[GIVEAWAY] Get Your Copy of the 1 Page Marketing Plan!

I’m excited to announce a giveaway contest for one of two copies of this awesome book!

I got the two copies of this book a little while ago and listened through the audiobook version recently to get a feel for what this is all about. I very much enjoyed its clear, distilled advice around marketing and building a business. I know this book can be relevant to anyone in higher education as well as those of us trying to grow up our side hustles.

If you’d like to enter in to win one of the two copies, then simply comment on this blog post and/or engage with any of my social media posts about the giveaway. Each share, like, or comment will count as an entry. Tell me what you hope to get out of the book, your favorite movie, or anything else. It all counts! I will announce a winner on this upcoming Friday (11/13).

Thanks for the support as always and best of luck to you all!

What's Trending? Influencers in Higher Education

A lot of discussion has been happening surrounding influencer marketing in higher education the past few years. A simple search shows it coming up everywhere from Inside Higher Ed, episodes of Higher Ed Live, as well as publications like The Guardian. 

Exploring how to navigate this new marketing avenue can be confusing, intimidating, and tread into some grey areas, but also provide amazing opportunities for institutions.

There are a host of amazing guides popping up out there that can help folks start with this concept, or take it to the next level (see here, here, here, here, here, and here). 

Campus Sonar also gives a great overview of influencer marketing in higher ed, as does EAB. 

Much of this content also makes note of how this type of marketing is proving especially effective with Generation Z students, who have come up immersed in the world of influencers.

The core premise here is anchored by the fact that people trust their peers more than something directly from a brand that is clearly trying to sell them something. This sort of peer to peer recommendation, which is what influencer marketing ultimately boils down to, isn’t anything new. It’s just taking that philosophy and doing it in an intentional way. In the past, this might be more common as word of mouth or reading reviews from others (which of course, people still frequently do). 

While some may think influencer marketing is simple, cheap, and easy, it is not (just like social media marketing). It takes dedicated time, money, and thought to make sure you know what goals you are trying to achieve, and work towards those outcomes in the most effective way possible.

To get some insight into the influencer experience, check out the interview with Angela Maiers, who is a speaker, author, and former educator who also is acquainted with the world of influencers.

Working with student influencers is similar to what many might know as being a “social media ambassador”. Higher education professionals may already dabble lightly with something like this, but going in on formal influencer marketing may require you to pay these ambassadors and bring them in for meetings to go over strategy and performance. You may also need to be competing for these students’ time and wallets, since other established companies are vying for these students’ audience as well.

It is important to recognize those students who are arriving at your institution with a sizable audience to make sure they are at least supported if not brought in to work with you in a more formal capacity. They’ll be making content with or without you, so it is good to at least be aware of what they’re talking about, or better yet, collaborating with you on their messaging and given access to promote anything you’re looking to spread the word on.

Engaging with your student influencers should also make sure they feel welcomed and like they have a purpose on campus. Otherwise, they may feel like school is getting in the way of their content creation and influencing (Wired asks, do influencers even need college?). 

Influencer marketing is a bold new world for most higher ed institutions, but being able to share out authentic stories with alumni, parents, prospective students, and the whole campus community, gives these venerable organizations a way to grow their own influence in a measured way. By connecting with people in a more personal, human way, we can aim to make higher education less mystified and more accessible to more people. That’s something I think we can all get behind.

Book Review: Privacy & How to Get it Back

A recent book I read, Privacy: And How to Get it Back, from a recent podcast guest, BJ Mendelson, really got me thinking about a big topic right now in society; digital privacy.

The big takeaway for me from Privacy was that it isn't so much that the tools themselves are inherently bad, it's how the companies who made them use them and sell our data as well as what individuals put on these platforms without knowing what is done with this information.

I think BJ's book serves as a great counterpoint to my other book review, Winning with Data. There are ways to responsibly use data to make life better for people, but profiting off of social media posts and this community that exists on your platforms isn't really doing many people much good. And there are other models that could be made to allow these companies to make money without selling your data, or at least compensate you for your valuable data (which BJ recommends).

