Back in December, the blog TrendsSpotting collected predictions for social media in 2009. Some of the experts predicted a shift from emphasis in quantity of friends, towards an emphasis on quality. In other words, 2009 would be the year of “defriending.” Almost on cue, Burger King launched a campaign called the Whopper Sacrifice. By downloading a Burger King application onto your Facebook account and defriending 10 people, you’d be able to print out a coupon for a free Whopper.
The Whopper Sacrifice reflects an ongoing debate in the social media world: we may have a long list of friends/followers, but what do these people actually represent? This question brings me to my final myth:
#6 My success in social media is determined by the number of friends/followers I attract
Just like in the admissions process, quality always trumps quantity. Worrying about quality over quantity applies to both followers and content. Rather than trying to cast as wide of a net as possible and bringing in anyone and everyone to your website/blog/forum it’s important to send out a targeted message to students who are likely to engage with your institution. Throwing out lots of useless information or talking ‘at’ your constituents will also have you returning with an empty net. Your goal is not just to collect lists of names, but to start relationships and dialog with your constituents.
In this article about how Target approached their first foray into social media, you can see how much careful selection of content can attract the right quality of followers. Target has a set focus on college students who frequently purchase their wares for college dorm rooms. As such, they packed their fan site with content that would appeal to college freshmen. Instead of just having a page, similar to their website, which is interactive but does not allow for collaboration (see Wal-Mart) Target carefully selected content that would keep young people engaged in the content.
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