Social Media II

Iain Gray Web Services University of Greenwich

Agenda
A Social Media Policy? What are Social Media? Why should we use it? How should we use it? Acceptors Portal for the University

Social Media Policy

http://kimjongillookingatthings.tumblr.com/post/1532532001/looking-at-your-desktop

Social Media Policy

At present we have no policy. It is due soon. May have similar sentences such as:
The University may monitor forums and blogs to gain indirect feedback on University services and facilities. The University may post replies on forums or blogs to answer queries or address factual corrections, but would generally take a cautious approach before getting involved in contentious issues. University of Essex Or You should avoid posting any communications which might be misconstrued in a way that could damage the University s goodwill and academic reputation, even indirectly. University of Huddersfield

What are Social Media?

primarily Internet based tools for sharing and discussing information among human beings It s all about having conversations online It s what we do all the time

Social Media in Plain English

TOOLS

TOOLS
Tools used to have these conversations include Blogs Blogger, WordPress, Tumblr, Twitter, Identi.ca Wikis pbWiki, TWiki Social Networking Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Bebo Social Bookmarking Delicious, digg, Stumbleupon Video sharing YouTube, Vimeo, Google video, Slideshare Photo sharing Flickr, Photobucket Peer Reviews and Ratings Amazon, LibraryThing Podcasts iTunesU

Why should we use it?

Social network and blogging sites are now the fourth most popular activity on the Internet more popular than personal email Time spent on social network and blogging sites growing at over 3x the rate of overall Internet growth
Nielsen, Global Faces and Networked Places 2009

Why should we use it?

FACEBOOK Launched 2004 500 Million Active users 50% of users log in daily 27 Million users in UK YouTube - Launched 2005 35 hours of video uploaded every minute 2 Billion Views per day 15 Minutes Average user spends on YouTube every day 4 Million users auto share content on social networks Twitter Launched 2006 106 Million accounts 15 Million active 41% never used 140 Million tweets per day 600 tweets per second 79% of tweets from 7% of users.

Why should we use it

June 2010

More Figures
Flickr 4 Billion images 77% of active internet users regularly read blogs 50% of Facebook users access their account from a mobile
Twice as active as non mobile users

It s already being used

80% of Admission Offices in a US survey use some form of Social Media to connect with Prospective Students
HigherEdMorning.com

66% of admissions offices use Facebook Most popular tool used by prospective students Students respond more quickly to Facebook than email Twitter used by 41% at least once a week
2010 Social Media and College Admissions Study

Some institutions are using social media as part of an existing recruitment and marketing strategy Other institutions are just testing the water

How should we use it?

Grab an account - if you don t someone else will Need to define goals 2 key goals identified in recent survey
1. Engage Students by posting relevant News & Events 2. Resource for students
2010 Social Media and College Admissions Study

Needs to be visible in appropriate area of Website Be active but do not overwhelm your audience
A lot of noise in Social Media world

Social Media Accounts on Home Page at Goldsmiths

Aberystwyth University Facebook Pages

How should we use it?

It needs to be used in ways that meet the needs of the prospective student
Basic Information A vibe what do current students, Alumni and Faculty say about the University
An Authentic voice

Answers: A quick response on common admissions questions Current Events Links

Guide to using Social Media

Questions
Answer as quickly and honestly as possible Redirect to web pages or staff members if necessary

Aberystwyth University Entry 2011 Facebook Page

Aberystwyth University Entry 2011 Facebook Group

@myGoldsmiths Twitter Feed

Guide to using Social Media

Negative comments
If incorrect information respond with correct info

Deliberately inflammatory
Ignore do not get involved in a public debate If necessary report it

Complaint
Apologise try and rectify

Guide to using Social Media

Positive Comments
No response may be necessary

However this may be an opportunity to open up the debate and engage with the community. And a thank you goes a long way.

Guide to using Social Media

Usefulness
Be Clear, Honest and Open

Tone of voice
Be human and friendly

However tempting do NOT disable comments

Peer recommendations are invaluable source in social media e.g. Amazon Reviews See negative comments as a way of changing perceptions

Pitfalls to avoid

http://www.josepicardo.com/2011/05/the-case-for-online-social-networking-in-education/

Keep your Private life Private.

Pitfalls to avoid
Discourage connections that are too personal. Avoid individual staff from friending or following applicants. Time
Maintaining Pages and accounts are time consuming assign dedicated person/team to maintain accounts

We are already being talked about. What should we do?

