Social Networks andStudent EnrollmentAn integrated approachPresented by:@andrewcareaga@MissouriSandT#AACRAOSEMXIXNov. 8, 2009

What is social media? Why does it matter?Why should you use it?How can you use it?Have fun!Our goals today

What is your digital IQ?

‘a shift in how people discover, read and share news, information and content’ – Wikipediauser-generated content‘architecture of participation’What is social media?

‘a shift in how people discover, read and share news, information and content’ – Wikipedia

user-generated content

‘architecture of participation’

Types of social media

Changing channels:from mass market to social mediaSource: Universal McCann, When Did We Start Trusting Strangers? September 2008 (http://universalmccann.bitecp.com/strangers_report.pdf )

Changing channels:from mass market to social mediaSource: Universal McCann, When Did We Start Trusting Strangers? September 2008 (http://universalmccann.bitecp.com/strangers_report.pdf )

User-generated content:a brief history

Groundswell social media ladderHow people use social mediaSource: Forrester Research; Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff, Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies (2008)

Graphic: Business Week, www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_24/b4038405.htm

Social media usageages 18-24Source: www.forrester.com/Groundswell/profile_tool.html

In a revolution, kings lose their heads.

… therefore, think like a peasant.Dan Forbush, founder of Profnet, 1996

Social media: the realmof the digital peasants

A few of my friends

‘Twitter is about approach, transparency and immediacy.’ Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter (and Missouri S&T alum) :)

Jack Dorsey has more followers on Twitter (1,300,585) than The New York Times has subscribers (1,039,031)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8

The real digital divide:immigrants vs. natives

Preferences for learning, workingSource: Mark Prensky, “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants,” On the Horizon (MCB University Press, Vol. 9 No. 5, October 2001)

95% spend time with friends face to face88% talk to friends on a landline67% talk to friends on a cell phone65% send email to friends61% use social networking sites60% of online teens send instant messages to friends58% send text messages to friendsSource: Pew Internet & American Life ProjectHow teens communicate

It’s not just teens; it’s parents90 percent of parents use the web to select a college for their children84 percent prefer email communication with a college or university76 percent prefer follow-up by mail (letter, brochure)5 percent looked at a campus’s MySpace page Source: Circling Over Enrollment: The E-Expectations of the Parents of College-Bound Students , cited in Joe Dysart “90 percent of parents choose their kids’ colleges on the web,” TodaysCampus.com, Nov. 4, 2009

‘Trust ranking’ of recruitment effortsLevels of trustSource: Hobsons Domestic Research Report 2009-2010, cited by Karlyn Morissette, www.doteduguru.com, Oct. 22, 2009

What is (insert latest social media service here)Why ______________ is sillyWhy ______________ is coolHey, look what famous celebrity is using ___________ !The dark side of ___________________________ doesn’t live up to its promiseHey, whatever happened to ____________ ?The rise and fall of social media(according to mainstream media)

Time spent on social networking sites has tripled in the past yearSource: NielsenSocial networks: the big three

How do you leverage social media for student recruitment?

First, discoverwhat’s already working

Campus visits/summer campsMore than 70% applyAbout 61% enroll26% of 2009 freshmen attended at least one summer programTele-counselingIncreases attendance at high school visits, receptions, etc.Consistent, frequent communicationRelationship buildingWhat works at Missouri S&T?Highest-yielding enrollment activities

Enrollment Management communications plan14-18 contacts or communications per prospective student21-27 for minorities or women28-36 for minority womenOther university outreachPublic relations activitiesDesign team, alumni eventsAthletics recruitmentSocial media  Communication + relationships

Amplify your advocate networkListen and engageReach out3 steps to social network success

Amplify your advocate network

Listen and engage

Reach out

Amplifyyour networks

Social media in S&T’s communications workflow

Connect with existing networksCurrent studentsAlumniProspective studentsInform themInformation leads to involvement and engagementThe power of amplification

Social web callouts:1,387 colleges/universitiesSource: BlueFuego.com, “Social Web Callouts: 6-month research,” Aug. 3, 2009

Connect with existing networksCurrent studentsAlumniProspective studentsInform themInformation leads to involvement and engagementThe power of amplification

Connect with existing networksCurrent studentsAlumniProspective studentsInform themInformation leads to involvement and engagementThe power of amplification

Connect with existing networksCurrent studentsAlumniProspective studentsInform themInformation leads to involvement and engagementThe power of amplification

The power of ampli-fication

Listen and engage

Listen andengage‘Something as simple as a status update that ties to an emotional time in new, current, and former students lives seems to resonate.’Rachel Reuben, director of web communication, SUNY New Paltzdoteduguru.com blogger

Promote eventsShare newsShare images and videoEncourage interactionWhat can you do with a Facebook group or fan page?

Promote eventsWhat can you do with a Facebook group or fan page?

Share newsWhat can you do with a Facebook group or fan page?

Share imagesWhat can you do with a Facebook group or fan page?

Encourage interactionWhat can you do with a Facebook group or fan page?

Promote eventsShare newsShare images and videoEncourage interactionWhat can you do with a Twitter account?

Promote events

Share news

Share images and video

Encourage interaction

Teens don’t Tweet?

‘[N]ow comScore tells us that kids used to hate Twitter, but they don't anymore.’Source: Dan Frommer, “Actually, kids don’t hate Twitter anymore,” BusinessInsider.com, Aug. 26, 2009Teens don’t Tweet?

ZinchUnigoCappexSocial networks for prospective students

Zinch

Unigo

Cappex

Internal social networks

AudienceWho?Where do they go?ContentWhat is being read?What is of interest?Engagement and actionSource: Jen Evans and Michael Procopio, “From Talk to Action”(sequentiaenvironics.com)Measurement

Audience

Who?

Where do they go?

Content

What is being read?

What is of interest?

Engagement and action

Facebook fan page audience

More insights from Facebook

Measuring content: Twitter

Measuring content: Twitter

Clicks on ‘Keister bomb’

They’re clicking, but…are they interacting?

They’re clicking, but…are they interacting?Numbers aren’t everything

Facebook: audience engagement

Facebook: audience engagement

Likes/post (as a % of fans)Comments/post (as a % of fans)Total engagement = A+B/# of fansFacebook: audience engagementthe BlueFuego formula

Analyzing social media traffic

Analyzing social media traffic

How to engage?When to engage?Who’s in charge?Social media guidelines

First – learn about social mediaIntegrate into your existing communications strategyWhich tools work for you?Collaborate – don’t competeClarify account ownershipGet necessary approvalsDefine critical vs. non-critical contentUnderstand your liabilitySocial media guidelines

Protect your studentsProtect your accountBe ethicalBe open (don’t try to suppress content)And finally…Social media guidelines

Don’t be like them

Resources: books and blogsThe Cluetrain Manifesto, Rick Levine, Christopher Locke, Doc Searles, David Weinberger (www.cluetrain.com)Groundswell, Josh Bernoff and Charlene LiThe New Rules of Marketing and PR, David Meerman ScottWikinomics, Don TapscottBlogsBlogHighEd.orgCollegeWebEditor.comdoteduguru.com

Andrew CareagaDirector of CommunicationsMissouri University of Science and Technologyacareaga@mst.edu@andrewcareagawww.twitter.com/andrewcareagahttp://highered.prblogs.orgFind this slideshow athttp://slideshare.net/andrewcareagaThank you!