Presents the results of a 2013 community college social media study. The purpose of this study was to explore how community colleges use social media to communicate and build relationships with students and the campus community. The survey sought information about current usage, initial implementation, policies and guidelines, and best practices for institutional social media use. Learn more at www.leighannelawrence.com.

1. How Community Colleges Are Using Social Media to
Build Relationships & Drive Engagement
Leigh-Anne Mauk Lawrence
October 22, 2013

2. Hagerstown CC Quick Facts
o Founded in Maryland in 1946
o 100+ Programs of study
o Annual credit population
of 6,7000
o Annual non-credit
population of 9,500
www.hagerstowncc.edu
o Special emphasis on STEM
programming, health care,
business, and lifelong
learning
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3. Why a Community College Study?
Past Studies Had a Narrow Focus
 Focused primarily on four-year schools
 Focused on how social media can be incorporated into the curriculum
or used as a learning tool
 Have not addressed how social media can be used to build
relationships or foster community discussion (or be used as a PR tool)
Community colleges are wondering what’s next
 How do we maximize our social media effectiveness?
 How do we continue to build relationships and increase engagement?
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4. Survey Design & Methodology
 Voluntary, opt-in survey administered through SurveyMonkey.com
in Nov. 2012
 Survey questions were drawn from existing higher ed social media
research and the researcher’s own experience as a social media
administrator at a community college
 Study participants were selected from the NCMPR member directory
 Survey sent to PR/marketing/communications directors at 574
community colleges and technical schools across the nation
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5. Population Sample
Population Data by School
 188 schools from 44 states responded
for a response rate of 33%
 42% were rural
 33% were city-based
 25% were city-adjacent
(within 25 miles of a major city)
 Majority offered between 50-100
programs of study and had between
5,000-10,000 credit students
98% use social media
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6. Who, What, How, and Why
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7. Major Findings: What are schools using?
200
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Google+
Foursquare
LinkedIn
Flickr
Pinterest
Other
78% have been using social media for 3 years or more
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8. Major Findings: Why are they using it?
Top Seven Reasons Colleges Use Social Media
Sharing News & Events
Increasing Student Engagement
General Marketing/College Promotion
Community/Relationship Building
Promoting Student Support Services
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
Recruiting Prospective Students
Connecting with Alumni and/or Potential Donors
#6
#7
Not just for students anymore: 82% use social media to communicate and share
information with community members and the public
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9. Major Findings: How are schools using it?
Posting Frequency
Time of year plays a key factor in determining a posting schedule (i.e., if
classes are in session) as well as the target audience and the popularity of a
particular platform with that audience
 50% post content daily
 35% post more than twice a day to certain platforms
 10% post on a weekly basis
Content type
 Varies by platform type
 Majority of schools agree that different platforms appeal to different audiences
 That same 95% agree that content should be tailored to fit the intended
audience and platform through which content is being shared
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10. Top Contender: Facebook
 All 184 schools using social
media have at least one
Facebook page
 70% of those schools have
several different Facebook
pages for different
campuses, departments, or
programs
 91% said that Facebook is
their most popular social
media platform
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11. Top Contender: Facebook
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12. Top Contender #2: Twitter
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13. Top Contender #2: Twitter
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14. Schools Not Using Social Media
 Of the 188 respondents, only four were not yet using social media
 All plan to use social media—namely Facebook—in the future and
anticipate social media playing an important role in their colleges’
communications plans
“One billion Facebook users can’t be wrong.”
-Survey Respondent
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15. Challenges Before & After Implementation
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16. Initial Social Media Concerns
 Insufficient resources to properly manage social media
(e.g., staffing, funding, etc.)
 Concern about inappropriate posts by students
 Privacy concerns (e.g., FERPA violations)
 Concern about how to develop guidelines, policies, procedures, and
strategies for social media usage and implementation
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17. Initial Barriers Encountered
 Resistance by administration
 Lack of buy-in by staff and faculty
However…
o 45% did not encounter any barriers
when implementing social media at
their institutions
o Of those that did encounter
resistance initially, schools have now
found that “all embrace [social
media.]”
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18. Challenges Faced After Implementation
Other
Primary concerns: How to manage newly established social media accounts and/or how to
ensure that all staff and faculty were on the same page in regard to usage and administration
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19. What Goes in a Social Media Policy?
