social.drury.edu

Social Media Resources for Drury University Administrators

There’s No Such Thing As “Part-Time” Social Media

One of the most challenging aspects of effectively managing social media is the immediacy of the medium. When users – especially students, who have grown up in an era of fast, immediate, and instantaneous – reach out via social media, they not only expect a response; they expect it quickly.

For most of us, social media is not our sole role in our careers. Tweeting, posting, and messaging take up a fraction of our time when compared to the other responsibilities that we have to juggle.

In fact, one of the most frequent phrases we hear social media managers say is “I just don’t have the time,” or “That will have to wait until I can get some free time.”

Make the time. It is a much better idea to forego social media efforts altogether than to try to manage them on a part-time basis. 

Effectively managing social media is a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week job. Users expect fast responses, and when they don’t receive them quickly – or worse yet, at all – they disengage from that medium. That means we’ve potentially lost a prospective student, frustrated a current student, or left our alumni grossly underwhelmed.

However, when we respond quickly – especially during non-work hours like evenings and weekends – we have the opportunity to provide exceptional service and make positive, lasting impressions on our key stakeholders.

Our advice: If you don’t have the time to spend really developing your social media presence or you aren’t willing to occasionally respond to a Facebook post or tweet during your off hours, it really is better to simply not have the accounts established in the first place.

Making the most out of Pinterest

If you think you’ll only find chicken recipes and expensive-looking shoes on Pinterest, think again – Pinterest is becoming more popular than ever, and not just from the standpoint of personal use.

Pinning for fun is great, but if you’ve been confronted with using Pinterest as a marketing tool for your agenda, that can be a little more intimidating. But, fear not – PR Daily recently listed some amazing tips to help normal people become better Pinterest users, especially those looking to use the tool for an organization or other cause.

Even if you’re looking to add a different board to your personal Pinterest page that might promote something else, these tips can be valuable (for instance, I have a pin board I use to post all the great vintage things I find while on my thrifting adventures in the Springfield area). Heed these particularly relevant and beneficial ones:

  • Write the accompanying text for your pins in a list so it’s easier and more enticing for people to read.
  • Put text on your photos (experiment with Photoshop on this one!). It’ll help your pins stand out from others.
  • Promote your pins, a lot, in creative ways and on your social media accounts.

For more tips check out the whole article, but take heed of them – according to the writer, they made all the difference.

Twitter gives students an educational boost, so why not use it?

Click the image to read the full story.

“Christina Greenhow, an assistant professor of education at Michigan State University, discovered that students using the microblogging service as part of their education are more engaged and have higher grades.” – Mashable

If you’re a member of faculty or staff pulling teeth to get your students on Twitter, back up your reasoning with new research that reveals the social networking tool actually helps students become more engaged in class. Researchers’ argument? If students feel like the material they’re learning connects to something true to life (Twitter’s role) they’ll be more inclined to actively participate. Food for thought.

From the Desk of Mashable: Valuable Twitter Tips

“Sorry, Marketers, You’re Doing Twitter Wrong” – Mashable

You might have caught our sister post from earlier this week, From the Desk of Mashable: Valuable Facebook Tips. If you did, we hope you found it helpful on your way to using Facebook as a promotional tool. If you didn’t, backtrack a little bit and catch up on it – it’s worth the click! That being said, don’t think we forget to fill you in about what Mashable had to say in regards to what marketers are doing wrong on a more tricky – but incredibly useful – social media platform, Twitter. Here are some appreciable tips from the leading blog’s article:

  • In general, choose to post on the weekends versus slower weekdays (at least 1/4 of your posts should fall on the weekend – make use of scheduling tools if you want weekends free!)
  • Unlike Facebook, the best times to tweet are after 8 a.m. and before7 p.m.; (4 p.m. is the most ideal time).
  • Thought 140 characters was tough? Get the number down even more – to less than 100 characters – for optimum engagement. The less reading an audience has to do, the more they’ll be likely to respond!
  • Keep your hashtags to two or less.
  • Just like on Facebook, use pictures!
  • Finally, ask for RTs (retweets) for 12 times more of a response. Strangely enough, spelling out the word ‘retweet’ in your request will allow for 32 times more of a response.

