Social Media Campaign - Roy's Pizza and Pasta

To be honest, I have really enjoyed this social media campaign project! I like viewing the different analytics of the posts that I have put on the Roy's Pizza and Pasta social media sites. There are a lot of improvements that have been achieved through my efforts on the social media sites, but I have also recognized that there is some room for improvement. This post is going to go over a few different details pertaining to the improvements and needs for Roy's Pizza and Pasta social media sites.

To start, I do want to post a picture of the posts that were on the Facebook page before I started posting my original content. Below is a screenshot of the 5 posts before I took on their social media.

The posts found on Facebook for Roy's only included a weekly automated post describing the lunch special for Roy's. The weekly posts were a hit or miss on whether it gained any reach or engagement. Some of the automatic posts did surprisingly well (like that post with 260 reach and 13 post clicks and reactions) but others didn't do well at all. For the social media campaign, I decided to post something original at least once a week, sometimes more. Below is a screenshot of the current 5 most recent posts on the Roy's Facebook page. 

During this semester, I have tried doing a combination of original writing posts and posts that have pictures with them. The posts that had pictures with them did undeniably better than the posts that only had plain text. The average amount of reach for the automatic weekly posts throughout the semester was 75. The average for original posts with only writing was 137. The average reach for posts with pictures with them came to 392 reach per post. Clearly, pictures are the way to go! I only posted one external link throughout the semester because it was in reference to an article from The Spectrum that specifically reviewed Roy's Pizza and Pasta. That link is shown within the 5 most recent posts and has the most reach and engagement from any of the posts that I have done previously throughout the semester. Posting items with more than just text created the best opportunities for reach, engagement, and page likes. 

It is important to note that all of the reach and engagements for the Roy's Facebook page is all organic, meaning I didn't pay to have an ad posted for them. If I continue to post for Roy's (which I am hoping that I will still be able to) then I will eventually want to pay for an ad to see how much reach and engagement can come through paid advertisements. I had created a mock-ad to see what an ad for Roy's would look like. I came up with something like this:

The Facebook ad that I had come up with links to the website for Roy's Pizza and Pasta. I mainly added the link so that the description of the sourdough crust and housemade sauces would pop up on the actual Facebook ad. Again, I would like to post an ad like this one to gauge how effective it would be at creating reach and engagement. I mainly didn't pay for the ad because I want to review what type of ad the manager for Roy's would like to pursue and gain an estimate to how much money he would want to spend for it. 

Aside from the 5 most recent posts, I also wanted to review how much activity has improved since I started working on the social media for Roy's. Below is a screenshot for the total amount of page likes since I started working on the social media till now. 

Before I started helping out with the social media for Roy's, their total number of likes was 521. Now, they currently have 544. While my weekly posts have helped contribute to increasing the total number of page likes, I definitely see that there is still work that needs to be done. One thing that I would have like to have done during this semester was to continually work with the manager and create promotional deals on the social media sites. I feel like if Roy's had weekly deals or maybe even some giveaways that could be added to the social media posts, then more people would see the page and like it for potential deals. Currently, the posts that I have been doing are simple pictures or text that mainly keep the page active. I would have loved to have done a kind of deal or giveaway to see how much more activity would have been done on the page. If I am able to continue doing the social media for Roy's then I would love to meet with the manager and try something like this to see how well it would do. 

Besides page likes, I also wanted to see how much reach was obtained through my efforts. Below is a screenshot for the amount of reach within the time I have been posting for Roy's. 

The posts for the beginning of January are exclusively the automatic, weekly posts that have been going on for a while. The reach afterwards shows all the various texts and picture posts that I have done to help contribute to the reach for the page. Like I wrote before, having a picture with a post created a lot more reach and engagement, which is seen in this screenshot. 

Another thing that I want to touch on is audience. When I met with the manager asking to do this project, he had talked with me about the age groups and types of people that he wanted to see engaging with the social media sites. He figured that older people wouldn't really use social media, so he wanted the posts to cater to individuals around the ages of 18-45. Below is a screenshot comparison between the type of people who like the page and the people the posts reached. 

