Overview of social media fundamentals, networks, and integration of story in communications messaging and college recruitment.

1. Social Media:
Strategy First, Tools Second
Dr. Pamela Rutledge
Director, Media Psychology Research Center
College Board
November 15, 2012

2. Technology Has Rewired the World

3. The Lecture vs. The Cocktail Party

4. Characteristics of a Lecture:
q One to Many
q Unidirectional and linear.
q Only one person gets to talk at a time
q You are supposed to stay in your chair and be quiet
q The lights are on the stage
q There is the same message for everyone
q Not social unless you meet the guy in the chair next to you
q Someone besides you decides when it’s over
q At the end, you’re supposed to feel grateful and applaud.

5. Characteristics of a Cocktail Party
q Full of conversations
q Noisy and energetic
q Everyone talks at once
q Dynamic and social — You can connect with many
q The lights shine on everyone equally
q You get to choose when and what to eat or drink and who to
talk with
q You can decide when it’s over for you
q When you leave, the host thanks you for coming.

6. Most prospective students have
grown up in a cocktail party world

8. There Are Many Kinds of Social Technologies
Many types
q Information searches
q Folksonomy/Tagging
q Blogs
q Wikis
q Social Networking
Similar properties
q Participatory
q Interactive
q Constantly changing
q Create social connections
q Respond dynamically to user

9. Interactive ⌘ On-Demand ⌫ Asynchronous ⌥ Broad Access
New Expectations: Structural & Experiential

10. Smart phones
create
Mobile
Results-Only
Living
Environments
Today’s Prospective Student

11. Everyone Has A Voice
The new normal: expect to participate, be
heard, collaborate, and connect.
Benefits: Increased empathy, social capital,
and efficacy beliefs.

13. Rules for Communicators
q Relationships = authenticity
q 78% trust peers; 14% trust organizations
q You don’t control your message
q Less tolerance for hierarchies
q Participation and exchange — not selling
q New understanding of time and space = fast
q New expectations of access = mobile + multichannel

14. • Media choice is the
best tool for the job
• Keep your eye on
the goals
It’s Not About the Tools

15. purpose
resilience
optimism
competence
agency
self-efficacy engagement
autonomy
mastery
relatedness
Technology Enables Individual Action

16. The Impact for Colleges and Universities
q Good News
q Social media environment
means more bang for your
buck
q Bad News
q Strategy, goals and planning
are more important than ever
q Social media isn’t one-size fits
all

17. How Do You Compete?

18. q Draw on ancient
traditions, legends and
myths
q Create an authentic
connection
q It’s how we think
q Engages at multiple
sensory levels
Storytelling is Timeless

19. Three Act Structure
Tension
Climax
Exposition Denouement
Time
Act 1 Act 2 Act 3
Context Action Resolution/
Results

20. Transmedia Storytelling
q A story that…
q Unfolds across platforms
q Each piece adds something unique
and valuable
q Motivates user to find others
Henry Jenkins
q Users can… USC
q Join at different places
q Participate and contribute content

21. Traditional Story Path

22. Transmedia Content

23. Case Study: Jay-Z

24. Case Study: The Three Little Pigs
Wolf:
Pig 1: Website
Website
Wolf: Ning Network
Pig 1: Anime for Team Wolf
Super Pig
Main Story Anchor: Novel Sequels
Pig 2: Twitter Pig 3: Cooking Pig 3:
Dialogue Blog Cookbook
Pig 3: YouTube
Pig 3: Fan Page
Videos

25. An Invitation to Participate
Increasing Audience Engagement
Discovery Experience Exploration

26. Donald Rumsfeld summarizes social media metrics
There are the known knowns.
There are the known unknowns.
And then there are
the unknown unknowns.

27. Traditional ROI Calculations

28. Ripple Effect

29. Focus on Qualitative Impact
q Biggest value of social media is expanded relationship potential
q Awareness
q Brand mentions, reviews and share of voice
q Fan Growth
q Traffic
q Engagement
q Comments, questions, retweets, time on site
q Customer and market intelligence
q Product/service feedback
q Customer needs, problems, values and experiences

30. Social media strategies
start with a strategy, not
with a Facebook page

31. Social Media Strategy
q Tools are only useful if you know
q what you want to do
q what tools will get the job done.
q Online networks are like offline ones
q People use Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and LinkedIn
to meet people, get information, share resources
and connect with colleagues

32. Social Media: Total Time Suck?
q Social media networks are not a waste of time
unless you allow them to be
q Networking opportunities
q Great way to build social capital
q Be very clear on WHY you’re doing it and the
outcomes you want to see

33. Social Media Mission Statement
q Why am I on social networks and what will I use them
for?
q How do I want to build my personal or organizational
brand using social media?
q What outcomes do I want to see?
q How does social media fit into the
overall organizational and
communications strategy?

34. Social
Media
Strategy
(Source: BigThunk, Number 8 Communications. Strategy image via Shutterstock.)

35. Choose your tools carefully

36. Tool Audit Example: Privacy
Completely Mostly Mostly
Access Control Potential
Public
public
private
Website
x
Blog
x
Twitter
x
x
LinkedIn
x
x
Facebook
x
x
x
Flickr
x
x
x
Pinterest
x
Industry sites
x
Curation tools (Scoop, paper.li)
x
Google+
x

37. Social
Media
Strategy
(Source: BigThunk, Number 8 Communications. Strategy image via Shutterstock.)

38. Connect your tools so
they feed each other

39. Social Media Policy: Be Prepared
q What information is public, what should be kept
private?
q What your rules are for researching customers and
employees?
q How you can be contacted and when?
q What is your policy for employees
social media use?
q How you will handle the inevitable
social media crisis?
q How often will I evaluate the strategy?

40. Key Points for
Communicating
Effectively with New
Technologies

41. q Get your story straight
q Think transmedia: communication
must be fluid and consistent
across multiple platforms and
devices
q Plan for collaboration
q Having lots of tools isn’t what’s
important, it’s what you do with
them that counts

42. q Do research
q Go where the students are
q LISTEN FIRST to find out what
they think need, not what you
think they need
q Establish best practices for
contact.
q Recognize individual and cultural
differences in access and needs

43. q Mission Statement
q Social Media Strategy
q Goals
q Tactics
q Measurement
q Social Media Policy
q Ethics
q Boundaries

44. q Be human, honest, and
transparent
q Be timely
q Deliver value by synthesizing
information and facilitating
decisions
q Allow for personalization and
participation

45. Institutional
Human Needs Activities/Tools
Connection
Social network communities, forums, video
Social connection Peers
chats face to face
Access to administrators, faculty through email,
Social validation Staff & Faculty
webinars
Published deadlines, clear forms on line, fillable
Comfort and
Information PDFs, savable applications, accurate and
respect
timely feedback
Creative and unusual ways to engage, such as
Entertainment Media
contests, games, virtual events
Lower barriers to entry with mobile formatting
Access Mobile
and apps
Personalization, content creation (films,
Participation
photos), interaction with current students.
Experience Video tours, day in the life, ways to project
(Presence) themselves into the campus experience

46. Implications
Effective education needs to adopt
social media rules:
q Collaborative q Responsive
q Participatory q Inclusive
q Challenging q Respectful
q Relevant q Deliver Value

47. The prospective student isn’t going
to take your word for it that what
you offer is valuable unless you have
cultivated a relationship they trust.

48. "I feel like I know you guys already
from your videos and blogs and
Facebook page ...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-james-michael-nolan/social-media-in-the-busin_b_1607245.html

49. Thank You.
Dr. Pamela Rutledge
Media Psychology Research Center
@pamelarutledge