October 5, 2015 at 7:42 pm (Advertising, Business Conflicts, Business Ethics, communication, Communication Problems, Comparison and contrast, Conflict, Education, Effective Communication, Forbes, Internet Consensus)
Tags: advancement, audience, blogging, business, client, college, columbus, communication, company, Computer, effective, informal, information, news, target
Defining and targeting an audience are vital steps in great communication. In publications, the ads are an excellent representation of who the targeted audience is. Websites of these publications also target an audience but with an added dimension, the ability to individually target the viewer (audience.) The ads vary by the choices selected within the publication website thus, redefining the audience.
Forbes website was the chosen publication to illustrate this changing targeted audience. On the homepage of Forbes, the ads are geared toward a well-defined target group. The initial ads were for Wall Street Journal; government tax programs; CD bank rates; oil dividends; filmmaking courses; and senior cell phone plans. Together, these ads are for older wealthy businessmen. These are representative of the homepage initial ads. The target audience is towards one who is interested in financial issues of taxes, CD notes, dividends, and business news from the WSJ…a businessman of diverse monetary concerns. Definitely, the “senior plan” refers to an older generation. The filmmaking courses also reinforce the older target group with an advertisement for a new hobby or starting a new business. This is an extremely focused target audience.
Having the advantage of real-time viewing, websites can narrow the target audience. When a viewer chooses a selection, a story or an article, the site chooses ads focusing on the audience’s interests. If the chosen article deals with businesses with negative issues then the ads may change to customer service aids for businesses, insurance ads, or company improvement ads. Relating the ads to the different types of articles narrows the targeted audience.
Another audience-targeting dimension of websites is third party advertising, directly targeting the individual viewer. Third party advertising is advertisers which monitor viewers’ web surfing on their computers. Directing ads of the real-time viewer’s interests allows the publication to broaden its audience. These viewer-interest ads frame the articles with familiar and personal target ads. Even though these ads may not have any connection with the article or the publication, the audience is familiar with these ads. This frame may keep them reading the articles. This allows for various changes so the targeted audience is the viewer even if the viewers do not fit the original targeted audience. A young want-to-be businesswoman planning to start her own business would now be a targeted audience. This real-time changing redefines the target audience as the current viewer to keep them interested in the publication even if they may not initially seem to be the audience targeted.
Concluding, this publication’s ads were aimed at a senior population of wealthy businessmen. In general, this is the overall targeted audience but with websites drawing in different audiences with a specific article, the website uses ads to include the new audience in real-time viewing. This advantage allows websites to reframe the site to include the viewer. This is the magic of website ads – framing articles with advertising content this viewer is interested in seeing.
By Kentrina Freeman, Liberal Arts Major – IUPUC
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June 7, 2012 at 9:30 am (Communication Problems, Education, Effective Communication, Social Media in the workplace, Social Media/Technology)
Tags: business, ceo, communicate, communication, company, consistent, cooler, customer, employee, fact, figure, grapevine, information, intranet, manager, message, monitor, organization, phone, public, question, receptionist, time, tool, water
Properly communicating the company message is the responsibility of everyone within an organization, from the receptionist on up to the CEO. But how do you ensure that the person answering the phones is speaking the party line?
To guarantee a consistent message tape answers to frequently asked – and crucial questions – near the main phone bank. But don’t post and forget it! Check it on a monthly basis and update as necessary. In challenging economies, information often grows stale quicker than you can say audit.
Also, provide updated facts and figures on a regular basis. Communicate any noteworthy information to the receptionist and his/her backup ASAP – sometimes their need to know is actually more immediate than middle managers who aren’t necessarily speaking with the public and customers on a daily, if not hourly, basis.
Additionally, an intranet is a great tool for spreading the word to everyone while maintaining a consistent message. For it to work and be effective, however, someone needs to commit to keeping it updated on a regular basis. Also, the information needs to be pertinent, otherwise employees will soon recognize it as a waste of time and will readily drop it out of their information line up.
Last but not least, don’t forget those all important water cooler conversations. Monitor the company grapevine and if the message you hear is NOT consistent with the message you want, it may be time to make a more concerted effort to communicate with employees. Remember, if YOU don’t provide the information, someone else will.
– Robin Fritz, Adjunct Lecturer, Division of Business, Indiana University-Columbus
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March 14, 2012 at 9:46 pm (Effective Communication, Social Media/Technology)
Tags: blog, blogging, communication, facebook, Google, information, metablog, metapost
Sometimes when writing for blogs like this, I find myself asking “How would X write this?” or “What would the readers want X to say?” It’s no secret that the information we post on the internet directly effects how people think and feel about us. Naturally this leads us to want to post the best information we can and do so in a way that makes us seem positive, intelligent, and rational.
Companies that use blogs to communicate face the same pressures, but we the added constraint of the business’s reputation and potential profitability being placed on the line. Knowing this, companies that blog have found a great way to balance a solid informal blog that also presents the company as being successful and a place their customers want to keep doing business with.
