1. Social Media Best Practices
Presented by
Ann Oleson, Chief Visionary Officer
Converge Consulting
2. Blogs
Hopkins Interactive
• http://www.hopkins-
interactive.com/
– Student-run
– Unmediated voice
– Excellent use of photos
– Aggregates blogs into one place
– Includes Twitter feed
– And a link to the Facebook page
– Prospective students can smell PR
a mile away
• "There were all these kids that
were so passionate about sharing
their experience. It was then that
going off to Hopkins became a no-
brainer, because I had already
fallen in love with the school.”
CNN
2
3. Blogs
The Unofficial Stanford Blog
• http://tusb.stanford.edu/
– Post that are critical of the school
– Updated frequently, even on the weekend
– Is authentic and engaging—posts about
current events, polls and memes
• Industry: GE’s leadership blog:
http://www.itlpblog.com/
– Used as a recruitment tool the blog is
updated by young professionals in the
company.
– “Skip the corporate press releases and
sleek marketing videos. For social media,
your happy and successful employees are
your best asset. Let them show off why
they enjoy working at your organization in
real, authentic ways.” Mashable
3
4. Twitter
@Standford
• 65,077 followers
• Klout score of 70
• Tweets by student interns
– Tweets every day
– Replies to questions, RTs
– Follows conversations about
Stanford
– Funny!
4
5. Twitter
@SyracuseU
• 13,708
• Klout score of 65
• Tweets game scores
• Answers students questions
• Personal responses
• Tweets pictures
• Photos of campus
• Engages followers
5
9. Photo-sharing
The Ohio State
• http://osu.edu/O-H-I-O/
• 9,000 images and counting
• OSU fans love this!
• Adds value, personality and
fun to what could otherwise
be considered “stock”
images of a college
10. Google+
University of Melbourne
• https://plus.google.com/11
2237960993958773332/pos
ts
• Regular updates
• Comments
• Responds to comments
• Reaches out to groups and
maintains activity
11. Google+
University of Hawaii-West Oahu
• https://plus.google.com/11
6904839422931501483/pos
ts
• Updates
• Engages
12. Facebook
University of Michigan
• https://www.facebook.com/unive
rsityofmichigan
• Not only does the UofM’s fan
page connect them to students,
but they connect to U of M
• There is real conversation here
and real engagement.
• It would be better if the UofM
engaged with their audience and
responded to more comments
• There are many missed
opportunities to turn negative
comments into positive examples
of engagement
13. Facebook
Stanford University
• https://www.facebook.com/stanf
ord
• They host Facebook takeovers
with faculty, called “office hours”
• They post student pictures and
videos made by students and
faculty
• Their audience is engaged and
active
• Posts ask questions and prompt
for engagement
• However, they too could do a
better job in actually responding
to fan comments and posts
14. Video
University of Kentucky
• http://www.youtube.com/u
niversityofky
• Fresh updated channel
• Informative and interesting
videos
• Lacks an authentic and
distinct voice
• The videos are “processed”
15. Video
Emerson College
• http://www.youtube.com/wat
ch?v=AX7TxVcPpsA&feature=y
outu.be
• “That’s So Emerson” video
makes the school seem
intelligent and interesting,
while also having fun at their
own expense
• This video keeps Emerson
fresh and relevant and
introduces them to a whole
new segment of students
16. iTunes
Harvard
• It’s easy to dominate iTunes
when your lectures are
given by famous people
• But Harvard is also good at
repackaging it’s information
into collections that make
their old podcasts new
again
17. iTunes
USF
• USF is topping the charts in
iTunes with it’s Lit2Go
program
• Making literature
accessible, USF is
establishing a reputation
and cracking the iTunes
charts in a field dominated
by Ivy Leagues
Notas del editor
http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/20/tech/social-media/universities-social-media/index.htmlOf note: These blogs use original photos, are unedited by marketing, have a raw authentic feel. The Biola blog is harder to navigate, but uses tumblr, a platform that many students use, so it’s easy for them to follow and share.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/20/tech/social-media/universities-social-media/index.htmlOf note: These blogs use original photos, are unedited by marketing, have a raw authentic feel. The Biola blog is harder to navigate, but uses tumblr, a platform that many students use, so it’s easy for them to follow and share.
While both schools do well, they could stand to improve by adding a more personal touch to the account. No one likes to tweet to a logo. They should have a link to the profiles of their tweeters and let the personality shine through. McDonald’s (say what you will about their food) does this especially well: https://twitter.com/#!/mcdonaldsAlso worth noting, if you don’t update multiple times a day, maintaining a Twitter account can hurt more than help. If someone sees your Twitter account is just tweeting links to the RSS feed and not interacting with followers they will dismiss you as irrelevant.The key here is not follower count, but the level of engagement with followers. For example, Harvard has over 100k followers but really only tweets links.
