Case Study: Clemson University achieves real-time social listening and a unified campus voice with Salesforce for Nonprofits

Clemson University uses Salesforce to Harness the Power of Social

Clemson University, a top-25 public university with about 20,000 students, faced a flood of unofficial accounts and roughly 35,000 social mentions per week that created inconsistent messaging—what staff described as “the wild west.” To bring order to campus conversations and better manage admissions and athletics engagement, Clemson launched its first Social Media Listening Center (SMLC) in February 2012 as part of a broader social campus strategy.

Using Salesforce Marketing Cloud’s Radian6, the SMLC listens, engages and responds to social posts and is staffed by students to ensure authentic peer-to-peer interactions. The program was integrated into research and curriculum, training students as social media analysts; it won the 2012 Innovation in Education Award, led to a second SMLC in 2013, and spurred campus- and industry-wide partnerships that strengthened Clemson’s brand management and student career readiness.

Clemson University

Barbara Weaver

Deputy Director of Cyber Infrastructure Technology Integration