marketing — Jon-Stephen Stansel Jon-Stephen Stansel

You and your team have been called into a meeting. There’s no agenda. The calendar invite is vague on what the purpose is. But some higher-ups, VPs and the like, are also invited so you figure it’s important. In walks the VP of Making Things Difficult--five minutes late, of course. He sits down at the head of the table and says that they are launching a campaign for some new initiative that you are hearing about for the first time and then says...

“Any ideas on how to promote it? What should we call it? Let’s brainstorm and come up with something.”

Publish and Prosper!

We’ve all heard the maxim “publish or perish” when it comes to succeeding in academia. Professors are required to publish their research in peer-reviewed journals in order to obtain tenure and advance in their careers. Professors who set themselves apart by presenting and become leaders in their fields become more in demand and have a better chance of working at top schools, get their choice of courses to teach, and better pay. Those who don’t generally don’t last long in higher ed.

What Social Media Managers Need to Know About Parler

You’ve probably seen Facebook posts from your right-wing relatives stating that they are leaving Facebook and going to Parler, the social network that claims to be unbiased and a promoter of free speech but is, in fact, a right-wing echo chamber that grants safe haven to white-supremacists, Qanon conspiracy theorists, and anti-vaccers. It’s been touted as the next big thing by Sean Hannity, Ted Cruz, and of course Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty, all of whom are some of the apps top users. It’s been referred to by its critics as “Meinspace,” “Fashbook,” and “Twittler.” I describe it as 4chan for boomers--a place rampant with hate speech, conspiracy theories, and alt-right propaganda.

It would be great to be able to just ignore it, but the app shot to the top of Apple’s App Store in the wake of the 2020 election and while social media managers should steer clear of this toxic network, they do need to be familiar with what it is and the basics of the app.

Here’s what you need to know.

"Good Enough for Social Media" Isn't Good Enough

I’ve heard it said a thousand times. “It’s not perfect, but it’s good enough for social.”

This is often said when reviewing sub-par content that has no other place to go. Or maybe it’s said after taking an out of focus photo on the fly at an event before Tweeting it out to thousands of uninterested followers. The sad fact is a lot of people think that there is a low bar for content posted to social media. However, this is far from the truth as social media has matured and the quality of content from brands and media outlets has increased rapidly and dramatically. Blurry cell phone photos and shaky videos no longer cut it.

Social media is the voice of your brand, so why would you settle for anything less than excellent?

Keeping a Social Media Ace Up Your Sleeve

As much as we try to plan ahead, anything can happen in social media and social media managers need to be ready to post at a moment’s notice. This can range from breaking news, a crisis situation, or a trending hashtag you want to make the most of. In these situations, crafting quality images to accompany the post may not always be easy. It takes skill and preparation to be able to act upon the unexpected. Here are few ways you can keep an ace up your sleeve and be ready with social media ready images whenever the need strikes.

What Social Media Superhero are You?

Being a social media manager requires a wide array of skills. You must have focus, understand and absorb a constant stream of information, predict future trends, be on call 24/7, handle crisis situations...basically you have to have super powers. As we gear up for the onslaught of superhero movies the summer blockbuster season would bring, I thought it would be fun to ask, "What social media superhero are you?" Here are a few options:

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