"We asked Hawkeyes to share who they thought had the best burger in Iowa City via Facebook on National Hamburger Day. Those comments were then leveraged to create a story featuring user-generated responses and were published online in Iowa Magazine. The story was then distributed to alumni via email and social media on International Hamburger Day. This simple extension of a Facebook post resulted in an engagement bonanza from the University of Iowa alumni—many wanting to share memories and weigh in on the establishments that made the list.
This effort resulted in one of our most engaging pieces of digital content ever. In 2022, the online story drew more than 23,500 pageviews, making it the second most visited page (our homepage is number one). Additionally, it received the most clicks of any single item in our e-newsletter last year, yielding more than 6,500 clicks in an email sent to approximately 131,000 alumni and friends. The story also generated buzz on social media, resulting in more than 19,000 engagements on Facebook and 40 comments. In a display of even deeper engagement, over a dozen people emailed responses to the story, some sharing personal stories—one whose grandfather owned one of the most popular locations on the list in the late 20s. We saw this content as an opportunity to spark deeper online engagement among alumni."
From the Judges
The judges appreciated the creative and quirky approach. It clearly reflected a smart and responsive team that saw and capitalized on an organic opportunity.
