Ning

A frightening and yet interesting thing happened to Rachel Reuben from SUNY New Paltz a few days ago. The Facebook page she created 2 years ago for her university disappeared. Rachel tried everything to get the page back as she explained in a post she wrote last week:Feeling Naked: A Tale of the Disappearing Facebook Fan Page.

Long story short: Rachel finally got her page back but not the 5,000 fans – although Facebook has since let her know that they are investigating the issue.

SUNY New Paltz | Facebook

This incident and especially the lack of responsiveness from Facebook definitely put a whole new light on the current trend to rely more and more on Facebook for communications between an institution and its students…

About 3 months ago, I was interviewed for a CASE Currents’ article about private vs. public social networks for alums. While I didn’t mention the possibility of such an incident, I tried to offer a balanced view on the topic.

The article written by Caroline Mayer, The Inner Circle, has been published in the October issue (but is only accessible to CASE members), so I thought some of you might be interested in my answers to Mayer’s questions.

1. How vital is it for schools to set up an online community? Is it necessary and why/ why not? Are alumni associations without online communities missing out on something?

I wouldn’t say that it is vital for schools to *set up* online communities. However, I believe it is very important to join the conversation taking place on the Web (Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn come to mind) as these online communities gather alumni who are definitely passionate about their alma mater and want to engage with their peers.

A few years ago, online community solutions were pitched by vendors as the next (natural) step to alumni associations relying at that time on more traditional print directories. These wall-garden solutions were sold as the ultimate tools to gather demographic data and contact information from alumni as they would allow them to connect with their old classmates. Unfortunately, most of the implementations of these solutions failed to engage enough alums to get the conversation rolling.

Today, while the tools have evolved and more and more associations have created groups or pages on popular social networking websites, it is easier to reach a critical mass. But, this doesn’t mean that it is easier to nurture and develop online communities. It takes a lot of work and time, and associations should only launch online communities if they are sure they can invest the efforts necessary to make them successful.

2. Does it make any difference how it’s done? i.e. should it be a private network where only alums can go making it feel special (and giving the schools the access to databases such as email addresses) or should it be where most of the alums hang out these days (Facebook, Linkedin).

As I said above, the problem with private communities is participation.

Alums (and other constituents) live busy lives offline and online. If schools can offer a unique and compelling experience to their community members, they can definitely be successful with a private social networking website. However, they should prepare to work harder and longer to attract and keep these members interested. If they are successful, their hard work will be paid by access to more contact information.

In the case of the most popular social networking websites, it takes less effort to attract community members as they are already using these websites to keep up with their friends and colleagues, but it doesn’t mean it’s easier to keep them interested. On these sites, alums have other options to spend their time – countless options just one link away within the same familiar interface.

3. Is a private network worth the costs? Do private networks provide anything that Facebook and other networks don’t?

First, a private network doesn’t always come with a big price tag. More and more institutions launch private social networking websites using the Ning platform – which is basically free or cost a minimal monthly fee if you wish to remove Google ads or/and use a branded web address.

Some vendor solutions do come at a hefty price though. While the user experience offered by most of these solutions is very similar to the ones provided at no cost, some vendors have set up interesting link between their community application and other CRM/ERM solutions, allowing to set up a system tracking community members from engagement on the social networking website to donations — or matriculation in the case of prospective students.

Private networks also provide a sense of greater privacy – especially when alum associations choose to keep them totally private (you have to be a member to read AND post). On Facebook, pages – used by institutions to manage their community – are indexed by Google. Any comments made on these pages by a fan – i.e. a member of a Facebook page – can be associated to its author right from a Google search.

4. Is a public network worth the lack of control?

It really comes down to participation and engagement. Is it worth losing a bit of control if people are actually going to come to your party? Probably. Moreover, if schools manage to create communities on Facebook or Linkedin and become their administrator, they actually keep some control – they can delete comments, prioritize the order in which some discussions are displayed, etc. However, there is always a risk of backlash if schools intervene too much and try to censor conversations.

My second UB column for 2009 is now available in the February issue as well as online (featured on the homepage of University Business today): “More with Less: 7 Ways to Survive the Budget Crunch”

Here are the 7 ways/tips in a condensed form:

1. Look more closely at your print publication budget
2. Embrace (free) social media to reach your target audiences
3. Try new performance-based advertising channels
4. Fine-tune email marketing initiatives to supercharge their ROI
5. Say “good bye” to new web servers and “hello” to on-demand cloud computing
6. Don’t discard the DIY approach
7. Watch out for team morale by focusing on budget-friendly professional development alternatives including next week’s 2-webinar series “Saving Big” for which you can still register until this Friday

By the way, if you are a University Business reader who has just discovered collegewebeditor.com, welcome! Don’t forget to subscribe to this blog via RSS or email.

