Why Social Media for Business Schools?
After spending countless hours researching social media strategies and how one can integrate them into marketing initiatives for academia, I have come to the conclusion that social media is the future and key to any successful higher education marketing plan. But to my surprise, there are still many programs and Universities who aren’t using and convinced of the value of social media. In order to stay competitive Universities need to realize that having an active presence in social media today is as important as it was having a website in the 90’s. Below are some of the biggest reasons why Business Schools specifically should embrace social media.
*Update March 13, 2010: I have expanded on this topic through a SlideShare presentation - Social Media For MBA Marketing
The MBA Market is Growing
According to the 2009 Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC) Applications Trends Survey, many graduate schools are experiencing an influx of applications from potential students. The one of the biggest application volume increases was 14% in MBA programs that offer flexibility to working adults. Because of this increase, University admissions and marketing departments should be on high alert and quick to implement marketing campaigns that are not only cost effective, but also take advantage of this market growth. Social media campaigns are naturally cost-saving in comparison to traditional marketing campaigns. According to HubSpot, inbound (social media) marketing efforts are more cost effective and average 60% lower cost per lead than outbound (traditional) marketing efforts.
Business School Websites are “Greatly Influential”
The 2009 MBA.com Registrants Survey surveyed 97% of all students who registered to take the GMAT in the first nine months of 2008. The survey found that traditional advertisements (i.e. - direct mail, radio, newspaper, etc.) had only a “somewhat” influential effect on their prospective student’s decision. On the other hand, a school’s website “greatly” influenced a prospective student’s decision to apply. Furthermore, a school’s website was placed in the same importance category as published school rankings. Of course, it is a given that a University’s website is influential because it is the one place that details all the program information such a tuition, course descriptions, etc. However, often times the website can act as a trunk that branches out to supplementary websites, videos, or social networks that can further enlighten and convince a potential student to apply. With 97% of prospective students frequenting the websites of schools they have already applied or plan to apply, why wouldn’t a University capture their audience and fill their home page with as many quality online videos, student and faculty blogs, and social networking groups as possible?
Your Competition is Doing It
The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research published a study looking at Social Media and College Admissions from 2007-2008. What they found was that Colleges and Universities are adopting certain social media platforms faster than Fortune 500 companies. 85% of Colleges and Universities utilize at least one form of social media. The top three are social networking, video blogs, and traditional blogs. 81% of schools with blogs have found them successful. In addition, the study notes that while not all Universities are doing it, all Universities should follow the social media “rules of engagement.” This includes fostering the social media conversation through blog posts and permitting outside comments and feedback. The researchers note, “students are now choosing schools because of the relationship developed through the blog.”
In another article, GMAC points out that even more schools have embraced and are running with social media. The Fuqua School of Business at Duke has a You Tube and Itunes Channel. The Mays School of Business at Texas A&M is on Facebook and shares videos, news, and reports from students abroad. Even the Paul Merage School of Business at University of California-Irvine uses a Twitter feed to reach prospective MBAs.
Your Competition is Doing it well…VERY well.
Just this February 2010, CollegeSurfing.com compiled a list of their favorite and Top 50 Universities Using Social Media successfully. This long list ranges from private to public, from large scale to small scale Universities who are using social media creatively and successfully to connect with their students and prospective students.
Elsewhere, the social media experts at Mashable! have time after time written about Universities using social mediums in astounding and impactful ways. University of Phoenix has created a virtual recruitment location on YouTube with hundreds of videos that emotionally connect with each type of targeted student. Emory University is engaging, fund raising, and connecting students with alumni through social media. Stanford University showcases their faculty and student’s projects or achievements throughout their social media outlets.
Your Future Target Market Will Expect It
Let’s say your traditional marketing campaigns have done well in your past recruitment efforts and are still holding their weight. That is notable, but you should still be aware or should I say beware of the changing trends. BusinessWeek recently published an article warning of Gen Y’s coming of age and its effect on Business schools. Gen Y’s “don’t just use the new technology that has revolutionized business over the past decade—they eat, sleep and breathe it.” Business schools should carefully evaluate how in the future they will use technology and web mediums to evolve with new market trends to remain competitive.
If they haven’t already, Universities should start the social media transition (much sooner rather than later). I was sold so much on the social media movement that, with my University’s permission, in November of 2009 I independently implemented my own ideas to help steer them into the social media environment. The response has already been promising. Please share your own thoughts. What has your Business School or University done to foster social media initiatives and connect with its audience?
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Tags: business, marketing, MBA, memphis, social media