Social Media Goes to College

Social Media Goes to CollegeBuilding Your Campus Community

Jen Riehle, NC State OIT (@ncsumarit)with

John Martin, NC State OIT (@nematome)Mike Sink, Town of Cary (@sinkawitz)

Thursday, July 19, 12

Welcome!

Social Media: The Theory

Social Media: The Policy

Social Media: The Plan

Social Media: The Implementation

Social Media: The Reckoning

Discussion & Questions


What is social media?

Examples:

Watching YouTube

Posts to Yelp

Using Google Friend Connect

Posting beer selections on untapped

Not “Web 2.0”


Term is losing its descriptive power - has become a catch-all.Must take care to be sure that you define it with the audience your speaking to

What is social media?

so●cial me●di●anoun.Def: Blending of technology and social interaction for the co-creation of value


Wikipedia has several definitions but at its core says “blending of technology and social interaction for the co-creation of value”With a definition like that, social media can include buying a latte at your local internet cafe. VERY broad.

We’re going to break it down a little into TYPES of social media TOOLS

Conversation Services

Facilitate conversation between users

Ex. Facebook, Twitter, Ning


Information Services

Serve as a (primarily) one-way communication

resource to users

Ex. Wikimedia, Blogger, WordPress


LinkedIn

Photo-sharing Services

Share photos

Ex. Flickr, Picasa, SmugMug


Video-sharing Services

Share video

Ex. YouTube, Vimeo


Could mention iTunesU here briefly

Location-based Services

Check-in at locations and events

Ex. FourSquare, TriOut, Yelp


This might even be an expanding area --tools like untapped and Yelp are for sharing preferences, not just location info so “PREFERENCE SHARING” or “ACTIVITY SERVICES” might be a better term

The Tools

Twitter

Facebook

FourSquare

YouTube

Flickr

LinkedIn

WordPress

Wikimedia

Ning


Poll ‘em?Look around at who is using what!

http://www.ignitesocialmedia.com/2010-social-network-analysis-report/

Demographics

Gender

Education

Salary

Age


Even male/female ration (48/52); higher education; higher salarySelf-selecting nature: have to have a computer and/or cell phone - mostly better educated, older, have more moneyYou won’t get too many younger users (under 18); you won’t get too many under-privileged users28% of Facebook, Flickr and Twitter users are over 45 years old; 16-18% under 25 (60%+ b/w 25-45)





Dealing with Policy


First, do no harm

Look for your Communications Plan and/or Social Media Policy

Review the State “Social Media Best Practices” (12/09)

Be aware of Records Retention issues


MIKE:Your municipality may not want you to do this at all. This may be your only stop.

State of NC has - Social Media Best Practices and tutorial (12/09) - No retention requirements specific to social media at this time (have them for e-mail and websites)NCSU has - communications plan- no social media plan YET - comm plan being redone

Do You Need a Policy?

Yes


Why You Need a Policy

Ensures you’re following policies and guidelines at community and state level

Gets buy-in from management

Helps lay groundwork for your Social Media Plan


Legitimizes the effort - credibilitySocial Media policy usually a part of a larger comprehensive communications plandefine the CARROT and the STICK

Key Elements in a Policy...

Authenticity and Transparency

Protecting Confidential Information

Copyright Concerns

Respecting Your Audience

Obeying Terms of Service

Brand and Naming Guidelines

Thursday, July 19, 12A 20-page document written by lawyers won’t get read or followed; consider more informal structure

Coke’s Policy:

1. Be Certified in the Social Media Certification Program. 2. Follow our Code of Business Conduct and all other Company policies.3. Be mindful that you are representing the Company. 4. Fully disclose your affiliation with the Company.5. Keep records. 6. When in doubt, do not post. 7. Give credit where credit is due and don’t violate others’ rights.8. Be responsible to your work. 9. Remember that your local posts can have global significance. 10. Know that the Internet is permanent.

Making Your Plan


Your Plan, Your Rules

Thursday, July 19, 12o So we talked about the policies and plans above you and they are importanto But if you want to use social media you have to decide for yourself WHAT to use, HOW and WHEN to use it, etc.o It’s your turn

1. What are your goals?

Determine your objectives:

Why are you here? What do you hope to achieve?

Find a niche and be an expert

Too many objectives? Consider multiple accounts


Want to offer customer service? Provide information?

Ex: P&R channels: Largest common denominator - athletics, cultural, events - will segregate your audience

Be a resource when people need help? SME? Build a brand?

2. What tools should you use?

Conversation Tools (Twitter, Facebook)

Information Tools (blogs, wikis)

Photo-sharing (Flickr, Picasa)

Video-sharing (YouTube, Vimeo)

Location-based (Foursquare, TriOut)


DON’T USE EVERYTHING. No one needs all these.Evaluate each category and determine the categories and tools that best serve your purpose.

