Book Review: Digital Leader by @equalman

Many people read author Erik Qualman's (@equalman) first book, Socialnomics. If not, you may have viewed one of his videos on YouTube regarding the social media revolution such as this one:

 

Qualman has aided several companies in building leading digital strategies, focusing heavily on the use of social media.

His latest book is Digital Leader. In it, Qualman provides an easily digestible (if not necessarily easily launchable) strategy for individuals to maximize their leadership potential in the social media/digital space.

Digital Leader breaks down into five main parts, each set around what Qualman sees as a truth that will help you develop your own digital STAMP. They are: Simple, True, Act, Map and People.

I personally enjoyed reading Digital Leader. Qualman writes with a style that is both conversational and motivational. Professionals who have spent time trying to articulate a vision for social media to supervisors and colleagues will find several "a-ha" moments in the ways that Qualman distills transformative technology into parallels with the non-digital world.

Qualman uses the book to challenge the reader to assess who they are currently in the digital world and to recognize the potential of who they could be in that same space. His suggestions are also quite realistic. Although Qualman wants people to take full advantage of the full spectrum of social media possibilities, he does recognize the need to power down and go offline. In fact, he recommends committing to checking email only twice a day. This is welcome advice for those of us who check our email with the fervor of Pavlovian dogs.

I have only two criticisms of the book. The first is that Qualman appears to implore people to use the digital space for only “big” moments. In parts of the book, he shows impatience for using time to talk about the TV show you watched as opposed to spending it creating content for a blog about changing the world.  He does this because he feels that every step we take in the digital universe leaves a lasting footprint—with the theory that we would want our footprints to stand out.  I agree with this to a point.  However, if our digital persona and our "IRL" (in real life) persona are indeed one and the same, authenticity only comes when we share all of ourselves. I think Qualman underestimates the long-term value of future generations knowing some of the day-to-day things that we found interesting in the present day.  For purposes of future research, we are all now primary sources. 

My second quibble is that at times he tends to remind the reader about some of the famous people he has shared the stage with or worked with.  His ideas are strong enough to stand on their own without him needing to seek an imprimatur from a well-known CEO or world leader.

This book is full of great ideas without being dense. It is the perfect read for an airplane trip (although I recommend the hard copy so you do not have to power down below 10,000 feet).

Qualman is on Twitter @equalman, and he interacts often with readers and answers questions.

If anyone else has read Digital Leader, I would be curious to know what your own assessment of this book is in the comments.

Using Social Media in a Crisis: A Snapshot

Chris Syme is a former higher education communications associate who now heads her own agency, CKSyme.org, based in Bozeman, Montana. The agency specializes in crisis/reputation communications, social media integration, and training.

A majority of higher education institutions have had one or more potential reputation-damaging events discussed in traditional and social media channels in the last 12 months, according to a new study. In addition, while 85 percent of reporting schools have crisis communications policies, only 59 percent of those policies address the use of social media in a crisis. 

The study was conducted by CKSyme.org in partnership with CASE in the fall of 2011. Highlights of the survey findings are below, reports for higher education and independent schools can be found on the CASE website and a full set of survey results can be seen on CKSyme.org.

The State of Crisis in Higher Education 

• In the last 12 months, 49 percent of responding institutions have had to enact crisis communications plans at least once. In that group, 7 percent had to enact their plan four to six times.  

• In the last 12 months, 66 percent of institutions reported that potential reputation-damaging events about their institutions were discussed in social media channels. Of that group, 7 percent reported four to six events, and 3 percent reported seven or more events discussed in social media channels. Five percent did not know if there were any conversations about them on social media channels.

The State of Social Media in Higher Education

• All reporting institutions had an official presence on Facebook. Other official channels used were: Twitter (94 percent), YouTube or Vimeo (92 percent), LinkedIn (55 percent), official blog (31 percent), location-based check-ins (18 percent), and MySpace (3 percent).  

• Respondents reported having several other "non-official" social media channels operating under the institution's umbrella. Heading up the list was alumni relations with 84 percent. Only 26 percent of institutions reported requiring registration or training for users who represent the institution on social media channels.

The State of Crisis Communications in Higher Education 

• Eighty-five percent of the respondents have a crisis communications policy. 

