Uncover the tools and tactics for developing a social media strategy that helps your school meet its online goals and objectives.

1. CREATING A WINNING SOCIAL MEDIA
STRATEGY FOR YOUR SCHOOL

2. WhatYOUwilllearntoday?
Understand
how social
media differs
from
traditional
marketing
Finding and
targeting
your
audience
Explore the
best tactics
to boost
awareness
and
engagement
How to
measure for
success
What
Facebook's
BIG
Newsfeed
changes
mean for
your school
2

3. http://bit.ly/1gP5EOZ
3

4. Social Media – The Inverted Pyramid
Your Audience
What they view online
What they look
for
Their
messages
YOU
4

5. Position Your School
in the social network as a
Thought Leader

6. How Can You Do This?
6

7. Overall ASSESSMENT.
7

8. Find your target AUDIENCE(s).
Who are they?
• Prospective Families
& Students
• Current Students &
Families
• Alumni
• Faculty, Staff, Admin
• Board Members
Use surveys to learn
where they are on social
media.
8

9. Next Steps - DETERMINE
Goal(s)
Objective(s)
Strategy
Tactics
9

10. Notre Dame Prep
Campaign Goals
•Open House
•Middle Level
Tour
•Shadow Days
•Applications
Increase
Registration
•Brand
Awareness
•Website Views
•Social Media
Engagement
Amplify
Awareness
• Further
Awarenes
s
Increase
Enrollment
10

11. What are your OBJECTIVES?
• Use social media and digital marketing to
target prospective families and students in
order to:
1. Boost awareness of
your school
2. Demonstrate knowledge
3. Amplify your message
4. Gain trust
5. Convert viewers into
applicants
11

12. Craft the STRATEGY
Consider how you want to:
Increase
enrollment
Drive traffic
to your
website
Tap into
and engage
a broader
audience
Create brand
evangelists
and
ambassadors
Measure
ROI
12

13. Now for the TACTICS!
TACTICS
13

14. FIRST Consider
• Tools
• Which social tools and platforms can help you reach your goals and
create impact in your community?
• Internal Capacity
• Do you have the staff to carry out your plan?
• Is your communications department
equipped to follow through with the plan?
• Implement training if needed.
• Assess the competition
• Don’t be afraid to borrow good ideas!
14

15. Plan the Tactics
• Variety of content
• Echo the latest social trends
• Create and use appropriate #hashtags (Don’t overdo it!)
• Schedule EVENTS on social sites
• Incorporate Facebook Live and videos
• Cross promote campaigns on social sites and via partners and
influencers
• Launch a Brand Ambassador Program – a strategy in itself
• The BIG IDEA(s) – also a strategy in itself
Tip: Use ‘traditional’ PR & marketing to promote and reinforce your
social media plan.
15

16. Maintain an Editorial Calendar
• To schedule content for all social sites.
• Use Google spreadsheets in order to share with others who
might add or need to approve.
16

17. Keywords and Phrases
• Add keywords and phrases to your calendar to use in
content about a given theme.
• Use Google AdWords ‘Keyword Planner’ tool to learn what
your audience is searching for online.
17

18. Content Cycles
• Create a formula centered on weekly posts, for example:
• Monday: Academics, the Arts
• Tuesday: Facebook Live featuring students, teachers, staff, etc.
• Wednesday: Social Justice, Activities in the community
• Thursday: Profiling your schools staff, partners and community leaders
• Friday: Guest commentators (someone from your school posting a
message of interest)
• Leave room for ‘real-time’ stories that are relevant, which may include:
• Breaking news that’s relevant to your school’s audience, pop-culture,
holidays, etc.
Tip: If followers know what kind of information to expect on specific
days, they tend to look out for it in their news feeds.
18

19. Types of Content
• Craft stories that are conversational, informative and engaging.
• Keep copy short and succinct as possible.
• Include ‘calls-to-action.’
• Publish:
• Video and Live Video (remember to
download videos directly to Facebook)
• Links to your website pages.
• Links to related articles in the
media or educational digital pubs
• Shout-outs to deserving
followers
• Open-ended questions
• Fill-in-the-blanks
Tip: Use Bitl.y to shorten ‘links’ and allow you to learn if your
audience is interested in your content. Also, aesthetically better.
19

20. Facebook’s BIG Announcement
“I'm changing the goal I give our product teams from
focusing on helping you find relevant content to
helping you have more meaningful social interactions.”
— Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO
January 11, 2018
20

21. Images Capture Attention
• Include large images (1K to 800 pixels) with all stories.
• Help your stories to
stand apart from others.
• RESONATE BEST on
mobile devices.
• On Facebook, create
Photo Albums for your
programs.
• Include timely image
updates.
Tip: Research indicates the people engage more with stories that
are accompanied by dynamic images.
21

