MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY

1
Follow me to the Neighborhood Using Social Media
in the Neighborhood Concept at Michigan State
University

• MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
• STUDENT AFFAIRS ADMINISTRATION
• BARBARA HAWKINS
• SARAH GLASSMAN
• CHRIS SCANLON

2
Roadmap

• Introduction to Michigan State University and the
  Neighborhood Concept
• Current social media ventures
• Recommendations and considerations for continued
  social media engagement

3
Michigan State University

• Demographics
• 36,058 undergraduates
• 14,000 residential capacity
• Suburban campus (5,200 acres)
• Research I
• NCAA Division I
• Public, Land Grant
• 11 Student Affairs and Services Departments
• Academic, developmental, identity-based services

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The Neighborhood Concept

• Division of Student Affairs and Services (with
  campus collaboration)
• 2010-2011 Pilot Implantation in East Campus
• Small campus feel to a large campus - offering a
  central engagement center in each neighborhood

5
The Neighborhood Concept

• Academic and social integration into living
  learning halls- including in-neighborhood
  advising, resume workshops, health services
• Tied to major institutional endeavors, including
  the MSU mission, core values, Boldness by Design,
  Shaping the Future
• Both developmental and practical outcomes
  (helping students develop, staying on campus,
  retention)

6
Neighborhood Concept and Social Media

• East Neighborhood Engagement Center Facebook Fan
  Page (86 followers)
• Integration of YouTube videos from MSU partner
  offices
• SpartanConnect (Intranet social networking forum)
• neighborhoods.msu.edu (pictures, updates on
  construction, learning outcomes)
• High collaboration with Neighborhood constituents
  (Residential and Hospitality Services, Health
  Services, various student affairs departments)

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Recommendations and considerations for
continuedsocial media engagement
8
Create a Social Media Virtual Vision Statement

• Define consistent standards for social networking
• Vision statement creates and outline of purpose,
  culture, and goals for the neighborhood social
  media campaign
• Align with themes in MSU initiatives and
  strategic plan
• Innovation, enhancing student engagement,
  advancing research, connecting learning in areas
  outside the class
• Vision should include details for how social
  media promotes learning outcomes, advances the
  University, and enhances the lived experiences in
  the neighborhoods
• Reaching out to different demographics,
  millennial learning styles, engaging in an online
  and offline community
• (CAS, 2009 Lipton, 1996 Ellison, Stein?eld,
  Lampe, 2007 Reisser Roper, 1991)

9
What we know about MSU Students and Social Media

• MSU students report higher levels of interaction
  through social media between students who they
  have met offline, the importance of building
  students social capital, and learning about the
  people in their residence hall, and learning more
  about the offline community they are a part of
• MSU students report lower levels of meeting new
  people or starting new relationships through
  social media

(Ellison, N B., Steinfield, C, Lampe, C, 2007)
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Training for Consistent Implementation

• Social media experts (faculty) at MSU will train
  student affairs professionals on social media,
  social media marketing, and how to effectively
  use social media within each unique
  neighborhood. 
• Student affairs professionals will advise and
  train the Social Media Student Committee (SMSC).
• SMSC will be in charge of all social media
  accounts for their specific neighborhood
• Student affairs professionals and SMSC Training
  Topics
• Neighborhood Environment
• Unique characteristics of their specific
  neighborhood
• Population demographics of specific neighborhood
• Interaction and developing relationships with
  offices in neighborhoods

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Training for Consistent Implementation

• Social Media Marketing
• Making the most out of neighborhood social media
  accounts (incentives, advertising, branding)
• Best way to reach students (what is being used,
  learning style inventory)
• Reaching students who do not have social media
  accounts
• Keeping up with latest social media trends
• How to navigate and understand the most recent
  research
• Diversity
• How does diversity play into social media
  accounts for neighborhood?
• Diversity activities through social media lens
• Larger MSU Community/Greater Lansing Community
• Specific neighborhood and larger campus
• Incorporation of neighborhood into larger MSU
  campus and Lansing community
• Networking with local businesses
• Providing special deals to students living in
  neighborhood
• SMSC will increase faculty/student affairs
  professional/student interaction
• Training will continue for student affairs
  professionals and SMSC throughout the
  semester/year

(Astin, 1999 Schlossberg, 1989)
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Understanding Social Ecology

• We all exist within and are shaped by our
  contexts
• Individual, relationship, community and society
• In order to reach individuals and create
  sustained behavior change, they must be
  approached at every level of their ecology
• Social marketing campaigns must be crafted and
  placed in ways which consider the specific
  contexts influencing target audiences at each
  level

(Bronfenbrenner, 1979)
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New Way of Doing an Old Thing

• Social media were designed to fill an intrinsic
  human need to connect and converse
• Effective social media creates, facilitates and
  maximizes human conversation around meaningful
  messages and converts the audience into
  energetic, authentic broadcasters

• Social Media is used by diverse audiences
  regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, or
  socioeconomic status it is increasingly
  widespread and deeply ingrained
• As there are many observable correlations between
  online and offline personas the opt-in, highly
  personal nature of social media requires
  dissolving the lines between ones personal and
  digital lives the extension of a social
  ecological approach into this new space is a
  natural and useful one.

