1. eRecruiting with Social Media
Shana Circe
Director of On-Campus Recruitment
Rachel Reuben
Director of Web Communication & Strategic Projects
State University of New York at New Paltz

2. about SUNY New Paltz
15,594 applications (11% increase)
1,100 enrolled first-year students
23,000 visitors
avg GPA: 90
avg SAT: 1160, ACT: 25

3. about New Paltz admissions
3 admission counselors
1 assoc. director
1 director
1 director, on-campus recruitment

4. dilemma
how do we connect more with our
students without increasing staff?

6. overview: tools & quick poll
Facebook
MySpace
YouTube
blogs
Twitter
flickr
Ning

7. collaboration
undergraduate admissions
Web services
marketing functions
social media is an add-on, not a replacement

8. Facebook
Fan Page launched in Nov. 2007
Over 4,000 fans
thousands of wall posts & interaction with fans
primary audience: prospective students
team behind the scenes: 8

10. YouTube
launched branded partner channel in Dec. 2008
requires academic content & branding
have received inquiries from prospects via inbox

12. blogs for recruiting
npbloggers
abroadblogs
iibblogs
athletic coaches

13. Twitter
@newpaltz
@nphawks
@NPAdmissions

14. flickr
www.flickr.com/photos/sunynewpaltz
embed slideshows within
newpaltz.edu & Facebook Fan
Page

15. what is Ning?
like Facebook
an online platform for users to create their own
social Web sites and social networks
forums, videos, events, groups, personal profiles
ning.com
premium services / costs

16. online community for fall 2009
accepted students

17. admissions strategy
Accept ~4,400 students
Enroll ~1,100 students
Accept ~1,400 early action students
Maximize most highly selective students

18. admissions strategy
sticker on accept packet
invite students (upload file from Banner)
early action accepts Jan 1 - Feb. 21
launched 1/2/09, invited 1,323
all accepted students Feb. 21 - May 1
invited 1,000 initially, then batches every 2 weeks
all transfer students mid-April - on

19. Café New Paltz: content
Baristas
Regular updates (videos with custom jingle)
Daily interaction, encouragement, conversation
starters & joiners
“Café-shaped conversations”
personal, intellectual

20. Café New Paltz: results
Members: 690
Paid PED: 52%
70% from highest selectivity group
Photos: 1,168
Videos: 22
Forums: 93

22. Café New Paltz: anecdotes
“I must be going. I’m definitely going to login
again though. This is an amazing resource.”
“Yeah, this is a pretty great thing set up here.”
“Yeah, I’ve never run across a school with
something this helpful & people this nice before!
It’s great!”
“I am really liking Café New Paltz. It is making it a
lot easier to adjust & I think between this &
orientation we should be good. :)”

23. eRecruiting with social media
where to start
“I don’t have time...”
making the case
listening - “grow bigger ears” http://is.gd/Nb8J

24. another spoke in the wheel
flickr credit: nickso

25. our secrets
answer questions promptly
join in the conversation, encourage interaction
show examples at group tours & general info sessions
include links in e-mail correspondence
bags
interact postcards, Web site

26. best practices
YouTube: UC Berkeley
flickr pool: The University of New Mexico
blogs: Ball State University & Butler University
Twitter: @drexeladmission

27. things to consider
loss of control
time commitment
information overload
anyone can create an “official”
account for your university

28. measurement
ROI --> return on influence
long tail effect
Café New Paltz
yield more highly selective students
think outside the box - Ning limitations &
programming
quality not quantity (# of fans/followers/subscribers)

29. Facebook comparison
school #1 school #2 school #3
4,391 fans 2,662 fans 4,064 fans
4 wall posts 29 wall posts 29 wall posts
- all by school - 24 by school - 21 fan ?’s
- 2 fan ?’s - 5 by school
- 3 fan stmts - 3 fan stmts

30. ? ?
Rachel Reuben
questions
reubenr@newpaltz.edu
Shana Circe
circes@newpaltz.edu
site: rachelreuben.com Twitter: @Shana729
blog: doteduguru.com
Twitter: @rachelreuben