Slidecast: What are they?

For those of you that aren't familiar with slidecast, they are audio presentations combined with a slideshow without the presenter. In other words, they are like PowerPoint slides that are easily understood, but there's not presenter, just words and graphics. Cool right?

Watch this video below.

 

What did you think from the video? It was interesting right! I was amazed of how clear the message was in this slidecast without a presenter speaking on each point. I thought the layout was great. There were fun colors, and the comparison to hide and seek was phenomenal. The viewer was engaged throughout the presentation. In this slidecast, there was a great use of contrast with the font and background colors. None of the segments were too hard on the eyes, and the speed of each was perfect. The viewer had just the right amount of time to read and understand the point made on each slide. Overall, Billy Phillips did a great job on expressing his thoughts on  the question "Where's God?"

What about Twitter?

As I've mentioned to my group members, I believe that Nest Realty should give Twitter a shot with expanding their social media presence. They have already established a social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, and somewhat Youtube. I think Twitter would just deepen their horizon.

I believe that some people view Twitter to be somewhat useless, but in my opinion its a quick way for a company to advertise, and show their expertise. Instead of making a extensive status on Facebook, a realtor could just post a sentence on Twitter and it can be seen by so many people. Here is an example of how a realtor is using Twitter:

In this example you can see how Twitter is very similar to Instagram. A realtor is able to post pictures of houses and other properties, specials or events going on in the area. One key thing about Twitter is that these post can be seen by a previous client, retweeted to where its now visible on their news feed, which in turn presents the opportunity for future followers and potential clients to see it and gain interest,

Overall, even though Nest thinks that social media can be a little much at times. I do think if they began to utilize twitter it would only expand their clientele. There's no harm in trying out new social media sites in order to have a well-rounded conclusion of what works best for their company.

Types of social media used in realty- What are the best ones?

I've been doing some research to figure out the types of social media used in Nest Realty and other realtor brokerages, and which social media sites work the best. I'm fascinated by all of the useful information I've found thus far. As many of you know, social media plays a huge role in our society today. Whether that's people's social life, or businesses methods of communication on social media.

There are many different types of social media used in realty. Some of which are Youtube, Twitter, and Facebook. Many would think that these Realtors use these sites as sales pitch, but that's very rarely the case. During my research I found a realtor company in Manhattan that has recently made a transition to social media. To build a relationship with their followers, maybe even potential clients, "they post information ranging from restaurant recommendations to neighborhood happenings - which over time builds the relationships and trust that may eventually turn fans into clients." I found this to be very clever. It makes the increase of their clientele much more subtle. They don't just hop on social media and try to lure people in directly, which greatly benefits their ethos

While doing my research I found the most unexpected social media site- LinkedIn. NorthMarq- a Bloomington- based company did a online perception research study in order to determine if LinkedIn or Facebook were the go-to site to search for information on the professionals within that company. I was really surprised by this, I thought most people would still utilize Facebook to look up personal information about their realtor. Even though LinkedIn was the more utilized site for this particular company that still doesn't necessarily mean that LinkedIn is the better social media site. I think in order to find the best site for Nest Realty or any other company, it will take trial and error. With that, Nest should be on every social media site (ie:Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, LinkedIn) in order to see which particular site they get the most feedback and followers. Thus being able to see what the best social media site it for their company. 

Sources:

Fung, Amanda. "Social Media Hits Home." Crain's New York Business. 16 May 2011. Web. 24 October 2015

Parmar, Arundhati. "Real Estate Meets Social Media." LexisNexis Academic. 31 December 2009. Web. 24 October 2015.

Nest Realty and Ethos

Nest Realty is a brokerage that my classmates and I will be researching for our project in my UNCW business writing course. They have many components to their business that makes them out shine the other companies her in Wilmington, NC

Ethos is one term we have discussed heavily in my Business Writing course. For those that are unaware of what this term means, it is one of the rhetorical appeals (pathos and logos are the others) and it can be simply referred to as the credibility or character of a company.

From examining Nest Realty's official website at http://www.nestrealty.com/wilmington/ I have seen the outstanding amount of effort and dedication that went into building a brand for this company. They have definitely stayed up-to-date with the latest trends in design of the website and training the various employees. Majority of the time when companies are mainly based off of commission, competition can be a major issue. Another thing that I really found amazing about Nest, was that each realtor didn't see each other as a competitor, more so as a family member. This made the credibility of Nest more reliable, because new clients will be assured in knowing that their realtor is not just viewing them as another piece of commission they can get to before the next, but they are solely concerned with making the client feel comfortable in every aspect of their buying or selling process.

 (Figure 1)

Figure 1 is a picture of how I believe Nest showed some character on their website. I like how they used one of the "magic numbers" to make some aspects of their company stand out. In one of my previous blogs, I stated that the usage of magical numbers creates a easier read for the interested client and a quicker response for the company. I believe Nest did just that with this asset to their website. When the prospective client sees these "3 ways Nest isn't like the rest" they will have something to compare to other potential companies without having to search too deep, and/or they will have 3 more concrete reason why Nest fits better with their wants and needs of buying or selling a home.

Short and Sweet: White Papers

Previously, I spoke to you all about "magical numbers" and how they impact business-like messages in social media. Now, I will be discussing where exactly I got the idea of "magical numbers", white papers.

White papers are advocates for solutions that will fit the customers needs. In other words, these documents summarize why a specific approach will work. Within my Business Writing course at UNCW I was directed to Purdue OWL, to get a better explanation of white-papers. I would recommend going to this site for further details. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/546/1/

To tie all of this together. I would like to research how white papers are useful in business marketing? Is there any way they could be harmful to a business?

