Best Practices in Social Media

Your guide to being social as an instructor and a professional, and how to help your students do the

same!

Kristin Salingkristin.saling@usma.edukristin.saling@gmail.com

(o) 845-938-4576

Overview• Why should YOU be on social media?

– Managing your reputation– Staying technologically current– Marketing yourself

• Why should YOUR STUDENTS be on social media?– All the same reasons!!

• What do WE do with social media?• Questions and Comments

State of Social Media in 2012

Future of Social Media

Baekel. T. (April 27, 2009). Where is everyone? Baekel Online Magazine. Retrieved from

http://www.baekdal.com/articles/Management/market-of-information/.

Priority 1:Managing Online Reputation• Are you already on Social Media outlets?• You SHOULD be!• One of your first priorities should be to make yourself aware of

your own online presence as an individual and a professional. Just because you didn’t personally build a presence doesn’t mean you don’t have one!!

• And remember, once something is online…do these firsties and these captains look familiar to you?

Managing Online Reputation• A reputation has many attributes:

– A latent construct that encompasses the character, conscience, or credibility of the individual or entity in question

– Social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIN have become tools for managing reputation online with both positive and negative outcomes

– If you are not online, you can’t see what’s being said about you! And worse, your online reputation will be based solely on what others have to say about you!

Priority 2: Staying Technologically Current

• A look at our cadets’ perspectives:– DNA fingerprinting and maps of the

human genome have always existed– Computers have always had a CD-

ROM disk drive– The Gulf War happened before they

were born– LBJ are the initials of LeBron James

and not the 36th President– They have always been able to swipe

cards at McDonald’s– Czechoslovakia has never existed– There has always been an Internet– They have never pointed at their

wrists to ask for the time– Amazon has never been just a river in

South America– When Facebook launched, some of

them were too young to join

• There is a growing academic trend in implementing new technology into the classroom as well as engaging in conversation outside the classroom

• In order to be able to converse with our students intelligently, we need to be able to communicate with them across many media!

Priority 3: Marketing Yourself!

• Social media is a great way to get your work and yourself in the mainstream – with today’s technology, you can be your own PAO!

• Are you working on a great project? Are you looking for a new project/new research? Let your professional network know on LinkedIN or share to the official pages on Facebook!

• Accentuate the positive. People tend to look down on negative commentary regardless as to the source, so whenever you can, play up the positive in your work.

Reputation Do’s and Don’t’s• Do NOT:

– Post any pictures or opinions you would not want your family to see

– Assume that, whatever the settings, your profile/account is private

– Assume that your boss/friends/family do not Google you if they’re technoliterate

– Be afraid of social media

• DO:– Safeguard your personal

information– Remember that you are

setting an example, and make it a good one

– Establish your own reputation online – what do you want people saying about you?

– Use the opportunity to network, connect, and expand your influence!

Technology Do’s and Don’t’s• Do NOT:

– Be afraid to branch out into new technology and new media

– Use sensitive personal information on social sites – you should not have that much faith in the technology behind online security

• DO:– Provide cadets with

resources they can use outside the class

– Promote an environment of collaboration that spans across different social and professional networks

– Keep in contact with cadets after they leave your class – you may need a research minion and they may need a grad school recommendation!

Marketing Do’s and Don’t’s• Do NOT:

– Forget that even if your pictures/username/ID don’t have anything to do with the Army or West Point, people will still know that you are in the Army

– Post anything with alcohol in it – HR offices scour employees’ social media and this is the biggest detractor

– Be a negative commentator – regardless of the subject, people tend to shy away from negative chatter and your message will get lost

• DO:– Be aware that your actions

reflect upon West Point and the Army whether or not you are wearing the uniform

– Promote your “brand” and play to your strengths – you are sharing the best of what you and your institution represent, so don’t be afraid to show off a little!

Something to think about…• “It takes many good deeds to build a

good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.”

-- Benjamin Franklin

Our Social Media Presence

• Our department has an official presence in the following outlets:– Facebook– Linked IN– Flickr– Vimeo

Noactivity

Someactivity

Lots ofactivity

Facebook Notes…

• There is no such thing as a fully private account, so have your students like the page to keep up on systems events

• Think reputation management – if you like the page, your profile picture and information are visible! This is a good student mentorship opportunity (and a chance to check yourself!)

Find our page on Facebook to find:

• News links• Research

opportunities• Class/student events• Pictures• Highlights

Join LinkedIN to see:

• Job recommendations• Grad school recommendations• Professional updates• Research/job opportunities• Link to other groups and associations

like ASEM, SWE, MORS…

A closed group for professional networking!

Create your profile and build your network!

An online photo host used for events with larger audiences and a larger number of photos (and key for those folks who just won’t get on Facebook!)

Photos are open sourced but members can leave comments

All photos must have appropriate names

You can subscribe to the “photostream” for the latest updates and photos

An online video sharing platform

West Point Department of Systems Engineering has a channel on which we share promotional videos and other material of interest

If you have ideas for this platform, please share them with the Commo Committee!

• Twitter• YouTube• Pinterest• Foursquare• Digg• Reddit• StumbleUpon• Tumblr• Blogger• Google +

What else is out there?

Social Media Resources• Websites

– Brian Solis: www.briansolis.com – The Google of Social Media - Samepoint.com– Another good search engine -

Socialmention.com– Social Media Influence (Case studies):

http://socialmediainfluence.com/ – Pew Research Internet Resources:

http://www.pewinternet.org/ • Blogs

– Mashable: www.mashable.com – PR Squared: http://www.pr-squared.com/ – PR Sarah Evans: http://prsarahevans.com/ – PR Daily– Social Media Today:

http://socialmediatoday.com/ – Social Times: http://socialtimes.com/

Additional Resources for Reputation Management

• Dr. Leslie Gaines-Ross (Weber-Shandwick Chief Reputation Strategist): http://reputationxchange.com/

• Reputation Rx: http://www.reputationrx.com/• Online reputation (Reputation Rx):

http://www.reputationrx.com/Default.aspx/ONLINEREPUTATION

• Reputation Institute (Corporate): http://www.reputationinstitute.com/

Any questions or comments?

Thank you very much.

MAJ Kristin Salingkristin.saling@usma.edukristin.saling@gmail.com

(o) 845-938-4576

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