On December 6, the Social Media Communicators met to discuss the use of QR codes, the emergence of Google+, and techniques for managing social media channels. The Public Relations team unveiled their new website, which includes a social media directory for schools, departments, and student groups.

Social Media Directory

Tom Testa, AVP of Public Relations, presented the new PR website, designed to house comprehensive faculty profiles, news releases and a directory of Boston University social media channels, among other services. Communicators should contact Mary Tunney to list their accounts.

QR Codes

While a few groups have tried using QR codes, including the Dean of Students office and the School of Medicine Alumni Association, the conclusion seems to be that while the technology is interesting, there are pitfalls and barriers to use. Kat Hasenauer of DOS explained that many students did not seem to understand how they work, or that they needed additional software on their phones to read them. She also mentioned that several students still have old-fashioned flip phones, which cannot read QR codes at all. One communicator suggested that directions on how to use a QR code should be included on the marketing materials where the code is being used. Scott Dasse of Interactive Design suggests this article on QR code adoption and use.

Google+

Since we recently launched the Boston University Google+ page, we wanted to ask about other communicators’ experience with the platform. Only a couple of departments mentioned their plans to use it, and opinions of it were mixed. Raul Fernandez of the Howard Thurman Center asserted that it’s yet another platform to maintain, but if the audience is there, he would support its integration into their strategy. By many accounts, the most powerful thing about Google+ is the role it plays in search. Ryan Bersani of Online Giving praised it for its customizable privacy settings, while others expressed concern that their privacy would be compromised in ways they did not explicitly allow.

Andrea Little from the School of Management said that they had been considering using the Google+ Hangouts functionality with their Admissions team. (Since the meeting, the Dean of Students office has hosted a Hangout with Cecilia Lalama in the Educational Resource Center.) It seems that currently, Google+ adoption is a phase of experimentation. A few things to keep in mind:

• Reserving your Google+ page means it will go live immediately. Unlike Facebook, the page will go live immediately.
• Pages are currently limited to one administrator and ownership is not transferable. But according to recent news, this should change soon.
• Tools like HootSuite are beginning to enable cross-posting to Google+, as well as Facebook and Twitter, to aid with time management and consistency across platforms.

Since Tuesday’s meeting, BU was featured with Emerson and Harvard in a BostInnovation piece on higher ed adoption of Google Plus.

Time Management

Finally, the group discussed time management. How are departments managing their platforms, and the messaging across them? Robert Flynn of Dining Services said that he is maintaining all of their platforms on his own, and that until it is no longer feasible, he would prefer it that way, citing concerns of maintaining a consistent voice. Other teams, including the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Public Health, and Admissions have taken a team approach, designating different employees and schedules for social media management. Kelsey Labrot of the Howard Thurman Center suggested a few tools to help with scheduling posts, including CoTweet and Tweue.

Suggestions for the next meeting? Comments on the topics discussed? Leave them below, or send a note to jemack@bu.edu.

Developing the Social Media Management Team (@Greg2dot0′s Blog): “Focus on the behavior, not the tool.” Thinking lately about social media adoption in an organization as much more than technology training; it’s a culture change. I met with Robin Lubbock of WBUR several weeks ago and he explained how he’s meeting with staff one-on-one to get them set up on social tools (because everyone learns differently.)

Tumblr Now Has More Blogs Than WordPress.com (Mashable): Nearly 20.9M blogs have been created on Tumblr. We’re currently experimenting as well. Thinking of ways we can use Tumblr to talk with students (since so many are using Tumblr for their personal blogs (and tagging Boston University.) I’m looking at similar social portals that emphasize photos & short text — even personal website builders like flavors.me, about.me and Jason Kottke’s stellar.io now emphasize foolproof signup/design and visual appeal.

5 Tips for Launching Multiple Facebook Fan Pages (10,000 Words): “Assess your progress” is the key part for me. Facebook Pages (even if you’re only managing one) should have clear goals in place that tie directly to your overall marketing efforts. How do you assess your Facebook Page’s success? What particular metrics do you track? Did you know: Social Media Communicator for the School of Public Health, Elana Zak, is a contributor to this blog? Check out her latest post, “Standing Up for the Journalism Degree”

Nieman Reports: Curation, Community and the Future of News (The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University): Steven Rosenbaum sees an area for growth in “content curation” jobs: sifting through the massive amounts of social data surrounding a news event, and finding the key messages and influencers in the conversation. Be sure to check out the Digital Lifestyle Survey findings (I’m not sure whether I should be proud or embarrassed to say I’m in the “48.5%” category on that second graph — how about you?)

The Liberty Hotel’s Social Media page: This caught my eye this week. Looking forward to the launch of a social media guide for all BU accounts (currently in the works). Twitter users: Have you bookmarked our “BU on Twitter” list?

BU 2015: Student Blogs

We’ve noticed several initiatives across campus by students and organizations to acclimate prospective and current students (especially BU 2015) to life at BU and in Boston this summer. Some examples:

• The Quad’s “Cheapskate’s Guide to Boston,” running all summer, and “Orienting to BU,” just for freshmen
• COM Ambassadors: Check out their blog — they’re tweeting on @COMUGrad, too.
• BU FYI, run by the Dean of Students’ office (check Kenn’s blog, too — he has a new playlist each week for orientation)
• Common@Mugar: The Mugar team has been pounding the pavement — check out their latest initiative, New@BU, aimed at the freshman class. They also released a fun video this week on Session 2 of orientation.

Anything we might be missing? Have an article that struck a chord for you this past week? Send it our way in the comments.

- Jenny

Image courtesy roncaglia on Flickr / Creative Commons.