Social Media Marketing Audit & Strategic Plan

Transcription

1 UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION Social Media Marketing Audit & Strategic Plan Overview Year-End Audit External Strategy Internal Strategy Goals

2 Prepared by: Casey Saxton, Marketing Manager Utah State University Extension January-April 2017

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Overview...1 Year-End Audit...2 Facebook...3 Twitter...4 Instagram...5 Pinterest...6 Google+...7 LinkedIn...7 YouTube...8 Extension Service Social Media Comparison...9 External Strategy...10 Internal Strategy...12 Goals...13 OVERVIEW Purpose Utah State University Extension s purpose for using social media is to: Enhance brand recognition Share knowledge and resources Build relationships Communicate impacts Promote events and initiatives Audience Primary Audience: USU Extension s primary social media audience are Utahns who currently utilize or who have the potential of benefiting from Extension s program areas, which include: 4-H and Youth Agriculture and Natural Resources Gardening Home, Family and Food Secondary Audiences: Local and state government officials, Utah State University community, media outlets, Extension professionals and similar state Extension and 4-H organizations. Platforms Used The following platforms are currently utilized centrally by Extension: Facebook - URL: facebook.com/usuextension Google Plus - URL: google.com/+usuextension Instagram - URL: instagram.com/usuextension LinkedIn - URL: linkedin.com/company/usuextension Pinterest - URL: pinterest.com/usuextension Twitter - URL: twitter.com/usuextension YouTube - URL: youtube.com/usuextension SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AUDIT & STRATEGIC PLAN 1

4 YEAR-END AUDIT Total Audience The combined audience of all USU Extension social platforms used centrally grew to 28,271 followers in 2016, an increase of 159% from the prior year. The largest increase in audience came between February and May, when a significant investment was made to grow Extension s Facebook audience Year-End Followers: 10, Year-End Followers: 28,271 Yearly Change: +159% Facebook, YouTube and Instagram make up 86% of the total social audience. Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ and LinkedIn collectively make up 14% of the total audience. Strengths Facebook and Instagram audiences are large and provide opportunity to communicate with thousands of people Many of the programs Extension offers are very consumer-friendly, which often makes posts about those topics very social media-friendly Post engagement rate is rising on Facebook and Twitter Weaknesses Highlighting the diversity of programs; not all Extension programs get highlighted Minimal posts in real-time, since marketing staff are unable to attend most events Making Google+ and LinkedIn relevant and useful to Extension s social strategy SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AUDIT & STRATEGIC PLAN 2

5 YEAR-END AUDIT - FACEBOOK Overview Facebook plays the largest role in Extension s social media strategy and commands the largest share of total social following (49%) in Extension s portfolio. Due to a significant investment between February and May 2016, the total number of page followers grew dramatically. Facebook has been extremely useful in driving visitors to Extension s website to view news articles, as well as highlighting articles and videos from news organizations. Yearly Comparison 2015 Year-End Likes: 1, Year-End Likes: 13,929 Yearly Change: +678% vs Year-End Likes: Year-End Likes: 1,785 Yearly Change: +81% Audience Demographics Extension s Facebook audience is 82% female and 17% male. Top audience locations, by county, include: Salt Lake - 2,822 Utah - 1,844 Weber - 1,641 Cache Davis Washington Box Elder Iron Tooele Uintah Wasatch Carbon Morgan - 94 Duchesne - 77 Average Post Reach The average post reach indicates how many people, on average, viewed each post on Extension s Facebook page. As noted in the table to the right, there has been a significant increase since Year Avg. Post Reach % Change N/A % , % SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AUDIT & STRATEGIC PLAN 3

