Social Media Diary

Tufts University has been making headlines all over the world, because it is now giving potential students the option to submit a one minute video in addition to their traditional essays. The result is allowing the admissions reps to see a different side to their potential incoming class and it has also served as an indirect marketing tool for the university. Several thousand potential students have uploaded videos to YouTube proving in creative ways what going to Tufts means to them. Many of these videos have several thousand views with some even garnering more than a hundred thousand. That means thousands and possibly millions of people have seen how much these students want to go to Tufts. Right now, I’m working on getting the administration at OU on board with this idea. The videos would be in addition to their traditional essay and be an option. I’m pushing for it for five reasons. 1. Ottawa should stay on top of trends happening in the admissions process. 2. It will help us stand out from our competition. 3. The videos would indirectly serve as recruiting videos that other potential students would see. 4. We are using social media more and more in the admissions process. This is a natural evolution to our efforts. 5. Why not? We have nothing to lose by adding this an option. Here is a video from a potential Tufts student. How is great is this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNPXUWsMdIo

My goal is to develop (out of nothing) an innovative and creative social media strategy for Ottawa University. Emphasis on the innovative and creative. The first six months have been challenging, exciting, rewarding, frustrating, stressful, fun, boring at times and… I could go on and on. Since it takes me 50 minutes to get to work, I decided to make the most of out of my time and listen to some audio books (You can only hear Lady Gaga on the radio so many times before you will do this too). I am currently listening to 7 Habits for Managers by Stephen R. Covey. It is really shaping me up. I’m learning how to manage myself and how to manage others. I have put it to use already, which is why this post was created. My vision for Ottawa University is to have a social media strategy that is anchored by a fantastic Web site/micro-site that has tons of blogs written by our professors and faculty. Blogs that help people and that others can use. (thanks for that tip Chris Brogan)Off that anchor are strong presences on Facebook (which we already have), Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Off those sites are the smaller sites that we probably need to be on, but I won’t check often- Flickr, Yelp, etc. (Still deciding what to do about Foursquare…uggg) The day I know my work is done: Recruitment numbers are up and social media is clearly the reason, Ottawa has received an award for social media excellence, the Web site/micro-side I create becomes the most visited page on the Web site, faculty and staff understand social media and are using it like a well-oiled machine, and the administration isn’t nervous about what I might do. That’s how I will know I can walk down these halls, throw my arms out in the air and exclaim with the sincerest appreciation “you’re welcome, Ottawa!” What do you think? Am I just reaching for the stars?

We have been able to engage Ottawa’s Facebook fans so much more by simply asking them to give their opinion or asking them to take action. Facebook is a place to connect with people and talk to them. It is not a press release distributor. Our philosophy is, if you sound like one of our commercials, you aren’t doing it right. Since figuring out this “secret” we have become very good at figuring out how to get fans to comment and like with even the most tedious updates. For example, say you need to send an update about an upcoming choir event. Put a question at the end. “Do we have any choir alumni on this page? Leave us a comment and tell us the year you were in it!” Don’t fret about negative responses. Every fan page gets them. It comes with the program. Look at it as an opportunity to talk to them personally and prove to them that you appreciate their opinion. (That is, if it isn’t just flat out rude or mean. You can delete those and ban that person from your page. More on that later.) Address the comment, you might even win them over and they will give your brand even more respect.

