Capstone Project Defense Presentation
- 1. Creating a Social Media Campaign for the University of Houston-Downtown (UHD) Master of Science Professional Writing and Technical Communication (MSPWTC) Program Jennifer Drake Capstone Project Presentation May 14, 2012
- 2. Origin of project Writing for New Media class (Fall 2010) • Taught by Dr. Roundtree • To write a social media strategic plan for the MSWPTC • Based on Dave Evans’ Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day •Focused on the Social Feedback Cycle – awareness, consideration a post-purchase consumer phases
- 3. Origin of project Public Relations class (Fall 2011) • Taught by Dr. Sample • To write a public relations strategic plan for the MSWPTC • Social media is a component of a larger strategy to promote the MSPWTC • Survey for public relations/social media needs assessment written in collaboration with PR class students
- 4. Methodology • Needs assessment: ▫ Conducted in Fall 2011 ▫ Survey sent to 14 MSPWTC faculty members ▫ Determined the desired target audience, most effective social media channels and content development strategies • Promotional Materials and Social Media Content Creation: ▫ Published flier and email notification to attract users ▫ Wrote social media guidelines ▫ Designed social media content (Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter features) such as links to articles, job opportunities and event photos ▫ Created evergreen content and social media calendar to ensure interesting posts were published on a regular basis
- 5. Methodology •Campaign metrics ▫ Tracked number of comments and active users ▫ Measured level of user engagement ▫ Used analytical tools: Facebook Insights, LinkedIn Group Statistics and Twitalyzer ▫ Established weekly campaign goals Publish ten (10) Facebook posts Publish ten (10) Tweets Publish two (2) LinkedIn posts Gain five (5) Facebook page followers Gain five (5) Twitter feed followers Gain five (5) LinkedIn group members
- 6. Main Results • Determined a need for social media (particularly Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn) ▫ Career changers ▫ Current UHD undergraduates ▫ Houston-based technical communication professionals • Managed a six week campaign period (February 22, 2012 to April 6, 2012) • Measured ▫ Influence – the value of opinions to those interested in purchase ▫ Loyalty – the context and intensity of comments ▫ Conversation – user engagement in discussions ▫ Interactivity – how users share hypermediated links with others
- 7. Main Results • Applause – number of favorable actions such as “likes” or “retweets” to measure influence and loyalty ▫ LinkedIn – 1 ▫ Facebook – 31 ▫ Twitter – none ▫ Photos received the highest applause rate with 13 likes • Conversation – the number of audience comments or replies per post ▫ Facebook – MSPWTC published four events, 45 links/information shares, 25 photos and 18 user comment responses ▫ Facebook content received eight “likes” nine positive user comments and two user recommendations • Conversation rate – 14
- 8. Main Results • Conversation measurement ▫ LinkedIn group – Eight discussions and 13 member comments. MSPWTC published 21 job opportunities and four promotions (scholarship and call for paper opportunities) ▫ Greater user engagement than FB or Twitter with conversation rate of 21. ▫ Twitter not measured due to lack of comments • Amplification – the degree that users share content to measure interactivity ▫ Not measured due to lack of FB and LinkedIn shares/Twitter retweets
- 9. Important Conclusions • Launched a successful campaign ▫ Immediate ▫ Conversational ▫ Interactive • Reached target audiences in the awareness, consideration and purchase stages • Established a MSPWTC social media presence with relevant, timely and engaging content
- 10. Recommendations • Student Internship to support MSPWTC program • New design and SEO for MSPWTC website • Expand Social Media presence ▫ Blog ▫ LinkedIn profiles and discussion participation ▫ Live tweets from class/events ▫ Pinterest
- 11. Future Plans • Continue to add value to my traditional marketing background (developing a social media strategy, writing content, and managing social media channels ) • Market my expertise to small and mid-size companies or non-profit organizations (education) • Work with Junior Achievement and JPII Catholic School • Present a personal branding workshop at the PKP national convention