Social Media Marketing Audit & Strategic Plan

UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION Social Media Marketing Audit & Strategic Plan 2016-2017 Overview Year-End Audit External Strategy Internal Strategy Goals

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

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 2016-2017 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AUDIT & STRATEGIC PLAN 1

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. 2015 Year-End Followers: 10,884 2016 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 2016-2017 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AUDIT & STRATEGIC PLAN 2

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: 1,785 2016 Year-End Likes: 13,929 Yearly Change: +678% vs. 2014 Year-End Likes: 985 2015 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 - 650 Davis - 664 Washington - 396 Box Elder - 321 Iron - 258 Tooele - 240 Uintah - 200 Wasatch - 108 Carbon - 104 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 2014. Year Avg. Post Reach % Change 2014 137 N/A 2015 719 +81% 2016 3,429 +377% 2016-2017 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AUDIT & STRATEGIC PLAN 3

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 2015. Extension s most-liked and most-retweeted tweet ever was posted in 2016. Yearly Comparison 2015 Year-End Followers: 1,544 2016 Year-End Followers: 2,111 Yearly Change: +37% vs. 2014 Year-End Followers: ~800 2015 Year-End Followers: 1,544 Yearly Change: +93% Audience Demographics Extension s Twitter audience is 57% female and 43% male. Audience Age Breakdown 13-17 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+ 2% 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 2014 289 N/A 2015 595 +106% 2016 1189 +100% Average Tweet Engagments Tweet engagements include any action taken on an individual tweet (clicks, likes, retweets, etc.). Year Avg. Engagement % Change 2014 7.74 N/A 2015 9.69 +25% 2016 21.62 +123% 2016-2017 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AUDIT & STRATEGIC PLAN 4

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 2016. Yearly Comparison 2015 Year-End Followers: 2,918 2016 Year-End Followers: 4,557 Yearly Change: +56% vs. 2014 Year-End Followers: ~1,000 2015 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 13-17 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+ 5% 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. 2016-2017 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AUDIT & STRATEGIC PLAN 5

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: 887 2016 Year-End Followers: 1,443 Yearly Change: +62% vs. 2014 Year-End Followers: ~700 2015 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. 2016-2017 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AUDIT & STRATEGIC PLAN 6

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 2016. 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. 2015 Year-End Followers: 102 2016 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. 2015 Year-End Followers: 0 2016 Year-End Followers: 111 Yearly Change: +100% 2016-2017 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AUDIT & STRATEGIC PLAN 7

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 2016. Yearly Comparison 2015 Year-End Subscribers: 3,648 2016 Year-End Subscribers: 5,979 Yearly Change: +64% vs. 2014 Year-End Subscribers: ~3,000 2015 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 13-17 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+ 1% 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 2014 2,493,169 N/A 2015 2,902,181 +16% 2016 3,905,511 +35% Video Views Video views measure the number of times each video was watched, combined for the year. Year Video Views % Change 2014 723,424 N/A 2015 839,289 +16% 2016 1,077,161 +28% 2016-2017 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AUDIT & STRATEGIC PLAN 8

