Seminaries have to get social, too.
Robin Sandbothe, director of seminary relations for Central Baptist Theological Seminary (CBTS) in Kansas, talks about how the seminary views social media in light of a site redesign, in a new Skype interview with EthicsDaily.com.
“You always have to update these things, especially when new things are happening in the social media world,” says Sandbothe, who has been on staff at CBTS for 15 years. “It’s important.”
Skype Interview: Robin Sandbothe from EthicsDaily on Vimeo.
Sandbothe identifies three ways in which the seminary is adjusting its web-print based on social media influences.
First, Sandbothe says they are making the website more responsive to all types of devices, be they laptops, phones or tablets. It’s the “industry standard now,” she says.
“Another thing we’re doing is streamlining the way that people can share on their own social media from our website,” she says. The new site will let users immediately “like” pages, tweet materials, make comments and so on.
A third leg will be increasing the media richness of the site – including offering more videos and more images.
CBTS anticipates rolling out the new site in the next few months.
Sandbothe also speaks about starting “the conversation” between and among the various constituencies that CBTS serves: students, alumni, partners and many others.
Without deploying social media capabilities, Sandbothe says, those communities and groups may have no interaction with each other.
But trans-group interaction is only one piece of the puzzle, she says. Another piece is enhancing the interaction within existing groups, which necessarily involves examining how different age groups use different social media platforms.
Younger folks are using Instagram and Twitter more often than Facebook, she says, even while older constituents are still turning to Facebook.
“Things change so fast. That’s part of the challenge of social media,” Sandbothe says. “We have to stay on top of where people are using things.”
Watch the interview with Sandbothe at vimeo.com/ethicsdaily/skype-robinsandbothe
Learn more about Central Baptist Theological Seminary at CBTS.edu
Watch other EthicsDaily.com Skype interviews at vimeo.com/ethicsdaily
