UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA | SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY

Brooke Williams | October 2, 2016

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Executive Summary• Social Media Audit• Social Media Objectives• Online Brand Persona and Voice• Strategies and Tools• Timing and Key Dates• Social Media Roles and Responsibilities• Social Media Policy• Critical Response Plan• Measurement and Reporting Results

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• Our major social media goals for 2016 will be growing our online presence through our follower count and engagement with new communities.

• The primary focus will be to increase student enrollment and engagement with new audiences through generating more traffic to our social media networks and website by creating more innovative and audience specific content, while also building better relationships with our audiences.

Three major social strategies will support this objective:• A plan to increase followers across all social media networks • Increase engagement with new and current audiences • Create new engaging content to draw in new audience members and to

encourage current audience members to share with others

SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT

SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT

The following is an audit of the University of Florida social media presence to date. The social media audit includes an evaluation of social networks, web traffic, audience demographics and a competitor analysis.• Social Media Assessment• Website Traffic Source Assessment• Audience Demographics Assessment • Competitor Assessment

SOCIAL MEDIA ASSESSMENT

Data as May 30, 2016Social Network URL Follower Count Average

Weekly Activity

Average Engagement Rate#interactions/reach

Twitter https://twitter.com/UF 112,000 91 2.4 %Facebook https://www.facebook.com/uflorida 654, 392 10 1.25%

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/uflorida/ 98,800 5 2.9%

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/ufl 5,205 Once a month 0.8%

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/edu/school?id=18120 260,868 connections Posts every few months

0.5% 

Google + https://plus.google.com/+uflorida 147,840 Posts every few months

0.8%

SOCIAL MEDIA ASSESSMENT

At present time, the highest number of interactions per post occurs on Instagram, with Twitter coming in a close second. Very little interactions occur on LinkedIn, Google+ or YouTube.

WEBSITE TRAFFIC SOURCE ASSESSMENT

Timeframe: Monthly average, January 2016 to March 2016Source Volume Percentage of Overall Traffic Conversion Rate

Twitter 30,000 unique visits 58% 37%

Facebook 85,000 unique visits 20 % 12%

Instagram 75,000 unique visits 18% 5.6%

YouTube 1,000 unique visits 1% 0.8%

LinkedIn 500 unique visits 3% 0.5%

Google + 100 unique visits 1% 0.1 %

WEBSITE TRAFFIC SOURCE ASSESSMENT

At present time, Twitter is the biggest driver of traffic to our website, with Facebook and Instagram competing for second. LinkedIn, YouTube and Google+ barely bring in any traffic to our website.

AUDIENCE DEMOGRAPHIC ASSESSMENT

Survey distributed in July/August and upon visitor engagement. Age Distribution Gender

DistributionPrimary Social Network

Secondary Social Network

Primary need Secondary Need

65% 18-3025% 31-405% 41-555% 56-80

50 % Female50% Male

50% Female50% Male55% Twitter30% Facebook15% Instagram 

35% Facebook30% Twitter10% Instagram 

The major need from respondents was earning a degree and expanding their knowledge on a variety of topics.

Engaging with current and past Gators through networking events, social activities, sporting events, etc.

AUDIENCE DEMOGRAPHIC ASSESSMENT

A large majority of the survey respondents are in the 18-30 age group, which is not surprise because it is a college campus. Twitter and Facebook are the main social media networks that they engage with. The need for knowledge and employment are main factors that motivate individuals to engage with the university. Energies and effort should be focused on giving more time to developing the Facebook content for more audience specific material.

COMPETITOR ANALYSIS

Competitor Name Social Media Profile Strengths WeaknessesFlorida State University Twitter: floridastate Regularly posts creative and informative

content to its users. Also, consistently engages with other FSU channels to share other news outlets information.

Overuse of certain hashtags that are irrelevant to the post and cause lower engagement.

University of Tennessee, Knoxville Facebook: UTKnoxville Regularly posts engaging content such informative news from the university, videos, gifs and photos. All of the content is on theme to the universities colors and brand scheme.

Does not regularly reply to visitor posts on Facebook page.

Louisiana State University Instagram: lsu Audience members frequently comment at other Instagram users in the post because they want to share. On each post individuals comment with LSU heart colors and mascot emojis in support.

Does not post content that actively engages all their audience age range. Frequently posts photos as memories that leads to little to no discussion in the comments.

COMPETITOR ANALYSIS

The above analysis focused on three major competitors with a strong presence on three social networks, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. From analyzing the three universities innovative content was a key factor for engagement purposes, such as high quality photos, gifs and storytelling through videos. The three competitors also used unique hashtags, emojis and social media network themes for their respective accounts to draw in users. However, the competition could improve in the areas of being more focused of what hashtags are being used across social media, replying to its audience members and posting content that causes users to engage.