For an assignment in my business course we had to find an example of a white paper. I believe the one I chose was very good at exemplifying all the required components. Just so you all can have a better look at what my research question will be examining, here you go http://www.thatwhitepaperguy.com/downloads/Response_Rates_white_paper.pdf

How do "magical numbers" help build logos in social media?

The youtube video "How to Write a White Paper for Business Writing" by Melbourne SEO Services(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mil0FPYIDRU) the magical numbers are 3,5, and 7, which are used to provide the audience with facts or tips in support of the main topic.These are said to be the numbers that stick out the most to an audience. Logos is defined as the "factual" rhetorical appeal, which is a term I've learned within my Business Writing course at UNCW.

To further expand on my previous research question, I want to research how these "magical numbers" can provide a more factual appeal to the information businesses post on social media. Personally, I believe if  factual information is given by saying "5 ways to do...", or "3 reasons why.." it allows the to audience to process the information much easier, thus creating a quicker response.

                                                                (Figure 1)


Above, figure 1 gives a good example as to how PCMag uses the magical number idea in order to make their topic more persuasive and easy to read. I think the 3 examples they gave, allowed them to provide the audience with just enough information to prove to them why a Apple Car is necessary. Also, the amount of facts they provided didn't make the post an excessive length.

How does ethos help build social proof?

Within this blog I will be researching how ethos is used within social media to help build the social proof of a business. For a particular business, I will be looking at the wireless cellular network Verizon. From the previous blog I posted, I discussed how a negative message (posted by PCMag about Verizon) on social media can impact the credibility of a company. Now I will be looking more closely as to how this credibility directly relates to the creation of social proof. Social proof is defined as the "informational social influence" ( (Shwom and Synder). In other words, its practiced when a company uses numbers and facts about their business in order to leer in a new purchaser.

Reviews about Verizon wireless is one primary resource I will be analyzing for my research question."Top 3,036 Complaints and Reviews about Verizon Wireless"is the consumers affairs site I'm researching. Verizon has one star, which depicts them to have very poor customer service and lacking in many other areas within their company. On the consumer affairs site, there's many reviews that say things like "Verizon's customer service is awful."," I couldn't make them understand that I did not cause this damage... I even had an otter case on it. No matter what I said I was to blame.", "I am considering a class action suit against Verizon". All of these remarks are downturns in Verizon's credibility. As a result, causing the social proof to decline as well.  Since the social proof provided within these reviews are negative, new purchasers will be less likely to consume services from Verizon.

For a secondary research method, I will be looking at a journal provided by the University of North Carolina Wilmington. This journal states that "credibility of social media is one of the key factors initiating and further increasing public engagement and communication effectiveness in the digital/so
cial media." This article more specifically states "Recently, it has been suggested that the credibility of the channel/medium of communication influences the selective involvement of the audience with the medium (Metzger et al., 2003)"  From this, its understood that credibility directly produces social proof. One thing from this article that I found to be closely related to my research about reviews is that the "individual members of public are starting to demand participatory communication with and from organizations." Thus implying, that posting reviews about a particular company has become a major aspect of communication on social media, and is also very effective on the companys credibility. Although, this journal was about blogs, I believe it can be used to describe many other social media mediums as well.

Lastly, quantitative data has a major impact on how ethos of a business builds social proof. If a purchaser is able to see numbers that are positive/negative, then that will directly affect if they will support what the business has to offer or not. For example, when looking at the "Top 3,036 Complaints and Reviews about Verizon Wireless" its implied that Verizon is not the best network to choose. If a company has that many negative reviews/complaints, then a potential consumer will swiftly turn away from their services. As a result, ethos is not being viewed positively. On the contrary nor is the social proof perceiving this company to be credible. Additionally, a current consumer with bad experiences from the company may see this quantitative data as a way to speak out about their experiences as well. In today's businesses, people are more likely to post reviews of their negative experiences with a company rather than their positive ones.

Work Cited

 "Consumer Complaints and Reviews: Verizon Wireless". Consumer Affairs. Consumers Unified LLC 2015. Web. 23 September 2015

"Measuring Social Media Credibility: A Study on a Measure of Blog Credibility". EBSCOhost. Journal. 23 September 2015

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

Negative messages on social media

Many of us are aware that social media has become one of the top forms of communication in today's world of business. Various companies use some type of social media to kickoff their business and establish credibility, or to stay connected with their consumers. With that being said, social media has inclined to a key component of whether a business thrives to its fullest potential or not. 

On the contrary, social media can also be the downfall of a business. Above, I have inserted an example of a negative message that can be seen on social media. This particular posting was made on Facebook by PCMag regarding the cellular network Verizon. PCMag is a lab-based company that reviews consumer electronics, business technology, and internet products. One exceptional thing about PCMag is that they give independent reviews of the latest products and companies to ensure that people are receiving the highest quality for their money. In spite of Verizon being the leading cellular network provider, they are still well-known for their excessive charges and gimmicks to draw customers in or to extend existing customers’ contracts.

This facebook post by PCMag really zones in on the specifics of how Verizon "screws over customers". Many of the negative examples in this post have once been viewed as positive options within Verizon. This in turn, creates an image of Verizon as falsifiers and unrealiable, and also causes them to loose some credibility. Liking is a another concept within business writing that is portrayed in this post. As this image circles the web, more and more people are prone to post their negative experiences with Verizon because they are able to relate. With that being said, its less likely that people will choose this company for their cellular services, or even renew their contracts with them.