Meet Justin Quinn | Introduction to Social Media Marketing Instructor
Wednesday, August 28th, 2019
Interested in learning how to develop and execute a sound social media strategy? This fall, PCA&D is offering Introduction to Social Media Marketing on Wednesday nights starting September 18. Not only is this course a a solid foundation for those wanting to learn more about modern strategies and content development within social media marketing, but it is also a core course in several of our professional certificate programs. This semester we are welcoming faculty member Justin Quinn to our team.
Justin was born and raised in Lancaster County. After living in Philadelphia, York County, and Newark, Delaware, he returned here in 2001 to work for the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal (now LNP), as a general assignment reporter, later covering politics and courts. We asked Justin to share more about his background and his Introduction to Social Media Marketing class.
Tell us a bit about your educational background.
JQ: I graduated from Peirce College in Philadelphia with an Associate Degree in Business Administration. I received both my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Millersville University (Go Marauders!). Both my degrees are in English Literature. I had a minor in Philosophy and my Master’s Thesis focused on gonzo journalism and postmodern culture.
What do you do when you’re not teaching at PCA&D?
JQ: I own Headline Consultants, Inc., a content marketing firm here in Lancaster. Basically, we help clients get noticed online by producing marketing content for websites, blogs, newsletters, eBooks, social media, and more. We also help them with their day-to-day management of social media and social media advertising.
Can you tell us more about the class you are teaching this semester?
JQ: I’m teaching SM 101: Introduction to Social Media Marketing. We’ll cover a wide range of topics including social media’s brief history, its role in marketing, the elements of a social media strategy, overviews of major social media platforms, paid social media, and more. We’ll also touch on influencer marketing as a primer for advanced social media marketing.
I like my classes to be discussions, not lectures. My approach to learning is that it’s best done in a comfortable, engaging setting, where opinions are validated even when they’re not shared. I want to hear my students’ take on the readings and discuss their opinions and perspectives on the various topics we’ll be covering. Because marketing and social media are such rapidly evolving disciplines, classroom discourse allows students to share their own experiences and internalize concepts in a more visceral way. It also gives me the opportunity to discover new ways of thinking … which means I get to learn as well.
What are you most excited about this semester?
JQ: There’s a lot to be excited about with this course, but I guess I’m most excited about the guest speakers who will be visiting our class. We have some bright and accomplished people taking time out of their schedules to come and share some practical knowledge about the topics we’ll be covering. I hope students will find their presentations insightful, informative, and interesting.
My hope is that when students leave the class, they’ll not only be more attuned to the marketing they see every day on social media, they’ll also have a more informed perspective of it. I want my students to understand how social media is deployed as part of a larger, more robust marketing plan, how it can be used to achieve business goals, and how it can solve a plethora of business problems.
What do you do for fun when you’re not teaching?
JQ: I’m the father of 8-year-old twin daughters. My version of fun usually consists of watching Disney movies, answering a zillion questions about everything, and fixing broken toys (or returning them to Amazon). When the girls are asleep, I like to spend time with my wife and hang out with the dog (a Yorkie-poo named Gizmo). I’m also a rabid fan of the Philadelphia Eagles. GO BIRDS!