Best Practices for Social Media

I recently read an article on SocialMediaToday.com titled “The 5 Pillars of Social Media: There is no Box!” The article identified and expanded on “five pillars” of social media strategy:

1. Listen, Search, Walk a “Daily in the Life” of your Customers
2. Rethink Your Vision, Mission and Purpose
3. Define Your Brand Persona
4. Develop Social Business Strategy
5. Build and Invest in your Community

For any industry, it is important to follow these Five Pillars when implementing your Social Media Strategy. However, in the world of Higher Education, I feel that number five, Build and Invest in your Community, might be the most important.  On any physical campus or online university students want to feel connected, have their ideas heard and connect with other members of the campus community whether it be students, faculty or staff.  Social Media Today explains that “Community is much more than belonging to something; it's about doing something together that makes belonging matter.” Institutes of Higher Learning can use social media as a way to establish community with their students, faculty and staff. On Twitter, the use of Hash tags can connect people; with twitter, the university responding to the needs of students and highlighting positive events on campus can bring the community together.  Google+ takes it even further by allowing you to create your own community to connect with others all over the world to discuss anything; the community is your own to create.

(Personally? More people need to get on Google+.)

http://socialmediatoday.com/briansolis/1249946/5-pillars-new-media-strategy-there-no-box