boston university - digital media

Mike DeFilippisChapter President

@mgflip

Christina SerranoDigital Media Coordinator

@ChristinaSerran

Friday, January 11, 13

Digital strategy is very important in 2012.

No choice whether to be offline or online; we’re always online.

Underlying idea of digital strategy is branding.


branding: “kind, grade, or make, as indicated by a

stamp, trademark or the like.”

å


Not to generalize, but, for example, New York

City may post more content about fashion while Lincoln, Neb. may

be more focused on hospitality.


These differences are not a bad thing.

They are what defines each Chapter.

This differentiation is important since it will make it easier for your Chapter brand to

stand out in the non-stop fire hose that is the Internet.


Reputations are not built overnight.

Brands are built over the long-term and short-term.

Here are some quick fixes!Friday, January 11, 13

Inventory all of your digital platforms.

Make sure you’re using each for a strategic reason.

Branding can be muddled with too many online platforms.


Use all the platforms correctly.

Ex.) Chapter should have a Facebook Page; not individual account.

Don’t post pointless things; it hurts your brand.


Don’t fall for ‘new-toy syndrome.’Ex.) Create a Pinterest, pin a

couple things and never touch it again.

This will detract from a cohesive online brand.


Eliminate errors by scheduling posts ahead of time with tools such

as HootSuite.

Grammar still counts no matter what online platform you’re using.


Stylebook is a good template for online grammar.

Use full words; avoid ‘plz’, ‘thx’, etc.


No emoticons!Keep to a tight,

journalistic structure in online

copy writing.


Keep all usernames and passwords secure.

Short-term fixes are aimed to establish brand consistency.

Streamline logo and graphics, but also language to market your Chapter.


You’re not going to post random things.

Fill your platforms with quality content.

Best way to do this? An awesome blog.

That’s what our Chapter did and it worked.Friday, January 11, 13

Having and maintaining a successful blog is key to long-term digital strategy.

Our framework will enable your Chapter to consistently produce quality content.


Your content will attract fans, followers, etc.

Even a small Chapter can have a large online presence.


Our framework model is scalable.

First, a bit of background on how our Chapter did it.


Our new strategy began in September 2011.

The blog recorded 1,409 views that month.


Thanks to the new strategy, views in October skyrocketed by 300% to 4,024.


The blog then averaged 3,171 views/month until the end of December 2011.


An all-time monthly view record of 4,093 was recorded in February 2012.

Pretty impressive, but didn’t happen overnight.


Previously, the blog sucked.

It had minimal postings on a sporadic schedule.

We had never tried to create original content.


Executive Board member in charge of blog was just one person.

This limited the amount of content we could produce.


There was zero focus.

We realized there was a lot of missed potential.

So, how did we do it?


We could leverage our members to produce content.

They were even for asking for more opportunities to get involved.


We saw the ability to use our Boston surroundings to create content.

Ex.) BU has a rich history of PR; 1st in nation to offer PR degress in 1947.


Geography is not end all for content.

Technology can help us reach out to professionals in Tokyo or Bangladesh for an

interview.


WordPress

•Easy and powerful setup

•Expandable if you need a special feature; ex.) more storage, self-hosting

•Great functions like postings, categorizing, and even administrative functions


The Framework

•Consists of digital media coordinator (on e-board), editors, writers, data analysts and graphic designers

•Holds separate weekly meetings

•Edits are made over the weekend; schedule them for release

•Schedule is set at least one week in advance


Digital Media Coordinator

•Sits on the Executive Board and is a one-person role

•Position is very much like an Editor-in-Chief

•He or she helps shape the content calendar, coming up with web presence and leading the team.


Editors

• Editors don’t just edit

• Help brainstorm content idaes

• Crucial to shaping & maintaining Chapter’s online brand

• They do proofread for grammar, spelling and clarify; also for focus


Writers

•Everyone from Chapter President to at-large member can be one

•Writer choses what topic they want to write

•1-week deadline to write post

•More writers = more content

•Helps with professional development


Writers

•Responsible for one post/week (Not a huge time commitment)

•Basic guidelines: 350-450 word count, tagging and research for topic

•Posts must align with Chapter’s online brand


Analysts

• Important to measure efforts to evaluate effectiveness of strategy

• Twitter includes follower growth and number of links clicks, per week

• Facebook includes fan growth, user engagement, organic reach, per week

• WordPress includes daily views, weekly views, and monthly views


Graphic Designers

•Usually folks who are obsessed with Adobe Creative Suite

•Perform functions like rebranding, logo creation and designing infographics


This is scalable.

Not every Chapter has 100 paying members.

Responsibilities can be consolidated to as few positions as possible.


That was a lot.

Remember the key points.


Be Known


Create Consistency


Blog


Tweet Us Maybe?@BUPRSSA


boston university - digital media

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chapter brand tostand

longterm digital strategy

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