Meg Keniston, Associate Director of Marketing at St. Lawrence University, is one of the 12 presenters of the 4th Higher Ed Social Media Conference.
In this 3-question interview, Meg tells us a success story, shares the most difficult parts of the job and discusses the required skills to thrive as a higher ed social media pro.
1) What’s your best social media success story?
One of our biggest successes is what I’ll be talking about at the conference – the launch of our Snapchat account.
Outside of the celebration, there were months of work dedicated to researching and preparing for the launch.
There were also lots of growing pains as I learned the nuances of this platform from the perspective of a brand.
A lot of the hard work was done by my volunteer group of students – St. Lawrence’s Student Social Media Team – who put in hours upon hours of hard work and pushed all of us to think differently about our university’s place on Snapchat as well as pushed us to experiment with various content types and storytelling strategies.
2) What are the 2 most difficult parts of your social media job and how do you deal with them?
One of the most difficult parts of managing social media for me is wanting to do everything but knowing I can’t and I shouldn’t.
Every day I have to make decisions about what to cover and what not to cover, what to post and what not to post, and oftentimes I’m explaining to others why I’m making those decisions. That’s why having goals, objectives and a content calendar are so important – they provide me with a sturdy framework to build on that keeps our content balanced and interesting (and keeps me on track and sane).
Related to that, I think the other difficult part is achieving some sort of work-life balance. Social media is 24/7 and for a long time, I felt like I needed to be, too. If you think this way, you’ll quickly learn how easy it is to burn out – especially if you’re the only one in your office managing social! I am not great at putting my phone down yet, but when I do take time away from checking news feeds and hashtags I find I come up with some good ideas for future social media opportunities. Take some time away from your screen – it’ll benefit you and your work.
3) What are the 2 most important skills to thrive as a social media pro in higher ed?
A great social media manager needs to be a fantastic communicator. Not only do they need to be able to write well, but they need to have great interpersonal communication skills. Sometimes you’re announcing something to a large audience, and sometimes you’re helping one person. Great communication skills are the foundation for success in any role, in any job, in any sector.
The other skill I think is most valuable is the desire to keep learning. My work has made me incredibly grateful for my liberal arts education which prepared me to better handle complex challenges, uncertainties, and change. Social media are changing every moment. They move quickly and I have had to be nimble and change a big project’s direction on a moment’s notice. Social media will not be the last thing to revolutionize the communications world, so make sure you’re able to adapt to industry needs, whatever they may be.
Follow Meg Keniston for a day at work on Instagram!
Are you a fan of social media takeovers by students or alums?
You’re going to love Higher Ed Experts’ #HESM Instagram Takeovers where your higher ed social media colleagues share a day in their life.
Check out Meg’s 1-day takeover of Higher Ed Experts’ brand new Instagram account.
A conference for Higher Ed Social Media pros & teams?
The HESM conference has become a must-attend event for social media teams in higher education looking for new ideas and best practices.
Read below what a few of your higher ed colleagues who attended the past editions of the Higher Ed Social Media Conference say about the event.
Tags: HESM16, Higher Ed News