Social media education has become one of the main areas I not only conduct research in, but also discuss and present on at various conferences. I tell people I really kind of “fell into” this area of research and didn’t realize this would be the area where I have gotten the most recognition in both the academic AND professional community. It’s truly been a fun and wonderful journey.
With that being said, Carolyn Kim (a great professor from Biola University) and I found out our paper has been published on the subject in Journal of Public Relations Education. Carolyn and I first came up with the idea of this study over coffee (naturally!) and we have been able to get a lot of feedback and responses from fellow professors, professionals, and even reviewers of our paper on the subject.
There are some major findings here we thought were key to note both in our paper as well as in our presentations.
- Professionals have specific curriculum expectations here related to what needs to be taught in a social media class. I think this is always important to note especially for professors. We have to be aware of what are the growing expectations and adapt to them accordingly. However, we also have to determine for ourselves what are the learning objectives and needs we have to fulfill when it comes to our own department curriculum and how this needs to be addressed in the classroom.
- Practitioners are waiting to be approached by professors. They are just waiting to be asked. All it takes is a simple note, email, tweet, or message to start the conversation. Don’t immediately go for the ask – but start the conversation at least and share with them what you are doing.
- Relationships matter in social media. It’s not only the skills that need to be taught and embraced, but also the networking connections that need to be formulated. Carolyn and I were able to get a lot of great insights from these amazing professionals who were 1) interested in what we were doing in this project so they were very enthusiastic to share their insights and 2) wanted to be highlighted as a participant in the study.
- Professors are expected to walk the walk as well as talk the talk in social media. One of the biggest surprises (and reactions) we got when we were presenting the findings from our study was the fact professionals expect professors to be on social media as well who are teaching these courses. They are not only looking at what the students are doing, but if they are taking a social media class, they look at the professor and see whether or not they are also following the best practices and standards they are setting for the students. I felt personally this was going to be the finding most of my colleagues would react to – and they did somewhat. This is where workshops, training sessions, and other educational activities among professors could be valuable and very helpful.
We are in somewhat of a crossroads when it comes to social media education. We are seeing it rapidly being adapted and explored in the classroom as well as in research, but there still needs to be more done in this area. Researchers have to explore what are the specific attitudes, behaviors, and overall perceptions that help shape what others think about integrating social media into classes (ex. fellow professors, students, and even professionals). In addition, we have to explore what are the ways in which to strategically incorporate social media tools into the classroom. It’s one thing to use a platform effectively that is relevant for a class, but it’s another to use it for the sake of using it. We have to be able to systematically as well as strategically state when we should (or should not use) certain platforms. This will take more time and research to help answer these particular questions.
In addition, professors and educators have to also take a stand to become a thought leader themselves in the industry. We are seeing many more “gurus” or “change evangelists” and even influencers take the microphone away from professors when it comes to education opportunities in social media. There is plenty of room in the social media world for all of us to work, share, and collaborate together to help better educate the future generation of professionals. In addition, we can all learn from each other as well. I am constantly in awe of the amount of knowledge and best practices I am learning from some of my friends in the industry. With that being said, they also come to me with advice and guidance on what is happening as well. Learning and education happens both ways.
Hope you all are having a great day!
Best Wishes,
