Reaching the Wired Generation: How Social Media is

Transcription

2009 NACAC Discussion Paper
Reaching the Wired Generation:
How Social Media is Changing
College Admission
Nora Ganim Barnes, Ph.D.
Chancellor Professor of Marketing and Director, Center for Marketing Research
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
This report was commissioned by the National Association for College
Admission Counseling as part of an ongoing effort to inform the association
and the public about current issues in college admission.
The views and opinions expressed in this report are solely those of the author
and not necessarily those of NACAC.
Copyright © 2009
by the National Association for College Admission Counseling.
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
No part of this paper may be reproduced in any form or by any means
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publisher, except for brief quotations embodied in critical
articles and reviews.
NACAC
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Reaching the Wired Generation • National Association for College Admission Counseling
NACAC Introduction
The current generation of prospective college students has grown up in the presence of Web technology. It is second nature
to today’s youth to gather information and conduct important social relationships online—they surf the Web instead of flipping
through the pages of a newspaper; they download music instead of buying CDs; they Facebook instead of emailing; they even
promote themselves and their ideas through personal blogs. Consequently, colleges and universities have begun to use these
same tools in order engage with students more productively, in the classroom, but particularly in recruitment efforts. Data presented in this report show that well over half of all admission departments are using some type of social media in recruiting and
about one-fifth use social media sites to screen at least a portion of their applicant pool. However, not all colleges are equally
engaged in the use of social media and important ethical issues about its use in admission remain under-explored.
The purpose of this discussion paper is threefold: 1) to present recent data collected by the author on the extent to which colleges and universities are using social media for recruitment; 2) to highlight best practices for blogging and the use of other
social media and Web 2.0 applications for those institutions who are new to these endeavors; and 3) to begin to explore the
ethical and legal issues inherent in engaging with prospective students through these media. NACAC hopes that this discussion paper will give colleges and universities an idea of where they stand in comparison to peers in implementing social media
strategies and that it also will be the impetus for additional research and dialogue about important unanswered questions:
• Has the use of social media strategies for recruitment been successful for colleges and what is the cost/benefit
relationship? What measures have colleges enacted to improve the cost/benefit of social media strategies?
• What ethical or legal issues have colleges using social media encountered and how were these issues resolved?
• What, if any, formal policies have colleges established to guide their use of social media in the recruitment and admission process?
About the Author
Dr. Nora Ganim Barnes earned a Ph.D. in Consumer Behavior from the University of Connecticut and is a Chancellor
Professor of Marketing and Director of the UMASS Center for Marketing Research. She has been selected by her peers
at UMass Dartmouth to be the recipient of the prestigious Leo Sullivan Excellence in Teaching Award (1993) and by
her undergraduate college as the recipient of their Distinguished Alumni Award (1996).
She was recognized by the faculty as Scholar of the Year at UMass Dartmouth in 1999, becoming the first member
of the faculty to receive both the Teacher of the Year and Scholar of the Year Awards in the history of the school. Most
recently, she was selected to receive the University of Massachusetts President’s Community Service Award.
Dr. Barnes has worked as a consultant for many national and international firms including the National Pharmaceutical
Council, the National Court Reporters Association, and the Board of Inquiry of the British Parliament. She also works
closely with businesses in the Southern New England area providing marketing research assistance to small businesses.
Dr. Barnes has authored more than ninety articles published in academic and professional journals, has contributed
chapters to books, and has been awarded numerous research grants.
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Introduction
It’s no surprise that social media has changed the landscape of college admission. The current generation
graduating high school has been exposed to the Internet since childhood, and as such has been dubbed the
“wired generation.” Be it wired or wireless, the 16–24 year olds of today are constantly connected—plugged
into music players, cell phones, the Internet, instant messenger, perhaps all on the same device. This world
of interactivity and hyper-communication has fundamentally changed how teenagers and young adults receive and process information. How can a university reach the eyes and ears of an audience that is largely
responsible for over one billion text messages sent per day in the United States (See CTIA Semi-Annual Wireless Industry Survey)? Furthermore, how do you maintain the attention of a generation entirely raised upon
broadband Internet and instant gratification?
The purpose of this discussion paper, Reaching the Wired Generation: How Social Media is Changing College
Admission, is to provide the reader with a statistical analysis of how colleges and universities are reacting to
these rapid changes and already using social networking to their advantage. It will also review best practices for
higher education admission in both blogging and social networking. The statistical analysis is the product of the
UMass Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research (CMR) (Barnes and Mattson, 2008). The CMR conducted the
first large scale academic study ever done on higher education and social media, and the results are presented
here in the next chapter.
Following the research discussion, the next step, both for this paper and for admission departments, is to determine
how to take advantage of the increased focus on online communications. This paper will examine the practice of
blogging, and through the words and advice of experts, distill the essentials into steps for admission counselors.
Blogging is not the only medium for reaching today’s young adults. From the early Bulletin Board Systems
(BBS) to the modern media-integrated sites, the Internet has been a vehicle for meeting and connecting to
other people—Social Networking. Social networking constitutes an online service that is focused on building a
community of users who share a common interest or activity, or are simply interested in meeting other people
(See e.g. Boyd, Ellison). Teens today have flocked to these sites by the millions, eager to connect, share, and
engage. Facebook and MySpace are the titans of this realm, and thus will be focused on following the blogging
best practices. They are not the only players in this space, however. This paper will also discuss new, alternative, channels for university media, and how to use them in the manner that best captures the attention of
prospective students. Best practices for colleges and universities using social networking sites are provided.
With a grasp on these powerful networking tools, Reaching the Wired Generation: How Social Media is
Changing College Admission demystifies the sites and vehicles of distribution that schools are using this very
moment to gain mindshare and attention among today’s youth. Colleges and universities should follow these
steps and make a concerted effort to modernize their admission approach. Students are now expecting an
online communications vehicle of some sort and there are many options available. For every school there is
some form of online approach that makes sense no matter what the resources. Applying these on line communications tools effectively will give schools a significant advantage in reaching one of the most connected
yet hardest to reach audiences.
Admission Study
For the approximately 2,000 four-year accredited colleges and universities in the US, the name of the game is recruiting
the best students. It is a highly competitive process often influenced by factors that are more subjective than objective.
In this challenging environment, social media (in the form of blogs, podcasts, message boards, social networking,
videos, and wikis) has become an important new marketing tool.
This study examines the familiarity with, usage of, and attitude towards social media by the Admission Offices of 453
US colleges and universities in 49 states. To date it is the most comprehensive study of American institutions of higher
education and their use of social media.
The results are fascinating and statistically document for the first time what many have intuitively suspected: Colleges
and universities are using social media to recruit and research prospective students. It is clear that online behavior can
have important consequences for young people and that social networking sites can, and will, be utilized by others to
make decisions.
While there is general agreement that colleges and universities are moving toward social media and many articles and
seminars are available on the topic, this paper reports on the statistically valid findings of the largest study done on
higher education and social media. The results are both good news and bad news. There is evidence of enthusiasm
and eagerness to embrace these new communications tools but there is also evidence that these powerful tools are not
being utilized to their potential. Schools using social media must learn the “rules of engagement” in the online world
in order to maximize their effectiveness.
The results that follow come directly from the study of 453 colleges and universities. Where possible, information
from other studies is added to give perspective. For example, the data show that admission officers of academic
institutions are more familiar with the adoption of social media (especially blogs) than even the fastest growing
companies in the US.
Methodology
In the spring of 2007, the University of Massachusetts Center for Marketing Research conducted telephone surveys
with 453 US colleges and universities in 49 states. All calls were made using a systematic random sample from the
University of Texas directory of four-year, accredited institutions. The directory lists approximately 2,000 schools that
fit that description. Each school was called back at least three times before moving on to the next institution on the list
and then resuming the sampling interval. (An additional 2,000 schools listed, but not included, are two-year schools,
specialty schools, those not accredited, some religious schools, etc.).
The responding institutions are diverse in student size (from under 50 students to over 50,000), annual tuition (from
less than $1,000 to over $40,000), funding (69 percent private, 31 percent public), and location (49 states are represented). The sample includes well-known private schools like Duke University (NC), Carnegie Mellon University (PA),
Vassar College (NY), and Wesleyan University (CT), as well as many large state universities like the University of Arizona, University of Wisconsin and University of Massachusetts. Statistical tests were performed on the data and results
are reported. This study is valid at +/-4 percent with a 95 percent confidence level.
