TEACHING AND MEASURING CREATIVITY IN THE SOCIAL MEDIA CLASSROOM

Michael Germano

Rika Houston

Shirley Stretch

California State University, Los Angeles

The Problem• Convergence between digital tools that two-way customer

engagement and the emergence/realization/acceptance of the importance of creativity in business generally and marketing specifically

• Marketing is less about top down, interruption disruption based communication and more about two way engagement; Marketers have to be conversationalists and story-tellers more than ever

Preliminary Research Findings• Marketing students overwhelmingly think of themselves as

“creative” compared to other business students• They (marketing students) also want/desire/need to learn

to be more creative• Creativity important to success in real world but not

necessary to succeed as a student• Believe future pay is tied to creative problem solving• Prefer work that requires creative thought over tasks that

analytical or critical thinking

Social Media Marketing Certificate • MKT 380 Introduction to Social Media Marketing

(required) overview course that surveys marketing in a web 2.0 environment (connected interactive technologies) as well as digital consumers

• Choose 3 of the following:• MKT 389 Syntax of Social Media• MKT 480 Social Media Marketing Strategy• MKT 420 SEO and Web Analytics• MKT 421 Mobile App Development and Strategy• MKT 483 Social Media and Entrepreneurship• MKT 484 Contemporary Topics in Social Media

Creative Perspective• Switch-Up

• Creativity = development/design• Measurement = creativity

• SM Quantification = Creativity

• Issue: Getting students to see SM measurement options and to select the “best” option for their given SM goals

Creative Measurement Options/Metrics

Broad Topics needing marketing metrics• Buying/Promoting• Maximizing Speed• Calibrating Content• Understanding Navigation• Calculating Conversion• Maximizing customer information• Customer Value

Creative Measurement Options/Metrics

• Dash Board content and design• Multi/Omini Channels

Models - AVictory• Ability• Values• Ideas• Circumstances• Timing• Obligation• Resistance• Yield

Models – New Marketing Funnel

Provide Basic Structure• Develop exercises to show options• Focusing on 7-10 metrics of multitude of options

• Non-Financial• Brand Awareness, Test Drive, Loyality, Customer Satisfaction, and Take-

rate/conversion rate

• Financial• Sales, Profit, Net Present Value, Internal Rate of Return, Payback

• Customer Lifetime Value• CPC, TCR, ROA, Bounce rate, WOM (social media reach)

Examples

Consumer Behavior:Active Learning “Creativity” Exercise• Consumer Behavior Topic: Psychographics

• Pre-Reading Assignment: (Sustainable) Ecotourism

• Brief Overview: Psychographics of Ecotourists

• Exercise: Brainstorm and list the features for a ecotourism mobile app that appropriately addresses the psychographics of ecotourists

Consumer Behavior:Active Learning “Creativity” Exercise

• Resulting Features:

• Ecotourism destinations• Eco-friendly hotels • Eco-friendly transportation • Eco-friendly restaurants • Eco-friendly brands

• Luggage• Clothing• Shoes• Toiletries

Consumer Behavior:Active Learning “Creativity” Exercise

IN-CLASSDEMO

(After Student Exercise)

Social Media Content Marketing• Creative in-class task: Use Instagram to tell a story

visually that conveys a typical ‘value’ cornerstone concept for a brand (exciting, cool, trusted, fun, delicious, happy)

• In 30 minutes take 5 pictures

• Creativity is judged against Google images (Too common? Overdone? Unique visual?)

• Creativity is also judged and evaluated against one another

Introduction to Social Media Marketing

• Role of creativity in folksonomies (hashtags)• Students given a product or image• Have to come up with 100 words that describe for

discoverability• Use the best to develop a viral hashtag campaign (usually

a phrase or neologism) for propagation