This document outlines strategies for developing an effective social media presence for a student affairs department. It discusses establishing goals, selecting appropriate platforms, assembling a team, developing content, assessing success, and considering legal and policy issues. The Rondileau Campus Center case study demonstrates implementing a Facebook page to extend its community and serve as an information hub. Metrics for the page include engagement statistics and using insights to improve the plan over time. Overall, the key is using social media to enhance student learning, engagement, and connections to campus resources and programs.

1. Student Affairs
Social Media Plans and Strategies
Ed Cabellon | Director, Campus Center – Bridgewater State University
#NASPAtech | October 28, 2011 | #NASPAtech27 | @EdCabellon

2. OVERVIEW
Strategy & Support
Management
Literacy
Assessment
Other things to consider

3. bit.ly/sasmplan

4. What are you trying to build?

5. Blasting out information?

6. Advertising?

7. An extension of your community?
Or an entirely new one?

8. Strategy and Support
– What are your goals?
– Why do you want to take
this on?
– How does it contribute to
student learning and
engagement in your
Student Affairs Unit?
– Timeline? Set a temporary
timeframe.
– What online media tools
best fit your intended
goals?
– Who do you need
approval from?

9. Rondileau Campus Center:
– Goals: To extend our community building online. To build an
online Information Hub (mirroring our Info Desk). To connect
students with BSU programs and services.
– To meet students where we knew they were.
– Through engaged learning opportunities in our student
employment
– We set an initial “semester” trial period
– Initially Facebook was our point of entry. The use of Facebook
Fan Pages were our focus.
– We needed approval from our AVP initially. Then IC.

10. • Who will be your Core Social Media Team?
• Have you created job descriptions that clearly
outline learning outcomes through their core
duties?
• Content Development / “Conversation”
• Community Development / “Voice”
• What will your Social Media Guidelines be?
• Will there be a schedule of posts or will it be
more organic?
• Will you be using Social Media dashboards like
Hootsuite or Tweetdeck?

11. Rondileau Campus Center:
– Social Media Team: Professional Staff, Grad Staff, and Student
Employees
– Our “Conversation”: Content based on Class Cancellations, Blog
Posts, Photos, Videos, Community Questions, Cross Promoting
Events.
– Our “Voice”: Customer Service centered, friendly, prompt. Initial
each post for transparency.
– Guidelines: Post every two hours starting at 7:30am with Class
Cancellations. Respond to posts and likes within a four hour
window. If one can’t respond to a post, they must notify the
Director.

12. Jump In!
Get Your Hands Dirty

13. Building Technology Literacy

14. What do we need to teach and learn?

16. Assessment
• What is your definition of
success?
• Can this definition be measured? How?
• What analytics packages are valuable?
• How will you use this data to help
improve your overall plan and
implementation?

18. Facebook Success For The Rondileau Campus Center =
As a Student Organization As a Department
•Our volunteers make connections happen. • Recognizing they are paid to represent the
•Those managing the Social Media accounts institution.
are mindful how they use it personally. • Using the conversations a bridges to bring
• Get as many people involved in the process people into the Campus Center
of creating content, especially during • Being a connector and promoting other
organizational meetings. campus departments, organizations and
programs on our page!
• Common Denominators for Success
• Comments, Shares, & Likes on Posts
• Other Facebook Users Tag Your Organization in their posts
• Community is posting questions and comments on your wall

19. Assessment – Fan Page Insights
Shows: Active Users,
Daily Users, Likes,
Demographics, Media
Consumption, External
Referrers Specify date range
Total number of views Total number of Likes
In the range specified and comments in range
specified

20. Assessment – Fan Page Insights
Total number of views
In the range specified
Total number of Likes
and comments in range
specified
Top viewed posts
on your fan page
Breakdown of content
contact on your fan page

21. Twitter Success?

22. Assessment of
Success
• How many times are you getting @ mentioned in others
Tweets, either through conversation or simple mentions.
• How often are your Tweets getting Retweeted? (RT or Quoted
RT)
• How many times are you listed by others on their twitter
accounts?
• How often are your tweeted links getting clicked? Are you
using a link shortener like http://bit.ly to measure clicks?
• Have you grown your followers steadily as you’ve used your
Twitter account?

24. Assessing Success
• Metrics #1: Unique Visitors & Number of Visits (overall, per
post)
• Other Important Data:
• Most Visited Day of the Month
• Most Visited Day of the Week (Average)
• Most Visited Time of the Month (Average)
• Average Time Spent on Blog
• Which posts got the most views?
• Top External Referrer?
• Top Key Search Words and/or Phrases

25. Assessing Success
• Metrics #2: Average Number of Comments
Take the # of comments / # of Posts
=

26. Assessing Success
• Metrics #3: Online & Offline Growth
Have you grown over time?

27. Final Thoughts….
• BLOG: Have you optimized your
content for search ability?
•Are you working with your Institutional
Communication office?
•How will you partner with other Student
Affairs units to share and promote each
others’ content?
•Listen first, then engage.

28. http://bit.ly/naspatech27
Download a copy of this
presentation!

29. Student Affairs
Social Media Plans and Strategies
Ed Cabellon | Director, Campus Center – Bridgewater State University
#NASPAtech | October 28, 2011 | #NASPAtech27 | @EdCabellon