8 steps to a social media strategy @jordanjmcdowell Marketing and social media coordinator, @NUSConnect @DanSpicer EMEA community lead, @Hootsuite_UK

Social media and students’ unions MarComms Email Website Social media Print PR Events

Social media and students’ unions Commercial HR Senior management Finance MarComms Email Website Social media Print PR Events Research

Social media and students’ unions Marketing Finance HR Events Commercial Research

Step 1 Situational analysis and buy-in

Your objectives for social media Situational analysis Your objectives for social media

Buy-in Engage the teams in your union. What could you use social for? What other comms mechanics do you use? What risks might there be?

Step 2 Community map

Community map Times of engagement Types of content engaged with Nuances between platforms Interests and passions Age profile Advocates and influencers

Community map

Step 3 Relationship build

Social lead in Commercial Relationship build You Social lead in Commercial Social lead in HR Social lead in events Marketing team

Relationship build Your checklist Train them on the basics Discuss their specific needs of social Train them on your Social Relationship Management Tool(s) (SRM) Introduce them to your union’s social media policy, if you don’t have one, write one together! Establish ground rules and basic expectations

Step 4 Social content

Content curation Content distribution Social content Social media Social media leads Content curation Social media Content distribution When Where How

Social content Your checklist Does this content reflect that which my social followers currently engage with? Does this content reflect the objectives my Union has for social media? Does this content pose a risk to either of the above? If so, how have we reduced that risk? Does this content reflect the best way in which I can communicate this message, with the above in mind?

Step 5 Self audit

Self audit Social moves fast, so you need to be on your toes! Am I getting what I need from social? Are these social platforms working for me? Is there something new that adds something to what we’re doing on social?

Step 6 Protection

Protection “Too many cooks spoil the broth!” Lock social down to a singular SRM Set parameters and limitations where appropriate Practise for disaster, conduct “what if” scenarios

Step 7 Reduce risk

Reduce risk. Social is a shared responsibility in our Union, with all teams pitching in to contribute to our social voice, achieving their own objectives from the medium. Responsibility for the strategic direction of social rests with team X, as the overall lead on social media within our Union. Experimentation, new networks etc. are explored by team X.

Step 8 Demonstrate ROI

(Gain from Investment – Cost of Investment) Demonstrate ROI Overall ROI Individual team KPIs (Gain from Investment – Cost of Investment) Cost of Investment Sentiment analysis Engagement rates Reach (Organic / Paid for) Service response rates Conversion rates Keyword tracking Follower acquisition Campaign KPIs HR saved £X by recruiting on social as opposed to via Recruitment Agency Research were able to obtain samples without having to use the email database Events were able to target their pre-event advertising to people with interests associated with this event and achieved better conversion

A full circle social strategy Demonstrate ROI Translate the power of social into language senior leaders can understand, through analytics Continue to achieve buy-in and gain insights from around the Union on how social is working for them A full circle social strategy

8 steps to a social media strategy Situ analysis & buy-in Community map Relationship build Social content Self audit Protection Reduce risk Demonstrate ROI

@jordanjmcdowell jordan.mcdowell@nus.org.uk