2. To: Danielle Stapleton
From: Macey Pool, Ty Lapinski, Allyson Sekerke, and Ashley Alfaro
Date: December 9, 2014
Subject: Southwestern University Facebook Page Analysis Report
I. Executive Summary
The Southwestern Facebook page, run by Danielle Stapleton, aims to engage and inform the five
main target audiences: current students, alumni, gold alumni, parents, and local businesses.
Danielle Stapleton has a lot of data about the Southwestern University Facebook page, but not a
lot of time to analyze it and implement that analysis. She needs to increase fan growth and
interactions on the Facebook page. Our team took on the assignment to analyze the Facebook
page and to make recommendations for improving the page using internal data from Facebook,
external data from Socialbakers, and survey data from Southwestern community benefactors.
This report provides an analysis of data regarding the Southwestern University Facebook page
and recommendations to improve the Southwestern Facebook page.
The internal data of the Facebook page included both page level and post level data. External
data from the Socialbakers website compared Southwestern University's Facebook page to those
of Trinity University and Austin College. Although the Southwestern University Facebook page
does not generally engage in direct competition with the Facebook pages of Trinity University
and Austin College, the similar sizes and liberal arts natures of the schools make their Facebook
pages useful for comparison purposes. The survey given to Southwestern community benefactors
aimed to ascertain what benefactors would most like to see on the Southwestern University
Facebook page.
Based on internal Facebook data, we recommend that the Association of Southwestern
University Alumni Facebook page merge with the Southwestern University Facebook page and
that the main page improve its utilization of photos. By merging the two pages together,
Southwestern would connect alumni to students and encourage new interactions like comments
and likes. By improving its utilization of photos, the Facebook page could capitalize on it’s
photo’s total lifetime reach to gain interactions and increase fan growth. Secondly, external data
suggests that the Facebook page should lower the administrative post rate to 1.15 posts per day
with maximum of 3 posts per day and should attempt to post during the time period of 6:30 a.m.
to 3:00 p.m. Implementing these recommendations would likely engage more fans with the
Facebook page. Lastly the survey indicates that, once a month, the Southwestern University
Facebook page should post about events going on in the community. Posting about the events in
the community would appeal to current students and prospective students while connecting the
local businesses of Georgetown to Southwestern students, returning alumni, or visiting parents.
2
3. To: Danielle Stapleton
From: Macey Pool, Ty Lapinski, Allyson Sekerke, and Ashley Alfaro
Date: December 9, 2014
Subject: Southwestern University Facebook Page Analysis Report
II. Table of Contents
Introduction…………………………………………………………………………................... 4
Facebook Data Internal Analysis and Recommendations…………………………….............
4
Social Baker’s External Analysis and Recommendation……………………………………...
6
Community Benefactor Survey Analysis and Recommendation…………………………….. 7
Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………..
9
Appendix……………………………………………………………………………………….. 10
3
4. To: Danielle Stapleton
From: Macey Pool, Ty Lapinski, Allyson Sekerke, and Ashley Alfaro
Date: December 9, 2014
Subject: Southwestern University Facebook Page Analysis Report
III. Introduction
Danielle Stapleton presented her dilemma to us on improving the Southwestern University
Facebook page. Danielle Stapleton wants to increase the engagement of the page in the most
accurate and timely manner. Our team took an internal, external and customer analysis to
improve fan growth, post quality, and engagement rate on the Southwestern Facebook page. For
the internal interactions, our social marketing consulting team took a more detailed look at the
Facebook page and analyzed posts that created the most engagement. We used Socialbakers for
the external analysis to compare the Southwestern University Facebook page’s engagement rate,
posts, and fans to the Trinity University and the Austin College Facebook pages. Lastly, we
focused on local businesses as our customer interaction group and created a survey to gain
perspective and provide recommendations to increase local business’s utilization of the
Southwestern’s Facebook page.
IV. Analysis and Recommendations
A. Internal Analysis Facebook Metrics Data Recommendations:
First, our social marketing team suggests merging the Association of Southwestern University
Alumni Facebook page and the Southwestern University Facebook page to create a
consumertoconsumer/community feel and produce a higher frequency of interactions
(comments) between current students and alumnus. Our marketing team rationalized this idea by
relating it back to the concept that consumers trust consumers more than companies. If we
theorize the Facebook page as the company, their posts as the product, and alumnus and current
students as the consumers, this recommendation becomes clearer. If alumni see firsthand
current students interacting with posts, and viseversa, it will encourage each audience to engage
with the post and each other. In addition, the opportunity for current students to network with
alumnus presents an appealing advantage for students to like the Southwestern University
Facebook page.
This strategy will also concentrate the activity on the posts on one page (rather than spreading
the activity between two separate pages) and will increase the reach of individual posts on the
page, and the further the reach of the posts, the more likely the page will gain new likes.
