“Harnessing the Power of Social Media”

It’s Free…Well, It’s Sort of Free!

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Scott Freehafer, Ph.D., SPHRAssistant Professor of

BusinessDirector, MBA and

Non-Traditional Programs at

The University of Findlay

ACBSP Region 4 Conference Presentation October 8, 2010

Session Description2

Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube have to potential to change how colleges recruit, interact with, and stay connected with their prospective students, current students, and alumni. Best of all, these resources are free (sort of free) and can help move your college forward.

The Social Media Revolution 23

Social Media…Do We Have a Choice?

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What do you think? Is Social Media a Fad?Is it a “fundamental shift in the way people

communicate?”Can it be a distraction and a waste of time?Can it be a productive use of your time?Does it require Discipline? A Strategy? A

Champion?Can it help you grow your school and connect

with your students, your faculty, your alumni?Is it “one more thing”?

What Types of Social Media Do You Use5

Blogs? Facebook? Google Video? LinkedIn? My Space? Skype? Twitter? YouTube?

Why Should You Consider Social Media?

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Social Media can help us build relationships by:Connecting and collaboratingExchanging informationSolving problems Promoting our schools, our faculty,

our opportunities, our students…stay in touch with our students and alumni

ACBSP Is On Facebook 7

The University of Findlay Is On Facebook8

So Is The UF College of Business9

What Can You Do With Facebook?10

Make “Friends” with your students (but be careful?)Make “Friends” with your colleaguesStart a Group for your class, major, club,

department, and collegePost Updates on your group’s Wall and the

members’ Walls get updatedProvide InformationPost (allow?) Photos and VideosCreate and Participate in DiscussionsCreate EventsAdvertise to your network or to a targeted group

Some Things You Might Want to Consider11

Deciding to use Social Media for Business Purposes has to be intentional and regular

Someone needs to be “responsible” for a groupCheck on your school’s Social Media PolicyTo maximize your use of Social Media, you have to add

value to others on a regular basis – discussions, articles, advice, information, and videos

But you can’t flood the people in your network with useless information and noise or they will drop you

What you do has to be relevant to your audience!Good things can go Viral and so can Bad things!United Breaks Guitars

But Facebook Is Not the Only Game in Town!12

LinkedIn is the Premier Business/Professional Social Networking Platform

LinkedIn has some significant advantages over Facebook including: You can create your own LinkedIn You can create up to 30 subgroups under your

LinkedIn Group You can have moderated discussions with your

members You can post links to videos, articles, and websites You can have your own company blog with its own

followers

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LinkedIn - #1 Site for Professional Networking

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LinkedIn Profiles – The Modern Resume?

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LinkedIn Groups and Subgroups

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LinkedIn Tips

Once you have established your profile, work to get it 100% complete.

Join and participate in relevant groups.Build your own personal networks with your

colleagues, professionals, and students (?).Participate in Linked Answers to build your

network and your credibility.Monitor what people are saying about you and

your organization and reply privately to complaints where you may have an opportunity

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LinkedIn Tips

If you join groups, make sure you manage your membership so you do not get bombarded with emails – same thing with Discussions – Opt out of emails unless you really want them!

Add value to your networks and to the groups you belong to by participating in discussions, posting jobs, links, videos, etc.

If your group grows, get help in managing it – There are three levels of administration – Owner, Manager, Moderator

LinkedIn Tips18

LinkedIn has a Job Board, but it is not as large as the major job board, but by using “Companies”, you can see who is working for an organization that you might be interested in working for.

LinkedIn More has: Companies Answers Direct

Ads Learning Center Reading List Events Company Buzz SlideShare Polls

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LinkedIn Companies

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LinkedIn Answers

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LinkedIn Learning Center

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LinkedIn Reading List

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LinkedIn Events

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SlideShare Presentations

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LinkedIn Polls

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LinkedIn Advanced People Search

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Twitter

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Twitter Basics

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Twitter and Flipboard

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Managing Social Media

Do a little bit every day!Use Social Media coordination tools like:

Hootsuite - http://hootsuite.com Seesmic - http://seesmic.com/app Tweetdeck - http://www.tweetdeck.com/

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HootSuite.com

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Integrating YouTube and Google Video

You can upload videos to YouTube and Google Video and then link those videos to your social media sites through the “Discussions” function in LinkedIn and through the “Wall” in Facebook.

These videos can be about your programs, your students, your faculty, your school or anything else for that matter!

Let’s check a video out!http://www.youtube.com/user/UFindlay#p

/a/u/2/NUbLWuAxZBg

So, What’s In It For You?33

“It’s not a matter of IF, it’s a matter of WHEN and HOW”

Obviously, you don’t have to engage in Social Media, but will you be shortchanging yourself and your school and actually making things more difficult for you and your school in the future if you don’t embrace Social Media??

Social Media is FREE, but there is a COST. But I believe it is worth the investment.

THANK YOU!34

Scott Freehafer, Ph.D., M.Ed., MBA, SPHRDirector of MBA and Non-Traditional Programs

Assistant Professor of BusinessThe University of Findlay302 Old MainFindlay, Ohio  45840419-434-4002http://www.linkedin.com/in/scottfreehaferSkype - scott.freehafer

Twitter - DocScottSPHROr just Google me!