If you build the Username, They will come: Using Social Media to Ignite Campus-Wide Engagement as a Dean of Students.

What do you do when you’ve been named Dean of Students at a University of over 13,000 students with an active alumni base and your supervisor says, ‘Everyone should know the Dean of Students – go make it happen!’? 

Traditionally, one might start with feet to the pavement. Or go office to office. Email invites for coffee or lunch? When these options fell far short of the reach I envisioned, I realize--d the move was to invest my time and focus on social media.

It was August of 2018, I was appointed Interi---m Dean of Students. My number one goal was to create a brand for both the position and myself, consistent with the aforementioned specific directive from my leader, Dr. Eric Summers. You see, the “Dean of Students” title had been absent from the campus of Southeastern Louisiana University for quite some time with the prior reference having been “Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs.” How I transitioned would determine whether or not our students and stakeholders--both on and off-campus--embraced the importance of this re-emerging role.

With that context, let’s talk about “building the username.” While participating in one of Dr. Josie Ahlquist’s panel discussions, I lightheartedly said, “If you build the username, they will come,” and as the idea echoed in my mind, a strategic blueprint became clear.

Social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter allow individuals to create unique usernames. A username can also be referred to as a “handle.” For example, my campus knows me as Dr. Gabe or Dr. Willis. It was an easy play to create a social media handle/username that those around me were familiar with already. With just a few keystrokes, @drgabewillis was born on both Twitter and Instagram. 

Before continuing, I want to issue a disclaimer. We can’t fool ourselves into thinking all we must do is create the username and voila – students, alumni, and members of your campus community will flock. There’s more; much more. Once your username is created, you’ve got to build your brand. To build your brand, you’ve got to create a strategy. Using Twitter as a framework, let’s continue….

Build your Personal Brand

In a webinar entitled “Building Your Online Presence through Personal Branding,” Certified Career Coach Brett Ellis said:

It's not only what you know, but who knows you. Specifically, who knows you for the work that you're doing. ~ Bret Ellis

As I reflect on the genesis of my personal branding journey, his observation both inspired and captured my approach. I wanted my campus community to view me as a visible, responsive, and authentic resource. Not only on the physical campus but also in the digital space we universally share on platforms such as Twitter.

It’s important to note that my Twitter journey began well before I assumed the role of Dean of Students. Thinking back, I don’t even think you can call it a journey. Uddin, Imran, & Sijad[1] (2014) would have classified my early Twitter presence as a “Personal User.” According to Uddin et al., a personal user has a casual approach. Their twitter use is typically for fun, learning, or simply to acquire news. That defined my use perfectly. As I merged into my new role and prioritized the importance of personal branding in digital space, I evolved into what these scholars would call professional and business users.

“A professional user is characterized by an individual who shares useful information about specific topics and includes healthy discussion related to their interest. A professional user is also highly interactive; they follow many and are followed by many. A business user (different from personal/professional) follows a marketing and business agenda on Twitter/Social Media.” [1] 

Based on my twitter analytics, which tracks a number of details such as Tweets, Tweet Impressions, Profile Visit, Top Tweets, etc; it’s safe to say that I’ve crossed into the “professional user” realm. Below is a sample of the analytics.

My branding strategy and approach to Twitter has remained simple and consistent over the last two years. I live by three simple rules:

(1) Be Authentic.(2) Maintain a Consistent presence.(3) Set Boundaries you can sustain.

Be authentically you!

You are who you are and only you can be you. I strive to be the same person in the digital space that I am in physical space. I’m an extrovert by nature. Scratch that, I am an EXTREME extrovert. My twitter feed reflects that. There are times when I’ve tweeted a video of myself dancing, telling jokes, or even having fun/light-hearted dialogue with students or friends. My feed is also filled with informative videos to my students, motivational messages, and silly tweets about my “broke best friends” (my kids). Here is the catch, this is me when I am on campus or in the community. Your personal brand and your ability to connect with others in the digital space requires that YOU be YOU 100% of the time, no matter the space. Want to know something? Our students can spot fake a mile away.

Maintain a consistent presence

Once you create your username/handle, a key component of building your brand and engaging your campus is maintaining a consistent presence. As mentioned, my strategy was to utilize Twitter to build the Dean of Students brand. My aim was to be visible and responsive within this space. To reach this goal, I had no choice but to commit to logging on, creating relevant content, and responding to students. It is important to note that you set the parameters of your presence based on the type of engagement you wish to see. A perfect benchmark for me would be to have every Southeastern student and member of the campus community who uses Twitter to be one of my followers. Talk about maximum engagement! Let your desired reach determine how present you are.

Set boundaries you can sustain

Can I be honest with you? Setting boundaries is a struggle for me. By struggle, I mean responding to a direct message at midnight or addressing a controversial tweet while vacationing on the beach. That said, please follow the lead of one of my good friends and colleagues, Mr. Gourjoine Wade. Serving as the Assistant Vice President and Dean of Students at Grambling State University, he does a fantastic job of setting boundaries. I’ve seen multiple tweets from him that state,

“If it isn’t an emergency or you’re not bleeding, I’ll respond to you on Monday.”

It’s his own way of saying, this is a boundary I am setting and sustaining.” Please give Dean Wade a follow on twitter (@DeaGWadeSpeaks). My plan is to work on this over the summer months so that my routine is established as we head into the Fall semester.

In closing, Covid-19 has delivered us a “new normal” where most of our interactions are happening in the digital space. There is no better time for faculty, staff, and administrators to hop onto platforms such as Twitter and Instagram to connect with their campus communities. Remember, they already know and miss you and they will welcome you expanding your comfort zone to reconnect.  On the surface, it can seem intimidating to engage on a platform that you’ve never utilized or that you’ve used sparingly. This is not something you have to navigate alone. Your campus may have a social media manager who is willing to get you started, or I’ve personally extended myself to assist other administrators in building their brands via social media. Your mentors and friends have diverse skillsets--you know whose guidance to engage!

“Engaging in these digital spaces can no longer be viewed as optional. In a fast-paced and instant gratification filled society, there’s a growing professional expectation to engage within the digital space.”

So, what are you waiting for? Go create the username, develop an authentic strategy, and watch them come!

References

Uddin, M. M., Imran, M., & Sajjad, H. (2014). Understanding types of users on Twitter. arXiv preprint arXiv:1406.1335.