Engaging Audiences with Social Media

Engaging Audiences With Social MediaCindy Royal, Ph.D

Professor and Founding Director

Media Innovation Lab

Texas State University

School of Journalism and Mass Communication

[email protected]

cindyroyal.com

@cindyroyal

slideshare.net/cindyroyal

Innovation in Journalism and

Communication

• Digital Media Innovation Major

• Media Innovation Lab

• New Course Formats

• Integration with Professionals

• Experience Learning Projects

Establish Goals and Objectives

Identify Audience

Embrace Engagement Potential

Identify Social Media Staff and

Processes

Website

A website still provides a home for your digital presence

Facebook • Facebook is broadly used by a wide range of people. Use pages and groups to share messaging with constituents. Promote and boost posts and use analytics.

Twitter

• Twitter is widely

used by news

organizations and

technology

professionals. It is a

good way to get

information out

quickly, without an

algorithm that

chooses to show it.

• Unlike Facebook,

you don’t have to be

a Twitter user to see

a tweet.

Photos

and Visuals

• Instagram – showcase images; visual communication is key.

• Snapchat – experiment with stories; humor is key. But information is removed from stories in 24 hours, so you have to have a strategy for archiving.

Video • YouTube offers broad potential for hosting videos and providing a community of users.

Go Mobile

• Encourage social media usage on-the-go

• Facebook Live lets you stream from anywhere.

Emerging Trends

• Chat bots and artificial intelligence provide creative ways to inform and engage

Emerging Trends

• Data Visualization

Analytics

Use Google Analytics or those associated with your social platform to get information about users, locations, link referrals, etc.

Analytics

Most social platforms provide analytics for free

Other University Applications

• Showcase campus

• Highlight student

accomplishments

• Spotlight on

research

• Alumni profiles

• Sports and other

events

• Seek community

input

• Quizzes, polls,

surveys

Leveraging Social

• Review best practices

• Provide strategic direction and general

guidelines

• Model usage for students and other

constituents

• Promote your position as thought leader on

educational issues

• Spread goodwill about your institution’s

brand

• Stay up-to-date conceptually, as well as

technically

• Encourage experimentation