The document proposes introducing a new social media class at the university's Technical Communication department. The class would be responsible for managing the department's social media presence across Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and a blog. This would allow the department to better engage with current students, alumni and recruit new students. The document discusses how most university departments are missing opportunities by not having a social media presence and strategies for how the proposed class could improve the department's online engagement and enrollment numbers.

1. Kelly Stark
May 5, 2016

3. A typical college student hears this almost daily: “You spend too much time on
social media,” or “Social media is ruining communication skills,” or “Social
media is actually anti-social media.” Whether you believe social media is a
blessing or a curse, you cannot deny that social media and social networking
sites (SNS) are where young people go for information about everything from
researching universities to keeping up with global news. One student’s vice is
another university’s opportunity when it comes to using social media.
Universities can (and do) use social media like SNS to access a massive
demographic on the go. As Bart Byl says in his e-book Social Media Strategy for
Higher Education:
“…college students are some of the biggest consumers of media. What all
this means is that your students and prospective students are
congregating on the social web, and there’s no better time to gain
perspective into their conversations and find ways to enhance their
academic experience online.”1
Although almost all universities and colleges have adopted institutional SNS
accounts (like the University of North Texas Facebook page), not very many
individual departments within those universities and colleges have a presence
on social media and SNS. Our department does have a regularly updated
Facebook page. However, having only a Facebook page is insufficient if we want
to increase class enrollment, maintain (and improve) student retention rates,
and market our certificates and programs to students at UNT. Facebook only
allows us to access a fraction of potential students. We need to market to as
many students as possible, including prospective students, current students,
and alumni. Each of these demographics have unique, specific social media
presence, expectations, and goals.
Right now, our Facebook page does an excellent job of providing regularly
updated, relevant content for our current students. However, we are missing a
huge demographic by ignoring TC alumni on Facebook. Higher education
institutions frequently promote alumni engagement by offering online
1 Byl, Bart. Social Media for Higher Education. 2012. Accessed March 28, 2016.
http://www.slideshare.net/marketingcloud/social-media-strategy-for-highger-education-15938339

4. resources such as alumni-focused webinars, podcasts, recorded lectures,
classes, and courses.2
According to Cara Quackenbush’s 2013 article, “…Facebook has entered the
Top 5 communications methods preferred by alumni to receive news and
information from their alma mater.”3 Our Facebook should include more
content that targets what alumni need: news releases, job opportunities,
research opportunities.
We are absent from Twitter. Some students that aren’t active on Facebook are
likely more active on Twitter, so we can cast a wider net and attract more
students than if we exclusively use Facebook.
Our LinkedIn page still advertises us as the ‘Department of Linguistics and
Technical Communication’ and has not been updated in three years. By
neglecting our LinkedIn page, we are severely damaging our brand because we
aren’t ‘practicing what we preach.’
We need to use LinkedIn to build strong connections with recent graduates and
older alumni.
We are absent from the blogosphere. We need a blog presence so we can track
content, house content, and connect with all of our audiences in one place.
Although blogging may seem outdated or irrelevant, they are still the best place
to monitor and track content and audiences. Best Colleges Online encourages
institutions to create blogs because
“...the good old blog has the potential to be the most valuable of all.
Instead of relying on media outlets to relay their message clearly, colleges
are speaking directly to potential students…Additionally, blogs offer a
home base for social media operations, a place where all other references
point to.”4
2 "2016 Trends in Higher Education Marketing, Enrollment, and Technology." Hanover Research,
November 2015, 1-35. Accessed March 17, 2016. https://www.marketo.com/analyst-and-other-
reports/2016-trends-in-higher-education-marketing-enrollment-and-technology/.
3 Quackenbush, Cara. "The ROI of Social Media in Advancement." EduVentures. April 25, 2013. Accessed
March 22, 2016. http://www.eduventures.com/2013/04/the-roi-of-social-media-in-advancement/.
4 Staff. "20 Cool Trends in College Marketing." Best Colleges Online. November 30, 2011. Accessed March
28, 2016. http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2011/11/30/20-cool-trends-in-college-marketing.

5. If our department is going to continue to be an industry leader and maintain
our national recognition, we need to seriously examine effective, low-cost
options like social media and SNS for recruiting, engaging, and maintaining
students.
Our department is not getting the attention we need and deserve from students
at UNT (let alone from the state and country). One way to increase recognition
of our department and maintain class enrollment is to engage students on
social media.
Most departments of a college or university are absent from social media or
SNS for various reasons, be it lack of staff, lack of money, or a number of other
reasons. However, our department is uniquely poised to especially benefit from
social media and SNS presence. An easy, cost-effective way to build buzz about
our department is through social media and SNS. Grant Greenwood says it
best in his 2012 Journal of College Admission article: “Institutions not taking
advantage of the free SNS available are not only missing out on marketing and
recruiting opportunities, but are lagging behind their competitors.”5
Social media and SNS are a growing part of the technical communication
scene, so we already teach students about analyzing web audiences, writing
social media strategies, and creating adaptive online content. Most of our
upper-level classes include immersive, semester-long projects for clients across
the country and the state.
So far, we’ve done a great job of keeping up with industry trends. We have a
usability class, a design class, a website development class, and many more
innovative program offerings, like our digital media certificate. However,
instead of just keeping up, we should be surpassing trends and expectations in
order to grow with the ever-expanding world of technology and technical
communication.
We need to introduce a new class: a social media class.
5 Greenwood, Grant. "Examining the Presence of Social Media on University Websites." Journal of College
Admission, no. 216 (Summer 2012): 25-28. Accessed March 17, 2016. http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ992992.