4
5. To: Danielle Stapleton
From: Macey Pool, Ty Lapinski, Allyson Sekerke, and Ashley Alfaro
Date: December 9, 2014
Subject: Southwestern University Facebook Page Analysis Report
Consolidating the Southwestern University Facebook page and the alumni page would help
Southwestern University and to local businesses supporting Southwestern University because it
would improve the reach and effectiveness of the posts on the page. We understand that a few,
specific posts on the combined pages would only relate to part of the page’s audience, but many
posts (such as posts about Homecoming and posts about school events which both the main page
and the alumni page feature) would reach the entire audience.
Second, our marketing believes improving the Southwestern University Facebook page’s
utilization of photos will also increase fan growth and the engagement of its fans. Photos on the
Southwestern University Facebook page had an average lifetime post total reach of 2807 for the
month of October, while links had an average lifetime post total reach of 7016 for the month of
October, and statuses had an average lifetime post total reach of 3046. The post of October 24th
stating “Discovering we are the #5 on this list is a pretty good way to kick off a Friday!”
accounts for the links higher number of lifetime post total reach. Photos in October have a
significantly lower average lifetime post total reach, suggesting that the Southwestern University
Facebook page has not utilized photos (generally a sharable and engaging form of media on
social networks) to their full potential. Even if page managers regard the October 24th post as an
outlier and do not count it in the analysis, photos still come in lower (in terms of average lifetime
total post reach) than statuses. Facebook users can share photos easily, and photos do not take
time to read or require the user to follow a link, so the fact that they have a lower rank in terms
of post reach suggests that the Southwestern University Facebook page needs to choose
highquality and engaging photos to post that will reach a broader audience.
When posting a photo on the Southwestern University Facebook page, the administrator should
ask his/herself the following questions before posting:
1. Is this a high quality photo?
2. Does it maintain the Southwestern Spirit?
3. Does this photo contain a popular figure with the student body?
4. Would fans find this photo fun and/or engaging?
If a photo does not meet at least two of these qualifications, the Southwestern University
Facebook page should not post the photo.
High quality photos include both high resolution and aesthetically pleasing photos. Using these
types of photos will catch the eye of a user scrolling down their facebook feed, and encourage
the user to engage (Figure 1). In addition, the use of high quality photos increases the positive
perception of Southwestern University’s reputability.
In order to engage Facebook users, photos should exemplify the Southwestern spirit (Figure 2).
The Southwestern spirit possesses everything from wellknown campus figures (like President
5
6. To: Danielle Stapleton
From: Macey Pool, Ty Lapinski, Allyson Sekerke, and Ashley Alfaro
Date: December 9, 2014
Subject: Southwestern University Facebook Page Analysis Report
Burger and Jason Chapman), to pride in the school (such as the “#5” post) and its campus, to
welcoming new students and faculty, and to the school’s rich and old history. The Southwestern
spirit encompasses a broad range of ideas and personality, and should reflect the unique
atmosphere and location of Southwestern University.
Campus figures tend to do well on the Southwestern Facebook Page (Figure 3). Although our
marketing team has no background data on why, we suspect these pictures perform well because
students can relate to these students/faculty whom they interact with on a daily basis, and it
excites them to see faculty (their superiors) in an informal fashion. We also speculate well liked
figures on campus produce “well liked photos” on the Facebook page. Specific well liked
Southwestern figures include President Burger, Ella, Jason Chapman, and commendable
professors.
Photos should generally include captions to give context and make the photo relevant to
Facebook users who might not know the significance of the photo otherwise. Users would have a
higher likelihood of sharing appealing, relevant photos, which would increase the reach of the
photos and by extension the Southwestern University Facebook page.
The Southwestern University Facebook page should use these guidelines when deciding on
which photos to post, but it can make exceptions to these rules in certain situations. The photo of
Jason Chapman in the squirrel costume (Figure 3), for instance, generated 171 likes and had a
lifetime post total reach of 3424. This post does not represent the highquality photo that the
Facebook page should try to feature, but because of its quirky nature and Jason Chapman’s
popularity on campus (both of which suggest that this picture has the Southwestern spirit) it
generated a lot of activity on the page. In contrast, the photo of “#PaperBurger” (Figure 4) did
not generate nearly as much activity (only 20 likes and a lifetime post total reach of 1287)
because the content of the photo did not make up for the quality of the photo. The photo featured
the “#PaperBurger” concept without fully explaining it in the caption, and the photo featured a
paper version of President Burger rather than Burger himself. The vagueness of the caption and
the lack of Southwestern spirit in this photo could not compensate for the quality, so this photo
did not have nearly the level of success that Jason Chapman’s photo did.