So let’s put two highly successful companies on the spot and observe what it is that they are posting on their blogs and how the readers react. We should also notice if there is a trend to blog posts and see what members of the company are posting. Finally we should take note on the visual appearance of the blog and if it influences the reader’s interaction with the blog.
To start off, we’ll take a look at Facebook’s Official Blog, which can be found at http://blog.facebook.com/. As of this posting, the front page of the Facebook blog is covered by posts announcing new features that are being implementing into Facebook and posts discussing some the impacts involved with usage of Facebook. The blog also makes sure you can clearly see feedback from users about the blog, including a widget that shows the “Most Popular Stories” from the blog. The most popular post as of this posting is discussing additions to Facebook’s Timeline feature. This post has over 35,000 likes and almost 40,000 comments with over 1500 shares.
Facebook as a company is well represented by the various posts, with posts by development team to posts from the CEO. All in all, the Facebook blog leaves me with the impression of company that wants to proudly share its work with its members as well ensure the members continue to enjoy their experience.
Our second entrant is Google’s Official blog, which can be found at http://googleblog.blogspot.com/. There is a huge contrast between this blog and Facebook’s. Notably is moving graphic that is found in the upper right side of the page, which responds to mouseovers. Also, we see a different tone than that of Facebook’s, in that this blog seems to be more focused on its content rather than its reception by readers. The posts vary in topic from information about Google products to stories about endeavors the company has taken part in.
Again, like Facebook, Google has varying departments that contribute to the blog, from engineers to corporate members. The impression I get from reading Google’s blog is that of a company that prides itself on the sharing of knowledge and educating its readers.
Hopefully through this all too brief post, I have shared just a bit of insight into how companies utilize blogs and the internet to promote themselves. Though I cannot speak for either company, I believe having these sources of information available to their customers is greatly helping their businesses succeed.
By Alex Colson, CNIT Major Purdue University
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November 15, 2011 at 11:00 am (Internet Consensus)
Tags: business, college, concept, consensus, content, facebook, information, ingenuity, Internet, IUPUC, Live Music, M&M, marketing, Mass Animation, media, mobile apps, Mountain Dew, opinion, Pepsi, polls, Twitter, Youtube
If you go to the dictionary or Google the term “internet consensus” you won’t find much, if anything; believe me I tried. However unfamiliar the term may seem, the concept is something we are all acquainted with. Internet consensus is simply creating a format on the internet for people to collectively put their thoughts and opinions. Then you have a large source of information ready and available to you for whatever the purpose of collecting the data was for. I have three prime examples of internet consensus:
2002: M&M color change
Changing colors isn’t a new procedure for M&M’s. They changed their tan M&M to blue back in 1995. They had the choice of blue, pink, or purple and had to call a 1-800-FUN-COLOR hotline to place their vote. What about internet consensus? It wasn’t until 2002 that M&M decided to introduce another new color, but this time voting was done via the internet. The choices were pink, purple or aqua. There were advertisements abroad, all over the world. Consumers were invited to go online to M&M Global Vote and vote for the next color. M&M marketed this new campaign to all sorts of media. In one particular instance M&M had put a voting poll on the AOL homepage, and in a single day registered over 600,000 votes! After the time was up, the internet consensus determined that purple was to be the new M&M color.
2009: Live Music by Mass Animation <watch video here>
Mass Animation, a computer graphics company out of California, teamed up with Facebook to create an interactive consensus with Facebook users. People had the option to download software that had unfinished clips of a possible story line and make it their own. They then submitted their short film layout and people could then vote on them. The winning submission with the most votes won a Dell XPS System, and every week the submission with the most votes won $500 per shot. Once the polls were closed, Mass Animation studios then finished the short film and Sony then showed the short film on the big screen with Planet 51. The internet consensus produced a high quality and entertaining short film.
2010: DEWmocracy <get out and vote!> <watch video here>
Pepsi knew it had a fan craze base with Mountain Dew products and wanted to provide tasty options to its many loving fans. They provided the simplest solution: give them what they want! Pepsi created a very comprehensive poll method allowing their fans to choose everything about the new product: the flavor, color, name, label design and fans even had the option to choose which campaign companies would make the new commercials. That’s not all! Then they finally had the option to choose one of the three drinks they created to be the new mountain dew product. Geniuses.
IUPUC
With the knowledge that internet consensus is successful and can provide profitable data, how do we implement that at IUPUC? It would be simple for IUPUC to question their students with an on screen poll installed on all the lab computers. A lot of people are investing in smart phones and use an IU mobile app. IUPUC could use that app to retrieve poll answers. So what kind of information would IUPUC receive through internet consensus? IUPUC could ask the students and teachers about what kind of new lunch item they would like to see at the café. Ask the students what class they would really be interested in taking that isn’t provided. Come up with community volunteer ideas and let the students decide on which one they would like to participate in. Find out what pressing topics we are interested in and give those majoring in journalism an opportunity to write about what we want to know more about. Any information that IUPUC needs to come to conclusions or for research can be done through internet consensus via webpages, mobile apps, Facebook, Twitter and more.
