sits on a counter or customer service desk to a
glossy car brochure, small print media offer a more intimate and long-form way of
engaging the consumer. Use this approach when you have more information than you
can cram into a print ad.

1. Direct Mail Advertising

2. Either of the techniques mentioned above can be incorporated into direct mail. It
simply means that your printed pieces are mailed directly to the consumer. This is a
technique that has been and continues to be, abused by inferior marketing agencies
that have turned the craft into junk mail. If it is creative and intelligently conceived
and executed, direct mail can be a fantastic way to engage the customer. Do not count
it out.

Guerrilla Advertising

Also known as ambient media, guerrilla advertising (or marketing) has become prominent
over the last 20 years. It is a broadly used term for anything unconventional and usually
invites the consumer to participate or interact with the piece in some way. Location is
important, as is timing. The driving forces behind guerrilla advertising or marketing are
creative ideas and innovation, not a large budget. Quite often, you will ask for forgiveness
rather than permission with these campaigns, and they will spread via word of mouth
and social media.

Broadcast Advertising

A mass-market form of communication including television and radio, broadcast advertising

has, until recently, been the most dominant way to reach a large number of consumers.
Broadcast advertising has suffered from the popularity of DVRs and "ad-skipping"
technology. However, it is still an effective way to reach millions of people, especially when
the Super Bowl comes around.

Outdoor Advertising

Also known as out-of-home (OOH) advertising, this is a broad term that describes any type of
advertising that reaches consumers when they are away from home. Think of billboards, bus
shelter posters, fly posters, and even those big digital boards in Times Square.
Public Service Advertising

Unlike traditional commercials, Public Service Advertisements (PSA) are primarily designed
to inform and educate rather than sell a product or service. PSAs traditionally appear on TV
and radio but are also heavily promoted online.

Product Placement Advertising

Product placement is the promotion of branded goods and services within the context of a
show or movie, rather than as an explicit advertisement. If you have ever seen a movie and
wondered, "Wow, they sure are driving a lot of Fords in this scene," or "Does everyone in this
TV show drink Pepsi?" then you are noticing product placement. It's a way that these films
and shows get funding, and is a great way for advertisers to reach a targeted demographic.

Source : https://www.thebalancesmb.com/different-types-of-advertising-methods-38548

V. Websites
Websites, like video games, offers one key feature which distinguishes them from other media
texts: interactivity.

Websites perform a vital function for many media industries but they are also media texts in
their own right.

As such, they have their own specific codes and conventions which include:

Type Description

These are clearly displayed on a web page and are essential in guiding the user
Navigational
through the content contained on a site. When web designers are building a
features
website, the navigational features are among the most important to get right.

This is the title or header image of a web page and it works in the same way as
a newspaper masthead or magazine title. It aims to attract an audience and
Web banner
indicates the type of content available. It does this through choice of image and
selection of font.

These design options allow web designers to incorporate animations and

interactive content into a website. A flash plug-in is required to view these
features on a web browser. Many websites are moving away from Flash and
Flash elements
using platform neutral technologies such as HTML5 instead. Some web
browsers. such as Chrome, have announced they are withdrawing from
supporting Flash.

Though not all websites carry advertisements, many do as it helps generate

Advertisements
revenue from site visits.

This is the use of images, video, text and audio on a website to present
Multimedia
information in an engaging and effective way. These features can help make the
features
content more entertaining and informative.

When links direct a user to another page on the same website they are 'internal
Web links links' and when they direct a user to the pages of another website they are
'external links'.

These allow the user to contribute to the website by taking part in forums,
Interactive surveys, games, quizzes, or by commenting on an article. In turn, the audience
elements may be inspired to produce blogs and vlogs using platforms like YouTube,
Tumblr or WordPress, which encourage interactivity from site visitors.
Content convergence

Media industries use websites for media content convergence.

For example, the TV show Top Gear has an official website which includes features articles,
video clips, games and links to buy previous episodes in the BBC Store.

Media convergence encourages greater audience engagement by making more content

available on the web platform. This has the potential to increase audience numbers as well as
the level of enjoyment and appreciation.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/z3gqhv4/revision/2
VI . What Is the Importance of Product Life Cycle in Media Planning?

A company or product's life cycle has a significant impact on decisions related to the use of
media. Savvy business owners make different marketing decisions at every stage in a
product's life, beginning with the need to generate awareness for new products and ending
with the ability to maintain that awareness.

New Product Entrants

When a new product is introduced, or a new company opens its doors, the business owner's
challenge is to generate awareness for that product or service. In these very early stages of
market introduction the use of traditional print and broadcast media is a proven way to create
demand.

