WHILE ONLY 19 PERCENT OF Americans aged 12 to 17 have ever listened to a podcast, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, many institutions have invested in academic or marketing initiatives to offer content and updates via podcasting. At the other end of the line, the possibilities for reaching and engaging the 75 percent of teens glued to their mobile phones are still mainly ignored by the majority of marketing strategists in higher education. Except for the work of a few trailblazers—the usual suspects of early digital adopters and faculty in the computer science bastions of higher education—most colleges and universities keep ignoring the perfect marketing storm gathering around the small, ubiquitous mobile devices.
A perceived low demand from target audiences, a lack of technical and financial resources, and the complexity of any mobile implementation are most often cited as the main reasons for ignoring what should be the next big thing in student engagement and recruitment marketing.
But haven’t we all heard the same reasons in the past to justify slow adoption of other new technologies?
Even if the year of the mobile web hasn’t dawned upon higher education yet, it’s time to explore this new frontier and get educated about the possibilities. Let’s start with the ABCs of mobile marketing with some facts, examples, and stats.
Applications
Apple’s App Store is probably the most popular—with more than a billion downloads reached in April 2009—but it’s not the only place to find these free or low-cost software applications that can extend or facilitate the use of the latest generation of mobile phones. Android, Google’s open source mobile operating system, has its Market, the Blackberry has its App World, and Qualcomm announced in May the opening of Plaza Retail, a platform-neutral application store. The most popular applications include games, news readers, e-mail, and social networking website clients.
Duke is one institution that has implemented the MobilEdu application suite, developed by the Stanford graduates behind the application iStanford. It offers interactive access to the campus map, a directory, an event calendar, a course catalog and schedule, and other student services within an iPhone application, plus an XHTML website for smart phones and a WAP website for older devices.
Bluetooth
You might have Bluetooth headphones for your computer, but did you know that this technology can also be used to beam an alert to cell phone users passing by a Bluetooth transmitter device? Often called Bluecasting, the technology allows the detection of phones at proximity, the transmission of an invitation to receive more content, and a direct connection with the resulting opting-in customers. Since they rely on Bluetooth (and not texting), these alerts are free for the recipient. Mostly used in Europe and by the retail industry, Bluecasting could be implemented during college fairs, anywhere on campus, or within a stadium.
Costs
From a permission-based text-messaging campaign with a dedicated short code or a customized phone application, to staff time for a mobile-friendly version of your university’s main webpages, mobile marketing comes in different shapes and costs. As the market matures, costs are bound to decrease.
Donations
Although university fundraising campaigns are more focused on million-dollar donors, smaller donations made through mobile devices have helped make a difference for many nonprofit organizations. Harris Connect is currently working with the Mobile Giving Foundation and several higher ed institutions on a mobile giving initiative. “The thought is to post a scoreboard message at a game or event instructing attendees to donate $1 to $5 for a specific cause,” says Kurt Worrell, senior vice president of consumer sales and marketing. The donation is then directly charged to the donor’s phone account.
Emergency Alerts
Since the Virginia Tech tragedy, many IHEs have implemented third-party solutions to send emergency alerts via texting. At SUNY New Paltz, the mass notification system NP Alerts, supported by the e2campus platform, has also been used to relay other types of text messages (mainly about events) to students who joined optional groups. “We integrate registering for NP Alerts in their orientation during the summer, and [do the same] during winter break for transfer students,” says Rachel Reuben, director of web communication and strategic projects.
iPhone and iTouch
As of May, about 40 million iPhones and iTouches had been sold. A few IHEs, including Abilene Christian University (Texas) and the Missouri School of Journalism, have announced their commitment to make these devices cornerstones of student life. In April, Stanford made its videotaped course on iPhone application programming available for free