The people who actually like the Roy's Facebook page do contain mainly 18-45 age individuals. What I thought was interesting was that there is a surprisingly higher amount of women who like the page than men. Even though more women than men like the Facebook page, the reach and engagement of posts was closer to 50-50. Again, the majority of people who engaged in posts were around the designated age group for the different market personas that my manager and I came up with (with the exception of some 45+ people who engaged with the posts.)

The last point that I want to touch on for the social media campaign is the Instagram account for Roy's. When I was given the Instagram information for Roy's, I realized that the account was set up as a personal account rather than a business account. This means that I couldn't access any insight data pertaining to the posts. I ended up changing the account to a business one so that I could gauge the insight data for the Instagram account. Below shows a screenshot for the followers of the Instagram account.

 

Again, the individuals using the social media are within the age group and market personas that my manager wanted me to target. Unlike the Facebook account, the gender difference between the people who like the Instagram account is 50-50. Even though I couldn't get the insight data for the few posts before I took over the account, I briefly saw which post from before I started posting had the most amount of likes. The picture that had the most likes before I started posting my original photos had 18 likes. Since then, my pictures have had a few more likes and engagements. The highest amount of likes for one of my photos on the account is 38. Even though it isn't a dramatic change, more than doubling the highest amount of likes from before I started is a great accomplishment. If I continue managing the social media for Roy's, then I know that the total number of likes will increase from constant social media activity. 

Overall, I think that there has been some great improvements for the social media pages for Roy's Pizza and Pasta. Again, posting photos and links created a lot more engagement and had more effective results than just plain text. My weekly activity also helped create more reach and engagement, which was one of my main goals for the page. I wish that I would have had more involvement with the manager to schedule and create various deals and incentives for individuals liking the page and engaging with the posts. In order for the page to create more involvement, Roy's needs to offer a bit more than just photos for the page. The age groups for the social media audience is already set up for the target markets that the manager wants to reach through social media. Continual engagement and posts that cater to this age group will make the page flourish even more.  I would love to be able to continually work with Roy's to implement more ideas and create better opportunities through social media. This assignment has been a great opportunity for me to learn more about how businesses can utilize social media. 

Sustainability & OTM 3 (Out With The Old...)

The first part of this post will be dedicated to the sustainability project that we did in class. I was part of the group that discusses the homeless problem. I didn't come up with the idea for our group and how to exactly solve the problem, but I did contribute to group discussions. I helped research different facts and statistics about homelessness, as well as researched the Project Homeless Connect (the non-profit that we discussed during our presentation). I also created the powerpoint that our group utilized to help give our presentation.

I thought that the sustainability project was a great project for us in this class. If nothing else, it created great discussions about how technology and social media can be used for creating wonderful opportunities and solving real world problems. We had discussed in class various problems and troubles that come with social media (like privacy) which made this project a great opportunity to look at the possibilities of social media. I was thoroughly enjoyed by all of the great discussions that we had in class. The discussions about the real world problems and solving those problems through social media that makes me really enjoy this class and the other individuals in it.

The next part of this post will be about the On The Media for this week. I completely forgot to do my third and final on the media post, which is why I hadn't published one until now. The most recent On The Media post is titled "Out With The Old..." and proved to be quite interesting. I learned about a lot of different things that I didn't know before. There are three main sections to this On The Media. The first section discusses the Senate and filibusters. The second section discusses taxes and why filing taxes is a difficult process. The last section discusses our current geological era and the future geological discoveries that would be made about our generation.

