CASE Social Media Blog
CASE members and staff share interviews, case studies and commentary on social media topics of interest to advancement professionals.

Social Media Policies
Sample Collection The CASE InfoCenter maintains this collection of policies related to the use of social media in educational institutions. Please log in to access the collection.

Report: Nonprofits Achieving Success with Social Media
BriefCASE Article Social networking continues to grow in importance for nonprofits with Facebook and Twitter extending their dominance among this group, according to a new social networking benchmark report.

Advancement Talk - Measuring the Impact of Social Media
Podcast In this issue of Advancement Talk, Webster University's Patrick Powers discusses measuring the impact of social media.

Online Engagement: Beyond Social Media
Conference The digital landscape has revolutionised the way in which we communicate to our audiences. In a crowded space how do we continue to effectively communicate, engage and maintain relationships with our various stakeholders: prospective students, current students, alumni and supporters? This one-day seminar is ideal for marketing, communications, fundraising and alumni relations professionals and anyone whose responsibility includes online and social media.

Crisis Communications Policies Overlook Social Media, Study Finds
BriefCASE Article While most educational institutions have crisis communications policies, many of those policies do not address the use of social media in a crisis, according to a new study.

Pinterest: Essential Engagement Tool or Just Another Social Network?
BriefCASE Article Traffic to Pinterest, an image-based social sharing site, has soared during the last several months, nearly keeping pace with the amount of buzz surrounding it. Many social media experts have already identified it as a potential game changer for online communications but is Pinterest relevant to higher education—and if so, how?

Using Social Media in a Crisis: Higher Education Results
CKSyme.org in partnership with CASE
CASE Report This 2012 report explores the findings of an international study on the use of social media in crisis communications at institutions of higher education. It looks at the percentage of institutions with crisis communications plans, the number of reputation-threatening events institutions faced in the past year, the percentage of plans that address the use of social media, which social media tools institutions are using and more.

Using Social Media in a Crisis: Independent School Snapshot
CKSyme.org in partnership with CASE
CASE Report This 2012 report looks at how independent primary and secondary schools are integrating social media tools into crisis communications planning. It looks at the percentage of schools with crisis communications plans, the number of reputation-threatening events schools faced in the past year, the percentage of plans that address the use of social media, which social media tools institutions are using and more.

Independent Schools: Think Creatively, Strategically When Managing Social Media
BriefCASE Article Managing your institution’s social media channels can be a daunting task, especially if you’re at a smaller institution. But with the right mindset and tools, communicators can not only manage social networks but also increase interaction, according to one presenter at a recent seminar on effective website and social media management.

Plus One More?
CURRENTS Article This article looks at Google's latest foray into social networking, Google+, a tool that debuted in summer 2011. Higher education social media and communications professionals discuss the potential of the new tool and its uses and implications for higher education institutions, particularly in terms of its brand pages, which were released in early November 2011.

Social Media and Marketing: What's in Store for 2012?
BriefCASE Article It's the end of 2011, which means it's time for predictions for the upcoming year. Marketing and social media experts foresee interesting developments for 2012, both for professionals and users.

Navigating the Social Media Landscape in Higher Education
Product This webinar explores how Ball State University found its niche in a social media through the creation of a lauded institutional social media policy, the strategic development of social media properties for the institution and a campus-wide effort to monitor and advise departments wanting to establish their own social media presences. This multimedia file is a recording of an Online Speaker Series webinar originally presented Dec. 8, 2011.

Prepare to Engage
CURRENTS Article This article discusses the importance of focusing on building community and creating a two-way social media conversation with your institution's constituents. Experts advise that institutions using social media should be less concerned with the tools they're using and more concerned with whether and how they're engaging their alumni, students, and other constituencies. In addition, rather than jumping into using several tools, it's more important to first use a tool well before moving on to add another tool. The article also discusses some of the findings from the 2011 CASE/mStoner/Slover Linett social media survey.

K-12 Parents Prefer Email, Website Communication to Social Networks
BriefCASE Article Parents of elementary- and secondary-school-age children prefer to be contacted by schools via email—but they give low priority to social media, according to a new survey.

