P5 Developing A New Social Media App

P5A - Purpose

I am planning to develop a new LGBTQ social media that is aiming to bring the LGBT community closer. The app will be designed as a chat app where users can make new friends, host chat rooms, post pictures about their daily life and special events and will have a strong support base fro individuals within the community who may need a bit of a helping hand. The app aims to bring people closer and allows for certain individuals to speak out in the comfort of the app. The community can often be frowned upon and discriminated against which means that some people can not express themselves properly on certain types of social media whereas this app will solve the problem by allowing people to just be themselves in the account that they make.

The app will be aimed at individuals within the community or people who are just interested and want to find out some more about it. This is because the app is gender neutral and supports all different types of genders that are supported within the LGBTQ community. Certain studies show that many people can still not express themselves fully on the likes of Facebook and Instagram due to the fear of negative discrimination or cyber bullying. This app will therefore take the place of others and has a complete privacy feel due to the sensitive nature of the subject and issues that are targeted.

P5B - Content

My app will include many unique features that will appeal to the target audience for example the app will be very colourful to appeal to the community and represent the many different flags that exist. The app will also be based around privacy due to the sensitive nature of the targeted topics and issues meaning that people can hide certain things on their account so that only they or they and their friends can see it. Every account will have a private option meaning that the content is not visible unless the user is a friend of the other. The option is available also so that the persons gender is visible on their account and this gives users the chance to filter in and out certain options so that finding friends to talk to is easier overall.

One of the very unique and original features to the app will be the "support centre" of the app. This is a completely professional part of the app that will be worked closely with trained professionals who volunteer some of their spare time throughout the week to speak and hold talks with individuals who need the support. This part of the app will also feature a forum that will be aimed at helping others by allowing for certain users to post openly at their own will about past experiences so that other users can anonymously comment on and receive support from other users.

The main focus will be on colour and a very casual laid back style. This will be achieved by having very vibrant base colours and sans serif fonts so that is does not represent anything formal. The support centre will be the only part of the app to have a serious and formal look to it but this is to keep the image very professional and supporting. The support centre will feature mainly serif fonts to give the professional feeling

P5C - Target User/Membership

My target user for the app will be anybody from the LGBTQ community. The app will appeal to all genders and not target a specific one but will have sections for different genders within the app itself. The age range will be targeting the younger ages from early teen to young adults as this is the majority of the community in the modern day and this is the age range that needs the most support or who are looking for ways to communicate with others like themselves. Marketing will also target the straight community who are willing to support or help others who are going through a difficult time. It was shown that the community is in need of a specific worldwide LGBT social app that can put the community in a positive light. The community is also ever growing day by day with more people joining and supporting the LGBT rights movement. Alot of the targeted membership and adverting will targeting at different Pride festivals around the world appealing to more and more people as the festivals run.

P5D -  production plan with launch date

The app will be released on the 2nd of June 2018 to celebrate "Pride Month" that runs throughout June as this is to commemorate the famous 1969 stonewall riots in New York. This is now therefore when most of the pride festivals take place and it is a very big month of the year for the community as it is all about gaining recognition for the movement of LGBT rights. Production will start on 2nd December 2017 and finishing in time for the of the start of pride month in June of 2018

P5E - Possible Revenue Streams

My social media app will feature advertising from certain companies either down the side of the screen or at the top of the screen. This will generate revenue and make the site money whilst allowing for companies to advertise on the site. We will also allow for people to have their accounts "boosted" for a certain price, this will allow for the selected person to have their account appear first in everyone's find friends list and so on turn will try and gain them more popularity. This will make the website money aswell.

Site Map

Site map from Rhys Spence-Robb

P4D - Mock Ups

P4 d – mock ups from Rhys Spence-Robb

P4 Social Media Ideas

Social Media Ideas LGBTQ Social App

 a)      The purpose of the app will be to connect the LGBTQ community together and allow for people to chat and speak about their problems or issues. It is a platform that allows for members of the community to speak to each other and share their experiences as well. It will be a safe and secure platform for people who are maybe shy or insecure about their personality or gender, the app allows for them to gain friends who are in a similar situation and chat with others who have had similar experiences. It will include different message platforms eg, messages and voice/video calls that are free and used from Wi-Fi or mobile data. It is a very diverse community and so the app stands as a way to bring different parts of the community together in an informal and relaxed manner.

