How Social Networks are Changing College Marketing,PR, and Alumni Relations Dan ForbushNAICU Public Relations AcademyFebruary 1, 2009

Evolution of Computers in Marketing Communications1970s IBM Memory Typewriter Early 1980s Desktop PublishingMid 1980sCompuServeLate1980sEmail / ListservsMid 1990sStatic WebLate 1990sDynamic WebMid 2000sSocial WebLate 2000sMobile WebMid 2020s Neural Web Were Here

2009: Our Expanding Digital World

FacebookTwitterYouTubeLinkedInBasecampBox.netSlideshare

MySpaceITunesFlickriGoogleBlogsPodcastsWikis

The 2008 Presidential Race

Main Obama Facebook Page

Obamas YouTube Channel

Obamas LinkedIn Group

Obama in Twitter

Obama Everywhere

OrganizingforAmerica.com

Barack Obama won the presidency in a landslide victory by converting everyday people into engaged volunteers, donors and advocates through social networks, email advocacy, text messaging and online video.

Michael KrempaskyEVP, Digital Public AffairsEdelmanObamas Achievement

Why Our Use of Social Networks is Exploding*They enable us to manage large extended networks more effectivelyThey provide information about others that serves as a social lubricant, making it easy to interactThey give us new ways to connect with one another over shared interests, problems, or experiences, and to mobilize coordinated actions* Nicole Ellison, Michigan State UniversityECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2008

In Higher EducationSocial networking sites (SNSs) like Facebook and MySpace now constitute an integral part of the daily communications practices for many students. For those of us in higher education, it is particularly important to understand SNS practices, outcomes and motivations for use because these sites are fundamentally changing the social fabric of the university Nicole EllisonMichigan State UniversityECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2008

Social Networks Are Transforming PR, Marketing and Alumni Relations Because:

Theyre interactive, engaging and viral They powerfully support word of mouth Theyre merging with conventional Web sites Theyre the future

Inauguration Day

Whats Your Social Networking Strategy?

At SkidmoreWe see the introduction of a Skidmore-managed social network as our best hope for strengthening our connections with young alumni

Why Do We Need to? Caller ID Screening: Annual fund callers now must make 16 calls for every live connection Revenues from Calls are Declining: From $260,000 in 2005 to $110,000 in 2008Renewed Focus on Volunteers: Personal contacts by peers are key

New Capabilities the New Skidmore Network Must OfferEnable alumni to easily network by professional groupsEnable alumni to easily network by affinity groupsEnable alumni to post electronic class notes

And

Alumni must be able to access the new Skidmore Network using their Facebook user name and password

Why Facebook?

By Surveying Our Alumni, We Learned:

Twice as many Skidmore alumni use Facebook as MySpace

79 percent of alumni who use Facebook say they use it daily

The more experienced with Facebook a Skidmore alumnus/a is, the less likely he or she is to join a Skidmore-managed network

Heres What Theyre Telling Us Why reinvent the wheel? Facebook and Linkedin are sophisticated sites with lots of resources. Skidmore won't be able to duplicate their service.

Who needs to remember another password?

You need to go where people are, not expect them to come to you.

What Makes Facebook So Sticky ?

Friending

Content-Sharing

Content-Sharing

Content-Sharing

Content-Sharing

News Feed (mine)

News Feed (all friends)

Interactions Galore (50,000 Applications)

FacebookPages Institutional voice No ads Visible to all no login needed Link Event pages to it Listserv function- Blog function- Discussion topics- Share photos and videos Pull in videos from YouTube Fans can connect with each other

And more Ideal for creatingniche communities

MeasurementFacebooks Insight tool enables you to analyze traffic to your Page by any of the following:

Page Views

Fans

Creating a Niche Community in Facebook

Creating a Niche Community A Q&AAn Alumnus Q&AYouTube video

Creating a Niche Community Notes is like a blogNotes islike a blog

Creating a Niche CommunityAlumni profiles

Creating a Niche CommunityAlumnusMySpacePage

Key Goals in Skidmore Network Create an application that enables alums in any profession to create and maintain profiles of themselves in a Facebook community directly relevant to their interestsLink these profiles to their profiles in Skidmores alumni database so they can easily update key information

Would You Like to Partner with Us ?Lets develop the architecture for an ideal alumni community in Facebook and share the development costs!