Once again I found in my inbox this morning a message from someone who wanted to register for the upcoming webinar series: “Saving Big″ (the initial registration deadline was yesterday at 9PM).

As a result, I decided to postpone the registration deadline until next Friday (January 30, 2009) at 9PM ET.

Register for Saving Big Webinars

If you want to learn about a few creative ideas to save big on your publications and admissions marketing while getting great results, this 2-webinar series featuring Rachel Reuben (SUNY at New Paltz) and Joe Hice (The University of Florida) will be worth your time and its cost (just $240 per connection – why not pack a room with your marketing, PR & admissions teams to watch both webinars to fire up a great brainstorming session?)

Some of the institutions registered for this series include:

• Yeshiva University
• Upper Iowa University
• Valparaiso University School of Law
• University of New Haven
• Emory University
• Cornerstone University
• University of Melbourne (Australia)

For more information and to register online, just go to www.higheredexperts.com/savingbig

Since we’re all experiencing tougher times in higher education, I’d like to extend a special offer valid for today only:

if you register and pay today (Jan 27) for Saving Big at www.higheredexperts.com/savingbig, you’ll get a free pass to watch on-demand one of our past webinars (you can choose among more than 30 great webinars).

If you have any problems or issues, just send me an email at karine@collegewebeditor.com

And, that’s just the program for the months of January, February and March 2009.

I’ve just wrapped up the upcoming webinar series for the first quarter of 2009, and I hope you’ll like the result.

With the tougher budget times we’re all facing in higher education, I’ve decided to focus the next webinar series I design for Higher Ed Experts on topics that will help you do more with less: social media, saving big, going paperless with your publications and implementing effective analytics programs for your Web and email initiatives.

As usual, places are limited, so it’s always wise to register ahead of time if you want to secure a spot for your team. You can register by visiting each of the dedicated web addresses of the series.

Social Networks MBA: How to develop and nurture a thriving community
January 13, 14 & 15, 2009
“Social Networks MBA” is a 3-webinar series that will help you decide if your institution should launch its own private niche social networking website. After this series, you will know why and how to nurture and develop a thriving online community around your own social networking website.

• Besides and Beyond Facebook: Do’s and Don’t's for your niche social network by Mark Greenfield (University at Buffalo)
• ROI-Oriented Social Network in a Box: Why and how to buy an integrated social network by Adam Stahr (UNL)
• Add-Member Social Network Mix : Why and how to host your free online community on Ning by Mike Caulfiled (MIT OpenCourseWare)

Register by December 19 January 9, 2009 at www.higheredexperts.com/socialnetworksmba

Saving Big: Winning strategies to get better results even with a crunched budget
February 4 & 5, 2009
“Saving Big” is a 2-webinar series that will show you how embracing the right digital approach can help you dramatically cut costs while still meeting the needs of your target audiences. It will show you why and how social media can become a very budget-friendly asset in the battle to attract, engage and win over the brightest, but also why and how to save on any publication budgets without alienating readers and compromising editorial quality.

• Recruiting on a budget 101: Master plan to win the social media jackpot with prospective students by Rachel Reuben (SUNY at New Paltz)
• Taming the print beast: How to stretch the publication dollars of your institution by Joe Hice (UF)

Register at by January 26, 2009 www.higheredexperts.com/savingbig

Stop the Presses: Why and how to go digital with your magazine or newsletter
March 3, 4 & 5, 2009 July 7, 8 & 9, 2009
“Stop the Presses” is a 3-webinar series that will show you why more and more higher ed institutions have gone digital with their news-oriented publications. It will also help you get ready for an eventual switch from print to electronic or to better integrate both media at your institution by sharing winning strategies, lessons learned and practical advice from editors of higher ed digital magazines.