6 YEAR-END AUDIT - TWITTER Twitter Compared to other Extension services, USU Extension does not have as large of an impact on Twitter. That said, the total page following has been increasing, as are the average page impressions and average tweet engagments. In 2016, Extension s Twitter following increased by 36%, to total over 2,111 followers; this just after a large 54% increase in the last few months of Extension s most-liked and most-retweeted tweet ever was posted in Yearly Comparison 2015 Year-End Followers: 1, Year-End Followers: 2,111 Yearly Change: +37% vs Year-End Followers: ~ Year-End Followers: 1,544 Yearly Change: +93% Audience Demographics Extension s Twitter audience is 57% female and 43% male. Audience Age Breakdown % 25% 30% 24% 8% 3% 8% Average Tweet Impressions Tweet impressions show how many people, on average, saw an individual tweet. Year Avg. Impressions % Change N/A % % Average Tweet Engagments Tweet engagements include any action taken on an individual tweet (clicks, likes, retweets, etc.). Year Avg. Engagement % Change N/A % % SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AUDIT & STRATEGIC PLAN 4

7 YEAR-END AUDIT - INSTAGRAM Instagram Instagram plays an important role in Extension s social media portfolio. With an audience of over 4,500 followers, it ranks as Extension s third-largest platform. While Instagram is an excellent way to highlight visually-interesting material, the challenge with using it consistently is the lack of high-quality, visual material that is available. Extension s most-liked Instagram post to date was posted in Yearly Comparison 2015 Year-End Followers: 2, Year-End Followers: 4,557 Yearly Change: +56% vs Year-End Followers: ~1, Year-End Followers: 2,918 Yearly Change: +191% Audience Demographics Extension s Instagram audience is heavily female, with 66% of followers being female and 34% of followers being male. Audience Age Breakdown % 35% 27% 19% 9% 3% 2% Biggest Challenge Instagram functions differently than other social media platforms, given that users cannot link directly from a post to an external website. This restriction makes the impact of posts largely unknown and unmeasurable, aside from post likes. The brand quality and impacts of Extension can be communicated through Instagram, but it cannot be used to drive traffic to online content in a way that Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest can SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AUDIT & STRATEGIC PLAN 5

8 YEAR-END AUDIT - PINTEREST Pinterest Growth on Pinterest was steady throughout 2016, with a current following of 1,443 users. Many of Extension s consumer-friendly programs are an ideal fit for Pinterest, including: family and relationships, food and nutrition, and gardening. Pinterest is unique because pins generally have a much longer life than posts on other platforms would. Yearly Comparison 2015 Year-End Followers: Year-End Followers: 1,443 Yearly Change: +62% vs Year-End Followers: ~ Year-End Followers: 887 Yearly Change: +26% Audience Demographics Extension s Pinterest audience is extremely female. 84% of followers are female and 16% of followers being male. The majority of people reached live in the Salt Lake City metro area, though that total is less than areas outside of Utah combined. Age data is not provided by Pinterest SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AUDIT & STRATEGIC PLAN 6

9 YEAR-END AUDIT - GOOGLE+ Google+ Google+ is likely the least effective social media platform currently used by Extension. 141 users followed Extension at the end of While the platform has been largely ineffective, it takes relatively little time to post the same information on Google+ that is posted on Facebook. Google+ does not offer any demographic or engagment analytics Year-End Followers: Year-End Followers: 141 Yearly Change: +38% YEAR-END AUDIT - LINKEDIN LinkedIn Extension s LinkedIn page was launched in March 2016 and currently has 111 followers. Many of the current followers are Extension faculty and staff. Growth has been slow and engagement on posts has been minimal. Given time, Extension s LinkedIn audience will likely grow. Regular posts about job openings, business, economic development, etc., will aid in the page s growth Year-End Followers: Year-End Followers: 111 Yearly Change: +100% SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AUDIT & STRATEGIC PLAN 7

