SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY

Max Spiegel

Who are we and why are we here?What is our organizational structure?What is our goal?What is our communication strategy?Who is our audience?What is our message?

WHAT IS OUR PURPOSE?

SOCIAL MEDIA IS ONLY A DELIVERY MECHANISM

MissionThe mission of Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences is to discover, integrate, translate, and disseminate knowledge to enhance the food and agricultural system, natural resources and environmental stewardship, and economic and social well-being, thereby improving the lives of people in Pennsylvania, the nation, and the world.

Strategic Initiatives• Entrepreneurship• Pest Prediction and

Response• Water• Energy• Food, Diet and Health

Goals• Increase Student

Enrollment, Enhance Student Success

• Enhance Knowledge Discovery and Translation

• Strengthen

Communication with and Education of Stakeholders

Strategic Challenges/Advantages• Identify Priorities• Enhance Collaboration

Within and Outside the College

• Network Development• Public Education

LAND GRANT MISSION• Helping to build a sustainable biobased economy by studying and improving the

technologies and practices necessary to convert agricultural crops, by-products, and other biomass into renewable and alternative energy sources

• Promoting the conservation of energy and reduction of greenhouse gas footprints• Utilizing a systems-thinking approach to issues of water quality and quantity and their

connections to land use; food and energy policies; and economic, social, and political interactions

• Helping to create new businesses by teaching students the value of becoming job creators, and providing resources to ensure the success of entrepreneurs

• Supporting food systems that improve the quality of life by addressing issues of childhood obesity, food safety, and nutrition and by educating the public about healthier foods and better diet

• Providing proactive, innovative, and cost-saving approaches to dealing with pests, pathogens, and infectious diseases

• Promoting a better understanding of the relationship between agriculture, forestry, and the environment

• Programming to positively influence 170,000 Pennsylvania children annually through Penn State’s 4-H youth development programs

WHAT IS YOUR VALUE?

What sets you apart?What do others say about you?What are your successes?How have you helped customers?What do you do best?

SETTING YOUR GOALS

To inform?To build a community?To gain valuable market research?To reduce customer service costs?To reach a broad audience with a message?To increase student enrollment?To conduct e-commerce?To increase brand awareness?

To brand your company?To attract attention?To build trust?To reduce paperwork?To reduce printing and mailing costs?To pre-qualify leads?To recruit new employees?To decrease call volume?

ONLY 3 TRUE BUSINESS GOALS

Source: Social Media Metrics, Jim Sterne

Raise Revenue

Lower Costs

Increase Customer Satisfacti

on

WHO IS YOUR AUDIENCE?• Prospective students• Prospective faculty• Current students• Alumni & friends• Legislative contacts• Industry partners• General public

WHY SOCIAL MEDIA?• Primary discovery platform• Facebook Page is the first "campus" viewed (Growing Fast)• Cost effective delivery compared to traditional methods• Instant feedback• Two way street• A person is more likely to trust the word of a complete stranger

than the company selling the product.

• and…

600

15% bump

What can the Web do for you?

• Push your content (active, not passive)• Capture your audience• Increase enrollment• Engage your Alumni• Promote Ag Awareness• Communicate to your stakeholders• Promote your research• Highlight your faculty

1.Public Relations2.Marketing3.Customer Service4.Research

If You Build It Will They Come?• Do we place a yellow page ad then ask what we

can do to get people to look at it?

– People Must Be Looking For It.– Search Engine Optimization (SEO)– Pay Per Click Advertisement (Google)– Internal Ads (Facebook, LinkedIn)

– Diligence & Patience

SOCIAL MEDIA = WEB 2.0• What is it… really?• What do you use it for?• How does it work?

Web 1.0 vs. Web 2.0Web 1.0

Web as InformationBillboard or Postcard

Web 2.0 Web as Participation

CommunicationInformation SharingCollaborationNetworking

Web 2.0 Toolsets

Sharing

oas-ram 4/22/2008

1.Facebook2.???3.Profit

600

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SuNx0UrnEo

REPUTATION MANAGEMENT

How to Behave• Old rules still apply. • Know the room• Look Appropriate• Sound Smart• Observe and Adjust• Make a Connection• Brag Modestly• Be Interesting

Twitter Good Practices

Follow those who you want to follow you Cross link your efforts

Tweet about a YouTube video you uploaded or the Blog you posted

Be welcoming & friendly - say hello to your new followers or folks that you would like to get to know.

Engage people - ask questions and respond to queries that interest you.

Be humorous - funny Tweets really help to break up the timeline.

Inform - provide useful information and news items. Monitor self-promotion - it is fine to promote your projects

and work, but nobody likes to be spammed all day Promote others - “retweet” liberally and highlight good work. Listen - there’s no need to dominate the conversation all the

time, so spend some time just reading what others are saying/Tweeting.

Be human - not always obvious but most important, being a “real” person is probably the most important trait of any effective Twitter user.

Search – search.twitter.com has all the answers. What hashtag do aerospace engineers use?

Starting a Blog

Writing a Blog– Make your opinion known– Link like crazy– Write less– 250 Words is enough– Make headlines snappy– Write with passion– Include bullet point lists– Edit your post– Make your posts easy to scan– Be consistent with your style– Litter the post with keywords

Managing a Blog• Bloggers Code of Conduct

– Take responsibility not just for your own words, but for the comments you allow on your blog.

– Label your tolerance level for abusive comments.– Consider eliminating anonymous comments.– Ignore the trolls.– Take the conversation offline, and talk directly, or find an

intermediary who can do so.– If you know someone who is behaving badly, tell them so.– Don't say anything online that you wouldn't say in person.

All together now.

• Web• Blog• Facebook• Twitter• YouTube• Sharing• Peer Pressure• RSS Feed• Email

http://agsci.psu.edu/thinkagain/blog/2010/cellar-market

oas-ram 4/22/2008

MAX SPIEGEL

MaxSpiegel@psu.eduhttp://agsci.psu.edu/directory/mds118Twitter.com/MaxSpiegelLinkedIn.com/in/MaxSpiegelFacebook.com/MaxSpiegel

Helpful ResourcesPenn State Ag Sciences Web Best Practices and Web Strategyhttp://agsci.psu.edu/communications/web/best-practices http://agsci.psu.edu/communications/web/strategy

Writing for the Webhttp://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting/

Quickstart Guide to Social Mediahttp://www.b2bento.com/infographic-quickstart-guide-to-social-media-for-business/

Web and Social Media Industry News and Tipshttp://mashable.com/