• Only 59 percent of the institutions with policies address the use of social media in that policy. Only 17 percent of the reporting institutions have a plan for “unofficial” social media channels that represent the university. Both of these statistics are troubling. Given that social media is the real-time channel of choice for public and news agencies for breaking news, schools would be wise to include social media in their crisis plans and to include a plan for all channels that represent the university.

• Respondents with crisis communications plans were asked about what elements were included in their plan. Ninety-nine percent have an emergency email notification system. Other elements included were: media relations crisis plans (90 percent), text message alert systems (89 percent), dark or emergency websites (59 percent), a social media monitoring plan (56 percent), message templates or talking points (50 percent), and campus electronic signage (38 percent).  The statistic that stands out here is the lack of a social media monitoring plan that can keep institutions aware of breaking news, online and traditional media mentions of their brand and help manage misinformation.   
  

Best Practice Takeaways

1.       Implement a social media monitoring system--now. A social media monitoring system can help you keep track of what is being said about your institution in the social media universe, alert you to issues you may not be aware of and help you gauge public understanding and sentiment around an issue.  See the CKSyme.org blog on the survey for more information.

2.       Develop a social media policy. There is a misunderstanding among many that a social media policy is a prohibitive document. The best social media policies operate as a guide to empower people to use social media channels responsibly in a way that builds the organization’s brand. CASE has a collection of sample social media policies available to members as well as a previous post on the CASE blog.

3.       Implement a social media management system. A social media management system (SMMS) should have multiple functions that can facilitate monitoring, publishing, lead and conversion tracking, measurement and customer relationship management, depending on what your institution’s social media strategy is (see Jason Falls’ report on management systems).

4.       Establish registration or affiliation of campus social media accounts. Establishing a database of administrators and passwords held by a community manager allows the university to remove old accounts or delete or post to any university-related account in an emergency.    Best practices for affiliated social media accounts are emerging from institutions like the University of New Hampshire and Tufts University.

5.       Establish a community manager for campus social media. Even though this last takeaway may seem redundant, many reporting institutions did not have one single supervisory department for all campus social media. This does not imply that one department should handle all campus social media, but that there should be a centralized resource that acts as a hub to the campus “spokes” so there is continuity in branding and messaging, especially in the event of a crisis.

Social Media: The Haze is Lifting and the Landscape is Coming Into Focus.

Susan T. Evans is a senior strategist at mStoner and chair of the 2012 CASE Social Media and Community Conference. Before mStoner, Susan was the first director of creative services at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va.  

I think things are starting to clear up on the social media front:

• Experimentation? Check.
• Senior administrators understanding what a hashtag is? Check.
• Facebook and Twitter icons on your home page? And, check again.

Let me offer a bit more evidence about my assertion that most educational institutions have a sharper focus on how to use social media:

Most of us are using the right tool for the right job. Perhaps you saw the "social media explained" photo I'm including in this post. I saw it first on @ThreeShipsMedia. Let's face it, for a while, social media channels were generic. The only goal—the simple intent—was to have a conversation. While it's still about conversation, the Twitter post is not the Facebook update is not the Pinterest pin. And there seems to be less reliance on an approach that simultaneously publishes the same content to all social channels. Most of us are packaging content differently depending on the channel or we are using certain channels for certain types of communication.

Thanks to mobile, social media is now a push technology. The first time I suggested social media as an official communication channel, many resisted it because they preferred to "get it in their email." There was a fear that if we didn't use a push technology, the audience simply would not bother to come to us for a message. Mobile changes all of that. I've characterized mobile as social for quite awhile now. And, the proliferation of mobile devices (some claim that 50 percent of undergraduates have smartphones) and apps means we can be almost certain that our social media content streams are being regularly pushed to the audiences we want to reach. Nowadays, our audiences always have their small screens with them.

People, not brands, use social media. There is social media noise but we've learned that the authentic voices are more likely to get attention and responses. Why explain this further when Lori Packer's recent post provides an excellent summary? Enough said.

Bring the campus life section to life with social media. These days, integration of the official web presence with social media content streams is default; it's expected. Back in the day, the lighthearted content of a college or university website was contained in its campus life section. Do you think you could crowdsource the campus life section of your website? Do you think official higher education websites have improved because of the "external pressure" from the looming social media content on the periphery?