I had started this On The Media podcast and was listening to the information being provided, but they kept throwing around the world filibuster. They kept discussing how a filibuster was used by the Senate, but I had no idea what they were talking about. I had to pause the On The Media show for a solid ten minutes while I researched online what a filibuster is. Honestly, I still don't know exactly what a filibuster entails. I read this article from the New York Times that helps explain a little bit of what it is. What I learned though is that a filibuster is a tactic used by the Senate when making decisions. From what I read, it seems like a filibuster is a form of a loop-hole that the Senate can use when trying to get enough votes. Utilizing filibusters seems like an interesting tactic that is beneficial when it works for you and a pain in the butt when it doesn't. The On The Media podcast discussed that a filibuster allows the majority to blame the minority when votes don't happen. It seems like filibusters have been used for many years over a wide variety of government decisions. The reason that filibusters was being discussed on this particular On The Media podcast is because a filibuster was used to include Supreme Court nominations. Another aspect about filibusters that was discussed was the "nuclear option", which apparently is used by the majority to overrule the delaying actions of minorities.

Essentially, filibusters and "nuclear options" seem like a big, giant mess that we call the United States Senate. While these various government tactics can seem destructive, threatening, and/or nonproductive, it seems like this is the way the government is. Those who understand how tactics like this works will love them because they understand it. Someone, like myself, who doesn't understand how these tactics and policies work is, quite frankly, a little scared of them. If there is one thing that I have noticed during the past months dealing with politics is that politics can bring out the worst in people. The sustainability projects that we did in class came to my mind when listening to this part of the On The Media podcast. There has got to be some way to make politics and the government more efficient. I have no idea what that could be, but there has got to be a better way of doing things.

The next section of the On The Media podcast deals with filing taxes. The podcast discusses how filing taxes each year is a complicated system. The podcast seems to address and pretty much talk about their own sustainability project, which would be to provide an easier way of doing taxes. One of the ideas that was discussed on the show would be to create a simple system where the IRS, who already knows pretty much all the information that we tell them during our tax forms, would send out a form or paper that shows how much they think we would need to owe them.

The show then discusses the pros and cons of this type of tax filing system, as well as the unlikely possibility of having it become a real system due to for-profit tax filing organizations. Many tax filing organizations (H&R Block) rely heavily on people using their tax software for making taxes easier to file. If filing taxes became very simple and easy, then companies like this would go out of business. Tax filing companies want people to use their products. They want to be simple enough to stand out among competitors, but don't want a tax filing system from the government that is so easy that would run them out of business. Honestly, having a super simple way of filing taxes would be fantastic. I just got done filing my taxes and having a better way of doing taxes would be very helpful.

The last section of the On The Media podcast discusses our current geological era. I, personally, found this section of the podcast to be quite entertaining and thought provoking. The podcast was discussing how this period of time is creating so many different changes and opportunities that is going to heavily affect the Earth's physical structure. The idea that was discussed a lot during this podcast was "what geological discoveries are going to be uncovered millions of years from now because of our current state of living." Listening to all the different things that were being discussed were quite interesting. Apparently, many of the world's chicken bones find themselves in our landfills since we eat a lot of chicken. These areas of highly concentrated chicken bones will make an interesting discovery someday. It was many ideas, such as the chicken bones, that really made me think about what impact we are having upon the world.

While discussing these future geological discoveries, the podcast talked about how we, as humanity, will one day die away and become extinct. Similar to how the dinosaurs had a large impact upon the world before they themselves became extinct. In referencing the work of one researcher, the podcast discussed 5 different ways that humans are wired to destroy their environment. These different factors are:

1- Humans value their personal interests over other interests.
2 - Humans value the present over the future.
3 - Humans are obsessed by status.
4 - Humans unconsciously copy the behaviors of those around us.
5 - Humans disregard novel environmental threats.

These 5 different ways that humans are wired to destroy the environment really made me think about how applicable these really are. There are many instances (especially numbers 1, 2, and 3) where these different, negative attributes are shown throughout society. While it is kind of strange and fearful to think about what is in store for humans in the future, it still interesting to learn more about what the future has in store for humanity.

