Chapter 11 of "Social Media and Strategic Communication"

In chapter 11 of the book “Social Media and Strategic Communication” I learned how social media is applied. So far in this book I have learned to understand and appreciate the strategy of social media. As emphasized in this book, social media is not owned by one discipline or industry. In fact, it is a hub form of communication, community building, and relationship management. 

In the second part of the chapter I learned about an overview about how social media can be applied in the entertainment industry. Within the entertainment industry, professionals must understand how to use the format of social media on the brand, agency, and celebrity side. It’ also important on how social media is used on the consumer side. The entertainment industry wants to use social media in a strategic way in order to help generate buzz to motivate others to take action in some kind of way on or offline. Whether it is used to influence someone to download a certain song or album or go to the movies or sporting event, each of these calls to actions can be directly tied to the metrics and conversations people have on social media. The entertainment industry has  seen a shift not only in how events and individual celebrities are promoted, but also in how these individuals engage in the space entirely. For example, entertainment professionals have to know how social media affects their work by exploring these different questions:

·       How can social media deliver on the investment put into it?

·       How can professionals and teams/brands adapt to the ongoing changes?

·       How does the impact of rapid change in format affect the entertainment industry?

Social media is a necessary companion tool for people watching events like award shows, sporting events , and high profiled live events. For those in the entertainment industry, social media is a key part of engaging with fans and audiences while using the platform to also showcase reach and influence. In addition, more opportunities are available for potential sponsorship and partnership deals as well. This was just some of the things I learned from this chapter in the book.