Humble, anyone? Many social media strategists recommend that content produced for your social channels should not be all about you. Instead, your institution should use social media to contribute to the broader conversation. Enter tools like Pinterest where, according to Oberlin social media coordinator Ma'ayan Plaut, recommendations to the community of users suggest "avoiding self-promotion." Take Ma'ayan's advice: "Use social media to help you tell your story."

If your view is still hazy, sharpen your focus by consuming the best of what's out there. Blogs like this one and conferences like CASE Social Media and Community are tremendous resources for sharing ideas and keeping your communication strategy rich and relevant. Hope to see many of you in Chicago for #casesmc.

Progress? Check.

A Resurgence of Tumblove

Ma'ayan Plaut is the social media coordinator at Oberlin College.

After spending the better part of a year observing the wonders of Tumblr from a close range, I decided that Oberlin should try and cultivate a following on our college Tumblr. Summer was the perfect time to do this: Most students are away from Oberlin (and missing it desperately); recent graduates are only realizing how much they miss the place they called home for four years; and rising high school seniors are gearing up in their college searches.

Tumblr's simple microblogging setup is reminiscent of Twitter. Both microblogging platforms offer users the ability to appreciate posts (on Twitter, you can “favorite” tweets by clicking a star icon; on Tumblr, you can “like” posts using a heart icon) and repost or “reblog” them quickly to a personal account.

In three months, we gained almost 200 followers—more than one a day. Better yet, these new followers were interacting with us with “likes” and reblogs galore. It's likely that someone who saw one of these liked posts or reposts would trace back to the original poster (us!) and start following us, too. Win-win.

So, how do you build an audience on Tumblr?

• Observe. What's your audience doing? Start by creating some tracked tags on your Tumblr and listen. Read what people are saying, what they're posting and what gets reposted. Become familar with the language your audience is using, then you can hop in.
• Give them what they want. There are particular kinds of content that tend to tumble well: images, videos, quotes and sometimes short, punchy, original writing. I've been expanding from just posting photos via Flickr's Tumblr plugin to pulling out compelling teasers from student blogs and Oberlin news stories (and of course, linking to the original content as the source).
• Tagging is king. Users search Tumblr using tags, and much like Flickr, you can use tags to find similar content that you’ve posted in the past. A well-tagged post might go viral based entirely on the tags and the people tracking it.
• Share the love. If someone else is talking about your institution, show them some love. Like a post if it mentions you kindly, reblog it if you think it's relevant to the rest of your audience. When people reblog, occasionally they'll comment too, and reblogging their content back allows for an actual conversation. In both of these scenarios, your Tumblr username will be associated with that post, which is great for getting your account's name out there.

So, you've got a Tumblr. You're figuring out your audience. How do you keep them tuned in?

• Ask questions. If you end your post with a question mark, you will be offered a “let people answer” option before publishing. This means exactly what you think: Tumblr will enable a little answer box right below your question post, which will show up as a recorded answer with that post forever. It's similar to a reblog, but without the additional bits of information (only the username and answer will be displayed).
• Enable the ask box. While we have many means by which an incoming student can ask questions, Tumblr provides us with one more: the ask box. And although Tumblr is not strictly anonymous, it doesn't tie students to their personal Facebook or email account. After receiving an "ask" in your Tumblr inbox, you can choose to answer publicly or privately—an option you can decide upon when answering. If you choose to enable anonymous questions, you can even connect with non-Tumblr users who find your blog—particularly important since the non-traditional blogging form of Tumblr does not allow for comments unless one is a user.
• Capture your students’ voices. Since Tumblr has a built-in younger audience, it works well with students. As I mentioned in my previous post, Tumblr is a quick and dirty way to make a website. A number of student orgs at Oberlin have picked up on this and use the platform as a way to promote sponsored events and connect with students. Reblogging these posts are a great way to project an already present student voice.
• Capitalize on procrastination. During finals, when I knew that many students would be taking "Tumblr breaks" as often as "Facebook breaks," I asked students what they were eating, what they were listening to, where they were working and what other websites were serving as a distraction.

