Social Media University

8/6/2019 Social Media University

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Social Media Marketing for

Business Schools?Erin M. Wiles

Marketing Professional

www.ErinWiles.com


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Social Media marketing is becoming moreimportant to business of all industries every day.

This presentation speaks specifically to

Universities and Graduate Business Schools.

My goal is to convince my audience of theimportance of Social Media marketing in

attracting prospective graduate students andexplain how it can be used to gain (or keep) acompetitive advantage over other Universities.


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Social Media Defined:

Activities, practices and behaviors among

communities of people who gather online toshare information, knowledge, and opinionsusing conversational media.

Safko, L., & Brake, D. (2009) - The Social Media Bible


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Social Media transfers informationthrough:


Content (i.e. blogs or micro blogs such as Twitter)

Photos (i.e. photo sharing sites such as Flickr or Facebook)

Online videos (i.e. YouTube)

Audios (i.e. iTunes Podcasts)


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If youve ever used your computer or cellphone to read a blog, watch a YouTube video,listen to a podcast, or send a text message toother members of your group...then you haveused social media.



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So, Why Use Social Media to Help

Business Schools Recruit MoreStudents?


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Point I

The MBA Market is Growing


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GMAC Applications

Trend Survey 2009

Graduate schools are experiencing

an influx of applications from

potential students

In one year, application volume

significantly increased in 3 of the 5MBA program types:

Full-time 1-year MBA programs

( 21%)

Flexible MBA programs ( 14%)

Part-time MBA programs ( 7%)

Murray, M., (2009) - 2009 GMAC Application Trend Summary


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Point I Summary

If your market is growing, its

time to increase your efforts to

capture more share!

The bigger your share the moregraduate student applications

are submitted

The more applications

submitted, the more selectiveyour program can be

The more selective your

program, the higher your

University reputation is


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Point II

Social Media Marketingis Highly Valued


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School websites had greater

influence over prospective students

decisions about which school to

apply than published rankings.

2009 MBA.com

Registrants Survey


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One Year Later...

2010 MBA.com

Registrants Survey

The main sources consulted by

potential students in selecting a

graduate school

1. Schools website

2. School-related websites*

3. Schools published rankings

Schoenfeld, G., (2010) - 2010 MBA.com Registrants Survey

*New Figure in 2010 report


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School websites and school

related websites have a greater

influence than published rankings

2010 MBA.com

Registrants Survey


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Point II Summary

One contributing factor to the highwebsite statistics is the fact that they

detail vital program information such

as tuition, course descriptions, etc.

However, the website can act as atrunk that branches out to

supplementary websites, videos, or

social networks that can further

enlighten and convince a potential

student to apply

If 97% of students are visiting yourUniversitys website, it would be in

your best interest to use and showcase

all social media marketing efforts to

persuade and recruit potential students


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Point III

Traditional Marketing Effortsare Not as Effective


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Traditional

Marketing Efforts

Television

Radio

Newspaper

Magazines

Direct Mail

Online Advertisements

Schoenfeld, G., (2010) - 2010 MBA.com Registrants Survey


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Traditional advertisements had(at best) a somewhat

influential effect on influencinga prospective student to apply

2009 MBA.com

Registrants Survey


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School websites and school related

websites have a greater influence

than traditional school publications

and school related publications

2010 MBA.com

Registrants Survey


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Point IV

Your Students Want Social Mediaand Will Share It


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Student communities arekey drivers of overall

student satisfaction with

an MBA school culture

Schoenfeld, G., (2008)

2008 GMAC Data-to-Go Series

Impact of School Culture: Part-Time

MBA Programs


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Satisfaction with school culture

correlates with assessment of

overall program value




MBA Programs


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Satisfaction with school culturealso correlates with whether a

student would recommend their

school to others seeking a

graduate business education




MBA Programs


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Point IV Summary

Social Mediums such as

Facebook, Twitter, and

Linkedin foster virtual

communities

If current students want to have

a close-knit community, then

Universities should foster that

both inside and outside the

classroom

Virtual communities through

Social Media will contribute to

a better student experience and

lead to future prospective

student referrals


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Point V

Your Competition is Doing It


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GMAC Applications

Trend Survey 2009

Nearly one-fifth of the average

recruitment budget (19%) for

graduate management schools

was allocated to electronic

marketing outreach:

email campaigns

online chats

instant messaging (IM)

social networking sites

website enhancements

Murray, M., (2009) - 2009 GMAC Application Trend Summary


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GMAC: New Media

Come to Business School

The Fuqua School of Business

at Duke has a You Tube and

iTunes Channel

The Mays School of Businessat Texas A&M is on Facebook

and shares videos, news, and

reports from students abroad

The Paul Merage School of

Business at University of

California-Irvine uses a Twitter

feed to reach prospective

MBAs

New Media Come to Business School (2009, March)