Study: Mobile Social Networking, Tumblr on the Rise in 2011
BriefCASE Article Do you use your phone to get your Facebook fix? If so, you’re part of a growing number of social networkers, according to a new global study on the social media landscape.

Growing Brand and Enrollment through Social Media: Tips for Community Colleges
Product This seminar will provide tips and ideas for using social media to grow enrollment and build brand. Examples and case studies will be presented that show how to integrate various types of social media, along with ways to blend social media with traditional marketing tactics. The webinar focuses on providing practical, actionable approaches that community college communicators, marketers and recruiters can begin to apply immediately to their campaigns. This mulitmedia file is a recording of an Online Speaker Series webinar originally presented Nov. 8, 2011. It is part 2 of a three-part Community College Webinar series.

Odds and Ends: Eyes on the Hill
CURRENTS Article In this interview, Brian Lamb, the founder and CEO of the cable public affairs television network C-SPAN, discusses the renaming of Purdue University's college of communication after him, why he doesn't use social media, and why he prefers nonfiction over fiction.

Study: Social Media Use—and Strategy—on the Rise in Higher Education
BriefCASE Article A new study reveals that during the past academic year, 100 percent of surveyed colleges and universities reported using social media—and thinking about the strategy behind it.

New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to Use Social Media, Online Video, Mobile Applications, Blogs, News Releases, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly
Product This book discusses the latest techniques for marketing products, services and ideas using new and changing digital technology. Includes new information on mobile marketing and real-time public relations.

Social Media Use in Public Relations Growing, but Gaps Remain
BriefCASE Article Twitter usage among communications professionals has jumped from 39 percent in 2009 to 76 percent in 2011-but their audience is still only using Twitter 39 percent of the time. That's one of the findings from "Social Media Reality Check 2.0," a study of social media and public relations released June 7.

Study Finds Racial, Generational Differences in Online Cause Engagement
BriefCASE Article African-Americans and Hispanics are significantly more likely than Caucasians to believe that they can help support a cause or social issue through online social networks. And while younger Americans are also more likely to use social media to support causes, more than 40 percent still get information about causes through family, friends and television.

Five Tips for Using Twitter in Higher Education
BriefCASE Article Twitter is neither a popularity contest nor “Facebook Lite”—and when it’s used well, it can be a powerful communications tool. That’s according to the author of a new white paper published by Fathom Online Marketing on using Twitter in higher education.

These Gowns Are Made for Walking
CURRENTS Article This article discusses Brigham Young University's "Walk" campaign, the centerpiece of which was a lighthearted yet sentimental YouTube video designed to encourage students to participate in commencement.

Survey: More Institutions Developing Social Media Policies
BriefCASE Article More schools, colleges and universities are developing policies to guide their use of social media, but few are measuring how social media impacts institutional goals, according to the results of a study on the use of social media in advancement.

Is LinkedIn Useful for Institutions? Advancement Colleagues Weigh In
BriefCASE Article When LinkedIn member Jay Frost asked the CASE group, "Do you think LinkedIn is good for colleges and universities? And [if so], can it be used for fundraising?" he got 20 responses from fellow group members. Their input and experience provide a brief sketch of how institutions are using social networks like LinkedIn for students and alumni.

Worldwide Connections
CURRENTS Article A chart shows social networking usage data by country.

Outlook: New Directions
CURRENTS Article As education and advancement leaders are exhorted to be more open, they fret about letting go of control. What leaders need to accept to succeed in today's social media landscape is that they are no longer in control (and probably never really were to the degree they thought).

Best Practices for Branding and Maintaining a University's Presence on Facebook and Other Social Networks
Product This webinar looks at how Illinois State University has used social networking tools to support its efforts in virtual relationship building. The speakers share the branding guide developed for internal audiences at the university and discuss how the university used social networking to enhance and market Homecoming. This multimedia file is a recording of an Online Speaker Series webinar presented May 12, 2011.

Independent Schools: Balance Risks, Rewards in Social Media
BriefCASE Article Independent schools are finding that social media presents both unprecedented opportunities and unforeseen side effects, according to a new white paper.

