Engaging Audiences With Social Media Teach Web design and online journalism Dramatic, unpredictable changes over the past decade Blogs, podcasts, social media Online audio, video, slideshows, animated graphics, 360 video, drones Wikipedia, Craigslist, Twitter, FB, Instagram, SnapChat, Google Maps, Engaging Audiences With Social Media Cindy Royal, Ph.D Professor and Founding Director Media Innovation Lab Texas State University School of Journalism and Mass Communication croyal@txstate.edu cindyroyal.com @cindyroyal slideshare.net/cindyroyal 1 1 1

Innovation in Journalism and Communication Digital Media Innovation Major Media Innovation Lab New Course Formats Integration with Professionals Experience Learning Projects Fundamentals of Digital/Online Media Web Design and Publishing Multimedia Journalism Coding and Data Skills Digital Issues Advanced Social Media and Analytics Digital Media Innovation Blogger and Wordpress both allow you to add pages that make it more like a Website. Blogger is a bit simpler. WP more professional. Tumblr is also very popular, for its visual nature and ability to follow. 2 2

Introduce new topics like drones and virtual reality. Experience learning projects New major and lab Student success, many have gone on to careers leading social strategy

Establish Goals and Objectives Design Thinking Strategy comes from above Critical to implementation Used to create print pieces, then website. Now it’s social media engagement Blogger and Wordpress both allow you to add pages that make it more like a Website. Blogger is a bit simpler. WP more professional. Tumblr is also very popular, for its visual nature and ability to follow. 4 4

Identify Audience Identify audience Understand how they engage with various platforms Connect with goals and objectives Students, parents, alumni, community, donors Blogger and Wordpress both allow you to add pages that make it more like a Website. Blogger is a bit simpler. WP more professional. Tumblr is also very popular, for its visual nature and ability to follow. 5 5

Embrace Engagement Potential Consider ways to engage constituents, not just push information Comments and likes Quizzes, contests Interactivity Give them something to do Understand engagement potential of each platform Blogger and Wordpress both allow you to add pages that make it more like a Website. Blogger is a bit simpler. WP more professional. Tumblr is also very popular, for its visual nature and ability to follow. 6 6

Identify Social Media Staff and Processes This is the professional communication strategy of an organization Interns or student workers can help, but needs a strategic focus and direction More than one person De-centralize content creation – can come from across a campus Can use content in different ways across different platforms. Blogger and Wordpress both allow you to add pages that make it more like a Website. Blogger is a bit simpler. WP more professional. Tumblr is also very popular, for its visual nature and ability to follow. 7 7

This is the professional communication strategy of an organization Interns or student workers can help, but needs a strategic focus and direction More than one person De-centralize content creation – can come from across a campus Can use content in different ways across different platforms. Blogger and Wordpress both allow you to add pages that make it more like a Website. Blogger is a bit simpler. WP more professional. Tumblr is also very popular, for its visual nature and ability to follow. 8 8

Website Connects to social media Provides a visual metaphor for your campus or organization Access to resources News, announcements, creation of media, videos, demonstration of capabilities Blogger and Wordpress both allow you to add pages that make it more like a Website. Blogger is a bit simpler. WP more professional. Tumblr is also very popular, for its visual nature and ability to follow. A website still provides a home for your digital presence 9 9

Facebook Facebook is broadly used by a wide range of people. Use pages and groups to share messaging with constituents. Promote and boost posts and use analytics. Use Facebook to encourage discussion and participation Visual posts do well, videos, FB Live Promote research, events, have contests, polls, quizzes Respond to questions 10 10

Twitter Twitter is widely used by news organizations and technology professionals. It is a good way to get information out quickly, without an algorithm that chooses to show it. Unlike Facebook, you don’t have to be a Twitter user to see a tweet. 11 11

Instagram – showcase images; visual communication is key. Snapchat – experiment with stories; humor is key. But information is removed from stories in 24 hours, so you have to have a strategy for archiving. Photos and Visuals Guess what? Facebook just introduced Stories this week, both on FB and Messenger. 12 12

Video YouTube offers broad potential for hosting videos and providing a community of users. Interview people, have a talk show, do a video blog with commentary, make short films, be creative Embed the video on your blog/website, post across social. Embed code is readily available to the right of your videos on YouTube Videos part of Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat as well Tag videos with appropriate key terms to help others find your content Other sites, like Vimeo, Viddler 13 13

Go Mobile Encourage social media usage on-the-go Facebook Live lets you stream from anywhere. FB Live Messaging like WhatsApp 14 14

Emerging Trends Chat bots and artificial intelligence provide creative ways to inform and engage Other potential data visualization, interactive charts and graphs 15 15

Emerging Trends Data Visualization Other potential data visualization, interactive charts and graphs Texas Tribune 16 16

Analytics Use Google Analytics or those associated with your social platform to get information about users, locations, link referrals, etc. Google Analytics certification 17 17

Analytics Most social platforms provide analytics for free Google Analytics certification 18 18

Other University Applications Showcase campus Highlight student accomplishments Spotlight on research Alumni profiles Sports and other events Seek community input Quizzes, polls, surveys 19 19

Leveraging Social Review best practices Provide strategic direction and general guidelines Model usage for students and other constituents Promote your position as thought leader on educational issues Spread goodwill about your institution’s brand Stay up-to-date conceptually, as well as technically Encourage experimentation 20 20