what do you meme i have an academic advisor?apps.nacada.ksu.edu/conferences/proposalsphp/... ·...

What do you meme I have an Academic Advisor?

speaking the language of social media to increase student engagement

Lyndsay S. DurhamVirginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA

This presentation is available at

lyndsaysdurham.com

Copyright L. Durham 2016

Virginia Commonwealth University

31,000+ students

13 schools & 1 college

62baccalaureate degree programs

Located in the heart of the

capital Richmond, VA


About Forensic Science advising at VCU

1 of 7 dually accredited FEPAC universities in the country

380 majors

1 academic advisor Half of my advising population is hard to sequence concentrations with historically higher 6 year graduation rates


Overview of Academic Advising at VCU

Declared• Department/Program of

MajorPre-Health/Law/Medicine, etc.• University College

Year One – Mandatory• University College Exploratory

• University College

Career Center• Up to 1 year

post-grad

Continuing Education

Service

What do I meme?

And no, it’s not a typo!


Use your tools

https://memegenerator.net/terms-of-use


But what about copyright?


Using a student in a photo? Visit your University Relations and/or Legal for tips.

For us? There’s a model release waiver.https://identity.vcu.edu/multimedia/index.html

https://identity.vcu.edu/multimedia/index.html

https://identity.vcu.edu/multimedia/index.html


If you can get your Department faculty to play along ...


So once they get to the Department, how do we communicate?


On average, how many emails do you get from the University per week?


How many of the emails from the University do you READ?


If students only read about ½ of the emails they receive from “the school,” how do you make sure yours is one they read?

We look for some additional data


2011 vs. 2015 email checking behavior by students

Ruffalo Noel Levitz (2015). 2015 high school students’ and parents’ perceptions of and preferences for communication with colleges. Cedar Rapids: Ruffalo Noel Levitz.


Frequency of checking email on a smartphone

Ruffalo Noel Levitz, OmniUpdate, CollegeWeekLive, & NRCCUA. 2015 e-expectations report. Cedar Rapids: Ruffalo Noel Levitz, 2015. Available at www.RuffaloNL.com.

Email Engagement

Lesson One: Know your audience

If ~50% of students primarily check their

email on a mobile device, you’ve got to start tailoring your

messages.


Think about yourself … (sometimes that’s okay just don’t do it all the time!)

Would you rather ...

I didn’t make this gif. These folks did!I did make this flyer. Check it out!

or

http://www.templatemonster.com/blog/cinemagraphs/

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwY7k281iDQ2WHBwRkgyUEJJOEU/view?usp=sharing


Start composing emails with viewing device in mind

You’ve got one screen to:

capture your students’ attention

convey action items

link to resources communicate with your students


So how do I change the format without losing the message?

http://eepurl.com/bxganD

sent to individuals425

opened by 360

clicked on links63

84.7%open rate




Tips for sending email that you know will be read on a mobile device:

You can still use the language of “Social Media”

● short text

● links

● pictures

Examples of free tools for email

➔ Mail Chimp

➔ Mail Merge


Evolution of Social Media Interaction

@vcu4n6advise

Information Producer

Information Sharer

Information Consumer

rampages.us/vcu4n6advise

VCU Forensic Science

vcu4n6advise

[email protected]


Here’s what we’ve tried

TWITTER● 140 characters● Multiple ways to

engage

INSTAGRAM● Image driven● Short time to grab

attention

FACEBOOK● No character limit● Image + text● For me? Access

SNAPCHAT● Image + video driven● For me? Return on

Investment


Before you send it:

What do we need the student to know as a result of our communication?

Is there a time sensitivity?

Where can I share this so it is viewed by the right audience?

Because the bathroom ...


When trying to decide what to pursue

One of the most important considerations is return on investment.

How long does it take me to generate the material to communicate?

What do I need the students to know?

How many people are dedicated to the effort?

Will the students receive this information through another unit?


Evolution of our communication strategy

BLACKBOARD (LMS)● Control● Content curation

WEBSITE (word press)● Content management● Open access

EMAIL● Intentional● Respectful

SOCIAL MEDIA● Timely● Open access

Social Media Engagement

➔ Where are your students present?

Lesson One: Do some market research

Providing the same information (using the different social

media languages) in multiple places increases its

visibility.



Preference for digital or print/phone for campus communications


How do they engage with your information?

Ruffalo Noel Levitz (2015). 2015 high school students’ and parents’ perceptions of and preferences for communication with colleges. Cedar Rapids: Ruffalo Noel Levitz.

Disclaimer: this information does not necessarily translate to your population. Do some investigation into your student population to see what might work!

2011 2013 2015

Don’t have a cell phone 8% 8% 3%

Regular cell phone 53% 19% 2%

Smart phone 39% 73% 95%


Social media channels used at least once per week by students



Mama Doe

Daughter Doe

Mine aren’t on Facebook

Social Media Engagement

➔ High visibility

➔ Brand Recognition

➔ Consistency

➔ OwnershipLesson Two: Brand Yourself


Brand YourselfWord to the wise: Be thoughtful about your choice.

A cautionary tale

Major code in Banner FOS

Department Email [email protected]

Course prefixes FRSCFRSZ

Department Facebook VCU Forensic Science

Department Twitter @VCUFRSC

@vcu4n6advise

rampages.us/vcu4n6advise

vcu4n6advise

[email protected]

Advising-specific media presence:


With all that in mind ...


I really focus on Twitter


Use your tools

The scheduling feature of TweetDeck is really great


Why schedule?

Give the appearance of activity and engagement.

Promote events/deadlines in a timely manner.

Provide information updates in real time.

Is your campus on a block schedule? Schedule tweets during class breaks.


Another tool to help you schedule

analytics.twitter.com

Terminology

https://unionmetrics.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/201201636-What-do-you-mean-by-Twitter-reach-exposure-and-impressions-


Another tool to help you schedule

analytics.twitter.com

Terminology information can be found here.

Impression: Number of times a user is served a Tweet in timeline or search results.

In webpage impression described something like this:

According to webopedia-

Impression: The exact number of times a specific Web site has been accessed or viewed by a user. A page impression acts as a counter for Web pages, informing site owners how many times their sites were visited. Page impressions are also referred to as hits.

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-meaning-of-impressions-as-defined-by-Twitter-analytics


Really want to stand out?


Use your tools

https://giphy.com/terms/


So how are you going to implement something you learned here when you get back?


And once you’ve built it …


When in doubt … use your own face!

Let’s stay in touch!

@[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

what do you meme i have an academic advisor?apps.nacada.ksu.edu/conferences/proposalsphp/... ·...

Documents