2. What tools should you use?

Who is your audience and what are they using?

What is the purpose of your message?

How many channels of communication can you commit to?

What channels are best for your message?


Audience: young, old, net users? One-way communication vs. two-way communication

What is HOME BASE?

There’s no place like home


Direct web traffic to one place - blog or website preferable to FB. Something you 1. updated often and 2. do analytics on how people are getting there and how often- relate it to SM posts.Value correlation over firm numbers- SM is abstract

Remember...

It is a lot harder to get OUT of social networking than it is to get into it.


Tempting to get into a lot of channels but it’s terrible to get into a profile and then not use it.

3. Create/amend your business model

What outreach is already being done and how does this fit in?

Who/how many people will be doing this?

What will the workflow look like?

Will they be trained?

Will this be in the job description/work plan?


This is an enhancement to your current marketing and outreach strategies, not a replacement - still COSTS $$$It takes a TEAM of peopleTraining in writing for the web; communications - your staff needs to be an expert in what they’re talking aboutThis is not “goofing off”! This takes time and skill and needs to be considered a real responsibility

4. The Employee Factor

Don’t just grab some student or intern

This is official communication, needs an expert

Person should understand and care about the dynamics of social media


Try to find people who are passionate about this; that will make it easier to succeed

Just because you "grew up" with social media, that doesn't mean they know how to do social media. It's marketing and there are other skills, oversight, knowledge of legalities involved.Training in writing for the web; communications - your staff needs to be an expert in what they’re talking aboutThis is not “goofing off”! This takes time and skill and needs to be considered a real responsibility

4. The Employee Factor>other


EMPLOYEE RESPONSIBLE FOR REFEREEING A GAME TWEETS DURING OR AFTER GAMEOther people in your organization are going to be using social mediaBe aware of who and how if it ties into workTriage approach: 1) Assess the message, 2) Do you want to respond? 3) Evaluate the purpose of the post (Unhappy employee/Dedicated complainer/Humorist)

4. The Employee Factor

Educate employees about the communication plan and social media guidelines

Encourage them to participate in the community, when appropriate

Have guidelines for employees social media behavior


If you’re tweeting personally then remember:- build a community within the industry you’re in- don’t tie yourself to your position in your organizationIf things change you want the contacts but you don’t want to leave an account behind; reasons to separate personal and professionalITS A Balance

5. Set Expectations

Consider your assets:

Do you already have some processes in place?

Do you have any in-house expertise?

How are your peers doing?

How much time and money are you investing in this endeavor?

Be realistic


What are your KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS? Not number of followers, track- how many people repost, mention or like?- how many people ask questions?- do they act on the info you provide?

... and then keep track

Keep a copy of all your posts

Record data based on your assessment plans and key performance indicators

Don’t have to be big or costly, just has to work


Where did my tweets go?Twitter doesn’t save everything, so if you want to you need to 1. actively make that effort with a text file or 2. sign up for The Archivisit, TweetDumprAt the end of the week copy everything you did into a text file. Just know who did what when.If you plan to assess your success make sure you have some metrics in mind and that you do some work to track your success - later ROI slide

Warning: Preparedness


In case of emergency, have a planEveryone will be posting but it’s important you offer quick and reliable information- get ahead of or correct rumorsIn case of negative interactions, have a plan

Warning: Security


Some scams, phishing attacks, hackers going after social media toolsFiresheep, Koobface,Keep computers secureKeep employees informed on the latest bad stuff

Koobface: Worm spread on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux to get sensitive information such as credit card numbers. Spread by sending e-mail to a friend to look at something that purportedly requires flash to up updated. When click on button to update flash, worm downloaded.

Remember...

You are not just making a plan to share information; you are making a plan to

build a community

You are making a social contract between you and your followers


Jen 1stMike 2nd Expectations about what you tweet, how often, your level of expertise in your niche, etc. There will be some expectation that if they direct something at you, you will respondYou must be able to meet and exceed their expectations or they will stop following you and, even worse, they’ll tell others to as well

The Implementation


Create Your Profile


And I don’t just mean ID and password...CREATE YOUR IDENTITY / PERSONAFind a voice/tone and stick with it. Can be funny, cool, have a gimmick, whatever but goes with your social contract (audience expectations) so make it work and be consistent

Crafting Your Post

Think about your AUDIENCE

In what CONTEXT will your audience be reading?

What is the PURPOSE of your message?


Audience


“Craft your message based on your knowledge of the audience”Knowledge domain of your topic (niche)Don't bury the lead (“All faculty and staff will be attending an off-campus DE continuing education session on Thursday”)

Context


Where will your audience be and how will they receive this message. What equipment will they receive the message on.

Electric sign or desktop or smartphone or iPadIn a place where sound isn't appropriate?First time site visitor or repeat visitor?Potential "unique" context (Student Health Services website)

Purpose


- know what you’re trying to convey - is this a call to action? or just information.- know what they’re trying to accomplish (make it task-oriented)

Communicative Purpose

“That post is from NC State OIT!”


