This semester, Social Media, or ADPR 289, has taught me the importance of social media as a PR and marketing tool and the vast ways there are to analyze and support a campaign through online technologies. 

This semester, I found the use of some applications tricky to manage, one being Canva. I think that Canva is a great tool with plenty of interesting tools and layouts, but I found that without using Canva Pro, my use was very limited. 

I also found it difficult using Brandwatch at first, as I was unfamiliar with the platform. But, once we did the lab in class and I was able to play around with it, I found my groove and found that it was not as daunting or scary as I was making it out to be. 

In the future, I can work on practicing and working with these applications and tools learned in class, outside of class, so that I am prepared and fully aware of the lesson’s importance when we go over them in class. I also had trouble with my work schedule and working too many hours this semester, so it was also tough for me to get smaller assignments in on time, something that I can definitely manage in the future. 

I can use the knowledge that I have gathered in this class as fuel for a future career in both journalism and public relations, as I am now familiar with the steps it takes to create a viable and successful social media campaign. I can use my STEP project in my portfolio, and I can also apply the skills I learned, such as creating a SWOT, a social media content calendar, dissecting brand voice and image, and undergoing a social media audit, to make my future content even more rich and developed. 

All in all, this semester was very enlightening and I was able to learn different tools and applications that will help me in my future job and job search!