“Fabulous” Professors Leading our Future Social Media Pros – The Right Way

Editor’s Note: I’m pleased to be presenting you with a guest post by the very fabulous Karen Freberg. Karen is a professor at the University of Louisville and has written this post to give us a glimpse at what University professors are doing to offer hands-on and practical challenges and lessons, to their students, in the professional world of social media. What does this mean for your business? In the very near future, emerging graduates will be much better prepared when it comes to their future employers / brands’ online reputation and social media interactions, which means (hopefully) less risk than we see today. Thanks to Karen for sharing this insider information with us!

The difference between fabulous and regular

A few days ago, Melissa inspired me for this guest blog post when we were having a Skype conversation over her upcoming guest lecture presentation for my class, and she discussed how people fall into two different categories: regular and fabulous.  Regular people go day-by-day and are dictated to what society expects of them.  They do the same thing everyday and don’t jump on opportunities.

So, who are individuals who fit into the “fabulous” category?  Fabulous people are ones that take advantage of opportunities, make the most of each day by working hard and are dedicated to maintaining and sustaining relationships.  These individuals are the ones that are innovative, creative, and passionate with their interests and professional activities. These individuals also serve as mentors and are willing to share their insights and perspectives willingly offline and online.

With the way the economy is going, young professionals (particularly students) are expected to be accomplished and exceed expectations from their employers. Some professionals have criticized the fact that universities are “failing” to teach social media in the classroom.

Well, I would have to disagree with this statement.  I think there are more social media classes being integrated into universities for sure – especially with the increase of jobs in the area.

So, how are universities making sure that students are indeed “fabulous” so they are able to be marketable in the real world and get these professional opportunities?  Here are some ways professors are doing this with social media in particular:

• Training students with the latest technologies:  Dr. William Ward of Syracuse (@DR4WARD) was one of the first professors who took advantage of Hootsuite’s University program for his social media class. Not only are students getting engaged with a social media analytics program, they have the chance to get certified with the program and put this on their resume for employers. Hands on experience with application of a tool in strategic communication – what a great opportunity for students to have!
• Bringing in guest lectures through Skype and Google+: Dr. Amber Hutchins (@amberhutchins, Kennesaw University) has integrated Google+ in particular to bring in guest speakers to come to her class and talk about various subjects.  I had the pleasure of coming to her class virtually and talking about visual storytelling earlier this semester.
• Helping students market themselves with multimedia online portfolios:  Robert French (@rdfrench, Auburn University) has set the standard in this area by teaching students HTML 5 and giving them a platform to market themselves as PR professionals. In addition, Robert has done a great job incorporating storytelling, content marketing, and online reputation principles for the students with their online assignments.
• Leading by example by contributing to blogs and engaging in emerging media: Professors like Kelli Matthews (@kmatthews, University of Oregon) engage their students in an interactive, engaging, and multimedia online platform. Kelli, in particular does this with her site called Pros in Training.

What do these professors have in common?

They are engaging and up-to-date with the latest technologies and how to not only research using them, but also apply them in various communication contexts.  These professors are also part of the conversation with the students and are passionate about emerging media, which shows in their interactions and assignments with their students.

Lastly, they are all leading by example – each professor is blogging, engaging in social media, researching and consulting in the area, and are also willing to share their ideas and insights with fellow professors as well as practitioners via social media as well.

In my opinion, all of these professors are “fabulous” and are a group of individuals that are influencing the future social media professionals. These individuals embody what professors teaching social media strive for.

Personally, I have been teaching a social media class at the University of Louisville this year. It has been a constant prep due to the evolution of the technology and cases coming up.  The assignments have ranged from online reputation management to mobile app strategy briefs for Ptch, to having students work on a semester long social media campaign proposal for real clients in Louisville. It’s been a lot of work (that’s where coffee comes into play), but it has been very rewarding in the process. I am sure the professors I highlighted within this post feel the same way.