If you are one of the many non-believers when it comes to the importance and relevance of social media, I encourage you to take a few minutes and watch some startling stats. Then decide.
Fastspot works with a number of higher education clients and the topic of social media and marketing is a hot one. On one hand, many higher educational institutions are scared pantless of the notion that content might be getting created that they can’t control. They are very used to being tight-handed when it comes to their own marketing materials. But then, social media arrived. Obvious culprits like Facebook and YouTube made it very easy for students to post embarrassing or less-than-”academic” content to share with the world; or, worse yet, hijack what might appear to others as the “official” school Facebook page. Then even more sinister sites like StudentsReview.com and College Prowler came on the scene, promoting student reviews. All of a sudden, it didn’t really matter if colleges and universities thought social media was something beneath them—it was something they couldn’t ignore.
Here is what some schools are forgetting: Your brand, your reputation, the overall impression people have of you is comprised of many things. If I go to a party, get drunk, cause a scene, break expensive things, and offend people, then I will have tarnished my reputation, my personal brand. And, likewise, if I hear that a story is circulating about my antics at the party, I will know that I may meet people who have now formed an opinion about me based on that story. So, I manage my reputation by acting in a way that I feel best reflects who I am and how I want others to perceive me, even people I haven’t met yet. And here’s the real kicker: If I do go out and act inappropriately or embarrass myself, chances are that word will spread fast thanks to the social media networks that are becoming embedded in our daily realities. It’s not only words that are spreading; I should probably expect photos and videos to accompany the posts spreading like wildfire through my social networks about my less-than-optimal activities.
The above situation in corporate situations is called “crisis”. Many PR agencies sell “Crisis Management” services to help these companies deal with bad news in a proactive manner. This is very important for companies; they need to show their board, their stock owners, and the public that they are aware of the realities facing them, and are addressing them head on. However, higher education—especially top tier institutions—face an interesting dilemma. Since part of their appeal to those top-tier-seeking students is their selectivity, the last thing they want to do is advertise any bad news or address any unsavory situations. This creates a predicament: Do schools acknowledge difficult situations, or do they try to ignore them and keep up a good front? Regardless of the decision, schools need to recognize that others outside of their control will be speaking of it whether they like it or not. In my opinion, this makes the case for embracing all the realities—the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Talking heads: Twitter avatars courtesy of fixoutlook.com, a Twitter-driven social site.
Now we arrive at the question: How do we embrace the realities being posted about us on these social media networks? Do we create a brochure talking about our Facebook page in hopes prospective students will become fans and get our take on things versus what they are finding elsewhere? Do we write long blog posts about things happening on campus with a positive slant? Do we hire a PR firm or advertising agency to help us spin things the right way?
None of those are the solution to the problem. The fact is, the people colleges and universities are seeking to communicate with are the very people who abhor direct marketing efforts, who can smell spam a mile away, who toss paper into the recycling bin with prickly disdain for the wastefulness of a mailer; all while juggling 20 text message conversations, checking their RSS feeds, commenting on a new video on YouTube, and posting to Facebook that they will not be applying to your school because you just ticked them off. Yes, the generation of the “entitled” and “self-righteous” may be one way to categorize this group. The other vantage point clearly shows a generation who places greater value on peer to peer networks, short blips of information, brands that put stories and reality in the forefront and embrace the “anti-marketing” approach. In the age of reality TV, social networks, blogger reporting, and instantaneous information sharing thanks to the newly-emerging real time sites like Twitter, a long winded page of copy about how great you are has a slim chance of getting any attention, let alone making a connection.
I was once given a very good bit of advice and some clever author made millions on this same tip when they published the book, The Secret. If you want something, ask for it. As a college or university, you undoubtedly have more fans than critics, especially if you consider not only current students, but also your faculty, staff and alumni. Chances are these fans are out there on campus right now, updating Flickr with some beautiful pictures they just took of their newly-decorated dorm room or of a speaker at commencement. Next, they are possibly shooting some video of friends at a party before they head off-campus for the summer. And most of them are probably posting their status, pictures or video to Facebook, YouTube or Twitter. With the exception of Facebook, you can see if my hypothesis is correct simply by going to these sites and searching for your institution’s name, then sorting the results by “most recent”. Amazing. All this great content is being poured out there on these networks, and most of it is probably benign, humorous or even flattering—it is, most importantly, real. Here lies the gold vein glittering in the mountain side. Now, how do you mine it?