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Given that higher education has a culture that is simultaneously incredibly innovative and slow to change, it is important
to ask how colleges and universities are responding to the new wave of social media.
The research was structured to answer the following questions:
1. Are colleges and universities familiar with social media?
2. Are colleges and universities using social media? If so, how effectively?
3. How does the adoption of social media in higher education compare with that of other groups?
4. Do colleges and universities consider social media important?
5. Do colleges and universities use search engines and/or social networking to recruit and research prospective students?
The answers to these questions provide a clear picture of where colleges and universities are in relationship to these new
technologies. They also yield a rich compilation of best (and worst) practices that will guide both those schools that have
adopted social media and those still waiting to test the waters. Either way, the findings will assist in developing marketing
strategies for the years ahead as all schools compete to reach today’s fully wired generation.
Findings
Are colleges and universities familiar with social media?
Respondents were asked to rank their familiarity with each technology from “very familiar” to “very unfamiliar.” The social
media that was most familiar to college admission departments is social networking with 55 percent of respondents claiming to be very familiar with it. Fifty-one percent report they are very familiar with blogging. In fact, as the graph below shows,
a significant percentage of admission departments are very familiar with the technologies studied. Even the technology
least familiar to admission officers (wikis), is very familiar to 16 percent of those surveyed.
A 2007 study of the Inc. 500 (America’s fastest growing private businesses as named by Inc. Magazine) during the same
time period shows that for almost every technology the admission departments were equally or significantly more familiar
than the businesses (Mattson and Barnes, 2007) (See Figure 1).
This level of familiarity with social media tools is high and translates into usage. It would appear that college admission
officers are moving in the direction of becoming familiar with new tools of communication at a rapid rate.
Are colleges and universities using social media?
Wikipedia defines blogs as:
…a Web site where regular entries are made (such as in a journal or diary) and presented in reverse chronological order. Blogs often offer commentary or news on a particular subject, such as food, politics or local news. Some function
as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages and other
media related to its topic. Most blogs are primarily textual although many focus on photographs, videos or audio.
Figure 1
60%
How familiar are you with the following social media?
(% very familiar)
50%
Universities
Inc. 500
40%
30%
20%
Social
Networking
Blogging
Message
Boards
Podcasting
Online
Videos
16%
21%
31%
27%
30%
29%
38%
43%
36%
51%
42%
0%
55%
10%
Wikis
In this study, 61 percent of the respondents use at least one form of social media. Blogging is the most common form. In total, 151 or 33 percent of the 453 schools participating in this study reported having a blog.
Those with a blog are virtually all using other forms of social media as well.
Twenty-nine percent use social networking (Facebook, MySpace etc.), 27 percent use message boards, 14
percent use podcasts, and three percent use wikis (See Figure 2). Many respondents reported that faculty
often set up wikis for research projects and sometimes students for group projects, but it was not one of the
tools that admission commonly used. (In addition to these, schools reported using chat rooms, instant messaging and email to reach prospective students or alumni.)
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Figure 2
40%
35%
Which of the following types of social media does your
admission office currently have? (%Yes)
30%
25%
20%
15%
39%
14%
Social Message/ Video- Podcasting
Networking Bulletin blogging
Boards
3%
Blogging
19%
0%
27%
5%
29%
10%
33%
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Wikis
Do Not
Use Any
More private schools have blogs than public schools (50 percent vs. 28 percent) and schools with graduate
populations of less than 500 have more blogs than schools with over 500 graduate students (44 percent vs.
35 percent).
Eleven percent of schools with blogs are using some internally developed application. Others cite Blogger,
Word Press and Movable Type as platforms. It is not uncommon for the admission professional to be unfamiliar with the applications being used to host a blog. At most schools, the IT department sets up the blog and
the admission office manages it. When asked who manages their blog, the most popular answers were the
admission office, marketing and public relations.
The Fortune 500 has long been the “gold standard” for business success. It represents the top businesses
based on their profits. According to the Web site that is tracking blog use among this group (www.socialtext.
net/bizblogs), eight percent had a blog in 2007. The Inc. 500, based on growth rather than profits, were blogging at a rate of about 19 percent that same year. Higher education was well ahead of the curve with one-third
of four-year accredited schools reporting having an admission blog in 2007 (See Figure 3).
Figure 3
35%
Use of Blogging by Group
30%
25%
20%
15%
33%
0%
19%
5%
8%
10%
Fortune 500
Inc. 500
Higher Ed.
This is, arguably, a perfect fit for colleges and universities given that their target audience is predominantly
made up of the Internet’s heaviest users and those with the greatest presence on blogs and social networking
sites. Recall that more than half of all bloggers are under the age of 30.
One social media researcher writes:
As customers, Gen X-ers and Gen Y-ers are more volatile and high-maintenance than any other generation
in history. They are voracious in their desire for immediate information and have sophisticated behavioral
approaches to filtering that information, no matter how many sources it comes from (Gillen, 2007).
Are colleges and universities using social media effectively?
At first glance, higher education and social media appears to be a case study in the timely adoption of new
technology. Certainly it is encouraging to see so many schools using these new tools. Upon further analysis,
it becomes clear that there is room for improvement as we look at the implementation of the most popular
tool, blogging.
The survey asked about blog logistics like accepting comments, promoting the blog and planning for the
future of the blog. The answers to these and other questions from schools with blogs are surprising and may
be a cause for concern.
The mantra of the blogoshpere is “conversation.” From the pioneering book Naked Conversations, the word
conversation had come to define the essence of blogging. It is for this reason that all the advice on blogging
includes discussion of posts and comments.
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Posts are the entries put up on a blog by the blog’s author (or authors). Most posts are short with less than 500
words, but some can be much shorter or longer depending on the passion of the author and the interest level
of the audience. Some bloggers post one or more times a day, but the rule of thumb is at least three times a
week for most active bloggers. Blogs that are unattended lose their audiences. Most platforms have the option
to allow or not allow comments on posts. Blogging purists find a blog without comments unacceptable, but it
is estimated that about 20 percent of all blogs do not allow comments.
In this study, 37 percent of those schools with blogs did not accept comments. By any measure, this is a problem if the goal is to connect with prospective students or alumni through ongoing conversation with the school.
For students and their parents looking to have a conversation online about particular aspects of university life, the
lack of interaction through comments can be significant. With more and more schools moving into multiple channels of social media, schools that don’t allow for conversation risk losing engagement with students (See Figure 4).
Figure 4
80%
Do you accept comments on your blog? (%Yes)
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
0%
2%
10%
37%
20%
61%
8
Yes
No
No response
It is a common misconception that every comment made to a blog post automatically shows up in the
blog. Schools worry about negative things being said and then viewed literally by the world. This is not
the case. Blogging platforms allow for review of comments prior to publication on the site. Most blogs
have a blog policy that simply states they will not publish comments that fall into certain categories of
the unacceptable.
Having said that, it is also important to note that another golden rule of blogging is transparency. Those who
read blogs do not want their information to be editorialized or sanitized. If the audience feels that a blog is censoring and eliminating all negative comments, they will quickly stop reading. Worse than that, they will have
conversations about your school and its lack of transparency in the blogosphere for worldwide consumption.
Studies show that young people trust online advice more than that of professionals and act accordingly.
Some would argue that the true value of a blog is to hear the comments, both positive and negative, and engage
in conversation about them both. Good bloggers often say that they learn from their audiences. Many organizations, from smaller business to major corporations like Dell and Wal-Mart, have used the feedback from negative
blog comments to gain a better understanding of what customers really want and how they want to be treated.
Another blog characteristic that allows ease of conversation and increases participation is the use of “RSS”
feeds. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and is a widely used blog feature. Readers can subscribe and
be notified when any new posts or comments are published on your blog. Notification can come by email or
even text message if the reader chooses that option. This simplifies the blogosphere for readers who may want
to keep up with a certain conversation or be informed of new information without having to check the blog of
interest every day to see if there is something new.
In this study, 46 percent of schools had an RSS feed available and 31 percent allowed email subscriptions.
If students cannot easily connect and reconnect with a blog conversation, it is unlikely they will return. Some
students are now reporting that they are choosing schools because of the relationships developed through the
blog. Every school should make it easy for students to be informed of new information appearing on its blog.
It is quickly becoming a necessary feature of any blog.
There are other areas for concern in this study. Admission officers with blogs were asked how they publicize
them. The most popular response was putting a link to the blog on the school’s home page. Other responses
included emailing or mailing announcements. Some advertised their blogs in other admission materials and
many did not promote their blogs at all.
