AMA HIGHER EDUCATION SYMPOSIUM 2010

Walk Before You Run - What to Do Before Your University Embraces Social Media

Presented to

San Diego, California

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Agenda

• Typical Social Media LifeCycle• Social Media Audit – How to get your

organization onboard• Staffing/Resources• Content• Tactical Implementation

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The Social Media LifecycleTimelines and phases

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Social Media Lifecycle

Social Media Marketing Objectives

Audit and Analysis

Strategy and Planning

Develop and Deploy

Listen and Grow

Refine and Integrate

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5

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24 month Social Media Framework

Social Media Brand Development

Online Community

Staff Adoption / Community Growth

Student Tools

Open Education

Create a virtual community via popular social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc)

Month 1

To develop or not develop a behind-the-firewall community for students, alumni, faculty and admin Month 6

Sustained growth and retention in internal and externalcommunities

Month 9

Leverage mobile and online solutions to further connectstudents with university services

Month 12

Promote university curriculum

Month 15

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The Social Media AuditBuilding the Foundation for Success

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IDENTIFY social media platforms in use by Your University stakeholders, competitors, students, alumni

ANALYZE trends of social media in Higher Education

DISCOVER existing conversations about your University, your competitors, the space you compete in – frequency and tonality – and best methods of engagement

ALIGN social media planning efforts with all online marketing activities

Social Media Audit – Purpose

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• Outcome of a Social Media audit will help:– Determine a “built-to-fit” rollout strategy– Accurately position your programs to the right stakeholders– Ensure consistency in message

Why a Social Media Audit

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• Have a social media analytics tool do the heavy lifting– e.g. ScoutLabs, Attentio, Listen Logic, Meteor, Radian6, eCairn, Sysomos

• Set up queries to track:– Your University’s brand terms, top 30 SEO terms– Your University’s top 15-20 popular degrees/courses– Competitors (who competes “traditionally” and “online”)

• Use findings as a quantitative baseline

Step 1 – The Right Tools for the Job

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• Assess internal awareness and potential of social media• Interview university admin at every level

– Can they be your social media workforce?– From web developers up to chancellor

• Interview professors– Do they use social media in the classroom?– Spread efforts across adjunct, assistant and tenured faculty

• Interview students and alumni– Do they use social media to connect with fellow students/alumni?

Step 2 – Interview Various Stakeholders

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• Where are your stakeholders, competitors, students, alumni, industry engaging in conversations online?

• Review information gathered to develop:– 5 low hanging fruit activities (immediate to 3 months)

• Outline the rationale and expected results

– 5 mid term activities (3-12 months)– 5 long term activities (over 1 year)

Step 3 – Analyze the Conversations

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• Use findings to establish your “Day 0” situation, and to develop strategies for:– Staffing– Content Development– Engagement– Measurement

Step 4 – Develop Your Strategy

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Staffing StrategyEnsuring resources are aligned

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Social Media Team – Hire in Phases

Director of Social Media

Oversees all your social media activity

Platform Manager

Manages architecture of Your University community

Content Manager

Develops engaging content for communities

Community Manager

Liaison between the “external” university and “internal” stakeholders

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Domain of responsibility

Reports directly to Marketing Community manager

Internal Community?(if applicable)

Third-party channels

Influencer Channels

Social Media Team – Ideal Structure Stage I

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Domain of responsibility

Reports to Director of Social Media

Reports directly to MarketingDirector of

Social Media

Community manager

Internal Community?(if applicable

Third-party, influencer channels

Platform Developer

Content manager

Writers Producers

Social Media Team – Ideal Structure Stage II

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Communications/PR

Director of Social Media

Content Manager Community Manager Platform Manager

Department of IT

Expected relationship with other teams

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Content StrategyDeveloping actionable content

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Content Strategy – What is it?

“Content strategy plans for the creation, publication, and governance of useful, usable content.”

– A List Apart, The Discipline of Content Strategy

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Promotional• University and

program overviews, promotional student testimonials

Informational• University news

releases, campus updates, media interviews with faculty

Educational• Class material,

university events

Social• Content generated by

non-commissioned students and faculty

What kind of content is there?