Are your students on Tumblr? What are they sharing?

The World Has Gone Viral: Get Busy Tweeting

Matthew Herek (@mherek) currently serves as the associate director of young alumni engagement in the office of alumni relations and development at Northwestern University. He works to integrate social media in ways that increase engagement and participation in the alumni community.

OK, perhaps that title is a little dramatic. I suppose it would be something if the plot of Contagion 2 centered on the one Twitter holdout who could retweet the cure for an awful disease, but instead destroys the world.

Now that it’s 2012, and five years since Twitter came on the scene, it’s safe to say the platform is way beyond the "early adopter" stage and has grown past its awkward "what everyone had for lunch" years. Twitter has become a national treasure. It can be used to topple political regimes, gauge reaction to major events and force telephone service providers to reverse course on fees. Many companies employ people to monitor Twitter and respond to questions and complaints.

With all of these functions, surely there must be a way for alumni and development professionals to use it. I offer the following observations:

1. You don’t have to be on Twitter to use Twitter:  Twitter is a very open resource and the search functionality alone makes it worth a visit. Go there and search for hashtags, like #casesmc or #higheredlive. Perhaps you’re a prospect manager heading into a huge meeting with a big shot from United Airlines—use Twitter search to see what people are saying about his/her company (if nothing else, you might know what kind of mood they’ll be in). This has potential for career services shops as well. Using Twitter search, you could teach job-seeking alumni how to research potential employers.

2. Growing Your Network: Would you ever think that following a presenter from a conference would lead to great restaurant recommendations? Is that even useful? Sure it is! As an alumni professional, you would be amazed at how connecting with professionals on Twitter can help you when you need a personal recommendation for the perfect place in a far-off city to take a prospect for dinner. Remember: Research shows we are far more likely to listen to recommendations from our friends than from strangers. This makes Twitter more useful than Yelp.

3. I sense much anger in this one: Do we even need Jedi knights anymore? Telepathy is not necessary to gauge the mood of your alumni base after big news hits. Just check in on Twitter after any major news event for your institution and there will likely be a dedicated base of promoters who are making statements about it. My feeling is that these raw 140-character primal screams are more of a mood indicator than one alum’s well-thought-out email sent five days later. You have to be on top of this.

4.    Filters are so 1990:  Remember when institutions relied on press releases and university communications were carefully crafted to “control the message”? Those days are dwindling. Arizona’s athletic director tweeted the announcement of the institution’s new football coach. Popular student athletes like Kirk Cousins at Michigan State and Alexander Netter at Northwestern are offering opinions on the events of the day without going through sports information directors. University presidents are developing dedicated fan clubs on Twitter talking about everything but the university.

As an alumni professional, you need to decide if you want your alumni to be more informed about the university than you are. If you want to wait until news is properly disseminated through your communications office, you may have to spend extra time addressing the rumors, false information and unconfirmed reports that have already piled up online.

If you have not used Twitter before, try it now. If you have some other ways professionals can use it, share them in the comments section.

Using New Media Tools to Promote Faculty Research

Jen Doak is the online communications specialist at CASE.

Most media professionals are now familiar with some online tools—if they don’t at least read blogs or participate in social networks, then they have had articles or press releases published on their institution’s website. But how can new media like blogs and content-sharing sites help advancement folks with an issue as old as parchment and quill pens: getting a general audience excited about academic research?

Menachem Wecker, formerly a writer and editor for George Washington Today, The George Washington University’s online news site, is now an education reporter with the U.S. News and World Report. He is also the conference chair for CASE's Annual Conference for Media Professionals, which will be held in Washington, D.C., next month. While there, Menachem will be moderating a panel on using new media to translate faculty work for a broader audience. He was gracious enough to answer several questions on the topic.

What are the common challenges for media relations professionals in promoting faculty research?

I'd say the primary challenge is that there isn't necessarily a common language. Many faculty members speak a language called "academic," which may be foreign to media relations professionals.

On the faculty side of things, if you've devoted your entire career to studying something narrow, like the sociology of Elizabethan cutlery, the chances are very good that you are going to resist having to collapse the research in your magnum opus to small sound bites that work well for reporters. Even if the media relations professional is well versed in a particular academic discipline, she or he is increasingly called upon to be a generalist as well, and how many people can follow a scholarly conversation in law, medicine, business and the arts?