Twitter can be an intimidating medium, but following these tips will make the journey to learning how to master it quite a bit easier.

From the Desk of Mashable: Valuable Facebook Tips

“Sorry, Marketers, You’re Doing Facebook Wrong” – Mashable

A recent gem of an article by the prominent digital/tech/social media blog Mashable revealed some important insights for marketing on Facebook. Whether you want to promote a campus event or just want to raise awareness about something, giving it a thorough read will help you improve your posts – just click on the picture above! If you’re reading this on the go, however, heed these key takeaways:

  • Not posting on Wednesday (the slowest day of the week for social media) is fine, but the weekend, specifically Sunday, is the biggest opportunity for your audience to respond to a promotion – in fact, their potential to respond is 69% higher than during the week.
  • Publish your posts after 8 p.m. for a 14% higher chance for responses.
  • When posting, always remember the golden rule: less is more, and keep it to two or less posts per day. Don’t overwhelm your audience!
  • Include pictures in your posts for a 23% higher response rate. For an even better chance for interactivity, ask them to caption it!
  • Don’t be afraid to use emoticons. Including them in your posts might garner as much as a 50% higher chance for responses.

The article includes more incredibly helpful tips for using Facebook as a promotional tool. Lastly, don’t be afraid to experiment with your posts on Facebook – the ‘Likes’ and the responses will be all the evidence you need that something is working.

Must-Have Mondays: Three Questions Answered about LinkedIn

Image courtesy Google Images

If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, you may have been encouraged to get one by a colleague or friend. If you already have one, odds are that you’ve found it beneficial. LinkedIn, a professional networking site, is revolutionizing the way people in the worldwide workforce link up with each other, from alumnae seeking reconnections to employers looking for their next big hire. Although this blog will touch on the specifics of LinkedIn later, we’ll introduce it today by answering a few essential questions about the emerging social networking site.

Should I get a LinkedIn account? Why?

Yes, you absolutely should! LinkedIn is becoming a quintessential tool for professionals of any kind to seek work, showcase their experience, and participate in intellectual discussions related to their field. Although it’s highly encouraged for students in particular to create and maintain an account, this networking tool can be beneficial to any generation.

What are some of the ways I can showcase myself in my LinkedIn profile?

The ways you can show off your experience, skills, and professionalism on LinkedIn are many. Consider these as basic stepping stones to building a resonating profile:

  • A résumé-style list of your work experience (feel free to get detailed!)
  • A professional headshot for a profile photo
  • A skill set for items of knowledge relevant to your career path; for instance, if you are a web designer, your skills might include proficiency in ‘Adobe Creative Suite 6′ or ‘Mac OS X’
  • Recommendations from previous employers
  • A professional job title
  • And more.

How do I get started?

It’s easy! Visit LinkedIn.com and follow the prompts to create your account. Take special care to review your information as you submit it – an easily understandable, error-free LinkedIn profile will attract anyone who discovers it.

Do you have a LinkedIn profile? Answer the poll below and comment with your reasoning for why or why not.

Public OpinionPoll Results

A new way to connect in the classroom: Facebook groups

Whether you’re a professor, staff member, or student, odds are that you have a Facebook account. However, you may not use it to connect with a particular group exclusively (students enrolled in a particular course or a campus organization, for instance).

Taking advantage of the Facebook group option is an increasingly great way to share information with people. Not only is the means of sharing quick and efficient, but Facebook has become a digital platform most are familiar with on a basic level, and a basic level of understanding is all you need to use the group option.

Creating a Facebook Group

1. To make a Facebook group, look to the bar on the left of your Facebook home page. Under the ‘Groups’ section, select ‘Create Group…’

2. Then, fill out the club’s information in the prompt. When you begin to type in a member’s name in the ‘Members:’ box, their name will pop up. However, you must be Facebook friends with that member for his or her name to pop up. Be sure to pay close attention to the Privacy options for your group; if you don’t want anyone not in the group to see the information shared, select ‘Secret.’ The next prompt will ask you to choose an icon for the group.