B. External Analysis Socialbakers Recommendations:
Third, our marketing team believes lowing the amount of administrative posts on the
Southwestern University Facebook page would increase engagement with its fans. The
Southwestern University Facebook page has a higher average rate of admin posts per day than
either Trinity University or Austin College. From September 15, 2014 to November 15, 2014,
Southwestern University has an average admin post rate of 1.85 posts per day, Austin College
6
7. To: Danielle Stapleton
From: Macey Pool, Ty Lapinski, Allyson Sekerke, and Ashley Alfaro
Date: December 9, 2014
Subject: Southwestern University Facebook Page Analysis Report
has an average of 1.10 posts per day, and Trinity University has an average of 0.47 posts per day
(Figures 5 and 6). Although research does not indicate that Southwestern's higher rate of posts
directly hurts the number of likes they receive, the high rate of posts could affect how positively
fans respond to posts.
If Southwestern University posts at too high of a rate, fans might feel inundated with posts, and
as a result like and share at a lower rate than if Southwestern selected strategic posts that would
likely relate and interest fans. This could include posts about important events like Homecoming,
posts about school accomplishments, or posts that, as mentioned earlier, exemplify the
Southwestern spirit. In addition, Trinity University and Austin College have lower admin post
rates, but still maintain high levels of engagement, suggesting that lowering the admin post rate
would not adversely affect the current engagement level of the page.
Fourth, our marketing team recommends exclusively posting between 6:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. to
increase fans’ interactions with the posts on the Southwestern’s Facebook page. From September
15th, 2014 to November 15th, 2014, the highest interactions per hour occurred at 7:00 a.m. with
1683 interactions,11:00 a.m. with 1233 interactions, 9:00 a.m. with 1215 interactions, and 8:00
a.m. with 916 interactions. The amount of interactions take a dip in the afternoon, and then raise
back up at 3:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. with 797 and 696 interactions respectively (Figures 7 and 8).
Therefore, Southwestern University Facebook page should attempt to exclusively post during the
time period of 6:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. with special occasions as exceptions (i.e. homecoming
week).
We rationalized to post slightly before and during these highly interactive time periods (i.e. at
6:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.) because the post will show up on a user’s newsfeed as they scroll down
at 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. We recommend that Danielle Stapleton post at 6:45 a.m. or 10:45
a.m. because most users will likely engage (i.e. share, like, comment) with the post during this
period. Other schools like Trinity University and Austin College also have similarly high levels
of interaction during this time period, likely due to overall increased student Facebook activity
early in the day (for example, students checking Facebook before class in the mornings). The
Southwestern University Facebook page should cater to its own fans and can generate more
interactions by strategically using the times 6:45 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. and not using a general
time period that other schools might use.
C. Survey Analysis:
Our marketing team focused on researching and construct recommendations based on the
information we gathered from businesses and community benefactors affiliated with
Southwestern University. To gather this information, we sent out a survey that contained various
7
8. To: Danielle Stapleton
From: Macey Pool, Ty Lapinski, Allyson Sekerke, and Ashley Alfaro
Date: December 9, 2014
Subject: Southwestern University Facebook Page Analysis Report
questions regarding the Southwestern Facebook page to the 50 contacts provided for us. The
survey included the following questions:
● Does your business utilize Facebook?
● Are you aware of Southwestern University’s facebook page “Southwestern University”?
● Have you liked the Southwestern University Facebook page?
● Have you ever previously liked posts made by the Southwestern University Facebook
page?
● What types of posts have you liked?
● Do you believe that following the Southwestern University Facebook page has been
beneficial to your business? If no, what suggestions do you have?
● What types of post would you like to see on the Southwestern University Facebook page?
Out of the 50 local, small and large businesses that we contacted via email with our survey, we
only received a total of 9 responses back. Even though we generated little response, we received
some excellent feedback from which we could draw recommendations.
Over half of the responses to our survey came from local and small businesses. Surprisingly,
55.56% of the businesses that responded did not know that Southwestern University has a
Facebook page. If we assume this same percentage applies to the total 50 businesses, it would
mean that about 27 of the businesses on the list of community benefactors probably do not know
that Southwestern University has a Facebook page as well. Therefore, the fifth recommendation
aims to assure that these businesses affiliated with Southwestern know about Southwestern’s
social media presence.
We believe the most effective method of spreading this awareness could take place through an
email containing a link for Southwestern University’s Facebook page and a short paragraph
describing how following the page could benefit their business. This will allow our page to reach
more people and businesses as well as increase the effectiveness of Southwestern’s page as a
marketing tool.
Our sixth recommendation came from the survey question: “What types of post would you like
to see on the Southwestern University Facebook page?” The responses received from 33.33% of
the businesses suggested they wanted to see more posts about Southwestern University’s
involvement in the community as well as locally occurring events. These events would include
oncampus events as well as events occurring outside of campus grounds around Georgetown.