There's also another issue, which is one of scope. New research--under certain conditions--can be newsworthy, but it also might be too technical or too focused for many journalism outlets. It becomes the media relations professional's task to find a way to make that research more accessible and more relevant to larger audiences.

What advantages do new media tools have over traditional media approaches to these challenges?

One topic that we are going to address on the [Media Relations Conference] panel is the potential of blogging. Many professors' email boxes are goldmines of information. One professor I used to work with--a former U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia and Burkina Faso--used to exchange thousands of words over email with reporters covering East Africa and the Horn. We started publishing those email exchanges on the blog, and just by repackaging existing content and posting it to the [publication sharing] site Scribd.com, we got tens of thousands of fresh eyeballs.

The only investment many "new" (though they're hardly new!) media tools require is time; many of them are free. Professors—if they write accessibly, blog regularly and construct their sites properly and strategically--can sometimes achieve digital followings that overshadow many of the reporters that they used to pitch.

What new media tools or platforms work best for promoting faculty research?

With the caveat that I'm on the payroll of none of these companies, I'd say the following tools/platforms are essential, in descending order of importance:

1. Scribd (for posting transcripts and then embedding them in other sites)

2. Twitter (for driving traffic to your site or as a microblogging platform if you don't have a site)

3. WordPress, Blogger or another blogging platform

4. Facebook/Google+/Tumblr (if you've got the time)

5. BlogTalkRadio or any of the other web-based radio stations.  

How can media relations professionals collaborate with faculty, either using new or traditional media approaches, to ensure accurate translation and effective promotion?

When I worked at George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs, I was charged with raising the profile of 300 faculty members (about half were full-time and half were part-time). Of course, that was too many to actually collaborate with. My thought was that I would start with the ones who really wanted to be engaged in social media and to connect with reporters, and in the unlikely event that I actually could help all those professors, I would then resort to begging/bribing/threatening/or in any other way cajoling the others to enlist.

Needless to say, I more than had my hands full with the ones who were already excited about social media—and it turns out they were the ones who were willing to work hard at building online presences and audiences. That'd be my advice to media relations professionals: Work with the folks who are already interested in the power of social media. And don't be surprised if those who used to be nay-sayers change their minds when they see their colleagues' success.

 

How do you use new media to promote faculty achievements? (You can also use the hashtag #casemrp to discuss these and other advancement and media relations issues.)

How Pinteresting

Ma'ayan Plaut is the social media coordinator at Oberlin College.

Social sharing site Pinterest is an interesting creature. There are a bunch of websites that allow you to publicly bookmark sites, either for future reference or to tell folks what you're reading or seeing on a daily basis. Pinterest has a distinct advantage over these other services, though: it is entirely visually driven — that is, you can only bookmark if the site contains an image, and a big one at that.

Upon signing up for Pinterest (it's still in an invite-only beta launch), you're prompted to follow people based on your interests. From there, you can create a variety of boards — digital bulletin boards where you pin all the things you find great, interesting and beautiful in the world (wide web, that is). You're encouraged to pin practically anything you find online to your themed boards and to follow other pinners with similar interests to you, comment on their pins and repin to your own boards.

When it comes to thinking about Pinterest for institutional brands, there's one significant difference between it and other social networks: your pins and boards on Pinterest are NOT central to your content or content creation. In its etiquette section — which is, of course, created by the community that uses Pinterest — they encourage avoiding self-promotion. What? Why would we want to use a site like this in higher ed if we're not promoting our own stuff?

The truth is that your story isn't just what you have to say about it. Much like Storify — a curation site that allows you to tell a story about something through social media — Pinterest is based on what else is out there that can help you tell your story. I think of it the same way that I think about the role of stock art when it comes to self-promotion, but with Pinterest, it's not stock. It's linked from an original source and with credit. A community like this can be self-sustaining and build upon the boundless options the Internet gives us but with a distinct focus.

This shift in mindset from self-promotion to using other means to define your views in the context of the great world: that's a challenge. And I think it's a really great one for higher ed; it shifts the perspective of promotion from things we want/need to tell folks about ourselves and rather, highlight other creators and collaborators who support similar ideas, causes and creations to us.

