Social Media in Modern Communication – Comprehensive Notes

Key Concepts

• Platform
  • A platform is a form of electronic communication, including but not limited to network websites for social networking and microblogging.
  • Example given: Instagram.
• App
  • The technology behind how platforms operate and reach users; the tool that enables the platform to go to market.
• UGC (User-Generated Content)
  • Content created by users rather than brands.
  • Important because early framing was that media sociality depends on user-generated content rather than brand-controlled content;
  • Today brands frequently use UGC as well, but its origin is non-brand content.
• Shared
  • For media to be social, it must be Shared.
• Social network
  • The network is the system of people and entities that connect and share content; the big slide referenced the idea of what constitutes the network.
• Common in all social media
  • Participation: engaging through actions like liking, commenting, subscribing, sharing.
  • Example contrast: liking a radio news clip (KMTH) is not a typical radio behavior; participation is a defining trait of social media.
• The modern media reality
  • Wearable smart tech example: Ray-Ban Stories (first generation) with built-in cameras; later gen 2.
  • Collaboration example: Ray-Ban + Meta; Facebook/Instagram integration; concern about privacy and surveillance.
• Privacy and social reality
  • Social media exists regardless of personal feelings; people record events in real time for instant access.
  • A current trend: put down your phone and help when you see something happening rather than just recording.

Social media in everyday life and society

• Real-time news and events
  • People record events with their phones; instant access to footage becomes news content.
  • The world is moving toward real-time, user-generated updates and crowdsourced information.
• Public awareness and social impact
  • The integration of social media into all forms of communication is a foundational reality.
  • Students should learn to apply social media knowledge to their field of study and practice.
• Class rhythm and engagement
  • The instructor uses quick checks, prompts, and current examples to illustrate concepts (e.g., analog versus digital, trending terms).

Functions of Social Media in Communication Fields

• Primary function questions
  • Core function: Share content.
  • Entertainment as a function.
  • In addition, social media supports agendas (purposeful messaging in line with organizational goals).
• Field-specific functions (four main areas)
  • Journalism: information sharing, breaking news, sourcing, ethical information dissemination.
  • Marketing: attract attention to goods/services, build awareness, generate leads, foster relationships.
  • Public Relations (PR): manage relationships with communities, groups, and influencers; crisis and reputation management; direct engagement with audiences.
  • Advertising: targeted promotion and messaging; part of the marketing mix; supports branding and demand generation.
• Interdisciplinary overlap
  • Social media is integrated across journalism, marketing, PR, and advertising.
  • Real-world relevance: HR recruitment, Amber Alerts, law enforcement communications, and public safety use social media channels.

Journalism: Evolution, Obligations, and Practices

• Primary obligation
  • To ethically inform the public.
• Media bias awareness
  • Media can be biased; switch between sources to get a fuller picture.
• How journalism uses social media
  • Reaches audiences quickly, secures first access to information, collects sources, and reports on trends.
  • Content creation (captions, write-ups) and real-time reporting via social platforms.
• Tools of breaking news on social media
  • Social media can break news quicker than traditional outlets (e.g., plane crashes, celebrity news).
  • Famous cases: TMZ posting Kobe Bryant death before major networks; JCPenney teapot billboard controversy evolving into a public relations case.
• Sources and verification
  • Social media helps locate sources; direct outreach through posts and comments.
• Three main ways social media breaks news (as presented, with additional nuance)
  • Bystanders: people who whip out phones to record events as they happen.
  • Citizen journalism: ordinary individuals reporting the news through social platforms.
  • Viral speed: rapid spread of information, which can outpace traditional verification.
  • Crowdsourcing information: gathering reports from multiple people to piece together events.
• Historical newsroom workflow vs. modern practices
  • Before: reporters sent word via phone; waited for radio vans and on-site crews.
  • Now: real-time updates via smartphones, apps like Waze for live situational awareness, and rapid social sharing.
• Notable cases and ethical lessons
  • Hudson River plane crash (2009): first breaking report from a bystander via Twitter; underlines speed and verification challenges.
  • Kobe Bryant death: TMZ reported first; family pursued legal action; illustrates risks of sensationalism and rights of the family in breaking news.
  • Celebrity and public figure disclosures show the power and responsibility of social media in reporting and ethics.
• Revenue and reach for journalism
  • Major outlets often gain more views via social platforms than their traditional media distribution.
  • Print subscriptions can be dwarfed by social reach; engagement and distribution channels matter.

