tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28196175915544228102024-02-07T05:28:56.280-08:00Weathering the NormAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12869292003483072537noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2819617591554422810.post-62609733921454239372014-12-03T03:30:00.000-08:002014-12-03T07:57:21.701-08:00Giving Back to the Community Generating Content for You<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:RelyOnVML/>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://corelaborate.psesd.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/07/Thank-you.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://corelaborate.psesd.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/07/Thank-you.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
User-generated content is about as authentic as it gets and it’s what
our audience craves, especially in higher education. I use it as often as I can because our community captures the essence of who we are far better than I typically can and their perspectives are valuable to us and the audiences we hope to reach. In doing so I interact with a lot of great people, most often students, and one of the parts I most enjoy about the work I do is finding ways to provide just as much value back to those people sharing their content and work as we get out of sharing it.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
This has become somewhat of a mantra for me. And as much as I hate to admit it, it has plagued me since
launching our <a href="http://instagram.com/herewegosaints">student-run Instagram account @herewegosaints</a>, arguably our most successful social media endeavor yet. As an institution, we
get <u><b>so</b></u> much out of having an this account, but after the
students had completed their week, I had nothing to give them except a big
thank you. I really struggled with this. They had done a lot of work (whether they realized it or not). It never felt like enough and I knew it wasn't enough, but I had no money to do anything special
for them. So what <i>could</i> I do?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In October, I found a decent answer. A recent graduate who ran the
account as a student visited and mentioned he had talked about his work with
@herewegosaints during job interviews but he didn't know how to really talk about it beyond "taking over Instagram for a week."<br />
<br />
I reminded him about the meeting we had
before he took it over and how he spent 25-30 minutes visualizing and planning his week with me.
What did he have going on? What were some cool ways to capture his life that would
fit on Instagram? We had talked about Instagram as a platform and the kinds of
content he liked and didn’t like on there and that had inspired some ideas on what to do and what not to do (I like when they realize these things on their own, rather than me telling them). We had done a lot of what I do as a
social media manager in my head every day in terms of content creation and planning. I thought to myself there’s a lot of value in helping students run through those same questions and exercises.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After our visit, he left my office with a much better sense
of how he could talk about @herewegosaints in a meaningful way. I was left knowing that a big value for the students who had run the account was giving them the ability to
discuss @herewegosaints with potential employers. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, I went back and created a <a href="https://storify.com/herewegosaints">@herewegosaints Storify account</a> that catalogs each individual week. Now when a student takes over the
account (“Fun! Exciting! I’m #SLUfamous!”), I follow up their week with an
email and their Storify link and briefly outline all the cool things they can
do with it, along with some insights on how they can share and discuss their
takeover experience:</div>
<ul>
<li>Share
with family and friends</li>
<li>Add
the Storify link to LinkedIn (This has proven to be rather difficult –
does anyone know why LinkedIn doesn’t play nice with Storify links? I currently
advise students to add it as a project.)</li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span>Tell
employers about being trusted with the University’s brand and reputation</li>
<li>Tell
employers about the planning it required and the reasons for capturing what you
did the way you did (PS: All that planning you did before the week started?
That’s<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>called a strategy and employers
want to hear you did that so they know you have a deeper understanding of
using social media beyond personal use)</li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">For students studying the sciences or fields that may appear unrelated to communications: the power of the liberal arts, yo! Creative and thoughtful communications are important in any field</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span>Tips
on how to include it on a resume <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span>Some
data about their specific week<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>“Did
you know? This link will be a positive component to your digital identity!”</li>
<li>Fun
@herewegosaints facts (mission behind it, the targeted audiences, the awards it
has won, etc.) to add context for employers</li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes, surprised student. Running @herewegosaints doesn’t just
benefit St. Lawrence; it could benefit you well beyond those seven days. <i>No, really. <b>It can!</b></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our students need experiences they can include on their resumes and in discussions with
potential employers. More importantly, we need to help students see the value in every opportunity they have, no matter the size of a project because it's not always as apparent to them as it is to us. We understand the broader context of what they're doing - many of them won't realize it until much, much later.<br />
<br />
As I said <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/msteverb/confabedu-empowering-students-to-tell-stories-41614411">in my presentation</a> at <a href="http://confabevents.com/events/higher-ed-2014">Confab Higher Ed</a> in Atlanta:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghKldAwUJauHtpv9rNflRn_7dVp321JJ50e99jgglcK46DSxFBc7ddC4RpMz3PPKWRL4_Ffrl9gtQLyXV3oftRGbpdsSTGEl5egNT0MqPhyphenhyphenuXGNbCeXmjMmpyhxXtbh9rMVhXj0pof3eFJ/s1600/ConfabEDU+Empowering+Students+to+Tell+Stories.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghKldAwUJauHtpv9rNflRn_7dVp321JJ50e99jgglcK46DSxFBc7ddC4RpMz3PPKWRL4_Ffrl9gtQLyXV3oftRGbpdsSTGEl5egNT0MqPhyphenhyphenuXGNbCeXmjMmpyhxXtbh9rMVhXj0pof3eFJ/s1600/ConfabEDU+Empowering+Students+to+Tell+Stories.jpg" height="153" width="400" /></a></div>
</blockquote>
</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By doing small things like this (and it is small - it takes less than five minutes a week to do this!), students know I'm not just interested in them as content creators. I'm interested in them as humans, too.<br />
<u><br /></u>
<u>Side note/Bonus</u>: Thanks to the
Storify account, I can now offer my Admissions and Development colleagues
access to specific weeks that may help them in recruiting students or
showcasing a specific aspect of campus life that an interested donor prospect
might enjoy. Don’t you just love when one simple and FREE project gives you
multiple ways to share content with varied audiences all at once?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Image via http://corelaborate.psesd.org/</i></span>.</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12869292003483072537noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2819617591554422810.post-70919539452335162802014-09-03T04:00:00.000-07:002014-09-03T04:00:09.914-07:00Alumni Engagement: One Student's Successful Idea"What advice do you have for the Class of 20XX?"<br />
<br />
This is one of those questions I see a lot of colleges and universities asking their social communities in the days and weeks leading up to students moving in. Alumni jump at
the chance to reminisce and offer tips on classes, places to eat and
things students must do during their years on campus. Even current students and parents jump into the mix and offer their own. It's a natural question to ask, but what do you do with the answers?<br />
<br />
I've always wanted to do make sure the responses made their way to our new students, but also find a way to make sure those responded knew we valued their time and engagement and somehow make them feel included in the move-in festivities. Last year, we
compiled a bucket list after we received over 100 responses which was wildly popular, but this year one of my students took it to another level.<br />
<br />
Kelly Appenzeller, a member of our Class of 2015 and president of our student government, came to me a few weeks before students arrived on campus. She had the privilege of giving a speech to the Class of 2018 and their parents at Matriculation. She knew it wasn't going to be easy trying to keep hundreds of people engaged with her speech for 10 minutes, especially during such an emotional moment as parents and students prepared to say goodbye to one another. She wanted to find a way to bring our community into her speech and had a great idea on how to do it: <b>crowd-source her speech.</b><br />
<br />
She needed to get in touch with our alumni, parents and students so she could ask what advice they had for the newest members of our community. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/StLawrenceU/photos/a.10151796382501308.1073741830.7323146307/10152601120851308/?type=1">We posted the question on our main university channels</a>, and Kelly interacted with those responding in the comments in order to make sure she got all of their pertinent information, including class year.<br /><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ycivcM_o40P3ccF4DlYGTCn_oSIHSMeIjgVRMEH9dTyP-3rUwbYb043U8qH7-XEydJ3XA5Wh6XddZD20pFsIpMQ78yjswppmA-8C6JBrblpQXZ6KIdW1RoWdmxBN-g42vgDwWNwASjOo/s1600/kellyapps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ycivcM_o40P3ccF4DlYGTCn_oSIHSMeIjgVRMEH9dTyP-3rUwbYb043U8qH7-XEydJ3XA5Wh6XddZD20pFsIpMQ78yjswppmA-8C6JBrblpQXZ6KIdW1RoWdmxBN-g42vgDwWNwASjOo/s1600/kellyapps.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kelly Appenzeller '15 (Photo by Tara Freeman, St. Lawrence University Photographer)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="http://www.stlawu.edu/matriculation-speech-kelly-appenzeller-15">Her speech</a> featured advice from 20 alumni and students. She included their names and class years as she read aloud their words of wisdom to an audience eager to listen.<br />
<br />
Kelly's idea gave us a destination for some of the social content shared and it was a very direct way of making sure it ended up in front of the intended audience. A big bonus: people who were there not only listen, but absolutely <u><i>loved</i></u> it, which is evident not only in the comments when we <a href="https://www.facebook.com/StLawrenceU/posts/10152630164876308">shared the speech on Facebook</a>, but also in our analytics - it was the fourth-most read story last week. An even bigger bonus? How excited our alumni were to find out their advice made it into the speech! It was a great way to bring our alumni into the fabric of one of the biggest events of the year.<br />
<br />
Crowdsourcing
speeches is nothing new, but I was really impressed with Kelly's enthusiasm and creativity for finding a
meaningful way to include alumni and students during such a special occasion. In a moment where she could have shined all on her own, she wanted to include as many people as she could in the spotlight. It was a fantastic way to bring our community together to start the new year.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12869292003483072537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2819617591554422810.post-59192592042110258812014-04-17T06:35:00.000-07:002014-04-17T06:35:49.130-07:00Make Social Media Part of a Strategy, Not the Only Strategy: A Case Study<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px;">"Can you post this on social media?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px;">This is a question I get asked a lot (and sometimes it's more of a statement than a question). A lot of people ask me to do this because they are trying to accomplish something and have people take some kind of action like attend an an event or read an article. It's in these moments that I enjoy my job most because I now have the chance to educate someone else on how social media and content work (read: not alone) and how they can work for them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">Posting to social media </span></span><span style="font-size: 15px;">isn't the answer to</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"> achieving goals; social content needs to work in tandem with every other piece of communication as part of an overall strategy. That's why I was excited when our research office reached out and wanted to use social media to connect with the Class of 2008 to complete an outcomes survey.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 15px;">We met and developed a three-week content calendar that included various components that weren't limited to social media including an email campaign and utilizing individual members of the class to further our reach. The results from spending just 25 minutes crafting a strategy surprised all of us.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px;"><b><u>What We Did</u></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px;">We sent 4-5 emails to the class over the course of the three-week period.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px;">Twitter: We focused on Twitter because we have a younger audience there and we have interacted with several members of this class in this space. I posted the link on Twitter three times, on different days and at different times compared to our email campaign.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px;">We established three waves of 'digital ambassadors.' We only had about 80 percent of the class' email addresses and needed to find a way to reach the other 20 percent. The first week, "we" (the university) did our social media push; the second week we enlisted the help of our Class of 2008 Committee, who volunteer to contact classmates about giving and volunteer opportunities, and finally we reached out to other class leaders not in the previous group to connect with their friends.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt;"><b><u>The Outcomes</u></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">A 50 percent overall response rate (252 responses). </span><span style="font-size: 15px;">Average response rates for this type of survey in years' past has ranged between 15% and 32% of only valid email addresses. <b>This year's equivalent of just valid email addresses alone would have been 68%.</b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px;">Email campaign: In case you need an example that email isn't dead, we had a 40 percent response rate after the first week alone, which only included our emails and Twitter posts.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px;">According to our analytics, the three Twitter posts garnered just over 80 click-throughs. That's not very high, but it was such a small portion of our audience so we felt that was appropriate.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px;">Our ambassadors came through big for us, too. I saw a couple post the link on their Facebook pages and others said they personally emailed the link to their friends. </span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px;"><b><u>What Else You Need to Know</u></b></span></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px;">The survey format changed this year from a much longer one that required an individual personalized password to a shorter version without the need for a password. I imagine this helped get many more completed.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px;">Our director recalled an alumni survey from three years ago with a very different topic but that they had a 35% response rate - that was the highest she could recall for a survey before this one.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px;">Of course, there was something enticing alumni to complete the survey - a $100 Amazon gift card. But to be fair, that was also an incentive last year.</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-size: 15px;">It might be a very small success story, but a powerful one that I have already used a few times to illustrate to others the power social media can have when it isn't viewed as a silted communications method. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: 15px;">How have you educated people about integrating social media into their plans in order to accomplish goals?</span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12869292003483072537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2819617591554422810.post-44159622967199926312014-04-14T12:00:00.000-07:002014-04-20T15:34:31.544-07:00What I've Learned Thanks to Our Student-Run Instagram Account<span style="font-family: inherit;">As I was
flipping through my calendar a couple of weeks ago and realizing that yes, it is actually
April (where did this year go?!), I started thinking back to all of the
projects my student social media team and I have taken on since last August.
