February 21, 2014

MiningSocial Media Data

Tim PonisciakAnnual Giving Network

Page 2

About The Presenter

• Director of Graduate Alumni Relations• Mendoza College of Business,

University of Notre Dame• 11 years in marketing, annual giving

and alumni relations• MBA from Notre DameTim Ponisciak

Annual Giving Network

Page 3

Agenda

• Current Social Media Landscape• Finding, Listening and Gathering Alumni Information• Creating Your Own Social Media Buzz• Identifying Trends• Q&A

Page 4

Current Social Media Landscape

Page 5

Current Social Media Landscape

Facebook: 1.4 billion users, 5 billion pieces of content shared daily (2%)Twitter: 288 million users (26%)LinkedIn: 340 million users (54%)Pinterest:70 million users (111%)Instagram: 300 million users (64%)Google Plus: 300 million users (16%)Snapchat: 200 million users (55%)

Percentage indicates growth from 2013 to 2014

*http://techcrunch.com/2014/11/25/tumblr-overtakes-instagram-as-fastest-growing-social-platform-snapchat-is-the-fastest-growing-app/

Page 6

Current Social Media Landscape - Corporations

Social media being used to:

• Determine customer preferences• Create unique content

Page 7

Key Questions for Higher Ed

• How can social media be used to enhance what we know about our alumni?

• What types of information do our alumni most want to hear about from their alma mater?

• How can social media be leveraged to not only keep alumni connected, but to amplify alumni interest in one’s school and to increase giving?

Page 8

Finding, Listening and Gathering Information

Page 9

Finding Alumni on Social Media

– Donor Information– New Board Members– Matching Gift Volunteers

Page 10

LinkedIn Profile Data

Enriching Your Donor’s Profile

• Company• Industry• Title• Location• Email

Page 11

Utilize LinkedIn Advanced Search

Finding Potential Board Members

Page 12

Results:

Finding Potential Board Members

Page 13

Searching for Matching Gifts Volunteers

Page 14

Results:

Searching for Matching Gifts Volunteers

Page 15

Listening to Alumni

#EKUStrong• Feedback from alumni• Creation of alumni contact

information update campaign

• Leverage alumni passion on social media

• Ask “Why is this question being asked?”

Page 16

Poll #1: Did your school have a giving day last year?

• Yes

• No

• No, but we are planning one for the upcoming fiscal year

Page 17

Gathering Alumni Information

Giving Day Challenges

• ONU: Various hourly challenges that encouraged alumni interaction on Twitter

Page 18

Giving Day Challenges

Page 19

Giving Day Challenges

• Allows university to increase number of followers

• Provides insights into where alumni interests lie

Page 20

Informing Future Annual Giving Strategy

Ask questions about your school that can help you with future fundraising campaigns

• Beloved places on campus

• Favorite professors

• Best campus traditions

Page 21

• Yes, we have a student ambassador team• Yes, we have an alumni ambassador team• No, we do not

Poll #2: Do you have a formal social media ambassador program?

Page 22

Building Momentum on Social Media

Page 23

Social Media Ambassadors

• RIT – Volunteer program for alumni to spread school messages, including fundraising

• American – Alumni ambassadors volunteer to disseminate and generate content for alumni association social media platforms

• Babson – Students paid to be the “online tour guides” of Babson. Audience includes prospective students, parents, friends and alumni

Page 24

Allegheny College Alumni Ambassadors

• Regularly share content from College social media accounts that interest them and which they believe would resonate with alumni in their social networks.

• Promote time sensitive initiatives and programs. These may include major campus events, fundraising campaigns, and admissions related information.

http://sites.allegheny.edu/web/social-media-ambassadors/

Page 25

Allegheny College Alumni Ambassadors

• Time commitment

• Upfront goals

• List of official hashtags

http://sites.allegheny.edu/web/social-media-ambassadors/

Page 26

Allegheny College Alumni Ambassadors

Page 27

Facebook Ads

• Affordable

• Customizable

• Not a replacement for email or direct mail

• Direct users to your Facebook page or giving page

Page 28

Targeting Your Facebook Ad

• Visitors of your general school page or online donation form page

• Upload custom email list: nondonors, lybunts, recognition society members

• Those who have liked your Facebook page

Page 29

Boosting Your Posts

Page 30

Identifying Trends

Page 31

Our Social Media Focus

– College of Business related information– Notre Dame related content– Business related articles of interest

Page 32

• No planning, we post what is topical each day• 1 week, and adapt when necessary• 2 weeks or more, with flexibility to adapt when necessary

Poll #3: How far ahead do you plan your social media posts?

Page 33

How We Talk

• Odd fact – unique news story

• Invitation

• Well wishes

• Excitement

Page 34

The Approach

• Break down our Facebook posts by topic

• Break down our posts by tone

• See if we can determine any particular types of posts that are most appealing to our alumni, so we can create an informed social media plan for the future

• Inform other areas of our work based off of our findings

Page 35

Our Typical Social Media Topics

• College of Business

• Notre Dame

• Football

• Alumni Info

• Fundraising

• General business

Page 36

Breakdown of Facebook Post Topics

Page 37

Our Typical Social Media Tones

• Congratulatory/ Well Wishes

• Fun

• Informative

• Nostalgic/ Student Life

• Questioning

• Reminder

Page 38

Breakdown of Facebook Post Tones

Page 39

Sorting Everything Out

Page 40

Sorting Everything Out

Page 41

Top Bit.ly Clicks

Rank Link Type Topic Tone

1 Field & Field – Alumna startup

Alumni Informative

2 Chicago Alumni Reception Alumni Reminder

3 Want a Happy Office? Article featuring Professor

College of Business

Informative

4 Student startup wins awards at competition

College of Business

Informative

5 Mendoza Dialogues video – CIO Scott Malpass

College of Business

Informative

6 ND launches first open online courses

Notre Dame Informative

Page 42

Informing Decisions

• Highlighting video featuring Chief Investment Officer in most recent recognition societies newsletter

• Next video to be created will focus on entrepreneurship

• Focusing on online courses currently available

Page 43

How does this help formulate social media strategy?

• Ensure we have photos and videos of events

• Focus more on messages about the College of Business, and less on general business articles

• Plan each week to have: 2-3 College of Business posts, one post that is either football or ND related, and then fill in with events and reminders as appropriate

• Find more news to make people feel proud to be a part of our College

Page 44

Pre-Webinar Survey

Page 45

Survey Summary

• Types of pages• 26 alumni• 12 institution• 4 giving

• Alumni pages• Fans per Alumni – 5%

Page 46

Topics for Top Posts

Page 47

Topics for Recent Posts

Page 48

Tones for Top Posts

Page 49

Tones for Recent Posts

Page 50

Westminster Schools

Topic: FacultyTone: Congratulatory/Well Wishing

Page 51

NC State Recent Grads

Topic: AthleticsTone: Informative

Page 52

Del Mar College Alumni Association

Topic: LocalTone: Fun

Page 53

UIS (University of Illinois Springfield) Giving

Topic: FundraisingTone: Persuasive

Page 54

James Madison University

Topic: HolidayTone: Congratulatory/Well Wishing

Page 55

Top Words

Page 56

Key Takeaways

• Don’t restrict yourself to data in your database

• Listen to your alumni on social media, and be nimble in your response

• Don’t just answer alumni questions, figure out why they are asking in the first place

• Utilize Facebook/Twitter to ask for feedback from alumni to inform future campaigns

• Analyze past social media posts to determine what topics and tones appeal to alumni and will get your alumni interacting with you and with each other

Page 57

Q&A