w&m smug social media bootcamp
DESCRIPTION
Social Media Strategy, Facebook & Twitter 101, Content & Management TipsTRANSCRIPT
Welcome toSocial Media Bootcamp
Sponsored by theW&M Social Media Users Group (SMUG)
#wmsmug
The Plan
• Social Media Strategy
• Facebook Basics
• Twitter Basics
• Content Tips & General Advice
• ...plus lots of breaks and questions
"If you don't know where you're going, any road will
get you there.”
(paraphrase of) The Cheshire Cat, Alice in Wonderland(via Susan Evans, mStoner)
Who are you trying to connect with?
Answering this question first will help guide everything else
AlumniCurrent Students
Prospective Students Parents
General Public
Peer Organizations
• 2/3 of all internet users use social networking sites
• 83% of ages 18-29
Where is your target audience?
What are your goals for using social media?
Engage and connect with your audience
Humanize & give personality to your organization
Publicize events and promotions
Disseminate important information quickly
Generate brand awareness
What are users looking foron social media?
Show Brand Loyalty
Source: adage.comSource: brandwatch.com
Customer Service Rewards
Interesting UpdatesPeople want to share cool stuff with their
friends, family & peers
47% of users engage in customer service via
social media
58% Like a business’ Facebook Page because
they are a customer
57% want to receive discounts and promotions
Source: adage.com
Is your audience on social media?
Do your social media goals line up with your audience’s?
If so...
Not all online messaging tools are the same
≠ ≠ ≠You must tailor your strategy and message
for each platform, its strengths and its audience
Choose your tool...wisely
Questions?(followed by a 5 minute break)
During the break maybe try and write down...
Who is your target audience
What goals do you want to achieve with social media?
What information do you have to share that’s unique and interesting?
Basics
The driving force of Facebook
News feed is a regularly updating list of stories from friends, pages, and other
connections, like groups and events. People can like or comment on what they see.
Each person’s news feed is personalized* based on their interests and the sharing
activity of their friends.
* A ranking algorithm (known as EdgeRank) is used to selectively show what it determines is most relevant to you,
not all posts appear in the News Feed.
Profile• Used for real people
• User controls what information is public or private
• Must friend the person to see the majority of information and posts
* Avoid creating fake accounts - they violate Facebook’s usage policy and can be deleted at any time
*
Group• For small group
communication around a common interest
• Open, closed or secret
• Members and/or admins can share updates, photos and documents
• Members notified of updates, if under 5,000 members can send email
• A Facebook account is required to see any content
Page• Organizations,
businesses, celebrities and brands
• Anyone can like a page, will get updates in their news feed
• Managed by one or more administrators who can post, like, comment and share as the page
• All posts are public, users do not have to log in to see your page
Which should you use?
*In most cases...as always, there are some exceptions
*Page Group
Choosing a Name for your Page
Choose wisely and type carefully...Facebook doesn’t allow you to change
your name once you’ve set it(without jumping through a lot of hoops)
Try to include “William & Mary” or “W&M” in your Page Name (not “William and Mary” or “WM”)
Pick a username
• Provides an easier to read (and remember) URL
• Need 25 fans to set username. You can change it once.
• Try to use the same username across social media sites
• Include “wm” at the beginning or end if possible
Page Name:William & Mary
Creative Services
http://www.facebook.com/pages/William-Mary-Creative-
Services/123456789098765
Page URL:
http://www.facebook.com/wmcreative
Go To: http://www.facebook.com/username
Page Cover
Cover Photo851 x 315px
Profile Photo
160 x 160px
About Section Views & Apps
Page Name
Timeline
Posts by Page Posts by Others
Likes by Page
Types of Page Posts
(Highlighted) Photo postPost (with Link)
(Pinned) Event
Milestone
Tagging other Pages in a Post
• Type @ followed by the name of the page
• Creates a link to that page
• Post appears on the tagged page’s activity stream
• Provides publicity for you and that page
User Interactions with a Post
Like
Comment
Share
Click
wei
ght i
n FB
Edg
eRan
k
less
more
user
effo
rt
Threaded and Ranked Comments
Admin Panel
Comments and likes on your posts, wall posts
from othersDirect private
messaging
Admin Panel Edit About Section
Allow posting, tagging &
messaging by others
Check for miscategorized
spam
Act as the page on the rest of
Of course FB will be changing this soon...
Facebook Strengths
1 billionactive monthly users
Easy to interact
Post appears inNews Feed
Generates likes,comments, sharesVisually
focused
Questions?(followed by a 10-15 minute break)
During the break maybe peruse your organization’s Facebook Page...
Fill in your About section
Update your cover photo
Pin or highlight a post
Add a milestone
Skim through your Activity Log
Twitter Basics
#hashtag
@username
follow
tweet
retweet
140 characters
list
Twitter is...
“...like being delivered a newspaper whose headlines you always find interesting - you can discover news as it’s happening, learn more about topics that are important to you, and get the inside scoop in real time.”
-How is [Twitter] Useful? twitter.com
http://www.twitter.com/
Your Username/Handle
• Uniquely identifies you on Twitter
• Fewer than 15 characters
• Only letters, numbers and underscore “_”
• Cannot contain “admin” or “Twitter”
@wm_creativewm_creative
* Again, for official accounts, try to include “wm” either at the beginning or end of the handle
*
Your “Real” Name
• Displayed on your profile page & elsewhere
• Does not have to be unique
• Fewer than 20 characters
WM Creative ServicesName
@wm_creativeUsername
* For official accounts, try to include W&M (not WM). If you don’t have room, mention it in your bio.
