Commencement: The Social Media Element

Students, graduates, families, and community members flocked to Chapman University’s campus for 2012 Commencement ceremonies, but they also flocked to the web. Social media analytics proved a vast increase in fan engagement on Chapman University’s official Facebook and Twitter pages.

As some university staff members know, I am tailoring our interactive campaigns to achieve a higher level of connectivity with our fan base by:

• Developing a transparent social atmosphere on campus (physical presence)
• Branding Chapman University on a variety of relevant networks and platforms
• Providing opportunities for online users to build upon our social activities by showcasing their tweets, photos, and posts

I am also encouraging all university social media sites to include a level of customer service by:

• Responding to fan/follower questions, praise, and concerns
• Recognizing their voice

Commencement weekend reached multiple objectives for our interactive social media direction.  To read more about the Commencement Social Media Element (and Tweets from the weekend), please read our 
Storify social review.


Fun analytics to share…

• Twitter: Follower interactions increased 29.5%
• Facebook: Fan engagement increased 17% with 5/19/2012 accounting for 33% of interactions for the entire month
• Across all platforms: 844 posts online included #ChapmanU, #CUGrad12, and/or Chapman University Graduation

On the horizon… We plan to integrate a social presence at Orientation, Big Orange Book Festival, and Homecoming among others. Keep a look out for official event hashtags, but in the mean time, keep chatting with #ChapmanU online!