Using Social Media to Teach Social Media Advertising: How to Leverage Student Prior Knowledge and Word Press Blogs

Abstract

Social Media not only present advertisers with new and interactive ways to connect with customers but they are quickly becoming a fixture of the modern college/university class environment. Social networking sites, blogs, games and end-user generated content are now relevant in both a commercial and educational context. This article examines how student prior knowledge and experience with social media can be leveraged by advertising educators to achieve a variety of learning outcomes. A framework for implementing active learning exercises from student self-assessments of various social media advertising techniques is discussed in connection with the Word Press (open source) blogging platform. The specific advertising techniques profiled include affiliate network advertising, YouTube video overlays, interstitial ads and pre-roll ad swapping in Hulu.