How to Use Social How to Use Social Networking Sites to Networking Sites to

Communicate to FamiliesCommunicate to FamiliesAmy Berrier - UNC Greensboro

Sonja McMullen – Sallie Mae

Beloit College’s 2010 Mindset ListBeloit College’s 2010 Mindset Listwww.beloit.edu/mindsetwww.beloit.edu/mindset

The incoming freshman class of 2014 was born in 1992

So using a computer has always been a part of their lives

PCs and Apples of the early 90’s had hard drives smaller than today’s flash drives

For many students, email is passe – and because of cell phones, wrist watches are no longer necessary

Shifts in CommunicationShifts in Communication

Communication is no longer a one way street

People now spend more time on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter than on personal or work email

Generational◦Millennials are the heaviest users◦Baby Boomers are the fastest growing users

What’s in it for the FAO?What’s in it for the FAO?

You can meet students where they are◦Get the message out in the most effective manner

in the most effective meansLarger reach with fewer staff resources

◦Field common questions◦Reduce phone calls on simple issues◦Shorter lines and less walk-in traffic in your offices

Competitive advantage◦If you aren’t out there meeting your audience, who

is? Financial Aid Scams via spam Getting the right message out is CRUCIAL

Create

Be interactive!

Create great conversation starters!

Use relevant keywords in “About Us” box

Include FAQ’s and photos when appropriate

Use email to announce your page

Plan your strategy!

What do we want to achieve?

Who do we want to reach?

What social media channels are the right ones for our institution/office?

What will work best for our audience?

Common Social Media ChannelsCommon Social Media Channels

Common Channels What’s most effective for you?

Stop, Listen, and Learn!Stop, Listen, and Learn!

What is being said about you?Keywords – do not misspell!Tools for social media management:

◦Google Alerts (listening tool) Email updates of the latest Google results (web,

news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic◦Social Mention (listening tool)

http://www.socialmention.com/ Similar to Google alerts but for social media Receive daily email alerts of your brand, company,

developing news story, etc.

Facebook Facebook

Facebook has over 500 million usersIf Facebook were a country, it would be

the third largestAn average Facebook user spends:

◦55 minutes a day on Facebook◦6.5 hours a week on Facebook◦1.2 days a month on Facebook

More than 30 billion pieces of content shared each month

Facebook is most commonly used Facebook is most commonly used social media channel on college social media channel on college

campusescampuses

What can you do with Facebook?What can you do with Facebook?

Status Updates◦Text, links, photos◦Meet the customer where they are

Facebook Events◦Promote Financial Aid Events and Deadlines

Easy to shareFacebook Questions

◦Answer and keep track of common questions◦Shorten your lines

What can you do with Facebook?What can you do with Facebook?

Students don’t use the school website much – using FB can potentially drive students to the website for pertinent info

FB posts – what is too little? What is too much?

Use the Notes section of Facebook (use hyperlinks to important info)

Use FB polls and discussionsMost colleges say to focus on Facebook more

than any other social media applicationPodcasts

FacebookFacebook

What does it take to create a Facebook page?

Negative comments on Facebook? Concerns?

Monitor 24/7?

How do you create a Facebook How do you create a Facebook page?page?

Official rep of an organizationhttp://www.facebook.com/help/?

page=904#!/pages/create.phpCreate a Facebook pagehttp://www.facebook.com/pages/learn.php

◦A public profile that enables you to share your organization’s information with the public

Step by Step - FacebookStep by Step - Facebook

Pick a category and nameAdd a profile pictureAdd informationMake it rich and engagingPublishUpdate regularly

http://www.facebook.com/pages/learn.php

YouTube/PodcastsYouTube/Podcasts

Using search engines and social media for research

Duke University YouTube Video◦http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJIxDFtUpY8◦Director of Financial Aid educating families on

financial aidPodcasts

◦UNC Greensboro podcast on Satisfactory Academic Progress

◦http://fia.uncg.edu/sap/

Twitter

80% of Twitter users use Twitter on mobile devices

Over 50 million tweets in 2010

Over 100 million current users

Other ways to use TwitterOther ways to use Twitter

Follow pertinent feeds◦ Students, university departments, FinAid resources

Monitor◦ What are your students saying?

Some comments are just noise, but some feedback can be constructive

Interact◦ Make followers your advocates

Gain respect through involvement Don’t be a robot

Field QuestionsLink Twitter updates to Facebook – link Twitter to

Facebook

PromotePromote

Facebook and Twitter icons on your websiteCross-promote

◦Such as signature lines in general email account – example finaid@uncg.edu

◦Follow us on Twitter @UNCGFinAidFollow us on Facebook @ UNCG Financial Aid Office

Hosts contests to gain followersInteract

◦Use your website to push information◦Make students, faculty, alums your advocates

Stop, listen, and learn!Stop, listen, and learn!

Hootsuite◦http://hootsuite.com◦Social media dashboard for teams using

Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn◦You can follow “mentions” on Twitter◦Shorten links that need to be posted – Twitter

has a shorter amount of space to work with than Facebook

◦Can be used to schedule postings in advance for FB, Twitter, and YouTube

QuestionsQuestions

How do you get started?Conversations on campusWhich social media outlet(s) do you

choose?What is the plan of attack for your office?Who will manage the pages?What information do you share?

QuestionsQuestions

How much is too much? How much is too little?

How do you create a Facebook page and Twitter account?

Concern about students being able to post to pages?

How do you deal with negative responses?How do you choose status updates?

QuestionsQuestions

What are you hearing from your audience?

How do you gain followers?What are the best means of promoting

your offices social media outlets?

Amy BerrierUNC Greensboro Financial Aid OfficeAssistant Director for OperationsPO Box 26170Greensboro, NC 27402(336) 334-3372alberrie@uncg.edu

Sonja McMullenSallie MaeSenior Account Executive5428 Cochran DriveNashville, TN 37220(615) 333-1488sonja.mcmullen@salliemae.com