Best Practice with Social Media Case Study By Jordan Appicelli, Andria Belisle and Makenna Schluter

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Social media is about sociology and psychology more than technology. Brian Solis (2007)

Reasons For Using Social Media Networks Social 89% Entertainment 79% Educational 26% Professional 16% Other 5% The majority (89%) of students use social networks for social and entertainment. 26% use it for educational reasons and 16% utilize it for professional reasons (Martin, 2009)

Examples of Social Media Facebook ◦ 69% and 99% of college students Twitter ◦ “119 million accounts (300,000 new users every day); 3 billion tweets per day” LinkedIn ◦ “A new member joins LinkedIn approximately every second” Youtube ◦ Average user spends minutes per day on the site ( Blogs ◦ BLOG=Better Listing On Google ◦ Blogs will become the new must-have executive accessory, just as is today. They amplify any senior executive’s communications from one-to-one to one-to-many. It’s a no- brainer if you think about it. (Weil, 2006)

Social Media in Responsible and Educationally Relevant Ways Research has found a positive relationship between social network use and college- student engagement (Heiberger, 2007 & Higher Education Research Institute, 2007) ◦ A higher percentage of frequent users of social networking Web sites participated in and spent more time in campus organizations than less frequent users. ◦ More of the frequent users interacted face-to- face daily with close friends and felt strong connections to them. Using Twitter in educationally relevant ways in a first-year seminar course increased student engagement and improved grades (Junco, Heiberger& Loken, under review)

How Social Media Can Enhance Student Learning Outcomes Salutary effects of Web 2.0 tools on student learning: 3 categories Learner participation and creative practices ◦ Focuses on the ways web 2.0 tools encourage students to engage with each other around certain practical tasks such as identifying, analyzing and evaluating information, gathering data and integrating digital materials to express and share their creative works. ◦ Example of incorporating social media into course activities  ‘Tweet’ four to five discussion questions before class (Greenhow, 2009)

How Social Media Can Enhance Student Learning Outcomes Learners’ online identity formation ◦ Constructing and presenting an integrated identity is a dynamic process that occurs with or without social media. But forming one’s identity online involves different risks and rewards. ◦ Constructing one’s identity within the constraints and norms of the medium can be an especially self-conscious experience. ◦ Engaging in social media often involves activities that may help students better understand themselves, such as learning how much information about themselves to disclose, learning to receive positive and negative feedback, seeing oneself as having the capacities to produce as well as participate and to critique as well as create, and actively adopting different roles in the learning process. (Greenhow, 2009)

How Social Media Can Enhance Student Learning Outcomes Community involvement and formation ◦ Entails a kind of interactivity that differs from the kind of learner participation described in the first category. ◦ In contrast to seeing others simply as peer traders of digital content whose significance does not extend beyond an online relationship, community involvement and formation are educational outcomes concerned with establishing enduring relationships with others. (Baxter, 2011)

How Social Media Can Enhance Student Learning Outcomes Social networking sites not only help students overcome the kind of isolation that otherwise might lead them to leave school, but they also provide shy students with information about others that actually facilitates face-to-face encounters. Social media facilitate how students locate and identify with campus communities of varying scales that range from the institution as a whole to those meeting the needs of niche populations. Social networking sites are not only effective at linking people with common interests, but depending on the network, also can provide members with access to people with diverse points of view that may be otherwise unavailable to people from homogeneous backgrounds. Social media excel at helping members plan the face-to face interactions that are vital to sustaining community. Social networking sites help students develop leadership skills ranging from low-level planning and organizing to forms of activism that promote social change and democratic engagement. (Baxter, 2011) Community involvement and formation continued

Problems/Incivility with Social Media 1.Career Downfalls Wrong branding 2.Lack of self-exploration 3.Misinterpretation Shortening of communication No non-verbal communication Stereotypes Ambiguity of the medium Demographic differences in use 4.Cyber Bullying Privacy invasions 5.Procrastination Tool

(Rucker, 2011)

Recommendations For Faculty 1.Faculty must help students think critically about information they find online 2. Help students think about the unintended consequences of what they post online 3. Faculty need to discuss and model online civility, discuss online privacy issues, and weave this info and conversation into their courses (Chickering & Junco 2010) (Rucker, 2011)

