Category — 1 of Many

I love spending time with students on campus and as the end of the semester draws near, I get a lot of questions about the role of pubic relations at NC State and in our society.  It’s an especially busy December for us, but I wanted to post a quick response to a request earlier this week.  Sometimes short and sweet is the best way to go, eh.  Let me know what you think.  And please understand, this is not intended to be a full discourse on public relations.  Just a “thought of the moment” kind of response to a student’s questions.

STUDENT:  I have a homework assignment for which I have to ask PR professionals some questions about their experiences with social media.  If you could answer them for me in an email, I would really appreciate it!  The questions are below:

1)      How has social media changed the way public relations is carried out professionally?
Social media is just a tool, like the typewriter, camera or video recorder.  It provides yet another way to “distribute” messages and influence audiences.  Here at NC State we have incorporated social media in a variety of ways to help tell our story.

2)      What social media applications do you use most often?
Twitter is the most successful tool we have.  We use Twitter to inform the media and other interested parties about research and discovery (aka ‘news’) at NC State.  We also post event updates, general information, etc., on Twitter.  We also use Facebook for much the same purpose.  Facebook gives us more flexibility however.  We can post longer story lead ins, photos, and videos.  We also have a YouTube Channel for NC State, though it does not receive as much attention from us as the other two.  And then there’s the Web.  Not necessarily a social media tool, but without it, we’d be nowhere.  We post everything to the Web using a variety of university Web pages and sites.
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Jeffrey Papa and Tom Hayes, from the marketing firm  SimpsonScarborough, point to the 20-60-20 rule about organizations as a major stumbling block to change in higher ed marketing: While 20 percent of employees will be enthusiastic about organizational change and 60 percent could be persuaded to go along, the remaining 20 percent will resist no matter what—and those could be longtime, tenured faculty members. “The people who don’t make the transition moving forward are the presidents who spend too much time and energy trying to persuade those 20 percent who are never going to change,” Mr. Hayes says. “At some point you have to give the get-on-the-train speech: We love you people, but we’re going.”

To see the complete article, visit The Chronicle of Higher Education at  http://bit.ly/dAjCKq

1 of Many

Passion Rules!

Not only did Wadsworth – a Political Science / Women’s & Gender Studies double major in NC State’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences – run for public office, she was the top vote-getter in a three-way race for the Wake County Soil and Water Conservation Board. The NC State junior was selected on 41.19% percent (112,231) of all ballots cast.

Wadsworth is the youngest elected official currently serving in North Carolina and – as far as she’s been able to determine – she’s the youngest woman ever elected in North Carolina. Days after the election, Wadsworth was still in a state of shock, but excited to begin work in her new position. [Read more →]

Happy Veterans Day to all the men & women who have served & continue to serve & protect our nation every day. Thank you for your service!

1 of Many

Passion Rules!

The power and proliferation of social media is on display today at NCSU.EDU, thanks to a red-hot interview with superstar actor/comedian (and NC State alum) Zach Galifianakis. In less than 11 hours since the story went live, it’s garnered more than 8,800 pageviews – capturing readers’ attention and keeping them engaged within the site as they “dig deeper” into NC State’s Department of Communication, learn more about Galifianakis’ favorite professor, and more.

(To put the popularity of this story into perspective, NCSU.EDU’s second-most-viewed November feature has garnered approximately 2,300 pageviews.)

The Web Communications staff did post a link to the university’s official Facebook page to kick things off, but after that, the Twitterverse and Facebook users took care of the rest – seemingly spending their entire Monday reposting, sharing and tweeting about Galifianakis and his chat with NCSU.EDU web editor Dave Pond.

How are you allowing social media to further push your message?

