I have been a Harry Potter fan for a long time – loved the books and really enjoyed the movies. Of course, whenever I am in Orlando, I have to make sure to stop by Universal Studios and visit the park – which automatically means I have to have some fabulous butter beer. 🙂

One character that struck a cord for me as a professor was not necessarily Professor Snape (even though I will one of these days enter class and say that there will be no foolish wand waving and silly incantations in this class!) It was actually Professor Horace Slughorn and the shelf he has showcasing his students over the years. He had a memory, a story, and reason for why he selected (or “collected” as he tried to do with Harry Potter) students from Hogwarts.

What struck me in particular is how professors do have these types of shelves for students they feel like they have been successful. I wouldn’t say they actually have physical shelves like Professor Slughorn, but their own social media platforms serve as these shelves in my opinion. Professors can showcase students who are doing well in their classes, internships, and succeed after graduation to do wonderful things out in the workplace. When I thought more about this, I realized I was creating a digital shelf like Professor Slughorn for showcasing the students in my classes on social media.

So, how do you go about in creating a digital shelf like Professor Slughorn to showcase your students on social media as a professor? Here are a few tips I have learned over the years on this topic:

  • Showcasing the students on platforms that can be seen by others in the business: I have found that Twitter has been the best tool for this for public relations and social media opportunities. However, if you have to connect the visual aspect (ex. video clips, photos, etc), I would say hosting this content on Instagram to share this with your other communities on Facebook and Twitter would be great. For example, one of my former students Diana is a huge Diet Coke enthusiast and wrote a blog post about them. I thought it was a great post and shared this with my friend and fellow Twitter colleague Scott Cuppari, who works for Coca-Cola. This was the tweet he shared with Diana and I last month. What a great connection for Diana!

  • Using appropriate hashtags and tag the students in your praise: If you are giving your students a shout out on social media, you want to make sure to 1) tag them in the picture or provide their handle on the social media platform in question (ex. Twitter and Instagram), and 2) make sure to also attach the link to their blog for future reference. As a professor, you want to provide your community with ways to connect with the student who is excelling in their internship, class, or job so they can reach out to them and congratulate them. It’s also key to note that this is not just for undergrads – but this can also be applied to graduate students as well! Share links to articles, slidedecks, blog posts, and other additional links to showcase their work to the community.

  • Be selective in who you showcase with a branded hashtag like #proudprof: I have been very fortunate to have some great students in all of my classes – they have been great. However, you want to showcase students you feel were extra motivated, determined, and inspired to excel both in and out of the classroom. This can be where you can establish a branded hashtag to show others this difference. For example, when I have particular praise for students who fell into this category, I would use the #proudprof hashtag on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

  • Explain WHY you feel as a professor this student deserves to be showcased: You want to share your point of view on why this student is excelling and making a difference in the field in your opinion. We always talk about how we have to be storytellers for brands and in our social media campaigns in class – but why are we not storytellers and advocates for our students on social media? This is key for professors to note and be able to say WHY these students are different and unique from others. Is it due to their work with a client for class? Producing a blog post that is featured on a premiere social media blog or website? Getting a huge internship with a big brand? This is where you as the professor you share your insights on social media. I did this a few weeks ago when I recommended three of my students (Lizelle, Diana, and Amanda) to be featured on Arik Hanson’s blog for 17 PR students to watch post. For each of these students, I shared why they were rising stars in the field and how to connect with them online and made sure to share this with my colleagues on my blog, FB, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts.

  • Bridge the digital shelf to the physical real world shelf: While showcasing excellent students on social media is great, what will make it even more stellar is if you are able to bring this forward in person as well. Most professors either do one or the other – but if you were able to showcase students both digitally AND in real-life, this  puts your praise and point of view as a professor to a stronger level. For example, I did this when former social media students Amanda and Diana came and participated in a radio interview for The Social Network show on Hootsuite University. This was a great opportunity for these two ladies that translated both offline and online as well.

In summary, I think social media allows professors the perfect platform and opportunity to showcase their students in a positive and energetic manner. It has been great to have so many great students and to feature them on social media. As professors, we want to serve as social connectors to help students make these connections with fellow professionals, businesses, and brands to get their foot in the door in the profession. More than ever, I think this is going to be come a key role for us to take on as professors. With that being said, bring it on!

Hope you all are having a great day!

Best Wishes,
Karen