And then it hit me like a ton of bricks: 28 students later, <b>we’re more than six
months in to @herewegosaints</b>, <a href="http://instagram.com/herewegosaints" target="_blank">our student-run Instagram account</a>, arguably our
biggest initiative that we took on this year.</span><br>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I can still
remember exactly how I felt as we g<a href="http://weatheringthenorm.blogspot.com/2013/10/students-taking-over-instagram-success.html">eared up to launch this account and what itwas like those first few weeks.</a> It was nerve-wracking and scary, but also
exhilarating. We had a lot of questions: Would students love it? Would we get
enough students interested? Would it be appealing to prospective students?
Would it be different enough to warrant a separate account from the main
university account? Six months later, the answer is the same to each of these
questions: YES.</span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In the first
month, we had more than 800 followers. Since, we’ve continued to grow our fan
base and are closing in on 1,500 followers (it took our main account nearly 10
months to reach that number) and engagement per post remains steady. Interest
hasn’t dropped off – in fact, I think it’s only increased over time. I still
get emails every week from students who want to take it over and our students and followers are always looking forward to Mondays when we reveal who is running it next. </span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I could write
a book about all we’ve learned and how it’s changed what we do and how we do it here at St.
Lawrence, but in the interest of time – mine and yours! – I thought I’d share
some of the biggest takeaways and lessons learned here from creating
@herewegosaints.</span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Need for Content Strategy</b><br>
At first when I met with students interested in running the account, it was
about filling weeks. Then as we got deeper into the fall semester and had more
than enough interest, I was able to shift the tone of those initial meetings
from “Thanks for being interested – we’ve signed you up!” to getting them to think strategically.</span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here are some
of the questions I ask when students inquire about running the account:</span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">What are you
involved with on campus? </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">What week(s) are you busiest? How would you show off your busy week on Instagram? </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">How will your week be different than other weeks? </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">What is your
St. Lawrence story and how will you plan on sharing that on Instagram?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">What do you love about Instagram? </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tell me
about a recent post you saw that you liked and tell me why you liked it; then
tell me about a recent post you didn’t like and why.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="Body">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX9mmmMqsovx3oNPI_bzc30pmB_AaThEOTPuK-9d4FTYAPvQfju6VghCR-J4uIryH-zlkPEQoLXmNRqwVc5Ubv3WSkNM-we29M7MebxGVMoJy5F2HoQKVl_Jays7qDDjnJMgGynOMMLLSc/s1600/herewegosaints-679613339252451428_566064249.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX9mmmMqsovx3oNPI_bzc30pmB_AaThEOTPuK-9d4FTYAPvQfju6VghCR-J4uIryH-zlkPEQoLXmNRqwVc5Ubv3WSkNM-we29M7MebxGVMoJy5F2HoQKVl_Jays7qDDjnJMgGynOMMLLSc/s1600/herewegosaints-679613339252451428_566064249.jpg" height="320" width="320"></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"A lot of my friends from home say that we are abnormally committed to St. Lawrence. I don't understand what they're talking about..." One of our most popular posts by senior John Balderston. John developed a comprehensive content calendar for his week (his own idea!) and the time he spent putting it together paid off - it was by far one of our most popular weeks.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I spend a lot
of time on St. Lawrence’s social content strategy and I know from
experience that planning posts and content out serves us extremely well. In
asking these questions, I got students to think ahead. Treating them like the content strategists they were
going to be for the week was critical and has helped tremendously in constantly
providing our followers with engaging content and our students with an amazing
experience. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> In these conversations with students, they seem to really enjoy the fact that we're trying to make sure they're being thoughtful and be purposeful with what they are doing. </span></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Creating a Second Account</b><br>
</span><br>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMk4U6NMpHIHNfVolnpT2T8DC1kIUHJD-qGA0CPEISqD4mxULy_EMHQemc8nzen3LXY-j_I5q30qYwusmXPHG_TGg6n60svBh7ZGTygpdP8ul6CsVZ8hOAKKZXf2oaThp7UR68OUaL6yae/s1600/herewegosaints-685603837708495619_566064249.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMk4U6NMpHIHNfVolnpT2T8DC1kIUHJD-qGA0CPEISqD4mxULy_EMHQemc8nzen3LXY-j_I5q30qYwusmXPHG_TGg6n60svBh7ZGTygpdP8ul6CsVZ8hOAKKZXf2oaThp7UR68OUaL6yae/s1600/herewegosaints-685603837708495619_566064249.jpg" height="320" width="320"></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Only a small group of students knew that Matt Burr, a St. Lawrence graduate & drummer for Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, was visiting campus to give our student-run music venue a custom drum kit. Amy Yao, the student running @herewegosaints that week, happened to be one of them (an absolute coincidence - I had no idea!). She was able to capture an amazing moment because she had the keys to this account.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">When we launched @herewegosaints, I talked with several people who wondered why
we created a separate account. Internally, we had briefly discussed the pros
and cons to this and decided a separate account could be something we share
with prospective students and say it’s completely student-owned. Looking back,
I don’t think this would have been nearly as successful had we done it through
the main university account. Here’s why:</span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>It
wonderfully complements the main university account.</u> One thing that was missing from our Instagram content overall was content from inside the St. Lawrence experience - the day-to-day action on campus. This is difficult for me to capture because I'm not living it. @herewegosaints is able to do that for us. The account focuses
much more on taking people behind the scenes of life at St. Lawrence, whereas
our main account focuses on highlights and showing off our campus. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> We know we have a good amount of overlap in terms of followers between the two accounts (but we've found prospective students oftentimes engage with @herewegosaints first), so when </span>a student is showing the @herewegosaints fans an
event they are actively taking part in, we can be showing another so we don’t
miss anything – for a one-person show like myself, this has actually helped me
a lot. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Students
trust the account.</u> Now that we’re into our 28<sup>th</sup> week, students
who have run the account have told their friends about their experience. The
word is out: it’s unfiltered, students have direct access and it’s a lot of
fun. Because of this, students share the account with friends at other schools or high school students. It's real. It's theirs. They like that.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Students understand
– and love - the responsibility.</u> At first, one of our concerns was giving
students the password, but this is what has led to such buy-in from them. Every
student I talk with about their week appreciates that we trust them with the
account and that we’re letting them tell their own story in their own way.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What We Didn’t See Coming </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Students are learning about
opportunities they have at St. Lawrence through this account.</u> I’m not sure
why, but I never considered this account to be a resource. But in my many meetings with students, they’ve told me that they’ve
learned about this class, or that research fellowship, or this club or that
favorite meal through following this account. Students enjoy the different
perspectives because they are learning something new about St. Lawrence, along
with the rest of us.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></span></li>
<li><u>Running the account is real-world experience.</u> We have a lot of students interested in PR/communications/marketing and for them, running the account is something they can talk about in an interview. I've had students mention this to me and it reinforces why it's so critical to make sure I help them think strategically about what they are doing.</li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>It has shifted how our students think
about their own content. </u>This blew me away a little: I met with a student
earlier this winter about running the account. After talking through the
logistics, she casually said, “You know, every time I post to my personal
account now I ask myself, ‘Would I post this if I were running @herewegosaints?
Or how would I change this post if I were running @herewegosaints?’” She’s not
the only one who has mentioned this either – I’ve spoken to four or five
students who have echoed those same thoughts. And while this is anecdotal, I think the quality of the photos I see being posted by our community have gotten better and certainly the amount of content shared has increased dramatically. Our community is much more engaged.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Students are proud to go to St. Lawrence, just because we have this account. </u>When I meet with students, they tell me how great it is that we give them the chance to do something like this. They truly feel ownership over this account, which is exactly what I was hoping for.<i> </i></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What Have I Learned?<br>
</b></span><br>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I have
thoroughly enjoyed learning about who our current students are, what they care
about and what experiences are offered at St. Lawrence today. This account has given me the chance to see what our students are talking about and care about in real time. This helps me with the other parts of my job in creating content for publications and the web.</span><br>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As the main
social media manager on campus, I find I have limited time to test the waters
and try different types of content to see what resonates. While running this
account, students have done a little bit of this for me without realizing they
are doing so! In a lot of ways, it has helped
reshape our overall approach on Instagram.</span><br>
<br>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Other Fun Awesomeness</span></b></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Since we
launched our account in September, I’ve spoken with several colleagues at
different institutions who have thought about launching similar accounts or
initiatives. Take a look at the great things they are doing!<br>
<br>
<a href="http://instagram.com/vstateexperience" target="_blank">Valdosta State University</a> (@vstateexperience)<br><a href="http://instagram.com/livefromhsu" target="_blank">Humboldt State University</a> (@livefromhsu)<br><a href="http://instagram.com/mywebsteru" target="_blank">Webster University</a> (@mywebsteru)<br><a href="http://instagram.com/southwesternu" target="_blank">Southwestern University</a> (The Captain at the Helm)</span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Have you
created a similar account or initiative? What have you learned? </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12869292003483072537noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2819617591554422810.post-27989530805326001332014-03-11T09:15:00.001-07:002014-03-11T09:27:42.155-07:00Behind the Scenes: A Social Media Manager's ExperienceMy phone started buzzing at about 9:10 p.m. on Monday night. One notification, then two, then three... I checked in on Twitter and discovered that Rich Peverley, a St. Lawrence alumnus, had collapsed during the Dallas Stars game.<br />
<br />
The messages began pouring in. Being St. Lawrence's social media manager is an absolute privilege, and of course I sent out a tweet from @StLawrenceU to show our support. But it's what everyone else was posting and sharing that meant the most - and more often than not, no one sees all of those posts except me.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibntyzGcgy_KdIiBDjtQmwTEmX3FvD8GSb8HAeXGd0fRyFFDTIh1Lm-3bV8U0kj_RqFyf4k8S1XxzKTHU3a6VSmCuj1fHIr4q0w4YgQZcdPrg4XAX8g1U7c4pYTPhj7pfo-fa5XTGRqYpb/s1600/tweet.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibntyzGcgy_KdIiBDjtQmwTEmX3FvD8GSb8HAeXGd0fRyFFDTIh1Lm-3bV8U0kj_RqFyf4k8S1XxzKTHU3a6VSmCuj1fHIr4q0w4YgQZcdPrg4XAX8g1U7c4pYTPhj7pfo-fa5XTGRqYpb/s1600/tweet.PNG" height="256" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
One of my goals this year has been to find ways to let people into my little social media world when I could and share what I experience because sometimes, I feel a little selfish that I'm the only one that sees it and is able to feel the sentiments in real time. I knew I couldn't retweet everything from last night; but even if I could, those tweets on their own don't tell the same story as all of these posts put together.<br />
<br />
So, here it is - an illustration of Laurentian pride and our spirit, all compiled into one place thanks to Storify and social media. Get better, Rich!<br />
<br />
<div class="storify">
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="no" height="750" src="//storify.com/meganbernier/inside-a-social-media-manager-s-world/embed" width="100%"></iframe><script src="//storify.com/meganbernier/inside-a-social-media-manager-s-world.js"></script><noscript>[<a href="//storify.com/meganbernier/inside-a-social-media-manager-s-world" target="_blank">View the story "Inside a Social Media Manager's World" on Storify</a>]</noscript></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12869292003483072537noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2819617591554422810.post-32661094162645265232014-03-06T04:16:00.000-08:002014-03-06T04:42:44.470-08:00What One Prospective Parent Wants to See from Colleges on Facebook<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:auto;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:auto;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
You know that feeling you get when you get a long private
message on your university’s Facebook page? For me, it’s mixed – is it going to
be a request to post something? Did I do something wrong? Did I do something
great? Is it some kind of emergency?<br />
<br />
Last week, it was a message from a prospective student’s
mother who had some questions about our university and wanted to know about our arts programs and hadn't found much on Facebook. I messaged her back, answered her questions and thanked her for
her feedback. Then I asked if there was anything else I could help her with. She asked why
some colleges post certain types of content and others don’t. I looked at this as a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fantastic</i> opportunity to pick her brain a little bit, and after
telling her a little bit about what I try to do with our Facebook page, I asked her what
she, a prospective parent, is looking at and for when she is researching a
college on Facebook (because yes, this proved to me they are researching colleges on Facebook).<br />
<br />
These are some of the highlights (in the order she mentioned
them):</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What’s
NOT in the glossy handouts:</b> Like students, parents want a real-feel for our
campuses, and that perspective often comes from anyone but the colleges
themselves (even though we try!). She spends time reading comments to get a
sense of how authentic a college is being based on their community’s reactions
to their posts (and also noted how we, as a university, respond to those
reactions and comments). She also looks at what other people post to the page –
not just posts by the university.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">How a community
responds to tragedy.</b> How quickly do you post during an emergency or
following a tragedy affecting your campus? She noted that some schools she’s
looked at try to shy away from sharing tragic news and she took note of this in
a negative way, but applauded others that did post - and did so in a timely
manner. She also said she could get a sense of the college and its community by
how people commented and responded to such news. Did a lot of people comment?
