3. Jack Chen explains his inspiration for his public art project. #UMDmj

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5 Terp Vets have visitors act as if they are actually in the military! #UMDmj

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5 Director of Comm Stephanie Jennings explains the new UMD golf programs. #UMDmj

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test2 #umdmj

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Testing

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Chelsea Director is excited about Maryland Day's Beekeeping event #UMDmj

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Senior Tom Denno talks about his leadership position in his fraternity

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Senior Tom Denno talks about what he got out of Greek life during his time here

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New member Alex Simon shares her excitement to take on a leadership position in her sorority

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New Member Alex Simon

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Social Media is Making A Noticeable Presence in The Marketing World in Terms of Product Promotion

Bill Rand is a marketing professor at the University of Maryland who has a strong focus in machine learning and social network analysis. Traditional media is essentially a broadcast form of media where a publishing company is relaying information to the public. New media is what Rand finds intriguing. Now, instead of information getting pushed in one direction, information is being exchanged between multiple people.

"The power of that is that you now have democratization of media. You have anyone able to contribute to it. It doesn't require you to buy a television station to now create new media. You just need to have access to the Internet," Rand explains.

Social Media is Simply Integrated With Our Daily Routine

With the uprise of smart phones and other smart devices, people are certainly surfing the Internet and social media more often throughout the day. The idea of using social media as a marketing tactic is coming into play because it's an effective way to reach users who are already participating in social media browsing and interacting each day.

Rand brings up an interesting point about interruption. Today's society is so much more rushed than the past and people want to focus on what they need and want to do without distraction. Social media marketing is a way to get through to people without having to hinder people from accomplishing their goals for the day.

College Campuses Are Seeing an Increase in Product Promotion Through Social Media

In order to promote a specific brand to an audience it makes sense to go to where the consumer is. For most college-aged students, it's social media. According to Rand, college students are spending more time on social media than other age groups and it's where they go to for most of their information.





Handing out flyers and using other methods such as television advertising tend to get lost, especially on college campuses because people just get used to ignoring them.

"We know for a fact from a lot of surveys and a lot of studies that people spend a lot of their time on Facebook. Having that content available there makes it more readily available to them," Rand says. He mentioned the new idea known as "sponsored marketing" which is when content is put up that may be relevant to something else that the user is looking at or interested in such as a brand of clothing or specific job searches.

"That kind of content does extraordinarily well on social media," Rand says.

Some Companies Have Better Success With Social Media Than Others

There are certain companies that perform exceptionally well on social media and are able to reach their target audiences more successfully than others.

For example, there is a phone called the Jitterbug that has a few buttons and is meant for senior citizens. "It's not something you're going to target at social media very well. On the other hand, cool, hip, fashionable brands that you want kids to adopt or even teenagers or college-aged students, that's something that you might target on social media," Rand explains.





Pinterest is not necessarily the most prominent form of social media used for marketing, but the platform works extremely well for Nordstrom. Social media marketing is a strong tactic as long as companies put the time and effort into determining which platforms work best for their products.

Electronic marketing, and specifically marketing via social media, is a powerful progression in the marketing world and will continue to expand in coming years.

University of Maryland Marketing Professor Bill Rand Believes Social Media is an Effective Marketing Tactic

Whereas some people may see social media as a fun activity or a waste of time, others see it as a business tool. Professor Bill Rand teaches an electronic marketing course at Maryland and a strong believer in social media as a method of campaign.

Social Media Reaches A Wide Audience in a Short Amount of Time

Times have changed and the Internet has become a major part of everyday life. Traditional marketing tactics such as handing out flyers and setting up tables with information can only go so far. Now that people are always on the go and hustling and bustling through their busy schedules, the Internet and social media is where people are turning to for their news and entertainment.

Advancements in Marketing Particularly Affect College Communities

College students are a large portion of social media users, so it only makes sense that it would be effective to reach students through sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Students are more likely to browse their newsfeed while taking homework breaks than they are to stop and chat with you about a brand or product on their way to class.

Questions for Expert:

1.  Have you noticed an increase in the use of social media to promote products and brands? If so, why do you think the method has become popular so effective?
2.   Do you think using social media to promote products and brands is more effective on college campuses versus other age groups? Why/why not?
3. Why is it more effective to use social media rather than handing out flyers or other forms of advertising?
4.  Do you think specific companies have more success with social media versus other ones?

University of Maryland Students Voice Their Concerns About The Upcoming Snow Storm and Campus Safety

Some students at the University of Maryland believe that the university could handle snow storms a little bit better. Snow storms are usually a big deal in the College Park area, but often classes are cancelled and the storm turns out to be a dud.





Students are looking forward to classes being cancelled not only so they can enjoy the day off, but so they can stay safe and avoid driving and possible accidents.





The storm appears to be something to be concerned about. University of Maryland President Wallace Loh tweeted at 2:52 p.m. on Wednesday, February 12th that classes after 7 p.m. on Wednesday and all classes on Thursday, February 13th are officially cancelled.

Kelly Hiden talks about her experience as ASOS events and how the campus program can improve

Emma explains why she thinks campus ambassador programs are effective

Alex Cole explains why the ASOS Fashion Show event will be a success on campus this semester.

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Gab Cerami talks about what ASOS event she's looking forward to thr most this semester

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Story Pitches

1. UMD Green Tidings Food Truck

The University of Maryland catering company, Green Tidings Catering, recently decided to prepare their food to go...on wheels, that is. The food truck began in the summer of 2013 and became really popular once school started back up again. Students are lining up in between classes to try the new menu items that change bi-weekly. Could this be the start of a new trend at Maryland schools? Will there be more food trucks added to the UMD campus in the future?

Expert: Chef William Rogers

2. ASOS.com Takes Over College Campuses

ASOS.com is an online fashion company. Recently, ASOS has implemented a brand ambassador program where students help promote the brand through social media and events on campus. Since the program has started, sales have greatly increased. The company plans to keep expanding the program in order to reach a wide variety of students and increase awareness about the brand. Is the program really reaching out to a variety of students? What can we expect in the future for ASOS?

Expert: Program Strategist Isabella Walker