Let me back up a bit and talk about Twitter. One of the reasons for Twitter’s meteoric rise to fame and popularity was due to the open platform on which it was developed. Any programmer can easily create their own app or Website, tweaking the way in which Twitter’s feeds are displayed and managed. Hundreds, if not thousands, of third party apps and Websites now jockey for a slice of this ever-expanding user group, and Twitter is happy to have so many dependents riding on its platform.
This idea isn’t new; it’s been a critical element in the success of earlier Websites like YouTube and Flickr. This concept of aggregation allows users to access, gather and arrange all this great content in any variety of ways which cut down on the need for redundant behaviors (like uploading videos to multiple sites; who has the time?), makes sharing content in multiple places easier (I update my status in Twitter and it feeds into my wall on Facebook), and helps users stay connected with an ever-expanding social network. I get comments on my video, my blog, my Facebook status, a new follower on Twitter and I know about them all thanks to my handy email alerts. I check my RSS reader to see if any new mention of my brand has appeared on Twitter, on a blog, anywhere on the internet. I review Google Analytics to see who was visiting my Website, what they were doing and how long they were doing it. Are you seeing the trend here? All this information, content, everything—its portable and malleable. And trust me, the companies who are winning the battle to have the most users on their sites are spending millions ensuring they keep them there—by giving them what they want.
So, the key is to ask your fans to keep doing what they are doing, but ask them to allow you access to certain parts and in certain ways. You are asking them to become ambassadors for you, empowering them to shape the future of the place they love so dearly by being their own “reality TV star”. Of course, you will be keeping a close eye as some ambassadors may get overzealous or misguided in their efforts, but you won’t tell them that. As you find the real gems in their mix, you will encourage them further by giving them a $100 Flip Cam to ensure they can make a video of graduation; highlighting their photos or blog posts; praising them for their witty status updates. And you use the power of these open networks to aggregate all this great content into your very own social media site. You’re saying to your prospective students, “Here, have an unfiltered, non-marketing, authentic and real look at who we are. If you like what you see, get in touch.”
They’re there browsing the photos being pulled in from Flickr and the newly-uploaded videos from YouTube, and considering following some of the students on Twitter who are posting interesting things. Guess what? You just tricked them into letting you market to them. Now you are speaking their language, giving them what they want, and staying out of the way. You are letting them decide to share a funny video within their own protected network of friends, comment on something they find interesting, or simply browse through the short, random, unmediated blips of data which form their opinion of you. You have the confidence of knowing you do in fact have some control over what has made it to the site, while also knowing these visitors are now less likely to seek that kind of user generated content out on their own. Why bother? It’s just been served up to them in one convenient location.
Note: Facebook is one gigantic exception to this scenario due to their limited accessibility to outside programmers. However, they are slowly moving towards a more open network as a necessity to stay as relevant as newly-emerging networks such as Twitter. We hope to be pulling in Facebook profile data, wall posts and photos in a matter of months.
So, we propose this to our higher education clients: Are you giving your prospectives what they want? If not, we suggest you get in touch, we have lots of ideas to share with you on how to go about doing this. And, make haste as you read this because another photo or tweet or video that may be painting your institution in a less than vibrant palette is probably making the rounds out there somewhere.
Here are two sites that are using user generated content to promote their own marketing agendas:
Sharpie
Baltimore City
We expect to be adding to this list soon, and if you have any great examples please let us know!
The first step is to set up a Twitter account and username. (You hopefully already know you do this at Twitter.com) Your username should reflect your organization and you should include all of the requested information within the “Settings” fields. Make sure you include an email address that is monitored; you will receive email notifications of new followers and any direct messages (private messages) you receive at this address.
Make sure you include the link back to your Website and the copy in the “One Line Bio” field that explains who you are and the purpose of your Twitter account; this can also be your organizational one line bio. Here is a critical reason why you should ensure your bio info and picture are unique: When you follow someone, they will see you in their list of “Followers”; all they will see is your username, real name, and picture. If they hover their mouse over your username, they will be able to take a quick look at your one line bio and this usually prompts them on whether they will follow you back or not. If you don’t share information about who you are, people will be less likely to want to follow you back, or even follow you at all.