How did they comment? Were they reacting negatively to the timing of the news
being shared (was it posted too late)?</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Show me the student experience.</b> This parent wanted to know more about what Orientation is
like, the community service opportunities, the town (or city) the college is
located in and where students could study abroad. Are sports popular? I read
this as: Will my child fit in? </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Current
campus news.</b> Who are your professors and what are they doing? What are your
students up to? Is there construction? What does that look like? When will it
be completed? I got the sense she’s looking for a college moving forward and
that the college regularly showcases that through news and photos. (No mention of rankings.)<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What are
the hot issues?</b> She mentioned she enjoys reading articles from the college’s
student newspaper so she could get a real sense of what the college and
students are like without the marketing/PR filters on them. (Do you see a
pattern? Authentic content is critical.)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Campus
photos.</b> We know this one. (No girls under trees, please.)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Photos
and videos taken by students.</b> Again with the authenticity!</li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There aren’t many surprises here, but it was refreshing to
get an outside perspective from a constituent I don’t often hear feedback from.
It reaffirms our work in trying to be as authentic as we can be but was also a
good reminder that it’s often what people are saying to us and about us - and how we respond to those comments - that
tells people outside our community who we really are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12869292003483072537noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2819617591554422810.post-1127960326340187632014-01-15T06:49:00.001-08:002014-01-15T06:54:45.955-08:00A Thank You & 12 Cents Go a Long WayA while ago, <a href="http://weatheringthenorm.blogspot.com/2013/09/is-instagram-really-social.html" target="_blank">I blogged about some frustrations with Instagram</a> and how it's not as social as I'd like it to be. I want to "retweet" a community member's photo so they can experience ALL THE LIKES instead of me! But alas, Instagram hasn't built this feature in yet.<br />
<br />
So the question for me became, "How can we share these likes and this awesomeness with the people whose content we're sharing so they know they're appreciated?"<br />
<br />
I started by sending emails to people thanking them, but that only goes so far. After all, how many emails do we get a day? When I expressed my frustrations with my student social media team, one member came up with a great idea: thank you postcards, featuring that student's Instagram post.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Um. Brilliant.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxT2DM_b3m3SjBfqxthVewsytuYuRcHqiQiqebjg53flhcxQ_jM-tdpRAE2_bmrJJg8sNOZtHgoeZr2Gkf24UqAHIp9kw3o8vr3zDG9Yy3XpQf8yUuGRRM9vZ5ixdeeirR9n4DaYD69Hj5/s1600/kayapps_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxT2DM_b3m3SjBfqxthVewsytuYuRcHqiQiqebjg53flhcxQ_jM-tdpRAE2_bmrJJg8sNOZtHgoeZr2Gkf24UqAHIp9kw3o8vr3zDG9Yy3XpQf8yUuGRRM9vZ5ixdeeirR9n4DaYD69Hj5/s320/kayapps_2.jpg" width="212" /></a><br />
When I share a community member's photo on the main St. Lawrence account, I wait a few days until the vast majority of the likes have come in, then take a screenshot of the post as it appears on our account and open it in Photoshop on my PC.<br />
<br />
I built a high-resolution 4" x 6" template in Photoshop that looks like the university's flag (shown), then take the screenshot and place it on top. (Note: I am no whiz in Photoshop, as you can see. Just think how much better you can do!)<br />
<br />
I upload the finished product to my phone and head to the local drugstore, which has a wonderful Kodak kiosk that prints these for 12 cents a pop and has them all printed for me in under five minutes. They look fantastic, too!<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjso0RYaKBcW3ZCmkzlUuWPlRULUX9qPnG2L6k1XW0NRoFKe1-woYiRaqDIdstXD8irx2knr4EzQlffubLSV_HlUGByys84ymLNiILbA9Y1uYx1l4nigJFJ7MKRdV-At0SWAJwAvmcd_VJd/s1600/instaTYs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjso0RYaKBcW3ZCmkzlUuWPlRULUX9qPnG2L6k1XW0NRoFKe1-woYiRaqDIdstXD8irx2knr4EzQlffubLSV_HlUGByys84ymLNiILbA9Y1uYx1l4nigJFJ7MKRdV-At0SWAJwAvmcd_VJd/s200/instaTYs.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cards moments before being sent!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
Once printed, I hand write notes on the back, thanking the user for letting us repost the photo. I always make sure I find something that makes the post unique - was it in the Top 5 liked photos ever? Top 10? Did someone leave a great comment on it? I share those tidbits in my note. I always sign it "@StLawrenceU" (word on the street is they love that!). I then send them via campus mail (we're a small residential campus) to their on-campus mailboxes.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: center;">This is typically the reaction I see when a student finds one of these in his or her mailbox:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_I6Bn1-UjpIsaVTh__LhV0MdoV-h5j-E7Gw4dK84cIHNKoSbFxxaTlrH726esczmADWFpIxymQoM0PgbEK89eOVSuFBDg5arBQqKFZjCBA1wUWrSzNS91ohzi03Sa6JPcN3D1zyogKN7N/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_I6Bn1-UjpIsaVTh__LhV0MdoV-h5j-E7Gw4dK84cIHNKoSbFxxaTlrH726esczmADWFpIxymQoM0PgbEK89eOVSuFBDg5arBQqKFZjCBA1wUWrSzNS91ohzi03Sa6JPcN3D1zyogKN7N/s320/photo.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
We don't just do this for students - I've done this for faculty and staff, too. When the day comes and we share an alum's photo, they'll get one in the snail mail, too. Who doesn't enjoy getting a random love note in the mail from their alma mater?!<br />
<br />
In terms of social media currency, I learned early on that "liking" a
student's photo got us some great street credit (and helped us earn
trust on the platform and elsewhere, too). When we started asking to
repost, it upped the social ante and we found a lot more students using the hashtag and directly tagging us in their posts, hoping we'd share. Now students are posting these cards
when they get them. They can hold
in their hands how much we value them. This goes so much deeper than a
mention or a repost - it's on a whole different level.<br />
<br />
I know; doing this is just a little thing, a very, very small part of what I do. There are no analytics to measure here, no way to assign any "tangible" value or ROI. My only takeaway is that this little thing could be making someone's day. And I'm perfectly content with that being the only outcome.<br />
<br />
A <u><b>huge</b></u> shout out to Lexi Williams, a student here at St. Lawrence University; I may be able to write this post and share it with you all, but she's the one who had this idea. I refuse to take any of the credit as it all needs to go to her and my student team (and in case you were wondering about the value of getting students involved with your work, here's a great example of why. They have the <u>best</u> ideas!).<br />
<br />
What ways do you thank your community members for sharing content?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12869292003483072537noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2819617591554422810.post-29048364223394218922013-11-11T11:59:00.000-08:002013-11-11T11:59:25.597-08:00Lock the Door or Open It? Why My Digital Identity is Public<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: jaf-facitweb-1, jaf-facitweb-2, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.75em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Who should I be in digital spaces? Should I friend or follow students I know and/or work with? Should I accept students’ requests? Should I make my accounts private so they can’t follow me? What are my boundaries when it comes to social media?</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: jaf-facitweb-1, jaf-facitweb-2, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.75em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
When I presented at a higher education student affairs conference several weeks ago, these were some of the questions I was asked. They are questions that, at one time or another, I’ve also asked myself. I don’t work in student affairs, but as the social media coordinator on my campus, I work with a number of students and meet more every day. Because of this, I had to stop and think about if it was appropriate to keep my personal accounts public for this potential audience to see.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: jaf-facitweb-1, jaf-facitweb-2, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.75em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
After wrestling with these thoughts, I decided to be completely public in my personal social media use. Here are three reasons why.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: jaf-facitweb-1, jaf-facitweb-2, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.75em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<b>I don’t post inappropriate content. </b>We’ve seen the stories about people who share too much on social media and the consequences of doing so. If I’m using social media—public accounts or private ones—the content is still out there, it has my name on it and the consequences remain the same regardless of the type of account.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: jaf-facitweb-1, jaf-facitweb-2, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.75em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<b>A big part of who I am is the work I do.</b> The lines blur for me when it comes to social media. When I am reading through tweets and catching up on what people in higher ed are saying , I’m doing it because it’s my job but also because I thoroughly enjoy learning about it, often in my free time. Finding the time to manage multiple accounts to separate these aspects of my life seems disingenuous because it’s not who I am. I don’t turn off work and turn on life or vice versa, so why would I do that on social media? (This also potentially uncovers a work-life balance issue I may need to address, but that’s for another post.)</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: jaf-facitweb-1, jaf-facitweb-2, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.75em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
But my biggest reason for keeping my accounts public is that <b>I see it as a chance to educate. </b>How often are students getting real-world lessons on how to develop their social and digital identities? I want them to see me engage in weekly Twitter chats and live-tweet from conferences. I want them to see how I use social media to network and collaborate with colleagues from all over the country. I want them to see how passionate I am about the work I’m doing with them and for them. This is an opportunity for me to educate them on how to use social media responsibly in a world where this type of education is so scarce, yet so necessary. Who knows? Seeing how much I love my work might inspire one of them to pursue a similar career path. At the very least, they are getting ideas on how they can use social media beyond what the typical college student uses it for.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: jaf-facitweb-1, jaf-facitweb-2, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.75em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
In the conversations I had with colleagues at the conference, I learned that many institutions have social media rules and guidelines for those who work in student affairs, guidelines which are also welcomed by staff members because they deal enough with students as it is! In the end, it all comes down to what you’re comfortable with. But the next time a student requests to follow you on Twitter or friend you on Facebook, consider how you use those spaces and how much they could learn from you about the work you do by letting them in. You just might inspire the next generation of higher education professionals.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: jaf-facitweb-1, jaf-facitweb-2, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.75em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
How do you handle your professional and personal digital identities? What are your thoughts on interacting with students on social media platforms?</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: jaf-facitweb-1, jaf-facitweb-2, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.75em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<i>This article was originally posted on the <a href="http://blog.case.org/2013/11/11/lock-the-door-or-open-it-why-my-digital-identity-is-public/" target="_blank">CASE Advance blog.</a></i></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12869292003483072537noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2819617591554422810.post-54951720820915040902013-10-28T04:00:00.000-07:002013-10-28T05:55:33.792-07:00Students Taking Over = Insta(gram)-SuccessOver the summer, I was trying to get out of my own way. When you work in marketing and communications at a school you love, you want the stories and people who make that place great to be what shines through, not a bunch of marketing jargon. I'm lucky that our students love this place and more often than not, they're able to tell our stories better than I could. It was time to let them do that.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I looked at where we've been successful this year on social media and Instagram was the clear winner - it's the one place our students have really engaged with us and it was the first platform where they felt comfortable doing so with any of our "official" accounts. I'm a one-woman show when it comes to our social media efforts, so there's no way I could ever be at every event or game to capture those quintessential St. Lawrence moments for our main Instagram account. Our students often are. <a href="http://instagram.com/herewegosaints">That's why @herewegosaints was born.</a></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
After talking with my colleagues and with the guidance of my student social media team, we launched our second Instagram account, which is taken over by a new student each week and open to any student who is interested in volunteering to do it. It would open up a lot of opportunities for us to tell the collective St. Lawrence story in an authentic way while celebrating the experiences of our students (and validating those experiences and them, which is something that is very important to me. Yay students! You're so wonderful). Our students are all over Instagram, love it when we like their photos, and like it even more when we ask to share them. This was our chance to show them we value and trust them.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Have I had concerns? Sure. It's always nerve-wracking when you're trying something new and doing so with students driving the project - but that's where you get the best results. I was nervous this wouldn't catch on or that we wouldn't get enough students interested in running the account. My team (five students) and I decided they would be the first set of students to run it so we could get a sense of the issues we might face and whether or not it would resonate with students. If it didn't work, we could just shut it down before anyone really knew about it. The first member of my student social media team took it over on September 30, just four weeks ago today.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We've done minimal advertising of the account. I posted a screenshot of the account on our main Instagram account a few days into our first week with it and each Monday when someone new takes over, I tweet the name of the student running the account. The lack of advertising has been deliberate to see if word-of-mouth was enough to propel this project forward. Was it going to be edgy enough to withstand our college's "cool" factor?<br />
<br />
