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Vendor Schmendor

So, I know. I have an issue. If you’ve followed me on Twitter or know me in real life, you know that I have a distaste for vendors. Let me explain…

In my professional career never have I witnessed more advantage taken of ignorant folks than I have with social media in higher ed. Take a moment and think about how many webinars, white papers, vendors, start ups and conference agendas you’ve seen of late that uncover the ‘hidden’ powers of social media for admissions and retention. Probably many, right?

Even before this, I’ve found vendor-itis to be rampant at jobs where people just didnt understand the given communication medium – and they were taken advantage of for this. Education was never an option through vendors, at least not in a way that allowed the consumer to make a better decision. It was always about the bottom line – an itemized list of what you could get to know for a fee.

Dont get me wrong; some vendors and startups have gained my trust. Tweeps at Flimp, Blue Fuego, Azorus, Zinch, Unigo and others have been helpful while adding value to their own services.

Its that kind of service that I’d pay for. Your webinar on how Facebook can be used by admissions offices that tells me how to use a group is not very helpful – nor helpful to those who dont use the medium, really.

Instead of my usual negativity, this is a thank you to those vendors who do add to the knowledge of their consumer. Big ups. Much love.

What has been your vendor experience? Who do you love and why?

What’s A Portal?

In working on revamping our university portal, I’ve found this question the most perplexing. Without definition, its left to personal interpretation. Although it may be argued that such is the case with many things, I’ve found this to be the most detrimental when navigation and content are added with different intentions. How much is too much? How little is too little? Here are a few things a portal could be to some, or many:

A Secure Area – Perhaps it is thought that the portal will be a place where all secure (private) content needs to reside. As we all struggle with new privacy issues, the portal becomes more important as a place where information can be behind closed doors: one needs to have a log in to view this information.

A ‘One-Stop Shop’ – The portal could be used as an index of information: short and concise and geared toward an internal audience. Some information may be replicated from the outfacing web site, but it could also be found here where students may be making ‘transactions’ and seeking information, yet dont want to go between two sites.

A Single Sign On – For all university third party applications, the possibility of a single sign on for all would be ideal. By connecting all of the tech ‘back doors’, students/staff would be able conduct all university business seamlessly and without all of those pesky passwords.

An ‘ATM’ – Transactions Only – With this idea resides the fact that students come into the portal for one thing and one thing only: to conduct business. They register for classes, check their financial aid awards, change their address, etc. They get in, get what they need – including announcements – and get out. Any information they seek regarding a department or service they find on the web site.

A Place For Communities – Within most portals is the ability to create, maintain and interact with specified communities. These can range from clubs and organizations to departments, classes or offices. These would allow for targeted communication without the extended use of roles, and allow students to choose to become or remain a member of each.

A University Intranet – At its very basic level, the portal could be used as a place for all university communication. Items may be posted here such as forms, business transacted and communities created. All information is specific to the target audience and kept to a minimum. Live information and updated content would be essential and the portal would take on a larger role that would require students to log in often to find out information.

How many of these matter? Is too much information/redundancy of web content within it an issue to watch out for or does it not matter? Considering how much students use other means of communicating, how large of a role should the portal play in internal communication?

Hide and Seek: University Tweeters #2

Thanks to everyone’s comments on my previous post “Should University Tweeters Hide?” I’ve been thinking much more about this topic. Here’s what I heard:

There is a difference between someone at a university tweeting from a ‘university voice’ versus a ‘insert-personality-here voice’.
It could be more attractive to define yourself and your position at the university.
To attach your personal Twitter handle to the university account you manage might be a bad idea depending on your personal content.
When tweeting as a ‘personality’ you risk not being interesting to the audience.
Twitter is primarily used as a feed for those who ‘collect’ information, or as a more ‘personal’ account to interact with the university.
Some are tweeting as their role at the university (Jess K, Director of Web Comm at Suffolk University) versus as the university at large, both faceless (Suffolk University) and defined (Suffolk University, as tweeted by Jess K Director of…..).
Will students view a simple feed as ‘fake’ versus the interactive tweets provided by other university/branded accounts?
Rotating ‘DJ’s’ may be a good idea and could be topical/special event in nature.
Are those just feeding info missing out on the connectivity that is so specific to Twitter over other social networks?

Here are my next step thoughts on a few of these:

Can anyone really hide anymore?

As many of you have brought up, via search, open accounts and the general nature of the web, hiding is rarely possible. I’d argue that once people know who you are at the university, they could potentially find and follow you anyway. Why not just add that little extra something: show you are a real person, with real likes/dislikes. Become human.

Does hiding serve you?

What do we get out of being a masked man? A solidified University brand? Could we be better served with a identifiable person – not injecting their personality into the university tweet stream, but just manning the helm instead of a possible ‘bot? I’m not asking that we tell people what our likes and dislikes are via our university account, but just letting them know that you are a twitter user and showing them a little bit about yourself by identifying who you are – either at the school, or via your personal account. I’m sure my workout schedule and TV faves are not distasteful content. 🙂

Twitter Talent

Wouldn’t it be beneficial to highlight Twitter Talent by sharing your personal handle? I’m not a millennial nor a student but for those that do use Twitter I’d think that showing some personal proficiency would go a little way in making your Tweets “believable”. Would they become real and something to watch out for instead of just check periodically? Also, maybe you make friends with students or prospects and social media takes on a different twist – its actual use, instead of feeding info. Wouldn’t that highlight the nature of your brand to create community rather than push content to it?

Again, just quick thinking out loud on my lunch break prior to my next meeting. 🙂 I find this conversation facinating as others come forward who I’ve not been following and their 2 cents gets added.

