HIGHER EDUCATION IS JUMPING ON THE social media bandwagon. A 2008 UMass-Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research study states that colleges and universities are adopting social media tactics faster than Fortune 500 companies. More than 700 institutional Facebook pages were launched by December 2007 shortly after the site opened its doors to corporations and nonprofits.
But the review of eduStyle’s Gallery of Social Sites reveals a strong similarity among Facebook school pages. They typically include the kinds of photography and images available from campus marketing sources, don’t necessarily make the best use of outside applications and other robust Facebook features, and sometimes have startlingly few friends.
To gain any benefit from the social web, institutional social networks need to build sustainable communities that grow and significantly expand their reach. Simply throwing a page up on Facebook or pulling together your own online network is no guarantee of success. If you build it, they may or may not come.
Colleges and universities would be wise to develop networks that have the same kind of power that commercial networks like Twitter or MySpace do—the power to attract members who will broadcast network benefits throughout the digital ecosystem, attract other members, and create an ongoing community that feeds marketing and recruiting efforts. These steps can help you establish a powerful institutional social network.
1. START WITH STRATEGY
Social networks can strengthen a marketing campaign even in a secondary role. So far, they seem to work best as campaign feeders, though they are now taking the lead role in many corporate efforts. Because of its relationship-building power, social networking could become a brave new tool to help achieve a number of significant goals for a higher ed institution, in particular:
• Expanding admissions inquiry pools
• Tracking prospective students as they move through the recruiting funnel
• Improving yield and conversion rates
• Bringing alumni back home and integrating them into recruiting and fundraising
• Expanding potential donor pools, particularly for annual funds
• Broadcasting your brand through “viral word of mouse”
• Expanding the reach and constancy of institutional identity
A powerful network can have a positive impact on all of these, but it can’t and shouldn’t replace traditional marketing programs. And it should never be undertaken without a clear strategy. Too many IHEs are jumping into tactics and technology before clarifying their objectives. Focusing on technology first is working backward. Successful social networks are built by people, not the latest gadget. They gain power from the interaction among community members.
A viable strategy starts by defining key audiences and assessing their social media readiness and levels of participation. Most IHEs consider a similar set of key audiences, including:
• Prospective students and their parents
• Current students and their parents
• Prospective faculty
• Current faculty
• Current undergraduate and graduate students
• Prospective donors
• Donors and alumni
• Friends, such as business and community leaders
While the generic quality of this list helps limit scope, it also limits network potential. For alumni, would you build one network for all, knowing that younger alums (ages 22-35) will probably not relate well to older, more well established alums? Does the category for business leaders include people from granting agencies? You can build a social network for any number of targeted audiences. The more specific you are in defining them, the greater the chance that your network will engage their common interests and needs.
2. CREATE A POWERFUL NETWORK BUILT ON USER-GENERATED CONTENT
The key to understanding social media is to remember that content matters most with all transactions in this world.
Every social networking site’s primary function is to display user-generated content. They exist for no other purpose, and, contrary to popular but mistaken perceptions, are not simply virtual yearbooks. Social networking sites draw users who want to create content. Users create profiles they can individualize through text, photographs, blogs, and other site features and applications.