When I meet someone who doesn’t understand social media or is leery of using it, one of the main things they ALWAYS say to me is “what if someone says something bad?” I am honest and let them know you will probably face some negativity in some form or another, but it probably won’t be the end of the world situation that you fear. Yes, there are some scary examples that we all hear about- Motrin moms or Kevin Smith and Southwest Airlines, but because you are afraid of what might happen isn’t a reason you should not do social media.  We have had to deal with some negative comments on Ottawa’s Facebook page. They don’t happen every day, but every once in a while. The funny thing is we are never surprised at who writes them. The fans who have gone off the deep end on our page all had some very similar behaviors.  1. They commented A LOT. In our case, they have always been people who seemed the most active and commented on everything. They wanted their presence known.    2. The tone of their comments always had some underlying hostility. These fans’ comments toed the line of negativity from the very beginning, but it wasn’t blatant and in the spirit of transparency, it was important to us that our fans be able to have an opinion. As long as they weren’t just plain rude. 3. They never have a profile picture. Their photo is always of a pet, or a symbol of some sort or just a blank face in general.  Here is how we are dealing with these rogue fans (at the moment)  1. We state clearly on our page that “profanity, rude remarks, and racial slurs will be removed and reported.” That way people know our expectations from the very beginning. We delete any comment that falls with in these bounds no questions asked.  2. Keeping our policy above in mind, we respond by a case-by-case basis depending the wording of the comment itself. Here are some examples that got us to where we are today on our stance of negative comments.   Sometimes our commenters have been angry alumni who have been disappointed by a campus visit or recent change. Depending on the wording of the comment, we may leave it up and respond to him/her directly on the page(transparency) and then I have the alumni director send them a personal message. When this has happened, the person always turns around to be a positive force on the page.  Sometimes our negative commenters have been people who have felt personally unjustified by the university in some way. In one instance we had a lady who was still upset about something that happened about 30 years ago and our Facebook page was her punching bag. We deleted all of her comments(because they were nasty) and she continued to rewrite them. We had no choice but to ban her from our page. We researched her back story and found that she has been attacking the university in one form or another for years. In another instance, a fan was upset about certain student groups being allowed on campus after he saw a student wearing that group’s t-shirt in a photo we uploaded. He made his comment. We responded to it on the page explaining the university’s policy on student groups in hopes he would understand and drop it. He responded back and stated we should change the policy and went into a lengthy rebuttal. After careful thought, we ultimately deleted the entire exchange and sent him a message stating that we understand where he is coming from, but that the photo on our Facebook page isn’t the place for that discussion and it could get out of hand quickly. We explained that we try to keep Ottawa’s Facebook as a place for positive interaction. We learned a lot from this situation that occurred in the span of about 45 minutes. Because his comment was so politically charged, there was no way to change his mind, so indulging him in on the page wasn’t the right thing do to.  In closing, every day is an adventure in social media. Because Ottawa isn’t a huge multi-national corporation, handling negative comments this way works for us. As we grow, this may change. But right now (and always) it will be extremely important that we are genuine, transparent and just plain nice to our fans, followers and connections. Besides, the positive comments far out way the negative and they make social media worth every second.  

If you are a social media person just like me, you are often faced with those who simply don’t understand it. It can be exhausting going into battle everyday for the rights of social media. The thing I find most frustrating is those who don’t understand it are leery to trust me. “Don’t post those photos until we know who is in them.” “Are you sure you want to give them all that information- for free?” “I don’t think anyone should have the right to be able to just use our assets (video, photos) anyway they want.”  Most of this fear comes from traditional marketers who don’t understand social media. Calming their fears has changed me. Social media in a lot of ways is about giving things away for free- knowledge, photos, insight, videos, t-shirts- anything to gain trust. I find myself being more opened minded. I have realized that I just can’t ever be a traditional marketer again. I find myself getting deeper and deeper into social media and really appreciating those companies who step out on a limb and use a little creativity and don’t do things like everyone else. I’m lucky I work for one- the people in charge get it.   There are many times, working in social media can seem like an uphill battle (and people are throwing rocks from the top at you). If you work in social media, I’m sure you understand that along with the awesomeness comes the constant education of others. Some are great to teach and others refuse to understand. It’s a good thing we have a support group called Social Media Club.  

