Robin has been working in marketing for the last few years and made the move from hotel marketing to the university system. She took a job with Johns Hopkins last year and has recently been given the mission of bringing Social Media technologies and approaches to its site, http://www.mcc.jhu.edu/ . I recently had the opportunity to chat with her about experiences of jumping into the social media pool and what it is like bringing cutting edge concepts to an institution such as Johns Hopkins. Here is the transcript of that interview:

Steve: You recently made the switch from hotel marketing to joining Johns Hopkins University as the Communications Manager for the Montgomery County campus. What has that been like?
Robin: It’s been a great move for me. When I worked in hotel marketing and communications, I was working for a publicly traded company. There is a lot that you can’t do in that setting – or that you have to be extremely careful about – because of SEC regulations. You can try to be creative to run a successful campaign that does not violate rules, but you often end up feeling like your best efforts are (yes, understandably) thwarted. It can be extremely draining.
In contrast, I’m now in an environment where I have more freedom to try out these different communications tools and strategies.

I’m also now in an environment that is all about learning – which for me translates into making sure I’m constantly learning about and experimenting with new communications tools and techniques. It’s a very empowering feeling.

Steve: What have been the differences between marketing at a University and marketing for a large hotel chain?
Robin: Well, at the most basic level, budget. Johns Hopkins University is a non-profit, and while there may be a perception of JHU as having a lot of money because we receive a lot of federal R&D dollars, but the truth is that the vast majority of that money is tied to specific research projects. It’s not part of some larger pot of money that gets distributed around the university. So I’m having to learn to do a lot more with fewer dollars. But that’s why social media is so great for me. And it’s why I plan to use more social media tools in my outreach moving forward. Most social media tools require a lot of time and manpower, but not a lot of cash.

There are also big differences in terms of perceptions. People react differently when you’re contacting them on behalf of a university versus a for-profit company or product. More doors open up when your buzzwords are education, science, medicine, and research.

Steve: How has this particular technology evolved in the last few years that fits in with the mission of a university?
Robin: Universities are, for the most part, advocates of innovation, freedom of thought, freedom of expression … all those lofty ideals. And I think new media tools embrace those same principles.
Universities also are looking to recruit the best and the brightest minds from around the globe, both in terms of students and faculty and staff. If used correctly, new media tools and resources such as LinkedIn, Facebook, blogs, etc., can help you to more easily identify and communicate with some of those “best and brightest” who may live halfway across the globe.

I also think these technologies fit with universities because they’re so personal. Blogs, social networks, YouTube videos… they’re often about emotions, about your personal thoughts and opinions. They’re about who you know and who you want to know. They’re about connections. And people tend to feel connected with their alma maters. They feel emotional about where they went to school, their experiences there, who they met. So there’s this natural connection in terms of the vibe of universities and the vibe of social media.
(Not to mention the fact that many of these tools emerged out of university settings.)

Steve: Since Johns Hopkins is a large institution that is slow to change, how have you attempted to show the benefits and power of social media?
Robin: Johns Hopkins is a decentralized university. As a result, if you look across the institution, you’ll find that some areas are embracing social media while others are more wary about the tools.
For example, the School of Nursing boasts some very popular student blogs. When the SON launched those blogs, their web site visitor numbers shot through the roof. And they found that visitors who came to the site through the blogs were sticking around and browsing other pages.

Our Admissions Office also successfully uses blogs. Our Office of News and Information produces Great Ideas podcasts.

I try to use success stories of my Hopkins colleagues to encourage those at my campus to embrace new media.

I’m also bringing in expertise from an “outsider.” At any university, experts are highly respected. And while I know a lot about social media from work I’m doing outside of my Hopkins work, I’m finding it helpful to bring in the expertise of someone from the outside of the university to reinforce the points I’m making.

Steve: For organizations like Johns Hopkins, what do you recommend to those people trying to evangelize social media into their organization?
Robin: I think you need to make a strong case as to why it’s necessary and how it can support your organization’s mission. You can’t advocate for social media just for the sake of social media.
You need to present examples of what other like organizations are doing and how they’re achieving success due to this new realm.