Example: NC State OIT Goal is for reader to say this. Short of that, "Oh that makes sense."

You are what you tweet

Advertising (workshops, seminars, services, events)

Announcements (outages, change management, security issues)

News (technology, education, technology in education)

Customer Engagement


Introduction to Excel 2007 Part 3 (formulas, macros, drop down lists) 04/22, 1:30-4:00, 6 seats left, More info/sign-up: http://idek.net/7U8

ncsu_oit


Advertising

http://idek.net/7U8

http://idek.net/7U8

Tiny URLs can be big security risk! (And you know Twitter uses them extensively.) http://oit.ncsu.edu/news-releases/tiny-urls-can-be-big-security-risks

ncsu_oit


Announcements

http://oit.ncsu.edu/news-releases/tiny-urls-can-be-big-security-risks






RT: @hfrankm3 NCSU's library lends all kinds of cool equipment... Including iPods & Kindles. [ & MUCH MORE! see http://idek.net/6F1 ]

RT: @higheredu STATS: U.S.A. Social Networking Rankings: http://tinyurl.com/9bply5 (Twitter in 17th [Hitwise] & 9th [Nielson] place resptvly)

ncsu_oit


News

http://twitter.com/hfrankm3

http://twitter.com/hfrankm3

http://idek.net/6F1

http://idek.net/6F1

http://twitter.com/highereduSTATS

http://twitter.com/highereduSTATS

http://tinyurl.com/9bply5




Thanks for the follow. Welcome to NC State! Hope you enjoyed our IT presentation. :)

Yeah, first presentation I've stayed awake for the whole time haha

Ha! We're flattered! Best of luck in your time here, & don't hesitate to call on us if you have technology needs/problems while you're here.


Customer Engagement

More Engagement


Hashtags and Searches

Hashtags tie content into larger community themes#ncsu_oit, #orientation, #gopack

Makes tweets easier to find and aggregate

Thursday, July 19, 12#ncsu_oit: among OIT tweet accounts; #orientation: among campus groups; #gopack: beyond campus

Tools like Tweetdeck and Tweetgrid to follow multiple users and hashtags - see what people are saying!Where did my tweets go?Twitter doesn’t save everything, so if you want to you need to 1. actively make that effort with a text file or 2. sign up for The Archivisit, TweetDumpr

Building Community

Welcome n00bs, orient them

Reward contributions

Make sure there is always someone listening (and responding!)

Use screen names and connect names with faces IRL

Connect with other local communities


{FUN}Thursday, July 19, 12

FUN - HAVE SOME1. Be authentic2. Have funYour audience will know if you’re not being yourself, if you’re not having fun; you won’t post because you’re frustrated.

The Reckoning


Return on Investment

First, have a goal (see: The Plan)

Use tools to monitor success:

Google analytics

URL shorteners that track usage (bit.ly, goo.gl)

Facebook pages monitor usage

Many new tools for monitoring social media usage


Many metrics are the same metrics we’ve always had for marketing purposes - now framed differentlyTools: Omniture, ViralHeat (built with SAS analytics), ShareThis- Argyle Social downstairs

SUCCESS!Thursday, July 19, 12

You may have all kinds of data but what does “success” mean? Subjective AND objectiveMeasure success with correlation's, not always hard data1. positive interactions and feedback; 2. building of new relationships; 3. in cost savings (fewer HD calls);

The goal isn’t to be good at social media.

The goal is to be good at communication because of social media.

Success


Your Reputation

Get into good habits

Solicit and respond to feedback

Pay attention to what’s being said about you


Reputation is everything in social media - won’t have followers without a good repFind good resources and share your knowledge - BUILD CREDIBILITYEventually you will become the resource and you’ll get more followersTools like Tweetdeck and Tweetgrid to follow multiple users and hashtags

You are not in control


ANYONE can say ANYTHING at ANYTIME so pay attention!DON’T IGNORE IT. Ask for feedback; move on - this is an opportunity!If it becomes abusive you can choose to remove content but it helps to have a policy (publicly available) to point to in order justify why you’re blocking someones comments

When to Bail

It will take time

This is an enhancement, not a replacement

Don’t look at the number of people, look at the quality of connections

You’re using it whether you like it or not


Just because you haven’t posted in ages, does’t mean you should stop; DOES mean you should re-evaluate

Questions & Discussion


Photo Credit

STÉFAN


Thank you!

Mike Sink (@sinkawitz)Jen Riehle (@ncsumarit)

Slides available online athttp://www.slideshare.net/ncsumarit/


http://www.slideshare.net/ncsumarit/integrating-social-media-5779830

http://www.slideshare.net/ncsumarit/integrating-social-media-5779830