Promoting the site
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| content plan | 内容计划 | nèi róng jì huà |
| metrics | 指标 | zhǐ biāo |
| reach | 触达 | chù dá |
| engagement | 互动 | hù dòng |
| click-through | 点击率 | diǎn jī lǜ |
| conversion | 转化 | zhuǎn huà |
"Be on social media" is not an objective
- A site nobody visits has failed, however well it is built — which is why this unit exists.
- Decide the audience and the objective before choosing a platform.
- An objective is something you could fail: fifty new members sign up by the end of term, not raise awareness.
Which is a usable objective for a club's social media?
It can be failed, so it can be measured. The others cannot be either.
The content plan
- A content plan 内容计划 says what you will post, how often, and who writes it.
- Consistency beats volume. One good post a week for a term beats twenty in the first fortnight and silence afterwards.
- Plan for the effort you actually have, which is the GAC003 planner rule applied to a different task.
Metrics that mean something
- Metrics 指标 must connect to the objective. Reach 触达 is how many saw it, engagement 互动 is how many did something, and click-through 点击率 is how many arrived at your site.
- Only the last one is traffic. A post with thousands of views and no clicks did not do the job it was posted for.
- A conversion 转化 is the thing you actually wanted: a sign-up, a message, an attendance.
Match each metric to what it counts.
Only the last two connect to a site objective. Views alone measure the platform, not your work.
Write a one-sentence social post for a club that is likely to produce clicks rather than likes.
Specific information gives a reason to click. A group photo gives a reason to scroll on.
Two posts for the same club.
Post A: a photo of the group, 800 views, 40 likes, 2 clicks.
Post B: "We meet Thursday at 4 in room 12 — here is what we are building", 300 views, 9 likes, 55 clicks.
Post A wins on every number except the one that was the objective. Choosing which number to report is where honest measurement starts.
Post A has 800 views and 2 clicks. Post B has 300 views and 55 clicks. The objective was site visits. Which performed better?
Measure against the objective you set, not against the number that flatters the post.
Change one thing, then measure. Changing the time, the wording and the image at once tells you the result was different but not which change caused it, so nothing has been learned and the next decision is still a guess.
Changing the time, wording and image together is an efficient way to improve a post.
You learn that something changed but not which change did it, so the next decision is still a guess.
Do not buy followers or engagement, and do not post other people's photographs without permission. Both are marked as failures of academic and professional integrity, and both are trivially visible to anyone who looks at the account.