Social media has become so commonplace that OU’s Communications and Marketing department uses it to inform the OU community of the many things happening on and around campus.

Within OU’s Communications and Marketing team is a social media staff composed of the director of marketing, two strategists, an interactive designer and interns.

Colleen Campbell, digital public relations manager, is one of the people in charge of all of Oakland’s social media handles.

“Social media has given me my livelihood,” Campbell said. “It’s my job here at OU and it’s cool to see it become a profession.” 

Every social media platform is useful in some way.

“I think a useful social media depends on the person and their interest,” Campbell said.

For example, someone could use Pinterest for inspiration or post pictures on Instagram if they are a photographer.

Social media can also help people find a job. Amy Ring, career consultant with Career Services and one of two liaisons for the College of Arts & Sciences, helps create relationships between employers and students in the College of Arts & Sciences.

“Social media is a form of networking, and networking is an extremely critical component to the job search nowadays,” Ring said. 

LinkedIn is something that Ring used to obtain her first job out of graduate school and considers it to be one of the most useful social media tools.  She added that there is a “Find Alumni” tool, which helps search for OU alumni in various locations and industries. 

“That tool is critical because alumni from OU have been in the student’s shoes before and are almost always willing to give back,” Ring said.

Ring’s advice to students is to not be afraid to appropriately ask connections for other connections because doing so helped her land her first full time job. She also said it’s valuable to share with anyone and everyone that you are job searching because you never know who has the perfect job waiting for you.

“If social media is used correctly, there shouldn’t be any cons,” Ring said. “It has become extremely common for employers to search for candidates on any social media, they really want to see how you are representing yourself and how you could potentially represent them.”

Ring suggests that one of the easiest ways to manage your personal brand is to Google yourself and see what comes up. It’s up to the student to change what shows up and what doesn’t.