(Universal McCann, 2008 Vazire Gosling, 2004)
14

• Levels of Social Media Ecology
• Individual, Relationship, Community, Society

(Koch, Souder, Banyan Communications, 2009)
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Applying Social Media within Social Ecology

• The current landscape of social media behaviors
  can be mapped to the four levels of social
  ecology and provide a framework for effective,
  measurable communication strategies. Facilitating
  and maximizing communication across all levels of
  the social ecological model is necessary to
  affect students
• Facilitate conversation
• Finally, many social media strategies fall victim
  to old habits and fundamental misunderstandings
  about the nature of Social Media and how messages
  travel through it. across all levels of the
  social ecological model to maximize the scope and
  potential of those conversations.

(Bronfenbrenner, 1979 Gregson, 2001)
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Student Investment and Involvement

• MSU students will have the opportunity to become
  a part in creating the social media environment
  in their neighborhood
• SMSC will be composed of students who apply and
  are accepted to the committee.
• SMSC will consist of MSU students who
• Have a desire to learn more about social
  marketing
• Want to use their unique skills to enhance the
  social media experience in their neighborhood
• Would benefit from practical experience in the
  field of their choices
• Students of all majors encouraged to apply and
  serve on committee
• Student affairs professionals from various
  offices will take turns advising the SMSC

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Student Investment and Involvement
Students Major SMSC Task
Marketing Marketing of all social media accounts
Fine Arts All photography for social media accounts
Statistics Assessment for social media accounts
Graphic Design Layout and design
Communications Relationship building with campus contacts
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Assessment Strategies

• Assessment as a practice to grown, learn from,
  and improve upon practices
• Different methods for different stages
• Benchmark before changes, during programs and
  interventions, post-tests
• Tracking hits/followers, immediate program
  evaluation, learning outcomes assessment
• Astins (1991) Inputs-Environment-Outputs Model
• Within-institution test for campus culture,
  understanding how students relationship with
  social networking has changed
• Collaboration within the division and faculty
• Residence Life, Communication Arts and Sciences,
  and more

(Astin, 1991 Bliming Whitt, 1991)
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References

• Astin, A. W. (1991). Assessment for excellence.
  New York Macmillan.
• Astin, A. A. (1999). Student involvement A
  developmental theory for higher education.
  Journal of College Student Personnel, 25, pp.
  297-308.
• Bliming, G., Whitt, E. (1999). Using
  principles to improve practice. In Bliming, G.,
  Whitt, E. (Eds.). Good practice in student
  affairs (pp. 179-204). Washington, DC Authors.
• Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human
  development. Cambridge,MA Harvard University
  Press.
• Council for the Advancement of Standards.
  (2009). The book of professional standards for
  higher education 2009. Washington, DC Council
  for the Advancement of Standards in Higher
  Education.
• Ellison, Nicole B., Steinfield, Charles, Lampe,
  Cliff. (2007). The benefits of facebook
  friends Social capital and college students
  use of online social network sites. Journal of
  Computer-Mediated Communication, 12, 1143-1168.
• Gregson, J. (2001). System, environmental, and
  policy changes Using thesocial-ecological model
  as a framework for evaluating nutrition education
  and social marketing programs with low-income
  audiences.Journal of Nutrition Education, 33(1),
  4-15.
• Koch, C., Souder, K, Banyan Communications.
  (2009). Social media inthe social ecology A
  conceptual framework for behavior change online
  PowerPoint slides. Retrieved fromhttp//www.slid
  eshare.net/BanyanCom/social-media-in-the-social-ec
  ology
• Lipton, Mark. (1996). Demystifying the
  development of an organizational vision. Sloan
  Management Review, 37, 83-92
• Oetzel, J. G., Ting-Toomey, S., Rinderle, S.
  (2006). Conflict communication in contexts A
  social ecological perspective. In J.G. Oetzel
  S. Ting-Toomey (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of
  conflict communication. Thousand Oaks, CA Sage.