5 ideas for marketing and communications professors success in the classroom

Here in the United States, we’re just about to embark on a new academic year and therefore this is a good time for me to provide some ideas for instructors. If you know a professor who teaches marketing or communications (or a student taking a course in these areas), please pass this on.

It's exciting how far we've come in the area of marketing and public relations education at our colleges and universities worldwide. Just two years ago I found the state of university instruction generally so poor that I wrote a post titled Many marketing and communications professors are criminals. While I'm nowhere near as pessimistic as I was then, the academic world is very resistant to change (especially those with tenure), so there are definitely people who still resist teaching the new rules of marketing.

Here are some ideas I've learned from professors around the world that you might use in your classroom.

1. Care about your students

Take a look at this post from Bill Sledzik, Associate Professor, School of Journalism & Mass Communication, Kent State University: Why we teach: Reflections on 20 years in the classroom.

Bill is someone who understood very early that we're going through a change towards digital. Because he cares about students, he implemented the ideas in the classroom before almost anyone else.

Here's an interview I did with Bill to learn more about what he does so well.

Direct link to Bill Sledzik discuses modern Public Relations education on YouTube.

2. Show, don't tell

One of the best ways to get students active with social media is to use popular platforms as tools in class. For example, you can use a blog as the course syllabus. Twitter could be the way people ask questions outside of class (longer answers could be posted somewhere with a link). Other platforms that could be used include Slideshare for presentations and Pinterest for links.

3. Encourage students to get away from the CV and resume

One of the most important things you can do for students is prepare them for the real world of job search. Starting right from the first year, students need to find internships. Upon graduation, they need full time work. Sadly, the vast majority of marketing and communications students still focus exclusively on the boring old plain text CV.

You should encourage students to start a personal blog as part of class. The blog will serve as a way to get them known to potential employers. For example, here's new Tufts graduate Lindsey Kirchoff's blog.

4. Pick a local nonprofit and do a pro-bono makeover of their online marketing

Having students work together to help a local organization is a good way to actually implement ideas. You can see the results in just one term and it will help a worthy cause.

5. Choose the right classroom materials

My book The New Rules of Marketing and PR, now in its third edition, is used in many hundreds of universities around the world. It's a primary or supplemental text in Marketing courses and Public Relations courses as well as MBA programs, entrepreneurial offerings and journalism classes.

My publishers, John Wiley & Sons, have put together a special resources page, which includes free instructor materials that you can use in class to supplement The New Rules of Marketing and PR. The materials are free, however, you need to register on the site to get access.

Are you a professor? What techniques do you use?

If you’re a student or recent graduate, what were some of the effective ways you were taught?

Comments

[PrivacyCamp]

I use Twitter to provide real time links to articles for my students at George Mason University.

@DakinMarketing

Extra credit questions for quizes and exams come from the articles I post there.

Shaun Dakin

[ConnectionMaven]

David, thanks for writing this. I met yesterday with a newly minted "PR Girl" who had not had developed any knowledge of search marketing and it's intersection with public relations.

And she told me that she began using her social media channels because she felt they were important, but there are no classes in those or in community social management.

Keep on telling everyone that the time to improve the curriculum is now.

[JosephDKelly]

Hi David, I am a Marketing Student in the UK.

I was recommended your book in my first year, and have since took a different outlook to marketing. I have recently started a Sandwich Placement Year (Between years 2 & 3, we are able to apply for jobs, and if successful we undertake a year within the industry). This blog post, is great tool for any student, and I do hope that Students & Professors the world over share this.

[David Meerman Scott]

Shaun - Great idea. Thanks for sharing! Cool that you use Twitter for extra credit.

ConnectionMaven - Sadly, there are still many graduates that aren't taught be people like Shaun and Bill. As I said in the post that I linked to, I think professors who do not teach online marketing & PR should be arrested for malpractice.

JosephDKelly - Awesome! I'm thrilled that my book has helped you. Good luck with your upcoming Sandwich Placement Year (new term for me).

[Joann Wayman]

I do the same thing that Shaun does with Twitter. At Columbia College we use Desire 2 Learn as our online platform. All of my face-to-face courses are also on D2L and I have a Twitter feed on the course home page. I use the hashtag plus the course number (#MKTG310) for each of my courses.

