Dr. Janelle Ward gave a presentation on building an effective social media strategy. She discussed understanding an organization's web presence both through official websites and social media. She explained that communication can be one-way broadcasts or interactive exchanges. Her research found most organizational communication online was one-way while social media allowed for more transparent but superficial interactions. She reviewed popular platforms like Facebook and Twitter and common practices. Her recommendations included starting with a strategy, talking to users, choosing platforms carefully, and making web presence cohesive.

1. Building an effective
social media strategy
Dr. Janelle Ward
Erasmus University Rotterdam
25 May 2012

3. What we will cover today
○ Understanding web presence
○ Communication via social media
○ Your organization's social media use
○ Best practice
○ General recommendations

4. Web presence
○ Official website
○ Social media

5. The role of communication
○ One-way
○ Interactive

6. One-way online communication
○ Generally based on a broadcast model
(sender to receiver), and is primarily
informative in nature
○ My research: most communication was one-
way

7. Interactive online communication
○ Two-way communication: response and
feedback
○ ‘transactional’ interactivity: Gathering information
from users
○ ‘coproductive’ interactivity: Encouraging users to
respond to the organization and to other users
○ My research: little transactional, almost no
coproductive

8. Facebook
○ Est. 2004; 900 million users
○ My findings: transparent - though
superficial - interaction with
supporters

9. Twitter
○ Est. 2006; 500
million users
○ My findings:
mainly used as
a broadcasting
medium (one-
way
communication)

10. Today's participants: social media practices
○ studio italia-Rome
○ FB icon; link back to website
○ Het Perspectief-Gent
○ "like us!"; Twitter broadcast
○ west-street-marketing-London
○ unusual icons; Twitter ratio, RT overload
○ Volkshochschulen – Rheinfelden
○ no social media (googled); contact info clear
○ EOI Toledo
○ FB (open) group instead of page (alumni & employees)

11. Best practice
Notes in Spanish

12. Best practice
Notes in Spanish - Facebook

13. Best practice
Notes in Spanish - Twitter

14. Recommendations
○ Start with a strategy; continue with a strategy
○ where are you now? where do you want to go?
where/how will you assess along the way?
○ Talk to your users
○ Choose platforms carefully and stay updated
○ Make web presence holistic

15. Thank you!
○ The book: Communicating Citizenship
Online. Hampton Press: 2012
○ Email: janelle.ward@gmail.com
○ Web: janelleward.com
○ Twitter: @janelle_ward