Corie Martin, Director of Web Services & Digital Marketing at Western Kentucky University, is one of the 12 presenters of the 4th Higher Ed Social Media Conference.
In this 3-question interview, Corie 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?
Since the beginning of the academic year, we have had great and unexpected success with Facebook Live videos. We started by trying them out when our president and campus mascot went on a bus tour to hand deliver admissions letters to the first admitted students from the WKU Class of 2021. We couldn’t believe how great the response was!
We usually send a professional video crew to cover larger events on campus because their video export quality is so much higher than anything we could shoot on our own, but recently I shot a Facebook Live video of our school mascot dancing around at a student event using my phone. That video had more than 56,000 unique views.
I laughed about this with our video production crew. Here we have state-of-the-art equipment and I shoot something with my phone that had more views than anything we have ever done with the fancy equipment!
I think this has everything to do with the video content and less to do with the quality of the video itself. WKU has a well-recognized and well-loved mascot (Big Red, the Hilltopper), so it is never a surprise that anything Big Red does resonates with all of our audiences. We have since used the Facebook Live feature with presidential speeches and other campus events and have had great success.
Facebook Live video adds in the ability to see campus activities in real time for those who could not be there otherwise (like parents or alumni), and solidifies their love for our university.
2) What are the 2 most difficult parts of your social media job and how do you deal with them?
There are a few challenges that I know all social media admins have in common, especially those of us operating as a party-of-one, or with limited resources. Most of us just take the challenges in stride as part of the job.
One challenge that I have been working on this year is that there is an ever-increasing amount of output channels, and still only two people on my team. It is really hard to be everywhere, especially when you are covering live events. How can we shoot a live video, live tweet, snap, and insta events from multiple accounts simultaneously, while also taking a time-lapse or 360 video, or still images for the website? The short answer is, you can’t, which means you have to strategically pick and choose your media, or call in reinforcements (which we do a lot of here at WKU). Live event coverage is something that has to be planned out in advance to be sure your media is lined up, feet on the ground are in all the right places, and that your messages are disseminated when and where you need them to be. It has changed the scope of the job for sure.
Another challenge is damage control via social media. Often, higher ed social media admins catch things first, so we are the first point of contact on campus issues that sometimes require swift action, response, or resolution. Working with administrators, personnel across campus, faculty, and students is a challenge, particularly when you are pressed for time to release news, or provide updates. It has been a challenge to articulate the sense of urgency to folks who might not understand how fast social media works. If you don’t get out in front of things quickly, then run the risk of creating the perception that you don’t care or have nothing to say is created that just exacerbates the issue.
3) What are the 2 most important skills to thrive as a social media pro in higher ed?
I think the two most important qualities successful social media professionals possess are strong judgment, and a clear understanding of consumer behavior.
You have to be able to think on your feet and respond to issues in real time, so you have to be able to understand people – why do people react to things the way they do? What elicits an emotional response in people?
Understanding human nature helps you decide the types of content that will speak to people, and it will also help you solve problems when they arise. For example, if you take the time to understand the root issue of why someone is angry, you may more effectively come to a resolution.
All of this is where responsible judgment comes into play. You must be able to read a situation in order to judge the best response. I would never hire a hot-headed, or defensive higher ed social media admin! It is important to put the brand first and personal feelings aside, as tough as that may be sometimes. Social media communication is about personal connections.
Patience, good judgment, and an understanding of human nature help us use these channels to connect to audiences on deeper and more personal levels no matter what the situation.
Follow Corie Martin 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 Corie’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