One of the things that I find interesting to be working in higher education is to see how universities are implementing social media strategically. Not only to engage with their current students, faculty, and staff, but how they are extending their brand presence to make sure they are building a community based on two-way communication and consistent interactivity.
- University of Southern California: USC has always had a very strong PR program, but based on what you see on their Facebook, they are definitely showing this and using the social media platform strategically. The Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism page features fans sharing their positive feelings towards USC as a school, updates on what the faculty is doing with research, scheduled events at the school, and encourages people to check in at the school to share on Facebook.
- University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill: UNC has established a very professional, organized, and engaged presence on Facebook with their Timeline features. What I really like about what they have done is link up to other relevant pages that may be of interest to their audiences on Facebook. In addition, they are very engaged with sharing not only updates, but pictures/albums from specific events.
- University of Florida: Another well established program in PR is actively engaged and present on Facebook. The College of Journalism and Communication is effectively using the Facebook Timeline feature while also adapting updates on faculty and student awards, guest lectures and speeches, and upcoming events and news about the school. Go Gators! 🙂
- University of Tennessee, Knoxville: I have to say that I am proud of what UT has done with their presence of social media, and I have to give a big shout out to Dr. Courtney Childers for this effort. I had the opportunity to work with her as her TA during my last semester in the PhD program for their social media class, and they have done a wonderful job with establishing a presence on FB with the School of Advertising and Public Relations.
- West Virginia University: The IMC program has really established itself as one of the primer online programs in the United States. What I have found very intriguing about what WVU does compared to others is that they not only focus on sharing updates on events and guest speakers, but they also share stories from the students, faculty, and staff. You get a sense of the story behind the program, and the people representing the brand of the IMC program at WVU. WVU has done a great job with the page as well as using it as a platform to promote their upcoming Integrate Conference.
Honorable Mention
- University of Georgia: The Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication does a great job in engaging their followers as well by not only posting updates and information related to the college, but also sharing links from other areas that their fans might be interested in. One thing that I would have liked to have seen more of would be videos, but that is something that can be added of course. 🙂
Of course, even with these five universities and PR programs, there are always room to grow and improve the page even more. There are a few things that I saw overall that I thought each school could look at implementing, and this goes to other inspiring programs who wish to have an established presence on Facebook for their university.
- Videos: We are very visual, and what a great way to show a university and program is to post interviews, but also film at very events that can be shared and viewed by those that were not able to attend. What a better way to extend the presence and relationship/interaction with audiences with the use of video.
- Pinterest: Everyone appears to be on Pinterest now, so why not show people on Facebook where they can go and view the pins if they do not want to leave Facebook? Social Times just published an article discussing how pages can have a Pinterest Tab on their Facebook page. It is pretty fabulous and I am sure PR programs may want to look into this as well.
In summary, public relations programs have to keep up with the latest technologies not only to make sure their students are prepared for the workplace, but also to use it as a communication platform to engage audiences, share updates, and create a dynamic community for the long-term. It is exciting to see some programs utilizing Facebook strategically and effectively, and I am sure more programs will follow.
Hope you all are having a great day!
Best Wishes,
Karen
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