Engage in a discussion about how leading institutions are applying social technologies to attract new students, engage and retain their existing student population, and inspire and re-connect with alumni.
Social Strategies for Successful Student Engagement
1. Social Strategies for Successful Student
Engagement
James Davidson
VP Digital and Community Strategy
7Summits
@jdavidson | #hesummit
2. âA new class of company is emerging â one that
uses collaborative technologies intensively to
connect the internal efforts of employees and to
extend the organizationâs reach to customers,
partners and suppliers....â
Social Media is Disrupting Business
McKinsey Global Institute
âThe Social Economy: Unlocking value and productivity through Social Technologiesâ July 2012
9. From:
Â
â˘âŻ Hoarding
 Informa-on
Â
â˘âŻ Web
 Sites/Portals
Â
â˘âŻ Management
Â
â˘âŻ Email
 /
 Newsle;ers
Â
â˘âŻ CRM
Â
â˘âŻ Baby
 Boomers
Â
â˘âŻ User
 Interfaces
Â
â˘âŻ Noise
Â
â˘âŻ Desktop
Â
To:
Â
â˘âŻ Informa-on
 Sharing
Â
â˘âŻ Integrated
 Social
 Sites
Â
â˘âŻ Engagement
Â
â˘âŻ Collabora-on
Â
â˘âŻ Social
 CRM
 +
 Communi-es
Â
â˘âŻ Gen
 X
 /
 Millennials
Â
â˘âŻ User
 Experience
Â
â˘âŻ Insights
Â
â˘âŻ Mobile
 /
 Access
 Anywhere
Â
The biggest from to shift in a generation
Re-shaping the way you engage students, faculty, staff and partners
10. â˘âŻSocial media is the default state 1
â˘âŻRely on user-generated content to
make life decisions 1
â˘âŻThey absorb and manage
information differently than other
generations1
â˘âŻUniversities that create their own
open communities have a much
greater degree of credibility 2
Millennials / GenX Insights
Sources: 1Bazaarvoice. 2 Onlinecolleges.net
11. Higher Education Trends
Recruitment / Admissions
â˘âŻA typical prospective student
now receives 12-18 emails
from 2-4 year public/
private institutions. 1
â˘âŻCRM is a top priority for
4-year public/private
schools1
â˘âŻ75-90% of 2-4 year
institutions spend less than
25k annually on their
institutions website1
Student Success / Faculty
â˘âŻ4-year universities are
experiencing very high
attrition â up to 50% in
some cases. 2
â˘âŻHigher Ed IT is seeking
to consolidate platforms
(Intranet, websites, portals,
etc). 2
â˘âŻClassroom delivery models
are shifting to incorporate
more online/digital
Alumni / Advancement Mgt
â˘âŻUse of accurate data to
drive alumni outreach
strategies is one of the
biggest needs to improving
Alumni Relations 3
â˘âŻAlumni Relations frequently
find themselves without
the support, resources or
staff needed to perform
effectively 4
Sources: Noel Levitz 1 ACT 2 Hartford 3 Council for Aid to Education 4
12. Communications Misaligned
Prospects
 /
 Students
 /
 Alumni
Â
E-Ââmail
 Print
 Phone
 Social
 Media
 Mobile
Â
Communica=on
 Channels
Â
Academic
 Ins=tu=on
Â
Decrease
 in
 eďŹec-veness
Â
13. The Gap and Opportunity
Online
Community
Opportunity?
Facebook LinkedIn
Student lifecycle continuum
Prospective Student Qualified Prospect Accepted Student Enrolled Student Graduate Alumni
Personally Social Professionally SocialAcademically Social
14. Online Communities 101
Social Networks vs. Online Communities
The
 primary
 purpose
 of
 social
 networks
 &
 online
 communi-es
 is
 diďŹerent
Â
Social
 Network
Â
 Online
 Community
Business
Objectives
Primary Purpose
Relationships
E.g.
 Facebook
 E.g.
 Rate
 My
 Professor
Â
15. Key Community Elements
Philosophy: âBottom Upâ vs. âTop Downâ
Profiles: managing identities
(organizational and individual)
Relationships: following/
connecting with others
Presence: knowing when
others are available
Reputation: identifying experts
and advocates
Curated: administratively
controlled content libraries,
reference materials
User-Generated: organically
created content; appropriate for
more dynamic behaviors
Collaborative: collaboration
around specific cases /
initiatives
â˘âŻ Content types:
â˘âŻ Discussions, Documents,
Polls, Ideas, Cases, Files
â˘âŻ Web 2.0/3.0 Effects:
â˘âŻ Comments, Sharing,
Thanking, Liking, Tagging,
Rating, etc.
