Social Media Strategies some fundamentals…. Kate Richards

Social media is an umbrella term that defines the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio. This interaction, and the manner in which information is presented, depends on the varied perspectives and "building" of shared meaning among communities, as people share their stories, and understandings. Social media can take many different forms, including Internet forums, weblogs, wikis, podcasts, pictures and video. Technologies include: blogs, picture-sharing, vlogs, wall-postings, , instant messaging, music- sharing, crowdsourcing, and voice over IP, to name a few.

There are exact statistics on many aspects of social media but in general the proliferation of internet use is the fastest of all media and that encompasses social media. Participation (blogs, photo uploads, etc) has increased from about 20 million instances in 2005 to about 10 billion in 2008.

Types of social media Social networking Professional networking Media sharing Blogging and micro- blogging RSS and controlled feeds

Types of social media Social networking Facebook, Bebo

Types of social media Professional networking Linked In, ping

Types of social media Media sharing Tumblr, vimeo, flickr, you tube

Types of social media Blogging and micro- blogging 1:1 1:many Twitter, the blogosphere

Types of social media Locative social media Four Squared

Deciding what’s relevant for your outcomes… FUNCTION & AIMS build fan-base create spin collect content/comments/links out regular updates build brand using multiple environments (concept + technique, eg tweetdeck)

Deciding what’s relevant for your outcomes… Deciding on FUNCTION & AIMS do focus groups user scenarios user testing scope social media migrate brand to social media devise a social media strategy

Deciding what’s relevant for your outcomes… Form of participation? enrolled students – enforced participation? shared interests existing authority/opinion participatory design

Deciding what’s relevant for your outcomes… Moderation/participation Is a moderator necessary? Is it pre- or post-? Planning to populate the site using staff

Deciding what’s relevant for your outcomes… Duration! How long does it run for? Sustainability Social media fatigue Working with a marketing firm Pre-, peri- and post-event