As of now, I'm seeing Oberlin's Pinterest as a way to better visually represent what we care about and connect with people who care about these things, too. We can aggregate alumni creations (music, art, jewelry and more), collaborate on boards with students to see how they'd design their future dorm room, source good locations to buy winterwear, collect co-op friendly recipes and, of course, keep folks up to date with creative gifts for the caring Obie — bike-themed clothing, white squirrel art, books, Oberswag and more.

Are you using Pinterest, either personally or professionally? What are you pinning?

 

Editor's note: You can also visit this board featuring other higher ed institutions on Pinterest.

What's Going On? A Few Great Crisis Communications Sites

Jennifer Doak is the online communications specialist at CASE.

Crisis planning is a necessary part of any institution’s communications strategy. And social media outlets have become the best way to get up-to-the-second information out to your audience. I recently found a few great examples through a Facebook group and thought I’d share.

Many institutions have set up websites that replace homepages in the event of an emergency. San Diego State University’s urgent information page has information on how to receive text alerts, a Twitter feed of its news account and general information on campus emergency preparedness.

The University of Southern California’s emergency homepage replacement site includes similar resources, including relevant phone numbers and access information.

Wright State University has a wealth of information on its emergency management site, along with an explanation of possible text alert delays and a widget for the National Terrorism Advisory System. It provides audio files of pre-recorded messages for campus building alerts as well as information on email alerts, text and voice messaging, radio and TV channels, and which social networks to follow. I really like how it has a sidebar that lists specific procedures and resources for tornadoes, winter weather, evacuation and more.

And during the most recent Virginia Tech shooting, a Blacksburg student newspaper, The Collegiate Times, provided a thorough, accessible account of the day through its Twitter feed.

Stuck on what you should plan to say through these channels? Deborah Grant, vice president of university communications and marketing at Tulane University, gives some advice managing communications in the face of a crisis on our Advancement Talk podcast (available as a premier benefit).

What’s your institution’s crisis communications plan? What institutions are really great at providing this information?

Top Five Social Media Happenings of 2011: A Completely Unscientific List

Matthew Herek currently serves as the associate director of young alumni engagement in the office of alumni relations and development at Northwestern University.

‘Tis the season for end-of-the-year lists: Most fascinating people, best songs, greatest dance innovations and most shocking reality TV moments are just a few that I've seen. Not to be outdone by the cacophony of experts providing you with their ideas on the most groundbreaking events of 2011, I am happy to provide you with my Top Five Social Media Happenings of 2011: A Completely Unscientific List. These opinions are my own (aren’t they always?) and are listed in no particular order:

1. Twitter continues to be the place where news breaks: In late November, the athletic director at the University of Arizona was ready to announce the identity of the new football coach. There were no leaks to favored reporters from hometown papers. Initially, there wasn't even a press release. Instead, he chose to announce the new coach on Twitter, complete with a photo taken on his phone. This shows that campus leaders (presidents, athletic directors, etc.) are usingTwitter to announce campus news in their own words, bypassing the filter of television or newspapers. It is another example of why leaders in alumni relations need to know how to use Twitter, even if they have no desire to tweet or interact in the "Twitterspace." Leaders need to ask themselves if they want alumni to learn of campus news before they do. If the answer is yes, they don’t need a Twitter account.
2. LinkedIn launches Classmates: Most alumni career offices have long implored their constituents to create and launch a LinkedIn profile. In some cases, it has been difficult to teach alumni what to do with that profile and how to use it to help build a solid network for career development purposes. LinkedIn has begun taking steps toward recognizing the affinity that individuals have for their alma mater with their Classmates feature. Using the feature allows alumni to search by a variety of factors for fellow alumni who they may want to connect with. It also has the potential to help alumni offices take a snapshot of the career paths alumni are entering in different geographic areas.
3. Facebook changes….again: This should be a standing item on all social media lists. Facebook changed its interface, then it changed how top stories were determined and then it changed its insights metrics. All of this proves one thing about Facebook—users are simply ambassadors with embassies in the Facebook world; the rules can change at anytime. The challenge for those of us who see value in social media is finding a way to articulate to decision-makers why 8,100 impressions one day can suddenly become 1,200 impressions the next day. As social media sites continue to evolve, it may make year-to-year comparisons impractical from a reporting standpoint. This will certainly frustrate the more numbers-driven among us.
4. Streaming video gets easier: More and more schools are starting to take advantage of the capabilities offered by sites such as Ustream. One of the pleasant surprise this year at Northwestern was the success of a livestream from our reunions/homecoming program in October. Sites such as Ustream are helping us get the good news of our different programs in front of more eyes worldwide. Streaming video could be key to ramping up future alumni engagement on an international level.
5. Google Plus came...left…then came back…kind of: When word broke that Google was launching a "Facebook killer," quite a few of us started looking for invites, hoping to be early adopters. Unfortunately, Google did not allow businesses or groups to have Google+ identities in the early days of the launch. Then Facebook adopted many of the features that made Google+ an interesting competitor. In 2012, we should give Google+ a second look. The hangouts feature provides a slick way to have meetings with alumni from around the world. If no other part of the interface survives, I hope that part does.