We create many of our own problems in the world, but we can also create solutions as well. These amazing tools we've made need to used responsibly by all involved. Many of these digital companies (whether they be Amazon, Facebook, Google, etc.) have a duty to do right by us, their users. But often they're working within the lax regulations put upon them. If we put proper rules in place, then they will work within them, as we're seeing with the GDPR rollout. I think digital privacy is a right, and these companies shouldn't be obfuscating the way to control how our data is shared.

I'm hopeful that as these digital tools as becoming more ubiquitous, we will update our laws and make sure to keep these companies that make them in check. It is also on the individual to feel empowered and informed to manage their data in whatever ways they feel most comfortable with. Maybe that means being more conservative, or it means sharing it widely, or only with certain platforms. Also, in my world, as higher ed becomes more digitized as well, we need to more conscious of how we're securing this information, which at times can be very sensitive.

I hope this gets you thinking like it did for me. It's something we can take for granted but the right to privacy is fundamental. We just need to learn how to navigate this issue in the digital space, but I'm confident we all can.

Confronting Compassion Fatigue

The world we live in faces many tragedies and injustices. It can be hard to endure caring about everything that needs our care and attention. A true tragedy of all this is that those of us who care the most are beaten down more by all that is happening around us. As such, we need to figure out ways to endure this state of being (as it shows no signs of slowing down) and find strategies to still feel like we're making a positive impact in our lives.

Finding Balance

A common axiom nowadays, but it bears repeating; we must find a balance and harmony that works for our lives. Bringing together work, life, sleep, diet, exercise, fun, and committing to the causes we care about. The coalescing of all these things will be unique to each of us, and we can't base our lives on someone else's model. We can find inspiration from tips and tricks, but it will never work to always be comparing ourselves to those around us. When it comes to compassion fatigue, it may feel like we can never do as much as other people, and that can bring us down. 

Seeking Focus

There is a lot going in that we can now have insight into that we never had before. We can be witnessing, engaged, and assisting in a cause anywhere in the world. With this gift of access, may come an overwhelming feeling of there being too much for us to handle. It's important to find focus so that we can give more of ourselves and better help to the cause at hand. That can still mean working globally if you like, it may also mean working more locally and hands on. It could be working for environmental sustainability, or women's rights, or fighting homelessness. Spreading ourselves and our limited emotional energy too thin won't be for the best in the long run.

Determining Satisfaction

Many of us (myself included) tend to want immediate, major change on the issues we care about. But unfortunately, sustainable change often takes time, effort, and coalitions rather than just a radical shift because some people want it. So we need to find contentment in the small victories and milestones, and by making positive impacts in our daily lives. Helping one person, changing one person's mind, securing your first funding grant. It all matters and it all will help you towards your ultimate goal. 

No one needs to be a paragon of a sole issue, but there is value in focus and balance. There is also value in our emotions, empathy, and having an open heart. It can help to compel us to do the right thing and persist even when the going gets tough.

I feel this quote is a good place to end on and captures the spirit of this post well:

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are" - Theodore Roosevelt

Positive Psychology, Social Media, and Student Affairs

* This post was originally featured on The OOHLALA Blog.

I recently took a course on positive psychology, (shout out to my professor, Dr. Colleen Georges!). The focus of positive psychology is on being happy. I’ve found that utilizing the principles of this psychology has helped me to be a more optimistic, empathetic, and grateful person in my daily life.

Positive psychology is great for improving one’s personal life but it’s also a useful application as a student affairs professional. Using the insights of this psychology you can provide students with support and help them succeed in their endeavors.

This psychology is apt for in-person interactions, however as many students spend most of their time online I’m going to talk about how to use positive psychology when engaging with students through social media.

3 Ways to Use Positive Psychology & Social Media to Engage with Students

1. Celebrate positive moments with your students

I enjoy helping to celebrate when my students share an academic or personal success. (Such as getting an internship or membership to a fraternity or sorority). A simple “like” or retweet shows that you’ve taken notice of that student’s post. It makes them feel valued and creates positive feelings.

