Facebook and Twitter are some of the most commonly used social media in the world. According to Harvel (2012), Facebook had one billion users as of October 2012. Partridge (2011) also asserts that people usually use Facebook for informal communication and networking. It does not involve formal networking, which encourages professionalism. Social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, focus specifically on social networking. The social media do not provide any reasonable information that can be used by individuals, such as youths and students, to make useful decisions on issues affecting their lives. For example, Facebook or Twitter does not provide a platform where potential students can obtain information about study opportunities available in foreign countries. Similarly, these social media do not provide news relating to market trends or status of economies that can be used by businesspersons for trading purposes.

In order to overcome these limitations of social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, I intend to create social media specifically designed for documenting young Latinos and providing information to students who would like to study in the U.S. The social media will facilitate communication and collaboration among potential students and educational institutions in the U.S.

Objectives

This social media plan will accomplish two major objectives namely documentation of young Latinos living in Latin America and providing them with helpful information on study opportunities available in the United States. It is believed that there has been inadequate documentation of many young Latinos living in Latin America. As a consequence, they are considered and treated as aliens by the local authorities hence they are denied or have reduced access to vital social services such as health care and education.

Similarly, many young Latinos living in Latin America have not been able to access educational opportunities in the United States. According to Foy (2009), this is because of lack of useful information about educational opportunities in the United States and other developed countries that would help potential students learn about the opportunities and make appropriate decisions and arrangement for studying in the U.S. Thus, this social media plan would create a platform where young Latino, who would like to study in the United States, would find useful information hence enable them gain comprehensive insight or understanding of studying in the United States. This social media plan would be used by the non-governmental organization to help young Latinos gain insightful information on various study opportunities valuable in the United States. The basis for creating the social media is to facilitate sharing of ideas, skills and knowledge, experiences and information between potential students and learning institutions in the U.S. It has been noted that most, if not all, students do not have adequate knowledge about study opportunities in the U.S. Students do not also have contacts of colleges and universities in the U.S. This creates a gap in communication between potential Latino students and learning institutions in the U.S. Potential students can seek advice or assistance from the learning institutions. As Zachary (2010) states, the linkage or connection between students and learning institutions is highly important in the education sector.

Audience

This social media targets young Latinos living in Latin America who are not documented and those who would like to study in the U.S. The major things that we know about their social profile are their non-documentation and wish to study in America.

Communication Strategy

The main communication strategy that would be adopted for the social media is an online communication which would entail creating a database documenting young Latinos living in Latin America and giving information about study opportunities in the U.S. Information between potential students and learning institutions would be exchanged through the Internet. A suitable and easy-to-use platform would be created to facilitate communication between Latino students and the institutions.

Content Development and Distribution

This social media will document all young Latinos living in Latin America and provide information to students who would like to study in the U.S. The development of this social media would involve collecting statistical data about the number of young Latinos who have not been documented in the area and information on study opportunities in colleges and universities in the U.S. The data collected would then be used to create databases for the social media. Data would be collected every three months throughout the area.

Social Media Platforms

The social media platforms that would make the most sense for this social media plan are Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn. This is because these social media platforms can connect professionals more easily. In addition, these social media platforms have fewer members as compared to Facebook and Twitter that have millions of users. Similarly, LinkedIn mainly comprises the professional audience hence would help in identifying resources for people who would provide the information needed for creating this social media.

Reference List

Foy, R. (2009). The world of education; selected readings. New York: Macmillan.

Harvell, B. (2012). Facebook. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Partridge, K. (2011). Social networking. New York: H.W. Wilson.

Zachary, L. J. (2010). The mentor’s guide: Facilitating effective learning relationships. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.