campaignbook-2

CAMPAIGN BOOK

#iAmMyPassion. Are you? Our team has developed a social media campaign for the Central Valley Higher Edu-cation Consortium (CVHEC). Our comprehensive plan is designed to increase the number financial aid appli-cations submitted by new and existing students. Our goal is to enhance the perception students have regarding the complexity of the financial aid process. Our campaign is designed to encompass the following social media platforms: Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Social network websites have become influential factors on how students communicate. #iAmMyFinancialAid is an interactive social media campaign aimed at informing Central Valley youths about financial aid and the responsibilities it incurs. With this knowledge students will find ways to graduate from institutions of higher learning with little to no debt.Our campaign aims to craft a message stating College is Affordable for all. Social media messages will be aimed at motivating students to take the next step to enriching their futures. We also propose a new program called the High School Ambassador program. With this program we hope to implement our #iAmMyFinancial-Aid campaign through hiring and coaching responsible high school students as ambassadors. They will be rep-resentatives of the CVHEC and will provide their peers with information on the overall financial aid process. We envision a future where local high schools and the CVHEC work together to encourage students to become leaders. This campaign will revolutionize the way students approach their futures, by eliminating the fear of the price of college and to pursue a higher education.

Executive Summary

RESEARCH

Fresno County Bullard HighWhitney Godfirnon

[email protected]

559-451-4337Caruthers High School Maria Cabrera

[email protected]

559-495-6400Central Unified Paul Birrell

[email protected]

559-274-4700 ext. 63145

Clovis Unified Kelly Avants

[email protected]

559-327-9092

Coalinga HighMary Frances Solorio

[email protected]

559-935-3571 ext. 2111

Duncan PolytechnicalCurtis Bruno

559-248-7080

Edison HighFabiola Perez

[email protected]

457-4905Firebaugh High Stacy Robb

[email protected]

(559) 659-1476Fowler High Rick Romero

[email protected]

559-834-6160 ext. 4023

Fresno HighLinda Laettner

457-2907

Golden Plains UnifiedKeith Mackey

[email protected]

698-7205

Hoover HIghNick Peterson

451-4000Kerman Unified Salvador Navarrete

[email protected]

842-2506

Kings Canyon Unified Michelle Priest

[email protected]

305-7320

Kingsburg Join Union High Kerry Peterson

[email protected] (559) 897-7721Laton High

No Social MediaMcLane High

No Social MediaMendota High

No Social MediaOrange Cove High Felipe Campos

[email protected]

[email protected]

626-5900 ext 6926

Parlier High No Social Media

Reedley High Irene Wright

[email protected]

305-7123

Riverdale High No Social Media

Roosevelt Michael Allen

[email protected]

253-5200 ext 35202

Sanger High No Social Media

Selma High Mark Babiarz Jonmari Loving

[email protected]

(559) 898-6550

Sierra High No Social Media

Sunnyside No Social Media

Washington Union High School Elaine Madrigal

[email protected]

(559) 485-8805 ext. 477

Madera County Ramona Gomez

[email protected]

559-673-6051 ext 6234

Mariposa County Robin Hopper ,Vicki BustosJon Corippo

[email protected]

559-676-1935

Database of High SchoolSocial Media Contacts

Stanislaus County Judy Leitz Britney Goon

[email protected]

[email protected]

1-209-238-1700

Tulare CountyAlpaugh Unified

No Social MediaCutler-Orosi Unified

No Social MediaDinuba High Mona Carrion

[email protected]

559 5957220

Exeter High Melissa Reyna

559 5952127

Farmersville High Ms. De La Cruz

559 5944567Lindsey Unified

No Social MediaPorterville Unified

No Social MediaTulare High

No Social MediaVisalia Unified

No Social MediaWoodlake Unified

559-564-3307

*Refer to appendix for full list

Survey Summary This document summarizes an in-depth interview process prepared for the CVHEC. It address the disconnects we found between the financial aid process and students. In these in-depths interviews, the group members dissected the survey into three sections. There were six questions on each survey which included knowledge of social media, the financial aid process and demographics. A total of 50 surveys were conducted. The goal of this interview was to identify positive and negative aspect of the financial aid process.

Knowledge of social media: Findings concluded that social media is the best platform to reach students. Our target market spends a mini-mum of two hours a day on any given social site. The results show that more students would be likely to apply or remember deadlines if they were reminded through social media. Knowledge of the financial aid process: Our studies show that most students have a very negative view of the financial aid process. Many are unsure of deadlines, where to apply, or where to turn in paperwork. Through these surveys we found that many students get so frustrated with the paperwork they will give up. The next issue we found was students understanding the qualifications of financial aid. A re-branding of the financial aid process should be done to change the attitude and perception of students with financial aid.

