Information Technology and Services

This team of students is putting SU on the social map!

Last fall, Syracuse University put digital and social media on their list of priorities for communications and marketing by creating a team dedicated to university initiatives in the digital space. Leading these initiatives is Kate Brodock, executive director of digital & social media, who works with various constituents across campus to improve and increase SU's presence and strategies in the space.
 
Much of Kate's focus in her first six months on the job has been to organize the existing digital and social media structure and create a framework that can support the various (and numerous!) university-wide activities. Additionally, she has developed guidelines and educational resources to help students, faculty and staff engage in the space. She has worked with her entire team to structure strategic partnerships both internally and externally to increase opportunities for SU.
 
Dan Klamm, assistant director of digital and social media, works with Kate to create strategy for #44Social, SU's student team. SU's approach to social media management is that students are the lifeblood of our institution - so having students on our flagship social media accounts creates an authentic voice more likely to resonate with our community of alumni, students, prospective students, faculty and staff, and fans.
 
#44Social is comprised of 11 undergraduate students from across the university. Their majors range from public relations to information science to hospitality management, and their extracurricular pursuits include club sports, community service, greek life, and residence life leadership. Their backgrounds are varied, but they all have one thing in common: they are passionate about social media.
 
Dan guides the team in developing appropriate content for SU's social media and coaches the team in building a robust online community.  Although Dan monitors the group's activity on SU's social media channels, he attributes much of the team's success to self-regulation. Team members keep a close eye on each other's work, frequently suggesting content or pointing out areas where things can be refined.
 
Prior to joining #44Social, many of the student team members had professional experience representing organizations online through internships. Jared Kraham, a junior, created social media strategies for a congressional campaign. Sarah Ostman, a sophomore, managed online communities for incubation start-ups. Joshua John, a senior, helped launch social media campaigns for internationally-renowned musicians. Each team member brings a unique and valued set of experiences to the table.
 
The team meets every other week to brainstorm new ideas. As a result, they've launched a number of new initiatives over the past few months, including a new Twitter account catering to our on-campus audience (@SUcampus), a Google+ presence, Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr and several Foursquare initiatives to enhance the student and alumni experience on-campus.
 
For more information about SU's social media team, contact Kate Brodock (justkate@syr.edu or x4189) or Dan Klamm (deklamm@syr.edu or x4307).