5 Ways Universities Can Implement Social Media

Social media used to be considered a school’s worst enemy. Distracting students from their studies and stirring up scandals with student-faculty relations are just a few crimes that social media has been accused of on campuses around the country. But as the saying goes, if you can’t beat it, you might as well join in.

On the surface, a university’s primary purpose is to educate. But realistically colleges and universities have to be so much more than just educators. For one, there is a huge business component to higher education. They have a budget to maintain just like any business, public or private. Secondly, there’s the whole public relations aspect that requires universities to constantly work on improving their image and move up in the rankings. And what is it that drives these factors one way or another? Students. Future, present, and former students are the key components to ensuring that a college stays successful and reputable. Here are 5 ways colleges and universities can use social media to connect with students to ensure their continued well-being.

1. Recruit Early and Often

I’d be willing to bet that 95% of your incoming class can be found on Facebook. You can use Facebook as a way to connect with prospective students on a whole new level. Sure there are the students who have known which college they’re going to attend since third grade, but some students sit on the fence about it well into their senior year. Who knows, maybe those students are looking for just one thing to jump out at them to make their decision.

Use your Facebook page to keep prospective students in the loop about all of the amazing features your college has to offer. Lure them in for a tour with descriptions of your facilities and amenities. Go one step further and upload virtual tours of the campus to really tempt curious prospective students. Talk up your curriculum, especially if your institution offers some more unique majors.

2. Appeal to the Newcomers

It’s one thing to get students to sign the enrollment papers, it’s a whole new challenge to keep them at your school. Students are painfully aware of the cost of higher education. So if students feel they could get a better education or have a better “college experience” elsewhere, they’ll go elsewhere. Think of yourself as the host of a huge 4 (or 5) year party. Use social media to check in with your “guests” every so often to make sure everything’s going well.

Especially in those early impressionable years, focus on getting students’ feedback. Use Facebook questions to find out what students like or dislike about the campus. Chances are you know the campus better than the new students and can provide helpful solutions to complaints. You can also use Twitter to monitor what students are saying about your school and respond accordingly.

3. Address the Student Body

A college campus is the busiest place on earth. On any given college campus there is literally always something going on. The sad thing is a lot of times these events and activities are greatly under-attended, not for lack of interest, but lack of knowledge. Keep students informed and involved with Twitter and Facebook. Assign events their own hashtag (#name) so that students can easily track the conversation happening around the event. Use Facebook events to send students invitations to events and track RSVPs.

Social media is also perfect for making impromptu announcements. Going to college in Wisconsin the big question every other morning during the winter was always, “is class cancelled?” A quick announcement on Facebook or Twitter would have nipped those rumors/wishes in the bud right away if administration had social media to work with.

4. Provide Your Own Networking Community

Recent college graduates have my utmost sympathy. At a time when there are barely enough jobs to go around, the competition has become so steep that a bachelors degree doesn’t even mean what it used to. However, colleges and universities do have some motivation to help their graduates find work after college. If they can’t claim that their graduates find relevant work after attending their institution, it’s going to become very hard to convince people to attend?

Most colleges do have a career counseling department, but lets face it, not all college seniors have the foresight to make use of that resource during the home stretch of their four year tenure. Graduates may be more apt to make use of an online network that connects them with potential employers, established alumni, and classmates. If you have the funding for it, you could hire a programmer to create this networking facilitator as it’s own social media network. Or if you’re on a tight budget, you could set it up as an extension of your Facebook page.

5. Reconnect with Alumni

Sure, universities make a boat load of money on tuition, but where they really make a killing is alumni donations. Think about any campus building. You may know it as Burke Hall, but somebody out there (Mr. or Mrs. Burke) thinks of that building as their gift to the college. Use social media to stay connected with alumni and keep them in the loop about what’s new around campus. Send out a monthly e-newsletter to show them how their generous donations are being spent. Chances are they’ll be much more willing to donate if they hear from you more often than the annual letter asking for money.

In marketing we’re always talking about using the right medium for our target market. If ever there was a marketing medium/target market match made in heaven, this is it. Colleges and universities already spend a lot of money on fancy brochures and print collateral in order to correspond with potential, current, and former students. Why not shift some of those resources to a more efficient and effective communication method?