Archives: Higher Ed Marketing Memos

The #1 Social Media Measurement Question I Hear When I meet new higher ed pros at conferences, I’m frequently asked, “What’s the number one thing every social media professional should measure?” This is an impossible question to answer. It’s almost as difficult as, “What came first—the chicken, or the egg?” But, these questions are not the […]

One institution, many social media faces? Most institutions find themselves home to dozens of social media accounts that exist beyond their signature accounts. Offices, departments, schools, clubs, and other entities often develop their own presence on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and elsewhere. These additional accounts can be great when it comes to promoting your institution’s […]

It’s never too late to build a student social media squad Building a team of well-trained students to lead social media content creation and distribution is not a new idea on college campuses – and even in the Higher Ed Marketing Memos series as Angi Roberts and Lansing Bryan wrote about this topic in the […]

Spectacles & Snapchat 101 Last month, Snap, Inc. launched a product called Spectacles, a pair of colored sunglasses with a built in camera that allows users to shoot 10-second clips hands-free. Mashable recently named Snapchat Spectacles the Best Tech of 2016 but what are they and how do they work? Using Spectacles, you can record […]

For colleges and universities, It is hard to think of a more precious event than a presidential inauguration. These rare and prestigious events involve the entire community. They excite students, reconnect alumni, and encourage faculty and staff. Major university events require careful and strategic communication with the campus community, the local community, and potentially stakeholders […]

Defining social media strategy Just for kicks, I recently googled “social media strategy.” There were 146 million results. People sure seem to have a lot to say about this! The first page was mostly “how-to” articles that never bothered to define the phrase. Then, there’s this gem (warning: strong language), which clearly illustrates that people […]

Social Media Content: Plan It or Wing It? In social media, plan too far in advance, and you may find yourself unable to use content due to those “things” that come up. Don’t plan at all, and miss great opportunities to take advantage of what happens on campus. Since starting my position, I’ve found that […]

Wait — Isn’t Social Media Free? Some people assume that social media is free. That’s understandable, since Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat are free for individuals to use. But when you’re using social media on behalf of your campus or department, does the assumption hold? I took a very unscientific Twitter poll, and the results […]

A summer of social media change(s) I don’t know about you, but this summer felt like a constant reminder that social media platforms can change at any moment and either really enhance your well-thought out content strategy and plans or take you back to the drawing board. What was a very welcomed development for me […]

Wanted: Students with Stories When I arrived at SUNY Oneonta five years ago, the college’s communication efforts were largely focused on news releases about events, rankings and awards, and print ads featuring campus photos. As part of a larger reorganization that resulted in a new Office of Communications, we shifted our content strategy to focus […]