facebook marketing — Jon-Stephen Stansel Jon-Stephen Stansel

What Social Media Managers Need to Know About Parler

You’ve probably seen Facebook posts from your right-wing relatives stating that they are leaving Facebook and going to Parler, the social network that claims to be unbiased and a promoter of free speech but is, in fact, a right-wing echo chamber that grants safe haven to white-supremacists, Qanon conspiracy theorists, and anti-vaccers. It’s been touted as the next big thing by Sean Hannity, Ted Cruz, and of course Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty, all of whom are some of the apps top users. It’s been referred to by its critics as “Meinspace,” “Fashbook,” and “Twittler.” I describe it as 4chan for boomers--a place rampant with hate speech, conspiracy theories, and alt-right propaganda.

It would be great to be able to just ignore it, but the app shot to the top of Apple’s App Store in the wake of the 2020 election and while social media managers should steer clear of this toxic network, they do need to be familiar with what it is and the basics of the app.

Here’s what you need to know.

Having a Conversation About Social Media Accessibility

The important task of making your social media accounts accessible for those with disabilities requires mindfulness, thought, and consideration. Sometimes in the rush to post, it can be very easy to forget to add alt-text image description or not caption a video. After all, if you are a team of one like most social media managers in higher education, who is going to hold you accountable? Chances are your supervisors and university administration don’t use screen readers and are unaware of these accessibility issues that you are working to resolve. This is why it is vital to have a conversation with your supervisors and campus stakeholders about the importance of accessibility in social media and the measures you are taking to improve it.

Defending Mr. Peanut

Recently Vice News published an article entitled “I Was Banned From Twitter for Threatening to Kill Mr. Peanut. In it, the author, fledgling Chicago comedian Luke Taylor, details his experience in “systematically harassing the peanut man for about four months.” This harassment included death threats such as “I want a bullet in your brain” and “I will fly anywhere in the world to kill you. Just name the place.” Taylor claims that this was all in the name of online performance art and that he only attacked the “character of Mr. Peanut, never the corporation or the human beings behind the account.”

Connect and Create with Andrew Cassel

When he’s not working behind the scenes for local theatre productions, sampling craft beers, or making GIFs, Andrew Cassel is the social media content strategist behind the University of Alaska Fairbanks’s intensely engaging social media accounts. He approaches his work with an unparalleled enthusiasm that is absolutely contagious. I recently asked him about how he manages his day-to-day work in the world of higher ed social media.

The GIF That Keeps on Giving

GIFs are the lingua franca of Twitter. They can express complex ideas and emotions that can’t fit into a Tweet, create humor and levity, or add a personal touch to a reply. In higher education, we use them constantly to congratulate students when they’ve just been accepted, share the excitement of the school year starting, or wish students luck on final exams.

However, GIFs are not without their problems.

"Good Enough for Social Media" Isn't Good Enough

I’ve heard it said a thousand times. “It’s not perfect, but it’s good enough for social.”

This is often said when reviewing sub-par content that has no other place to go. Or maybe it’s said after taking an out of focus photo on the fly at an event before Tweeting it out to thousands of uninterested followers. The sad fact is a lot of people think that there is a low bar for content posted to social media. However, this is far from the truth as social media has matured and the quality of content from brands and media outlets has increased rapidly and dramatically. Blurry cell phone photos and shaky videos no longer cut it.

Social media is the voice of your brand, so why would you settle for anything less than excellent?

Social Media Shouldn't Be An Entry-Level Position

If I told you that I had a job where I spoke to thousands of people everyday, handled crisis management, customer service, paid advertising, content strategy, and long list of other duties, you’d assume I was pretty high up in my organization, right? You’d ask my title expecting something high-level and when I said social media manager your perception would change. “Oh, I bet you have a lot of fun! Are you just starting with the company?” This is a sad fact of life for many social media managers and something the profession needs to overcome. Social media has matured and with it, so has the position of social media manager. However, it is often seen by most organizations as an entry-level position at best.

Five Tips for New Social Media Managers

Only other social media managers understand the life of a social media manager. You need a like-minded group that you can talk to, ask questions to, and provide support when the trolls get to be overwhelming. Find other social media managers in your field on Twitter and interact with them. Participate in a Twitter chat, ask questions of those you think are doing well, and give back to the community when you can. I also recommend joining a professional organization and attending conferences when you can. A strong community of support is vital.

Social Media "Guru" is Not a Compliment

Listen, I know you mean it as a compliment and are trying to be nice when you call me a social media “guru.” And while I appreciate the gesture, the terms “guru,” “rock star,” “ninja,” etc are hurtful to my profession; a profession I work very hard at and in which I sometimes struggle to be taken seriously.

Can You Post This to the Facebook Page?

“Could you please post this flyer to the Facebook page? Thanks.” It’s a request we get almost every day and almost always the answer if “no.” As a social media manager saying no to request like these can be one of the most difficult parts of our job. We want to be helpful and accommodating, but it is also our job to protect the organizations social media accounts and insure that the content posted is of the best quality, reflects well on our organization, and aligns with our social media strategy. Still, it is never easy to say no and it can sometimes result in conflict. From the standpoint of the person making the request, their post is important, needs to be shared, and after all, what’s so hard about posting something to the company’s social media accounts? It’s just Facebook, right?

What Social Media Superhero are You?

Being a social media manager requires a wide array of skills. You must have focus, understand and absorb a constant stream of information, predict future trends, be on call 24/7, handle crisis situations...basically you have to have super powers. As we gear up for the onslaught of superhero movies the summer blockbuster season would bring, I thought it would be fun to ask, "What social media superhero are you?" Here are a few options:

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