Led a team of associates to conduct a social media audit and peer review of other top University brands. Audit was conducted to find opportunities to change students perception from over priced book store to a philanthropic member of the UT community.
17. Final Recommendations
Leverage social media to create awareness about philanthropy
work that involves students
• Update social media with current philanthropy effort
• A brand video that captures Co-op’s mission that can be
promoted on Facebook
• Contest that involves fans learning more about historical
philanthropy efforts
• Use social media to advertise on behalf of student groups
Content has been very successful and students love the humor, but should tie the videos into the Co-op with more branding techniques
the Co-op logo shown before every video
for interviews, such as during the tailgates, carry a microphone with the Co-op logo on it
incorporate as much branding in the video as possible so students will automatically connect the funny video to the Co-op
The University of Alabama has very successful YouTube content. One stream of videos in particular is popular among the students and gains a lot of views.
Notes from Alabama acts as a video blog with everything students do or go through on campus.
The co-op can implement videos with this type of content to get students more engaged.
Perhaps it is about move-in on campus, or they could interview students about how to prepare for game day and include co-op items within the video.
Everyone likes advice from their peers and could be a good way for the co-op to get involved more with everyday on campus activities
According to Nielsen research, students rely the most on Twitter for real-time information
however, do not just tweet information about products or promotions, but also create more dialogue, like the one shown, to get students engaged like the one
The Co-op account has potential for more followers. To achieve this:
involve more of its tweets with campus events and clubs
form an incentive for following on twitter- either a prize or a gift card if follow by a certain date
engage with big Austin twitter names such as @austin360, @utaustin, @365ThingsAustin
Average comments = 0-30, average shares = 0-10, likes =
These photo captions encourage engagement among followers in a fun way, people are more likely to comment/share.
“You know you’re a Longhorn when…” received 125 comments, 59 shares, 600+ likes.
TCU post got 125 comments, 71 shares, 700+ likes.
Facebook lists its most interactive posts as those including business offers, photo/video posts and posts that ask followers a question.
Post about Co-op products typically do well when there is a product photo included
Product posts that resemble advertisements are not as popular or engaging among Facebook following
Contests and product offers generate high numbers of shares/likes/comments
In case of pumpkin carving contest, got students to physically engage and connect with spirit of Co-op
Jersey giveaway gets people interested/excited about Co-op products without having to advertise per se
Photos posted on Facebook are a great way to easily share hashtags being used on multiple channels, and can create more awareness for other social media platforms while integrating them into Facebook content.
The Co-op logo can also be included in photos shared on Facebook, so that people who share/like will remember who actually posted the content. The UF logo in the 9/11 memorial photo is subtle enough not to be too distracting, but still helps build the brand through photo content.
A popular post series among Texas Exes followers is “Fan Photo Friday,” where outstanding/inspiring Longhorns are featured with a photo and short background story.
These kinds of posts have received positive feedback on the Co-Op page, but have not received nearly as many shares/likes/comments. Both of these posts got 400+ shares, and one got more than 1000!
The key here is not just featuring photos with fans, but telling a story that will inspire others, leading them to share/comment/like the post.
Very successful and engaging Instagram account with photo and video content that is relevant to both students and alumni
Average photo receives 300+ likes
Most popular photos are those of football/stadium and UT campus
Product posts also see high number of likes
Photos getting high number of likes, low number of comments (average is around 10 comments)
Photo captions that ask questions or ask users to tag friends can generate more conversation about content
Asking users to tag friends gets people excited, engages users, and calls others to the account that may not already follow.
Asking questions is good way to spark conversations among followers
Stadium photo received 60 comments and is one of the most engaging and interactive posts on the account.
Mascot photo received 30 comments
The Co-Op can take its Instagram presence one step further by incorporating its logo in photos, like UF.
The photos seem more professional/official, and this will reinforce the Co-Op’s association with photo content.
OU has some great college-themed Pinterest boards that are relevant and fun for students, but could still be related back to products being sold by the Co-op.
In this board “Dorm Rescue,” there are a lot of great ideas of how to spruce up your college dorm room– which could definitely be supplemented by incorporating various Co-op products.
Sharing Pinterest content on channels that are already very strong, such as Facebook, will make followers aware of activity and spark interest in Co-ops various boards
Give students a preview of what’s to come in your Pinterest content, and even let them know that you are happy to repin their UT related pins.
Who in here has a snapchat?
Explain snapchat stories – taco bell and sendout photos – 16 handles
1 out of 4 18-29 year olds that have a cell phone use snapchat and the majority of snapchat users fall between those
Snapchat is a great way for the Coop to interact and build a connection with the students on campus because of these demographics
-Moving forward we recommend leveraging y’all’s strong social media to create awareness about Coops philanthropy work.
-Y’all are doing a lot of great things and it needs to be said more often on social media.
-What we would like to start off working on is a brand video that captures Co-ops mission and heritage that can be promoted on Facebook.
-In addition, putting together social media contest on campus that will inform fans of historical philanthropy efforts
-Lastly, we recommend advertising more on behalf of student groups like y’all did with Texas 4k
-For example, the Fashion Show is continuing to grow and would be great to work with. We could work with y’all to create a video about the show and web page for users to learn more about the designers and their work.