How schools use social media in their marketing. School Marketing and Social Media Survey 2018

Transcription

1 How schools use social media in their marketing School Marketing and Social Media Survey 2018

2 School Marketing and Social Media Survey 2018 This study surveyed more than 470 schools across the globe with the goal of understanding how they are using social media in their school marketing. In this report, you will discover: The benefits of social media marketing The most frequently used social media platforms The time commitment. How much time do school marketers spend on social media marketing? Social media platforms people want to learn more about. imageseven.com.au schneiderb.com 2

3 Major findings Facebook is by far the most valued social media platform A staggering 86% of school marketers chose Facebook as their most important social media platform for school marketing, with 98% using it in the last 12 months. School marketers want to learn more about podcasting and live video Podcasting and live video took first place as the area school marketers most want to learn about, followed by blogs. Video, video, video Video will leap ahead as 85% of school marketers indicated that they will increase their use of the platform in the future. Live video will also grow signifiantly as 49% indicated that they School marketers are tentative about adopting new social media platforms Only 3% of school marketers actively adopt new social platforms. will increase their use. Many school marketers are unsure how to measure their return on investment Only 42% of school marketers agreed that they are able to measure their return on investment for their social media marketing activities. Visual assets dominate An overwhelming 99% of school marketers indicated that they use visual assets in their social media marketing. imageseven.com.au schneiderb.com 3

4 Use of social media in school marketing 5% 13% Strongly Agree More than 8 years Agree 32% 4 to 8 years Uncertain 57% 1 to 3 years 80% Disagree 2% Less than 1 year Strongly Disagree 9% Social media marketing is important for my school We asked some questions to determine the level of importance schools place on social media in their school marketing. A significant 93% of schools said that social media is important to their school. Years using social media in school marketing We asked participants how long they have been using social media in their school marketing. 66% of school marketers surveyed have been using social media in their marketing for over four years. imageseven.com.au schneiderb.com 4

5 Ability to analyse social media marketing activities 3% 7% 39% 2 Strongly Agree Agree Uncertain 25% 17% 7% Strongly Agree Agree Uncertain 30% Disagree Strongly Disagree 36% 15% Disagree Strongly Disagree Regular analysis of social media marketing We asked school marketers whether they regularly analyse their social media marketing. 69% of school marketers surveyed agreed that they regularly analyse their social media marketing activities. Measuring social media return on investment To understand whether school marketers could not only analyse their social media marketing but measure the return on investment their social media marketing activities had produced, we asked school marketers to rate their agreement with the following statement: I am able to measure the return on investment for my social media marketing activities. Only 42% agreed that they are able to measure their return on investment for their social media marketing activities. imageseven.com.au schneiderb.com 5

6 Effectiveness of Facebook marketing 6% Strongly Agree Strongly Agree 36% 33% Agree Uncertain 33% 34% Agree Uncertain 25% 2% Disagree Strongly Disagree 26% Disagree Strongly Disagree 4% Effectiveness of Facebook marketing We asked school marketers if they agreed with the statement: My Facebook marketing is effective. 69% of school marketers feel like their efforts on Facebook are making an impact, but 25% indicated that they were uncertain whether their Facebook marketing is effective or not. Decline in Facebook traffic We wanted to understand if school marketers experienced declines in Facebook traffic to their website, so we asked them to rate their agreement with the following statement: Facebook traffic to my website has declined over the last 12 months. Just 7% reported a decline in traffic with 33% uncertain if there had been a decline in Facebook traffic in the last 12 months. imageseven.com.au schneiderb.com 6

7 Integrated social activities Mobile optimisation 34% 56% Strongly Agree Agree 17% Strongly Agree Agree Uncertain 14% 53% Uncertain Disagree Disagree 7% Strongly Disagree 7% Strongly Disagree 2% 9% We asked school marketers to rate their agreement with the statement: 30% of school marketers are either uncertain or do not have a website that is optimised for mobile users. I have integrated social media marketing into my traditional marketing activities. A significant 90% of school markerters agreed that they have integrated social media into their traditional marketing activities. imageseven.com.au schneiderb.com 7

8 Social media marketing difficulty Weekly time commitment for Social Media marketing 7% 47% 13% Strongly Agree 35% 33% 23% 24% Agree Uncertain Disagree 6% 12% More than 20 hours 11 to 20 hours 5 to 10 hours Strongly Disagree Less than 5 hours 53% of respondents were uncertain or agreed that social media marketing has become harder in the last 12 months. Given the ever changing algorithms in social media, we expect social media marketing for schools to become more difficult in A significant 65% of school marketers are spending more than five hours a week on social media marketing. It s interesting to note that 18% of school marketers spend more than 10 hours a week on social media marketing. the next 12 months. imageseven.com.au schneiderb.com 8

