21A – Reading Reflection No. 2

***The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users, Guy Kawasaki***

1.      What was the general theme or argument of the book?

I’d say the main argument of the book is that if you want your social media account to be a pivotal part of your career, you have to treat it as a business. No more posting drunken party pictures or posting rants about celebrities or political figures. Figure out what your audience wants to see while also creating content that you enjoy yourself.  Try things out to see what sticks. To use social media to be successful is very much possible. However, you’ve got to stick with it and treat it as a business.

2.      How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?

One of the main tips within the book is to always try to think of alternate solutions to problems. Thinking outside the box also plays a pivotal role in the book. These 2 lessons tie in with our class as most of our assignments require us to think creatively.

    3.  If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?

If I were to create an exercise, it’d be for each member of the class to post a collage of all their pictures on Instagram and to explain why they post the way they do. Whether ones Instagram is filled with dog pictures or pictures filled with friends, I’d like to know why their Instagram is crafted the way it is. Is it simply to meet people? Is it to share pictures with friends and family? Or do they post pictures trying to promote their families business or something like that. I think everyone would have varying answers which would make for a lively discussion.

4. What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

After reading this book, I realized how important cross promotion can be in promoting one’s company. Whether its Instagram and Snapchat, Twitter and Facebook, or YouTube and LinkedIn, a company should have a combination of some these sites. By posting different but similar content on both platforms, it keep the audience interested while also nudging them to keep up to date with both platforms. Cross-promoting can lead to a wider audience and it can also speed up the process in gaining new followers quickly. This overall statement seems quite obvious, but I never really thought about how true it is. For example, former Miami Heat basketball player Hassan Whiteside uses his Instagram to post about his endorsement and other celebrity type posts. However, his snapchat account is very personal and he often posts everyday of him hanging out in his house or out and about with friends. This cross-promotion style keeps his fans engaged as they know they’ll get entertaining content on multiple platforms.