We are already being talked about. What should we do?

We are already being talked about. What should we do?

We are already being talked about. What should we do?

Facebook
Create a Facebook page for applicants- not a group
Groups are related to a personal account Pages are thought of as a person in their own right Pages can be seen by unregistered users Pages provide statistics which could be of use in the future Wall posts appear on the users own account and therefore can be read by their other friends reaching a broader audience.

Twitter
Create an Applicants only Twitter account @myGreenwich? Be active but not too active Quality Vs Quantity. Be friendly Be responsive Use hashtags related to your University or create lists Check out the competition
Goldsmiths

Follow local companies, organisations and retweet them if necessary. Don t repeat the same information over and over @drillhalllib

Blogs
An Authentic voice Allow comments but discourage a war of words between the blogger and the reader Personal Blog or hosted by University?
Greenwich Imperial College Goldsmiths

Include current students, faculty and alumni If hosted do not over-police but monitor for abuse.

Link them all together

Update your Twitter account with links to events and status updates from your facebook account and vice versa Link your Blogs and your Twitter account using twitterfeed Link your blog updates to your Facebook page. Add your tweets to your website Link everything

University of Greenwich and Social Media?

At least 10 twitter accounts
Range from Press Releases to School and Office accounts Moodle Project Account

Facebook
Over 250 pages - Which are the official ones? 255 groups

Blogs
12 student blogs since March 2010 via Student Union pages. Moodle Blog

YouTube Channel

We have accounts but now what?

Are they admissions specific? Listen to the noise.
Use tools to search for what is being said about your University Google Alerts, Twitter Search, Tweetscan, TweetBeep, Monitter

Need to be proactive
Publish content which invites participation. Participate in other discussions, not just your own. Give incentives for Bloggers to maintain their blog.

Include Social Media in you traditional marketing material

Push some of the traffic from offline to online.

Look at what other HEIs are doing

Online admissions help at Kingston University

An Acceptors Portal
Drivers
Improve the student experience of transition into Higher Education Aim to assist the University in achieving one of the KPIs:
To reduce the withdrawal rates of students by 1% per annum and to perform at or above HEFCE benchmark for the percentage of full time undergraduate students projected to leave the University without an award.

Social Media important to success of transition.

Develop Me at Bradford University.

Launch Early 2012

An Acceptors Portal
Give limited access to University Systems to applicants who have accepted an offer
Username which will persist once they fully register. Familiarity with the Student Portal. Restricted access content in VLE? Induction courses?

Will be able to target relevant info

School /Programme. Week 1 instructions. Help with registration. One to-One Messaging with specified users at specified times.

Creates a sense of belonging well before they physically arrive Seamless move from acceptor to registered student.

After the Presentation

Presentation will be on slideshare
http://www.slideshare.net/grayia

Twitter account @gi06

Resources
Establishing a Benchmark for Social Media Use in College Admissions: http://www.cappex.com/media/EstablishingABenchmarkForSocialMediaUse.pdf Guide for interacting with users on Twitter / Facebook: http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/Marketing/MKG_ServiceTeam_Docs/interacting_with_LJMU_users_on_Faceboo k_and_Twitter.pdf What the F**K is Social Media: One Year Later: http://www.slideshare.net/mzkagan/what-the-fk-issocial-media-one-year-later?from=ss_embed Using Social Media to Engage Your Audiences (Revised): http://www.slideshare.net/cmndesign/usingsocial-media-to-engage-your-audiences-revised Facebook Do s and Don ts for recruiting students: http://educationtechnews.com/facebook-dos-anddonts-for-recruiting-college-students/ Global Faces and Networked Places: A Nielsen report on Social Networking s New Global Footprint: http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/nielsen_globalfaces_mar09.pdf UK Facebook Users Statistics April 2010: http://www.clickymedia.co.uk/2010/06/uk-facebook-statisticsfor-june-2010/ @myGoldsmiths: http://twitter.com/myGoldsmiths Aberystwyth Facebook Group: Aberystwyth University Applicants 2010: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=19248103098 Kim Jong-Il looking at things: http://kimjongillookingatthings.tumblr.com/ The Case for Online Social Networking in Education: http://www.josepicardo.com/2011/05/the-casefor-online-social-networking-in-education/