Jessica Stutt, Integrated Marketing Manager at University of New Brunswick, is one of the 12 presenters of the 6th Higher Ed Social Media Conference.
In this 4-question interview, Jessica tells us about the plan for Facebook in 2019, a new tool, 3 higher ed social media accounts and an inspiring social media campaign idea.
1) Considering how engagement and reach on Facebook have evolved at your school in 2018, what’s your plan for 2019?
Facebook continues to be a major platform for us both for paid and organic reach. From our paid advertising campaign down to more organic promotion of campus events, our strategy in 2019 is to work to evaluate performance to gain more insight into what’s working and what isn’t. We have definitely seen the same reach challenges I know other institutions are facing, but are still working to uncover the true meaning behind it.
Is it that our audience isn’t leveraging the platform as much, that Facebook is trying to push us even more to paid advertising, that our assets are not properly developed for the platform or something else? We will focus even more in 2019 on evaluating our data to better understand insights before making major adjustments to our strategy.
2) What is your favorite new tool for your social media work?
This is going to sound a bit boring, but it’s Facebook and Instagram’s in-platform analytics!
These used to be extremely limited, providing easy access only to vanity metrics and high-level data. However both platforms have gotten much better at providing users easy access to the metrics that matter around posts, visitors and your overall page.
It has reduced reliance on 3rd party tools to mine data and on your excel skills to tease out those important insights.
3) What are the 3 higher ed social media accounts you follow with envy?
- UBC (@Youbcpic) – Instagram
UBC does great work across their social accounts, but their prospective-student facing account is an excellent example of best practices. They’re also leveraging IGTV to showcase some campus offerings. - UNB (@DiscoverUNB) – Instagram
Okay, I’m biased, but I love our prospective-student insta. Our digital team has done amazing work to curate images that are really impactful, people-focused and which show off my favourite elements of our campuses. - Harvard – Twitter
I mean… it’s Harvard! This institution has no shortage of incredible news and research to share which generates meaningful and unique content for their account. They make great use of images and really fit in well with the kind of content we tend to be looking for in our Twitter feed.
4) What is the coolest social media campaign you’ve noticed this year?
Eggo capitalizing on the phenomenon that is Stranger Things! Firstly, if you haven’t experienced the true magic that is the Netflix Original Series, Stranger Things, stop reading immediately and go binge the past 2 seasons. Eggo has done an incredible job to align themselves with this 80s nostalgia phenom. Just take this upside-down written Tweet as one example. It has driven all kinds of organic engagement and goodwill for their brand.
In terms of how to apply it in higher ed, I think there’s real value in having a content strategy that looks for opportunities to engage (when relevant!) with other brands, institutions or pop culture moments. Even if a major tv show isn’t featuring your institution, there are ways for you to develop clever and meaningful content for your audiences. But beware, the Internet is also full of examples of this going wrong. You want to be cautious of how your efforts could be misinterpreted and whether the event or brand you’re aligning with is appropriate.
Follow Jessica Stutt on @higheredexperts Instagram account for a day on October 31st, 2018!
Are you a fan of Instagram Stories Takeovers by students or alums?
You’re going to love Higher Ed Experts’ #HESM18 Instagram Stories Takeovers where your higher ed social media colleagues share a day in their life.
Make sure you don’t miss Jessica Stutt’s 1-day Instagram Stories Takeover on October 31st, 2018 by following Higher Ed Experts’ Instagram account now!
A conference focusing on higher ed social media?
The 6th Higher Ed Social Media Conference (HESM18) is a must-attend event for higher ed social media professionals and teams looking for inspiration, ideas and best practices to get ready for 2019.
Read below what your higher ed colleagues who attended the past editions of the Higher Ed Social Media Conference said about their experience.
Tags: HESM18, Higher Ed News