To be successful, blogs must be an integral part of a marketing plan. As such, they require planning, resources, budgets, promotion, and monitoring. There are several sites dedicated to blog logistics that provide
valuable information on growing a blog (See especially www.problogger.com).
When asked how the admission office measured the success of a blog, the most popular response was the number of hits the blog received. This is a common measure of a blog’s popularity. The concern here is that many
schools did not measure the success of their blogs in any way. There are many measures of success currently
utilized from the number of unique visitors to time spent on the site. Many bloggers look at links, downloads,
participation in games or sweepstakes, publicity the blog receives in the mainstream media, etc. These evaluation tools help to position the blog so that it responds to the needs of its readers in the most effective way.
When asked what the future plans are for the school’s blog, the most popular answer was that there are no
future plans for the blog. This is disconcerting considering the swift movement and evolution of blog technology. It is now possible to include audio downloads (podcasts), video and live chats as part of any blog.
Popular bloggers research ways to increase links to other blogs or to add fun or informative pieces their audiences might enjoy. Just as you would plan your media efforts for traditional media outlets, you need to plan
your online efforts. This includes thinking about new additions to your blog like additional authors, additional
blogs or new technologies. There are many good articles both online and in the traditional media that address
growing a blog and planning for the future of this channel.
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10 Reaching the Wired Generation • National Association for College Admission Counseling
Despite all this, when asked if they felt their blogs were successful, 86 percent of schools with blogs in this
study said yes. This is consistent with studies in business that have consistently shown that those using social
media are satisfied with it and feel it provides positive results.
Those schools not currently using social media, or a particular tool, were asked if they planned to in the future.
Forty-two percent plan to add a blog, making blogs the most popular tool now and for the foreseeable future.
Podcasting and video will probably be added quickly as part of the blog growth (See Figure 5).
Figure 5
50%
If you are not using social media,
do you plan to in the future? (%Yes)
40%
30%
20%
22%
20%
16%
Blogging
Podcasting
Videoblogging
Social
Networking
Message/
Bulletin
Boards
4%
25%
0%
42%
10%
Wikis
Social media use by admission departments is being driven by familiarity and recognition of the increasing role
of social media in today’s world. It is not surprising that 88 percent of admission departments feel that social
media is important to their future strategy.
Figure 6
60%
How important do you think these kinds of social media technologies
are for your recruiting strategy?
50%
40%
30%
20%
37%
8%
3%
1%
0%
51%
10%
Very
Important
Somewhat
important
Somewhat
Unimportant
Very
Unimportant
No
Response
The value placed on social media translates into use of this new communications channel. The more important a school’s perception of social media is to its marketing strategy, the more likely it is to be incorporating
some form (See Table 1).
Table 1: Perceived Importance of Social Media with Use of Social Media
Use of Social Media
Perceived Importance of Social Spearman’s rho
.279
Media for Marketing Strategy
Sig. (2 tail)
.000*
N
453
*Significant at the .000
Do colleges and universities use search engines and/or social networking to recruit and research prospective students?
A significant proportion of schools are beginning to research students via search engines (26 percent) and
social networks (21 percent). While certainly the traditional factors will still play dominant roles in admission decisions, no longer can students place damaging material online without potential consequences
(See Figure 7).
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Figure 7
30%
Do you research potential students via search engines
and/or social networking sites? (%Yes)
25%
20%
15%
0%
21%
5%
26%
10%
Search Engines
Social Networking Sites
The admission officers interviewed for this study reported using search engines and social networking sites
to verify information or research students who were candidates for scholarships or entry into high demand
programs with limited spaces. In all these cases the intent was to protect the school from potential embarrassment. No school wants to announce the winner of a prestigious scholarship only to have compromising
pictures turn up on the Internet the next day. There were no reports of checking every applicant to an institution, no matter how small the school. Online research appears to be more of a precaution at this point or a
source of additional information for critical decision making.
The search engines used most often are Google and Yahoo, and the social networking sites include Facebook
and MySpace. The value of these social networking sites for college admission offices cannot be underestimated. As more and more young people take up residence in these online networks, a presence will be
mandatory.
Are they listening?
It is clear that admission offices are now communicating in new ways. The next question is are they listening
to what’s being said about their schools online? Fifty-three percent of 243 the schools in this study report they
monitor the Internet for buzz, posts, conversations, and news about their institutions. It is worth noting that
this figure is well above the adoption rate for any of the social media studied suggesting that even if they are
not using social media, the schools are listening (See Figure 8).
Figure 8
60
Do you monitor social media for buzz, posts, conversations, and news
about your school and admission?
50
40
30
1%
0
47%
10
53%
20
Yes
No
No response
The institutions monitoring social media reported doing so manually. Most were using simple Google searches
using the names of their schools. While any effort to monitor online conversation is applauded, there are
many easy and convenient ways to automate that process. Google alerts, for example, will notify you by email
anytime your key word(s) appears in the database.
All schools indicating that they are currently engaged in monitoring social media were selected for further
analysis. Spearman’s correlations were done on that group to determine if there were relationships between
monitoring behavior and other variables studied.
Those schools that monitor online activity as it relates to them tend to be schools with higher tuitions, and
private rather than public. They tend to be users of all forms of social media including blogs, podcasting and
video. These schools are also more likely to research students online via social networking sites.
Perceived importance of social media to the school does translate into monitoring behavior. Those schools
with a culture where online communications are respected as having value are more likely to fully embrace
that activity.
The bottom line is that most schools that use social media care about how they are being received in social
media. They are gathering critical strategic information by listening to what is being said about themselves and
their competitors in the social media world.
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Best Practices for Higher Education Blogs
In June 2006, the University of Massachusetts Center for Marketing Research released the first academic
study focused on experienced bloggers (Barnes, 2006). That research sought to uncover the “behind the
scenes” workings of a successful blog while getting advice from the experts that might be helpful in creating
best practices for aspiring bloggers.
Seventy-four top bloggers participated including IBM and the online hit Gaping Void. These experts provided
valuable information on starting and maintaining a blog.
Their advice has been adapted for college admission blogging and, where appropriate, additional customized
research is incorporated. The end result is a “best practices” guide for college admission blogging, followed
by advice for growing and developing admission blogs and logistics that will help make your school’s Web
presence effective and fun for its audience.
Be prepared to spend time
Initially many of the bloggers did not anticipate the time their blogs would take. A good blog is one where posts
are fresh and new posts are frequent. Researching interesting new things to share with your audience takes
time. One blogger noted, “The worst blogs are those that are updated infrequently.”
Blogs are often judged by the amount of new content or posts. To keep readers coming back, be relevant,
interesting and unique. Students and parents are looking for real answers and honest opinions. Take the
time to check facts, grammar and spelling. While blogs have a casual tone, they still represent your school.
Balance getting posts out regularly with having good and accurate content, all presented in a way that
reflects well on your school.
Several voices can ease the burden of “more, new, now!” Share the workload by choosing several contributors from among admission staff, faculty and students. We will discuss multiple authors in more detail later
in this section.
Helping prospective students and parents understand what daily life is like at your school can create strong
relationships that continue when the student arrives on campus. A blog is a unique communications tool that
allows you to use words, pictures, video, and links to provide a great experience for your readers and help
them understand why your school is a great choice. Take advantage of the variety of digital media that can
be used to reflect your institution.
If your posts have to be vetted by your PR or legal department, or discussed with others at your school, plan
for additional time demands and delays on posting. Your school team needs to plan for rapid turnaround of
items submitted for pre-posting. All those potentially involved in the process should commit to moving blog
posts forward as quickly as possible. The timeliness of this channel is one of its biggest assets; remember,
if you don’t say it quickly, someone else will.
If possible, allow students to write with only minor oversight or supervision. The most successful admission
blogs follow this format and are called “student life blogs.” Not only does it give prospective students an
insight into a current attendee’s mind, but it allows your school to pitch itself indirectly. Simply by being a
student, the author has an instant bond and level of trust with the reader that is difficult to foster otherwise.
Make blogs part of a plan
It is unlikely that a successful business or a new venture would be lacking a business plan, so have a plan. As
part of that plan, or in addition to it, most businesses and organizations developed mission statements long
ago. Many have added customer service mission statements to guide their customer service components.
These plans and mission statements are created to focus peoples’ efforts and capture the purpose of the
organization and its relationship to its customers.
