Student Engagement Through Social Media

How do we tell the whole story of student engagement facilitated by our departments? One area you may not have considered assessing is your social media and virtual programming outreach.

To support the Division of Student Affairs in better articulating our virtual impact, Strategic Planning, Assessment, and Analysis (SPAA) has compiled resources focused on social media data collection and assessment tools. These resources will support you in incorporating digital student engagement in your department's reporting and decision-making.  

Social Media Analytics Resources

  • Email marketing tool, requires a paid subscription.

    Metrics to Consider:

    • Number of emails sent
    • Percent of email opened
    • Click rate within emails
    • Bounce rate of emails sent

    Resources:

  • Microsoft Outlook Insights is an email analytics tool that can collect data on emails sent to more than fiver recipients. 

    Metrics to Consider:

    • Open/Read rates of emails sent
    • Number of emails sent
    • Response/reply rate of emails sent

    Resources:

  • Facebook is a social media and social networking site.

    Metrics to Consider:

    • Number of Active Users
    • Amount of Likes
    • Number of Shares
    • Number of Comments

    Resources:

  • Google Analytics is a tool that allows you to track engagement and visitor behaviors of your department's KSU website. In order to use this software, you must work with KSU UITS to create a Google Analytics account and to embed the necessary code into your department's KSU website. 

    Metrics to Consider:

    • Number of Pageviews
    • Number of Users

    Resources: 

  • A social media platform that provides a "simple, fun & creative way to capture, edit & share photos, videos & messages with friends & family." In order to access Instagram analytics you must first have your account set as a Professional/Business account.

    Metrics to Consider:

    • Profile ÈâÈ⴫ýs
    • Website Clicks
    • Audience/Discovery
    • Followers

    Resources:

  • Owl Life is an event management and engagement tracking tool utilized within the Division of Student Affairs. Owl Life now allows organizations to promote and provide access to virtual events hosted on other platforms. Owl Life now easily allows for attendees of virtual events within other software to easily track event attendance via a direct link. Additionally, event attendees can automatically be sent feedback surveys.

    Metrics to Consider:

    • Event Attendance
    • RSVP rates
    • Event Ratings
    • Attendee Feedback

    Resources:

  • Microsoft Teams is the hub for team collaboration in Office 365 that integrates the people, content, and tools your team needs to be more engaged and effective. 

    Metrics to Consider:

    • Active Users
    • Number of Messages 
    • Number of People on a Team
    • Total Users
    • Total Messages

    Resources:

  • TikTok is a video-sharing social networking service wherein users upload videos that range from 3-15 seconds in duration. In order to have access to TikTok analytics, the account must first be set to a Pro Account.

    Metrics to Consider:

    • Video Views
    • Followers
    • Profile Views

    Resources:

  • Twitch is a video-game livestreaming service, including esports competitions.

    Metrics to Consider:

    • Average Number of Viewers
    • Live Views
    • New Followers
    • Subscriptions
    • Unique Viewers
    • Chatters
    • Minutes Watched

    Resources: 

  • Twitter is a microblogging and social networking service on which users post and interact with messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and retweet tweets, but unregistered users can only read them.

    Metrics to Consider:

    • Retweets
    • Likes
    • Clicks
    • Replies
    • ÈâÈ⴫ýs
    • Mentions
    • Followers
    • Tweet Volume

    Resources: 

  • Video conferencing is available across many platforms and services and allows for users to video and voice chat with one another. Popular platforms include Zoom, WebEx, GoTo Meeting, Google Hangouts, Teams Meetings, etc.

    Metrics to Consider:

    • Number of Attendees
    • Engagement Level
    • Number of Meetings/Events Hosted
    • Repeat Engagement

    Resources: 

  • YouTube is an online video-sharing platform.

    Metrics to Consider:

    • Total Video Views
    • Watch Time Reports
    • Interaction Reports
    • Subscribers
    • Video Shares

    Resources:

If you are using a social media platform that is not listed above and you would like our assistance to determine how to best capture interactions and other analytics, please send us an email at spaa@kennesaw.edu.  

Survey Tools

  • Qualtrics is a software tool that is available to all KSU faculty, staff, and students for use in creating online surveys. It provides the technology and resources required to create a comprehensive assessment approach.
    Resources:

  • Microsoft Forms, a part of o365, allows users to easily create surveys and polls to collect feedback and measure satisfaction. 

    Resources:

  • Owl Life is an event management and attendance tracking tool used within DSA. Owl Life allows Event creators to send automatic post-event surveys to attendees. Organizers are able to send out a 5-star rating question and are given the option to create custom questions that will be sent to event attendees.

Do you have questions about assessing student engagement in a virtual environment? If so, we are here to help! Reach out to Strategic Planning, Assessment, and Analysis via email at spaa@kennesaw.edu.