case v: engaging alumni through content marketing
DESCRIPTION
In August 2013, University Marketing and Communications launched Stories.IllinoisState.edu, a website that collects news, stories, and event information from across the Illinois State University campus and redistributes that content across its web and social media presence. The new STATEside blog, powered by Stories, serves as a daily companion piece to the quarterly Illinois State magazine. Together, Stories and STATEside provide alumni, students, and community members with new opportunities to engage with Illinois State University, its people, its campus, and its culture.TRANSCRIPT
Engaging AlumniThrough Content Marketing
THE PROBLEM
• Reconnect with Illinois State alumni in an age when:
– Television is watched through a DVR or online
– Pop-up and banner advertising is blocked or ignored
– Traditional, static forms of advertising are no longer sufficient in today’s technology and social media-driven world
THE SOLUTION
• Content marketing– Attracts and re-establish
alumni connections– Creates and curates
relevant and valuable content
– An ongoing process that is best integrated into your overall marketing strategy
– Focuses on owning media, not renting it
STORIES.ILLINOISSTATE.EDU
HOW DID WE GO ABOUT THIS?
• Step 1: We isolated a core group of content generators on campus. – Alumni– Colleges– Departments
HOW DID WE GO ABOUT THIS?
• Step 2: We created a website where content can be submitted by multiple authors using a pre-built theme.
HOW DID WE GO ABOUT THIS?
• Then we were ready to launch the site (but we didn’t tell anyone).
– Continually refined our post-submission process based upon user feedback• Introduced scheduling of post
– Experimented with search engine optimization, including Google News
– Looked at analytics: • See what as being read• Where where people coming from• What were they clicking on
HOW DID WE GO ABOUT THIS?
• After a year, we worked with ISU’s web department to develop the XML to convert the RSS feeds to display on websites.
HOW DID WE GO ABOUT THIS?
HOW DID WE GO ABOUT THIS?
• For the next 6 months:– Continued to bring on
more authors– Continued, through ISU’s
web department, to place the Stories feeds on more websites
– Continued to analyze the reader data
HOW DID WE GO ABOUT THIS?
• Then, using the data, we introduced Version 2
– Newsletter traffic Mobile responsive design
– Success of related articles “Most popular” section and Editor’s Picks
– Social sharing Made it even easier to share
– Popularity of photos Custom pages for photos/videos
HOW DID WE GO ABOUT THIS?
HOW DID WE GO ABOUT THIS?
FILLING A NEED
Magazine: 150,000+ readersPublished 4x/year
Reader surveys: Love every issue, but want more!
Inspired by other magazine blogs
190,000 alums + 20,000 students =Not every story fits in the magazine
THE GOALS
• To engage alumni between magazine publication dates
• Tell timely campus stories that alumni want to read: Pull vs. push
• Share stories, not press releases
• Ride pop culture/news cycle
• Managed by the magazine staff
THE LAUNCH
IllinoisState.edu/STATEside• Launched Aug. 13, 2012
on Stories.IllinoisState.edu
• One new story every weekday
• Online-only stories, but “best of” in magazine
• Target audience: Alumni
• First year: 190+ stories, photo galleries, videos
OUR STORIES
Content mix:
Student stories →Photo galleries
VideosAlumni profiles
Top 10 listsTimely stories
Social media recaps
MOST POPULAR
Most-read stories (Aug. 2012 to date)
1. Professor talks Breaking Bad factvs. fiction (19,500+ views)
2. Lay’s potato chip contest could win student $1 million prize
3. Meet the Redbird cheerleaders who got engaged at halftime
4. At 19, student set to become Illinois State’s youngest graduate
5. Student’s web project takes aim at sorority stereotypes
PHOTO AND VIDEO
SOCIAL MEDIA
Storify recaps of big events
Curate a coherent story
Filter out all the social noise
Auto-notifications students
SUPER EASY!
BY THE NUMBERS
Real-time reader data via Google Analytics
Year 1 (August 2012-13): 205,997 page views
Strong performers: Student stories, pop culture, AthleticsWeak links: Straight alum profiles, This Week in ISU History
Other metrics: Alumni contact information updates
Launch (Aug. ’12)Today
OUR READERS
How do they find STATEside?
GoogleFacebookDirectSearch.IllinoisState.eduOtherEmail Newsletter21.5%
23.1%
16.2%
15.9%
13.2%
10.1%
DISTRIBUTION
Stories.IllinoisState.edu: One upload, multiple feedsAdmissions/parents page Student Affairs/homepage
CHALLENGES
1. Awareness: Marketing ourselves
← Full-page ads in alumni magazine
2. Pace = 1 story/day, rain or shine
3. Adjusting time invested vs. return
-- 280+ stories/posts since launch-- Is this going to be worth 100 views?
MARKETING PLAN
What we’ve done
Social mediaFacebook $$$
Alumni e-newslettersISU homepagePrint magazine
Video promo →Intros to campus leadersReport email newsletter
Panel cardsWord-driven video promo/YouTube
SUCCESS STORIES
Be timely. →
← Have fun
Team up
Ride social media
Watch the #s
SOPHOMORE YEAR
#1 goal: More readers and better stories
More student storiesMore Athletics
More pop cultureMore multimedia
Page viewsAugust-October 2012:
23,575August-October 2013:
128,676↑ Most-read story to date
TEAM EFFORT
STATEside partnersAthletics
Media RelationsCollege marketers
Other campus units
Office Hours Q&A
Re-using contentCAST, for example →
