Maiya's Blog

  Hi there! Welcome back for Week Three.  Because it is the first week of November and the weather is beginning to cool, I wanted to share a photo from a beach sunset in August. I love all the different colors at the beach!  Let's get started! This week focuses on the concept of personal branding.  As a recent college graduate, this topic immediately stuck out to me. Throughout my undergraduate career, it seemed so easy to maintain my personal brand. I was in a sorority, many clubs, always with friends, and enjoying the life of an on-campus college student. My social media posts reflected my brand by promoting events I was going to and activities I was a part of. My wardrobe consisted of oversized t-shirts, athletic wear and tennis shoes (specifically Hoka’s). I had built my reputation by volunteering for club events and making friends in classes. I was excited, eager, and through my involvement, felt a sense of purpose. As you can probably tell, my brand was pretty ...

Hi! Welcome back to my blog. This week, I will be diving into the concept of word-of-mouth marketing. Word-of-mouth marketing is the feedback that consumers share with one another about a good or service. This can happen intentionally or completely by accident. Any time a consumer is talking about their experience with a brand or company, they are doing marketing for that brand. They are sharing their (hopefully) positive experience with others, and by doing so, spreading positive awareness about the brand. Word-of-mouth marketing is one of the strongest and most effective marketing tactics. When people see and hear other people’s positive experiences with a product, they are more likely to trust the product. I was positively impacted by word-of-mouth marketing when Chick-fil-A released their Honey Pepper Pimento Chicken Sandwich. Chick-fil-A’s advertisements and commercials made the sandwich look great, but I was not sure that it was something I needed to try. I am confident in my tra...

Welcome to my first post! I am excited you are here. To kick off the start of the course, the first readings focused on the Diffusion of Innovation theory. The Diffusion of Innovation theory explains how ideas are spread through a society and the process of accepting these ideas and using them as a way of life. Prior to learning about this theory, I had not thought much about the period of time between an idea being suggested and then being adopted by society. However, this period is explained by the Diffusion of Innovation theory. I now understand that it is crucial for target populations adopting an innovation. As learned in the readings, diffusion takes place through convergent communication. This makes sense because diffusion is an idea or innovation being shared by one party, and understood by another party. In other words, diffusion is a two-way street. The purpose of convergent communication is that all participants will develop the same understanding of an idea. It is interesti...

 Hi! My name is Maiya Sokol and I am excited to welcome you to my blog. I am working on my Master's of Strategic Communication degree through Troy University. Currently, I am enrolled in COM6610: Leadership & Media Strategies. Every week for the next nine weeks, I will be delving into a series of readings relating to the course. These readings will focus on principles of strategic communications and emerging media. In this blog, I will be posting my own analysis, takeaways, and further understandings of the readings. I am excited for this opportunity to share my thoughts and knowledge on the weekly topics. As well as sharing my understanding, I will be connecting concepts to real life experiences and examples. In May of 2023, I received my undergraduate degree at Troy University in Troy, Alabama. I earned my Bachelor of Science in Communication Arts with a minor in promotions. I loved my time at Troy University, and it will always hold a special place in my heart. During my fo...