A social media milestone: 5000 Facebook fans
When Edward "Frits" Abell '94 clicked "like" on the Skidmore College Facebook page earlier this week, he manifested as the page's 5000 th fan and gave the College's Office of Communications, which manages the page, a milestone to celebrate.
In cooperation with Admissions, Alumni Affairs, and other administrative and academic units, Communications has embarked on an effort to expand the College's presence in social media. In addition to Facebook, where there are now at least 30 Skidmore-associated pages and groups, and Skidmore Connect, the College's proprietary social network for alumni, the list now includes:
Prospective students are a major focus. In the last two years, Skidmore has joined a variety of networks targeted to prospective students, including Cappex, Unigo and Zinch . Last spring, the College - using a platform called "Schools" from Inigral - launched its own password-protected community in Facebook specifically for members of the incoming Class of 2015 and about 75 percent promptly joined. Today this new Facebook space is open to all Skidmore students, and about 30 percent are using it to swap textbooks, find rides, and connect with new band mates.
Recognizing blogs as another important form of social media, Communications and Admissions
also have teamed up in launching " Student-to-Student," an initiative that aims to
put prospective students in direct touch with current students who make blog posts
at least weekly, tweet at least daily, maintain an active presence in Facebook and
Zinch, and answer questions from prospective students in Formspring.
"Because of the ubiquity of social media, Skidmore can leverage these communication tools to interact and connect with students, faculty, staff, and alumni in new ways," says Daniella Nordin who, as online community manager, is bringing greater order and visibility to the College's social media presence. "It's about having conversations and creating relationships?extending Skidmore's close-knit community beyond our campus walls."
Daniella Nordin
This Friday, Oct. 7, Nordin will launch a new brown-bag lunch series aimed at acquainting
faculty and staff with all aspects of social media. Called the Social Media Hour and convening most Fridays, the series will feature demonstrations of new technologies,
discussions of best practices, and instructional support.
Here's the line-up for the first four sessions, all of which will be conducted from
noon to 1 in Harder Hall, Room 103:
- Skidmore College on Facebook
- Making the Most of Your Facebook Privacy Settings
- Skidmore College Goes Mobile
- LinkedIn for Professional Development
Click here to connect with Skidmore via social media.
For more information on Skidmore's social media strategy, click here.
To contact Daniella Nordin e-mail or call 518-580-5616.