When I posted the screenshot on our account, the response to the post was minimal - 30-40 likes when our posts typically average about 200 likes. For a second I was worried, until I noticed they were following the new account instead. In four hours, the account jumped from 25 followers to over 200. Since that day, we've nearly tripled that number and reached 535 followers as of this post. For a school with just 2,400 students, this growth has been outrageous for us (I should note it took our main account more than three months to reach that many followers). On Friday, our student newspaper did a great feature on the new account - it's the first time any of our social media projects have gotten any ink. That's a win in my book.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjALp35KiFGtR8wIcKeb6oJZjfgqEDAgyFEaIRSkOFHOT261zjm1rPTGRwls-Td4DW-xGYpqnaZFtsxt_mMYGR38e5OD3sNpB664F_mTP20ZF7JtRa_oos5NngvmZZTjo79HX8HbRbOCxG2/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-10-26+at+5.53.36+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjALp35KiFGtR8wIcKeb6oJZjfgqEDAgyFEaIRSkOFHOT261zjm1rPTGRwls-Td4DW-xGYpqnaZFtsxt_mMYGR38e5OD3sNpB664F_mTP20ZF7JtRa_oos5NngvmZZTjo79HX8HbRbOCxG2/s640/Screen+Shot+2013-10-26+at+5.53.36+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My student team says there's been a huge buzz about it on campus since it was launched. A lot of students asked them what it was like to run it and how they could do the same. The rules are simple and I require each student who wants to take it over to meet with me so they know who I am and can ask any questions they have. My student team has made a lot of recommendations of people they know we could trust with it, and I've received several emails from interested students. They're excited, and that makes me excited.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Some interesting tidbits: My student team members are comprised of juniors and seniors, so I don't often remember they may have siblings or friends in high school. When one of my team members took it over for the week, she highly publicized her takeover of the account on her personal accounts. What I didn't expect was her sister, a high school senior, to share it. She created an image telling her high school friends to follow the account, too, since her sister was running it. (Mind blown yet? Mine was. I can't make that kind of awesome - and free! - promotion up.) On that one day alone, we gained more than 130 new followers. (In related news, who wants to hire this girl? I do.)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR0iu5AUkWRZdUHOh1IeefRGMZVaedIl6M78G6r4U7_J0gVUSiR50URDc3Ci65wnECdtT1rfkIQg6fSFR8-PvqRlL6Y0rMiQL7nDvJZvNnw2hhBDtEe9FAzPgGXlYP0EuBfZD4FO1hnS5h/s1600/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR0iu5AUkWRZdUHOh1IeefRGMZVaedIl6M78G6r4U7_J0gVUSiR50URDc3Ci65wnECdtT1rfkIQg6fSFR8-PvqRlL6Y0rMiQL7nDvJZvNnw2hhBDtEe9FAzPgGXlYP0EuBfZD4FO1hnS5h/s400/image.jpg" width="280" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
A few members of my student team are also admissions ambassadors and have been sharing this new account when meeting and communicating with prospective students. They love knowing they can follow an account run by students instead of an institution-run account. I'm interested to see where this goes as a recruiting tool for us - I know our admissions colleagues have started spreading the word about it, too.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I was also shocked by the incredibly positive reaction I've gotten from our alumni. One said, "Meg, I actually search for the account on Instagram to make sure I haven't missed anything." Who could ask for anything more in a new endeavor? All parts of our community audience are enjoying this, not just the people it was created for.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
While I've enjoyed having a controlled group of students that I know running the account these first four weeks, I'm really excited to meet new students across campus and let them run with it. I think the fact that we have opened this up to people who are interested and not just my team is a critical part of its popularity. An account run by the team would be cool, but it would still be seen as "controlled" posts and messages. I'm excited to experiment with this approach. Do I expect hiccups? Yes. But I expect even more awesome (and that'll cure those hiccups any day).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Have questions? Want to learn more? I'll be presenting about this during the <a href="http://higheredexperts.com/edu/course/higher-ed-social-media-conference/" target="_blank">HigherEdExperts' Social Media Conference</a> on December 4. Sign up (by Nov. 16!) and tune in to find out how this project has progressed - another plus is you'll listen to 11 of the people I admire most in higher education present on their own work. It's a win-win!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
You can also reach me by leaving a comment below or by email: <a href="mailto:megan.bernier@gmail.com">megan.bernier@gmail.com</a>. </div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12869292003483072537noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2819617591554422810.post-28403041380108051182013-09-18T09:06:00.000-07:002013-09-19T05:33:04.858-07:00Is Instagram Really "Social"?I appreciate people who are taking the time to investigate social media platforms' Terms of Service like <a href="http://collegewebeditor.com/blog/" target="_blank">Karine Joly</a>, who has started a weekly "Social Media TOS Tuesday." She recently blogged about Instagram's Terms of Service (TOS) and what we can and can't do on our brands' accounts. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://collegewebeditor.com/blog/index.php/archives/2013/09/10/social-media-tos-tuesday-can-you-repost-others-photos-or-videos-on-instagram/" target="_blank">One of the points Karine made was that re-posting other users' content on your account violates Instagram's TOS.</a> I've seen many colleges and universities doing this and doing it well - many ask for permission to re-post and then credit the person behind the original post, which I think is a critical piece to going this route. But this is frowned upon by Instagram because it's not the brand's original content.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://collegewebeditor.com/blog/index.php/archives/2013/09/17/social-media-tos-tuesday-how-to-share-instagram-photos-on-facebook-without-risking-dmca-complaints/" target="_blank">This is also true on Facebook.</a> Creating a Facebook album of your community's best Instagram photos also violates the TOS, unless you're using an API or linking directly to the person's content. For our community, students don't want us necessarily linking to their accounts. In talking with some of our students, they'd love for us to post their content, but even though their accounts are public (since we can see their content), they don't want just anyone looking at them. <br />
<br />
Learning all of this was a real eye-opener for me as Instagram has become a very
popular tool for us and <a href="http://weatheringthenorm.blogspot.com/2013/03/why-i-invest-time-in-instagram-and-why.html" target="_blank">where we've had a lot of success in the last 10 months</a>. It's made me question Instagram: Does their TOS allow us to be truly "social" on the platform? Karine's posts leave me extremely frustrated with Instagram (not with her, of course!) and thinking undoubtedly yes because in many ways, they don't allow us to foster a community of sharing and engagement like we've been trained to do with other tools. Rather, the
platform focuses on metrics such as simply "liking" photos, something I don't think means much at all..<br />
<br />
In higher education, many social media "teams" and managers are actually one-person shows who can't be everywhere at once and not always around to grab that perfect sunset photo or events that students are capturing every day. Re-posting photos is a way to show your community the bigger picture of your brand (and crowd-sources, which often yields much better content!) and I'd think would make the content creator feel really good about what they're doing and feel even better about your institution.<br />
<br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".r[c1su].[1][4][1]{comment561006107298171_561012213964227}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3]"><span data-reactid=".r[c1su].[1][4][1]{comment561006107298171_561012213964227}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0]"><span data-reactid=".r[c1su].[1][4][1]{comment561006107298171_561012213964227}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0].[1]">I'm all about giving credit where credit is due, which is what this all comes down to - I don't care about
likes or comments on our own posts, but pushing out great content that
reflects who we really are -that's what social media is all about. I think linking to a person's Instagram account in the caption/comments, you're linking people back to the original content creator. Should that violate anything?</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".r[c1su].[1][4][1]{comment561006107298171_561012213964227}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3]"><span data-reactid=".r[c1su].[1][4][1]{comment561006107298171_561012213964227}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0]"><span data-reactid=".r[c1su].[1][4][1]{comment561006107298171_561012213964227}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0].[1]">If we choose to follow Instagram's TOS, it really limits us in what we're doing for our community. If they created a re-post option where the person's work that was re-posted received all the likes and comments, then great! I actually like that better than the idea of a brand getting all the engagement for another's work. They should be the ones seeing and relishing in that. Then
they'd see how valued their work is and be really proud. Our community wants that and in my fantasy social media world, I'll hope for a resolution of some kind as Instagram evolves - either in creating a re-post option or amending the TOS. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
Until then, for those schools or brands who have found success in re-posting, will you continue doing so? What are you doing to stay in check with Instagram's TOS, if anything?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12869292003483072537noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2819617591554422810.post-24516396689415284332013-09-02T06:38:00.001-07:002013-09-02T06:38:11.520-07:00The Most Valuable Share<div>
It's hard to admit this, but I'm a hoarder. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Okay, so maybe not one in the A&E sense, but when it comes to content I've come across on social media this last year, I've been really selfish. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As the main social media manager on campus, I get to see what prospective students, current students, faculty, staff and alumni say about us every day and oftentimes engage with those people. At the end of the day, unless I retweet or share the posts, the only people seeing these interactions are just those involved - often me and one, maybe two other people - and a few followers. And it only exists in these social media vacuums.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So one of my goals this year is a rather simple one - share more of our awesome content, but not necessarily in terms of sharing on Facebook and Twitter; <b>my goal is to do more sharing <u>outside of social media.</u></b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This is something I've been thinking about since the spring after I printed out a couple of our Facebook posts about staff members and alumni that received a ton of positive, encouraging comments and physically shared the post with those staff members and alumni. These people, who wouldn't have come across these posts otherwise, got to see they were valued. It was sharing this information <i>beyond the confines of social media platforms</i> that generated (what I would argue to be) the most exciting and emotional kind of engagement I can provide in the work I do.<br />
<br />
This goal was solidified during an experience I had this week. A first-year student posted an Instagram photo of a gift our Alumni Council gave him and his classmates at Matriculation. The caption thanked the Alumni Council specifically, so I shared the post with the staff liaison on campus in hopes she would share it with some members of the Council. She shared it with everyone and moments later, a Council member commented on the photo, "On behalf of the entire Alumni Council, you're most welcome." </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'm sure I'm not the first social media manager making a commitment to doing more of this kind of sharing. I work on a small campus and in a tight-knit community so it's a little easier for me to do this. It may take some extra time, but when you're putting a smile on a staff member's face or allowing alumni who volunteer to see a student cherishing their efforts, it can only do good things for them, us and the communities we're so proud to be a part of.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
These shares won't do anything to boost our EdgeRank or post reach, but I'm guessing they will be appreciated by those on the receiving end. No analytics report could ever assign a number or statistic to that.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12869292003483072537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2819617591554422810.post-85948915339928712942013-06-08T05:30:00.000-07:002013-06-08T09:04:22.817-07:00Ensuring Value and Purpose in a College's Instagram Contest<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Knowing Instagram was the most popular platform our students were using on a daily basis and getting inspiration from several colleges (most notably <a href="http://groups.etown.edu/social/index.php/2013/01/photo-fun-in-february-a-new-photo-challenge/" target="_blank">Elizabethtown College and Donna Talarico's work)</a>, my student social media team and I decided it was time to do something fun on the photo-sharing platform. So in April, we hosted our university's first ever social media contest - an Instagram photo-a-day challenge. <br />
<br />
We joined Instagram in late October.<a href="http://weatheringthenorm.blogspot.com/2013/03/why-i-invest-time-in-instagram-and-why.html" target="_blank"> I spent the first five months listening to, learning about and educating our audience on there</a>, so I was excited to try this. But I didn't want to do it just to do it, or to get more followers, or something else that didn't mean anything. So how could we do something fun AND have it be valuable for both our audience AND the University?<br />
<br />
<b>Strategy</b><br />
<br />
For our audience, it was a game: post a photo every day using #SLUphotoaday that correlated to that day's theme. For my team and myself, it was strategically planned. We chose April for a few reasons:<br />
<ul>
<li>April is the first month in Northern New York that you might - MIGHT - see signs of spring and not a whole lot of snow.</li>
<li>Our University's birthday is April 3.</li>
<li>It's a busy month on campus with Springfest Weekend, sports contests, end-of-year concerts, etc. </li>
</ul>
While these factors definitely played a role in why we chose April, the biggest thing for me was that April is a critical month in the admissions cycle. <b>Why not encourage students to post content every day that you can feature all over the web at the same time high school students are making their college decisions?</b><br />
<br />
The other part of the strategy was deciding on each day's theme. (I should note - they had the best ideas. Another reason to get students involved!). The pride our students and alumni have in this place is incredible; playing off that was going to be key to making this 'cool' and something our students would participate in.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTgV6b-630o5jNlEi-RHMEc_TyeLIZtut7djYuNnVE3YJY8DQbJnkig7zUvkAVAhzEdmJK95-4xtQ3mE6WGM3OleUoxLTtZm1Fy5i-0L39qFpc-XI4Xapvi29a-C2Fl_Nn6pDbNCwGCnXr/s1600/saintstagram.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTgV6b-630o5jNlEi-RHMEc_TyeLIZtut7djYuNnVE3YJY8DQbJnkig7zUvkAVAhzEdmJK95-4xtQ3mE6WGM3OleUoxLTtZm1Fy5i-0L39qFpc-XI4Xapvi29a-C2Fl_Nn6pDbNCwGCnXr/s320/saintstagram.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<b>Promotion</b><br />
