M A D E L E I N E H A I S T

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA- SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY

FEBRUARY 21, 2016

TABLE OF CONTENTS • Executive Summary…………………………………………………………………….3

• Social Media Audit ………………………………………………………………….....4-7

• Social Media Objectives………………………………………………………………8-10

• Online Brand Persona and Voice ……………………………………………………11-13

• Strategies and Tools …………………………………………………………………….14

• Timing and Key Dates …………………………………………………………………..15

• Social Media Roles and Responsibilities ……………………………………………..16

• Social Media Policy……………………………………………………………………….17

• Critical Response Plan ……………………………………………………………………18-19

• Measurement and Reporting Results …………………………………………………20-22

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Our social media goal for the University of Florida accounts is to create a personable media presence that is aligned with the goals and values of the university.

The primary focus is to increase brand awareness by creating fun and engaging content for social media sites. • Social Strategies that will support the

aforementioned goal: • Tailor posts to the demographics who will be viewing the

sites to increase response • Increase amount of interactive and audiovisual posts

SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT Audit of the University of Florida’s social media accounts to date. The following includes an assessment of social media platforms, website traffic, audience demographics and competitors Social Media AssessmentData as of November 1, 2015

Social Network URL Follower Count Average Weekly Activity

Average Engagement Rate

Twitter https://twitter.com/UF?lang=en

108,480 12 posts per week 3%

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/uflorida/

555,804 3 posts per week 4%

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/uflorida/?hl=en

74,520 2 posts per week 1,500-2,000

Social Media Assessment: Instagram currently receives the most interactions. Specific Facebook posts also have a high number of interactions. Creating new ways to engage Twitter users should be considered.

SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT

Source Volume Percentage of Overall Traffic

Twitter 20,000 unique visits 10%Facebook 300,000 unique

visits 30%

Instagram N/A N/A

Website Traffic Sources AssessmentMonthly average, August 2015 to November 2015

Summary: Facebook leads to the most website traffic. Instagram gets a significant amount of interaction, but direct traffic data is unavailable.

SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT

Audience Demographics Assessment Survey via e-mail and online links distributed in August/September. Total responses: 20,000

Age Distribution

Gender Distribution

Primary Social Network

Secondary Social Network

Primary Need

Secondary Need

45% 18-30

30% 31-40

15% 41-55

10% 56-80

53% Female

47% Male

50% Facebook

30% Instagram

30% Twitter

45% Instagram

30% Facebook

25% Twitter

Searching application information, searching for sporting event info

Miscellaneous information about the university- clubs, teams, etc.

Audience Demographic Summary: A majority of the survey respondentsare in the 18-30 age group. Instagram and Facebook are their main socialmedia platforms. Application and sporting information are the main points driving visitors to the site.

SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT

Competitor Name

Social Media Profile Strengths Weaknesses

Florida State University

Instagram @floridastateuniversity

Quality images, very clear pictures with a lot of color. Posts show various aspects of the university and what they have to offer.

Captions are not very creative. The captions are often just a list of hashtags. Creating clever, explanatory captions will draw in more views.

University of Miami

Facebook@universityofmiami

Good use of images and videos with posts. Hashtags are not over used.

Posts do not have a lot of comments or shares. Content should be more engaging and instigate a response from followers.

Competitor Assessment

Summary: The analysis focused on two other colleges in Florida. One with a strong presence on Instagram and the other on Facebook. Both schools had great visual content. They could improve on making their posts more engaging with better captions and content.

SOCIAL MEDIA OBJECTIVES• In 2016, the primary focus of the University of Florida’s social media

accounts will be to increase brand awareness by creating an inviting, personable media presence that potential, current and graduated students can relate to.

• Specific Objectives: 1. Increase the amount of videos posted to Facebook and Twitter by 30%

in 6 months 2. Increase amount of views to social media platforms by 40% in 6

months by:• Posting new and engaging content regularly • Re-tweeting, liking and sharing posts from followers • Encourage followers to share content by posting visuals • Use hashtags to define the brand

3. Increase Twitter followers by 2,000 in 6 months

SOCIAL MEDIA OBJECTIVES

• Key Messages• UF is a fun and engaging educational community • A place to find your passion • A tight-knit community of intelligent individuals

• KPIs1. Number of unique visitors to Twitter and Facebook 2. Number of Instagram followers and posts 3. Number of Tweets containing visual content 4. Number of Facebook videos posted

