[PPT] - SEMM 2019 Using Research to Optimize Your Social Media Strategy PowerPoint Presentation

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Using Research to Optimize Your Social Media Strategy SEMM 2019

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ACADEMICA GROUP

Moving Higher Ed Forward

At Academica, we’re driven by the singular mission of moving higher ed forward. In our 20 years of working with post- secondary institutions across Canada and the US, we’ve used

ur deep sector expertise to provide solutions that have

maximum impact for each of our clients.

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Projects completed each year

100

Research experts, consultants, and support staff

23

OUR COMPANY

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COMPLETE BRAND RESEARCH TOOLKIT

Ad/Viewbook Concept Testing Social Media Analysis Competitor Review Web Testing Brand Awareness/ Perception Ad Recall Tracking Studies

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SUCCINCT SOCIAL MEDIA

Kara’s career has been centered on the philosophy that in order to create content that drives results, there needs to be a clear understanding of audience and their objectives. In working with clients, she has strived to forge partnerships between interactive and traditional media divisions and opportunities to bridge the digital divide between clients and their target market. Kara’s specialty is Social Network Analysis. The in-depth understanding of how likes, follows, replies, shares, ratings and online activities all form collections of connections.

Gain insights and the ability to effectively change your social media engagement!

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OVERVIEW

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS TARGET AUDIENCE IDENTIFICATION

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SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT

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KEYWORD RESEARCH

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OVERVIEW

A/B TESTING SOCIAL METRICS FOR HIGHER ED

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NETWORK ANALYSIS

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Social Media Audit

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SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT

Process of evaluating

an organization’s social media

Provides clear picture
f current efforts

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01

Document all current active social profiles

02

Are your profiles complete?

03

Are your profiles consistent?

SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT: Basic Process

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Consistent Profiles

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SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT: Example

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SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT: Extras

Purpose

What is the purpose of each account?

Content

What type of content is being shared?

Frequency

How often is content being posted? Last post?

Followers

How many followers does each account have?

Engagement

What content is contributing most to your goals?

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SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT: End Product

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Comparative Analysis

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COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

Comparing your

social media performance to that

f other institutions
Stay on top of what
thers in the sector

are doing

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List

List of key comparators (mix of competitors, similar, and social leaders)

Channels

What channels are they active on?

Frequency

How often do they post?

Content

What type of content are they posting? What hashtags are they using?

Engagement

What types of posts are garnering the best engagement?

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COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS: Basic Process

01

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COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS: Tools

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COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS: Example

Instagram Profiles

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COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS: Example

Institutions B and C post on Facebook significantly less than comparator institutions Institution A posts the most frequently, averaging around 20 posts per week

Facebook: Number of Posts Per Week

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COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS: Example

Top Performing Channels

Platform Institution Posted Content Total Interactions Interactions/ Posted Content Instagram A 23 5709 248 Instagram C 46 3119 68 Instagram B 40 2525 63 Facebook D 10 295 30 Facebook E 21 439 21 Facebook A 38 724 19 Facebook C 48 658 14 Facebook B 90 617 7 Twitter B 97 647 7 Twitter A 66 440 7 Twitter D 10 70 7 Twitter E 16 101 6 LinkedIn A 4 15 4 LinkedIn E 15 52 3 Twitter C 82 120 1 Instagram E

Instagram

D

Institution A’s

Instagram garnered the most interactions per post

Instagram is the top performing channel for interactions

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Target Audience Understanding

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TARGET AUDIENCE UNDERSTANDING

Your target audience is

not “everyone”

General personas can help

understand how your audience thinks, feels, and acts

Need social media-specific

understanding as well

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Channels

What social channels does your target audience use the most?

2

Content

What types of content do they engage with?

3

Topics

What do they talk about online?

AUDIENCE UNDERSTANDING: Basic Process

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AUDIENCE UNDERSTANDING: Tools

Market research
3rd party information

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AUDIENCE UNDERSTANDING: Tools

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AUDIENCE UNDERSTANDING: Example

Who are they? (E.g. age, gender, location, interests, etc.) What are they interested in that you can provide? (E.g. educational content, information, etc.) Where do they usually hang out online? (E.g. Facebook, Instagram, etc. or niche platforms) When do they look for the type of content you can provide? (E.g. weekends, evenings, etc.) Why do they consume the content? (E.g. to get better at their job, to stay up to date, to determine fit, etc.) How do they consume the content? (E.g. read blogs, listen to podcasts, watch videos, etc.)

Who is our target audience?

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Keyword Research

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KEYWORD RESEARCH

Identifying the topics,

hashtags, and keywords your target audience uses

Use this information to

share content relevant to their interests

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STEP 1

Develop list of relevant topics

STEP 2

Search using keyword research tools

STEP 3

Understand user intent

STEP 4

Use high volume keywords that reflect your user intent

KEYWORD RESEARCH: Basic Process

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Network Analysis

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NETWORK ANALYSIS

Data visualization
Can identify top influencers

(mayors), hashtags, topics and more

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NETWORK ANALYSIS: Structure and Phases

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NETWORK ANALYSIS: Example Strategy

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A/B Testing

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A/B TESTING

Social lends itself to a ‘try-and-

see’ approach

Focus on continually monitoring

and adjusting

You can find recommendations

for timing, frequency, headlines, hashtags, etc. but they won’t be specific to YOUR target audience

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SHARE WINNING

…or continue to iterate and test

TRACK AND ANALYZE

Based on the goal of the post, track relevant metrics

SHOW TO SEGMENT

Show each variation to a random segment of followers

CREATE TWO VARIATIONS

Ensure only one element is varied

CHOOSE ELEMENT

Choose an element to test

A/B TESTING: Basic Process

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POST TEXT

Length, style, tone

HEADLINE AND DESCRIPTION

For linked articles, events, etc.

CALL TO ACTION

Long vs. short, built-in CTA buttons vs. CTA in the post

CONTENT TYPE

Image, video, carousel, GIFs

TIME OF DAY/WEEK

Morning, afternoon, evening, day of week

HASHTAGS

Specific hashtags, number, placement

A/B TESTING: What to test

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Social Metrics for Higher Ed

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SOCIAL METRICS FOR HIGHER ED

Followers, reach and

engagement are common but insufficient

Metrics need to be tied

to the goals of your social media program

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SOCIAL METRICS MAP

Source: SproutSocial

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SOCIAL METRICS FOR HIGHER ED

Depending on your goals, this may include:
% of web visitors referred by social media
Response rate and response time to inquiries
% increase in share of voice
% increase in share of desired positioning
Sentiment
% increase in coverage containing desirable

quotes from key influencers

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SOCIAL METRICS FOR HIGHER ED

Depending on your goals, this may include:
% increase in organic mentions
Developing a point system to determine

whether you are talking about and getting mentioned for what matters to your institution

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Questions/Discussion

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Th Thank you!

Jul Julie P Peters

Vice President, Research Academica Group julie@academicagroup.com

Ka Kara Wood

Founder and CDO Succinct Social Media kara@succinctsocialmedia.com