Social Media Class – My notes

JB 4520 was one of the first social media courses offered in the United States (way back in 2009). The recommendation made, almost a year and a half earlier, was met with a tepid response. The reasons why it was finally offered are fodder for another blog post but since being offered, the course is filled most every semester. Originally offered in a classroom it is now only offered online. Students from other universities and around the world have attended – this last semester a student from Japan provided some very interesting insights regarding international social media usage.  Professionals in the industry have also enrolled which to be honest, is a bit unnerving.  Feedback has always been positive and the message consistent – “I never imagined how little I knew about social media and the real value.” It’s the only course where students have asked for continuous access to the material presented.

A few observations about the course:

The original concern was there wasn’t enough material to fill an entire semester. In reality during the 17 weeks we are barely able to scratch the surface of how to effectively use social media for strategic and tactical benefits to an organization.

When the course was offered in a classroom many acknowledged the elephant in the room – if social media is so powerful shouldn’t you be able to simply offer the course online? The answer is yes and the course is now offered online. I remind students that social media in of itself will not oftentimes provided solutions you seek and face-to-face still has value in an otherwise online world. The same can be true for a class. A year ago I had the opportunity to take my students on a field trip to Chesapeake energy (thank you Blake). They loved it not only because they were able to see firsthand how an organization handles social media like a champ but the fact that they got to finally meet each other face-to-face. I also enjoyed the interaction.

It’s not an easy course. I know when the decision was made to offer it many assumed it was a blow off. After all, how difficult is a course about Facebook?  The reality is, it is a very difficult course. It moves at lightning speed – heck, students visit five different social media platforms before they ever figure out where the online course is being held (a wiki, where else?). Each week one or two 30-60  minute lectures are thrown up which move students from one platform to another based on categorization. e.g. video sharing, photo sharing, microblogging, blogging, networks, etc.  Many students find it challenging to keep up with the lectures as well as the required action steps after each lecture. Like all things, it’s not enough to just listen and observe to truly understand the functionality of social media you have to immerse yourself. Students also find it challenging to keep up with the online conversations taking place in the classroom. I too find this challenging. This was first online course I ever taught. Other faculty said the greatest challenge I would face is getting students to interact and engage in an online environment.  My challenge is just the opposite, I can’t get them to shut up (not a bad thing). A recent lecture about the information bubble/social media echo chamber had more than 107 responses.

Enough about observations let’s talk course creation:

Start with the fundamentals of communication, persuasion and influence. We begin with theory and why it is that social media is so efficient and effective. Two-step flow, multi step, tech determinism, etc. We also talk anthropology and even a few networking laws. On point regarding persuasion and influence–teaching people how to use tools without achieving objectives is a waste of everybody’s time. Post a tweet is one thing but posting a tweet as part of a larger strategic communications initiative with an objective of persuading or influencing an audience to act a certain way is another.

Move beyond the trivial–I start with twitter because I find it is the hardest for students students to wrap their arms around – especially as it pertains to  persuasion and influence. But we don’t spend much time there – or Facebook either. We instead delve deep into other social channels they might not always be aweare of but provide a much better understanding of two-way symmetrical communication platforms and the value of creating a central repository for aggregated content. The real value of social media isn’t to share information or to re-share information. It’s to make a difference in someones life. On a good day, to make a difference in the world.

Teach the dirty little secrets behind social media. Working in the industry allows the opportunity to understand that some things aren’t always as they seem. This isn’t to say unethical or inappropriate it’s just a there are certain tips and tricks which move along a campaign but aren’t yet known in best practice circles.

Teach the perils of social media. Students need to understand that oftentimes the tools that we use aren’t always rosy in the end. This is beyond persuasion and influence. Were talking about real impact to society and how consumers act and behave – the long term impact. Make no mistake about it, these are the tools we’ve been dealt to work with – but we must understand, somedays we are shaking hands with the devil. (there are ways to work around this to our benefit but it requires a long term approach and sometimes clients don’t want to go that route)

Textbooks to use – I haven’t yet found one that covers everything I need. And if anybody’s using a social media for dummies/Bible/etc. shame on you.

Be prepared to rewrite of lectures every semester because you have to. The tactics continue to change at breakneck speed but, again, the fundamentals stay the same.

Don’t fall prey to what the social media wonks say. A year ago we heard you can’t prove the ROI of your mother (I could). I recently heard the same speaker say ROI should be a primary area of focus and could be proven in a social media initiative. Blind faith = bad.

We don’t blog anymore. Two semesters ago I had one student comment he was blogging in four different classes. We still cover blogging but but shifted our focus.

Being a social media professor is a short term gig – I’ve been saying this for years and assume I will one day be correct. Putting these tools into a stand alone course is kinda like having a course on email marketing only. Sooner or later it will be absorbed into larger communications courses. It’s starting with blogging. The remaining platforms will surely move with it.

Let them dig into the meat – raw data. When I work with companies this is where we begin. I had students dig through 20,000 online messages related to a tragic event at Oklahoma State University. But this is what social media – from my side of the desk – looks like.  It wasn’t all tweets and fun and posting pictures. It was real life. All they had to do was dig through, pull content from a two hour period and share their thoughts on a few topics/questions. Many commented they felt guilty peering into such personal comments. Some shared that they cried. Those who took this assignment serious are better for it and will offer more value to their employer.

To all the faculty out there teaching social media – what have you learned? What would you add or remove?

My syllabus from last semester can be found here. It changes every semester.
SC3443 Social Media Syllabus