With the growing popularity of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare, colleges and universities need to continue establishing a multifaceted online presence. Syracuse University thrives in this digital revolution, led by a student social media team.

The team of 12 students ranging from sophomores to seniors is the digital voice for the university. These students are currently responsible for the management of all university social media accounts and collaboration on projects for digital initiatives.

‘Our team has some of the most talented and creative students at Syracuse, all working to push the capabilities of social media while engaging ‘#OrangeNation,’ as I like to call it, the global community digitally connected to the university,’ said Jared Kraham, a junior political science and broadcast journalism major.

After relieving the temporary student social media team from the summer, Kate Brodock, executive director of digital and social media, said she purposely made the application for new members this semester exclusively available through the social media channels.

Brodock said she was able to select a group of students of which three-quarters already represented companies or organizations online.

The position, open to both work-study and non work-study students, is set up on a shift plus project that runs on three-hour shifts for 12 hours each day, Brodock said.

One of these digital projects is the team’s push for the better use of Foursquare. The student team has two members who are Foursquare representatives: Joshua John and Sarah Ostman. The team held a competition for the university’s official Foursquare T-shirt design, which will debut during Orange Central.

Generating content is the core responsibility of the student social media team.

‘We post both original content and retweet or share content from departments and organizations within the university, or try to cultivate conversation on topics we think will be interesting to followers,’ said John Burke, a senior information management and technology major.

The success of the student social media team has not come without a few hiccups along the way. SU violated NCAA guidelines by tweeting about basketball recruit DaJuan Coleman’s verbal commitment to the university before he signed a letter of intent to play for Syracuse.

‘We reached out to the athletic department to schedule a meeting to learn about NCAA regulations, and we’re looking forward to meeting with them as a team very soon,’ said Dan Klamm, assistant director of digital and social media.

Further social media training for the team is also in the works, Brodock said.

Klamm said he reviews content published by the team throughout the day. The team is responsible for self-regulation, which involves the students checking tweets and helping other teammates with information.

Anthony Rotolo, assistant professor of practice, said he believes having the student social media team focus on projects would be a more effective way for the university to handle social media community management. Rotolo, SU’s former social media strategist, is dissatisfied with the university’s response to recent controversies.

‘I’m not happy to see some of the high-profile mistakes that have been made explained away by saying, ‘Well, you know, our social media is run by a student team,” he said.

Rotolo said he believes it is a copout and not fair to the students.

Brodock said the team is expecting an influx of new student members for the spring semester.

‘I am looking long-term,’ she said. ‘There’s something to be said for teams and more heads are better than one.’

dclocket@syr.edu

Published on November 2, 2011 at 12:00 pm