Please Don't Show This To My Therapist

          No one likes reading a textbook. Every year students log on to buy codes and books that will most likely just sit on a shelf and collect dust until it’s time to return them at the end of the semester. That’s exactly how I felt buying this book. I couldn’t understand how you put information about social media in a textbook, something just seemed off. And on top of that, it was an online textbook, something I’ve never been fond of. Staring at a screen, losing my place while reading, and forgetting my login information is just so frustrating. To me, there’s just something about having the actual book in front of me that helps me comprehend the information. Although I will say, my back did thank me for having one less book in my bag.       For my principles of social media class, we used Stukent’s “Essentials of Social Media Marketing” textbook and simulation. I had never used Stukent before so trying to figure out how to use the o...

          I finally completed the Stukent Social Media Simternship program for my Principals of Social Media course this week. This program allows students like myself to experience real-world digital marketing. It guides you through 12 rounds, concentrating on creating organic social posts, paid social posts, collaborating with influencers, and ultimately executing all three types of posts simultaneously. Along with creating media, you also respond to customer messages, examine company data and analyze post success to help with future decisions. You undertake all of these tasks for Buhi Supply Co., a company that specializes in the sale of a wide array of bags. Personally, I would purchase from Buhi, they have some cute products!       All-around, I think my favorite part about completing the program was getting to create my own organic posts. While I enjoyed organizing the paid posts, the rounds focusing on the organic posts were defin...

          Last Friday, March 22, I had the opportunity to attend the Ohio Northern University Public Relations Student Society of America’s (PRSSA) sixth annual social media workshop. As a student looking to pursue a career in marketing or communications, this workshop proved valuable. Throughout the day, I shared insights and key takeaways from the sessions I attended via live-tweeting. Here is a quick recap of my day.  The day began with a compelling keynote speaker, Amy Hertsenberg, who talked about AI-powered digital mastery. It was an amazing presentation illustrating how AI can do the smallest tasks that humans either don’t have time for or dread doing. Hertsenberg had me captivated the entire time.   Following the keynote, I delved into my first session on brand engagement. Presenter Sally Stearns talked about what she calls the three C’s of brand engagement: Connecting, Converting and Cultivating. Stearns did a deep dive into each top...

          As a part of the younger generation, I frequent Snapchat. It’s a part of my everyday life. I am without a doubt more active on Snapchat than I am on any other social media platform such as Instagram or X (formerly known as Twitter). I probably know the app inside and out. But for some reason, when I think about Snapchat, I don’t think about advertisements or shopping for things like I do when I think about other platforms. However, in recent years, Snapchat has become the place for businesses to run their advertisements and many people don’t even know.  Here’s how they did it:   Shows:       You know those random stories that pop up on your discovery page? They always have some sort of cliffhanger or dramatic title or even feature a popular artist or athlete. Yeah, those are actually paid advertisements from companies. Snapchat offers two kinds of shows: Snap Originals, which are basically mini-documentaries or T...

          When I say the word “influencer” what comes to mind? Maybe a teenager standing in front of a camera getting paid tons of money to brag about this company sending them free merchandise? Or maybe a 20-something-year-old who has risen to fame because they took one picture with an actor and now has brand deals with all these different companies? It doesn’t matter what you think of, the overall connotation of the word “influencer” is negative, but why? And why do companies continue to use influencers in their content strategy if there is such a negative connotation around it?  The word influencer is a more recent term added to our everyday vocabulary. Influencers themselves are still a newer idea to begin with. An influencer is someone who carries influence over others and in the case of social media, this entails a person with a big platform whose followers will listen to and do every little thing they say. If the influencer said that red wasn’...