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Feeding the beast: Connecting UBC's content strategy and digital ecosystem
Transcript of Feeding the beast: Connecting UBC's content strategy and digital ecosystem
Feeding the beastConnecting UBC’s content strategy and digital ecosystem
PSEWEB 2015
Houston White Digital Marketing Specialist @houstonw
UBC Digital Ecosystem | @houstonw
Digital Marketing Specialist
• UBC Communications and Marketing • Part of the Brand Team • Manage UBC Digital Marketing
initiatives • Manage UBC’s central brand social
channels • Set institutional social media
guidelines • Support social media managers
across campus
Me!
UBC Digital Ecosystem | @houstonw
Goals
• To shape and elevate the university brand
• To inspire the world to engage with UBC
• To uncover, co-create and share stories that bring the UBC brand to life
Our digital ecosystem
UBC Digital Ecosystem | @houstonw
UBC redesign launched April 2014
• Old site described as conservative, daunting, confusing, and text heavy
• Moved from functional and informational to functional, informational, and experiential.
• Go see Adrian’s talk at 4:15 pm today!
UBC.ca
UBC Digital Ecosystem | @houstonw
UBC redesign launched April 2014
• Old site described as conservative, daunting, confusing, and text heavy
• Moved from functional and informational to functional, informational, and experiential.
• Go see Adrian’s talk at 4:15 pm today!
UBC.ca
UBC Digital Ecosystem | @houstonw
Primary Goals
1. Improve the delivery of information 2. Improve the functional elements 3. Deliver a better experience
Supporting objectives
• Communicate to our diverse audiences strategically
• Be a demonstrated proof point of the UBC brand
• Establish a means to measure and monitor effectiveness
UBC.ca experiential layer
UBC Digital Ecosystem | @houstonw
High quality productions that:
• Tell stories that aren’t being told
• Resonate with key target audiences
• Increase the reach and engagement of UBC
Story Forms
• Informational, Episodic, Microsite, Longform
Professional-Quality Rich Media
• Photography, illustrations
• Video, animations
• Audio
Advanced Design and Development
• Responsive (mobile-friendly)
• Modern interaction design and web technologies
Case Study: Winter 2015 Feature Stories
UBC’s FACES OF RESEARCH
UBC Digital Ecosystem | @houstonw
Faces of Research
Visual Story
• Editorial style photographs of Vanier Scholars, Canada Research Chairs, and Royal Society Fellows
• 3 photos • http://www.ubc.ca/stories/2015-
winter/faces-of-research.html
UBC Digital Ecosystem | @houstonw
Path to Research
Microsite Story
• Highlighted the different paths that UBC researchers take to create new knowledge in the world
• 6 research stages • 14 researcher stories • http://www.ubc.ca/stories/2015-
winter/path-to-research.html
UBC Digital Ecosystem | @houstonw
Smartest Coffee Talk
Episodic Video Story
• Three conversations between UBC researchers walking through campus
• 3 long-form videos (15 minutes+) • Split video into 9 short social clips
(<2 minutes) • http://www.ubc.ca/stories/2015-
winter/smartest-coffee-talk-you-will-ever-overhear.html
UBC Digital Ecosystem | @houstonw
Synapse of Discovery
Microsite Story
• Highlighted the brain research at UBC’s Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health
• 10 brain research stories • 5 interview videos with
Brain Research Centre Directors • 1 patient story video • http://www.ubc.ca/stories/2015-
winter/synapse-of-discovery.html
UBC Digital Ecosystem | @houstonw
Discoverability
• Our audience had trouble finding the stories
• Implemented UI changes and continue to improve the site
• We were overly relying on web traffic and not leveraging our social channels or campus colleagues
The challenge
UBC Digital Ecosystem | @houstonw
Principles of feature story distribution
•Actively bring our audience to our stories from social,
instead of expecting them to be passively discovered
•Organize long-form feature stories into mini narratives
for social media
•Tailor content to individual social platforms
•Work with communicators from faculties, units, and
departments mentioned in stories to further amplify
•Use Social Media Amplification Fund to target
audiences based on story content
The solution
UBC Digital Ecosystem | @houstonw
Leverage UBC communicators network
• 35 communicators contacted • 50 departments, units, faculties
represented
Process
Feature Story Amplification Strategy2015 Winter | Brand Social Channels
1Communicator Mapping Document communicators who were involved in story production or whose units/faculty are mentioned
2Initial email
Notify communicators of our timeline and sharing plans, equip them with assets, copy & links, invite them to customize messaging for their audience/channels
3.1Brand Channel Sharing Share story component via brand social platforms, mentioning relevant unit/faculty/schools.
4Measurement and analytics Analyze reach, engagement, and web traffic related to brand channel shares and story component.