b)      The app will be presented in a very colourful way, making use of bright and vibrant colours to make the overall appeal of the app happy and light hearted. It will also be laid out in a very informal way with casual fonts and bright colours but will maintain a professional look throughout so that it ensures the clean working of the app. The format will include different categories for each letter of the LGBTQ and will allow for people to say on their profile which letter they are, this allows for users to know who they are talking to and lets them speak to the right people. The app will include forums where mass discussions take place about relevant issues and news within the community, individual users can post topics about their choice for others to help out with or have a discussion about. There will also be a direct message service between users that includes group chats, private chats and voice/video calling that is free and works off WIFI.

c)      The target user and membership is anybody from the LGBTQ community or anybody who is interested in the community also. As the app will provide support discussions and support groups made by people with the same experiences as one another, the app will target people in the community who are scared, afraid or simply don’t know about their sexuality. It is often a delicate matter to discuss some of these issues which is why the app is 100% confidential and private with private chats and discussions that only certain people can see. There will also be different sections depending on the age of some users that makes it easier to chat to somebody who is the same or similar age as yourself.

 2^nd Idea LGBTQ dating app

a)      The purpose of this app will be to get the LGBTQ community closer, not many dating apps support some of the different letters within the LGBTQ. Some people may find it difficult to use these apps as there is a clear “gay” section but not for the whole community. This means that some of the community are scared to date on these apps and would benefit from an app that supported the entirety of the community. The app will feature different genders and sexualities and the app will be completely private for the users with information that can be hidden from others if the user chooses. It will have a very laid back approach with an emphasis on privacy and sensitivity.

b)      The app will have a very laid back approach with vibrant and bright colours to create a happy and relaxed feel. It will follow the aim of the app and use a very subtle colour palette making the colours flow with one another creating the feeling that the app is none different from the rest. It will also be produced in a sans-serif font that creates an informal atmosphere and a friendly environment compared to a serif font that would give a more formal and serious look. The app will also be easy to navigate but will have a lot of different sections to it that can only be accessed once an account has been logged into. None of the features can be accessed unless there is an active login on that device which makes the app more secure.

c)      My target audience and users are the LGBTQ community. There is not enough in terms of dating apps for some letter of the community and so the app will be targeting all the letters and allowing for people who may not want to use a conventional “gay” dating app they can feel more comfortable here and speak to people who they feel comfortable with.

P3C - Product/Service Reviews

P3C – Product/Service Reviews

User reviews have a big impact on whether people purchase products in the modern day. There are entire websites set up nowadays that specifically focus on user reviews of products and services. Many people will also use social media to give their opionon and review on a specific experience or company. This can really affect everything and everyone as it can become viral overnight.

Reviews can have a big impact as one negative review can spark a network of others. It can then lead to other users becoming influenced by these reviews and ultimately the company or site can lose out. On the other hand, the social media sites can be the beginning of a viral boycott or bad publicity for a company as most people will go to a social media site to complain or write about a bad experience or review. This can be the other way around however with social media sites having a positive impact on society and a particular event or review as these reviews have the potential to be viewed by millions within minutes

P3B - Viral Marketing

Many different social media sites have different ways to market virally. Many social media sites use their partners and sister companies to market through. This is a good way to gain recognition as many different social media companies are working together or are jointly part of the same overall company.

Another method to market virally is to advertise free games on the sites. Facebook has a lot of built in free games to the site that users can play at any time. Advertising these games can have a big impact positively on the site and can lead to more users and more overall use of the site.

Advertising products, services and local news is also a good thing to do as the likes of twitter has many different links as soon as the user clicks onto the site to many different news stories and gives the user a good insight into the news

P3A - Advertising

Facebook

Facebook uses a few different advertising techniques. The main one being sponsored adverts that appear in the feed of the user. This is a very effective system as it means the user must scroll past the adverts to get to the next part and hence prompting them to click on it. Another method that Facebook uses to advertise is to have notifications and events for certain companies that can be promoted for a certain amount of time at any given time.

Instagram

Instagram also uses similar methods to advertise as Facebook in that it has many different sponsored posts from different companies and people and has business accounts that are dedicated to certain people and companies that want to advertise. Instagram also includes different sponsored pages that appear first in the users feed enticing them to click the link.

