Friday, May 30, 2008

What is Social Media?

I met with Kelly Herzog, public info coordinator at Miami Valley CTC, today on her campus (beautiful place, by the way!). Kelly and I will be presenting on Social Media Marketing at the Ohio ACTE Conference in Columbus on August 7th from 1:40-2:40. We met to break down what we wanted to discuss and we obviously talked a lot about the different tools available. I will preview some of the tools here on this blog throughout the summer and provide some how-to's, but first the question must be answered: What is social media? For that, I turn to the utilization of two forms of social media: a blog and YouTube video clips. These are from a blog called the DivaBlog (http://bloombergmarketing.blogs.com/bloomberg_marketing/), which is committed to discussions about social media, etc. These are first-person perspectives of what social media and I have posted them below.
Shane Haggerty
Communications Coordinator
Ohio Hi-Point Career Center
www.ohiohipoint.com

Michael Pranikoff What Social Media Means To Me

Duncan Wardle What Social Media Means To Me

BL Ochman What social media means to me.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Pay Attention

Wanted to share this interested, fact-filled video, much in the same vain as the popular "Shift Happens" video, but this one from TeacherTube (www.teachertube.com).
Perhaps you can share this with your supervisors and directors and teachers, or if you're like me, heed the info in it and apply it to your marketing and communications strategies.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Video is necessary

Did you know YouTube has over 100 million views per day? The number is staggering. Videos are posted by nearly everyone now on this channel, and as a marketer it is almost necessary to have some sort of video presence online. Now, the problem for those of us in school PR: YouTube is blocked by nearly every school technology department! And it is probably necessary. There are some questionable videos on YouTube and it can be a controversial and distracting element in a school environment. However, here is the view I have as someone who recognizes this is where one of my biggest target audiences is hanging out for hours and hours: IT IS NECESSARY. So at OHP, I know it is blocked while students are in school, but based on a recent survey we did, nearly 85% of our students have the internet at home, 93% are watching videos online always or sometimes, and 71% of them are using YouTube. What this means? This medium cannot be ignored. It is a great and FREE avenue to spread the word of what we are doing in a medium that prospective students (who aren't blocked from YouTube at home) and current students identify with and have made into the "new way" of broadcasting. YouTube is located at www.youtube.com

So, if YouTube is absolutely out of the question, I recommend having videos hosted on your website or hosting them on SchoolTube, a safe and moderated YouTube-esque site, that will host your videos and let you embed them neatly into your website. If you look over to the right on the sidebar you will see SchoolTube's Career-Technical Channel being fed into this player I was easily able to embed into this blog. SchoolTube is located at www.schooltube.com

I am going to be attempting some innovative marketing methods using both YouTube and SchoolTube (hopefully if time allows!!) and I will keep you informed on this blog of my progress and results.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Question from Peg Allen at Warren County CC and Responses

Peg Allen, public information specialist at Warren County Career Center, asked this question of her colleagues in CTE:

Do any of you do annual reports? If so, how many do you print, how do you distribute them and what is your time of publication? Thanks! Peg

Peg Allen
Public Information Specialist
Warren County Career Center
www.wccareercenter.com
513-932-5677 ext. 5204
Peg.Allen@mywccc.org


Here are some of the responses she has received back:

"We do not currently do an annual report, although it is being considered in some fashion. We are thinking of doing it as a “special edition” of our district newsletter and tying the information that would be in an annual report around testimonials and feature stories and a year-in-review format. So, it would come out this July or early August if we did it. The cost is what concerns me, though, because if we did it as an edition of our newsletter we would have to print over 50,000, and I don’t know of the value of doing something so costly."
-Shane Haggerty, Communications Coordinator at Ohio Hi-Point Career Center

"Hi Peg,Thank you for the clarification and for the kind words about the annual report. It is always nice to hear that someone likes what we’ve done. =)
We had 1,750 reports printed. We distributed them to:
· county commissioners
· the boards of education of the school districts we serve
· our advisory committee members
· JOBS coordinators
· our staff
· agencies with whom we work
· guidance counselors
· principals
· superintendents
· media contacts
· chambers of commerce
· our tech prep partners
· city and village officials
· state officials
· Ohio career centers
· Former seniors
· Boards of elections
The distribution is done by mail. We provide our printer with a database of addresses, and he takes care of the rest. We typically try to have the report finished no later than October, but we really strive for September.
I hope this helps. If I can be of further assistance, please feel free to call me at 740-452-4518, ext. 136 or e-mail me at
ktatman@mvesc.k12.oh.us"
-Kim Tatman, Communications Coordinator at Muskingum Valley ESC

If you wish to respond to Peg's inquiry, you can post it here on the blog in the COMMENTS section or email Peg directly at Peg.Allen@mywccc.org


Back to blogging!

So it has been quite some time since I have had the chance to blog. As you all are aware, the time we have as career-tech communicators is limited so the blogging had to be pushed aside for awhile. I truly value this form of communication and look forward to talking more about how it can be used as a communications and marketing tool for career-technical schools, especially at the Ohio ACTE Annual Conference in Columbus, Ohio, this August. My session will be all about social media and how to adapt it for use as a marketing tool. I am presenting with Kelly Herzog of Miami Valley Career-Technical Center on Thursday, August 7 from 1:40-2:40 p.m. I will be previewing a lot of the material on this blog as time approaches.
The Ohio ACTE PR Academy is new, and the interest has been fairly un-inspired at the moment. However, I am excited about this opportunity to unite as career-tech marketers, communicators, and recruiters in order to provide assistance to each other and a forum to vent, ideate, and strategize. In my brief time in this position at Ohio Hi-Point, I have become a big fan of what CTE offers students, but I have also become well-aware of the unfair image CTE has with many people still after decades. I believe that by utilizing each other as a resource and speaking with a common message, CTE can overcome negative stereotypes and false interpretations. I hope you will use this blog as a means to communicate with one another, to start discussions, and share ideas. Also, if you want anything posted to start a topic or ask a question, shoot me an email at shaggerty@ohp.k12.oh.us. I will try to post at least once a week, if not more, so stay tuned...

Posted by:
Shane Haggerty
Communications Coordinator
Ohio Hi-Point Career Center
Bellefontaine, OH 43311
shaggerty@ohp.k12.oh.us
www.ohiohipoint.com