Major Project 1: Analysis of Social Media Messages

Ne’Dra Bell

Dr. Lance Cummings

English 312

17 September 2015

The Impact of Social Media

Social media is one of the most crucial aspects of whether a business thrives to its fullest potential or not. In today’s world of business many consumers  turn to social media before they decide to buy from a particular company. On the contrary, social media is also an outlet to express one’s positive or negative experiences with a particular business. The textbook Business Communication: Polishing Our Professional Presence (Shwom) evidently explains the impact of social media has on businesses. Numerous people assume that because they are attuned with communicating on facebook, they are well-rounded social media communicators. Shwom and Snyder state that effective communication through social media requires strategic planning. Positive and negative messages regarding a business are both portrayed on social media. Positive messages will always include how the viewer will benefit. A negative message will contribute to the liking and other component that may contribute to the downfall of that business

In chapter five of our text, Communicating Persuasive Messages, it defines persuasion as influencing an audience to agree with your point of view (Shwom and Synder 159). This posting is persuasive by offering its audience free coffee on a Monday, which many may believe to be the most challenging day of the week. PPD is an acronym for Pharmaceutical Product Development, which is a  leading global contract research organization that provides drug discovery, development, lifecycle management and laboratory services. PPD’s ultimate goal is to apply innovative technologies, therapeutic expertise and withhold a commitment to quality to help clients and partners accelerate the delivery of safe and effective therapeutics (“About”). According to their social media site, The Peddler Cafe is a startup business of a young Wilmington couple who have a passion for coffee and bicycles. With this couple forming a business on their own, they have chosen a great institution to spread their love for coffee.

In this post The Peddler Cafe has a motive of getting all of the employees to come together and socialize. This implies that PPD is a friendly and family oriented company to work for. In regards to the reading "Rhetoric in social media,” rhetoric is the art of using language to persuade or impact others. This post was persuasive in getting people to attend the event because all the necessary components for the composing process were utilized.Within this post there was a purpose and desired outcome of the employees attending, the needs implied was a cup of coffee on what’s seemed to be a “hard” day of the week, the information about the event was listed, and the medium chosen was effective as well (Shwom and Synder 160) .

In our text, some of the main focus points of persuasive messages were: information needed, motivation and benefits, and potential resistance. All of these things were covered in this post. The information needed for the audience was the date, time, and location of the event. In this posting, it states that the event is on Mondays from 7- 10:30am at the Peddler Cafe of the PPD in Wilmington, NC. This made it easy for the audience to read and decide if this place would be easy to find, or if the time would fit into their schedule. The motivation within this post is the fact that there is free coffee on a Monday. Everyone is probably dragging into the office that morning and in need of a pick-me-up. So in my opinion,  the day of the week they chose was very motivational to the audience.  Also, with Peddler Cafe just beginning their business, people will also be more likely to support them. Benefits of the audience, would be a free cup of coffee, meeting new people, and the possibility of receiving a coupon to the “best asian restaurant in town.” All of these would catch the reader’s attention and make them want to attend the event. With PPD being such a large corporation, a new employee will find this post to be the most beneficial for they may see it as a great opportunity to meet others, and begin to build their own network within the company. I believe that the idea of potential resistance is extremely scarce in this post. The only types of resistance that this post may encounter are people being too busy to take time out the day to grab coffee and socialize, or people that may not be very sociable.

(Image 2)

Adversely, I will be analyzing this ad (see image 2) for Verizon that was posted by PCMag. PCMAg is “ the leader for rigorous, labs-based comparative reviews of computing, consumer electronics, business technology, and internet products” (PCMag).  Another key factor about this company is they give independent reviews of the latest products and companies to ensure that people are receiving the highest quality for their money. As many are aware, Verizon has great service (“bars everywhere”). Their testers drive a million miles a year to make sure their customers services are working as well as possible, and nearly all of Verizon’s towers have backup generators to keep them working during blackouts (“Better Matters”).  In spite of all this, Verizon has also  been well-known for their excessive charges and gimmicks to draw customers in or to extend existing customers’ contracts. Although this ad wasn’t created directly by Verizon, I think it exemplifies the impact of content marketing. According to our text, content marketing is providing information that the audience values (Shwom and Synder 184). With this ad exposing information about the leading cellular network (“Better Matter”), it makes the viewer want to read and research more about the negative message depicted.