10 YEAR-END AUDIT - YOUTUBE YouTube Extension s YouTube channel is one of its most important digital assets. Organic growth has been much faster with YouTube than with any other social media site. In 2016 alone, the channel saw a 64% growth rate, to include nearly 6,000 subscribers. Substantial increases were also had in video watch time and total video video views in Yearly Comparison 2015 Year-End Subscribers: 3, Year-End Subscribers: 5,979 Yearly Change: +64% vs Year-End Subscribers: ~3, Year-End Subscribers: 3,648 Yearly Change: +22% Viewer Demographics By far, more men than women watch Extension s YouTube videos, as shown on the chart to the left. It s notable that this stands in contrast to the audience makeup of Extension s other social media outlets, where the audience is heavily female. Audience Age Breakdown % 6% 21% 20% 19% 18% 16% Video Watch Time (Minutes) Watch time measures the amount of time all viewers combined spent watching Extension videos. Year Watch Time (Min.) % Change ,493,169 N/A ,902, % ,905, % Video Views Video views measure the number of times each video was watched, combined for the year. Year Video Views % Change ,424 N/A , % ,077, % SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AUDIT & STRATEGIC PLAN 8

11 EXTENSION SERVICE SOCIAL MEDIA COMPARISON At the end of 2016, USU Extension had the second-largest social media following in the nation when compared with other state Extension services, increasing from 16th place to 2nd in 2016 alone. Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest Google+ LinkedIn YouTube Total Online Audience Rank University of Illinois Extension 11,300 2,787 N/A 31,984 N/A N/A 6,021 52,092 1 Utah State University Extension (December 2016) 13,929 2,111 4,557 1, ,979 28,271 2 Louisiana State University Ag Center 14,451 5, , ,121 2,613 25,783 3 Mississippi State University Extension Service 13,500 3,950 3, N/A 2,895 24,360 4 Pennsylvania State University College of Agricultural Science 8,556 9,162 1,431 N/A 65 1, ,065 5 K-State Research and Extension 4,707 8,183 N/A 480 N/A N/A 5,270 18,640 6 University of Florida Extension (UF IFAS) 10,176 4, N/A 2,676 17,978 7 Alabama Cooperative Extension System 10,173 1, ,091 4,315 17,330 8 Texas A&M AgriLife Extension 9,503 6,711 N/A N/A ,314 9 Iowa State University Extension & Outreach 7,279 6, ,329 16, North Carolina Cooperative Extension 5,813 8,384 N/A N/A 1,689 16, New Mexico State University College of Agricultural, Consum 2, ,223 N/A 55 N/A 10,896 15, University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Res 3,858 6, , University of Kentucky Extension 1,693 1,030 N/A 813 N/A N/A 8,699 12, Oregon State University Extension Service 4,207 3,650 N/A 1, N/A 1,275 10, Oklahoma State University Division of Agricultural Sciences a 4,754 2,349 3,504 N/A 2 N/A , Utah State University Extension (January 2016) 1,785 1,544 2, N/A 3,648 10,884 Purdue Extension 2,661 6,274 N/A N/A 28 N/A 1,102 10, University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension 1,489 1, ,871 2,152 9, University of Minnesota Extension 2,927 5,944 N/A N/A 3 N/A 345 9, Michigan State University Extension 3,841 3,037 N/A , University of Maine Cooperative Extension 5,012 3,403 N/A N/A 53 N/A 42 8, University of Missouri Extension 4,019 2, ,391 3 N/A N/A 8, WSU College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource S 2,745 4, N/A 9 N/A 951 8, Utah State University Extension (August 2015) N/A Virginia Cooperative Extension 4,148 2, N/A 215 6, Cornell University Cooperative Extension 3,650 2, N/A 6 N/A 148 6, University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service 3,826 1, N/A , University of Tennessee Extension 2,487 2,433 N/A N/A ,223 6, North Dakota State University Extension Service 1,270 3,246 3 N/A 10 N/A 1,808 6, University of Alaska Cooperative Extension Service 2,867 1, ,195 4 N/A 207 6, Colorado State University Extension 1,964 N/A N/A 3, N/A 623 6, Ohio State University Extension 4,751 N/A N/A N/A 29 N/A 902 5, University of Nebraska Extension 1,353 4,185 7 N/A N/A N/A 18 5, West Virginia University Extension 2,938 1, N/A N/A N/A 5, University of Georgia Extension 2,717 1,246 N/A N/A 615 5, University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension 2,438 1, N/A 336 4, Rutgers Cooperative Extension 1,023 2,365 N/A N/A 5 N/A 1,140 4, Clemson University Extension 4, N/A 41 N/A N/A 19 4, University of Vermont Extension 1,351 2, N/A 2 N/A 49 3, University of Arizona Cooperative Extension 2,098 1, N/A 84 3, University of Wyoming Extension 2, N/A 534 3, University of Nevada Reno Cooperative Extension 1,216 1,592 N/A N/A 4 N/A 233 3, University of Delaware Extension 1,096 1, N/A 7 N/A N/A 2, Montana State University Extension 1,362 1,420 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 2, University of Maryland Extension 1, N/A N/A N/A N/A 2, South Dakota State University Extension 381 1,141 N/A N/A 9 N/A 645 2, University of Connecticut Extension 1, N/A 9 N/A 34 2, UMass Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment Exte 874 1,232 N/A N/A N/A N/A 2 2, University of Idaho Extension N/A N/A N/A 1, As of December SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AUDIT & STRATEGIC PLAN 9

