confabedu: empowering students to tell stories

STORIESEMPOWERINGSTUDENTS TO TELL

Meg Bernier – St. Lawrence University – #ConfabEDU

Meet Quevaughn.

People consuming your content don't want to feel like

there is a PR professionalbetween them and the story.

Engage & Empower

Engage:Occupy, attract, or involve

(someone's interest or attention);participate or become

involved in.

Empower:Give (someone) the authority

or power to do something.

When it comes to your digital communities,

you need participants;But then you need those people to

want to help you tell your story.

http://thesmashpalace.co.nz/wp‐content/uploads/2013/04/one‐way.jpg

We needed to engage our audiences in meaningful ways.

Engagement Needed to Start With Students

• Their stories resonate with all of our audiences• They see us focus on admissions and alumni –

how could we make them feel important?• If we celebrate their experiences, the more likely

they would be to share them• Engaging students now leads to more engaged

alumni later

Meet Kelly.

I needed ( a lot) of help.

Introducing the Student Social Media Team

How does the team work?• 8 unpaid, completely volunteer student members• Applications open once a year

• 15 applications in early 2014, 20+ now• Meet once a week, but constantly in touch • Brainstorm, offer constructive feedback

• Not looking for “yes” people• Event coverage – what they are already going to• Keep @StLawrenceU authentic

If they are unpaid and not earning course credit,

what keeps them motivated to stay involved?

Mostly food…

…but also opportunities...

…and confidence & trust.• Talk with them like colleagues – because they are

– “We’re in this to learn together”

• Publicly give them credit for their work– Students, faculty, staff, administrators, etc.

• Educate them on best practices, tips & tricks• Develop their digital identities• Empower them to take the lead on projects

The Engagement Magic Started on Instagram

A Big Benefit of Student Involvement:The BEST Ideas

Engage & Empower

They were engaged:Sharing photos, stories, asking

questions, commenting, retweeting, liking, favoriting.

But how do you empower students?

Students? Taking Over? Scary.

@herewegosaints

Our student-run Instagram account

http://cindyscott.org/wp‐content/uploads/2013/11/Raised‐hands.jpg

@herewegosaintsSt. Lawrence’s student-run Instagram account

• Run by a different student each week• Students have direct access to the account

– Yes, that means the password!

• Interested students express interest to me or a team member, brief Instagram audit, then meet with myself & a student team member

@herewegosaintsWhat do we discuss when we meet?

• Guidelines • Planning ahead for the week (content strategy)

– What is YOUR story? Not a reporter covering events– What do people love on Instagram? What don’t they like?– Get them thinking about platform & content– How will you capture your life?

• How to engage with followers– Hashtags to follow and use

@herewegosaintsSuccesses

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StLawrenceUherewegosaints

@herewegosaintsContent Highlights

@herewegosaintsContent Highlights

Through @herewegosaints, we are letting our students be the heroes

in their own stories.

How has it benefitted St. Lawrence and our audiences?

• Authentic, engaging, real-time content• Our ethos, personality shines through• Provides an inside look into life at SLU• “More than pretty pictures”• Event coverage• Encouraged more students to share content• Learned what matters to various audiences

But what do the students running itget out of it?

#SLUfamous…but is that real value?

Meet John.

@herewegosaints on Storify

storify.com/herewegosaints

“How can running the account help you?”• Share with family, friends• Add Storify link to LinkedIn• Explain how they can/should talk about this

experience during interviews• Trust, planning content (strategy)

• How to include it on their resume• Some data (average likes per post)• Improve/Add to their digital identity• Fun facts to add context for employers

Five minutes a week…

• Provides value to our students• Provides value to my institution

• We can now share individual weeks!• Admissions, Alumni/Development

If you’re looking for authentic content to share, you need to invest in providing value to those supplying it to you.

Questions? (And thank you!)

Meg Bernier - @msteverbSt. Lawrence University

mbernier@stlawu.eduweatheringthenorm.blogspot.com