Salesforce Foundation #HESummit15 - 7Summits: Using Online Communities to Revolutionize how you Connect with Prospects, Students, Alumni and Faculty Engage in a discussion about how leading institutions are using online communities throughout the student lifecycle – to attract new students, engage and retain their existing student population, inspire and re-connect with alumni, and increase faculty and administration collaboration. What you'll learn: - Best practices for using social listening and online admissions communities to find and engage the right type of student - How to use online communities to engage and retain your existing student population - How to use online communities to re-connect with alumni and capture data - How online communities can help facilitate collaboration and communication between faculty and administration Led by James Davidson, VP of Digital Strategy at 7Summits James is 7Summits’ leading Digital Strategist. He works closely with their education clients to understand their institutions, audiences and technology environments to define social business solutions with measurable success. James has a remarkable depth and breadth of experience in social business, digital marketing and web-enabled software development from an agency consulting and corporate side; he has worked with Northwestern University, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Devry, and Thomson Reuters. Mr. Davidson holds a B.S. Degree in Information Technology and Multimedia from Griffith University

1. Using Online Communities to Revolutionize how you
Connect with Prospects, Students, Alumni and Faculty
​James Davidson
​VP of Digital Strategy
​@jdavidson
​7Summits

2. “A new class of company is emerging – one that
uses collaborative technologies intensively to
connect the internal efforts of employees and to
extend the organization’s reach to customers,
partners and suppliers....”
Social Media is Disrupting Business
McKinsey Global Institute
“The Social Economy: Unlocking value and productivity through Social Technologies” July 2012

3. #hesummit15
Today’s Agenda
• Introduction
• Online Community Overview
• Admissions Case Study
• Group Brainstorming
• Wrap Up
First Last Name
Title

4. Introduction
James Davidson
VP of Digital Strategy
@jdavidson
7Summits

5. Mission
We create online community experiences that transform businesses
and enhance people’s lives.
Why
We believe in unleashing people's potential to create, compete, and
innovate in entirely new ways.

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7Summits At A Glance
COMPREHENSIVE CAPABILITIESSOCIAL BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
EXTERNAL AND INSIDETHE ENTERPRISE
INDUSTRY FOCUS
Consumer
Education
Financial Services
Healthcare
High Tech
Manufacturing

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Select Education Clients

8. Online Community Concepts
James Davidson
VP of Digital Strategy
@jdavidson
7Summits

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Social Business - Where Value is being Created

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From: To:
Social Media Represents the Biggest Shift in a Generation
​Re-shaping the way you engage students, faculty, staff and partners
• Hoarding Information
• Web Sites/Portals
• Management
• Email / Newsletters
• CRM
• Generation X / Boomers
• User Interfaces
• Noise
• Desktop
• Information Sharing
• Online Communities
• Engagement
• Collaboration
• Social CRM + Communities
• Gen Z / Millennials
• User Experience
• Insights
• Mobile

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• Digital natives 3
• Social media is their default state 1
• Rely on user-generated content to
make life decisions 1
• They absorb and manage
information differently than other
generations1
• Universities that create their own
open communities have a much
greater degree of credibility 2
Gen Z / Millennials Insights
Sources: 1Bazaarvoice. 2 Onlinecolleges.net 3 Ad Age

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​A typical prospective student now
receives 12-18 emails from 2-4 year
public/ private institutions. 1
​CRM is a top priority for 4-year
public/private schools1
​75-90% of 2-4 year institutions spend
less than 25k annually on their
institutions website1
​4-year universities are
experiencing very high attrition —
up to 50% in some cases. 2
​Higher Ed IT is seeking to
consolidate platforms (Intranet,
websites, portals, etc). 2
​Classroom delivery models are
shifting to incorporate more
online/digital
Use of accurate data to drive alumni
outreach strategies is one of the
biggest needs to improving Alumni
Relations 3
​Alumni Relations frequently find
themselves without the support,
resources or staff needed to perform
effectively 4
Recruitment /Admissions Student Success / Faculty Alumni /Advancement Mgt.
Higher Education Trends
Sources: Noel Levitz 1 ACT 2 Hartford 3 Council for Aid to Education 4

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Communications Misaligned
Prospects / Students / Alumni
E-mailPrint Phone Social Media Mobile
Communication Channels
Academic Institution
Decrease in effectiveness