6. My proposed class would focus on connecting with students and alumni,
maintaining enrollment, and recruiting prospective students by building a
positive, professional presence on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and a central
blog. “Welcome to content marketing, where the big idea is this: if you produce
and share fantastically useful content, your community will grow like crazy,
attracting more students, donors, and faculty members.”6
This class would be a 3000 level class offered every semester, including during
the summer. We need year-round class availability to cater to as many
students as possible and to keep our social media updated, relevant, and
consistent. Instead of hiring and managing a social media team, technical
communication students will manage our social media and SNS presence and
content across four platforms:
 Facebook
 Twitter
 LinkedIn
 Blogging
In order to build a positive, professional presence on these social media and
SNS, students will have to analyze our web audiences, implement social media
strategies and policies, and create adaptive, engaging digital content. These
projects and assignments for the social media class would align with
information, strategies, and techniques we already teach, but the social media
class would provide a more in-depth look into digital and social content. Instead
of working on social media strategies for external clients, this class would focus
on serving our most important clients: internal students and UNT alumni.
Because our Facebook already serves current students well, this medium will
likely be the easiest to revive. Students will not have to create an entirely new
account from scratch. Students will regularly
 write and design taglines for blog content
 curate and share relevant articles, webinars, podcasts, and other online
lifelong learning content
 curate and share campus news and events like career fairs, keynote
speakers, and recruiting opportunities
6 Byl, Bart. Social Media Strategy for Higher Education. 2012. Accessed March 28, 2016.
http://www.slideshare.net/marketingcloud/social-media-strategy-for-higher-education-15938339.

7. Students will need to create a Twitter account in the first semester of the social
media class. They will also need to write, plan, and develop an online policy
and strategy for Twitter content. After the Twitter account is established,
students will regularly
 disseminate ‘bite-sized’ information about our classes, programs, and
technology
 use hashtags and audience trends to market
 update current and prospective technical communication students.
Most of the content on Twitter will be attractive, concise summaries that link to
correlated, longer content on the blog. The Twitter account should be updated
at least daily.
We already have a LinkedIn account, but because it has been neglected for so
long, it may be easier to create an entirely new LinkedIn account for our
department. As with the other social media and SNS, students will need to
establish an online policy and content strategy. Students will regularly
 track and share career and internship opportunities
 collect and showcase alumni and graduate work for recruiters to review
 connect students with recruiters, board members, and subject-matter
experts
Students in the social media class will create a blog. During the first semester,
students will need to focus on planning and documenting an online policy and
strategy for the blog. Some free, reliable blog hosts include sites like
WordPress.com and Tumblr.com. However, I suggest making the blog a sub
section of Professional & Technical Communication homepage. After the blog is
established, students will regularly
 write, curate, and archive technical communication related articles, blog
posts, podcasts, and webinars
 share relevant career and internship opportunities

8. Our social media class will teach students how to digitally interact with several
audiences: an invaluable skill in today’s marketplace and economy. Students
will also learn how to write, design, and publish online content that is
engaging, relevant, and shareable. Moreover, students will have to work within
UNT’s style guide and voice. All of these skills are crucial to differentiating our
students from others in a job search. When we’re able to provide students with
a solid, reliable education that provides them with invaluable skills found
nowhere else, we will increase enrollment and brand recognition. Each social
media and SNS has specific audiences, purposes, and benefits. Each medium
or SNS requires adaptive content. However, almost every social media has
overlapping benefits for colleges and universities:
 Connecting with current and prospective students
 Maintaining enrollment
 Recruiting prospective students
College is no longer a business-as-usual experience. Most incoming students
are interested in building a relationship with their university. According to a
research article published by Hanover Research last year,
“…personalized communication…is a beneficial strategy that
institutions of higher education can use to enhance relationships with
their students. Both traditional and nontraditional students respond
positively to proactive and personalized communication that makes them
feel connected and supported.”7 [original emphasis]
More and more students are looking for a university that fits with their cultural
needs and provides them with an adequate education for their career goals.
When our department uses social media and SNS to build better, stronger
relationships with our students, students are more likely to stay enrolled,
endorse us to friends and family, and become active alumni.
Students are the lifeblood of any university. Getting students to come to a
university is one thing; giving them a reason to stay is another. The effort to
maintain enrollment does not stop after a student registers for classes. Most
college and university faculty know this pressure well. According to Hanover
Research,
7 "2016 Trends in Higher Education Marketing, Enrollment, and Technology." Hanover Research,
November 2015, 1-35. Accessed March 17, 2016. https://www.marketo.com/analyst-and-other-
reports/2016-trends-in-higher-education-marketing-enrollment-and-technology/.