Write or call me: dforbush@skidmore.edu518-580-5746

Facebook Connect will be in key in this

Facebook Connect We believe the next evolution of data portability is about much more than data. It's about giving users the ability to take their identity and friends with them around the Web, while being able to trust that their information is always up to date and always protected by their privacy settings.

FacebookMay 9, 2008

How It Works Developers may add Facebooks rich social context to their own websitesUsers may connect their Facebook account to any partner website for single sign-onUsers may take their profile information with them wherever they go on the WebUsers may take their friends with them wherever they go on the Web

New Forms of Facebook-enabledPublic Dialog:Two Examples

Facebook Connect With CNN.com

Facebook Connect With CNN Forum

An Example from Higher Ed

Ithaca College:Facebook Connect With iModules

Facebook Connect with iModules Encompass*Connects member identity and content in their Ithaca College alumni community directly to Facebook.

Event registrations, class notes, and online donations can be published on a members Facebook News Feed.

*Thanks to Ithacas Julie Doherty for the screenshots that follow

Single Sign-on

Visitors to the alumni community with a Facebook account can associate their identity with a member record in the alumni site.

Once successful, the accounts are connected and the member can choose to login with either their community or Facebook username and password in the future.

Single Sign-onLogin page includes the Connect with Facebook button

Single Sign-onClicking on the Facebook button invokes this login dialog box

Single Sign-onPage allowing member to link the two accounts

Single Sign-onSuccessfully logged in, pulling picture and name from Facebook

News Feed Propagation

When visitors, logged in via Facebook Connect, interact with an enabled form, they are presented with a dialog box.

Visitors may elect to propagate their activity into their Facebook News Feed or not.

News Feed PropagationConfirmation step of an event with a Share on Facebook button

News Feed PropagationDialog box confirming publication to Facebook News Feed

News Feed PropagationFacebook News Feed including alumni web site member activity

Theres a Lot You Can DoTo Strengthen Your Institutions Visibility in Facebook Itself for Free!

Weve Launched a Series of Facebook Pages and Groups Skidmore AlumniClass of 2013Alumni in Digital MediaSkidmore Musicians OnlineSkidmore Global

Weve told alumni well helpthem create their own

Weve Created Skidmore Interactive To Bring It All Together This is our homepage for Skidmoresonline communities

Its the core of our social network

We Embarked on a Graphic Identity Program in Facebook.Heres our Main Alumni Group.

Our Career Services Page

Our Class of 2013 Page

Our Online Musicians Group

We Produced a Special Issue of Our Magazine: Digital Skidmore

We Inserted a Four-Page Promotion: Making Friends with the WebOur objective was to build alumni audiences in Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube and to begin aserious discussion abouta Skidmore-managedsocial network

Plus: Weve created a team of student Facebook contributors Weve brought our entire Alumni Board into an Alumni Board group in Facebook Weve created an alumni social networking advisory group

Laddering Support through Tiers of Engagement**EdelmanPersonal Create a profile, post a comment, make a donation, sign up for email, friend a classmateSocialPost pictures or videos, write a blog post, join a discussion or group, post a class noteAdvocateRecruit others to donate, hostan event, create a group

ChallengesResistance to Facebook among faculty and colleagues Mastering new technologies and genres Finding comfortable blend of ones personal and professional personaFiguring out how to play the role of community manager

Role of Community Manager Establish goals, develop strategy and monitor progressMaster the new tools and teach othersKeep content fresh Generate and promote the conversationServe as the institutions visible, interactive representative in social spaces Develop and extend online persona

Aspects of Your Online PersonaYour profile content: photo, bio, photo collections, videos Your friendsThe nature of content you post The voice with which you post Your privacy settings

My Facebook Profile

Other Networks, Sites, and Smart Approaches

Twitter.com

Tinyurl.com

Twitter feed

Yammer

Basecamp

BigThink

Google Maps Mashup at Colgate

Box.net

Slideshare

The Vatican on YouTube

To see these slides again:

http://www.slideshare.com/dforbush