9 Benefits of social media marketing The two main benefits of social media marketing are increased exposure and increased traffic. An overwhelming 9 of all Most school marketers are also using social media to increase traffic (75%) and to develop loyal fans (66%). school marketers indicated that their social media efforts have generated increased exposure for their school. No benefit 3% 9 Reduced marketing expense 39% 75% Improved sales 12% 66% Established thought leadership 22% 39% 46% Grown school partnerships 20% Improved search rating 27% 3% 12% 22% 20% 27% 24% Generated leads 46% Provided marketplace insight 24% Developed loyal fans 66% Increased traffic 75% Increased exposure 9 imageseven.com.au schneiderb.com 9

10 Commonly used social media platforms We asked school marketers what social media platforms they used in the last 12 months. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn were the clear top five platforms used. A staggering 98% of respondents used Facebook in the past year. 98% Snapchat 7% GeoLocation 0.4% Social bookmarking 0.2% 65% 68% Social review sites 4% Forums 0.4% 53% Pinterest 10% 42% Instagram 65% Google+ 14% YouTube 53% 7% 0.4% 0.2% 4% 0.4% 10% 14% LinkedIn 42% Twitter 68% Facebook 98% imageseven.com.au schneiderb.com 10

11 The most important social platform for school marketers is 6% 5% Facebook Instagram We asked school marketers to select the single most important social media platform for their school marketing. Google+ A staggering 86% chose Facebook as their most important Twitter platform. Revealing that Facebook is still the primary platform 86% YouTube LinkedIn for school marketers. Snapchat, Social review sites and Forums were not selected. imageseven.com.au schneiderb.com 11

12 How will school marketers change their use of social media in the future? We asked school marketers to indicate how they will change their social media use in the near future. Respondents were asked to indicate whether they will increase, decrease, maintain, have never used, or have no plan to use various social media platforms. 36% 62% Here s a summary: Facebook will continue its dominance as 62% indicated that Facebook they will increase their use of Facebook in the future. Only 2% of school marketers will decrease, have never used or have no 8% plans to use Facebook. Instagram will gain prominence as 66% indicated that they will increase their use of Instagram in the future. School 1 14% 66% marketers also have a healthy interest in growing their use of YouTube (46%) and LinkedIn (45%). Instagram imageseven.com.au schneiderb.com 12

13 How will school marketers change their use of social media in the future? 6% 9% 14% 46% 9% 15% 33% 30% 37% YouTube Twitter imageseven.com.au schneiderb.com 13

14 How will school marketers change their use of social media in the future? 20% 7% 9% 12% 45% % LinkedIn Pinterest imageseven.com.au schneiderb.com 14

15 How will school marketers change their use of social media in the future? 2% 2% 1 8% 5 45% 4 40% Forums Social review sites imageseven.com.au schneiderb.com 15

16 How will school marketers change their use of social media in the future? 2% 45% 52% 43% 54% SlideShare Social bookmarking imageseven.com.au schneiderb.com 16

17 How will school marketers change their use of social media in the future? 4% 10% 45% 4 Snapchat imageseven.com.au schneiderb.com 17

18 Social media platforms school marketers want to learn more about We asked school marketers to identify social media platforms they would like to improve their knowledge in. Facebook dominated at 34%. Instagram was also a priority at 22%. YouTube 6% Twitter 12% Social review sites 2% 34% Social bookmarking 0.2% Snapchat 5% SlideShare 0.6% 22% Pinterest 2% 12% 14% LinkedIn 14% Instagram 22% 6% Google+ 2% 5% 2% 2% 2% GeoLocation 0.4% 0.2% 0.6% 0.4% 0.2% Forums 0.2% Facebook 34% imageseven.com.au schneiderb.com 18

19 Paid social media We asked school marketers to identify which forms of paid social media they use regularly. Again, Facebook dominated with 79% of respondents indicating that they regularly use Facebook ads. Interestingly, 18% of school marketers are not using paid ads as part of their social media marketing. 79% No paid ads 18% Podcast ads 0% SlideShare ads Sponsored ads 5% YouTube ads 2% Instagram ads 22% 18% 22% 16% 3 Pinterest ads LinkedIn ads 4% 0% 5% 2% 4% Twitter ads 16% Google ads 3 Facebook ads 79% imageseven.com.au schneiderb.com 19

20 How will marketers change their paid social media activities? We asked school marketers to indicate how they will change their paid social media use in the near future. Respondents 6% 7% were asked to indicate whether they will increase, decrease, maintain, have never used, or have no plan to use various ads. 25% 6 Here s a summary: School marketers plan to increase their use of Facebook Ads (6), Google Ads (3) and Instagram Ads (30%). Facebook Ads 23% 3 24% 20% Google Ads imageseven.com.au schneiderb.com 20

21 How will marketers change their paid social media activities? 8% 7% 1 5% 47% 37% 46% 38% Twitter Ads LinkedIn Ads imageseven.com.au schneiderb.com 21

22 How will marketers change their paid social media activities? 2% 52% 45% 28% 30% 33% 8% Pinterest Ads Instagram Ads imageseven.com.au schneiderb.com 22