5Micro-report out
Email communicators to follow up, thank them for amplifying, and provide reach, engagement, and web analytics to them.
6Feature story campaign report
Once feature story campaign finishes, aggregate data to measure success.
3.2Partner Channel Sharing Communicators share story component via unit/faculty/school channels.
UBC Digital Ecosystem | @houstonw
Editorial calendar
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday SaturdaySunday
5Vanier Scholars
8Funding
9The Research Team
7The Genesis of the Project Idea
11Ethics Approval
12The Research Activity
15Knowledge Mobilization
24Path to Research
18The non-linear path Wade Davis
20Choosing a disciplineWade Davis
25Andrew Baron Genesis
26Elizabeth Saewyc Genesis
28Andrew BaronFunding
27Jaqueline FirkinsFunding
29Bob Hancock Research Team
31Corey NislowResearch Team
30Elizabeth Saewyc Research Team
4 6 10
14
22
17
19 21
13 16
JANUARY
23Anthropology to botanyWade Davis
3Don Mavinic Research Activity
2Andrew Baron Ethics
1Bob Hancock Ethics
9Technology and romanceMarina Adshade
15Canada Research Chairs
24Mind vs. BrainBrain Centre Directors
8 10
16 17
22 23Synapse of Discovery
Monday TuesdaySunday
FEBRUARY
UBC Digital Ecosystem | @houstonw
Editorial calendar
Path to Research
4Corey NislowResearch Activity
3Don Mavinic Research Activity
6Jaqueline FirkinsKnowledge Mobilization
7Andrew Baron Knowledge Mobilization
5Susan CrichtonKnowledge Mobilization
2Andrew Baron Ethics
1Bob Hancock Ethics
14Marriage and loveMarina Adshade
12Love isn’t one-dimensionalMarina Adshade
9Technology and romanceMarina Adshade
15Canada Research Chairs
24Mind vs. BrainBrain Centre Directors
27Brain disease is on the riseBrain Centre Directors
25Alzheimer’s
26ALS
28Mental Health and Addiction
8 10 11 13
16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23Synapse of Discovery
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday SaturdaySunday
FEBRUARY
READING WEEK
15Royal Society of Canada
23Our forests are iconicRichard Hamelin
1Taking care of our brainsBrain Centre Directors
9Unlocking mysteriesBrain Centre Directors
2MRI Research
3Multiple Sclerosis
10Stroke
8
16 17
22 24
Monday TuesdaySunday
MARCH
UBC Digital Ecosystem | @houstonw
Editorial calendar
Andrew Baron
Marriage and loveMarina Adshade
Mental Health and
18Infected treesRichard Hamelin
15Royal Society of Canada
27Faces of Research
20What you see isn’t what you getRichard Hamelin
23Our forests are iconicRichard Hamelin
1Taking care of our brainsBrain Centre Directors
4The Golden Age of NeuroscienceBrain Centre Directors
9Unlocking mysteriesBrain Centre Directors
11Marco’s Story
2MRI Research
3Multiple Sclerosis
5Neurotrauma
6Parkinson’s Disease
10Stroke
8
25The Smartest Coffee Talk You’ll Ever Overhear
12 13
16 17 19
22 24 26 28
7
14
21
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday SaturdaySunday
MARCH
UBC Digital Ecosystem | @houstonw
… to an integrated distribution campaign
• 50 days of social content • 122 posts on Facebook and Twitter • 4,761,230 impressions • 2,234,864 engagements (Likes,
comments, shares, RTs, favourites, clicks)
• 185,451 video views • $10,753.59 spent from Social Media
Amplification Fund
Amplification
From four stories…
UBC Digital Ecosystem | @houstonw
Web traffic to stories
Channel Sessions % New Sessions New Users Bounce Rate Pages/Session Avg. Session
Duration
Social 16,891 69.17% 11,684 92.27% 1.09 00:26
Direct 6,382 67.49% 4,307 83.28% 1.63 1:40
Organic Search 3,354 49.91% 1,674 76.21% 1.30 1:01
(Other) 688 9.45% 65 72.38% 1.65 2:00
Referral 488 50.41% 246 73.77% 1.51 1:16
Email 22 18.18% 4 90.91% 1.18 0:41
Dates: Jan 1, 2015 - March 31, 2015 Source: Google Analytics
UBC Digital Ecosystem | @houstonw
Social referrals to stories Dates: Jan 1, 2015 - March 31, 2015 Source: Google Analytics
Social Network Sessions Pageviews Avg. Session Duration Pages / Session
Facebook 14,105 15,255 0:24 1.08
Twitter 2,270 2,647 0:42 1.17
LinkedIn 442 481 0:27 1.09
Google+ 43 52 0:42 1.21
Tumblr 19 20 0:07 1.05
UBC Digital Ecosystem | @houstonw
Facebook distribution Dates: Jan 1, 2015 - March 31, 2015 Source: Facebook Insights
Story Number of Posts Impressions People Reached
Engagement (Likes, Comments, Shares, Clicks)
Engaged Users Video Views Spend
Faces of Research 6
954,758 total 297,323 org.
