This section is home to my process doc. This is all of the research that I have done throughout the semester in order to get my final strategy. Each of these sections were check points throughout the semester that were complimented with different readings about social media.
PROJECT PROPOSAL
& INTERVIEW SUMMARY
Proposal
The company that I decided that I am going to create a strategy for is for the company Visit Pittsburgh. It is the official tourism office for Pittsburgh. The reason that I decided to pick Visit Pittsburgh is because I have grown up in Pittsburgh and have not really heard much about the company, even though it is the primary hub for people who are visiting from out of town. I am hoping that my strategy will make the company more accessible to both Pittsburgh visitors, and Pittsburgh residents. I want to do this by posting more up to date events in the city, as well as more trendy things, rather than just basic Pittsburgh facts.
The person that I decide to interview was Angela Battistone who is a personal blogger who I worked with when she was a manager at Free People. She left Free People to pursue a job as a full-time fashion blogger. She creates content through her fashion choices as well as lifestyle. Being a blogger in Pittsburgh, she uses the new trendiness of the city to accumulate content. Whether it is trying a new restaurant, or coffee shop there are always new things to write about.
Since blogging is new to her, she does not have a consistent way that she monitors her posts. She uses the app UNUM that lets her see her tops posts, the best time to post, and the hashtags that got her the most likes. She bases most of her data off of that, and plans accordingly. Going off of that, she explains that many of her posts are planned. She will go shoot, and then use those pictures till the next time she shoots. Although, there is occasionally times where she sees something cool and is inclined to post in the moment.
She said the biggest difficulty is to find a balance between posting content she created and using the content that she is sponsored to use. Since the sponsored posts is where she makes her money she wants to make sure to keep the sponsors happy, but also not overload her followers with advertising material. She also makes sure to differentiate between what is sponsored and what is not, so her followers don’t feel tricked.
Interview Summary
Brand Persona & Analysis
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When I look at the brand overall of Visit Pittsburgh, I think that it has a strong basis for a social media campaign. With Pittsburgh on the cusp of interest from Amazon and the Hyperloop many people could potentially be looking to move here. I analyzed Visit Pittsburgh’s most prominent social media platforms: Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Their Instagram consists of mostly pictures. They are pictures of different places and things that are happening around Pittsburgh. When they post, many of them are reposts from different people rather than their own native content. Instead of posting about specific things, it is mostly just general pictures of Pittsburgh. They don’t seem to take advantage of snap stories very often. The visuals are a range of pictures of the city, to buildings, to coffee, snowmen, etc. There don’t seem to be many consistent posts, or campaigns. This is a very visual platform. They post at least a couple times a week.
Their Twitter is consistent of mostly retweets of pictures. This means that it is also taking over the realm of a visual platform. It does’t give a platform for people who already live in Pittsburgh a new insight on what is going on. This does not give them much of a voice when they are constantly just reposting. In order to create a voice your content needs to be consistent, but still exciting. They retweet and post at least a couple times a day. Their profile picture is consistent throughout, but I do not find the picture very effective.
The Facebook page seems to be where they are the strongest. Although they do not post daily, they seem to have a pretty consistent voice and personality. I was shocked to see the lack of events that they have created/posted. I feel like this would be the perfect place to get people informed and involved in events. Many of their Facebook post link back to their website where they have created a blog atmosphere. I think this is a good idea because it sends people to their website, but also informs people of new things that are going on in the city. This can relate to both people who already live here as well as newcomers.
Overall, I think that Visit Pittsburgh would benefit from creating more of their own content rather than taking the route of reposting. When you have original content it allows people to get a sense of personality from the company and a vibe. Pittsburgh is such a fun and evolving city, that people who are prospect to moving here should be able to come to Visit Pittsburgh and see that.
Competitor Analysis
The company that I decided to do my competitor analysis on Experience Columbus. It is a similar sized city to Pittsburgh and I thought it would be easy to compare the social media methods. The website was set up very similar to the Visit Pittsburgh website. The major difference is that they only had Instagram and Facebook.
Their Facebook page is similar to Visit Pittsburgh in the fact that they use their website almost like a blog. They use it to track people back to their website. The voice that they use is very professional rather than having a lot of personality. Rather than sharing an array of posts, they mostly just share stuff from their website.
As for their instagram, they use a lot of reposts, but rather than repost from people, they repost from different companies in Pittsburgh. This allows the people who view the photo to know the location. Also, their overall feed seems to be more consistent than Visit Pittsburgh. By highlighting restaurants and different shops, this allows people that even live in Pittsburgh to learn more about it and experience new things. They also do not seem to have many campaigns that they repetitively post about.
Also, their logo is more informative. the logo has the words Experience Columbus, so when people see it, they can know what to look for if they wanted to search online. This is different than Visit Pittsburgh because when you look at their profile pictures for all social media you just see a bridge. I do not believe that this gives the viewer a lot of context.