If you choose, include your real name and upload a portrait vs. a logo. There are some studies supporting the notion that people prefer to make a personal connection as compared to following a corporate presence. Also, customize your profile. Don’t leave the default Twitter visual settings—picture, design, colors, etc.—in place.
Managing Twitter
Whoever is managing your Twitter account should be willing to “tweet” several times a week at the very least on topics related to your organization and area of focus. Ideally, you should contribute useful content, links of interest, upcoming program or event information, etc., as often as possible. The more content you contribute, the more likely you are to gain visitors who may be searching for words included in your tweets or simply watching the public timeline. You will also appear more “active” to a prospective follower, which will encourage not only more followers but “retweets”. Remember, Twitter is quickly becoming a search resource, so the more content you have out there and the more your content is “retweeted”, the more likely you are to grow your audience.
The person managing the Twitter account should also be available to answer questions and should browse Twitter’s search engine (http://search.twitter.com) for any mention of your non-profit or other related topics. It is important to keep the account active so potential followers will feel that they will get interesting posts and answers to their questions. We recommend you check your Twitter account for posts directly to you in the form of public tweets or private messages. You will also be able to see in the @username listing if anyone has mentioned your twitter account in a message to another Twitter user. If you see anyone mentioning you, make sure you follow the contributor or reply to a question they may be asking.
Twitter protocol is rather vague, but here are some good rules to follow: If someone follows you, follow them back; however, when you review your followers, we recommend you take a close look at each follower’s bio (by hovering your mouse over their username in your “Followers” list on the Twitter.com Website). Make sure they aren’t a spammer or completely unrelated to your organization. Follow anyone that seems to be a legitimate person or organization. You can always opt to “Unfollow” them anytime in the future or block them if they become a pest.
Twitter Tools and Applications
There are many useful Twitter desktop and mobile applications which make the service even more powerful than it is in the twitter.com browser experience. Consider using TweetDeck for your desktop application. If you are using a BlackBerry or iPhone, try out different apps until you find one you like. TweetDeck lets you spread out all of your messages and replies and sort those you follow into categories, which makes staying up on the posts much easier.
TweetLater.com lets you set tweets up to be automatically sent out over the coming hours and days. It’s a very useful Website if you are going to be traveling or want to enter a batch of tweets but not have them all go out at the same time—something we don’t recommend doing, as you will annoy your followers by taking up the entire browsing space with all of your posts.
I am a big fan of Twittelator Pro on my iPhone, but have heard great reviews of other iPhone Twitter apps, as well. Each has its pros and cons; try a few of the free versions out and see which one suits you best.
Another tip and perk to using an application like TweetDeck is the built-in URL shortening functionality. This will automatically shorten long links to be more Twitter-friendly and take up less space. Additionally, Twitter apps usually include tools for embedding pictures in your posts. Most studies show that tweets most likely to be clicked on, generate followers or get retweeted include links or pictures. The Website Bit.ly (http://bit.ly/) also allows you to create shorter URLs, as well as track your click through rates.
Twitter for Marketing and Promotion
Here are some great ways to consider using Twitter to promote your marketing and communication initiatives—and grow overall awareness of your non-profit.
Generate traffic. Twitter can be used to get traffic to your Websites or the sites of partner organizations. If you ask your Twitter friends to tweet about it (”retweet”), the message will spread faster and further as other active users pick it up.
Remember, don’t be afraid to join the conversation. If you see someone asking a question or asking for advice, jump in! Also, if you want your message to be spread, ask users to retweet it for you. Usually, if you end your post with “Pls RT” (RT meaning “retweet”) and keep your original post short enough to make the RT easy, you will get your post spread to more readers.
Tip: Since each tweet is limited to 140 characters, if your original post is 135 characters and you ask people to retweet it for you, their newly-created message will automatically be too long. retweets append the post with “RT@yourusername” included to give credit back to the original poster. So, keep it short and sweet!
Help generate interest in fund raising. If you are running any kind of contest, give away, etc., Twitter can be a great way to spread the word.