Automatic Attitudinal Response

While I try to stay as objective as I possibly can on various topics of discussion, my personal experiences and influences are major factors in the attitudes that I automatically have. This semester we have been discussing a lot of things about President Trump, as we rightfully should. It is important for citizens to be critical and analyze the words and actions of a new president, especially one like Trump.

To be honest, I recognize that I don't have a positive attitudinal response towards Trump. I see Trump as the rough business man who was the host of the Apprentice, not really the President of the United States. My responses for the On The Media posts reflect how I think there are some negative aspects that are coming from the current President and his fellow government members. In my post for the Smoke and Handcuffs post, I expressed a great deal of concern (and fear) with how Trump handles Fox News and the effects that it has on his presidency. I back my concerns with information as to how I reach those conclusions, but they are still information that is catered to my personal views and biases. I could have posted more on the fact that it is admirable that Trump is attempting to accomplish various things during his time as President, which is true. However, I decide to focus more on the negative aspects about Trump's actions.

I'm not necessarily saying that my attitudinal response about Trump is automatically a logical fallacy, but rather that it is my primary and first response. There are many people, myself included, who sometimes don't take the time to look past the automatic attitudinal response and take all primary impressions as absolute facts. This is the real fallacy. Finding credible sources and using that credible information to back up claims aroused from the automatic attitudinal response is what individuals need to strive for. In my posts during this semester, I have tried backing up my claims and assertions with information that is found from other sources.

Instead of focusing on the information that conforms with my attitudinal response, I think that I need to also find information that goes against that attitudinal response that produces information that favors Trump. If I research both sides of the information, then I can come up with a more accurate and concise opinion about a wide range of topics. This is something that I know I could do better at to improve the validity and accuracy of my automatic attitudinal responses.

OTM #2 (Smoke & Handcuffs)

"Rhetoric is more dominant than facts."

The quote written above from this weeks On The Media really struck home for me. I think this has been a perfect representation of what the Trump administration has been trying to accomplish. Trump seems to be focused on stating promises and information that doesn't correspond to the actual means that can be accomplished. Also, it amazes me that the current President of the United States turns to a single broadcasting channel for information about what is happening in the world.

While a few different topics were discussed on the talkshow, the information about Trump and his tweeting habits after watching Fox News really bothered me. First off, shouldn't someone like the President be given information from a more credible source than any of the news stations? Isn't there certain information resources that provide the President with only updated and accurate information? Obviously there isn't if Trump continues to get his information from Fox News.

To be honest, I wouldn't mind if Trump stated that he was watching Fox News as a pastime or because he enjoyed watching that particular station. My problem arises when Trump openly discusses events (especially ones that include false information) that transpire on Fox News during Presidential events. The allegation about the problems in Sweden is a perfect example of this. It's almost amusing to watch the President of the United States publicly announce false information for the world to hear.

Amusing, but also quite scary.

The scary part about this whole situation with the fake Sweden news story is that this just demonstrates how dependent Trump is to a single news station. Fox News could easily persuade the President about loads of information dealing with many aspects of our nation's society. The fact that Trump is dependent upon the information that it provides, Fox News could be considered the most powerful news station in the world. Fox news doesn't necessarily need to provide the facts, but rather the rhetoric needed to persuade the President to make changes in their favor. This is quite scary indeed.

I enjoyed reading up about how Fox News decided to handle the Sweden information. They had a news segment where they brought Nils Bildt ("Swedish Defense and National Security Advisor") on the air to discuss the "real" problems that Sweden is having. The best thing about this news segment is that Nils Bildt isn't even a real Swedish national security advisor. The Washington Post wrote about how Nils Bildt isn't even known in the national security world. It's mind boggling that a news station that provides this type of false information from false individuals is regarded as "real news" in the eyes of the President of the United States.

