Social Media for Schools: 22+ Ways to Stay Connected with Your Alumni on Facebook. If you're looking to connect with your Schools Alumni on Facebook then you've found the right resources. Learn tactics that will help youget more likes, increase Facebook EdgeRank and create posts that go "viral".

1. CONNECT WITH ALUMNI
ON FACEBOOK
T
What one social media question
would you like answered today?
Let us know here:
http://bit.ly/schoolsOut
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2. YOUR HOST FOR TODAY
Frank Barry
Internet Strategy,Blackbaud
@franswaa
#BBSOCIAL
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3. SATE OF THE INDUSTRY:
NONPROFIT SOCIAL MEDIA
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4. FACEBOOK UP 30%
DOWNLOAD THE REPORT TODAY
TWITTER UP 81%
www.NonprofitSocialNetworkSurvey.com
9 OUT OF 10 NONPROFITS ARE ON FACEBOOK
Get the INFOGRAPHIC also … http://bit.ly/npsocial
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5. STAFFING? STAFFING ON THE RISE
75% of nonprofit organizations have ¼ or less of an FTE.
75% OF NONPROFITS ALLOCATE ½ FTE
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6. FUNDING GROWS BUT
43% OF NONPROFITS ALLOCATE $0 TO SOCIAL
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7. TOP 3 FACTORS FOR SUCCESS
Strategy. Priority. Staffing.
Strategy Prioritization Staffing
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8. USING FACEBOOK TO
CONNECT WITH ALUMNI
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9. GET “LIKES” FROM
STUDENTS& FAMILIES
Before you can engage alumni on
Facebook you’ve got to build a
relationship with them. The best time
to do this is while they are a student.
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10. INCENTIVES
1. Free exclusive video that can only be viewed if you like us.
• Teachers doing something silly/funny/fun.
• Past students sharing their stories.
• Virtual campus tour.
2. Run a competition. Everyone likes a competition.
• If you like the page you’ll be entered to win _____ !!!
3. Provide enticing high resolution photos.
• Class photos.
• Teacher photos (meet the faculty).
4. Offer “Special” including discounts to Facebook fans.
• Get 10% off your books.
• Get early registration for a semester.
Advertise what your doing from the first time you interact with
a prospective student all the way through their graduation.
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11. BUILD YOUR EdgeRank
Make sure your Facebook fans see you post
and engage with you on a regular basis. If
you don’t, the chances of you effectively
reaching them once they’ve graduated is far
less.
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12. A FEW FACTS ABOUTEDGERANK
• Most posts reach roughly 17% of your fans.
• Post typically lives for about 3 hours..
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13. BUILDING EDGERANK RELIES ON 3 THINGS
• Increasing Affinity - Actions such as
Commenting, Liking, Sharing, Clicking, and Viewing will increase a
fan’s Affinity with your school. Focusing on increasing the number of
interactions fans have with you.
• Building Weight – Comments have a higher value than a Like. Likes
have a higher value than a view. Focus on getting fans to take higher
value actions.
– Content type: Videos > Photos > Status Updates >Links
– Engagement type: Shares > Comments > Likes >Clicks > Views
• Optimize for Time Decay – The older the post the less valuable it is.
Keep your schools page fresh with interesting new content, but don’t
over do it.
http://edgerankchecker.com | http://pagelever.com
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14. WHEN SHOULD I POST?
Fan engagement is 8% greater on Wednesday’s
Research by: http://www.buddymedia.com/
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15. HOW OFTEN SHOULD I POST?
Posting 1-2 times per day produces 40% higher engagement.
Research by: http://www.buddymedia.com/
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16. HOW LONG SHOULD MY POSTS BE?
Posts with80 characters or less receive 66% higher engagement.
Research by: http://www.buddymedia.com/
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17. WHAT TYPES OF POSTS PERFORM BEST?[VIDS]
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18. WHAT TYPES OF POSTS PERFORM BEST? [PICS]
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19. WHAT TYPES OF POSTS PERFORM BEST? [QUESTIONS]
• Fill in the blank (I graduated from ___ in ___)
• Yes or no (Have you ever taken English with Mrs. Smith: Yes or No)
• True of false (True of False: I secretly
love Chemistry)
• Questions about where alumni have
gone?
- Where are you working now?
- What College are you attending?
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20. WHAT TYPES OF POSTS PERFORM BEST? [ASKS]
• Like this if you…
• Comment if you…
• Give us your suggestion/opinion on…
• Tell us how much you loved the…
Pro Tip: Use the status tagging feature as much as possible.
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21. WHAT TYPES OF POSTS PERFORM BEST?[MISSION]
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22. WHAT TYPES OF POSTS PERFORM BEST?[TIMELY]
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23. CREATE VIRAL
STATUS UPDATES
Everyone wants to “go viral”, but
it’s a very difficult thing to do.
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24. CLASS PHOTOS / TAGGING
Pro Tip: Tag every person in the photo.
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25. MEMES
A meme is an idea or behavior that spreads through a culture by
imitation. Internet memes follow this principle, humorous images are
copied and re-captioned, concisely describing or satirizing the activity of
an individual or group.
http://mashable.com/2012/02/17/college-memes-humor/
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26. MEMES
http://mashable.com/2012/02/17/college-memes-humor/
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27. MEMES
http://mashable.com/2012/02/17/college-memes-humor/
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28. FOCUS ON USER
GENERATED CONTENT
Facebook is a great way for students and
alumni to stay connected. Do everything
you can to foster those connections on your
fan page.
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29. GET YOUR STUDENTS, ALUMI AND FAMILIES SHARING
• Pictures (the key is to have them tag friends/family):
- Of them selves in their school apparel.
- With classmates.
- Interesting/unique/famous spots on campus (with them in it).
- Working on projects.
- On class trips.
• Videos:
- From graduation.
- Sharing what they loved about going to school at your institution.
• Polls:
- Ask poll questions using the poll features.
- Gather the results and share with the group.
Pro Tip: Make sure to respond, engage, and treat those
interactions as if someone approaching you on campus.
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30. LEVERAGE EVENTS
Class reunions, local meetups, networking events
and more are all opportunities for you to engage
your students, families and alumni.
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31. REUNIONS, LOCAL MEETUPS, NETWORKING, ETC…
• Engage current
fans (students/alum)
• Spread through the
network
• Provide updates
• Share photo’s,
videos, stories, etc
** all this activity
shows up in fans
timelines improving
edgerank.
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32. 10 BEST PRACTICE TIPS FOR FACEBOOK PUBLISHING
1. Keep Your Posts Short
2. Post Photos, Videos and Quotes
3. Post Consistently
4. Ask for your Fans Opinions
5. Ask Questions (true/false, fill in the blank, yes/no,
6. Try Posting “Fill in the Blank” Posts
7. Give Fans Access to Exclusive Information
8. Reward your Fans with Deals and Perks
9. Be Timely
10.Localize your Posts if they are Relevant to a Specific
Audience
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33. WE’VE GOT MORE SOCIAL GOODNESS FOR YOU!
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34. Thank you!
Let’s keep the conversation going…
frank.barry@blackbaud.com
twitter.com/franswaa
Social Influencers Whitepaper Social Network Benchmark
bit.ly/npoSocialArchetype Report bit.ly/npsocial
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35. Questions?
NetWitsThinkTank.com | Blackbaud.com/k12
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