P1 B

 P1 B: Content

 

Facebook

Facebook’s content consists of various ways in which you can connect with others online. For instance, users are able to share their own posts with friends, which can consist of text and images of their choice. Others who are ‘friends’ are then able to ‘like’, ‘react’ or comment on their post, also being given the option to ‘share’ this post on their own timeline for others to see. There is no maximum amount of friends who you are allowed to have through Facebook, although once a request has been sent, the person would then have to ‘accept’ you, in order for you to interact and see each other’s posts.

Business and celebrity pages can also be made through Facebook accounts, which allows companies to publicise products and be more open to the public eye. This may further the success of many business’ and companies, as pages can be shared for thousands of people across the world to see.

Facebook provides games through their site for users to play either themselves, or by sending a request, they can do this through interaction with others. Once a request has been sent, the other person can then decide whether they wish to accept and play, or decline the offer.

Another way in which people can interact through Facebook, is by sharing videos which have become ‘popular’ in the public eye. This means that if a video has been uploaded, it may have been shared by thousands of people worldwide, and has gained thousands of views as a result. This can bring people together as a result, due to the idea that people are able to comment back to each other with perhaps their opinion on the video, and are interacting as a result.

The USP

Below are some of the traits which present how Facebook differs to other social media accounts.

Facebook uses emotional bonding to help people stay connected over Facebook with their friends, colleagues, customers, potential customers and fans.

The ‘Like’ feature has made Facebook more engaging, although other social media accounts have now taken this idea also, such as Instagram.

Twitter

Through social networking service Twitter, users are able to post and interact through messages which are known as ‘tweets’ for each of their ‘followers’ to view. Such posts are restricted to 40 characters, meaning they are only allowed to write a certain amount of information per tweet they share. It is also a requirement to be registered to Twitter before being able to share tweets, as this is unnecessary otherwise.

Hashtags are used through Twitter, as a way for users to group together a topic or type of such information or headlines. A hashtag is done using the # sign, whereas the @ sign is used and followed by a username, for mentioning or replying to others in a tweet. To repost a message from another Twitter user and share it with one’s own followers, a user can click the ‘retweet’ button within the tweet.

A phrase, word or topic that is mentioned at a greater rate than others is said to be a “trending topic”. Trending topics become popular either through a concerted effort by users, or because of an event that prompts people to talk about a specific topic. These topics help Twitter and their users to understand what is happening in the world and what people’s opinions are about it.

A verified Twitter account formally validates the identity of the person or company that owns the account- the aim of the ‘verified’ status is to prove that a real world person or company is not being impersonated through the placement of a small, blue checkmark by the top right corner of a user’s page, or next to the username in the platform’s Search function.       

                                                   

The USP

Twitter is seen to differ with various other social media accounts due to a crucial design choice Twitter made of limiting the word count in any messages shared very strictly. This simplifies texting and focuses the whole world to think in 140 characters. This choice helps Twitter’s feed to appear more clean.

Instagram

Through Instagram, users are able to upload a standard photo and apply a digital layer which can give it the appearance of professional editing. Some filters enhance the colours in a photo, whilst others can dull the light to a soft glow for an aged, vintage appearance. In order to use Instagram, you are requested to sign up and make your own account. This way, the photos you are uploaded will be under your account name, meaning you will automatically hold a Copyright law for your images. As Instagram is a social app, it is essential that you connect to other social accounts in order to get the most out of the experience. This way each time you upload a photo to Instagram, you’ll have the option to share to each of the social networks you’ve enabled, or to none. If you choose to share to none, the photo will only post to Instagram, being viewable to only the users who are following you on the app.

The main reason that people use Instagram is to share photos online. Once you have chosen a photo to upload, you are then able to choose from 17 famous Instagram filters which add different pre-determined layers to your photos, and give the effect that you’ve altered or professionally edited them. Many filters add “vintage” effects, which have certainly pleased many a hipster.

Whilst sharing your photos on Instagram, people are able to “like” or comment on your post, meaning you are able to interact with your followers in a public way. There is also the choice to use direct messages which alternatively hide your messages from the public so that you can talk to others in a more private way.

 

The USP

Instagram’s unique selling point is viewed by some people to be the fact that it holds so much creativity through a photo sharing platform. For instance, while a status update on Twitter or Facebook can be constantly shared by many people, this can become boring and so Instagram is given the effect of being shown as a more original social
media account.


Source: http://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/100215/twitter-vs-facebook-vs-instagram-who-target-audience.asp