Much more happened in 2011 in social media and more will continue to happen in 2012. Technology keeps challenging us to stay on our toes and generate new ways to serve our constituents. What are your top five trends in social media?

Opportunities to Delight

Sarah Hyde is the social media coordinator for Seattle University.

In a key scene in the classic holiday film Miracle on 34^th Street, a customer is frustrated because she can’t find what she’s looking for at Macy’s, and Santa—the real Santa, as it turns out—directs her to another store for the item. Soon the gesture yields positive hype for Macy’s and business booms.

Last month, Seattle University experienced a similar “everybody benefits” situation when it did something unusual and honored a competitor. We published a full-page ad in the Seattle Times wishing the University of Washington, our neighbor a few miles to the north in Seattle, a very happy 150^th birthday.

The University of Washington is recognized by many as one of the nation’s finest public universities and a global leader in healthcare research. Founded in 1891, Seattle University is an independent Jesuit Catholic university. Seattle is home to many people who hold degrees from both institutions.

We social media advocates are usually the first to say, “Do it online!” When we do print, we’re mindful to drive people back to the website. So why spend the money on a big ad praising our competition? Answer: because it’s a good idea to applaud the good work being done around you, and sometimes, as it turns out, a simple gesture in print can come back to benefit you online.

Years ago, there would have been little consideration given to Seattle University investing in a celebration of the University of Washington. But in recent years, Seattle U has undergone a transformation—in academic programs, student services, campus improvements, entry into Division I athletics—and enjoys a significantly enhanced profile. We are comfortable with our status and with recognizing the University of Washington for its contributions and for 120 years of friendship and partnership. In some instances, we compete for students and we compete in athletics. But in many more ways, we work together, and we share a passion for educating future leaders.

When the ad ran in the Seattle Times, the response was overwhelming. After receiving our digital file, staff from the Times called us to say how much they loved the ad. The UW answered back by posting a thank you to Seattle U on its Facebook page, along with an image of the ad itself. This post became a sensation as Twitter and Facebook lit up with discussion with hundreds of UW and SU users liking and resharing the item.

The UW’s digital response to our printed olive branch was a real testament to the power of tipping your hat to your neighbor. Additionally, the conversation that took place on social media platforms illustrated the full benefits of transparency in today’s crowded media market and the potential power combo of print and web. What began as a print ad that reached hundreds of thousands of Seattle subscribers became an item shared electronically across the nation. By posting the ad online, UW really maximized the impact of the ad, carrying a print success one step further via social media.

Anyone who operates a social media site is looking to engage an audience. We spend a good amount of time brainstorming and planning campaigns for social media outlets, hoping to start a fire, but time and again the evidence shows that online audiences respond the most to content that suprises and delights them. Our gesture of friendship with UW, when re-posted on social media sites, was acknowledged and magnified by both the UW and SU audiences.

The success of our print ad via social media serves as a reminder to be opportunistic and look for chances to re-post or share information from other platforms that engage your audience, much like the Macy’s Santa pointing that shopper to another department store. Whether you’re sharing an article about a faculty member, a photo of campus or an ad praising another school, never forget to delight your audience.