Overall, I think think that Experience Columbus and Visit Pittsburgh have a very similar presence on social media. Although Experience Columbus has no presence on Twitter, I would say that they have a stronger presence on Instagram and Facebook than Visit Pittsburgh.
Content Examples
Social Media Summary
Visit Pittsburgh Social Media Policy
This policy governs the publication of and commentary on social media by employees of Visit Pittsburgh and its related companies ("Visit Pittsburgh"). For the purposes of this policy, social media means any facility for online publication and commentary, including without limitation blogs, wiki's, social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Flickr, and YouTube. This policy is in addition to and complements any existing or future policies regarding the use of technology, computers, e-mail and the internet.
Visit Pittsburgh employees who are not on the Social Media Team are not allowed to publish or comment via social media in any way during work hours or using work facilities, or in any way that suggests they are doing so in connection with Visit Pittsburgh. Visit Pittsburgh employees who are on the Social Media Team and whose posts have been approved by a supervisor are free to publish or comment via social media in accordance with this policy. Such employees are subject to this policy to the extent they identify themselves as a Visit Pittsburgh employee (other than as an incidental mention of place of employment in a personal social media on topics unrelated to Visit Pittsburgh).
Before engaging in work related social media, employees must obtain the permission of the Head of Marketing anf PR.
Publication and commentary on social media carries similar obligations to any other kind of publication or commentary.
All uses of social media must follow the same ethical standards that Visit Pittsburgh employees must otherwise follow.
Setting up Social Media
Social media identities, logon ID's and user names may not use Visit Pittsburgh's name without prior approval from the CEO.
Don't Tell Secrets
It's perfectly acceptable to talk about your work and have a dialog with the community, but it's not okay to publish confidential information. Confidential information includes things such as unpublished details about our software, details of current projects, future product ship dates, financial information, research, and trade secrets. We must respect the wishes of our corporate customers regarding the confidentiality of current projects. We must also be mindful of the competitiveness of our industry.
Protect your own privacy
Privacy settings on social media platforms should be set to allow anyone to see profile information similar to what would be on the Visit Pittsburgh website. Other privacy settings that might allow others to post information or see information that is personal should be set to limit access. Be mindful of posting information that you would not want the public to see.
Be Honest
Do not blog anonymously, using pseudonyms or false screen names. We believe in transparency and honesty. Use your real name, be clear who you are, and identify that you work for Visit Pittsburgh. Nothing gains you notice in social media more than honesty - or dishonesty. Do not say anything that is dishonest, untrue, or misleading. If you have a vested interest in something you are discussing, point it out. But also be smart about protecting yourself and your privacy. What you publish will be around for a long time, so consider the content carefully and also be cautious about disclosing personal details.
Respect copyright laws
It is critical that you show proper respect for the laws governing copyright and fair use or fair dealing of copyrighted material owned by others, including Visit Pittsburgh own copyrights and brands. You should never quote more than short excerpts of someone else's work, and always attribute such work to the original author/source. It is good general practice to link to others' work rather than reproduce it.
Respect your audience, Visit Pittsburgh, and your coworkers
The public in general, and Visit Pittsburgh's employees and customers, reflect a diverse set of customs, values and points of view. Don't say anything contradictory or in conflict with the Visit Pittsburgh website. Don't be afraid to be yourself, but do so respectfully. This includes not only the obvious (no ethnic slurs, offensive comments, defamatory comments, personal insults, obscenity, etc.) but also proper consideration of privacy and of topics that may be considered objectionable or inflammatory - such as politics and religion. Use your best judgment and be sure to make it clear that the views and opinions expressed are yours alone and do not represent the official views of Visit Pittsburgh.
Protect Visit Pittsburgh customers, business partners and suppliers
Customers, partners or suppliers should not be cited or obviously referenced without their approval. Never identify a customer, partner or supplier by name without permission and never discuss confidential details of a customer engagement. It is acceptable to discuss general details about kinds of projects and to use non-identifying pseudonyms for a customer (e.g., Customer 123) so long as the information provided does not violate any non-disclosure agreements that may be in place with the customer or make it easy for someone to identify the customer. Your blog is not the place to "conduct business" with a customer.
Controversial Issues
If you see misrepresentations made about Visit Pittsburgh in the media, you may point that out. Always do so with respect and with the facts. If you speak about others, make sure what you say is factual and that it does not disparage that party. Avoid arguments. Brawls may earn traffic, but nobody wins in the end. Don't try to settle scores or goad competitors or others into inflammatory debates. Make sure what you are saying is factually correct.
Be the first to respond to your own mistakes
If you make an error, be up front about your mistake and correct it quickly. If you choose to modify an earlier post, make it clear that you have done so. If someone accuses you of posting something improper (such as their copyrighted material or a defamatory comment about them), deal with it quickly - better to remove it immediately to lessen the possibility of a legal action.
