As the social web gains traction across higher education, many of us are fast becoming the point-persons on campus for all things Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, YouTube, etc. How do you coordinate social media on campus, and how do you work with stakeholders across departments to help them understand and use social media in a strategic way? This presentation will feature examples from three institutions, and how they manage social media working groups on campus. From providing them with the most basic information, to exploring metrics and discussing content strategy, we will talk about our experiences with social media teams on campus, and share what worked and what didn’t work.

1. The Care and Feeding of Social Media Teams on Your Campus J.D. Ross – Michelle Tarby – AlainaWiens HighEdWeb: Rochester June 27, 2011

2. Welcome J.D. Ross – New Media DirectorHamilton College Michelle Tarby – Director of Web ServicesLe Moyne College Alaina Wiens – New Media Communications SpecialistUniversity of Michigan-Flint

3. Sharing Three Experiences Each campus handles social media in a unique way Hamilton: Centralized through Communications Office Le Moyne: Decentralized with guidance of Information Technology UM-Flint: Decentralized with guidance of University Relations

4. Hamilton Identifying the need for social media guidance Relatively new Varying comfort levels Social media use occurring in a vacuum Lack of overall comprehensive strategy

5. Hamilton How social media works at Hamilton College Centralized effort for administrative departments Guidelines created in December, 2009 Creating a presence Talking about Hamilton on social media http://www.hamilton.edu/social http://socialmediagovernance.com/ Role of the Communications Office Greater effort to include SM in overall communication plans

6. Hamilton Social Media Summit Bring campus social media users together Admission, Alumni, Annual Fund, Career Center Start at the beginning – provide an overview of current social media use across campus Ask some questions: How do you see your department using social media? Do you have the time/people to dedicate to the task? What are your goals (shift focus from tools)?

7. Hamilton Social Media Summit Findings Many were “flying blind” Spent LOTS of time covering basics Needed to illustrate broadcasting vs. engagement Eager to do the “right” think in SM space Pleased with amount of information sharing and learning Support for rolling SM into area communication plans

8. Le Moyne How social media works at Le Moyne: Main college presence a collaborative effort between Information Technology and Communications Renegade elements around campus Planning guide developed in 2010 http://web.lemoyne.edu/~tarbymm/Social Media Project.pdf That worked for our campus?

9. Le Moyne Need for a coordinated group on campus: Initiatives happening in a vacuum No overall strategy Measurement? Best practices? OK, we identified the need, now what? Our star is born How we built the group Logistics

10. Le Moyne Group meets monthly General meeting format Topics Covered Practical Twitter 101 Creating a Facebook page Starting own page vs. contributing to overall effort Best-Practices Deleting posts Monitoring what’s being said Best days to post, what to post, how to respond

11. Le Moyne Lessons Learned Don’t be afraid to take the lead People are looking for help and guidance, but afraid of losing their space Coordination not control key on our campus Just like in social media, be honest, be authentic, and be willing to share

12. University of Michigan-Flint How social media works at UM-Flint No organized social media effort until January 2010 Social media guidelines exist for the U-M system, but are broad and non-specific http://mmd.umich.edu/forum/resources_socialguide.php Campuses (Flint and Dearborn are decentralized) UM-Flint departments are also decentralized University Relations seeks to coordinate and offer guidance without the presence of a policy to enforce

13. University of Michigan-Flint Social Marketers Group Bring all administrators of social media accounts together for monthly meetings Gain buy-in by sharing resources and best practices Promote collaboration and content sharing Offer tools like a Facebook group and email listserve

14. University of Michigan - Flint Social Marketers Group Outcome 18 initial members, participation dropped quickly Members were surveyed about how the group could be most useful 7 survey responses Future meetings – quarterly, workshop format

15. University of Michigan - Flint Lessons Learned Not all “social marketers” will or can make social media a priority Most users feel they should use social media, even though they don’t have time to spend on it Guidance is almost always unsolicited Members are unlikely to share content or resources, but appreciate learning opportunities

16. Questions and Discussion Contact us: J.D. RossTwitter: @jdrossjd@jdross.com Michelle TarbyTwitter: @tarbyMtarbymm@lemoyne.edu AlainaWiensTwitter: @alainawiensalainag@umflint.edu