Therefore, we recommend the Southwestern University Facebook page make one post a month
about community and campus events happening during the upcoming month. This post could
take the form of a status or, preferably, an engaging type of post like an image or compilation of
8
9. To: Danielle Stapleton
From: Macey Pool, Ty Lapinski, Allyson Sekerke, and Ashley Alfaro
Date: December 9, 2014
Subject: Southwestern University Facebook Page Analysis Report
images with links to individual events in the captions. Posting once a month instead of multiple
times would prevent the Southwestern Facebook page from flooding other people’s news feeds
with new events every day, and instead provide a comprehensive and visually engaging schedule
of events for that month. This would appeal to Facebook users because instead of having a lost
list of direct links to pages or descriptions of events, they would have access to an easy image
that would allow for more interaction. Some examples of these events include Christmas Stroll,
First Fridays, Second Saturdays, etc. Not only do we believe that this would make the
Southwestern Facebook page more informative to its student fans, but also to prospective
students eager to learn more of the community surrounding Southwestern, parents of current
students, and alumni returning to campus.
V. Conclusion
The recommendations derived from analyzing the three sets of data will increase the likes,
shares, and the reach of Facebook page posts, which will increase impressions, resulting in an
increased fan growth. Fan growth will help not only Southwestern University, but also its
community benefactors as who will benefit from associations with a more recognizable
university.
Based on the internal Facebook data of the Southwestern University Facebook page, our team
concludes that merging the Association of Southwestern University Alumni Facebook page and
the Southwestern University Facebook page as well as improving the utilization of photos with
our team’s suggested method would benefit the Southwestern University Facebook page by
improving the overall reach of the posts.
Our analysis of the Socialbakers data suggests that the Southwestern University Facebook page
should lower the administrative post rate to 1.15 per day with maximum of 3 posts per day and
attempt to post during the time period of 6:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., preferably at 6:45 a.m. and
10:45 a.m. This would concentrate activity on the Facebook page to a select number of posts and
would match the posting schedule to the page user’s most interactive time period.
Analysis of the survey data obtained from the community benefactors suggests that once a month
the Facebook page should post about events going on in the community like First Fridays,
Christmas Stroll, or Second Saturdays. Connecting the University to the community through the
Facebook page would also connect the Southwestern University Facebook fans to the
Georgetown community benefactors of the school.
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10. To: Danielle Stapleton
From: Macey Pool, Ty Lapinski, Allyson Sekerke, and Ashley Alfaro
Date: December 9, 2014
Subject: Southwestern University Facebook Page Analysis Report
Appendix
Figure 1. This high resolution photo contains colors as well as a fun artsy fun with a
Southwestern building out of focus in the background. The photo received 225 interactions and
an engagement rate of 3.1965%
Figure 2. This photo, while not high quality, still received 147 interactions and a 2.1280%
engagement rate because it contains Southwestern spirit. The photo contains the signature
limestone of Southwestern buildings, dates back to 1921 (a reminder of how far the rich school
history can date back to), and depicts performers in costume for a play at Southwestern (allowing
current theatre art students or playviewers to relate to the people in the picture).
10
11. To: Danielle Stapleton
From: Macey Pool, Ty Lapinski, Allyson Sekerke, and Ashley Alfaro
Date: December 9, 2014
Subject: Southwestern University Facebook Page Analysis Report
Figure 3. A picture of Jason Chapman “Chappy” in costume on Halloween received 181
interactions and an engagement rate of 2.6183%. Jason Chapman, the Assistant Director of
Student Activities at Southwestern, frequently interacts with the student body. He is well liked
by the student body because of his fun, quirky personality.
Figure 4. A Halloween photo of “#PaperBurger” which performed poorly compared to the Jason
Chapman Halloween picture. This photo received 23 interactions and an engagement rate of
0.3327%.
11
12. To: Danielle Stapleton
From: Macey Pool, Ty Lapinski, Allyson Sekerke, and Ashley Alfaro
Date: December 9, 2014
Subject: Southwestern University Facebook Page Analysis Report
Figure 5. Number of posts per day made by Southwestern (yellow) compared to the number of
posts per day made by Trinity (red).
Figure 6. Number of posts per day made by Southwestern (yellow) compared to the number of
posts per day made by Austin College (orange).
12
13. To: Danielle Stapleton
From: Macey Pool, Ty Lapinski, Allyson Sekerke, and Ashley Alfaro
Date: December 9, 2014
Subject: Southwestern University Facebook Page Analysis Report
Figure 7. Number of interactions by hour on Southwestern’s Facebook Page (yellow) versus the number
of interactions by hour on Trinity University’s Facebook Page (red).
Figure 8. Number of interactions by hour on Southwestern’s Facebook Page (yellow) versus the number
of interactions by hour on Austin College’s Facebook Page (orange).
13
