Week 3: A Conversation with Guest Speaker Clint Schaff by Gabrielle Aubin
By UCLA X469.21 Student Gabrielle Aubin
On April 16th, we were lucky to have Clint Schaff, VP of strategy & development at the LA Times, as the guest speaker at our “Best Practices in Social Media for the Communications Professional” class. Passionate and energetic, Clint discussed concepts behind storytelling and the Social Media Playbook. In the hour and a half-plus that he spoke, we all learned a lot from his experiences and wealth of knowledge.
Clint began with an interactive “make your own” introduction that empowered the class to control the pacing and narrative. When one or more students yelled “next,” he would move on to the next topic. This set the tone and illustrated why it is important to allow people to participate and have some control over the discussion.
He told us his story — from birth to his current role at the LA Times — in a very engaging, interactive manner. His goal was to show the class how today’s social media landscape facilitates engagement with the audience, rather than just a one-way presentation. Such participation is the basis for social media storytelling. Clint went on to highlight the importance of being audience-centric. By understanding your audience, you can meet their needs and create a strong connection. Storytelling is a tool for bringing value to your audience.
Clint also discussed the importance of developing a social media playbook. Such a document is an essential tool that helps bring consistency to the social media effort across team members. Think of it as an instruction manual that leaves room for creativity, as it is much easier to improvise when you know the script. A playbook helps you craft a unified voice to achieve your social media objectives.
In the end, Clint pointed out something that really resonated: it’s easier to keep the customers you already have and get referrals, than to get new customers. No matter what you’re marketing, it’s usually best to target your audience based on a few well-defined personas rather than to try to please everyone.
