There are No Gurus

But hopefully this will help you get the most out of social

media

Dave Tyler @dtyler321April 18, 2013

Why that name for this presentation?

• I’m not really that smart• There’s too much to know• The field is changing so rapidly• Those who calls themselves gurus or

experts are selling something.

A few ground rules

• Some of what you hear will sound contradictory

• None of what you hear is “THE right answer.”• Some of what you hear will probably be

invalid in 6 months• I’m not going to recommend you use any

particular platform• Your mileage may vary

Have Goals

• What are your goals? Recruitment? Increased Enrollment? More Likes?

• Social Media is a tactic. Not an objective.• Pick a goal, then figure out best platform

to help achieve that goal.• Numbers are nice, results are better

You Can’t Do Everything

8

This is Pheed

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I have no idea what it does....but I made an account anyway

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Get Personal First

•Make a Personal Account First•This allows you to play around and get

comfortable.•Also allows you to follow people in your

field to see if they’re doing anything.•The Great Google+ Land Rush of ’11

Study Your Audience

•Look around. Where are people already talking?

•Who are they?

•What are they asking for?

•This will give you an idea of where to focus.

Find a Friend• Someone who can

help you learn• An advocate• Maybe lots of

someones• Get S.M.U.G., if you

can.• Find cheap student

labor

Don’t let your sites become this

Be Proactive and Responsive.

• Don’t ignore your page• Post Regularly• Provide answers• Even the tough stuff.• It’s okay to say “I don’t know. I’ll look into

that for you.”• If you’re not talking someone else is doing

it for you

Be Conversational

• Write in English, skip the jargon• Social Media is not a press release or

a white paper or a dissertation• Be lighthearted (where appropriate)• Start conversations, don’t just react.• Ask questions.

Be Authentic

• Don’t try to be something you’re not. • “Authenticity builds credibility slowly, but

shameless promotion can destroy it quickly.”*• Use the resources at your disposal to build

that credibility.• You don’t need to hit people over the head w/

marketing messages or admissions deadlines.

*Greg Perfetto & Jeff Arnold of AdmissionsLab.com

Don’t Be Rude

• It only takes a minute to become a meme

• Ocean Marketing• Penn Admissions• Even the rude people on • your page most likely just• want a response

Add it to your job description

• “When am I going to do my work?”• THIS IS YOUR WORK!• Carve out 15 minutes in the morning

and/or afternoon.• Or try the Google approach- 50 min work

followed by 10 min. of putting out fires.• Increases your value to your organization

Watch. Explore. Measure.

• Don’t just plunge in headlong. Observe first.• Your communities will tell you what they

want. Listen.• Use the stats functions of different

platforms• Google Analytics• Consider a service, if you can afford it.– Hootsuite, Radian 6, IceRocket, Sprout Social

Don’t Link Your Accounts

• People will catch on• If you catch an error & delete post from one,

do you remember to delete from the other?• Different social media outlets treat content

differently. • Different audiences receive content

differently.

22

Alexandra Kogut

• Murdered in her dorm room• Community was shocked, seeking info• We sought to listen as much as we

could and provide answers• Also sensed a community that was

motivated

How we listened

23

Don’t Run From Your Mistakes

Don’t Be Afraid to Fail• You can only learn

from the experience• What will it really

have cost you? Social Media is cheap

• You’ll still seem cool and edgy

Questions? Complaints?

• @dtyler321, dtyler@brockport.edu• Facebook.com/dtyler321• Slides at

www.slideshare.net/Dtyler321.• BLATANT PROMOTION ALERT: Read

www.link.highedweb.org