1. 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
cindyroyal.com
@cindyroyal
slideshare.net/cindyroyal 1 1 1

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

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

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

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

17. 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

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

19. 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

20. 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