Is Social Media Addiction a Company Success?

I recently read an excellent article, Addicted to Your iPhone? You're Not Alone by Bianca Bosker. Bianca has a great point of view on the addiction people in today's society have with their phones. It's amazing to me how companies know how to get us consumers to actually become "addicted" to their apps and websites. Bianca talked to Tristan Harris, who is working on trying to convince companies that they can design tech that prevents us from distraction instead of being the source of our distraction. Watch his TedTalk on this subject here. 

"That itch to glance at our phone is a natural response to apps and websites engineered to get us scrolling as frequently as possible". 

When I finished reading this article, I realized that I am addicted to my phone and many of the social media apps on it, including Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram. I've never really thought about how I immediately reach for my phone whenever I'm bored. It's become a habit, and one that I need to work on eliminating.

Facebook
"Checking that Facebook friend request will only take a few seconds, we reason, though research shows that when interrupted, people take an average of 25 minutes to return to their original task".

This statistic in the article hits home in my life. I get one notification from Facebook, and open my phone with the full intention of only checking that one read pop-up, and find myself watching a funny video 30 minutes later after scrolling through my newsfeed. Then once Friday rolls around, I'm stressed trying to finish homework so I can enjoy my weekend. If I would have stayed focused on it rather than checking my Facebook, I would have been able to start my weekend 3+ hours earlier. I found it interesting how all apps use red as their notification color, because it grabs our attention the most. Like in the article, I also feel socially obligated to respond to people's messages, comments, and friend requests immediately to show that I am in the loop and know what's going on at all times.

Snapchat
Snapchat has become almost as popular as texting anymore, as it adds more personality and facial expressions to conversations. One way Snapchat has begin to keep people snapping on a daily basis is adding a snap streak element that counts how many consecutive days you and one person snap back and forth. I'm not big on the snap streaks, and it's almost a sense of relief to me when they are broken, because I don't have to have anxiety about keeping them up.  I have friends that will get angry with friends when they "break the streak", and friends who even will give their friends their login information to snap themselves when they know they will be on vacation or out of service for longer than 24 hours. It's crazy how something this irrelevant can have that type of pull on you.

Instagram
"'Rewarding someone with an instantaneous 'like' after they post a photo can reinforce the action, and potentially shift it from an occasional to a daily activity".

Instagram is one of my biggest addictions. When I get bored, I immediately go to scrolling through my Instagram feed. I've also become addicted to making sure my posts are ones that I will get the maximum likes on. In the past when I would post a picture, I would keep track of how many likes per minute I get, and would get worried if I didn't have a certain amount of likes within a certain time. I would waste more time on trying to make my life look impressive instead of actually relaxing and enjoying it. And this is what the people who work at Instagram want, however unhealthy it is.

SO WHY DO WE STRESS OVER THIS KIND OF STUFF!? 

When you truly think about it, it's unproductive and a big waste of time. 

And yet, we all still participate in it. Why are we so obsessed with making sure everyone else knows exactly what we're doing at every minute of every day? It's become a way of communicating without actually communicating. It's sad that I know what's going on in the daily lives of many of my friends because of their Instagram posts and Snapchat stories, but might not have personally communicated with them one on one in a couple of months! All of these social media sites program us to need to constantly be in the know. I cannot tell you how many times a day I hear "Did you see her Instagram post?" or "Did you see what happened at the game? It's all over everyone's snapchat stories!"

Don't get me wrong, I believe that social media is an excellent tool to keep in touch with those who matter to us, but it shouldn't consume our lives the way it does. We live in a three-dimensional world, and therefore need to stop focusing so much on the two-dimensional screen of our phones and computer screens. 

We will not gain any experiences by scrolling through our newsfeed. Instead, we will be vicariously living through everyone else's. 

At the beginning of this blog, I mentioned Tristan Harris, founder of Time Well Spent. Time Well Spent is a website that encourages technology users to support the creation of better tech that could protect us from distraction.  I advise everyone to check it out and focus more on only using your phone when it is truly necessary, and not to use it as your main cure for boredom. Try limiting yourself to checking your social media only once or twice per day, and focus on the real world around you in between. 

