How to Use Social Media in Enrollment Marketing
Joe MulvihillSEO Manager
What We’ll Cover
• What is social media?• Why social media?• Social media sites and how to use them• Measuring the value of social media• How to get started with social media• Resources• Questions
Key Takeaways From Today
• How to leverage social media in your enrollment marketing efforts
• Tools that you can use to enhance your social presence
• Roadmap on how to enter the landscape
What We’ll Cover
• What is social media?• Why social media?• Social media sites and how to use them• Measuring the value of social media• How to get started with social media• Resources• Questions
What is Social Media?
• People connecting with friends, strangers and businesses
• Sharing and broadcasting info
• Growing and evolving
• The future of the Web
What We’ll Cover
• What is social media?• Why social media?• Social media sites and how to use them• Measuring the value of social media• How to get started with social media• Resources• Questions
Why Social Media?
• It’s where your fans are. In August, people spent more time on Facebook than Google
• Social media use is up 43% year over year source
• People are talking – are you listening?
What is your reason?
• Increase brand exposure• Build an online community• Listen and engage• Strengthen other online marketing tactics• Support admissions reps with another tool
What We’ll Cover
• What is social media?• Why social media?• Social media sites and how to use them• Measuring the value of social media• How to get started with social media• Resources• Questions
Popular Social Media Sites
• Facebook• Twitter• YouTube• Linkedin
• Largest site in the United States• Used to connect with people the user already
knows• Allows some customization• Can be integrated into any site• Constantly evolving
• Create a fan page and encourage people to “Like” it– Anything published will be put into their feed– An excellent way to promote events, offers, etc.– Create custom tabs
• Facebook Connect integrates into your site– Makes it easier for visitors to put you in front of
their friends
• Build your audience– Current students– Prospective students– Alumni members– Faculty/Staff
• Maintain brand identity• Add additional information– History/About Us– Degree programs– Campus locations
• Cool features– Contact form– Contests
• Create Facebook events– Sends attendees a
reminder– Your institution will
appear in front of their friends
• Strategic engagement– Contests– Q&A– Polls and surveys– Consistent updates
• Used to broadcast information
• Tweets are being pulled into other sites• Follow, follow, follow, and people will follow
you back
• Broadcast information about your school
• Limited to 140 characters, so keep it short– Shorten URLs by using bit.ly
• Search for people looking for/talking about you
• Target– Students– Alumni– Community
• Engage– Tweet– RT– @reply
• Admissions FAQ’s• Respond to ?’s• Provide tips• Converse with people
• What will your personality be?– Fun and friendly– Professional and informative – Informal and personal– Combination
YouTube
• 2nd largest search engine• 24 hours of video uploaded each minute• 2 billion+ views per day• Demographic is broad: 18-54 years old
YouTube
• Video content– Educational material– Class samples– Testimonials– Event information– How-to guides– Promotional material
YouTube
• Customize the background image• Additional functionality if EDU status:– Clickable link– Banner header
• Must apply for EDU status– One channel per institution– Established channel with representative amount
of educational videos
• Used to connect professionally• Connect with:– Alumni – Area employers– Potential new students/employees
• 90 million worldwide users• A new user joins every second
• Optimize company profile• Create Linkedin group
• Build your audience– Current students– Alumni members– Faculty/staff/employees– Area employers
• Create/engage in discussions– FAQ’s– Relevant school topics– Career fair updates– Career services updates– Industry news
• How to use for enrollment marketing– Position Linkedin as an asset– Online resume– Help current students/alumni setup– Shows your school is “current” or “up-to-date”
Additional Opportunities
• Foursquare• Digg• StumbleUpon• Squidoo• SCVNGR
• HubPages• Yahoo! Answers• Flickr• Blogging• Slideshare
Advertising on Social Sites
• Paid advertising on the individual sites– Promoted YouTube videos– Promoted tweets– Facebook ads– Linkedin ads
• Target specific demo within the networks
What We’ll Cover
• What is social media?• Why social media?• Social media sites and how to use them• Measuring the value of social media• How to get started with social media• Resources• Questions
Measure Performance
• Number of connections• Number of posts/comments• Inquiries generated through contact form• Referral traffic to branded website• Social sentiment
Measure Performance
• Tools to use– Web analytics• Google Analytics, WebTrends, etc.
– Self-monitoring• Manually checking the profiles/accounts
– Social monitoring software• SM2 Alterian, Spiral 16, Social Mention, etc.
Social Monitoring Software
• Conversations occur everywhere• Public perception impact• Understand and then engage• Measure impact of online branding efforts
What We’ll Cover
• What is social media?• Why social media?• Social media sites and how to use them• Measuring the value of social media• How to get started with social media• Resources• Questions
Creating a Cohesive Campaign
Before you initiate a campaign, consider –
• What is your expected outcome?
• How much time will you be able to devote?
• What resources are available to market your
brand?
Strategic Planning
Before you go online, consider –• Who do you want to reach? Students? Their
friends/family? Other professionals?• What engaging ideas, videos & images will you
publish to capture your network’s attention?• How can you complement what you’re doing
on your website/blog?
Strategic Planning
Once you know what to say, find where to say it.• Research your initial networks– Start with one or two
• Create your accounts• Friend and follow to build up your
community
Strategic Execution
• Engage with your community
– Don’t just blast out information – talk to people
– Find the influencers in your area
• Analyze everything
Website Marketing Tips
• Add social media buttons to your site
• Utilize multiple channels… expand your reach• Authenticity is everything – Be yourself!• Learn and respect the norms of the
community
What We’ll Cover
• What is social media?• Why social media?• Social media sites and how to use them• Measuring the value of social media• How to get started with social media• Resources• Questions
Resources
• Blogs– http://mashable.com/social-media/ – http://sphinn.com/hot/SocialMedia/ – http://www.facebook.com/developers/
• Social Sites– Utilize Twitter to stay up on news/trends
• Research sites– eMarketer
What We’ve Covered
• What is social media?• Why social media?• Social media sites and how to use them• Measuring the value of social media• How to get started with social media• Resources• Questions
Questions?
Joe MulvihillSEO Manager
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