SOCIAL NETWORK

Social media is an online platform that enables, and provides enormous opportunities to share and explore content. You only need an Internet connection and “et voilà”, your idea, opinion, design, or product can travel around the world in a few seconds!                                 It is fascinating how social media can help to co-create or improve ideas, and most importantly, build new connections. Personally, I’m not the perfect example of being active, or someone who has taken advantage of it. But as I continue to observe the trend, and how this is integrated in our daily life, I started to rethink about my behaviour “coexist but don’t make use of it”. Not that I don’t appreciate it, but when it comes to socialising, I have always preferred the traditional way of shaking hands. But, as George Bernard Shaw said, “Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything”. So here I am with a slightly different view about social media, and all the benefits that come from it.                                                                      Lets think of it this way – there is no way to escape from social media! At least, not if you want to succeed in today’s competitive world! Even the educational organisations nowadays are perfectly and proactively adapting to the technological wave of this century, including social media as a platform to educate, share content and help students connect with professional networks. At Kingston University, we had the opportunity to attend a number of interesting workshops/events led by Mr.Dwain Reid , I walked away impressed, and with some very interesting tips. Following this, I started making great use of social media platforms such as; LinkedIn, Twitter and Blogs. I quickly discovered that it is very helpful and insightful, and gave me direct access to the desired community. As part of the course, we have set-up a company and are making great progress with our unique product (if you haven’t already, please click here to find out more). Our marketing strategy to promote the product is focused on social media networks such as; Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. And the more we engage with it, the more our product becomes popular. As of now, we have reached a number of potential costumers, which we would have never thought of. Another great thing is that we have, and continue to receive feedback on how to improve our product. So lets be honest – this is the perfect way to test our market, and get ready to introduce a better product (Coffee Cozy). Even though our focus for the moment is to promote our product through social media, networking and events remain a strong and powerful approach. As Mr.Dwain also motioned during the lecture, networking in person allows you to create a direct contact, which sometimes could be even more powerful/faster than through social media. Overall, we walked away from these lectures with great ideas and tips, and are really taking these into consideration every time we drive activities related to our product. I’m happy to say that these have proven to be successful in leading us into the right direction.

• Learn about your audience first
• Create content that inspire
• Make it simple and comprehensible
• Measure, analyse, test
• Manage yourself online
• Engage with the audience
• Share, share and share