Marketing and the Marketing Mix on Social Media

• Marketing objective
  • Purpose: attract attention to goods/services and drive sales.
• The four Ps of the marketing mix
  • Product: what is being offered.
  • Price: how much it costs.
  • Place: where it is available or distributed.
  • Promotion: how the product is communicated and sold (advertising, PR, sales).
• The role of social media in the four Ps
  • Promotion leverage: social platforms enable creative promotion and distribution strategies.
  • Targeted reach: ability to reach specific audiences via hashtags, forums, influencers.
• Marketing and public relations integration
  • Marketing uses social media to build brand awareness, identify audiences, generate leads, and nurture relationships.
  • PR uses social media to manage public perception, engage with communities, and handle crises.
• Advertising and ROI
  • Advertising on social platforms can be hyper-targeted (narrow audiences) compared to traditional broad reach.
  • ROI example concept: broad campaigns historically had low conversion; targeted approaches can dramatically boost conversion rates.
• Case studies and examples
  • Starbucks x BuzzFeed collaboration: 5,800,000 views achieved through strategic content partnerships.
  • Influencer partnerships: top influencers across platforms drive reach and credibility for brands (e.g., The Rock, etc.).
• Marketing metrics and currency
  • Likes, comments, shares, and subscriptions (often called retention or reach metrics) are the currency of social media engagement.
  • Viral content: not a guaranteed outcome; high risk, high reward; attempting to go viral is often unreliable.
• Practical scaling of campaigns
  • Social content can be repurposed across multiple channels; a single post can generate dozens of posts across platforms.
• Examples of influencer-driven campaigns
  • Celebrity influencer campaigns (e.g., Starbucks) demonstrate how eyeballs translate into engagement and sales.

Public Relations (PR) and Social Media Strategy

• PR objective on social platforms
  • Create direct conversations with communities, groups, and influencers to influence the conversation.
• PR 2.0 concept
  • Direct engagement with customers and influencers via social networks and online communities; integrates traditional journalism with new media ecosystems.
• Notable PR cases
  • Wendy's: cited as an exemplary case of world-class social media PR.
  • JCPenney tea kettle controversy: rapid response to a viral moment; strategies included acknowledging the meme and responding in a lighthearted, timely way.
  • Crisis management approach: deciding whether to respond, align with a narrative, or correct misinformation; the importance of timely engagement.
• The relationship between PR, marketing, and journalism
  • PR amplifies brand messaging and manages the relationship with the public.
  • Marketing creates demand, while journalism and PR help shape public perception and inform the audience.
• Public relations strategy toolkit
  • Engage with communities and influencers to influence conversation.
  • Provide timely updates, humor or humility as appropriate, and align with the public's interest.

Advertising, Data Tracking, and Digital Marketing Realities

• Advertising capabilities on social media
  • Advertising can be highly targeted, reaching specific demographics, interests, behaviors, and networks.
  • Historically expensive mass advertising yielded low conversion; digital platforms enable precise targeting and scalable reach.
• Corporate budgeting and scale
  • The standard operating assumption: allocate about one third of profits to advertising and marketing.
  • Walmart example: revenue ≈ $365{,}000{,}000{,}000$ per year; one third of that is rac{1}{3} imes 365{,}000{,}000{,}000 \,=\, 121{,}666{,}666{,}666.ar{6} dollars (roughly $1.22 imes10^{11}$).
  • Apple revenue ≈ $2{,}000{,}000{,}000{,}000 = 2 imes10^{12}$ per year; large budgets for marketing and branding.
• The modern ad ecosystem
  • Platforms track user activity across apps and websites; data sharing and partnerships (e.g., Google owning YouTube) drive ad targeting.
  • Ads you see on YouTube or Instagram are often influenced by prior searches and views across platforms.
• The line between journalism and PR/advertising
  • Social apps support all four pillars: journalism (news and information), marketing (brand-building and product launches), PR (reputation and crisis management), and advertising (targeted promotions).
• Practical example of consumer behavior and shopping via apps
  • Consumers increasingly use apps to shop: scanning products, adding to cart directly, and completing purchases within apps.
  • This creates immediate engagement and reduces friction in the customer journey.