X
People Places Content
16. To Drive Student Loyalty
â˘âŻ Call deflection and reduce call center costs
â˘âŻ Students support each other
â˘âŻ Help students / staff find answers
â˘âŻ Create a feedback loop
To Drive Productivity and Performance
â˘âŻIncrease transparency
â˘âŻStreamline communication
â˘âŻImprove collaboration
â˘âŻFind talent and expertise
â˘âŻEnable knowledge sharing
â˘âŻReduce emails / unnecessary meetings
To Amplify Brand Message
â˘âŻ Enhance advocacy
â˘âŻ Enhance marketing channels
â˘âŻ Targeted campaigns
â˘âŻ Launch new degree programs
To Deepen Relationships
â˘âŻ Nurture competitive intelligence
â˘âŻ Admissions enablement
â˘âŻ Engage customers in curriculum development
â˘âŻ Enable institutional programs
Institutions are adopting online communities across the
institution to achieve measureable business resultsâŚ
17. Common Use Cases for Online Communities
Collaborate on
documents/initiatives
Stay informed â
relevant campus
news and updates
Make connections with
content and peers
Share and
discuss
Tap into collective experience of
the students and faculty (Q&A)
Generate and exchange ideas
ENGAGE
CONNECT
SHARE
Find and connect with faculty
and student - perspectives
and content
18. Online Community Case Studies
18
Student lifecycle continuum
Admission Community Student Support Community Learning Enablement Community Alumni Community
21. Business  Value  &  Results Â
SOURCE:
 Jive
 customer
 survey,
Â
(November
 2012)
Â
30%
Â
Admissions
 team
Â
produc=vity
Â
Admission
 counselors
 spent
 less
 =me
 chasing
 the
 student
 and
 more
Â
=me
 interac=ng
 with
 them
 increasing
 produc=vity
 30%.
Â
Deposit
 Melt
 Overall
 accepted
 student
 summer
 melt
 decreased
 by
 5%
Â
 5%
Â
Electrical
 engineering
 saw
 almost
 double
 enrollment
 2X
Â
Enrollment
Â
Numbers
Â
Outbound
Â
Call
 volume
Â
Admission
 counselors
 reduced
 outbound
 calls
 by
 66%
Â
 freeing
 up
 =me
Â
to
 interact
 with
 prospec=ve
 students
 in
 community.
Â
66%
Â
Reached
 â13
 applica=on
 goal
 nine
 months
 early
 and
 acceptance
 goal
 ďŹve
Â
months
 early.
 7000+
 registered
 members
 and
 growing!
Â
Applica=on
 and
Â
acceptance
 goal
Â
Applica=on
Â
turnaround
 =me
Â
Admission
 counselors
 spent
 less
 =me
 chasing
 documents
 down.
 We
Â
went
 from
 months
 to
 weeks!
Â
Reten=on
 rate
 from
 accepted
 to
 deposit
 jumped
 from
 30%
 to
 38%
 in
Â
one
 year
Â
Â
Accepted
 to
 Deposit
Â
 8%
Â
22. Representative Business Value for Online Communities
Online
Community
Opportunity?
Facebook LinkedIn
Student lifecycle continuum
Prospective Student Qualified Prospect Accepted Student Enrolled Student Graduate Alumni
Personally Social Professionally SocialAcademically Social
Admissions
â˘âŻIncrease qualified students
â˘âŻReduce traditional media spend
â˘âŻEnhance referrals / WOM
â˘âŻStreamline enrollment processes
â˘âŻEnhance reputation / perception
â˘âŻIncrease enrollment (fill seats)
â˘âŻReduce application processing time
â˘âŻIncrease students starts
Students and Faculty
â˘âŻ Improve student retention
â˘âŻ Improve grades and satisfaction
â˘âŻ Streamlined student onboarding
â˘âŻ Improved graduation rates
â˘âŻ Reduced support costs (self-serve)
â˘âŻ Facilitate student / faculty
collaboration
â˘âŻ Enable virtual study groups / peer
support
â˘âŻ Crowdsource research and ideas
Alumni
â˘âŻ Improved alumni engagement
â˘âŻ Increased donations
â˘âŻ Drive event participation
â˘âŻ Drive student referrals
â˘âŻ Facilitate student mentoring
â˘âŻ Capture student success stories
â˘âŻ Support professional networking
24. Online Communities - Group Exercise Scenario
Scenario: Your institution is looking to launch an initiative to leverage an online
community to improve engagement and collaboration with 1) Admissions
2) Students 3) Faculty / Staff and 4) Alumni audience(s)
Top goals for your online community initiative are to:
1.⯠Streamline communication / facilitate sharing of information
2.⯠Enable self-service and peer support
3.⯠Streamline institutional processes and operations
As the project team, it is your job to begin the planning process and ensure your
institution has thought through the strategy and plan to implement your online
community
25. Todayâs group breakout will focus on defining âwhoâ we are targeting, and then prioritizing
âwhatâ the critical objectives are. Once defined, these objectives will provide the basis to
identify âhowâ those objectives can be met (via online communities).
