2021 Fall Commencement Report
Overview Location: Alumni Coliseum, Eastern Kentucky Univeristy Event Dates: December 3-4, 2021 Scheduled Social Media Content Dates: November 5 - December 5, 2021 Provided graphics with suggested captioning to Social Media Group on campus (80+ members) to share on EKU accounts leading up to and after Commencement events Shared graphics/posts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and into the Facebook event the week of. Created Facebook event to build excitement and engagement with audience - including graduates and their families. www.facebook.com/events/983204888906918/ Created EKU Story webform for students to answer questions relating to their EKU Experience: go.eku.edu/ekugrad21 Created two homepage banners. First one went up November 15 - December 3, promoting Commencement information. Second one went up December 3 -6, promoting watch now with a link to livestream. Created SnapChat Geofilters to prompt engagement for users during and around the time of the event. Livestream of each commencement ceremony was made available online at video.eku.edu/graduation
CLASS OF 2021 BY THE NUMBERS
KENTUCKY'S UNIVERSITY
ACHIEVEMENT
FIRST GENERATION
3 years after graduation, 62% of EKU bachelor's grads are employed in Kentucky - the highest rate among KY's public institutions.
EKU students graduate with an average GPA of 3.40
38% of EKU's class of 2021 are the first in their family to attain a higher education degree.
51 Associate Degrees
889 Bachelor's Degrees
3 Post-Master's Certificates 185 Master's Degrees
32 Doctoral Degrees
61 Certificates
DiVERSE EKU's class of 2021 hail from 22 countries, 43 states and 108 Kentucky counties. They range in age from 18 to 69.
1,221 FALL GRADUATES 1
Promotional Banner
LIVESTREAM Banner
Website The EKU homepage ran two web banners in promotion of Spring Commencement. First one went up November 15 December 3, promoting Commencement information. Second one went up December 3 -6, promoting watch now with a link to livestream.
31,034
UNIQUE VISITORS TO HOMEPAGE NOVEMBER 15 DECEMBER 6
Promotional Banner: link = registrar.eku.edu/graduation 748 visits to registrar site / 55% traffic from homepage banner 26,128 unique visitors to homepage during this time Livestream Banner: link = video.eku.edu/graduation 625 visits to video site / 61% traffic from homepage banner 4,906 unique visitors to homepage during this time
1,373 LINK VISITS FROM BOTH GRADUATION HOMEPAGE BANNERS
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Social Media Posts The following posts were scheduled on the main EKU Facebook, Instagram (including Stories) and @EKU Twitter account. Some of these graphics were shared with the social media group on campus to build consistency around the event. Below are the graphics and insights pulled for each platform.
Posted 11/5/21 Instagram: 2,803 Reach 90 Actions Twitter: 2,170 Impressions 30 Engagements
Posted 11/12/21 Instagram Story: 1,935 Reached 1 Action Twitter: 890 Impressions 5 Engagements
Posted 11/19/21 Twitter: 1,810 Impressions 22 Engagements Facebook: 6,338 Reach 63 Post Clicks
Posted 11/29/21 Instagram: 2,803 Reach 89 Actions Twitter: 1,417 Impressions 31 Engagements
137 Actions Facebook: 12,494 Reach
Facebook: 2,952 Reach
Facebook: 6,386 Reach
555 Post Clicks
9 Post Clicks
104 Post Clicks
869 Actions
16 Actions
101 Actions
Posted 12/2/21 Instagram: 2,507 Reach 73 Actions Twitter: 1,317 Impressions 17 Engagements Facebook: 3,259 Reach 62 Post Clicks 91 Actions
Posted 12/3/21 Twitter: 931 Impressions 11 Engagements Facebook: 2,525 Reach 19 Post Clicks 23 Actions
Posted 12/3/21
Posted 12/4/21
Instagram:
Instagram:
2,332 Reach 61 Actions Twitter: 945 Impressions 35 Engagements Facebook: 3,482 Reach 69 Post Clicks 49 Actions
2,967 Reach 148 Actions Twitter: 994 Impressions 22 Engagements
Posted 11/30/21 Instagram: 2,385 Reach 14 Actions Twitter: 994 Impressions 22 Engagements Facebook: 4,588 Reach 226 Post Clicks 473 Actions
Posted 12/5/21 Twitter: 1,133 Impressions 40 Engagements Facebook: 1,480 Reach 1 Post Click 6 Actions
Posted 12/1/21 Instagram: 3,187 Reach 181 Actions Twitter: 1,133 Impressions 40 Engagements Facebook: 5,748 Reach 186 Post Clicks 55 Actions
Posted 12/6/21 Twitter: 769 Impressions 2 Engagements Facebook: 1,345 Reach 4 Post Clicks 4 Actions
Facebook: 2,717 Reach 30 Post Clicks 42 Actions
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Geofilters Three SnapChat geofilters were created to help graduates share their EKU pride with a photo. This helps increase brand awareness and also offers a digital way for the student to share their accomplishment. Designs with analytics below.
400 views
209 views
2.9K views
46 swipes
40 swipes
47 swipes
14 uses
8 uses
29 uses
Total Spend: $7.00
Total Spend: $7.00
Total Spend: $7.00
Facebook Event A Facebook event for the Fall 2021 commencement ceremonies was created on November 3, 2021. Information about commencement was directed back to the registrar office's website. Other information shared in the event was how graduates could share their EKU story, find ceremony details and day of photos.