Schools are no different. They have mission statements and policies that govern how they operate. A blog
needs to be part of a larger strategic marketing plan.
➢
Decide on a focus for your site. Experienced bloggers advise those beginning a blog to have a purpose in
mind and method for measuring success. Don’t do it just because everyone else is; without deciding on a
purpose for your blog, it will flounder and have trouble attracting an audience. Create several blogs if you
have multiple goals. Some admission offices have student life blogs, faculty blogs and staff blogs.
At some schools, the President or Chancellor might blog or be a guest blogger on one of the admission
blogs. A student interview with the President or Chancellor, videotaped and posted on a student life blog
could be particularly interesting to prospective students and parents as it gives a face and voice to the
administration of the school.
Define your audience, and you will define the voice and direction of your blog.
As a new communications
tool, blogs are essential for reaching your target audience. As such, multiple blogs are not uncommon for
a college campus.
Admission offices may want to target traditional students (18–22), as well as non-traditional or returning
students. Some schools have blogs for alumni or for parents as well.
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To maximize the potential of a blog, it must be viewed as part of the overall package and voice of the organization.
If it is not part of an integrated strategy, it will lack focus and a following. The plan should also, ahead of time,
address policies on reader comments, traffic to the blog from other campus sites, and the promotion of the
blog on admission materials, as well as on branded products sold online or in the campus store.
Determine the policy regulating conversation on your blog. You must create a policy ahead of time to determine how comments and conversation will be handled before the first negative post or solicitation arrives.
Blog policies range from formal disclaimer and creative commons licenses to very informal directives, and
can be found on front pages, FAQ sections, or even in the comment fields themselves. (For an example of
the policy at Harvard Law School go to: http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/wp-signup.php?new=terms-of-use.)
View your blog as a conversation
Participation is essential in the blogosphere. Author Robert Scoble calls it “naked conversations” (See Scoble,
Israel). Early blogger Dave Winer calls it “come-as-you-are conversations” (See Winer, Scripting.com). One
surveyed blogger says, “Don’t start a blog unless you have people in your organization ready to post to it
daily in an open, friendly and excited tone. A blog is a conversation. Don’t open the line unless you’re
ready to really talk.”
A blog is an invitation to debate, discuss and exchange. It is what makes blogging different than passive Web
sites. The responsive nature and human connection pull people in. Young people and their parents want to
talk about the realities of college life. If they can’t talk to you, they will talk to others online.
We have the ability to disseminate information in a personal and timely way, in a more active fashion. The
plethora of articles being published on Web 2.0 speaks to this new paradigm of user participation. This is
a contrast to the first generation of online experiences, when the Web provided a vehicle for mostly oneway communications. Web sites were static. Many are not updated. Email allows us to speak to a certain
designated person or persons, but may fall on deaf ears (or crowded inboxes).
A well-respected blogger cautioned against blogging with a traditional mind-set: “Don’t think of a blog in
terms of publishing metaphors—it’s not a newsletter replacement. Blogs are a great communication
tool. But when you set one up to serve as a ‘public relations voice’ it’s as effective as spam. Find human beings to blog—don’t set up a blog and try to find someone to manage it. It will fail if you do.”
Remember that blogs are conversation rather than one-way speech. Allowing that conversation actually
strengthens your base.
Be transparent, authentic and interesting
Students know when they are being talked at, marketed or deceived. Bloggers say, “Be authentic. If you
can’t, don’t blog.” Students want admission blogs to talk honestly and candidly about all aspects of college life at their school. Students especially want to hear directly from other students, in their own voices.
Scripted posts created by the PR department won’t work on a generation that’s been sold to and targetmarketed since birth.
Students (and their parents) will look to the blog for honest conversation about all things, positive or negative, going on at the school. If your school has a parking problem or a shortage of on-campus housing, talk
about it. Tell your audience what’s being done to address the issue and why it’s still worth it to come to your
school. It’s always better for you to be up front and contribute to the dialog than have the conversation take
place without you.
If a reader has something negative to say, they expect (on a blog) that their comments will be heard. A
recurrent theme with the bloggers studied was honesty and openness. They advise, “Be transparent and
authentic.” “Make it genuine, make it interesting, have guest authors talking about all aspects of your
organization.” “Make it real.”
Keep in mind that conversations will happen outside your blog that relate to your school. You need to be
aware, current and honest in dealing with those conversations too. One business blogger wrote, “Monitor
the blogosphere closely, both for discussions about your school, and for comments about your blog. Respond with comments to those outside blog posts. The blogosphere respects participation, so respond.”
Students who feel like an admission blog is authentic, honest and interesting will contribute to it and form
relationships with authors. These contributions, and the resultant conversations, provide a rich new data
source for schools, as well as great new relationships. These relationships can provide fertile ground for
new networks of potential students. They can also lead to longer-term relationships if the students choose
to attend your school. In addition, alumni blogs help create a feeling of being more connected to the school
and provide those who have graduated with a direct link to discuss their unique interests or concerns.
Grow and develop your blog
A blog is constantly evolving, growing and developing. Much like a company commits to research and development to stay ahead of the curve, bloggers are always looking for new and better software, exciting and
innovative information to post, and for new links to increase their presence on search engines. In the study
conducted on 453 colleges and universities reported earlier, very few schools are planning for the future of
the medium. Yet schools are by nature the home of great discussion, new ideas, and exciting innovation and
invention. At the same time, students are experiencing the most unique years of their lives. Blogs need a
growth plan. Think about adding more pictures, video, podcasts, guest bloggers or more blogs, each with a
different voice and target audience.
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As additional bloggers are added, the blog may need to adapt. One blogger plans to do that and says, “As we
add bloggers, we will need to change the layout to accommodate so it doesn’t become cluttered.”
Encourage campus blogging. Some schools are encouraging students and faculty to start their own blogs.
Of those, some are choosing to focus on specific areas of research. These blogs are particularly successful
in targeting niche markets like graduate students or new faculty. Most students are using blogs to discuss
general happenings at their school, but by doing so are also contributing to the school’s online presence. The
blogs give the school a human face and allow multiple ways to communicate with a variety of audiences.
Use blogs as barrier breakers. Some schools are running (or considering) blogs in other languages to reach
markets where traditional marketing may be costly and difficult. These are particularly good to “introduce”
programs without the expense or risk of a full campaign. Many graduate programs are now targeting executives in China for MBA programs or other countries in an effort to diversify their undergraduate populations.
Blogs provide an inexpensive way to get the word out, and readers in those countries can pick up the post
and link back to your school. It has never been easier to speak informally to young people all over the world.
Plan for the blog to evolve. Bloggers surveyed plan to add more video, introduce new media/mobile technology, add podcasting, and expand the number of visitors to their sites.
Most of the bloggers studied spoke of redesigning their blogs and changing their software. Design changes
seem to be ongoing to make blogs user friendly and interesting. Don’t get so creative that your blog doesn’t
follow some standard blog practices, but use unique features that reflect on your school, whether it’s images or philosophies. If you deviate from Web standards like menus on top or on the left, make sure it’s
clear to a novice user what he or she should do next.
Add additional authors and more posts. Many of the bloggers spoke about adding authors, more information on authors, more channels, and more frequent posts. These strategies provide variety and interest
in a blog, as well as increasing the potential for links from other blogs and increasing presence in search
engines. In this study, 38 percent have increased posts on their blogs since they began them.
Publicize yourself. Many of the bloggers in this study suggested using a link in your email to direct others
to your blog. They suggest talking about your blog in your emails and encouraging people to visit. Beyond
that, email links to specific posts to people who might find them interesting. One business blog author said
they “constantly reinforce the blog within the membership, mentioning it every chance we get, in every
email we send out and at every meeting we have.”
Certainly an admission office has these same opportunities to get the word out. An admission blog should
be widely promoted. Some schools have t-shirts, business cards, pens, or other leave-behinds promoting
blogs for distribution at college fairs or for high school visits.
You need to connect. Ultimately the growth of a blog will depend on the quality and quantity of posts on it
and on what one blogger calls “blogger relations.” One blog author attributes growth to, “consistent quality
postings coupled with relevant comments adding to the conversation on other blogs over the long haul.”
Another says, “Provide useful information, post regularly, be honest, and be user-oriented.” Your goal
should be to connect with your audience in a way that they become the promoters of your blog through
word of mouth, both on and offline.
