For a Social Media and Public Relations class, my teacher encouraged us to create a personal blog to publish bi-weekly posts. I thoroughly enjoyed this assignment and wanted to share some of my posts. Click on the links below to read a few of my blog entries:
Let’s Make Instagram Casual Again…
It’s Time to Consider the Influencer
Experience What You Can’t Experience
Strawn & Co., Insurance
Since May of 2018, I have worked for an insurance brokerage, Strawn & Co., Insurance. I provide new and existing clients with insurance quotes. I support my marketing team by sharing information with them that will help ensure that they are providing their clients with the best customer service.
In February of 2019, I was promoted to the position of Advertising and Event Coordinator. I maintain a strong social media presence by posting content that is intended to inform new and existing clients with information that is insurance related.
Let’s dive into this topic together… from the eyes of my family!
My grandma has an Instagram – I will often get a text that says, “thanks for sending me that picture on Instagram” and my response is always as follows, “I didn’t send it! I posted it!” or it’s a gentle thank you because she may not understand that everyone sees those photos, not just her. But I love her, and she gets to see what I and her 4 other grandkids are up to and I know she loves that.
My mom, dad, and a majority of my friend’s parents are over the age of 45, and a lot of them have Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. And we are all wondering the same thing, how are they using these platforms? Honestly, in a lot of ways and becoming tech savvy is becoming quite common for the older folk. We can give them the benefit of the doubt that they didn’t grow up with a cell phone or a computer. Although growing up and learning about these apps is crucial for the world we are in now, and from what I can see, everyone over the age of 40 is trying. For example, my dad has had a Facebook for over 5 years and he still asks me every time how to post a status and tag his friends, but he’s learning, we all had to at one point… he’s just a bit slow. He finds so much joy from scrolling through his feed, seeing photos of his family and friends, and silly videos that we are shown often more than once.
But my aunt, on the other hand, has taken over Facebook – she loves to check-in at her favorite locations to give her friends and family the opportunity to know what she did over the weekend. She tags me in every post and sends me pictures she receives from the memories Facebook sends us daily. My uncle loves to post about deer season, the turkey he killed, and his family of course. They connect with their friends and family they don’t see very often, and yes we get annoyed of all the posts and how embarrassing they can be, but Facebook is for the older people and we are all coming to terms with that! They just want to live it up, just like we did when Facebook was cool.
They haven’t taken Instagram yet, but their close!
My mom uses Instagram though – she likes to keep up with her favorite bloggers, the news, and she loves to use it for online shopping – we joke around that she finds all her clothes on Instagram and its true! She uses this app to find the perfect outfit and it’s so simple because the entire outfit is picked out by an influencer and all she has to do is click the link, add to her cart, and then she’s dressed in your best within a couple days.
Women over the age of 45 are taking over the Instagram world – they are influencing, keeping up with high fashion, traveling the world, and teaching women their age and younger than them how to do it too. They want to keep up with us as much as we want to keep up with us and just because they might be slower and known as the old folk… that doesn’t mean they are lacking in coolness. These women are killing it by teaching those around them that it’s okay to dress how you want to dress, travel where you want to travel, and show the world that you’re as cool as the influencer 20 years younger than you.
Let’s get over getting frustrated with people over the age of 4o that want to take over social media, but let’s cheer them on in hopes of them making the most of it. Who’s with me?
Hello! My name is Anna Strawn and I am a Junior at Auburn University. I plan to graduate in the Fall of 2019 with a degree in Communication and a minor in Leadership. I am from a small town outside of Atlanta, Georgia, but Auburn stole my heart at a young age, so I grew up loving the Auburn way and moved away from home in 2016 where I started my Freshman year of college.
I chose Communication because it provided a broad approach to life after school. I have loved gaining a countless number of skills during my studies at Auburn. I’ve gained in interesting in energizing and thought-provoking projects and tasks. I thrive on challenges, new ideas, hard work, and relationships. I have had the opportunity to put my skill set to work in my studies, volunteer opportunities, jobs, and friendships. I love problem-solving and am quick to learn anything that is computer related.
