More than 100 public relations students attended the tenth annual YouToo Social Media Conference Friday morning to learn social media marketing strategies from industry professionals.

YouToo Social Media Conference from KentWired.com on Vimeo.

During the conference, several keynote speakers were present as well as other public relations experts. Students had the opportunity to listen to Greg Josken, social media and digital media marketing manager for Disney Theatrical Group and Juntae DeLane, the founder of Digital Branding Institute.

“It’s a lot more data, and it’s a lot more strategy behind it, so I think that’s really what’s opened my eyes to how much more work goes into social media than you really think,” Latisha Ellison, student chair for YouToo Social Media Conference, said.

Josken said it’s vital to strategize our approach to social media and make sure it engages our audiences.

Both speakers have worked with social media marketing for several years and had plenty of stories to tell students in attendance.

However, students were also able to network with many local professionals during a luncheon between the keynote addresses.

“We’re networking with a lot of great professionals, and I’m really excited to be here,” promotional communications major Angie Cutler said.

All majors were invited to attend the event and take advantage of the opportunity.

“Since it’s my first time being here, I find it really interesting and the fact that it doesn’t just apply to one field, it’s pretty helpful,” integrated media major Arista Alexander said.

The speakers both discussed their own social media practices and asked students about their own techniques.

“Social media is constantly changing and constantly evolving, so it’s hard to say what’s next for social media, but we can start to look back and understand how it’s been used in the past and what are the best ways to use it moving forward,” Josken said.

Nathan Reineck is a TV2 reporter, contact him at [email protected].