Kristi K: And now let's head out on location to discuss the business of social media.

Dr. Jenn Stephens, it's great to be here with you today.

Thank you for having me.

Absolutely.

So here we are.

We're on campus.

We're talking about social media.

You're a digital marketing expert and you've spent a lot of time doing research on social media.

Are you seeing a lot of implications of the negativity of social media here on this college campus?

Jenn Stephens: It is.

So when we think about our college students, currently they're Gen Z, we also refer to them as digital natives.

And I often think that with that comes the acceptance that everyone in that generation loves social media and accepts it as it is.

But I'm hearing a lot from students of the negative impacts and how they want to use it more responsibly.

Kristi K: So much of your work gen has been tied to business and social media and corporate responsibility.

So we talk a lot about negative implications of social media on our teenagers and our gen years, but clearly social media is helping our businesses, our corporate clients and customers to thrive.

So how do we look at that?

How do we sort of embrace social media for what it is?

Jenn Stephens: I always love to talk about the power of social media.

For companies, it's an extra tool that they can use to reach customers.

Marketing is all about creating and maintaining these long term relationships.

And there's, I think, no better way right now than digital marketing and social media because it allows more one on one connection between our customers and businesses.

Kristi K: And particularly for small businesses and entrepreneurs.

I know you do a lot with that here at the university in terms of your coursework and teaching them how to market.

You are marketing professor as well.

So how do you teach corporate entrepreneurs to really use social media to their advantage?

Jenn Stephens: Right.

Specifically for small businesses, social media is a great cost effective way to market.

It's not free, as we often think of in terms of social media, but it makes it easier for small businesses to compete against some of our corporate companies.

Kristi K: And something else that is really a hot button now is privacy, as it ties to social media and our corporations, but also as individuals as we make purchases online.

What are companies doing today to really protect the consumer's privacy and what should they be doing more of?

Jenn Stephens: I think that there has been a move in terms of transparency for customers, understand how they're being targeted and advertised online.

I do think that we could do a better job moving forward with education of how this information is actually used.

Kristi K: And when we look at corporate responsible party and what is that piece of the pie that lands at the corporation level?

What do you think that is?

What are those spaces and what are those things that need to happen in terms of corporate responsibility that aren't currently happening?

Jenn Stephens: A lot of what we have right now is self-regulation when it comes to these companies.

There's very few federal laws that protect us as consumers when it comes to data privacy.

And so with the self regulation tying with that education, I was talking about letting customers know how to find where their data is being kept, where it's stored, how it is used.

Kristi K: Where is our data being stored?

That's the million dollar question, right?

Jenn Stephens: It is.

One of the things that I love to tell people about is anytime you see an online ad in the right top hand corner of that ad, there is a sideways triangle.

Click on that and see why I am seeing this ad and I'll show you why that ad is specifically being shown to you as a customer.

Kristi K: Oh, that is so interesting.

I did not know that.

So if I click on that, does that mean I'm going to get ten more of them?

Same?

Jenn Stephens: Absolutely not.

And it actually allows you, if you never want to see that ad again, to click on that as well.

Kristi K: And, you know, we talk all the time, as we said earlier, about teens and the negative implications of the unhealthiness of social media on teens on the next generation of Gen ZERS.

However, when we're talking about corporations, they really want those clicks.

They really want that to happen.

So it's sort of like the converse of that.

So how do we find that happy medium where businesses can thrive?

Entrepreneurs can get those clicks and those products sold online, but yet also our teens, our consumers, our Gen Zers are still being healthy.

Jenn Stephens: I think that it comes down to thinking about who the target is for advertisers, as we have for years in traditional advertising and traditional marketing and making sure that we're really specifically targeting adults and not trying to bring kids into the picture.

Kristi K: And I know our previous guest, Emma Lemke, mentioned that the genie is out of the bottle when it comes to social media.

So how do we use it to our advantage going forward?

Jenn Stephens: I think lots of conversations are happening and that is great to hear from all generations.

But moving forward, I think just keeping this top of mind and not letting it become a trend that we once talked about and we kind of accept it.

A lot of times we choose convenience over our privacy, and I think the more that we talk about it, we can start to shift these conversations.

Kristi K: When we're having conversations, let's say we're in the car, we're talking about a certain product and all of a sudden the next thing you know, you look at your phone and an ad for that product pops up.

Is that really a thing?

Is that coincidence or what's happening there?

Jenn Stephens: There's a lot going on here.

A lot of people think that our phones are listening to us.

These larger corporations and platforms categorically say, no, they are not listening to you for advertising purposes.

Oftentimes what happens is we see 4 to 10000 ads a day.

How many of those do we actually remember?

But now that our friend has brought it up, we're primed to see that ad, right?

We recognize it, but it's also based on proximity.

If our friend has been searching for this product, if they have purchased it recently, our phones are close to each other now.

It's picking up on what our friends have been looking at, and we're more likely to see it as well.

Kristi K: So all in all then, Jenn, do you feel that social media is a positive thing for corporations and businesses if used responsibly?

Jenn Stephens: If used responsibly?

Absolutely.

I think that it has the power to create positive societal change, but also help businesses to connect with customers and brand new ways.

Kristi K: And sell their products.

Jenn Stephens: And sell their products.

Kristi K: Well, thank you so much for your research and for your expertise on social media today.

It's been a pleasure being with you.

Jenn Stephens: Absolutely.

Thank you.

Kristi K: Thank you.