Helping Students Define Their Personal Brand What is a personal brand? ◦ “A unique promise of value” Why create a personal brand? ◦ Puts you in charge of leaving a footprint ◦ Create a competitive edge– How you separate yourself from others Know yourself ◦ Values, Strengths, passions, attributes, other

Types of Branding Personal ◦ “Personal Branding is permission to be yourself, your best self. It’s about authenticity, differentiation, and relevance” (William Arruda, 2012). ◦ Developing your personal identity Professional/Academic ◦ Developing your professional and academic reputation ◦ How can you use social media to enhance your academics and professional growth? “Personal brands are very much a part of professional brands” (William Arruda, 2012).

How To Promote Branding: Why build a brand? ◦ Establishes credibility and visibility ◦ Capitalize on your professional, academic, and personal strengths Know your Purpose Know your Audience (professionals, employers, colleagues, customers, friends, family, classmates, etc)

Steps to Build Students’ Online ID/Brand: 1.) Evaluate ◦ Google Yourself ◦ Online ID Calculator ( 2.) Diagnose ◦ Volume (Total number of responses, # of relevant responses) ◦ Relevance (Consistency with expertise) ◦ Purity (Common/Famous name, any digital dirt) ◦ Diversity (Bios, articles, videos, blogs, etc) 3.)Plan ◦ What your brand??? ◦ Create the right mix (Facebook, LinkedIn, Blogs, Twitter) ◦ Content/Identity Content rules (QUALITY TRUMPS QUANTITY and WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE KNOWN FOR?) 4.) Implement ◦ Create a GoogleProfile, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc ◦ Consider starting a blog ◦ Upload professional YouTube videos 5.) Evaluate ◦ Re-Google yourself and complete the Online ID calculator again WHATS YOUR “BRAND EQUITY” (Kaltved, 2011)

Congruence Between professional and personal Friends, employers and others will look to see ◦ Are you being true to yourself ◦ Do you portray yourself consistently ◦ Are you being fake in one or the other It will only benefit you to portray yourself similarly in both It’s ok to be a bit more laid back in the personal social media Not sure how you look? Have a friend or outsider look at both and give you their perception

If Not Congruent…How To Delete Digital Dirt Evaluate your Online Identity: ◦ Google yourself ◦ What is your ONLINE ID? ◦ Does it represent your brand? Become Digitally Distinct ◦ Vacuum it up (pictures, personal information, etc.) ◦ Sweep it under the rug (privacy settings) ◦ Credibility is key ◦ Cleaners  Honestly.com, Vizibility.com, Businesscard2.com, peoplepond.com (Arruda, 2012)

Guidelines To Prevent Inappropriate Use: Know what your after and what your purpose is ◦ POST (People- who are you trying to reach, Objective- what’s the main thing you want from them, Strategy- what kind of social interaction will lead to your goal, Technology- what tool will best support that interaction Monitor Exposure ◦ Visits, views, followers, fans, subscribers, brand mentions Status Updates/Messages/Engagements ◦ How many people actually did something with your message? (clicks, retweets, shares, replies, comments, etc.) Influence ◦ Look at whether engagement metrics listed above are positive, neutral or negative (Does it represent your brand?) Congruency between personal and professional brand It all relates back to your identity and your brand!!!

Suggested Policy Development Process Create a social media policy committee comprised of institutional stakeholders with a diverse background with social media experience The process should be aware of the fact that social media can be beneficial to student development The policies should allow users to explore their online identities while making participation expectations clear The finished product should be accessible, free of jargon and reflect the institutions values, beliefs and mission (Junco, 2011)

Policy Content The tone of the policy should make the student feel that the institution is giving information to create a better online experience Explain that other campus policies (code of conduct, etc.) apply to social spaces as well Acknowledge the benefit of open sharing, diversity of opinion and debate Include an explanation of the limits of privacy Include information on the perception of ‘tone’ in online communications (Junco, 2011)

Policy Content Continued Clearly state: ◦ The expected, positive behaviors ◦ The behaviors that are considered negative and possibly dangerous ◦ The sanctions for negative actions Include resources if things go wrong Recognize the role of faculty and staff in modeling appropriate online community behavior (Junco, 2011)

Why Does This Matter?

