Why Academics Must Use Social Media

Closing out the year with a clip of an interview that I did with David Webster at the University of Gloucestershire. After giving a keynote lecture at their annual Faculty Learning & Teaching Symposium, David and I sat down for a chat about higher education, teaching, learning, and social media.

A bit of an exaggerated title on this deck, but the content/context is what matters. Presented at the University of Gloucestershire’s Faculty Learning & Teaching Symposium.

Continue reading Why Academics Must Use Social Media

AACRAO Technology Conference Plenary

Slides from my recent talk at the AACRAO Technology Conference in Chicago.

Here’s part of the description from my talk…I covered a lot in 60 minutes!

Technology: Where are we today? Where are we going tomorrow?
Responsive web design, mobile apps, early alert systems, “big” data, privacy and social media are all topics that are extremely relevant to the work of admissions and registrars professionals.

However, regardless of the technology tools, we have to remember this too:

Resources, links, videos, etc, after the jump.

Continue reading AACRAO Technology Conference Plenary

CAMEX 2012: Creating Customer Connections with Social Media

Slides from my social media educational session at this year’s CAMEX event in Salt Lake City, Utah. I gave a 60 minute talk about how campus stores can use social media for strategic communications and marketing. Additionally, I led more than 14 hours of social media consultation sessions with campus store representatives.

Resources from both my talk and consulting sessions are available after the jump. Continue reading CAMEX 2012: Creating Customer Connections with Social Media

Social Media Unsessions at #NASPA11

NASPA 2011 social media unsessions

I’m excited to announce that I will be leading two “unsessions” at the 2011 NASPA Conference. I’ll be facilitating two separate conversations. The first unsession will focus primarily on Twitter best-practices for professional development as well as how to use Twitter to connect with students. The second unsession is for folks who are ready to have a conversation about advanced social media tactics, strategies, and implementations. See you in Philly!

Twitter 202: Beyond #hashtags, @lists, and RTweets

Tuesday, March 15
9:30 AM – 10:15 AM
115 – B – Convention Center

Although only recently picked up by the general population, Twitter is now commonplace for individuals wanting to get breaking news. But Twitter is more than finding out what people are eating or the latest gossip. Attendees of this unsession should come prepared to share how they utilize Twitter in their professional development, as well as best practices for connecting with students. Please note, attendees of this unsession will benefit most if they already have a basic understanding of Twitter.

Social Media: Advanced uses, tips, and strategies for SA Pros

Tuesday, March 15
2:00 PM – 2:45 PM
115 – B – Convention Center

Social Media sessions have been highlights of student affairs conferences for several years. It’s now time to talk about how we have been using the tools in strategic ways to communicate and create connections with our students. This unsession will be a facilitated conversation for members of the community to share their social media best practices and advanced techniques for using social media to enhance their professional “tech-deavors”. Be ready to chat, share, and learn about advanced uses of Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube…a.k.a. “The Big 3.”

In addition to the two social media unsessions that I’m leading, there are two other must-attend sessions:

Social Media, Enriched Professional Development and the Future of Student Affairs

Coordinating Presenter: Mamta Accapadi
Monday, March 14
9:30 AM – 10:15 AM
115 – B – Convention Center
Social Media is not just a way to reconnect with friends from your past or share what’s going on in your day in less than 140 characters. Social media, especially with regards to professional development, is also a fantastic way to connect with colleagues and delve deeper into conversations. Attend this session, facilitated by author of the Leadership Exchange article Integrating Technology into your Daily Routine, to discuss ways to enhance your professional development capacity here in Philadelphia and beyond.

Facebook, Flickr, Foursquare, Film (YouTube): Facilitating familiarity through social media

Coordinating Presenter: Nathan Victoria
Monday, March 14
3:45 PM – 4:30 PM
115 – B – Convention Center
A little more than five years ago, all of the social media channels listed above did not exist. Now, these channels are used constantly to form connections and market to our student bodies. Attend this unsession to share your best practices around these social media channels, as well as have conversations about challenges you are facing.

Campus Auxiliary Services Social Media Marketing Short Course

NACAS-campus-auxiliary-services-marketing

The campus auxiliary services social media and marketing short course that I created and presented for NACAS is now available for sale.

Are you or your staff tasked with managing or leveraging your organization’s social media / marketing ventures?

Social media is no longer an add-on for campus auxiliary marketers. Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are now part of the traditional marketing mix. This two-part short course will teach you how to successfully leverage social media tools, mobile apps, and location-based services for sustainable auxiliary services marketing.

You’ll learn the latest strategies for creating a social media listening station and will learn how to effectively utilize: Facebook Places, Twitter Fast Follow, Foursquare, YouTube, SCVNGR, and QR Codes.

There were 64 institutions that signed up for the live webinar and over 500 total attendees. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. The questions that I received from participants were tremendous. The short course is 2 hours of strategy combined with auxiliary services specific social media and marketing information.