I passion for travel, staying active and serving others – I work hard to fit these things into my schedule. I love spending time with my precious family and incredible friends – I seek to serve others and placing an importance on community has always been a priority. But I hope you have enjoyed getting to know a little about me, and hope I have the privilege to meet you!
A letter to Facebook,
You’ve been there since day one – that one time I accidentally posted on my crushes personal profile “do you like Anna Strawn?” instead of messaging him privately. I remember when you brought me the worst photos of myself by way of tagging and you’ve helped me recall past photos that I don’t necessarily want to remember. And you’ve definitely given me good memories, like the first album I created for people to see and giving me photos of friends that I don’t see often. Honestly Facebook, you aren’t everyone’s friend but unfortunately, you know it and I know it – we can’t live with you, but we can’t live without you.
Love, Anna
But on a real note, my Facebook experience has been minimal – I wasn’t allowed to have one until 8th grade! I used it to post about my feelings, inspirational quotes, Bible verses, and photos of fun times with my family and friends – and quite honestly, my personal profile didn’t start to flourish until high school when I finally figured out how to create photo albums, post only CUTE pictures, AND delete old ones that no one needs to see.
And I hate to say it, but I’m close to the end of my time with Facebook and I’m sure other millennials feel the same way and that’s hard for us to admit. I feel like we just don’t connect and use it to its full advantage like we did 5 years ago, and we are deeming it to not be “as cool” as it once was.
After taking into consideration the decision of deleting my Facebook page, I found this article. It talks about having a personal profile and why Millennials, like me, aren’t using it anymore. BUT what I love about it was the fact that it helps you rethink your use of this personal profile and honestly, I am taking their advice to declutter instead of deleting – here are a couple pieces of advice:
I have found that my feed is cluttered, and I am ready to delete friends that I don’t necessarily want to keep up with anymore and that’s a major reason why I no longer want my page. So here is the solution: if you comment on someone’s page for their birthday, keep them as a friend and if they comment on yours, keep them too because it has been made clear through that interaction that you both care about each other and their pages.
If you don’t have the time to delete hundreds of friends… delete your account and make a new one and add friends that you really want! BUT if you know you’re going to struggle with losing likes and status’ that most people would want to run away from – this suggestion isn’t for you.
I found that the only reason I use it is because of an organization I was a part of and during this time, we used a page to stay connected. But to be honest, I am no longer a part of the organization and my reasoning for having the page is no longer valid, YET I still keep it… but why?
Well… I am here to explain my top 3 reasons why I will most likely keep my page:
Stalking. Whether it’s finding out someone’s birthday, where they went to high school, or who they are dating #facebookofficial – we have that information at the click of a button.
I find myself going back to high school prom, the mission trip I went on, and that time I hiked mountains in Switzerland – anything we have posted to our personal profiles, we can see, share, and reminisce on.
I know you’ve said it – “he doesn’t even have a Facebook page!!” It’s weird to not have a personal profile, and honestly, I’m only judging because you have done me a disservice of giving me the ability to stalk you AND of course, this takes me back to number 1… stalking.
We’ve all wanted to delete our personal profile at some point, but Facebook has this tie on us that we can’t seem to break and that’s nothing to be ashamed of – we just don’t know how to say goodbye to something we’ve had since middle school. And I don’t know if it’s just me, but I’m over the notifications that’s my aunt checked in at another location, the political posts by those from my hometown, and the photos that will haunt us for decades. But before you say goodbye, remember my tips before you run away so quickly like I almost did.
Let me paint a picture for you. You’re standing outside of the Microsoft store at Lenox Mall in Atlanta, GA – you see someone with a black box on their face. They are walking around oblivious to the fact that everyone in the mall is watching them, but they are clearly having the time of their lives! Arms are flying in the air and they are moving in each different direction to get away from whatever is in the box, but little do you know, they are experiencing a real-life simulation of a different part of the world. For those of you that are as clueless as I am, according to HubSpot, virtual reality is a form of interactive software that immerses users in a three-dimensional environment – 360 degrees.
Sounds pretty HORRIBLE if you ask me! I have a feeling and KNOW that if I ever had the opportunity to do this, I would feel incredibly claustrophobic. But if feeling TRAPPED sounds fun to you, go for it.