While both schools do well, they could stand to improve by adding a more personal touch to the account. No one likes to tweet to a logo. They should have a link to the profiles of their tweeters and let the personality shine through. McDonald’s (say what you will about their food) does this especially well: https://twitter.com/#!/mcdonaldsAlso worth noting, if you don’t update multiple times a day, maintaining a Twitter account can hurt more than help. If someone sees your Twitter account is just tweeting links to the RSS feed and not interacting with followers they will dismiss you as irrelevant.The key here is not follower count, but the level of engagement with followers. For example, Harvard has over 100k followers but really only tweets links.
Mobile is expanding. When thinking mobile think beyond Foursquare and Facebook places. Mobile is all about meeting people where they are and adding value to that experience. See example #4 in this article for a corporate example: http://mashable.com/2012/02/26/clever-social-media-campaigns/
Mobile is expanding. When thinking mobile think beyond Foursquare and Facebook places. Mobile is all about meeting people where they are and adding value to that experience. See example #4 in this article for a corporate example: http://mashable.com/2012/02/26/clever-social-media-campaigns/
There is so much opportunity with photo-sharing. This is an untapped area of social media for .edus. How can colleges use sites like Flickr and Instagram? http://thedeeppost.com/2011/10/07/how-football-fans-are-using-instagram-pics/Utexas has a photo site that’s gotten a lot of attention, but it so closed off from non-alums it isn’t sharable or engaging. I doubt many people use it: http://www.utexas.edu/opa/alumni/
There is so much opportunity with photo-sharing. This is an untapped area of social media for .edus. How can colleges use sites like Flickr and Instagram? http://thedeeppost.com/2011/10/07/how-football-fans-are-using-instagram-pics/Utexas has a photo site that’s gotten a lot of attention, but it so closed off from non-alums it isn’t sharable or engaging. I doubt many people use it: http://www.utexas.edu/opa/alumni/
Note: G+ got a rocky start and it’s place in the social media sphere still isn’t solidified. Currently, Google is using G+ as part of their search rankings, so whether or not a school has a page, it’s important that the newsy content is getting +ed. Currently, the best way to do Google+ is to not start and abandon. If you are on, post once a day and respond to comments. Don’t be like Nebraska-Lincoln. A good industry example of how to do it is: https://plus.google.com/113493854651753327245/posts
Note: G+ got a rocky start and it’s place in the social media sphere still isn’t solidified. Currently, Google is using G+ as part of their search rankings, so whether or not a school has a page, it’s important that the newsy content is getting +ed. Currently, the best way to do Google+ is to not start and abandon. If you are on, post once a day and respond to comments. Don’t be like Nebraska-Lincoln. A good industry example of how to do it is: https://plus.google.com/113493854651753327245/posts
Wow. Schools are bad at conversing on Facebook The screenshot is a GREAT example from the corporate world. Diapers.com https://www.facebook.com/diapersdotcom
Wow. Schools are bad at conversing on Facebook The screenshot is a GREAT example from the corporate world. Diapers.com https://www.facebook.com/diapersdotcom
The best use of video for social media? The Old Spice Guy or Nat on The Community Channel. They are significant because they use video to actually respond to user comments and questions. Old Spice even makes videos that respond to blog posts and Tweets. Nat on The Community Channel answers user comments in the end of each video. www.youtube.com/user/communitychannelhttp://www.youtube.com/user/OldSpice
The best use of video for social media? The Old Spice Guy or Nat on The Community Channel. They are significant because they use video to actually respond to user comments and questions. Old Spice even makes videos that respond to blog posts and Tweets. Nat on The Community Channel answers user comments in the end of each video. www.youtube.com/user/communitychannelhttp://www.youtube.com/user/OldSpice
I want to use Stanford again, but that’s probably obnoxious. It seems like the big schools get the advantage with iTunes, because the novelty of putting lectures on podcasts mean that people who are excluded from exclusive universities can be included. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for a smaller school. Right now all schools upload their lectures. There is room for growth and excitement here. Now with iTunes U retooled for the iPad the opportunities are expanding: http://www.macrumors.com/2012/01/19/itunes-u-for-ipad-retools-the-learning-experience/There aren’t great corporate examples here. Except, it seems like the people who dominate the podcast charts on iTunes, know their audience (people interested in seeking out education) and delivers content that is topical and yet deeply educational.
I want to use Stanford again, but that’s probably obnoxious. It seems like the big schools get the advantage with iTunes, because the novelty of putting lectures on podcasts mean that people who are excluded from exclusive universities can be included. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for a smaller school. Right now all schools upload their lectures. There is room for growth and excitement here. Now with iTunes U retooled for the iPad the opportunities are expanding: http://www.macrumors.com/2012/01/19/itunes-u-for-ipad-retools-the-learning-experience/There aren’t great corporate examples here. Except, it seems like the people who dominate the podcast charts on iTunes, know their audience (people interested in seeking out education) and delivers content that is topical and yet deeply educational.