Here are the 5 most common mistakes schools make on Twitter that keep them from good following and engagement.

1. The 5 Deadly Sins Schools Commit
On Twitter And How To Avoid Them
Slide 1
The 5 Deadly Sins Schools
Commit On Twitter And How To
Avoid Them

2. The 5 Deadly Sins Schools Commit
On Twitter And How To Avoid Them
Slide 2
1. Being where your students are not
2. Creating accounts your school doesn’t need
3. Feeding Twitter directly from Facebook
4. One-way tweets
5. Silence
Overview
Source: Higher Education Marketing – The 5 deadly sins schools commit on Twitter and how to avoid them

3. The 5 Deadly Sins Schools Commit
On Twitter And How To Avoid Them
Slide 3
You have set up a Twitter account because you hear it was a
large referrer for schools’ traffic. But using a social media
platform your students don’t use amounts to shouting in an
empty room.
Salvation:
 Determine whether your students use Twitter: Your students’ tech-
savvy-ness, their age, education level and career choices can all
be indicators of whether or not they use Twitter.
 Start an on-campus poll or an email survey campaign to reach out
to your students and see which social media platforms they most
use.
 This will help you focus on meeting them where they are.
1. Being where your students are not
Source: Higher Education Marketing – The 5 deadly sins schools commit on Twitter and how to avoid them

4. The 5 Deadly Sins Schools Commit
On Twitter And How To Avoid Them
Slide 4
You created Twitter accounts for several of your departments
or projects at your school but no one is following these
accounts.
Or, you already have a good Alumni group on LinkedIn or a
good Admission page on Facebook and you create a
corresponding Twitter account.
Salvation: Identify the specific need that you want your
Twitter account to fill and then only create your Twitter
account.
2. Creating accounts your school does not need
Source: Higher Education Marketing – The 5 deadly sins schools commit on Twitter and how to avoid them

5. The 5 Deadly Sins Schools Commit
On Twitter And How To Avoid Them
Slide 5
Here are a few uses for a school’s Twitter account:
 Enhance your school’s Admission or Student Services by answering
questions to students through an @Ask + name of your school
account.
 Enhance your school’s Career Services by actively helping students
stay on-top of the workforce with news about internships, jobs,
workshops that are taking place and may be of interest.
 Enhance your visibility in the community by positioning yourself as a
relay, a creator or an analyst of all news with the industries you want
your students to succeed in.
 Listen to your competition and what they are doing: with Twitter, you
can create private lists, meaning you can track other twitter users
without actually following them. Making a “Competitors” list will help
you stay attune to what other schools are doing on Twitter.
2. Creating accounts your school does not need
Source: Higher Education Marketing – The 5 deadly sins schools commit on Twitter and how to avoid them

6. The 5 Deadly Sins Schools Commit
On Twitter And How To Avoid Them
Slide 6
3. Feeding Twitter directly from Facebook
Everything you post on Facebook goes automatically on
Twitter:
 Why would students follow your Twitter account if the content is just a
duplicate of what you have posted on Facebook?
This goes for every type of content duplication:
 publishing some of your content on several sites is recommended but
publishing the exact same content across every social media platform
is not.
 By using Twitter as a mere recycled content bin, you are indirectly
showing that Twitter does not matter for your school. If that is the case,
why should students follow you?
Source: Higher Education Marketing – The 5 deadly sins schools commit on Twitter and how to avoid them

7. The 5 Deadly Sins Schools Commit
On Twitter And How To Avoid Them
Slide 7
3. Feeding Twitter directly from Facebook
Salvation:
 Clearly differentiate the content for each of the platforms you use.
 Having a clear Social Media strategy can be a first step to
identifying the path.
Source: Higher Education Marketing – The 5 deadly sins schools commit on Twitter and how to avoid them

8. The 5 Deadly Sins Schools Commit
On Twitter And How To Avoid Them
Slide 8
4. One-way tweets
You are only sending news (mostly about your school and
your programs) and never actually interacting with your
followers.
Salvation: Engage with your followers. Community-
building is about addressing your students and their
issues while trying to have fun with them.
 Create public or private lists to manage your followers.
 Be useful to your followers: Listen to what they have to say. Answer or help
relay their questions. Read here to learn who you should follow on Twitter.
 Ask them to help you relay important info and acknowledge their part in your
community
 Create contests via Twitter or integrate Twitter to your contest initiatives.
Source: Higher Education Marketing – The 5 deadly sins schools commit on Twitter and how to avoid them

9. The 5 Deadly Sins Schools Commit
On Twitter And How To Avoid Them
Slide 9
5. Silence
You have created the account and have been engaging with
your community! Then summer came along and you decided
to give your Twitter account an extended vacation.
Salvation: Create an account only if you are sure to keep
it updated.
 Twitter loyalty partially relies on your ability to be consistent in
your tweeting.
 If your account is inactive, your followers will “unfollow” you.
 Many schools have a hard time keeping their account updated. If
this is the case, ask for the help of your students.
 Many of them are eager to work in social media.
 You can also count on them to create high-quality content about your school to
share on a regular basis. What other sins have you seen committed on Twitter?
Source: Higher Education Marketing – The 5 deadly sins schools commit on Twitter and how to avoid them

10. The 5 Deadly Sins Schools Commit
On Twitter And How To Avoid Them
Slide 10
What other sins have you seen committed on
Twitter?
Source: Higher Education Marketing – The 5 deadly sins schools commit on Twitter and how to avoid them

11. The 5 Deadly Sins Schools Commit
On Twitter And How To Avoid Them
Slide 11
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