What Not to App: Ineffective Facebook Marketing Tactics
BriefCASE Article While it’s important to have a Facebook page that is welcoming, promotes good content and is free of spam, marketers should generally steer clear of using the social networking tool for promotions and other marketing. That’s according to one Internet infrastructure expert who says many marketing tactics just don’t work on Facebook.

Follow CASE on Twitter at @CASEAdvance
BriefCASE Article CASE recently launched a Twitter account so that members using the microblogging site can keep up with CASE and the latest in advancement news. You can follow CASE @CASEAdvance.

Internet Use Encourages Offline Participation
BriefCASE Article Internet users may once have been stereotyped as antisocial basement-dwellers, but a recent study has shown that the opposite is now true: Pew's Internet and American Life project found that three-quarters of all U.S. adults are active in some kind of voluntary group or organization, and Internet users are more likely than others to be active.

Homing in on Hits
CURRENTS Article A flash mob at The Ohio State University's student union that went viral got a campus communicator thinking about what makes some videos popular, which has led to some experimenting and strategizing to develop ideas that elicit what may be the key: authentic, happy reactions.

Experts Predict Top Social Media Trends for 2011
BriefCASE Article Those of you who just got the hang of tweeting can breathe a sigh of relief: This year’s social media trends aren’t expected to include a new social network to learn. Instead, experts predict more organization and efficiency in online communications as well as a heightened awareness of privacy violation and other unintended side effects of social media use.

Top 10 Global Markets for Twitter
CURRENTS Article A bar chart showing the top 10 global markets for Twitter.

Location, Location, Location
CURRENTS Article This article discusses several location-based social networking services (also known as geosocial networking), including Foursquare, Gowalla, Loopt, Whrrl, and Facebook Places, and provides information about how some institutions are experimenting with them to connect and engage with campus constituencies.

Map Shows Global Social Network Presence, Growth of Facebook
BriefCASE Article Are you convinced that Facebook has taken over the world? You're not far off, according to new findings about the social media site.

Succeeding with Social Media: Lessons from the First Survey of Social Media in Advancement
CASE White Paper All institutions are struggling to engage with their constituents using social media tools. But how are they doing? This white paper reports on the results of a survey on the use of social media across the advancement disciplines, looking at platforms, staffing structures, barriers and perceptions of success. The 2010 survey was conducted by mStoner, Slover-Linett Strategies and CASE.

Rising Above
CURRENTS Article This article highlights eight of the 2010 Circle of Excellence Award winners. Each year the awards recognize the best programs and products in advancement services, alumni relations, communications, marketing, and fundraising.

Social Experiments
CURRENTS Article This article presents results from CASE's first social media survey. Nearly 1,000 advancement professionals responded to the survey, which asked them, for example, who managed social media activities in their office, how successful were their social media efforts, which platforms did they use the most, which barriers to social media success were most common, and much more.

Social Media Policy Resource Guide for Higher Ed
Mike Petroff on .eduGuru
This succinct post links to a number of college and university social media policies and summarizes their most common messages. Additional resources include guidance for responding to negative comments or posts, a PolicyTool for Social Media that helps users create a policy, and a presentation called "10 Signs You Shouldn’t Be Doing Social Media."

Strategic Social Networks Can Enhance Community, Provide Unique Value
BriefCASE Article Social networks expand the concept of what it means to be human. They can create interactive, personal and meaningful relationships with prospective students, their parents and alumni. That's according to Greg Carroll, vice president for marketing communications at Stetson University and a speaker at a recent CASE conference.

Office Space: A New Breed
CURRENTS Article The role of the social media community manager is not just about technology or updating content. It is about engaging various constituencies in thoughtful, strategic ways.

Sizing Up Social Media
CURRENTS Article As institutions increasingly engage in social media, it’s important to understand what effect these efforts are having on your different constituencies. Jerold Pearson, of the firm eAdvancement and director of market research for the Stanford Alumni Association, looks at the findings of a survey about the social media usage of Stanford alumni as well as surveys of how alumni of other institutions use social networks, particularly Facebook and LinkedIn.

