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Below are suggested steps to help your department develop and stick with a successful social marketing strategy.

Step 1: Analyze current social media presence

  • What networks are you currently using?
  • Are there other networks worth considering?
  • Are all accounts/groups/pages optimized with current information, imagery, etc.?
  • How do accounts compare to competitors?

Step 2: Document your ideal audience

  • Be as specific as possible
  • Answer the following questions about your audience:
    • Age
    • Interests
    • Most used social network
    • Problems they need solved
  • If there are multiple groups, try to narrow to two specific identities
    • Once you have two, focus each piece of content on one or the other. Don't split the difference with general content.

Step 3: Create a social media mission statement

  • Think about what makes you unique (location, programs, degrees offered, etc.)
  • Focus on what you offer to your audience, not on what they offer you.
  • This should drive all future content. If it doesn't fit your mission, don't post it. People follow specialists, not generalists.

Step 4: Create a persona for your social media presence

  • Think about what an expert in your field looks like
  • Find a voice and stick with it. Don't be humorous in one post and deadly serious in another unless the subject matter dictates it.
  • Don't force a voice that will be uncomfortable or hard to maintain.
  • Be personable and helpful without forcing humor or other emotion.
  • Be professional but less structured than you would be in standard marketing material.
  • For most academic departments, it probably makes sense to focus on a professorial personality.

Step 5: Identify success metrics

  • How will you measure your performance?
  • Focus on quality, not quantity. It's more important to have fewer engaged followers than lots of followers who just ignore your content.
  • Key analytics should include:
    • Relative Engagement - What percentage of your followers are engaging with posts?
    • Organic Reach - How many people say your content in their news feed, ticker, or on your page without paid promotion. This includes followers and those who don't follow you directly.
    • Mentions - Are others referring to your profiles or linking directly to your content?
  • Audience growth is great but shouldn't be your main goal. If it doesn't come from genuine interest, followers may not engage with future content.

Step 6: Create and curate content

  • Once you've identified goals and audience, focus all content on those.
  • Don't post content if it doesn't fit your mission.
  • It's important to post fairly often, but don't post content that doesn't fit your department just to meet a quota.

Step 7: Track and analyze metrics

  • Pay attention to your key measurements
  • Look at what types of content performs best.
    • Do posts with photos perform better?
    • What subject matter really draws in followers?
    • Does content that posts a question or asks for an opinion perform better than just presenting facts?
  • Let the data lead you.
  • Go back through steps 1-6 after you've had some time to collect and analyze data.
    • Does your mission need to change?
    • Is your audience whom you thought it was?