Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/535050
28 BizEd JULY | AUGUST 2015 The Social Experiment How can a university teach a class on social media, give students practi- cal experience at running a crowd- funding campaign, and raise money for specific projects, all at the same time? At Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, these three goals are achieved through a semester- long class called "Social Media Analyt- ics and Measurement." Taught by Tim Cigelske, director of social media for the university and adjunct professor in the Diederich College of Communication, the class includes a capstone project in which students organize crowdfunding campaigns for a variety of Marquette de- partments and professors managing ini- tiatives that could use financial support. Before the class starts, Cigelske works with Sara Harvey, senior director of annual campaigns in the O§ce of University Advancement, to pick eight or nine viable projects that range from sending business students on interna- tional trips to raising money for autism awareness. Once class is in session, teams of students are assigned to each project and tasked with creating a crowdfunding campaign to raise what is usually less than US$10,000. During the first half of the semester, students meet with their "clients," perform analytics, devise a strategy, determine their finan- cial goals, fine-tune their messaging, and decide their metrics. About halfway through the semester, the campaigns go live on Indiegogo, a global online crowdfunding site. "We'd looked at vendors who o£ered customiz- able solutions, but we thought an estab- lished platform like Indiegogo was a bet- ter option, because it was a known entity with built-in credibility," says Cigelske. He hosts a kicko£ party to mark the big day. "It bridges the o¨ine with the online and lets students know that it's important to engage their audience in person," he says. While the campaigns are live, stu- dents constantly analyze what's working and what isn't. "Students ask them- selves, is the strategy still sound? Should we be making adjustments? What's resonating with donors?" says Cigelske. "That's the nature of social media—you have to plan to be nimble." Students quickly learn that the key to finding donors is to identify the people who have some connection to their causes—usually the alumni of the program or the parents, roommates, and friends of current students. Because the campaigns aren't raising money for Marquette University per se, the best prospects aren't necessarily current do- nors, says Harvey. "But they're engaged with the college in some way and have an interest in this particular area." One way to connect with donors is to o£er incentives at a number of di£er- ent funding levels. A donor who makes a small contribution might receive a grateful tweet from the project leader, while big spenders get bigger rewards. For instance, last year one popular campaign was for "Humanoid Robot- ics for Healthier Kids," which needed money to send a robotics team to Brazil to participate in a Robocup tournament. Donors who gave $100 could take "robot selfies"—pictures of themselves with the robot—while those who gave $350 received their own miniature robot fig- ures made from the same 3-D printers that created the robot. Among the 2014 campaigns, one of the most successful was conducted on behalf of the Center for Real Estate at the College of Business Administra- tion, which wanted to raise $6,300 to cover the cost of sending nine stu- dents to regional conferences. One creative perk at the $500 level—which was claimed by two donors—was the chance to be a featured roundtable speaker at the Real Estate Club's "Real Estate Intro Night" event. But Cigelske emphasizes that, while such incentives can be useful, fundraisers also must provide updates, so donors can see how the campaign is going and where their money will be used. Only three of the 2014 campaigns, including the one for the Center for