9. “…Fifty-eight percent [of surveyed admissions directors] indicated that
they had not filled their fall classes by the traditional May 1 deadline.
Moreover, more than one-half of the administrators reported they were
‘very concerned’ about meeting the year’s enrollment goals, while almost
another third state they were ‘moderately concerned.’”8
In order to stay in business, a university has to maintain, and hopefully
increase, student enrollment. As a department, it is just as important for us to
get the word out about our technologies, facilities, and programs in order to
attract new students, build loyalty with our current ones, and engage our
alumni. Social media and SNS create a social, local, and mobile platform for
institutions to actively listen to students’ feedback. Students are more likely to
stay in an environment when they feel like their constructive opinions and
comments matter.
The bulk of our enrollment rates come from TECM 2700: Technical
Communication because it is a required class for science and business majors.
Not enough students come back after completing TECM 2700. We can use
social media and SNS as a way to engage students and attract them to our
relevant, career-growing opportunities, like our certificates and minor program.
8 Ibid., p. 3
Number of Undergraduate Class Sections
Spring 2016
TECM 2700
TECM 1700
TECM 4180
TECM 4190
TECM 4250
TECM 3200
TECM 4700
TECM 4800
TECM 4950

10. After we connect with students, maintain enrollment, and gain insight from the
online data that we can gather from students and alumni, we can focus on
marketing and recruiting to prospective non-UNT students. We are a nationally
recognized program, but some students at UNT don’t even know our program
exists. Although hundreds of students enroll in technical communication
classes each semester, students at UNT that would be interested in and benefit
from technical communication classes can’t enroll in our classes if they don’t
know what we offer.
As a department within an already prestigious university, we have a huge
advantage: we don’t have to convince students to apply; we don’t have to
recruit non-UNT students. The students our department needs to focus on first
are students that have already been accepted to UNT. Getting students to UNT
is half the battle; instead of competing with thousands of universities, our
department needs to attract the right UNT students to our programs and
classes. Once we build stronger brand recognition, student loyalty, and
program enrollment, we can start reaching out to prospective high school,
transfer, and non-traditional students in order to attract them to UNT.
For higher education a strong presence on social media and SNS is not about
popularity contests: “Collecting more Facebook likes or Twitter followers
doesn’t count. Instead, look at things like driving admissions, reducing costs,
and improving student retention.”9 When we strategically use social media and
SNS as a tool, all of these goals are more than realistic.
However, before we can start investing in newer, more creative social media
(like Snapchat), we have some catching up to do. The Center for Marketing
Research (CMR) of the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth has been
monitoring how colleges and universities use social media to interact and
connect with students since 2006. The CMR has found that most colleges and
universities already have large a presence on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and
blogs. (See Figure 1.)
9 Byl, Bart. Social Media for Higher Education. 2012. Accessed March 28, 2016.
http://www.slideshare.net/marketingcloud/social-media-strategy-for-highger-education-15938339

11. Each social media and SNS has specific audiences, purposes, and thus
requires adaptive content. However, almost every social media has overlapping
goals for colleges and universities:
 Connecting with current and prospective students
 Maintaining enrollment
 Recruiting prospective students
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Barnes, N. and Lescault, A. “Social Media Adoption Soars as Higher-Ed
Experiments and Reevaluates Its Use of New Communication Tools.” U-Mass Dartmouth
Center for Marketing Research, 2012. p. 3.

13. "2016 Trends in Higher Education Marketing, Enrollment, and Technology." Hanover Research,
November 2015, 1-35. Accessed March 17, 2016. https://www.marketo.com/analyst-and-
other-reports/2016-trends-in-higher-education-marketing-enrollment-and-technology/.
Byl, Bart. Social Media Strategy for Higher Education. 2012. Accessed March 28, 2016.
http://www.slideshare.net/marketingcloud/social-media-strategy-for-higher-education-
15938339.
Greenwood, Grant. "Examining the Presence of Social Media on University Websites." Journal
of College Admission, no. 216 (Summer 2012): 25-28. Accessed March 17, 2016.
http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ992992
Quackenbush, Cara. "The ROI of Social Media in Advancement." EduVentures. April 25, 2013.
Accessed March 22, 2016. http://www.eduventures.com/2013/04/the-roi-of-social-media-in-
advancement/.
Staff. "20 Cool Trends in College Marketing." Best Colleges Online. November 30, 2011.
Accessed March 28, 2016. http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2011/11/30/20-cool-
trends-in-college-marketing.