The purpose of this book is to help higher education professionals approach social media initiatives strategically. It presents a framework for systematically thinking about the Internet Technology Environments (ITE) in which faculty, staff, and administrators operate. By foregoing a one-size-fits-all approach to social media use on campuses for one that is based upon structured inquiry, individuals can discern their unique campus environment and prepare for the challenges and opportunities they are likely to encounter. In addition to explaining why social media use on college campuses is glaringly inconsistent, the book highlights the approaches faculty and staff might take when designing and implementing social media initiatives, given the type of environment in which they work. It also introduces strategies these actors and administrators can utilize to strengthen their ITEs, ultimately facilitating the successful incorporation of social media technology into campus communications.

The purpose of this book is to help higher education professionals approach social media initiatives strategically. It presents a framework for systematically thinking about the Internet Technology Environments (ITE) in which faculty, staff, and administrators operate. By foregoing a one-size-fits-all approach to social media use on campuses for one that is based upon structured inquiry, individuals can discern their unique campus environment and prepare for the challenges and opportunities they are likely to encounter. In addition to explaining why social media use on college campuses is glaringly inconsistent, the book highlights the approaches faculty and staff might take when designing and implementing social media initiatives, given the type of environment in which they work. It also introduces strategies these actors and administrators can utilize to strengthen their ITEs, ultimately facilitating the successful incorporation of social media technology into campus communications.

Given the ubiquity of online technologies in the lives of high school and college students, universities are increasingly turning to social media for the purpose of organizational communication. This book shines a light on these practices in order to better understand how platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat are being used within the realm of student affairs. Each chapter will explore a different dimension of student affairs (e.g., admissions, career services, student health services) to provide an overview of key challenges and how new social media tools can be used to solve them. By providing examples that illustrate these evolving trends, this book is intended to help higher education professionals develop creative social media solutions that are appropriate for their own situations as they seek to strategically integrate social media into their student affairs efforts.

Given the ubiquity of online technologies in the lives of high school and college students, universities are increasingly turning to social media for the purpose of organizational communication. This book shines a light on these practices in order to better understand how platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat are being used within the realm of student affairs. Each chapter will explore a different dimension of student affairs (e.g., admissions, career services, student health services) to provide an overview of key challenges and how new social media tools can be used to solve them. By providing examples that illustrate these evolving trends, this book is intended to help higher education professionals develop creative social media solutions that are appropriate for their own situations as they seek to strategically integrate social media into their student affairs efforts.