SOCIAL MEDIA OBJECTIVES

SOCIAL MEDIA OBJECTIVES

In 2016, the main focus of our multiple social media networks is to increase student enrollment and engagement with new and current audiences by pushing more traffic to our website from our social media sites. To meet our goals for the year, our priorities will be to expand our online following in all platforms, create more innovative content and more shared connections between our brand and the audience.

SOCIAL MEDIA OBJECTIVES

Some specific objectives include:• Increase engagement with company brand through all channels, especially the

weaker social media sites.a. Increased use of unique UF hashtags and emojisb. Increased brand awareness through shares on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and

Google +• Increase Twitter followers by 20,000 in 5 months• Create more unique content that is focused on storytelling and captures the

voice of the brand a. Increased use of video on all social media platforms, I.e. one video post per

week on each channel

KPIS AND KEY MESSAGES

KPIs• Number of likes, favorites, shares, mentions and retweets on all social media

sites• Number of individuals that use hashtags • Number of Twitter followers• Number of video posts per week on all social media sitesKey Messages• For the Gator Good of Tomorrow • How do you Orange and Blue• What is your Gator Story?

DEMOGRAPHICS

DEMOGRAPHICS

ONLINE BRAND PERSONA AND VOICE

ONLINE BRAND PERSONA AND VOICE

Adjectives that describe our brand:• Collaborative • Contemporary• Energetic • Innovative • Versatile • Fun

When interacting with customers we are:

• Cooperative• Friendly• Determined• Generous• Entertaining • Trustworthy• Funny

EXAMPLES OF ONLINE BRAND PERSONA AND VOICE

Images from Twitter

EXAMPLES OF ONLINE BRAND PERSONA AND VOICE

Image from Instagram Image from Facebook

STRATEGIES AND TOOLS

PAID, OWNED AND EARNED

Paid:1. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday boost the most popular Facebook post for the day that has the most likes likes, comments and reactions.2. Every other week use Instagram ads to promote the most popular picture from the past two weeks.3. Once a month use Twitter ads to promote Twitter account to new audiences.

Owned:1. Start the use of the hashtag

#HowdoyouOrange&Blue on our Twitter account with one our own post per week. Motivate current audiences to partake in the challenge and cause new audiences to join in as well. Retweet three to five audience members tweets a week.2. Encourage audiences who come to campus to follow social media sites and engage with posts by following, commenting, sharing, liking, retweeting and reacting.

Earned:1. Collaborate with 10 diverse

students to help share their story and its relationship to the brand. Create posts, pictures and videos that share the story of 10 individuals that they will post and cause traffic back to our website through re-sharing of the information. 2. Analyze Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for keywords related to brand. Such as University of Florida, UF, Gators, Florida Gators, #GoGators, #UF and gator emoji for 5 months.

TOOLS

The University of Florida uses a variety of tools to help create a successful social media platform. We use Hootsuite and Buffer to maintain consistent posting schedules on all platforms and to plan ahead for holidays and internal events. In addition, we utilize Adobe Creative Cloud subscriptions to produce the highest quality of content through images, videos and gifs. Creating visual content is key to social media and is why we have subscriptions to Adobe Creative Cloud.

TOOLS

Approved Tools:• Hootsuite• BufferRejected Tools:• N/AExisting Subscriptions/Licenses:• Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro, After

Effects and Lightroom

TIMING AND KEY DATES

TIMING AND KEY DATES

Holiday Dates:• New Year’s Day• Martin Luther King

Day• Groundhog Day• Chinese New Year• Lincoln’s Birthday• Valentine’s Day• President’s Day

• Read Across America Day

• St. Patrick’s Day• Easter Sunday• Arbor Day• Mother’s Day• Memorial Day• Flag Day• Labor Day

• National Pancake Day• National Coffee Day• Halloween• Election Day• Thanksgiving• Christmas

TIMING AND KEY DATES

Internal Events:• Homecoming Week Oct. 10-15 • Winter Break Dec. 19- Jan. 3• Thanksgiving Break Nov. 23-25• Spring Break March 4- 11Lead Times: Two to three weeks Reporting Dates:• Reporting occur every few months in March, June, August, October and

December.

SOCIAL MEDIA ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

SOCIAL MEDIA ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Director of Digital Communications and Social Media: Todd Sanders• He coordinates campus wide digital and social media initiatives.Social Media Specialist: Ryan Morejon• He manages the UFSocial website and all other social media platforms UF utilizes. MultiMedia Specialist: Robbie Smith• He creates UF’s multimedia design images through his background as a graphic

designer and illustrator.Director of UF Communications: Margot Winick• She manages integrated communications and national media events to aid the

university in campus wide priorities and standing.

SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY

SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY

General Social Media Policy Statement via UF Social Media Website• Posts and other content specifically added by administrators of the University of

Florida social media account are official University of Florida content. Opinions expressed by other users do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the University of Florida. User provided content is not screened or evaluated during the submission process.

• All content is bound by the UF Acceptable Use Policy. Further, users are expected to abide by applicable laws, regulations, rules and policies including the University Student Code of Conduct, the University’s Sexual Harassment Policy, and other regulations and policies concerning public communications.

• We reserve the right to remove content.• We encourage users to report content that violates the platform’s Code of Conduct by

using their official reporting procedure.

SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY

• Authorization to present a social media account as an official University activity must come from the Vice President with jurisdiction over the unit as well as the Vice President for University Relations or his/her designee. Registration and general guidelines are available at http://www.urel.ufl.edu/social-media/social-media-registration/.

• Individuals may not portray yourself as acting on behalf of the University or any part of the University, such as the Health Science Center, IFAS, a college, department or any other unit, or present a social media account as an official University account unless authorized to do so.

• All accounts are subject to review for adherence to policy at any time.• Only approved accounts can use University branding, including but not limited to logos, trademarks and name and may be linked to by University websites.• All posted content must adhere to currently applicable UF policy and federal & state rules, regulations and policies, including but not limited to: such as the 

UF Human Resource Services social media policy, UF Acceptable Use Policy, the Student Code of Conduct, and current copyright and trademark law.• Revealing restricted records, data, or information via social media is strictly prohibited. Examples relating to restricted records so protected include but are not limited

to Social Security numbers, some financial information, employee or medical information, limited access employee records pursuant to Florida Statute, trade secrets, copyrighted materials, and other materials that the University has agreed shall be maintained confidentially.

• All accounts must include the following official policy statement in the accounts description or biography, space permitting: The University of Florida [description of unit if applicable] intends to educate, inform and provide updated information on [unit’s or UF’s] activities [or specify a narrower focus] and to support and promote the [unit’s or UF’s] objectives for these activities through its social media site.  All [unit or UF] comments are made by [unit or UF] designees. This site is not a public forum. Social media users may share ideas through commentary that is consistent with and furthers the objectives of a [unit or UF] post and the University of Florida [unit if applicable] reserves the right to remove any comments that do not fall within this purpose.By posting a comment on this social media site, users agree to follow the terms of use of the site, Florida and federal laws and University of Florida regulations and policies, including but not limited to the University’s Acceptable Use of Computing Resources Policy.   The [unit or UF] reserves the right to remove from the site any comments that violate these requirements.”

• Content managers are responsible for keeping content current and accurate. As a general rule, social media platforms encourage engagement, which requires consistent, ongoing management. Accounts not providing ongoing management, content updates, and responses to community members are subject to closure. All accounts are subject to review.

CRITICAL RESPONSE PLAN

SCENARIO ONE

Supposed shooter comes on campus and causes possible threat.• Action Steps: 1. Alert Director of Communications Margot Winick of event.• Winick is the contact person for other UF offices and will be informed of the official information

regarding the event.• She will then provide accurate information regarding the event and the team will move forward from

there.2. Todd Sanders and Winick will plan together a communication plan for the website and social

media.• Both will use UF contacts to get information on where the incident occurred, if anyone was injured and

what this means for future notice.• They will also plan for any media releases or media kits that will be needed for the incident.

SCENARIO ONE

3. Sanders will then direct Robbie Smith and Ryan Morejon to post various posts on social media updating the public about situation

• Each post will be crafted by Smith and Morejon together and then go through two channels of clearing (Sanders and Winick) before posting to ensure clarity and sensitivity to the event.

• When the media or audience members find out about the event and begin to reach out on social Smith and Morejon will notify Sanders and Winick.

4. If social media is pressing for an official statement or needing a direct line of communication from a higher office, Winick and Sanders will decide who for contact.

• If this is needed, Winick and Sanders will help draft an official statement and send it to President’s office for release.

SCENARIO ONE

5. Continue to have Smith and Morejon evaluate social media to see how people are reacting and to continually update social with new information.

• Check to see if any other news outlets have broken the news and how that is affecting the situation. Evaluate if another direction needs to be taken.

• If another direction needs to occur, Winick and Sanders will work again with the President’s office to release an official statement.