12 EXTERNAL STRATEGY Content Content is (still) king and a greater effort should be made to improve content. Improving the quality of USU Extension s social media content can be done by focusing on the following areas: Creative Too often, content is shared without trying to maximize the bang for the buck. Content should be reviewed, where possible, before being posted for possible creative and impactful ways to share or promote it. Ideas for sharing creative content include: Quick Tip Tuesday Borrowing the term from many other social managers, Quick Tip Tuesday could feature tips about living well. Content could be taken from previous Ask an Expert/Specialist columns or factsheets. Throwback Thursday This established tradition has been used by Extension on and off for some time. Continuing the use of Throwback Thursday allows Extension to show off historical photos and/or photos from past events. Finance Friday This could be used to feature financial tips. Given the lack of photos having a finance look and feel, tips would only be shared on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. Ask an Expert Given the frequency of Ask and Expert columns, the hashtag #AskAnExpert could be included on images and in posts shared about the column topic; allowing for immediate recognition. Scenic Saturday or Sunday Share scenic photos from around Utah that are submitted by other social media users. While this wouldn t promote Extension s message directly, it could increase engagement and peak interest from followers. It would also give Extension a bank of scenic photos to use as needed. Visual Visual posts almost always get the most engagement. A greater effort should be made to tell Extension s story using photos, especially in the moment type photos. Extension s large Instagram audience can be better utilized through original photos from more events and programs. Relevant Relevant posts are important to retain the attention of Extension s social audience. This can be challenging given the wide scope of Extension s reach. Posts should be promoted, where possible, to individuals with relevant interests. It will also be very important to ensure that content is relevant to the social media platforms it is shared on and to the audiences that follow Extension on those platforms. Timely Content should be shared in a timely fashion before the story has been told, and promptly after events to show impact. External Content More external content should be shared that would interest Extension s social audience. Content produced by other state Extension services or state agencies would be a good place to start SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AUDIT & STRATEGIC PLAN 10

13 EXTERNAL STRATEGY (cont.) Education Given Extension s role in extending the resources of the university to the citizens of Utah, a greater effort should be made to provide educational information via social media to Extension s audience. USU Extension has many resources and useful information that could be shared on social media if condensed and made consumable. Fact Sheets As new fact sheets are published, they should be shared on Twitter and Google+. If the topic is of broad interest, the fact sheets could be shared on Facebook. Other Publications When e-versions of publications are made available, a link should be shared on the appropriate social media channels. The term free e-book could be used to promote views/downloads. Pro Tips Tips on a variety of topics could be shared with the hashtag #ProTip on Twitter as a uniform way to share diverse information. Videos Extension s library of how-to videos can be shared on social media when timely and appropriate. Short snippets of videos can be extracted and shared to make the content more consumable. Local uploads to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have proven to be more effective than linking to YouTube. Engagement To continue the upward growth trend of Extension s social platforms, engaging with existing followers and potential followers will be a valuable tool. Extension will engage with social media followers by: Liking content shared by followers Liking content shared with relevant hashtags Sharing, retweeting and reposting useful content Commenting on posts shared by followers where appropriate Tagging followers on Instagram and Twitter where appropriate Responsiveness It will be important to establish a precedent of responsiveness to enhance Extension s brand as a reliable information resource to the citizens of Utah. Comments, questions and direct messages should be responded to as promptly as possible with correct information. Where possible, questions should be responded to within 24 hours. Targeting Facebook allows advertisers to target users in specific geographical areas or with specific interests. Extension has utilized the targeting feature in the past, but a greater effort should be made to target users with an interest in specific content. Relationship Building Relationships with social media managers from state agencies, other Extension services, community organizations and non-profits should be established to co-promote high quality content and events SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AUDIT & STRATEGIC PLAN 11

