1. Creating
a
more
engaging
Commencement
with
social
media
A
few
weeks
prior
to
the
College
of
Letters
&
Science
Commencement
on
June
10,
2011,
UCLA
Marketing
&
Special
Events
was
approached
to
create
a
more
engaging
and
dynamic
Commencement
experience
online
through
the
use
of
social
media.
A
heavy
marketing
push
was
made
online
through
Facebook
and
Twitter
and
various
key
campus
partners
were
notified.
A
focus
was
also
made
on
utilizing
existing
tools
and
resources
within
Facebook
and
Twitter
to
create
a
dynamic
page
for
the
Commencement
website
(http://commencement.ucla.edu).
On
Fri,
May
27,
2011
an
updated
version
of
the
Commencement
website
went
live
with
the
following
additions:
• A
Twitter
widget
that
live
streamed
all
tweets
containing
the
hashtag
#ucla11
• A
Facebook
widget
that
allowed
anyone
to
post
their
messages
of
congratulations
to
graduates
• A
photo
submission
page
encouraging
people
to
submit
photos
of
their
Commencement
experience
Twitter
widget
Photo
submission
Facebook
widget

2. 2
Twitter
and
Facebook
An
official
hashtag
#ucla11
was
created
on
Twitter,
with
initial
communication
going
out
to
various
campus
partners
encouraging
its
use
for
all
Commencement
communication
through
Twitter.
Starting
on
May
27,
2011
we
began
running
a
series
of
targeted
messages
via
Facebook
and
Twitter
to
promote
the
Commencement
website
and
encourage
the
use
of
the
hashtag
#ucla11.
UCLA
Gateway
From
Mon,
June
6
to
Mon,
June
13,
2011
a
takeover
design
was
integrated
into
the
UCLA
Gateway.
The
takeover
incorporated
a
Commencement
theme
and
temporary
change
to
the
main
UCLA
logo.
When
the
logo
was
clicked
on,
users
were
redirected
to
the
Commencement
website,
which
resulted
in
687
total
click-­‐throughs.

3. 3
MyUCLA
Starting
Thu,
June
2,
2011
a
series
of
ads
were
run
on
the
homepage
of
MyUCLA,
UCLA’s
student
portal,
that
encouraged
students
to
use
the
hashtag
#ucla11
and
visit
the
Commencement
website.
Commencement
Day,
June
10,
2011
For
the
day
of
Commencement,
a
slide
was
shown
on
the
main
Commencement
video
screen
before
the
ceremony
began
encouraging
everyone
to
use
the
hashtag
#ucla11
and
share
their
photos.

4. 4
Real-­‐time
Updates
We
also
had
a
member
of
our
team
on
the
field
during
Commencement
who
tweeted
updates
and
photos
as
the
event
was
happening
in
real-­‐time.
Results
&
Feedback
The
results
and
feedback
we
received
surpassed
our
expectations.
The
hashtag
#ucla11
was
a
huge
success,
resulting
in
hundreds
of
unique
tweets.
Comments
left
on
the
Commencement
website
through
the
Facebook
widget
were
heartfelt
and
conveyed
a
sense
of
pride
and
ownership
with
UCLA.

5. 5
Trending
Topic
In
the
end,
all
the
hard
work
paid
off
when
UCLA
became
a
trending
topic
on
Twitter
the
day
of
Commencement.
Trending
topics
capture
the
hottest
emerging
trends
and
topics
of
discussion
on
Twitter
and
reflect
newsworthy
topics
that
are
occupying
most
people's
attention
on
Twitter.
Keys
to
Success
Many
factors
were
key
to
the
success
of
our
social
media
involvement
with
Commencement.
They
included:
1. Notifying
key
partners
and
outlining
strategic
plans
in
advance
2. Constant
engagement
with
our
audience.
From
May
26
to
June
13
approximately
45
tweets
containing
the
hashtag
#ucla11
were
sent
out
from
the
UCLA
Twitter
account
and
5
Facebook
posts
were
made.
3. Consistent
and
key
messaging
across
various
social
channels
4. Marketing
outside
social
media
channels
such
as
MyUCLA,
the
UCLA
Gateway
and
the
Commencement
slide
shown
before
the
ceremony
By
the
Numbers
UCLA
Facebook
(week
of
June
6
–
June
13,
2011)
• New
Likes:
2,579
(+9.7%
compared
to
previous
week).
• Post
Views:
840,753
(+53%
compared
to
previous
week).
• Post
Feedback*:
1,550
(+36%
compared
to
previous
week)
*The
number
of
likes
and
comments
made
on
UCLA’s
news
feed
UCLA
Twitter
(week
of
June
6
–
June
13,
2011)
• New
followers
added:
267
For
more
information,
please
contact:
Mike
Takahashi,
Web
Strategies
Manager,
mtakahashi@support.ucla.edu