Pay particular attention to anything related to their college experience. This helps support the value of what they’re choosing to get involved in.This can also be applied to small, simple moments your students share about the good things that happen in their day. The impact of showing that you see, hear, and celebrate the joy of your students is a great way to help spread positivity throughout your campus.

2. Share affirmative messages and quotes

Another simple way to spread positivity throughout your campus is to share brief notes with your students. If you know they have an interview or test coming up, send a quick digital message to wish them luck. You can also share quotes to help motivate and inspire your students. When students are busy and stressed with exams and finals, provide support by sharing helpful videos, articles, or photos to keep students energized.

3. Be helpful everywhere you can

A great way to spread some good energy online is to listen and be helpful to students who have questions or concerns. You’ll surprise and delight your students when you jump in with some advice or resources to solve their problems. They’re often hoping for an solution to their problem but aren’t expecting it since a lot of the time no one responds.

As a student affairs professional, you have the knowledge to get your students help. We do it all the time in person when students stop by our offices. Use that same mindset on social media and your students  will feel supported. Even if they don’t need you all the time,they’ll know an answer is only a post away.

If you commit to this digital effort, it will supplement your other work by spreading positive energy and support for your students. Employing positive psychology principles on social media is a direct connection to the work we do in person with students. We want them to feel valued, supported, and celebrated. This is just another way we can do that for our students every day.

Thanks for stopping by!

Book Review: Likeable Social Media

I finishing reading this book over weekend after it was sitting in my Amazon Wish List for the longest time. Likeable Social Media (I read the new, revised edition) is a book by Dave Kerpen, who works with Likeable Media and Likeable Local to help companies of all kinds maximize word-of-mouth marketing as well as inbound marketing via social media (as the title would imply). Kerpen covers an array of tips and stories on this broad topic, and the end result is a pretty easy read with some great actionable ideas.

I read another one of Kerpen's books, Likeable Leadership, which was a collection of his personal and professional blog posts. I liked that book, which turned me onto this other work of his. Some of the stories are the same but their helpful impact was only furthered through their inclusion here where they are put into a more thoughtful context. The body of the book focuses on 18 tips to help utilize social media in a "likeable" fashion. Kerpen includes advice on how to use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, and more. The advice can be summed up as being authentic, friendly, responsive, and relevant to your audience. Provide content they enjoy, can get value from, and want to share. This will help them have a positive impression of your business and want to be a paying customer. A lot of this stuff was familiar to me from the education I've gotten recently about inbound marketing from places like Hubspot.

I'd recommend this book to anyone looking to brush up on some baseline tips for social media use. Whether you're a nonprofit, small business, or higher ed institution; you can find something useful here. While to me, it started to get redundant at the end, it served to further emphasize the solid points made earlier.

Thanks for stopping by!

How to Embrace Social Media as a Tool to Connect with your Students

* This post was originally featured on The Student Affairs Hub.

Social media has become pretty ubiquitous in our lives now. News is made from it and spread through it. We reference it offhand in our conversations with each other,  and we've developed new terms to describe it.

While it may be still a bit foreign to some professionals at higher education institutions, it is commonplace for our students. When given the proper attention, social media can be an effective asset in our outreach to students. It also helps to build a feeling of community on campus.

Whether you're an entry level academic advisor, hall director, or the president of an institution, you can be a powerful presence for students on social media. Your social media presence will help them feel heard, valued, and cared for.

I personally have taken a few different stances that I hope help me connect better with my students. I make my Twitter publicly available, (it's even on my business cards). I accept requests from students on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram. I don't seek them out, but if they connect with me first, I make sure to accept their invitation.

Connecting with my students in this way helps me to celebrate their successes, build their network, and be more accessible to them should they need me. I've never had any issues with making myself more available rather than guarding myself behind virtual walls. No student has ever abused this. However, even if there was an instance where someone used my good will inappropriately, I'd still make myself available to all my other students who need me. I wouldn't want to let them down based on a single student who needs some educational conversations about their behavior.