SOCIAL MEDIA OBJECTIVES: DEMOGRAPHIC EXAMPLES

Age

18-3031-4041-5556-80

Gender

MaleFemale

ONLINE BRAND PERSONA AND VOICE

Adjectives that describe the University of Florida brand: • Exciting • Entertaining • Fun Adjectives that describe the University of Florida brand when interacting with customers: • Informative • Personable • Relatable • Engaging

ONLINE BRAND PERSONA AND VOICE EXAMPLES

ONLINE BRAND PERSONA AND VOICE EXMAPLES

STRATEGIES AND TOOLS • Paid: Paid-ads on Twitter at least once a week during college application season (July-

November), boost popular Facebook posts on Monday and Friday night- must have at least 800 organic likes

• Owned: Use the same theme throughout all social media pages, sharing the same content with varying captions. Begin using #GatorNation. Encourage shares and likes by interacting with user content- share/like/comment on posts from followers and least three times a week.

• Earned: Monitor Facebook and Twitter for trending hashtags and videos. Create content that coincides with these themes. Form contests for followers to win gator gear or football tickets that promote sharing and interacting with company’s page.

• Tools: • Approved tools: • Canva • Hootsuite • Buffer• Rejected tools: • N/A • Existing subscriptions: • Photoshop

TIMING AND KEY DATES

Holidays/ special days • Admissions Day • Valentine’s Day• St. Patrick’s Day • Easter• First day of summer • Fourth of July• Back to school-

August

Internal Events• Graduation • Sporting events • Beginning of

summer session • Beginning of fall

session

SOCIAL MEDIA RESPONSIBILITIES

• Vice President University Relations- Jane Adams • Assistant Vice President Marketing- Nicole

Yucht • Senior Director of Media Relations- Steve

Orlando • Strategic Communications Director- Donna

Winchester • Senior Writer- Alisson Clark • Web Content Coordinator- Kay Howell

SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY The University of Florida’s social media accounts are a way for the college to interact with the Gator Nation. Social media is an informal way to interact with target audiences, but proper etiquette should be used in all posts. UF social media accounts are expected to follow the ideals of the university. • Be respectful • Be transparent• Listen to the audience • Be kind • Be aware • Be active • Comment on posts from followers • Be professional All social media activity on UF accounts should be appropriate and respectful. Failure by an employee to comply with the UF social media policy will result in appropriate disciplinary action, including termination and legal action if necessary.

CRITICAL RESPONSE PLAN• Scenario 1- Inappropriate picture posted to @uflorida

Instagram • Action Plan • When you see the picture • Screenshot the image and immediately send to Nicole Yucht • Delete the image

• Nicole will contact Jane Adams to discuss the reach of the image• Will issue an apology and follow-up Instagram

• Nicole and Jane will handle all media if the university if contacted about the image

• The employee responsible for posting the image will be investigated and appropriate disciplinary measures will be taken

• No pre-approved messaging. Messages will be tailored to the specific incident and will be apologetic.

CRITICAL RESPONSE PLAN• Scenario 2- Social Media account is hacked • Action Plan• Alert Nicole immediately• Efforts to shut down the sites will be made • Monitor for any inappropriate posts that are not coming from

designated operators of site • The public will be alerted immediately

MEASUREMENT AND REPORTING RESULTS

Source Volume Percentage of Overall TrafficTwitter 60,000 unique visitors 25%

Facebook 300,000 unique visitors 37%Instagram 20,000 unique visitors 3%

Social Network URL Follower Count Average Weekly Activity

Engagement Rate

Twitter https://twitter.com/UF?lang=en

113,000 +4% growth

20+ posts per week

4% engagement

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/uflorida/

631,595+12% growth

10 posts per week 6% engagement

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/uflorida/?hl=en

81,000 +8% growth

4-5 posts per week About 3,000 likes per post

Quantitative KPIsReporting period: 3 monthsDate as of February 1, 2016Website Traffic Sources Assessment Monthly average: November 2015 to January 2016

Social Network Data Timeframe: as of Feruary 1, 2016

MEASUREMENT AND REPORTING• We have greatly increased the amount of visual content on all

social media platforms. Facebook and Twitter posts have included colorful images and videos that have increased engagement.

• The amount of Twitter followers has increased more than 2,000, which was our goal.

Qualitative KPIs Sentiment Analysis Analysis of 400 Facebook posts, 400 Instagram posts and 400 Tweets revealed the following. • A high level of positive sentiment from current students as well as

alumni. Positive interaction included shares, tags, comments and “likes.”

• The biggest group of negative interaction came from individuals from rival schools.

MEASUREMENT AND REPORTING

• Proposed Action Items • Continue posting creative images and videos to social

media • Consider a contest or giveaway to increase shares and

engagement

Images from Google Images.