AEJMC 2016 Presentation [Kim & Freberg]

THE STATE OF SOCIAL MEDIA CURRICULUM

PUBLIC RELATIONS DIVISION

TOP TEACHING PAPERS SECTION8.5.16

Carolyn Mae Kim & Karen Freberg

CAROLYN MAE KIM (BIOLA UNIVERSITY) @CAROLYNMAEKIM

CAROLYNMAEKIM

&

KAREN FREBERG (UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE)

@KFREBERG KARENFREBERG

@CAROLYNMAEKIM & @KFREBERG

OVERVIEW

▸ State of social media education + curriculum development

▸ Justification of research

▸ Method + Findings

▸ Discussion + Future Directions / Call-to-Actions

▸ Q&As

#AEJMC16


STATE OF SOCIAL MEDIA EDUCATION

‣ While both the academy and industry seek to equip people with the appropriate training and expertise, there seems to be a growing gap between the two in working toward this common goal.

‣ University programs have begun grappling with the most effective ways to prepare students to use social media (Fratti, 2013).

‣ This challenge is mirrored by professionals who are also seeking to better equip themselves or employees on best-practices for social media (Brown, 2014).

‣ IBM Institute for Business Value found that 60% of the academics and industry leaders believe that higher education fails to meet the needs of the industry (King, 2015).

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JUSTIFICATION▸ The Rise of Social Media in Organizational Life

▸ Professional Resources for Social Media

▸ Social Media in Higher Education

▸ Marketing professionals and educators have explored this within their own curriculum (Atwong, 2015; Muñoz & Wood, 2015, Neir, & Zayer, 2015).

▸ Perception of faculty on social media (DeGroot, Young, & VanSlette, 2015; Merle & Freberg, 2016) and how faculty can use social media (Lipschultz, 2015)

▸ Examined learning objectives for specific assignments like crisis situations (Anderson, Swenson, & Kinsella, 2014), certification programs (Kinsky, Freberg, Kim, Kushin, & Ward, 2016), microblogs (Anderson & Swenson, 2014, Gant & Handley, 2014), infographics (Gallicano, Ekachai, & Freberg, 2014), and Twitter chats (Fraustino, Briones, & Janoske, 2015).

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RESEARCH QUESTIONS

‣ RQ1: What key concepts should be taught in an undergraduate social media course?

‣ RQ2: How can social media courses prepare students to be leaders within the social media environment?

‣ RQ3: What is the value of a social media mentor for professionals entering into the field?

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METHOD‣ 20 industry professionals were interviewed. These professionals

represented a variety of sectors including agency, corporate and nonprofit organizations.

‣ Brands (ex. Adidas, Team USA, GM, NBC Universal Studios)

‣ Non-profits (ex. American Red Cross)

‣ Agencies (ex. Golin, Lewis PR US)

‣ Consultants (ex. Blitzmetrics, Pure Performance)

‣ Mix of face-to-face, phone and in-person interviews were conducted.

‣ Interviews were transcribed, analyzed, qualitatively coded to look for emerging themes.

@CAROLYNMAEKIM & @KFREBERG #AEJMC16


MAIN FINDINGS + DISCUSSION

R1. What key things should be taught in an undergraduate social media course or curriculum?

▸ Business Principles in Social Media

▸ Social Creativity

▸ Writing

▸ Analytics and Paid Media Capabilities

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FROM A PRACTITIONER’S PERSPECTIVE, IT IS EVOLVING AND WE DO NOT WANT PEOPLE TO JOIN OUR TEAM WHO ARE NOT CONSTANT LEARNERS. BECAUSE YOU CAN’T SIT ON YOUR LAURELS AND BE LIKE, OH, I LEARNED SOCIAL MEDIA IN SCHOOL AND I AM DONE! IT’S NOT GOING TO STOP. I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT TO COMMUNICATE THESE MESSAGES LOUD AND CLEAR AND SAY - WHAT I AM TELLING YOU NOW MAY NOT BE THE SAME IN FIVE DAYS, AND IT IS UP TO YOU TO CONTINUE TO LEARN THAT.

Whitney Drake, Social Care Strategy at GM


MAIN FINDINGS + RESULTS, ETC

R2: How can social media courses prepare students to be leaders within social media?

‣ Hands on experience

‣ Exceptional Content Creators and Storytellers

‣ Trend forecasting & Strategic Thinking


THE STUDENTS WHO STAND OUT ARE THE ONES WHO CAN EASILY BUILD BLOGS, CREATE DIFFERENT SOCIAL MEDIA VISUALS (MEMES, INFOGRAPHICS, ETC.), KNOW HOW TO WRITE FOR FACEBOOK, TWITTER, LINKEDIN, ETC. THEY ARE STORYTELLERS THROUGH DIFFERENT MEDIA. I ALSO LOOK FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE ACTIVE ON SOCIAL MEDIA BECAUSE THIS SHOWS THEIR KNOWLEDGE / PROFICIENCY, AS WELL AS THE BREADTH AND DEPTH OF THEIR OWN DIGITAL FOOTPRINT. I MAY ALSO GIVE AN ASSIGNMENT TO TEST A CANDIDATE’S LEVEL OF EQ (EMOTIONAL QUOTIENT) IN HANDLING SENSITIVE SITUATIONS ON THE COMPANY BLOG OR IN SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNITIES. IT IS IMPORTANT TO TEST DIFFERENT SITUATIONS AND HOW THEY WOULD HANDLE CUSTOMERS AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS.

Deirdre Breckenridge Educator, Practitioner, & Author in PR


MAIN FINDINGS + RESULTS, ETC

R3: What is the value of a mentor within social media for professionals entering into the field?

‣ MENTORSHIP

‣ Industry experience and Social Connectors


“PROFESSORS SHOULD EITHER HAVE PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE THEMSELVES IN CORPORATE/AGENCY SETTINGS, BRING IN PROFESSIONALS, OR BOTH. A

PROFESSOR TEACHING SOCIAL MEDIA SHOULD BE A CONNECTOR, BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN STUDENTS AND

PROFESSIONALS.”

Matt Kelly, Senior Account Executive at Golin



FUTURE IMPLICATIONS

▸ State of social media education

▸ Expectations for what needs to be taught in social media classes should be fluid and evolving as new platforms, tools, programs, and needs are in demand.

▸ Determine what is next & relevant for PR students to know + how it aligns with current public relations guidelines and curriculum requirements.

▸ State of the perception the professor teaching social media

▸ One of the conclusions from this research was the growing emphasis on the role of the social media professor.

▸ Few studies have explored the role of the professor in a social media classroom.

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CALL-TO-ACTIONS

‣ Social media education is a rising discipline and specialization within public relations research and a growing interest among brands, practitioners, and agencies who wish to recruit the best talent into their own communities.

‣ While there seem to be many reports that indicate social media education is lagging and missing key competencies, this study found that there are many educators who are using innovative approaches to teaching in this rapidly changing industry.

It is important for educators to continue to share resources and pedagogy in order to improve all of higher education in the area of

social media.

#AEJMC16

CAROLYN MAE KIM (BIOLA UNIVERSITY) @CAROLYNMAEKIM

[email protected]

&

KAREN FREBERG (UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE, USA)

@[email protected]

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?