You need to experiment with the tools in your spare time so that you better understand them and can better explain their worth.

You need to be willing to take it slow. Don’t try to tackle all of these social media tools at once. Choose the one tool that you think has the easiest chance for buy in and success. Then make that tool work for your organization. After that, you can lobby for your next venture into social media, and you’ll have a platform of success on which to build.

Also, don’t be afraid to bring in an outside “expert” to reinforce your point of view.

Steve: As a follow up question, what tools do you think are most effective for universities? Podcasts? Blogs? Social Networks? What else?
Robin: Universities are unique in that they serve to many audiences and have such vast reach. For that reason, almost all of the new media tools can be effective for some area of the university, but only if they’re used correctly.

Podcasts are a great opportunity for your well-spoken professors to talk about exciting research they’re doing. (Such as JHU’s Great Ideas podcasts.)

Blogs are perfect for the less well-spoken professor or administrator who may be able to introduce a unique and interesting voice into public debate about their specialty area.

Social networks are great for alumni associations that are looking to further their relationships with alumni.
YouTube may be a great way to garner excitement about public events going on at your campus.

The key is to make sure you don’t dive in to using any of these tools until the players all understand and agree to the time commitment involved in using these tools.

Steve: Since you are helping the Montgomery campus dive into the social media pool, will this be something that gains momentum and the best practices learned will be applied to other parts of the university?
Robin: Possibly. I’m on a University Wide Marketing Committee that meets on a regular basis and we all share our best practices when it comes to marketing and communications so that we can learn from each other.

Steve: According to Gartner, “social media” is in the “trough of disillusionment” where it projects over the next 12-18 months that since the hype has worn off that these technologies will be adopted en masse by mainstream corporate and non-profit organizations. Do you agree or disagree and why?
Robin: I think mainstream corporate and non-profit organizations already are adopting social media tools. The question is whether they’re doing so well and/or smartly. The problem is that too many people jump in without really thinking through why they’re doing it and what they want to accomplish.

I think there has been a perception of social media as sort of a “wild, wild West” environment where there aren’t rules and where it’s every man or woman for himself or herself. You need to approach social media like you would any marketing campaign, communications campaign, etc. You need to have a strategic plan.

You need to have goals. And you need to have some measurement rubrics so you know whether or not you’re successful.

Social media is very time intensive. There’s no point in making the time commitment if all you’re accomplishing is adding more white noise to the web-o-sphere.

Steve: To close our interview I would like to get a “Top 5” from you. We can all agree that the social media landscape has evolved rapidly over the last two years. However, the tools and approaches are of much debate. In your opinion, what are the Top 5 things you would recommend to marketers looking to experiment and evangelize social media within their organization?
Robin:
• Know Your Stuff. You need to get out there and use these tools yourself before you recommend your organization do so. For example, I’m the president of a local organization called the Capital Communicators Group. I used my role within that organization as a platform to experiment with blogging, twitter, LinkedIn groups, etc. This way I can speak from experience — and share lessons learned — when I talk with my boss about what our next steps should be.
• Have a Plan. Your use of social media should support your organization’s strategic goals, priorities, etc. You need to be able to explain to your boss what you want to do, how it will benefit the company, and how you will measure its success or failure.
• Take It Slow. I said this earlier. Social media is a huge time commitment. If you try to tackle all of these tools at once, you will fail. So choose the one social media tool that you think will have the biggest impact on your organization and advocate use of that tool first. Make your use of that tool successful. Then, once it’s successful and on solid ground, tackle the next tool.
• To steal from a colleague, “If you’re going to enter the world of blogging, make sure you have the right person blogging.” In most cases, the communications staff shouldn’t be blogging. The employees who are doing interesting things should be.
• Constantly evaluate your social media “program.” Is it successful? Is it accomplishing what you set out to do? What can you do to make it better?