Is your organization struggling to get traction in social media spaces? It may be time to update your approach to communication in the digital realm.
“Drury University’s Social Media Strategy graduate course goes beyond the how to the why,” says course instructor Dr. Jonathan Groves, Professor of Communication. “Learning specific tools is part of the course, but I consistently remind students that developing strong social-media plans requires more than starting an Instagram account. A comprehensive social-media plan should consider the community’s needs and desires as well as an organization’s. The tendency is to focus on cool content that might go viral. We emphasize developing meaningful experiences that build relationships.”
Learn strategy in 8 weeks:
COMM 682 Social Media Strategy (three credit hours) is an 8-week course that is a hybrid of online and in-person instruction (remote students participate in live class sessions via Zoom). Students get hands-on experience with social media and content creation while developing projects to interact with target communities.
“I love to see the shift in mindset from education as knowledge acquisition to idea exploration,” says Dr. Groves. “It’s more than collecting tangible skills; it’s developing critical frameworks for understanding and analyzing the world around us. It’s learning that solutions and answers are often more complex and nuanced than “right” and “wrong.”
One course, several pathways:
Professionals may enroll in Social Media Strategy as a visiting student or explore the versatility of the course in the department’s degrees and certificates. COMM 682 counts toward the following programs:
- Master of Arts in Communication (30 credit hours).
- Communication and Organizational Leadership Certificate (coming Fall 2023). Bonus — this 12-credit hour certificate credit can be applied toward the Master of Arts in Communication.
- Master of Nonprofit and Civic Leadership (30 credit hours).
Tackle today’s complex challenges:
The Department of Communication’s graduate offerings encourage students to apply communication theory to hands-on experiences. A key question we explore — How does existing research and scholarship help us make sense of today’s complex technological and communication environment? Today’s leaders have to be able to have their eyes on the horizon without becoming overwhelmed by information overload and the pace of technological change. The department’s degrees and certificates offer tools for dealing with complexity.
Ready to apply?
The next session of COMM 682 Social Media Strategy starts Monday, March 20, 2023. Request more information today!
Dr. Groves is chair of the Department of Communication and facilitator of the Community Focus Report for Springfield, Mo., and Greene County. Learn more about his academic and professional background here.
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