Great Social Media Idea: Printables!

I am very much a denizen of the digital world - what with keeping a blog about social media and all - but I must admit that I still believe in print. Like, a lot. 

Posters, artwork with great graphic design, hard copies of photos... I absolutely believe these things continue to play an essential role in the work we do. Yes, even those who work exclusively in social media. So much of what people are exposed to these days is online and/or mediated through a screen - never underestimate the power of the tangible, of being able to get up close to look at and feel something, of something being hung on a wall or pinned to a board and seen every day.

Crossing the divide between digital and tangible can be tough sometimes, but this great idea from University of Mississippi shows a creative and awesome way to help bridge the gap: 

I left my heart... in Oxford, MS!

 Ole Miss has a whole page dedicated "printables" like this, which is so very cool.  I especially love how they have photos of what they look when framed, which is that much more of an added incentive to someone who is probably sitting there wondering if it would be really lame to just print something and stick it on their wall. Those things look freaking great in frames! (Also, the state/heart thing is forever popular... there's hardly a car, water bottle, or laptop in the entire state that doesn't have a Heart in Oregon sticker on it.)

Ole Miss is primarily using these as a way to promote its Pinterest page, but they are sharing them across all social media too. It's definitely worth checking out the "Free Ole Miss Stuff" board, which has everything from printables like this to computer backgrounds. Lots of fun ideas in there.

But my favorite thing about this is the long-play aspect of it. Sure, a lot more people will like a pretty campus photo on Facebook, but that's just ephemeral and is forgotten ten seconds later. If you can get people - even a small amount - to print one of these things, frame it, and put it on their wall, they will be connected daily - in a very personal, real way - to your school. Pretty awesome, right? Right!

So thanks, Ole Miss... and great job beating LSU last week too. Well done!  :)