Networks, Followers, and Audience Understanding

• What counts as a network
  • Networks include websites, teams, families, friends, hobbies, alumni, beliefs, and professions.
  • People often follow or connect with communities they care about (churches, schools, brands, artists, etc.).
• Platform-specific network terminology
  • Facebook: Friends; Instagram: Followers; LinkedIn: Professional network; X (Twitter): Followers/Connections.
• The story-centric nature of social networks
  • Social media is about telling and shaping stories; your job as a communicator is to craft compelling narratives.
• Practical assignment prompts
  • Students may be asked to demonstrate subscription or engagement with a campus feed (e.g., ETBU roar) as a demonstration of network activity.
• Audience growth and content distribution
  • Content can be distributed across multiple channels; a single idea can be repurposed into many posts across platforms in a single day.

Practical Takeaways and Ethical Considerations

• The modern media landscape is multi-channel and highly interconnected
  • Journalism, marketing, PR, and advertising are increasingly integrated and rely on social platforms for reach and engagement.
• Ethical responsibility in social media practice
  • Be mindful of misinformation, verify sources, and consider the potential impact on individuals (e.g., families in breaking news scenarios).
• Privacy and surveillance concerns
  • Wearable cameras, data tracking, and targeted advertising raise ongoing privacy questions and require critical evaluation.
• Critical thinking about virality and influence
  • Virality is not easily controllable or predictable; campaigns should balance risk and reward and emphasize authenticity.
• Real-world readiness
  • Students should develop working knowledge of how social media applies to their field (business, ministry, education, journalism, etc.) and how to use networks effectively and ethically.

Key Terms and Definitions (glossary)

• Platform: A form of electronic communication enabling social networking and microblogging.
• App: The technology that enables a platform to operate and reach users.
• UGC: User-Generated Content created by users rather than brands.
• Participation: The core activity of engaging with social media content (like, share, comment, subscribe).
• PR 2.0: The evolution of public relations through direct, ongoing engagement with online communities and influencers.
• Hyper-targeted advertising: Advertising that targets very specific audiences with refined criteria.
• Influencer: A person with substantial reach and credibility who can affect brand perception and consumer behavior.
• Bystander: A person who records events as they occur.
• Citizen journalist: A non-professional who reports news via social media.
• Viral speed: Rapid spread of content across networks.
• Crowdsourcing information: Gathering information from a broad audience to verify or build a story.
• RoI (Return on Investment): A measure of the profitability of an investment, often discussed in the context of advertising campaigns.
• Public relations (PR): Managing the relationship between an organization and its publics; shaping perceptions and conversations.
• Advertising vs. Marketing: Advertising is a tactic within marketing; marketing encompasses product, price, place, and promotion strategies.

Connections to Foundational Principles and Real-World Relevance

• The lecture connects social media to foundational communication principles: information flow, audience engagement, ethical reporting, and the influence of media on public opinion.
• Real-world relevance is emphasized through contemporary case studies (Kobe/TMZ, JCPenney kettle incident, Wendy’s PR, Ray-Ban Stories, Starbucks campaigns) and the ongoing shift from traditional to digital-first news and marketing ecosystems.
• The integration of journalism, marketing, PR, and advertising on social platforms reflects the modern, converged media environment where storytelling, audience data, and rapid response define success.

Quick Review Questions (for quiz prep)

• What is a platform, an app, and UGC? How do they relate to social media?
• List the four functions of social media in journalism, marketing, PR, and advertising.
• Name the four ways social media can break news, and give an example of each.
• Explain the difference between advertising and marketing, and why social media has changed the ROI landscape.
• What is PR 2.0, and how does it differ from traditional PR?
• Give two real-world case studies discussed in class and the key takeaway from each.
• Why is virality considered a high-risk, high-reward strategy?
• How do data tracking and platform partnerships influence online advertising today?
• What are the three key metrics often referred to as the currency of social media?
• How can social media be used ethically in public service and crisis communication?