Following the Threads
CURRENTS Article In early 2009, Oregon State University halted all of its print publications and focused its communication and marketing resources online by diving into social media. While Oregon State’s "Powered by Orange" is among the most respected social media campaigns in higher education, it is also an anomaly. Most institutions enter into social media by dipping one toe in the water. This article discusses how different institutions have approached various social media platforms; such as Facebook and Twitter, the role that campus leadership plays in their success; and the financial investment and staffing adjustments involved in these efforts.

PR, Marketing Claim Ownership of Social Media
BriefCASE Article A new survey reveals that growth in the use of social media is driving a move toward integrating public relations and marketing functions but that “turf battles” between the two still exist.

Fundraising One of Top Reasons for Nonprofits' Online Presence
BriefCASE Article Marketing is still the primary reason most nonprofits have a presence on social networks although fundraising is gaining in popularity, according to an annual survey.

Implications of Social Media Information for Fundraising and Prospect Research
Product This seminar explores the use of social networks in leveraging communication, data and technology to increase the outreach and impact of fundraising efforts. Discussion points include strategy development for acquiring data on constituents via social networks and the integration of data collection and analysis efforts. This multimedia file is a recording of an Online Speaker Series webinar originally presented June 15, 2010.

Bird on a Wire
CURRENTS Article New social media platforms are emerging, but how do you know what is best for your institution? Author Brad Ward examines the landscape of Twitter in higher education and looks at its positives and negatives.

Virtually Yours
CURRENTS Article Technology is providing alumni relations professionals with a new way to organize events and engage more alumni, but it also offers us the opportunity to look at our field through a new lens. For example, using webcams and digital recorders, brick-and-mortar events can be retooled to reach more than just those people who attend. Alumni leaders now have the ability to engage their entire database worldwide without being limited to a particular venue, region, or timeframe.

Virtualmente suyo
CURRENTS Article La tecnología ofrece a los profesionales de la vinculación con exalumnos un nuevo prisma para ver los eventos. Es el fin de una era en las relaciones con los exalumnos. Las evidencias están a la vista, y la mayoría de nosotros no las hemos visto o no estamos dispuestos a aceptarlas. Para muchas asociaciones de exalumnos, la asistencia y la participación en eventos y programas siguen disminuyendo mientras los costos que conllevan siguen aumentando. Los sitios de redes sociales, y otras herramientas web 2.0 ofrecen nuevas formas de comunicarse con los egresados, sin mencionar que son nuevas formas para que éstos se comuniquen entre sí sin la participación de las asociaciones de exalumnos.

Tips for Managing Your Personal and Professional Networks Online
BriefCASE Article Should you friend your boss on Facebook? Can you tweet about your "Survivor" obsession? Just how funny can you be when you are the voice of your institution? Attendees at the Social Media and Community conference in Chicago last week grappled with these sorts of questions as they weighed how best to manage their personal and professional networks online.

Experts: Planned Approach to Social Media is Key to Success
BriefCASE Article Social media is all the rage but leading experts at a recent CASE conference say communications professionals must address five key questions before they start tweeting, blogging and posting content on behalf of their institutions.

More Institutions Go Online to Reach Students
BriefCASE Article More colleges and universities are using YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other social media tools to recruit and connect with prospective students.

Survey Finds Most U.S. Journalists Use Social Media for Story Research
BriefCASE Article A recent survey of magazine, Web site and newspaper editors and reporters reveals that a large majority of working journalists now depend on social media such as blogs, Wikipedia, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube for background research in writing stories.

Recetas para Alcanzar el Éxito
CURRENTS Article Las redes sociales están cambiando la forma como interactúan las instituciones con los estudiantes, los profesores, los ex alumnos y los donadores. Debido a su tamaño, las escuelas independientes se encuentran, a menudo, a la vanguardia de la tecnología. Descubra cómo se comunican de forma más eficiente las escuelas a través de las redes sociales.

Recipes for Success
CURRENTS Article Social media is changing the way institutions interact with students, faculty, alumni, and donors. Because of their size, many times independent schools are on the bleeding edge of technology. Find out how schools are communicating more efficiently through social media.

