Public Relations Princess

The State of Social Media in Academia

Last weekend, I had a fantastic opportunity to teach a social media seminar at Drake University in Des Moines,Iowa. The course offers one hour of master's level credit for a class that meets on a Friday evening from 5-10 p.m. and Saturday from 8-5. That seems like a really long time to be sitting on a weekend, but to me it went by incredibly fast.

I am a 2001 graduate of the university, and it seems impossible, but I typed most of my papers on a typewriter. I researched most of the material in the basement archive room in Cowles Library. I painstakingly read through research abstracts in the electronic databases and used a "state of the art" program to access all of the material. But I still had to drag those big green books off the shelves and make expensive copies.

Think about how much technology has changed and benefited both students and the academic community. Apply that thinking to the use of social media in universities and the adoption of a social media major in Journalism and Mass Communication Schools in the U.S. Social media has the potential to set a university apart from its competition and tell the stories of the student and faculty.

Colleges and universities should adopt a holistic approach to social media. The problem becomes herding academic types (which is worse than herding cats, times 1000) and getting them to make some decisions without over-thinking it.

My advice to universities for communicating with its "publics":

1. Get the buy-in of the president and the VP in charge of marketing communications. Once those two are in, the rest is academic (pun intended).
2. Form a small committee of people interested in moving the institution forward in using social media, including a representatives from the following groups:
   
   • Students
   • PR and communications staff
   • Admissions staff
   • Alumni relations office
   • Sports communications staff
   • Community relations representative
3. Set a goal of getting at least one form of social media up and running in one month,and having all members contribute and participate
4. Communicate with the group when something significant is happening that the other members can talk about too (i.e. A big basketball game coming up, FAFSA deadline, a snow day, a campus visit by a famous alum, etc)
5. Meet monthly to share successes and failures. Share information.
6. From the beginning, keep good track of metrics and report success to leaders
7. Visit other school sites to get ideas
8. Listen to people who are talking to you via social media and respond to them using social media

In my next post, I'll have some advice for those journalism school and business school deans who would like some advice on how to teach the next generation of workers about social media.

SWAT: A New Twist on Systems Thinking

Timothy Johnson is an accomplished project management and systems thinking professional and professor. He has the ability, using the tools in his tool belt, to help companies analyze the pieces and parts of their organizations and to determine, using systems thinking principles, how to facilitate change.

His new book comes out today. SWAT is a book that showcases Timothy's knowledge of how companies set priorities and bring about change. The book takes you through the basics of systems and then shows you how to break down the system into its components, interpret and manipulate the components and ultimately change the system for the better.

Timothy's use of the SWAT analogy (Systems Working All Together) is actually part of Timothy's effort to incorporate real character's from his local SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team into the book and his passion for photography is included, as well.

So, why would a PR Princess care anything about a systems thinking book?

First and foremost, Tim is a friend and informal mentor. When I was a new adjunct professor at Drake, Tim took me under his wing and imparted all kinds of wisdom that I would not have known going in. He saved me a lot of time and demystified a lot of questions that I had.

Secondly, every PR professional needs to have a good understanding of the way a business works. For corporate communicators in large, complex organizations, it is critical that you realize there are sometimes dozens of systems and personalities influencing every decision.

I encourage anyone who interacts with medium or large corporation, or complex government agencies, to read this book. Communicators need to learn how to be at the table when big decisions are being made. One way to gain the respect and trust of the executives in your organization is to speak their language and realize that complex decisions sometime muddle the message coming out to employees and stakeholders. Encourage leaders in your organization to put the complexity aside after a decision has been made. The final decisions need to be communicated clearly and without management speak.

Timothy's book is on Amazon. I encourage you to read it. It's the best $14.95 you'll spend on a business book all year. Congratulations, Tim, on the release of your third book!

Checklist for PR Majors: Before You Walk, Check Off Social Media Skills

I've spent a lot of time with students at Drake University, Simpson College, Iowa State University, the University of Iowa, UNI and Des Moines Area Community College the past two years. There are many bright students out there, for sure. Unfortunately, the classroom is not the best place to get to know these young people. But strike up a conversation on a social network, and you get a more accurate snapshot of the subjects they're interested in.

It's a paradox then, that these students, who live their lives on Facebook, don't really know much about the value of social networking in a business context, or its value in public relations, or its value in crisis communications. This bridge between the "social" nature of social media and the "media" aspect should be built during college. Once graduated and in the working world, these bright young people may not have the luxury of time to think about these connections again, until they're faced with writing a plan for a client or employer, who will expect them to know.

Unfortunately, most public relations programs still treat social media as an ancillary specialty, much like an appendix. There are many reasons for this. Sometimes it's because the professors don't know enough about social media in the context of a PR career to teach it. Sometimes, old school classes are taking up too much time on the required class list. So, I've come to the conclusion that students need not wait for a formal class to learn about social media. They should check the items off on this list themselves.

1. Learn how to shoot, edit and post video: Buy an inexpensive Flip, or simply use the video function on your point and shoot camera. Look into free editing software such as Microsoft Movie Maker or Apple iMovie. The goal is not to become the next Steven Spielberg, but to just become comfortable with the general process. Post the video to YouTube and tag it.
2. Learn how to record a podcast. With the free microphone that comes with most computers, and a free software program such as Audacity, you can create a simple audio file. Use this opportunity to hone your interviewing skills, which you will need when you become a PR professional.
3. Create and write regularly on a blog: There are many good free blogging platforms out there, such as Typepad and Wordpress. I'd avoid Blogger just because I find it to be limited. Blogging teaches many things and hones writing skills. It also provides lots of practice in posting pictures and videos.
4. Get on Twitter and learn how to use it. Follow your classmates and professors, your university, or anyone from the city you live in. You'll start to build your own following very soon.
5. Collect internships like seashells. If no perfect position presents itself, market yourself as an intern to a local nonprofit and offer your services to get them up and running on social media for six months.
6. Clean up your Facebook page and make it more adult-working-world acceptable. No need to scrub it clean, but use discretion in what pictures of you are tagged with your name.
7. Join LinkedIn and use contacts you make during internships as your first connections.
8. Figure out social media strategy: Write a paper on using social media in the business world and highlight some great case studies. Be sure to make a clear connection between strategy and tactics. Why was social media used? Did it help solve a problem? Did it produce measurable results?
9. Take Internet Marketing. There are lots of old-school digital marketing classes that can teach you about CRM, email marketing and SEO. A lot of what you learn will apply to social media as well.
10. Get involved. There are many opportunities to help your school, your local PRSSA chapter, as well as your community. Show initiative and get out there and do something. Put it on your resume as a volunteer position.

I've noticed a disturbing trend with my students and have heard the tale from fellow professors: Students are so used to being told what to do that they're losing all initiative and curiosity. That is the worst possible trait to carry into a new career. Delve into your creative side and tackle social media while you're in college. No one will be there to tell you how or what to do. And that, in my opinion, is the best part.

Great Class Today at Drake!

My friend Professor Ronda Menke was sick today, so I got to take over her 2:00 PR Principles class today. The subject of my lecture was working in agencies. We had a little fun at the end and made a video for Prof. Menke! Check it out.