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Being College President in 140 Characters or Less
Dr. Scott Miller's prowess on social media has become legendary: Virginia Wesleyan's president is on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn and Flickr.
Dr. Scott Miller’s prowess on social media has become legendary: Virginia Wesleyan's president is on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn and Flickr. He has a daily blog, publishes regular “Nota Bene” campus updates and a widely distributed monthly "President’s Letter" and "From the Desk..." (for area and national leaders), writes a monthly column for The Huffington Post, and contributes to numerous higher-education publications and conferences. Today he is one of the most active and visible social-media communicators among college or university presidents in the country.
Miller is one of 22 Canadian and American academic leaders featured in a book released in 2015 on social media in higher education. #Follow The Leader – Lessons in Social Media Success from #HigherEdCEOs, by Dan Zaiontz, was published by EDUniverse Media and is available for purchase in paperback from mStoner or Amazon Kindle and the iTunes Bookstore.
In a typical day, he regularly reaches out to over 20,000 “friends” via social media—in addition to sending special correspondence to dignitaries, donors and other friends of the College. Those who follow his writings and postings say his style is transparent, informative, and thought-provoking.
Sitting by the fireplace in the Birdsong Presidential Suite in Godwin Hall, Miller talks openly about his communication strategy. Having such a plan is critical, he feels, for the modern higher-education president. Within his spacious office, which houses his personal library of over 1,100 books and mementoes from his 24 years as a college president, he notes that visitors are drawn to his intriguing collection of objects. In addition to holding personal symbolic value for Dr. Miller, his souvenirs serve as good conversation starters for this communications-minded campus leader.
Photos prompt memories. He recalls meetings with United States presidents, Senators, and other officials, as well as Commissioner of Baseball “Bud” Selig which reflects his lifelong passion for baseball. His love of the sport is also captured in his Roberto Clemente collection of artifacts (a native of Pennsylvania, Dr. Miller grew up a Pirates fan). A picture of the dedication of Scott D. Miller Stadium at Wesley College in Dover, Delaware, joins other items from a celebrated higher-education career. Photos of his family, including granddaughter Addie, hold the center spot on his desk.
Achieving senior administrative positions only a few years after graduating from West Virginia Wesleyan, Dr. Miller says that communicating with students has always been a priority of his career. Just 25 when he first became a college vice president, Dr. Miller emphasizes how overcoming age obstacles with hard work and a focus on building his career led to his identifying a personal “brand” that resonates with students.
"As an undergraduate at West Virginia Wesleyan, I was a communication major and worked as a reporter for the local paper,” he recalls. “I learned a lot, and communicating well has driven my entire career in higher education.
“My goal—as president of Virginia Wesleyan College—is to have the most effective communications strategy among liberal arts college presidents in the country. Reaching students via the social media that they use most often is central to that goal.”
Despite his visibility through social media, Miller notes that he “can’t physically be ‘center stage’ with all of Virginia Wesleyan's constituents all the time.” Virginia Wesleyan has thousands of alumni and other “friends,” and even the most active president, he says, cannot communicate personally with everyone. But, he says, “social media give me an opportunity to personalize communication to Wesleyan's constituencies on a regular basis.”
An effective social-media platform demonstrates that he is always engaged in the life of the College. “Being a college president is a 24/7 commitment,” he points out, “but as a way of marketing the entire campus, I truly believe that in the future this kind of communications approach will be vital to the success of all college presidents and their efforts to promote their institutions.”
“Developing communications strategies has always interested me,” Miller says. “I love to get in the classroom with the students and talk about the latest trends. It reminds me to be student-focused, and hopefully underscores to all our audiences the importance of a student-centered college.”
He points with fascination to Virginia Wesleyan's investment of resources in student-centered facilities and programs—something that President Miller himself personifies each day that his busy travel schedule finds him back on campus.
