Texas A&M Cited By Daily Beast For Adept Social Media Use, School Spirit

Texas A&M University is one of 25 public and private universities cited by The Daily Beast in a nationally distributed list titled “Amazing But Overlooked: 25 Colleges You Haven’t Considered But Should.”

The news reporting and opinion website, part of the Newsweek Daily Beast Co., called special attention to Texas A&M’s social media savvy.  It noted the university’s “unparalleled following on Twitter, Foursquare, YouTube, Facebook and Pinterest,”and pointed out that Texas A&M ”has become adept” at using these social media outlets “to create excitement around campus developments,” specifically pointing out the university used social media effectively as it moved into the Southeastern Conference last summer.

“It has one of the most-followed Twitter feeds and record engagement on its Facebook pages and is one of the few schools with a Pinterest presence,” the Daily Beast editors noted. The university has 66,757 Twitter followers and “record engagement” on its Facebook page, which as ranked one of the top 10 pages in the U.S. last year.

The editors of the popular website noted Texas A&M’s “school social spirit.” With a 5,200-acre campus with more than 50,000 students, the university has used its online tools to extend its ”community of spirit” to a national audience.

This is the latest in a series of national rankings and ratings in which Texas A&M is prominently noted, university officials pointed out. Most of the other surveys that feature Texas A&M focused on “best values” coupled with high-quality academic programs and research and service benefitting the nation.

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Media contact: Lane Stephenson, News & Information Services, at (979) 845-4662

Texas A&M To Celebrate 12th Man Tradition on Dec. 12, 2012

Twelve is a number rich in meaning for Texas A&M, as it symbolizes one of the university’s most defining and historic traditions: the 12th Man. And on Dec. 12, 2012, (12-12-12), Aggies everywhere will have a once in a lifetime moment to share this unique tradition with the world.

Texas A&M, in partnership with the The Association of Former Students, the Texas A&M Foundation, and the 12th Man Foundation, will spend the first 12 days of December celebrating the 12th Man tradition with the Aggie family — a celebration that will culminate on Dec. 12, 2012.

Beginning on Dec. 1 through Dec. 12, the university will showcase the depth and spirit of Texas A&M through the “12 Days of Texas A&M” campaign, a social media activation. The campaign will highlight the academic excellence, global reach, and traditions of Texas A&M on the university’s Facebook and Twitter accounts, which will also include daily giveaways, contests and more from the university, The Association, the Texas A&M Foundation and the 12th Man Foundation.

And on Dec. 12, Aggies will be asked to participate in the ultimate Aggie moment: playing the school’s war hymn at their place of work, home, or their chosen location. To help in this effort,  at or near 12:12 p.m., Aggies in Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio or Bryan-College Station can tune into these radio stations to hear the The Aggie War Hymn, while files of the song will also be made available for Aggies wishing to download or stream at http://12thman.tamu.edu. Aggies are also encouraged to wear maroon and white on 12-12-12, which has been declared the “Day of the 12th Man” by Texas A&M President R. Bowen Loftin.

“The tradition of the 12th Man was born more than 90 years ago when an Aggie stood ready to serve. Today, this spirit lives on in Aggies who stand for service to their community, state and nation,” said Diane C. McDonald, Texas A&M’s executive director of marketing and social media. “The historic date of 12-12-12 provides the perfect opportunity to celebrate this special tradition.”

Along with Texas A&M’s daily giveaways, the university’s sister funding organizations will be sponsoring contests with prizes that any Aggie would love.

The Association of Former Students — which raises the university’s Annual Fund that supports both alumni and student activities, academics and traditions — is awarding an Aggie Ring Certificate, up to $1,200 in value, that a qualified student or former student can use toward the purchase of an Aggie Ring.

“We have much to celebrate as Aggies, especially in the year 2012,” said Kathryn Greenwade, vice president at The Association. “The once-in-a-lifetime date of 12-12-12 provides a special opportunity for the worldwide Aggie Network — students, former students, parents, faculty, staff and friends of Texas A&M — to join together in promoting the university and our unrivaled Aggie spirit.”

The Texas A&M Foundation plans to award one current student with the 12-12-12 Academic Award, a special $1,000 award that the winner can use to help fund their scholarly pursuits, a nod of appreciation to the generosity of Aggies, said John Zollinger, marketing manager at the Texas A&M Foundation.

“One of the key factors that make Texas A&M a world-class university is the support that thousands of Aggies provide each year through the Foundation. In celebrating the greatness of the 12th Man, we salute all of you who have given so generously,” Zollinger added.

