engaging without invading - bournemouth
DESCRIPTION
Slides for session to University of Bournemouth's First Year Experience Special Interest GroupTRANSCRIPT
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Engaging without invading:using social networking tools to connect with students
Stuart Johnson, University of Leicester
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Traditional advertising reaches a few more
StudentDevelopment
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There has been massive growth in social media
Jan 2009 Jan 2010 % growth
68,557,534 133,623,529 95%
5,979,052 23,573,178 294%
Numbers represent unique visitors. Data from www.compete.com
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If Facebook were a country
0
200,000,000
400,000,000
600,000,000
800,000,000
1,000,000,000
1,200,000,000
1,400,000,000
Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population
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So we’re using social media…
StudentDevelopment
*NB. Facebook page not group
*
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…and they tell their friends about us
StudentDevelopment
“I think that the Facebook page is a great idea and I have since spread the word to mates and
got them to join”
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And the number of ‘Likes’ increases…
29/06/2009 29/08/2009 29/10/2009 29/12/2009 01/03/2010 01/05/20100
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
Total ‘Likes’
Unsubscribes
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…and so does the number using our services
StudentDevelopment
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But rather than them coming to us…
…they give us permission to go to them
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Our website traffic has gone up
Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan0
20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
120,000
2007/08 2008/09 2009/10
studentdevpt.com *Facebook fan dashboard
But, meaningful content is vital
“Page admins who post meaningful content will retain fans, while admins who post spammy or low-quality material will lose fans and subscribers”*
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55%32%
6%7%
But most of what we say is proactive
(automated)
(proactive/responsive)
(proactive/responsive)
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And it’s having an impact here
21%
67%
12%
Have you ever gone to an event or done something as a direct result of information posted on our Facebook or Twitter accounts?
This happens a lot This never
happens
This sometimes happens
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And here…
A lot Quite a lot Not much Not at all0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Has your awareness of Student Development services improved since following us on Facebook or Twitter
Yes I knew a bit No
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Tips to engage*
• Start a conversation• Quick, direct and simple• Attach, attach, attach!• Announce, remind, excite• It’s about time
Remember• It’s not a magic bullet• They can turn us off
* Courtesy of David Morgan, see http://goo.gl/qXkQ
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What we’ve learnt
• We're definitely reaching more students this way
• A base of RSS news and events feeds is a good start
• But you've got to invest in conversations
• Our helpdesk staff do a great job
• Distance learners like it too