Twitter

Twitter creates and sells promoted tweets to marketers. These then appear in users feeds and the company creates tailored advertising opportunities by using an algorithm to make sure promoted tweets make it into the right user’s timelines. Promoted accounts are those paid for by an advertiser that Twitter places in targeted users' "Who to Follow" list.

P2 - Positive and Negative Effects On Social Media

A – Primary Research

During P2 we conducted a focus group about the positive and negative impacts of social media. This focus group was filmed for the educational purpose of the effects. The focus group involved a leader and people talking about their previous experiences with social media. Topics such as cyberbullying and addictiveness were covered with some of the group talking about how they use social media too much and that it has become a bit part of their lives. This focus group also contained some questions about how long each member would go on social media for each night, some of the results included a few hours to almost all hours.

 B – Secondary Research

 Social media is in the modern day and age a big part of many different people’s lives, from the causal selfie poster to the multi-national company who updates their status daily. Sites such as Twitter and Facebook have made the world connect together in a way that somebody can speak to somebody else on the other side of the world for free.

 Positives

It is easy now to express yourself and who you are through the use of posts, status updates and pictures. It can be easier for people to express theirselves over the internet as people find it less awkward online to actually in person meaning that many people will be what they are really like online. It is also a good form of communicating and meeting people from different cultures. Many people from across the world all speak and communicate with eachother on a daily basis.

It is also now a big part of people’s lives in the way that many people have their life stories on their bio page or their description. This means that it is a lot easier to find out how people are just from looking at their profile and can make for easier convocation in the real world as the other person would know about your interests and hobbies.

Negatives

Many negative impacts have been experienced due to the rise of social media. One of the biggest impacts of social media is cyber-bullying. many people will chose to attack others online as they can hide their true identity. This can also lead to more and more people ganging up and "following the leader" that can easily lead to mass hate and bullying. Social Media can also lead to widespread hatred towards a specific race or religion with many people expressing views that are both racist and targeted.

Focus Group

P1E - Legal/Ethical Issues

Facebook

Facebook has to take into account that a lot of users will be looking through their timeline and will be seeing posts that others have shared to their timeline. There has been some controversy over the past few years that Facebook contains links to potentially racial or posts that discriminate against people or a certain group of people. This poses the problem of negative reviews towards Facebook and the potential threat of users abandoning the platform for other social media sites. Facebook also has come under a lot of criticism recently for some of the accounts that it has on the system. With social media in the modern day a story or comment can become viral overnight so Facebook needs to keep a close watch on the content that users are allowed to post.

Instagram

Instagram is based off picture sharing between users. This poses the immediate problem that a picture or post could be of explicit or violent content and could cause an uproar with the person and the company itself. Alternatively a post could be found offensive by a group of people, race or religion and again could cause a decrease in popularity and usership on the website. Another possible issue is that Instagram has to watch copyright law very closely as people may post copyrighted feed or could cause controversy with a certain business or company.

Twitter

Twitters main features are the hashtag and is a very popular platform for usership. A potential problem with the hashtag is that it can be used to shame a person, group of people or company. Obviously this is a big problem for Twitter as many their hashtag system can catch on very quickly and controversy and uproar can be caused worldwide overnight. Twitter also has been responsible for causing these controversies in the past and so will have to monitor posts and content very frequently

P1D - Sources Of Finance

Facebook

Advertising is the main reason for Facebook’s success. Many businesses create ads on Facebook, and it gets paid to deliver the ads. It publishes ads on the screen that is directly related to the users by gathering their likes and activities. i.e. if a user mentions that he/she is a fan of Coca-Cola, then the ads related to that will be showing up to that user.

Even though the click through rate of Facebook is not as high as Google, it is generating real traffic with the ads in it and letting the businesses to have a successful advertising campaign. This type of ads is called Engagement ads, and it is placed on the homepage of Facebook.

Twitter

Last year Twitter generated a revenue of around £600 million. They achieve this by advertising promoted tweets where advertises pay to have their messages or posts appear on the users Twitter stream. They can target specific users through keywords and Twitter gets payed when users engage with the promoted tweets. Another method that twitter use is to have promoted trends also which can trend to vary on location.

