Jonathan Jackson (B.A. English ’07; International MBA ’11, University of South Carolina) joined the FSU marketing faculty in 2018 as an assistant lecturer, teaching social media marketing and social media analytics. He previously was an adjunct professor at the University of South Carolina, where he taught digital and social media marketing.

Jackson’s social media curriculum draws in part on a previous career as a digital marketer at Verizon, where he was employed during the rise of social media and Verizon’s first efforts to move its customer interactions from traditional channels into digital platforms.

“Companies have to be present when and where their customers are,” Jackson said. “This means having a presence on social media for a range of objectives – from brand awareness to customer service.”

Students in his social media marketing courses learn and examine marketing communications for different objectives on different platforms. They learn how to find and study customer behavior on social media and how to make use of emerging visual and verbal languages driven by technology.

“We are awash in data, and companies need talent to help them make sense of it,” Jackson said. “Knowing how to read and make use of unstructured data that contains relevant and useful information about brands, products, services and customers’ perceptions is critical in today’s marketplace.”

In addition to his faculty role, Jackson manages digital marketing strategy for the College of Business, working closely with the college’s marketing team. Jackson spent five years on active duty as a cavalry scout in the U.S. Army and is a veteran of the Iraq War. He also is the liaison between FSU’s Student Veterans Center and veteran students in the college.