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Social media and communications for the 21 st century. —Jacquelyn Askins University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension. What do we mean by “social media”?. Web-based and mobile technology used to turn communication into interactive dialogue Social media are: Low-cost
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Social media and communications for the 21st century —Jacquelyn Askins University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension
What do we mean by “social media”? • Web-based and mobile technology used to turn communication into interactive dialogue • Social media are: • Low-cost • Easily accessible • Wide-reaching • Immediate • Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, blogs
Social media functions • Engage • Form relationships • Share content • Social media may be a new term, but the theories and fundamentals behind it are not
Blogs • Platform for long form text, documents, photos, video • Searchable archives for documents, press releases, reports • Often include links to other blogs, websites and resources • Sometimes a supplement to a static website • Also sometimes used to create static websites
Wisconsin blog examples • News from Cooperative Extension • Making a Difference
Twitter • Micro-blogging service • Messages are limited to 140 characters • Twitter users “follow” each other to receive updates • Users often post links to other websites and resources
Twitter examples • UW-Extension ANRE • Cooperative Extension
Facebook • Social network with more than 500 million active users • Members can join networks and communities • Businesses can communicate with users through Pages
Wisconsin Facebook examples • UW-Extension, Cooperative Extension • UW-Extension Family Living Programs • Wisconsin 4-H Youth Development • UW-Extension Community, Natural Resource & Economic Development
User demographics – Facebook • 500 million users • 37% of users are 35+ years old • More than 250 million users access Facebook through mobile devices • 40% of users follow a brand
User demographics – Twitter • 106 million users • 53% of users are 35+ years old • 40 million users access Twitter through mobile devices • 25% of users follow a brand
Opportunities in social media • Communicate with broad audiences • Highlight and enhance work • Amplify message • Control over information
Engaging audiences • Social media can reach large numbers in a short time • New, broad groups • Engages old audience in new ways • Administrative benefits
Highlighting our work and amplifying our message • Opportunity to share media mentions • Emphasizing university research connections • Promote awareness of colleagues’ work around the state
Control over information • Reliable platform for posting news • Information shared on organization’s timeline • Immediacy
Perceived challenges – Social media survey • Loss of control over brand • Social media learning curve • Internet connectivity issues • Increased staff time commitment • Decreased personal connections
Challenges in Wisconsin • Finding new content • Participation from other staff • Numbers of followers • Interactions on pages
Last points • Our social media sites are constant works in progress • Social media is just PART of a larger communications strategy • “Like” us on Facebook! • Questions?