At the beginning of each class I go to the Twitter feed and we discuss the current events that are there. As Shaun does, the questions from the current events on Twitter, show up as bonus or extra credit on the exams.

I find students who didn't think they would like Twitter, start tweeting their own current events for the class.

[KenyanMarketer]

Thank you so much for this David. How I wish I could send this to all the lecturers at the University of Nairobi. I started blogging in my third year in campus and it has really paid off. Today at 23 years I run a successful social media agency called Social Edge Africa. I also have a programme called MK voices that helps students start blogs in universities.

[David Meerman Scott]

Joann - Great use of Twitter! There's nothing like a practical use of Twitter to show people how the tool can be used in the real world.

KenyanMarketer - That's terrific. Congratulations on your success and thank you for what you do on behalf of students.

[Bob Zagami]

David,

I was a guest lecturer in a marketing class at a major Boston university (not Boston University) last year. I was appalled that not a single student, or the professor, had ever heard of or read the "New Rules of Marketing and PR" - that was a focal point of my real world presentation on marketing and how/why it has changed. I gave away several copies of your book away to students engaged in the conversation. I'm just amazed that we still have people out there that don't know who you are and have not read your book, yet they are teaching "marketing" at a college or university!

[Chris Meylan]

David,

I am lecturer in a Swiss Hotel School and I teach PR & eMarketing courses to undergraduate and postgraduate students with an international background. I tell my students that your book should be one of the main resources they should read about marketing in general. I just love how you are so clearly explaining the concept and the evolution of marketing, PR and online marketing.
I have been teaching PR with your book as a core text as well, and I am using extensive examples of what has been done online, and I get definitely some attention there. But it has been more frustrating when trying to engage with students outside of the classroom via Twitter and a Facebook Page. It seems that my students are willing to understand the concepts, but few are actually trying to write their own blog, or create their own Page, or Twitter account.
I will have have a look at the material you are sharing, and this will maybe help me with my challenge and will give you some feedback.

[David Meerman Scott]

Bob - Thank you for talking up my book in Boston. I'm fine if people don't know me or my books, however what burns me up is when the professors teach only offline marketing & PR techniques. In today's online world, that's just wrong and doing a disservice to students.

Chris - Wow, thanks for using my book! I'm going to be presenting in Zurich on September 7. Let me know if you might be able to make it. I'm not sure how to handle the reluctance of students to engage with the social platforms. There's no doubt that hotel customers are using social all the time, so it is indeed important for a hotel education. Thank you for leading the way.

[James Mignano]

I'm a student at Brockport, SUNY, and the New Rules was one of our books for a PR class last semester (although it was not the first time I had read the book.)

I also have a blog at www.MillennialsMarketing.Wordpress.com - but I took the initiative to make it myself. I wish professors would work blogs and other personal, online marketing tools into curriculum, because I certainly recommend it to anyone in college, or any recent grads.

Great post, David!

James Mignano

[Matt Scherer]

David,

I'm so glad that I got to read this inspirational blog. I have been working on my own book on how military professionals can use LinkedIn as a marketing tool. I have also been teaching some LinkedIn classes and consulting with the large military base of retirees in San Antonio.

Your point number three is something I would like to share with the visionaries behind President Obama's change to the transition program. As noted in a recent Wall Street Journal article (http://Ez.com/ckcw), President Obama is pursuing some major changes in the transition assistance program for veterans.

I have been in talks with the contract team that advise the U.S. Army on the transition program for their departing soldiers. First, the person who I met did not have a LinkedIn profile. After sending him mainstream business press reports on how human resources and staffing professionals preferred the use of LinkedIn as an alternative to a resume, he admitted it was a good idea for the soldiers to get training.

Yet, change is not going to happen soon. Until mid-November, not one soldier will get formal training from the military on LinkedIn even though I gave them the names of four HR professionals who said they don't even look at resumes. To even add a four-hour program on LinkedIn would require a change in the contract. As a retired military professional, I kind of understand the "change order" in military contracting. Yet, the leader in me also knows that change is needed now especially since the U.S. Army is paying $500 million in unemployment claims to some states for veterans who lost their job because of a reserve call up.

So, I am in the process of working with some local businesses to fund some courses on LinkedIn. We're halfway there in terms of funding, and I hope that I can get one of my partners, a progressive public educational institution, to find the rest of the funding to fully complete the five classes for veterans in San Antonio.