<br />
We started promotion just five days before April 1. We printed a 120" x 45" banner and hung it in our student center with each day's theme. We posted the contest on Instagram and Facebook. We made fliers for the residence halls. Other than that, I charged the team with sharing the news word-of-mouth.<br />
<br />
<b>What happened? </b><br />
<br />
The next month was a whirlwind (hence the month-long delay in posting this). I could go day-by-day, but this post is already long enough. Here are some highlights:<br />
<ul>
<li>We had more than 135 people play (I know there were people I couldn't see playing because of private accounts) and close to 1,200 submissions.</li>
<li>In the first seven days, we had over 500 submissions. On Day 3 (our university's birthday), I tallied over 100 photos posted - the most of any day.</li>
<li>Our followers grew 27.3% in that one month.</li>
<li>Not only did students play, but several alumni played (a few played every day!) and we even had a parent take part in the daily fun. That was a surprise, since the daily themes were really geared toward those on-campus. I was blown away at the lengths some alumni (and the parent) went to play every day! </li>
</ul>
<b>Why was it valuable for us?</b><br />
<br />
In my opinion, I think this project was the first time our audience saw us giving them something fun to do and in return, it gave us some street credit with our students and younger alumni. While I've seen increased engagement since taking over our social media efforts in August, it's been more so on the alumni side than with our students. That has slowly changed, but April was sort of a mini social-revolution for us.<br />
<br />
Since the beginning of the contest, students have been interacting and talking with us much more frequently. They are tagging us in their photos and posts. <i><b>We are communicating and sharing together!</b></i> When we've asked our audience for photos or content, I've seen a jump in the number of submissions we get. For me, it was a great way to end a year of social media growth on campus and I think set the stage for an even bigger social media 'boom' here this upcoming year.<br />
<br />
I think it's important to point out here that while we saw an exciting jump in followers, this was not a goal for us. <b>We didn't get 230+ new followers because we ran a contest; we earned the trust of 230+ new followers because we provided exciting and relevant content in an engaging way and encouraged others to join us in doing so.</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<u>Other Fun Points to Note</u><br />
<ul>
<li>When sharing photos on Facebook and Twitter, I saw a jump in new people playing or others playing again.</li>
<li> I saw a slight increase in new followers on Admitted Student Days, most likely because students visiting saw the large poster in the student center and heard tour guides talking about the contest. </li>
<li>Really thinking about the daily themes and how they could help us share St. Lawrence with others paid off incredibly for us in terms of re-purposing content. For instance, on our university's birthday, the theme was "What I love about SLU." We had more than 100 posts and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151525277501308.1073741825.7323146307&type=1" target="_blank">shared the best in an album on Facebook</a> later that week as it was the perfect way to capture why our audience loves us, instead of us preaching about why we're so great.</li>
<li>Remember that "official" Instagram hashtag I spent a long time educating our audience on? Before April 1, less than 350 photos used the tag. By the end of the month, we were close to 700. Far more students are now using the hashtag than they were before, which means I'm finding their awesome content faster and easier (and others are, too).</li>
<li>We've had several requests to do it again - so people liked it!</li>
</ul>
<b><u>Why was it valuable for them?</u></b><br />
<br />
You mean besides the prizes? We used a ton of student content we got from participants on other platforms and a number of students took to social media to express their happiness about it. By liking their photos, commenting on them and sharing them, we validated their efforts. They felt appreciated, which was great - because they were (and are).<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3jtdCfQWNCeRHWhi44hjPiRLG-8cIgalaFUVk7FEiqopwMeRYoBelwy8V9NQ1hktkKNRxVDJIrTS4y2jafE0EIzyuuEUPOE_9_FrHnIlUYkoSloQ1ZRyzShke4Fff4gx4sj3lCcoloiRc/s1600/appreciative.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3jtdCfQWNCeRHWhi44hjPiRLG-8cIgalaFUVk7FEiqopwMeRYoBelwy8V9NQ1hktkKNRxVDJIrTS4y2jafE0EIzyuuEUPOE_9_FrHnIlUYkoSloQ1ZRyzShke4Fff4gx4sj3lCcoloiRc/s320/appreciative.jpg" width="279" /></a></div>
<br />
People also enjoyed seeing how others saw St. Lawrence. Why did their friend love St. Lawrence? Where is everyone's favorite view? Our community learned more about each other in a fun way.<br />
<br />
Again, I think because we spent the time to make sure the themes were centered around what makes SLU special and because it was done at the end of the semester, <b>it offered our audience a chance to reflect and appreciate this place</b>. We even heard as much from participants on the last day.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJsKxgfNARRgKE1rnMuIlGSHjlDAGHQamT4lwxFj5_nGNIiW8GNew9tVrQ8Ys6NnrlSqM2gAlD8j1_s1cJKkiKWUdWGry8f20ul8dw8hQ8E2PkQGycRp2f9djvbEECw0xKC2YRZ4CLQPmD/s1600/reflection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJsKxgfNARRgKE1rnMuIlGSHjlDAGHQamT4lwxFj5_nGNIiW8GNew9tVrQ8Ys6NnrlSqM2gAlD8j1_s1cJKkiKWUdWGry8f20ul8dw8hQ8E2PkQGycRp2f9djvbEECw0xKC2YRZ4CLQPmD/s320/reflection.jpg" width="279" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<u>For the Next Time</u><br />
<br />
Of course, this wasn't perfect. We will definitely make adjustments, but based on the number of requests I've gotten from students and departments to do something similar, we'll be doing more things like it - keeping in mind the value to us and the value for them.<br />
<br />
Another lesson learned? The weather gods are never on your side. We chose our daily themes six weeks in advance and we picked one day to be themed "Today's Weather," hoping it would be a gloriously sunny day. What we did was jinx ourselves.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqe2s5o8l9T_iA9cYQzbe-ljTBBDwMt0TnB3OZfjiwwXTgdqBA0KUFm789u0BjexZKDPfBfTAiJ9UikKd1BmHEHHJrvqXWbo9dVxE3gS7hUdfBmw5XD504E3Kun8E4FWYIFQBHEqaN7K2a/s1600/weather.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqe2s5o8l9T_iA9cYQzbe-ljTBBDwMt0TnB3OZfjiwwXTgdqBA0KUFm789u0BjexZKDPfBfTAiJ9UikKd1BmHEHHJrvqXWbo9dVxE3gS7hUdfBmw5XD504E3Kun8E4FWYIFQBHEqaN7K2a/s320/weather.JPG" width="280" /></a></div>
<br />
Technically, our contest had 15 winners, but I think St. Lawrence and - more importantly - our audience won. <br />
<br />
Have questions about what we did? Insights on other successes? I'd love to hear them! Feel free to reach out to me or leave a comment.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12869292003483072537noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2819617591554422810.post-28128877093549790022013-04-30T08:11:00.001-07:002013-04-30T19:15:52.369-07:00More Ways to Use Social Media During the College SearchIt's almost May 1 and deposits are rolling in at colleges across the country. The yield period has become an important part of my year even though I don't work in admissions. As our university's social media coordinator, this is a critical time in the year for me, too. I know students are watching, listening and deciding based on our posts and interactions. It's honestly one of the best parts of the gig.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkuwLQbZk1VeFYOpzkW5Id-CMqk9hwYFKizkFO5MAc6goo78Q30Y-SQqf4MKqAnbM268h8sHFoOJxYF1XjDvkFSWIphkpTDBFh6IMVzbtEWooy7G7Yi76onUYG6Db1_B8aqMFcgAHesbcY/s1600/blogphoto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkuwLQbZk1VeFYOpzkW5Id-CMqk9hwYFKizkFO5MAc6goo78Q30Y-SQqf4MKqAnbM268h8sHFoOJxYF1XjDvkFSWIphkpTDBFh6IMVzbtEWooy7G7Yi76onUYG6Db1_B8aqMFcgAHesbcY/s320/blogphoto.jpg" width="295" /></a></div>
<br />
That's why when I was perusing Twitter for the 127th time yesterday and came across this <a href="http://www.usatodayeducate.com/staging/index.php/toolbox/how-to-use-social-media-when-choosing-a-college" target="_blank"><i>USA TODAY College</i> article, "5 ways to use social media to choose a college,"</a> the social media nerd in me got excited to read it. "Am I making all of these things happen?" I thought before reading it. "Am I helping students in the ways they need to be helped?"<br />
<br />
But by the end of the article, I found myself a little frustrated for the students who are really trying to look for ways to use social media in their college decision-making process. For me, I felt the list encouraged students to turn to social media in the eleventh hour to help them make a decision and that shouldn't be the case. While the writer made some good points about different sites to look through, here are some additional points I wish the article had mentioned.<br />
<br />
<b>Build Social Media into Your College Research</b> <b>at the Beginning</b><br />
There are two points in the following sentence I want to emphasize: Students should be using social media as <u>just one of the many tools</u> in their arsenal during the <u>entire college process. </u><br />
<br />
I might be biased, but I'd tell prospective students to consistently check in with the colleges and universities they are interested in on social media throughout the 2+ years they are researching them. This doesn't necessarily mean you have to like a college's Facebook page or follow their Twitter account, but check in regularly to see what's going on - don't wait until April 1 when you have a month left to decide to start listening to what the college is promoting and doing on social media. Plus, if you're following along for a while, you'll be clued in to other really cool things the school is doing and might find a channel or avenue worth following before you make a decision.<br />
<br />
<b>Connect with Current Students</b><br />
This is the first point the article makes and it's a good one, though I think it missed out on some key opportunities to mention some great ways to do this. Prospective students should be looking for ways that the colleges they are interested in are helping them connect. Just because a college hosts these things doesn't mean you're not getting an authentic view of life at that college. Painting the wrong picture for admitted students doesn't help them and it doesn't help the college.<br />
<br />
Some great examples: I've been really impressed with how Connecticut College does this with <a href="https://twitter.com/conncollegelive" target="_blank">@ConnCollegeLive</a>, what <a href="http://www.smcvt.edu/On-Campus/News/Student-Faculty-Blogs.aspx" target="_blank">St. Mike's does with their student blogs</a> and <a href="https://oncampus.oberlin.edu/webteam/2013/04/all-virtual-roads-lead-oberlin" target="_blank">Oberlin's most recent endeavor with a Google+ panel.</a> It might take a little time and some research on websites and social media to find these types of outlets, but it's worthwhile if a student is able to make a connection.<br />
<br />
<b>Look for Ways to Connect with Potential Classmates </b><br />
Is it important for students to get a "real" sense of campus life from current students? Of course. But it's the accepted students who will enroll and ultimately shape the next four years of the college's story who are really important. Get to know them.<br />
<br />
By now, a lot of colleges and universities are creating class hashtags on Twitter and open, closed and private groups on Facebook. Some schools are even creating their own homegrown communities for accepted students. Once a student is accepted to a college or university, they should search for these groups and opportunities.<br />
<br />
One thing I loved about our closed incoming group was that one of the first posts by an admitted student was a "10 fun facts about myself" and now everyone does it when they join. This happened organically and some posts have 40+ comments of students talking with each other about similar interests. This is their space to get to know each other - after all, these are the people they'll be spending the next four years with!<br />
<br />
<b>Ask Questions</b><br />
Throughout the college search process, ask questions. Do it on social media, during your interview, during your campus tour and continue doing it until you don't have any more. If a prospective student is still trying to make a decision with 24 hours to go, they can reach out on social media or call the Admissions office and see if they can help. Don't be afraid to do this - we all want to help students make the best decision for themselves. [Side note: My best advice is to go with your gut instinct.]<br />
<br />
--- <br />
<br />
Our incoming class has seen it all from colleges and universities when it comes to marketing and social media. What resonated with them? What helped as they researched? What didn't? What was missing? I work at a small school and am hopeful when the Class of 2017 arrives in August I'll find students interested in social media who might have some thoughts on this. <br />
<br />
My note to admitted (and future) students: If you choose a school but wasn't overly impressed with their social media presence as you researched them, try and find the social media manager on campus when you arrive and talk to them. I'd set aside hours to hear from you about your thoughts and I'm betting others would, too. We're always looking for ways to make it better, and who knows? Your efforts to reach out and offer up your insights might land you some cool opportunities on campus. I'd add you to my student social media team in a heartbeat.<br />
<br />
<b>Did you think something was missing from the <i>USA TODAY College</i> article? What's missing from mine? </b>Leave your thoughts in the comments below.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12869292003483072537noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2819617591554422810.post-30763326520921231792013-03-31T20:14:00.001-07:002013-03-31T20:14:31.382-07:00On Jellybeans: A Personal Post<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">I buy (a lot of) jellybeans at Easter. Some people love Cadbury Cream Eggs, others love Peeps and some just chocolate - but my soft spot is for jellybeans. If I'm being honest, it’s more like an obsession because of the lengths I go to get them. I don’t just run to the store and buy what they have in stock. Oh no, I don’t settle for just any kind - they have to be a certain kind, a special kind - and they remind me of a special woman.</span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Deciding to go to college in Northern New York meant I was 1,100 miles away from my home in Atlanta and that I would never be able to make it home for Easter like many of my friends could. But I had my Nana, who lived just over an hour away, who welcomed me and my sister with open arms and a huge smile each year for the holiday when our schedules allowed.</span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Nana was a wonderfully cheerful woman who couldn’t hide her excitement about having us there even if she tried. She loved being a host and having visitors, her house always more than ready for us to come through, even if it was for a few hours or days. No matter how long we were stopping in for, there was one thing we always knew for certain would be waiting for us - a bowl of some yummy, colorful candy on a table in the family room. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">At Easter, the bowl was filled with a certain kind of jellybeans, and they were always gone (refilled then gone, refilled then gone) by the time we left. They were the best I ever had and almost every year since then I’ve made sure to find my own bag to enjoy - even though it now requires me to hunt them down online (yes, they're worth it).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq-jer8JPbRWps9CWHdC9DNeLRIIYl_Og1JOywJ3GwIsEmHZJ65Dtmaj-hzby8UKSwQ4T7X8gzStrEeTqXZe846JQQYwTlPvKW9xhEpboKvtrFMvRGw2fB3Q1kn55hwLNS8uwF8IlmiDui/s1600/jellybeans.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq-jer8JPbRWps9CWHdC9DNeLRIIYl_Og1JOywJ3GwIsEmHZJ65Dtmaj-hzby8UKSwQ4T7X8gzStrEeTqXZe846JQQYwTlPvKW9xhEpboKvtrFMvRGw2fB3Q1kn55hwLNS8uwF8IlmiDui/s320/jellybeans.JPG" width="320" /></span></a><br />
