University Business - January 2012 - (Page 12)

Behind the news social media U The Policy Police Future Shock PeoPle can be very sensiTive abouT Their social media accounts, as witnessed any time Facebook makes changes to the news feed presentation. so it makes sense that the Sam Houston State University (Texas) campus reacted badly when administrators tried to implement a new social media policy requiring any school group with shsu in its name to grant administrative access to the Marketing and communications department. cries of “free speech” quickly followed. since then, reports in the campus newspaper indicate a social media committee was created and tasked with developing a new policy. leaders at all levels are realizing any attempt to control posts is doomed to fail. That kind of policy is “short sighted and entirely misses the point of social media,” says Mark Greenfield, a higher ed web consultant and associate consultant at noel-levitz. “institutions need to understand that social media is a dialogue, not a monologue,” he points out, and administrators especially shouldn’t expect to have control over third-party sites. cases are making their way through the courts on actions such as administrators removing posts made on a school’s Facebook wall. since social media is a dialogue, it’s best to open one up before a new policy is put in place. campus departments and groups that are already using social media should be part of policy development and enforcement, advises stephanie Geyer, associate vice president of web strategy services at noel-levitz. students with the most interest in social media policy, she adds, are likely those who are involved in student government and clubs—so they’re “already at the table and working as brand champions for the school.” Many schools are successfully using social media to engage constituents and provide excellent customer service, Geyer says. The next step would be having those students engaging with prospects about why their school is a good choice. but first, everyone has to agree on acceptable behavior. —A.M. beyond Facebook: What’s next for social Media in higher ed Last November, Facebook wuNderkiNd mark Zuckerberg paid a visit to Harvard for the first time since dropping out in 2004. in his address to students, the social media guru proclaimed that Facebook “is just getting started.” remarkably, social networking has, in the past five years, forever changed the higher learning landscape. it will profoundly shape the higher ed marketplace in the next decade. today, it’s estimated that more than 800 million people around the world depend on Facebook. Gone are the days when colleges and universities relied solely on glossy viewbooks filled with smiling faces, fall foliage, and ivy-covered bell towers to ramp up admissions and conversion yield. today’s students get information about colleges by “chatting” with enrolled students about their most engaging learning and living experiences, exploring virtual 3-d campus tours, and watching studentproduced videos. administrators are now exploring new ways to engage prospective students and keep them coming back for more by using Facebook, twitter, Youtube, foursquare, itunesu, and other social networking pathways. we were surprised to learn that a significant number of colleges and universities do not yet use these social networking tools to their full potential. in response to this unmet need, social media organizations such as 7summits are now working closely with institutions to better target, link, and leverage social media marketing strategies to influence student audiences. in so doing, 7summits recognizes that social media is new terrain for most colleges and universities, and that it takes specialized expertise and practical experience to maximize social media impact for these campuses and the students they serve. at the end of the day, 7summits and others are helping colleges and universities stay ahead of the social media learning curve. so, what’s next for social media tools like Facebook in higher ed? the answer, according to The Social Network movie character and Napster creator sean Parker, is this: “You don’t even know what the thing is yet, how big it can get, how far it can go.” For more on social media in higher education, see the online version of this column at www.universitybusiness.com. —James Martin and James E. Samels, Future Shock columnists, are authors of turnaround: Leading stressed colleges and universities to excellence (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009). Martin is a professor of English at Mount Ida College (Mass.) and Samels is president and CEO of The Education Alliance. soUNd BiTe ‘H e wants to better understand systems and universities that are putting forth bold and comprehensive plans to enhance excellence and contain costs. —Francisco Cigarroa, chancellor of The University of Texas System, on President Obama Source: The Austin American-Statesman ‘ 12 | January 2012 universitybusiness.com http://www.universitybusiness.com http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - January 2012

University Business - January 2012
Contents
Editor's Note
College Index
Ad Index
Behind the News
Human Resources
Campus CFo
Getting Carded
Choosing telepresence
boosting the bottom line
Printer Purchase Pointers
Money Matters
Viewpoint
End Note

University Business - January 2012

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