Keep in mind the basics of blogging
Make sure they can find you. One important strategy is defining your niche, or type. That allows you to formulate a “tag” or classification so that readers can search your posts based on content. High visibility key
words and tags help potential readers find you, and you can even use tags in RSS or email subscriptions.
Do competitive searches. Once you have decided on key words for your blog, a good idea might be to do
your own search to see who comes up. It is a great way to define your competition within a category, or
industry. In the end, your goal is to have descriptive key words, many links and sufficient traffic to push your
blog to the top of a search engine list.
Blogs are like owning a business… be ready to spend a lot of time at the outset. We’ve said it before—
blogging takes time. Most of the bloggers in this study (89 percent) receive 10 or fewer comments on an
average day, and most reply in a timely fashion. Those replies, in addition to site updates, creating posts,
and so on, take about an hour a day according to two-thirds of our respondents. Plan to set aside more than
an hour a day initially to get things started. This time is more than worth the investment.
Choose responders carefully. Attention must be paid to who responds to readers when they comment. Bloggers in this study report the company CEO or the blog owner/author reply most of the time (54 percent).
Nineteen percent of replies come from top management or marketing directors. Other options reported
were a hired blog master (11 percent), a rotating list of people (10 percent), or a company employee (three
percent). The decision on who responds will depend on the purpose of the blog, resources, legal considerations, and the nature of the posts on the blog. Student life blogs should have only student authors unless
guests are announced and brought in.
To review or not to review? Schools need to consider the review needs of admission officials, public relations
or the legal department. If there is a review necessary, turnaround time becomes a factor. Seven percent of
bloggers surveyed have a review process prior to posts. They reported posts going through an administrator,
a manager or an internal communications/PR team. Some said the topic would determine if a review was
needed and by who. Make sure the review process, if one is in place, is factored into your plan.
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Think ahead about possible repercussions. Another consideration for bloggers is the possible consequences
of what is said on their sites. While a full 43 percent said there was no downside to running a blog, 49
percent noted the time a blog takes as a possible drawback, four percent cited competitive disadvantages,
and three percent said their blogs had been involved in legal problems. If possible, schools should strive
to run an informative and interesting blog without jeopardizing their strategic position in the market, or the
other demands of the admission program.
Consider a policy or disclaimer. Some blog authors have instituted policies regulating conversation on their
blogs. In this study, 18 percent of blogs have such a policy posted. In most cases, these policies are readily
available on the site and address industry regulation, disclaimers or the right to correct factual errors.
All bloggers need a system for dealing with negative comments or criticism. Eighty-seven percent of respondents in this study adhered to fairly simple rules. Here are samples of what they said:
“Comments with obscenities and such are summarily deleted.”
“If I don’t think it adds value or it isn’t relevant, I don’t post it. I’m not a bulletin board.”
“Posts appear exactly as sent unless spam, racism, hate, or overboard swearing.”
“We’ve not yet faced negative comments, but I’d like to use Microsoft’s Robert Scoble as a model to
publish it, and discuss it rapidly, openly and transparently.”
Most bloggers agree that there should be as little screening as possible. Readers will quickly see through
sites that have been “cleaned” and authors that only post views agreeing with their own.
Always remember the human factor
People are important. The ultimate success of any blog depends on the person that manages and posts. Blogs
are a human endeavor, a personal conversation, a sharing of thoughts and ideas. Readers form relationships
with bloggers that are very real. Communities are formed and friendships are made. One of the blog authors
tells us, “I bump into strangers who know my dog’s name.” There is a real person that entertains, provokes
and responds. In many ways, blogs are an ideal way for schools to respond in a non-institutional manner.
Schools are no longer the sole source of information about their institutions. People are getting the information they need to make purchase decisions from other channels. Remember, there are millions of blogs and
new ones springing up every second. If only one tenth of one percent of those can impact you, you have
thousands of new voices talking to your prospective students.
The humanity of the blogosphere makes it an enormous threat to “business as usual” for admission recruiting
and alumni relations. The only way to survive this new consumer movement is to understand what makes
blogs successful. We asked our prestigious group of bloggers to tell us what characteristics make a good
blogger. Many offered lists of personal traits including:
“Dedicated, opinionated, inquisitive”
“Disciplined”
“Intelligent, diligent and patient”
“Personality, commitment, networking ability”
“Responsible, honest”
“Being true and real at all times”
“Passion, engagement, sincerity, authenticity, to be coherent, to answer comments (even the negative
ones), to post regularly”
Others offered more extensive comments on what makes a blogger or blog successful:
“Above average conversational or writing skills, creativity, persistence, complete honesty and integrity
(if you aren’t honest you’ll be found out quickly); the ability to separate yourself from your blog. The
worst bloggers are those that identify so thoroughly with their blog that conversation and debate can’t
occur-they are just seen as personal attacks.”
“Short and concise postings, blogging is not about really long articles, powerful useful tips of information, a good search feature, a tad bit of humor but also knowledgeable on the subject matter. Sharing
of new info rather than old news.”
Blogging takes time, commitment and honesty. In return, connections are made that are personal and strong.
Blogs are not a fad. They are no longer even an option. Those schools that choose to remain outside this
online conversation will be sidelined.
Young people will move about the wired world in search of schools that meet their needs. Every serious institution of higher education needs to have a presence in this academic and global marketplace—but there is
more. Schools need to listen to other conversations that are happening around them. This includes responding to other blog posts and comments.
The blogosphere itself provides more timely and valuable research than “offline” institutional research.
Searching other blogs provides a true competitive analysis that shows who your competitors are in the minds
of your target market. Blogs act as huge, ongoing focus groups providing feedback and ideas. Some of the
most interesting students in the world are blogging. Talk to them. Let them help you become more successful.
Move your school forward in a way that is new, exciting, a bit scary and ultimately necessary.
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Using Social Networking Sites
Blogs are where the conversation takes place, but the rest of the time young adults can be found on social
networking sites. Social Networks are online communities of people who share interests and activities, or who
are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others. The concept has revolutionized the way we
communicate and share information with one another. Various social networks exist targeting a whole multitude of niches and audiences. There are several popular social networking sites for teens and young adults,
including Xanga.com, LiveJournal.com and Friendster.com, but by far the most popular are MySpace.com
and Facebook.com. As an admission officer, one should understand and embrace these two networks, as
they capture a staggering amount of young people’s time and attention.
Facebook has over 60 million active users, and is doubling in size every six months. It was originally oriented
towards college students, but has since opened to high school students and post-graduates as well, and is
now the largest photo sharing site on the Internet. MySpace predates Facebook and was designed as a site to
promote and share new music. It has over 110 million active users, including more than 8 million artists and
bands (See Web Strategist for statistics).
Photo sharing and band promotion don’t immediately jump out as hubs of “college admission,” but we cannot
deny the importance of these sites to today’s youth. In May 2008, teens spent an average of 20–30 minutes
on MySpace or Facebook every day, with that number expected to increase 38 percent in the summer as
school ends (Marketing Charts.com). These intervals do not seem staggering until we consider that the average Internet user spends far less time visiting most sites.
Typically, news sites rank highly in time spent, due to their informational and text-heavy nature, yet the
Wall Street Journal online reports about only 8.5 minutes per visit. The Boston Globe is down to 9 minutes
and 39 seconds for a typical visit, down from more than 18 minutes a year ago. Only the New York Times
can report visit length near Facebook and MySpace, currently averaging almost 29 minutes per visit (See
Saba, Editor and Publisher). It is clear that whatever the social networking titans are doing, they have the
attention of their users. The question then is how do admission counselors reach those eyes in a meaningful manner.
Both Facebook and MySpace have clear differences, yet they have one underlying purpose: communication. Both of these sites offer ways to keep in touch with friends, find old classmates or meet new friends.
You can find out practically anything you want to know about a person just by looking at his or her “profile”
page on either of these sites: birthdays, jobs, relationship status, and more are typical. So why would a college or university possibly want to have a page on these sites? To understand that, you have to understand
the sites themselves.
MySpace
What is it?
President Tom Anderson and his partner Chris DeWolfe launched MySpace.com in January 2004. It quickly
became one of the Internet’s fastest growing sites with more than 72 million regular US members, more hits
per day than Google and AOL, and 20 times more members than Facebook. MySpace currently reports as
many as 250,000 new members per day. MySpace is the third most visited Web site in the US and the fifth
most visited in the world. Google and other search engines are designed to index all the data on the Internet
including a MySpace profile. MySpace was the first social networking page to really catch on, because it was
the first site that let users easily connect with others.