Well Informed - Racism

Being a 23 year old white guy living in Utah, I have not had many personal or close to home experiences dealing with racism. The closest, real life experiences I have had where I witnessed racism wasn't even in the United States. My experiences deal with Romanian people having negative prejudice views against the minority gypsy population. Even though I haven't personally witnessed acts of racism in my experiences in southern Utah, I have read about many instances of police brutality and the targeting minorities in racial profiling. There are many similar patterns of behavior dealing with racism between what I saw in my experiences in Romania and what I have been seeing in the United States. 

What I have noticed in racism is that most instances of verbal or physical abuse stems from stereotypes and predetermined expectancies that people think towards others who are not like themselves. Matthew Cooke released a video about race baiting about the United States where he discusses stereotypes that were expressed in the 17th and 18th centuries concerning poor white people. The video continues discussing how poor white people and blacks were almost considered equals as far as negative stereotypes were concerned. This changed when blacks and whites were separated by legislation creating more opportunities for the poor white people to get ahead of the black people. This created a 3 tier system of society. Blacks were on the bottom, poor white people were just above them, followed by rich white people at the top. 

The separation of the people in this social ladder is (unfortunately) one of the biggest opportunities for stereotypes among the same society to occur. I say society in a demographic context, but in reality the three different tiers had societies and cultures of their own. The rich whites, having large sums of money and power of the government behind them, saw no fault in having dominion over the other classes in the form of slavery. It seemed like the power allowed the rich whites to do whatever it was that they wanted to. Matthew Cooke continues in his video and provides a great explanation about the history of slavery and how the legislation granting dominion over black individuals was abolished. Even though the laws were abolished, the stereotypes seemed to remain. Even though slavery has been illegal for years, there are still stereotypes and prejudices that are found in society today. Part of the problem is that there are still different tiers found within society, each with their own culture, opinions, and prejudices towards others who are not in the same social, or racial circle. Changing laws to accommodate minorities does not mean the same as changing behaviors, mentalities, and prejudices towards minorities. 

I brought up my experiences in Romania because the process of stereotyping minorities and different classes (or tiers in relation to the video) is as relevant in that Eastern European country as it is in the United States today. Technically speaking, the gypsy population in Romania would probably be considered a different ethnicity rather than race, but their slight differences in skin color compared to Romanians makes the two seem harmonious in implications. Regardless of whether it is a discussion about ethnicity or race, the fact still remains that there is differences in stereotypes and expectancies associated with those who are considered different.

Seeing as how this is a social media class, I think it is important to review how social media has had an effect on racism. One of the most relevant and important uses of social media, in regards to racism, is the #BlackLivesMatter movement. The history of the #BlackLivesMatter movement discusses how the movement is a call to action in uniting black people against racism. The movement started after the shooting of Trayvon Martin and has grown over time with each new case of police brutality and racial profiling. The fact that millions of individuals are able to unite as a single voice over the platform of social media is an amazing demonstration of the power of social media. 

Like I wrote earlier, I haven't really had any personal experiences dealing with racism. I can only imagine what other people, even in today's society, have to go through in regards to dealing with racism and racial profiling. Even though I haven't personally gone through problems with racism, I can identify that racism is still a problem in today's society with no future of stopping any time soon. 

Well Informed - Education

While I have found that our in-class discussions about democracy, politics, news outlets, the President, and the government are interesting, I am excited to be talking about education and learning. I do not expect us to completely deviate our class discussion from the previously mentioned topics, but bringing in teaching and education is a great idea for our class.

I was looking through some of the links found on the class blog dealing with education and learning, which was very thought provoking in regards to the future of education. The TED talk from Sugata Mitra and his experiences with children and computers was remarkable. Through my research  on education, I was brought to another TED talk by Sal Khan. Sal Khan has created an amazing opportunity for people all around the world to learn for free. He created Khan Academy, which has free resources and tutorials on a vast range of subjects that millions of people are using to further their learning and gain an education.

