University of Baltimore:
Social Media Success
by
Tim Savage
While the University of Baltimore’s (UB) advertising programs had been delivering results in terms of prospective student leads, they wanted to build awareness and engage prospects at an earlier stage in the college search.
idfive’s Social Act program aimed to create a social media strategy that UB would ultimately be able to use in-house, for the daily management of social media operations. This strategy would give UB a platform to effectively reach and communicate with potential students during various stages of their college searches.
To initiate the program, strategists created a social media presence under the auspices of the University of Baltimore mascot, “Eubie Bee.” Everyday, the assigned social media coordinator would scan blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and other platforms for opportunities to engage.
In order to engage, the strategists would contact potential students and provide direction in their college search. They would also address prospects and current UB students that had questions specific to UB. Often these inquiries would overlap—developing from general college search inquiries to UB specific questions, depending on the level of engagement.
UB worked with idfive to create a Response Matrix that allowed everyone to quickly and accurately address specific inquiries.
Once the UB profiles were well established and the UB staff was familiar with the strategy, they were able to migrate control of the accounts back to the university. The agency remains in close contact with the UB communications staff to assist with any strategic initiatives or issues.
The overall result of the engagement has been greater satisfaction and higher brand engagement for students, prospects, and influencers.
The campaign has been incredibly successful. UB’s social media following has increased by 52% and engagement-related activity is up by 3,200% during the first six months of the campaign. The campaign is on-going, and we will update its performance results across time.
