It is interesting to see some of the emerging trends and forecasts we have seen so far when it comes to social media. Many have said that there is going to be more paid content to reach audiences and stay competitive in the marketplace.
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More brands, professionals, and agencies are going to look at social media as a platform to create more dynamic, personalized, and targeted content, and of course this is going to come with a price. Forbes recently published an article that says that social media will cost about $6800 today – but this is targeted more towards brands and agencies.
However, what we have to recognize from a professor’s point of view is how this is going to impact our students. How do we continue to help them become the best they can be? In essence, will the cost for professors go up for social media for the upcoming year as well?
When I talk about cost, I am not necessarily looking at it from a financial point of view – but the overall cost of time. We have to consider time as a currency as well in our daily lives and the other activities we are doing as part of our profession as well as our personal lives.
Personally, I do not think of this as a cost at all. That’s the thing people sometimes forget when we are talking about social media. Social media is “social” – it’s about igniting dialogue and conversation. Social media is about embracing a lifestyle where you are talking with others in a virtual platform.
So, as a professor – what are some best practices to become the most effective with your social media practices when it comes to your classes? Here are a few ideas:
- Doing a little bit each day. Rome was not built in a day, neither was social media. Consider spending time each day to look for content, interesting articles, and videos/images that your students may find useful.
- Integrate social media for your class as part of your daily routine. Make sure you keep your class in the back of your mind when you are reading and educating yourself on social media. It’s very easy to share the content with your class online (especially on Twitter) with the class hashtag.
- Tools and resources are your new best friend. Buffer, Zite, and other tools to manage content to be shared and curated to your class will be your new best friend. Make sure to use these to search for content but also save articles you want to share at a later point in time.
Ultimately, think about the impact you are making for your students with this knowledge: You are here in the classroom to make sure the students are engaged and prepared for the work. Lead by example – be upfront with your class and say that we are living in a time where hard work is expected and everyone does it – even professors. Show the students the skills and they will be able to not only use them when they leave your class and graduate, but also continue building on them as a result.
What I have found with my class, especially the one I taught last semester, is that your hard work and dedication to making sure you do some of these effective steps will pay off. I was truly humbled when I saw my student evaluations this semester for #Freberg13.
Not only were they the highest I have ever gotten overall, but the comments truly were rewarding and touching. This is why I am a professor – I have the pleasure of teaching some amazing students who inspire me to be the best I can be in and out of the classroom.
Hope you all are having a great day!
Best Wishes,
Karen
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