On MySpace, you create your own page with your “profile” where you write anything that you want about
yourself. You can put up pictures, and you can upload videos and songs to go on your page as well. Blogs are
also a crucial part of MySpace. Besides personal information and media, profiles are typically dominated by
journal-like blogs. They act as a good place to start a conversation with whoever has come across your profile.
Lastly, and probably most important, is a place to post comments. When you visit someone’s page you can
leave him or her a message that says anything you would like for everyone to see. You can wish someone a
happy birthday, or tell him or her you like the latest blog entry they wrote in his or her profile.
MySpace is commonly used for meeting people and self-promotion. Most musicians and bands currently use
MySpace pages to interact with their fans more directly than a regular Web site would allow. Unsigned bands
try to get their music heard by as many people as possible by having a MySpace page. The more friends they
get, the more people all around the world that hear their music and know their name. It is not uncommon for
celebrities outside of music, like actors and authors, to create a page. The latest trend is for non-individual
entities, like corporations or organizations, to create a profile as well. This promotional use of MySpace is now
the basis for colleges and universities who need a new way to connect with the next generations.
How does it work?
You have several options when it comes to who can view your MySpace profile. You can manually choose who
gets to see your profile. You can limit viewers to “friends,” MySpace users that have mutually agreed to be
friends. They can be your real life acquaintances or someone who found you on MySpace. Privacy nonetheless remains a sore spot for MySpace. Once you allow someone to be your “friend,” they can see all of your
information without exception. This is important because anyone can join MySpace; there are no requirements limiting membership save a minimum age limit. It is important to note that MySpace does have a larger
percentage of over-35-year-old users than Facebook.
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How can admission officers use the site to the benefit of their schools?
An associate professor in California said, “I just think, why not utilize something that is so popular and familiar to
students in a way that could also be informational, educational and perhaps also expose students to the many
different ‘layers’ of MySpace.” This is exactly how admission offices need to be thinking—and many already
are. There are many lists, although none complete, of which colleges are currently using MySpace. EduStyle
counts over 20 schools, while the MySpace Colleges and Universities page lists closer to 50. There is no doubt
that this trend is growing quickly, but many schools are creating these pages without any knowledge of what
they are doing. On top of that, many schools MySpace pages are actually made by students with no affiliation
to the administration. This is something a college or university will want to know, not only for trademark reasons
but also to ensure the school is being well represented on a network of millions of prospective students.
Schools that are currently using MySpace generally have very simple page layouts. All give basic information
about their schools—when they were founded, what they are known for, and any statistics they would like the
public to know. They also include what visitors will be able to find on the site. Most schools post blogs about
important admission events, like application deadlines, open houses, financial aid seminars, and placement
test dates. Many schools include pictures of their campuses, and have a place where students can post their
comments. This makes for a basic, although relatively boring page. With only these pieces, the site is not
generally exciting to be on, and will not occupy users for more than a few moments. If our goal is to keep
the attention spans of the younger generations, we are going to have to work harder to make sure they are
informed, as well as entertained.
There are some schools that already have MySpace strategies in place. When entering one of these MySpace
pages, the first thing one will notice is that it does not look like a personal MySpace page. The site looks instead like the university’s home page. There are pictures and statements from students, as well as contests,
fun facts and current news. You get all the important information you would need, as well as a fun layout and
interactive features. When you click the link to the school’s actual Web page, you will see that the MySpace
page has the same look and “feel” as the actual home page. This is essential. Branding is just as important in
the online world as it is in the real world, and nothing in branding is more important than consistency. If you do
not have the same look and feel on your pages, visitors and prospective students will not associate the two.
Another interesting page is run by Vanguard University of Southern California (CA). This site is set up much
more like an actual MySpace page, however the page itself has much more to catch the eye of its visitors.
The first thing you see when the page loads is an animation that includes links for news, downloads and the
school’s mission. The page has many pictures and videos of students and campus events. The design of
the site is colorful and welcoming, which is essential to keeping your visitors on the page instead of having
them hit the back button.
These examples are both well-made pages clearly run by someone who knows how to use MySpace. You
can see screenshots of these and more in the addendum to this paper. Of course, advanced pages may not
be right for some schools. Many Web development departments are busy improving their own sites, and
not available to do something of this nature. Ideally a school should have a MySpace page run by a student
who works closely with an admission counselor to attract and inform prospective students. If the student or
students are not advanced in making Web pages, they can still make a very impressive MySpace page since
they possess a unique (and crucial) skill; they ARE the target audience. The student can easily learn about
profile creation from peers and other MySpace users, and will also have an eye towards the sort of designs
they would be interested in.
The key is to make it appealing and informative. By providing great blogs with interesting topics, you can
answer any and all questions prospective students may have. What they are really looking for, however, is
to find out things that they wouldn’t know to ask for. Videos of events happening on campus or pictures of a
championship sports team may help interest students more than just a page of information. The ideal profile
handles the difficult task of managing interesting content and valuable information, both equally important
aspects of the recruiting process.
This discussion again leads back to why social media is so important. It allows a school to provide general information in a timely manner, while remaining integrated in the look and feel of the site. If people are already on
your MySpace page, and you have interesting topics about being accepted or about an open house, prospective
students are going to read it. Keep in mind you only want to have as much information about the school as you
can fit on one single page, and today’s students don’t want it all in writing. This generation is much more about
streaming video than scrolling through text. If they have to be in one place too long, you haven’t succeeded in
winning them over. By providing a video tour of the campus or video of the spring concert, you are much more
likely to get their attention and create a viral advertisement as the viewer shares it with his or her friends. Important information that would take up a lot of space to write can be put in video form very easily. Turn Q&A into
an interview with an admission counselor or a student tour guide. Interview professors or students to help give
visitors a feel for the school. The more they know, the more comfortable they will feel.
Facebook
What is it?
Mark Zuckerberg, a student at Harvard University (MA) in February 2004, founded Facebook.com. Currently
it has over 80 million active users worldwide and 36 million regular users in the US. Web site membership
was initially limited to Harvard students, but eventually expanded to other schools in the Ivy League, then all
colleges and universities. You needed a school email address to join, and once signed up, you were a member
of your own school’s “network.” The original idea was a more visual and interactive yearbook for each school
(hence the name), but the inter-school connections came naturally and easily. Once a member, you can connect to other students with mutual consent as a “friend.”
Facebook became a great way to find students on your campus who were interested in the same things you
were. You could also post the classes you were taking so that you could find other students in your class. In
addition to the college crowd, many who had avoided using MySpace adopted Facebook. The fact that Facebook was only open to college or university students made it seem like a safer choice. In addition, Facebook
profiles are very standardized, in juxtaposition to MySpace’s “anything goes” site.
Today Facebook has networks for all colleges and universities, their alumni, and now high schools and major
cities. Essentially anyone can join, but you must be tied to a certain network, be it one’s school or one’s
geographic location.
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How does it work?
Like MySpace, you can control who sees your profile to some degree. For example, students from one network
have very limited access to profiles on other networks, unless the profile is a friend’s. That being said, even
“friends” on Facebook may not see everything. Users can further design their privacy to allow certain friends
limited access while others can view the profile unfettered.
A Facebook profile generally has the same personal information as a MySpace page. Users can join “groups”
that range from campus teams and organizations to national campaigns, or really just about anything
someone wants to promote. In the past two years, Facebook has added “applications” to profiles. These are
downloadable modules that add a variety of features to the profile page, like maps, games, media, free gifts
to send to friends, and so on. Though most Facebook users and applications are oriented towards networking
and communication, there is still some promotion taking place. Corporations, organizations, musicians, and
the like sponsor groups for students to join, and receive news, deals and advertisements.
As we mentioned earlier, Facebook pages are not as incumbent on the user to design, contrary to MySpace.
Most Facebook pages look generally the same and contain similar information. You cannot play around with
the general layout the way you can on MySpace. Thus schools that are on Facebook now have pages that
include some pictures and some facts about the school, and a link to their own Web page, but other than
that, the sites remain very simple. Any campus news or upcoming events will be posted on the Facebook
site. The interesting feature that is both a blessing and a curse on Facebook is that the user’s main page is
a wall of updates called a “news feed.” When you log onto Facebook, you see a page that lists all the latest
activities of everyone that you are “friends” with. So every time you post something new to your site, whether
it is pictures or an upcoming event, all of your friends will see it. This is a benefit that you will not get from
MySpace. It is essentially free advertising. That being said, new pictures should be added all the time, and
you should always blog.
