Overview
Oregon State University’s department of Admissions reached out to Anvil Media, Inc for both strategic and tactical support to grow and expand their Facebook presence and prospective student engagement.
Objective
OSU sought help from Anvil to develop and execute a Facebook strategy that would help them to effectively reach the following objectives:
- Engage prospective students in conversation to raise awareness
- Encourage prospective students to request additional information and apply for admission
- Take advantage of the current economy that is conducive to increased enrollment
Challenge
OSU Admissions has seen diminished effectiveness of print materials as prospective students are becoming less influenced by traditional marketing efforts. As such, an online outreach strategy was needed to engage with prospective students in an authentic manner. The existing fan page had been created, however new fan acquisition and student interaction remained minimal.
Strategy
Indirectly target prospective students by directly targeting current students. In other words, engage existing students and create a space where students are showing their enthusiasm and love for the university. From this interaction, prospective students will see this authenticity and want to become a part of OSU.
Results
The fan page was created by OSU in December. The following statistics were compiled 5 months after implementation of the recommendations provided by Anvil commenced.
- From April, OSU ranked #8 out of 1,050 institutions for social media growth, based on a Higher Ed Web Study conducted by Blue Fuego. Among similarly sized institutions, OSU ranked #2 in both growth and engagement.
- Ad testing resulted in a 158% increase in total fans; including 2300 new fans in six days.
- Total fan count increased 554%
- Total interactions (wall posts, comments and likes) increased by over 2000%
- Page views increased 405%
- Photo views increased by 448%
Oregon State University’s fan page continues to maintain its success into 2010. According to BlueFuego’s Facebook Fan Page in Higher Education: February 2010research report, OSU ranks 8th (of 1,387) in terms of engagement activity.