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Intelligence
Surprises in the Data: Some Unanticipated Findings from the CASE Social Media Survey

Intelligence

Surprises in the Data: Some Unanticipated Findings from the CASE Social Media Survey

Sep 15, 2010By Michael Stoner

We’re not too concerned about people saying bad things about us in blog comments; we don’t think much about privacy; and we appear to be resting on our laurels. 

Those were some of the findings from the CASE/mStoner/Slover Linett social media survey that I found particularly surprising.

First, some background. This summer, mStoner, our research partner Slover Linett Strategies, and CASE released findings from the first survey of how social media is used in advancement, marketing, and external relations by schools, colleges, and universities. We sent a 39-question survey to a demographically representative sample of CASE member institutions in the US and abroad and got responses from a good cross-section of CASE members.

You can get the condensed version (and download the topline findings) here or wait for our white paper, which we’re feverishly writing now. Meanwhile, here are some findings that surprised me.

We’re over our fear of someone saying something bad about us in a comment to a blog post or a wall post.

At least, respondents reported that they don’t worry much about negative comments. And they apparently haven’t considered addressing them through comment policies or other measures that might help them clean up the nastiest language. This is surprising because every time I do a workshop or conference presentation about social media, there’s a discussion about how to overcome the reluctance of senior staff members who are concerned about participating in social media because they’re concerned about negative comments or feedback.

There’s apparently little concern about privacy.

In reading these findings, I found myself astonished. My reaction is similar to that of Andrew Gossen, senior director for social media strategy at Cornell and the co-chair of CASE’s social media task force, who remarked, “I think my biggest surprise from the survey was the lack of concern about privacy. This is especially jarring because most of the folks responding to this survey had been ringside spectators to the Facebook privacy kerfuffle and, more recently, the news about Google’s privacy struggle. These aren’t esoteric issues: they’re the best indicator that we should be worrying about this ourselves.”

Respondents are remarkably self-satisfied with their own initiatives.

This is perhaps the biggest surprise to me. I’ve had institutional communicators tell me about their social media strategy, which essentially consists of a Facebook page, or having their president tweet. May be interesting, but it’s not a strategy. Here’s what Wikipedia says: “Strategy, a word of military origin, refers to a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal.”

In other words, it’s really important to be experimenting with social media. But we must be looking beyond the tools themselves, constantly reminding ourselves that simply using Facebook or Twitter or LinkedIn is hardly an end in itself. They, like email, a post card, or a phone call, are tools that should be used (or not used) to achieve something.

In contrast, the social media deployed in Nazareth College’s “Flight of the Flyers” campaign were tactics that were used to further the goal of engaging alumni. Oregon State University deployed a slew of social media to enhance the university’s image in Portland, the state’s largest media market, in its Powered by Orange campaign. Then, staff members realized that PBO could help them to achieve larger goals of the enhancement of OSU’s image.

We all should be thinking about how to weave social media into ongoing programs, campaigns, and initiatives. That’s the best way to be successful in using social media. Having a Twitter feed or a Facebook just isn’t enough any more.


  • Michael Stoner Co-Founder and Co-Owner Was I born a skeptic or did I become one as I watched the hypestorm gather during the dotcom years, recede, and congeal once more as we come to terms with our online, social, mobile world? Whatever. I'm not much interested in cutting edge but what actually works for real people in the real world. Does that make me a bad person?