Welcome Courtney Francis & Tap into Her Insights

The Designsensory team is growing! We recently gained Courtney Francis, an analytical thinker who takes a holistic approach to project management. Joining us with a fresh perspective, Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Coastal Carolina University, and love of collaboration, she’ll be a wonderful asset as Project Coordinator at DS.

Courtney is eager to share industry insights and use the networking experience she gained from her involvement with the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) as she works with B2C clients like Regal Entertainment. Although she does have an affinity for speaking, she doesn’t just talk the talk, she walks the walk—most recently, across the stage to accept her Master’s degree in Communication and Information from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. While earning her masters with a concentration in Public Relations, Courtney ideated, researched, and executed her final thesis on a topic at the forefront of many people’s minds: CEOs’ uses of their personal social media accounts.

Today, social media serves a different purpose for each individual, or organization, that uses it. Younger audiences view it as a portal to connection to keep up with their friends and family or portray themselves a certain way; brands and politicians use it as a marketing channel to earn recognition, engagement, and loyalty; volunteers and coordinators optimize it to streamline communication, organize events, and raise awareness for important issues and upcoming opportunities to reach the community. But what do CEOs use their personal social media accounts for?

Determined to answer this question and better understand how some of the world’s most successful and influential entrepreneurs are connecting with large audiences, Courtney conducted exploratory research to inform her conclusion. Mapping out a selection of popular content topics and themes, she searched 10 Fortune 500 CEO’s instagram accounts, documenting the image types she found on each. After tallying and analyzing the data, she realized that the most prevalent posts either highlighted the CEOs’ personal lives or featured news about their company and its upcoming events.

Corporate communications are an intricate and pivotal aspect of companies’ success. Courtney chose this particular topic because of the value her findings could bring to the academic research world and professionals in public relations and advertising. With the rise of social media and its rapid adoption and innovation, it’s important for professionals and individuals to grasp the ways they can effectively and efficiently use different platforms in order to achieve their goals. Once a post goes up, it may come down, but it will never be permanently deleted from the public eye.

We hope Courtney’s thesis topic and learnings inspire you to reflect on your posting cadence, frequency and subject matter, and compels you to look to industry leaders to inform your own content strategy.

We’re thrilled to welcome Courtney to the team and garner new insights with her! As always, if you or your company are interested in discovering the latest audience and industry data or pinpointing central human truths that will help your brand become more impactful, reach out to us. We’re happy to help.