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- All Subjects: Social Media
Description
Nonprofits often struggle in fully implementing a successful social media strategy. These organizations neglect to create and maintain relationships with stakeholders, engage their audience, and build brand awareness in an online setting. As social media has essentially become one of the largest sources of information dissemination and one of the most populated platforms in the online world, a nonprofit's online presence has become increasingly important. Through a 22-day content analysis and 43-question survey that was distributed to the general public on Twitter and Facebook, this paper looks comprehensively into the elements and tactics used by Make-A-Wish, Halo and ALS Association. Based off of the research findings from this study, important aspects of these nonprofits' online strategy will be identified and analyzed.
ContributorsJoseph, Teresa Marie (Author) / Wu, Xu (Thesis director) / Thornton, Leslie (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
E-commerce has rapidly become a mainstay in today's economy, and many websites have built themselves around providing a platform for independent sellers. Sites such as Etsy, Storenvy, Redbubble, and Society6 are increasingly popular options for anyone looking to open their own online store. With this project, I attempted to examine the effects of four different marketing techniques on sales in an online store. I opened a shop on Etsy and tracked sales in connection with promotion through social media, selling products in-person at a convention, holding a holiday tie-in sale, and using price anchoring. Social media accounts were opened on Facebook, Tumblr, and Instagram to promote the shop over the course of the project period, and Etsy's web analytics were used to track which sites directed the most traffic to the shop. I attended a convention in mid-January 2016 where I sold my products and distributed business cards with a discount code to track sales resulting from being at the convention. A holiday sale was held in conjunction with Valentine's Day to look at whether holidays influenced purchases. Lastly, a significantly more expensive product was temporarily put in the shop to see whether it produced a price anchoring effect \u2014 that is, encouraged sales of the less expensive products by making them seem affordable in comparison. While the volume of sales data was too small to draw statistically significant conclusions, the project was a highly instructive experience in the process of opening a small online store. The decision-making steps outlined may be helpful to other students looking to open their own online shop.
ContributorsChen, Candice Elizabeth (Author) / Moore, James (Thesis director) / Sanford, Adriana (Committee member) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
This researcher set out to determine whether small businesses can achieve considerable business success by utilizing social media as a public relations tool to create a brand image. There is a substantial breadth of research regarding the social media successes of large companies, but the same is not true for small businesses. This researcher aims to add to the existing pool of literature dealing with small businesses and creating social media success. First, relevant literature was examined to determine the state of the small business landscape online and to identify best practices for social media. Then the researcher analyzed three published case studies that detailed social media campaigns from three different small businesses. The researcher used the information obtained in the literature review and case study analysis to create a comprehensive social media strategy for Crosswim, a small business based in Tempe, Arizona. The culmination of this research showed that small businesses can indeed create success and brand equity by implementing a strategic social media plan. It was uncovered that social media gives small business owners the tools to create a strategy that works best for them in terms of their business and in terms of the time the owners can devote to monitoring social media.
ContributorsHolmes, Taylor Elizabeth (Author) / Wu, Xu (Thesis director) / Thornton, Leslie (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Social media is changing the way journalists operate; their use of Twitter is potentially representational of that change. Because of Twitter, journalists can connect to stories, sources, and audiences in ways they never could before. Because this is an evolving practice, role models can be difficult to find, which presents a problem for journalism students. In broadcast journalism, the challenge is even more pronounced when it comes to finding women exemplars for female students; female students are more likely to relate to female role models.This study, using in-depth interviews and textual analysis, examines how Twitter is being used by four prominent journalists in one competitive market. The Twitter feeds of four female TV news anchors in Phoenix, Arizona, the 12th largest broadcast market in the United States, are explored in terms of content and practice. The results show that they used Twitter daily and for more than just tweeting out the day's news, suggesting that Twitter has become a standard journalistic tool and a practice worth emulating.
ContributorsMolina, Tara Lea (Author) / Lodato, Mark (Thesis director) / Thornton, Leslie (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
This project is a case study of the how The New York Times metro desk and its journalists used Twitter throughout the duration of Hurricane Sandy. Hurricane Sandy affected the East Coast of the United States in late October and early November 2012. The study specifically focuses on a random sampling of journalists' individual Twitter accounts as listed on the Times website directory and the official New York Times Metro account, which tweets breaking news in the New York City metro area of five New York City boroughs and New Jersey. This study categorizes the tweets according to types of tweet, with regard to whether individual tweets were "retweets" (reposting of another Twitter user's tweet) as well as the tweet's contents by categories relevant to the storm. This case study utilizes a qualitative approach. The categories were determined based on theme as a contextual analysis to synthesize information more broadly to be more inclusive of tweets occurring during the time frame of October 27 to November 3, 2012. The study then analyzes the tweets through the lens of the Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics, a code voluntarily embraced by thousands of journalists as a guideline for ethical behavior in the profession, and the New York Times informal guidelines for its journalists' social media use. The study seeks to explore the ethical implications of Twitter's use during breaking news and how the message is delivered can be framed by as a tweet or retweet rather than shared through traditional journalism methods (via print or a news organization's website.)
