Meet #hesm pros to follow: Rachel Esterline (@rachelesterline) from @CMUniversity on social media success, challenges & tips

Rachel Esterline Perkins, Associate Director of PR and Social Media at Central Michigan University is one of the 15 higher ed professionals who presented at the 2nd Higher Ed Social Media Conference (now available on-demand).

Rachel manages the university’s official social media channels and counsels colleges/departments on how to effectively use social media.

In this 3-question interview, Rachel tells us about her most successful initiative with social media, her biggest challenge and shares some advice on how to cope with the 24/7 world of social media in higher education. Oh – and she also granted my request for a selfie!

1) What is the most successful social media initiative you’ve run over the past year?

We launched a private social media community for our incoming freshmen in December 2013. It was adopted by nearly 30 percent of the students and helped aid them in their college transition. Though it was challenging to get buy-in at first, it was well worth the effort. The community helped our students become excited to start in the fall and allowed them to get to know their peers.

2) What is the biggest challenge you face in your social media work? How do you cope with it?

The biggest challenge is meeting the expectation of real-time information while balancing quality of content. Before posting content, I always take a second to review it thoroughly to help ensure accuracy and prevent errors.

3) Social media work never stops. How do you maintain balance in your life & work given this constraint? Any tips, techniques or tools?

Focus your time and efforts on the social media channels that give you the most impact.

People often ask, “Why don’t we have a presence on this other social network?” It’s important to be sure that a channel will help you achieve your goals. If it doesn’t make sense strategically, then I focus my time elsewhere.