22. Facebook Tips
• Publish stories that elicit strong engagement
• Keep posts conversational and engaging
• Ask open-ended questions
• Remember to respond to ALL comments, posts and
messages by others on your page.
• Create Facebook Events for ALL upcoming programs.
• Use Facebook Notes to publish lengthier content that shares
compelling and lighthearted stories and anecdotes.
• Create Facebook Groups for enhanced conversation that will
more likely be seen in your audience’s newsfeed.
Tip: Schedule content directly on Facebook if you want viewers to
see it outside of regular business hours.
22

23. Twitter Tips
• Create branded Twitter background brand.
• Include logo, phone number, website and address
• Repurpose content scheduled for Facebook.
• Keep content less than 140 characters to leave room for links and images,
and give viewers the ability to @mention your agency and/or RT your
content.
• Schedule additional content (try to post a minimum of three to five
stories per day)
• Include links that drive people to your website pages and other relevant
landing pages.
• Use images and video to reinforce stories.
• RT other relevant stories from influencers and followers
• @mention influencers (community leaders, partners, staff, etc.)
Tip: Use Twitter ‘Lists’ to organize Tweeters you follow, and allow
you to easily find and RT valuable content.
23

24. YouTube Tips
• Create a channel on YouTube for your school.
• Include a branded banner.
• Optimize your videos with links and keywords in titles, copy and tags.
• Create playlists, for SEO, that categorize your videos and videos that
you recommend to viewers.
• Stream videos to:
• Your website (blogs)
• All other social media sites BUT Facebook – download videos to
Facebook directly
• Email newsletters (increases click-through rates and enhances
conversions by 50%)
Tip: Follow relevant YouTube channels to further strengthen SEO.
24

25. LinkedIn Tips
• Create a LinkedIn University Page for your school
• You must have a LinkedIn “Company Page” in order to do this
Tip: A University Page is a great way to attract and engage your
alumni.
25

26. Learn About Your Alumni on LinkedIn
Helpful links for creating your University Page:
• Creating a University page
• University Page Overview
• FAQs for LinkedIn Page Admins
26

27. How Your Alumni Can Connect on LinkedIn
Tip: Teach your high school students how to use LinkedIn, and let
them create their own profile. It prepares them for college, connects
them w/alumni (think mentorship), and further boosts your school’s
presence on LinkedIn.
27

28. Employing Ad Campaigns
• Ads are a powerful tool for schools to use to spread awareness, build
community and reach new prospects.
• The value:
• Reliable way to generate awareness amongst a specific audience
• Ability to target your ads to exactly the people you wish to connect
with
• Ads can drive people to your website or other landing pages
• Fastest and most effective way to build your community of followers
rather than relying on organic reach alone
• Creates lead generation
• Convert leads into prospects
Tip: Most online advertising reaches only 27% of its intended
audience; Facebook’s average is 91%
28

29. Facebook Ads
29

30. Great Resources for Ads and Leads
30

31. Brand Ambassador NINJA Campaign
• Recruit loyalists to:
• Engage in and share your content on their own
social sites.
• Blog about your organization.
• Post their own engaging content
presenting positive experience.
• Tweet to their Twitter followers.
• Post and share images & videos
on other platforms.
Tip: Reward your NINJAS with SWAG and other giveaways just for
them, and they’ll return the deed with their loyalty.
31

32. Measuring SUCCESS
• Measuring the success
of social media
depends on the goals
set forth for the plan.
Tip: Use Facebook Insights to get valuable metrics & results;
Hootsuite also offers analytical tools to measure what you schedule.
32

33. Measure results by:
• Community growth after 30/60/90 days
• Facebook:
• Number of Fans; Engagement (# likes, comments, shares)
• Social Ads click-through rates
• Coupon redemptions (if applicable)
• Twitter:
• Number of followers, RT’s and @mentions
• YouTube:
• Subscriptions, profile views, video views, engagement
• Traffic sources
• Brand Ambassadors:
• Custom reporting based on reach of each ambassador
33

34. How can you measure ROI?
34

35. FollowtheApplicantsJourney
Viewer clicks on the ad and submits registration.
Track whether or not the parent and child attends
the admissions event.
Does the child apply to your school?
Do you accept the child?
Does the child/family accept your offer of
admission?
35
The best metrics follow and track the admissions applicant’s
journey through the entire admissions process.
Tip: The entire tracking process can take several months,
depending when the family first engaged with your campaign.

36. Questions
36

37. Thank you.
Gerri Baum
Digital/Social Media Director
Kalix Marketing
3600 Clipper Mill Road,
Suite 300
Baltimore, MD 21211
410.662.5925
gbaum@kalixmarketing.com
www.kalixmarketing.com
37
Jonathan Oleisky
President
Kalix Marketing
3600 Clipper Mill Road,
Suite 300
Baltimore, MD 21211
410.662.5925
joleisky@kalixmarketing.com
www.kalixmarketing.com