"@longwoodu = the best decision I've ever made,"said one of Longwood University student. This is just one of the several tweets that can be found on the Longwood University homepage. Longwood University has had its Twitter account for three years, but in February 2011, the web communications staff decided they wanted to share their favorite tweets by featuring them on the Longwood University homepage. After viewing a great deal of positive tweets about Longwood, the staff was inspired to share these tweets with the rest of the campus and community.
The @longwoodu twitter account is for prospective students, Longwood University students, faculty and staff, people of the Farmville community, and anyone interested in learning about the university. The web communications staff monitors the tweets and chooses the most appropriate and positive tweets to share on the university's homepage.
Mary Jo Stockton, the web technology coordinator for Longwood University, said, "It's a great way to show a good overview of Longwood life in an easy format that a lot of people can understand, and it's authentic as well. Nobody is telling people to say these things, it's coming from their own experiences and they are saying it themselves."
After only one month of featuring the favorite tweets on the homepage, there was an increase of 300 more visits to the site per day. It also led to a six percent increase in the amount of time each viewer stayed on the website and decreased the number of exits from the website. According to the web communications staff, there is a small decrease in the number of tweets involving Longwood University during the summer, but there are still enough tweets to feature on the homepage.
Dave Hooper, the director of web communications, said, "The Twitter feature gives [Longwood] a positive image, it encompasses a lot of different things. The marketing office can tell [prospective students how great Longwood is], but students are showing it."
In order to have tweets featured on the homepage, the user's tweets must be open for the public to view; in other words, tweets cannot be private. The re-tweeted tweets also need to be appropriate and uplifting. Stockton said, "We evaluate the tweets carefully. Is it promoting good school spirit or a good image of Longwood? [We try to feature tweets] that encompass all aspects of Longwood life: academics, school spirit, and then just things people say about the things they love about Longwood."
The favorite tweets could be about an organization winning an award, a student saying how beautiful the campus is, or how Longwood University has such great professors. "It's a great way for people to get a really up front view of Longwood life," said Stockton.
Not only is the favorite tweets feature used as a marketing tool, it is also used to get information out to the public in a quick way. During the spring of 2011, a tornado passed through Longwood University, putting the campus on lockdown. The favorite tweets feature gave viewers information regarding the crisis procedures. The favorite tweets posted on the homepage also gave information regarding that night's CHI walk. "The tweets are a good way for the university to get information quickly," said Stockton.
The web communications staff has received a large amount of positive feedback regarding the favorite tweets feature. Currently, there are no plans to remove it. Hooper said, "The tweets enhance the university's website and I don't foresee any changes ... If anything, it helps to improve the communication across the campus. "