3. After your group is created, you’ll be able to start posting on the page.

4. In addition to any member of the club being able to post to the page’s wall, you can upload documents, photos, and videos to the page, as well as create polls.

5. Another convenient feature of Facebook groups is that you can create an event for the group to RSVP to. You can also update your group description within the same tab, as well as view previously-uploaded photos and files.

Facebook groups can be used by professors to connect with students, staff members to connect with student organizations, and students to connect with peers and groups of their own. Users of the group can discuss meeting times and other topics, as well as share tangible information with one another. Facebook, an ever-popular medium (especially with college-age individuals), is an efficient, pain-free way to connect.

Public OpinionPoll Results

Comment on this post with your opinions on Facebook groups and what alternatives you may have used in the past!

Social Spotlight: Drury Rolla on Facebook

To help all of our campus managers be better connected to one another, we’re profiling some of our campus accounts each week. This week, we talked to Myra Miller about her efforts to connect with students at the Drury campus in Rolla through Facebook. Want to be featured? Leave us a comment or email mseaman@drury.edu and you may be next!

Facebook / Twitter Account:

facebook.com/druryrolla

Who is your primary audience?

Drury students, faculty and staff

Who are your secondary audiences?

Potential new students, friends/family of existing Drury students, community leaders

What is the goal of your social media presence?

Drury Rolla uses their Facebook for several purposes…

  1. Announcements and key information for student body/faculty and anyone else interested in details regarding the Drury Rolla campus. (e.g. deadlines, book store hours, campus closing, etc.)
  2. Promotion or announcement of community events that pertain to or involve Drury Rolla (e.g. United Way Day of Caring event at Drury Rolla, American Red Cross Blood Drive at Drury Rolla, College Fairs, etc.)
  3. Student/faculty/staff spotlights to recognize and share achievements/information
  4. To post fun and interesting photos for entertainment and to create a sense of belonging on campus.

Have you run any campaigns or created any posts that you considered to be especially successful in attaining those goals?

  1. Our My Coke Rewards Scavenger Hunt done totally on Facebook utilizing posting of photos after finding clues was very successful. It created a sense of fun and social interaction as a Drury campus.
  2. Student, faculty and staff spotlights have been well received as each spotlight is tagged to the person’s own Facebook page. Their friends and family then see that Drury Rolla thinks they are pretty neat… very well received.
  3. We are seeing more family members of Drury students and community partners liking our page to see what we are up to!
  4. My academic advisor was at a college fair and took some photos and emailed them to me. I immediately downloaded to my IPhone and then uploaded the photo to our Facebook page while she was still at the fair! Immediate PR showing Drury Rolla out recruiting.
  5. Posting Drury recognition and awards or sport team scores… yesterday I shared Mark Miller’s Drury Best in the Midwest news release… got several likes on that one! I will post Drury scores when we play Missouri S&T as there is a fun rivalry up here with the GLVC games. I find that the Drury Rolla students like knowing what is happening at the main campus.

If you could offer any advice to other Drury social media managers, what would it be?

It doesn’t take a lot of my time to keep it updated and current. I try to post at least one thing a day but I mix it up… deadlines or basic information that I need students to know (e.g. Loan info, bookstore hours, etc.) then I will make sure the next thing has a photo or something to jazz the page up and catch an eye or make interesting.

The key is to make it fun, interesting and different each day so that people continue to check it out. I posted the photos of the exterior signs being installed and got lots of likes. Then I posted the Drury Career Center resume info shared link. Then I posted the photos from the college fair. Then I posted "Need Help" for Day of Caring. Just a mixture of things….

When I take photos, I try to make sure Drury is in the background or somewhere in the photo to get the logo on there as much as I can. The biggest thing is that I am trying to create a sense of belonging on this campus and I feel Facebook connects everyone in a really cool environment. Don’t be scared of it or think it takes a lot of your time, it really doesn’t. It is a free message board that we can’t afford NOT to use!