October 22, 2018 by MattVision

Beyond Your Senses in Social Media

“Boldly go where no man gone before.”

We have come a long way from the stone age of fire signal to a modern age of telephone and now social media on internet. What once spending hours talking on telephone, watching TV for latest news and entertainment, telegraphing to loved one or transmit urgency messages, or typing in line-mode with computer, now it is all merge into something we called social media on the internet!

(Source: FramePool http://footage.framepool.com/en/shot/227892417-holografic-hologram-icon-computer-app)

#Communication can be real or virtual. One way or the other, we need to talk. What is better than talking in-person face-to-face … maybe video chat via social media? However, social media, even with video chat/conference, missed the most critical ingredients in communication – the non-verbal! These non-verbal communications stimulate the senses of our brains and nerves, which including mostly of our eyes, nose, mouth, ear, skin, and intuitive feelings. In music, we rely on sound, melody, lyric, mood, and feeling; in cooking, we rely on visual, smell, and taste. In retail, we rely sound, visual, touch, feeling, and possibly smell.

We have video chat on many social media mediums nowadays. They all fight for a piece of this market where it is no longer just for personal use and communication, it is also becoming a very powerful and effective tool as part of a business #marketing #strategy. Currently, social media is meeting the minimum need of both personal and business users, but how can they capture a bigger piece of the pie, or even better if they can grow the size of the pie?

If we can activate the #non-verbal communication and incorporate human senses into the social media equation, it will certainly stimulate more interests for both personal and business use. How about #virtual reality plus #hologram? These technologies are certainly not new or strange to us, but are they mature technology yet and can we merge that with social media?

(Source: SPAR3D https://www.spar3d.com/news/related-new-technologies/euclideon-hologram-table-spar18/)

For those of us who like Sci-Fi movies or TV shows, such as Star Trek, Star War, or any others, we see many of these technologies exist already in real life to some extent while others are still in experimental stage. Remember that famous phrase, use by all of us, “Beam me up, Scotty.” For me, I am a food lover and worst I am a coffee addict, therefore I can fantasize calling out, “Computer, make me a double cappuccino with shot of espresso. Choose a best Italian dessert that go well with it for me today … Beam me to a sunny beach front house with wave and blue sky/ocean next to my beautiful lover.” Wow, what a dream!

( Source: Getty Images https://www.standard.co.uk/go/london/music/roy-orbison-the-hologram-tour-review-the-big-o-reanimated-a3818151.html)

Now that is on a personal fantasy level, how about on the business side. I want to be able to try things out before I make my purchase decision. If they can incorporate the ability for the hologram to facilitate and appeal to my senses where I can touch, smell, and taste the products as if I am in a store, that will be perfect!

Now all this are just fantasy and dream, but do you think it is possible? Is there a need for this in social media? Are we ready to merge technologies?

Let’s “engage.”

Social Networking and Communication Beyond Our Senses https://algonquincollegesocialmedia.wordpress.com/2018/10/22/beyond-your-senses-in-social-media/?fbclid=IwAR13-Q-NPryjpU4GlrMENsaV1h5VZnCpyopmvmFshWpWO0DCBNoCn6Ahx74

Marketing Strategy and Communication Beyond Our Senses https://algonquincollegesocialmedia.wordpress.com/2018/10/22/beyond-your-senses-in-social-media/

October 16, 2018 by MattVision

Communication: Monitoring vs Listening

Why is communication so important?

#Communication is the key in relationship building. Communication only exists if at least two parties are actively participating in an open and honest manner. Once trust is broken, it will be very difficult to rebuild, if at all. #Non-verbal communication and #active listening are the key components in strong and successful relationship. Although it is also very critical for all parties to convey their feeling and idea too, but it is equally important, if not more so, to listen attentively before your response.

(Source: Advertising Media Plus, Posted March 25, 2015)

How can we apply active listen and non-verbal communication in social media?

In the #virtual world, via #social media, the equivalent of listening in communication is social media monitoring. The #verbal communication in real life is simulated through #effective written communication using various mediums such as texting, posting, tweeting, and messaging. The #non-verbal component of communication, although almost non-existence in the virtual sphere, it can be simulated by your actions in cross analyzing all information gathered and find correlation and/or exception factors through social media monitoring.

#Monitoring in the physical world means paying a lot of attention to the non-verbal communication or signals that is being send by the customers which include their purchase or preferences in their order — the financial bottom to the survival of the organization. Monitoring in the virtual world means using the social media #analytic to determine the response of audience or customers. There are many effective and sophisticated tools or marketing firms that can provide you with this service; however, many of the more mature social media tools can also provide this same basic information to you at substantially lower cost. Some of these tools include: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

(Source: TalkPoint, Posted April 19, 2017)

How can we apply the W5 (who, what, when, where, why) plus How of social media monitoring?

