It's that final time of the year with strategies and plans being
put into place. Application open dates are just around the corner
and the fight is about to begin. With vacancy numbers returning to
their peak rates it's sure to be a bitter battle on campus.
So what can do you do off-campus that adds impact to your brand
and your campaign? Social media is on everyone's lips as part and
parcel of their campaign - but what does that really mean to you
and how can you be part of the action?
There are numerous ways to engage with your target audience that
don't rely heavily on additional resources or tools. Before you
start, here are 5 tips to get clear and get rolling on your social
media plan for the season:
1. Audit
Using sites like Glassdoor and whirlpool, find out what is being
said about your employer brand as well as your competitors -
understand the good, the bad and the ugly about both you and your
competitors.
2.
Objective
What is the absolute purpose behind your activity? Is it to
build brand or get mass applications? For some it's about being out
on campus for the first time, for others, it's about changing the
perception of their program. Social media can assist with those
objectives and more. Clarity will allow you to have focus instead
of jumping around each time something new comes around.
3. Measure
How will you measure the success of your social media activity?
What is most important to you? You can measure your activity by
getting reports on your partner sites (we provide reports at the
end of each Forum for example) or using engagement analytics on
your Facebook pages, or even number of conversations on your
twitter and others using Hootsuite or even clarifying your
applications on how they got there. This will provide you with your
goals and help qualify your objectives.
4. Plan
Like any good strategy, you must continue with a plan.
Identifying who/what/where/when you will communicate is essential
to the success of any social media strategy. Using a social media
policy and authorised users as well as multiplatform decks such as
Tweetdeck and Hootsuite allows a multitude of users to participate
at ongoing intervals and ensure regular and consistent
activity.
5. Walk the
Talk
Social media is about conversations - in whatever capacity they
may be: blogging, comments, forums, twitter, facebook, webinars etc
to participate you must be ready to walk the talk.
Have fun and speak soon!
Andrea
Culligan
CEO
The Unimail Group
