In this article, we're going to look at some strengths and some areas for improvement in a few of the more popular social media sites. To save space and your patience, we're going to focus on the major three—Facebook, Twitter, and Buzz. (We're not forgetting LinkedIn, we're just trying to keep this article simple and this one is already a long one! More to come about LinkedIn next month.)
Facebook
Facebook is one of those powerhouses that screams, "Why are you not using this site when everyone else is!" It's strongest growing demographic is 35+, but this does not mean you won't reach students. Younger people are still using Facebook too. However, plan on reaching more alumni and prospective parents than prospective students.
Facebook Privacy: Setting up Facebook accounts for those who have never used the site before can be somewhat tricky. Plan on spending some time figuring out the privacy controls—for both your personal account and your school's marketing account. What you make public and private, especially to your students, should take some serious consideration. Facebook account settings change frequently, too. So, once you set your profile to display one way, make sure you check back from time to time to assure the settings have not changed. (All social media sites are going through "growing pains" as search engines begin to include blogs, posting, pictures, etc., into their results.) Allowances, options, and Facebook's interface changes every few months too, you'll need to stay current with trends.
Facebook Use and Management: The most difficult elements to Facebook are the advanced privacy settings. As mentioned above, these will take time to figure out and then set. Beyond those controls, hiding clutter (updates from games that your 'fans' or 'friends' play, updates from groups you follow, etc.), adding contacts from your mail address book, keeping current with friend suggestions and recommendations, and removing applications and certain contacts, are all fairly easy to control.
Facebook Access: Facebook doesn't allow much in the way of responding to wall posts by e-mail, and there isn't an RSS feed option for those who are accustomed to using feeds. Facebook also won't allow users to export data. You can, however, download applications (widgets) that allow you to combine your Facebook and Twitter account messages in one neat place. One example would be Seesmic Desktop. Seesmic for your phone will allow you to combine more of your messaging sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.
Twitter
Twitter is great because it's simple. However, word on the street is it's on a decline. (Analysts are not certain if declining Twitter logins are because of the increased use of Twitter widgets, or because of a declining interest.) Keep this in mind while setting up a new account. In essence, Twitter (for those of you who don't know), is a microblog site designed to strike up mini-conversations in 140 characters or less, and share links. How it should work and how it does work, however, is debatable.
Twitter Privacy: There are no groups to worry about with Twitter, so it's all pretty straight forward. What you say is made public, unless you send a private reply or message to one of your friends and/or followers. Public means, everyone who follows you can see what you have to say. You can send links to your followers and friends, but much of the concern that comes along with Facebook is eliminated with Twitter's simplicity.
Twitter Use and Management: With Twitter, you're either following, being followed, or blocking people. There are a ton of spammers on Twitter, so plan on blocking a good many unless you want to listen to their "noise" on a regular basis. In fact, you may find the majority of your upkeep on Twitter weeding out your followers list. The learning curve is fairly easy with this social site, though—there's really not much to it.
Twitter Access: With Twitter you can retweet articles you find of interest the same way you can share them on your Facebook account. Most sites have widgets that make this process easy for users—you never have to leave the articles site. Twitter will not allow you to post from e-mail; however, you can have updates sent to your e-mail the same as Facebook. For those who like to work with RSS feeds, Twitter does have limited ability.
Google Buzz
Google Buzz is still new, and since its release has undergone several updates. Its intent is to connect some of your social networking sites, and your Gmail into one destination—Buzz. You should be able to import your AIM, YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, Picasso, and other blog sites to this one central site so you can easily keep in touch with what all of your friends are doing without downloading widgets or visiting different sites daily. Buzz is different from Twitter and Facebook in that it's not as public as Twitter, and it's not as walled-off as Facebook.
Buzz Privacy: Privacy controls for Buzz are not easy to find, and for first-time users it can seem overwhelming. If you've mixed personal and work contacts in your e-mail, separating these out for Buzz can take some time and concentration. It's also easy at times to feel overwhelmed by the amount of "buzz" or noise that comes through. Turning off certain updates is tricky. Good news is, there're no games or groups to worry about on here yet. So, the noise that seems impossible to avoid on Facebook, is not as much of a concern here.
Buzz Use and Management: It takes a bit for Buzz to learn what you consider good "buzz" and what you consider bad "buzz." This said, at times you can become annoyed at the amount of updates being pushed to you. Buzz doesn't allow photos to be embedded in messages yet, either. For some, this is a bonus, yet for others this is a point of annoyance. Some are even inclined to say one of the main drawbacks to Buzz is that you have to link to external applications such as, Flicker to embedd images, or YouTube for video. Adding new contacts is also tricky, but no more so than on Facebook.
Buzz Access: Buzz will allow you to post from your e-mail and easily export to RSS feeds. Most widgets will also allow you to easily share articles you find of interest to your Buzz account. To learn more about Google Buzz, click here.
NEW e-Learning Webinar bundle—perfect for the private-independent school looking to establish an online social media marketing plan: Social Media Webinar Bundle—Parts 1,2,and 3
NEW Summer Institute Workshop—perfect for the private-independent school admission, communications, and marketing professional: Admission/Marketing 2.0: Generating Buzz With Generation Next