Instagram

Advertising on Instagram is becoming increasingly sophisticated. One of the features allows advertisers to show slideshows and link to sites outside Instagram. Its carousel ads “bring the potential of multi-page print campaigns to mobile phones – with the added benefit of taking people to a website to learn more,” according to Instagram’s business blog.

P1C - Target Audience

Facebook

Facebook is regarded as the older form of social media as a study showed that over 65 percent of Facebook's user base in aged 35 or older. The average age of a Facebook user is just over 40 and the largest group are aged between 45 and 54. Facebook also has about 60 percent of users are male whereas just 40 percent are female and the social media site also has a social presence in 137 countries and beats all other social media sites in 127 of the countries. United States has the biggest prescence on facebook and studies shoe that Facebook is a growing market in countries such as Brazil and India

Twitter

In 2014 Twitter has 271 million users, of whom, 95 million were aged between 18 and 29. 54 million users were aged between 30 and 59 with 44 million being over the age of 50. Studies show that residents of urban areas are more likely to use Twitter than people in rural areas and the majority of the websites users are male whilst its supposed that females trend more towards Facebook and Instagram. There is also a trend that users with incomes and educations over $50,000 is at a much higher value than the other of its competitors.

 Instagram

Instagram is trended more towards the younger generation of social media users with many users migrating from Facebook to Instagram due to the picture sharing and the younger fan base which explains why 53 percent of the 200 million users are aged between 18 and 29. It is estimated that over half of teens and young adults are users of Instagram daily and it is used more heavily by teens of a higher income. It was also originally marketed more towards female users but in the modern day alot more males have joined the site and it is now a widely diverse platform for both genders.

P1B - Content

Twitter

Twitter has many different Unique Selling Points and many different features that are original to it. The platform has many different ways of keeping users entertained and includes features such as microblogging in which users can create small blogs about issues or topics or just what they are doing with their life at the given time. It also includes features such as tweeting and retweeting in which users can post about their problems or experiences and which other users can like comment and re-tweet to their account if they wish.

Facebook

Facebook has many different features and content that helps to make the website most successful. One of the main features of the website is the news feed and "timeline" where users can scroll through to see what others are up to. This feature allows for users to keep up to date with their friends and any news that is happening in the area. Adverts are also sponsored on this page and many different pages are available. Facebook also has many other features such as a wide range of free online games that can be played at anytime through the account of the individual.

Instagram

Instagram has a lot of different unique features that is original to the site. The site is exclusively images that people post and can comment on. These images all appear in a news feed that the user can look through to see what their friends and others are up to. Due to the fact that most of Instagram is entirely pictures people have set up accounts that are exclusively for photography and business etc. Instagram also has an extensive private messaging system where posts and pictures can be send between users and group chats can be created between 3 or more users

P1A - Purpose

Facebook

Facebook’s mission statement is “to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.” The company focuses on making its social networking web site an important part of individual users’ lives. The following are the significant components of Facebook’s mission statement:

1.       Empowering people

2.       Enabling sharing

3.       Connecting the world

Facebook has three main components of the mission statement this is broken down so that the company and its users can see what they want to achieve in the future. The “empowering people” component of Facebook’s mission statement signifies the company’s goal of making its online social networking service practical for users to become more capable online. Facebooks main aim is to connect people through the sharing of videos, media and messages. It aims to have every user with a personalised profile and timeline that other users can post too and comment on. It also aims to build the Facebook community and attract new users to the website.

Instagram

“We're building Instagram to allow you to experience moments in your friends' lives through pictures as they happen.”

 This mission statement clearly outlines what Instagram is all about. It is the platform for pictures and sharing your day to day activities with others around you and across the world. It mainly revolves around the images but there are ways to send messages to another user or create group chats with others as well. The mission statement itself is clear and understandable and the app itself does fulfil this statement as the user is allowed to upload photos using custom filters and crops.

Twitter

“The mission we serve as Twitter, Inc. is to give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly without barriers.”

Twitter is a social networking site in which users can create mini-blog posts about their day-to-day life. Twitter is also responsible for many trends such as the hashtag, which other social media websites have adopted to use in the future. Twitter has the mission statement to create and share information instantly without barriers, this is met in the fact that people with a twitter account can tweet their position or feelings minute by minute or day by day. They can also post without barriers and aren’t limited to what the tweets can be about which means that members can post freely.