Establishing Preference

Once a product has gained market awareness, advertisers begin creating product preferences
among target customers. Establishing that preference over other available offerings requires
telling the product's story through various media. At this point, mass media use gives way to
more targeted media, including social media, which allows more information to be shared.

Competing in a Crowded Market

Competing in a crowded market occurs during a product's mid-life stage. Marketers begin to
rely on word-of-mouth generated not only through satisfied customers, but also through the
public relations efforts of third-party endorsements. What advertisers say about their own
products and services will always be viewed by consumers with a certain amount of
skepticism. What they hear from others, including the media, has more impact at this stage in
the product life cycle.

Maintaining Awareness

Once a product is established (think CocaCola or Chevrolet), the advertiser's challenge is to

maintain that awareness. At this stage, mass media becomes important in maintaining a
general level of awareness for the product. Mass media also raises awareness among new
market entrants, and even established product marketers know that there are always
opportunities to attract new customers.

Backing Off and Starting Over

Products and services eventually reach a point of diminishing returns. When this happens,
media use declines unless the marketer is able to introduce a brand extension or an entirely
new product. Then the cycle begins again. At every stage in a product's life cycle, the
marketer will be concerned about choices related to generating awareness, preference,
demand and, ultimately, a purchase decision.
What Is the Information Cycle?

The information cycle is the progression of media coverage of a newsworthy event.

Understanding the information cycle can help you determine what kind of information you are
likely to find about your topic.

The infographic below illustrates the Information Cycle. You can also view the text version of
the Information Cycle below.
The Day of an Event

Television, Social Media, and the Web

• The who, what, why, and where of the event

• Quick, not detailed, regularly updated

• Authors are journalists, bloggers, social media participants

• Intended for general audiences

The Day After an Event

Newspapers

• Explanations and timelines of the event begin to appear

• More factual information, may include statistics, quotes, photographs, and editorial
coverage

• Authors are journalists

• Intended for general audiences

The Week or Weeks After an Event

Weekly Popular Magazines and News Magazines

• Long form stories begin to discuss the impact on society, culture, and public policy

• More detailed analyses, interviews, and various perspectives emerge

• Authors range from journalists to essayists, and commentary provided by scholars and
experts in the field

• Intended for a general audience or specific nonprofessional groups

Six Months to a Year or More After an Event

Academic, Scholarly Journals

• Focused, detailed analysis and theoretical, empirical research

• Peer-reviewed, ensuring high credibility and accuracy

• Authors include scholars, researchers, and professionals

• Intended for an audience of scholars, researchers, and university students

A Year to Years After an Event

Books

• In-depth coverage ranging from scholarly in-depth analysis to popular books

• Authors range from scholars to professionals to journalists

• Include reference books which provide factual information, overviews, and summaries

Government Reports

• Reports from federal, state, and local governments

• Authors include governmental panels, organizations, and committees

• Often focused on public policy, legislation, and statistical analysis

VII. Most Important Principles Of Social Media Management

If you’re a social media manager, you will probably recognise that you are currently working
one of the hardest, most challenging jobs in marketing. The sheer depth to the tasks is
immense, with so many different things to manage every day, and a ton of strategy based
thinking alongside it.

Getting it right is now more difficult than ever. So we’ve put together a list of principles that
should help you along the way. Each of them is powerful, and should be part of what you do
pretty much every day. Combine the principles into a way of working, and you should find
that your job, while still challenging, becomes one of the best jobs ever.

Principle one: Be a platform ninja

This is a big aspect of your education, and one of the most important principles. Know your
audience and know which platforms they are on. Then, and this is the most important part,
know what content works best on each of the platforms you are using.

Twitter and Facebook are still very different (even though some would say they are merging
closer together). Instagram is a whole different ball game. And if you use LinkedIn, it’s a
unique platform that definitely plays by its own rules. Be aware of each platform and how
best to use it, and then develop content accordingly. Only the best social media managers do
this.

Principle two: Your voice needs to be clear

It may take a while to develop, but your brand has a clear voice. The voice is one that your
audience identifies with. If it is predominantly young and hip, so be it. If it is corporate and
professional, then this is the way you go.

As a social media manager, you always need to be ‘on voice’. Present your brand as your
audience expects it to sound, always. The moment you try and be different, and ‘on trend’’
rather than ‘on voice’ is the moment that your audience starts to smell something fishy. Just
perfect your voice and maintain that across your platforms.

Principle three: Quality Control counts

With such a massive playing field on social media, it’s easy to drop the ball. So many brands
suffer as they start to spread themselves too thin and then lower the quality of what they
produce when it comes to content.

