I’ve been asked this question a few times in the last few weeks. There aren’t a whole lot of professional staff who are utilizing Twitter in my University, so I seem to be the go-to to explain what it’s all about. So I thought I would share my thoughts here in written form and hopefully get something understandable that will inspire some thought on why Social Media is so important for Student Affairs Professionals.
1. Visibility
If you are in a position where you don’t get much personal interaction with students, then the internet is a great way to showcase who you are. No matter what type of social media you use, you are showing more of your personality than you would without it. Sure, we inject a bit of ourselves into our office decorations, but what student has the opportunity to sit and analyze exactly what that porcelain frog on your desk is saying about the staff member in front of them? By uploading pictures on Facebook, filling out interests on Myspace and Tweeting about that hike you’re taking this Sunday, we can show our students that we are individuals worth talking to and learning from.
2. Increased Social Interaction with Students
By now, we should all know the basic stereotypes of the students we work with, whether we group them as “Millennials,” “Gen Y” or “Generation Next.” We know that they are mostly extremely technologically savvy and are spending increasing amounts of time in front of a computer and on the internet. Therefore, we as professionals must change the way we are used to interacting with students, and I don’t mean using e-mail; our students are even starting to consider e-mails a thing of the past. A quick post on a wall or @reply on a Tweet is much faster and probably more guaranteed than an e-mail.
Not to mention that there will be those students who feel much more comfortable talking to you over the internet than they do in person or on the phone. They will be able to reach you in multiple ways if you have some kind of Social Media account.
3. Promoting Events and/or the Mission of your Office
If a student is following you on Twitter, or is your friend on Facebook, every time you post something, that post shows up on your student’s personal profile as an update. Trust me, our students camp on Social Media sites…they are definitely going to see these things. What better way to promote the Careers in Higher Education Panel you’re holding next week or the fact that Roommate Contracts are due to your RA tomorrow? Instant update, much better than flyers.
4. Building an Online Image for future students searching the web
I don’t know about everyone else, but when I need to find out more on ANYTHING, I always go to the internet first. It is so important to create an online image that as accurately as possible depicts what your office is about. Since this is the first year our office is using Facebook, I am hard at work adding pictures from every event happening this year, encouraging students to become fans and write feedback. Any prospective student who comes by our fan page will see what happens in our Residence Life program, and can decide for themselves whether it is the right fit for them.
Off the top of my head, these are four reasons why Social Media is something that every Student Affairs Professional needs to learn more about because it’s not going away. I am sure there are more, but it’s getting late, and I wanted to get out the first few thoughts that came to my mind on this topic. In order to stay relevant and connect with students, we must stay on top of this emerging trend, and not fall too far behind. A good website I recommend is www.mashable.com, or you can follow them on Twitter: @mashable. They keep me up to date on the latest in social media.
I’m sure I will be revisiting this topic, to include things we need to be care of when using Social Media. Any comments? I’d love to hear them!
No comments:
Post a Comment