Pre-Approved Messages:• No pre-approved messaging in this possible threat situation. Messaging will vary on the

nature of incident and other UF news.

SCENARIO TWO

A fire occurs on campus at one of the residence halls.Action Steps:1. Alert Director of Communications Margot Winick of event.• Winick is the contact person for other UF offices and will be informed of the official information regarding the event• She will then provide accurate information regarding the event and team will move forward from there.

2. Todd Sanders and Winick will plan together communication plan for website and social media• Both will use UF contacts to get information on where the incident occurred, if anyone was injured and what this

means for future notice.3. Sanders will then direct Robbie Smith and Ryan Morejon to post various posts on social media updating

the public about situation.4. If the media or audience has learned about the situation, direct their media requests back to Winick

first and Sanders second.

SCENARIO TWO

5. Continue to have Smith and Morejon evaluate social media to see how people are reacting and to continually update social with new information.

6. Check to see if any other news outlets have broken the news and how that is affecting the situation. Evaluate if another direction needs to be taken.

7. If another direction needs to occur, Winick and Sanders will work with the President’s office to release an official statement.

Pre-Approved Messages:• Twitter: We’re happy to report that fire at Keys area caused no injuries or damages. Residences

are currently relocated to O’Dome until further notice.• Facebook: Today a small fire broke out at one of our residential areas, Keys, because of faulty

wiring in a laundry facility. No students or staff were injured in the fire. The building has minor damages to the laundry unit and will be closed until further notice. Students are currently relocated to the O’Dome until further notice.

MEASUREMENT AND REPORTING RESULTS

MEASUREMENT AND REPORTING RESULTS

Quantitative KPIs• Reporting Period: 4 months• Data as of September 30, 2016

WEBSITE TRAFFIC SOURCE ASSESSMENT

Timeframe: Monthly average, April 2016 to September 2016Source Volume Percentage of

Overall TrafficConversion Rate

Twitter 35,000 unique visits+16% growth

62% 38%

Facebook 90,000 unique visits+5.9 % growth

23 % 14%

Instagram 85 ,000 unique visits +13.3 % growth

20% 5.9%

YouTube 1,100 unique visits+10% growth

3% 1.2%

LinkedIn 550 unique visits+10% growth

3% 1%

Google + 120 unique visits +20% growth

2% 0.7 %

SOCIAL NETWORK DATA

Timeframe: as September 30, 2016Social Network

URL Follower Count

Average Weekly Activity

Average Engagement Rate#interactions/reach

Twitter https://twitter.com/UF 132,000+17% growth

91+21% increase

2.4 %

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/uflorida 654, 392+3 % growth

10+25% increase

1.25%

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/uflorida/ 98,800+5% growth

5+66% increase

2.9%

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/ufl 5,205+2.05 growth

Once a monthNo change

0.8%

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/edu/school?id=18120 260,868 connections+0.7 growth

Posts every few monthsNo change

0.5% 

Google + https://plus.google.com/+uflorida 147,840+0.7% growth

Posts every few monthsNo change

0.8%

SOCIAL NETWORK DATA

• Our Twitter following has grown by 20,000 followers in five months and have increase average engagement rate as well. Twitter had the most growth in followers and in engagement rates because of personalized content we created for the account through hashtags, emojis and storytelling features. We also utilized key influencers to also help share our brand.

• In the past five months, the social media team has worked effortlessly to achieve our social media goals and it shows through our increase in followers and engagement rates in almost all of our social media sites. The team has achieved success through our increased use of storytelling on all platforms, allowing our brand persona to shine through.

• Our hashtag #HowdoOrange&Blue had a 200% increase in usage and has trended worldwide five times.

QUALITATIVE KPIS

Sentiment AnalysisAn analysis of the interactions on 100 Tweets, 100 Facebook posts and 100 Instagram posts showed the following:• Users are excited to learn and share news from the University Florida as seen through likes,

favorites, retweets. Also, revealed through comments in all platforms with positive statements and emoji usage.

• The only negative sentiment occurs through these channels is if Gator sports loses a sporting an event and audience members are frustrated by the loss. Further, if opposing teams lose they will post negative content about the university.

Proposed Action Items• Continue #HowdoyouOrange&Blue Campaign • Continue to improve content strategies with team and increase followings on LinkedIn,

Google + and YouTube

SOURCES

• Social Media Objectives demographics via http://www.bloggingwizard.com/psychology-of-social-networks/

• Brand Persona and Voice Pictures via UF Twitter• Social Media Policy via UF Social Media Guidelines page https://

docs.google.com/document/d/1zCyHibtOpz8v4Bk6k9vP6PY59JWzNlcel0V6oM97dFg/pub