Demographics: This survey showed that more women than men apply for financial aid and are aware of the financial aid process. CVHEC Website Auditwww.collegenext.orgAnalysis of Content:

Completeness Great links to other websites to help students find the right college and financial aid information Clear Vision and Mission Statement Social Media Icons viewable, but not obnoxious There is a nice graphic on each page

Analysis of Navigation Very user friendly/Easy to use Easy to navigate Links are active and up to date Good information provided

Analysis of Graphics and Visuals Great use of vibrant color High quality graphics/pictures on each page

Modern and simple look Good carousel on home page Too much information on bottom half of home page

Recommendations On the lower half of the home page, remove Life in the Central Valley and move that information to another tab/page. Move the quick links portion to the upper part of the home page. Center Latest News and update that more fre-quently Add a Home Page tab to the top navigation bar

PLANNING

Target AudienceHigh School Students-Primarily juniors and seniors (Primary):High school students are our primary audience because they are graduating from high school and most likely applying to college. College can be expensive for students and, therefore, students will need financial help. The Central Valley Higher Education Consortium is targeting these students because they are the demographic most likely to be applying for financial aid for the first time. Parents of High School Students (Secondary):Parents of high school aged students are one of our secondary audiences because they are the highly influential to their children. High school aged students will need their parents financial information and support to be suc-cessful in the financial aid application process. High School Counselors (Secondary) :High school counselors are another secondary audience because they educate students on everything related to college, including but not limited to, financial aid. They are responsible for encouraging students to apply for college and financial aid. They also have the tools to give students to help them succeed in this process. Current College Attendees (Secondary):The last secondary target audience is current college students who have not applied for financial aid for the cur-rent year (or ever). By targeting this demographic, the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium also hopes they can persuade college students to spend their financial aid money in a responsible manner.

STRATEGIES AND TACTICS

Goals And ObjectivesGoal: Promote financial aid awareness and the availability of funds

Informational objective: Increase the number of financial aid applicants in the area covered by the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium Attitudinal Objective: Create a favorable attitude toward the financial aid process by May 5.Behavioral Objective: To establish recognition of the #iAmMyFinancialAid campaign by May 5. This will be measured by conducting a post campaign survey

Goal: Educate financial aid recipients about responsible spendingInformational objective: promote responsible spending of financial aid money as well as budgeting moneyAttitudinal objective: modify how people feel about budgeting money and spending financial aid money responsiblyBehavioral objective: To increase by a minimum of 20% the amount of responsible financial aid spenders. This can be measured by doing a pre and post survey after seminars about budgeting.

Goal: Increase Financial aid applications in the area covered by the CVHEC Informational objective: increase the number of financial aid applications for the area the CVHEC covers by 20% by May 5.Attitudinal Objective: reinforce positive attitudes about the financial aid process, despite its lengthy processBehavioral Objective: Encourage at least 20% more students to apply for by financial aid. This can be done by including counselors and parents. To measure this goal send out email blasts and surveys to ask how what the parents and counselors did to help students apply.

Slogan and Key MessagesSlogan

#iAmMyFinancialAid

ThemeI am my passion, destiny, my financial aid. I will make a difference, live up to my potential. I will become a mover, a shaker; leave my mark on this world. I am my financial aid.

Key Messages- Inspiring students to apply for financial aid- Educating students and parents the benefits of having financial aid- Giving students, parents and counselors the tools to apply for financial aid - Making college affordable for everyone

Logo We created this logo because we wanted a visual of our hashtag. The color we chose sym-bolizes money, and since this campaign is about received financial aid, we thought it was fitting. We added the graduation cap because that is a symbolic image that says college. Our logo is simple, yet powerful and encompasses everything this campaign is about.

Best Practices Use hashtags to capture a specific audience Include links to articles that benefit the audience Use bit.ly to shorten long URLs Recognize your audience Post 70 percent about them Post 30 percent about you Be mobile friendly Be first to post public praise Others will repost you Include a call-to-action Use hot topics Use themes Post pictures of things that your audience can only see from the background of high school, college or

CVHEC For event or news story

Others will pay attention when you contact them through social media Have supporters and friends promote you Easy to ask, easy for your audience to support you Should evaluate FB once a month Check for anything that needs to be changed or updated Hold a meeting with high school ambassador or social media ambassador to focus on future posts May find something interesting or helpful Dont forget to post on Facebook after office hours Be a resource to your audience by posting about financial aid

Instructions(see Social Media Calendar in Appendix, along with weekly posts)Post each post according to the calendar.

Social Media Posts (Facebook)Facebook- Best Practices and Instructions Although Facebook is slowly fading away in the social media world, it is still relevant to add this platform into our campaign. Many high schoolers and incoming college freshmen are more likely to read short things, mainly words. This is where the use of a #hashtag comes in. Hashtags are a pound symbol to most people but in the social media world, theyre words or phrases that are important to the author of the post. By using a hashtag, it categorized, collects and captures a specific audience. See below for the best practices and instruc-tions on how to use Facebook.

Example: Week 1: Jan. 12- Jan. 16It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop. #MotivationMonday #ConfuciusNOW is the time you can apply for financial aid! #iAmMyFinancialAidFafsa.ed.govWant to go to a UC? Check out this link, http://bit.ly/1plaSYV and find out if this is meant for you. #BlueAnd-GoldProgram #iAmMyDestinyParents! Read about how your high school student is losing out on free money. http://1.usa.gov/1yaeaPDNeed more information on Financial Aid? Check out this link, http://bit.ly/1tsq8yF.#iAmMyFinancialAid

Social Media Posts (Twitter) Twitter: Best Practices and InstructionsTwitter Is the leading social media platform. It is professional, yet still has a collection of youths that use the platform. Twitter is opened to everyone and each tweet is public. A tweet on Twitter is like a post of Facebook or Instagram. Like Facebook, Twitter allows the author of the tweets to add links to articles. Most importantly when adding links, its best to use bit.ly to shorten longer links. See the Twitter best practices and instructions for better use of Twitter.