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20. To Policy or Not to Policy?
 40% have established official policies to guide social media usage at their
institutions
 32% are working on drafting a social media policy
 28% did not have an official, board-approved policy, but had created
guidelines
 85% felt that having social media policies and/or guidelines greatly
benefited the institution
A Brand New Policy?
 Many school chose not to create a separate social media policy, but instead
expanded existing policies on online communications, computer usage, or
other electronic media policies
 Polices governed both students and employees
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21. Common factors among schools
1.
One department oversaw
institutional social media usage
Only 11% had another department
overseeing social media usage and in
the majority of those cases, social
media was managed in collaboration
with the PR/marketing office
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22. Common factors among schools
2.
Content was not censored
- Students were free to post their opinions as long as those comments
were not “inappropriate”
Examples of inappropriate content included:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
“Hate speech”
Profanity or vulgarity
Name-calling or threatening language
Harassment of any kind (e.g., sexual, religious, racial, etc.)
Content that violated state or federal laws including copyrights
Partisan political activity
Selling of goods or services for personal or financial gain
Confidential information about the college, its staff, or its students
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23. Common factors among schools
3.
Social media administrators were required to adhere to specific
guidelines
Examples of guidelines/requirements included:
•
•
•
•
•
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Training in social media etiquette
Posting content a certain number of times per week
Responding to student questions and complaints
Integrating multimedia into their postings (e.g., photos, videos, etc.)
Taking classes/workshops on how to write for social media
Creating a social media plan for the institution prior to
implementation
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24. Engagement & Relationship-Building Using Social Media
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25. Engaging Students is Key
“We want [our students] to feel connected to the college and
to each other. We have to keep content coming on a regular
basis to do that. And we keep trying new things.”
-Survey Respondent
71% feel that social media could
have a positive effect on student
engagement and 58% believe that
it can have a positive effect on
student outcomes
64% believe that social media can
positively impact student retention
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26. How Do You Build an Online Community?
Effective social media management + Regular posting of fresh, multimedia-driven
content = Engagement
Most Rewarding & Beneficial Social Media Practices
Posting content on a regular basis
Allowing students to post comments and answering
student questions in a timely manner
Having one dedicated staff member oversee all college
social media accounts (i.e., a social media specialist or
similar position)
Posting college delays or closings and inclement
weather announcements
Highlighting positive human interest stories about
faculty, staff, and other students
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
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27. Top 3 Ways Schools Are Engaging Students
 By asking questions and seeking student opinions and feedback on
campus initiatives and improvements
 By allowing students to post directly on college social media accounts
(complaints and questions)
 By sharing stories and photos/videos that students care about (e.g.,
student life, faculty and student success stories, etc.)
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28. Going Beyond Campus:
Community Engagement
 Schools are using social media to connect with alumni, potential
donors, community leaders, prospective students, and the media
 Facebook and Twitter remain the most popular platforms for
communicating with non-students, although LinkedIn is growing in
popularity
 Engagement by non-students mostly consists of shares and retweets,
but that is expected to change as schools continue to integrate social
media into their communications plans
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29. What’s Next on the Social Horizon?
Predictions based on the 2012 study
 Schools will need to pick and choose what platforms will suit their
intended audience(s) best and develop plans on how to use those
platforms effectively
 As funding allows, more schools will begin hiring dedicated social
media managers to help guide institutional social media usage
 Colleges will need to provide training for faculty and staff
administrators
 Colleges will need to start offering training for students on how to use
social media professionally and how to monitor their online reputation
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30. Final Takeaways – Advice from the Trenches
 Choose your gatekeeper
 Find the keymaster
 Establish a social media policy
 Look before you leap
and don’t be greedy
 Avoid “shiny object syndrome”
 Hold faculty and staff accountable
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31. Final Takeaways – Advice from the Trenches
 Establish your voice
 Know your audience
 Post content regularly
 Catch their eye
 Go beyond the text message
 Get students involved
 Answer student questions
 Be open-minded and willing to learn
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32. Questions?
Leigh-Anne Mauk Lawrence
lmlawrence@hagerstowncc.edu
@writenowsocial
www.linkedin.com/in/leighannelawrence
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