Thou Doth Tweet Too Much?

In a rare meeting prior to setting up a Twitter account, one department asked me to tell them how much is too much Tweeting. I realize I got ahead of myself by not letting them finish and blurted out ‘I will never tell you that you are Tweeting too much – its impossible.’ Here’s what I meant:

Twitter Reading is Selective

Its easy to scan each tweet to see if you need to read further. Its the nature of the communication medium: Twitter users become accustomed to short bursts of information and, in my opinion, are very good at skimming the content. In my own use, I find that I skim, and go back and re-read if its important. This also assumes you are an avid user and have enough followers to dilute multi-tweets from one account.

Following Takes the Place of a Feed

Do you read every post that comes through your RSS reader? Didnt think so. The same is true with Twitter. I dont expect that every Tweet you post from orientation will be read but it will be searchable. Think of it as a bookmark for that information. Someone’s going to stumble upon it at some point and find it useful.

I fear the opposite much more than I do over-tweeting. Do you have a magical equation that you use for your branded account?

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Social Media Strategy, Or Not?

Lately, everyone’s been talking about creating a social media strategy. Ok. Not lately, but for the past year. :) I went back and forth on this for a while. Yes, you DEF need a strategy. No, you kinda dont need one. Back and forth, back and forth.

Well I’ve settled: YES. You DO need one. Why? Well, without one, whats the point? You are just ‘doing to do’. You may end up with some positive outcomes but overall, did you achieve your goal, or just a goal in general? Did you move the needle or just do a good job at what you started at?

While I was thinking NO the reasons were because everything changes so fast. Some days, one account has a curious uptick with no internally based promotion. Others, things you think may have worked to increase traffic tanked. Maybe going with the flow, with no real set plan is the way to go. Again, what would be the purpose? A certain number of followers/fans/group members doesnt mean anything when those numbers are just that. The point from this: a good strategy allows for mid campaign change without waiting till the end. You must be agile.

What is your purpose? I know this has been written about several times and ways but its truly the bottom line: What does your success look like? Is it an uptick in applications/accepts/enrolls? Is it a campus that feels more engaged and connected? Both have different strategies and knowing that and planning around them is the main “light bulb moment” that people need to have.

For instance, which is more valuable: a Facebook group with 1400 members and 143 posts or a group with 850 members and 400 posts?

My answer? Both. Depending on the goal. If its just to communicate information to a large audience in a niche way, maybe its ok to not have as much engagement. Although much is crammed down our throats about ‘millennials’ some are just ‘watchers’. If its to create a sense of community on an urban campus, perhaps less people with more posts (and posters) is a win.

Thoughts?

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Social Media and Community Engagement Strategies

In another installment of ‘getting to know Jess’ and after many great Twitter conversations created around @rachelreuben‘s conference Tweeting, I’m attaching links to a few choice publications that I authored in my previous position. I think they are still relevant in the conversation of ‘is social media worth it’, especially for low income families.

Achieving College Access Goals: The Relevance of New Media in Reaching First-Generation and Low-Income Teens

How College Access Marketing Campaigns Can Utilize Social Networking Web Sites

Creating a Strategy for Community Engagement

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