Social Media project - Walmart - Group 8

As part of the social media project in ISM3004, we were assigned to research a company's Internet and social media presence. Our group chose Walmart as our social media project company. Our group's research included analyzing Walmart's presence on the following Internet websites; YouTube, FaceBook, Google, Bing, Twitter, Twitrratr, Flickr, Instagram, Pinterest, Stumbleupon, and Walmart.com. I researched Walmart’s YouTube page, Wikipedia page, and their social media guidelines.  I learned that it is important for a company to have a social media presence, but more importantly a structured and customer-caring existence. It is good to see a company setting and sharing guidelines on social media use. It sets the bar in regards to what to expect from Walmart's social media presence and what is allowed to be posted on the Internet. My employer, Harland Financial Solutions, has an online presence on Twitter and YouTube, but I am unable to find the social media guidelines or policy. There are articles about social media, but no policy was found.

Our group was able to collaborate and bring together all needed content. Hawiane Tidwell was our group leader and assigned tasks to each group member to do with a deadline set for all research. I believe all group members participated in their assigned tasks. Hawiane did a great job at combing all of our research into the group Wiki page. We worked together well and our leader produced a well written report on Walmart's social media and online presence.

It is important for a company to have a social network presence to keep up with the multiple generations of buyers. With the combination of smartphones and social networking, the consumer is closer to the brand and company than ever before. Not only is it important and critical for companies to use social media avenues, but they must also have guidelines to follow. Without guidelines, the reputation of the company is at stake with everything anyone says about your company online.

Our group’s Walmart Wikispace: http://ism3004socialmedia.wikispaces.com/Wal-Mart

Week 13: Clear - Power of Social Media

Businesses, large and small, can leverage social media channels in many ways.  Although, it is crucial to have a strategy for your business to approach your business's social media channels.  A company must know what their end goal is to effectively select the best social media outlet.  Businesses must leverage social media to focus on engaging with customers, both current and prospective.  Now with social media, businesses are talking with customers, not just at customers.

An example of real-world use of Facebook for a small business is Adrienne Frankenfield Photography.  This business is owned by a high-school friend of mine and is used to share and promote her photography work.  Within the company's posts, the owner/photographer posts tutorials, special prizes, samples of recent photo sessions, and interaction with fans and customers. With Facebook's huge user base, there are endless possibilities of customer reach through their large network.

Reference URL: https://www.facebook.com/AdrienneFrankenfieldPhotography.