1. Social Media Training
Presented by Tyler Bradley
Rensselaer Union

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Introduction
• Importance
• Audiences
• Governing Bodies
• Guidelines & Blunders
• Protips
– Snapchat
– Twitter
• Goals and Ideas

3. 6/27/2016 2015 PowerPoint Template Guidelines 3
Social media is the ultimate
equalizer. It gives a voice and a
platform to anyone willing to engage.
-Amy Jo Martin, CEO of Digital Royalty

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This guide was created with information from
communication guidelines from Colorado State
university, Princeton University, University of
Houston, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and
University of Kentucky.
Parts of this presentation have been adapted
from Paul Gordon Brown’s #ACPA16
Presentation: “Digitized Student Development,
Social Media, and Identity” and Josie
Ahlquists’s “Student Development Theory
Remix”

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Why Social Media
• 98% of adults ages 18-29 are on the Internet
• 89% of adults ages 18-29 use social media
• 67% access it on mobile devices
• Students may spend more time on SM than
university portals/email accounts (Heiberger &
Harper, 2007)
• Supports Malgoda’s Theory of Self-Authorship
– External influences of parents/peers
– Students make conscious choices about SM usage, how it
fits into life, desires, outlook, goals
– Requires constant renegotiation as person changes

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Why Social Media
• Chickering’s Seven Vectors
– Wang, Techneve, and Salloway found social media use
follows this (2012)
– Aids in development, success, and identity exploration
meeting emotional, cognitive, social, and habitual needs
• Astin’s I-E-O model (Input-Environment-
Output)
– Highest users of Facebook felt most connected to
their unviersity (Ellison, 2007).
– Students posting events, pictures, and comments
of institution prompted others to show same level
of activity (Junco, 2011)

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Take out your
phones.
Open a social
media app.
Go to your
profile.

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What do you use
this app for?
What types of
content do you
post?
What types of
content do you
consume?

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What types of
relationships do
you have on this
site?
Do you know all
of these
connections?
How do you know
them?

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How important is
this site to you?
If access to it was
taken away, what
would you miss,
if anything?

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Source: @HootSuite, Twitter
Digital Student Development

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Audiences:
• Current students
• Prospective students
• Alumni
• Parents
• Employees
• Community Members

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Governing Bodies:
• Social media terms of agreement
• Federal Legislation
– Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
– Health Insurance and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
• NCAA
– All employees should refrain from contacting prospective student-
athletes prior to signing a National Letter of Intent. Always check
with the Department of Athletics’ compliance officials before
posting anything that may violate these rules.
• University policies and procedures
– Faculty and Staff: HR Policy Guidelines Policy 800.8 – Social
Media
– Students: Policy on Electronic Citizenship included in
the Rensselaer Handbook of Student Rights & Responsibilities

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Accessibility
• Think of those with accommodation needs
– Text-to-audio software
– Audio accompanied by text

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General Guidelines
• Think twice about all content
• Double check spelling, accuracy, grammar
• Can it potentially malign or polarize any
person or group?
– Display good sportsmanship; do not malign your
rivals.
• Inappropriate, offensive, injurious and illegal
content may be removed by RPI employees
identified as account administrators

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General Guidelines
• Do not publish knowingly false or misleading
information
• Post original content
– Always include citations for direct or paraphrased
quotes, thoughts, ideas, photos, or videos
– Include links as necessary
• Do not be the first to announce University or
departmental news on a social media site
unless preapproved

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Digital Reputation

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Digital Reputation

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Digital Reputation

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“I cried out my body weight in the first
24 hours,” she told me. “It was
incredibly traumatic. You don’t sleep.
You wake up in the middle of the night
forgetting where you are.” She
released an apology statement and cut
short her vacation. Workers were
threatening to strike at the hotels she
had booked if she showed up. She
was told no one could guarantee her
safety.
Ronson, J. (2015). How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s
Life. New York Times
Digital Reputation

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Alicia Ann Lynch, 22, who posted a photo
of herself in her Halloween costume on
Twitter. Lynch wore a running outfit and
had smeared her face, arms and legs with
fake blood. After an actual victim of the
Boston Marathon bombing tweeted at her,
Lynch was reportedly let go from her job as
well.
Ronson, J. (2015). How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s
Life. New York Times
Digital Reputation

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General Guidelines
• RPI employees are expected to adhere to same
standards of conduct online as they would in the
workplace. Laws and policies respecting workplace
conduct, contracting and conflict of interest, as well
as applicable policies and guidelines for interacting
with students, parents, alumni, donors, media and
all other University constituents apply online and in
the social media context just as they do in personal
interactions. Employees are fully responsible for
what they post to social media sites.

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General Guidelines
• Post only content that is not threatening,
obscene, a violation of copyright or other
intellectual property rights or privacy laws, or
otherwise injurious or illegal.
• Representation of your personal opinions as
being endorsed by the Institute or any of its
organizations is strictly prohibited. RPI’s
name or marks may not be used to endorse
any opinion, product, private business,
cause, or political candidate.

