Leveraging Twitter to Reach Moms Considering a Return to School

SINCE 1987, CHANGING LIVES THROUGH EDUCATION

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Leveraging According to Nielson Online, Twitter.com is the fastest growing social networking site,

achieving a 343% growth rate between September 2007 and September 2008.

The latest numbers from Nielsen Online indicate that Twitter grew 1,382% year-over-year in February 2009, registering a total of just more than 7 million unique visitors in the U.S. for the month. (Mashable.com)

www.collegebound.net




THE COLLEGEBOUND NETWORK TWEETS TO CONNECT WITH POTENTIAL STUDENTS

Editors at CollegeBound.net, CollegeSurfing.com, and SpaBeautySchools.com personally manage dedicated Twitter accounts to broadcast content, connect and engage users, and share informationabout CollegeBound Network resources and offerings.

http://www.twitter.com/CollegeBoundnet http://www.twitter.com/CollegeSurfing

http://www.twitter.com/SpaBeauty

CASE STUDY: Moms Back at School on

On March 3, 2009, The CollegeBound Network (CBN) sponsored its first-ever social networking event targeting mothers interested in returning to school by using Twitter and a partnership with Mom It Forward’s Girls’ Night Out (#GNO). Girls' Night Out (GNO) is a dedicated block of time (Tuesdays,9-11 p.m. EST) when approximately 300-500 “Mom It Forward” participants sign onto Twitter.com andconverse using the #GNO hashtag. A hashtag tracks conversation threads for easy monitoring on the popular social networking site. A topic is set and those in attendance “Tweet” together and askquestions of an expert Twitter panel.

Participants in this event had the opportunity to chat with a successful mom-student, learn more aboutthe flexibility of career education, and discover ways they could jump-start their own back-to-schoolpursuits, while managing a busy personal and professional life.

Featured panelists included Gina LaGuardia, editorial director of The CollegeBound Network; KeithBourne, founder of AdaptiveCampus.com; Stuart Finkelson, enrollment supervisor at Capella University;and Nicole Russo, a student in Capella University's master's in mental health counseling degree program and single mom of a 9-year-old. Editors fromCollegeSurfing.com,SpaBeautySchools.com, andCollegeBound.net were on hand to share insight as well.

Among the resources offered byThe CollegeBound Network in theirrole as “Expert Twitter Guest” at the #GNO event was a landingpage dedicated to “Moms Back at School”. The informational pagepresented a number of related articles, along with an area to monetize potential student traffic via request-for-information forms.Additional areas were also delineated for Partner branding.




SUBJECT MATTER Participants in this informational and motivational event included a variety of women, including:

• a 42-year-old woman who recently received her degree summa cum laude• a mom who got her master's degree while her husband was in Iraq (she even finished early!)• a mom who went to law school at night while working full time and now wants to get a

master's degree in public health online• many moms contemplating going back to school and others dealing with their kids getting into

college, changing majors, and transferring schools.

Interspersed with tweets about caring for their kids, job hunting, making dinner, learning HTML, knitting, and just supporting each other in the details of their lives, moms of all ages and stages encouraged each other in their educational endeavors. They re-tweeted and bookmarked shared links to digest at their leisure, including URLs to the robust resource area on CollegeSurfing.com that provides career education articles and blogs, as well as CBN's free school search functionality.Moms agreed that if they could handle such a busy #GNO, they're techie enough for online learning!




INTERACTIONDuring the unique event, panelists fielded education questions as they streamed in.

QUESTIONS POSED BY GNO PARTICIPANTS:• When is a good time to seriously be looking into scholarship opportunities?• Can you do a master's from home? I did not know that was possible.• Is there an easy way to sort through the online master's programs?• I'm hoping to go back to school; any resources for military spouses?• What types of certificate programs do you offer for those folks that have been out of school

for a while?• Do you know anything about HTML/CSS classes online?• Online courses vs. being a student on campus? Pros and cons for moms?• I am interested in working with folks to help change their lives physically and mentally.

What do you recommend?• I want to take graphic design courses; is a certificate program worth it? • Do you ever address homeschoolers getting ready for college on your site?• How do you weed out the good colleges from the bad?• My son is 6, is he going to have to be a Mensa member with tons of extracurriculars to get a

scholarship? Layoff makes saving hard.• Can you really do online massages classes/Reiki, or [should you] just go to the local schools?• How [can I] know for sure whether a degree is globally recognized or not?• Is it possible to get an MSW online?• Health care seems to be in demand; what else do you foresee?• Any advice for transfer students - admissions, scholarships?• What would be considered a nontraditional student?• What kinds of classes are no-credit classes?

