Hockey+Periodical

http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=135134416&locale=en_US&trk=tab_pro)
 * Stefan Kubus - JRN 492 (LinkedIn:**

David's [|Twitter], [|Facebook], [|Blog]


 * April 12:** David continues to pick up some likes here and there on Facebook, but nothing substantial, considering he's still starting out. The tagging process seemed to work well. He actually received an e-mail about the ad on campus, which is really nice to see. The fact that someone took time to do that was special, especially since I had a big influence in that. I'll admit, as a student myself, I rarely stop to look at anything posted on campus unless it's something I'm interested in. But I think the fact that the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs are finally upon us really made for some excellent timing overall.

With the playoffs underway, it gives David a plethora of topics to write about, including breaking down first-round match ups right now. I decided to have him take a different approach, and try an audio or video blog. This is something he is working on right now, so it should be finished soon. The plan is to upload it to YouTube so that others who search the tags "playoffs," "NHL," along with whatever teams or players it may involve can see it. It should help improve traffic to his blog and other social media pages.


 * The tagging's a great idea, Stefan! I admit, I'd go check out the flyer if I saw those logos around. You'r doing great. Please take all the links to his channels and post them at the top of the page here. Thanks --Karl**


 * April 2:** It was very difficult coming up with a great way to market David's writing to increase readership online. It's pretty tricky, but we both came up with something, with the help of a friend's idea from a class he took.

David had tagged his hockey shield symbolizing his Facebook page around campus after we discussed it as a marketing technique. But just the logo itself would be a foolish thing to draw with nobody knowing what it was. In various areas around campus, David had placed flyers for his blog that we designed together. These included his name, a link to his Facebook page, his Twitter handle, a short bio, and why people should be going to him for their hockey news over other sources. That way, if people saw the logo tagged on campus, and they came across the flyer, it would certainly catch their eye and make them stop to check it out. It seemed to work out well, as we noticed his page likes increased from the week before.




 * March 21:** David's [|Facebook page] is now linked to his blog, which is really helping out the traffic. I know his friends and I are sharing the posts on Facebook and Twitter to help spread the word to other people. The only discouraging thing here, at this point, is that PR staffs don't exactly just hand out credentials to anybody who calls himself or herself a journalist. It would be great if I could get David into real events somehow, but that seems out of the plan. So now, with his writing, it's all about getting his opinion and analysis out to more people. Building the crowd is ultimately what this comes down to. Obviously, utilizing every piece of social media out there just for the sake of being on there isn't the best approach. I didn't think FourSquare or other location-based services were necessary, considering now that on Twitter and Facebook you can add a location to all your posts.

His Facebook page is set up so that I get a weekly e-mail with the analytics of the site's traffic and any increases in "likes." That way, it's easy to see the demographics of the following, and tend to the needs of the crowd that isn't reading his stuff. Writing for [|MiHockey] now really gives me a sense of what the field is like. I have some sources of my own now, so I'm seeing about putting him in touch with Michael Caples, editor of the website and magazine (my boss) to see if he can help with the traffic increase. You hear it all the time in the journalism world: it sucks, but it really is all about who you know when making your first move. After that, it's all about what you know.


 * Could you PLEASE tell me your name?? You've given this a lot of thought, but I still don't get what the specific strategic goals are. To drive traffic to the website? To his blog? Has David really tweeted 356 times in the couple of weeks since you set him up and grab 111 folowers? That seems like a lot. Are you certain he didn't already have a Twitter account? I need you to add links to his Facebook, Twitter and website at the top of this page. But overall, good thinking!**

//Hi there Professor! Stefan Kubus here. I asked David about Twitter. He said he had an account, but that he never used it. It was merely for a class. Yes, he is a fiend when it comes to hockey, as I said. A lot of those tweets are re-tweets, but still. With it being incredibly easy and simple to get notifications via iPhone, he has Twitter with him wherever he goes, and is constantly on it. He only has 34 followers right now, which certainly isn't much. You were looking at how many he is following. No worries. The main goals are, yes, to drive traffic to both his website and his Facebook page.//


