Dr Yiming Li Shares Insights on Social Media Marketing with Wittenborg MBA Students
Dr Yiming Li Shares Insights on Social Media Marketing with Wittenborg MBA Students
Dr Yiming Li Shares Insights on Social Media Marketing with Wittenborg MBA Students
Guest Lecture Highlights Strategies for Engagement, Virality and Brand Success Online
What are the strategies used by major successful companies to drive engagement and create authentic connections with their customers? To answer this timely and relevant question, Dr Yiming Li delivered a guest lecture to Wittenborg MBA students on 10 September. The session, titled Social Media Marketing Strategies, invited students to think critically about how brands can cut through the noise of today’s digital platforms.
Originally from China, Li is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Marketing and Analytics at the University of Lucerne. She holds a Master’s degree in Consumer Affairs from the Technical University of Munich and a PhD in Business Analytics from the University of Lausanne. Alongside her academic career, she has gained industry experience at companies such as Allianz and Huawei in Germany.
Her lecture combined research insights with practical examples, drawing on well-known campaigns by famous brands and a case study of how a small firm used social media marketing strategies to stand out against its competitors. “The key message I wanted to share is that successful social media marketing is about creating content that people truly want to watch, share and talk about, so that you can build real connections and engagement with your audience. Together with the students, we discussed the key challenges of social media marketing and how marketers can overcome these barriers,” Li said.
Students were encouraged to analyse why certain content becomes viral, with discussions on the impact of algorithms, platform-specific features and evolving consumer expectations.
Li stressed that while social media offers enormous opportunities, it also carries risks. “Social media has become such an inseparable part of our daily lives that most of us use it to share what we think, what we like or dislike quite often. If a social media campaign goes wrong, it can damage brand image and even trigger a backlash. That is why it is crucial for marketers to think critically about what drives online engagement,” she explained.
Interactive elements played a central role in the session. Before introducing each concept, Li asked students to discuss guiding questions in pairs and then share their ideas with the group. This dynamic exchange led to insights such as the importance of targeting the right customer segment and the need for content to stay relevant in a fast-changing environment.
Li advises those considering a career in marketing to experiment, keep learning and adapt to the rapid changes in the digital landscape. “Marketers need to understand how social media works and think critically about why certain content becomes more popular than others,” she said. “Test different formats, tailor content to the platform and always keep your audience in mind.”
For MBA student Connor Lowndes, from the United States, specialising in Business Entrepreneurship and Innovation, the lecture was both engaging and memorable. “I really enjoyed her lecture! The use of memes to help convey her points was very engaging,” he said. “My key takeaway was that a lot of what she taught was intuitive, and she made it easy to spot those trends. Her goals are very applicable to what I want to do after the programme. Social media is and will continue to be the main way that we promote brands and business ideas, and memes are the best form of relatable content no matter what we do.”
WUP 03/11//2025
by Ulisses Sawczuk
©WUAS Press
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