social media for education: walk before you run - ama higher education
DESCRIPTION
Presentation delivered by William Gaultier, CEO of e-storm and Kendra Losee, Vice Chancellor of Marketing for National University System on develop a strategic social media plan based on research with students, senior management, competitors. A true way to get more strategic about social media beyond the tactics. e-storm has developed this strategic framework for ebates.com, sutter home, microsoft, pleo and many other organizations. Enjoy! and let us know what you think?TRANSCRIPT
AMA HIGHER EDUCATION SYMPOSIUM 2010
Walk Before You Run - What to Do Before Your University Embraces Social Media
Presented to
San Diego, California
2
Agenda
• Typical Social Media LifeCycle• Social Media Audit – How to get your
organization onboard• Staffing/Resources• Content• Tactical Implementation
3
The Social Media LifecycleTimelines and phases
4
Social Media Lifecycle
Social Media Marketing Objectives
Audit and Analysis
Strategy and Planning
Develop and Deploy
Listen and Grow
Refine and Integrate
12
34
5
5
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
6
The Social Media AuditBuilding the Foundation for Success
7
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
8
• 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
9
• 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
10
• 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
11
• 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
12
• Use findings to establish your “Day 0” situation, and to develop strategies for:– Staffing– Content Development– Engagement– Measurement
Step 4 – Develop Your Strategy
13
Staffing StrategyEnsuring resources are aligned
14
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
15
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
16
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
17
Communications/PR
Director of Social Media
Content Manager Community Manager Platform Manager
Department of IT
Expected relationship with other teams
18
Content StrategyDeveloping actionable content
19
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
20
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?
21
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
22
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
23
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
24
Monitoring your online perceptionEnsuring brand consistency
25
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
26
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)
27
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
28
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
29
Developing the PlansContent, Strategy, Measurement – What Next?
30
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
31
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
32
Thank You!
William Gaultier
CEO
e-storm international
Tel.: +1-415-352-1214
www.e-storm.com
twitter.com/wgaultier
linkedin.com/in/williamgaultier
Kendra Losee
Associate Vice Chancellor
National University System
Tel: +1-858-642-8650
www.nusystem.org