communication + engagement strategies for the...

Communication +Engagement

Strategies for the Future

AGB 2014 Foundation Leadership Forum

Michael Stoner!president, [email protected]!@mStonerblog!Web: mStoner.com!Linkedin.com/in/mstoner!Slideshare.net/mstonervt!!!

1 Stoner-AGB-handout.key - 27 January 2014

@me!

[email protected]@mstonerblog mstoner.com

linkedin.com/mstoner


mstnr.me/TkXwLu mstnr.me/18GBqct


Amara’s Law !

“We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the

short run and underestimate the effect in the long run.”

Formulated by Roy Amara, past president of The Institute for the Future: mstnr.me/1eDSYsn!This poem was written by a teacher in the 1920s in response to predictions about how education would change with the introduction of the radio and motion picture:!Antiquated!Mr. Edison saysThat the radio will supplant the teacher.Already one may learn languages by means of Victrola records.The moving picture will visualizeWhat the radio fails to get across.Teachers will be relegated to the backwoods,With fire-horses,And long-haired women;Or, perhaps shown in museums.Education will become a matterOf pressing the button.Perhaps I can get a position at the switchboard.!From Larry Cuban, Teachers and Machines, pp. 4-5


welcome toour mobile, social,

online world!5

!!


Implications of this brave new world

‣ New channels for engagement‣ Leading by tweeting‣ Building the .edu brand‣ New approaches to fundraising‣ The end of Facebook


campaign!

a focused effort to achieve goals using a variety of

channels appropriate to the results sought.

We used this definition in the CASE/mStoner/Slover Linett Survey of Social Media in Advancement 2013. More: mstnr.me/XJiUee. We also used in in Social Works.


1.new channels

for engagement


channel use & growth in advancementFacebook

TwitterLinkedInYouTube

BlogsFlickr

Web.eduVendor community

Home-built communityGeosocialPinterest

InstagramGoogle+

Tumblr-25 0 25 50 75 100

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7

-1

-9

-13

-13

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7

2

9

22

27

28

15

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32

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42

71

75

82

96

% Use % Growth

Research from CASE/mStoner/Slover Linett Survey of Social Media in Advancement 2013. More: mstnr.me/XJiUee.

This chart shows the percentage who say they use each social media channel (at all), and the lighter green shows how this has changed since last year.The lower section shows the social media channels we asked about this year for the first time.While Flickr shrinks, Instagram grows; Pinterest and Tumblr may be taking some of the share that Blogs held in the past. Many of these channels are video or visual channels: illustrating the significance of these media in our mobile, social, online world.


91% of your audience uses email; 76% uses Facebook and Twitter “at least once a day.” And 70% use Instagram.

Source: eMarketer, “Social Usage Involves More Platforms, More Often”: mstnr.me/19ph5rg.

Some 73% of online adults now use a social networking site of some kind. Facebook is the dominant social networking platform in the number of users, but a striking number of users are now diversifying onto other platforms. Some 42% of online adults now use multiple social networking sites.In addition, Instagram users are nearly as likely as Facebook users to check in to the site on a daily basis. These are among the key findings on social networking site usage and adoption from a new survey from the Pew Research Center’s Internet Project: http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Social-Media-Update/Main-Findings.asp


@mstonerblog modifications of a widely shared infographic about social media!


Lessons‣ The technology & tools aren’t so important:

how they facilitate connection & service to to your constituents is.

‣ Agility is essential as audiences adopt new channels.

‣ New channels demand new styles to content & sharing via smartphones favors content bursts: visuals, videos, short text updates.


2.leading by tweeting*

More and more leaders are adopting social media as key tools in communicating with various audiences. Why would they do this?


Weber Shandwick; source: www.webershandwick.com/uploads/news/files/Social_CEO-Infographic.pdf


#SocMe risks for #highered CEOs‣ Time.‣ Inability to control the conversation.‣ Mis-interpreted or controversial statements.‣ Unproven channel: Hard to demonstrate ROI.‣ Discomfort with norms of communication in SM.‣ Performance anxiety: Mistakes are public.

From: Michael Stoner, “Why College Presidents Aren’t More Social,” posted 19 April 2012; source: mstnr.me/PwX2Mi!


Reasons to be social‣ Engage directly with constituents, in channels they choose to use.

‣ Demonstrate thought leadership.‣ Reach media & other influencers.‣ Be a cheerleader for the institution.‣ Improve personal & institutional reputation.

From: Michael Stoner, “Why College Presidents Aren’t More Social,” posted 19 April 2012; source: mstnr.me/PwX2Mi!


Paul LeBlanc President, Southern New Hampshire University

“I can only do a little bit of walking around. I can send out formal communications but they don’t allow me to talk about aspects of my life that are more personal. ... [social media] allow me to reach a lot of people and give them a more personal view of my thoughts and my life. I really love that.”