While Sal Khan and his Khan Academy is extraordinary, I thought the content he presented in his TED talk was fascinating. He related our current education system to a hypothetical situation about constructing a house. With the current education system, children and teenagers are tested on different subjects and they are able to pass their tests by correctly answering a majority of the tests. Regardless of whether students get 100% or 60% correct on their tests, the class continues to the next subject. The next subject usually builds upon the learning of the past tests, and students who did not completely master the information on the previous tests will have difficulty expounding upon the information that they did not get right before. This trend of incomplete learning usually makes school complicated for some students. Sal Khan related this to moving on to different parts of constructing a house before the previous foundations are not 100% completed yet. If a concrete base for a house is not properly finished and completed, it can ruin the other aspects of the house that are being built upon it.

This analogy definitely changed my perspective on how our education system is built. It is almost like our educational institutions are focused more on achieving test scores rather than the actual learning process that children and teens are going through during their time in school. To get a better understanding to what plays into the education system, I researched and found an article from NPR that discusses various questions and answers about the Common Core. I had heard of the Common Core before when dealing with learning and education, but I did not really know what it actually was. This Q&A was really helpful in learning what the Common Core is and some problems that have come about because of it.

While the Common Core might seem good on paper for legislature and government officials, I think it retracts from what educational institutions should focus on. That focus should be increasing the education and learning of each student. In reference to the Sugata Mitra TED talk, children can accomplish amazing things when it comes to learning. Children are innately curious about the world they live in and seek to reduce their uncertainties by experiencing and learning various things. Striving to allow children to learn, and let them master what they are trying to learn before moving on to newer and bigger topics, should be the pinnacle goal of our education system. Focusing on getting generally higher test scores should not be the main objective of our education system, but rather mastering information and actually increase learning should be what the students should accomplish.

I do want to address how technology and the internet can play into learning, especially since this is a social media class. I think that technology can be an amazing tool for learning and education. In fact, I almost wish that more technology would be implemented in schooling so that kids can realize that the iPads and smartphones people use can be utilized for other things besides watching movies and playing games. People using technology at their own pace for learning can be extremely beneficial for successful learning. I did a presentation in one of my previous classes where I discussed college foreign language learning. One of the studies I found was a research study about Duolingo, a free smart phone app used to learn foreign languages. The research article found that somebody who used Duolingo could learn as much as a semester of a foreign language class in college in a less amount of time. Essentially, learning the language through the free app was more effective than paying a couple hundred dollars and learning through a traditional college class. I think it is amazing that free technology and resources are available for learning, yet that learning is only recognized by paying an institution a lot of money so that a paper (diploma) can be printed which authenticates that learning. It is almost as if we are not paying money and going through school for learning, but rather we are going for diplomas that increase our credibility.

OTM #1 (Future Tense)

I'm definitely not an avid reporter who is out to get the latest scoop on the news; however, with my phone I don't really need to.

This On the Media podcast episode focused a lot on how the news is going to be portrayed now that Trump is in office. There seems to be a lot of talk about the press corps and whether they will be staying in the White House. I've been thinking about the press corps situation as well as President Trump's twitter usage in regards to the future of news and journalism. 

First, I want to discuss a little bit about the press corps. While listening to this podcast, I realized that I didn't have any idea what the press corps was. Thanks to the internet thought, I was able to learn more about the press corps, the history behind it, as well as the current situation with Trump. The press corps are the ones who get the news scoop right at the White House. They meet in a small room and then listen and ask questions for the purpose of receiving information. Trump wanted to move the press corps out of the White House and into the Eisenhower building next door, which the press didn't like. According to U.S. News, it was decided that the press would still meet in the White House, on the condition that Trump and his association would decide who would be in the room for the meeting.

When I read this, I couldn't help but think of when Trump refused to answer a question from CNN because he decide they were fake news. If Trump is able to pick and choose which reporters are getting briefed, who is to say that he will only choose those who he likes? Will he be able to kick out those who he considers to be threatening and/or "fake" in their possible news reports? The power to choose those who report at the White House could be a big problem Of course, this is under the stipulation that being at the White House and getting briefed day to day is a main form of receiving important information. 

