As students and faculty return to college campuses this fall, there is a new push to engage the educational community with social media tools. Yesterday Facebook announced its Universities on Facebook Page, featuring ads for discount products and details on how to involve your specific educational community through the use of Facebook Pages. While this attempt to get back to Facebook’s .edu roots falls well short of creating any type of comprehensive or custom solution for colleges and universities, but may suffice for dormitory connectivity, the announcement is certainly indicative of a growing need for educational institutions to establish a presence with social media.

So how are universities getting involved?

Research-inclined as this community is, growing statistics that social media marketing have not gone unnoticed. Surprisingly, educational institutions are not especially resistant to social media involvement. This fall finds social media buzz words are on the tips of many administrators’ tongues, and statistics and success stories are finding their way into the educational mainstream.

In fact, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research recently released one of the first statistically significant, longitudinal studies on the usage of social media by college admissions offices, collecting data on the adoption of social media by all of the four-year accredited institutions from 2007 to 2008. Their results surprisingly reveal that educational institutions (41%) are leading Fortune 500 companies in use of public blogs (13%). (Source)

In reality, colleges and universities have the perfect community model to bring to a virtual platform. Campuses represent multiple user groups, to include students, staff and the surrounding community. Beyond this, alumni, parents and prospective students with a personal interest in staying connected frequently lack the proper social tools to do so.

Common hurdles are the burdensome process of establishing social media policies and creating an open, but professional forum for discussion and social interaction, further complicated by many layers of administrative offices and departments who require involvement and agreement on all of the above. Once these hurdles are overcome however, the results can be significant. Through frequent use of Facebook, Twitter and custom social networks geared toward specific university communities, schools are more successfully and more regularly connecting with their target demographics.

As the authors of the study aptly surmised:

There is evidence of enthusiasm and eagerness to embrace these new communications tools but there is also evidence that these powerful tools are not being utilized to their potential. Schools using social media must learn the “rules of engagement” in the online world in order to maximize their effectiveness.

I think once the hierarchies of academia can learn how to exist within and then maximize the world of friends, fans and followers–the world that their “wired”  target demographic navigates so easily–they will really begin to tap the potential of their marketing and endowment goals.

Step one: Create a Twitter account.

Step two: Add “Social Media Consultant” into the Bio line.

Step three: Let the clients roll in.

Seriously though, that’s pretty much all it takes to call yourself as a Social Media Expert these days. Even though most people in our office would consider themselves experts in the world of social media, it’s almost taboo to don the title because of this overpopulation of supposed experts and gurus on the subject.

Silly as it may sound, I feel a bit like a veteran in this industry. I made my entrance “back in the day” when MySpace wasn’t even on the radar as a marketing tool, before every major household brand had an official profile and a fan page, before Facebook surpassed MySpace in growth, and way before Twitter was chronically over capacity. Part of my sales pitch was convincing companies why social media was relevant, and how creating a professional presence on sites like MySpace and Facebook would be a progressive and important step for their business. Nowadays, it’s more a matter what can we do, not why should we do it. Social networks are no longer considered just for kids, or just a passing phase. They are now widely known as vehicles for viral, targeted and cost-effective marketing campaigns.

This social media revolution has given way to a new brand of PR professional, who is more proficient with getting fans for your a Facebook page than drafting a pitch for traditional news outlets. So how do you identify the true experts when looking for a service provider?

1. Background

Before engaging with a so-called social media expert, you’ll want to make sure that you’re putting your marketing dollars in the hands of someone who hasn’t just recently jumped onto the social media bandwagon. What is the history of the company, and what have they done for their clients successfully using social media? A successful track record of clients, testimonials and cleverly marketed microsites is critical.

2. Innovation

How innovative are their ideas? Anyone–even my dear grandmother–can set up a Twitter account. Will your social media expert also customize it, bring sufficient fans, followers or friends to it, and brainstorm with you to create viral promotions that will drive traffic to those social media accounts as well as your primary website? Make sure that your expert can bring you ideas that are out-of-the-box and informed by a history of other successful campaigns.

3. Diversity

It’s important to see social media marketing beyond the social network giants. It’s true that Twitter, Facebook and MySpace are the most prominent sites, and it’s important to have a presence on them. But part of a solid marketing plan includes establishing your brand on niche community sites, utilizing blogs, and also supplementing new media marketing with traditional PR services as needed. Having a well-rounded approach will allow you to explore multiple avenues and measure the results for future campaigns.

On the plus side, contracting with a company who legitimately specializes in social media marketing is a great benefit to succeeding on those platforms, versus companies that offer a range of marketing services but don’t put emphasis on that particular method of marketing. Being especially tuned in to social media trends and applying them to your online presence is key to putting your business ahead of the competition and reaching your target market quickly and efficiently.

As Pearse Street evolved into a social network development company, I founded Social Focus Marketing, Inc. to focus exclusively on social media marketing and design. You can learn more about their service offerings at www.socialfocus.com.