SOCIAL MEDIA &HIGHER EDUCATION

WHAT WE WILL COVER•What is social media?

•Overview of a few networks (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter)

• How can you get started?

• Strategy for social media

• Tips for the day-to-day posting

• Building trust

• How to be successful

• How do I measure success?

• Address a few myths about social media

HI, I’M NATALIE GRECO

•Designing the internets since 1995, developing social media strategies since 2006

• Principal/designer at Koibot Creative in Seattle, WA

•Worked with higher education, non-profit organizations and Fortune 500 companies

QUICK SNAPSHOT

WHO IS USING SOCIAL MEDIA NOW?

WHY ARE YOU ON SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORKS?

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALSAND EXPECTATIONS?

WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA?

WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA?

Social media are online communications in which individuals shift flexibly between the role of audience and author.

To do this, they use social software that enables anyone without knowledge of html coding, to create, comment on, and share content and to form communities around shared interests.

WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA?

• Social networking sites (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter)

• Blogs and online journals

• Link sharing sites (Delicious, Digg)

• Photos/Video/Music (flickr, YouTube, last.fm)

•Wikis (Wikipedia)

WHAT IS FACEBOOK?

WHAT IS LINKEDIN?

WHAT IS TWITTER?# @ RT

SHOULD I BE ON SOCIAL MEDIA? DOES IT MATTER?

YES

HOW DO I GET STARTED?

HOW DO I GET STARTED?

• Read your integrated marketing plan

• Know your audience

• Clearly identify your goals

•Decide which social networks fit your needs

• Become a user

WHAT ABOUT STRATEGY?

WHAT ABOUT STRATEGY?

• Establish personal connection between the audience and the organization

•Develop rich, engaging new methods of storytelling

• Cultivate school/program pride and encourage participation

• Create a sense of anticipation for posts/updates/tweets

• Solid integration of social media and your website

• Promote and distribute internal and external content

I’M THERE, NOW WHAT?

I’M THERE, NOW WHAT?

• Be consistent

• Be conversational

• Engage your audience

• Give them something of value

• Begin to build trust

BUILD TRUST?

HOW TO BUILD TRUST

• Set expectations and make promises

• Keep those promises and deliver on those expectations

• Listen to your audience, let them know they are heard

• Become part of the conversation

• Give them something only available via social media

HOW CAN I BE SUCCESSFUL?

HOW CAN I BE SUCCESSFUL?

• Primary objective should always be to build relationships and cultivate dialogue

• Promote and encourage your evangelists

• Be open to change

•Do user testing

HOW CAN I MEASURE MY SUCCESS?

HOW CAN I MEASURE MY SUCCESS?

• HootSuite: manage all 3 major networks, multiple users/accounts, team workflows, track stats, iPhone app available

• Bit.ly: url shortening plus tracking, currently Pro in beta testing

• Analytics: Facebook, Google, TwitterAnalyzer

• Google yourself or organization

SO I HEARD...

SO I HEARD...• Social media is cheap, or free

• Anyone can do it

• I’m going to be successful overnight

• I can do it all myself, or in-house

• You can’t build quality relationships online

•My marketing campaign is going to go viral

• Lots of followers = success

• It’s all just a fad

• This is great, now I can stop advertising

IN CLOSING...any questions? comments?

THANK YOU!

Natalie GrecoPrincipal/Designer: Koibot Creative, LLC

Web: koibot.comFacebook: facebook.com/natalie.grecoLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/otakuchickTwitter : twitter.com/otakuchick twitter.com/koibot