Parents of college students continue to hover as much as they did when their children were high school students. They want to be involved, they need to be involved, they WILL be involved. We also know that parent giving to higher education is on the rise and, interestingly, parents often feel more connected to the institutions their children attend than they do to their own alma maters. Social channels offer a powerful engine for driving communication and engagement with parents, especially when integrated with your website content. We'll talk about what works and how to get more bang—and maybe more bucks—from parents on social. Whether or not you have a formal parent program at your institution, you'll benefit from this discussion about this important stakeholder group. This presentation was part of the program for the 2013 CASE Social Media and Community Conference.

1. Helicopters or Helpers?
Using Social Media for
Parent Engagement and Fundraising
CASE Social Media and Community 2013
Susan T. Evans | Senior Strategist | mStoner

2. Susan T. Evans
Senior Strategist
mStoner
@susantevans

3. B.A., Spanish Language & Literature

4. page 4
Social is
maturing.

5. page
A long relationship with higher ed AND...

6. page
A long relationship with higher ed AND...How I learned not to be a helicopter parent.

7. page
Jack
William & Mary
Class of 2010
Rebecca
Peabody Conservatory
Class of 2013

9. Not just at the end.

10. UC Riverside
Loyola University Chicago
Grinnell College

11. page 10

12. page 11

13. page 12

14. page 12

15. page 13

16. page
Parents Fund
Family Weekends
Parent Orientation
Parent Leadership Boards
Office of Alumni and Parent Engagement
“Since 2000, nearly 150 schools have
launched parent and family programs,
almost doubling the number of existing
programs.” (CASE Currents 2011)

17. "Today's parents have been their kids'
soccer coach and classroom moms, so
their involvement doesn't stop when they
drop their child off at college."
—Melissa Gentry
Director of Parents Programs
University of South Carolina
One Big Happy Family | CASE Currents | January 2011

18. They hover...
Parents are turning to social media
to help them feel close to their kids
when they’re at school.

19. Especially on Facebook.
Phone Home: Tech Draws Parents, College Kids Closer (NPR 2012)

20. Especially on Facebook.
Phone Home: Tech Draws Parents, College Kids Closer (NPR 2012)
"I'm friends with my daughter on Facebook,
I'm friends with most of her friends on
Facebook, and she's friends with most of my
friends on Facebook."

21. page 18

22. “There’s growth in the use of social media to
engage current students and their parents.”
• 51% use social to communicate with
parents of current students
• 45% use social to communicate with
parents of prospective students
2012 CASE Social Media Survey

23. 2012 CASE Social Media Survey
Not at all and not muchNot at all and not muchNot at all and not much
2010 2011 2012
41% 42% 38%
To engage parents of current students.
Quite a bit and extensivelyQuite a bit and extensivelyQuite a bit and extensively
2010 2011 2012
30% 31% 35%

24. “I know a lot of people who signed up
for Facebook just to keep up on their
kids. I just talk to mine.”
“I use to it to keep up with what’s going
on on campus. Then I can email my son
and remind him about speakers and
events he should go to.”

25. page 22
When do you (especially)
have their attention?

26. page 23
1. Applying.

27. Have posted comments or asked questions on
the Facebook page of a college on your list.
• Students: 15%
• Parents: 26%
Noel-Levitz | 2011 E-Expectations Report
The Online Expectations of Prospective College Students and Their Parents

28. Follow tweets from
a campus on your list.
• Students: 19%
• Parents: 12%
Noel-Levitz | 2011 E-Expectations Report
The Online Expectations of Prospective College Students and Their Parents

29. Have visited YouTube or other video
sites to look at schools on your list.
• Students: 27%
• Parents: 17%
Noel-Levitz | 2011 E-Expectations Report
The Online Expectations of Prospective College Students and Their Parents

30. page
Extraordinary Families Extraordinary You
Parents marketing your school on YouTube.

31. page
Extraordinary Families Extraordinary You
Parents marketing your school on YouTube.

32. page 28
2. Safety.

33. page
UNC Charlotte Admissions: Parent to Parent
Students talking to parents about safety.

34. page
UNC Charlotte Admissions: Parent to Parent
Students talking to parents about safety.

35. page
3. Emergency. Crisis.

36. page
4. Customer Service.

37. page 32
4. Complaints.

38. page 33
5. Fundraising.

39. “There is a slow but steadily growing
acceptance that social media
effectively amplifies institutional
communications—though less certainty
about its value in fundraising.”
2012 CASE Social Media Survey

40. “On average, communications and
marketing staff tend to think they’re more
successful; development staff think they’re
less successful. This makes sense: The
outcome that defines success for a
development officer is dollars raised.
Everyone acknowledges that it’s very hard
to raise money through social channels
right now.”
2012 CASE Social Media Survey

41. 2012 CASE Social Media Survey
Not at all and not muchNot at all and not muchNot at all and not much
2010 2011 2012
38% 49% 46%
To raise private funds.
Quite a bit and extensivelyQuite a bit and extensivelyQuite a bit and extensively
2010 2011 2012
31% 24% 26%

42. page
The Upside of
Helicopters?

43. page
Parent giving is on the rise.
“Parents of alumni view their donations as
giving back to the school that helped propel
their children into fulfilling careers and lives.”
— CASE Currents (November/December 2011)
2010: Parents gave nearly $540 million to U.S.
higher education (a 49% increase from 2001).
—Council for Aid to Education’s Voluntary Support of Education Survey

44. page 39
“While the number of institutions that
use social media for fundraising has
increased, only 33 percent have raised
more than $10,000 directly through
social media.”
—Michael Stoner, president of mStoner

45. Chronicle of Higher Education
http://www.alumnifutures.com/2011/09/bucky-challenge.html
UW-Madison
The Bucky Challenge

46. Parents issued a social challenge.
http://buckychallenge.wisc.edu/

47. Keep some
things in mind.

48. Half of all adult Americans own a
tablet or a smartphone.
One-third use mobile to view news
stories and video at least once a week.
Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism

49. #mobile is #social
Social content is huge on the mobile web.
Mobile + Social = Social + Mobile

50. What do parents do?

51. Integrate your social properties for
multi-channel communication.
They will be
hovering everywhere...

52. myPortal
yourAlumniCommunity
.edu

53. page
Make it personal and emotional.
48

54. St. Michael’s College Graduation
St. Michael’s College 2010

55. St. Michael’s College Graduation
St. Michael’s College 2010

57. page 51
Be ready to feed the beast.

58. What if you
need more?

59. http://eduniverse.org
Join the network for
intergalactic .edu knowledge.

60. Read the CASE blog.

61. How are parents an audience
for your social channels?

62. Thank you!
@susantevans
Susan T. Evans
Senior Strategist
susan.evans@mStoner.com
757.903.1120