It’s a way to transport yourself into a place where they can’t be at the moment or will never be able to be – who wouldn’t want to go to space or Australia? If they didn’t have the means or the ability?! It’s amazing that the world has given us this ability to create this type of real-life simulation, and the uses of it are incredible. While I am researching, I am learning more and more about different realities and little did I know… there are a couple types and this article explains it well:
Almost two years ago, The New York Times sent out the Google cardboards to their most loyal customers in hopes of them downloading the video and placing their phones into the cardboard cutout to experience their own real-life simulation of different parts of the world, but in the comfort of their own home. Although as a whole, this seems like a great idea, the ones that were not sent the cardboard cutouts have to spend money to buy their own and The NY Times does not release videos very often so in for a short period of time, it was cool. But in the long run, not so much. In regard to marketing, this was amazing. The loyal customers were given the cutouts, but the real-life simulation was not for everyone to experience, which made people feel left out. But it’s great for The NY Times because it encourages those lukewarm customers to become more loyal because later on… they might get gifts for like these loyal customers did.
If you have ever bought a pair Toms, you are aware that every time you buy a pair of shoes… another pair goes to someone in need. AT&T and Toms launched a real-life simulation of Uruguay, although they didn’t use the silly goggles, they gave a 360-degree video for people to see. They did this to show where the money for Tom’s was going to because those that buy their shoes are sitting at home and trusting that they are doing what they say they are! The articles say, “that commercial was the first time Toms had national media exposure, and our business really grew a lot that year because of that exposure.” So, for Toms, they were given this amazing opportunity to gain customers because they showed the world what they see in real life, but they gave the world this real-life simulation that we may never experience.
I see the pros and cons of this: the fact that people find it very intriguing, but then there are those like me that can’t stand the feeling of not being able to escape. But at the same time, you are escaping into a real-life simulation of like I have said above, to a place you may never experience.
When I think of the first form of social media I downloaded and actively used growing up, I think of Instagram. I remember having 20 filters to choose from – Valencia was my personal favorite – and of course the inspirational quotes were always necessary for the caption. The simplicity of it was great – but in recent years, Instagram took the Snapchat story and made it its own and then took the idea of YouTube videos and brought IGTV to life. Although Instagram is having a major identity crisis, this form of social has been my favorite photo sharing app in the App Store – rather than Facebook and Tumblr, which were very popular when I was growing up.
When I made my first account in 2013, I used it to post inspirational quotes and photos of my family. Instagram was casual, and no one really used it for anything but sharing their life and what made them laugh- I remember wanting to get enough likes to make it on the explore page. Side note: never did. But even in 2013, I wanted people to see what I was posting and hopefully know who I was! The point of Instagram is still to share your life, but we are editing, cropping, and making sure we get the right pose for the perfect picture to get (fingers crossed) more than 200 likes.
But let’s make Instagram casual again. Am I right?
… right? Wait, am I the only one?
I want you to understand that I love seeing people use this photo sharing app as a way to make a name for themselves, but can we stop selling Fab Fit Tea and hair gummies? I want you to share products that you actually use and love, rather than those that just make you money. And if you do sell those hair gummies and tea that doesn’t make you skinny, I trust that you hopefully believe in the product and you’re not just taking advantage of your following to make a little bit of money. But if you are, I guess I understand. We want to grow the name we’ve made for ourselves and use it to the best of our advantage – but we need to remember, don’t just take advantage of your following. Because honestly, your followers trust you and follow you for a reason. And trust me, it’s not for the gummies.
We’ve grown to use Instagram as a way to make a name for ourselves and hopefully become “Insta” famous, but are we losing the real touch that Instagram had from the beginning? The main purpose of it, being a photo sharing app is meant to share photos and videos and I hope we never stop using the app because everyone is doing the same thing just because they feel like they have to!
We all follow those people we have completely fallen in love with, but why did we fall in love with them? They were real and casual!! My sister listens to The Morning Toast podcast on her way to work – and of course, she follows them on Instagram, has a sticker on her laptop, and a pop socket for the back of her phone. Personally, I had never heard of this podcast, but when she talks about Claudia Oshry, I swear it’s like she is talking about a friend.