For example, he recently led a session on "The Dos and Don'ts of Social Media" at Wesleyan's student-led Business Conference—branded the Marlin Prestige. The bi-annual conference is the culmination of months of hard work by students in the Virginia Wesleyan business course, "Principles of Management." Students coordinate all aspects of the event, exercising key management skills like product development, networking, and project and financial planning.
On any given day or night, Miller can be spotted eating with students or staff in the cafeteria, cheering on Marlin teams at multiple athletic events, lining up campus speakers, attending Greek events, or making visits to residence halls. The president who promises incoming students that they will see him often is indeed famous for having coffee at the Batten Student Center, sitting in on a late-night student gathering, or even posing for a “selfie” with students while walking across campus.
Throughout his career, students have pointed to him as a highly engaged brand of college president: experienced in the profession, approachable on campus, visible at campus events. He looks the part, too, with a wardrobe of Virginia Wesleyan attire, ranging from exercise gear to business casual.
While his communications and brand identity generally serve the broader marketing strategies of Virginia Wesleyan College, a deeper look at his personality reveals his love of writing, running, college sports and the Atlanta Braves baseball team, his commitment to his family, and the satisfaction of having served four dynamic liberal arts colleges for nearly a quarter century.
Often, however, his passion for his job reflects the grueling work and travel schedule of a highly visible and fully engaged college chief executive officer, one who clearly loves his work. "To a certain extent, because communications is my field, social-media activity is as much a hobby as it is a business tool,” he says. “I work on it mostly in the early morning, while unwinding in the evenings, and in between meetings.”
His strategy is so effective that students from some other colleges follow him, tracking and responding to his commentaries. Graduate students from other institutions write about his social-media activity. And he regularly hears from Virginia Wesleyan alumni from around the country who are grateful to be connected to their alma mater through the President’s Office.
The Approach
Miller’s social-network practices support the brand. He is everywhere connecting with every possible group. He has spoken on the topic at the national level including for The Lawlor Symposium and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities annual meeting.
At The Marlin Prestige Business Conference, he shared the method behind the strategy. “Social media is about talking and listening,” he says. “It’s about having a strategy to spread Virginia Wesleyan's story. If you could find a cost-effective way to expand your visibility to targeted audiences while promoting your institutional brand, would you take advantage of it? Of course, you would.”
Yet only about 150 of some 3,500 college presidents nationwide actively use Twitter or Facebook, Miller’s research has revealed; approximately 700 use LinkedIn, YouTube and other tools. Those who not employ social media are missing out on opportunities to enhance their message, he feels.
Notable exceptions who are very active on social media include E. Gordon Gee, president of West Virginia University; Santo Ono, the University of Cincinnati; Christopher Kimball, California Lutheran University; Roger Casey, McDaniel College; David Rowe, Centenary College; Jeff Abernathy, Alma College; John Maeda, the Rhode Island School of Design; Angel Cabrera, George Mason University (who tweets and blogs in both English and Spanish); and Walter Kimbrough, Dillard University.
Miller’s social-media strategy has evolved in recent years. When he was appointed president of Bethany College in 2007, he worked with longtime publishing colleague and former college president Marylouise Fennell at creating and testing a long-term social-media strategy. The strategy focused on reinforcing the brand of a nationally ranked, residential, liberal arts college in a rural section of West Virginia, and further engaging an already loyal base of alumni and friends.
The results, he notes, were astonishing. In just seven years, with minimal cost, start-up and maintenance, he connected regularly with anywhere from 20,000 to 250,000 followers per day. This was in addition to visibility through regular e-cards, e-blasts, blogs, opinion pieces, monthly presidential e-letters, a weekly online newsletter, and monthly online commentaries for a variety of publications.
Converting his social-media "face" during last spring's transition from Bethany to Virginia Wesleyan prompted much interest from his audience, he says. "Most comments centered around my change from Green to Blue and Bison to Marlins gear," he notes with a chuckle.
His Virginia Wesleyan audience continues to grow through interaction with VWC constituents connected by social media. For example, a recent post to 1,950 people on Facebook was quickly viewed by more than 11,000 followers as a result of the “share” function. Entire new audiences have become instant stakeholders in the College.