Starting today, stop scrolling through everyone else's memories. 

Go out and make your own.

The Persuaders -

I recently watched a PBS Film called "The Persuaders". This film highlights the marketing industry, and how it constantly changes to keep its audiences engaged. Because they are making room in their minds for new information, consumers become numb to advertising messages after awhile. Marketers constantly are updating their messages and thinking of new and creative ways to recapture their target audience's attention. They are finding new ways and places to advertise that will grab our attention in new and unique ways.


Think about Times Square. On average, 300,000 pedestrians walk through Times Square and around 115,000 people drive through it. 100 million people visit here each year. According the the official website for Times Square, "Times Square signage advertising can expect nearly 1.5 million impressions each day". It costs anywhere from $1.1 million to $4 million a year to rent one of these massive ad spaces. Walking around Times Square is over stimulating, however it is one of the most desirable places for companies to advertise their brand. In today's society, the average person see around 5,000 ads per day. So how do advertisers make it so their company stands out from the rest?  It is no longer effective to simply say that your product is service is better, faster, stronger, cheaper, etc. CEO of Saatdhi and Saatchi Advertsing Kevin Roberts says that "what consumers want now is an emotional connection - they want to be able to connect with what's behind the brand, what's behind the promise. The brands that can move to that emotional level, that can create loyalty beyond reason, are going to be the brands where premium lie". Marketers now use emotions to capture consumers' attention.

In the film author Naomi Klein says "When you listen to brand managers talk, you can quite quite carried away in this idea that they actually are fulfilling these needs that we have for community and narrative and transcendence. But in the end it is...a laptop and a pair ofrunning shoes. And they might be great, but they're not actually going to fulfill those needs". Advertisers have even started going as  far as advertising their product in a way that it defines you. A good example of this is Nike. Nike has branded themselves as the top athletic performance gear company. Some people even go as far as believing they cannot reach their peak performance if they are not wearing Nike shoes. At the end of the day, that same person might not even be able to tell the difference between a pair of Nike shoes and a pair of Under Armour shoes if they didn't have the name on them. This is because Nike has established such a strong brand that people want to wear it and be associated with it.

Social Norms vs. Market Norms

I recently finished reading a book called Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely. This book discusses why we as humans do not make smart, rational decisions, but rather predictable and irrational decisions. One topic in this book I found interesting was the idea of social norms and market norms, and what behaviors trigger which norm. Dan Ariely used a great example of big family dinners. The cook would see it as rude if one of the family members pulled out their wallet and asked how much dinner was worth. So how is this different from going out with a colleague and pulling out your wallet to pay for your portion of the dinner? According to Dan Ariely, "we live simultaneously in two different worlds - one where social norms prevail, and the other where market norms make the rules".

What are social norms?

Social norms are the norms we follow for the warm and fuzzy feelings from feeling needed and appreciated. According to Dan Ariely, "Social norms are wrapped up in our social nature and our need for community". These relationships are personal and more emotional than market relationships. These norms are effective when with family, friends, or when you're volunteering. In these type of situations, you're not expected to pay people for services, and are not expecting any payments for the tasks you perform. This could include making a big family dinner, helping a neighbor move a couch, or any friendly requests that people make of one another.

What are market norms?

Market norms are the opposite of social norms. According to Dan Ariely,"when you are in the domain of market norms, you get what you pay for". These sharp-edged exchanges include wages, prices, rents, interest, and cost-and-benefits. These norms are seen most in the business world, such as business deals and salaries. When you're at the grocery store, the cashier isn't just going to let you go through checkout and give you free bananas! You have to pay for the bananas that you're buying. In exchange for money, you are able to eat.



What happens when these norms overlap?
Where is the line drawn between these two types of norms? Sometimes, it's very obvious, and other times it is not. For example, how long can you have your neighbors watch your dogs or kids before you owe them something? One hour? One day? One week? Usually, this decision is based on the relationship and your own personal opinion.