Aggies will also have the chance to win the 12th Man Foundation’s Super Sports Package, which will provide one lucky fan with two tickets to all remaining home games for men’s basketball, women’s basketball, indoor track, baseball and softball.

“12-12-12 is tailor made for Aggies everywhere to show their pride in all things Texas A&M,” said Mark Riordan, vice president of marketing & brand management at the 12th Man Foundation. “This is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make 12-12-12 OUR day.”

To keep up with all of the activities underway leading up to 12-12-12, as well as to find all contest links, rules and Aggie War Hymn resources, visit http://12thman.tamu.edu.

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Media contact: Krista Smith, Communications Coordinator, (979) 845-4645

Texas A&M Facebook Page Named One Of Top 10 In The U.S.

The Texas A&M University Facebook page ranks as one of the top overall pages in the nation.

The growing popularity of the Texas A&M University brand is leading to record-setting licensing revenues and sales in the retail arena, but the increased interest in the university is also breaking records online. More and more fans are engaging with the university through social media — so many, in fact, that the Texas A&M Facebook page now ranks as one of the top overall in the nation.

Texas A&M is listed as one of the Top 10 Facebook pages in the United States, both in terms of average engagement rate and daily engagement rate in a report from Socialbakers, a global social media and digital analytics company. These metrics are determined by evaluating the number of posts, likes, comments and shares on a given page. Texas A&M is in fellow company with big brands like Hilton HHonors, USAA and Nokia US and is the only institution of higher education to earn a ranking.

“It’s a tremendous honor for Texas A&M to be mentioned alongside some of the top corporate brands in the country and to be recognized as a leader in the social media space,” said Jason Cook, Texas A&M’s vice president for marketing and communications. “Our social media efforts over the past four-plus years have played a foundational role in the continued growth of our brand. The key to our Facebook success has been a clearly defined strategy that focuses on engagement and not solely on the size of our online audience.”

Fans of the page routinely engage with a wide variety of content, all of which is presented in ways to encourage them to interact with the post. The university regularly posts exclusive photos, videos, academic and research stories and more, giving Facebook fans a firsthand look at all things Texas A&M.

A photo posted of the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band spelling out "SEC" during halftime on the university's Facebook page received more than 19,000 likes.

For example, when ESPN College GameDay traveled to College Station in September for Texas A&M’s first Southeastern Conference football game against the University of Florida Gators, the historic day was captured and posted in real-time for Texas A&M Facebook fans. Photos of the College GameDay crowds and cast, tailgating and traditional Texas A&M pre-game festivities were posted, as was a gameday experience video right before the game began. In total, the university’s game-related content on Facebook generated engagement with more than 112,000 users, including more than 19,000 likes and 1,000 shares of a photo of the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band’s salute to the SEC during halftime.

The university’s social media campaigns have also led to record levels of engagement, evident in the “14 Days of SEC” campaign that Texas A&M launched to countdown its official entrance into the SEC on July 1, 2012. A different member institution of the SEC was featured each day during the two-week campaign across the university’s social media platforms, helping Aggies learn fun facts, history, traditions and more about the designated school. A special photo album on Facebook containing graphics that introduced each SEC school was shared and even garnered interaction with the Facebook pages of those institutions.

With 357,000-plus fans and counting, the Texas A&M Facebook page operates with a clearly defined mission: to create an online “community of spirit” that engages fans of the page with the university’s core values. Embracing the camaraderie and spirit of the university and translating it through online platforms has led Texas A&M to become a leader in social media, says Diane C. McDonald, the university’s executive director of marketing & social media.

“Extending our campus community of spirit to social media has fostered natural, organic conversation that authentically reflects Texas A&M,” McDonald says. “We avoid taking an institutional tone with our social media or using it to simply push out campus news. Therefore, visitors to our sites feel comfortable with joining our communities of spirit and participating in the conversation.”

The university’s leadership in social media extends through many platforms. Texas A&M was cited as a case study in the book Pinterest for Business for the innovative way the institution launched its official Pinterest page earlier this year. By creating a contest to announce its Pinterest page and asking users to “pin” their favorite Aggie experiences, products and more, the university jumpstarted follower growth on the platform. Currently, Texas A&M has the largest following on Pinterest out of all higher education institutions.

Additionally, the university’s Twitter account recently became the fifth largest university account on Twitter, with more than 48,000 followers.

Earlier this fall, Texas A&M was recognized in PC Mag’s list of “Schools That Are Smart At Social Media,” and in 2011, the university was also named the most influential college online and was also acknowledged as having the most engaging university Facebook page.