Blogs are not exactly the same on Facebook as they are on MySpace. Rather than be an integrated “journal,”
you have the option of using other features to accomplish the same task. On Facebook these are “posted
items” or “notes.” Though the implementation is different, you would use these the same way you use a blog
anywhere else, providing current information about your school. You can include links or important pieces of
information here as well.
An example of this is the Facebook page of Carnegie Mellon University (PA). Carnegie Mellon’s page includes many pictures and videos, as well as links to important pages. The postings have been executed
perfectly. Anytime the school is mentioned or interviewed in a newspaper, television program or magazine,
it is posted on their Facebook page. This is a great way to show off your school and let the public know any
publicity you are receiving. If you would post it on your Web page as an achievement, it should be posted
on your Facebook page as well. Anything involving student success will interest your audience and keep
them coming to your site.
New Avenues for Social Networking
MySpace and Facebook have been around for some time, but there are other sites that are new on the scene,
particularly for colleges and universities. Both YouTube and iTunes now have individual pages for colleges
and universities. These sites function differently than MySpace and Facebook, as they are essentially media
distribution vehicles. Schools aren’t using the sites to recruit prospective students — rather these sites are
displaying lectures, guest speakers, events, and anything else you can get on digital video or audio. Though
primarily current students will use these sites, prospective applicants will also see the product of your institution. It’s already clear that new media is what garners people’s attention online. It will be up to you to decide
if these types of sites will work for your institution.
YouTube
What is it?
Created in mid-February 2005 by three former PayPal employees, YouTube’s purpose was to allow the public
to post videos and share them. There was no way to easily do this online, be it the considerable bandwidth and
hosting costs, or the simple lack of a central location to collocate the videos. In October of 2006, Google Inc.
recognized the potential of streaming online video hosting and acquired YouTube for $1.65 billion in Google
stock. YouTube is not to be taken lightly. You can find almost any television show. Unknown users become
overnight celebrities. Famous celebrities have created side projects and hosted them on YouTube. The top 10
videos in an average week receive millions of views each. Imagine reaching an audience of that size in such
a short amount of time.
How does it work?
Recently, YouTube expanded to let colleges and universities create their own “channels.” These are their
own personal pages to post any videos they would like to have associated with their schools. In the past year,
several colleges have signed agreements with the site. The University of California at Berkeley (CA), University
of Southern California (CA), the University of New South Wales (AU), and Vanderbilt University (TN) have all
signed on to work with YouTube. YouTube officials insist that they weren’t surprised by the buzz, and they say
that more colleges are coming forward. “We expect that education will be a vibrant category on YouTube,” said
Obadiah Greenberg, Strategic Partner Manager at YouTube, in an email interview. “Everybody loves to learn”
(See Young, Chronicle of Higher Education).
To set up an official channel on YouTube, a college must sign an agreement with the company. This is a free
process. Then a school can customize its page or “channel” as it is called, by including a logo or using school
colors. Since the site’s content is all video, schools are posting mostly lectures. This has created a whole new
attitude towards teaching and towards the learning experience. Knowing they are being filmed, professors
work harder on their lectures and try to be more interesting and educational to the unseen audience. This
is a great way to expose interested students to your school. An institution can present prominent professors,
unusual lectures, inventive student projects, all showcasing the school in a great light. Virtual tours are also
a great way to show off one’s campus. Essentially, any selling point that can be presented in video has the
potential to draw prospective students to apply.
27
There are several other great ideas for institutions. If you’re stuck, try looking at some other schools’ channels.
You can find:
Interesting lectures
Guest speakers
Campus TV station broadcasts
Campus events, shows and talents
Informative “commercial” about the school (ex. Frostberg State University (MD)).
YouTube is a great way to publicize your school. Be creative with the videos you choose to include. This may
require a joint effort with school videographers, because you do want the videos to be as good as you can
make them. Posting videos will require frequent updating, and you will want recent videos up all the time.
The more variety you have, the more likely people will find your channel and view your work. All it takes is one
popular video to draw viewers to watch your other material.
Once again, if you do create a “channel” you have to include it in all of your materials for maximum exposure.
Otherwise, no one will know your channel exists. I also recommend students are aware of it and encouraged
to participate. They will want to visit the site to see what their fellow students have achieved, or what their
favorite professor is talking about. Word of mouth has always been a great marketing tool, and whether you
have 1,000 students or 30,000 students, they will likely want to share their school with the world.
iTunes
What is it?
When the mp3 player rose to prominence, iPod established itself as the biggest and best, and part of Apple’s
success with the iPod was due to the software that enabled users to manage their music libraries and maintain their portable players: Apple iTunes. Yet for all these iPod users, Apple noticed that many consumers
lacked digital content to fill that shiny new player. Thus they created a store for iTunes, full of downloadable
content. The iTunes Music Store (ITMS) may soon be the number one music seller in the world, outselling all
other traditional outlets save Wal-Mart.
The ITMS has recently offered a new outlet for colleges and universities called iTunes U. Anyone with iTunes
(which is essentially anyone with an iPod) can open the program, enter the store and click the iTunes U link in
the main menu. Here, the user can find free lectures, language lessons, audiobooks, and more, all downloadable to your iPod, iPhone, Mac, or PC. Apple presents iTunes U as an educational portal for those who want
to learn about anything and everything. You can select different topics from the left menu. From business to
languages, you can learn about anything.
How does it work?
Partnering with iTunes U is available to qualifying two- and four-year accredited, degree-granting, public or
private non-profit colleges and universities in the United States, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand,
and United Kingdom. Universities and colleges must enter into an iTunes U Service Agreement before being eligible to use the iTunes U service. Once you join, you upload audio and video similar to YouTube, and
you can open all or part of the content to the public. Universities aren’t only content providers, but content
consumers as well. As the site explains, “[e]xplore over 50,000 educational audio and video files from top
universities, museums and public media organizations from around the world. With iTunes U, there’s no end
to what or where you can learn” (iTunes U). Currently, there are over 70 colleges and universities participating
in iTunes U.
The goal of the iTunes-university alliance is to have more schools post lectures and study guides on iTunes for
their students, and thus create more content for iPod users to download. This is not exactly the same as the
aforementioned types of social networking, but it functions much like the videos on YouTube in that a glimpse
of the school can serve as an advertisement as well. Nonetheless, since iTunes U is focused on educational
content, this is not the place for campus tours and promotions. Rather, the benefit here lies in content with
experiential value for its listeners. Again, admission should focus on getting intriguing or exciting content that
the school generates and placing it on iTunes. It helps demonstrate that learning isn’t something that simply
“happens” at your school, but is dynamic and engaging enough that users around the world want to be a
part of it.
Execution
Regardless of which social networking site you use, it is important that your prospective students know where
to find you. Many schools have MySpace and Facebook pages, yet by looking at the official school Web
site, you would never know. This can be remedied with a direct link off a home page menu. If you create a
MySpace or Facebook page, prospective students are probably not just going to stumble across it while they
interact with friends. You need to include the link in all of your materials on and off of your Web site. Have tour
guides mention the pages on tour. Put it in the open house materials. There are plenty of ways to let people
know, but if you neglect to do this you might as well not even make a site.
In order for your institution to truly benefit from social media, it is necessary to understand these sites are additional tools in your marketing kits. Social media must be part of an overall marketing plan to be successful.
All publications and business cards should carry the Web site of the university and publicize all aspects of
social networking that you are involved in. All Web sites should link to other social media. It is time to think
about the opportunities provided by these digital communications channels and integrate them into your
admission strategy.
29
Best Practices
Here are the best practices and tips for beginning non-blog* social networking.
Do not underestimate the power of video
If a picture is worth a thousand words, and video is made up of lots and lots of pictures, well you get the
idea. All social networking sites allow video, so take advantage of it. It is a better alternative for information
delivery than text and an appealing way to attract attention.
Concentrate on a streamlined and consistent design
The most effective sites provide continuity from their home page to their social networking sites. This means
any school representation should have the same “feel” (colors, themes, layouts, etc).
Link everything
The social Web is all about connectivity. Link to your social networking sites through your home page, and
vice versa. Think of any page as an extension of your school site.
Get input and content from a variety of sources
Students, faculty and staff should all work together to provide a mix of information and viewpoints. Everyone
should have an opportunity to talk about his or her university.
