How To Create an Engaging and Welcoming Community Through Schools App Retention & Student Success Track

1. #TargetXSummit
How To Create an Engaging and
Welcoming Community Through
Schools App
Sarah Gibbs and Damian Salonick

2. #TargetXSummit
Introductions
● M.S. in Communications and
Information Systems
● 19+ Years in Higher Education
○ As a client we saw a 54% adoption of
Schools App in first year and a 71%
adoption in second year
● Joined TargetX in September 2018
● Based north of Pittsburgh, PA
MEET SARAH
● Project Manager
○ Prior role as Implementation Engineer
● B.S. in Information Sciences
● 4 years of Higher Ed experience in
Admissions at Penn State
● Joined TargetX in August 2017
● Based in Philadelphia, PA
MEET DAMIAN

3. Best Practices for
Engagement
Tips for Maintaining
your Schools App
Q&A

4. Start off Strong with Launch Content
● Help ensure that students see valuable
content in Schools App from the first time
they log in
○ Staff bios- add personal connection
○ Pictures of campus
○ Links to events, activities, etc
○ Feature “How-To’s”
● Think about the population- what is relevant
for a prospect vs. admit vs. current student?
○ Connect with those that run campus social media

5. Access the Right Data
● What data points are you bringing in for each
student?
○ What do you need to appropriately segment
populations for relevant announcements?
● Automate community membership with
Community Mapping feature
● No field number limits for import

6. Make the Most of
Schools App CRM
Widget
● Utilize private messaging-
modern and easy way to
connect with students
● SSO through Salesforce
● Take note of stats- last login, etc
○ These are a great indicator of
enrollment likelihood and how
effective your approach for
engagement is

7. Get Students involved as Moderators
● Ambassadors, tour guides, orientation leaders, admission interns
● Takes some of the volume off of your staff
○ Moderation
○ Content Creation
○ Management of communities
● Adds sense of peer involvement to Schools App
○ Students may be more comfortable asking a fellow student a question
○ Think of it like a Teaching Assistant

8. Promoting Schools App to boost join rates
● Motivate students to join
○ Email communications
○ Banner at events/tours
○ Flyers
○ Free t-shirt
● Make them see value- roommate finder
○ Popular among students- give them a reason to join
○ Establish items that are exclusively accessible in Schools App
● Timing is Key!

9. Leveraging Features
● Meetups
○ Everyone loves coffee/tea!
○ New movie coming out?
○ Alumni gatherings?
○ Events on campus
● Communities
○ Help them find their “tribe”
○ Suggested communities vs
allowing the student to create
● Study Groups
○ Most helpful for Summer camps or
enrolled students

10. Contests
● Photo Contests
○ Posing with acceptance packet
○ Favorite spot on campus
○ Favorite spot in hometown
● Vote Contest
○ Share your pet
○ Share what you’ll miss
○ Most excited for in college
○ Best advice
● Contest winners
○ Be clear

11. Announcements
RELEVANT
● Upcoming *specific* dates like Admitted
Student Day or Summer Orientation and
WHY they are important
● Contest Details
● Needed documentation *segment*
NOT RELEVANT
● Checking in
● Where are you at in your decision
(leverage Polls instead!)
● “Still time…”

12. Maintaining
● You can never overplan
● Schedule, schedule, schedule,
and schedule some more…
● Get everyone involved!

13. Sample Schedule
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Inspiration
Fun/Historical Fact
Weekend Events
Repost Campus News
Advice
Blog Repost
Question Post
Add imagery/videos whenever relevant
and impactful.
Pro Tip

14. Q & A
What are you doing in Schools App now?
What’s working?
What isn’t?

15. Thank You!
Sarah Gibbs
sarah.gibbs@targetx.com
Damian Salonick
damian.salonick@targetx.com