23 How will marketers change their paid social media activities? 4% 5% 10% 8% 42% 4 46% 43% YouTube Ads Sponsored Blog Ads imageseven.com.au schneiderb.com 23

24 How will marketers change their paid social media activities? 46% 52% 45% 52% SlideShare Ads Podcast Ads imageseven.com.au schneiderb.com 24

25 Paid social media options marketers want to learn more about We asked school marketers to identify the paid social media options they would like to improve their knowledge in. Instagram took first place with 34% with LinkedIn (29%) and Google Ads (27%) both beating Facebook (22%). 25% 25% 34% 29% 27% Podcast ads 13% SlideShare ads 6% Sponsored ads 25% 22% YouTube ads 25% 13% 10% 15% Instagram ads 34% Pinterest ads 10% 6% LinkedIn ads 29% Twitter ads 15% Google ads 27% Facebook ads 22% imageseven.com.au schneiderb.com 25

26 Commonly used types of content We asked school marketers to identify the types of content they use in their social media marketing. A remarkable 99% of respondents indicated that they use visual assets in their social media marketing, and 85% are using video. Only 4% are currently using podcasting and this represents an opportunity. 85% 99% Newsletters 43% 43% 25% 33% Podcast 4% Live video 25% 4% Video 85% Blog 33% Visual/Image 99% imageseven.com.au schneiderb.com 26

27 The most important content for the school marketer is 3% 6% Visual/Image Video We asked school marketers to select the single most important form of content for their school. Newsletters Visual marketing came in first at 54% with video next at 30%. Blog 30% 54% Live video Podcast 6% imageseven.com.au schneiderb.com 27

28 How will school marketers change their future content activities? 2% We asked school marketers to indicate how they will change content activities in the near future. Respondents were asked to indicate whether they will increase, decrease, maintain, have never used, or have no plan to use various forms of content. Here s a summary: Video will leap ahead as 85% indicated that they will increase their usage of video in the future. Live video will also grow as 49% indicated that they will increase their use of live video. Only 3% of school marketers will decrease, have never used or have no plan to use video. Blogs will gain momentum as 5 indicated that they will 1 22% 85% Video increase their use of blogs in the future. School marketers also have a healthy interest in growing their use of visual assets (69%) and podcasts (1). 16% 12% 49% Live Video imageseven.com.au schneiderb.com 28

29 How will school marketers change their future content activities? 29% 69% 12% 15% 5 20% Visual/Image Blog imageseven.com.au schneiderb.com 29

30 How will school marketers change their future content activities? 4% 1 49% 35% Podcast imageseven.com.au schneiderb.com 30

31 Content school marketers want to learn more about... Podcasting and live video took first place as the area school marketers most want to learn about, followed by blogs. 49% 49% 25% Podcast 49% 17% Live video 49% 3% Video 17% Blog 25% Visual/Image 3% imageseven.com.au schneiderb.com 31

32 How school marketers respond to new social networks What are the biggest frustrations with Social Media Marketing? 3% 2 15% I am sceptical and wait and see what happens I only register my handle/username on the social network I try to engage on the network, but don't promote my presence there 12% 6 60% I actively engage and promote my presence on the network 7% 1 10% I don t have enough time My school doesn t understand it I m not convinced on the return on investment I m not confident enough in the use of social media Other We asked school marketers what they do when a new social network comes on the scene. A vast majority do nothing (6) or only register usernames (15%). For the majority of school marketers, not having enough time is the biggest frustration (60%) when it comes to Social Media Marketing. Not having adequate evidence on the return on investment (12%) and a lack of understanding from the School (1) were the other Only 3% of school marketers actively adopt new social platforms. major frustrations. 10% of respondents had other concerns and these included frustrations with constant algorithm changes as well as having inconsistent results. A number of respondents also reported that they didn t have any issues with social media. Great news! imageseven.com.au schneiderb.com 32

33 Methodology and sample This study surveyed more than 470 schools in the United States, England, Canada and Australia. 66% of schools surveyed were combined primary and secondary schools, and 63% of schools surveyed were co-educational. 0.2% 10.6% 2.8% 7.8% 4% Catholic Government/Public Independent 74.6% International Religious Unknown imageseven.com.au schneiderb.com 33

34 About imageseven imageseven is an integrated marketing communications firm. You can think of us as message architects who build school brands. We work with schools to lift their communication and About SchneiderB At SchneiderB Media we help schools and non-profits properly implement inbound marketing and social media to achieve their enrolment goals. brand to reveal the true value they deliver to their customers. We look first for strategic insights and then rigorously apply marketing communications solutions to build enrolments and school brands. One great insight is worth a thousand good ideas. Knowing how to apply that insight is the key that unlocks your success. It is insight applied. contact us australia hello@imageseven.com.au imageseven.com contact us US (724) brendan@schneiderb.com schneiderb.com imageseven.com.au schneiderb.com 34