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Point V Summary

Budgets are quickly

being allocated by

competing Universities

to invest in Social Mediaoutlets

85% of Universities are

using some form of

Social Media

These efforts are

producing results


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Point VI

Your Competition is Doing It Well...VERYWell


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Top 50 Universities Using Social

Media successfully From private to public, large

scale to small scale Universities

Given Gold, Silver, or Bronze

rankings

Published Social Media

Rankings from

CollegeSurfing.com

CollegeBound Network Editorial Staff (2010, February 10)


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Mashable! Social

Media Recognition

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 students

projects or achievements

throughout their social media

outlets

Reinhard, C., (June 2009). Lavrusik, V., (July 2009). Lavrusik, V., (July 2009).


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Point VI Summary

Experts in Social Media

are noticing and

applauding the efforts of

savvy Universities

These Social Media

efforts are aggressive and

are reaping huge rewards


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Point VII

Your Future Target MarketWill Expect It


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BusinessWeek:

Gen Y is at the Door

Trying to understand the mind-set ofthe potential Gen Y MBAs

Increasing the use of technology inthe classroom

Embracing social media such asFacebook, blogs, and Twitter

Symonds, M.,(January 2010) - Business Schools Beware: Gen Y isatthe Door

(Gen Ys) don't just use the new

technology that has revolutionized

business over the past decade

they eat, sleep and breathe it.

University Business Schools:


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Conclusion

Universities need to enter into the social media world in

order to:

Recruit more potential students (of all generations)

Provide more service and value to their currentstudents

Stay competitive with other Universities


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Social Media Marketing for

Business Schools?Erin M. Wiles

Marketing Professional

MBA (Expected May 2010)

[email protected]

Twitter @emwiles


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References

Barnes, N. & Mattson, E., (2008). Social Media and College Admissions: The First Longitudinal Study. University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for MarketingResearch. Retrieved from http://www.umassd.edu/cmr/studiesresearch/mediaandadmissions.pdf

Burnes, R. (2010, February 16). Survey: Inbound Marketing Cost Per Lead Is 60% Lower Than Outbound. Message posted to http://blog.hubspot.com. Retrievedfrom http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/5587/Survey-Inbound-Marketing-Cost-Per-Lead-Is-60-Lower-Than-Outbound.aspx

CollegeBound Network Editorial Staff (2010, February 10). The Web 2.0 College Olympics. Message posted to http://www.collegesurfing.com. Retrieved from http://www.collegesurfing.com/content/web-20-colleges/

Lavrusik, V., (July 2009). 10 Ways Universities Are Engaging Alumni Using Social Media. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2009/07/23/alumni-social-media/

Lavrusik, V., (July 2009). 10 Ways Universities Share Information Using Social Media. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2009/07/15/social-media-public-affairs/

Murray, M., (2009). 2009 Applications Trend Survey. Graduate Management Admission Council. Retrieved from http://www.gmac.com/NR/rdonlyres/32D2B92A-776F-4DFA-9903-C251B1B7862D/0/2009AT_SR_Web.pdf

New Media Come to Business School(2009, March). Graduate Management News. Retrieved from http://www.gmac.com/gmac/NewsandEvents/GMNews/2009/Mar/Bschool_NewMedia.htm

Reinhard, C., (June 2009). YouTube Brands: 5 Outstanding Leaders in YouTube Marketing. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2009/06/01/youtube-brands/

Safko, L., & Brake, D. (2009) The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies for Business Success. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Schoenfeld, G., (2009). 2009 mba.com Registrants Survey. Graduate Management Admission Council. Retrieved from http://www.gmac.com/NR/rdonlyres/99B4D1C3-4347-4F12-969C-0D9DB1E5481F/0/RegistrantsSurvey2009SR.pdf

Schoenfeld, G., (2010). 2010 mba.com Registrants Survey. Graduate Management Admission Council. Retrieved from http://www.gmac.com/NR/rdonlyres/B363A4D7-E477-41D1-B2B1-4F72B49AA668/0/mbacomRegistrants_2010Survey.pdf

Schoenfeld, G., (2008), Impact of School Culture: Part-Time MBA Programs. Graduate Management Admission Council. Retrieved from http://www.gmac.com/NR/rdonlyres/E0E72085-ABBB-474D-83C0-55AC86D038F3/0/PTMBA_SchoolCulture2008.pdf

Symonds, M., (January 2010). Business Schools Beware: Gen Y is at the Door. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/jan2010/bs20100121_624849.htm

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