657,435 paid
498,861 total 116,685 org.
382,176 paid44,569 28,843 - $1,225.00
Path to Research 201,029,656 total
721,669 org. 307,987 paid
554,880 total 317,816 org.
237,064 paid33,406 29,788 - $2,286.06
Smartest Coffee Talk 10
1,379,154 total 573,319 org.
805,835 paid
721,480 total 220,296 org. 501,184 paid
20,847 17,996144,821 total
57,044 org. 87,777 paid
$2,475.42
Synapse of Discovery 14
813,892 total 607,923 org.
205,969 paid
444,160 total 260,250 org. 183,910 paid
11,281 12,25539,376 total 25,918 org. 13,458 paid
$913.60
Total 504,177,460 total 2,200,234 org. 1,977,226 paid
2,219,381 total 915,047 org.
1,304,334 paid110,103 88,882
184,197 total 82,962 org.
101,235 paid$6,900.08
UBC Digital Ecosystem | @houstonw
What we learned:
• Social media is the largest source of visitors for our feature stories
• Visitors from social media spend less time on a page, and go to fewer pages per session
• Facebook is the social platform with the greatest reach and engagement.
• Short, social video is a big driver of engagement • Social spend was instrumental in targeting our
stories to relevant audiences
Key takeaways
UBC Digital Ecosystem | @houstonw
Key story-specific takeaways
Faces of Research
• Fewer shareable sections, but higher reach and engagement.
• Users more likely to engage in multiple ways than other stories.
Path to Research
• Second highest engagement. • Cross-section of topics profiled
helped draw a diverse audience.
Smartest Coffee Talk
• Social clips from long-form video led to high views counts.
• Big impressions and reach, but fewer engaged users.
Synapse of Discovery
• Effective targeting to people interested in different brain diseases.
• Single topic narrowed audience.
UBC Digital Ecosystem | @houstonw
Huge growth
• Started posting natively in November 2014
• Average of 151,305 views per month since then
Facebook video
UBC Digital Ecosystem | @houstonw
Autoplay native video is easier to use
• Less friction, lower barrier to view • More visually engaging • More integrated into timeline
…especially on mobile
User experience matters
before after
UBC Digital Ecosystem | @houstonw
Epic Snowball Fight
• Shot on iPhone • Posted on February 25, 2014 directly
on Facebook • Highest engagement we’d ever seen • Early days of Facebook video, so no
view counts or analytics • 1830 likes, 365 shares
Our first clue
UBC Digital Ecosystem | @houstonw
Meditative Moments
• Student Services exam-time campaign
• Video content originally created for web, Youtube, Instagram, digital signage
• Posted November 26, 2014 directly on Facebook
• 27k views, 783 likes, 188 shares
A second test
UBC Digital Ecosystem | @houstonw
Polar Bear Swim
• Student-led event on the last day of classes
• Despite appearances, very cold!* • Video shot on iPhone, also sent a
photographer to capture stills • Posted November 28, 2014 directly
on Facebook • 128k views, 2696 likes, 447 shares • 755k impressions, 360k unique
people reached
The perfect storm
*for Vancouver
UBC Digital Ecosystem | @houstonw
Get straight to the action
• Abandon headers and title slides • Make the first three seconds count • Assume your audience doesn’t hear
the sound
Facebook video lessons
*for Vancouver
UBC Digital Ecosystem | @houstonw
Autoplay native video is easier to use
• Less friction • More visually engaging • More integrated into timeline …especially on mobile
Timeline
• Advertiser beta in August 2014 • Public launch in January 2015
Twitter video
UBC Digital Ecosystem | @houstonw
Twitter videoVi
ews
0
450
900
1350
1800
Dec 2014 Jan 2015 Feb 2015 Mar 2015 Apr 2015 May 2015 Jun 2015
Promoted Organic
First video
Autoplay
@UBC video views
UBC Digital Ecosystem | @houstonw
Twitter videoVi
ews
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
Dec 2014 Jan 2015 Feb 2015 Mar 2015 Apr 2015 May 2015 Jun 2015 Jul 2015
Promoted Organic
First video
Autoplay
@UBC video views
UBC Digital Ecosystem | @houstonw
Part of our digital ecosystem
• Early adopter, less competition as an advertiser in the sector
• New distribution for existing content and initiatives
• Reach gained from producing more “fun” content allows us to more effectively tell other, less “fun” stories
Social video