Penn State University is offering a new course that examines the impact Facebook "likes" and Twitter "retweets" can have on a brand, particularly with the hospitality industry, school officials announced.

The new course offered by the university's School of Hospitality Management will focus on successful social media marketing techniques for the hospitality field. The course, Social Media Marketing and Management for Travel and Hospitality Professionals, will be offered as an elective in the spring.

Social media outlets, from Yelp to Trip Advisor, impact a company's brand recognition, and therefore are a critical aspect of hospitality management, according to Brian Cliette, a social media and hospitality guru, who will teach the new course.

"Brand recognition is invaluable. It creates a competitive advantage," Cliette said. "Anything that jeopardizes or enhances that brand recognition is something worth paying attention to and social media has the power to magnify a brand and a brand's message, and on the contrary has the power to diminish a brand as well as the power to misconstrue a brand message, so anything that has that type of power is worthy of attention."

Cliette's assessment is spot on with the Penn State SHM Industry Advisory Board, which formed in 2011 and features dozens of hospitality corporate leaders. The board pushed for SHM to hire a faculty member who specializes in social media.

"This is a great addition, which makes the school unique and progressive in keeping up with industry trends. Brian's background and role is proof that the school is committed to maintain a leadership position," said Plato Ghinos, president of Shaner Hotel Group and board member.

Cliette specializes in online and social media marketing, hospitality sales and marketing, eCommerce development, search engine optimization and Web analytics. He has worked as a social media and new media marketing consultant for various companies and is the author of multiple books regarding social media and online marketing.