Space, the final frontier – wait, that’s Star Trek! Yet, this is was a show that was a big part of my childhood and introduced me to the beauty of space.
I’ve always loved science and exploration, and space combined the two together. I have also been a fan of NASA and what they have done over the years in science, and in social media. In fact, they are featured in my new social media textbook.
However, did you know they have a social media program that is 10+ years old?! It was originally designed as “tweet ups” to get people together to share updates on Twitter about launches and events they were hosting. Now, it’s expanded to much more than just meet ups – but a chance to learn what NASA is doing, what projects and experiments they are working on, and to give people the opportunity to be network and learn from everyone at NASA and at these events.
I have always, ALWAYS wanted to be able to go to one of these events. They were always during class time or at other times of the year where I was traveling or going to conferences. However, I noticed last month they were doing a launch in December, right after I finished my last day of classes, down in Florida. All you had to do is apply and see if you get in.
The result? I got in!
I was super pumped! Once we got the notifications we got accepted, you had to let NASA know you would be able to get down there for the launch.
What did that mean? I had to fly down from Louisville to Orlando since this was going to be a launch down at the Kennedy Space Center for Space X. Meaning, you had to get yourself down there and arrange your travel and stay.
The big thing to remember from these experiences is 1) you are able to get connected with the NASA team and be able to create stories you would not get anywhere else, 2) This is an opportunity to add in some professional development to your resume and CV, and 3) The investment you put in is long term and well worth it! Trust me, I am a week out from this experience and I have already gotten some great professional leads for next year based on me going down to be part of the NASA Social team.
How long is the event? It depends on the launch and experience you get – some are a day long, and others are longer. My event was two days long, and the first step you have to do of course is registration and getting some swag (YAY!). The first day was all about learning from the scientists and NASA team at the news briefing (very cool!) and then the second day was all about meeting people and seeing the main buildings and locations.
What were some of the major takeaways? Here were some things I felt I was able to learn about during my time as part of the NASA Social team:
You get some INCREDIBLE access. I was really amazed and truly excited to see the level of access we were able to get in Florida for the launch. For example, we got to go to the VAB, and this is where they get rockets and shuttles ready.
WHAT?! I know – it was amazing and super huge! We had of course guides making sure we were not going where we were not supposed to go, and it was still very impressive. We got a chance to learn all about the movies that were made here from Men in Black to Transformers, to even Armageddon (this movie still makes me cry!)
Yet, this wasn’t the biggest or most impressive element we got to experience on this launch.
What did we do? We got to go on an actual launch pad.
Yep – that’s what I said. We got a chance to go on the actual Launch Pad 39B. They have launched a lot of rockets and shuttles off this launch pad. My mind was officially blown from this experience.
Again, the level of access we got on this trip was truly amazing and unlike anything I have ever experienced. You would think you wouldn’t get to see things up close and in person with NASA – but you do!
NASA is exploring and expanding in new ways. I got a chance to learn all about the experiments and what partnerships NASA was working on during this launch.
We got a chance to see the future generation of scientists share their experiments (some inspired by the initiative originally launched by Marvel with Rocket and Groot from The Guardians of the Galaxy marketing campaign) to other cool initiatives. My eyes were wide open towards were we are going, and this experience made me realize how big the world is, and what exciting ventures we are doing in space.
Always prepare for Plan B. That’s the thing I have shared w/ my students all the time is to make sure you have a Plan B in case the original plan doesn’t happen. This experience with NASA Social really taught me a lot in this because – due to weather issues and mold found in the food supply in a rodent experiment, the launch was postponed a day.
I was impressed with how the NASA team was able to let everyone know what we were going to do instead of going to the launch the second day. This opened up our schedule a bit to do some things – like going to the actual launch pad – we wouldn’t have been able to do.
I can now tell my students – hey – if NASA can do this and create a great plan because of a delay in a rocket launch, you can too!
Social media professionals NEED to be here. One of the things I noticed while I was down in Florida was how I was somewhat by myself in the designated category of attendees for this NASA Social. There were three groups of people: 1) k-12 education professionals working in science, 2) science and space fans, and 3) me – the social media professor.
I talked with some of the NASA social team members and they told me a few things. First, they put priority towards educators and students. They WANT these two groups to be here so they can get the experience to share back in their communities. Second, branding is important and you never know who will see your content. NASA told me they were fully aware of the #SMprofs community I created, and they were excited to learn there were professors who were teaching social media.
Taking social event planning to the next level. I think NASA has done a great job in making sure everyone had the information regarding which channels to tag for posts, what hashtags to use, and where they can go for information.
They also did a great job with making sure to share our content we were sharing on social media – which resulted in one of my tweets getting some big numbers in terms of impressions. Thank you, NASA Social!
However, I do have a few suggestions for the NASA Team to consider for future social events, such as:
- Have designated social media specific sessions at the NASA Social event to cover social media trends and coverage. Not everyone had the largest of followings on social media, so this could have been great for them to have this session to get an overall awareness of each platform and what could be done for each of these during the event.
- Designate specific deliverables. I learned this during my Breeders’ Cup influencer event – it would be good to personalize the deliverables for each person invited and what NASA would like them to share and create as part of the experience. For example, there were a lot of YouTubers there – and a video would be appropriate for them to deliver as part of their experience. I think this could be something that could be beneficial for the future.
- Provide fact sheets with designated tools to use to help create content. This would have been great for everyone in the group to have – I spent a lot of time talking with a few members of the group about different Instagram apps they could use for Instagram Stories and videos like Adobe Rush. I think even having a designated session on how to create content for the launch and event would be AMAZING!
- Create content Idea Templates and worksheets. I think having people perhaps plan out what types of content (brainstorming sessions, ideas, storyboards, etc) could really be helpful here. I was talking to a few group members of some of the assignments I have in my portfolio book that could be useful to use here as well.
Sign up and stay connected. Follow NASA Social on ALL social media platforms, and most importantly – sign up for their newsletter. This is where you hear about the upcoming opportunities they have available.
Summary
Overall, I truly had an epic experience with NASA Social! I got a chance to chat, tweet, and share all aspects of science and space with my community and colleagues. I was able to see first hand some great exciting new opportunities happening in the space industry. Lastly, I was very excited to be able to meet the people behind the accounts and science of NASA. These are some of the hardest working professionals in the business, and they are doing great work.
If you haven’t had a chance to experience NASA Social – DO IT! I highly recommend it and I know you will have a life-changing experience!
Special thank you to the great NASA Social team for all of your help and allowing me to be part of this experience! Keep up the fabulous work and can’t wait to see what you all do next year in 2019!
Hope you all are having a great day!
Best Wishes,
