All about that tweet: student perceptions of professors’ social media use in the classroom

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore whether public relations professors’ presence on social media and the inclusion of a social media assignment influence students’ perceptions of a course.

Design/methodology/approach

The experimental portion of this investigation consisted of a 2 (the presence or absence of a professor’s social media accounts) × 2 (the presence or absence of a social media assignment) factorial design resulting in four conditions.

Findings

The presence of a social media assignment positively influences students’ intent to register for a public relations course.

Research limitations/implications

The manipulation of a professor’s social media use and the inclusion of a social media assignment might have been too subtle. A more explicit scenario might elicit more reactions from the participants.

Practical implications

This study discussed key findings and best practices for professors who may want to use social media and the use of social media assignments in the classroom.

Originality/value

This experimental investigation emerged from a distinct need to understand whether university students expect their professors to engage in social media activities.

Citation

Merle, P. and Freberg, K. (2016), "All about that tweet: student perceptions of professors’ social media use in the classroom", Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 124-136. https://doi.org/10.1108/JRIM-01-2015-0008