Social media has changed the relationship between higher education institutions and their audiences—for the better. Schools that have broadened the scope of their communication with social media are seeing the results of these efforts through increased engagement, measurable upward trends in sentiment and loyalty, and successful fundraising activity. In this eBook you can see first-hand how these digital media professionals make connections and maintain relationships through social efforts. Learn how the tips from these University digital media and communications professionals can help you optimize your institution’s work on the Hootsuite platform.

1. 9 Tips on Increasing Engagement
Social Media and the
Student Lifecycle:

2. Higher Education & Social Media by the Numbers
Admissions
75% of the class of 2013
used social media in deciding
where to enroll compared to
39% in 2012
Stats taken from the white paper, The Social Campus: How Social Media is Transforming Higher Education.
2012 2012 20122013 2013 2013
Student Services
89% of higher ed institutions
engaged current students
through social media in 2013
compared to 69% in 2012
Alumni
97% of U.S. higher ed
institutions engaged alumni
through social media in 2013
compared to 84% in 2012
39%
75% 69%
89% 84%
97%

3. Listening, Learning, and Conversing:
How the Higher Ed Pros Succeed in Social
The statistics echo what those in the
higher education field already know: social
media’s role in post-secondary institutions’
communications with students—prospective,
enrolled, or graduated—is integral. And it’s
growing. This is an exciting time for those
who work in Admissions, Student Services,
and Alumni/Fundraising Services. Instead
of relying on traditional outreach methods,
which limit interaction, universities and
colleges that listen to their audiences and
come up with new and different ways of
connecting are seeing their efforts rewarded.
We asked digital media pros from three top
higher education institutions, the University
of Southern California, Ryerson University,
and The Ohio State University, to share
their knowledge about using social media
successfully. Hear their stories on the
webinar, Making the Grade: Tapping into the
Student Life Cycle Through Social Media.
From the conversations, we pulled together
some of their success stories and tips on how
your institution can implement sound, successful
social media communication strategies.

4. Prospective Students:
Connecting and
Maintaining Relationships
Through Social

5. Juntae DeLane is the Digital Brand Manager for the University of Southern
California’s Enrollment Services Department where he provides digital
marketing, branding and social media strategy for Admission, Financial
Aid, Orientation, and Registration.
Digital Brand Manager, University of Southern California
Juntae DeLane
“The Hootsuite dashboard helped us pull
all the pieces together by coordinating
messaging across departments. We also
used the mobile app to monitor social
media activity any time.”

6. 3 Tips from Juntae DeLane, University of Southern California
Tip 1. Create positive buzz and early engagement with virtual events.
Connecting off-site visitors to online events based on real-life activities
taking place at the school is an innovative and inexpensive way to share
the excitement. Juntae and his team set up a live-streamed “Virtual Open
House” on Facebook that coincided with an annual welcome to USC event
for new and returning students. Viewers were required to like the USC
Facebook fan page to watch the stream. The result? Students (and their
parents) had a chance to check out the school without making a trip to the
campus, whether they were still researching prospective schools or were
enrolled but unable to attend. USC was able to boost event participation,
and the Facebook page gained new, highly engaged followers.

7. 3 Tips from Juntae DeLane, University of Southern California
Tip 2. Decide on best practices for optimizing social media platforms.
USC is using a number of social channels—Twitter, Google+, YouTube,
Facebook, Instagram—so they need more than a one-size-fits-all approach.
It’s important to know the strengths of each platform and what type
of content will get the most traction. Facebook, for example, is a great
space to share rich media like videos, photos, and links (the Facebook
audience responds favorably to interactive and visual media). On the other
hand, Google+ allows you to post content for different audiences in your
customized circles, and answer questions in real time during a Hangout
session. Juntae and his team created a document of best practices for
each of the social channels to ensure everyone was in agreement.

8. 3 Tips from Juntae DeLane, University of Southern California
Tip 3. Publish good content, consistently.
While the focus should remain on creating unique, high-quality content, if
your messaging isn’t being sent out regularly, engagement levels will drop.
USC publishes content at least once a week to Facebook, and increases
to daily posts at important phases of the cycle. Hootsuite’s scheduling
options (Manual, Bulk, and AutoSchedule) can help manage frequency
and even assist with publishing content at optimal times to reach your
audience.