When we listen/monitor the audience response, we can modify and adjust our strategy quickly and respond to the customer or people effectively. The following is some example based on recently missing girl search and based on recent tornado disaster in Ottawa:

An 11-year old girl (http://bit.ly/2yhSit6) was reported missing by police via Twitter. Few days later, the media started to engage. But over a week later, no news or leads. Media and police retweet several times, but it generates no leads. I followed and monitored that, but I did not retweet yet thinking the police and media has a lot of leads/helps already. Then more than 10+ days past, the police ask for help again. I was puzzled, and then it dawned to me that I may have connections that police and media may not have access to. I posted to my two Facebook accounts … each of very different group of influence: one is mostly church and street outreach friends, and the other are martial artist, musicians, dancers, government official/bureaucrat, and security folks other than police. 2-days later, the girl was found. It was not my effort alone, but I am sure it has helped one way or another.
Six tornado (http://bit.ly/2NJcN71) causing substantial damages and blackout. Hydro One, first responders, relief workers, volunteers, and community organization all helped to communicate via social media what, when, where, who, why, and how to get help and access to food, water, and shelter. (http://bit.ly/2OpiY5j) Although Ottawa suffered greatly, but with everyone’s coordination effort using social media, it made everyone in Ottawa region safe and recover faster together as an Ottawa community / family.

Both examples demonstrate how one can monitor, listen, and act efficiently and effectively to how generate the desirable outcomes. We look at the results and outcomes gathered so far, and we adjust quickly to engage the audience or redirect shout out to a different or correct audience. The final objective is to mobilize the right people to get the desirable results in a timely manner.

Can you think of some experience where you monitor and analyze reports and then adjust your strategy to get your final outcomes?

Communication: Monitoring vs Listening Same for different world. http://bit.ly/2IYqSMR

Communication: Monitoring vs Listening. Improve your strategy. http://bit.ly/2IXy2AX

October 5, 2018 by MattVision

Social Communication in Physical and Virtual Reality

What is #communication? Is it important or critical? How does it #influence and affect the community, society, or just your own daily lives? What are some of the means and tools that help us navigate and socialize with each other … in our real or virtual world?

We communicate everyday in the real/physical world, communication is critical to all #relationship building: business and personal. Communication can make or break a business deal, strengthen or break a marriage/relationship, and even start or cease a war. Communication will sway and call people to actions, good or bad, depending on its messages and its intended audiences.

Many people nowadays have Master and even PhD degree in Communication, I was at awe, impress, and even intimidate at their accomplishments. I learned my communication skills through various means during my college years, through my professional certification, and working many years of experience, as IT consultant and financial advisor, for different clients/firms, and through various volunteer community works:

Psychology 101
Marketing 101
#Toastmaster International certification (http://www.toastmasters.org)
#Project Management certification #PMP (https://www.pmi.org/certifications/types/project-management-pmp)
School of Hard Knocks … success and failure of “relationships”

Together they taught me that communication:

Is a two-way street
Must have a sender and receiver
Must listen more than you talk to be effective, but you must engage with the other person/people
Up to 90% non-verbal, 10% verbal: Eyes, facial expressions, gestures, postures, voice (tones, pitches, volume)
80% perception, 20% reality
4P strategy: product, price, place, people; 5^th P is promotion

Some of these are also summarized at https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/what-is-communication.html, Skill You Need Ltd., 2011-2018.

What does communication have to do with #social media? A lot. I find that communication in real world of networking, public speaking, and social events translates, not only one-to-one, but directly to social media in the cyberspace. If you can communicate with the person in real life, then you can do so easier in the virtual world; however, social media disabled all non-verbal communication and only simulated verbal communication through written and real-time online interactive skills. Therefore, the social media written communication skills need to be far more superior and you need to know how to use emoji icons, insert graphics/image/photos and punctuation marks correctly to illustrative/elaborate the written conversation effectively. The danger in that is most people do it improperly or inadequately, and therefore it causes misunderstand and potentially ruining relationship.

In summary, social media is a virtual communication and interaction without verbal or non-verbal means; it is an online interactively writing communication unless we are using video conferencing/chat. Social media initially intended for personal and social interaction with simple texting messaging only; however, it became a mainstream tool for many businesses as well nowadays, because it is a very cost-effective marketing, public relationship and communication tools for smaller business. Even #traditional media are complementing its mainstream operation with these social media mediums. On the personal side, it opened the world to us and drew us closer in term of geographical location; however, it distanced us more from each other to the people close to us, from the people who may matter more, such as our immediate family or close friends.

So how do you think social media is influencing and affecting our lives? Do you think it enhance or disable our communication? Does social media bring us closer and enrich our lives?

Please share your thoughts.