ContributorsSteffan, Sara (Author) / Matera, Fran (Thesis director) / Thornton, Leslie (Committee member) / Gilpin, Dawn (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
A combined examination of the Charlie Hebdo attacks on January 7, 2015 and the November 13, 2015 attacks in Paris yields a social media movement that evolved within the 10 months between the attacks, a comparison between these terrorist attacks and those of September 11, 2001 and parallels between American First Amendment principles and France’s free expression laws.
The Charlie Hebdo attacks fueled an online debate over freedom of expression and religion, whereas the purpose of social media evolved into a humanitarian one following the November 13 attacks in Paris. This research looks into the individual evolutions of the related hashtags that surfaced in 2015, including #JeSuisCharlie (and its opposites, such as #JeNeSuisPasCharlie), #DonDuSang, #PorteOuverte and #RechercheParis, among others. Another research point was with the September 11 attacks—with the 9/11 attacks against the United States, few to no channels were available for the kind of immediate discussions and support seen after the Paris attacks. After spending time in Paris during the spring 2015 semester and researching the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo attacks and the history of the publication, the conclusion rests on the idea that the online discussions perpetuated by both supporters and dissenters of the magazine contribute to a more robust, open democracy supported by these social media platforms.
A portion of this thesis also delves into the parallels and differences between the American First Amendment and the French free speech laws—all of which pertain to the Charlie Hebdo content and the online responses to the 2015 Paris attacks.
The interviews conducted include a French art history professor at the Sorbonne University in Paris, two creators of the “Je Suis Charlie” Facebook page, an American journalist living in Paris who covered the Charlie Hebdo attack and who was present during the November attacks, and a Muslim-American doctor in Phoenix who founded the American Islamic Forum for Democracy. The ideas surrounding free speech, the value of art such as that found within the pages of Charlie Hebdo, the media’s treatment of religion, traditional democratic freedoms and ties to social media revolutions are all components of this research thesis.
The Charlie Hebdo attacks fueled an online debate over freedom of expression and religion, whereas the purpose of social media evolved into a humanitarian one following the November 13 attacks in Paris. This research looks into the individual evolutions of the related hashtags that surfaced in 2015, including #JeSuisCharlie (and its opposites, such as #JeNeSuisPasCharlie), #DonDuSang, #PorteOuverte and #RechercheParis, among others. Another research point was with the September 11 attacks—with the 9/11 attacks against the United States, few to no channels were available for the kind of immediate discussions and support seen after the Paris attacks. After spending time in Paris during the spring 2015 semester and researching the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo attacks and the history of the publication, the conclusion rests on the idea that the online discussions perpetuated by both supporters and dissenters of the magazine contribute to a more robust, open democracy supported by these social media platforms.
A portion of this thesis also delves into the parallels and differences between the American First Amendment and the French free speech laws—all of which pertain to the Charlie Hebdo content and the online responses to the 2015 Paris attacks.
The interviews conducted include a French art history professor at the Sorbonne University in Paris, two creators of the “Je Suis Charlie” Facebook page, an American journalist living in Paris who covered the Charlie Hebdo attack and who was present during the November attacks, and a Muslim-American doctor in Phoenix who founded the American Islamic Forum for Democracy. The ideas surrounding free speech, the value of art such as that found within the pages of Charlie Hebdo, the media’s treatment of religion, traditional democratic freedoms and ties to social media revolutions are all components of this research thesis.
ContributorsLierle, Emily Wheeler (Author) / Rodriguez, Rick (Thesis director) / Thornton, Leslie (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Ever since Cleveland-based disc jockey Alan Freed coined the term "rock 'n' roll" in the early 1950s, the genre has gone through various mass media and digital changes over the decades. These changes took place on the radio, television and internet. Each platform had its own unique ways of increasing the popularity of rock artists as well as the genre itself. Although the radio is not as popular today as it was in the 20th century, it helped pave the way for today’s most popular music streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. The television gave artists a chance to be seen nationally or even worldwide. Music videos and live performances allowed viewers to see past artists’ voices and witness their energy. The internet gave bands and artists multiple platforms to share their content and connect with fans. In 2020, having a social media presence became essential for artists wanting to maintain a successful music career during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rock music most likely would not be what it is today if it had not gone through these various changes.
ContributorsUrriola, Monica (Author) / Thornton, Leslie (Thesis director) / Agne, Tim (Committee member) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Comm (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-12