Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Mob

Social Media &Brand Awareness

Dave Tanchak | BCIT

CCAE National ConferenceJune 8, 2009

Here on behalf of a diverse and dynamic team…

Who is this dude anyway?

• Manager, Web Services, BCIT• Part-time web design instructor• Beer-league hockey player• Rock star wannabe * * More on this later

Definitely not a social media:expertevangelist (maybe a little)

strategist (well, not entirely)

guru

More of an experimentalist, if anything.(aren’t we all?)

The Social Media Starfishhttp://www.darrenbarefoot.com/archives/2007/11/scobles-starfish.html

The Conversation Prismhttp://www.briansolis.com/2009/03/conversation-prism-v20.html

Can social media equal this?

…as a way to raise awareness?

Dunno.

But it definitely won’t if we don’tget engaged.

Via Jeff_Werner on Flickrhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffwerner/274490620/

Our research has shown:

• BCIT brand awareness is high

• Perceptions are skewed• Breadth is poorly

understood

Can we make people aware of the breadth of our offering…

…by getting them to think and talk about their interests and goals?

Photo via Matt Hamm on Flickr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthamm/2945559128/

Using communication methods and tools that are meaningful to our target audience.

We thought we’d try.

So let’s flip the conversation around…

Via activeside on Flickrhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/activeside/2180730719/

them

us

An arduous journey…

1 Early conversations2 Transmogrification *

3 Loving the mob4 What to worry about next

Our, uh, “egg hunt” so far:

* Props to Calvin & Hobbes

Early conversations

1

2

3

4

We tried to start the conversation in 2003

Yeah, right.

So we went about our business…

…but we kept talking about “the mob.”(Notice the old screenshots…)

Yo Dave. S’up?

You know those blog

things?

Yup.

Think we could get some

students to write some of

those?I reckon.

Kay. Lemme know when

they’re ready.

Will do.

Then, one day in 2006……and so, about 3 months later…

Director of Marketing(Boss)

Me

“Real students. Real life.”

bcit.ca/mylife

The big idea:

• Give potential students:– Unmediated commentary about BCIT– A glimpse of student life that no

brochure or website content can provide

– A chance to interact with real students

• Then watch the applications roll in!

We definitely got some interesting

stories…

So what about all those conversations?

Year # of bloggers Comments Total UPV myLife UPV

06/07 7 84 > 10K > 3K

07/08 7 21 > 12K > 4K

08/09 10 47 > 36K > 5K

It seems clear that:

• Student bloggers have been providing valuable perspective over 3 years

• We still haven’t seen the level of engagement we hoped for

Transmogrification

1

2

3

4

Images ©Universal Press Syndicate. Original work by Bill Watterson. Originally published on 1987-03-23 & 1987-03-24.

For the uninitiated

Yo Dave. S’up?

We’re looking to do more stuff on the

web this year.

Cool.Uh...

In the spring of 2008…

Director of Marketing(Not my boss)

Me

Some of that social media

stuff. The Myface and

so on.

And video. Lots of video.Seriously.

It’ll rock.Is this a

joke?

Yes, actually. I’m not really a Marketing archetype.

We need to transmogrify from:

• Static to dynamic• One-way to two-way• Announcement to conversation

Move past brochureware:

• “Here’s what we’ve got.”• “Here’s what it costs.”• “Here’s how you get in.”• “Here’s what it’s like to study.”

The big idea:

• Use social media aspects:– Creating– Connecting– Collaborating– Critiquing– Consuming

To help us increase awareness of

our brand and breadth.

Promotional tactics:

• Outdoor advertising• Online• Theatre slides• Nightcasting• Street decaling • Street stunts• Recruitment events

Skytrain platform posters

Skytrain interior cards

• Nexopia• Laineygossip• Somethingawful• Beyondrobson• Livejournal

Online advertising

Theatre slides:

• 117 screens in Cineplex Movie Theatres

• Full-motion commercials

Theatre slides: “Rims”

Theatre slides: “Date”

Mobile unit that projects ads on sides of buildings in high-volume locations

Nightcasting

Street decaling

Street stunts

BCITwebsite

Campaign results:

• 10,000+ visits• 110 transmogrifications• 630 text changes• 84 video changes• 300 registered users (suspects)• 42 star users (prospects)

Loving the mob

1

2

3

4

Yo Dave. S’up?

In February of 2009…

Director of Marketing(Still not my boss)

Me

So I really want some

video on the site.

Uh huh.Like, a lot of video.

Uh huh.

I was thinking we could shoot

for three days and nights.

Haha! Good one.

I’m not joking. I

even have a name for it:Webathon!

Stop! You’re killing me!

Seriously. …

Oh, and I want to do it four weeks

from now.Aw, crap.Ow! My sides!

Hilarious!

Biannual BIG Info event plays big part in students’ decision to come to BCIT.

The big idea:

• Shoot and post video non-stop for 4 days and 3 nights (67 hours)

• Then watch the applications roll in!

First things first – lose the webathon name.

Second, a very fast conceptual design phase.

Then we built the @#%$! thing.

67 hours is a lot of video.

Sample 3bn videos

Skateboarders Tuition winner Colonel Panic

Also notable:

• During event we used twitter to interact with and convert a disgruntled BIG Info attendee

• BCIT President actually passed along congratulations to the 3bn team (I know!)

We have started to engage the mob…

…and they aren’t that scary. (Mostly).

What to worry about next

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2

3

4

Integrated strategy:

• Why are we involved in social media? Why is our audience?

• How does it enhance offline efforts?

• What behaviour are we trying to influence?

• How will we measure success?

Community tending:

• Staying engaged with the community (wherever they may be)

• Getting internal stakeholders to participate

• Where will conversions happen?

Focus on the experience:

• How does our presence on SM sites integrate with our website?

• Do we have the technical expertise to create a killer experience?

• Are our people ready to engage online and F2F?

Via rumikel on Flickr.http://www.flickr.com/photos/rumikel/2931980674/

The mob is out there. Talking about

you.

Show them some love.

Dave Tanchakdtanchak@bcit.ca

@sharpener

CCAE National ConferenceJune 8, 2009