1. Introduction to Social Media
Assoc. Prof. Axel Bruns
ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation
Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
a.bruns@qut.edu.au – @snurb_dot_info
http://mappingonlinepublics.net/
Linda Elen Olsen
University of Bergen, Norway
linda.olsen@infomedia.uib.no - @lindaeo
http://mappingonlinepublics.net/
3. Some Basics
o Profile:
o Customise, personalise – but keep it simple
o Be recognisable – establish one identity across all platforms
o Avoid gimmicks (and potential security risks) – e.g. add-on apps
o Content:
o For professional use: keep focussed, post regularly
o Posting the same content across multiple platforms?
o Be personable, but professional – stay on message
o Network:
o Facebook: use pages to allow users to subscribe by liking you
o Twitter: follow back everyone / some / nobody?
o LinkedIn: don‟t be desperate – connect judiciously
http://mappingonlinepublics.net/
4. The Social Dimension
o Interactions with other users:
o Avoid using social media as just another PR channel
o Design messages to be shared / passed along / retweeted by others
o Monitor and respond to comments, avoid boilerplates
o If you don‟t know, say so – don‟t make things up
o Anticipate critical views, and engage with them
o Keep comments closed where necessary, open where possible
o Delete comments only in extreme cases (and be transparent about it)
o Show a sense of humour – especially around spoofs and parodies
o Beware the Streisand effect!
http://mappingonlinepublics.net/
6. Audiences?
o Attracting a social media
audience:
o Be interesting
o Be entertaining
o Be insightful
o Be consistent
o Be active
o Be transparent
o Be accessible
http://mappingonlinepublics.net/
7. Followers?
o Connecting with followers,
friends, fans:
o Engage
o Respond
o Converse
o Enthuse
o Enlist
o Bond
o Reciprocate
o Support
http://mappingonlinepublics.net/
8. Influencers?
o Drawing on influential
followers / connections:
o Build close relationships
with key followers
o Encourage message
dissemination (retweets /
shares / …)
o Ask for help (“Pls RT.”)
o Quid pro quo –
reciprocate where
possible
http://mappingonlinepublics.net/
11. Questions
o How do you attract an
audience?
o Consistence, persistence,
steady growth
o Be proactive – go out and
connect with others
o Avoid „guaranteed
followback‟ scams!
http://mappingonlinepublics.net/
12. Questions
o How do you engage with your followers?
o Follow back?
o Respond where possible
o Remain calm and friendly, ignore trolls
http://mappingonlinepublics.net/
13. Questions
o How do you identify
influencers?
o Track your followers, likes,
@mentions, retweets, …
o Check their profiles – who
are they? who follows
them?
o Track your stats – impact of
key followers‟ actions?
o Follow, read, see who keeps
showing up!
http://mappingonlinepublics.net/
48. Managing a Community
o Scenario workshop:
o You run the Facebook page for the Brissie Bike Hubbb – a local
community of bicycling enthusiasts. You keep getting a few
disruptions, though:
o activists who want to lobby the Lord Mayor to include helmets
with the urban rental bikes;
o extreme bikers who posts photos of themselves doing crazy and
dangerous stunts;
o motorists who drop by and abuse the community.
What do you do? How do you deal with these disruptions (pick
any one, or – for the adventurous – try to solve them all)?
o Hint: perhaps you need a mission statement:
Are you an activist group? A family organisation?
http://mappingonlinepublics.net/
50. Twitter Client Apps
o Various options:
o Tweetdeck, Seesmic, Hootsuite, …
o Cross-platform availability: desktop, browser, iPhone, iPad, Android, …
o Key additional functionality:
o Image / video upload
o URL shortening
o Multi-network cross-posting
o …
o Other features:
o Browser plugins
o Message scheduling
o Multi-account, multi-user scenarios
http://mappingonlinepublics.net/
51. Hootsuite
o Multi-platform:
o Twitter, Facebook (incl. groups, pages), LinkedIn
o Google+ pages, Flickr plugin, YouTube plugin
o Multi-account:
o Manage multiple accounts from the same app
o Team collaboration in managing one account
o Built-in analytics
o Freemium model: basic functions free
http://mappingonlinepublics.net/