7 Incredible Benefits of Social Media

Tracy Stewart

Overview

• Learn seven high-impact benefits of using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, and other online communities

• See real-life examples of how you can use social media to increase interest and referrals, as well as accelerate the decision cycle in choosing a college

1. Students Can Experience Student Life through Videos – Accelerate Decision Cycle

Spot

light

Vid

eos

Use

r-G

ener

ated

70-79% of Millennials

watch video online

(Source:Pew Internet Report 2010)

“Day in the Life” Video SeriesJUL

2007

4,594 views

1,851 views

109avg per month

MAR 2008

1,626 views

JUN 2010

AUG 2010

JUN 2010

OCT 2010

49avg per month

308avg per month

767 views

128avg per month

357 views

89avg per month

107 views

43avg per month

Previous “Day in the Life” video content always

garneredtop views…

So, we produced more & views increased

UGC #FTW

Views of our “Why I Love Regent” contest entries always garner top views: they’re short, genuine &

direct

So, in 2010, we had another contest &

doubled our entries

Our first freshman video blog series attracted

repeat visits& channel subscribers

So, in 2010, we have four freshman video bloggers

contributing

YouTube as a Community

The web isn’tjust websites anymore.

Our YouTube channel is another web property – aside from our website – that helps to extend our online presence & build

awareness & consideration of our brand

2. Generate High-Quality Traffic by Sharing Links to Your Website

2008

2009

2010

0.00% 0.50% 1.00% 1.50% 2.00% 2.50%

0.07%

0.78%

2.32%

Social Media as % of Total Site Traffic

Mostly current stakeholders stay up-to-date on news & events (like the inauguration of our new President)& other social media activities (like the launch of our new Facebook & YouTube pages, our YouTube video

contest & blogger series)

3. Leverage Student & Alumni Ambassadors and Other Influencers - Blogs

About 50% of Millennials read blogs

(Source:Pew Internet Report 2010)

Regent features 88 current students

In 2010, traffic from Regent blogs to Regent.edu was 0.27% of total site traffic

(or #17 top referral source)

Since Jan 2009 & compared to site avg, these visitors spent

24% more time on site

4. Know What Works – Test & Measure

Measuring growth in audience sizes, referral volume, referral

interactivity, and content interest helps to gauge the effectiveness

of your efforts & illuminate calibration opportunities to

achieve optimal results

Regent reviews social media data at a high level

every month

Frequency Impacts Growth

Launched New Facebook Design &

Featured on Homepage

Launched New YouTube Design &

Content

Why I Love Regent

Video Contest

Launched Life in the UnCommons Content

on YouTube

Refreshed Life in the UnCommons Content

on YouTube

Aud

ienc

e S

ize

Facebook Audience Growth Spikes with Campaigns

5. Know What Content Generates Most Interest

Social media users follow brands because:

1. They are a current customer2. They want exclusive deals or offers3. They want entertaining or informational content

(Source: eMarketer Report 2009)

I was no longer interested in the brand

32%

Information was published too frequently

27%

The information offered was not interesting

22%

The brand published informa-tion that I

did not like12%

Informa-tion was not pub-lished

frequently enough

7%

Reasons for Unsubscribingfrom a Brand’s Facebook Page

34% unsubscribed

due to content

6. Know Who Your Audiences Are

Regularly reviewing demographic and

psychographic make-up of channels helps to inform what content should be

shared where

Who Interacts With Your Facebook Page?

Social media channels offer deep user demographic

and psychographic insights – allowing us to identify who spends time

on our properties and offer them a more personalized

experience

What Type of Videos Should You Curate?

Regularly reviewing demographic make-up of channels helps to inform what content should be

shared where

vs.

How Often and What Should You Tweet?

Regularly reviewing demographic make-up of channels helps to inform what content should be

shared where

How Can Social Media Increase Conversions?

By creating a strategic engagement information funnel, we drive prospects

from awareness to consideration (and from

web property to web property)

Influence, Engage Inform, Convert

7. Increase & Enhance Your Visibility

Social media is the new search engine optimization.

A brand-related search will inevitably display social media channels within the first three

pages of results.

PG 1

PG 2

PG 3

Regent utilizes a naming and tagging convention for all social content to ensure

top search indexing

Wikipedia, a crowdsourced social encyclopedia, offers a unbiased representation of

Regent University and drives a considerable amount of traffic

to Regent.edu

Develop Audience Trust Via IndexedSocial Media

Audiences generally trust peer-curated content over

brand-curated content

Search Optimized Social Content and Channels

Regent-specific social content – including videos, presentations, forums, photos and blogs – rank

highly on Google, Yahoo! and Bing

A Measured Approach to Social MediaAs with any channel,

social media starts with gathering insights about

your company, customers, competitors,

collaborators, & context.

This informs strategy.

Define goals, initiatives, strategies & tactics.

How will success be measured?

Then, implement.

Count what matters according to your goals.

Close the loop & utilize gathered data to craft

wiser strategies.

7 Incredible Benefits of Social Media

Tracy Stewart