Social media has the potential to broaden your connection with off-campus community members, though moderation is recommended. Two higher ed leaders active on LinkedIn provide clues on how the powerful tool can strengthen your outreach, connection and influence when used intentionally.
Creating an inclusive e-community
Noah Geisel, the micro-credential program manager at the University of Colorado Boulder, likes to describe himself as a community organizer. As digital badges continue to build their reputation and drive enrollment, he credits social media for welcoming a wide array of voices into the conversation—regardless of their expertise or institutions’ capabilities.
“It’s a place for me to learn, connect and grow,” Geisel says. “If I have things to say, I could write something and send it to a peer review journal and maybe it gets published many months later. But I can also think about something and 60 seconds later it’s out into the world.”
The instant feedback he can receive after musing on the latest think piece or inspiring panel discussion provides him a trusted soundboard and advice from like-minded followers, deepening higher education’s understanding of non-degree credentials, he says. “The conversation, in such a short period of time, [has gone from], ‘What is this stuff?’ to, ‘Oh, yeah, we’re looking at that at our school.'”
But social media is more than a shared space to “hang out, mess around and geek out,” Geisel says. “When you have a platform that comes with a responsibility.”
Proper attribution, a foundational standard of scholarly work, is one way to create a more equitable digital community, Geisel says. Tag users whom you received insight from—even if their name is already written into a multimedia graphic. “Pass the microphone. I’m just the platform broadcasting the idea.”
Balancing social media with physical presence
Mary Dana Hinton recognizes that social media can harm teen mental health. As the president of Hollins University, an all-female private university, she is especially cognizant of how some content places unrealistic pressure on young women.
“Since the pandemic ended, many of us have once again defaulted to social media and other virtual ways of being together,” she says. “I don’t want to go back to that. My most important work with my students is being present with them and modeling what it means to be in dialogue and conversation.”
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However, Hinton views her activity on LinkedIn as a professional responsibility to connect with community members outside of campus, such as alumni. Here are several things she keeps in mind when posting three to five times a month:
- Move slowly: “Social media, in my mind, demands an immediate knee-jerk reaction. I just don’t think the world needs more of that right now. We need to slow down a bit and be more thoughtful in how we approach one another.”
- Define your purpose when logging in: “My connections on LinkedIn fall into two groups: Engaging with professional colleagues or sharing something that’s happening at Hollins or in my professional life.”
- Keep it positive: “I try to only post when it’s something joyful, exciting or informative. I try to only post things that are going to move us forward as human beings, and that’s a commitment that I make to myself.”
- Use video content to illustrate in-person connection: “I think people being able to see me and all my imperfections shows what we stand for. You want people to see the person behind the message.”