So what’s the bottom line for such a highly effective social-media strategy? Here’s what Miller has learned:
Social media quickly and effectively allow you to send disparate, relevant messages to diverse audiences. As an active college president who is closely identified with the Virginia Wesleyan brand, Miller controls eight different platforms from his desktop, iPhone, iPad or Netbook. All content reinforces the branding message of Virginia Wesleyan College. LinkedIn allows him to advertise position openings to colleagues and to repost College media releases, while Twitter allows the president to reach alumni and students personally.
Miller notes that although he posts “100 percent,” he also utilizes support staff and other members of the Virginia Wesleyan community to forward to him items that he might want to use on his platform. At a recent student event on campus, multiple students approached him to “re-tweet” one of their messages and obtain a “selfie,” for which he is happy to pose.
Social media also permit you to control the frequency and distribution of your message. Electronic distribution services at nominal cost allow Miller to archive messages to balance distribution. These might include campus news, reports and interesting articles from outside organizations that reinforce Virginia Wesleyan's message and image.
Finally, in times of crisis, social media are essential in distributing timely alerts, messages and updates, he points out.
While social media reinforce that the administration is focusing on communications 24-7, it’s also important to keep content fresh and concise. Overall, however, the impact of this strategy has far outweighed the time needed to create and implement it, Miller says. The social-media initiative for Virginia Wesleyan College has been an unqualified success, exceeding expectations and widening the reach of Virginia Wesleyan's marketing strategy.
The Story
Miller tells what he calls “a recurring” story utilizing social media. The common theme is the value of a private, residential liberal arts education—more particularly, the education that is offered at Virginia Wesleyan College.
"We strive to be a highly-regarded, residential, national liberal arts college committed to teaching and student success, a place where academics and student life complement each other, for we recognize that learning takes many forms, both inside and outside the classroom,” he says. “Social media allow us to stay on message on a very frequent basis.”
As Miller crafts his social-media strategy, he focuses on Virginia Wesleyan's prominence as a national liberal arts college, the only such institution in the Coastal Virginia region. Virginia Wesleyan has received national recognition for quality from Princeton Review and Colleges of Distinction, to name a few.
He also focuses on service learning and community service as key elements of the College’s signature The Wesleyan Experience, which aids students in identifying with and becoming a part of academic, co-curricular and extracurricular activities. As a part of The Wesleyan Experience, students can take advantage of study-away trips, career-focused internships and research opportunities.
“We all have 168 hours in a week,” he notes. “A typical student will devote 18 hours per week to classroom activities and sleep between 42 and 50 hours per week. At a residential liberal arts college, we partner with students for learning activities for the remaining 100 hours. This might be service learning, or it could be athletics and recreation, a campus job, or a fraternity or sorority.”
He says that employers value students who can adapt to a team environment, meet deadlines and goals, and advance organizational initiatives by thinking globally, not just in a specialized way—all skills that can be attained at liberal arts colleges. Employers want “well-rounded” individuals who will be active in their communities, too, he points out.
"Building on our rich tradition, liberal arts programs, innovative partnerships, supportive residential environment, and fabulous location, Virginia Wesleyan College continues to be extremely attractive to a national constituency," Miller says.
Virginia Wesleyan College is located on a beautiful 300-acre campus of 42 buildings on the border of Norfolk and Virginia Beach. Social media and other technological innovations bring them to Virginia Wesleyan even before they enroll.
As a primarily residential, national liberal arts college, Virginia Wesleyan anticipates growing an annual headcount from 1,400 to 2,000 over the next five years. Social media will continue to be central to achieving that goal, Miller says.
"The days of sending out a college catalogue as a recruitment device are long gone,” he notes. “Now we reach the audience we want, when we want, with the message we want instantly and interactively. We have to be where our students are—and that’s through every technological means we have, along with the all-important personal touch. That, of course, never goes out of style.”
(This is a compilation of presentations and interviews of Dr. Miller on the topic of social media during the past four years).