Think About Consequences
For example, consider what might happen if a Visit Pittsburgh employee is in a meeting with a customer or prospect, and someone on the customer's side pulls out a print-out of your blog and says "This person at Visit Pittsburgh says that product sucks."
Saying "Product X needs to have an easier learning curve for the first-time user" is fine; saying "Product X sucks" is risky, unsubtle and amateurish.
Once again, it's all about judgment: using your blog to trash or embarrass Visit Pittsburgh, our customers, or your co-workers, is dangerous and ill-advised.
Disclaimers
Many social media users include a prominent disclaimer saying who they work for, but that they're not speaking officially. This is good practice and is encouraged, but don't count on it to avoid trouble - it may not have much legal effect.
Wherever practical, you must use a disclaimer saying that while you work for Visit Pittsburgh, anything you publish is your personal opinion, and not necessarily the opinions of Visit Pittsburgh.
The Head of Marketing and PR can provide you with applicable disclaimer language and assist with determining where and how to use that.
Don't forget your day job.
Make sure that blogging does not interfere with your job or commitments to customers.
Social Media Tips
The following tips are not mandatory, but will contribute to successful use of social media.
The best way to be interesting, stay out of trouble, and have fun is to write about what you know. There is a good chance of being embarrassed by a real expert, or of being boring if you write about topics you are not knowledgeable about.
Quality matters. Use a spell-checker. If you're not design-oriented, ask someone who is whether your blog looks decent, and take their advice on how to improve it.
The speed of being able to publish your thoughts is both a great feature and a great downfall of social media. The time to edit or reflect must be self-imposed. If in doubt over a post, or if something does not feel right, either let it sit and look at it again before publishing it, or ask someone else to look at it first.
Enforcement
Policy violations will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination for cause.
(Policy Tool)
Style Guide
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Audience
Being a city where we are hoping young people will move to, we want to keep our audience from the ages of 23 to around 30. Since we are working for the city of Pittsburgh, most of our viewers will be residents of the city, but for many this may be their first time to Pittsburgh.
2. Principles
What we are trying to accomplish with our content
- Pittsburgh is a fun, trendy place to be
- There is a lot going on throughout the city
- Stay away from numbers and facts, that can get boring
- Try to keep photos and voice relatively consistent
- Publish native content, but some can be reposted if appropriate
- Push people to visit visitpittsburgh.com
- Write how you would speak to the person in real life
- ex: if the post is family oriented, how you would talk to a family about Pittsburgh vs. if it is a happy hour for business professionals
3. Content Types
- Facebook Posts
Purpose: mostly to get people to RSVP to different events that are going on throughout Pittsburgh. Also, to share articles about the accomplishments of Pittsburgh and articles in the bigger media (Business Insider, etc.)
Readers: Older crowd, people that are looking for something to do, an event to attend.
-Instagram Posts
Purpose: to show pictures of events in Pittsburgh, sweepstakes, showcase new businesses and things to do. Also can be used for Marketing campaigns.
Readers: People who scroll through social media, probably the younger crowd
-Tweets:
Purpose: to get retweets and get the company name out to as many people. This is the base where we are going to try to get the most exposure. We can gain followers and then extend them to our other platforms.
Readers: Older and younger crowd, trying to get readers who have a large follower base.
GOALS/OUTCOMES +
ALIGNMENT WITH BUSINESS GOALS
My overall goal is to diversify the audience of Visit Pittsburgh and try to have them reach a younger audience. The potential of Pittsburgh as a young business professional city is expanding as opportunities from companies like Amazon and the Hyperloop. In order to reach a younger audience who is looking for a fresh content on social media that appeals to them, Visit Pittsburgh needs to update their social media strategy.
The goal of the social media strategy is to showcase all the cool things to do in Pittsburgh not just for people visiting, but also for the people that are looking to call Pittsburgh home. By showcasing different trendy events, things to do and places to eat, it appeals to the young business professionals.
I want to use paid social to be able to target the younger audiences with posts that will appeal to them, and make Visit Pittsburgh a hub where people can go to when they are looking for what to do on the weekends. By creating a whole new side of the brand, I will be able to use the style guide, and content guide to create this new aesthetic.
STRATEGY DISTRIBUTION PLAN
& TIMELINE
The outlets that I am going to focus on for Visit Pittsburgh is Facebook, Instagram, and blog posts. The revamp would start around the summer, because this is when trendy events pop up, and also new graduates are looking for jobs.
Facebook:
For Facebook, I am going to just have one centralized Facebook page for Visit Pittsburgh. As the followers increase, there is the option to split the main page into different pages like: Events, Sports, Professional, etc.