Another stance I take that many professionals hopefully take as well, is that I don't have a "personal" account and a "professional" account. I just have my one Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc. I really don't believe anyone should have separate accounts for stuff like that unless someone has a brand they're trying to build that they want to be separate from themselves.

I don't have strict standards about what people should or shouldn't do on their social media channels. Students just need to be comfortable with employers, friends, and family seeing whatever they post.

While someone can try to ignore social media, it is an omnipresent, constant, global influence in our lives. It is something that I view as an asset and resource. I embrace and love social media for the connections and learning that can happen through it.

By maximizing the potential of social media for sharing your story, (or your institution's), you will see success in your personal and professional efforts.

Podcasts and New Media Advertising

*This post is edited from the original, which was featured on Socialnomics.

I can personally say the way I consume media has drastically changed. I watch TV on Netflix or Hulu and don’t have cable. I enjoy original shows, clips, and programs on YouTube, listen to music on Spotify or Songza as well as one of the most unique new forms of entertainment; podcasts.

The podcasts I enjoy are simply digital copies of audio/radio broadcasts and interviews. My constant favorite for the past few years is the Nerdist Podcast which is great for entertainment purposes as well as stuff like the Smart People Podcast, Reply All, or Nerdette, which all have some great thought provoking content. What I think is the distinguishing feature of podcasts is how I am able to consume them. I can download them onto my smartphone, listen to them in the car or on the go with headphones while I work out for example. It’s awesome, original content coming out all year that is experiencing a boom recently, which in turn is a great opportunity for advertisers to create a unique relationship with their audience.

According to recent findings, at least 29% of Americans listen to audio podcasts (clumping in video bumps this number up), which is a sizable chunk consuming podcasts of all varieties on an array of topics. This means that consumers are getting on demand entertainment, news, and discussion on what they want most, creating a unique experience for them every time they listen. I know with the Nerdist Podcast, I feel like I’m catching up with friends when I listen to the podcast so whenever they talk about something, I follow up and heed their opinions. Check out these recent metrics that back up that sentiment:

• 67% of podcast listeners don’t mind sponsorship messages and occasionally find them useful, compared to only 6% positive sentiment expressed for the advertising approaches of television or commercial radio.
• Nearly 80% of podcast consumers (responding to the survey), agreed that “when price and quality is equal,” they “prefer to buy products from companies that advertise on or sponsor” the podcasts they regularly enjoy.
• Ninety percent of these respondents indicated that they had taken some kind of action as a result of podcast advertising or sponsorship, and over 40% reported purchasing behaviors, which indicates that they are receptive to the right message, in the right context. (For the rest of the findings, click here)

Although I’m mostly highlighting podcasts here, it is clear that with this being a huge "new media" format, other mediums like music streaming sites and video streaming sites cater to the same sensibilities. We don’t want to be fed phony ads any longer. If I’m looking to buy a camera, I’m going to ask my friend who knows about cameras or reference customer reviews at the very least. Consuming is social and the advent of on-demand entertainment is linked with that. Advertisers should take notice and start to take advantage of this new possibility to create a more authentic, genuine connection with their customers.

Thanks for stopping by!

Organic VS Promoted Content: Which Reigns Supreme?

* This post is edited from the original, which was featured on Socialnomics.

So I am personally all about all-natural, organic, and sustainable stuff. Whether it is the toothpaste I use, the food I eat, or how I buy pretty much anything in my life, having something feel real and not artificial is important to me. This combines with my respect for authenticity and transparency in relationships. My overall preference for the "real deal" even comes into social media with the curious question I’ve stumbled upon when it comes to social media marketing; should one pay to promote or not?

Within the past year, both Facebook and Twitter launched the capacity for users to pay to promote their posts and tweets respectively. Facebook already had their “Ads” that would show up on the side of users’ timelines, but these two new functions put your promoted content right in the personal feeds of your customers. It comes, understandably, from the need to monetize these popular sites, but the real question comes in as to what is the best use of an organization’s money when it comes to engaging your audience; are you really getting what you pay for? Obviously, ideally your content will make it’s way out into the world on it’s own but usually, customers aren’t just following you, they’re following all sorts of different pages, even your competitors for business.