Companies sometime struggle with the market norms versus the social norms. Companies such as State Farm and Home Depot try to establish a social relationship with their customers. State Farm for example uses the slogan "like a good neighbor, State Farm is there", trying to convince their customers that they are empathic and understanding.This can sometimes cause issues concerning the customer's relationship with the company. When there is a strip market relationship, customers understand that they must pay on time, or they'll be a late fee. However, when you add a "neighbor" aspect to the picture, customers don't understand why the neighbor aspect doesn't apply to all parts of the business model.

I have a similar relationship with my management company here in Bozeman, Montana. They are extremely friendly and reach out to make sure that things are going okay at our house. They do not always respond in the timeliest of manners, but they expect you to understand. However, when something does not go their way, or we have a problem that they are responsible for, they flip the switch and try to abide by market norms. As a customer, it is very frustrating to believe that you have a certain type of relationship with them, but they constantly flip-flop between the two.

There will never be a defined line that separates social norms and market norms. It will differ with every relationship. There are also relationships where both social and market norms are used depending on the situation. The key is to make sure both parties are on the same page about which norms are in effect in which situations.

Staying True to Yourself in a Big City

Meghan Daum

"My Misspent Youth" tells the story of the early life of best-selling author, Meghan Daum. Meghan moved to New York City in hopes of living a luxurious and high-status life. However during her time in the city, she found herself herself miserable, lonely, and in debt. She always was looking for "the next best thing" in regards to schooling, jobs, and living arrangements. At the end of the piece, Meghan found herself moving out of the city because she could no longer afford to live there.

Warren and I at FashionFirst in Seattle

Like Meghan, I too will be chasing my dreams and moving to the big city of Los Angeles after graduation. I have received a job offer from Hall of Fame Quarterback Warren Moon's company, Sports 1 Marketing after interning with them this past summer. Both Warren and CEO David Meltzer used to work for Leigh Steinberg, the Sports and Entertainment agency that inspired the Tom Cruise film, Jerry McGuire.

My co-workers and I at the Rose Bowl for
the 4th of July

One of my biggest fears is that I will always be trying to "upgrade" my life, as Meghan did in her 20s. I believe that where Meghan Daum went wrong was she was never satisfied with being where she was in life. Although she ended up being successful in the end, I believe she could have reached the same end point without putting herself in such misery and debt during her 20s.

My co-workers and I attending the
ESPY Awards

I want to learn from Meghan's financial mistakes regarding her large amount of debt. Just like New York, Los Angeles is an expensive city to live in. Between rent, dining, and activities, it will be hard to save large amounts of money at a time. In My Misspent Youth, Meghan talks about how she went to the most expensive school and moved into a studio apartment as soon as she could. While this is tempting, I know that in order to live in Los Angeles and be comfortable, I might have to sacrifice things such as living on my own, at least for the first couple of years.

I can empathize with Megan to a point as well. Before this summer, Growing up in a small mountain town nestled in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, I had never seen or been a part of the high-end city lifestyle. When the people you are surrounding with "have it all", its hard to not to compare yourself to them and wish for the same things. It's incredibly easy to accept invitations to go out to fancy dinners and drive long distances on the weekends to go to the beach. It's also extremely tempting to buy higher-end clothes and accessories in order to fit in. And on top of all of that, it is easy to forget who you are and what makes you unique as an individual.

2016 ESPY Awards

It is an everyday struggle to not get caught up in status in a society that focuses a great deal on appearance and wealth. One of the best lessons I learned this summer is most people care more about your personality and attitude than about your status. Listening to other peoples' stories has made me realize that focusing on status and the "high-end city living" dream leads the majority of people to depression, anxiety, and long-term debt. Before they know it, they have dug themselves into such a deep hole, that they are merely surviving and just trying to get from day to day. I don't ever want to reach the point where I am just trying to survive, and lose my identity trying to live a high-status life.

