Applying the scientific method to

social mediaFive ACTIONABLE strategies based

on facts

Mark Parfitt

@parfittmark

Jenn Connally

@JennConnally

Low program enrollment?Low program enrollment?Low program enrollment?Low program enrollment?

What weWhat we’’re doing/trendsre doing/trendsWhat weWhat we’’re doing/trendsre doing/trends

Invest in digital strategyInvest in digital strategyInvest in digital strategyInvest in digital strategy

Goals, Tactics, ImplementGoals, Tactics, ImplementGoals, Tactics, ImplementGoals, Tactics, Implement

MeasureMeasureMeasureMeasure

Report/ReviseReport/ReviseReport/ReviseReport/Revise

ObservationObservationObservationObservation

ResearchResearchResearchResearch

HypothesisHypothesisHypothesisHypothesis

ExperimentExperimentExperimentExperiment

AnalysisAnalysisAnalysisAnalysis

Report/ReviseReport/ReviseReport/ReviseReport/Revise

Lofty idea. Science!

Jenny Acree

@JennyAcree

Jenn Connally

@JennConnally

Applying the scientific method

to social media

Five ACTIONABLE strategies based on facts and a series of

tactics

building a digital communications strategyThre

e

•2002 - Moved to Concordia, KS & teaching HS English/Journalism

•2005 - Began my employment with CCCC - Curriculum specialist

•Fall 2008 - Switched to full-time faculty and academic advisor

•January 2009 - Officially took over as the Director of Marketing

Jenny Acree, Director of Marketing & Public

Information

QUICK FACTSabout CLOUD:

• Decentralized

• Website

• Audience & content

• Social media

• Measurement tools

Focus time and resources

Image source: http://kathoderay.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/ContentMarketing.jpg

•Website

•Social Media

•Student ambassadors

Website Challenges•HTML based website

housed in IT

•ONLY ONE person could add and update content

•More of an informational approach; not engaging

•No understanding of the type of content needed or agreement of where it should go

Website Challenges•IT was tracking page visits,

but they were not really sharing that information or looking at it regularly

•No way of gauging the usefulness of the site because there were no “real” analytics in place

•Lost our Director of IT and the web developer took over many of those responsibilities

Website Solutions - ANALYTICS•Learning more about the

audience visiting our site

•Understanding what this audiences was coming to the site for - and just as important - what we wanted them to do when they came to the site

•Understanding the who and the what would help drive our site map and the content we featured on our homepage

Website Solutions - CONTENT•Create an engaging and

multi-media web experience

•Issuu - print materials (viewbook)

•Picasa - photo albums for athletics, public downloads

•YouTube - to begin putting very simple video pieces on the website

Website Solutions - CMS

•Transfer ownership of the website to be under marketing and public information

•Convinced the College Board of Trustees to invest in a Content Management System to maintain the website - we selected Percussion CM1

•Allows for other departments to contribute content. They can add and update new content without having to have html knowledge

Image source: websearchsocial.com

Tackling Social Media• We had no real social

media presence when I began

• So many, where do I begin?

•We started with a Group Page (March 2009) that was created and maintained by a work study student

•Not really generating likes and experiencing some frustration with the lack of success, so I researched a little and we went from being a Group Page to a Fan Page (May 2009)

Facebook First

EVALUATING THE AUDIENCE: Who was USING FACEBOOK?

•After the transition to a Fan Page we learned high school students were not using Facebook to connect with us, it was current students and alumni

•Now that we had a better understanding of our audience, we could generate content that was most relevant to them

•Variety of postings - including more “Student Life” to bring in the current students

•Constant monitoring of postings and experimenting to see when we have success

•Make sure to spend time on Facebook and share links from others

•We see a lot of success from tagging people in pictures as well

Sharing Control

•Develop a strategy for posting, especially if there are multiple administrators for your page

•Share others’ links and spread the love across the institution

•Encourage entities within your institution to have their own presence on Facebook

•Make sure to promote those pages and connect them to your “institution” page

Channel to communicate

•Facebook can be the first touchpoint for students

•Interact with users as much as you can!

•Introduced @CCCCNews

•Just tied to Facebook account

•Had no clue how to use Twitter

Twitter, where the students are

Twitter Lessons Learned

•Relied on student focus group

•Learned about what type of content to post on Twitter vs. Facebook

•Don’t follow us, we’ll follow you!

•Video record & share: YouTubeMore engaging web contentEasy to embed in your websiteFree storageEasy access

•Our earliest attempts to use YouTube was for more engaging web content

Not strategicPoint > shoot > postVery few views

Video easy and engaging

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWwSYX9NpXw

Video record & share: YouTube•More strategic

•Website analytics says athletics

•Increased views

•Expand focus

•Free and easy to use

•Engage and promoteT-bird culture

•Analytics

Picasa: Online photo albums

Picasa: How it’s used

•The Future

•Staged vs. authentic point of view

Our students are the face of our institutions.

Using Social Media to Promote Student Success

We’re Not Done Yet•More multi-media on our website

•Continue to focus on the student experience

•Continue to learn and grow, set goals, develop new strategies and ALWAYS MEASURE to see success

•Leveraging Mass Comm students

Key Strategies

>> Leveraging students

>> Building brand affinity

>> Centralizing communications

Actionable takeaways

FACT 1: Media landscape has changedFACT 2: Personalize communications FACT 3: WOMM is the most trustedFACT 4: Do more with lessFACT 5: Must track, measure, and report

FACT 1: Media landscape has changed

FACT 1: Media landscape has changed

>> Invest in your digital presence

>> Be strategic about selecting channels

>> Generate and sustain engagement with shareable content

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FACT 2: WOMM most trusted advertising

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nsns

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nsns

68%68%OpinionsOpinions68%68%OpinionsOpinions

FACT 2: WOMM most trusted advertising

>> Turn students into brand ambassadors

>> Identify ways to turn everyday campus

occurrences into compelling content

>> Build awareness AND preference

FACT 3: Personalize communications

“Blast e-mails are too impersonal. People want to know you’ve thought about them.”

– Kenneth Elmore, Boston University

“Blast e-mails are too impersonal. People want to know you’ve thought about them.”

– Kenneth Elmore, Boston University

FACT 3: Personalize communications

>> Understand your audience

>> Build segmented content hubs

>> Deliver content directly to students

>> Centralize communications

>> Repurpose content: Make a single content idea work across traditional media, social media and the web

>> Create student ambassador programs

>> bit.ly/smreq

FACT 4: Do More with less

FACT 5: Must track, measure, & report

“It's not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what's required.”

– Winston Churchill

“It's not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what's required.”

– Winston Churchill

FACT 5: Must track, measure, & report

>> Align content development with social media metrics and strategic goals

>> If you can’t measure it. Don’t use it.

>> Create clear paths to analyze data

Thank you!

Questions?Comments?Shares?