Disclaimer: I’ve never been a wedding DJ, so I can’t say this is exactly what they go through. But, seems to be true.  Sometimes, I swear I could cry. My job is to make to almost 2300 people happy. My goal is to get them to comment, or like, or retweet. I spend my days trying to figure out how to make this happen. Sometimes it just WON’T. I have noticed that engagement activity comes and goes in waves. There are high points and low points. Right now, I’m totally in a low point. I’m pulling out all my best moves and I’m just not getting the desired response.  I was at a wedding this past weekend and decided the DJ’s job was very similar to mine as a Facebook page administrator. Here is how. A DJ wants everyone to dance and enjoy the music he is playing. Dancing for a DJ is the equivalent of comments and likes for me.  After the bride and groom do their first dance, the DJ usually plays the obligatory “let’s-get-this-party-started-everyone-please-dance” music. The songs on this playlist are usually “YMCA,” “We Are Family,” “Cotton Eyed Joe” and “Thriller,” during which it is typically the reluctant wedding party and family that must force themselves to dance (sober non the less) in front of everyone else at the wedding who is probably also still sober. But, hey, it’s for the bride!  This stage of the DJ’s playlist is very similar to when you just start your Facebook page. You start off with predictable posts about upcoming football games and new deans joining the campus(the equivalent of hearing “Celebration”). You get comments and likes, but realize the commenters are the people in your office. They are the equivalent of the family at the wedding party dancing (sober remember) just trying to make the party go smoothly. The DJ is fine with this, and probably realizes these are sympathy dancer. He needs to do more to get the rest of the guests involved.  So the family dancing works. A few others have ventured in. Wives of the groomsmen. Nieces and nephews. The DJ thinks, okay a few more people. Time to pull out “I Like Big Butts” (isn’t that song funny? He’s talking about butts, people!) The Facebook equivalent of this is when you start to notice new commenters popping up on your page, but as you look closer you realize that they are the daughters, husbands or wives of the already commenting co-workers. This is fine you think. I’m so appreciative of the support. Maybe it is time for me to go out and start getting some original Facebook-only content so I get our target market to actually start commenting! This is like the DJ taking requests.  So who does the DJ REALLY want to get dancing? The crazy friends of the bride and groom of course! He knows they are the most fun. It will be a fantastic party if the DJ can play just the right music to get those people away from the Franzia and Bud Light and over to the dance floor. Heck some are probably even engaged themselves and might even use him for their upcoming wedding if only he can get them up to the dance floor. That is the key! The equivalent of the crazy friends to me are the high school students, alumni, parents and other important constituents who are fans of our page who are the entire reason to have the page in the first place- they are our target.       How does the DJ get the crazy friends to dance? He has been studying and listening to his top 40 hits. He knows what these kids want to hear: Black Eyed Peas. He turns on the song, all of sudden everyone turns into Children of the Corn and is entranced by the steady beating of “I Gotta Feelin.’” People rush to the dance floor with arms flailing, because it really is going be a good, good night! The Facebook equivalent of this is when the admin has been doing their research and now understands what these likers/fans really want from this page. There is no turning back now. Everyone is commenting/dancing! Best party ever!   Uh-oh. The DJ decides to take a risk. A slow song. He dutifully plays Faith Hill and Tim McGraw’s “It’s Your Love.” Everyone leaves. This song is so 2000. You’re back to the family only dancing.This is like letting your Facebook page go boring for a few days. Will the commenters ever come back?!  The DJ scrambles. Time for another bump and grind song. He pulls out: “Hey Ya”. Nope, not working.  You lost ‘em. Time to regain the trust and go out with a bang. It is time for JOURNEY! Everyone’s back. They can’t resist Journey. You saved the Facebook page. You provided some irresistible content and all your commenters are back. Whew, relax. Right now, I’m totally having my slow song moment on our page. I’m really hoping the reason is just that it is summer. Whatever it is, I feel like I’m changing songs like a mad women and no one is even listening…err commenting! I’m sure all you wedding DJ’s out there know what I’m talking about.