*
Twitter profile page
Header photo
520 x 260px
Profile photo81 x 81px
Location and website
160 char bio Mention W&M and “official” if applicable
What’s a Tweet?Your post on Twitter in
140 characters (or less)
Text only
With a photo or video
With a link (some with “Twitter Cards”)
Following along
@common_squirrel’s Timeline
Your (@wmsquirrel’s)Timeline
ListsA curated group of Twitter users
W&M has two public Twitter lists: Official-ish and Unofficial
ListsA curated group of Twitter users
Time to interact
@mention
Public tweet, seen by all of your followers in their timelines
@reply
Only seen by those who follow both you and the user you’re replying to
Direct Message (DM)Private message
between two users
Retweet (RT)Web Retweet (via twitter.com)
Manual Retweet (using RT) Retweet with comment (and mention)
#hashtags
Official W&M Hashtag list:www.wm.edu/hashtags
• # followed by any word or phrase (no spaces)
• Used to categorize tweets, appear in searches
• Use capital letters to differentiate words
• Research before use
Twitter Strengths
Real-time information
Concise communication
Trackable and theme-driven using hashtags and search
Questions?(followed by a 10-15 minute break)
During the break maybe look around on Twitter...
Upload a header photo or background
Search for Twitter users and hashtags in your field
Create a Twitter list
Subscribe to W&M’s Twitter lists
Now that you’re familiar with the tools...
Start by listening
Listening will help you...
• Understand your audience (and what they’re saying about you)
• Learn what your audience likes
• Use social media as a conversation not a broadcast tool
Open Your Ears, Ma’ayan Plaut
...and collaborating
What interesting, useful and relevant information do
you have to share?
Content Tips
• Provide some benefit in exchange for users’ attention
• Ask meaningful questions
• Stay on topic, relate each post back to your organization or institution in some way
• Use a conversational tone, social media is not a formal platform
Photos
• Photos do not have to be professionally done, just a well-taken photo (in focus, etc.)
• Rotate banner photos with events, seasons
• Caption all images to provide context, attribution
View of the Wren Yard and Sunken Gardenvia @william_and_mary Instagram
Event Publicity• Create a Facebook Event
(rough RSVP count, questions)
• Offer insiders’ information (e.g. early ticket access)
• Provide behind the scenes photos, videos and stories
• Promote a hashtag, put it everywhere
• During and after the event, save activity in Storify
Facebook Contests
• Must release Facebook from any affiliation with the promotion
• Do not involve native Facebook actions (like, comment, share)
• Use a third party app for the contest
For more details: http://www.insidefacebook.com/2013/02/15/guest-post-in-2013-many-businesses-are-still-running-illegal-contests-on-facebook/
Create a Content Calendar
Campus Event
FacebookTwitter
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Announce a contest
Update cover photo
FacebookTwitter
Throwback
FacebookTwitter
Follow Friday #FF
Before hitting “Send”
• Don’t say anything online you wouldn’t want permanently recorded and associated with your organization
• Be just as courteous and respectful online as in person (no vulgarities, etc.)
• Always pause, reread, and check your facts, grammar, and tone
Do not engage the trollstroll (pron.: /ˈtroʊl/, /
ˈtrɒl/)someone who posts
inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic
messages in an online community...with the
primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of
otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.
Courtesy of wikipedia.com
Often the community will self-correct and self-police
Don’t let spam accumulateComments Photos Posts by Others
Recommendations Twitter Followers
Off topic, with no attempt to mention or reference your organization or field
Selling or promoting products/ventures (with no relation or reference to your organization or field)
Inflammatory, derogatory, profane, duplicate...
What constitutes spam?
Refer to theW&M Comment Policy
www.wm.edu/social-media-comment-policy
Profile Images
• Create a square image (don’t rely on auto-cropping)
• Choose something that uniquely identifies your organization (avoid using just a W&M mark) *
Photo of your staff, building, subject area
• Select something that will be recognizable when shown as a tiny square image
* Can use an existing logo if you have it, but do not create something new, new visual identity guidelines will be coming soon
Focus your efforts
When cross-posting: Customize
How will people find you?
Like/FollowSimilar/relevant accounts
Share/RetweetUpdates from others
Tag/Mention@williamandmary
Hashtag #wmgrad
Via your website
W&M Social Media Directory
Updating your website?
• Create content your audience wants to share
• Use a catchy headline that can be part of a post
• Include a photo or video on your page
• Include a Share Bar on your page
Make your content social
For more: Make Content More Social
Who is your “social media person”?
• Designate someone who is responsible for (and has time for) updating, monitoring and maintaining the accounts
• Should have the permission/authority to speak on behalf of your organization
• Make sure there’s one other person with access to the accounts for backup
Managing Your Social Media Time
5 minutestwice a day to monitor page and
answer questions
30 minutes once a week
to plan posts
Can schedule posts with Facebook, HootSuite or TweetDeck but be prepared for conversations daily
At minimum...
When will you post (and how often)?
Try different times of day and days of the week to find what works best
When is your audience most active online?
3xper week
1xper week
At minimum...
How will you determine success?
Attract X new fans or followers
Get Y comments, retweets or shares on your posts
Increase website traffic from social media by Z%
Set measurable & realistic goals
Success will not happen overnight, but if you don’t track something, you’ll never know how you’re doing.
~9,000 students, faculty & staff90,418 active alumni
It’s not all about the numbers
indifferent followers
Create interesting & engaging posts that people want to share,
and they will generate publicity for you
100 > 10,000dedicated &
engaged users
