Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Emergencies and tragedies do happen. With the growing popularity of social media
tools like Twitter, some schools are finding it easier and quicker to spread news
during an emergency by complementing their e-mail and text alerts with a Tweet
and a Facebook message or post.
Connecting People
The term social media is not a misnomer: it really is quite social. And a lot of
connections happen organically, without the universities doing anything
intentionally, except providing a place for the community to connect and gather
around a similar interest at the institution.
The 46,000 fans of the University of Michigan Page often connect to one another, for
example, especially incoming students who are eager to make new friends.
Facebook groups made for a specific graduating class and university Twitter
accounts have a similar effect.
Producing, Not Just Promoting
Universities are using social media platforms as a way to supplement traditional
press releases, however, social media has also helped revolutionize the traditional
approach from public relations offices. In the past universities would only target
traditional media outlets, but now they are using social media to better target
journalists and nontraditional media, such as blogs. Further, beyond simply relying
on a news organization to pick a story up, universities are using social media as a
publishing tool to connect directly to their audiences.
Creating a Dialogue and Communicating to Students
Social media is all about having a conversation. It is distinguishable from many
other Web tools because it provides a two-way dialogue and allows for real
discussion. Most of university news services I interviewed said they used social
media to engage the public. That means things like replying to tweets, Facebook
posts, and blog comments.
Facebook Office Hours
Yes, you read that right: office hours on Facebook. Of course, this overlaps a bit with
communicating with students, but deserves a category all its own because the
practice attracts people from all around the world to Stanford Universitys Facebook
Page.
Facebook office hours are something of a four-part process. First, a Facebook note is
posted promoting and describing the professor or faculty member hosting the
office hours. Then a video is posted with the faculty member talking about their
research or work (or that of their department). Next, fans then have a chance to ask
the hosting member questions via comments. Finally, the faculty member answers
questions through a second video, often addressing those commenting by name.
Coaching for the Spotlight
Because many universities produce their own video and audio, TV and radio
producers get a chance to see what a researcher or expert sounds like on camera or
in a sound bite. A journalist can go to the schools YouTube channel or website and
watch an expert in action. That can help get those experts invited to appear on
television panels or used as interview sources on TV or radio news shows, which can
be very valuable exposure for the university.