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">This Easter has been particularly hard for me because it’s my first without Nana, who passed away unexpectedly in October. I remember how much she cherished our visits and us spending the time catching her up on all the happenings of our college lives. For this weekend each spring, we were hers to laugh with and share stories well into the night.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">When it came to ordering the jellybeans this year, I hesitated and put it off for a while. They remind me so much of her; I thought they would only make me think of her even more often than I already do, and sometimes the pain of losing her is still too hard to fight through. </span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I finally ordered them this week and they arrived on Wednesday, but I waited to open the package until today. Instead of ripping into the bag and eating them by the handful per usual, I found the prettiest glass bowl I could find in our house and I filled it to the top. I brought the bowl into the family room and set it on one of the tables by the couch - just like she would have done for us.</span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">So tonight I settled for reliving the moments those colorful candies helped me recall a bit more clearly and I had to be okay with that. They aren’t as good this year and I know it’s because I’m missing something and someone. All I could do was eat them one by one, thinking of a story, an experience, or just a smile I miss so much. </span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #021eaa;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">Want to share a bowl of my favorite jellybeans with me? <span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><a href="http://www.candycrate.com/asjubojebe10.html?gclid=CKy8o8O6qLYCFXSVMgodrgwANQ" target="_blank">You can find them here (and make sure to get the fruit flavored ones)</a>. </span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12869292003483072537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2819617591554422810.post-28853538702093697572013-03-12T18:53:00.000-07:002013-03-13T04:56:37.201-07:00Why I Invest Time in Instagram (And Why You Should, Too)<span style="font-family: inherit;">I've been responsible for our university's main social media channels for just over six months and I have had (and continue) to do a lot of listening and learning. One of the biggest lessons I've learned has been that <b>our audience wants to know how we want them to use social
media</b> - and they're looking for us to guide them. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the places I've been most successful in implementing this is on a smaller platform with big opportunities:</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><a href="http://www.instagram.com/stlawrenceu" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">Instagram</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb25Y7LyCztOcf6Y_w_oYU5ghYb89sTEt0hu6VvQ40PE_szbMFNVu30z0ZMjOCYzoqLN49SC80jmjL8OqUx4fT1ulwty0j_eDBFYn97Fmno9ObGMTJfemSkIlJEQxdPT_VQU5t8Vdnoe0W/s1600/instagram1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb25Y7LyCztOcf6Y_w_oYU5ghYb89sTEt0hu6VvQ40PE_szbMFNVu30z0ZMjOCYzoqLN49SC80jmjL8OqUx4fT1ulwty0j_eDBFYn97Fmno9ObGMTJfemSkIlJEQxdPT_VQU5t8Vdnoe0W/s320/instagram1.jpg" width="278" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />I knew our students were using Instagram but before jumping on the platform, I wanted to look
around and see what and how they were posting and figure out how we might use the platform to reach this particular audience. What I
learned was:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Their stuff wasn't terrible. In fact, a lot of what they posted was really awesome content I wish I had known existed. (I'm sure the less awesome stuff is out there, just mostly on private accounts or not using any university-specific tags.)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">When they were trying to tag us, they used multiple hashtags: #slu, #stlawrence,
#stlawrenceuniversity, #stlawu, etc. The list went on, and these were often hashtags used for a variety of other purposes, so they weren't strictly St. Lawrence.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Instagram is about more than posting really sweet filtered photos and getting a lot of likes; it's about building a community. I knew if we were going to be on the platform, we needed to find a way to create that. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>That's why when we launched our account, we created one hashtag we wanted people to use </b>and actively started promoting it in our Instagram bio and on each of our photos. I didn't want our audience just adding the hashtags to their content; I wanted them to use it for what it's true purpose- to give people interested in St. Lawrence a feed they can follow for content collected from others, too.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I knew I couldn't just rely on people reading our bio and buying in to the hashtag; I was going to have to lay some serious groundwork if I wanted Instagram to work with and for us. I spent hours searching the hashtags they were using -<b> </b>liking and commenting on their (appropriate) photos. They LOVED us telling them we liked their stuff, which became evident as scores of them began following us... and they also started sharing more (and even better) content.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>When They Bought In</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">During campus events (like this big snowfall), I actively promoted the hashtag across platforms like Twitter and Facebook, where I encouraged people to look at the hashtag feed - not our own - to see all the great things our contributors were posting, It helped that I went back into photos our account had liked, took a screenshot and posted that across all our platforms, like the one below:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRxNL-L-yHyGFxHmNXUcmxdN6Ny3g7T4zz7GAU3ma0bStLZHTYQkMAMEhee8q5DTmmf7MtIBxSsd8zOKlGQ2nLcgoT5jCs5StBc2PLc6beuTbMIHFHzWZZ4hhPK6jYHE_B1gLlQuc7nbbv/s1600/instagram.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRxNL-L-yHyGFxHmNXUcmxdN6Ny3g7T4zz7GAU3ma0bStLZHTYQkMAMEhee8q5DTmmf7MtIBxSsd8zOKlGQ2nLcgoT5jCs5StBc2PLc6beuTbMIHFHzWZZ4hhPK6jYHE_B1gLlQuc7nbbv/s320/instagram.JPG" width="274" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgysevuQu6hLesfXmmZb_WHtPHMSFGfhzBuQvGKc1QGe_n4yPALbp5UwjqeNtxqQptY4_vQ51R8VHrrX6xa_QSkrPHj2mpfqu8R-NRriw8dde1VFihsONOsw5Xl7xt0L23M012CSva9M6K/s1600/instagram.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">When we did this, a lot of people figured out we didn't establish the hashtag just for us to follow along, but for everyone to enjoy. This specific post not only got more members of our audience to start using the hashtag on their photos, but they started browsing and some even went back through their own feeds and added the hashtag to older photos they had taken around campus. It was <i>working! </i></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">We had given our audience a little bit of help and they were really running with it.</span></div>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />What the "Other" Hashtags Gave Us: Prospective Student Engagement</span></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPY_9wOxI02wWAB10pCUTZsOz5_xqGks1VUHSdg6DlH928H1AXJgQrxyTq-X8LxNIhvJ2q5pK0fQtMrIUu47Zeg2HFNTNoUnqkfBd4SGvxOs8xe_E33FnA2E7jcq5wXWaiiS3kfrq8RA0y/s1600/instagram4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPY_9wOxI02wWAB10pCUTZsOz5_xqGks1VUHSdg6DlH928H1AXJgQrxyTq-X8LxNIhvJ2q5pK0fQtMrIUu47Zeg2HFNTNoUnqkfBd4SGvxOs8xe_E33FnA2E7jcq5wXWaiiS3kfrq8RA0y/s320/instagram4.jpg" width="276" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd40_7VqyEMONwi1QGHOrEXWcQcMzndYdwHU3Oas74dgP4j8eISMRcyuOGzkYS8_2jm-bubnaD-4yK9J7YSX7eqSf0bMp1jxyyJRESUt-6ctSEeJbUGAMROloQQSjlSDwC-iXx2EcoM9rH/s1600/instagram4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">When I was going through the hashtags our students were using, I noticed prospective students were using them when they got mail from us, visited campus or when they got accepted. Interacting with them opened up a l</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">ot of future engagement opportunities - they asked questions, followed us and sometimes went to Facebook and Twitter and followed us there, too. (Every so often they use our hashtag in later posts or add it to the one I've found and I simultaneously squeal with joy!)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Instagram is our fastest-growing platform and every minute I spend on there is giving me more information about our community and what it likes, but also what it needs from us. <b>Instagram has illustrated how educating and guiding our audience on the ways we want them to use these platforms equals quality and meaningful engagement. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you've ever doubted Instagram's ROI for your college or university, I hope this shows you it can be - and is - worthwhile. What cool things are you doing on Instagram that are building your brand and resonating with your audience?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12869292003483072537noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2819617591554422810.post-4769998144533039362012-12-02T19:08:00.000-08:002012-12-03T11:16:25.973-08:00Breakin' Down Silos: A Communications/Admissions Success Story<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">At both conferences I attended this year (#SUNYCUAD and #heweb12), a common discussion was about the silos that exist on college campuses that keep departments from coming together for the greater good and to accomplish common goals. This past week, I witnessed the wonderfulness that can come from breaking down those silos - but even better, I saw what happens when every person in the room is allowed to be an expert at their craft.</span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">A couple of months ago, my colleague had the idea to host a workshop with our office (communications) and the admissions office. In the last two years, the two offices had undergone significant changes in personnel, strategy and goals. While our vice presidents meet regularly and some of us meet with each other for different projects, we had not all gotten together in one room before. </span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">This wasn’t just going to be an hour gathering, either - she ambitiously scheduled a four-hour block of time and the vice presidents of both departments fully backed her. Admissions would bring a contingent of about 14 people, including each counselor, director, VP and a few others heavily involved in their work. Communications would bring our VP, both creative services personnel, our editor and me - the writer and social media person. In all, nearly 20 people were in the room - that’s 20 employees each giving up four hours of time, something we’re so short of this time of year anyways. It was a huge commitment by everyone.</span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We knew it could go one of three ways - success, getting through, and barely making it through. A success would be conversations, sharing ideas, constructive criticism and having a better understanding of each other’s roles. Anything less would be people watching the clock and waiting for the moment we would all be dismissed. </span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I think heading in to the workshop, everyone had some reservations about what to expect. But four hours later, I was flat out giddy. I could have sat there for hours listening to my admissions colleagues talk to us about their road experiences, jotting down ideas for our next projects. There were a few key elements that led to “all the awesome things:”</span></div>
<ol>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>Communicate the workshop’s importance. </b>Having worked in admissions for a short time in my career, I have always felt a communications office and admissions office should work very closely and almost seamlessly together. As a content creator, I knew going in that this workshop was going to really help me shape how I write content for an audience our admissions staff knows so well. But you know what showed me how important this workshop was? Both vice presidents 1) endorsed it; 2) attended for the full four hours; 3) had their entire staffs attend; and 4) took part in every aspect of the workshop. This was critical to each department’s belief in its potential success.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;"><b>Plan. </b>We were lucky because my colleague has taught classes and workshops before and was comfortable leading this session. In the weeks leading up to the event, we spent a few hours developing activities that everyone in the room would find purposeful, applicable and useful. We made sure there wasn’t a way to <i>not </i>participate. She also arranged for cookies. (Yum.)</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;"><b>Empower. </b>We’ve all been in meetings where someone in there is the self-appointed “most important person in the room.” While it’s important to have leaders in these types of gatherings, what was most important was that it didn’t take long for everyone to realize their opinion mattered and that everyone else was really listening to what they had to say. It only took a few minutes for people to become fully engaged in the first activity and that energy never left the room. In fact, I’d argue we all took the energy from the session and brought it to work with us the very next day.</span></li>
