It is not every day you have some of the leading voices speak to your students.
Over the years, I have had a number of fantastic and amazing thought leaders speak to my classes in social media and PR. They come from all backgrounds and industries, and this is truly one of the best ways to connect education with practice. It’s one thing to read about doing a social media strategy, but it’s another when you meet someone who does this for a living.
This week, we truly had one of the BEST guest speakers and sessions I have ever had in my ten years of teaching. It was that impressive!
The guest speakers I am talking about are the great professionals from Blitzmetrics. If you are not following them or connected with them at all on social media – you need to drop everything you are doing (including taking a break from reading this post!) and do this. You will not regret it!
I have known Dennis know for about 6+ years. We first meet at the Louisville Digital Association’s annual conference, and I was blown away by his talk. His insights, practical strategies, and ideas were truly amazing. What impressed me even more was how generous and supportive Dennis was. We have had a lot of talks over the years and he has become a dear friend. In fact, he is featured in my new SAGE book under measurement! When I realized I was going to do a Humans of Social Media – I knew without a doubt Dennis needed to be here in my book.
Dennis Yu and his team from Blitzmetrics came to speak to my PR and Crisis Class at the University of Louisville this week (otherwise known as #FrebergPR) all about Facebook, personal branding, topic wheels, and ads. Not only did Dennis and his team talk to my students, they FLEW OUT to Louisville to speak to my students IN PERSON.
I was beyond impressed and grateful for this opportunity – as I shared with my students, this does not happen often and this will be one experience they will never forget int their education career.
Dennis and his team really did a fantastic job in sharing with the students WHY we need to use these social media channels effectively, and how by using these tools for personal branding purposes, this can open up some incredible professional opportunities. We were able to hear and learn about Logan Young’s story, as well as several others Dennis and his team have had a chance to work with over the years. It was impressive – as an educator – it’s so important to share with students these stories and say – HEY! This can be you too if you are willing to tell your story, build on your expertise and experience in the field, and share it with the world on these channels!
Here are some of the takeaways Dennis and the Blitzmetrics team of Ben and Christian shared with my class:
Video is essential to tell your story. One minute videos and showing the power of why videos is very important to capture people’s attention (we are in an attention economy!) Dennis went through and discussed each of these video concepts in their 3×3 model for the students, and how they could translate this into their public profile pages. This was very good to see here as many of my students in my class are going to be graduating in a few months (or the next year), so having this knowledge will help them.
Determining what your topic wheels are, and who you know that can help you with these individual topics. Many people talk about personal branding and what they want to be known for, but to really understand how you want to be perceived, you need to think about how you will present your expertise.
The students in my class were able to work through their topic wheel and share it with the class (as Andy is doing). It was fun to see the students really reflect and see 1) what topics do they want to be known for and what they are passionate about, and 2) who do they know in their network who can help them.
This was such a great exercise for the students to see the power of personal branding and networking!
Testimonials of other people sharing their interactions with you = social capital and helps amplify your brand. This was not only a great lesson for my students, but this was something I was able to take away as well. For example, I just found out my good friend and fellow social media professional Mark Murdock (who also was featured in my book) did a VIDEO testimonial of my book on Facebook! We were able to see this in class and I was totally blown away. You got to build your community for your brand to help amplify your message and personal brand. Dennis was able to share this with the students and reemphasize how this class is a community they could utilize, which is awesome!
Bringing knowledge and swag to the students. Not only did Dennis and his team drop so much branding, ad, and analytics knowledge, but they brought some Facebook swag to pass out to the students who engaged and participated in sharing their insights and topic wheels to the class! How cool is that?!! These items are only available at FB HQ in California. This definitely will be a conversation starter for these students amongst their friends and colleagues. Thank you SO much!
Summary
I am forever grateful to Dennis, Ben and Christian for what they have done for my students. This experience was truly epic – one of the best I have had as a professor. I have been passionate about bridging the gap between education and practice both in my own research and teaching practices. I do believe Blitzmetrics – and what they are doing in the industry – is becoming the game changer in this industry.
This is why in my opinion, they are the game changers for bridging the gap between higher education and practice. All of the practices shown here can not only be utilized here for students, but for faculty as well. I strongly, STRONGLY encourage my fellow educators to reach out to Dennis and his team to connect with them and see what they can do to build their personal brand, utilize the topic wheel method, and really open up the great opportunities out there for FB and personal branding.
Dennis, Logan and their team at Blitzmetrics want to help educators and students. They want to make sure they have the best tools and resources to be successful in the industry. I am beyond impressed and I feel what they are doing is so needed for our profession.
Thank you again Dennis, Ben and Christian for taking the time to share your expertise with all of us here at the University of Louisville. We can’t wait to host you all again here in Louisville, and keep up the amazing work innovating and leading the industry.
Have a great day!
Best Wishes,
