“5 Things I Would Tell a Social Media Professor” by Samir Balwani
content marketing - social media
Last week I asked the question, “Should Social Media be a College Course” and received quite a number of mixed comments. In the end, I’ve realized that there is an absolute need for at least an interactive marketing course at the college level for marketing majors. New graduates need the tools to succeed online and they deserve to have learned at least the fundamentals.
So if a course is going to be taught what should it cover? How do you get past the fact that so much will change during the semester? I’ve outlined what I would tell the professor, but I want to know what you think too. Here are my thoughts on the subject.
1. Have Them Wonder Why Social Media Works
Why does social media marketing work? What makes it different from other marketing strategies? These are questions your students should be asking themselves.
Before you can effectively create a social media strategy, you need to understand why it works. Is it relationships? Is it the platforms? Or is it because of the large number of consumers in one area?
Once the students can identify the individual effects of social media on a marketing strategy, then they’ll be able to incorporate it into a larger campaign.
2. Ask Them to Monitor Their Social Media Usage
Tell your students to watch how they use social media. What do they do on Facebook? When are they using Twitter?
Make your students take notes on what they do online and why they share things. If they can better understand what they do, they’ll better understand how people use social media platforms.
That knowledge is what helps a strategist differentiate from a campaign that will spread versus one that no one will take part in.
Check out the 3 other things at Social Media Today, pretty sweet!
Professor Content says, well I am a professor and there are no social media experts – period!