</ol>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Even five days later, I’m completely inspired and excited from our conversations. Our offices are across campus from one another but somehow after that workshop, they feel a lot closer. The next time we plan one of these (and people are already requesting for it!) it’ll be even better, which is hard to believe. We’ve each gained a greater understanding of what our colleagues across campus are doing and what we can each do to support them. The two-way street just got a whole lot wider. There are less speed bumps and speed zones. The sky ahead is bright.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">What does your office (or you) do to gain a better understanding of what your colleagues across campus are doing and what you can do to support them, and what you can do for them?</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12869292003483072537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2819617591554422810.post-46033963477795388762012-10-17T19:45:00.000-07:002012-10-17T19:49:24.407-07:00Going the Distance - Life After #heweb12<br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">It’s been a week since I flew out of Milwaukee and away from the <a href="http://2012.highedweb.org/" target="_blank">2012 Higher Ed Web Conference</a> - and my head is still swirling with lessons learned. After the last conference I went to, I wrote about my five biggest takeaways and what I hoped to do from that point forward. But #heweb12 affected me in a very different way - quite literally, I felt it change me. (For those of you looking for a summary of the conference, be forewarned - you won’t find it here.)</span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">This story starts here. I was a swimmer for 16 years, four of those in college. After specializing in the butterfly for 12.5 years, my college coach pulled me into his office in the middle of my sophomore year and asked (er... told) me that he and the team needed me to try something different. He was going to enter me in the 1000-yard freestyle, one of the longest races in collegiate swimming, in the upcoming meet to see how I’d do.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Suddenly I found myself faced with a very real challenge that scared the Speedo logo right off my bathing suit. Going from doing four laps of butterfly to 40 laps of freestyle wasn’t just a different ballgame - it felt like a different sport. The 1000 involved a lengthy game plan and a heavily-practiced strategy, one that I didn’t have and it was a responsibility. While I knew I had to take it on in the best interest of the team, I was intimidated to do so. </span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">My coach and I planned and strategized. How do I tackle this? I didn’t even know where to begin. Worst of all, I didn’t have the confidence I’d even finish the race in a respectable way. I knew I’d <i>finish</i>, but would I make my coach and teammates proud? Would I impact the team the way we needed me to?</span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The race was long, grueling and painful at times. But somewhere around the 29th lap, I saw a light at the end of the lane. I was nearly three-quarters of the way done and I finally started believing I could do it. Every time I took a breath, I saw my coach pumping his arms up and down over his head (which was his universal “You’re doing GREAT!” signal) on the side of the pool and my teammates cheered me on. It kept me motivated until the moment I touched the wall and in every race after. From that point until my career came to an end, I was a distance swimmer. </span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">What does all this have to do with #heweb12? I came to the conference after taking on some new projects at work and was feeling similar to how I felt just before that race. My new responsibilities weren’t anywhere near easy and much like the 1000, required a game plan and I felt lost about where to start. In order to do my job well, </span>I needed to gain the self-confidence to develop and implement my ideas. I needed to learn to own the position I found myself in. I needed to embrace my new role and do what my team needed me to do. By the time I left #heweb12 I was finally trusting <i>me t</i>o do these things <i>- </i>maybe for the first time in my professional career.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">Don’t get me wrong - I was blown away by all the incredible sessions I got to attend (every presenter was a rock star). But my biggest takeaway was experiencing the same feeling of empowerment I had during that 29th lap. I owe this personal epiphany to the people I got to meet and know in Milwaukee who, through our many conversations and enlightening discussions, helped me uncover the power within myself to dive into this new adventure and kick it into high gear.</span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Every #heweb12-er I met inspired me in some way to go out and do *all the things*, and do all the things as awesome as I can. While this new race is just getting started for me, I’ve discovered I’ve got teammates all across the country motivating me and cheering me on, both in my moments of weakness and in my moments of strength. That was the thing about #heweb12; <b>it was a conference filled with amazingly incredible people who do mind-blowing things but the coolest part? They are actively looking for ways to help you do the same. </b><i>Where else have you found a community like that?</i></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">Another note on this incredible group - <a href="http://uniondesignphoto.com/hewebway/" target="_blank">it was their generosity that got me to #heweb12</a>. Other people working in higher education made personal donations that eventually funded my registration for this conference. No blog post could thank you enough. I hope I’ll make you proud.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12869292003483072537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2819617591554422810.post-18469586070949075102012-06-28T07:26:00.000-07:002012-06-28T13:25:26.258-07:00My Plea to Sports Journalists Who Think They’re Good at Their Jobs<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
To local and national sports journalists, sportscasters, and
sports television/radio personalities everywhere,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I started swimming when I was almost seven years old and
swam all the way through college (don’t look me up – I wasn’t very good). I was
one of my only friends who was a swimmer. Most of them played football,
basketball, soccer, lacrosse, baseball, tennis, etc. The big name sports. I
grew up competing in a sport no one understood and not a lot of people cared
about but that never bothered me. It’s pretty boring to watch most of the time.
People can’t fathom why someone would want to put themselves through going back
and forth a thousand times between two walls, staring at a black line in a cold
pool. I’m not quite sure why I found so much pleasure in doing that, either.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But every four years, this often forgotten sport makes it
semi-big time and I’m sure I’m not the only former swimmer who schedules her
entire week around watching the coverage. NBC puts eight days of Olympic Trials
in prime-time slots and gives it fair coverage during the Olympics-much more in
Beijing than previous Olympics thanks to Michael Phelps. Phelps’ quest for
eight gold medals made a lot more people interested, invested and care about
swimming.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But you guys? You ‘covered’ it, but only because you <i>had</i>
to. You wrote a couple commentaries and some basic sports stories, but that’s
about it. A few of you wrote some great stuff [thank you!]. But for the most
part, your coverage – well, it really sucked. It was horrible. It was clear
then, and even more so today with Olympic Trials taking place this week, that
you just don’t understand swimming. But what offends me is that you <i>don’t
care</i> that you don’t understand swimming.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You put in a lot of effort and time to learn the intricacies
of the other sports you cover on an hourly basis. The research you do to
uncover interesting and relevant statistics are nothing short of fascinating.
With all this information you create engaging stories that fans and non-sports
fans (er, me) get excited about and then they tune in to see how it plays out.
And yet, I’d say only a handful of sports reporters have taken the time to make
an attempt to understand swimming so they can craft those same kinds of stories
that resonate with avid fans and the average person.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I worked in my university’s sports information office for
two years after graduating from college. I was responsible for covering soccer,
basketball, crew, swimming and lacrosse. I had to work my ass off to understand
these sports because I knew absolutely nothing them. I had no idea how I was going to write game stories that actually made sense to people who knew the
sport when I didn’t. In one of my first basketball stories I wrote: “Bob Smith
from XYZ College tried to make a shot but it didn’t go in, so Joe Johnson from
ABC University grabbed the ball mid-air and ran down the court with it.” I was
really impressed with myself for using ‘mid-air’; the coach was not at all
impressed that I didn’t just call it a rebound. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now I know how that coach felt. Reading your stories about
swimming make me cringe. I read one story where the headline said a girl had
narrowly missed making the Olympic team, but as I read on I learned she had
finished 23<sup>rd</sup> in the event, not even qualifying for semifinals (top
16 in most events). Only the top two people make the Olympic team, so 23<sup>rd</sup>
isn’t that close. Just because her time was only three seconds off the eventual
winner, that’s 300 one-hundredths* of a second. In a sport like swimming, that’s a lot of
time. One one-hundredth* makes all the difference – just ask Milorad Cavic from Serbia,
who lost the 100m butterfly by that margin to Phelps in 2008.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Well, the title made you read the story, right?” “Who wants
to read about a girl who apparently missed an Olympic berth by so much?” I hear
you. My issue isn’t with the headline, it’s with the story itself. Why not find
out if it was the girl’s career best time? Why not mention the team(s) she
swims for? Why not frame it in a way that says even though she didn’t make it,
finishing 23<sup>rd</sup> is an incredible accomplishment? Out of every swimmer
in the country who competes in that event, she is essentially ranked 23<sup>rd</sup>.
That’s pretty damn good. So instead of the 90-word blurb this sports reporter wrote,
maybe spend a hot minute finding a way to make it a story, something a lot of
you do really well with the bigger sports. All this would take is a little
investigating and caring enough about your job as a sports (ALL sports)
reporter.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After me ranting about this for the last 800 words, here’s
my point: Take the time to learn about sports – and I’m not just talking
about swimming, but the other smaller sports – so you can, at the very least,
cover them in a way that is interesting to fans and
the average person. Do your job and homework. Talk to someone who understands
the sport really well and learn from them. I’m not asking you to invest even a
fraction of the time you spend collecting stories, stats, and interesting tidbits
about LeBron James or Tim Tebow. I’m asking for 16 days every four years of
quality swimming coverage where I feel like you actually care about covering it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I know in sports the hours are relentless. It’s a 24/7 job
and a lot of you "just don’t have the time to commit to learning about every
sport in great detail." What sets great journalists apart from the others who want to be great is the former do what it takes to do their jobs well because it's that little extra they put in to everything they do that makes them stand out in the crowd.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My second plea is to NBC: I think I speak for most swimmers
and fans when I ask you to put Rowdy Gaines on the deck and get Andrea Kramer
out of the natatorium and as far away from the pool as possible. Her questions
to swimmers make my skin crawl. Most of the time I can tolerate her when she
covers other sports, but not in swimming. I truly believe the coaches do two
things before sending these elite athletes to the blocks for the final heat: they
give them last-minute advice and encouragement, and they prep them on how to
deal with her questions and how not to laugh on camera. Ryan Lochte looked like it literally pained him to talk to her after Wednesday night’s race because her
questions were so wretched. Get another (former?) swimmer to help out with the
color commentary and send Rowdy poolside, because he is the difference between
providing great coverage and mediocre coverage (at best).<br />
<br />
*Thanks to @dkutrufis21 for pointing out that swimmers don't use milliseconds to describe time, but hundredths, tenths, etc. (Five years out of competitive swimming has left me a little rusty on terminology!) Even the critical should be open to being criticized. </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12869292003483072537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2819617591554422810.post-34513603312369641212012-06-18T18:12:00.000-07:002012-06-18T18:28:49.456-07:00Making Changes: My Takeaways from SUNYCUAD<span style="font-size: small;">Last week, I attended my third <a href="http://www.sunycuad.org/annual_conference/the_schedule" target="_blank">SUNYCUAD</a> conference. You can’t leave this annual gathering of some of the best minds in higher education without learning <i>something</i>. When I [sadly] checked out Friday morning, [reluctantly] packed up my car and navigated the horrible one-ways near Syracuse University in hopes of finding Interstate 81, I felt re-energized about my work and did a bit of self-reflecting on how I do things and what I could, should and need to be doing better – a lot better.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">There was so much to digest – ideas, thoughts, quotes, a little beer and some Acropolis pizza – and I thought about it all weekend (the pizza was that good). Now, I’m putting my fingers on the keyboard to see what pours out. So here it goes-what I took away from SUNYCUAD 2012<b>.</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>1. </b></span><span style="font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;"><b>Goals before tools.</b> This seems logical, right? Of course we have goals before we move forward on projects and accept assignments. But for many of us we have large, overarching institution goals. Most of the time we don’t look at everything we’re putting out there and thinking, “Is this really worthy of a news release or would it be more effective as a video? Who am I trying to reach? What am I trying to say? How will I know if I’m reaching them? And if I’m reaching them, am I effective in doing so?”</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">These are the questions we need to be asking ourselves and each other. Even when it comes to posting a Facebook update or sending out a tweet- are you doing it just to do it or is it a tool you’re using to reach your goals? And if it’s a tool you’re using, is it the right one – and why is it the right one? We need to be critical of what we’re doing and make sure we’re tracking progress and effectiveness. Planning, discussions, and communication need to take place much more often and then making the necessary changes to continue doing our work well<b>.</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>2. Break down the barriers. </b>We all get in a rut of working within our respective office or department. But if we’re going to be successful at what we do, we need to take the biggest eraser we’ve got and get those dividing lines out of there. We’ve got to think past ‘divisions’ and share what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and how it connects with the work of every single employee on campus. We need to change the way we approach projects and collaborate with everyone as a unit, rather than as several units under the same brand and name.<br /><br />It’s time to look at our organizational charts and see the lines connecting each employee as channels between people -where views, ideas and opinions of everyone from the bottom up and top down are shared and communicated. Most importantly, everyone in the room should feel they have a seat at the table – no matter if you’re a VP or the newest employee. Listening to everyone and showing respect goes a long way – to quote presenter <a href="http://twitter.com/alanariley" target="_blank">Alana Riley</a> of <a href="http://www.providence.edu/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank">Providence College</a>, “it doesn’t take much to feel appreciated (or unappreciated).”<b> </b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>3. Content is more than [written] words. </b>Content is all shapes and sizes and is what is out there accomplishing our goals. Video, social media, photos, etc. are telling people our story and what it’s like to be a part of our community, our world. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">I’m not just a ‘writer’-I am a creator, sculptor, & artist with words, ideas, and images-and by doing all that, I am a storyteller. <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/radiofreegeorgy" target="_blank">Georgy Cohen</a> of <a href="http://takethecrosstown.com/" target="_blank">Crosstown Digital Communications</a> said, “Content is a process, not a project.” Effective content captures its audience with its tone and the story it tells and connects with them emotionally – it’s not just your average college-sounding jargon. One example Georgy gave involved admissions tour guides, how they often memorize a script to ‘welcome’ prospective students and their parents and maybe rethinking this.</span><span style="font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;"><u><br /><br />Tour Guide I:</u></span><span style="font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;"> “And to our left you see [insert name of building], which was built in 1932 and is home to our engineering school and newly-renovated science labs.” </span><span style="font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /><u>Tour Guide II:</u></span><span style="font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;"> “This building on the left is [insert name of building], where I’ve taken a couple of science classes. This past semester I got to take part in a project studying [something science-y] and use x, y, and z in my research since we have new science labs loaded with all-new equipment. My friend even got to…”</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Don’t you want to hear about what the friend got to do? It’s because you’re engaged (I know, not the greatest example, but…). And you know what? So are the people on the tour. <br /><br />Georgy also pointed out the value of adding story elements to all content, but what most intrigued me was adding it to news releases. If you’re talking about a new program being offered, immerse yourself in a couple of classes and tell the story through that perspective rather than rattling off requirements. Why is the program important? Why does it<i> matter?</i>I learned I need to think beyond the words I’m writing. I need to change my perspective on what I’m trying to say, and do so in a creative way that reaches people and connects them with my institution<b>.</b></span><br />
