#heweb10 facebook faceplant: lessons learned from social media failures (and successes)

Facebook Faceplant

Cynde Fleagle, @cyndef

Nikki Massaro Kauffman, @nikkimk

Penn State University

#SOC9

In social media, you can’t have all the dog and pony shows…

…without a little bit of shit too.

SNOMG 2010

Facebook Faceplant Lesson Learned…

H1N1 Targeted Messages

H1N1 Targeted Messages

“ ”“ill students are not required to provide a physicians excuse for missing class.”

“Policy E-11 Requires all instructors… to provide reasonable opportunities for students to make up missed assignments and missed exams.”

H1N1 Targeted Messages

H1N1 Targeted Messages

H1N1 Targeted Messages

“ ”For more information on H1N1, guidelines

for supervisors and recommendations for

telecommuting, you may wish to consult the

Aug. 10 letter from President Spanier, which

can be found here…

H1N1 Targeted Messages

H1N1 Targeted Messages

“ ”“Ill Students with the flu do not need a physician’s certification of illness.”

“If you have questions about academic policy-related issues, please call the Associate Dean/Chief Academic Officer of your college.”

H1N1 Targeted Messages

H1N1 Targeted Messages

“ ”

Penn State University

Penn State: University Park (UP)

On-Campus Off Campus or Commuter

We Are…

Faculty StudentsSupervisors StaffMain Campus (UP) Branch CampusesTraditional Students Non-Traditional

StudentsResidential Students CommutersIn-Town Rural

2/10/2010

• K-12 Schools Closed• Branch Campuses

Closed• Snow Emergencies:

No parking along streets.

• Interstates closed.• Con Ed Classes

Cancelled

General Weather-Related Messages

“ ”General Weather-Related Messages

“Faculty and staff should use their own best judgment...”

“Staff may charge their absence to vacation time... supervisors should make every effort to accommodate employees who wish to leave work early because of the weather.”

General Weather-Related Messages

“ ”General Weather-Related Messages

“It is your decision on whether or not you are comfortable commuting to campus.”

“Ultimately, it is up to each professor to determine how he or she will handle these types of absences, but we believe they will be reasonable and understanding.”

#SOC9: Tweet Your Faceplant Lessons Learned for 2/10/2010

Know When and How to

Respond

Dealing with Weather

Know your numbers…but know the people they represent too.

Learn from Your Successes…

…and from Your Faceplants

1. “Snowballs”

2. “WILL BE DELETED”

3. “Your safety is important.”

4. “We are listening”

5. Obesity research link.

6. Thon post.

7. Valentine’s Day Contest.

#SOC9: Tweet Your Facebook Faceplant Lesson Learned for UT Gunman 9/28/2010

#SOC9: When is it best to be silent and when is it necessary to post?

Aside….Wonderful job on mobile app

Wonderful job web/text/email

View movie (UTsansaudio)

61% of all Facebookusers are over 25

Statistic courtesy of www.insidefacebook.com

This says it all….

Infographic courtesy of http://www.allfacebook.com/

There are many social media tools to use, people generally choose the one they feel the most comfortable with and that is where they spend their time.

THINKING ABOUT YOUR AUDIENCES! (ALL OF THEM)

It all comes back to..

Learn from your faceplants

1. Having an postings to the wall turned off (where only administration may post)

2. Not updating the page while there is an event such as this happening.

3. Not paying attention to the current thread where questions and commentsare being made.

… and from your successes.

The UTPD was updating their page which resulted in a MAJOR growth of their fan base

About 1 hour into the campus lockdown, the UT Police Department page had just under 900 visitors. (courtesy of J.D. Ross)

11:22 a.m. UTPD had 1,070 fans

1:06 p.m. 5,001 fans

11:2

2AM

1:14

PM

1:24

PM

1:28

PM

1:36

PM

3:05

PM

3:28

PM

3:56

PM

4:36

PM

9:30

PM0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

10000

1070

5143 5348 5420 55656064

7183 7320 7601

8701

UTPD Fans

UT

UTPD

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

Fan Percent Increase 11:30 AM - 3:00 PM

With growth comes opportunity..

This Squirrel@thissquirrel

It all started with a LOL…

Hmmm, lets try something else…

Penn State’s Computer Store’s HUB Showroom Grand Opening

A brainstorming session lead to…

GIANT CUT OUT

SQUIRRELS

Guess What?!

This Squirrel’s Persona• It's name is "This Squirrel"

• genderless

• happy but not goofy

• not bitter

• helpful

• geek chic

• worldly/well traveled

• likes nuts/hazelnut coffee

• hangs out at computer store in hub

• likes to travel to PSU campuses and around UP

• mean people make it angry

• platform agnostic

• social media guru

• "green”

• decendant of one of the 4 grey squirrels purchased in 1925 and is friends with the PSU lion

As of this morning This Squirrel has 1,534 fans …

… and we’re just getting started!

Images

• http://www.flickr.com/people/acidcookie• http://www.flickr.com/photos/

australianshepherds• http://www.flickr.com/photos/richardsummers• http://www.flickr.com/photos/rawhead