QR Codes + Mobile Content = Win

banana republic QR code

Here’s a quick tip for marketing folks who are using QR Codes:

I received a personalized mailing from the Banana Republic a few days ago. On the last page of the mailer was a QR Code. I scanned the code and it took me to this YouTube video:

If you’re going to use QR Codes, please send folks who take the time to scan the code to mobile optimized web content. Taking me to a YouTube clip after I scanned the code was a great way to keep me interested. If I scan your QR Code and it takes me to a regular, non-mobile-optimized site, what’s the point? QR Codes only work if the content that is being delivered is relevant to me and my mobile device.

I’ve seen several QR Codes on posters recently. The codes grabbed my attention because they were prominently placed, but the post-scanned content was just a standard site. Remember, QR Codes + Mobile Content = Win.

Campus Auxiliary Services Marketing in 2011: Social Media, Mobile Apps, and Sustainable Strategies for Success

NACAS-campus-auxiliary-services-marketing

I’m pleased to announce that I will once again be teaming up with NACAS to present information/strategies for campus auxiliary services marketers:

Are you or your staff tasked with managing or leveraging your organization’s social media / marketing ventures?

Social media is no longer an add-on for campus auxiliary marketers. Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are now part of the traditional marketing mix. This two-part short course will teach you how to successfully leverage social media tools, mobile apps, and location-based services for sustainable auxiliary services marketing.

You’ll learn the latest strategies for creating a social media listening station and will learn how to effectively utilize: Facebook Places, Twitter Fast Follow, Foursquare, YouTube, SCVNGR, and QR Codes.

Campus Auxiliary Services Marketing in 2011:
Social Media, Mobile Apps, and Sustainable Strategies for Success with Eric Stoller

Part 1: Feb 22, 2:00PM – 3:00PM EST
Part 2: March 1, 2:00PM – 3:00PM EST
*Includes some pre- and mid-event “homework.”

In partnership with NACAS – the largest auxiliary services support organization serving higher education.

Web Accessibility in Higher Education

I had an amazing time being on Seth Odell’s Higher Ed Live weekly web show. I was asked to talk about higher education and web accessibility. We just barely scratched the surface of what it means to have an accessible web. However, I think that this was a great conversation starter and I look forward to coming on the show to talk about accessibility in 2011.

The back channel conversation provided a lot of questions and insight. It was great to see so many higher education professionals engaging in a conversation on web accessibility and higher education.

Seth and I put together a terrific list of accessibility resources for folks to peruse over at his website. Like I said last night: We all go together or we don’t go at all. Accessibility is an ethical mandate. Accessibility might not be the sexy topic du jour (eg: social media), but it is necessary.

Student Affairs + Technology: IHE Recap

Career Services and Social Media: Todd really says it best ;-)

@EricStoller If there is a single Student Affairs dept that could *pwn* social media it is career services.less than a minute ago via web

Let’s shift some paradigms: Introducing my new blog at Inside Higher Ed.

Challenge and Tech Support: Student Affairs practitioners and Tech Support departments…please let us be admins.

Do you YouTube? Don’t forget to add captions: Would you build a new building without an elevator? Nope… Then why would you ever create videos without captions?

George Orwell, Web Stats, and Your Site Visitors: Student Affairs + Web Stats….Nerdvana :-)

Blogging Student Affairs and Technology

Inside Higher Ed - blogging about student affairs and technology - Eric Stoller

I am thrilled to announce that I’m going to be blogging about Student Affairs and Technology for Inside Higher Ed (IHE). As an avid reader of IHE, I am very excited to join the IHE blogging team. I think that my posts on student affairs + technology will complement Joshua Kim’s blog on Technology and Learning.

Recently, I held a contest via Twitter to name my new blog. The incentive — a $100 Amazon gift card — courtesy of Inside Higher Ed. Several folks came up with interesting/creative blog names. I think the #SAChat Community provided the majority of ideas. Student Affairs folks are uber creative.

Here are my 3 favorite submissions:

  • Jeff Jackson: The Stoller Strikes Back, Return of the Blogosphere, Student Affairs….I am Your Blogger
  • Zack Ford: Challenge and Tech Support
  • ACUHO-I (sent via DM): Binary Code of Conduct

Choosing a winner from these 3 has been extremely challenging. Star Wars references, Sanford, and an entire Association…how cool is that?!! After more than a week of deliberate (intentional ;-) ) deliberating I have decided that the winner of the gift card is:

eric-stoller-challenge-and-tech-support

Zack Ford’s submission made me laugh. It’s subtle….and I love subtlety. The obvious nod / homage to Nevitt Sanford warms the heart. Challenge and Support is one of my all-time favorite, and oft-used, student development theories.

It should be noted that Julie Larsen was correct…the official name of my new blog is going to be: Student Affairs and Technology. The name needed to be something that would be simple enough that any IHE reader would know exactly what it was about. The blog also needed to be search engine friendly…”Students Affairs + Technology” is simple and searchable.

Stay tuned for my first official post on Inside Higher Ed!

Honorable mention:

Julie P-Kirchmeier: Stoller: Resistance is Futile

Niki Rudolph: Epic Stoller

Justine Carpenter: Tech Tips for SAPs

Christopher Conzen: The Stoller Coaster