Social Media Project in Higher Education

1. “THE GREENWAY PROJECT”
Enhancing student learning with a social media
community development project in higher
education
An Academic-Community Partnership
Presenters:
Tulay Girard and Kristina Snyder
Pennsylvania State University-Altoona
Anchorage, AK May 31-June 2, 2014

2. THE MAIN LINE CANAL GREENWAY: AN
ACADEMIC-COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP PROJECT
 Describes the Project
 Goals of the Main Line Canal Greenway
 Goals of Social Media Marketing project
 Background on development
 Includes Literature Review
 Identifies factors that contribute to the success of
social media efforts
 Identifies factors that contribute to the economic
development of towns
 Implementation
 Process and output
 Future outlook

3. GREENWAYS ARE…
 Urban, suburban, and rural areas that frame natural, cultural
and scenic features and landscapes tracing old railways,
canals, ridge tops, or stream corridors on both public and
private land.

4. PITTSBURGH-TO-HARRISBURG MAIN LINE
CANAL GREENWAY™
 connects land and water trails following the path of the
historic Main Line Canal.

5. OBJECTIVES OF THE
MAIN LINE CANAL GREENWAY
 Develop continuity and synergy among Greenway
clusters
 Maximize human and financial resources
 Stimulate marketing and promotion
 Assist in regional planning
 Allow for a single point of contact for municipal
officials and funding sources
 Educate public
 Act as a forum to raise the visibility of projects and
the work of the cluster groups.

6. SOCIAL MEDIA
PROJECT MISSION:
REVITALIZING THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF
TOWNS BY CONNECTING THE COMMUNITIES WITH
COMMON INTERESTS IN THE MLC GREENWAY
THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA.
Higher Education

7. GOALS OF THE GREENWAY
SOCIAL MEDIA PROJECT
Inform public and build awareness
• On-line Marketing
Connect people with interest groups
• Social Media Platforms
Become an informational hub
• Web-site

8. BACKGROUND OF THE GREENWAY
SOCIAL MEDIA PROJECT
Started with initial meetings with ARCorp
Internships to build a marketing plan and literature review
Intermediate Social Media Marketing course
Sponsor visits to classes

9. CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS OF
REVITALIZATION EFFORTS
Clear Vision
Community Support
Strong ‘Brand’

10. CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS OF
REVITALIZATION EFFORTS
Funding
Assess Needs
Community Leaders

11. CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS OF
REVITALIZATION EFFORTS
Utilize Local Media
“Main Street”
Information

12. FAILURES IN REVITALIZATION EFFORTS
Lack of Local Leadership
No “Main Streets” to Serve Tourists
Outdated Web-Sites and Social Media

13. FAILURES IN REVITALIZATION EFFORTS
Not Partnering with Local
Businesses
Lack of Amenities
Lack of Support from Community

14. SUCCESSFUL
SOCIAL MEDIA TACTICS
Videos &
Pictures
Encourage
Sharing
Events &
Schedule
s
Share
Links
Articles
Contests
&
Specials
Maps
Educational
Information
Promote &
Partner with
Retailers

15. SUCCESSFUL
SOCIAL MEDIA TACTICS
Promote Partners and Similar Organizations
Ask Questions to Encourage Discussions
Encourage Creative ways to Preserve Heritage
Ask for Feedback
Connect with Bloggers to gain Mentions

16. SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PLAN
DEVELOPMENT
 Established:
 Mission, Objectives and Goals
 Successful Revitalization Efforts
 Successful Social Media Tactics
 Analyzed the Target Market
 SWOT Analysis
 Analyzed Tools and Platforms
 Established Metrics and KPI’s
 Developed Strategies

17. IMPLEMENTATION OF SOCIAL MEDIA
MARKETING PLAN
 Rebuild the web site in WordPress
Framework
Images
Content
Traffic
 Add a blog
 Refresh and update the content
 Create social media sites (Facebook,
LinkedIn, Meetup)
 Optimize traffic and search-ability

18. OLD WEB-SITE
HTTP://WWW.MAINLINECANALGREENWAY.ORG

19. OLD WEB-SITE
Outdated
Static
Not User Friendly

20. NEW WEB SITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION

21. NEW INTERACTIVE WORDPRESS SITE
Aesthetically Pleasing
Interactive
Responsive

22. OPPORTUNITIES CREATED FOR
STUDENTS
 Real-time project for SMM Course
 Social Media Marketing plans in fall 2013
 Implementation in spring 2014
 Collaboration (ARCorp, Web designer, Internship
Coordinator)
 Conference papers (Mackenzie & Kristina)
 Internship (Brittany)
 Market Research Project (Kristina & Brittany)

23. THANK YOU
Acknowledgements:
Mackenzie Sternberg
Brittany Gill
Thomas Shaffer
Kyle Dammann