Going forward, my plan is to stay humble, and remind myself everyday that I am doing this job not for the status, but because I am passionate about it. I want to keep the hunger and awe I had this summer, and do not ever want to reach the point where I don't appreciate all the experiences that this job will enable me to have. 

Los Angeles, California

I will leave you with a quote that my mother has told me since I was a little girl: "When you get there, remember where you came from". Even all the way out in L.A., I will be proud to say that I am from Golden, Colorado, where Coors beer is brewed and Where the West Lives. I have an incredible opportunity ahead of me in Los Angeles and I hope to be successful at my job. However, I do not want to focus solely on "making my way to the top". I want to use this opportunity to grow as a person while still staying true to who I am. I wish to control my own destiny, rather than being forced to abandon my dream due to misery and debt. 

Golden, Colorado

The Relationship Between Deadlines and Procrastination

Dan Ariely's Predictably Irrational is a novel that concerns consumer behavior. Dan believes that people do not make rational decisions as most economic theories suggest. He suggests that rather they make predictably irrational decisions. The book discusses the many experiments he has conducted to prove this theory of his.

In the book, Dan he talks about an experiment he did with his college classes concerning deadlines. He was teaching a class with three sections. Each section would have three papers due over the 12 week course. He told the first class that they can turn their papers in at any point before the end of the semester, however hey had to set their own deadlines that they were expected to stick to. The second section was told that they had no deadlines whatsoever. The third section was giving strict deadlines they were required to stick to with no flexibility.

So which one of classes received the best average grade on their papers by the end of the semester? The section with the best grades was the one that required the students to stick to strict deadlines. The section with the worst grades was the one that set no deadlines at all. And in the middle was the section that was told to set their own deadlines. Two conclusions could be made from this experiment. The first one was that students procrastinate. The second conclusion was that the best way to cure procrastination is to take away students' freedom and to set strictly enforced deadlines.

Personally, I would rather have teachers enforce strict deadlines for each project equally spaced on during the semester. Before this semester, I would have told you I'd prefer to do projects on my own time. This semester for me has been full of projects that don't have strict deadlines. I already have found myself procrastinating more than usual, which ultimately creates unneeded stress in my life. It is only about 6 weeks into the semester, and I already feel like I am far behind on my school work. Even though deadlines can sometimes create inconveniences, they help you stay on track for the semester. While you can still procrastinate up to the deadline, the work won't pile up near as badly. There will be smaller pileups rather than a large pileup at the end of the semester, which is what I fear will happen to me come December. It will be interesting to compare my grades after this semester to my grades in previous semesters.

Having no deadlines sounds like a dream come true at the beginning of the semester. You feel empowered, and experience a sense of freedom. However, the average student feels overwhelmed and regretful when they cram all of their projects that don't have deadlines into the last week of the semester. Spaced out deadlines are ideal, and will help you not procrastinate. Next time you are working on a large project, try setting deadlines for different parts of the projects that group members can hold each other accountable for. Even setting personable deadlines is better than setting no deadlines at all. The word "deadline" shouldn't be daunting. Instead, it should be seen as a motivational word that keeps you away from the consequences of procrastination. So, make sure to always "Keep Calm and Meet Deadlines"!

The Effect Branding has on a Company's Identity

Branding is everything for a company. It establishes what a customer instantly thinks about when they see the brand or hear the brand name. Look at the logo below. Without the company's name even on them, you are able to instantly know what they are, and have some sort of emotional tie to them. For example, when I see the Olympics Rings, I think of unity and competitiveness. I think of watching Michael Phelps winning 23 gold medals and becoming the most decorated Olympian of all time. I think about traveling and exploring new places. When I think of Apple,  I think of innovation and creativity. I think of the best of the best technology. I see the Nike swoosh and immediately think about elite sports clothing. I think about them having the best professional athlete endorsements, and I think of competitiveness. The company tagline "Just Do It" comes to mind as well.