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 1,443 141 111 5,979 28,271 2 Louisiana State University Ag Center 14,451 5,211 42 1,322 23 2,121 2,613 25,783 3 Mississippi State University Extension Service 13,500 3,950 3,435 574 6 N/A 2,895 24,360 4 Pennsylvania State University College of Agricultural Science 8,556 9,162 1,431 N/A 65 1,699 152 21,065 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 4,440 529 134 23 N/A 2,676 17,978 7 Alabama Cooperative Extension System 10,173 1,511 202 24 14 1,091 4,315 17,330 8 Texas A&M AgriLife Extension 9,503 6,711 N/A 904 69 N/A 127 17,314 9 Iowa State University Extension & Outreach 7,279 6,553 440 482 22 557 1,329 16,662 10 North Carolina Cooperative Extension 5,813 8,384 N/A 208 20 N/A 1,689 16,114 11 New Mexico State University College of Agricultural, Consum 2,468 772 1,223 N/A 55 N/A 10,896 15,414 12 University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Res 3,858 6,059 673 500 10 688 958 12,746 13 University of Kentucky Extension 1,693 1,030 N/A 813 N/A N/A 8,699 12,235 14 Oregon State University Extension Service 4,207 3,650 N/A 1,728 26 N/A 1,275 10,886 15 Oklahoma State University Division of Agricultural Sciences a 4,754 2,349 3,504 N/A 2 N/A 244 10,853 16 Utah State University Extension (January 2016) 1,785 1,544 2,918 887 102 N/A 3,648 10,884 Purdue Extension 2,661 6,274 N/A N/A 28 N/A 1,102 10,065 17 University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension 1,489 1,397 122 578 95 3,871 2,152 9,704 18 University of Minnesota Extension 2,927 5,944 N/A N/A 3 N/A 345 9,219 19 Michigan State University Extension 3,841 3,037 N/A 688 135 611 851 9,163 20 University of Maine Cooperative Extension 5,012 3,403 N/A N/A 53 N/A 42 8,510 21 University of Missouri Extension 4,019 2,708 124 1,391 3 N/A N/A 8,245 22 WSU College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource S 2,745 4,109 332 N/A 9 N/A 951 8,146 23 Utah State University Extension (August 2015) 1307 980 1065 757 29 N/A 3292 7430 Virginia Cooperative Extension 4,148 2,091 207 328 4 N/A 215 6,993 24 Cornell University Cooperative Extension 3,650 2,785 293 N/A 6 N/A 148 6,882 25 University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service 3,826 1,122 609 N/A 4 347 850 6,758 26 University of Tennessee Extension 2,487 2,433 N/A N/A 11 310 1,223 6,464 27 North Dakota State University Extension Service 1,270 3,246 3 N/A 10 N/A 1,808 6,337 28 University of Alaska Cooperative Extension Service 2,867 1,126 0 1,195 4 N/A 207 6,199 29 Colorado State University Extension 1,964 N/A N/A 3,510 15 N/A 623 6,112 30 Ohio State University Extension 4,751 N/A N/A N/A 29 N/A 902 5,682 31 University of Nebraska Extension 1,353 4,185 7 N/A N/A N/A 18 5,563 32 West Virginia University Extension 2,938 1,912 394 132 N/A N/A N/A 5,376 33 University of Georgia Extension 2,717 1,246 N/A 650 3 N/A 615 5,231 34 University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension 2,438 1,597 231 346 39 N/A 336 4,987 35 Rutgers Cooperative Extension 1,023 2,365 N/A N/A 5 N/A 1,140 4,533 36 Clemson University Extension 4,075 137 N/A 41 N/A N/A 19 4,272 37 University of Vermont Extension 1,351 2,091 63 N/A 2 N/A 49 3,556 38 University of Arizona Cooperative Extension 2,098 1,070 56 148 6 N/A 84 3,462 39 University of Wyoming Extension 2,419 140 62 293 14 N/A 534 3,462 40 University of Nevada Reno Cooperative Extension 1,216 1,592 N/A N/A 4 N/A 233 3,045 41 University of Delaware Extension 1,096 1,114 574 N/A 7 N/A N/A 2,791 42 Montana State University Extension 1,362 1,420 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 2,782 43 University of Maryland Extension 1,293 989 493 N/A N/A N/A N/A 2,775 44 South Dakota State University Extension 381 1,141 N/A N/A 9 N/A 645 2,176 45 University of Connecticut Extension 1,271 665 143 N/A 9 N/A 34 2,122 46 UMass Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment Exte 874 1,232 N/A N/A N/A N/A 2 2,108 47 University of Idaho Extension 912 342 97 57 N/A N/A N/A 1,408 48 As of December 2016 2016-2017 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AUDIT & STRATEGIC PLAN 9

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. 2016-2017 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AUDIT & STRATEGIC PLAN 10

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. 2016-2017 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AUDIT & STRATEGIC PLAN 11

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 email 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 2017-2018: Monthly Social Media Budget Facebook/Instagram $125.00 Twitter $50.00 Pinterest $25.00 LinkedIn $25.00 Hootsuite Subscription $9.99 Monthly Total $234.99 Yearly Total $2,919.88 2016-2017 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AUDIT & STRATEGIC PLAN 12

AUDIENCE GROWTH GOALS Facebook 2016 Year-End Likes: 13,929 2017 Year-End Goal: 17,500 Percentage Increase: 26% Twitter 2016 Year-End Followers: 2,111 2017 Year-End Goal: 2,700 Percentage Increase: 27% Instagram 2016 Year-End Followers: 4,557 2017 Year-End Goal: 5,200 Percentage Increase: 14% Pinterest 2016 Year-End Followers: 1,443 2017 Year-End Goal: 2,000 Percentage Increase: 38% Google+ 2016 Year-End Followers: 141 2017 Year-End Goal: 180 Percentage Increase: 28% LinkedIn 2016 Year-End Followers: 111 2017 Year-End Goal: 200 Percentage Increase: 80% YouTube 2016 Year-End Subscribers: 5,979 2017 Year-End Goal: 7,500 Percentage Increase: 25% TOTAL AUDIENCE 2016 Year-End Followers: 2,8271 2017 Year-End Goal: 35,800 Percentage Increase: 26% REACH/IMPRESSION GOALS Facebook 2016 Average Post Reach: 3,429 2017 Year-End Goal: 4,150 Percentage Increase: 21% Twitter 2016 Average Tweet Impressions: 1,189 2017 Year-End Goal: 1,350 Percentage Increase: 13% POST ENGAGEMENT GOALS Facebook 2016 Average Post Engagements: 368 2017 Year-End Goal: 400 Percentage Increase: 8.5% Twitter 2016 Average Tweet Engagements: 21.62 2017 Year-End Goal: 27 Percentage Increase: 25% 2016-2017 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AUDIT & STRATEGIC PLAN 13