Hire People/Find Volunteers. Need a new employee, freelancer, intern or volunteers? Send out a message asking for recommendations or resumes or send out a link to your site with more information on the open positions. This is a very quick and easy way to find good potential matches for your staffing or volunteer needs.
Get Feedback. Need an impromptu focus group? Send out a message asking for advice and you’ll receive replies from other users. This is especially effective if you offer an incentive, like a free T-shirt to the tenth person who replies, etc..
Networking. Twitter can be used as a great platform for you to interact with other like-minded people and organizations. It can be used to establish relationships which you may call upon in the future for a variety of needs.
Real-Time Event Updates. Organizations can use Twitter as a means to inform event participants and announce latest event happenings/changes. Use hashtags (#) as ways to universally tag and group tweets in one place.
Tip: Hashtags can be anything you want to make them so, if you are hosting an event called “Give Our Non-Profit Money”, you can add “#gonpm” to every tweet and your followers or fellow tweeters will be encouraged to do the same for any related tweeting. Then, clicking on that hashtag within any tweet will take the user to a listing of all of the tweets including that hashtag. It’s a quick easy way to group tweets so other readers can follow along with the thread or event postings.
Find people who need you. Twitter can be used as a means to find potential resource recipients online. Do a search for keywords related to your non-profit on Twitter Search and then follow those users.
Twitter Resource Links
Morning News article on Twitter Etiquette: http://www.themorningnews.org/archives/the_thoughtful_user_guide/writing_my_twitter_etiquette_article_14_ways_to_use_twitter_politely.php
Another great site for Twitter information on getting started: http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/03/the-ultimate-guide-for-everything-twitter/
Cold Kiwi posted “The Top 15 Reasons to Use Twitter” and they cover many of the benefits Twitter provides: http://larrison.blogspot.com/2008/01/top-15-reasons-to-use-twitter.html
http://cutedogtheory.wikispaces.com/
http://www.socialmediaexplorer.com/2009/01/05/social-media-target-strategies-for-a-better-2009/
http://www.toprankblog.com/2008/03/social-media-marketing-strategy/
http://www.twitip.com/whats-in-it-for-your-followers-how-to-be-a-useful-on-twitter/
Have some other useful tips for non-profits or are you a non-profit using social media in new and successful ways? Let us know by adding a comment to this post!
You can follow me here. See you on Twitter!
I read lots of books about business, and how to do the right things in business. I think many of them are obvious and say the same things. I think some of them are just plain stupid and self obsessed. I learned how to succeed in business by first learning to become a painter.
When faced with a blank canvas and your paints, you must make decisions, and once you start, you have to commit to them. You have to start with an idea, and be comfortable that many hours and days might go by before your idea ever starts to take shape on the canvas. You have to be open to new ideas or directions presenting themselves to you along the way. You also have to be willing to make an ugly painting.
Painting the way I paint isn’t a relaxing pass time. The canvases are large, the brushstrokes are thick and the whole process is fairly physical. When I come home at night, I am tired. I have to force myself to go into the studio, and have faith that progress will happen. Even an hour is better than nothing.
As the painting develops, it will reach a variety of stages where it looks really good, there will be this one amazing brush stroke or color passage, and I will want to stop and leave it as is. But my gut tells me, its just not done. I hang it at the foot of my bed and look at it when I go to sleep, and first thing when I wake up. If my gut keeps telling me its not done, I take it back into the studio. I have to be completely unafraid of destroying the parts I was getting attached to, as they do not make the entire experience of the painting.
As the painting evolves, great passages are covered over or scraped away, it moves through stages where it just looks like a mess, sometimes it needs to dry for a bit, sometimes I switch to my sketchbook or start another completely different painting. I am patient, but I keep going at it, until my gut tells me it is done. Then I start all over again.
What I learned as a painter applies directly to how I run my business. I work at it tirelessly, and am not afraid of failure (as its only a temporary situation). I let other ideas come into the playing field, and I don’t look for a quick fix. I trust my gut and am not afraid to make scary decisions. I have had to let good people go, and lost good clients due to not listening to my gut. Intuition, courage and action are powerful when combined, and if you just make the effort to get started and keep at it, amazing things will happen. If you can inspire this in your team, then you are definitely guaranteed to succeed!
