posted by Mikayla Wilson on May 22, 2015 in Converge Blog
How the University of Michigan Successfully Leverages Snapchat
Snapchat started a revolution for ephemeral communications. The app allows users to send photo messages to their friends that disappear in seconds, or create a personal newsfeed using My Story that lasts for 24-hours.
“We’re building a photo app that creates a space to be funny, honest or whatever else you might feel like at the moment you take and share a Snap,” said Evan Siegel, one of the company’s cofounders, after realizing the magnitude of the app he helped develop.
Since its launch in September 2011, Snapchat has experienced astounding growth. Only a few short months after being introduced, Snapchat had millions of users. With its continuous addition of new features and updates there seems to be no limits for Snapchat.
Snapchat has grown from a simple photo-sharing app to a marketing tool that cannot be ignored.
In fact, data reflects the largest demographic of Snapchat users are those between the ages of 13-25, offering a unique opportunity for higher education institutions to engage with prospective and current students.
As a reflection of the apps popularity among college age students the service launched the ‘Our Campus Story’ functionality in October 2014. The location-based service of the app enables Snapchatters on or around select campuses to view this special form of Our Story. The curation of user-generated content by Snapchat into the Campus Story also provides colleges and universities a special place to share and see what is happening on campus.
Our Campus Story has seen great success. Snapchat blogged, “We can’t wait to roll out Our Campus Story to more schools across the world! Tweet @Snapchat or send us a note if you’d like to see your campus on Snapchat!”
Through innovative and strategic efforts the University of Michigan, an early adopter of Snapchat, has been able to successfully leverage Snapchat on their campus.
Director of Social Media, Nikki Sunstrum says, “Snapchat is by far our fastest growing social media community at the University of Michigan, and one that continues to play a more prominent roll in our cross campus collaborations.”
The University of Michigan has used Snapchat to:
- Drive traffic to events
- Provide exclusive coverage of campus activities
- Share imagery or messaging unique to their community
- And most importantly, showcase what their students are doing (just recently, students were asked to share their Michigan moments during commencement with two limited edition custom geo-filters).
With the multitude of social networks, audiences are now segregated across platforms, but Sunstrum has found that Snapchat continues to be a useful tool for engagement and cultivating communities. Students want to be friends with the University of Michigan on Snapchat.
For other colleges and universities considering using Snapchat, Sunstrum suggests doing your homework.
“The University of Michigan launched its Snapchat presence after closely watching bold brands enter the space, and subsequently conducting and researching data and analytics that reflected the prevalence of use among our student community and their likelihood to engage with us on the platform,” says Sunstrum.
Snapchat has started a revolution that can hopefully be brought to other colleges and universities around the globe. The platform has become an integral part of the University of Michigan’s marketing efforts and the team continues to be pleased with the success of the tool.
Want more information about how to communicate with students? Join us for our upcoming webinar: Authentic v. Automated Communication- Yes, You Can Do Both. Register here for this free webinar on June 18 at 2PM EST.
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