Comment from interview with Michael Stoner, “Presidents & Social Media*: Paul LeBlanc, Southern New Hampshire University,” posted on 10 September 2012: www.mstoner.com/blog/social-media/presidents-and-social-media-paul-leblanc-southern-new-hampshire-university/


President Canadian College

“It would be fair to say that I have an uncommon relationship with [a key government] Minister ... as a direct function of us communicating through Twitter. . . . That relationship has in-turn spawned direct facial meeting contact and influenced initiatives, projects and developments. And now is influencing the allocation of resources.”

Cited in Dan Zaointz’s thesis, “#FollowTheLeader: A Study of Best Practices in Social Media Use by University and College Presidents in Canada and the United States,” submitted 3 October 2013, McMaster University.!Entire quote: !““It would be fair to say that I have an uncommon relationship with our Minister of...as a direct function of us communicating through Twitter. We have a 40-something-year-old Minister...who has an advanced education and he is also the...of the Province and he has an obsession with using Twitter. If you know that to be true, as a President, and if you are worth your salt, in terms of the development, maintaining and nurturing of external relationships that would in-turn convert into influence, you would want to take advantage of that fact and to develop and nurture that relationship via social media. That relationship has in-turn spawned direct facial meeting contact and influenced initiatives, projects and developments. And now is influencing the allocation of resources” (Canadian college president #3).” (page 43)!Icon from IconFinder (www.iconfinder.net/)


See “Meet K-State’s Kirk and Noel Schulz: #Highered’s First Couple of Social Media”: mstnr.me/1fwNrmA


Kirk H. Schulz President, Kansas State University

“People want to interact with me and social media helps to make it work. Overall, my approach is effective—it’s working. I can document that with higher fundraising numbers and data on alumni engagement.”

Comment from interview with Michael Stoner conducted on 27 September 2013. See blog post, “Meet K-State’s Kirk and Noel Schulz: #Highered’s First Couple of Social Media”: mstnr.me/1fwNrmA


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Lessons‣ Constituents will expect leaders to be

more transparent.‣ There are risks in using social media as a

leader, but those risks can be managed.‣ Sharing via smartphones favors content

bursts—ideal for leaders on the go.

Presidents to follow on social media:!Kirk Schulz, KSU: Twitter: @kstate_pres; Facebook: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kirk.schulzNoel Schulz, KSU: Twitter: @kstate_1stladySanta J. Ono, University of Cincinnati: Twitter: @presonoPaul LeBlanc, Southern New Hampshire University: Twitter: @snhuprez


3.building your.edu brand


mStoner’s definition of “brand”*!

“A brand is what you stand for in the minds of the people

you’re trying to reach, influence, and move to action.”

[*yes, we’re influenced by Groundswell]

27 more definitions of “brand” in this blog post, “30 Branding Definitions,” by Heidi Cohen: mstnr.me/Hz97C9!mStoner definition of “brand strategy”: “. . . is the art & science of discovering, understanding, articulating, and evolving your brand.”


in our online, mobile, social world,!

“Everything isconnected to

everything else.”[mStoner’s first law of branding: mstnr.me/mFLoB]


“Everything is connected to everything else” is Barry Commoner’s first law of ecology and mStoner’s first law of branding. It’s essential to keep in mind when structuring communications and marketing activities. Because of the way the world works today, it’s easy for organizational anomalies to be observed and amplified. Consistency counts. Not only in appearance (do your communications look like they come from the same organization?) but voice.!Furthermore, your online presence doesn’t occur in a vacuum but is also connected to everything else you do:!

• Compelling brand: aspirational but grounded in institutional reality. • Powerful stories: reinforce brand, multiple media, well-told, shareable, demonstrating value. • Compelling creative: a strong visual vocabulary for your brand & stories • Strong channel strategy: well-managed, connected, curated • Your campus & your staff


Lessons‣ Your channels must tell similar stories

and mutually reinforce each other.‣ Focus on the channels you own.‣ Your website is your most important

asset: it must be up-to-date and well-managed.


4.a new style of

fundraising


Campaigns involving social media

Alumni Engagement 81%

Brand/Marketing 65%

Fundraising/Development 59%

Student Engagement 54%

Admissions 41%

Other 6%

2013

2012 41

52 Roughly, what percentage of your campaigns included social channels?

Types of campaigns in which social media played a role

Research from CASE/mStoner/Slover Linett Survey of Social Media in Advancement 2013. More: mstnr.me/XJiUee.

In the past two years we probed if (and how) institutions were using social media in campaigns, which we define as “a focused effort to achieve goals using a variety of channels appropriate to the results sought.” This definition can (and sometimes does) include efforts to raise money, but is intended to acknowledge that social media is often incorporated into initiatives that have objectives other than fundraising.