14 INTERNAL STRATEGY Communication Establishing a consistent line of communication within Extension between social media platform managers will be an important step to cross-promoting resources and events. There is little to no communication currently happening between platform managers. Identifying Extension faculty and staff who utilize social media personally, as well as those who manage and Extension-affiliated account, and asking them to like and share Extension s content will allow for greater reach and higher visibility. This could be achieved via customized lists and rapid response groups. Faculty and staff could be seperated into lists, based on: 1) Area of expertise / job assignment topic area 2) Geographical location 3) Social media platform personal usage Coordination Coordinating posts and promotion of resources and events among Extension s various social media platform managers will allow for a consistent message to be shared to a larger audience. Coordination for large events such as Baby Animal Days or the Northern Utah Marriage Celebration will be especially important. Consolidation Many Extension-affiliated Facebook pages and Instagram and Twitter accounts haven t been used for months and/or years, which is a blemish on Extension s social identity. These accounts need to be identified and either be deleted or consolidated with existing pages or accounts. It may be challenging to obtain access to pages that haven t been used for years. The cooperation of faculty and staff from various counties or programs will be essential to consolidate and deactivate unused accounts, and if possible, should be required to comply by policy. Investment An ongoing social media budget, with designations for different platforms, would grow the impact and reach of Extension s social media efforts. The following is a proposed social media monthly budget for FY : Monthly Social Media Budget Facebook/Instagram $ Twitter $50.00 Pinterest $25.00 LinkedIn $25.00 Hootsuite Subscription $9.99 Monthly Total $ Yearly Total $2, SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AUDIT & STRATEGIC PLAN 12

15 AUDIENCE GROWTH GOALS Facebook 2016 Year-End Likes: 13, Year-End Goal: 17,500 Percentage Increase: 26% Twitter 2016 Year-End Followers: 2, Year-End Goal: 2,700 Percentage Increase: 27% Instagram 2016 Year-End Followers: 4, Year-End Goal: 5,200 Percentage Increase: 14% Pinterest 2016 Year-End Followers: 1, Year-End Goal: 2,000 Percentage Increase: 38% Google Year-End Followers: Year-End Goal: 180 Percentage Increase: 28% LinkedIn 2016 Year-End Followers: Year-End Goal: 200 Percentage Increase: 80% YouTube 2016 Year-End Subscribers: 5, Year-End Goal: 7,500 Percentage Increase: 25% TOTAL AUDIENCE 2016 Year-End Followers: 2, Year-End Goal: 35,800 Percentage Increase: 26% REACH/IMPRESSION GOALS Facebook 2016 Average Post Reach: 3, Year-End Goal: 4,150 Percentage Increase: 21% Twitter 2016 Average Tweet Impressions: 1, Year-End Goal: 1,350 Percentage Increase: 13% POST ENGAGEMENT GOALS Facebook 2016 Average Post Engagements: Year-End Goal: 400 Percentage Increase: 8.5% Twitter 2016 Average Tweet Engagements: Year-End Goal: 27 Percentage Increase: 25% SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AUDIT & STRATEGIC PLAN 13