Integrating a Social Media Program: Two Case Studies Alana Mauger, Director of Communications, Montgomery County Community CollegePaul Redfern, Director of Web Communications and Electronic Media, Gettysburg College Hear how colleagues are using Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr and LinkedIn to increase word-of-mouth marketing and to integrate these new tools into a traditional communications strategy.
Workshop on Social Media Part II: Integrating a Social Media Program: Two Case Studies Alana Mauger, Director of Communications, Montgomery County Community College Paul Redfern, Director of Web Communications and Electronic Media, Gettysburg College Hear how colleagues are using Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr and LinkedIn to increase word-of-mouth marketing and to integrate these new tools into a traditional communications strategy.
Transcript
Workshop on Social MediaPart II: Integrating a Social Media Program:
Two Case StudiesAlana Mauger, Director of Communications, Montgomery
County Community CollegePaul Redfern, Director of Web Communications and Electronic
Media, Gettysburg College
Hear how colleagues are using Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr and LinkedIn to increase word-of-mouth marketing and
to integrate these new tools into a traditional communications strategy.
Today• Introductions• Hashtag - #cuprap• Gettysburg College• Montgomery County Community College• Discussion/Questions
Session One Takeaways• Hope is not a strategy- how does SM fit into a larger strategy?• What social media helps you achieve your goals?• You can’t control your message• Brands are collaborations – it is not just what you say about
yourself what do others say about you?• Your reputation online is your brand• Who is maintaining your social media?• Carton’s Law: What works best online can only work online• What will constitute success?• What will you be doing less of if you put resources into SM?
Case Study
• Show you what we are doing
• How it relates to our broader marketing efforts
• How we evaluate success?
Gettysburg Philosophy and Strategy
Each piece to the social media puzzle may be small but collectively they add up
Social Media needs to be integrated into our traditional approach to communications and marketing
Social Media is word of mouth marketing for prospective and current students as well as recent graduates
We do not have control of the message and we can take advantage of that fact
Social Media will play a critical role in the future of brand, marketing, and institutional visibility
MCCC’s Social Media PhilosophySocial Media ties into the College’s strategic plan, specifically the focus on
student access and success.
Primary uses are student engagement, media relations, advocacy, friend-raising.
Individual departments must work through the Director of Communications in order to become an “official” college-sanctioned social media site.
• Started at 1,150• Today at 1,600• 18 subgroups• Discussions
“I saw a job posting by '07 Grad for an entry level position. I reached out to with an email and then we spoke for about 20 minutes. It seemed as if the position had already been filled and I got off the phone feeling dejection for the 183rd time this year.
She phoned me two hours later explaining that her supervisor would love to meet me and asked if I could come for an interview. They called me and made the offer, only one week after I had inquired about it online through your Gettysburg College Professional Network.
It is the reason I had a chance in the first place. I start tomorrow and can't wait to begin working. ”
Despite the fact that the closing status is updated via text message, email, website, phone system, and media, students will still ask “are we open?” on Facebook, and will complain regardless of the answer.
THAT’S OKAY!
Our President Tweets (& yours should too!)
You-Tube = Exposure for Student Work
Social Media Stats
• Facebook• Main College page, 1,958 fans• Alumni page, 228 fans• Mustangs Athletics page, 179 fans• Cultural Affairs page, 158 fans
• Twitter• Main College account, 771 followers• President’s account, 116 followers• Mustangs Athletics account, 135 followers• IT Help-Desk account, 133 followers
Social Media Stats
• You-Tube• Main College channel, 27 video with 1,757 views• Humanities channel (for Communications’ student
work), 47 videos, 11,901 views.
• Other “New” Media Initiatives• iTunes U• Blogs (replacing some traditional newsletters)
Why Bother?• Five of the 10 online sites are social media sites.• “Social Networking” has recently replace “Porno” as the leading
online search.• Individuals ages 14-24 are online an average of 22 times per day,
changing, checking and searching their social media networks.• Social media is where Gen Y (11-31) and increasingly Gen X (32-
44) turn to first for information and interaction. • The number of small businesses using social media has more
than quadrupled since 2009 (that’s only 3 months ago!).• 65% of news media use social media as a source for leads and
information.
MCCC’s Next Steps
• Develop an official social media policy and procedure.
• Test the waters of new social media initiatives (Bebo, Delicious, LinkedIn, etc.) .
• Individuals ages 14-24 are online an average of 22 times per day, changing, checking and searching their social media networks.
• Provide professional/personal development opportunities for employees around social media.
Take-Aways
• The person at the hub of the wheel controls the overall message. We need to be the hub!
• Forget control. People who want to spread inaccurate information will.
• By providing consistent and timely information, colleges/universities can be powerful voices in the social media conversation.
• It’s easier to create a community of people who will talk and share media about you than it is to get total strangers to watch your ads.
