This post is a reflection about what I have learned in my Social Media class at Columbia College. Throughout this semester we studied personal branding and looked at different social media platforms that we could help accomplish our branding goals. I was familiar with multiple social networking sites (SNS), but this class gave me a chance to research and analyze them. I looked at the responsive design of several SNS and found that the platforms with the the smoothest transition from the full site to their mobile site were the easiest to use. Also that the apps that looked identical to the websites and kept that consistency where my favorites. Some apps, like Reddit, were more difficult to use and preferred to visit the site rather than use the app.
I learned about what goes into making a great headline, something that I thought would be pretty boring but turned into something really fun to analyze. At the start of this class I already had somewhat of an idea of what branding was. Now that the class is over I realize I underestimated how much work it takes to propel that branding into the world. It's not enough to decide how you want to show yourself to the world, you have push that onto different platforms. Lots of them. You have to be active and provide compelling content, provide ways for people to find you (great headlines and posting) then give them a way to subscribe, (RSS). Then after all that, rinse and repeat. If you provide great content, you might just make an impact.
This class covered a ton of material so I don't think there is any more we could have crammed in, especially in 8 weeks. I do wish there was a social media class level two so that I could continue learning about other SNS like Periscope, Meerkat, Snapchat and Reddit. I also want to lean more about when is the best time to post to get seen, how to utilize paid advertising, how to target specific demographics, and all around more of the analytics involved in social media. All of this is something I plan to research and share with you all.
This class has given me the confidence to produce my own material and share it, something I had never considered before. I mean, I have a website for my design work but this is different. This is more me, more personal. It was incredibly fun and challenging to share videos and podcasts but completely worth it. This by far my favorite and most challenging class I have taken at Columbia college.
*note about all images and video
I did not create, take, photography or claim any ownership to any of the images on this post.
I found them all online.
