Review best website engagement examples for online adult student recruitment. Examples include: home page piority for academic programs, effective inquiry forms, social media sites, using Wikipedia, blogs for adult students.

1. Key Website Features for Better Adult Student Recruitment ©Robert E. Johnson, Ph.D. 2009 Innovative Educators Webinar February 17, 2009

3. The Golden Rule… 5 seconds to connect

6. Front page that’s alive and connects… http://www.devry.edu/

7. Simple steps to qualify a possible lead…

8. Get people quickly to academic programs…

9. Another strong example… http://www.emerson.edu/admission/graduate/

11. Make them obvious for visitors… http://www.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/programs/emba/index.cfm

12. Getting an online inquiry… Ask for as little information as possible… Avoid personal demographic questions… Qualify with phone number if you intend to use it

13. Easy to find where to inquire… http://www.walden.edu/

14. First page reinforces reasons to inquire…

15. “ Thank you”… add a person’s name

16. Immediate email follow-up…

17. Even faster at NYU SCPS… https://www.scps.nyu.edu/register/requestInfo.htm

18. Let’s take a question break…

19. Social network sites… Your regular website is more important… Integrate social media sites with regular website… Only start what you can monitor and maintain

20. Connecting to and from the website… http://realpeople.waldenu.edu/meet.cfm

21. YouTube personal stories… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzgahhCdxWA&feature=related

22. Connecting on Facebook… http://www.facebook.com/pages/Walden-University/6514736316#

23. Connecting on MySpace … http://www.myspace.com/waldenu

24. Two Twitter examples… http://webcast-law.uchicago.edu/tweetchicago/ ... http://twitter.com/UTexasMcCombs

25. Don’t overlook Wikipedia… Among 10 most popular U.S. websites… Must be factual, not promotional… Available in many languages

26. Connect from Wikipedia… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Division_of_Continuing_Education

27. Don’t use a Lake Wobegone viewbook style… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Arizona_University

28. Other features to consider… Blogs, old fashioned but strong… Refer a friend… Feedback on the website

29. Blogs aren’t just for teens… http://www.ipfw.edu/dlearning/blogs/default.html

30. Blogs can be program specific… http://blogs.targetx.com/umbssw/

31. Viral marketing… refer a friend http://www.waldenu.edu/refer/

32. Ask people to help you…

33. Be careful about what you ask…

34. What makes online learning different? http://www.regisuniversityonline.org/rightForYou.php

35. Questions?

36. Thank You! Bob Johnson, Ph.D. President and Senior Consultant Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC 226 Chauncey Court Marshall, MI 49068 248.766.6425 [email_address] Customer Carewords for Online Marketing Success: http://www.bobjohnsonconsulting.com/customercarewords.html