[Jeff Fickes]

David,
Your book inspired me to re-tool Seattle Shakespeare Company's summer internship in arts marketing. My interns just completed 10 weeks of learning about content creation in relationship to social media and marketing. They did a great job on their numerous projects. I used a wordpress site to house the curriculum and schedule, had them establish twitter and facebook accounts, and also had them create audio interviews, slideshows, and finally their own mock site to promote an arts event of their choosing.

I have to say that getting access to the resources from your publishers has been a bit of a hurdle. I wanted to jump on the chance to incorporate more info into my curriculum plan. I think they could take a lesson from the book about making information accessible and easy to share.

[Stanley Rao]

This is an inspirational blog for the ones who are new to the concept of marketing and are trying to learn about marketing,.

[David Meerman Scott]

James - good for you to take the initiative. You'll go far!

Matt - you are doing important work. It's ridiculous that people are hired by the government to "help" veterans and they don't even know the current platforms!! Did we fight in Iraq with Sherman Tanks and Hellcats? I personally have done pro-bono work with the military to help their Public Affairs teams make the transition and along the way have coached several people into the private sector. Keep up the efforts.

Jeff - Sorry about that. Have you gotten what you need from Wiley? They tell me that the hurdle is there because they do not want students to have access to the instructor materials.

[Chris Meylan]

I might be able to manage to go to Zurich on September 7. To which conference are you going to exactly?

[David Meerman Scott]

Chris, here is a link to the event:
http://www.gfm.ch/de/veranstaltungen/gfmbrushup.htm?anmelden=1

[HowToMarketToMe]

David-Great article and thank you for linking! Here are my thoughts as a recent grad.

My marketing professor at Tufts, Jack Derby (of Derby Management), has made worlds of difference in my school career. He opened up his network, always answers emails and makes time for his students even after graduation. You're right--teachers who care are the best asset. Plus, our reading assignments included lots of Marketing Lessons From The Grateful Dead :)

One of the reasons my marketing class was the most helpful of my academic career at Tufts was because Professor Derby paired us with real companies for actual projects. The real world APPLIED experience was so helpful compared to reading case studies. Since this might not be possible for every professor, I like your idea of volunteering for non-profits in a marketing project. Not only is it great on a student resume, but it helps support a deserving cause.

Bill Sledzik sounds like an amazing (and smart!) guy for transitioning and teaching digital so early--before most PR people even knew that's what they were doing! But he was lucky with the freedom that tenure gave him to try a somewhat more non-traditional route. Most business teachers I've had are actually working full-time in the business world and only teach that class. They're going to have to push a lot harder to be allowed to try some of these methods. Luckily, I think people are starting to come around.

Thanks again for the great read.

James-Nice to meet you! I did something similar myself. I just followed you on Twitter. We should chat sometime.

Matt-I've never thought about social media and the military, but it sounds like a real asset for those transitioning into civilian work life. Thanks for opening my eyes to a worthy cause! Here's hoping for wider adoption soon.

[Wende Persons]

Just wanted to say how much I enjoy your daily newsletter. Each fall in my Marketing for the Performing Arts class at NYU (with your NEW RULES book as one of the texts) we've been adopting an arts organization to help them set up their online and social marketing best practices as a semester-long class project. Pairs and trios of students choose their topic, become experts and teach the class about best practices in creating a blog, an effective e-newsletter, etc. - as applied to our adopted arts organization. It's hands on learning for all. Thanks for all the creative ideas you're sharing.

[Gerald]

Hi David,

This a very encouraging blog post. My daughter will be starting college this week studying opera and I encouraged her to create a blog which she has called http://www.operastarz.com

Music schools are known for not teaching students how to market themselves but JMU where she will be going seems to be different. Thanks for pushing the envelop on the new rules.

[David Meerman Scott]

How to Market to Me - You're fortunate to have Jack Derby as a teacher. Most students tell me that their communications professors are living in the past.

Wende - Thank you. You are doing important work and your students are lucky that you care so much!

Gerald - You're so right about music schools. Good blog, but I would encourage more personalization - she needs a bio and a photo and more information about her as the author.

[Nitesh Ahir]

At the University we are practicing as well as teaching these concepts. I have a closed FB group for my Media Strategy & Planning course where students share and react to advertising messages that attract their attention.