As stated in Chapter 5 of our text, argumentation is defined as taking a position, supporting the position with reason, and then documenting these reasons with evidence (Shwom and Synder 166). In order for the evidence to be deemed as reliable personal experiences can be used to be supportive of an argument (Shwom and Synder 168) With that being said, I’d like to touch on some of my personal experiences with Verizon.  I have been on a joint plan with Verizon for about 3 years now, and I have lost count of the times my parents have complained about something regarding this company. For example, I recently cracked my iPhone 5 screen and called Verizon to inquire about a replacement since I have been paying insurance on this phone for about 2 years. Even with insurance, I still would have had to pay $150 for a replacement phone. Not only did this infuriate me, it also made me question the reasoning behind paying a monthly fee for insurance on the device when it doesn’t cover anything.  I turned down this option. Then I asked when my contract would be ending. I was informed that my contract had been extended for another 6 months, because my parent had accepted an offer they were making. This is an example of how they “screw over customers.” The offer they were making, had an underlying catch to it. My parents agreed to the offer of getting 30% off the bill, without knowing that their contract would be extended for an extra 6 months along with the offer. With my personal experiences, I am able to relate to this ad. With this ad circling the web, other viewers will be able to understand the mission of PCMag.

This flyer is very straightforward with pointing out the problems faced when one has services with Verizon. Not only does this message result in prospective customers refraining from using these services, it also causes current users to want to terminate their contracts earlier and maybe even file a claim against Verizon. I believe with the message being so blunt, it grabs the viewers attention quickly. It can also encourage current users to post reviews of their services as well, which is described as social proof in our text (Shwom and Synder 187). This would make Verizon a less valuable company. Another thing that is factual regarding this ad is that every negative example used to go against Verizon has been stated in their previous ads as a “positive” feature within their company. So not only does it make viewers not want these services, it also deems Verizon as falsifiers and unreliable, which can result in negative reciprocity (Shwom and Synder 188). If a few friends have had negative experiences with Verizon and they tell their other colleagues, then those colleagues would be less likely to consider purchasing services through Verizon. It’s interpreted  that this cellular network can’t deliver the services they speak so highly of.

With both of these postings being made by vastly different businesses, it exemplifies how these messages on social media can either be depicted as postive or negative to the viewers, PCMAg has been around for many years, whereas the Peddler Cafe was recently created. As a result, PCMag is trying to maintain their clientele and credibility, while The Peddler Cafe is attempting to establish the two. Both PCMag and Peddler Cafe missions are based on the idea of pleasing the consumer, and being sure they have the best quality coffee, and technological reviews. This shows how both messages can be relatable. Even though businesses wish to achieve great heights, it's crucial to understand that social media can be the root of many issues, or the the extra push to take a business to the next level.

Work Cited

“About”. PPD. 2015 Pharmaceutical Product Development, LLC. Web. 12 September 2015.

“Better Matters”. Verizon. 2009, 2011-2015 Verizon. Web 12 September 2015.

PCMag. About. Facebook. 14 September 2015. Web

Shwom Barbara, and Lisa Snyder. "Chapter 3: Managing the Communication Process." Business Communication: Polishing Our Professional Presence. 2nd ed. Pearson Education, 2014. Print.

The Peddler Cafe. About. Facebook. 14 September 2015. Web

Major Project 2: Report on Social Media

To: Soultanicals

From: Ne’Dra Bell

Date: 14 October 2015

Subject: Impact of social media presence on businesses

Black-owned hair companies and the issues of natural hair in the work force: Soultanicals

Executive summary

In today’s society, discrimination against natural hair has become prevalent amongst the African American community. Although this is a rising issue, many black-owned natural hair care businesses, that use solely natural products, continue to thrive. For example, Soultanicals is one of the most notorious black-owned businesses amongst the natural hair community today. I will be examining this particular company’s communication on Facebook and how they express love and belonging,  and also how their credibility is affected by their social media presence.

Introduction

Some women within the African American community choose to go natural to have healthier hair, while others enjoy the look it brings. Although discrimination against natural hair does exist in our workplace today many women still choose this journey.

According to the Natural Hair RULES blog, many African American women feel that “as we work in the corporate world, we often have to find the balance between self-acceptance and socially acceptable hair in the workplace.” This implies that women can not be completely comfortable with who they are, while maintaining a well-paying job in the corporate world. To be accepted, an individual must choose either their hair (self-acceptance), or their job. As a result, the issue of natural hair in the workplace is relevant to many businesses today because many women are constantly pursuing careers while maintaining their natural curls.

