Social Media and Higher Education

A guest post from Cyndi Laurenti

Most people are familiar with social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, but many likely believe such services are simply used on an individual basis. In the beginning, these sites were primarily a way for individuals to keep in regular contact with friends and family, but things have changed.

Many higher education institutions from conventional colleges to online PhD programs are now also creating accounts to promote themselves. There are several things colleges can learn from businesses successful with their social media marketing campaigns.

What can colleges learn from businesses about social media promotion?

When colleges look at a business that operates a successful social media campaign, they’ll notice there are a few techniques nearly all businesses use. First, businesses give people some sort of incentive to “like” or follow them. Some businesses will give everyone some type of discount or credit for subscribing, and other businesses will have some type of sweepstakes that the 100th visitor, for example, will win. Colleges could offer similar incentives (textbook discounts, free school merchandise, etc.) to current or prospective students who connect and keep up with the schools’ social media presence.

Another thing colleges can learn from businesses about social media promotion is how to construct the social media page itself. Colleges should take note of how clearly businesses tell customers their mission statements and what products they offer. Colleges will also notice businesses (hopefully) all do an excellent job of making their contact information extremely easy to find.

What do colleges need to do differently in promoting themselves via social media?

It’s a great thing that more colleges are using social media to promote themselves, but they may not be doing it in the most effective manner. Many colleges appear to have just created a page to say they’re on Facebook or Twitter, but the information on the page isn’t all that useful or doesn’t encourage people to visit frequently.

Colleges need to get excited about venturing into the social media world and make it more than a weak gesture. This means they should post fresh content at least daily. Regular, interesting updates will get more interested visitors, lead to more subscriptions and keep visitors coming back.

What do colleges stand to gain by better using social media to promote themselves and connect with students?

When colleges use social media to promote themselves and connect with students, they’ll reap several benefits. One likely possibility is a substantial increase in enrollment. It’ll also be easier for current students to know exactly what is going on at the college on a regular basis, even as prospective applicants get a better sense of the school from the same source.

Any college that uses social media for promotion will definitely notice some gain in business, but the colleges that really take off with social media are the ones that actually put some effort into doing it right. When a college makes its social media pages actually interesting to read, people will want to check back on a regular basis. When people continue to visit a page, they’ll be a lot better able to form a clear picture of the school, and a lot more likely to choose that college.