We have finished the first week of classes at the University of Louisville, and it’s been great so far! I am teaching Intro to StratComm and Social Media this semester.
Like last semester, my students in my social media class will be working with real clients on a social media campaign proposal throughout the semester. I am having my students to a lot of activities, including Hootsuite University, writing and maintaing personal blogs, engaging in strategy exercises, and many more projects. However, the group social media campaign proposal assignment is their biggest project for the semester.
Fall 2013 SM Class Clients
Okay – so… drum roll, please! The clients for the Fall 2013 social media class this semester include the following: UofL (yes, the entire university), UofL Planetarium, UofL Speaking Center in the Communications Department, and UofL Athletics (two teams will be working with them this semester).
I am very excited about working with the teams with these various clients. We have a client from last semester for the fall as well. Two teams will be working with Nick Stover, who is the Director of Social Media & Engagement at UofL Athletics. The campaign proposal for Nick was highlighted in the Hootsuite University post.
So, what all goes into the social media campaign assignment? Well, this was one that I have to give credit to Dr. Courtney Childers at the University of Tennessee. I was working with her on the first social media class at UT, and the students did a similar project in her class as well.
For my class, the students will be asked to:
- Do primary and secondary research: There is going to be a lot of research and writing involved with this paper. These are two skills employers are looking for, so it is going to be implemented throughout the semester with this project.
- Meet with clients and address their expectations when it comes to social media: They have to be aware of what they are looking for to reach their key audiences, but also address their needs from a PR standpoint as well.
- Managing group dynamics: I had the students complete a questionnaire ahead of time to determine 1) what role fits them best as a group member and what skills they can offer to the team and 2) an overview of their schedule and whether or not they have any internship/work experience with social media. I wanted to make sure to organize the groups according to each of these factors so we didn’t have all writers in one groups, leaders in another, etc.
- Inspiring creativity w/ strategy: This is what I have been trying to emphasize so far in class – you got to have the foundations of social media, but you have to also integrate creativity into the mix as well. Providing a rationale with evidence (research) and coming up with fresh ideas that are addressing the missing gaps for the client for social media will help create a winning campaign.
I think it is going to be a great class project. The students are going to be working hard, but I tell them that if they put forward the effort, really focus on producing a good project for the client, and be creative and strategic with their ideas – they will be proud of their work. This will provide them with some real-world experience and help prepare them for the workplace. I am looking forward to what the students come up with.
Have a great evening!
Best Wishes,
Karen
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