This paper explores university approaches to teaching social media and the expertise of social media professionals.
Colleges and universities teach social media in business or communication-focused departments if it all. Social
media professionals were surveyed to assess their skill set and how they obtained it. Respondent’s self-reported
skills predominantly comprise marketing and brand management vs. analysis. Identification of this skill gap
provides business schools opportunities to adjust their curriculum by teaching social media strategy coupled with
analytics to better prepare graduates.
A Critique of the Proposed National Education Policy Reform
Acquiring social media expertise
1. Acquiring Social
Media Expertise
Sara G. N. Kerr
Marketing Management Fall Educators Conference
September 17-19, 2014
2. Mackay, F. (2010, March 30). Business schools respond to demand for use of
social media. New York Times.
“To meet this demand for education
in social media strategy, several top
business schools are incorporating
courses on social networks into
their M.B.A. curriculums.”
3. Holmes, R. (2012, September 26). Universities are failing at teaching social
media. Fortune.
“Higher ed, however, has been
painfully slow to step up and fill the
knowledge gap. … When courses on
social media are offered, they tend to
be stand-alones or electives rather
than integrated into a larger
curriculum.”
5. Research Questions
• Which university departments teach social
media?
• How did professionals learn social media?
• What did professionals in social media
study in college?
• What is the relationship between business,
social media, and higher education?
6. Secondary Research
• Random sample of 92 institutions from 1,989 non-specialized
baccalaureate and/or masters granting
institutions from the US Department of Education’s
Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and
Programs
• Catalog search seeking course descriptions with these
key words:
– digital marketing;
– interactive marketing;
– social media; or
– social networking
7. Findings
Institution and Department Frequency
Institutions that do not teach social media 42
45.7 %
20.7%
Institutions that offer one social media class 19
Business 10
Communication/Journalism 7
Information Systems 1
Other 1
Institutions that offer multiple social media classes 34 %
31
Business 16
Communication/Journalism 32
Information Systems 6
Other 19
8. Primary Research
• Convenience sample of social media
professionals via requests on
LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, and at
social media conferences
– 69 respondents
10. Respondents age
18-24
6%
25-34
39%
45-54
22%
35-44
28%
55-64
4%
65-74
Respondent 1%
Age Range
11. Why does age matter?
Many social platforms didn’t
exist when the respondents
were in college.
12. How old are these platforms?
Year Social Platforms
2013 Vine
2012
2011 Google+, Instagram, Snapchat
2010 Pinterest
2009 Foursquare, Prosperous
2008
2007 Tumblr
2006 Facebook (everyone), Slideshare, Twitter
2005 Facebook (high school students added), YouTube
2004 the Facebook (university students only), Flickr, Podcasting, Yelp
2003 LinkedIn, MySpace, TypePad, WordPress
15. Response Choices Frequency
% of Survey
Respondents (69)
Following social media experts 64 92.8%
Conferences/Association Events (e.g. Social
Media Breakfast, PRSA etc.) 43 62.3%
Self-Taught (Open Response) 24 34.8%
Books 23 33.3%
Online tutorials (e.g. Lynda.com) 22 31.9%
College classes 11 15.9%
Classes at an agency or private company (e.g.
BrainCo, Community Education, etc.) 10 14.5%
Total Responses 197
16. What kind of social
media work do these
social media workers
do?
17. Answer Options
Response
Percent
Response
Count
Community Management 71.0% 49
Comprehensive Social Strategy 58.0% 40
Content Development 82.6% 57
Evaluation and Measurement (analytics) 44.9% 31
Influencer engagement 53.6% 37
Research/competitive analysis/gap analysis 26.1% 18
Other (please specify) 11.6% 8
69
19. What’s happening on campus now
• University social media curriculum
research indicates that social media
is taught at 54.3% of sampled
institutions.
• Of these institutions, only 26 (28.3%)
offer social media within the business
curriculum.
20. What can universities do?
• Synthesizing this data suggests that
business schools have opportunities to
incorporate social media into their
curriculum.
• Promoting a strategic approach to
curriculum development that will both
address business graduate needs and
conserve university resources.
21. Ideas
ONE: Integrate classes from other
university departments that teach social
media into the marketing/business
curriculum.
22. Ideas
TWO: Develop comprehensive social
media classes that include practical
application and strategic development
23. Ideas
THREE: Incorporate social media
across the breadth of marketing
curriculum, such as marketing
communications, research, and
strategy.
24. Ideas
FOUR: Develop social media analytics
courses to augment communication-focused
classes offered in business
and/or other departments.
26. Ideas
SIX: Include a service-learning
component that pairs students with
local businesses to give students
hands-on experience
with social media
strategy and
implementation.
27. Thank you
Let’s connect on future research projects, please find
me online:
• Twitter: @saralitta
• LinkedIn: Sara G. N. Kerr
• Email: sgkerr@stkate.edu
• Blog: sara-kerr.com
• Instagram: saralita
• Pinterest: saralita
• Vine: saralitta
28. Photo Credits
• catalogue / elise.y / CC BY
• Clipboard and pens Rob Nguyen
• Lighting Department stenographers, 1935 Seattle Municipal Archives
• Before class Bard College at Simon's Rock
• Strategy - It's game of life Anil Jadhav
• University of Cincinnati on a September Evening {Explore} Rob Amend
• Google Analytics on Computer Screen Blue Fountain Media
• Pacific Partnership 2011 soccer team forms up during an exhibition soccer
match Official U.S. Navy Page
• Service Dog – Canid swong95765
Notes de l'éditeur
Unfortunately, only 26 (28.3%) of institutions offer a social media class as part of the business curriculum. In the sample of 92 schools,
45.7% do not offer any social media courses,
20.7% offer one course
(53% in business and 37% in communication/journalism related departments),
and 34% offer multiple courses.
In Table 1, below, the first column divides the 92 sample institutions by how many courses each offers in social media (none, one or multiple).
The institutions that offer 1 or more courses are further partitioned by the department (business, etc.) that offer the course(s). For example, 19 sampled institutions offer 1 social media course. Of those 19 courses, 10 (52.6%) are taught in the business department. Of the 31 institutions that offer multiple courses, 16 of them (51.6%) offer a course in the business department, 32 in Communication/Journalism, and 6 in Information Systems.
While it’s true that more women use social media than men (Duggan and Smith, 2013), I was unable to find demographic employment data specifically for social media professions.
While it’s true that more women use social media than men (Duggan and Smith, 2013), I was unable to find demographic employment data specifically for social media professions.
While it’s true that more women use social media than men (Duggan and Smith, 2013), I was unable to find demographic employment data specifically for social media professions.
The table highlights how few social platforms existed when respondents were in college.
The definition of social media expertise used in this survey is based on consultation with hiring managers from marketing agencies and the National Institute for Social Media (NISM)’s Social Media Strategist Exam Candidate Handbook (2013). The NISM measures social media skill in six content domains based on their Industry Advisory Committee (IAC) Professional Job Study which include: strategic planning, compliance and governance, project management, social media marketing, community management, and research and analysis (NISM, 2013).
The responses show that most consider themselves able to provide elementary social media services:
82% develop content and
71% manage communities.
Conversely, only 26% are able to conduct research or competitive or gap analysis.
Close to half of respondents
provide comprehensive social strategy (58%),
measure influencer engagement (53.6%), and
evaluate and measure analytics (44.9%).