I plan to use picture posts, videos, and sharing different event pages on the Facebook page as well as some update posts about Visit Pittsburgh.
Since the Facebook has really already been launched, I would begin to start expanding on the events that would start being posted. I would add more things that relate to a younger audience looking to move to Pittsburgh.
Instagram:
Our instagram page would mostly be used to grow the brand. By posting consistent content of things going on in the city. It would not be much different from how the instagram page is now, but there would be more native content rather than reposting.
Another thing that I would take advantage of is using the link in the bio to direct people to event pages, or to things that are posted on the blog. I would also want to take advantage of instagram for marketing campaigns such as, “#tbt of pittsburgh history” or even Humans of Pittsburgh (example off of humans of New York).
Blog:
For the blog, I want to focus on creating native content that is sharable throughout different social media platforms. This is beneficial in branding, as well as gaining followers. Posts would include:
- Things to do in Pittsburgh: (Month)
- Best Restaurants (different varieties)
- Spotlight new restaurants, bars, events, small businesses
- Professional happy hours
- Visit Pittsburgh Sponsored events
The goal of this plan is still to extend my audience by getting the name Visit Pittsburgh to be more relevant to a younger crowd. I want to give them a one stop shop to everything Pittsburgh.
CONTENT OUTLINE
& SAMPLES
This is the example of an instagram post that would be created for the #tbt campaign. It would be used to give people an insight of what is important to the average yinzer. There could be posts about what the different parks symbolize like Point State Park, or even the importance of the different museums to Pittsburgh cultural history. Some examples could be Randyland or the Andy Warhol museum.
Visit Pittsburgh
#TBT On February 12th, 2001 at 7:58 am, the Three Rivers Stadium was based with 16 sticks on dynamite. There was a crowd that estimated at 20,000 watching from Point State Park and over 3,000 on Mount Washington watching as the stadium Pittsburghers knew and loved was taken down. The crowd endured the 21-degree temperature to gape in awe and bid adieu to the concrete bowl that had witnessed so many highs and lows in Pittsburgh sports since opening in July 1970.
This would be an example of a Facebook event post that would be created for young professionals at the Pittsburgh area. The way to get to younger people os convenience. So go to where they may already be going. This is why I picked a Pirates Game. A lot of young professionals go to Pirates games in their free time during the summer. If they just stop by, engage and relate to the company, they are more likely to use it.
Blog Post
My final content that I would formulate would be a blog post about events that are going on in the city. This could range from pop up shops, to new bar openings, to different fun events that would sound appealing to a younger audience. During the summer there are so many different events that go on in Pittsburgh that go unnoticed and have low attendance because of it. The more that Visit Pittsburgh can Bring light to these events, the more people will go to them.
RATIONALE
The reason that I picked Visit Pittsburgh as a company in general is because being born and raised in Pittsburgh, it has been really excited to see it get the recognition that is deserves. It is a wonderful city with so much potential, specifically with the younger working class. Students who used to leave and go to other cities are now staying, giving Pittsburgh a new refreshing, youthful life. Currently, Visit Pittsburgh has a good social media strategy. I just wanted to implement a stronger focus on the young working class. Through Facebook events, instagram, and a blog I feel as though the target audience would best be reached.
An important part of this strategy is to make it fun. This starts with finding the voice to target a younger audience, as well as maybe adapting the style guide (Fenton and Lee). Making you text content more relatable and “share worthy” will allow the branding of Visit Pittsburgh to expand past just tourism and move into something that locals can use everyday. My biggest hope for using Facebook and creating a blog specifically is to be able to have the sharing aspect. The more people share articles and events, the more exposure that the brand has to a larger audiences. This falls under virtual communities (Humphreys). Just like connections are important in the real world, they are just as important online, especially when it comes to engagement in social media.
Many social media platforms such as Facebook, have made it extremely easy to be able to track engagement (Shields). By creating a measurement plan, it is easy to keep goals in mind and attainable. For my strategy specifically, there are going to be a lot of events involved. By creating event pages on Facebook, you will be able to see how many people RSVP. This will help you get a gage so that you do not waste money on supplies that you do not need and also gage how much exposure that specific event is getting. Also, you will be able to compare the numbers of people who RSVP’d to the number of people who actually show up to the event. This is important data because it helps to see how many people are exposed to the call to action and how many people follow through.
Overall, the main goal is exposure to a younger demographic. People just assume that Visit Pittsburgh is just used for tourism. I want to expand that view, and allow local businesses and events be spotlighted so that people who live in Pittsburgh also use the website.
Fenton, Nicole and Kate Keifer Lee. Nicely Said: Writing for the Web with Purpose; PeachPit Press 2014.
Humphreys, Ashlee. Social Media: Enduring Principles. Oxford University Press, 2015.
Shields, Ben. Social Media Management: Persuasion in Networked Culture. Oxford University Press, 2017.