Friday, February 17, and I find myself in a place I haven’t seen in a long time… a classroom! That’s right, today I had the pleasure of going to class 411’s career day at PS49 in Queens, NY. Run by Mrs. Dente-Higgins, room 411 is full of color, charisma, and future thought leaders.

I was called in today to speak to this wonderful group, The Great Eight, about what I do as a social media marketer. I entered with Google bag in tow, and PCG notebooks, pens, bubbles and worksheets.

The theme of the day was “you can be anything you want to be in life.” This is a favorite theme of mine. The world of tech, especially social media marketing, can be a tad bit confusing so I wanted to make sure I gave these kids the full social experience.

How did I do that you ask? I created the worksheet shown below.

The students were asked to color the photo anyway they’d like—there was no right or wrong way to market their vehicles. The lines at the top were for their dealership name and the lines below the image were their space to tell people why they should buy their car. They were also encouraged to use hashtags.

This exercise turned into an open discussion and I was thrilled with the results. The first student to present was Noah. Noah told me that his car turned camouflage when the driver felt they were in danger. I explained to the class that that would be considered a feature of the car.

Going down the row of students I asked, “why would someone want to buy a Ford Expedition?” The next student told me, “because it has room for a lot of people.” Great response. This opened up the next topic of target audiences on Facebook and Instagram. For this vehicle, the student explained that it would be parents with 3 or more children.

As we went down the line, I asked each student why I should buy their car. I have to say, all of the kids were really “selling me.” With it came excitement, passion, and pride in their masterpieces.

As digital marketers, we really do take pride in the ads we’re executing and displaying for our clients—we always want to make sure we’re showing off the vehicles in the best way possible while making sure we highlight the best features.

Next, I asked the class, “what happens if the car breaks down? Do you have a service department on hand that can help fix my car?” Without missing a beat a student said, “Well, if you get a flat tire Miss Denise, my car will have not one, but two spares in the back.” Music to my ears.

So at the end of the day, I think we all learned something in Mrs. Dente-Higgins’ class. The kids got an understanding of marketing products while grabbing a consumer’s attention on social media. What did I learn? I learned that yes, there can be a car that runs solely on glitter.

Class 411, keep on dreaming, and remember, you can be anything you want to be in life.

Be sure to check for The Social Shakedown every Friday to see what I think is worth shaking about.

About the Author

Denise Casagrande, Vice President of Marketing at PCG, is passionate about humanizing brands across social channels. She feels the connection businesses can make with their clients can be ever-lasting based off of the messages they're displaying through content. Creator of the Automotive Social Media Sales Funnel.