Social Media Platforms are Becoming Shopping Sites

According to a Wall Street Journal article by Resty Woro Yuniar, in Southeast Asia, 30% of online sales were through social media platforms in 2016. Companies are saying that there is easy revenue through this plan. I have seen many advertisements for different clothing options and I know there are clothing brands that post pictures of all of their new releases, but I still shop through the store's website or a third-party site. In Southeast Asia, different social media companies have launched shopping features on their apps. Also, customer assistance is right at the push of a button through the Facebook messaging app.

This a great use of social media for companies to expand and create different channels for consumers to get to their product. I don't know how I feel about this though. I kind of want my social media and shopping separate for the most part but I understand how convenient it would be to have shopping outlets on sites that you visit every day. I do foresee America going to this style eventually. It's just a matter of when and whether it will be as effective here as it is in Southeast Asia right now.

2016 Year in Review

This year was crazy. Like seriously, what happened? It seemed like it flew by quicker than any other year I've experienced. It started with a new Star Wars movie and took twists and turns all the way to one of the most talked about elections in the history of the world. I'm in college, which is weird and exciting, my life is moving at a fast pace and the world seems like it trying to out-pace me. Seriously, what is going  on? Then there was the Olympics, a gorilla, R.I.P. Harambe, like so much stuff happened this year. Looking back on this year, it's pretty crazy to say the world is still standing.

I am thankful that we are all alive though. I am thankful for all of the friendships that I have made this year and continued to foster. No matter how messed up this world is now, we are still here and we do have to graduate eventually. Finals is upon us and we are almost halfway through the year. I'm ready for the school year to be over and all of this nonsense that was pop culture in 2016 to be over as well. Unfortunately, I do not foresee a calm and peaceful 2017. It might be even crazier than 2016 for all I know. Let's go into it with open minds and try to minimize our mental breakdowns. Feliz Navidad.

Measure What Matters

Our class just finished the book we were reading, "Measure What Matters." I think the book was very effective in teaching how social media measurement is a very important part of running a business. Not only is it an important part of the business, but measuring it can increase profits greatly. I think the book discussed many important details of how to measure your social media efforts. The book can be easily applied to the workplace. 

Running different social media accounts for organizations on campus can be difficult and you don't always know if you are posting in an effective way. Reading this book helped me right now, even with the smaller accounts that I am doing. In the future, if I am still working with social media, it will be even more helpful. For anyone in public relations, I would definitely recommend reading it.