103 4,053
Responses People reached
@easternkentuckyu
Stay Connected:
Eastern Kentucky University @EKU
Instagram Reposts As part of the social media strategy each semester around commencement ceremonies, reposts from graduates are shared on the main EKU Instagram account. These are found through searching content tagged #EKUGrad or geotagged with location of Eastern Kentucky University. Once a photo is identified for reposting, we message the graduate and photographer (if any) to confirm permission to share, while also asking for a quote, name and degree information. Below are some examples of the reposts and captions/responses.
Brooke Decker, 📸 @wildandwhimsyphoto
Tyler Hunter (@rex_hunter7)
Taylor Edwards (@taylor_lyndsaye)
3,948 Reach
3,666 Reach
4,315 Reach
33 Actions
43 Actions
22 Actions
"I came back to #EKU for a reason. It’s my home. I’m incredibly thankful for the support I’ve had over the years from our faculty. I never once doubted how much they cared about their students and that goes a long way to creating a safe, productive place to learn." - Taylor Edwards (@taylor_lyndsaye), Masters in Safety, Security and Emergency Management. #EKU21 #EKUPeople
Jazmin (Junie) Cain, 📸 @brian_jackson_photography
Sydney McWhorter, 📸 @Addisonfryphotography
Katie Brown, 📸 @naturallightpictures
4,283 Reach
5,248 Reach
3,538 Reach
53 Actions
52 Actions
17 Actions
"Don’t be afraid to step out into the world. I’m a first-generation college student and I went from orientation to walking the stage to graduation. I joined organizations and put myself out there. I was President of BSU, NPHC and a proud member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. Joining organizations presents many opportunities to learn more about yourself and those around you. It enhances your strengths and goals. Seize opportunities and make it happen! #GoBigE" - Jazmin (Junie) Cain (@whosjunieee), Senior Sports Management major from Louisville, KY. #EKU21 #EKUPeople #EKU 📸 @brian_jackson_photography
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Story Webform This form is created every graduation season in order to obtain responses from students about their EKU experience. These responses are then used and shared as part of marketing and communication strategies. Quotes from these submissions are pulled for social graphics or into publication materials. Below are some quotes from responses.
"The staff at EKU are so willing to invest into their students, and without that investment I wouldn't have made it this far. I feel truly prepared academically and otherwise to take on the uncertainty that comes next." - Becca Prichard, Social Work - Minor in Psychology
"EKU helped me reach my
"EKU had the close-knit community
goals by providing me with
feel that I was searching for. It was
amazing professors and
also far enough from home to help
organizations that gave me
me feel independent, but close
such amazing supportive relationships " - Sidney Bumgardner, Biomedical Sciences & Psychology
enough to where I could always visit my family whenever I missed my Grandma’s cooking! " - Macy Gregory, Child and Family Studies
"EKU has provided me with good professors and classes that have taught me what I need to know to be successful in my career. They also have given me opportunities to apply and practice what I have learned in a more real-life setting before graduating."
- Ally Trout, Forensic Science
"My experience with EKU military and veterans affairs. This department strives to make EKU a veteran friendly school. As a nontraditional student I was nervous going back to school and EKU VA office made my school experience run smooth. " - Summer Booten, Occupational Safety and Health
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Live stream / Youtube Each commencement ceremony was available via livestream on Youtube. These were made available starting December 3 with links for each ceremony being accessible on video.eku.edu/graduation. Additionally, the live stream link was available from the EKU website homepage during the duration of commencement weekend.
1,221 1,305 GRADUATES
TOTAL VIEWS
Watch the commencement ceremonies at: video.eku.edu/graduation
260+ WATCH TIME (HOURS)
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Day of Photography / Posts Photography was captured during the entire commencement weekend, with 4-10 select photos being provided at end of the day. These selects were shared on the main EKU Facebook page, @EKU Twitter account and the @easternkentuckyu instagram account. Additionally, the post shared on Facebook was also shared within the Facebook event to build some connection between event attendees and the EKU Facebook page.
College of Justice, Safety, & Military Science & College of Business Instagram:
Facebook:
7,824 Reach
13,080 Reach
898 Actions
1.2K Post Clicks
96 Profille visits
507 Actions
Twitter: 1,914 Impressions 63 Engagements
College of Education & Applied Human Sciences & College of Health Sciences Instagram:
Facebook:
6,247 Reach
6,801 Reach
609 Actions
353 Post Clicks
80 Profille visits
112 Actions
Twitter: 2,478 Impressions 49 Engagements
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Photo Blog The Photo Blog is accessible from the EKU website homepage, and is a great resource for all audience types to see coverage of events, #CampusBeautiful and other EKU highlights. This commencement photo blog was posted on Tuesday, December 7 and features photos from all ceremonies. The photos selected highlight the best moments during commencement weekend and was shared with link to blog on all main EKU social media accounts. Below are some examples from the blog, as well as website analytics pulled on Monday, December, 13, 2021.
9,486 Facebook Impressions
2,013 Twitter Impressions
6,280 Instagram impressions
69,649 Homepage views 12/6-12/12
9,146 4,806 Facebook Reach
INSTAGRAM REACH
See more photos at www.eku.edu/stories/photoblog/2021-fall-commencement.html
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www.eku.edu Eastern Kentucky University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer and educational institution and does not discriminate on the basis of age (40 and over), race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, ethnicity, disability, national origin, veteran status, or genetic information in the admission to, or participation in, any educational program or activity (e.g., athletics, academics and housing) which it conducts, or in any employment policy or practice. Any complaint arising by reason of alleged discrimination should be directed to the Office of Equity and Inclusion, Eastern Kentucky University, Jones Building 416, Richmond, Kentucky 40475, (859) 622-8020, or the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20202, 1 (800) 421-3481 (V), 1 (800) 877-8339 (TTY).