Communication
About
The Social Media Lab is a space where students, faculty, staff, and the community can study and learn social media analytics and strategy. The lab serves as classroom, studio, virtual conference room, and consulting office. Social media skills are increasingly in demand and the lab is a place for students to get hands-on experience while learning industry-standard software, terminology, and social media metrics.Mission
We have a three-pronged approach: Teaching – Together we learn best practices for social media management and content generation. Research – Collaboration in the search for knowledge produces the most accurate knowledge. Service - We live and work in a community and seek to share our knowledge and skills for the benefit of others.
Services
Our faculty and students offer free consulting services to individuals and organizations. We can help generate a plan for social media accounts, create content, or even manage accounts for others. The lab has also assisted with various social media campaigns. Most notably we created a mask up campaign using the hashtags #MaskUpWIU, #MaskUpMacomb, and #MaskUpQC. Our efforts were recognized on local news stations, radio reports, and numerous newspapers. Recently this work was recognized with an award for Outstanding Volunteerism by the McDonough County Community Quality of Life Advisory Committee. Our current partners include the Department of Communication, WIU Food Pantry, Macomb Farmers Market, and Department of Race, Religion, Gender, and Multidisciplinary Studies. We are happy to schedule on time meetings to give our advice about your online presence or take a more active role and help to manage your accounts. Academic departments, in particular, may benefit from our new Social Media Guide for Academic Departments.
Dr. Josh Averbeck
Professor
Email: JM-Averbeck@wiu.edu
Contact Us
If you are interested in learning more about our services or would like to join our team you can contact Dr. Josh Averbeck. The social media lab is located in Memorial Hall 309. You can also find us on our social media accounts.
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