Strategies: HOW can social technologies engage your
audience(s) while meeting your objectives?
Business Objectives: WHAT are the goals of your business?
Audience:
WHO is the
audience
being
targeted?
StakeholderValue:Myneeds
andinterestsare
Technology: WHICH use cases, features and capabilities will
enable you to accomplish your strategies, while meeting your
goals, and engaging your target audience?
Focus on âWhatâ first, âWhoâ and then âHowâ
12
3
26. Group Exercise #1 â Objectives / Opportunities
1.⯠Identify WHAT specific "improvement
opportunities" exist for your assigned
area
2.⯠Based on the initial list, prioritize them
based on potential business impact
â⯠Target 3 to 5 âoverarchingâ
themes
Examples:
â˘âŻIncrease number of applications
â˘âŻDecrease marketing costs
â˘âŻGrow number of referrals
â˘âŻIncrease school preference (#1 choice)
â˘âŻImprove faculty / staff productivity
â˘âŻReduce student support costs
â˘âŻGrow revenue
â˘âŻRetain students
â˘âŻDecrease operation costs
â˘âŻImprove operation efficiency
10
Min
27. Group Exercise #2 - Audience Value
1.⯠Based on the improvement opportunities/challenges, identify WHO are the key
"audiences" that are impacted by that area, e.g.:
â˘âŻ Group 1# - Admissions: Prospective Students, Applicants, Parents, Influencers etc.
â˘âŻ Group #2 - Students: Undergraduate, Graduate Students, Adult Learners etc.
â˘âŻ Group #3 - Faculty / Staff: Professors, Advisors, Operational Staff
â˘âŻ Group #4 - Alumni: Undergraduate, MBAâs
2.⯠Brainstorm specific value statements for each targeted participant. E.g.:
â˘âŻ âAs a prospective student I can ⌠Ask current students a question about
my preferred degree programâ
10
Min
28. 3. Group Exercise #3 Strategies
1.⯠Review Objectives and Audience(s) & value statements
2.⯠Identify specific strategies and ways that "social technologies" could be
leveraged to drive value.
Examples:
â˘âŻ Get questions answered quickly
â˘âŻ Network with students easily
â˘âŻ Connect with faculty and staff
â˘âŻ Engage two-way communications between peers
10
Min
29. Group Exercise #4 Tactics / Technology
â˘âŻ Review Objectives, Audiences and Strategies
â˘âŻ Brainstorm ways you as a program owner can help implement your
proposed strategies using an online community
â˘âŻ Brainstorm technology and community features that might address
their needs
â⯠High-level use cases
â⯠Feature sets
â˘âŻ Prioritize key features / requirements â what is most important?
10
Min
31. Groundswell Book Giveaway
Mention @7summitsagency with hashtag
#hesummit to win a copy of Groundswell.
And
Need more help or a copy of the deck?
@jdavidson
james@7summitsagency.com
7summitsagency.com
32. ĂźďźâŻFull-service implementation partner
strategy, user experience design,
build
ĂźďźâŻExperienced across the academic
lifecycle â admissions, student and
faculty engagement, and alumni
relations
ĂźďźâŻDeep community experience
ĂźďźâŻOver 100+ communities delivered
ĂźďźâŻSalesforce community experience
ĂźďźâŻAward-winning work
ĂźďźâŻForrester Groundswell award
winner for our work Higher
Education
ĂźďźâŻDesign awards in Higher Education
ĂźďźâŻMeasurable business impact:
â˘âŻMSOE Case Study
â˘âŻPenn Foster Case Study
7Summits Highlights