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Media contact: Diane C. McDonald, Executive Director of Marketing & Social Media at (979) 845-4663, or Krista Smith, Communications Coordinator, at (979) 845-4645

Texas A&M To Launch ‘14 Days of SEC’ Social Media Campaign

Texas A&M will officially join the Southeastern Conference on July 1, but the weeks leading up to the move will be filled with a social media campaign that celebrates the storied athletic conference and its member institutions.

Each day of the “14 Days of SEC” campaign — which begins on June 18 and lasts through July 1 — will be dedicated to an SEC school. Throughout the day, fans and followers of the university’s social media platforms will learn fun facts about the designated school, its history, traditions and more.

“We want Aggies to become more familiar with the SEC, its schools, and what makes this conference so great,” says Diane C. McDonald, the university’s executive director of marketing and social media. “Using our social media platforms to do this will provide an engaging way for our fans and followers to get to know the SEC family as we continue our transition into a full member institution.”

Along with learning more about the SEC schools, there will also be opportunities throughout the campaign for social media users to win SEC and Texas A&M merchandise, which has been provided by C.C. Creations. To be eligible to win, individuals must either like Texas A&M on Facebook or follow the university on Twitter.

In addition to Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare, Texas A&M will also utilize Pinterest, its most recently launched social media platform, during the “14 Days of SEC.”

“Pinterest has given us an opportunity to visually capture the Aggie Spirit, and we’re hoping to showcase each SEC school in this unique way as well,” McDonald continues. “Whether we’re sharing the best tailgating location of an SEC school or highlighting its mascot, Pinterest is a great platform to help tell the story.”

Texas A&M joins the SEC as a national leader in college social media. The university was the first college in the country to reach 100,000 fans on Facebook, the first university in Texas to launch an iTunesU site and was the third college — behind Harvard and Stanford — to partner with Foursquare.

In 2011, the university was also named the most influential college online and was also acknowledged as having the most engaging university Facebook page.

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Media contact: Krista Smith, Communications Coordinator, at (979) 845-4645

Texas A&M Celebrates Pinterest Page Launch With Contest

Texas A&M University has joined Pinterest, the rising social media network that has become a source of countless ideas of fashion, crafting, baking, decorating and more for millions.

To commemorate the Pinterest launch, Texas A&M will sponsor a contest beginning on Monday, May 7, that will run through Sunday, May 20. The university’s Pinterest followers will have a chance to win up to $250 in Barnes & Noble at Texas A&M University bookstore merchandise by pinning their favorite Aggie-related images. Full contest guidelines are available here.

Pinterest, which has gained popularity among women ages 25-54, is a social media website that allows users to organize and share interests and web finds by creating themed boards and “pinning” images to them. Users can browse boards of fellow pinners to discover new products, ideas, inspirations and more.

Pinterest has continued to grow exponentially since its launch in March 2012 — in fact, according to a study by tech blog Mashable, Pinterest drives more referral traffic than Google +, YouTube and LinkedIn combined.  Though 72 percent of the site’s users are women, the number of male users has continued to rise through 2012.

With nearly 1,000 followers, Texas A&M is already one of the most followed universities on the social media site. Other notable institutions with presences on the budding social media network include Miami University, Drake University and Duke University.

Making a move to Pinterest was a natural one, especially since the site holds promise for growing the Texas A&M brand, says Diane C. McDonald, the university’s executive director of marketing and social media.

“Texas A&M is using a new, innovative social media platform to engage our audiences with our brand,” she explains. “Browsing our boards is a fun way for Aggie fans to discover new and interesting collegiate gear and get inspiration.”

Aggie Pinterest users will find tailgating ideas and more on the university's boards.

Pinterest users who follow the university will find a wide variety of boards on the page. Aggie women will find wedding ideas on the “Aggie I Do” board, while men can browse through “Aggie Man Zone,” a board filled with apparel and branded products for men. Other boards include “Our Campus,” full of images of campus landmarks like Kyle Field and the Academic Building, and “Aggie Traditions,” which showcases Texas A&M’s most famous traditions.

Aggies browsing the university’s Pinterest boards will see a different side of Texas A&M, says Caitlin Chandler, project coordinator for business development in the university’s division of marketing and communications.

“Pinterest gives us an opportunity to really give our followers a personalized feel of Texas A&M,” adds Chandler. “We have a place to visually bookmark the Aggie Spirit, whether that’s a photo of campus at sunset or a how-to on creating a maroon and white game day dress. We can capture it all on Pinterest.”

To view the university’s Pinterest page, visit here.

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Media contact: Caitlin Chandler, Project Coordinator, Business Development at cchandler@tamu.edu or (979) 845-4680 or Diane C. McDonald, Executive Director of Marketing and Social Media at mcdonaldd@tamu.edu.