Do not be afraid to show off
Post accomplishments made by faculty and staff but especially by students on social networking sites. Students traveling abroad, participating in national events, winning awards or performing community service
deserve recognition and make great attention getters.
Visitors should be able to interact with your page
Work with Web development to utilize animation, games or message boards for your page. Giveaways for
school t-shirts, hats or other paraphernalia get visitors involved and double as a way to gather email addresses for potential students. The more ways students can interact with your site, the more they will visit.
Know who is visiting your site
Utilize the power of information systems to measure your social network’s effectiveness. Tracking who is
visiting and for how long helps you evaluate if your target market is viewing your site. This means using
counters or Web metrics. Check with the social network provider, as they often provide the means to
track viewership.
Update often
I already mentioned this, but I’ll say it again. You want people to return to your site and see what’s new.
Providing new content and updates is a non-negotiable element of social networking.
*Follow all best practices for blogging
They apply here, too. This means frequent updating, transparency and conversational nature remain
the priorities.
Conclusion
No matter how you look at it, social networking has changed admission and will continue to do so. Prospective students get their information in a totally different way than incoming classes of the past. Using the
methods in this paper, colleges and universities can tap into this connectivity-minded audience and get
their messages across.
As stated at the outset, the purpose of this discussion paper is to provide the reader with not only statistical
analysis of how schools are reacting to these rapid changes but also to explain the best practices of using
social media. With a firm grasp on the concepts, an admission department can modernize its approach and
gain a significant advantage in the marketplace.
Where should an admission officer go from here? Start with the core online content described. Online content
or features should be the centerpiece of your admission site, with blogs and videos featured. Once that presence has begun to develop, it is crucial to foster and support it. Blogs are fun at first, but many bloggers fall
behind on posts or cannot find the time to update. It’s crucial that admission officers keep in mind the best
practices presented in this paper. Those tips come from top bloggers, both in viewership and experience, and
they know what it takes to be successful in this realm. Use their knowledge to bring success to your blog.
Of course, blogging is not the only vehicle for social networking. Once you have established a blog, it’s easy
to add new features and extend one’s online presence. Head to MySpace and Facebook and make a page
there that links to your admission content. Better yet, be creative and expressive enough on those sites that
even users who don’t follow the links still hear your message. Screenshots of pages that represent this ideal
are provided in the addendum that follows. Use them for inspiration on capturing your school’s message.
Finding and developing content for iTunes U should also be a priority and provides a great opportunity to get
one’s name out there.
It is said that this generation of students is one of the most connected yet hardest to reach audiences. That
paradox is only true if one ignores the lessons in this paper; prospective students haven’t stopped paying
attention, they have simply focused on the world of social networking. The sooner colleges and universities
understand how to use this medium, the sooner they can be a part of that world—the student world.
31
Addendum
Social Networking: Legal and Ethical Considerations
The use of social media to recruit students, promote colleges and universities, and communicate more effectively with students, parents and alumni is growing. At least one quarter of the nation’s four-year accredited
schools are already moving in this direction and appear to be satisfied with the results.
The more difficult choices surrounding the use of social media have to do with making admission decisions
based on information gathered online from search engines, blogs, social networking sites, or other sources.
Here questions arise regarding the ethical use of material found online and the legal implications for a school
that chooses to make admission decisions based wholly or partially on this information.
At present, there isn’t much case law regarding social media. There is little guidance since many situations
simply have not been tested in court. We do know that an employer can legally decide not to hire an applicant
based on a review of his or her Facebook or MySpace page as long as employers do not violate federal or state
discrimination laws in making hiring decisions (See Potter, Legal and ethical issues when employers check
applicants’ social networking sites). For example, an employer cannot legally screen out applicants based on
race or ethnicity.
It is not an invasion of privacy for an employer (or a school) to gain access to Facebook or MySpace profiles
or photos. What is posted on the Internet has a lower “expectation of privacy” than, say, a private home telephone conversation. Once posted on Facebook, MySpace or a blog, the information is available to the public.
Therefore, viewing it does not constitute an invasion of privacy (Potter).
Some schools have disclaimers on their home pages and online sites that state that the school’s use of any
public material (including blogs or social networking sites) might be considered as part of a review process.
The online community, as well as many organizations that work on the ethical use of online information, tout
this kind of transparency.
Ethical and legal questions remain. For example:
How will this information be systematically reviewed?
How will verification of the applicant’s identity or validity of information be checked?
Who will do the reviews?
How much time will be dedicated to this part of the process?
What are the standards by which this information will be evaluated?
Do the standards used correlate to any measures of success in college?
How much weight will be given to this information?
Can state schools document equal treatment of all applicants given the use of online information that often
includes photos, as well as other materials?
At this time, we know that colleges and universities are using social media to better communicate with their
constituencies, to attract students and faculty and to promote themselves. Less is known about the role these
new tools are playing in the actual admission decision process.
While these channels may be helpful, admission departments may consider creative ways of bringing some of
the energy and excitement of this media into the process in a less complicated way. Some schools are asking students to create a blog with what would hypothetically be their very first post and submit it with their application.
Students could be asked to write about the kind of profile they have created online and why they chose to
move in that direction. Students might be asked to share an entry from their blogs or online sites. It may be
that students would provide richer and more candid information if admission departments ask for materials
that were more closely related to their increasingly online world.
B. Screenshots of Academic MySpace Successes
The screenshots that follow are some of the best designed and most effective college or university pages on
MySpace. To see all schools, visit: www.myspace.com/collegesanduniversities
Texas A& M University
Texas A&M focuses on the school colors and brand.
33
Oklahoma City University
This page uses a very modern interface, and features downloads, media and lots of user activities.
Visitors have plenty to do here.
University of Missouri-KC
Site has many posts saying, “thanks for the great education.”
Vanguard University
Site’s main focus is on making friends before attending.
Des Moines University
Simple site, with lots of information available.
35
New Mexico State University
NM State makes its page feel like an extension of the home page.
University of California – Los Angeles (UCLA)
UCLA lists itself like a person would on MySpace, right down to “Female age 89.”
Yale University
Yale also uses the “personal profile” approach.
Purdue University
Purdue uses school colors and photos prominently.
37
Edgewood College
Edgewood maintains a clean and approachable feel to their site.
39
References
Barnes, Nora Ganim. “Behind the Scenes in the Blogosphere: Advice From Experienced Bloggers”. 2006 (White paper) www.umassd.edu/cmr/studiesresearch/blogstudy.cfm
Barnes, Nora Ganim and Mattson, Eric. “The Game Has Changed: College Admissions Outpace Corporations in Adoption of Social Media”
2007 (White paper) www.umassd.edu/cmr/studiesresearch/blogstudy3.cfm
Boyd, Dana & Ellison, Nicole. “Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship.” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication,
13(1), article 11 (2007).
CTIA-The Wireless Association. Semi-Annual Wireless Industry Survey, 2007.
www.ctia.org/advocacy/research/index.cfm/AID/10316.
Gillen, Paul. The New Influencers. Quill Driver Books: 2007.
Marketing Charts. “Time Spent on Social Networks Soaring, but Traffic Down a Bit.” www.marketingcharts.com/interactive/time-spent-onsocial-networks-soaring-but-traffic-down-a-bit-4991/hitwise-social-network-sites-time-spent-may-2008jpg/ (May 2008).
Mattson, Eric and Barnes, Nora Ganim. “The Hype is Real: Social Media Invades the Inc. 500”. 2007 (White paper) www.umassd.edu/cmr/studiesresearch/blogstudy2.cfm
Owyang, Jeremiah. “Social Network Stats: Facebook, MySpace, Reunion.” Web Strategist. www.web-strategist.com/blog/2008/01/09/social-network-stats-facebook-myspace-reunion-jan-2008/ (Jan, 2008).
Potter, Les. “Legal and ethical issues when employers check applicants’ social networking sites.” More with Les. http://lespotter001.wordpress.com/2008/02/22/legal-and-ethical-issues-with-employers-checking-social-networking-sites (February 22, 2008).
Saba, Jennifer. “Most Newspaper Sites Down in Time Spent.” Editor and Publisher.
www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003819652 (June 23, 2008).
Scoble, Robert & Israel, Shel. Naked Coversations. Wiley Publishing: January 2006.
Winer, David. Scripting News. www.scripting.com
Young, Jeffrey R. “Thanks to YouTube, Professors Are Finding New Audiences.” Chronicle of Higher Education. http://chronicle.com/free/2008/01/1159n.htm (January 9, 2008).

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