The State of Facebook in Admissions Marketing Facebook Updates, Best Practices,

And Success Metrics

@bcroke #soFB12

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Hi There! Follow along: #soFB12

Brandon Croke Marketing Manager @bcroke blog.inigral.com

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ü  Facebook’s Latest Updates ü  Incoming Class of 2016 Analysis ü  Current State of Success Metrics

Agenda

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Social Media

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People use Facebook

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Social networks aren’t Pokemon, you don’t have to catch them all.

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Recent Changes •  Timeline for Brand and Profile Pages •  Groups for Schools •  Mobile Page Manager

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Page Manager App •  iPhone Page Manager –  Insights – Posts – Who likes/comments

Exciting or Meh?

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Groups for Schools

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Groups for Schools Same groups, but require an .edu Current groups can’t integrate No administrative “control” According to Oberlin College: -  95% groups had no activity -  50% of groups had less than 5 member Takeaway: one more space to monitor

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Timeline for Brand Pages

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Timeline Changes •  Lost default Landing Tab (choose 3) •  20% less engagement on FB Tabs

•  Direct messaging, pinning, new insights •  Scheduled Posts, Target Countries, •  There is 20% less space for student

conversations, but 75% more space for imagery*

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20% less space

Pin Content

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State of Facebook for Admissions •  School-wide Facebook Page •  Class of 2016 Page/Group •  Schools App •  Personal Pages •  Facebook Advertising

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What’s happening in 2012?

98%

50%

30%

75%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

100%

FB Page Class of 2016 Admissions 3rd Party

160 Institutions Analyzed

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Prospective Visits •  Only 27% students reported visiting a

schools Facebook Page in their college search

Noel-­‐levitz  e-­‐expecta0ons  2011  

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Admitted Student Communities •  Class of 2016 Page •  Class of 2016 Groups •  Private social network (Schools App)

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Pages •  Pros and cons

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Pages Pros •  Broadcasting capability •  Large welcome imagery •  Custom tabs •  Facebook Insights

Cons •  Content takes time •  Most fans don’t see

content •  Open to anyone •  Hard to monitor/measure

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Groups •  Pros and cons

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Groups Pros ü  Place for students to talk ü Can be open or closed ü  Notifications ü Group chat

Cons ü  No metrics or reporting ü  Hand approve members ü  Hard to monitor/manage ü  Limited conversation

space ü  Fragmentation

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Schools App

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14% 16% 17%

24%

36%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

Roommate Excitement Introduction Hometown Major

Most Popular Posts

Inside the Class of 2016

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87%

64%

13%

36%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Comments Likes

Percent of Comments and Likes

Group Page

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Beware of Imposters

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82% 81%

73%

36%

20% 19% 18% 19%

27%

64%

80% 81%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Affirmative Decision

Current Student

Dorms Roommate Undecided Campus Events

Posts on School-Sponsored vs. Third Party Sponsored Pages/Groups

School Third Party

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What presence should we have?

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It Depends Type of school and specific goals… 1.  How much time do I have to dedicate? 2.  How much money am I willing to invest? 3.  How savvy is my team with Facebook? 4.  What kind of buy-in do I need internally? 5.  How data driven is my office/supervisors?

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Takeaways •  Secure your brand real-estate •  The medium affects the message •  Need data? Facebook alone won’t cut it

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Measuring Success Just because you can measure it doesn’t

mean it matters. Data is not necessarily information

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Klout should not count

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Facebook Insights

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Pages •  Pros and cons

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grader.inigral.com

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Still a Disconnect

92% 86%

33%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

100%

Social Engagement is Important

Social Media is Used Happy with Success Metrics

90 VPs, Deans, Directors Surveyed

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Enrollment Outcomes

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Google Analytics Goals/UTM

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Google Analytics Goals/UTM

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Page/Group Enrollment Sheet First Name Last Name Enrolled? Automatic Joined FB Page?

Sara Smith Yes ENROLLED No James Dillon No No Ritu Ahmed Yes ENROLLED Yes

40.03%

70.83%

30.77%

0.00%

20.00%

40.00%

60.00%

80.00%

All Admits Facebook Admits Non-Facebook Admits

Admit Enrollment Yields for Facebook Page Users and Non-Users

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Facebook Data is Limited •  Hometown •  Planned Major •  Times visited •  Friends made •  Number of questions asked •  Conversations started •  Interests on campus

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Private Networks Are Truly Social •  Meet Sarah •  Columbus, Ohio •  Social Work •  10 visits to the community •  12 friendships made •  Asked 1 question •  Started 3 conversations •  Interests: volunteering, guitar, and Harry

Potter

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Individual Student Attention

Friends Made Conversations started

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Schools App Data

24%

33%

17%

42%

25%

36%

29%

72% 71%

33%

76%

59%

76%

67%

11% 14%

11%

25%

16% 19% 19%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Asian Black or African American

Hawaiian / Pacific Islander

Hispanic / Latino Non-Resident Alien

White Other/NA

2011 Admit Enrollment by Ethnicity All Schools App Users Non-users

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Question What’s more important to track the # of likes on a page or the # of friends a student makes? Friends and Enrollment

Friends Yield 0 friends 45.0%

1+ friends 74.9%

2+ friends 80.5%

6+ friends 92.3%

12+ friends 100.0%

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In Conclusion •  Focus, don’t get distracted by shiny objects •  Best practices are up in the air •  Reserve your space and collect data now •  Social Enrollment Management is the future

The State of Facebook in Admissions Marketing

Questions? email: bcroke@inigral.com

blog.inigral.com

@bcroke #soFB12

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