When it comes to social media & content control, I'm a bit of a hippie. I can afford to be because I entered the field as an academic rather than a marketer. After almost two years of working side by side schools as they approach the social media question, it has become overwhelmingly clear that content control is a big concern - and often a very valid one.

Last year at eduweb 2007, presenter after presenter reported that the dreaded flood of negative comments had yet to happen. The fact that the vast majority of schools who have gone 2.0 avoided comment disasters is not proof, but it does still help to quiet a few fears. Regardless, some institutions will be deadset on moderating. And when it comes down to it, at least they are still thinking somewhat social - even if they aren't ready to go without content control. It's a baby-sized first step, but it's in the right direction.

(And actually, even at my own blog I preview all comments before they are posted, to ensure that nothing violating our terms of use is posted - such as highly offensive content, and the inevitable flood of spam-bots.)

The tips I give when it comes to content control are as follows:

• If you are going to delete material, make sure your users know that ahead of time by publishing your policies (or they will feel betrayed, and will get even more vocal).
• Contact each person directly if you delete their content, to explain and offer a chance for them to explain their in return¹. This gives the user a way to negotiate, making them less likely to go galloping angrily to their own blog or list-serves.
• If your institution is highly concerned, it is better to moderate comments before they go live rather than deleting them after the fact. AND make sure this is communicated near the comment submission form - rather than buried in a hyperlinked TOU policy.

I can see why any school or company would be nervous about opening the flood gates to student and consumer comments, but even if the dreaded attack does come it may actually serve to engage your supporters and bring out community spirit.

My favourite analogy for this is Virginia Tech '07. Obviously a negative comment from a disgruntled student or employee is not the same as a campus crisis but there are a few parallels we can draw. After the shootings at Virginia Tech last spring, there was buzz in the media that enrolment numbers would most likely go down. VT's numbers actually went up - thanks to the wave of "hokie spirit" that carried the community through and showed applicants a community that they wanted to be apart of.

The key in this situation was that people love Virginia Tech. Its supporters are well known for their feverish loyalty. If you are thinking of going social, it is definitely important to take a step back and ask yourself if you are liked.

For example, Target's social media efforts went over well but Wal-Mart's met with backlash (Groundswell). If your school or program has more critics than supporters than you will definitely want to approach social media more cautiously and most likely with a much different strategy than a brand with dedicated followers.

Almost every social media presentation references Wal-Mart and the backlash to its Wal-Marting Across America campaign. Wal-Mart has its enemies and it may have benefitted from a more gradual approach to social media, to test the waters so to speak. Their biggest mistake was thinking like traditional marketers. They saw the splash, they saw the content, they saw the message - they didn't see the new rules, and they didn't see the consumers as an active voice (or in this case, reactive). Wal-Marting Across America wasn't legit. If the company had been upfront that they were financially supporting the trip, the backlash would have been lessened, if not squashed altogether. But because the campaign portrayed itself as something it wasn't, the community fought back.

On the other hand, Dell was able to turn around its "flaming laptop" disaster by taking a very honest approach on their corporate blog. They started with the appropriate corporate messaging and then when the blogosphere revolted, they threw caution to the wind and honestly admitted that yes a dell laptop had caught fire and no they didn't know why - other than it was linked to the battery (a battery type that was used by many brands other than just Dell). Was the PR department happy about this admission? Most likely not. But the honesty won over a blogosphere that had previously been very much opposed to the brand even before the laptop ball of flames.

Case Study: The Money Lounge

The Money Lounge is a Facebook community of more than 11,000 users. The community is run by TD Canada Trust, one of Canada's largest national banks. As one of the first brands to really take to Facebook, TD had to beat its own path in regards to how they should handle an environment where users have so much to say.

Wrong information was quickly corrected by users (the Wikipedia phenom), although TD kept an active watch to make sure all was well. TD was also an active "host' and jumped in to post official corrections when required. In regards to negative content, they found that any random attack was disregarded by other users for simply being unfounded and unprovoked. It simply wasn't given any credit.

I will point out that TD had part of the decision made for them. Facebook does not offer the ability to pre-approve user content before it goes live. Also, with a Facebook Page, I haven't yet found a setting that will notify you of new user content such as is done for the individual profiles - which can require a staff with time to keep an eye on the page. If you have a strong IT team, you can definitely work around both of these. And as always, there are always third parties with solutions - such as my own pet, SkoolPool.

CEO Blog - Time Leadership

To look at the other side of the coin, let's take a look at an executive blog that keeps an eye on content but still manages to be honest and accessible. Type CEO blog into google and Jim Estill's blog "CEO Blog - Time Management" is your first hit - and has been for years. Rather than letting everything go live and then moderating if necessary (like TD), Jim has all comments queued for approval before they go live and posts them only if there is value in it. Value meaning for other readers, such as dialogue/questions and thoughtful commentary. Personal notes to Jim and irrelevant content, among other things are read by Jim but not published on the blog. The social media purist sees this as an interruption of the conversation, a violation of the user's right to speak! The marketer takes a step back and sees that Jim's blog is one of the most successful executive blogs out there and definitely is setting a strong standard.

While it is not the perfect Web 2.0 ideal, pre-screening blog comments and other user-generated content is definitely the standard in corporate settings. And that's OK. The fact is that you may not get sign-off on your proposal for a presidential blog unless you include screening. If moderation is a requirement by your higher levels, it does not have to be the end of the world. As shown by Jim Estill, it can be a part of a very successful and active blog. Be transparent, let people know up front how your comments work (right beside the submit form, not hidden in a linked TOU policy), and you should be fine.

If you choose to leave negative comments on your site (which I do recommend almost 75% of the time), it is definitely a good idea to have a rep from the school that acts as a voice and offers a gentle counter-opinion and invites more questions etc. Be friendly, be open, be factual.

I'd love to hear back on how your school handles UGC and comments - and I'm sure others reading would be interested too. It's one of the first questions I get from every school, so it's definitely pushing some buttons in higher ed!

Cheers,

M.

Melissa Cheater

eStrategy Consultant, Education Marketing

Academica Group Inc.
Full Cycle Marketing for Higher Education™

Check out our all-new website - www.academicagroup.com

131 Wharncliffe Road South, Second Floor, London, Ontario, Canada N6J 2K4
tel 519.433.8302 ext. 226 1.866.922.8636
fax 519.433.8062 melissa@academicagroup.com

email | web | blog | facebook | twitter | del.icio.us | skype: MelissaAcademica

Check out our new application for the Facebook platform, "SkoolPool," that helps potential students track their consideration set and share it with their friends. www.skoolpool.com

Subscribe to Canada's only FREE daily higher education newsbrief at
http://www.academicagroup.com/resources/Top10subscribe

Academica provides market intelligence and marketing expertise to institutions of higher education, particularly in the areas of student recruitment and alumni relationship management. Our annual University and College Applicant Surveys, the UAS and CAS, are the largest and most comprehensive in North America.

¹ This best practice comes from a presentation by TD Canada, and I swear by it in my own work.