Online reputation management: A look inside Dr. Russell's Class

A sample tweet from the students of Dr. Karen Russell's course
in online reputation management

ADPR 5990, or Online Reputation Management, takes aim at training young advertising and public relations professionals the art of crafting an online presence and creating strategic, meaningful content. With creative teaching tactics (i.e. encouraging live-Tweeting during class time) and social media savvy, Dr. Karen Russell prepares her students for the future of the AdPR world.

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​​What inspired a class designed like this?

KR: "Online reputation management is only one aspect of public relations, but it's something that should concern every brand and even every individual. Even if you want to bury your head like an ostrich, other people can create a reputation for you online. Recognizing this, the department decided to open up the class university wide, and each time I teach it, we get a bigger crowd (175 this semester)."

Can you describe how the real-time Tweets work in your classroom?

KR: "Each student who chose to participate works with a team to live Tweet one class period. The class account, @RussellClass, has nearly 350 followers, a few of whom tune into the class every Tuesday and Thursday. The students usually say it's fun, although for some, it's their first Twitter experience so it's hard work.

"The benefits for students are that they have a record of what was said in class, and they get to practice live Tweeting an event and working as a team on the same account. From my perspective, I can see what students thought was important in a lecture or what resonated most with them. With a class this large, it's hard to find ways to assess social media use, and this is a fun way to do that. All students in the class have to create a LinkedIn profile and a blog."

What are the other important aspects of your course and online reputation management?

KR: "It's not all fun! We spent three days on measurement and ROI and have another block coming up on Search Engine Optimization… although I try to make the serious stuff fun, too."