By: Amanda Jo Lucas, Business Entrepreneurship Major – IUPUC
<additional dewmocracy video> <additional dewmocracy video>
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August 16, 2011 at 10:55 am (Effective Communication)
Tags: analytical, audience, brainstorm, business, client, conference, content, conversational, error, formal, format, grammar, industry, informal, information, informational, jargon, number, phrase, primary, problem, promote, proof, purpose, relationship, report, review, revise, secondary, spell, standard, supervisor, tone, topic, trite, write
The following is an article written by Robin Fritz for eHow.com’s Money feature:
In the business world, good writing can get you noticed, hired and promoted. And, much like a Super Bowl commercial, a well written report is an opportunity to highlight your skills. But as a busy manager, how do you write a business report? The following tips will help you tackle a variety of reports:
Know your purpose. What have you been asked to do? Are you providing information only? Then, you’re writing an informational report. Are you analyzing a problem and making recommendations to solve it? If so, you’re writing an analytical report. Are you describing a conference, meeting, or monthly progress on a project? Then, you’re writing a standard report. Knowing your purpose keeps you on target. It gives you focus.
Identify your audience. Who are you writing to – a client? Your supervisor? That individual is your primary audience. But what if your supervisor shows it to her supervisor? Then, you have a secondary audience. Knowing potential audiences will help you identify the proper tone, whether formal or informal.
Analyze your audiences. What do your audiences know about this topic? Do you need to educate them? Can you use industry jargon? Analyzing your audience helps you avoid leaving out key information. It saves you – and your audience – time.
Research your topic. Brainstorm ideas. What information already exists and what’s missing? What sources are trusted by your audience? Asking key questions gives you a research plan for your business report and gets you moving in the right direction.
Organize your research. Look for relationships. Ignore irrelevant information. Identify your strongest ideas and start your business report with them. Good organization builds an outline and – most importantly – helps avoid writer’s block.
Compose your report. Adopt a conversational tone. Avoid trite business phrases like “per your request.” Use vivid, precise language. Focus on being clear and concise. Use transitional expressions.
Revise and proofread your work. Edit with “fresh eyes” only. Review your content – are you satisfied? If not, re-write. Proofread for spelling, grammar and formatting. Use your spell checker, but DON’T rely on it. Verify noun/verb/pronoun agreement. Check for page numbers. Error free work is an advertisement for your skills. Take the time to proofread carefully.
Evaluate the final product. Did you achieve your purpose? Does your tone match your audience? Did you do justice to the topic? Is it free from errors? If you can say yes, congratulations! You have a business report of which you can be proud.
http://www.ehow.com/how_6107127_write-different-business-reports.html
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August 10, 2011 at 9:18 am (Effective Communication)
Tags: accepted, announce, benefit, block, bulk, business, challenge, client, company, content, controversial, corporate, difficult, document, downsizing, eHow, email, employee, external, industry, information, initial, internal, key, layoff, letter, letterhead, litigation, manager, memo, money, policies, purpose, regulator, required, routine, sensitive, sign, signature, small, supplier, task, time, tip, topic, transition, validity, value, warning, write
The following is an article written by X204 Business Communication Adjunct Lecturer Robin Fritz for eHow.com’s Money section:
To sign or not to sign? That is the question that often arises when busy managers set out to write a memo. Unlike business letters – which clearly require a signature – memos are a different animal altogether, and whether or not to sign them isn’t clear to many young managers just starting out in the business world. The following tips, however, will help shed some light on whether to sign or not to sign.
Know the difference between a memo and a letter. Letters written on company letterhead are external documents – they tend to go to smaller outside audiences, such as clients, suppliers, industry regulators, etc. – making a signature a required element. Memos, however, are internal and usually go to a company’s employees – which may include hundreds of people. In practice, memos DON’T include a signature. But sometimes managers are wise to include their initials next to their name in the header. The real trick is knowing when and if to do so.
Know the purpose of a memo. Second to email, memos are a primary tool used by managers to share information with employees, whether it be simple announcements or key information regarding changes in policies. In short, some memos tend to be more sensitive in nature than others.
How sensitive is the information? Routine memos – those that deal with non-controversial topics – make up the bulk of memos sent by managers. These types of memos rarely require follow up and tend to be taken at face value. Other topics, such as corporate downsizing measures, reduced health benefits, etc., can be difficult for employees to hear and, as a result, their validity may be challenged. When the topic is sensitive, the memo writer may initial the memo to add validity to the contents. But even then, initials are NOT required.
How many people will receive the memo? Again, memos sometimes go to hundreds of people and even initialing them may be a time consuming task. In the business world, time is money – and adding even initials may be a large undertaking. When deciding whether or not to initial a memo, ask, what value is being added with this task? If none, skip it.
Tip: Signature blocks signal to readers that they’ve reached the end of a letter. With memos, however, telegraph the ending by using transitional expressions highlighting the conclusion, such as “In closing” or “Lastly.”
Warning: Remember, whether you’re writing a memo or a letter, with or without a signature, the content can be a legally binding document. Never dash off any correspondence in haste – you could get yourself, and your company, in hot water.
http://www.ehow.com/how_6110660_sign-business-memo.html
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