Advance Work: Talking Through Twitter
CURRENTS Article Though Twitter is becoming more mainstream, university and college faculty are still slow to adopt this new media tool.

The Sea of Social Media
CURRENTS Article As social media grows in use, institutions need to look closely at how they are using these new tools in communications and marketing. Some institutions are charting a course by using different mediums to meet its strategic goals.

Top 100 Colleges on Twitter
UniversitiesAndColleges.org
This study examined Twitter accounts affiliated with university administrations at the top 100 institutions in the U.S. News & World Report's 2010 Best Colleges. Data collection took place during September 2009 from Twitter.com, with additional statistics calculated using TweetStats. Note: The study did not analyze data from unofficial student groups, fans of sports teams, or the personal accounts of professors, students, and university employees.

Social Media Measurement 101: A Seven-Step Plan to Set Up (and Benefit from) a Simple Social Measurement Program
Karine Joly for University Business magazine
This article from the October 2009 issue of University Business outlines a process for measuring the impact of social media initiatives. A sidebar called "What can be measured?" looks at metrics available from Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Operation Reputation
CURRENTS Article In today's world of social media, users can post their own thoughts, comments, and content, and readers can take it as fact. So how do institutions navigate the networks and find fact rather than fiction? Take a look at how you can police the posts and still maintain credibility.

Older Adults Take to Social Networking Sites
BriefCASE Article New research from U.K. media regulator Ofcom indicates that teenagers and young adults are spending less time on social networking sites even as their parents, teachers and other older adults are increasingly using the sites.

Speaker: Institutions Make News through "Crowdsourcing"
BriefCASE Article Web 2.0 tools have allowed the news media to “crowdsource” news by supplementing and integrating the work of journalists with photos, videos and commentary submitted by the public.

Know the Six Common Myths of Social Media
BriefCASE Article Embrace social media but don’t get too caught up in the technology.

Translating Online Engagement into Giving
BriefCASE Article Cross-platform tactics, localized messages and constant testing and tracking are among the most effective strategies for building online engagement that translates into online giving.

Advance Work: All a Twitter
CURRENTS Article A recent look at college and university Twitter accounts reveals that many institutions are not exactly "tweeting" up a storm.

Nonprofits Turn to Facebook for Marketing, Some Fundraising
BriefCASE Article Marketing is the top reason most nonprofits have a presence on Facebook or some other social network, although a small number also use the tool for fundraising, according to a new survey.

Efficient Use of Twitter, Facebook Can Help K-12 Schools Strengthen Outreach
BriefCASE Article Independent schools that haven’t jumped on the social networking bandwagon need to get on board.

Social Network Primer: Making Effective Use of Social Webs for Independent School Advancement
Product This webinar offers a thorough survey of web-based social networks and a discussion of the power of these tools to affect independent school communication. Learn how one school leveraged these sites to improve engagement and interaction with young alumni and prospective students. This multimedia file is a recording of an Online Speaker Series webinar originally presented Feb. 5, 2009.

Advance Work: Work with What You’ve Got
CURRENTS Article Live video of a robin's nest with eggs drew an unexpected following for Duke University's Web site and underscored the power of social networking.

Social Networking Becomes a Daily Habit with College Students
BriefCASE Article Daily activity on online social networks among U.S. college students is on the rise, according to an Educause study.

Advance Work: Facebook or Bust
CURRENTS Article A survey of 18- to 24-year-olds found that lack of access to Facebook or YouTube at work would cause some to quit.

Advance Work: YouTube to the Rescue
CURRENTS Article When California State University, Fresno, wanted to take the focus off some questionable student content on YouTube, officials decided to use the online video site to the university's advantage.

Advance Work: Get a Life
CURRENTS Article Case Western Reserve University allows prospective students to tour the campus from the comfort of their bedrooms via Second Life.

Advance Work: Virtual Security Blanket
CURRENTS Article Eckerd College launched an online community to help incoming students get to know each other--and the college--before they arrive on campus. Eckerd was looking for an inexpensive way to reach out to admitted students and reduce the number who send in a deposit but don’t end up attending the institution.