3 Students, 3 Ways to Use Flipboard
Educators / April 20, 2017
The Academy of Art University's Social Media Center in San Francisco, CA, is all about teaching students how to best use social media, blogs, and other tools to further their professional goals. (Don't miss our interview from last year with Program Director Stephan Rabimov.) Here, Jenny Truong, a senior BFA advertising student and a contributing editor at the Academy of Art University Social Media Center, shares the stories of three peers who use Flipboard to distribute their content and find inspiration.
The Internet has provided us with an extensive collection of ideas, stories, articles, memes and cat videos. We have come a long way from how we used to browse and consume the web. Nowadays, with over one billion webpages (and counting) and over two million blog posts are published everyday it's easy to get lost in a sea of misleading information. How does one go about keeping it sane? Flipboard to the rescue! And as a member of our global advisory board, they have you covered. Whether you are a social media specialist or somebody who browses the Internet for fun, if you have a passion, Flipboard has your topic. The web's most quality content is curated into a digestible and engaging format, for a seamless user experience.
At the Social Media Center at Academy of Art University, Flipboard is an invaluable tool not only for sourcing credible articles for research, but also for organization and distribution of original ideas. Here are some ways we're using Flipboard to make our lives easier.
Flipboard for Research: Vendela
"Since I'm a strategy student and a social media intern for Matty Media, I do a lot of research so Flipboard is a good tool for me, as I am curating and posting content on Facebook , Linkedin and the company blog."
Vendela is a BFA Advertising student, currently taking PRO 316: Social Media Data Analytics. Having taken PRO 314: Social Media Content Development and PRO 315: Social Media Strategies in the past, she learned the importance of social media as a key component for many brands today. "It's interesting because now we're moving into a world where companies are not companies anymore. Brands is what lives on social media. And branded content is what will make a change in the world. It's not just the product or service."
For any brand, it is necessary to maintain a relevant news feed; therefore, constantly updating all social channels is a priority. However, always developing original content often takes up too much time and resources. Finding similar material online is the way to go. "I like how you choose interests and categories and can easily search for keywords. You end up finding relevant articles that you wouldn't have found by simply Googling the same keyword," says Vendela. The majority of content on Flipboard derives from major news outlets, so it is guaranteed that sources are reliable. Researching ideas for original content is a streamlined process with Flipboard being a main source for trending stories. "Social media is kind of like white noise. Content has to be so good to cut through the noise, and that's what is going to get people's attention," she says.
Flipboard for Organization: Krystyn
"Flipboard is useful to keep on top of things in my industry and from different sources I trust."
Krystyn is a BFA Fashion Styling student, currently taking PRO 316: Social Media Data Analytics and FSH 218: Blogging – Content Creation and Promotion. She understands social media with a business perspective, as brands are quickly jumping onto the digital spectrum in order to reach that untapped audience. "More and more brands are figuring it out that to get their brand out there, they need social media to stay relevant." After taking PRO 314: Social Media Content Development and PRO 315: Social Media Strategies, she was able to apply it to her career and gain the attention of people in her industry.
Flipboard became a central system that contained relevant articles that she was interested in to use in her blog. Her blogging class required her to generate one post a week, and having Flipboard to narrow down different articles is helpful when it comes to organization. "It had many articles from a wide range of sources that pertained to the subject of my blog, and made it easy to do curated posts," Krystyn shares. With its user-friendly interface, Flipboard's organization system is efficient, especially when accessing different articles within their respective categories. Having the right content flipped into its categories allowed for an easy to browse experience, rather than diving into unorganized chaos by other means. "Consistency and organization is key."
Flipboard for Distribution: Nivetha
"I use Flipboard personally and in my time as an intern for Fashion School Daily. It's a platform that is so easy to manipulate and also gives the user the experience of a print magazine."
Nivetha is an MA Fashion Journalism student currently taking PRO 315: Social Media Strategies. She recognizes the impact of social media and its value to our daily routines. "It has become a huge part of our lives that it's impossible to imagine going a single day without being exposed to a social media campaign or without opening a single social media app on one's phone."
As an intern for Fashion School Daily, Nivetha's role calls for writing original content for the blog, but knowing how to distribute that content is necessary in order to engage with the right audience. "It is important to understand what category our articles fall under. Whether it talks about School of Fashion's alumni or scholarships, it's important to flip a story under the right category," she explains. Anybody browsing Fashion School Daily's Flipboard Magazines will easily find the kinds of content they want to read, and ultimately lead them to the original website. "I find Flipboard to be a great platform, because it gives users the ability to choose what they want to read about. In a way, users can make their own custom magazines by following posts of their interest."
With the help of Flipboard's existing audience, there is the possibility of expanding to a wider reach for more engagement and views. "Social media brings us immediate information at our fingertips, literally," Niventha expresses. "It also gives a voice to everyone who utilizes it."
The Social Media Center at the Academy of Art University also utilizes the same tools we teach in our classrooms. In other words, we do what we preach! Flipboard has become a fundamental tool for Center's daily routine. From posting on Facebook to drafting new stories on Medium, it offers a platform for research, organization and distribution of content. We understand that it is vital to create a voice that people can trust, and Flipboard helps us to source the most interesting articles online that we can depend on for authenticity and with full trustworthiness.
Flipboard filters out the "fake news" so that we are able to curate relevant content that best represents our brand. This way, we are able to offer students trending topics that they can benefit from. With so many reputable sources, you can quickly learn a thing or two simply by scrolling through what's trending in the different categories. Classroom environment or not, Flipboard is a versatile tool that keeps on giving.
What's your passion? Find it on Flipboard!
-Jenny Truong, Social Media Center's Contributing Editor, and BFA Advertising
Posted in: Academy of Art social media Students
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