Thousands of students and University supporters talk to Trace Purvis each day, but most of them don’t even know his name.
Purvis, the new media coordinator for University Relations, is the administrator for the University’s official Facebook page, among other social media platforms.
He originally joined the staff as a website developer in 2008. He created the University’s Facebook page in 2009, and the social media frenzy snowballed from there.
The University uses several social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, Tumblr and Pinterest. With more than 614,000 “likes,” the University’s Facebook page is the second-largest for a college in the U.S.
But that doesn’t make Purvis’ job easy.
On March 20, the University’s Twitter account was hacked and made to look as if the University had retweeted a post from controversial radio host Rush Limbaugh.
Since the University tends not to post politically charged sentiments, red flags went up for one loyal follower, who alerted Purvis to the incident.
By 4 p.m., more than 15 followers had tweeted about LSU, wondering what the issue was.
Purvis tried to rectify the issue as soon as possible and replied to each tweet to give individual answers.
When accidents happen, Purvis said it’s best to be honest with the University’s fans and try to make light of the situation.
“The best approach is the honest approach,” he said. “We apologize if necessary and try to put a humorous spin on it when we can.”
He said most followers are understanding when issues arise.
“Everyone’s made a mistake like that before,” Purvis said. “Everyone understands that things like this happen sometimes.”
Purvis said one of the most enjoyable parts of his job is interacting with University fans on a daily basis. He likes joking with them, and he’s gotten better at it over the years.
“I always compare it to being at a party,” he said. “If you can get in that frame of mind where you’re trying to engage folks at a party who you don’t really know, it gets a lot easier. If you’re good at that, you’d get great at this.”
Lance Porter, mass communication associate professor, said it’s important for the University to have an online presence because social media, particularly Facebook, has become such a big part of students’ lives.
“On Facebook, you speak in more of a conversational tone,” he said. “They do a nice job of that.”
Sometimes threads can take an ugly turn, but Purvis said he doesn’t remove negative comments unless they break the University’s rules, which are posted on its page.
“I only remove them if someone’s using obscene language or if what they’ve posted is a complete fabrication,” he said. “I always post a response explaining why their post was deleted. But if they’re just super critical or discussing their opinion, I’m not going to take that down.”
Purvis said he’s noticed some followers looking for verbal confrontation, and while he enjoys interacting with fans, sometimes the conversations just don’t go anywhere.
“If they’re looking for trouble and we just keep going around and around, it’s not productive,” he said. “It’s best to disengage then.”
Some of the most memorable moments for Purvis were also some of the most influential for the future of the page.
Purvis first realized he enjoyed interacting with followers on a more personal level when Baton Rouge experienced bizarre weather and students bombarded the page with questions about whether the University would close.
“That’s when I saw the value of interaction,” he said. “I noticed that some people wanted facts, but others were just looking for someone to talk to.”
Purvis said the content he posts to different social media sites is meant to appeal to the diverse crowd that follows the pages. He tries to include posts each day that focus on campus news, service projects, academics and athletics.
“I try to think about what will be utilized the most,” he said. “Does it fulfill a need?”
Purvis said the University will continue to monitor different types of social media platforms, and he hopes to soon create a branch of the University homepage that lists each site and highlights some of the content.
Porter said he believes the University should coordinate the social media sites of each of its different elements, like academics and athletics.
“To an outsider, it can become confusing,” he said. “They could do well by bringing all the elements together and speaking with a more unified voice.”
Purvis said he’s excited for the future of social media and its relationship with the University.
“I believe the student body will become some of the most sophisticated social media users,” he said.
 
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Contact Rachel Warren at [email protected]