“oh she is just so funny and always has me laughing”
Little did I know, she is not my sisters’ friend. My sister only wishes she was her friend – but when I heard that, I wasn’t shocked because we like that feeling. These people are our friends, they may not know that, but we sure do! Let’s use this photo sharing app for intentional content so we can learn to love each other for who you are and not what you’re selling – which is basically ourselves.
As we talk about keeping Instagram casual, let’s talk about the infamous Instagram story – I dig ’em. It’s the sophisticated version of Snapchat stories. I can post a Bible verse or 20 pictures of my friend for her birthday or promote something that I know won’t get shown on my feed – thanks to Instagram for not posting chronologically anymore… NOT.
QUICK TANGENT: Apparently, they changed the order because they wanted to give people the ability to see the followers they interacted with the most. But do you wanna know why we interact with them the most? They are the only thing we see on my feed!
Back to what I was saying, we are using Instagram stories to connect with our following better so we can seem more relatable and it’s most likely guaranteed to be seen. Strategically, it’s genius. Like the article says:
Looking at these three things, it all comes back to being real and honest with your followers… by being casual. You have the option to let people get to know you on your own time and in real time – why not show them behind the scenes of something you’re working on? And if you have a blog and your life seems like it’s always put together, show yourself in sweatpants with no makeup on with a pile of unfolded clothes in the background. I guess I am just preaching one thing at this point – be real and use Instagram wisely. It’s a photo sharing app for a reason – it’s meant to be fun, so don’t go about it trying to make yourself someone that you aren’t.
Be casual, give yourself the freedom to post a selfie of yourself unedited, with no purpose or hidden agenda. We promise we will still love you, even if you haven’t jumped on the Fab Fit Tea Train.
When I think of the influencer marketing business, my brain goes straight to Instagram and blogs. I think of Brighton Keller; a woman who posts about her life, faith, fashion choices, and products she uses on the daily on her blog and Instagram. I think of like.to.know.it; an Instagram brand that feeds off of influencers – haha, get it? Feed? Like Instagram feed. I think of Cupcakes and Cashmere; a woman who started her blog over 10 years ago and now hangs out with Mandy Moore. MANDY. MOORE.
Daily, I find myself on these influencers’ pages with several intentions: I want to find out what they’re wearing, where they’re traveling, and what products they’re using. But what’s the main reason I look at social media influencers:
Influencer marketing is a growing part of our society. Our society is becoming more and more reliant on social media because we can do everything on our phones. Every business and company, even small “mom and pop shops,” have an app – or the ability to have an app. So why not usethe tools we all have at our fingertips?
When I want an outfit idea, I no longer flip through magazines. I click to the search page on my Instagram and check out my favorite social media influencers.
Roughly two-thirds of companies today are looking to add an “influencer marketing” portion to their budget, giving them the ability to track down the social media influencers willing to sell others on their brand. Social media influences are the ones willing to give your product a chance or make a little money off a product they already use and love. After reading an article about what companies do when they have influencer marketing in mind, I found that companies are not looking for the everyday social media influencer, but the blogger or “Insta-famous” girl or guy that has created a brand for themselves with the intention of being successful on a certain platform. Companies don’t want their influencers to require the easy payout – those are the ones that won’t value your product and the relationship they now have with your company.
And then there are the people out there to help your company with social media influencers, like Socialyte. And these companies are thriving as the casting directors of social media. Does that make sense? Our world has transitioned so much that we have built companies to act as matchmakers for brands like H&M, Madewell, and CoverGirl. With companies like these, your brand will find the perfect social media influencer, but you must know where you want your company to go, what you want them to do with your brand, and how as a whole will this social media influencer make your company better?
I like to think of influencer marketing as a positive thing. Yes, there are the moments when that certain social media influencer messes with our trust with just two little letters, ad. However, we can overcome that and choose to forgive and forget. As a whole, influencer marketing is becoming a large part of social media because it is a great opportunity to grow any brand. On both ends, the social media influencer AND the company taking advantage of these sources.
Anna Strawn 