Think of Social Media and Public Relations as Cousins
The role of a social media administrator in higher education continues to evolve. We are taught daily that in order to succeed in our career, we need to wear multiple hats.
Before my current position, I was strictly focused on social media. When I took on my new role as Social Media and Public Relations Manager at Stevens Institute of Technology, I quickly learned how important public relations is in developing a social media strategy for the university.
One of the goals at Stevens is to leverage the reputation of the university. By incorporating public relations in Stevens’ social media strategy, I’m able to strategically use our platforms to communicate with media and to extend our content online.
That said, I would make the case to social media administrators that by collaborating with the media relations department, you will indeed enhance the value of the university’s social media efforts.
Connect with the Media Relations Office
Depending on your department, you may not have direct contact with the media relations office at your university. If that’s the case, the first step is to build rapport with the director of public relations.
You may have to become an advocate and explain the dynamics between social media and public relations. At my previous employer, I encountered scenarios where I had to collaborate with the director of public relations to address concerns of the community and in my experience, it is vital for a university to have both departments in constant communication with each other in case of an emergency.
As a social media administrator, you are in the position to report what is being said about the university online and should be part of the crisis communication team to be well-informed of any possible issue. Conversations online have become more transparent and in order not to have the wrong message distributed, you will need to have social media aligned with the university’s communication strategy.
Use Social Media to Generate Media Coverage
There are always opportunities to use social media at live events to generate media coverage and improve brand sentiment.
For commencement, Stevens invited a reporter from The Jersey Journal to cover the ceremony. As the reporter interviewed the student, I captured a photo and immediately posted it to the Stevens Twitter channel. I intentionally included the Twitter handle of the newspaper. The Jersey Journal retweeted the photo to its 22.1K followers, helping to increase Stevens’ exposure.
In another example, Stevens held a robotic exhibit at the Liberty Science Center where we had media cover the event. The same steps were taken as in the previous example, but this time I also included the name of the reporter in the tweet. Shortly thereafter, the journalist followed us on Twitter to stay abreast of the latest news at Stevens.
After a piece has been published online, Stevens will share the link on social media. From there our followers and fans engage with the story and extend the life of many of these stories.
By retweeting, sharing and liking, our audience members become active participants on our channels.
Media outlets will also do the same on their channels. The same applies to news releases.
.@FollowStevens Institute picks new #provost, #academic #VP https://t.co/CoFhSDruuy
— NJBIZ (@NJBIZ) June 20, 2016
In summary, quick reminders to keep in mind:
- Understand the Five Ws and One H of an event before attending
- Research the handle of the media outlet or reporter and make note of any trending hashtag
- Generate live content while at the event
- Follow-up with the link to the published story
Start Spreading the News: Journalists as Social Media Influencers
An additional advantage of uniting social media and public relations is that journalists can help broaden your reach and leverage your content.
By incorporating public relations into your social media strategy, you’re developing positive relations with industry leaders and influencers.
At times, reporters will also share on their own social media page a preview of the story being covered.
Social media has become a vehicle to spread the university’s news on various platforms, and its value cannot be overlooked.
Meet the Author: Sandra Ordonez
Sandra Ordonez is the Social Media and Public Relations Manager at Stevens Institute of Technology. She is also a graduate of Higher Ed Experts’ professional certificate program in Social Media Measurement for Higher Ed
Tags: Higher Ed Marketing Memos, Higher Ed News