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The Gap and Opportunity
Online
Community
Opportunity?
Facebook LinkedIn
Student lifecycle continuum
Prospective Student Qualified Prospect Accepted Student Enrolled Student Graduate Alumni
Personally
Social
Professionally
Social
Academically
Social

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Online Communities 101
Social Networks vs. Online Communities
The primary purpose of social networks & online communities is different
Social Network Online Community
Business
Objectives
Primary Purpose
Relationships
E.g. Facebook E.g. Rate My
Professor

16. Websites & Portals vs. Communities - Key Differences
Websites & Portals Online Community
Communication Top-down, structured Bottom-up, horizontal
Media Text heavy, documents Text, video, graphics, audio, “people”
Knowledge
Sources
Communication teams, formal “experts”
(top down cascade)
All members, experts and advocates (top
down, bottom up)
Structure Based on organization / lines of
business and or products/services
Based on member role, location and interests
Content Model One size fits all; post it – they will come Targeted / personalized compelling;
subscriptions & alerts
Discovery Search limited, varies by applications,
hunt-and-peck
Google-like search, improved findability
(people, places, content)
Display Fragmented, poor user interface,
multiple sources
Consolidated user experience, Aggregated
dashboards
Involvement Detached: view, browse (some
commenting)
Engaged: participate, contribute
Access PC based, restricted Mobile; flexible
Timeliness Delayed, static Real time, current
CreationConsumption

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Common Use Cases for Online Communities
Gain Deeper
Insights and
Feedback
Stay informed –
relevant campus
news and updates
Access on Any
Device at Anytime
Enable Student Self
Service 24/7/365
Capture and Answer Questions
Generate and capture
knowledge, exchange
ideas
ENGAGE
CONNECT
SHARE
Connect with Students,
Faculty , Staff & Alumni
Give and Receive Peer Support
Guide and Simply
Student Processes
Connect disparate
systems and data

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Community Permission Access Models
Open
Peer to
Peer
Secure
Groups
Secure
Single
Entity
A combination can be used within a single community.

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Key Community Elements
Philosophy: “Bottom Up” vs. “Top Down”
Profiles: managing identities
(organizational and individual)
Relationships: following/
connecting with others
Presence: knowing when others
are available
Reputation: identifying experts
and advocates
Curated: administratively
controlled content libraries,
reference materials
User-Generated: organically
created content; appropriate for
more dynamic behaviors
Collaborative: collaboration
around specific cases / initiatives
​Content types: Discussions,
Documents, Blogs, Polls, Ideas,
Cases, Files
​Engagement: Comments, Sharing,
Liking, Topics, Rating, etc.
People Places Content

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Online Community Case Studies
20
Student lifecycle continuum
Admission Community Student Learning Community Faculty and Staff Community Alumni Community

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Representative Business Value for Online Communities
Online
Community
Opportunity!
Facebook LinkedIn
Student lifecycle continuum
Prospective Student Qualified Prospect Accepted Student Enrolled Student Graduate Alumni
Personally Social Professionally
Social
Academically Social
Admissions
• Increase best fit students
• Streamline enrollment processes
• Improve recruiter productivity
• Reduce recruitment media spend
• Retain applicants
• Enhance reputation / perception
• Increase enrollment numbers
• Reduce app processing time
• Increase students starts
Students and Faculty
• Streamline freshman onboarding
• Identify at risk students early
• Improve student retention
• Improve grades and satisfaction
• Improved graduation rates
• Reduced support costs (self-serve)
• Improve student / faculty
collaboration
• Enable study groups / peer support
• Crowdsource research and ideas
Alumni
• Re-engage lapsed alumni
• Increase donations
• Improve alumni engagement
• Drive event participation
• Drive new student referrals
• Facilitate student mentoring
• Capture student success stories
• Support professional networking

22. MSOE Admissions Case Study
James Davidson
VP of Digital Strategy
@jdavidson
7Summits

23. #hesummit15
MSOE Admissions Challenges:
 Enrollment targets were not being met
 Admissions team didn’t feel they had a relevant or competitive experience (across
all channels) for the social media and mobile friendly generation
 Attempts to engage students on Facebook and other social channels weren't
working
 Systems and tools for intake and application were confusing and dated
 The organization was not working together, programs executed ad hoc by faculty
and staff creating a fragmented message and brand experience online

