Repeatedly ranked highly among educational institutions for its varied and engaging approach to social media, Tufts maintains a hub of networking services to stay digitally connected to the university community.
While still reporting reliable Tufts-related news, social media channels transcend the limitations of traditional media by turning communication into an interactive dialogue.
"[Through social media] we make real connections … and find out what people are thinking and saying," Manager of Web Content and Strategy Kaitlin Provencher said. "It helps us understand our community in new ways that more traditional media doesn't offer."
A strong social media presence is particularly important to a university like Tufts that "aims to provide information about what is happening on and around campus and to create a forum for connection with audiences," ranging from prospective students on the other side of the globe to "donors at major foundations and corporations that support higher education," Director of Communications Anne Fishman said.
"We all benefit from the chance to talk to each other, share our thoughts, and connect to each other through our common Tufts connection," Fishman said.
According to Provencher, these connections have a positive impact on the way the university communicates outside of social media as well.
"We often get story ideas and ideas on things to highlight through traditional media from our social media community," Provencher said.
The Office of Web Communications — of which Provencher is a member — is directly responsible for the university's main social media channels, including Facebook and Twitter. Web Communications also chairs the university-wide Social Media Working Group, comprising dozens of practitioners from across the university, and meets monthly to discuss ideas, get peer advice and create guidelines that everyone at the university can access, according to Provencher. Web Communications also maintains an e-list of more than 80 subscribers.
"The social media landscape changes frequently," Provencher said. "This e-list provides a place where people can ask questions, seek feedback and discuss the latest trends as they happen."
With social media constantly evolving, Web Communications tries to provide a balance of content that will interest all of the varying audiences.
"As with any communications channel, our strategy is to look at each platform and tool and use them to engage with our audience in the ways that best suit each tool," Provencher said.
She explained that Twitter is "more conversational, free flowing and in the moment," so her office uses TweetDeck, a social media dashboard application, to monitor mentions of Tufts and tries to start conversations and field questions as best as they can.
"For instance, if we see that someone has mentioned they just took a campus tour, we will usually reach out to them and invite them to let us know if they have any questions," Provencher said.
For Facebook, Web Communications tries to avoid constant updates, because they have to compete with people's friends and other interests, Provencher said.
Fishman also emphasized the importance of balance and using each social media tool in the most appropriate way.
"We don't want to focus on repeating information that is being pushed out in other places," Fishman said. "We don't want to be the voice of the administration."
These strategies have been working, as Web Communications has seen a significant increase in its audiences on both Twitter and Facebook. Provencher reported a 66 percent increase in Twitter followers and a 30 percent increase in Facebook likes over time.
With several social media platforms to master and thousands of followers and subscribers to account for, Web Communications needs a strategy to control and coordinate all of these channels.
"We definitely try to stick with themes and messages that tie into the Tufts brand," Provencher said.
To make the conversations flow between the different social media channels, Web Communications will occasionally cross-promote.
"For example, during matriculation or commencement, we would point out on Facebook that you can follow the day's happenings through this hashtag or that on Twitter," Provencher said.
Web Communications also created several tools to help university groups get started with social media. These include a social media strategy template, which poses a series of questions to get people thinking about why they want a social media presence and what their goals are.
"Social media is a commitment and to do it well requires significant time," Provencher said. "We want to make sure that people are up to that challenge."
The Office of Communications in the School of Arts and Sciences works closely with the academic departments to ensure their social media presence meets certain standards. The school's latest project is developing collaborative, interdisciplinary Twitter feeds based on academic disciplines. The first two feeds will focus on the arts and the social sciences, according to Fishman.
The Office of Undergraduate Admissions is among the Tufts departments that have seen a large degree of success in their implementation of social media. Currently, Admissions has a Twitter account, a Facebook page and class year groups and several blogs and also posts on college admissions forums.
These social media channels are often used as new spaces for prospective and admitted students to interact with each other, according to Senior Assistant Director of Admissions Daniel Grayson.
"Usually prospective students have to come to campus and have many conversations with current students in order to get to know the school's personality," Grayson said. "But now through Facebook they have a medium to talk to each other, get a sense of each other's vibe, and through that get a sense of Tufts."
Admissions realizes that keeping admitted students excited and engaged can be crucial to attracting more candidates later in the admissions process, Grayson said.
In fact, students who were admitted early decision this year to the class of 2016 were invited to create YouTube videos to encourage their peers to apply to Tufts.
"If admitted students feel connected with each other and identify with their class, they are more likely to enroll in the fall," Grayson said. "So [social media] are platforms for students to encourage each other."
Although social media have allowed admissions counselors to carry conversations with more prospective students, this type of communication also poses some challenges, since it changes the role admissions officers play.
The admissions office itself has become less important as the primary source of information for these students, according to Grayson.
"Traditionally, the admissions office is considered central to learning about a college, but social media removed us as such a focal point," he said.
The spread of social media has also created a lot of additional work and put pressure on Admissions to be constantly present in social media.
"Often [students] get expectations about the speed with which we answer even their non-urgent questions in the Facebook groups," Grayson said.
Grayson and Admissions Counselor Justin Pike maintain the Admissions office's current Facebook accounts. They try to keep the tone in these spaces civil and clarify any misunderstandings, but they can't censor what is being said about Tufts in such a public space, Grayson said.
Though it can't prevent some negative conversations from arising in social media, the admissions office still oversees quite a few positive student blogs, aiming to provide an "authentic, uncensored voice from Tufts students," according to Grayson.
"In contrast to many other colleges, we want to avoid the particular ‘tour guide voice' and give a different online experience to our blog readers," Grayson said.
For this reason, Admissions doesn't pay its bloggers and doesn't direct the content of their posts, Grayson said.
Junior Veronica Richter is one of the students who volunteer their time to blog for the admissions office. She has also worked as a social media intern for both Web Communications and Tufts Dining Services.
Richter described Tufts' image in social media as "warm, welcoming and real."
"The people behind Tufts social media outlets know they are the digital face of Tufts," she said. "Yet, they add a little of their voice and flavor to the equation."
Richter remembered that Twitter was particularly useful for her while she was staying in her dormitory because of Hurricane Irene during pre-orientation last fall.
"I tweeted, because I was alone in Hillsides, scared and didn't have a flashlight, and Tufts tweeted back safety information, as well as steps on getting a flashlight from TUPD," she said.
Richter is optimistic about Tufts' presence in social media despite the constantly changing nature of the field.
"The people behind Tufts' social media are passionate enough that they are very quick and strategic about keeping up with the changes," she said.
University President Anthony Monaco is well known on campus for his frequent, personal use of social media.
Monaco wrote in an e-mail to the Daily that social media have allowed him to "be more accessible to the student body" and to "help build Tufts' community spirit by encouraging attendance at Tufts' athletics or performance arts events."
Monaco said he sees the spread of social media as an opportunity for the university to receive faster and more frequent feedback from the community.
"If something is upsetting students or alumni, I hear about it first [in social media], and they feel comfortable about telling me directly," he said. "Or if they are proud of an accomplishment, I hear about it sooner than I would through the usual communications channels."
According to Monaco, Tufts has surpassed many of its peer institutions in its reliance on social media.
"I think Tufts is out ahead of the pack," Monaco said. "Tufts has been innovative in developing its websites and encouraging its faculty and staff to use new media to communicate not only with the students, but with society in general."
