By: Melissa Palmer
It all came crashing down in an instant. The first day of my first class the professor was talking and kept using a term “SEO.” I thought, I wonder if that is important. So, I raised my hand and asked what SEO stood for…Oh….Search Engine Optimization. At that exact moment I realized I was way out of my league. As class continued, I realized I was WAY, WAY out of my league. It happens to the best of us.
As I pondered my next steps (buy a typewriter and move to Vermont was an option was seriously considered), I realized that I needed a crash course in Social Media. I mean a down and dirty, get the basics so I can rest on the ole “fake it til you make it” principle. If this has happened to you, the good news is that reading and understanding just three infographics can help get you on your way (at least out of the house and into the garage…)
The great thing about wanting to learn more about Social Media is that the people who do this kind of thing (summarize information quickly in a visually appealing way) are THE PEOPLE driving the van. So with just a minimum of effort, it turns out that you can brush up on the basics of Social Media.
I know I’m not the only one, so I’m sharing some of the best information I pulled from the ole interweb/world wide web (first point—don’t call it that…J).
First Key Question: WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT SOCIAL MEDIA OPTIONS (the youngsters call these Social Media Platforms)
The words fly out of everyone’s mouths so fast Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram. I knew MySpace was out and Facebook was in, but I didn’t realize that there are at least ten mainstream platforms that regular (not just social media nerds) people are regularly using to engage. If you need a primer, commit this infographic to memory. Or better yet, save it to your phone so you can slyly reference it during a conversation with a social media junkie.
This infographic is great and if you are really needing a crash course (LIKE IF YOU NEED TO EXPLAIN TWITTER TO YOUR MOM). If you need something a little more substantial (like you need to look good during a work meeting) see Infographic #2.
This infographic has everything. It’s the whole package—it’s pretty and smart. There is really a lot of great information packed into this infographic. Better yet, Leverage New Age Media (the genius’ that developed it) are committed to keeping it updated. So you can reference the information in the infographic with full confidence know that the figures are current.
If you really want to knock their socks off you can go for understanding the final frontier—trends in Social Media. Now that you are familiar with what the platforms are, now you need a little context on what is changing with different types of social media. Look no further than this amazing infographic that provides a high-level summary of one of the key data sources for Social Media. This infographic summarizes data collected by the Social Media Examiner from their survey of more than 3,700 experts in the field.
You may not be able to launch a detailed social media content strategy with this information, but these three infographics are going to take you from zero to “I’m so glad I didn’t totally embarrass myself.”
I’ll leave you with this one last tidbit. Take it from me, don’t accidentally refer to this as “Social MEowDIA” and you will be fine.
A blog created by UMSL Marketing B.A. and MBA students.
