Comments on: Help Me Help You: Social Media Education

By: Around the blogosphere | Social media at UniSA

Around the blogosphere | Social media at UniSA — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 01:18:56 +0000

[...] Help Me Help You: Social Media Education. This post talks about some things to think about if you want to create a social networking presence for your school for example, and whether that’s the right path to go down. It’s not just a matter of setting up a Facebook page and waiting for things to happen. Firstly you need to listen to what’s being said about your school or event, then think about the content, integration with other marketing efforts and measurement as to whether it’s successful or not. [...]

By: George Sackett

George Sackett — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:23:03 +0000

Wonderful Rachael – Great post.

We are starting to see faculty/staff jump in to promote their programs and I am quite excited to see them do so.

I am struggling with the idea of establishing a policy. I have aready had an experience where someone started an “official” account for a department but there were some brand issues about the way they used the logo etc. It took me some time to identify who set the account up and track them down. (I was relucatnt to make public comments on their timeline to point out a problem) They were very understanding of the issues that I raised and made the needed changes but it pointed out to me that we need to have a few “ground rules” in place. Listing the social network account with the Community Relations office might be a place to start.

I also worry a bit about their sophistication in dealing with “flaming” conversations. Having a “game plan” available might help resolve this sort of problem without making it worse.

I would love to see if any other schools have established a Best Practices Guide for Social Media.

By: Rachel Reuben

Rachel Reuben — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:20:54 +0000

@Lori Good one! I totally should have included that follow-up question in my original post, as I hear it too! What’s your feeling on that – do you think your university should have a social media policy? Many do in the corporate world, but haven’t seem any in higher ed, except for one “Twitter Guidelines” document by the University of Washington, I believe.

By: Lori Packer

Lori Packer — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 13:40:30 +0000

Great post! And I get the question you pose all the time. It’s almost always followed by: “What is the University policy on social media?” When I tell them there isn’t one, they seem a little surprised. The same people who often complain about the rounds of approvals they need to go through or the number of policies they have to follow seem paralyzed into inaction when there suddenly isn’t one.

I tell them that — once they have gone through all the steps you spell out so excellently here — just write up a little proposal if that helps and show it to their immediate boss. Be prepared to do a little show-and-tell if that boss has not yet experienced Facebook or Twitter or others. And then, JUST DO IT!

By: Eddie Merille

Eddie Merille — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:52:14 +0000

Could not agree more. Great post. And I have to second Todd’s comment. My biggest battles are with those who have never used social media.

By: TimN

TimN — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:43:54 +0000

Amen! Social media is just one more tool in the box, a means and not an end. The sustainability angle is important; nothing makes a Fans page look sillier than never updating it nor answering any readers’ questions. Anyone wanting to establish a presence has to remember social media is two-way communication.

By: wilhb81

wilhb81 — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:36:29 +0000

Rachel, there are still so many people who didn’t know the power of the social media network. In this case, they should read your article, as you’ve been pinpointed the crucial methods about the social media education!

By: Catie

Catie — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 21:25:47 +0000

Great points! I was at a conference for new users of social media yesterday (observing) and the main speaker said that if you want something to be viral, just PUT IT OUT THERE. If it’s good, people will talk about it! He also said that one of the most important things in this industry is to be a good writer, so make sure you’re eloquent & poignant, yet brief.

By: Howard Kang

Howard Kang — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:48:21 +0000

Definitely agree with everything you wrote. I think that departments need to ask these questions and have solid answers before jumping in. There are so many examples of people failing because they’re chasing the technology instead of trying to meet needs.

By: Isaacson

Isaacson — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:17:17 +0000

These are great points, I would add — time/effort commitment. People can be gun ho about social media until they realize that they need to put in persistent effort. Having a useful and successful twitter account, FB page or whatever means you need to put in the time on a scheduled basis.

Make a shared calendar and discuss how often you will perform the various updating/maintenance tasks that will make this whole effort worthwhile.