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Center for Social Media

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Turning digital natives into strategic users of social media.

The Center for Social Media provides training in social media listening, engagement, influence, and analytics. Using social media listening software, students learn industry-leading practices that enhance their skill set and ensure they stay competitive in their internships and careers.

Center for Social Media by the Numbers

100+

Student Interns

Over 100 student interns have worked with the Center for Social Media since its inception.

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Engaged Departments

The Center for Social Media collaborates with all five of the departments within the School of Communication & the Arts.

100%

Research Success

Success rate for Center for Social Media student research projects that have been accepted to national or international communication conferences.

Pillars of Hands-on Experience

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Community-Based Learning

Student interns at the Center for Social Media gain hands-on experience by managing clients' social media strategies and creating content for them. Clients include:

  • Department of Art & Digital Media
  • Dutchess County SPCA
  • For The Record
  • Marist's Center for Civic Engagement and Leadership
  • Marist's Investment Center
  • Marist's Swimming and Diving team
  • Poughkeepsie Public Library District
  • Sprout Creek Farm
  • Walkway Over the Hudson

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Undergraduate Research

The Center for Social Media is a hub of undergraduate research and inquiry. Students in Marist's Honors program collaborate to use social media listening software for multidisciplinary projects ranging in topics such as:

  • Cancel Culture
  • Beauty Bias
  • Corporate Social Responsibility

Additionally, student interns undertake a content analysis project using data harvested from the software. Their work has evolved into original manuscripts presented at national and international communication conferences.

  • Student interns at the Center for Social Media have a dedicated lab to collaborate on projects utilizing global digital listening data
  • In the classroom, students complete social media listening assignments using the social media listening software, which provides essential experiential learning
  • Student organizations, including North Road Communications and Mporium, integrate the social media listening software into their operational model, establishing measurable objectives and producing top-notch deliverables
  • Faculty work hand-in-hand with the Center for Social Media staff to customize a software tutorial and an assignment catered to the unique subject matter of a particular course
  • Faculty collaborate with undergraduate students for research projects using data harvested from the software
  • Network with engaged faculty in other disciplines or institutions for social media-related research initiatives 
     
  • Community partners have the opportunity to meet students and build long-term professional partnerships
  • Achieve organizational goals by tapping into valuable human resources 
  • Community partners make larger, more meaningful contributions to the community through collaborative efforts
     
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Experiences from Poughkeepsie to New York City

The Center for Social Media offers a myriad of experiences on-campus and off. The Center for Social Media hosts a lecture series on campus that brings together social media professionals and students to discuss industry trends, cutting-edge practices, and career opportunities. Previous speakers for the series have included professionals from LEGO, ESPN, IBM, Beautyblender, and Marvel Entertainment.

Located just 90 minutes north of New York City, a hub for communications organizations and experts, student interns at the Center for Social Media have the opportunity to visit the city for networking events with social media professionals. These interns frequently attend and present at software conferences.

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Community Workshops

Student interns in the Center for Social Media immerse themselves in their Hudson Valley living and learning environments. As such, they are passionate about giving back to the community through workshops and presentations that enhance the local workforce. Through a partnership with the United Way of the Dutchess-Orange Region, student interns offer social media training as part of the United Way's "Community Conversation" series.

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Meet the Director: Dr. Amanda Damiano

Amanda D. Damiano, PhD is an associate professor of communication and director of the Center for Social Media. She holds a bachelor's degree in public relations-journalism from Utica College, a master's degree in media studies from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, and a PhD in communication from the University at Buffalo, the State University of New York. Her research focuses on the intersection of health communication and risk communication on social media. She has previous experience working in the industry doing marketing communications, public relations, and stakeholder engagement. She has been the director of the Center since May 2019. 

Amanda.Damiano@marist.edu
244 Lowell Thomas
(845) 575-6124

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History of the Center

The Center for Social Media was established in the fall of 2017 and was one of the first social media labs created at a higher education institution. It has a dedicated space where students and faculty collaborate on projects using seven screens and two computers that process and display digital listening data globally. Student interns there serve as on-site social media experts, keep office hours, give tours of the space, and offer software tutorials to classes and student organizations. Since its inception, the primary goal of the Center for Social Media has been to turn digital natives into strategic users of social media.

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The Center for Social Media

The Marist Center for Social Media officially launched in the Fall of 2017.  The Center utilizes Salesforce’s Social Studio and Command Center to fulfill its mission to ‘Educate students in industry-leading practices in social media listening, engagement, influence, and analytics.’

Through the Center, we're preparing students for futures in social and digital industries.  Students are provided training both in and out of the classroom through internships, ambassadorships, and course materials.  To date, the Center has provided access to and trained over 200 faculty and students on using Social Studio, and using data analytics for research.  Work in the Center has been widely recognized, including a 2019 nomination for Excellence in Student Success by Salesforce.org.

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About Social Studio

The Social Studio platform is made up of three tenants: publish, engage, and analyze. Understanding the need to turn our students from native users into strategic business users, students are taught the applicable skills of social media management and data listening to make them ready for the workplace.

The Space

Marist and the School of Communication and the Arts has dedicated a fully-equipped space for the Center. Here seven screens and two computer process and display digital listening data from across the globe. The dedicated room also provides a place for students to come together to discuss and work on projects related to the technology. 

What We Do 

The Center provides students and faculty with the tools and space to learn, research and practice digital and social medias.  The Center does this through,

  • The establishment of a cohort of Student Ambassadors to support the Center’s activities
  • A lecture series, featuring industry professionals
  • Listening, analytics, and branding workshops
  • Integration into course curriculum
  • Faculty and student research
  • Hands-on social media management

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