Creating a readMedia and readabout.me Strategy

•Your school uses readabout.me software to publicize student achievements and activities on campus – like studying abroad, making the dean’s list, or participating in a club – by creating personalized stories about these achievements and publishing them online at readabout.me •You even have the choice of sending the achievement to hometown newspapers, too!Copyright ©2011 readMedia, Inc.

•Achievements on readabout.me are automatically awarded a unique “badge of approval” by readMedia to show that they’re verified by your school •You can think of the badges like SCVNGR or Foursquare – but these badges actually mean something! •Badges were created by Phil Pascuzzo, designer of the original Twitter bird logo and a very well known book designerCopyright ©2011 readMedia, Inc.

•Students receive a personalized email that directs them to their achievement on readabout.me •You can even send the email to parents if you have their information •The email comes from your account, not readMediaCopyright ©2011 readMedia, Inc.

•Students can claim their achievement by connecting to Facebook, which allows them to add a photo and share theirachievementswith their social networks •Don’t worry, we never pull information from Facebook. This is a way to make sure the correct student is claiming a profile •Your logo (bottom right) links back to your school’s websiteCopyright ©2011 readMedia, Inc.

•The student’s achievements are rolled up into a professional, powerful online profile that shows the great things they’reinvolved in on campus •Students can even enhance their profiles by adding other activities and affiliations! •Activities added by the student are separate from the achievements “verified” by the school •Profiles are indexed on GoogleCopyright ©2011 readMedia, Inc.

Acknowledging an achievement is simple•All you need is an example of All of this happens automatically when you clicka student achievement you’d “send”:like to send and a spreadsheet •Your achievement is awarded a badge by a readMediaof the students involved. editor •The achievement is published online at readabout.me•These two documents will bemerged together to create •Your students are notified via email that you’repersonalized achievements for acknowledging their achievementall of thestudentsin your •The achievement is sent to the students’ hometownspreadsheet. newspapers Copyright ©2011 readMedia, Inc.

Tracking Your Success •Web Stats summarize the achievements you’ve published •The report shows you where traffic to your online stories is coming from, the number of page views and how often they were shared on social media sites like Facebook. You can even view the geographic areas you’re reaching with traditional outreach •Most schools incorporate this data into their monthly reports. Some even go as far as sharing the data with their board of trustees! Copyright ©2011 readMedia, Inc.

Why is readabout.me important for students? •readabout.me helps people who make decisions about internships, grad school, and jobs find the “good stuff” about your students, and recognizes their accomplishments with badges that show that they’re for real. It’s like your providing them with an online version of their diploma! •readabout.me profiles create a positive online identity for post- graduation success. 75% of companies research applicants online, and 70% have rejected applicants based on what they found. Copyright ©2011 readMedia, Inc.

Why is readabout.me is important for your school? •Visual representation of all the great things you have happening on campus •Reputation marketing •Powerful way for students to identify with your school and be affiliated with you online, for life. •It carries your brand into students’ social networks, especially Facebook, where their friends and family celebrate their achievements •You’re preparing your students for post graduation success by creating a positive online identity for them •You’re using your “best and brightest” to promote activities and achievements Copyright ©2011 readMedia, Inc.

What achievements do you want your students to be known for? It’s impossible to think that you can acknowledge every activity and achievement on campus – and you don’t need to! •Create a calendar of achievements that you want to verify every year. •Do you have a strong academic program that you want to promote? Is study abroad something that’s important at your institution? Or maybe you want to highlight certain activities like marching band or theater. Copyright ©2011 readMedia, Inc.

Other schools focus on awarding badges to students in leadership positions: Destanni Goodsby Elected to McMurry Laura Acchiardo of Newburgh JoinsUniversity Student Government Position Alpha Omicron Pi at the University of Evansville Tyler Fisher chosen as UW-Platteville Joe Wright Named Student Ambassador Resident Assistant at Marist College Copyright ©2011 readMedia, Inc.

Verifying internships and co-ops are also agreat way to showcase your students’ talents James Desmond Interns Through Urbana University Clemson University Student Molly Townsend of San Diego Interns at NASA Copyright ©2011 readMedia, Inc.

Every fall you’ll want to send out your enrollment achievement This serves multiple purposes: • It creates a profile for all of your incoming students. A profile can only be created when you send out an achievement about that student. • Students love seeing this early connection to the school. It makes them feel important! • Students will share their enrollment badge on Facebook with their peerswhoare in high school and just starting the admissions process. Copyright ©2011 readMedia, Inc.

You’re preparing your students for post graduationsuccess – this is something you want to promote!Here are a few examples of how schools are promoting readabout.me on campus:•Campus presentations readabout.me is also a great tool for your career•Web pages devoted to readabout.me center:Fort Lewis College • Promote profiles as they educate students onHudson Valley Community College the importance of their online identity• Video • Encourage students to upload their picture andUW – River Falls enhance their profile before they graduate•Display posters on campus•Articles in campus newsletters and newspapersEastern Connecticut State UniversityUniversity of Evansville•Promotevia social media and blogsClarkson UniversityLebanon Valley CollegeClemson UniversityUniversity of Delaware•Include readabout.me information in freshman’orientation packets•Promote readabout.me at orientation to parentsand students Copyright ©2011 readMedia, Inc.

Creating a readMedia and readabout.me Strategy

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