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Business / Project Goals
 Increase admissions by engaging prospects using social media
 Minimize friction in the admissions and application process
 Increase conversion, retain applicants and increase matriculation
 Deliver a brand experience that creates preference and affinity
24
1
2
3
4

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MSOE Admissions Community Video Overview
Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANJ4ZjuEUhU

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MSOE Admissions Community Business Value & Results
30%
Admissions team
productivity
Admission counselors spent less time chasing the student and more
time interacting with them increasing productivity 30%.
Deposit Melt Overall accepted student summer melt decreased by 5%5%
Electrical engineering saw almost double enrollment
2X
Enrollment Numbers
Outbound
Call volume
Admission counselors reduced outbound calls by 66%
freeing up time to interact with prospective students in
community.
66%
Reached application goal nine months early and acceptance goal five
months early. 10,000+ registered members and growing!
Application and
acceptance goal
Application
turnaround time
Admission counselors spent less time chasing documents down. From
months to weeks!
Retention rate from accepted to deposit jumped from 30% to 38% in one
year
Accepted to Deposit
8%

27. Group Brainstorming
James Davidson
VP of Digital Strategy
@jdavidson
7Summits

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Online Communities - Group Exercise Scenario
Scenario: Your institution is looking to launch an initiative to leverage an online
community to improve engagement and collaboration with 1) Admissions
2) Students 3) Faculty / Staff and 4) Alumni audience(s)
Top goals for your online community initiative are to:
1. Increase Engagement and Retention of Students
2. Streamline Communication / Improve Collaboration w/ Students
3. Enable Self-service and Peer support
4. Simplify Institutional Processes and Operations
As the project team, it is your job to begin the planning process and ensure your
institution has thought through the strategy and plan to implement your online
community

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Journey-Mapping Exercise
GOALS
• Clearly define the roles key digital properties through the lens of the student journey
• Identify and prioritize drivers/enablers and barriers/gaps
• Create alignment and areas of opportunity amongst stakeholders
PROCESS
• Organize a team of cross-functional stakeholders
• Map the journey for your chosen audience
• Identify, refine and readout gaps, opportunities and priorities

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ALUMNI / ADVOCATE CONSIDER SCHOOL
RESEARCH
INQUIRE / VISIT
APPLY / ACCEPTED
ONBOARD / MATRICULATE
ACTIVE STUDENT
GOAL: Clearly define the roles of key digital properties through the lens of the
student journey, and identify barriers/gaps and areas of opportunity
STUDENT
JOURNEY EVALUATE
SEEK EMPLOYMENT

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NEED IDENTIFICATION CONSIDER/
RESEARCH
EVALUATE /
INQUIRE
APPLY /
ACCEPTED
ONBOARD /
MATRICULATE
ACTIVE STUDENT ADVOCACY &
LOYALTY
Prospective
Student
Role in Journey Step
Drivers/Enablers
• One
• Two
Barriers/Gaps
• One
• Two
Enrolled
Student
Role in Journey Step
Drivers/Enablers
• One
• Two
Barriers/Gaps
• One
• Two
Faculty and
Staff
Role in Journey Step
Drivers/Enablers
• One
• Two
Barriers/Gaps
• One
• Two
Student Journey Example

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CONSIDER/ RESEARCH EVALUATE / INQUIRE APPLY / ACCEPTED
ONBOARD /
MATRICULATE
ACTIVE STUDENT
Key Steps
• Talk to friends / Family
• Google Search
• Referral
Current
Technology
• Website
• Search Engines
• Website
• Academic Profiles
• CommonApp?
• Website • Student Portal • Intranet?
Roadblocks /
Pain Points
• Personalization
Content and Data
• Reviews • Application Form
Thoughts /
Feelings
• Overwhlemed • Tuition costs
• Uncertainty
• Overwhelmed
• Improve accessibility
• Advocacy
• Happiness
Future
• Social Referrals
• Faculty Reviews
• Social Websites • Mobile and Social • Admissions Community
Journey Mapping Exercise - Student

33. Wrap Up
James Davidson
VP of Digital Strategy
@jdavidson
7Summits

34. #hesummit15
Drop off your business card or stop by our
booth to win an iPad mini, winner
announced tomorrow @ 11.30am
Need a copy of the deck or have a
question?
@jdavidson
james@7summitsinc.com
7summitsinc.com
iPad Mini Giveaway and Contact Details

35. #hesummit15
What can 7Summits do?
Communities out of the Box Branded and tailored use cases

36. Thank you