Reunions are an exciting time for alumni. It’s a time to return to old stomping grounds and drink in the atmosphere, action, and tradition of one of the most fun weekends on campus.
At MIT, the campus hits overdrive each year as Reunions and commencement take place the first weekend of June. While this might seem like a crazy few days on campus (it is) it’s also a great time for the Alumni Association’s digital team to collect and share as much content as possible. Here’s how we did it in 2016.
Create Content Ahead of Time
We know that every Tech Reunions/commencement weekend will be filled with big events, big traditions, and big names. Months before the weekend we began creating strategies for both Tech Reunions and commencement. Though commencement is a student event, alumni do have a role in it (and once everyone crosses the stage, they’re alumni too)—so we like to have fun with it.
This year, we were gifted content-creator’s dream in commencement speaker Matt Damon.
Damon was chosen for the great work he’s done with Water.org, but also because both he and MIT call Cambridge, Massachusetts home. Damon’s breakout role in Good Will Hunting was also set in the halls of MIT. The digital team knew this was something we had to take advantage of for social media. We settled on a weeklong campaign highlighting MIT-related goofs from the movie, as well as reshooting the iconic chalkboard scene from the movie.
The movie goofs only required some quick screen grabs and Photoshop work, while the 30 second scene required a half day shoot. Here’s the finished product:
We shared this content the week leading up to commencement. The posts in the campaign earned an average of 154 likes per post, and 37 shares, much higher than our average. The short video was watched nearly 10,000 times on Facebook and the content got our audience in a jovial, celebratory mood before Tech Reunions and commencement even began.
Lesson #1: Create content ahead of time. Use Matt Damon whenever possible 😉
Make a Game Plan
Every photographer shows up to an event with a shot list, and so should the social media team.
As commencement and Tech Reunions are yearly traditions at MIT, we know what to expect. While alumni from all years return for Reunions, the “stars” of the weekend are those attending their 50th reunion. At their 50th reunion, alumni receive a red blazer signifying a special milestone.
These alumni are easy to spot and make for perfect photo ops. The 50th class also joins the procession for commencement and sits on MIT’s Killian Court where the event is held. We make plans each year to catch these moments as well as other iconic ones like the Reunion Row—a crew race for all classes—and Toast to Tech—a huge party for all attendees. We schedule staff and enlist the help of others to make sure we capture all these iconic moments in the moment.
Lesson #2: Plan and schedule for what you can.
Try Something New
Last year it was Periscope; this year it was Facebook Live.
Much like our team looks forward to Tech Reunions all year long, so do or alumni and friends, whether they’re on campus, or following along on social. Because of the high importance of the weekend, we know we have more eyes on our social channels, so it’s the perfect time to try something new and see how our audience responds.
Once again we turned to Matt Damon to captivate our audience. Our team lined up to catch the procession into Killian Court and livestreamed it on Facebook Live—our first time using it.
We reached 39,000 people, with a Facebook fan audience of 40,000 this was huge! Our plan going into the first try was to see how our audience responded and go from there. Luckily, our audience loved it! So we tried again that very morning, this time with the procession of the 50th class into commencement that post reaching 9,000 people.
Lesson #3: Try new things when your audience is excited and engaged.
Repeat, Reinforce, Remember!
Of course, the digital team was not the only entity creating content at Tech Reunions, everyone in attendance was invited to as well. In the months leading up to Tech Reunions, we had several social media campaigns featuring the official hashtag #TechReunions. The hashtag also appeared on Reunions programs, stickers, handouts, and even the jumbotron during commencement. Other people creating content and using the hashtag allowed us to retweet and tell the full story of the weekend.
In addition to our usual hashtag outreach, we also took a page from @mitstudents and invited one student (soon to be an alumna) and one alumna to take over our Instagram channel to share a full picture of Reunions and commencement.
This helped to drive engagement and increase our number of followers.
Lesson #4: Encouraging and using content from your audience creates the full picture and drives engagement.
Do the Math
Once all was said and done, it was time to pull the numbers.
The 2016 Reunions increased engagement and #TechReunions content on all channels.
How do we know?
We compared to 2015. The numbers that are most important to us are our own, so a strong metrics plan and consistent tracking helps us know what worked, what didn’t, and what we should focus on next year.
Lesson #5: No matter what you track, have a benchmark.
Share!
Our team took hundreds of photos over the weekend in addition to the thousands that professional photographers took. The days after Reunions provide an afterglow to share these great photos. We created albums on Facebook and Flickr as well as a highlight reel on Exposure.
Tech Reunions 2016 by MIT Alumni Association on Exposure
What do we do with the thousands of other photos? We share them though out the year in the form of TBTs and cover photos and, of course, use them for next year’s promotion and campaigns.
Lesson #6: It’s not over when the weekend is, keep sharing!
Meet the Author: Nicole Morell
Nicole Morell is the Social Media Community Manager at MIT Alumni Association. She is also a graduate of Higher Ed Experts’ professional certificate program in Social Media Measurement for Higher Ed
Tags: Higher Ed Marketing Memos, Higher Ed News