So it seems logical, you want the edge so you pay for promotion and you squash out the competition. Right? Well, the jury is still out on that. Not to say that promoted posts are not useful, but they also aren’t shown to be the way to go for every business and for every post. Social media is about engagement, and using paid promotion for posts can come across as spammy and inauthentic. Facebook paid promotions can be useful to get the word out about a new offer you have for your business or for an upcoming event since they only go out to those who “like” your page, as opposed to Facebook ads that go out to anyone and everyone. The same goes for Twitter. Think about what you’re posting and what is worth it to pay to get out to everyone and sort of muscle your way into their feed.

Another consideration to make is where you are putting this content. Are your customers even on Facebook or are they on Pinterest? Does your content make sense for the social media site you are promoting on? Facebook is different from Twitter which is different from LinkedIn which is different from Instagram (which also now supports ads). It is important to be intentional about the core what, where, when and why of posts in order to get the greatest results. From my perspective, the general logic here should focus on a few points: moderation (as with all things), organic engagement & paid promotion, and lastly, cater to the medium. For this last bit, whether that means you cover your basis on every social networking site or hone in on one, you can save a lot of money and time by knowing where your audience is and creating content for that particular venue. Doing all this will create an authentic aura that avoids the negative connotations of spam ads and allows for you to get the word out on all the great things your organization is up to.

Thanks for stopping by!

Three Campus Community Connections to Enhance the Student Experience

* This post was edited from one originally posted on The Student Affairs Hub.

As the semester rolls on, I was thinking about how colleges and universities are a unique environment where there are a multitude of offices, departments, groups, and relationships that are hard to find elsewhere. These connections can last a lifetime and make a huge difference in a student's life. While some pathways like Greek organizations may be more common, there are plenty of other avenues to make connections on campus for your students that can be just as impactful, if not more so depending on what the student is interested in. I'd like to outline some of the ones I feel would be useful to professionals out there to recommend to their students or for students to take the initiative to do themselves.

Online Groups

Meeting new people can be tough, but sites like meetup.com, Eventbrite, and/or the myriad of Facebook groups all help to organize hangouts all across the country based on common interests like hiking, gaming, reading, or any other plethora of hobbies. I've found them to be a great way to meet new people in my community that are into what I enjoy. For students, this could be helpful to find other like-minded individuals in their local area that lead to possible job or volunteer opportunities. At the very least, it is a social involvement that is bound to have local staff and faculty members (as well as alumni) present, which leads into my next points.

Alumni

The graduates of any institution end up all over the country and in all sorts of different industries. They owe a lot of their success to their time at their alma mater, and are proud of where they got their degree. I can speak for myself and say that this is all very true. I can't make myself physically available and present at my alma mater so I make sure to support them financially. The Alumni Relations offices at any institution are going to have hundreds if not thousands of local connections with passionate individuals looking to connect with current or prospective students. This is a ripe pathway to great mentoring relationships which can lead to any number of other opportunities.

Faculty

While a lot of powerful, high-impact learning happens outside the classroom, I'd be foolish if I didn't mention the importance strong relationships with faculty can play as well. Students (or at least most of them) go to college to get their degree. They do this by attending classes taught by faculty. Unfortunately, it seems nowadays the relationship in the classroom is purely transactional. Faculty are a wealth of knowledge and experience that can be transformative to a student. Their position grants them a lot of influence and power as well as access to a lot of resources and opportunities. Faculty can give students engaging experiential learning opportunities through research or a being a teaching assistant. At the very worst, faculty can serve as their own sort of mentors for the students who find themselves drawn to academia.

I encourage you to think outside the box when looking to make connections with your community. There are some tried and true options out there but there are also so many more to choose from that may better fit your students' needs. In the end, it's these important connections we make for our students that help them stay and also help them succeed at college as well as beyond.