“Discuss amongst yourselves….” 😉

Social Media Strategy, Or Not?

Lately, everyone’s been talking about creating a social media strategy. Ok. Not lately, but for the past year. 🙂 I went back and forth on this for a while. Yes, you DEF need a strategy. No, you kinda dont need one. Back and forth, back and forth.

Well I’ve settled: YES. You DO need one. Why? Well, without one, whats the point? You are just ‘doing to do’. You may end up with some positive outcomes but overall, did you achieve your goal, or just a goal in general? Did you move the needle or just do a good job at what you started at?

While I was thinking NO the reasons were because everything changes so fast. Some days, one account has a curious uptick with no internally based promotion. Others, things you think may have worked to increase traffic tanked. Maybe going with the flow, with no real set plan is the way to go. Again, what would be the purpose? A certain number of followers/fans/group members doesnt mean anything when those numbers are just that. The point from this: a good strategy allows for mid campaign change without waiting till the end. You must be agile.

What is your purpose? I know this has been written about several times and ways but its truly the bottom line: What does your success look like? Is it an uptick in applications/accepts/enrolls? Is it a campus that feels more engaged and connected? Both have different strategies and knowing that and planning around them is the main “light bulb moment” that people need to have.

For instance, which is more valuable: a Facebook group with 1400 members and 143 posts or a group with 850 members and 400 posts?

My answer? Both. Depending on the goal. If its just to communicate information to a large audience in a niche way, maybe its ok to not have as much engagement. Although much is crammed down our throats about ‘millennials’ some are just ‘watchers’. If its to create a sense of community on an urban campus, perhaps less people with more posts (and posters) is a win.

Thoughts?

Tweet Style: How Does Your Brand Do It?

Last week, I began to ponder the style of a branded Twitter account with fellow Twitter peeps @lanejoplin, @timnekritz, @radiofreegeorgy, @thanhancock, @bradjward. Supposedly, as channel/community manager, you’re taking on the brand persona, right? Or are you putting your own persona into the brand? Do you have a plan for your tweets or are they random? The more this was discussed, the more a blog post it deserved.

Personally, I’ve been putting on the University brand, primarily, touting University events, related news stories and of course, Boston updates. One thing I’ve not been doing too much of is interacting. Being someone who endlessly preaches ‘interaction, integration and two-way communication’ I cant really sit idle any longer: Its time to Tweet.

As I move forward in discussing and commenting on students and other follower/followees there’s a line to draw. How much is too much? Is too little robotic? Can I really chime in on how much I loved the Cuddy/House drama last week (Thanks for the input, @lanejoplin:) )?

I’d love for branded tweeting to take on a more personal touch, but how much of that touch is one person’s idiosyncrasies and lovable quirks versus a unified branded approach? Can both live simultaneously in harmony? What happens when the (hopefully, luckily) loved persona moves on or becomes too busy?

I’m thinking the answer is a little bit of both: stay true to the university brand and persona while also injecting a little personality to keep things interesting. Of course you wont get political or attach links to stories that’ll stir the pot, but generally, you’ll be able to have fun while providing information.

That’s what social media is all about, right? 🙂

The Bright Side: 5 Ways to Turn a Bad Work Day Around

It happens: so much to do, so little time. Maybe someone deflated your balloon with their negativity. Perhaps you’ve been feeling like you’re spinning your wheels trying to implement 90 billion things and are frustrated. Its no secret that we all have bad days, and mine was yesterday. But as the old adage goes ‘life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you deal with it.’

So, what to do when you’ve just had it and feel the anger/frustration/sadness rising in your body? Here’s what got me through, and gets me through.

1. Talk to someone you work with and can trust. Sure we can all bond together and commiserate but no one really gets what its like at your work place except those who work there. I’m not saying to talk to anyone who’ll listen, but be smart about who you choose to have a ‘session’ with. Get it all out. Find out whats really irking you. I find that usually something else comes up that I had no idea was bothering me. Its OK to turn this into a bitch session: better you get it out than take it out on someone.

2. Put things into perspective. Has a final decision been made? Will this change anything in the long run? Can you find a way to put a positive spin on this no matter how hard it may be to take? Take time to think about what you can actually do to make the situation better for all involved. Never lose sight of the final goal. Basically: be humble.

3. Chill Out. Seriously. Its not the end of the world, no matter what it is. From choosing a vendor, to losing your job, there is always a bright side. The hard part is finding it and accepting it. Take a walk. Get a coffee. Remove yourself from the situation for a while and take a few long deep breaths. The worst thing you can do is get worked up over something and let it affect your professionalism and interactions with colleagues. Don’t let something stupid or otherwise unpleasant make you appear less than what you are.

4. Talk honestly, unbiased and politically with the powers that be. Let them know how you feel in a soft but respected way. Put it out on the table and then be done with it. Have points and reasoning in a casual conversation. Don’t belabour the topic in a whiny I-want-my-way tone. If you can have this conversation in this way – which is a skill in itself in some organizations, I know – then you’ll diffuse the tension everyone feels and be able to move forward in a positive manner.

5. Never – ever – take it home with you. Just like they say couples should never go to bed angry, I feel employees should never leave work with it heavy on their mind. I’m not saying you don’t think about work, the TON of work you have sitting on your desk or to not respond to emails via handheld. I’m saying save the drama for your mama. Don’t walk out the door – and into your home life – with that heavy anger or frustration. You cant solve it at home, why unload it there?

If all else fails, run/walk/bike/row/kickbox it out. 🙂

How do you deal with frustrations in the work place? Do you have a person you can talk to and know they wont use the vulnerability against you?