Using Facebook In Student Affairs

Facebook, like most social media, is not a fad and is here to stay.  Facebook is no longer our “personal life” online, it is becoming a reflection of our “life” online.  With many growing uses for the popular social networking site (e.g. e-commerce, philanthropy, business and brand promotion, etc.), it won’t be long until our Facebook accounts become the online clone of ourselves!

Today I’m sharing my top four ways that Student Affairs professionals in Higher Education can use Facebook to help them connect with their student communities:

1.  Know the Difference Between a “Fan Page” and a “Group Page”
I’ve seen some of my colleagues create “User Pages”, thinking that they were “Fan Pages”.  While this is functional, those folks are missing out on some important differences between User Pages and the Fan and Group Pages.  If you decide to use Facebook as a networking and/or marketing tool, its important to know the difference of these the two main types of networking pages:
- Group Pages:  These pages help connect people of a particular group and allows internal communication with members of group.  Groups allow “bulk invites” to be sent out (you can easily invite all your friends to join the group while with pages you will be forced to drop some invites manually), and thus are better for viral marketing purposes.
- Fan Pages:  These pages have become extremely popular over the last year and for good reason.  For anyone trying to build a brand or business, this is the clear choice in Facebook marketing.  The greatest added value for a Fan Page administrator is the “Insights” section where rich statistical information is at their fingertips.  While it is easy to get caught up in the “number” of fans a Fan Page has, it’s more important to see how often they are interacting with your page (commenting on your Wall, “Liking” your Status updates, “@” mentioning your brand in their status updates, etc.)  Remember, social media is about the conversation, not the broadcast message!

Overall, Fan Pages are generally better for a long-term relationships with your students, alumni and community members, while Groups are generally better for hosting a (quick) active discussion and attracting quick attention.

Here are some other information at a quick glance!

Don’t forget to “Brand” your Fan Page! (Wouldn’t it be easier to say: “Visit our Campus Center Fan Page at facebook.com/BSCCampusCenter” versus “Visit our Campus Center Fan Page at facebook.com/pages/school/Campus-Center/126623658282“?) When branding, make sure the name you choose for your URL and Fan Page can be easily remembered and used in a Status Update (more on this below).  Did you know you can personalize your own Facebook URL as well?

2.  Create Lists in Facebook / Set Proper Permissions
Have you started this process yet?  If not, you’re missing a golden opportunity to better connect with those whom you have called your “friends” on Facebook.  While it may be tedious, the long term benefits include:

• Sending targeted messages to lists
• Inviting members of lists to become Fans of your Fan Page
• Being able to have members of certain lists have access to certain parts of your Facebook profile
• Seeing your Newsfeed from lists of people/Fan Pages/Group Pages that you care about most

3.  Build Your “Whuffie” (Online Reputation and Capital)
As you expand your use of Facebook, you will begin to build an online reputation (or “Whuffie”).  Some ways to build your Whuffie include:

• “@” Mentioning other Fan Pages, Groups, and People in your status updates. For example, instead of just posting “Ed Cabellon is headed to the Campus Center to meet with Cindy Kane in OSIL.”, connect others to those you mentioned by using the “@” symbol and then you get: “Ed Cabellon is headed to the Rondileau Campus Center to meet with Cindy Kane in the Office of Student Involvement and Leaderhsip“  BE A BRIDGE THAT CONNECTS PEOPLE AND BRANDS!
• Respond to all Wall Posts and Comments on any part of your Facebook page(s)
• Wish your Facebook Friends a Happy Birthday on their special day (and thank each person who wishes you a Happy Birthday on Facebook, no matter how many people post on your wall that day!)
• Post links of things that interest you and if you happen to find that on someone else’s Facebook page, give them credit for sharing it by @ Mentioning them in your status post!  To add to this, “TAG” your students and staff who you feel might benefit from reading / seeing what the links are all about
• Invite students, staff, and community members to TAG themselves in photos you upload to your Fan Pages.  It’s a great way to get them to visit your Fan Page, become a Fan, and identify themselves in pictures

4.  “Friend” Your Students and Staff (GASP!)
This one may get some push back from some of you, but I am open to “friending” my students on Facebook.  I have created lists that fit ALL of my Facebook friends, including current students.  Those that are in my “BSC Students” list, can only see certain pieces of my profile, which mirror what our relationship is like in real life.  By connecting with them on Facebook, I can also send them Facebook messages versus email (which they hardly check anyway) and their response time is ten times quicker.  I’ve been able to connect with them in a way that has opened up conversations in real life.  Again, this isn’t for everyone and I don’t force the issue, but I do invite students to connect with me if they are interested and it has opened up a whole new world of “online student development”.

How about you? How do you use Facebook to create online communities on your campus and beyond?