Best Practices Include images Retweet relevant content from your audience Thank those who retweet you Engage in conversation by commenting on others tweets Use incentives to invite people onto your Twitter Have a variety of different types of pictures Use sources Become a resource yourself See what your audience wants to see Then post it to get their attention Suggest that people add or follow you Begin to follow others Post at the best times for your audience Hold a monthly meeting to focus on future tweets Evaluate your Twitter once a month Check for anything that needs to be changed or updated

Log into Tweriod to see your prime times to post according to your followers activity. Ask you followers to promote you Use HootSuite to manage twitter and track when organizations or people youre following are men-tioned Include a call-to-action Be the first to tweet about public praise Others will begin to repost you Be mobile friendly Use hashtags to capture a specific audience Recognize your audience Tweet 70 percent about them Tweet 30 percent about you


Social Media Posts (Instagram)Instagram- Best Practices and Instructions`Instagram is the new leading social media platform. High school students and college freshmen prefer to read as little as possible when in the social media world. Through pictures taken from the authors point of view, their audience can see and understand whats important to them. Being a great source to others is important. Also, like Facebook, Instagram uses hashtags to collect a certain audience. See the Instagram best practices and instructions for better use of Instagram.

Best PracticesPost more frequently

Ideally once a day Use hashtags to capture a specific audience Use catchy quotes and song lyrics Include images Recognize your audience Post 70 percent about them Post 30 percent about yourself Be mobile friendly Include a call-to-action Use #BTS (Behind the scene) Post pictures that only your audience can see from the background work

Should evaluate Instagram once a month Check for anything that needs to be changed or updated Look at who is following you Ask questions This will get a higher interaction rate See what your audience wants and then post to get their attention Have a variety of different types of pictures Redirect audience to FAFSA or CVHEC


Promotional Video Synopsis: The #iAmMyFinancialAid campaign promotional video highlights college students and profession-als who are proud to be recipients of financial aid. Throughout the video students and professionals give their testimonial on why financial aid was important in helping them become successful. They state #iAmMyPassion or #iAmMyDestiny to show that they are proactive in their journey towards their achievements. Production Assessment: This video was shot on the Fresno State campus to highlight students and professionals who are among the Central Valley community. The video was shot by the Fresno City College new media club and edited by Jasmine Bonilla.

Script: See script attached in Appendix.

Proposal: High School Ambassador Program This joint effort between CVHEC and Central Valley high schools will provide students with a unique opportu-nity for educational growth. The high school ambassador program will reach the entire student body and spread the #iAmMyFinacialAid message. In order to become a student ambassador, you must apply and interview with the CVHEC panel. Applicants must submit three letters of recommendation. Ambassador training will include college preparation workshops and the entire financial aid process. The #iAm ambassadors will be awarded a $500 stipend for the completion of the program.

EVALUATION

Evaluation As part of any public relations campaign, one of the most important steps is evaluation. By evaluating, you can calculate actual data to summarize and conclude your final product. With this data, you can gauge the success of your campaign, which posts and/or ideas worked best, which ones didnt do as well and how to pro-ceed from there. These findings can also help you create a new campaign if needed. The more data you collect, the more information you can use in the future. Since this is a social media campaign, to evaluate the implemented plan The CVHEC should assess the social media interaction, promotional video and high school ambassador program on a weekly and monthly basis. Please see step by step instructions below on how to evaluate each portion of the plan.Promotional Video: Did the video engage viewers and increase in number of views?

1. Go to www.YouTube.com2. Search for #iAmMyFinancialAid3. Look at how many views the video. You may want to create a spreadsheet and/or word document to keep track how many views the video has per week.4. Ask yourself: Has the number of views increased? Why/Why not? Document your assumptions.

High School Ambassador Program: How are the ambassadors doing? What are they doing?1. Host a quarterly meeting and invite all the high school ambassadors to the meeting and have them report their progress.2. Record their progress and determine the success of the program

Social Media: Were posts engaging and interacting? Please make sure you are tracking insights on a weekly basis.

Facebook-Log Onto FacebookClick on the Insights TabThis is a free service Facebook provides that calculates all the data you will need for an evaluation-Evaluate post likes & shares-Your main demographic(s)-How many people are engaged

It will show you how much each section has increased or decreased.Evaluate the statistics and determine why they are increasing or decreasing.

Twitter & Instagram-Go to twtrland.comAdd your twitter and instagram handleThis website, just like Facebook Insights, calculates all the data you will need for an evaluation.Evaluate your activity, popularity, followers-Ask yourself Have they increased or decreased? Why or why not?-Do we have retweets (RT) or shout-outs (S/O)?

Documents

campaignbook-2