Relation to Theory Perry’s (1981) Theory of Intellectual and Moral Development Facebook.com has become a trend and a way for students to portray themselves in an informal, impersonal way. By utilizing this application, professionals can better understand where a student may be developmentally. Status updates with specific views can show the students intellectual development. Are they dualistic, multiplistic or are they moving through relativism towards commitment? Example of a relativistic status: Initial status- "I voted NO to raise fees for any amount, you should too“ End status- "The students have spoken! The referendum passed, in spite of my past views we will move forward to improve the programs" (Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton, & Renn, 2010)

Astin’s Theory of Involvement Students learn more the more they are involved in both academic and social aspects of college. The amount, both quality and quantity, of the involvement will influence the amount of learning. Social media is one aspect of social involvement and learning. Events, updates, networking and sharing information can lead to more involvement outside of social media. Relation to Theory (Hutley, 2001)

Relation to Theory Chickering’s Vectors of Student Development Developing competence ◦ Intellectual, interpersonal and physical skills ◦ Confidence in ability to achieve what they set out to do ◦ Example: Stating sexual orientation on social media sites Managing Emotions ◦ Recognize personal feelings ◦ New patterns of expression and control ◦ Example: Tweeting feelings about different subjects in a respectful and appropriate manner Moving through autonomy toward interdependence ◦ Ability to cope with problems without seeking help from others ◦ Recognition of the need for interdependence ◦ Example: Writing about experiences via one’s BLOG Developing mature interpersonal relationships ◦ Relationships with trust and genuineness ◦ Respect and appreciation of others ◦ Example: Accepting ‘friends’ that one knows and trusts Establish identity ◦ Maintain inner sameness and continuity across settings ◦ Example: Presenting the same identity across different mediums (Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton, & Renn, 2010)

Relation to theory Career: 1.) Happenstance:  Encouraging students to reach out to employers through social media and take a PROACTIVE approach 2.) Hollands:  Use your interests as part of promoting your brand 3.) Myer’s Briggs:  Use your personality as part of promoting your brand “79% of hiring managers and recruiters reviewed online information about job applicants. 70% of hiring managers rejected candidates based on what they found.” (Garone, 2009)

References Arruda, W. (2012). Personal Branding-Do You Have Digital Dirt. Retrieved February 15, 2012, from REACH: Where Branding Gets Personal: Arruda, W. (2012). Retrieved February 14, 2012, from William Arruda.com: Baxter Magolda, Marcia B. & Magolda, Peter M. (2011). Contested Issues in Student Affairs: Diverse Perspectives and Respectful Dialogue. Social networking and student learning: friends without benefits. Stylus Publishing, LLC., Virginia. Chickering, Arthur W. & Junco, Reynol. (2010). Civil Discourse in the Age of Social Media. About Campus, September-October. Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton, & Renn (2010). Student Development in College: Theory, Research, and Practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Garone, E. (2009). Five Mistakes Online Job Hunters Make. Wall Street Journal. Heiberger, G. (2007). Have you Facebooked Astin lately? (Unpublished master’s thesis). Department of Counseling and Human Development, South Dakota State University. Higher Education Research Institute (HERI). (2007). College freshman and online social networking sites. Retrieved from Hutley, K. (2001) Alexander Astin’s Theory of Involvement: A Summary. Retrieved from sotl.illinoisstate.edu/conf/astin.shtml Junco, R. (2011). The need for student social media policies. EDUCASE review, 46, Retrieved from EBSCO database on February 13, Kaltved, D. (2011, October 18). Minnesota Career Development Association Round Table Discussion: Personal Branding. (A. Belisle, Attendee) Martin, C. (2009). Social networking usage and grades among college students, 3, 1-7. Retrieved from Rucker, J.D. (2011). [Is social media ruining students April 25, 2011]. Is Social Media Ruining Students. Retrieved from Solis, B. (2007) Social media is about sociology not technology. Retrieved from www. Briansolis.com/2007/08/social-media-is-about-sociology-not/ Weil, D. (2006). The Corporate Blogging Book: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know to Get it Right. Penguin Group.