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General Guidelines
• Right to delete user comments
– Policy located on the page
– Delete only comments breaking criteria
• Do not take or share photos or video of children under 18
without written consent by a parent or guardian.
• Always ask to take individual or small group photos or videos
of students.
– Announce who you are and what it’s for.
• Correct mistakes
– If not immediate, or has garnered attention from others, make
clear that you’ve made a correction
• Follow best security practices
– Do not let a friend, peer, etc. who does not have permission from
administrative account managers on the account

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Goals
• Social media accounts should promote
interaction and conversation with and
between their followers
• Account managers are encouraged to
interact with other official RPI social media
accounts through tagging, mentions, shares,
comments and retweets.

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Instagram
• Creates a visual alternative to text-heavy
sites
– Ask questions (engagement)
• Tag other accounts as appropriate
• Listening carefully during speeches and
discussions for postable sound bites,
statistics, quotes, etc.
• Reserving a seat that will enable you to take
photos of speakers and clearly hear
speeches and panel discussions

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Instagram
• Show a different point of view
• Look back on history
• Show off the campus
• Show off students
• Show off alumni/ae
• Have fun
• Challenge your followers
• Share a quotation
• Celebrate special days
• Focus on the details
• Capture an extraordinary moment
• Share a teaser
Instagram: @dartmouthcollege
Instagram: @tntechuniversity

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Instagram
• Use grid feature and the Rule of
Thirds
• Rear-facing camera (the one on the
back of your phone) has higher
resolutions
• Use Layout (by Instagram) for
multiple photos in one
• Use Over for adding text into the
photo
• Use Hyperlapse (by Instagram) for
time lapses
Instagram:@blog.instagram.com/post/114416360
957/layout-from-instagram
Instagram: @udmces

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Snapchat
• Stories are “compilations of Snaps that
create a narrative.
• Stories honor the true nature of storytelling—
Snaps appear in chronological order with a
beginning, middle and end.”
• Storyboard
– We Speak Survey
– Do it in the Dark
– Campus Story: Utah State Campus Story
– Campus Story: Vikings Fan and Memorial-Library Girl

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Twitter & Hashtags
• Including it in every social media post advertising
the event, especially on Twitter
• Including it on the official event website
• Including it in the cover photo for your Twitter and
Facebook pages
• Featured on every piece of literature about the event
such as flyers advertising the event, brochures and
handouts you will distribute during the event, etc.
• Unique, but something a college student would
naturally use

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Twitter & Hashtags
• Announcing the official hashtag during opening remarks and
encouraging speakers and attendees to start a dialogue
• Tweeting often, at least every 10-15 minutes
• Using the official hashtag in every live tweet, which often
involves shortening and editing quotes to meet character limit
• Giving your followers a breakdown of the event: Who is
currently speaking? What are they saying? What’s next on the
schedule?
• Listening carefully during speeches and discussions for
tweetable sound bites, statistics, quotes, etc.

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Twitter & Hashtags
• Scheduling tweets via Hootsuite to post during your
live-tweet, e.g. tweets announcing the start of a
keynote speech or panel discussion according to the
event schedule
• Reserving a seat that will enable you to take photos
of speakers and clearly hear speeches and panel
discussions

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Twitter & Hashtags
• Retweeting others who are attending the
event and using the hashtag, especially
speakers and key influencers
• Responding to tweets—especially
questions—from your followers
• Creating tabs in Hootsuite or your browser to
monitor all hashtags affiliated with your event

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Words the Describe Rensselaer
• Analytical
• Collaborative
• Confident
• Creative
• Discoverers
• Diverse
• Entrepreneurial
• Envisioning
• Idea-minded
• Impactful
• Innovative
• Intellectually
• Respected
• Risk-takers
• Strategic
• Strong
• Transformative
• World changers

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Additional References
• Ellen, N., Steinfield, C. & Lampe, C. (2007). The benefits of
Facebook “friends:” social capital and the college students’ use
of online social network sites. Journal of Computer-Medicated
Communication, 12, 1143-1168.
• Heiberger, G. & Harper, R. (2008). Have you Facebooked Astin
lately? Using techonlogy to increase student involvement. New
Directions for Student Services, 124, 19-35.
• Junco, R. (2011). The relationship between frequency of
Facebook use, participation in Facebook activities and student
engagement. Computers & Education, 58, 162-171.
• Wang, Z. Tcherneve, J.M. & Solloway, T. (2012). A dynamic
longitudinal examination of social media use, needs, and
gratifications among college students. Computers in Human
Behavior, 28, 1829-1839.

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“It’s a dialogue, not a monologue, and some
people don’t understand that. Social media is
more like a telephone than a television.”
-Amy Jo Martin, CEO of Digital Royalty