Here’s how institutions reported using social media for fundraising purposes in 2013:

Keeping donors up to date on institution news: 77%

Annual fund solicitations: 58%

Thanking donors for their contributions: 52%

Keeping donors up to date on campaign or fundraising news: 49%

Inviting donors to donor events: 48%

Annual fund follow-up reminders: 30%

Referring to or reminding about solicitations received through non-social channels: 25%

Capital campaign solicitations: 14%

Other: 6%


For Columbia’s Giving Day in 2012, hourly prizes spurred donations and leaderboards spurred engagement and conversation.


In 2012 ...‣ Columbia raised $6.8 million: 5,380 gifts from

4,940 donors.‣ 40% were new or reactivated; 50% made their first

online gift.‣ Trustees pledged $2.5 million in seed money.‣ 33% of traffic to giving form came via Facebook.


offline online

Postcard mailing Website: GivingDay.Columbia.eduPrint advertising in Columbia Magazine Advance social strategies: Facebook

Giving Day tab, Twitter conversationsEvents: Homecoming, Leadership Weekend, Global Networking, alumni & donor

Robust content strategy, including video promotions

Giveaways: Giving Day buttons, frisbees, napkins

Mobilize alumni volunteers across community

Trainings: Schools; Volunteers; Social media

Challenges & gaming strategies w/ leaderboardsEmailFacebook ad buysLive webinar

Giving Day channels 2012


www.bluevblue.com/

mstnr.me/HGJb3H

mstnr.me/13HKIzs

Case 19: "Embracing Rivalry to Increase Annual Fund Participation: Elizabethtown College and Messiah College," Social Works, pp. 166-173.!!In the fall of 2011, Elizabethtown College and Messiah College took a long-standing rivalry from the soccer field to the annual fund campaign through a giving challenge between young alumni—or those that have graduated within the last ten years—called Battle of the Blues. !!The campaign, which pitted young alumni of the two colleges against one another to tally the highest participation rate, launched in July 2011 and wrapped up on October 31, 2011. The E-town Blue Jays came out on top a participation rate of 7.85%; Messiah checked in at a close 7.72%. !!Melody Bitkoff, director of the Elizabethtown College Annual Fund, says that thanks to the support from young alumni, E-town not only clinched the title but also has made progress toward one of the College’s primary fundraising goals: to increase alumni donor participation. !!“To date 9.78% of young alumni have made a gift compared to 7.12% last year and our overall alumni rate for the Annual Fund has increased to date too, from 13.42% compared to 13.19%,” Bitkoff said. !!In addition to emails and direct mail, the web and social media was used to heavily promote the giving challenge. First, a dedicated website, www.bluevblue.com was created; this site included details of the challenge, linked to donation forms, and also, each Monday during the competition, updated the current standings. Second, special Twitter hashtags were created to create buzz, provide a mechanism for participants to let their friends and followers know they gave and, of course, to encourage friendly trash-talking between the two colleges. Additionally, the Battle of the Blues website pulled in the Twitter feed from each college’s designated hashtag: #goetownblue or #gomessiahblue. !!Staff members from both College’s marketing and development offices also used the hashtag to inform those who may be on Twitter of the campaign’s progress and to “egg-on” or entice their young alums to respond and, most importantly, 36 Stoner-AGB-handout.key - 27 January 2014

https://cornell.useed.net/projects/67/home


Lessons‣ A multi-channel world requires multi-channel

campaigns.‣ Engagement precedes donation.‣ Everyone wins when giving is a game.‣ We may see constituents who are engaged,

motivated, and in charge.


5.the end ofFacebook


“Forrester’s Nate Elliott says Facebook focuses too little on driving genuine

engagement between brands and their customers—on average, Facebook only

shows each brand’s poststo 16% of its fans . . . . ”

“Facebook Must Do More for Brands, Forrester Says”: mstnr.me/1bTtdRq!“Five Reasons Millennials Are Quitting Facebook”: mashable.com/2013/12/16/quitting-facebook/!“Young users see Facebook as 'dead and buried’”: mstnr.me/1eR3ufX


Global teens* respond:!“Which of the following platforms have you used or contributed to in the past month?”!!

*excluding China

Forbes.com, “Here’s Where Teens Are Going Instead of Facebook”: mstnr.me/1fHuEFb; “Still on Facebook but Finding Less to Like”: mstnr.me/HUwfeW


U.S. customer-acquisition growth by channel, % of customers acquired

Source: Quora, E-Commerce Customer Acquisition Snapshot, 2013; McKinsey iConsumer survey, 2012.!


Lessons!

‣ Things change quickly: new channels emerge & evolve (or die) rapidly.

‣ Engagement requires immersion, but beware too much investment in one channel.

‣ Don’t ignore emerging channels or neglect traditional channels that work.

‣ This is only the beginning.


Truth and consequences‣ New channels for engagement‣ Leading by tweeting‣ Building the .edu brand‣ New approaches to fundraising‣ The end of Facebook


6.Don’t be everywhere

until you can be awesome everywhere

you are.


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