Trump being President could be a big factor in changing how we get news. Trump has been using social media, specifically twitter, as a means of directly reaching out to millions of Americans. Trump seems to be accepting and utilizing technology as a way to communicate to the general public. Using the latest advancements of technology has been seen with many Presidents. NPR published an article back in November that discusses Trump's usage of utilizing twitter as a way of mimicking past presidents and their technological uses. FDR used radio to give his fireside chats. Eisenhower was the first to broadcast news conferences on tv. Ronald Reagan used primetime live tv. Even Obama used social media and various talk shows to communicate with more audiences. The fact is, Presidents have used different technology to reach out and connect with the general public to set new standards of how the news gets portrayed. The question to ask is this: will social media become a standard news source for people that diminishes or replaces the way journalists gather news through press conferences and briefings?

Trump has no problem using twitter, and other social media platforms, as a way to communicate exactly what he wants to his millions of viewers. In an interview on 60 minutes, Trump discusses how he shouldn't be ashamed in using his social media because it's a great form of communication. While being in the role of President of the United States will make Trump be "restrained" in his Twitter usage, but It doesn't look like it will stop him from using it. The question to ponder is if social media truly is a great for of communication. I, personally, think that social media sites are a great way for people to communicate their ideas and instantaneously connect with millions, even billions of people. The problem that social media brings is that anyone can publish anything. There's a reason that there is so much problems in society today dealing with fake news stories. The vast amount of these fake news stories creates a big problem for social media to be an accurate form of getting the news. Regardless of the fake news stories, social media will revolutionize the way that the world will receive the news, especially considering that social media, according to BBC, reaches more young people as a news source than tv. More and more people are turning to social media as a way to stay updated on current events. Using social media as a news source is going to be interesting to watch during the Trump presidency, as well as in decades to come when it become more integrated in the general populations culture. 

The Best Pizza in Town! (Social Media Campaign)

If you have never eaten at Roy's Pizza & Pasta, then you are definitely missing out. Roy's has been one of my favorite places to eat. Like ever. I talked with the manager of the local store about possibility of taking over the social media accounts as part of my social media campaign assignment for this class. Things just worked out and I'm now going to be in charge of the social media for the restaurant!

While Roy's puts a lot of effort into making good food, their effort into keeping up their social media isn't really there. The only thing that has been posted is a weekly post that discusses their lunch special. The manager pays a company to post the same post each week. Besides this weekly post, there isn't much original content on their Facebook page. The image below show the 5 most recent Facebook posts (the same 5 posts just a week apart) and the statistics for each post. One of the goals that I have is to not only post more unique posts, but to have those posts reach more people.

The Facebook page has an about section that discusses a little bit about what Roy's wants to provide (mission). The mission (in the image below) isn't really concise and is surrounded by various menu items that the restaurant provides. I'm currently working on making an actual mission statement that is shorter in length and addresses the specifics as to what Roy's wants to provide. There is already a menu tab on the Facebook site so getting rid of the menu items in the mission statement wouldn't be a big loss. 

While discussing the different social media sites, I was talking with the manager about who their target markets are. The manager has noticed that the majority of people who come in and eat at Roy's are older people and families. Even though I would like to direct the social media content that I am going to post towards older people (60+), the manager and myself feel like they wouldn't really be the ones who are following the social media feeds. The manager told me that he hopes that the social media for the restaurant will be directed towards people who are 40-45 years of age or younger. We are really hoping to reach out to the younger generation of people, such as high school students and college students, as well as reaching out to small families. Because of these remarks, here are the three different market personas for this blog:

Jared - Jared is a high school student who is local to St. George. He enjoys spending time with his friends as well as supporting his school by attending the various football games and basketball games. Jared lives for the weekend as the rest of the week he is occupied by schoolwork, homework, and abiding by rules to keep his parents happy. 

