Carleton University Social Media Audit 2013 Page 1

Carleton University Social Media Audit 2013

Purpose

This Social Media Audit is a summary of current social media practices at Carleton University.

Methodology

An environmental scan of 10 popular social media tools in use by official Carleton University accounts was performed. Posting frequency and level of interactions with followers were recorded in order to determine level of engagement. Secondary and tertiary accounts were not included in this audit (ie: student-run clubs, Carleton affiliates, alumni chapters).

Outcomes

Accounts in Use

At Carleton, there are currently 153 social media accounts on 10 social media platforms. Twitter is the most popular tool, accounting for 44 per cent of all accounts. Admin Services holds the highest number of accounts (38), but also has the highest number of inactive accounts (23). Student Services has the highest number of engaged accounts (nine). Reminder: Not all tools are appropriate for all groups; just because there are gaps does not mean they should be filled.

Engagement

Of all social media accounts, 19 per cent post daily/weekly and interact with community, 59 per cent post regularly but do not interact with the community, and 43 per cent do not post regularly or interact with community. The platform with the highest community engagement is Twitter. The platform with the lowest community engagement is YouTube.

Opportunities

The Social Media Audit Group identified five key opportunities:

1. Improve our social media presence by removing outdated accounts 43 per cent of our social media presence consists of accounts that are inactive. Enquiring as to why this is the case and what can be done to make them active again (or close them entirely) is an opportunity not yet explored.

Examples: Any account that has not been used in the last year should be deleted. There are several Ravens accounts that can be consolidated into one stronger account.

2. Leverage the current successful channels Funnelling efforts into one well maintained account would simplify our social media presence and ensure messages are reaching the appropriate audiences. A number of programs/ departments do not have accounts for prospective students, but rather incorporate both future and current student news on a single account. Funnelling this information to the appropriate channel would eliminate potential cross-audience confusion. Leveraging successful channels would also alleviate the effort necessary to properly manage our social media presence.

Carleton University Social Media Audit 2013 Page 2

Examples: The @carleton_u twitter account has over 10,000 followers, the target audience being current students. Some groups, like the Registrar’s Office, promote their information through the Carleton_U accounts, as opposed to creating a new account. Other groups could follow suit. This also applies to YouTube accounts. Creating channels within one centralized Carleton University account would make managing the account, responding to or removing negative comments, and engaging with community less cumbersome.

3. Leverage our existing tertiary (student or alumni run) groups Involving students allows for content to be posted more frequently and has the potential to increase engagement levels.

Examples: The Student Experience Office (SEO) uses students to run, or at least heavily contribute to, social media accounts. The Fall Orientation Twitter account, the Campus Activity Board accounts and the Learning Log blog are all heavily influenced by students. Carleton alumni are already participating in/managing an online alumni social network, specifically Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. There is an opportunity to engage with these alumni and provide them with CUAA support.

4. Collaborate internally to better communicate university-wide key messages Many active accounts are operating in a vacuum. There is an opportunity to collaborate more with one another, to share news stories and to be more strategic in terms of university-wide messaging.

Example: On Twitter, standard and consistent use of hashtags could be used to communicate university-wide messages.

5. Engage more with our communities Social media is social. We could do a better job influencing current discussions.

Examples: Compiling a comprehensive list of hashtags currently in use could better identify what our key audiences are talking about on Twitter and enable us to join the conversations. YouTube is only being used as a video hosting platform, but there are opportunities to promote subscriptions and engage with viewers. Much of what is posted on Facebook is content that is pushed out to followers with little to no interaction on the posts.

Conclusion

At Carleton University, there are currently 153 social media accounts, 19 per cent of which are highly active and engaging. The Social Media Audit Group identified five key opportunities that would strengthen our social media presence. As part of future actions, accounts not being used or dormant should be closed to avoid confusion. Next steps should include this, and developing a campus-wide strategy for using social media to the best possible advantage for Carleton University.

Carleton University Social Media Audit 2013 Page 3

Appendix

Members of the Social Media Audit Group

Mary Kathryn Roberts, Computing and Communication Services Julie Carl, Research Office Mike Reynolds, Student Services Krystin Kowbel, Alumni Services Maria McClintock, Department of Communications Erin McLaughlin, Admissions Kimberly Swartz, Sprott School of Business

Social Media Audit Spreadsheet

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AjrMcXXjKr2cdFNKRVhHa0JBMXJGZUU1c3gzU1JCSGc

Breakdown of Social Media Platform usage by Group

Carleton University Social Media Audit 2013 Page 4

Overall usage of Social Media Platforms

Level of Engagement

Twitter Hashtags Currently in Use

#carletonu, #carleton*, #ottawa, #cdnpse, #research, #innovation, #edtech, #GoRavens, #CIS, #OUA, #sprott, #business, #entrepreneurship, #sprottlove, #marketing