How to Recruit Students using
New Media Outlets
ANDREW MEYERS - HOPE COLLEGE
BRAD J WARD - BLUEFUEGO

Twitter Hashtag: #macac

Evolution of Communication

Communication changes.

The medium changes.

The recruitment game has
changed.

traditional recruitment
1980s until now

1980s 1990s
paper applications
paper applications
telephone
telephone
brochures/letters
brochures/letters
magazine ads
magazine ads
television presence (athletics)
television presence (athletics)
Posters
VHS Promo Tapes
(more of the same)

early 2000s mid 2000s
online application online application
primitive email email communication (HTML)
communication online advertising (banner ads,
online advertising Google Adsense)
Promo DVDs

a major shift
2004-2009

2004 2005
HTML email campaigns more online application continues to
plausible grow
online application takes hold YouTube launches
Flickr launches

2006 2007
Google Apps for Education Facebook Pages become
introduced available
Twitter launches iTunes U launches
Zinch launches

2008 2009
email campaigns grow online application becomes
online application takes hold standard
schools begin to experiment twitter explodes in popularity
with new media facebook becomes #1
youtube EDU launches

changes to Butler
2007 to present

where I came in
new position: electronic communication coordinator
search process: outsourced
website: go.butler.edu/cs
monitor/participate in all social media
email marketing, usability testing, trends/research, data analysis

changes to Hope
2006 to present

where I came in
email campaign: header image, text
online application: outsourced
website: hope.edu/admissions
online presence: petersons, et al
webmail: outsourced

traditional buy-in:
OUTCOME
INDIVIDUAL
“cool idea!” some success, some frustration
STAFF MEETING
“should we do this?”
COMMITTEE
“yeah, we should do this”
BOSS
“hmm, I don’t know”
INDIVIDUAL
“this is too much work”
timeline: 1 month

new buy-in:
OUTCOME
INDIVIDUAL
“cool idea!” definite success, little frustration
INDIVIDUAL
“I’m going to try it out”
INDIVIDUAL
“nice. works and costs nothing!”
BOSS
“great work! what’s next?”
timeline: 1 hour

why is it this way?
✓ the ‘millenial’ generation or
‘generation Y’
✓ We’re on the fringe -- do the math!
✓ includes individuals born between
1980 and 2000
✓ expectation that things should happen
more quickly than they do
✓ “impatient and eager to live life
now.”
✓ optimistic about life 5 years out
1Erickson, Tamara. Plugged in. Boston: Harvard Business School
Press, 2008.

You can only offer so much offline.

Relationships > Technology

PRINT
ELECTRONIC

facebook statistics
Michigan

facebook
76% of Michigan schools have a presence on Facebook
Average: 2804 fans (Without MSU and UM: 1060)
High Ratio of Institution Comments to Fan Comments:
Davenport University
Kettering University
Cornerstone University
Ferris State University
Wayne State University
Michigan State University

facebook
64% of schools open to ‘Boxes’ tab
36% of schools open to ‘Wall’ tab
Schools that open to Wall tab average 21% more conversation.
60% of MI schools not on Facebook are XS Private.
90% of MI schools not on Facebook are Private.

hope college admissions
what we’ve been up to

• started using in fall 2008
• no HD from YouTube or Facebook at that point
• YouTube → questionable content
• now, YouTube for Edu
• syndicating our content across all 3 platforms

video example

butler university admissions
what we were up to

the email

the metrics

the results
T

personal shift
• attended Innovative Educators’ conference in
Cincinnati (July 2008)
• networked with other individuals in the field
• got connected on Twitter
• started a professional blog to share my thoughts
(admittedlydutch.com)
• productivity has noticeably increased

personal shift
• attended Stamats conference in Philadelphia (October 2006)
• began experimenting with new media sites
• Used Twitter as my ‘personal brand platform’
• started a professional blog to share my thoughts
(squaredpeg.com)
• Saw the benefits and results of web-based recruiting

other things Hope is
• monthly video updates (shot, created, and edited in-house)
• using services like Zinch and Cappex to connect with
students online
• email campaign series
• used Ning to develop a closed social network for our
admitted students
• starting to work on using Twitter
• currently making a vendor selection for CRM

how can you stay on top
• be networking with us on Twitter
• @bradjward and @andrewmeyers
• follow a select group of blogs, RSS
• start with bloghighed.org
• read some good books (http://bit.ly/
hebooks)
• keep attending conferences
• check out eduWeb and NACAC Annual
Conference

who has the first
question?

contact us
Andrew Meyers
Office of Admissions, Hope College
meyers[at]hope.edu
twitter.com/andrewmeyers
Brad Ward
Chief Explosion Officer, BlueFuego
brad[at]bluefuego.com
twitter.com/bradjward