Slides for session to University of Bournemouth's First Year Experience Special Interest Group

1. Engaging without invading:using social networking tools to connect with students Stuart Johnson, University of Leicester

2. We’re on the fringes StudentDevelopment

3. Needy students will seek us out StudentDevelopment

4. Traditional advertising reaches a few more StudentDevelopment

5. There has been massive growth in social media Numbers represent unique visitors. Data from www.compete.com

6. If Facebook were a country Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population

7. So we’re using social media… * StudentDevelopment *NB. Facebook pagenot group

8. …to help us reach many more StudentDevelopment

9. And they can communicate with us… StudentDevelopment

10. And they can communicate with us… StudentDevelopment

11. And they can communicate with us… StudentDevelopment

12. …and they tell their friends about us StudentDevelopment

13. …and they tell their friends about us “I think that the Facebook page is a great idea and I have since spread the word to mates and got them to join” StudentDevelopment

14. …who then follow our social media StudentDevelopment

15. And the number of ‘Likes’ increases… Total ‘Likes’ Unsubscribes

16. …and so does the number using our services StudentDevelopment

17. But rather than them coming to us… …they give us permission to go to them

18. Our website traffic has gone up

19. *Facebook fan dashboard But, meaningful content is vital “Page admins who post meaningful contentwill retain fans, while admins who post spammy or low-quality material will lose fans and subscribers”*

20. News and events feeds we automate

21. But most of what we say is proactive (proactive/responsive) (proactive/responsive) (automated)

22. Tone of voice is important too

23. And it’s having an impact here This happens a lot This never happens This sometimes happens

24. And here…

25. Tips to engage* Start a conversation Quick, direct and simple Attach, attach, attach! Announce, remind, excite It’s about time Remember It’s not a magic bullet They can turn us off * Courtesy of David Morgan, see http://goo.gl/qXkQ

26. What we’ve learnt We're definitely reaching more students this way A base of RSSnews and events feeds is a good start But you've got to invest in conversations Our helpdesk staff do a great job Distance learners like it too