<br />
<b>4. Your campus community exists in real life and online.</b> But are you treating it this way? Are you thinking about your Facebook presence and use of Twitter as social communities? It’s called ‘social’ media for a reason – it’s a two-way street, not a one-way avenue for your news releases. Presenter <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/alainawiens" target="_blank">Alaina Wiens</a> from <a href="http://www.umflint.edu/" target="_blank">UM-Flint</a> says to jump into conversations and show your audience you care about what they have to say, and I couldn't agree more. If someone in your office is ‘doing’ social media because ‘it’s their job,’ they’re doing it wrong. Put it in the hands of people who care and understand people join these pages because they want to be and feel like they are a part of the community. Our interactions and engagement with them in these mediums will only validate they are an important and a necessary part of the institution (because they are why we’re here!) and the relationship, connections and community grow<span style="font-size: small;"><b>. </b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>5. </b><b>Do less better. </b>Budgets get smaller every year, yet the world around us demands we do more every day. Higher education is no exception to this reality. There’s so much to be taken on- new content, new websites, new social media outlets springing up daily, going mobile… the list goes on. And we still have the same number of employees. So it’s important to establish goals, plan, figure out what we need to do to get there and who’s doing it. We don’t need to be on every social media site, but we need to be doing social media well on the ones we are on. Admissions doesn’t need 1,000 publications to reach enrollment goals, they need publications that are thoughtful, have a purpose and someone who looks at effectiveness vs. cost and is willing to be firm on making those sometimes tough decisions. It all comes down to staying organized, motivated and being smart about what we do. Don’t be a ‘yes’ person and take on more than you can chew. It’s much more fun to enjoy what you’re doing than trying to cram everything in so you can’t even handle it.</span><br />
<br />
Because of SUNYCUAD,<b> </b>I’ve developed amazing friendships and learned from people who will continue to inspire me in my work every day. You know why? Because they don’t look at higher education as a business. They don’t accept the way things have been done as the way they *should* be done and are looking at ways to do things differently and do them well with the resources they have available. They don't make excuses for why they can't do something, they find ways to make it work - or at least try. They are in love with and invested in the work they are doing to make fundamental changes to a higher education model that often doesn’t meet the needs of the complex and ever-changing world. They believe in stepping outside the box, trying new things, and sharing what they’ve learned in order to help me and us do the same. <span style="font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;">If you walked out of SUNYCUAD, or recently got the itch to shake things up a bit and make some real changes in what you do and how you approach it, I’m right there with you. So let’s tear down the silos, look at each other as friends and colleagues rather than competitors, and do it. <b><i>Together.</i></b></span><br />
<ol style="list-style-type: decimal;">
</ol>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12869292003483072537noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2819617591554422810.post-16493116417449162742012-02-27T07:51:00.002-08:002012-02-27T07:52:13.098-08:00Heading Home<h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">For those who know me, I don’t like making tough decisions. </span></span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">I had to make an extremely difficult one recently that has left me feeling both tremendously excited and sad all in the same breath. I have accepted a writing job at St. Lawrence University, my alma mater, as a member of the University communications staff and am thrilled for the opportunities that come with the position and that I’ll be <span class="text_exposed_show">working with some of my favorite people in the North Country! This was the office that was, by far, my favorite place to be when I was an undergraduate at SLU. I learned so much and had wonderful mentors - these people will now be my colleagues.</span></span></span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="text_exposed_show">With that said, I am saddened to be leaving many of my other favorites at SUNY Canton.The growth I experienced while working here, both professionally and personally, has been incredible. I am privileged to have worked at SUNY Canton among such amazing people (and am glad I will be able to visit, meet up and stay in touch). Thank you for a wonderful last two years!</span></span></span></h6>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12869292003483072537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2819617591554422810.post-42704626378557710402012-01-23T12:37:00.000-08:002012-01-23T12:37:28.328-08:00Anchoring Your AudienceOne of the great things about social media [and there are so many!] is giving people the opportunity and the venue to interact-whether it's with a certain brand, a celebrity, a product, or a college/university. It gives people an outlet to compliment on a job well done or recommend a great product, to ask questions of the company or other followers, and to voice their concerns over an issue or problem they've had and feeling as though the company/brand/school will listen. <br />
<br />
Getting a less-than-personal response from the company/brand - or no response at all - is exactly what people who engage with social media DON'T want. They don't want to be ignored. If I'm spending the time to [kindly] point out a flaw, issue, or negative experience I've had or ask a question, I expect a relatively personal response to my specific issue; not some generic, "Thanks so much for your feedback" or "We're always trying to improve! -[insert initials of social media manager here]". On the flip side, when I compliment you, a little personal post/tweet to me goes a long way and builds my allegiance with you and your brand. It makes me feel what I had to say was as important to you as it was to me. <br />
<br />
In today's digitally-driven world, many still yearn for/need that personal touch - yes, even when we're sitting behind a desk and staring at a computer screen. Making it personal only creates, builds and strengthens current relationships at any level between brand and consumer.<br />
<br />
Recently, I found one of the better examples I've seen of this in one of the most peculiar places: a news agency. I was text messaging my younger sister and after a lull in the conversation, I got a message:<br />
<br />
"Monica Pearson tweeted me!"<br />
<br />
My sister doesn't tweet all that often and her use of Twitter is minimal, but she had recently started following Pearson, a news anchor at <a href="http://www.wsbtv.com/" target="_blank">WSB-TV</a> in Atlanta. Not only did Pearson thank her for the follow [a number of celebrities-or their PR staffs-send these types of notes], but she personalized it just by reading my sister's 160-character Twitter bio, taking something from that and mentioning it in her reply. Instant fan for life.<br />
<br />
Pearson [<a href="http://twitter.com/monicawsb" target="_blank">@MonicaWSB</a>] appears to use her account for both personal and professional use. But I checked out her feed and was fascinated that she responds to all of her followers in this way.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHvMs5A25WH-Q3wKoZCQ7pEQclGIJvBOpMft7kmKDD8s9liofB_u09hRTlOU7xj6oA2e1inAnkxdIEgjBgRYhC3enHGbi2hAq7lvR45vQUK0c5z4so37HWqB9MIE8RUu91Z57ZLV8GAnSh/s1600/pearson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHvMs5A25WH-Q3wKoZCQ7pEQclGIJvBOpMft7kmKDD8s9liofB_u09hRTlOU7xj6oA2e1inAnkxdIEgjBgRYhC3enHGbi2hAq7lvR45vQUK0c5z4so37HWqB9MIE8RUu91Z57ZLV8GAnSh/s400/pearson.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Dig a little deeper and she regularly interacts with them, answering questions, and agreeing/disagreeing with their point of views.<br />
<br />
Is she a mega-celebrity or brand? Nope. Is she getting thousands of follows a day that could possibly inhibit her from doing this? Uh-uh. BUT, she is engaging [my #oneword2012!] with her followers - who are also her viewers [I'd argue many of those people following Pearson are in the Metro Atlanta area]. And by doing this, when they turn on the news and she's staring back at them, they might feel a little bit more of a connection.<br />
<br />
Just because she spent 30 seconds going the extra mile.<br />
<br />
What she's doing for her own personal brand and for WSB-TV is impressive. After an encounter like this, I'd be more inclined to listen to what she has to say over another anchor. All of the sudden, I like <i>her.</i> Not as an anchor, but as a person. And that means a lot more to me.<br />
<br />
In higher education, we're always looking for good content and great strategies to engage our prospective students, parents, and alumni, but at the end of the day, it's [<i>still</i>] all about being personal and making that connection. We could have the best bloggers, the best Web design, the best YouTube videos, and award-winning fundraising publications- but if we're not taking the time to get to know those who want to engage with us, then we're missing the boat.<br />
<br />
The bad news? If we don't take the time to interact with them, there is a Monica Pearson out there who is ready to do so on behalf of their college and university [or in the case of advancement and development professionals, there's always another charity or organization looking to get that alum to give to their cause].<br />
<br />
And just like that, those 30 seconds you didn't think you had time for before? They become invaluable and critical.<br />
<br />
With the Web becoming more social with each passing day, is it expected to make it as personal as Monica does with each follower or each person who posts something about you and your institution? I would argue it's not, but I think it's important to define what is 'personal' at each institution and add a level of personalization to your social media efforts that fits into your budget and time. And maybe someday, not too far in the future, we'll use the words "engagement" and "personal" far more when we're developing our overall marketing and PR goals and strategies.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12869292003483072537noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2819617591554422810.post-58656805778775017972012-01-16T08:19:00.000-08:002012-01-16T08:19:16.771-08:00A New Year, New Blog, & #OneWord2012I used to think I was keeping up on all things tech-y. After all, in 7th grade it took an after-school meeting with my teachers, my parents and myself to get me off AOL for hours on end in between school and swim practice just to do my science homework.<br />
<br />
In high school, I was one of the only one of my friends to have a blog, which I'm also confident none of my friends actually read. In college, I was all over AIM until Facebook entered my life on Thanksgiving 2004. After that, things were never quite the same. Today, I'm constantly checking my iPhone, reading my Twitter feed, and <strike>stalking</strike> casually searching perusing Facebook. [My boyfriend can attest to all of this, I assure you.]<br />
<br />
But even with all of this, I'm <i>nowhere close</i> to being 'in the know' when it comes to the Internets. Today it's not about keeping up, it's about staying ahead of the curve-at least in my line of work it is. The day you decide to learn something tomorrow instead of today is the day you fall behind. And, unfortunately, I'm guilty. So very, very guilty.<br />
<br />
I'm sure we all are to an extent - there's just so much 'new' out there. I'm fortunate enough to have a job in a field I've been extremely passionate about my entire life - education - and doing something I truly enjoy - PR, marketing, and writing at an institution of higher education. But in order for me to be valuable in this line of work, it's up to me to keep up and do my best to know how best to muddle through it all and decipher what I need to know in order to be my best Meg, something that has always been important to me.<br />
<br />
So this year, in 2012, I have a lot of resolutions [okay, who doesn't?]. One of them is to start blogging. I'm aware I'm 16 days late, but in my defense, I started writing this post on January 4th. [The other resolutions got in the way and yes, I am that critical of myself.]<br />
<br />
What will this blog be? Well, it'll be mine. I don't want to define it because I know that will only confine me. I know I've been doing a lot of listening these last 18 months or so, especially within the higher education community. I've gotten some great ideas, developed my own opinions, and started thinking outside the box. There are so many people I've connected with, primarily via Twitter, who have motivated me to be a thinker rather than just a doer. And that's where I find myself today.<br />
<br />
It took a bit of time to find my #OneWord2012. There were so many to choose from, but I think the one that defines me best in this year with the goals I have in mind is <b>engage</b>. This year I'll begin contributing to the higher education community in ways I haven't before. I want to engage with those who have inspired me in a meaningful way, whether that's through this blog or elsewhere.<br />
<br />
I want to fully engage with my work. I love what I do and want to continue taking the extra time to make something great into something even more extraordinary. This will undoubtedly involve exploring professional development opportunities that don't cut into work and don't require a ton of travel [and hopefully a few that do!]. This will involve a lot of reading and continuing to listen. But it will also involve me putting my thoughts out there, being criticized, being commended and... well, just being out there. <br />
<br />
I want to engage more in my personal life. Sounds a bit lofty, but I have things I want to do that I haven't yet and really should be doing. I want to stay in close touch with friends who are far away, and just as important, I want to stay in close touch with friends who live nearby. Sometimes in our technologically-driven ways those who are closest in proximity seem just as far because we interact in the same ways - texting, Facebook, Twitter, email, etc. I need to make a conscience effort to be with them - IRL.<br />
<br />
<br />
This is just the beginning. I'm really looking forward to 2012 and the changes I'm making. It's going to be a great year (and then some)!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12869292003483072537noreply@blogger.com0