This has been a complaint of mine for some time, but I have been too busy to raise the issue before. Before I get into it, I know that this will seem like a very small thing to many of you. I, however, think that social media is critical to overall visibility and success, especially in a world where popularity is increasingly measured in likes, shares, retweets, snaps and hearts.
Tech has too many social media accounts. It's confusing, hard to manage, hard to follow and disperses the fan base into too many different silos. Because there are so many, none of them have consistent content, making them irrelevant in a content-driven world. To illustrate my complaint, here are the social media accounts I found in a quick Twitter search for "Louisiana Tech."
@LaTech
@LaTechBSB
@LaTechFB
@LaTechSports
@LaTechCheer
@LaTechSGA
@CoachKonkol
@LaTechRugby
@LaTechCheer
@CoachSHoltz
@Tmcclelland
@LaTechAlumni
@LaTechSB
@LaTechequipment
@LaTechGolf
@LaTechVB
@LaTechsoccer
@LaTechTEN
@Latechtandf
@LaTechBOP
@Latechperc
@Latechhoops
@LaTechpwalsh
@LaTechGgolf
@Coachandyfox
@leahkbeasely
@LaTechTickets
@LaTechCareerctr
@LaTechfinaid
@LaTechathclub
Those are the main accounts I found. I left some out for materiality purposes. I know that some of them are student groups and some are coaches, but that list illustrates my point. Having so many accounts is not only bad from visibility and clarity standpoint, its just bad control. One bad tweet from a university associated account and the university will be in hot water. The content going out should be professional, regular and centralized.
For example, there is no justifiable reason why LaTech Career center needs its own Twitter account. Any announcements they have could be made through the University's main account. For example, to advertise an upcoming career day, @LaTech could tweet: "Our upcoming Career Day will offer students access to over 100 employers, including XXX and YYY. Students, register now!" That tweet would be seen by all followers, providing content, marketing, and getting the message out. How many students do you think follow @LaTechcareerctr?
Same with @LaTechEquipment. What is wrong with @LaTechSports for any content from that group? We all know @LaTechFB has the most followers, why not run all football related tweets through @LaTechSports, thus having all Football fans follow that account and in turn having a larger audience to promote other sports to the same audience. As it stand now, probably none of those @LaTechFB followers are following @LaTechSB.
To me it's a matter of common sense, good marketing and compliance. What we looked at today is only Twitter. Imagine Facebook, Snapchat and all of the others. I'd like to get this message in front of the powers that be. My suggestion would be to limit university run social media accounts to @LaTechSports, @LaTech and perhaps one or two more deemed neccesary. If the coaches need theirs for recruiting then so be it, but every sport and every department does not need their own account.
What do you all think?
Tech has too many social media accounts. It's confusing, hard to manage, hard to follow and disperses the fan base into too many different silos. Because there are so many, none of them have consistent content, making them irrelevant in a content-driven world. To illustrate my complaint, here are the social media accounts I found in a quick Twitter search for "Louisiana Tech."
@LaTech
@LaTechBSB
@LaTechFB
@LaTechSports
@LaTechCheer
@LaTechSGA
@CoachKonkol
@LaTechRugby
@LaTechCheer
@CoachSHoltz
@Tmcclelland
@LaTechAlumni
@LaTechSB
@LaTechequipment
@LaTechGolf
@LaTechVB
@LaTechsoccer
@LaTechTEN
@Latechtandf
@LaTechBOP
@Latechperc
@Latechhoops
@LaTechpwalsh
@LaTechGgolf
@Coachandyfox
@leahkbeasely
@LaTechTickets
@LaTechCareerctr
@LaTechfinaid
@LaTechathclub
Those are the main accounts I found. I left some out for materiality purposes. I know that some of them are student groups and some are coaches, but that list illustrates my point. Having so many accounts is not only bad from visibility and clarity standpoint, its just bad control. One bad tweet from a university associated account and the university will be in hot water. The content going out should be professional, regular and centralized.
For example, there is no justifiable reason why LaTech Career center needs its own Twitter account. Any announcements they have could be made through the University's main account. For example, to advertise an upcoming career day, @LaTech could tweet: "Our upcoming Career Day will offer students access to over 100 employers, including XXX and YYY. Students, register now!" That tweet would be seen by all followers, providing content, marketing, and getting the message out. How many students do you think follow @LaTechcareerctr?
Same with @LaTechEquipment. What is wrong with @LaTechSports for any content from that group? We all know @LaTechFB has the most followers, why not run all football related tweets through @LaTechSports, thus having all Football fans follow that account and in turn having a larger audience to promote other sports to the same audience. As it stand now, probably none of those @LaTechFB followers are following @LaTechSB.
To me it's a matter of common sense, good marketing and compliance. What we looked at today is only Twitter. Imagine Facebook, Snapchat and all of the others. I'd like to get this message in front of the powers that be. My suggestion would be to limit university run social media accounts to @LaTechSports, @LaTech and perhaps one or two more deemed neccesary. If the coaches need theirs for recruiting then so be it, but every sport and every department does not need their own account.
What do you all think?
