LOUISVILLE, Ky. (October 19, 2009)--The UofL College of Business is sounding a wake-up call for businesses that may be sleeping through the social media revolution.
     A new consulting project at the college will invite businesses to discover how to use the power of social media to grow their companies.
     UofL Associate Professor of Marketing David Faulds has developed a new course --Marketing 490: Social Media Consulting—that combines students, faculty and social media industry experts in teams available to work with business clients.

     “It’s a 12-week relationship that provides your organization access to the best and brightest minds in social media,” said Faulds.  “By the time we’re finished, you’ll be implementing a social media strategy or improving the performance of your existing program.”
     In recent months companies including Ford, Levi Strauss and Papa John’s Pizza have made headlines with their effective use of social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and blogs to expand their information and promotion outreach.
      Yet a recent survey of 500 businesses conducted by Citibank revealed that 86% of them did not use social media to further their marketing, sales or customer service objectives. 
      Faulds believes organizations ignore social media opportunities at their own risk. He’s inviting for-profit and nonprofit firms that want to jump-start or refine their social media efforts to participate in the project.  The fee-based consulting activity will begin in January with the start of the spring semester.  Interested firms can contact Faulds at 502.852-4843, at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or through the Department of Marketing at 502-852-7834. 
     “Make no mistake,” he said.  “This is not a fad.  It’s not going away.  This is where relationships and reputations are being created, nurtured, or damaged.  You can ignore the dialog, but your company and employees are still a part of it.” 
     Louisville-area social media gurus agree with Faulds.  
     “Even if you’re aware of social media, it’s so new it can be difficult to find true experts in the area,” said Jim McDonald, marketing manager for emerging channels at Papa John’s. “You want to learn what each platform can do, and what each is best suited for.
     You can’t just put up a page and hope to start selling things.”
     Besides providing expertise, he believes the UofL project could function as an internship opportunity that may focus corporate recruiting. 
     “You’re bringing people in who are pre-qualified and they’re applying their expertise to your operations,” he said.  “When the project’s over, who’s better to oversee your program?” 
     Jason Falls, who is director of social media at Doe Anderson Advertising and Public Relations, and president of the Louisville Social Media Club, believes he knows why some companies are reluctant to pursue social media tools.
     “It looks like fun rather than something that can accomplish business goals,” he said.  “But once you understand how to approach, integrate and measure it, it’s obvious where it fits into your overall strategy.”
     He likes the fact that Faulds’ teams include students as well as faculty and industry experts.  “With the students you’re getting ‘digital natives’ who are comfortable with the tools and technology.  It’s intuitive to them so they bring cutting-edge experience that probably isn’t available elsewhere in your corporate organizational chart.”
     But social media consultant Deborah Boyer sees companies’ reluctance as a throwback response.
     “Imagine when a company had the opportunity to install its first phone,” she mused.  “They probably wondered how it would help the business and would they have to put a person in charge of it.”
     Boyer says the UofL program will allow companies to discover if social media can work effectively for them without incurring unnecessary expense or delays. 
     “You’re working with the university on a fixed schedule and a fixed price with solid deliverables at the end of the project,” she said.  “That’s a no-brainer.”
     Ironically, companies with the most dynamic IT departments may be some of the slowest to jump on the social media bandwagon. 
     “This is less about media and more about social,” said social media consultant Jay Garmon.   “IT people are notoriously introverts—they have different interests and uses for the technology.  Social media involves design, marketing, relationship building, creativity—all the things we typically don’t require our IT departments to provide.”
     Garmon believes social media programs also offer a solid bottom-line attraction for business.
     “It’s not expensive. All you need to start your program is one PC and the kind of person who knows how to connect with other people,” he says.  “Then you ask the question ‘What are we trying to accomplish here?’   The students, faculty and social media experts will take it from there.” 
     Initially Faulds plans to limit the project to fewer than 10 organizations.  
     For more information about the project, contact Professor David Faulds at 502.852.4843