How to market one of the largest universities in the U.S.

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Hosted by
Keith Kakadia

Take a look inside the mind of the woman behind the social media for the University of Michigan, Nikki Sunstrum. The University of Michigan is among the greatest academic institutions in the world. Attracting top-tier faculty and researchers, Umich stands out as a leader in biomedical science, engineering, medicine, law, business, economics, political science, psychology, and so much more!

Seriously Social PODCAST: Nikki Sunstrom -University of Michigan
Seriously Social PODCAST: Nikki Sunstrom -University of Michigan

Podcast Timestamp

0:50: Introduction/Keith explains that in 2019 the University of Michigan had over 70,000 applicants.

1:30: Nikki explains her role at the University of Michigan

4:08: Nikki explains what is involved in social media marketing for the University of Michigan.

5:16 How social media gives universities the power to demonstrate what a public institute is capable of.

5:40: What a typical day includes for Nikki at the University of Michigan.

8:10: How the University of Michigan is taking steps to carefully monitor what’s happening online to make sure we’re providing the best service and staying proactive to protect our reputation.

8:25: How Nikki and her team manage over 12,000 social profiles on a daily basis.

11:20: How Nikki is mitigating new account creation and taking advantage of the current resources.

12:15: Nikki explains how the UM weighs the amount and types of content that goes out to their various target audiences. (Students, faculty, athletics, etc.)

14:00: Introduction of the content schedule that UM uses to share content from each social profile.

14:45: The overall goal for social media in regards to the University of Michigan and how it affects their social media marketing strategy.

15:40: Student communities chiming in and how UM addresses them.

16:30: What the brainstorming and creative process look like for the University of Michigan.

18:04: How the University of Michigan utilized an 8 episode series of Instagram videos and a student blog released weekly.

19:20: How the University and Nikki’s social media team are coping with remote work.

22:20: Nikki’s top five social media platform faves.

24:15: How UM is hoping to utilize TikTok in the future.

25:00: Closing comments

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