Should your Brand be on Snapchat? (No...really)

About a year ago I was socializing with other folks who manage brands on social media, when one jokingly said I should put my brand on Snapchat. We all laughed at the idea of a university engaging in a social media platform used mostly by teenagers for sending "selfies."

But recently, it doesn't look like such a foolish idea. Snapchat has recently received $60 million of investment capital, and boasts over 8 million adult users in the US. Snapchat has also recently added the ability send a snap to as many contacts as you'd like. This functionality makes the platform a practical way for brands to connection with constituents,an idea some brands have already embraced. 

There are applications for higher education as well: a development office could snap pictures of a cold beer to remind young alumni to stop by a local happy hour, or an admissions office could snap a picture of an application to remind perspective students an application deadline was approaching. Because of the curiosity factor (who among us has an unopened snap on our phone?), open rates are likely to be near 100%. 

Three things to consider before putting your brand on Snapchat: 

Who is your audience, and are they on Snapchat?

As with any marketing initiative, you should first consider who your audience is. Is they are young people between the ages of 13 and 23, then your audience is probably already on Snapchat 

Does it fit with your branding?

Snapshat's logo is a dancing ghost with it's tongue sticking out. This captures the light-hearted nature of the messages that are sent through the platform. A disaster relief organization doesn't communicate in a light hearted way about their work, so they shouldn't be on a Snapchat. But a Portland based indy band? Absolutely. 

How will you know if it's working?

Because it is easy to get caught up in "social media for sake of social media," it is critically important that your team define success before the launch of the brand. By it's nature, Snapchat is going to be a "soft" touch, so success may look very simple. Let's revisit the example of the development office snapping a picture of a cold beer to young alumni. If a single alum snaps a picture back with the caption that they are on their way, that office has creatively achieved brand engagement through a platform their audeince was already using--that's a pretty successful start.

Is your brand on Snapchat? Let me know how it's working in the comments, or tweet me: @ColbyCAnderson

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Webinar on using Social Media in Alumni Relations

I recently appeared on Higher Ed Live to discuss using social media in Alumni Relations.

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5 of 10 Best Practices for Using Social Media as a Customer Service Tool

On Thursday, July 11th, I'll be speaking on HigherEdLive.com about social media as a customer service tool. Here are five of the 10 tips I'll be sharing.

1. Listen and monitor:

Social media provides a space for people to share their thoughts about everything, including your events, services, or products. Use listening tools such as Sprout Social to learn what your customers like and what they would change. 

2. Provide timely replies

If what you are hearing requires a response, do so in a reasonable amount of time. I've seen non-profits leave a tweet or Facebook post unanswered for days. By the time they respond, the negative views have already solidified in the customer's mind.

3. Triage issues to get accurate answers:

As a social media manager, you are expected to know a little bit about everything that your organization does, but use your coworkers to ensure accuracy. When a customer asks a question via social media, email the content directly to the person in charge of the subject matter  

4. Note, follow, and tag complaining customers:

No matter how thrifty your organization, you should be using a CRM (constituent relationship management) system. When you have a costumer service interaction with one of your constituents, make sure that you note  and track the interactions. Having a record of interactions allows for better customer service. 

5. Move conversations offline 

I firmly believe in taking steps to ensure that every customer service issue is handled, but it doesn't need to be resolved through social media. In fact, doing so can be harmful to your brand. Instead of making the conversation more visible, ask for a customer's email address to continue the conversation through that channel  Then provide top notch customer service. If you do, sometimes the customer will use social media to thank you.

For the other five best practices for using social media as a customer service tool, join me on Thursday at 7pm EST on HigherEdLive.com. 

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"50% of What I do is Genius, the Other 50% Sucks"

A few days ago I met with a friend who wanted to create a social media campaign about an upcoming non-profit’s 100th anniversary. The nonprofit had a twitter feed, but my friend had little experience crafting a campaign. She presented me with 18 text0only tweets.

“What’s the goal of the campaign?” I asked her.

“I guess to drum up excitement for the event,” she said after a thinking for a moment.

“Okay. How will you know if a tweet worked” I asked attempting to guide her to my line of thought.

“People will be talking about it,” she ventured.

“Okay….but how do you know which tweet worked, and which didn’t?” I asked.

I had flummoxed her.

The situation reminded me of an saying among my grandpa’s generation of marketers: “50% of what I do works like a charm, the other 50% doesn’t…I just don’t know which is which.”

While there are some things in this era to be nostalgic about (three martini lunches come to mind), wasting half of your efforts isn’t one of them. Now we can use customized shortened links to determine which tweets are driving traffic. This way every tweet has a goal--to drive the audience to click a link (which can lead to a blog post, a video, a picture, or the registration page itself).

Had my friend gone with her first inclination, she would have been like the ad men in the 60’s, not knowing which half of her efforts were working. By giving each tweet a measurable goal, she can optimize her efforts.

Use link shortners like bit.ly, or tinyurl.com. If you are linking to a transaction page (such as a registration page), I’d recommend creating a funnel in Google Analytics so you can see if people are clicking through, but not completing a transaction.

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