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Purpose of Content Strategy

• Ensure sustainable brand development• Provide internal/external stakeholders with means to

engage with the brand• Ultimately, actionable and engaging content will help

your university with its core marketing objectives of:– Student retention– Brand awareness– Student acquisition

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ProprietaryWebsite: University.edu, Student Portal, etc.Community: Landing Page, Internal Community, Blog

Typical Content Channels

Third-partyMedia Sharing: YouTube, Flickr, iTunes UniversitySocial Networks: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Yelp

InfluencersWebsites: RateMyProfessors, Wikipedia, Yahoo AnswersPublic opinion: General public, Bloggers, Tweeters

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Content Strategy – Initial Steps?• Develop a social landing page• Create social media style guide• Begin monitoring and engaging through third-party/influencer channels

with content and information– Higher Education Review sites– General Review sites– Social Networks and Communities

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Monitoring your online perceptionEnsuring brand consistency

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SITE SUMMARY METHODOLOGY

College Prowler University review site for prospective college students

Editors (self-appointed and students) provide reviews

GetEducated Online EDU comparison site

Tuition costs are the basis of most ratings, coupled with reviews from public (which are sparse throughout)

Rate My Professors Most popular professor rating service

Students rate professors on various criteria

HigherEd Review Sites – A Few Examples

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SITE SUMMARY METHODOLOGY

Student Reviews Student-run survey-focused college review site

Students rate universities through surveys, questionnaires and comments

TheUniversityReview Review site for students and alumni

Universities are given report cards based on rating of various criteria

Unigo Relatively new college search portal

“Insider scoops” are complemented by editorialized profiles and reviews

HigherEd Review Sites – A Few Sources (cont’d)

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SITE SUMMARY METHODOLOGY

Answers.com Community-driven Q&A site, with editorial pages

Peer-to-peer question and answers

CitySearch Online city guide, providing reviews of local businesses

Similar to Yelp, local students provide ratings and reviews of campus education

Epinions One of the first general consumer reviews sites

Individuals offer ratings, pros vs. cons, and personal reviews

General Review Sites – A Few Sources

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SITE SUMMARY METHODOLOGY

Wikipedia Largest Internet community encyclopedia

Community contributors and editors oversee the site

Yahoo! Answers Community-driven Q&A site

Peer-to-peer question and answer, with best answers voted by others

Yelp Largest local search and reviews site

Individuals rate and review businesses

General Review Sites – A Few Sources

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Developing the PlansContent, Strategy, Measurement – What Next?

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Content Creation – University BlogImmediate Q1 Q2

Week 1 Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4Activity • Issue call for

participation among faculty and staff• Develop blog strategy and plan• Formulate blogging guidelines, training

• Create private blog on hosted or internal platform• Construct wireframes and integration plan • Invite all faculty to familiarize with platform

•Brainstorm editorial topics• Final blog design complete

• Integration with university.edu• Commission pool of 20 generic blog posts

• Launch with first batch of 8-10 posts• Determine feasibility of individual faculty and student blogs

Milestones • 10 confirmed faculty and administration bloggers

• 30 general blog post topics queued, outlined

• 20 general blog posts ready for publishing

• 2 new blog posts per week• 10 additional confirmed bloggers

Resources / (expected monthly bandwidth)

•Marketing • Marketing• IT

•Marketing • 3 faculty (5 hrs)• 3 admin (5 hrs)• Content mgr (20%)• Community mgr (20%)

• Content mgr (30%)• Community mgr (10%)SAMPLE

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Content Management –Proprietary ChannelsImmediate Q1 Q2

Week 1 Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4Social Media landing page

• Develop wireframe

• Deploy landing page

• Include Student Commons (if applicable/appropriate)

• Transition landing page elements into university.edu homepage

• Promote blog

University.edu • Create high-level sitemap for integrating social elements

• Deploy refreshed minimal social presence on homepage

• Deploy social sharing features across university.edu (RSS, social bookmarks, etc)

• Integrate relevant posts into various university.edu pages• Begin evaluating “social layer” solutions

Resources / (expected monthly bandwidth)

•Marketing•IT

•Marketing •Marketing •Platform mgr (40%)

• Platform mgr (20%)SAMPLE

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Thank You!

William Gaultier

CEO

e-storm international

Tel.: +1-415-352-1214

william@e-storm.com

www.e-storm.com

twitter.com/wgaultier

linkedin.com/in/williamgaultier

Kendra Losee

Associate Vice Chancellor

National University System

Tel: +1-858-642-8650

klosee@nu.edu

www.nusystem.org