Caleb - Caleb is a college student attending DSU. He studies constantly to keep up his gpa and work towards getting his bachelors degree. Working as well as being a full time student puts a lot of stress upon Caleb, but he still makes time to enjoy some hobbies such as hiking, hanging out with friends, or relaxing while binge-watching Netflix. 

Sarah - Sarah has one of the most difficult jobs in the world. She is a full time Mom! Sarah spends most of her time picking up the house and doing all she can for her 3 kids and husband. Her husband spends most of the day working, so Sarah usually has some time in the early afternoon to get things done before her kids come home from school. While she definitely enjoys spending time with her kids and husband, she also enjoys spending some time alone reading some of her favorite books. 

*These are not actual individuals that I know or who I am specifically trying to market, but rather just personas to think about while figuring out different social media strategies. 

One aspect that I need to think about while managing the social media for Roy's is content. While coming up with original content shouldn't be difficult to do (especially compared to the amount of content that Roy's currently has), maintaining constant activity across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter is what I really need to focus on. One suggestion that I had to the Roy's manager to try and promote the various social media outlets is to have a flier/message on every table that showcases the different social media. He like the idea and so I designed this:

It's nothing really fancy, but it shows the different social media usernames for the restaurant. Hopefully this will get people who are sitting down at the restaurant to use their phones (which they probably already are using) and give Roy's a follow or a like. Some content ideas that I am thinking about are having random pizza/pasta facts, interesting information about the Roy's restaurant, and of course some great pictures of some delicious food! 

#inauguration

Friday was definitely a day to put down in the history books. Donald Trump was sworn in as President of the United States of America. I didn't have the chance to sit down and watch the entire inauguration, but I did follow the main events through my twitter feed. Periodically I would look up the #inauguration and look at all of the different tweets that were being posted. I saw many different types of posts. Some tweets were based on actual information that was given during the inauguration, like quotes from Trump's speech. Most tweets, however, were people just giving their opinions over social media. Some people posted praise and gratitude that Trump is now President and not Obama while other people wrote how the rainy weather was God crying that Obama has left. I wasn't really impressed with the tweets that were kind of depressing and/or complaining how Trump is the new President. I was impressed though with the amount of tweets that I saw hoping that Trump will be a good President for this country, regardless of whether that individual voted for him or not. Inspired by these tweets, I decided to tweet something on my own twitter feed.

I wanted to make it a little humorous, but at the same time expressing my desire for Trump to be a good President. To be honest, I didn't vote for him; however, I really do hope that he can be a good President and "make America great again" like millions of people want him to. After looking over the many tweets that I saw, I was reaffirmed on how amazing social media can be. Just through searching the hashtag inauguration, I got to read people's opinions about the inauguration from all over the world. Social media is amazing in the fact that it is able to unite people in ways that haven't been possible in years past. I'm hopeful for great things dealing with the United States of America as well as social media in the years to come. 

Introduction

I'm amazed that I still haven't quite mastered the art of introductions after years and years of meeting new people. While every new person I meet perceives me in a different way, I always seem to present the same routine information of introductions.

My full name is Joshua Wesley Barney, but I prefer to go by Josh. I'm 23 years old with a birthday coming up in May. I was married to my beautiful wife Kelsi on May 21, 2016 and we've been happy ever since! I am a student at Dixie State University getting my degree in communications, minoring in management, and also getting my general marketing certificate. I currently work at the front desk at a local motel and I love it! After I graduate, I am hoping to further my career and get into a management position at a hotel. While I want to work in management after I complete my undergraduate degree, I also want to further my education by continuing to pursue a Master's degree in the communication field. I hope to one day make it back to the college classroom as a professor teaching communications. I enjoy playing video games, watching movies, making puzzles with my wife, and reading books in Romanian to keep up the second language that I learned on an LDS mission.

Since this class is all about social media, I thought it would be fitting to include my various social media profiles on this blog.

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
LinkedIn

Just click the links to go to my profiles! If you follow me I'll be sure to follow you back.