A blog for social media communicators at MIT
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#alwaysMIT
June 30, 2015
In May, some members of MIT's Commencement committee wanted to gather memories from graduating seniors and asked me if we could use social media to do so. The original hashtag that was proposed was #MITmemories. It seemed like a straightforward choice, but “memory” was a word overused in alumni and graduation...
Read the PostCase Study: Hosting the #MITAlum Twitter Chat
December 15, 2014
In October, the MIT Alumni Association hosted the #MITAlum Twitter chat “MIT Alumni and the Final Frontier.” This chat featured six alumni working in space exploration and tied in with AeroAstro’s Centennial celebration. This chat had big levels of engagement, high numbers of alumni taking part, and reached over 80,...
Read the PostQ&A with Kellen Manning
April 29, 2014
I approached Kellen Manning a week ago to see if he’d be willing to answer some questions about his work. Kellen manages social media for MIT’s Division of Student Life. Kellen, what’s the hardest part of managing social media for your department? Probably the fact that before I got here social media in my department...
Read the PostValidation as Part of Social Media Customer Service
March 24, 2014
While many universities and their departments jump right into broadcasting their message via social, many pause before starting to use social networks for customer service. They know it will be much more difficult to use social in this way. Why? Because producing one-way content is easier than dealing with a two-way...
Read the PostWhat Kind of Experience Does Your Content Provide?
March 7, 2014
There’s more to meeting audience needs than providing the right information. Medill on Media Engagement (by Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism) organizes content creation around a core question: What kind of experience does your content provide? Through their study of media engagement, Medill scholars have...
Read the PostSharpen Your Social Media Savvy in 60 Minutes per Week… Or Shorter
April 2, 2013
Using Social Media to Sustain and Strengthen Your Program Relationships Social media interaction and engagement is about more than the tactics or tools. Experts agree that one of the most effective uses of social media is to build and deepen relationships with customers, and I use that mantra to guide my social media...
Read the PostWant more engagement? Dig deeper!
July 6, 2012
It is important to set some objectives for your social media efforts. One buzzword frequently heard is 'engagement' – more likes, more comments, more submissions, more LOLs, more activity in general. However, don't stop at the buzzword with your social media strategy. Dig deeper. What kind of engagement - or engagers...
Read the PostTweeter's Block
June 19, 2012
You're posting for your department and you can't think of anything interesting to tweet. In essence, you have Tweeter's block. Remember, your department is bustling with activity - this is MIT! Inventions, research, hacks, socials, conversations, innovations, awards, news. There is a lot going on. Your audience is...
Read the PostAsk Questions
May 24, 2012
Content isn't just about broadcasting news and information about your department. If so, it's not social media. It's just media (see Does Your Department Take the 'Social' Out of Social Media?). There are other types of content out there and one of these types is the asking of questions. Questions are an important...
Read the PostDoes Your Department Take the 'Social' Out of Social Media?
May 9, 2012
It's easy to get so overwhelmed with the communications tasks of a department, such as writing, pushing content out, and posting online, that we start to treat social media the same as traditional media: write, print/post, distribute. However, social media is, well, social. Don't forget that your department's...
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