ADVICE AND MOTIVATION FROM NICOLE RUSSO, MOM AND CURRENT STUDENT ATCAPELLA UNIVERSITY:

3 In my classes, there are lots of moms and the great thing is that we are all a support system.3 Being on Twitter or other online networking prepares you for the experience. 3 Time management is key. Learn to incorporate your child in the learning experience,

such as having them read while [you're] reading.3 Pursuing an education makes you feel better about yourself because you are doing

something for you. Plus your kids benefit, too.




MEMORABLE GNO PARTICIPANT QUOTES:3 If you are not learning, you are dying.3 [I] seriously think my need to learn new things kept me sane during the early years of

motherhood.3 I balanced a baby and books with motivation. He had to understand that Mommy

had to work; [he] was on my lap a lot!3 Read to them, read with them, read around them. Share your sense of curiosity about the

world. Let them “teach” you.3 [I] wish online classes were available when I went to school. [It] would have been so much

easier than finding a sitter.3 It's so awesome for moms to go back [to school]. My mom did and it encouraged me to go to

graduate school.3 My mom went back to school after a 25-year hiatus. It was hard for her, but she's glad she

did. She's a great example of life[long] learning. 3 My mom got her BA when my first baby was 1. We went to her MBA graduation this past

fall. Great example to us all. My kids loved it!3 I feel like I need to get my master's degree to be an example to my kids.

I'm planning on starting when my youngest is 3.3 I think that some form of continuing education needs to happen regardless of [the]

economy. Lifelong learners perform better.3 I think [that's] why so many of us are drawn to social media - you're constantly learning. 3 For me, to live is to learn about all things - mind, body, and soul.3 A friend has the opportunity to go for her Ph.D. or get a job and I told her forget the job. She

has a lifetime to work.3 I'd approach school much differently [the] second time around.3 I love this quote: “Those who are willing to learn will inherit the earth; those who aren't will

inherit a world that no longer exists.”

For a complete transcript, see http://jazzychad.com/twitter/gno-march03.html







DEMOGRAPHICS Although Mom It Forward does not currently have all-inclusive user demographics (the nature of Twitter.comis that #hashtag events like #GNO are ever-evolving), this informal "TwitPoll" presents some highlights ofthe group's participant base.

VALUE

The value in this type of social media project is truly realized in terms of relationship building and networking collateral. School partners were able to forge a very valuable (often hard-to-acquire) bond from a few minutes of interaction with a number of potential students.







VALUE


“Partnering with CBN to promote lifelong learning through tradi-tional or, more realistically for moms, alternative educationaloptions, is one way Mom It Forward is achieving its mission tochange the world one mom at a time. The greatest thing aboutsupporting moms in their educational endeavors is the rippleeffect it starts, resulting in their ability to strengthen their familiesas well as give back to their communities.”~ Mom It Forward Co-Founder Jyl Johnson Pattee.

“The CollegeBound Network did a tremendous job facilitating thisand I also believe it was a success. It is a very interesting plat-form for success. Thanks for including me!”-Stuart Finkelson, Enrollment Supervisor, Capella UniversitySchool of Education, Ph.D., Ed.S., & Certificate Programs

“Participating in the Moms Back at School through Girls NightOut on Twitter was an empowering and inspiring experience.Being able to communicate with hundreds of amazing womenand listen to their passion and drive was simply remarkable. TheTwitter forum provided an exceptional opportunity to share myexperiences of pursuing a master's degree at Capella as a singlemom.”~ Nicole Russo, Capella student

“We used Twitter and the associated Tweetgrid tool as a platform to quickly reach a large group of geographically-dispersed individuals that share a common interest or situation.Our effort here finally helps to deliver on the original promises ofthe Internet, and helps to highlight the real power one can havewithin a social networking context.” ~ Keith Bourne, CEO, Adaptive Campus



TESTIMONIALS


FUTURE INITIATIVESFuture Twitter initiatives will include Twitter “conferences” organized around a topic and for a specific audience. These “virtual conferences” will be facilitated via Twitter.com’s stream of conversation, enabling The CollegeBound Network to assemble a targeted audience to discuss specific college-related topics:

• Financial Aid• Earn and Learn• Back to School



Leveraging Twitter to Reach Moms Considering a Return to School

Education

Transcript of Leveraging Twitter to Reach Moms Considering a Return to School