9. Current Students:
Managing the Digital
Hand-off From Admissions
to Student Services

10. Kareem Rahaman is a digital marketing specialist with a long history of
digital communication consulting. He currently works at Ryerson University
in the Undergraduate Admission and Registrar’s Office as the Senior Digital
Communications Officer where he uses digital media to recruit and convert
prospective students to full time Ryerson students as well as helping deliver
exceptional service through online channels to current students.
Kareem Rahaman
“The surveys showed that students wanted
a student-run social media account that
they could relate to.”
Digital Media Specialist, Ryerson University

11. 3 Tips from Kareem Rahaman, Ryerson University
Tip 1. Streamline accounts.
Ryerson never had any problems with welcoming new recruits, and
in fact, their outreach efforts to new and existing students, though
well-meaning, were starting to get confusing. With three separate
accounts sending welcome messages to new students, it was unclear
who was responsible for answering questions and providing support.
De-fragmenting this experience was a high priority for Kareem, who
assembled a steering committee to bring about collaboration between
the university’s top-performing social media accounts. The result? During
admissions, students now receive personalized Tweets that lead them to
the correct university accounts they can follow as current students. This
digital hand-off smooths the transition from admissions to enrolment by
targeting the correct accounts at the different stages. Kareem’s long-term
plan is to continue this digital hand-off process right through to alumni.

12. 3 Tips from Kareem Rahaman, Ryerson University
Tip 2. Measure everything.
As part of the streamlining process, Kareem and his colleagues use
uberVU via Hootsuite to tag social media profiles and track students as
they make their way through the admissions process. They also use
social media metrics such as sentiment, reach, and conversion obtained
through Hootsuite to build a comprehensive picture of how their efforts
are paying off. By correlating this data, the team can see exactly how
many touch points it takes for students to get all the information they
need, and at what stages. This hard data is important for proving ROI and
justifying the investment in social media.

13. 3 Tips from Kareem Rahaman, Ryerson University
Tip 3. Encourage authentic communication.
Through a survey, the Ryerson social media team learned that students
wanted an account that was run by their contemporaries. It might
seem counterproductive to put an institution’s social media reins in
the hands of non-professionals, but Ryerson has proven that with a
bit of preparation it can actually strengthen the messages being sent
out. “Monitor, don’t micromanage,” is Kareem’s advice then it comes to
student-run social media accounts. Although the social media team
supports the account with overall strategy and training, students are
allowed—encouraged, in fact—to use their authentic voices when
communicating on the school’s social networks. Kareem credits a
thorough vetting process and training program with the account’s
success, and there haven’t been issues of off-brand or problematic
messaging. Feedback has been positive, and the team has seen marked
increase in authenticity, sincerity, and trust.

14. Alumni: Cultivating Digital
Relationships that Resonate

15. As Director of Multimedia Content at The Ohio State University, Kristen Convery
leads the team that manages osu.edu digital storytelling, university social
media efforts, photography and video production. She combines a journalism
background with an interest in technology and a drive to innovate.
Kristen Convery
“It’s all about relationships, so it’s important
to follow up and say thanks. We compiled
Buckeye stories in Storify for our website
to show how much the school values this
shared material.”
Director, Multimedia Content, The Ohio State University

16. 3 Tips from Kristen Convery, The Ohio State University
Tip 1. Experiment with different ideas and remain flexible.
Kristen and her colleagues follow the principle of being “always in beta”
which allows room for creativity and innovation depending on audience
engagement. A good example is OSU’s “tag-yourself” Facebook project
that they created during Welcome Week to engage alumni during a
time that is meaningful for current students. The OSU Facebook page
had shown very high levels of engagement with alumni, who liked and
commented more often than current students—something they hadn’t
originally expected. The social media team posted images of the school’s
residence halls and other parts of the campus, and ask former students
to tag themselves with stories of their time at OSU. The campaign was
wildly successful, with some of the pictures reaching the maximum
number of tags.

17. 3 Tips from Kristen Convery, The Ohio State University
Tip 2. Tailor content /campaigns to harness the momentum of current
social media trends.
The “throwback Thursday” hashtag on Instagram (#tbt) presented a
perfect platform for showcasing old photos of Buckeyes in love. Through
social listening, Kristen’s team discovered that current OSU students
were using the #buckeyeforlife Twitter hashtag to show their excitement
about post-OSU life as a proud graduate of the school. Kristen’s team saw
a chance to leverage the popular hashtag for engagement with another
audience: alumni. By asking former students to share #buckeyeforlife
stories, they brought a whole new dimension to the conversation, which
expanded beyond Twitter to include other social platforms.

18. 3 Tips from Kristen Convery, The Ohio State University
Tip 3. Know thy audience—and their preferred social media channels.
OSU quickly discovered that their alumni responded most favorably
to visuals, and predominantly use Facebook as an online connection
platform. (The statistics back this up: In 2013, 45% of internet users age 65
and older used Facebook. And that number is growing. In late 2012, 35%
of this group were active on Facebook.) Rather than focus one message
or campaign across multiple platforms, the OSU social media team
responded by making photography a central part of the institution’s
multimedia group. The team is able to tailor the messaging and purpose
of their social media activity based on who they know will be listening.

19. @hootsuite
/hootsuite
/company/hootsuite
/+hootsuite
Learn more about how your higher
education institution can use social
media to make connections in all
stages of the student lifecycle.
Watch the webinar today