Establishing a brand for your company gives customers a reason to come back and be loyal customers. I read an article in Forbes magazine the other day called "Why Brand Building is Important". In this article, the author states that:

"Branding is fundamental. Branding is basic. Branding is essential. Building brands builds incredible value for companies and corporations". 

Another example that proves how powerful a brand image can be is SeaWorld. When you say SeaWorld to someone, the first thing that immediately comes to the majority of people's minds are the orcas. SeaWorld has centered their branding around Shamu the Orca, and about how magical these animals are. They focus on the interaction between humans and these large whales. This brand has worked wonders for SeaWorld in the past. However, with the release of the film Blackfish, this brand is no longer one that SeaWorld wants to use. Blackfish was a film made about SeaWorld's most famous orca, Tilikum, who has taken the lives of several people. The film blames captivity for these incidents, and argues that orcas are not meant to be kept in small exhibits, but are meant to swim freely in the ocean. Blackfish went viral, and many people were disgusted. Now, instead of seeing SeaWorld as a magical place, they associated the brand with animal cruelty and sadness. SeaWorld's revenue has dramatically dropped since the film was released, and now they have announced that the orcas they already have will be the last Orcas SeaWorld has. They will no longer breed in house.

In class, we worked on thinking of ways to have Seaward refurbish their brand so that it is seen in a positive light again. We decided what would need to be done is SeaWorld will have to stop using the orcas as their main marketing tool. They also should put a heavy focus on educating their audience about how we can work together to save our oceans. They might even go as far as only putting rescued animals in captivity who would not have survived on their own in the ocean.

It's amazing how much impact a brand can have on a company, both in a positive or negative way. Brandin is the most important part of your marketing plan. Without it, your company has no identity and nothing for your customers to relate to or be associated with.

Choices, Choices, Choices....Why More is not Always Better

Have you ever thought about how many choices you make in one day? I just finished reading The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz. This book discusses how everyday decisions have become so complex for us due to the abundance of choices that we can choose from. He talks about how more is not always better though, because we begin to have unrealistic expectations about things, and all these options can be overwhelming an detrimental to our emotional health.

This past weekend I traveled up to Seattle for a fashion show. During some of my free time, I went with some of my friends to shop downtown. One of the first places we stopped was Nordstrom's. With the Paradox of Choice in mind, I came to realize that the size and variety of the store was somewhat overwhelming, but not because I was new to this. I grew up in the big city of Denver, and am used to big department stores. It was because of how many choices there were for each department. While my friends shopped in the shoe department, I decided to head over to the makeup department to grab some new foundation. When I got over there, I was overwhelmed by all of the options. Not only were there more than 20 different brands, but each brand had on average 10 different shades of color. On top of that, there were liquid and powder options. I didn't even know where to start. I tried comparing different brands to each other to see if I would like one more than the other. I began to think about how easy it would be if there was just one brand, with a medium, light, and dark shade. I started to look at lipstick too, but again, overall there had to be over 100 different options. Finally, I gave up and decided to get what I normally get back in Bozeman. I went back over to the shoe department to join my friends. Even in this department, I noticed the wide variety of options. From boots to sandals to flats to high heels to tennis shoes, there were over 100 different styles. Looking at heels alone, there were dress heels, heeled booties, wedges, and stilettos. And of course there were tons of different colors and patterns for each style. I started to think about how I was ever able to choose just one or even two or three pairs at a time. The choices seemed endless in my mind.

It's amazing how many choices are presented to us every day. In the society that we live in, we value individualism. We encourage people to be different and throw as many choices at them as we can to give them the power of choice. But what if we didn't have these options? For example, what if we had one pair of shoes for work, one for physical activity, and one for dressing up? Personally, I own over 40 pairs of shoes, and around 10 of these are boots alone. I couldn't imagine having only 4 pairs to choose from each day. But it would make making my decision a lot easier and lower my expectations. Having so many choices is certainly a tradeoff. We are programmed to think "the more choices, the better". However, the more choices that are presented to us, the harder it is to make our overall decision, and the more time we spend contemplating that decision. More is not always better.