College students use social media to rally relief for #Haiti

Across the country, college students are using social media to rally support for relief efforts in Haiti.

A January Term class on grassroots marketing at Huntington University (Ind.), for example, is using the Twitter hashtag #jterm to spread word about a fundraising opportunity benefiting two relief organizations. They've also set up a special Facebook page to support their selected causes.

The idea for using social media to support charitable organizations was built into the curriculum from the beginning of the course, but the devastating earthquake in Haiti galvanized action by the 25 students in instructor Andrew Hoffman's class.

Andrew Malloy, a freshman pursuing a degree in business management, posted this report to his blog:

This morning in our class we discussed the crisis in Haiti. Our conclusion was to all rally around Concern Worldwide and help raise money for them. Our goal is to raise $1,000 by Monday January 18th (5 days from now). This evening we have raised over $800. That is a testament to social media’s power. In one day, a group of people changed course on their project and then a body of people united to aid the cause. This has truly been a blessing and amazing experience!

Meanwhile, three HU graduates serving Mission of Hope: Haiti set up a new blog to support disaster relief. The blog features photos, first-hand accounts, and opportunities to give. The team's alma mater linked it to the university's fan page on Facebook. Word spread quickly through the virtual community, resulting in a regional fundraising event organized by a radio station and area churches.

These are but two examples of uncounted similar scenarios playing out on college campuses nationwide. Globally concerned students with well-honed social-media skills are a new target audience for charities and relief organizations seeking advocates and donors.

Using Insights to shape Facebook page content

In an earlier post, I wrote about how Facebook usernames help grow brand fan pages. As a postscript, the growth of our university's fan base continued through the month of September. The page reached 2,000 fans on October 8. That's 500 new fans in three weeks, or an overall increase of 286% since the page's username was implemented in midsummer.



Given the size of our enrollment and alumni base, I expect the growth to plateau. But meanwhile, I have found the composition of our fan base fascinating. The group skews female (57%). The age demographics are even more interesting. According our Insights report:

18% are potential future college students, ages 13-17.
32% are currently of traditional college age, 18-24.
25% are probably recent alumni, ages 25-34
11% are ages 25-44
9% are ages 45-54
4% are ages 55+

These statistics have been remarkably stable since June. They did not change significantly even after we added Facebook buttons to our campus portal (for current students) or Admissions page (for prospective students).

The age demographics have made me reconsider how we shape our Facebook page content. We need to keep the material aimed at prospective students, but we need to add more material designed to serve current students and alumni.

About half of our fans live within a two-hour drive of the university. That's important to note when using Facebook to promote special events, such as concerts or athletic competitions. Facebook allows simple segmentation of updates sent to fans. We can shape our communication stream appropriately, routinely inviting those who live nearby but not sending spammy invitations to those far away. (Of course, Homecoming invitations will go worldwide!)

I would like your suggestions about Facebook content for the 25-44 population -- the largest segment of our fan base. If you fall into that category, what kind of resources would you like to see added to your alma mater's Facebook page? Wall posts about alumni, faculty, and student achievements are a natural. What else should be added to the standing content on the other sections -- for example, the Boxes tab or the Events tab?

Post a comment and share your thoughts.

Facebook username helped double university's fan base in 6 weeks

In June, Facebook enabled page managers to establish intuitive "usernames" for their pages. This made it possible for companies, celebrities, and organizations to create short, intuitive URLs for their Facebook content (e.g. www.facebook.com/username).

At first, this service was only available to Facebook pages that had been set up prior to May 31, 2009, and had attracted at least 1,000 fans by that date. On June 28, Facebook enabled usernames for other pages with at least 25 fans.

I got up early on Monday, June 29, and claimed the intuitive address www.facebook.com/huntingtonuniversity for my campus. Our Facebook page had been set up for a full year, but despite regular updates and some pay-per-click advertising, it had only attracted a few hundred fans.

However, once we established the easy-to-type (and easy-to-remember) URL, our number of fans began to climb steadily. Critical mass accelerated this growth when students returned to campus on August 28 and made new connections with each other and with the university. Throughout this period, content updates and promotion strategies stayed about the same, but the shorter URL made it easier for fans to share the site. After setting up our Facebook username, we doubled our fan base in six weeks. The chart below demonstrates the dramatic results.



Now that there is an easier way to direct people to the page, we expect to continue expanding our fan base through promotion in other media. We have not yet mentioned the new Facebook page URL in our alumni magazine or mailed any postcards, but these are obvious next steps.

If you manage a Facebook page for your college, university, or campus organization, give serious thought to creating an intuitive URL for the site. Guidelines are available here: http://www.facebook.com/help.php?page=900.