Social Media Community Management: Implications for the Business Communication CurriculumBarbara J. D’Angelo, Ph.D.Arizona State University

Association for Business Communication Annual ConventionOctober 2010

The Prevalence of Social Media (SM)•91% of Inc. 500 companies used at least 1

SM tool in 2009 (Barnes & Mattson, 2009)▫increase from 79% in 2008▫48% used SM to recruit and evaluate

cnadidates•79% of Global 100 companies use SM

(Burson-Marsteller, 2010)•24% of small businesses use SM (Social

Media, 2010)▫increase from 12%

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SM in the Business Comm Classroom•What skills do students need to use SM in

the workplace?•How do we adapt our classrooms?

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SM Community Managers Ads Analyzed•28 ads representing

▫28 different companies for- and non-profit small, mid and large

▫geographically diverse (U.S. only)▫positions requiring less than 2 yrs

experience•Job responsibilities and functions•Skills and abilities required and/or

expected

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Job Functions: ManagementFunction # of ads

Strategic planning 18

Internal collaboration 17

Integration with brand/mission

11

External collaboration 9

Training 6

Supervision 2

Qualification # of ads

Organizational 10

SM Understanding/knowledge

11

Detail-oriented 9

Meet deadlines 9

Self-motivating/independent

8

Multi-tasking 7

Leadership 5

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Job Functions: Research & AnalysisFunction # of ads

Metrics/SEO (reporting/accountability)

15

Research content (external)

7

External conversation about brand/service

5

Own product/service 2

Competition 1

Qualification # of ads

Research 9

Analytical (analysis, critical thinking, problem solving)

7

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Job Functions: Content DevelopmentFunction # of ads

Write/post content 14

Edit content 9

Write external content

8

Maintain consistency

8

Create media 3

Qualification # of ads

Written communication

22

SM specific tool knowledge

16

Oral communication 15

Subject knowledge 9

Synthesize information 2

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Job Functions: Community ManagementFunction # of ads

Engage/participate user discussions

13

Respond to users 10

Recruit/retain users 7

Coordinate/plan/hold events

7

Develop/monitor/enforce guidelines

2

Qualification # of ads

Team work/collaborative

14

SM passion 7

Listening 1

Event planning 1

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Job Functions: TechnicalFunction # of

ads

Administer software (backend)

3

Manage user interface 2

Administer user accounts

1

Qualification # of ads

Computer/program-specific skills (Excel, Word)

12

HTML/CSS 5

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2008 Survey of 505 Instructors (Russ 2009)Topics covered most

Topics covered least

• good news/bad news messages

• formatting• grammar and sentence

structure• public speaking

(presentations, visual aids)• persuasion• ethics• e-mail• resumes/cover letters

• communication theory• negotiation• mediated communication

(other than email)

Assignments most required

• correspondence• reports/papers• presentations• quizzes/exams

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Implications for bus comm pedagogy•More communication theory?

▫SM as tools to communicate and interact•Shift genres taught (traditional or

mediated)?•Adapt research methods taught?

▫traditional academic vs. analytics/metrics▫analysis, statistics

•More emphasis on project management?▫planning▫organization▫coordination

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Implications for bus. comm. pedagogy•More emphasis on collaboration?

▫more group projects and teamwork▫more facilitation

•More(?) collaboration with marketing?▫branding (and ethos)▫business communication can’t do it all▫or is there already too much emphasis on

marketing?•How to balance between fundamental

communication and SM?

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Review of past-present-future

“As teachers of business communication, we must learn how to teach in this changing communication environment, in which the basic communication process and underlying communication process remain constant but individuals are communicating via cell phones videoconferences, and so on, rather thann…and in addition to…via letters, memos, and face-to-face meetings.”

Du-Babcock, 2006

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Questions?

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