A good rule of thumb is to always focus on quality content above all else. This is a key
principle because it guides all of your work as a social media manager. Before you focus on
anything, essentially, you need to make quality control a guiding principle.
Of course, it all ties into the voice that your brand has. But the moment a brand gets sloppy
and inconsistent with quality, it becomes very difficult to recover. As social media manager,
it’s your job to ensure quality content, always.

image: https://cdn.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/resource-sm-
content-create.jpg.jpg

Principle four: Data is everything

This principle is still, amazingly, not a driver for many social media managers. Data should
underpin all of the work that you do. Data about how your social media campaigns are
performing and the historical context of each campaign is more than just important, it’s
essential.

You should also make it your business to know how to use data to inform future work. Social
media managers need quick, efficient data to help make the right decisions. Social media
management needs to have momentum. It has to be consistently moving, staying on top of
trends and working, for example, with the latest algorithm update. You can’t see how you’re
doing and what you need to do unless you have data. It’s a key principle.

Principle five: Know how to be efficient

Social media is in a very different place to where it was even just a few years ago. Now, there
are so many different tools and platforms to help you automate your work as a social media
manager that we are almost at a disadvantage. With so much ‘help’ available it can seem
overwhelming or even counterproductive to sign up to a million platforms and then watch as
you get busy doing nothing.
Okay, that was a little dramatic. But we do seriously think that if you focus on a few key apps
and platforms, you should find that most of the routine stuff in social media management can
be handled by scripts. Take data and analytics for example. Easy and efficient if you know
how.

Seriously, as a social media manager, one of the great guiding principles should revolve
around the ability you now have to automate much of what you do.

image: https://cdn.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/resource-sm-
principles-tools.jpg.jpg

Being on top of your game means being on top of your game. Get a piece of software to do it
for you, and concentrate on the great content and that all-important quality control.

Principle six: Get talking

It’s obvious that you are going to have your hands full as a social media manager, but it is
also important to ensure that you get out there and manage. Gone are the days when the
average social media manager could work from an office and rarely leave it. These days you
have to be a bit of a social person in the real world too.

The most successful social media managers are showing expertise, and if this doesn’t mean
speaking in front of thousands at a keynote, it should at least mean that you are hosting
webinars and creating high quality blog posts of your own.
Why do this? Well, it means that all of your efforts will be noticed first of all. And that means
that you will add more value to whatever campaign you are working on. It also means that
you will be continuously learning your craft, honing it so that your own skills are developed,
and feed into a continuous cycle of high quality work.

Basically, it means getting out there, getting known, and knowing more. It’s the only way to
grow.

These six principles will allow you to be a more successful social media manager, and
develop your skills in the right way. In the end, it needs to be about creating consistent
content that has real quality at its core. These six principles should help you cut through the
noise and get this part right.

SOURCE : https://www.business2community.com/social-media/6-important-principles-
social-media-management-01648420

Want to Bring Customers In-Store? Get Them to Follow You on Social Media

Building a social media following is not only a great way for brands to engage customers
online, it can also help increase brick-and-mortar foot traffic.

More than three-quarters of US internet users said they would visit a brand's physical store
after following it on social media, according to a February 2019 survey conducted by social
media management platform Sprout Social.
Loyal customers will typically follow a brand on social media as well as have an interest in
visiting its retail location, likely contributing to the high figure. But that doesn’t mean social
isn’t a great tool for engaging new, younger customers and getting them interested in visiting
a physical store.

Most US consumers discover new brands the old-fashioned way: by receiving

recommendations from friends. Even among internet users ages 18 to 39, 55% were
encouraged to try new brands from their friends and peers, according to a November 2018
survey conducted by Atlantic Re:think, the creative marketing group of The Atlantic
magazine. But nearly half (48%) said they discovered new brands through their social media
activity, and 36% said they were encouraged by a recommendation from an influencer they
follow.

Despite popular belief, brick-and-mortar still plays a role in the shopping experience
for millennials and Gen Z.

What can brands do to get consumers to engage with them online? The Sprout Social survey
asked which trends and features consumers wanted to see more from brands on social media;
45% said live video, while 24% of respondents said they wanted to see more user-generated
content (e.g., influencers) and Instagram Stories.

“Shoppers look to social media to engage with brands and retailers in a new way,” said
Andrew Lipsman, principal analyst at eMarketer. “Rich media content, like video and stories,
offers a huge opportunity to draw shoppers in to the brand experience and deepen the
relationship. Once they think of themselves as brand loyalists, customers will shop wherever
that brand is present—whether online or in-store.”

SOURCE : https://www.emarketer.com/content/want-to-bring-customers-in-store-get-them-
to-follow-you-on-social-media