Social media should be cornerstone of PR education

Given the recent boom of social media and its increased importance in public relations, it’s appropriate that universities across the nation should cater their educational efforts to this transition.

In a Businessweek article, Dr. Elaine Young, an assistant professor at Champlain College, said students need to be prepared to begin their professional careers immediately after graduation, and for PR students, social media expertise is one of those requisite skills.

As Sally Falkow points out on her blog, The Proactive Report, most teens and young adults are quite adept with social media, but it’s for personal use. They have no professional experience with it.

Which makes me wonder, is my education focusing enough on social media?

That was certainly one of my complaints for J440. Don’t get me wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed the class, and it gave me many invaluable tools I’ll need to succeed in the industry. However, I couldn’t help but think that a little extra emphasis on social media would have been nice. It was seldom discussed, and when it was, it wasn’t with any detail.

J452, on the other hand, is quite different. It certainly has an extra emphasis on social media, which I find refreshing and encouraging. But is it enough? Sure, we’re taught the basics of blogging and twitter. We’re instructed on what language to use. The purpose of social media is made quite clear. We want to engage the community and start a relationship through honest communication. But, how do we actually use it?

For instance, let’s say I want create publicity for a promotional event that some company is putting on, but we haven’t established an online presence. How do I get followers? How do I generate buzz? I realize an individual or a company can’t arbitrarily choose which social media sites to utilize and expect followers and an established online presence. I know it takes time and work. But surely there are some steps to take that could expedite this process, right?

There’s little to no emphasis on strategy. Without a refined strategy, a company’s — or an individual’s — foray into the social media world may result in a blunder of epic proportions. A good strategy helps maintain control of the conversation, and guides it to a direction that ultimately benefits the company. Of course, there are many variables that are uncontrollable, but a good strategy can help keep those in check.

To that end, what are some of the negative aspects about social media? It seems as though it’s being touted as the ultimate resource, with little regard to its potential negative impacts. As the University of Oregon’s Tom Hagley puts it, public relations is about influencing behavior. Surely, this attempt to influence behavior could backlash and alienate the target audience.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m certainly a fan of social media, and I think it’s doing great things for the profession. Moreover, we are taught to be honest, open and forthright in our social media. I just can’t help but thinking a little more depth would be nice. And I don’t want it all to come from J452. Frankly, I was a little overwhelmed at first with all the new social media sites I was becoming acquainted with. This education should be a cornerstone of all public relations classes, from J440 to J495, and be even distributed throughout.

I’m left to wonder: Will I receive any further education on the uses of social media? Or is it trial by fire from here on out?