City Connections: IIT Stuart Students at Chicago Social Media Week - Part 2

Several IIT Stuart undergraduate and graduate students attended Social Media Week Chicago this past September, a week-long series of events that takes place in cities around the world featuring experts, iconic brands, and leading thinkers sharing their ideas and inspiration. Thank you to IIT Stuart Marketing Analytics and Communication graduate student Blania Guo for sharing her experiences and insights from the week.

Social Media Week was a great opportunity for me! The event consisted of many formats with keynotes, panels, and networking events — All interesting ways to learn about the latest trends and tools for social media marketing.

It’s shocking to know that 93% of word of mouth marketing happens offline. How do we know we’re not doing futile work online? Two authors discussed their recent books addressing this issue and providing their solutions. One useful suggestion is to be human. Instead of mass broadcasting, a brand can be fun and caring just like a friend. Why not pick five followers a day, ask for their phone numbers, call them, and talk to them? That’s an exciting thought, and a way to extend the lifespan of online information.

All our professors and industry experts tell us that content is always important. No matter how influential a brand is, people won’t intrinsically feel the urge of sharing unless the content is good. In a discussion panel, I asked the social media manager from Nestlé what her secret ingredients for viral posts are. She said nothing works forever, but understanding your audience and knowing how they think is truly valuable.

A master class on social media management and analysis with Sprout Social left a great impression on me. The tool allows managers with multiple social media accounts and brands to publish, monitor, analyze, and optimize their sites. Combined with the many tools we’ve learned in class, I got a clear vision of how marketers should utilize social media.

I did an internship on social media management in a startup a few years ago. I tried my best to publish content, monitor engagement, and communicate with our fans, but it wasn’t good enough. Some posts were popular but didn’t always work; fans grew but sales didn’t. Based on what I’m learning in class combined with opportunities like social media week, I’m developing skills and tools that are building my confidence and will allow me to succeed. I can analyze the data, find out what’s wrong, and fix it step by step. All the things I’m learning in class and at SMW will greatly benefit my future career in marketing.