• Going Paperless: How to prepare and survive the transition from print to digital by John Lofy (Michigan University)
• Paper and Pixels 101 by Bonny Griffith (Ithaca College)
• The Editor’s Guide to the Digital Galaxy: How to edit a paperless and multimedia magazine by Karl Bates (Duke University)

Register by Feburary 23, 2009 at www.higheredexperts.com/stopthepresses

Analytics 360: How to track and measure (and show to your boss) the ROI of your online initiatives
March 24, 25 & 26, 2009
“Analytics 360″ is a 3-webinar series that will help you jump start, fine tune and optimize an effective web and email analytics program for your institution or your department. It will show you the best way to track and measure important data with the help of the tool of the trade, Google Analytics, calculate return on investment and use your analytics program to improve your web and email initiatives.

• Web Analytics 101: How to plan, start and implement a comprehensive analytics program by Joshua Ellis and Shelby Thayer (Penn State University)
• Advanced Web Analytics: How to track data, measure ROI and improve your web initiatives by Joshua Ellis and Shelby Thayer (Penn State University)
• Advanced Email Analytics: How to track data, measure ROI and improve your email initiatives by Karlyn Morissette (Dartmouth College)

Register by March 16, 2009 at www.higheredexperts.com/analytics360

Questions? Email me at karine@collegewebeditor.com

Do you Ning?

If you’re not familiar with Ning, here’s what I wrote about it in University Business a couple of months ago:

Launched in October 2004, Ning is a social networking platform aimed at giving anyone the opportunity to create social networks for anything. Offered as a free web service-with some premium options for minimal monthly costs-Ning now powers thousands of niche social networking websites. With extended privacy settings and flexible state-of-the-art social networking features, this platform has gained some traction in higher education as a viable alternative to solutions offered by traditional vendors.

Among the institutions using the Ning platform are Keene State College (N.H.) for its private social networking website targeted to alums; the University of Richmond for a university-specific network open to students, faculty, staff, and alumni; the University of Wales, Newport (U.K.), for an online community targeted to new and prospective students; and the University of Maryland School of Social Work for My Social netWork, a website dedicated to the school’s new and current students.

Ning is definitely something you want to check out if you’re planning to launch an online community or social networking website for prospective/current students, alums or your campus community at large – especially in those tough budget times since this platform is very powerful, but doesn’t cost a dime (or a very minimal fee if you want your site to be ad-free).

Mark Greenfield from the University at Buffalo has become a sort of Ning evangelist in higher ed. Beyond his work on the uwebd social networking website – powered by Ning – Mark has also created several Ning websites for his institution and several associations.
Mike Caulfield launched the alum community of Keene State College powered by Ning last April. Mike has also been a very active political online community organizer.

Both Mark and Mike will be joined by Adam Stahr from UNL on January 13-15, 2009 to present the 3 webinars of “Social Networks MBA,” a series that you shouldn’t miss if you are in charge of an online community/social networking website for your institution.

Already sold on the idea?
You can get more information and register for Social Networks MBA at www.higheredexperts.com/socialnetworksmba.

If you want to learn more about the different sessions, just keep reading:

“Social Networks MBA” is a 3-webinar series that will help you decide if your institution should launch its own private niche social networking website. After this series, you will know why and how to nurture and develop a thriving online community around your own social networking website.

January 13, 2009 1PM-2PM ET – Rain date: January 20, 2009 1PM-2PM ET 1PM-2PM ET
Besides and Beyond Facebook: Do’s and Don’t's for your niche social network
Mark Greenfield, director of Web Services at UB, will help you figure out if a niche social network is what your institution needs to communicate with all or some of its constituents. Mark will share best practices and lessons learned in launching and maintaining a few niche social networks including a private site targeted to current students and a public site for higher ed web professionals.

January 14, 2009 1PM-2PM ET – Rain date: January 21, 2009 1PM-2PM ET
ROI-Oriented Social Network in a Box: Why and how to buy an integrated social network
Adam Stahr, Assistant Director for Special Communication at UNL Admissions Office, will explain why and how his institution launched Club Red, a private social networking website targeted to admitted students. Adam will also help you understand what it takes to run a social network that delivers results and great return on investment.

January 15, 2009 1PM-2PM ET – Rain date: January 22, 2009 1PM-2PM ET
Add-Member Social Network Mix : Why and how to host your free online community on Ning
Mike Caulfield, director of Web communications at Keene State College, will explain why and how his institution launched “About Keene and After,“ a private social networking website targeted to alums, in almost no time and no cost by leveraging the Ning platform. Mike will also share good tips and practical advice to jump start and nurture a community.

Find out more about this 3-webinar series at www.higheredexperts.com/socialnetworksmba. And, if you have any questions, feel free to email karine@collegewebeditor.com