Does Your Department Take the 'Social' Out of Social Media?
May 9, 2012
It's easy to get so overwhelmed with the communications tasks of a department, such as writing, pushing content out, and posting online, that we start to treat social media the same as traditional media: write, print/post, distribute. However, social media is, well, social. Don't forget that your department's communications efforts are bolstered when the social connection between members of your audience is also strengthened.
What you might be doing wrong:
- Broadcasting only. Your Twitter feed has turned into a mere RSS feed of your news content.
- Using neither connection points nor calls to action. Posting events and news, but not including links to learn more. Not using tags or mentioning anyone else. Not inviting any interaction.
- Posting news only you produce. Not cross-posting or retweeting of related departments' posts or MIT news posts that mention the department.
- Not reaching out to others, such as giving an excited "congrats!" to an alum who won an award, retweeting a student's posts, or liking someone else's comment on the Facebook page.
- Not responding to any mentions or comments. Letting people interact with your page without any feedback. It's like sending a cardboard cutout of yourself to take your place at a conference…
- Not encouraging shared creation. Live-tweeting from a conference alone, instead of using a hashtag and allowing others to post their own content as well, such as thoughts, photos, and notes.
Don't take the 'social' out of social media! Find ways to cultivate interaction.
