Social Media Target Marketing and Community Building for Business Schools

Tim Akin

Sr. Director of Marketing & Communications

University of California, Davis Graduate School of Management AACSB Building B-Schools Conference March 2009

Target Marketing Building Your Community

A radical change has

occurred in the world

of marketing…

“ The social Web is a utility. Consumers read the newspaper, they watch TV, and listen to the radio but they participate in the social Web. ” – KlickNation Founder and CEO Mark Otero (UC Davis MBA alumnus 2007)

“ Social media presents an opportunity for direct access to the people outside the company whom we now know control its brand, its fortune and its fate .” – Mike Troiano Founding CEO, Ogilvy & Mather Interactive

Leveraging Two Leading Social Networks

= Your Virtual and Viral Personal Portfolio (you and your “band” of friends sharing experiences)

vs.

= Your Virtual and Viral Professional Persona (showcasing and managing your “pinstripes brand”)

Our Facebook Page

Live 11/13/08

440+ Fans

Video (clips, speakers, media)

New Building Web Cam

Photos (fans and school albums)

Blogs (dean, faculty, students)

Events

Twitter Feeds

RSS News Feeds

Social Network Ad Spend in U.S.

Facebook Ads: Working Professional MBA Programs MBA Student Recruitment: San Francisco Bay Area & Sacramento Market Segmentation: Geography (cities), Age (24-40), College Grads Run: 01/28 - 02/09 Impressions: 417,460 Clicks: 97 Click-Through Rate : 0.02 Cost : $86.29 Run: 2/24 - First 72 hours Impressions: 291,757 Clicks: 77 Click Through Rate : 0.03 Cost : $61.74 Run: 01/27 - 02/02 Impressions: 129,924 Clicks: 56 Click-Through Rate : 0.04 Cost : $44.40

Facebook Ad Campaign: 5 Mil. Impressions in 6 mos. 27 Ads Placed August 27, 2008 - Feb. 27, 2009 Date Total Impressions Total Clicks Total CTR Total Avg CPC Total Avg CPM Total Spent 8/1/08 43,693 29 0.0664 0.59 0.39 $17.12 9/1/08 1,408,498 506 0.0359 0.75 0.27 $381.00 10/1/08 568,583 137 0.0241 0.77 0.19 $105.98 11/1/08 823,081 216 0.0262 1.02 0.27 $219.77 12/1/08 209,410 40 0.0191 0.56 0.11 $22.25 1/1/09 1,085,903 305 0.0281 0.88 0.25 $269.02 2/1/09 898,514 233 0.026 0.91 0.24 $201.93 Totals 5,037,682 1,466 0.0323 $0.78 $0.25 $1,217.07

Facebook Ad Campaign: ROI Measurement

Impressions offer branding/visibility value in target markets

Click-throughs: NOT THE measure of e-marketing success (does drive site traffic, can spark prospective student interest, etc.)

Conversions are key : Qualified prospective MBA students (keeping in mind: initial interest to application period typically 1-2+ years)

Attend Event/Web Application Accepted Enrolled Bottom line: $65,000 - $75,000 fee revenue

UC Davis GSM Leveraging LinkedIn

UC Davis Graduate School of Management Group

Highly targeted advertising to 25-45 year olds in Sacramento and San Francisco Bay Area to recruit Working Professional MBA students

= 35 mil. Strong, Powerful Existing Network Source: LinkedIn Internal Data – Jan. ‘09 1.6M members 2004 4.4M members 2005 8.5M members 2006 10M members 2007 35M members As of Feb 2009 2008: 33+M 2007: 10M 2006: 8.5M 2005: 4.4M 2004: 1.6M 2003: 85K

38 new member sign-ups per minute; Avg. 350k per week

140 new invitations to join sent per minute; Avg. 200k+ per day

In January 2009, 1 million new member sign-ups in <17 days

Our LinkedIn Group

Created 9/11/07

Alumni, students, faculty and staff only

900+ members

One third of our b-school community

Add ~10 members/wk.

Promote in pubs, e-news, Web, word-of-mouth, word-of-mouse.

UC Davis GSM LinkedIn Group: Testimonials

Alumnus John Argo ‘04

Solar Energy Executive & Entrepreneur

President, GSM Alumni Association

“ LinkedIn groups have really proliferated recently. I'm in four renewable energy groups and more than that for project management. It's proving to be a useful way to cultivate new contacts that share a particular interest. Updates are also useful ways to see what others in your interest group are doing. LinkedIn is much more useful than just a few years ago.”

B-School Presence on LinkedIn

Unofficial census b-schools using LinkedIn Groups search

2,300+ groups: range from 6,388 to 2 members

Institution vs. alumni/student/constituent “owned”

Your university or business school may also have a “Company Profile.” Update it, add logo and description.

Request a “Company Profile” for your business school.

Post events on LinkedIn – promote with targeted “Direct Ads” at 60% CPM discount

Campus Collaborations: Think “LinkedIn” Networks

Create new LinkedIn groups that connect, foster and speed interdisciplinary collaborations between alums, students, faculty, staff, executives, business partners.