 * Who is this? No name. You've done a really nice job working out David's social media plans and strategy. I look forward to seeing his readership increase! What analytics are you using to measure his success. Your mind map has SEO only with Google+? Looking for links to Facebook and blog, and anything else you come up with, like Pinterest. -Karl**


 * March 12:** David has taken such a liking to Twitter that he's using his account I set up for him more for personal usage now it seems. But his bio is very well-spoken, including his life aspirations, as well as including a link to his hockey blog. After discussion, he agreed with me when I suggested he either make a new account for his hockey blog solely, or just post more of his musings on his Twitter account. At the same time, I think it's a positive thing when you post both about your topic of interest that people are following you for IN ADDITION to everyday activities you are doing. It shows you are a human being like the rest of us, and can give followers a more firm belief in you and your work as a person.

Now that he has the hang of things like Facebook and Twitter, which he got rather quickly (I guess it helps he's still relatively young), I further expanded on social media tools that he has available to him. It's funny because when we sat down the other day, he told me that he used Bubbl.us to help study for a midterm before break. Talk about embracing social media...

Pinterest is something that we both agreed would not really benefit his blog too much at first, but since he has an iPhone, I helped him out with it. On the iPhone, there is an app you can download called "Instagram." Instagram lets you alter photos you take on your phone with cool filters and effects that make them look very sharp and stunning. Since he has an iPhone (something I would kill to have as a journalist and hopefully will have come May), I thought, "What a great way to share visual media with his followers and fans!" So, he now uses Instagram to post images via Twitter and Facebook. He has since started using Pinterest to share these pictures and tag them appropriately so people around the world with interests in hockey and whatever particular team can find them!


 * March 6:** While working with David, I initially set up a [|Twitter] account for him. Simply, I just named it after his name so that I could show him the basics and that he could get used to all the various aspects. Hash-tagging, adding a location to his tweets, and the wide variety of people he discovered he could follow was pretty eye-opening. I had to explain to him how hash-tagging worked, which he began to enjoy thoroughly. The fact that people around the world can see things you post, as well as being able to bounce ideas or comments back and forth is a powerful tool.

Additionally, we collaborated on a brief brainstorming project here (via Bubbl.us: [|3y4y5_New-Sheet.jpg]) I primarily let him run the brainstorming session since I wanted to get an idea of just what direction he hoped to take with his writing and broadcasting future. Since he wasn't all that sure, I showed him the different routes he could take. Now, with that being said, I'm not expert in all things journalism as I am still a student, but it helped organize thoughts just jotting them down in a visual sense. I gave him an introduction to the program, too, which is a very easy-to-learn software. He told me that he's now more driven than ever because of all these new tools opened up to him.


 * February 28th:** A friend of mine, David Defever, has been trying to make his mark in the world of hockey journalism. He's always had an undying passion for the sport. He's incredibly wise on both the history of the NHL (as well as the present), always has a strong opinion; he lives to argue about this sort of stuff.

But his main problem, is that he's rather technologically challenged. He has a website that he recently started to begin sharing his thoughts on the latest happenings in the hockey world. He, however, has a rather unoriginal, weak title for his site: "Hockey Talk." Additionally, he has not began to utilize social media for his blog yet. Twitter and Facebook would be enormous in promoting his work, as I've learned in JRN 203 and now even more in JRN 492. He could really use these to his benefit.

So, I sat down with him to discuss the possibilities. He has a Facebook for himself, but not his website. As far as Twitter goes, he hadn't given it a thought. But after explaining the potential networking opportunities and value it really holds, he began getting excited about it all. He agreed to let me be his social media "go-to" guy. Fortunately, his site was a WordPress site. That instantly got me excited because of the potential that WordPress holds. Having used both WordPress and Blogger myself, I realized just how much more extensive and effective WordPress is. So, the preliminary plans here are to set up a Facebook page and Twitter account for him, show him the ropes, help him improve his website, and teach him about hash-tagging and the such. We're both incredibly thrilled to take on the challenge and see just how much we can grow his following.

Stay tuned for the next update in this adventure!