Soultanicals was established in 2011 in Brooklyn, New York which is the location from which they ship their customers products. The foundation of this company was built on being  “an earthy, self-love collection of hand-crafted, soul-infused, melanin-inspired, body/hair love products made with a unique blend of organic, plant-based, herbal, and African botanical ingredients.” From this, it's clear that Soultanicals appeals to their audience's emotions and psychological needs by love and belonging. Like any other self-owned business, Soultanicals communicates with their customers through social media. Some of the social media sites  they utilize the most are: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and their official website at Soultanicals- Afro Vegan, Handmade Natural Hair Care …

With social media being a major resource for communication, it's also where positive and negative comments can be made by customers or  could be viewed by potential customers  as well. This in turn could influence the credibility of a business. Since the concept of love and belonging are at the basis of this company, they craft every product to enhance their consumers personal curl patterns. For example, if a particular natural person with type 4 hair uses this product but doesn’t feel their curls were enhanced they may make a negative review of the product on social media. This in turn could make a potential consumer with type 4 hair refrain from purchasing this product. On the contrary, if the experience of the person with type 4 hair was great then the review would be positive thus creating more purchases of that product for Soultanicals.

Alongside credibility and love and belonging, warranting principle also plays another key role in social media presences. Warranting principle is defined as credible information about a person in online contexts when that information cannot be easily manipulated by the person in question. For example, in Figure 1 it is evident that Soultanicals has 4.6 out of the 5 possible stars. There are 5,898 people that like this page and/or company. Soultanicals is not in control of any of these numbers shown. As a result, potential consumers have only factual information to make their decision about whether they should purchase from Soultanicals or not.

Previous Approaches

With credibility being a crucial aspect to a businesses success it’s unfortunate that a frequently used type of communication-social media- could cause it to weaken. Many people use social media as an outlet for their experiences. For example, customers of Soultanicals take reviews very seriously. The owner Ayo, even request that specific well-known natural hair bloggers review her products. This creates an opportunity for the negative responses to hinder a company's credibility.

Figure 2 is a review made about Soultanicals on Facebook. As it appears, the customer is infuriated about how long it has taken her to receive her products. Although the products are pleasing to the customer, she finds the shipping time to be unacceptable. With ethos playing such a huge role in credibility this customer refers to it directly by stating how Soultanicals “seems dishonest to consumers”

In return, the owner of Soultanicals- Ayo- responded to this negative review by saying what is given in figure 3. With this posting Soultanicals is restoring their credibility by acknowledging the downfall in their business, and working on improving them. This shows how this company is very personable with their customers. Although, Soultanicals may have some issues they are willing and able to fix them and create a better experiences for their customers.

New Findings

Majority of the negative reviews about Soultanicals were in regards to the shipping time of their products. As of October 2, 2015 they have streamlined their shipping processes to implement a quicker shipping time. As a result, all orders will be shipped out within 24-48 hours.

Majority of other black-owned natural hair care companies are unable to fill orders within this short period of time. With that being said, this new change to the company not only satisfies the concerns of many previous customers, it also lures in new customers. Thus making Soultanicals even more competitive in the market of natural hair products. Also. this adjustment touched on three rhetorical appeals: ethos, pathos, and logos.  

Figure 4 is the flyer Soultanicals used to communicate this change on social media. They posted it on Facebook, Instagram, and on their official website. Soultanicals made an honest decision to make this change by listening to the interest of their customers, which in turn made them more credible. In the midst of the downfall in their business, Soultanicals still sympathized with their customers and ensured them of a better experience with their next purchase and used these facts to implement this change.

Conclusion

A company’s involvement on social media plays a huge role in how successful their business is. Love and belonging, credibility, warranting principle are all intertwined in the social media presences of Soultanicals on Facebook. Although these things work together, there is also some significance to each concept individually. Soultanicals will advance further if they continue to keep the wants and needs of their customers at the forefront, keep an open line of communication between them and the customers, and also continue to use constructive criticism as building blocks to their company’s success.

Sources

“About.” Soultanicals. 2015. Web. 3 October 2015

Ella Lillqvist Leena Louhiala-Salminen. “Facing Facebook:Impression Management Strategies in Company–Consumer Interactions” Journal of Business and Technical Communication. 2014. Vol 28(1) 3-30. Web. 13 October 2015.

“Natural Hair in the Workplace: Exploring Corporate Guidelines & Discrimination” Natural Hair Rules: Your Hair Authority. Latoya Watson. Blog. 3 October 2015

Shwom Barbara, and Lisa Snyder. "Chapter 3: Managing the Communication Process." Business Communication: Polishing Our Professional Presence. 2nd ed. Pearson Education, 2014. Print.

Major Project 3: Slidecast