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Passion Rules!

http://ncsu.edu/sma/

By Bradley Wilson

N.C. State’s yearbook, literary magazine, daily newspaper and radio
station were all honored at the national convention of the College Media
Advisers, Associated Collegiate Press and College Broadcasters in
Louisville, Oct. 31. The yearbook and literary magazine came home with
top national honors. The literary magazine was also named the Best of
Show in its category. In addition, students at WKNC 88.1 fm received
recognition as Best Radio DJ, Best Regularly Scheduled Program and Best
Student Media Website.

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Gotta love what you can do on the computer in just a few minutes.

Last week NC State introduced a new flavor of Howling Cow ice cream called Wolf Tracks.  It’s got chocolate, it’s got fudge, it’s got vanilla and it’s got peanut butter.  Soon thereafter the attached Garage Band version of the event hit the airwaves.  Or more accurately, the net waves.  Take a listen.  It will make you smile.  http://tinyurl.com/2cgvxx8

Now if you really want to smile, grab a bowl of that Wolf Tracks ice cream.  Halloween candy all over again . . .  with peanut butter!

1 of Many

Passion Rules!

Been trading messages with Tracy Playle in the UK this week about social media.  Tracy’s company, Pickle Jar Communications, provides consulting services to higher education and others and I love her open and honest style.  Anyway, I saw one of her blog posts on the new CASE social media blog and thought those of you who haven’t seen Tracy’s comments about Social Media there, would like to read them here.  Emphasis added by yours truly.

From Tracy Playle, Oct. 12, 2010:

I’ve just this minute spotted a tweet from Danny Yoder of Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) in the U.S., urgently asking the Twitter community what a university president ought to know about social media. This is a question that I get asked a lot and to some extent advise on a fair bit in the strategy and training work I do on social media for universities. So, in the hope that I help Danny in time for his 2 hour deadline, and perhaps one or two others out there that are grappling with this question, here’s my top five, very much off the top of my head, thoughts on this…

1. Vice chancellors and presidents need to know that social media is here to stay and not just a passing ‘fad.’ It’s very easy for them to get caught up in the notion that only small percentages of people might have a twitter or a social bookmarking account, and that Facebook may well die a death in two years time as something like Friends Reunited has (perhaps even MySpace). It is not, however, the sites themselves that are important in this trend, but the overall changes that this makes to the way in which we communicate and collectively work together to prompt change (see Clay Shirkey’s work in this area). Social media is here to stay. Social media revolution video is always a good starting point for making this point and drumming home the sheer scale of this (even if VCs/presidents don’t use social media themselves).
2. Social media does not just provide another channel through which we, as universities, can ‘push’ out our usual corporate messages. Many marketing and PR people, and their managers/leaders, have jumped on the social media bandwagon as a means of ‘free advertising.’ Those who do this will only serve to upset individuals. Social media is about engagement and conversation, not about push messaging. See my blog post about the need to be useful, interesting and relevant to your audiences. [Read more →]

Welcome, distinguished guests, students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends.  We are glad you are here.

Susan and I have been here for about six months.  The Wolfpack family has met us with open arms.  It’s been a great experience and we are humbled and inspired by it.  Thank you.

As you might imagine, I have met a lot of people so far.  I have already learned a lot about you and have learned a lot from you.  The first thing I learned is that everywhere I went, people had good things to say about NC State.  In Edenton and Kinston, Greensboro and Winston-Salem, in Charlotte, Asheville, and Wilmington.  I’ve heard from Governor Perdue and Mayor Meeker.  People across the state speak in glowing terms about the university and its impact.  So if there is any doubt in your mind that this university is seen as anything but relevant …if there’s any doubt about the strong reputation of NC State in North Carolina, let me reassure you.

At the Board of Governor’s meeting earlier this month, our own Michael Walden was honored as a recipient of the Award for Excellence in Public Service.   In introducing Michael, Charles Hayes, president and CEO of the RTP Regional Partnership, complimented him not just as an expert on the North Carolina economy, but as someone with an ability to communicate his knowledge and ideas to the general public and to students in the classroom.  Charles added, “That’s NC State.” [Read more →]